sachawasi

our garden


Top floor of Bruno´s house...pretty nice yoga spot eh?


Dave and I at the farm:)


afternoon chilling


views of the rainforest


another rain forest view


Dave with two of the farms inhabitants:)


an example of how big the bugs are here


pinapples grow here!


community lunch time


homemade salsas and mole, courtesy of Carlos (from Columbia)


coffee beans in the grinder, fresh from the plant, before shelling


fresh picked coffee beans, shelled, and drying in the sun

Hello!
I´m really excited to be writing right now because I thought we would be out of contact for a while, seeing as we are a bit secluded right now. But, lo and behold, the town of Apolo, about a 4 hours walk from the farm where we are working, has fast internet! Pretty exciting. I only have a little time to write before getting moving back to the farm, so, here it goes. After a long 14 hour busride to Apolo from La Paz (including one flat tire and a 3 year old falling asleep on my lap) Dave and I arrived in Apolo, a small village on the boarder of Parque National Madidi, in the northern Bolivian Amazon. We came here to go volunteer on a farm we found through WOOF called Sachawasi. After a 1.5 hour taxi ride we arrived at our destination. Sachawasi is a wonderful place! We really are living in the middle of the rainforest...and I´ve got the mosquito bites to prove it. There are people from all over the world woofinf at the farm: France, Columbia, Argentina, Belgium, Mdagascar, New Zealand, and Korea, to name a few. Some people at the farm speak English, but we try to speak Spanish for most of the day, as this is the only language everyone has in common!
This is what a typical day looks like for us:
-Wake up around 7:15, when Bruno (the farm´s owner) comes into the tent area (we are camping) with his drum to wake us up
-breakfast until 8 or 8:15 (usually porridge with a api, a berry drink made out of fruit from the farm)
-8:30...self run work time, we do lots of projects, ranging from picking and grinding coffee, to working on a adobe oven project, to planting banana trees, to shelling peas or cutting up veggies for lunch
- mid day, snack time, there are tons of banana and orange trees on the property, and you can eat as many as you want!
- lunch time around 2...amazing food from the garden, cooked by victor,a crazy wonderful man from Canada who has worked as the farms cook for over 5 months
- rest of the day...chilling! We lounge in the sun and read, nap, or receive spanish lessons from one more experienced spanish speakers... sometimes we go down to the river and go swimming (the river is also where we wash ourselves...no showers here!) I do a yoga practice in the afternoon on the top floor of Brunos house, overlooking the rainforest:)
-night time: Dinner is around 7:30, and is usually prefaced by music, tea, and sometimes orange wine that Bruno makes himself. We usually head to bed around 10 to get ready for the next day!

So thats about it folks, we are meeting some wonderful people here, eating great food and really enjoying ourselves! One of the drawbacks, definatly is the bugs...but we have been really careful...I´m wearing long sleeves, long pants, and a scarf 24 7 because I don´t want to be tearing apart my skin.

Dave want´s to write a bit so I´m going to turn it over to him...

Hey gang. So two days ago, the owner of the farm, Bruno, came up to me. He asked me if I liked to eat meat. I said sure and then he motioned for me to follow him. Everyone else (I later learned) knew what was in store for me but I had no idea; I just thought the question was for almuerzo that day. So we walked over to where we had been keeping the horses, and only the brown, smaller horse was there. He told Carlos and I to help him bring the horse down onto its knees, which was a pain in the butt and I also got bucked a few times as the horse didn´t want to go down without a fight. Once the horse was down and Bruno pulled out a knife, I knew that this wasn´t going to be a ¨playing with the horse¨ session. He said a few words of prayer under his breathe before slicing the horse´s throat open as Carlos and I held the dying, bucking horse down. The noise coming out of his throat made you gringe, sounding similar to a wheezing, smoker´s cough. I kind of had left my body at that point and didn´t totally realize what was happening, more of feeling like I was going through the motions. Carlos was very much upset and left soon after the horse had died, while I stayed with Bruno to skin the animal and get the meat. Bruno had originally bought the horse in order to mate it with a donkey to get mules for carrying goods to and from town. But the horse was too small and since Bruno wanted meat, that is why the horse was taken down. Bruno would rather harvest his own meat from cows, sheep or other animals than buy it from a carneceria for ¨he doesn´t want another person killing an animal for him¨. Yet, I didn´t feel to overly horrible after the horse was dead and we were harvesting his meat. Without the lifeforce and energy of the living animal anymore, carving him up felt just like any other job. But the main point of this whole thing is if someone asks you if you eat meat, ask them why do they want to know!

pictures from La Paz

La Paz is such a cool place, we thought we´d upload some pictures of some of the places we´ve been exploring over the past few days...

At the coca museum in La Paz...we learned all about the coca plant (that is used here for altitude sickness and for improved strength) we also learned about the bad side of the coca plant, cocaine, and what the bolivian people are doing to combat the drug trade.


goddess of coca


city of la paz from above


one of the crazy streets of La Paz...whew its busy!


La Paz has tons of awesome street art!

Bolivia at last!

pictures go from bottom to top again...scroll up to see them in sequence!
There are also some cool pictures of the streets of La Paz...but they won´t load for some reason! That will have to wait till next time:(


local fabrics on sale in La Paz...the local women use these to make elaborate skirts


another picture from the witch markets, these little bottles house good luck charms for everything you can imagine!


baby lama fetuses at the witch market in la paz, legend has it that locals bury these under their houses to ward off evil spirits


one last shot of lake titicaca....goregous:)


la luna sobre la isla del sol


sunset from camp


algae nearby our campsite...mmmm


camp spot found. Beautiful!


ancient ruins on the Isla del Sol


Over look of lake Titicaca on the Isla del sol


On the boat to the Isla del sol (Island of the sun)


pink church in Copacabana


the city of Copacabana from above


Some cool cacti at a hip local coffee shop in Copacabana


Bolivians decorate their vehicles with flowers for good luck and safe journeys


the goregous cathedral in Copacabana


one last photo from huaraz...our favorite late night snack...sex burger!


Hola faithful followers!
Dave and I have found ourselves in La Paz, after several long bus rides, strange fiascos with boarder officials, and a goregous stay at Lake Titicaca. Since our last entry, Dave and I left Huaraz aboard an overnight bus, and stayed in Lima for 4 days, treating ourselves to a nice hostel, and buying some much needed items that we have been neglecting for a while. I needed some new shirts (wearing the same 5 shirts for the past 4 months was getting a little repetative) and we also stocked up on some of our favorite teas, soaps, and other ¨luxury items¨ that we were afraid we might not be able to find in Bolivia. The next few days were a whirlwind of bus rides through Arequipa, and to the boarder of Bolivia, where we decided to take a whole day of buses and try and make it through the boarder before dark. We made it to the boarder just as dark hit, but forgot to account for the time change between Bolivia and Peru (Bolivia is one hour ahead) and we exited Peru and arrived at the Bolivian immigration office just as the immigration official was locking up shop. At first he gave us a hard time and told us to go back to Peru (which was absurd because we had just exited the country and their immigration office was about to close as well), but eventually through excessive pleading and batting of the eyelashes, he told us we could stay the night in Copacobana and return to the immigration office in the morning. We exchanged our money in town, found a quiet hostel, and crashed for the night.
The next morning when we arrived back at immigration (carrying our packs, which we thought they might want to check...but of course they didn´t) they charged us an extra $5, in addition to the $135 that Americans have to pay for a visa, because they ¨did us a favor¨the night before by letting us enter the country without a visa. We were a bit annoyed, but we have heard other Americans have been given a much harder time, so we were grateful that we weren´t asked for more money. We were given a 90 day visa, and were not required to give them all the paper work that we so diligently prepared in the states for our entry. It seemed that they were not really concerned about the legality of our entry, only our money. Such is life.
We spent a day and a half wandering around copacabana, meeting some interesting travelers at our hostel, and preparing for our trip to the isla del sol, a 1.5 hour boatride away, across lake titicaca, where we were told we could camp and enjoy the scenery for a pretty affordable price. We met another american from brookline, MA on the boat who worked from home and was traveling while working on his blackberry. He said that his boss was getting suspicious because all of his work phone calls were international, and he has been sending e-mails at strange hours. It was fun to meet another traveler from so close to where I grew up!
The island turned out to be a total gringo zone, with tons of vendors selling goods, and tons of wanderers from all over the world. We were happy to duck off the trail (after seeing the famous ruins) and seek out a private campsite for the evening. We spent the day in the sun, reading, relaxing, and taking pictures from our camp in our private bay.
The next day (yesterday) we headed back to Copacabana on the first boat of the day (after running down a steep hill with packs on in order to make it in time!). I went out for lunch while Dave did some exploring, and met a man who is traveling around the world by bike! He is from Ireland and his next country to explore will be the states. I pointed him in the direction of Oregon and recommended some bike routes for him... he is in for a treat!
After lunch we caught a bus to La Paz, a goregous ride along Lake Titicaca. About 2 hours into the ride, we had to get off the bus with no explanation...it turned out we were going to be crossing lake Titicaca by barge in order to acess the highway that ran to La Paz. It was funny watching our bus floating on the lake (on the barge) from a motorboat across the way.
When we finally made it to La Paz, we were greeted by 3 local policemen at the bus station who insisted on hailing a taxi for us. La Paz can be a very dangerous city, especially at night...and they have ¨tourist police¨ who roam the streets at night helping tourists find their way and not end up in sketchy situations. When they hailed us a taxi, they took down the drivers plates and everything...there have been reported incidents of drivers taking tourists for a joy ride outside of the city and then robbing them; keeping track of where the taxis are going is a measure that the local police have taken to combat it. We thought that the police were a bit neurotic, but we were quickly proven wrong when 2 people tried to enter the vehicle (one through the trunk, and one through the side door) presumably to try and steal our backpacks. Luckily, all the doors were locked and we got to our hostel safe and sound. We were a bit shaken, however, and have been taking more precautions such as carrying our backpacks on our chests when out in the city, and I have been hiding my cash in my bra (hey...it works).
Today we explored the city a bit, and visited the famed ¨witch markets¨of La Paz. The women at the witch markets sell good luck charms of every variety, including llama fetuses, various sacred plants, and idols for worship. We spent some time talking to a woman who owned one of the stalls about the meaning of the charms, and she proved to be very informative! Our spanish is rapidly improving, and its fun to talk with street vendors about their wares to help improve our vocabulary and get to know the culture better.
We have found Bolivians to be just as friendly and charming as Peruvians, the majority of people we met today were not only informative, but concerned for our safety. They informed us of the areas to stay away from in the city, and one woman warned me to keep my camera hidden from sight. For all the ¨bad scary people¨ in this city, there are dozens who are wonderfully caring, and do their best to help keep you safe.
We will be spending the next 3 days in La Paz, seeing the sights, exploring, and gearing up for our next month, which we will be spending in its entirely in western Bolivia, outside of Parque National Madidi volunteering on a farm! If you are interested in what we will be doing, check out their website! http://www.sachawasi.org/eng/index_eng.html

Some other quick anctedotes:
-La Paz is the highest capital city in the world, measuring at 12,000 feet. Breathless climbing of stairs and up steep streets is definately a challenge.

-The world cup is in full swing and the people of south america LOVE IT. We have started watching the games on occasion, or asking people on the streets who is playing that particular day and what the score is, which is always a great way to start a conversation. The games are ALWAYS on, and its not unusual to see people lined up outside of a bar on the streets, blocking traffic, and watching the game. Also, Shakiras theme song for the world cup is also ALWAYS PLAYING, and although its a sweet song, its been stuck in my head for 3 days now and its starting to infiltrate my dreams. It´s a bit annoying.

- The Bolivian currency is the Boliviano, and 1 US dollar is equal to roughly 7 Bolivianos you can get a giant jugo for 6 Bolivianos, a room at a medium rate hostel for 20-25, and a nice, classy meal at a restaurant for 30. It´s a pretty cheap country to travel, for sure.

...thats all for now folks, hopefully more pictures to come in the next few days of the city of La Paz, and whatever else we happen upon!

much love,
Robin:)

The santa cruz trek!

Hello all!
This is just going to be a short post about our latest adventure, the Santa Cruz trek! It was good enough to deserve its own entry. Amanda, Dave and I have been staying in Huaraz together for the past 2 and a half weeks, going on day hikes, Spending a few days at Hatun Machay, and exploring the bars and local restaurants. We also decided that we would all like to do a multi day trek in the area. Arnold, who is Amanda´s friend from when she worked in Lima, is a local mountain guide, and recommended that we hike the Alpamayo trek, an 8 day trek through the gutsiest portion of the Cordierra Blancas. The hike is bastante (intense), so you need to hire burros(donkeys) and an aradyo (the guy who owns the donkeys) to carry your stuff. Andy, our couchsurfing host, offered to set us up with his aradyo who he uses for treking with clients, but we were having a lot of trouble getting in touch with him. Apparently he lives in a little village on the outskirts of Huaraz, and he only gets cell phone reception when he hikes down the hill every morning between 9and 10 am. We tried during this time frame and got no answer. We only had a day to prepare for the trek (buying food, packing clothes, buying maps, etc.) and we were starting to get frustrated when we still couldnt contact the aradyo at 11:00. We unanimously decided to go for the Santa Cruz trek, a much shorter trek (4-5 days), which is intense as well, but it is possible to do the trek with only backpacks (sin burros) and no guide. We spent the rest of the day buying 4 days worth of food (much easier) and getting prepped for our hike.
We took a long a bumpy busride to Parque National Huacaran, where the start of our hike was located. We had needed Park passes to enter the park, which we had bought in Huaraz, but me, being the smartie pants I am, left my park pass in my backpack, which was strapped to the roof of the bus. The whole bus had to wait while I begged in broken spanish (Por favor, me bolleto es arriba, sobre el techo, no puedo entrar!!!)for the bus driver to climb up on the roof and grab my backpack. I had to whine a lot and look sad. It worked. Our bus driver also kept stopping along the winding highway through the mountains to tighten the axles of the bus, and one time to change a flat. A little jolting, but we got there in one piece.
The first day of our trek took us through a farming village where we asked the locals directions to ranger station where we offically would start the trek. Along the way, a group of children came running after us shouting ¨Dame carremellos!¨(give me candy!) and when we wouldn´t ablige, one little girl followed Amanda and grabbed her butt repeatedly. It seems as though these kids are used to begging for candy and money from tourists on the trek, and they usually get it. They eventually left us alone.
During our trek, we felt pretty tough because most other people on the trek were traveling with guides who carried all of their stuff on donkeys, set up their camp and cooked them all their meals. All they had to do was walk and carry a bottle of water. On the other hand, in our case, we carried everything ourselves; stove, tents, sleepingbags, extra clothes, and all our food...about 40-50 pounds per person...and this is not easy when hiking at altitude. A lot of the people hiking with guides had never been on a backpacking trip, let alone hiked at altitude, so when we walked by them, they looked at us like we were crazy. But we felt cool.
During the hike we were also constatly chewing coca leaves, a remedy the the locals use to combat altitude sickness. You can buy a bolsa of leaves for 1 sole (33 cents) and you basically roll up a wad, stick it against your cheek in the back of your mouth and chew. The juices from the leaves help to combat headaches, stiff muscles and other symptoms. The guides all chew the stuff, and when they smile, they have green chunks stuck in their teeth. We were part of that club as well. The donkeys along the trek were pretty funny as well, as they were all carrying 35 kilos of gear, and obviously not happy about it. The aradyos would yell curses at them and make ¨tsk tsk tsk¨ noises to get them back on the trail when they would go wander off to munch on grass. At some of our camp sites they would wander away from another camp site and come to ours in search of food. The aradyo would always be close beind cursing and apologising for his stubborn donkeys.
The second day of our trek we went over a pass that is over 16,000 feet, higher than any point in the continental US. I was definately feeling the altitude, every few steps I had to stop and catch my breath, and my walking was getting a bit sloppy, but it was worth it from the view at the top! We had brought a little whiskey with us on the trek and we shared a celebretory toast with some of the other trekkers and guides at the top of the pass.
The following day we decided to take a side trek to the base of alpamayo, a huge mountain that we could see from town that has a gorgeous laguna at the base of it. We got to the refugio, where many climbers stay before they attempt to climb the mountain, and asked some local guides at the basecamp to watch our backpacks while we hiked the last half an hour to the lake. The guides asked us where we were from, and upon telling them that we were from the US, they informed us that 2 tents over, there was a climber from Colorado who was blind. Dave almost freaked out, because about a year ago he has seen a flim about a blind climber, named Erik Weihenmayer, who had climbed Everest and various other peaks around the world. He was really inspired by the movie, and before we left for our trip to South America, Dave had told my dad about the film. Chance would have it that my dad had given this man guitar lessons when he worked at BB&N, before Erik had gone into climbing professionally. We had thought that was a coincidence back then, but this was even crazier!
We wandered over to Erik´s tent and talked with him for a while about his climbing career, and of course, asked him if he knew my dad. He remembered him and told me to send him a hello! Crazy crazy coincidental small world.
The rest of our trek passed without a hitch; good food, card games in our tents, and laughing at stubborn donkeys that would wander into our camp. We got back to Huaraz mid day on Thursday and celebrated with some expensive local beers that we promised ourselves we would splurge on after the trek.

...Tomorrow Dave and I will part ways with Amanda and head to Lima, where we will spend a few days resting, resupplying, and gearing up for Bolivia. Our next post will probably be from Bolivia....we are sad to leave Peru (Peru is so wonderful!) but excited to see a new country, learn about new customs, and meet different types of people!

Be well all.... until next time!
-Robin:)



these pictures are in reverse order...start at the bottom and scroll to the top to see the pictures in the right order!


last sign of the trek...we made it!


burros...other groups used these to carry their bags...but we carried our own stuff!


Dave, trekking beast


the view from the tent we woke up to on our last day...


storm rolling in...


other views


laguna at the base of alpamayo


the paramount pictures mountain


campsite #2


glacier spotting




celebration at the highest pass on the trek...over 16,000 feet!


Amanda, the vaca whisperer


first day treking views


setting up camp on our first night