So i spent the last week or so around Lake Titicaca. Copacabana, on the Bolivia side was a really nice place where I got to splash out in some luxury. Altho recommended, i found the Isla del Sol tour to be quite a waste of money. But i also took a 2 day island tour on the Peru side, from Puno, which i loved. We saw the reed islands, which is like nothing else i´ve ever seen - people living on these islands made of reeds. Then onto Isla Amanti, where we stayed with a family. The house was built of [View Full Entry]

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I am gonna let the pictures do most of the talking on this one. Cusco I found to be quite the shopper paradise- lots of textiles. I fell in love with this one type of scarf, as you will see from the pictures. Took a tour through the Sacred Valley, visiting the cute town of Ollyantaytambo before ending up at Aquas Calientes, at the base of Macchu Picchu. Had no idea i would love Aquas. Towering forested mountains with a river flowing through. I see a pattern here. Give me warm, humid, rainforest mountains and a river, and i am in [View Full Entry]

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So we last left our little gypsy happily in Lima. The 2nd day there, i watched the changing of the guard in the plaza de armas. Way cool! Then revisited some plazas and discovered China town, took a tour of an old cathedral, and dipped in for a few minutes to watch the mass. Another delightful day. Day 3 caught up to me tho. Caught the bus to Miraflores to revisit the American shops and Starbucks. Couldn't help but end up at Chillis where the nachos delivered me my 2nd bought of food poisoning. Couldn't believe it! Up all night with [View Full Entry]

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So after 2 weeks at Amazoonico, carrying ridiculously heavy buckets of food and fruit on my back and being dirtier than you can imagine, i headed to Vilcabamba, Ecuador, on my way south to Peru. I had planned to spend one night in Vilcabamba and then move on. 3 days later, i was still there. Not like i even liked Vilcabamba much. nothing much there. But, can we say SPA? dear god, the hostal had a SAUNA!, jacuzzi, steam room, pool, hammocks and a cute manager who walked around topless- bonus! . And the best yet, there was a massuese down [View Full Entry]

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So i finished up my time at Amazoonico. I liked it so much that i will try to come back at the end of my trip. Spent my birthday lying in a hammock listening to an Amazonian rainstorm. the best. The experience really defies explanation, so i will just note a few entries from my journal to let you soak it up with me. 9-11-06 Love it here. The work is hard, my knees hurt from carrying the weight of heavy buckets and fruit on my back, the itching from the sandflies is enough to drive anyone mad, but after work [View Full Entry]

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Hey folks, thanks for the comments! So i wrapped up my shivering and my Spanish lessons in Cuenca, and sadly said goodbye to my teacher. Caught a bus to Macas, and once again was just mesmerized by amazing scenery. Lush green, towering mountains, waterfalls, clouds at eye level. the first 6 out of a 9 hour bus ride flew by! Macas was a hole, as was Puyo, so i quickly headed up to Tena, the base for my last volunteer experience, to revel in the heat. From Tena, i took an hour long bus ride and then a 10 minute canoe [View Full Entry]

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So i am in Cuenca, Ecuador now. have been taking Spanish lessons since last tuesday. I was liberated with a clean bill of health on Friday the 11th of August, and hopped immediately on a bus south. Ended up in Banos, where i had planned to stay 2 weeks to study Spanish. i hadn´t booked a hostal ahead because i was told there were plenty. So i arrived in Banos with a few recommendations, my guide book and a very heavy pack. I was turned away by no less than 7 hostals, who refused to rent me a room because i [View Full Entry]

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Well, the truth is, i didn´t want to worry anyone, but for the last 3 weeks, my life has been wrapped up in a medical issue. A year ago i had an abnormal mammogram that the doctors have been watching. On May 30, two weeks before my plane left for SA, i had another mammo. the previous condition was unchanged, but there was an additional nodule. Biopsy recommended. (yes, i know mom and dad, you are going to kill me). Being the lovely inhuman, complicated medical system we have in the USA, they told me they couldn´t possible get one in [View Full Entry]

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So let's see. where did i leave off. can't make the question mark work on this keyboard, so you'll have to use your imagination. i made one final trip to Tena to get some clean clothes. feels like a miracle after having soggy wet clothes that never dry in the jungle. Said my goodbyes to my volunteer station and caught a bus to Baeza, to revisit my girl Mia and my favorite place in Ecuador, the Magic Roundabout hostal. Kendall, a fellow volunteer came with me for some R and R, and we caught the bus with 2 other volunteers who [View Full Entry]

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Hello all, here's another update from Amazonia. I did try the local hallucenagenic, hayawasca, but so afraid of barfing, i took it in small little doses, so i didn't throw up, but i also didn't have any efffects from it. oh well. Last sunday our volunteer coordinator arranged a local visit to a community living right across the river. We entertained the kids while the locals prepared lunch for us. The kids were so sweet. one little boy adopted me. he came and sat on my lap, holding my hand. he loved my bracelet that i'd been wearing, so i put [View Full Entry]

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