Wanderlust

Home-sweet-home

2010-06-10T14:34:00.001-07:00

[insert brilliant onomatopoeia here]

Holy @*%$
I'm looking forward to seeing each and every one of you very very soon.
Thanks for keeping up with me on this journey and sending me love and support. I would never have made it successfully to the end without y'all.
Do forgive my awful spanglish over the course of the next few weeks.
All my love
Rebecca

PS Director's cut coming soon. Stay tuned for more photos to be posted within the week!

Vive y Deja Vivir

2010-05-31T09:20:00.000-07:00

I will be travelling back to Houston one week from this Thursday. It´s hard to qualify my emotions being so near the end of my journey. Time passes irreversably regardless of my desires, hesitations, and confusion. That I want nothing more than to be back in my home land sharing with y´all, my friends and family once again, do not doubt. But I´ve grown throughout what seems like an entirely diferent lifetime during my stay in South America. I have people here too that are friends and, essentially, family to me. I will leave them behind like I left my life behind in Texas last October, the only difference being that I knew I had a return date to see you beloveds again in the near future. This is a security I will lack next week as I fly out of Santiago de Chile one last time.

I feel completely certain that my time in Latin America is not over. I have every intention of returning some day hopefully sooner rather than later. Perhaps I´ve already learned what I am capable of learning for this round and it´s merely time for me to go home and practice what they preached to me here: the simbiosis of our growing global society. To be conscious. To not let this newfound awareness of nature, of culture, of humanity stagnate in my uncertainty these next few months.

There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come.
Victor Hugo, 1852

La Parcela 13, Fundo Alhue

2010-05-20T11:14:00.000-07:00

Dragito, mi amor.

The best grapes in the WORLD.

My favorite turtle, named "Tortu". She´s really into feng-shui. Everyday she cleans her tank and reorganizes her shells and rocks.
Almuerzo Alhué
Ele, my farm-mama and saving grace at the parcela.

Mi corazon, este chileano huevon.

Valparaiso, La Belleza de Chile

2010-05-20T10:33:00.001-07:00

(The view from Pablo Neruda´s house. Es trampa que él escribía tan hermoso. Si yo podria vivir en esta casa, escribiría buenisimo tambien!)
La Sebastiana. One of many houses owned by Neruda.

(Please do note the mountain of a street in the background.)
(for Liza because she loves giraffes)

Los Colores Alhue

2010-05-16T07:20:00.000-07:00

La Granjera Poderosa

2010-05-11T16:24:00.000-07:00

I love fall.

I eat the wrinkly apples because they taste the most delicious.

2010-04-29T18:19:00.000-07:00

Almond trees

Took a walk with my friend Ellie around the parcela

Fernando is my best friend here... chileano huevon that he is.

My little shack cottage is peaking out in the bottom left corner there...

Jenny and I made dulce de membrillo... and NEVER AGAIN (in total, a 24 hour project spread out over 3 days).

These are membrillos. They look like fuzzy apples and smell like pears.

The final (delicious!) product.

La Vida Alhue

2010-04-22T09:56:00.001-07:00

We have thousands upon thousands of kilos of grapes... and every day fight the battle against the birds who try to steal our harvest!!

Fernando and I share pancito and mate early every morning. It's been about 4 degrees celcius when I wake up, fyi. This fire is a blessing for me.

El chiquito y el Orion... the most beautiful calves I've ever seen.

These grapes taste like strawberries (you probably don't believe me but it's true). Also, the strawberries taste like snozberries...

My front yard in the early morning.
This is the Ecoferia where I work every Saturday. My cheese is contraband thanks to the chilean government but we sell it under the table anyway... and we always sell out.

I make the cheese.

2010-04-22T08:19:00.000-07:00

La vida, la chacra

2010-04-18T10:54:00.000-07:00

I really live the life of a farm laborer these days. It´s my last stop before I finally (FINALLY) return home. It´s rugged living, no hot water for example and sometimes no water at all, but its a beauty of a farm. I made friends with the dog Drago; he eats bees.
I harvest apples, membrillos (pronounced mem-bree-yos), lavender, grapes, almends, walnuts, and figs.

I wish you could smell this lavender through the computer. It smells like bliss.

This is my friend Paula who comes to visit and work on the farm sometimes. We sell our products at the organic market in Santiago every Saturday. Everyone thinks I´m from France. Not sure where I picked up that accent...

(My friend Drago in the background chasing those bees.)

I have more to post but my camera ran out of battery. We live far away from internet but I promise to try to post more soon. I snuck out this morning on an old rusty shimano mountain bike. Its an incredible feeling winding through the mountains on a chilean fm road. Makes me miss the Austin bike culture. And, as always, I miss all yall back home.

This is my Chile.

2010-03-25T15:49:00.000-07:00

So it´s been a while since my last substantial update and even longer since I´ve been able to post photos. This post is dedicated to my first weeks in Chile, adventuring with Andrea and learning the ropes of surviving here from Mario and his beloved family.

This is a "completo". It is the staple food of all good chileans. The huge bun isn´t so much nececcary because the hot dog itself is particularly large but rather beacuse you load it up with avocado, pickled vegetables, tomatoes, mayonaise, maybe some cheese, and then mustard and ketchup as you so desire... godzilladog??

We watched a sky diving competition in Valdivia.

Our lovely little kitchen at the pizzeria with Gloria and Carlitos posing.

The dining area of the pizzeria.

Empanadas de pino

Carlitos is always running around the shop. Mario is in the background fixin up some home made french fries for lunch.

We harvested mounds and mounds of the tiniest coconuts I´ve ever seen in my life. Andrea made some incredible coconut cake too.

Sometimes Mario and Carlitos make whisky from old beer and when you light it on fire it glows blue because its about 100 proof...

This is Sarah. She kind of stole my heart.

Outdoor market in Valdivia.

Chupón makes a really delicious after-meal liquor.

HUGE GARLIC!!!

HUGER MUSHROOMS!!!!

In Chile, blueberries (and raspberries as well) are dirt cheep, in an abundance, and divinely delicious.

Señora Blanca´s backyard. No joke.

Tomatoes and the Ends of the World. Ask me later...

Gloria preparing fresh sea urchins for lunch.

Señora Blanca preparing the... sea snails? (I think)

Lake in Carburga. The water was NOT temperate unlike Mario would have you believe.

La Moneda (like our White House) with Mario and Gloria.

Cacaca, the horse whisperer

Riding horses around La Vega where the farm is located. Please excuse my ridiculous face but the sun was very shiney that day. I didnt realize how awkward it looked until it was uploaded and blogger doesn´t allow me to delete photos once they´re up.

Terremoto, the old man pup.

I danced with the cowboys at a rodeo in the country...

... and Andrea played the güiro on stage!!!!

Viña del Mar

(I already told you she stole my heart)

Yes, this was an actual headline in the Chilean news...

2010-03-15T20:37:00.000-07:00

EXTRANJERAS PASARON GRAN SUSTO POR AVISO DE MAREMOTO: No Entendían Qué Decían los Chilenos, "PORQUE HABLAN MUY RÁPIDO"
-El Mercurio de Valparaíso (13 de Marzo de 2010)

which translates as...

FORIEGNERS GO THROUGH A GREAT SCARE FOR TSUNAMI ALERT: They Do Not Understand What the Chileans Say, "BECAUSE [Chileans] TALK VERY FAST"

Good to know that even in times of crisis, a little humor goes a long way. Mario commented that at least the headline didn´t say "alot of foriegners died in tsunami: they did not understand the threat alert because chileans talk very fast"...

Terror(moto) en Chile

2010-03-07T13:34:00.000-08:00

First of all, Andrea and I are safe and well thanks to our incredible host family. Mario, Gloria, Señora Blanca, Claudio, and Paloma have made us part of their family and, thusly, we have survived our first earthquake... for better or worse.

I had never before experienced an earthquake nor had I ever thought that in my life (the deep in the heart of Texas girl that I am) would I experience such a humbling force of nature.
Here are excerpts from what I wronte about the experience in my journal...

4 AM the ground underneath us tossing and turning restlessly awaking from its slumber finally. Awaking howling and moaning and roaring for the world to wake up with it. Or at least Chile.
I dont know how I woke up or what I was thinking but regardless suddenly found myself running after Andrea down the stairs into the kitchen to escape through the front door, only it was locked and without a key so we start to run back up but for the flickering lights and the crashing pots and plates, I couldn´t see a thing and I felt like the world was going to collapse on me.
But that´s the thing about fear, it rips all sense of rationality from your being and you´re left to deal with cataclysmic destruction and the dispair of hopelessness without method or manner. Just pure adrenaline and your basest emotions.
I felt scared. I didn´t see much of anything at all. I wasn´t looking. I was stuck in my head, trying to control my breath trying to control my panic. I felt the ground revolting against my feet and felt the roar of the earth pounding through my ears but I couldn´t see anything.
Or no. Gloria´s hand pale white gripping mine against the terrace rail. Confirmation. Something still holds steady in this world. -I am still here and I am with you.-
The tremors lasted more or less continuously until 1 the next afternoon (in reality, they havent yet subsided) . It seemed every time I began to shut my eyes the rumbling would commence anew. It´s not something instinctual, to react to your foundation crumbling beneath your feet. It´s not something you´d ever expect- that the earth so sturdy, so solid would perchance excert such a force. Terrifying. Humbling. You are so small by comparrison.
Not for her beauty, nor for her magnitude but if nothing else simply for the immensity of her power should humanity respect mother nature in all her capacity.
Sometimes chaos allows you to feel every emotion you keep bottled up inside your head all at once and it is empowering. Else it´s Posidon´s hand himself hammering down the most electrifying voltage of terror through your brain into your core.

Everything is fine now. Electricity was returned just a few days after the quake and water we fortunately had all along. The farm itself suffered no damage except for a few notable cracks in the road just beyond the fence. Plates and pots and glasses and wall hangings fell, shattered, etc. but all in all we were among the lucky ones. Thank you to everyone- your messages of concern, love, and support were very much appreciated. I miss home very much these days.

On a happier note, yesterday we purchased 3 sheep for the farm: Dolly, Pepe, and Pepa (or Rebecca-Andrea depending). Pepa is unreasonably moody but Dolly is sugary sweet. Pepe behaves like a dog.
Here are some photos of the farm house that Mario built. (It´s all recycled materials, hand constructed!!!)

(Oh and we made jam from the wild grapes!)
May I present to you Lady Dolly.

That´s all for now. I owe you many more stories and photos. I promise to deliver asap.
Love.

I´m still here...

2010-02-24T12:25:00.000-08:00

but I´m living on a beautiful farm with very limited internet access.
Stay posted. The stories are already racking up. It´s going to be a landslide the next time I post.

Besos ciao mis queridos

Torres Del Paine, photo overload

2010-02-19T07:42:00.000-08:00

All the Beautiful People...

2010-02-17T13:24:00.000-08:00

live in Frutillar, Chile.

Last night, our bus drops us off on the side of the highway at an unmarked bus stop. Granted, we had been warned of this in advance, that we would need to take a local bus ("colectivo") to head into the center of town, but it was dark and rainy and...
well, never fear, there just happens to be a family waiting at this obscure bus stop. They hail a "colectivo" for us. Turns out colectivos aren´t buses but rather shared taxi cabs. We shared ours with a vacationing mom and her son and a kindly man who couldn´t believe Andrea was actually 23 years old. (-No me digas!!!-)
Parted ways down the road but not until they had passed on every granule of advice they could think to bestow us. Of course, the mom insisted we drop by her place the next day should we be in the area... the bottom room with the green window; it´s a lovely view of the lake, we´re told.

Then, our taxi driver tours the neighborhood for us to find the best, safest, yet most economical hostel... free of charge (-Dos extranjeras solas y jovenes, tienen que cuidarse!!-) Granted Frutillar is not that big so not such a feat but still quite the generous gesture.
We find a good secure hostel run by a good upstanding Chilean family; they aren´t trying to rip us off. Very well; ciao to our gallant cab driver.

To follow, the most delightful and jolly family running the hostel helps us to our room. (Private bath and HOT WATER!!! It´s the little things that make us happy these days...)

Dinner down the road at a quaint cafe, also family owned... we can watch the sweet señora in the back grilling our hamburgers, piling on the avocado, loading up our plates...
The couple thought we were from Bariloche, Argentina. -Do you speak english?- they ask us in earnest.
(Probably this was more directed at Andrea and not myself, but I´ll claim little victories wherever I can!)
We bid them fairwell, full with spicey (finally a country that loves its spice!) chilean burgers and homemade blueberry pie, but not before they offer us their hospitality... any help we need, anything we lack, they´re just down the road so if we come running, they´ll be there waiting.

Welcome to Chile. Indeed.

In the Meantime, An Invitation

2010-02-14T15:13:00.000-08:00

So, I´ve been playing a sort of game with myself for the past week. My goal is to come up with chapter titles to catalog all the adventures Andrea and I have thus far survived. Some are more obscure than others I realize and sometimes I´ve come up with multiple titles only because I haven´t chosen my favorite yet. As such, this is an invitation to y´all who still faithfully read my silly little blog. If a title catches your eye and you want an explination, send me a message and I´ll tell you the story.

Once Upon a Time in Neverland
The Alegria in our Lives
Doomed to Our Destiny, or Along Came Perú
Of Lust and Longing in Lima (Pt. 1)
The Waca-fucking-china Verdict
Yes, STILL in Lima (Pt. 2)
Machu Picchu: To Be Inca or Too Incapaz
The Long Lost Lima, or Just 2 Pincha Gringas (Pt. 3)
3 Days, 2 Australians, and 1 Bomba Short of Happiness
The Calm Before the Storm: Tio Coco´s Apartment
In the Sunshine of Bobi Hilda´s Love
Never Fear, Liza´s Here
Charybdis at the End of the World, or Devil´s and Butterflies, or Le´heim! It´s Assado Time!
Cristian, Comida, Campo, Córdoba
Back in the BsAs
Oh My, Mendoza...
I. Dying for Tequila is Suicide, or I Died a Tequila Suicide
II. A Mountainous Mosaic: The Aconcagua
III. Que Venga Más Vino en Vida
IV. An Armada of Neon Angels
V. Just a Liter of Coke and Rum: Dreamers Renegade in the Plaza (ahem, just to clarify for the familial units that read this, it´s actually refering to two tattoo artists we met and not any sort of new found alcoholism...)
El Bolson: We Never Ate So Well Again, or Maté with Leo, A Man of Many Noises
Paine, The Many Shades of Blue
So I Didn´t Meet a Penguin
Welcome to Bizzaro World: How I Survived El Chalten
If Not For Humanity and Half a Cheese Sandwich

That´s all I have for now, but I´ll keep coming up with more as we keep jumping around.
Un beso ciao mis queridos.

AWOL

2010-02-13T11:06:00.000-08:00

So I have been trying to put together a post on the glaciers and our ice trekking expedition. Unfortunately at the moment I´ve run into a smidge of bad luck on top of not being able to find a computer anywhere that will let me upload my photos... le sigh.

I promise to be back soon but for now I have to take care of business.
I miss y´all back home. (so much!)

Oh, and happy valentines day... all you non-couples and couples (i suppOSE ;) )
Spend it with good people and know I´m sending all y´all love love love.

El Bolson, photos (Hippie Paradise)

2010-02-03T18:44:00.000-08:00

(This one is for Maggie. Her inspiration for my commission, hehe.)

El Bolson is hops capital of Patagonia... yummy!

A REALLY delicious Belgium waffle.

A view from my backyard. No, really, a view from my backyard.

Some kind of freaky sculpture dedicated to the crazy free-spirited hippies that founded this beautiful town. My gratitude to them. Remind me to tell you the story about the "energy mountain" one day when I have a better internet connection...

Mendoza

2010-02-02T17:51:00.000-08:00

When I first glimpsed Mendoza, it was a hazy dawn and from the window of the bus the sierras (mountains featured above) appeared weightless floating mid air... all you could see were snow-capped peaks jutting into the sky. For a split second (mind you I´d hardly slept even an hour on the 13 hour overnight bus ride, so my mind´s perception might have been a bit skewed, who´s to say) I thought I was looking out onto the Hallelujah Mountains of Pandora.

Ok, maybe not Pandora but still. I fell hard into some kind of love-entanglement with this city/province. Perhaps I´ve just been seduced by the wine bodegas and unadulterated country side, but I was meant to live here in another life... or perhaps just later down the road in this one.

Potable water from the Aconcagua River. I´ve never tasted such delicious water in my life. It feeds from the snow melting off the Aconcagua Mountain and surrounding peaks as well.

Apparently this is supposed to resemble the figure of a pregnant mummy. There were lots of shapes to sight in the mountains (Frankenstein, a woman´s face, panthers...) apparently but this was the only one I could make out.

Puente del Inca, once a spa retreate with sulfuric hot springs but since abandoned after a devastating earthquake compromised its stability. Visitors are still allowed to view the ruins. I wish the colors had turned out a bit better in this photo... some of the most brilliantly putrid looking yellows and organges you could ever see.

Volcano Tupungato in the distance. Still active and rising every year due to the tectonic activity in the region.

Aconcagua National Park. Left just a sliver of my heart here I think...

The Aconcagua Mountain covered by clouds. After the Himalayan mountain range, this is the tallest mountain in the WORLD, yet it gets little to no acknowledgement I feel. 21 days trek to reach the highest peak if you are an experienced mountain climber.

Not only does Mendoza claim the tallest mountain in all of South America in the Andean mountain range but it´s also wine country. Over 1000 bodegas surrounding the city but only about 90 are open to public tours and tastings. Also of interest to note, Mendoza is quite essentially a desert not to mention subject to horrendous hail storms annually (which destroys about 15% the yearly crop). Irrigation has transformed this entire region (for the better wine lovers must concur) into a new terrain able to support hectres of vinyards. Pretty incredible.

Once upon a time when fermentation vats were constructed from brick and morter, they sealed the inside with beeswax. Modern day vats, however, are metallic and do not require this, of course.

Profile of a vinyard and an idea of what I meant by the Hallelujah Mountains... though not quite the same.

We drank ALL this wine... did we? Hmph. Wish we could have tasted it all at least.

Not something you see everyday lying around in the States.

Homemade liquer made by a local Mendocino family. (What a cool family business!!!)

Full moon rafting and bonfire dance party, our last night in Mendoza.

Poi dancer to entertain.
Plaza Independencia, town center.

Last days in Buenos Aires

2010-01-26T12:36:00.000-08:00

So Andrea and I are finally moving on from la Capital Federal. It´s been a fantastic adventure and especially enjoyable having visitors stay with us. I don´t think I will loose my way in this city if I ever have the chance to return; surely by now we can be considered honorary Porteñas. We´ve cheered at soccer matches, know the markets of Recoleta and San Telmo backwards and forwards, devoured more than our fair share of chocolate mousse torte, mastered the bus system, found our favorite bars, danced the drum circles to shame, and acquired decent enough porteño accents. Time to try something new? Yes.

Now we are off to explore wine country (Mendoza), the glaciers (Calafate and Ushuaia), and the lake district (Bariloche) before crossing into Chile to begin farming again... yeah remember that´s why we set off on this adventure to begin with? I hardly do at this point.

Also, just fyi, I have updated 3 new posts including new photos of Iguazu Falls. You should check all of them out. It´s been quite a trip.

Some freaky kind of creature we found in the park. I thought it was cool.

Delicious provoleta cheese at Restaurante Norte.

A pretty good steak in Buenos Aires, also at Restaurante Norte. My favorite was actually from this rinky-dink, no-name, hole-in-the-wall place, though. (Thanks to Tio Coco for that lunch!)
Argentino Juniors stadium in Paternal where we lived with Tio Coco. This was where we watched Argentino Juniors kick Hucucan´s sorry butts. 5-1 Eat your hearts out Hurucan!!!

Rosario, the "hidden jewel of Argentina" -Claire Weaver

2010-01-26T12:21:00.000-08:00

We passed through this sweet little town, Rosario, five hours between Córdoba and Buenos Aires each respectively. It´s known as the cleanest city in Argentina... or at least fast becoming the cleanest city. It´s a beautiful town and you can easily take a ferry to river-island-beaches. I wish we had staid longer actually but we only had one rainy afternoon to see the town. Also, Ernesto "Che" Guevara lived here (though he was born in Córdoba I believe?). We tried knocking on his door but no one answered.

This is the train station at 6 AM.

A monument to the national flag of Argentina. We eventually took refuge here from the rain while we waited to leave for Buenos Aires on the night bus.

A VERY wide river...

Maybe it´s hard to tell?

Knocking on Che´s door. No response.

Downtown Rosario in a hurry, trying to not be run over.

Córdoba and the Sierras

2010-01-26T11:42:00.001-08:00

First of all I have to say thank you to our hosts, Cristian and his mom Monica, for not only putting up with Andrea and I for an entire week but for showing us a grand time in their beloved city. Córdoba is to Argentina what Austin is to Texas... only greener and more delicious. It´s very much a college town (this is where everyone studies abroad from the US) but it has its own rhythm as well. It´s a decent sized city surrounded by rivers and mountains, so plenty of outdoor excursions to entertain. The alfajores are the delicious part to which I refer- cookies sandwiching fillings of dulce de leche, membrillo, pear, etc... sometimes covered in chocolate, sometimes smathered with suger and coconut shavings... decadent as hell and the reason foreigners gain a few kilos living here for any extended period of time. Córdoba is a famous argentine province for its exquisit selection of artesenal alfajores.

I won´t lie. We had a fantastic time here speant mostly eating, watching Avatar (in 3D finally!!)multiple times, and being lazy by the rivers.

This is a dam on the outskirts of Córdoba. The region is experiencing a pretty fierce drought though because there is hardly any water at the dam and the river around it is nearly dried up completely (at least in certain parts).

We think this is a deliberate joke. Why else?

The second of the three river spots Monica and Cristian took us to. When you swim in the water it looks like you´re swimming in a spilt treasure chest because of all the mica that glitters from the river bed. It´s quite dazzling really.

Why did I put the same photo twice, I don´t know but blogger won´t let me delete it so oh well... This next one is Cristian´s art work though... (he´s actually a photographer unlike moi, hah).

Our last river to visit the day we left. Sometimes Argentina reminds me an awful lot of Texas.

Not the greatest photo but I took it out the car window. This monument marks the center of the country. "Córdoba, el corazon de Argentina". I´d feel proud about that too if I were from here.

Puerto Iguazu and the Iguazu Falls

2010-01-23T11:18:00.000-08:00

Iguazu Falls are some of the most expansive cascades in the world. Only Victoria Falls beats them out as the longest running line of waterfalls becuase Iguazu is broken up into segments expanding from the northern edge of Argentina into the southern most region of Brazil. Unfortunately we did not see the Brazilian side of the falls but apparently the Argentinian side is cooler anyway... apparently.

Iguazu Falls, or Las Cataratas de Iguazu, are located in the eastern corner of the northern province of Missiones. Cabeza de Vaca was the first European to explore the region in 1541 but the land surrounding the falls had been home to the Guarani tribe long before the Spanish conquistadores invaded.

The Guarani´s romantic myth about the creation of las Cataratas de Iguazu tells a story about young Naipi and her lover Taroba who attempt to flee their home via canoe down the Iguazu River in order to escape Naipi´s impending marriage to one of the tribal gods. The god, however, was not outsmarted by mere mortals (they should have seen that one coming perhaps?). As the myth goes, he catches them somewhere along the river and in order to stop them causes the earth to shake, breaking the river apart. As the two fall down the new falls in their canoe, the beautiful Naipi is caught in a stone and transformed into a tree that still hangs in the middle of the falls today. Her lover unfortunately falls to his doom in the lower river and is transformed into a boulder, forever fated to look up and see his beloved dangling from the waterfall but never to be reunited.

Sigh, how tragic... yet spectacular.

This is a far-away view of La Garganta del Diablo (Devil´s Throat), the most impressive of the falls on the Argentinian side, or so they say. I like to refer to this one as Charybdis though because it reminds me of the whirlpool moster from the Odessey. Seems calm enough here, right?

What about now?

More of La Garganta del Diablo... the long view.

There were swarms of butterflies and moths flying through the park. I even had several land on my hand... and stay there the majority of our hike through the catwalks.

Sweet little coati (pronounced co-ah-tee). Apparently they might bite your hand off if you get too close feeding them. Also, you aren´t supposed to feed them to begin with (duh) but people do regardless. There are currently about 5 in rehabilitation at the local animal hospital because they were found on the park paths on the verge of death. Something about greasy, salty, sugary, over processed foods not being good for their wee-stomachs. Go figure?

This is a photo from our boat tour... notice the red rubber in the corner of the photo...

Me on said boat...

We concluded our tour of the park with this boat ride. I took this photo just a few minutes before the captain steared us directly into what appears like a gentle cloud of mist but in actuality is violent surges of upchurned water as it hits to lower river. Yes, we were soaked and it was so worth it.

Who the hell is Joaquin Sabina?

2010-01-20T20:02:00.000-08:00

The pulse of the heart of latin american folk music beats steadily to the tune of thousands of ecstatic fans chanting "Ole ole ole ole, Joaquin, Joaquin". The man in the bowler hat who, staring wide-eyed and beaming into the faces of his adorers, tips the brim in humble salute and gesture of gratitude; perhaps the most sincerest thank-you a performer has ever bestowed his audience. You are there packed into the grandest stadium within Buenos Aires proper along with countless thousand other Portenos, beholding one of the most revered and respected musical geniuses of this time, and yet the distance and dimension is not estranging. You feel close to the music and the emotion and the man-- as if you were merely down at the local pub enjoying a round with your buddy, Joaquin, reminiscing those good ol' days singing your favorite songs.

Flood lights focused on the stage, the crowd becomes a black mass, an abyss save for the twinkling of spots from lighters and flashlights raised in homage to the legend standing before them. They resemble patterns of dazzling constellations, as if Sabina were singing for the cosmos. Suddenly the light doubles back onto the masses to reveal the surge of fists pounding the air in unison, bodies jumping like sparks of static across the floor. An earthquake couldn't shake the columns and stands as fiercely as the passion exuded from this crowd.

If you cannot tell by now, I am in complete awe of this man and the performance he delivers. I had never seen an artist captivate an audience so completely and charismatically as I did tonight at Boca Stadium.
This is Joaquin Sabina.

(Oh, and by the way, we got in for free. hehe.)

Last night in BA for now...

2010-01-05T14:18:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update with some images of the planetarium at night and the drum circle performance.

In and around Buenos Aires, or Somethings Silly

2010-01-03T18:33:00.000-08:00

Just some funny happenings in and around BA these days. Liza leaves Tuesday and then Andrea and I head north to Iguazu Falls and Cordoba for a few weeks.

She says "sí!"

I threw this photo in with the rest for this blog post just because it amuses me. Liza and I finally found a burger joint near the apartment. I had been craving a hamburger for the past 3 months. We had no trouble finishing our dinner quite obviously.

Various ketchup packets were, however, harmed in the making of this feast. I think 27 casualties in total. But it was delish!

This flower is actually a practical (well more or less practical) art installation. The petals open and close with the sunlight, so sort of like a funky sundile you could say.

Family friends took us out and around BA New Years day. This is a pedestrian bridge in Puerto Madero. I think it´s called Puente de Mujer. Every street in this district is named after a famous Argentinian woman.

Fanciest Stella Artois I´ve ever ordered. This restuarant is called Palacio de las Papas, or Potato Palace, just fyi.

These flowers are everywhere! I also recently learned that they aquire their color depending on the acidity of the soil.

A fair we passed in the riverboat ride while visiting El Tigre just outside of BA.

Cuartitos Pizzaria, aka best pizza in Buenos Aires. We devoured the fugazetta (cheese and onion pizza, a staple here in BA) and most of the Atomic. We learned it ain´t called Atomic for no reason. Definitely the spiciest pizza I´ve ever eaten. Next time we´re sticking with the Napolitana.

Cheers to 2009

2010-01-03T17:51:00.000-08:00

Happy (belated) New Year to all y´all... yes I may think myself Porteña now but in truth I´m Texan tride and true.

We watched the city expload with fireworks at midnight from the bridge in Recoleta and finished the night in the trendy Palermo Soho district. We even happened to notice when it was 3 AM and toasted to the Texas New Year.

We also made a funny little video that I tried to post in this entry but I think the internet at the house may be too slow for it to process the upload. Next time I´m at a locutorio I will try to add it.

Until then, Happy 2010! Love you all.

Thinking in spanglish. I´ll know I´m fluent the day I dream in spanish and understand myself finally.

2009-12-29T08:21:00.000-08:00

For those of you who still faithfully check in on this blog every now and then, well, thank you. Your dedication is appreciated. The more I experience on this trip, the less I feel like I can portray an accurate experience of this so-called wanderlust life. There are sentiments and sensations that naturally become lost in translation between living and the story-telling I´m attempting with this blog. Photos seem to be the easiest and most interesting method to explain where I am and what I´m doing these days but I would still like to believe that there is something spectacular to behold in a story well-told. Hence, continue to believe in me, check in every now and then and perhaps I´ll make something better of this silly little blog yet.

Thus far, Andrea and I have lived in Buenos Aires longer than we have lived in any other city since begining this voyage. I feel like I belong here to a certain extent... for example, I´m as addicted to matè as any other decent Porteño, will drink my copa de Malbec at lunch, am begining to slur es´s and ll´s and draw out y´s so as to disguise my foriegness to this city. It´s a delicate accent to acquire. Neglecting awareness of inflection and attention to emphasis, my speech turns into a sloppy mess and my poor, confused tounge falls limp... think of that fat lip feeling you have after a novacain-happy trip to the dentist. Yes, spitty, icky, and generally numb feeling. I think if I could pick up any accent I´d shoot for Colombian. This year Perú won first place for best spanish spoken throughout all Latin America (my understanding is that Spain usually wins this award) yet everyone in South America raves about how beautifully Colombians speak, clean and eloquent... though they´d be quick to remind you how their dialect is still more remarkable regardless. Never the less, I remain determined to stumble over the "me sh-amos" and "a-ja-cuchos" in hopes of perhaps one day successfully fooling a cabi (haha!). The grand irony here is that after my 5 months in Chile, none of this will matter anyway. My Mexican grandmother should feel some relief right about now.

This entry has taken me several hours (spaced out mind you, dont worry I dont sit in front of a computer all day long). Most of it was spat out in some awkward form of spanglish, indicative of the confusion mounting in my fingers translating from my brain.

Anyway, I´ll be back again and sooner.
All my love until then.

Buenos Aires in photos

2009-12-26T06:10:00.000-08:00

Liza finally arrived! We devour chocolate cakes together. She´s a beast.

Ana, Andrea, and Liza touring the cemetary in Recoleta. Evita (Eva Perón) and Porteño aristocracy rest in peace here.

(More cemetary)

Well, I´d call this a pretty incredible tree. What say you?

Just a taste of La Boca...

This man makes faces in spoons.

Downtown BA.

Interactive Museum Adventure

2009-12-12T19:05:00.000-08:00

Andrea finds a more practical solution to our vagabond lifestyle.

Not only am I learning castellano, but I am also learning how to be a better dinosaur in BA.

Alright alright, I promise a real update soon.

La Bella Buenos Aires

2009-12-03T10:51:00.000-08:00

Life is tranquil in Buenos Aires. We've been to Milongas to watch tango dancing, introduced Tio Coco to Manu Chao live in concert, visited museums for the art scenes, street markets, and the color-filled neighborhood of "Boca". Today we received a private tour of the Botanical Gardens from a friend of Tio Coco's, Mariano, who is a professor here in BA. Weather has been as fickle as in Texas, warm and sunny by afternoon but by twilight the wind begins to chill and come night fall you need a jacket. Every other day it seems to rain a good thunderstorm rain, conducive for renting movies and being a homebody. I feel less like a tourist here and more like a Porteña... though I have yet to acquire the Argentine accent. It's nice to blend in for once and make a home-away-from-home.

Mariano (left) with Tio Coco (right) in one of the greenhouses.

This link is for your amusement, apropos of nothing. Just a beautiful song Tio Coco showed us on youtube. The lyrics are from a poem written by Jose Goytisolo, I believe (please correct me if I'm wrong):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7Zsb0Y8Tpg

This link is another beautiful song by the amazing Spanish singer, songwriter, and poet, Joaquin Sabina:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tX7Ffg2Ass

Andrea and I are trying to buy tickets for his concert in BA this January. Funny story... Apparently one of our friends in Lima went out one night to meet some friends for drinks after work. He arrives, orders a beer at the bar, and notices a slight commotion across the room. Over in the corner there's a wildly looking man, obviously drunk, hammering away on a piano and belting out folk songs. Our curious friend, of course, stands up and crosses the room to take a look at the night's entertainment.
Just so happens it was the infamous Joaquin Sabina, enjoying his evening like any other regular joe. Or so the story goes.

Miss you all, love you tons.

Machu Picchu, trek in photos

2009-11-28T14:40:00.000-08:00

Machu Picchu, the might of the Incas. Located 72.5 miles northwest of Cusco by railroad. Elevated 2,432.75 meters above sea level.

Only about 500 Incas lived atop Machu Picchu. Within just 100 years, their civilization had conquered the territory that now includes most of Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and northern Chile. Had the Spanish conquistadors not killed them off, it's likely they would have pushed as far east as Brazil within a matter of years. They were a highly advanced civilization... especially evident in their architecture. It's astounding to visit these ruins because there is quite a noticeable difference between what was obviously originally constructed by the Incas and what has been restored.

Our trekking group consisted of a motley yet fantastic crew of Italians, Spaniards, Australians, Britains, and Canadians. We defeated swarms of sandflies, crossed the Urumba river Indian Jones style in a metal crate, hiked to the highest peak at Waynu Picchu, and petted a llama.

Incapas we are no more. Inca blood pumps through our veins. :D
And this is how our story goes...

Mountain biked from Peruvian highways above cloud level down into subtropical jungle pueblitos just after a hefty rainstorm.

Hiked narrow, practically vertical Incan foot trails to the peak of many a mountain. This is a view of the Urumba River which we eventually...

Crossed via the afore mentioned metal crate contraption. Below us is a raging river. If I figure out how to post the video of the ride, I will add it on later tonight.

Then we hiked some easier roads and passed a variety of waterfalls, like this one. A REALLY big waterfall. La pachamama (essentially, mother nature) being fierce.

Walking the railway from the town of Hydroelectric to Aguascalientes.

We smushed sol coins on the tracks. Also, as the caboose of the train passed, we saw through the windows a group of Argentinians we had befriended days before in a taxi ride from Cusco. Small world out here sometimes.

After three days of tirelessly marching up mountain slopes, across jungle terrain, in blazing heat and through torrential downpours, we finally (FINALLY!) arrived...

MACHU PICCHU!!!!!

And then I fell off the mountain.

Just kidding. Andrea actually pushed me off.

We hiked Waynu Picchu, the tallest mountain peak in the area directly next to Machu Picchu.

The view of Machu Picchu (all of the grey patch atop the ridge) from Waynu Picchu. The zig-zag line on the slope is the road for buses. There is a slightly less zig-zaggy one that pedestrians follow. You may think us wimps for taking the bus but I'd like to see your happy butt climbing this beast at 4 AM after having accomplished the same trek Andrea and I survived.

This is the path that curved down the back side of Waynu Picchu which a little Peruvian boy assured us would take the same amount of time as the main staircase back down to Machu Picchu... he was out of his mind...

This ladder was not fixed at any angle despite how the photo makes it appear. There were many more to follow along this route...

After 2 unanticipated hours of additional hiking through the entire Machu Picchu reserve, we arrived at the summit for one last view and were greeted by this cuddly fellow.

All in all it made for an incredible experience.

From Buenos Aires, with love

2009-11-28T13:35:00.000-08:00

Two countries down already, two more to conquer. After a three day long adventure traveling via bus from Lima to Buenos Aires, we finally arrived last Tuesday. Surprisingly the ride itself was less painful than anticipated... well as painless as a 3-day 3-night stint in a coach bus could prove to be. We've traversed the Atacama Desert. We survived the Peru-Chile and Chile-Argentina boarder crossings. We even managed to feed ourselves for 3 days with only 25 soles split two ways... roughly the equivalent of 8 US dollars.

All in all, a grand experience.
And thank goodness were in BA now.

Here are some photos Andrea's taken in the meantime.

Plaza de Armas at night in Lima, Peru.

A view in Cusco, Peru.

Rose garden (sigh) at Qorikancha in Cusco, Peru.

The infamous 12-angle stone. Inca power!

Plaza de Armas in Cusco, Peru. It's rumored that if you sleep here, you will acquire super-power energies... so the crazy hippy tourists sleeping on the benches... well, they're still crazy hippy tourists... with SUPER POWERS!
Also, I only ever want to live in cities with plazas from now on. Get on it already, US.

Also, Happy belated Thanksgiving everyone. I'm thankful to have family and friends as amazing as y'all, who continue to send me love and support from the upside-down hemisphere. :)

I love you all, miss y'all tons.

Yes, STILL in Lima.

2009-11-19T11:07:00.000-08:00

Well, perhaps needless to say, Andrea and I have plunged into a mad love affair with this city, hence my extended absense from the wonderful world of internet blogging. It´s really very itimidating trying to update after such an extended absense; tendencies to ramble are at peak levels currently. So, you know, bear with me.

Lima runs from the coastline along the Pacific Ocean into the foothills of the Andes. It´s smattered with remenants of neoclassical, baroque, and colonial architecture, antiquated cathedrals with catacombs, and the most glorious plazas I´ve ever encountered. They also have the cows on parade (Houstonians should remember this). Bodegas offer the richest assortments of fresh fruit juices (safe and sanitary... not like the street vendors), empanadas, camotes fritas (sweet potato fries), and ´menus´para almorzar (the cheap way to eat like a king for lunch... soup or salad plus a main plate for just 5 soles, which is less than $2). Avocados are as big as your face here, too. No joke.

And, yes, I have tried the cuy... as in guinea pig... and it is incredible. Texture of duck with the flavor of turky, quite surprising really. It even came with a little paw attached though I did request that the head be left off. You pass enough of those on the street everyday that its not such an "experience" anymore, its just annoying because it takes up space on your plate. I´m not concerned about my omnivore ways- I already plucked, skinned, and fried my own chicken on the Neverland farm (beak and claws included).

I´m working on putting up the newest photos and video I have from this city as well as our trip to Cusco and the infamous Machu Picchu. Unfortunately my camera has broken and I cannot take anymore photos as of right now until I either find someone to fix it or buy a new camera... kind of a bummer.

Oh yeah. Machu Picchu. :)
The running joke in Cusco is that the Spanish invasion took this land from the power of "Inca" to "Incapas"... which means the incapable. Really, in comparrison with any remanent of the Incan civilization, everything else here pales in comparrison.
Another interesting tidbit I found out is that the ruins of the Incan Empire at Machu Picchu are sinking due to excessive human traffic on the mountain (consider, approximately 5,000 people are let into the reserve every day). Apparently it´s already increased to nearly a centimeter a month (but, hey, it´s a tall mountain right?). Needless to say, the Peruvian government is preparing to close off the reserve in order to restore and restabilize the ruins.

Our trek started off with a day of mountain biking through the backroads between Cusco and Santa Maria. The group began above cloud level and wound down until we were submerged in subtropical heat and humidity... not to mention swarms of nasty, evil sandflies (remember that one picture of my legs from the farm... ick). The following days we hiked for approximately 7 hours each day, working our way through the small pueblos between Cusco and Aguas Calientes which is the tourist trap city situated at the foot of Machu Picchu. The first day of hiking from Santa Maria to Santa Teresa as well as the last day at the actual site of Machu Picchu makes you realize that probably the reason the Spaniards erradicated the Incas once they found them was becuase they were so pissed off at how impossible the paths are to trek... Andrea and I nearly died. Then you stop and think about how the Incan messangers ran these paths everyday and realize that the joke "from Inca to incapas" isn´t so funny anymore now that you´re a qualifier in the latter of the categories...
The first hiking day was all jungle and mountain... which really means narrow and steap. The second day flattened out a bit and we got to follow the train tracks. The third day was Machu Picchu itself.

I´m actually running late though to wake up Andrea and go to a museum so, for now, I´ll leave this to be continued (eep! sorry!)

Miss you all. I send my love.

Arriba, Abajo, Al Centro, Adentro! Cheers to Lima!!

2009-11-06T09:36:00.000-08:00

Lima is for lovers.

2009-11-01T12:56:00.000-08:00

No offense to Ecuador but I couldn´t have gotten to Peru soon enough.

Contrary to much of the advice Andrea and I received, we decided to leave Ecuador behind and head for Lima. Most of our plans for Ecuador had spiraled out of control and, to top it off, university students had begun rallying in every major city to protest President Correa´s new education laws. Major streets and highways were closed off as students marched in protest and police blockades of the students were inciting violence in some places.

I´m glad we went to Ecuador, I´m pleased with my experiences on the Neverland farm (where Andrea and I survived our first Earthquake, a tarantula in our room, and a mountain fire evacuation that turned out to be nothing much at all), and I will never forget the kindness of the Valenzuela family for taking Andrea and I in when everything was falling apart... but there is something about Lima that captivates me in a way Ecuador never did.

The peruvian coastline is blinding in the afternoon sun. Mountainous sand dunes cascade into the ocean. Lima´s traffic is wretched and all day long swarms of people crowd the sidewalks so much so that you often find yourself forced into the streets dodging buses and taxis. But there is a vibrance to this city that resonates in the jubilance of the people. I am in love with the colors, the architecture, the climate, the music, the food. We´ve taken a tour of the catacombs of the Catedral San Fransisco, celebrated ¨Semana de Lima¨ with live music and dancing in the Plaza de Armas, and toured the city´s bus routes on our way to and from Miraflores and the boardwalk. Last night our new friends from the hostel took us clubbing for Halloween (oh the eighties music...) and we partied with the best of Peru haha!

Tomorrow we head south to a beachtown that is most popular for sandboarding in the dunes. Then we will travel to Cusco for Machu Picchu and a trip into the Amazon. Hopefully we will return to Lima before leaving for Argentina. I really do love this city.

More updates soon. Until then, all my love.

We quit the fica, built a table, and found the waterfall.

2009-10-24T11:46:00.000-07:00

My sincerest apologies for not updating... things have been a bit hectic as of late. We are currently making plans to head to Peru to see Machu Picchu and the Amazon. I promise a full update as soon as the planning chaos subsides... here are some photos from the farm in the meantime.

All my love.

The story, as of now, told backwards.

2009-10-10T09:22:00.000-07:00

¨As for those who so exalt incorruptibility, inalterability, I believe they are brought to say these things through their great desire to live a long time and through the terror they have of death. And not considering that, if men were immortal, these men would not have had an opportunity to come into the world. They would deserve to encounter a Medusa´s head, which would transform them into statues of jasper or of diamond, to make them more perfect than they are... And there is not the slightest doubt that the Earth is far more perfect, being, as it is, alterable, changeable, than is it were a mass of stone, even if it were a whole diamond, hard and impenetrable.¨
Galileo Galilei, Dialogo sopra i due massimi sistemi

Andrea and I are back inVilcabamba for the weekend in order to use the internet and purchase some necessities to take back to Neverland Farm. It´s a sleepy town sunk deep in a crevice of an expansive mountain range (part of the southern Ecuadorian Andes). We´re deep south- close to Peru. (I can smell the guinea pigs already, haha.) Vilcabamba is known as the town where everyone grows young but their fountain of youth secret remains safely treasured in the soul of this valley. This is the cultural center of Ecuador. This, the Loja Valley, is where poets and writers and artisans of all crafts find their muse, their ambition, their energy.

Tomorrow morning we will bus back down to Tumianuma (un pueblito home to no more than 100 people) and, from Tumianuma, hike through mountain trails for about 45 minutes to reach our farm.
Maybe you would like to know a bit about this ¨Neverland¨farm...
First thing every morning when I wake up, I take a quick bath- feels more like a baptism with how shocking the cold water is to my nerves- in the river that runs alongside the farm. Sometimes I gather the passion fruit which has fallen off the trees overnight. It´s become my new favorite snack. The volunteers make breakfast together. Sometimes we milk the cow and we always have to collect the eggs from the chicken coop (though so far the hens have been very lazy with their production). Lunch is prepared for us (by Sylvia who is mentioned just below) and is ALWAYS fantastic. Afternoons are ours to relax and explore the land. There are hiking trails, swimming holes, and Andrea and I have learned to saddle and ride a horse on our own!
We work in the morning with an Ecuadorian couple who is tending the land while the farm´s owner, Tina, is visiting the states. Honestly, we´re only had one real work day because the past week everyting was in transition- all the old volunteers left and a new bunch (including Andrea and I) arrived. My family is going to make fun of me but so far, we´ve just cleared huisache (they call it fica) from a cow pasture. Yes, I´m rolling my eyes with you.
We´ve been collecting alot of produce from all around the farm- tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, avodados, onion, sweet limes, cilantro, basil, wild blackberries, and pinapple to name a few. I´m learning about farm life around here from Andres.
*phew* I could say so much more but I´m already rambling.

We will be here for about 3 more weeks and then Andrea and I are relocating to a cacao farm much closer to Guayaquil. There we will be tending the banana plantations and learning how to make artesanal chocolate.

I already have a new amazing bread recipe.

My mind still feels flooded by this experience. I´m not entirely convinced that these memories later on in life will ever seem anything other than a dream. I am learning things bit by bit. You can try to change the world or you can let the world try to change you but to demand perfection, in either regard, would be to completely miss the point.

Hasta luego, mis queridos. I miss you all and love you dearly.

I play with machetes and the chickens eat dog food.

2009-10-09T17:32:00.000-07:00

Andrea siempre esta´cocinando.

El cielo por la noche.

Yo, claro.

El gallo y el perro (Stewbie).

Lo que comemos.

El jardin.

2009-10-09T16:12:00.000-07:00

Maybe seeing is believing but I´ve been on this farm for the past five days and still I feel as if I´m transcending reality.

For the weekend, Andrea and I are in Viacabamba, a small sleepy town hidden in the southern region of the Ecuadorian Andes. So far we´ve spent five days on our first WWOOF farm, ¨Neverland Farm¨, and have already befriended 9 WWOOFers, 3 dogs, 3 cats, 3 kittens, 3 chickens, 3 horses, 1 cow and its calf, a rooster, and a donkey.

I´m not sure how to begin again from where I left off so, for now, I´ll just post some photos.

Exhaling

2009-10-04T12:25:00.000-07:00

Estamos en Ecuador. Ya visitamos Quito y Guayaquil y no podemos descansar. *WHEW*

Starting out in Ecuador has been a whirlwind experience. It´s physically the most diverse *small* country in South America- we´ve crossed mountain passes, seen plains expanding with banana plantations, and curretly are situated between the tributaries of the Rio Guayas.

Our time in Quito was short but our hostel, a "little Europe", was really wonderful... it spoiled us with its complimentary roof-top-terrace breakfast the two mornings we were there. Andrea and I hiked nearly the entire Old Town our first morning in Ecuador. In hindsight, that was a daring move to make considering we were not yet acclamated to the altitude and every single street is a "montanita" which somehow always progress at an incline until you give up walking, get a taxi, and he turns the next corner to reveal the *only* street that descends. "Que lastima!" I will say (and Andrea would absolutely agree) aside from the Oswaldo Guayasamin museum, our favorite part of the day was breaking for lunch. We DEVOURED a local dish... sopa de pappas con aguacante y queso (potato soup with avocado and cheese). One thing is for sure, I will be leaving South America nine months from now with a notebook dedicated to recipes detailing the flavors of this continent.

The second day (Saturday) we left the hostel after breakfast and departed on what we were told would be a six hour bus ride to Guayaquil. HA! The journey was not only considerably longer than six hours (okay, only nine but still!) but apparently we reserved the "supermarket" bus- se vende TODO! First, we received nearly an hour lecture on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle which included details on the health benefits of ginseng (an ingrediant, of course, contained within the suppliment tablets for sale). Nearly every hour on the hour began with another passenger standing up, delivering his sales pitch, and passing out the items for sale. The more pushy ones simply shoved their items into your hand and then demanded your cash. I solved this problem by conveniently falling asleep everytime someone "had an announcement to make". Yeah, some announcement- "senoras y senores, por favor, dame su dinero". Indeed.

Guayaquil has felt the most hospitable thanks to the generousity of family friends who have taken both Andrea and I in as if we were their own daughters, sisters, granddaughters. My grandmother put us in contact with her dear friend, Alegria Valensuela, and she, her daughter, and her granddaughter picked us up from the bus terminal when we finally arrived in the city last night. She fed us grilled cheese sandwhiches for dinner, made us hot chocolate, and demanded we finish the last of the cake she had prepared that morning- life is rough, right? Today, Maria, one of Alegria´s daughters, took us on a tour of the city. Guayaquil is the economic ceter of Ecuador, so very modern (expecially compared to colonial Quito) and industrial/high tech. Andrea and I are both eager to arrive at the farm, though. City life is great but also exhausting and offers little to no sense of stability.

I´m trying to upload photos but blogger and I aren´t getting along so well. Let´s hope I win this battle.

Hasta luego, mis queridos.