Peru and Beyond- finding my way around South America

Christmas has come and gone and now it is New Years Eve….. where does time go?

I have little time to write except that I am loving the colombian life…. together with my friend Laura from Cali in the south of Colombia we visted ancient tombs, hot springs, attempted to ride bikes down the beautiful rolling mountains, celebrated christmas, danced away to salsa during the city festival of salsa and now are preparing for the new year.

Its strange to think how quickly a year has passed. A decade has passed. It does not seem like long ago that we welcomed in the year 2000 with all the mystery it held. And here I am in Colombia…..

Bizarre. but loving it!

Wishing you all a brilliant start to the new year, you are in my thoughts!

Much love, G xxx

Again I am blown away by the beauty, starkness, harshness and just sheer diversity of another country, in fact the whole continent of South America.

After being stuck at the Bolivian border as it was closed due to Bolivian elections, I finally made it into La Paz. La Paz is literally breathtaking in all aspects. It is the worlds highest capital city, something which you sure notice walking up the hill. Or even just on a straight stretch of road. The altitude sure has its effects. Apart from that, La Paz is also just exhausting by its chaos. The traffic is horrible… there are a lot of cars and buses to squeeze in a small valley and the roads wind around, over and under each other everywhere. I ended up somehow spending a week in La Paz with an old friend my aunty used to work with. I could not have asked for better hospitality… my own little house, bathroom, cable TV, not to mention someone who could cook nice food and just be good company.

During my stay in La Paz I also ventured out to the countryside to some valley about 3 hours away. The town was called Coroico and it was perched halfway up a mountain which sloped steeply down to a river. I had been expecting sunshine, tropical plants and just some relaxing times away from the large an hectic city. Coroico was indeed stunning, yet funnily enough for a rainforest in the wet season, it rained the whole time! Still beautiful, but different to my expected sunny retreat.

I returned to La Paz and spent my time exploring the many different facets of bolivian life, from the little ladies at their stalls in the witches market selling dried animals of all varieties, amulets, special cactus juices, powders, pastes and all such things, to the rich life of the suburb of San Miguel, observing BMWs and mercedes drive past as I sip a coffee worth more than a 3 course meal I could have bought in a different area of time. Not only is South America a land of geographical contrasts, that between the wealthy and those with nothing is perhaps even more eyeopening.

A brilliant example is the very common setting at a bank. A homeless man, wrapped up in a plastic sheet-the best he can do for a blanket lies curled over the doorstep of the bank, just near the atm. He looks up pleadingly, yet automatically without hope and prepared for rejection, at those who rush by, quickly tucking away a wad of cash just withdrawn from the bank into the pocket of their expensive black tie attire. How a difference just one of those notes would make to his life, and how little significance a lack of one would make to the other is incredible. I realise I am just as bad though. I didnt give the beggar anything either.

Anyway, after a week in La Paz, I met up with two Aussie girls, one a volunteer from Peru and the other a friend of hers. Together with a canadian girl and a danish couple we began a three day tour in the south west of Bolivia. No trip would be complete without the mandatory epic bus trip, and this trip was no exception. 12 hours of bumpy and freeeeeeeezing bus fun! We then loaded up our jeep, were introduced to our driver and off we went.

We visited Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt fields in the world… great ancient lakes which were now endless white crusty salt fields. The sky radiated the most brilliant of blues, melting the white of the salt and combining as one. The mountains in the distances were mere blue smudges as the white stretched for seeming eternity. Mirages tricked the eye, was that an island? a mere dark patch? nothing at all?….. Halluciogenic, inspiring, scary and just so startling obsure. I have never seen anything like it. We visited an island in the middle of the salt field…. barren and dry except for hundreds of giant cacti. Truly out of this world! With the apparent lack of horizon, we had a lot of fun creating many optical illusions using objects such as a hat or shoe and placing them right up to the camera, while others stood far away seemingly inside the object. Very entertaining!!!

The next day was even more spectacular if possible. We drove through more salt which faded out into brown and golden sands of the desert. Amongst the desert we explored countless lagoons of the most incredible colours…. reds, greens, yellows, blues… all from the mineral rich surrounding earth. In the distance giant volcanos silently stood their ground, quite for now but ready to assert their authority at any given time. To top all this off, at the high 4500 metres that we were at, flocks and flocks of brilliant pink flamingos thrived in the lagoon, picking at the pink algae that sustains them and also gives them their colour. Simply majestic!

The desert and surrounding mountains later in the day reminded my very much of the aussie outback, in particular the flinders ranges in SA. Listening to the likes of Xavier Rudd, the Waifs and other aussies not scared to show their accents in their songs, Nicky my aussie friend and I had a moment or two of nostalgia. Yet then I realised just how hundred percent happy I was to be exactly where I was. Yes, it was a dry, harsh and impossibly cold and windy desert in the middle of nowhere in Bolivia, yet here I was with great people and on a great adventure. It was strange to feel so content in a place where I imagine many in different situations have felt far from that.

Awaking the next morning at an impossibly early hour, we left in the dark to then watch the sunrise at a volcanic site of geysers, volcanic mud and lots and lots of sulphur. Watching the sunlight filter through the clouds of white smoke spurting from the ground sure was a sunrise to remember! The day improved even more by ending up at the side of a large lagoon in a small rock pool of natural hot water. Watching the sun rise higher in the sky across the endless colours of the lagoon, the ice crusts of the main lake meeting the little hot river all complimented by the flamingos elegantly grazing their algae. It was a truly powerful moment. A moment of deep breaths and whispering wow, a moment of just thinking how nature is amazing and we live in a special special place in the universe.

After a morning so eventful I was dropped off at the southern tip of Bolivia at the border of Chile. Here, together with my canadian friend, we waited for another bus. This border was one of the most insignificant and invisible I have yet to see. No fence, only a little sign welcoming us to Chile. So much has been fought for borders just as irrelevant as this one. They mean nothing, yet somehow it felt rather substantial. On to another country and another adventure.

There is not much to say about Chile. I did not have enough time to visit the south, something that will have to wait for another time. We were impressed by the busses and the roads but that was about it. The people are different, less open and friendly. It is much richer and everything is more expensive. We stayed at a beach hostel and while it was nice, it was nothing special. The beach was comercial and city like, a bit like the glenelg we all like to avoid. I suppose I am just spoilt when it comes to beaches!

From Chile after a few days I got a series of buses and collectivos back to Lima in Peru, waiting for my flight up to Bogota, Colombia. It took a long time even though it was straight up along the coast. Crossing the border back into Peru I had a strange sensation of being home. I felt welcome and just like I knew where I was again. Funny how feelings can change so dramatically from when I first arrived!

I spent the last few days of my time in Peru in Lima. Its a hectic city, and has a reputation to be quite dangerous. While I didnt feel in danger at any point, I honestly couldnt really be bothered to see much. Lima is known as the grey city because it is always covered in a grey fog… a combination of pollution and mist coming off the sea. This lack of sunshine really really depressed me and made me quite lethargic. I really dont know how people survive without sunshine. I know I couldnt.

 I met up with a friend I went on exchange with in Germany when I was 16 and that brightened my mood significantly…. what are the chances of us both being in south america in the same city at the same time after not seeing each other for some 4 years or so.

So with another stamp in my passport showing my last exit from Peru I made my way to fly to Bogota in Colombia. sitting in the airport I tried to remember just how different things were 4 months ago when I first arrived. I will miss Peru and all those who made it so special. Peru was my home for some time, and that is something I will not forget….

Adios!

For those of you not on facebook, I have a link to some photos of my time here…. if you click on it you should get straight to the album.

Love from Colombia.

p.s i WILL get up to date with this blog again soon. xxx

http://picasaweb.google.com/herwclan/TheSouthAmericanAdventuresOfGeraldineInShort?feat=directlink

Sitting here in a little Internet café I realise I could be anywhere in Peru, in fact probably in most places in the World, oh how technology has spread. A peruvian is sitting next to me playing some violent video game or other, while to my other side, obviously he has no computer at home and is therfore happy to spend a considerable amount of his earnings to feed his addiction. On the radio the song I come from the land downunder by men at work is playing. They love that song here, and as much as I hated it, I cant help but smile and feel a little twinge of homesickness and memories of my land and people downunder. 

Anyway, I am currently stranded in southern Peru in Puno, a town we once visited before. We had no intention of being here, instead I was planning on quickly crossing the border to Bolivia and into La Paz, but unfortunatly the bus companies failed to tell us the border was closed due to elections when we wanted to cross it. So I´ve been doing nothing but wait around and have decided I have no excuse to not catch up on a once again long over due blog post.  Its funny how the last entry I wrote was about the weekend I had spent in Puno and now I am here once again for a completely different reason. Since that weekend in Puno, which was almost a month ago, many things have happened and many places were visited. 

The following weekend we went to Arequipa, again in southern Peru. Arequipa is a desert city resting at the foot of a tower volcano named Misti. It has a lot of spanish influence, making for a very pretty city indeed. In fact, the Paza de Armas is said to be one of the nicest in South America. It wasnt hard to see why. The buildings and cathedrals are made entirely of white volcanic stone sourced nearby, giving Arequipa the nickname of ciudad blanco, or the white city. We visited an amazing monastry, an entire little city tucked away from the real world. We also visted Juanita the ice mummy, a little girl who had been sacrificed at the top of the volcano and was then preserved perfectly in ice. Very creepy but fascinating! 

Arequipa is classy and clean. Many beautiful restaurants and pubs and clubs line the central streets, and we had a lot of fun. Perhaps less classy but just as effective was a place called Tacos and Tequila, where we had both in large quantities. We then left on a 3 am bus onwards to Caño de Colca, or colca canyon. Cañon de colca is famous for its depths (in places deeper than the grand canyon) and the majestic condors. We had plans to experience both!! After a horrific bus trip involving me having my head out of the window most of the time and sitting next to the rather sleazy driver at the front, we arrived at the starting point for our hike.  

Following veteran volunteers advice we opted to not go with a tour and simply follow a rough map we had recieved from a shop. We walked down into the canyon, then back up halfway passing through several towns and finally arriving just as the night fell at a place correctly named Eden or the Oasis. Swimming pools, food and beds. We were in heaven! We woke up at 5 the next morning and climbed back out of the canyon, ascending 1600 vertical meters in about 3 hours. Not a bad effort at all. The weekend finished with more visits to Tacos and Tequila and watching the sun set from our rooftop hostel balcony before our night bus back home to Cusco.

Another weekend Laura (my cusco housemate) and two other girls we worked with at the orphanage decided to spend a weekend in a desert Oasis about 15 hours away from Cusco. The night we left happened to be Thanksgiving in the states, so Laura convinced us all to go out with her to a typical thanksgiving dinner. The restaurant was full of nostalgic americans and I felt almost ashamed to speak with my aussie accent. The turkey however was delicious, as were the roast veggies, macaroni and cheese, mashed potato…… I could go on for a while. 

Anyway apart from the pain of having eaten massive amounts and then being stuck on a bus for 15 hours, nothing eventful to report until we realised we had driven straight past the town we were meant to get off at. No problems, the bus lady tells us as she drops us off at some desert grifo (pertrol station) in the middle of nowhere, there are plenty of busses going back the other way. We struggled to find these buses and ended up getting in some van back to Ica, about an hour away. Huacachina, the oasis town, is about 10 minutes away from Ica and the coast, however for all you know it could be kilometres out in the middle of nowhere.

Surrounded by towering sanddunes at every angle, there is a small lagoon around which a small town has been built. The sun was shining and the sky a brilliant blue, who could ask for more. We found a hostel right on the lagoon for about 5 bucks. Swimming pool included. Gotta love Peru. The weather and location was perfect for relaxing and doing nothing  much at all. We read books, went swimming and ate mangos poolside. Climbing up the sanddunes for sunset ended the day beautifully. The next day we did much the same, except for an afternoon of sandboarding and a dune buggy ride as well. Brilliant fun.

We returned to Cusco Monday morning, or more so noon, as our bus had a 5 hour delay due to a breakdown. I nursed a delightful sunburn and am still peeling of the skin now…. apart from the few hiccups, once again I returned in awe at the beauty and vastness of Peru and all the different landscapes and experiences it has to offer. 

I wound up my last week in Cusco saying goodbye to just about everyone. I found myself picking up my laundry and saying goodbye to the laundry lady, walking past certain buildings thinking that was the last time I would do that, eating a last empanada from the street vendor, buying one last chocolate… I could go on and on. I went back to Calca, my old home for two months and stayed with that family for a few days. More goodbyes and last glimpses of places and people that had made my time there such a home. After teary goodbyes with my dear cusco family, I stayed in a Cusco hostel with all the other volunteers for one last big night out, and also for Tessas, one of the project abroad staff, birthday. Walking back from the clubs as the sun was once again rising, I couldnt help think once more that again this was another one of those “last time” moments.  I spent most of yesterday on a bus to what I thought was going into La Paz, Bolivia, only to find the border was closed for some reason or other and I would have to wait in Puno until Monday.

 So this is my last post from Peru, and I cant deny just how sad the thought of leaving Peru is making me. As hard as some moments have been, especially at first, I have come to love this place, the people and the country with all my heart. I know have three months of travel ahead of me. Three months of living out of backpacks and moving from one place to the other. So, heres to the “beyond” part of my blog…. and who knows where I will find myself.

 BUT…. just to keep the mother happy, here is just a small outline of my plans so far.

La Paz on the 8^th, stay the week there until the weekend, then cross into Chile via the Uyuni saltplains. Spend some time in San Pedro, the atacama desert, maybe explore some beaches and such in northeren Chile.

Return to Lima on the 20^th or 21^st.

Fly to Bogota, colombia on the 22^nd.

Fly to Brazil around the 10^th or 15^th January

Travel south down the coast and eventually inland to Iguazu falls, cross the border to Argentina.Argentina for the remaining few weeks until I fly to sydney on the 23^rd of February, spend a few days there maybe and then home for beginning of March.  

So my love to you all, hope your enjoying the summer the best you can, till next time! xxxxxG