Lacy

Cassie's mom was freaking out. Cassie tried to explain the situation, I had found the place on the internet, and I cant read spanish, but the giant white dome looked awesome. They had a garden and did sustainable building, plus free yoga classes after work. Not to mention, 3 vegetarian meals a day included! I hadnt really looked over the website too well, or it would have been very obvious.... We were volunteering at a Hare Krishna place. Cassie's mother believes they are a cult and was extremely worried about her poor daughter being brainwashed, even other members of her family were contacting her to make sure she made it out alive. But they were nice people, didnt try to brainwash us at all. And the dome really was a very cool building.... Cassie's mother suggested ... read more

Another 20 hour bus ride, another city. Arrived in Buenos Aires in the mid morning. Cassie and I took a taxi to a hostal in the Palermo Soho District called Vanilla House. Did the typical first day in the city tour, walking around exploring. Met a cool lady from London who was dating an Argentinian (not sure how well that works out) who had a huge pup, great dane mastiff mix. Really made me miss my big dog at home. Enjoying giant doors and more elaborate architechture on all the buildings. The city is very European feeling. We ended up taking the subway to the downtown area. Strange people wander up and down the isles of the subways, busses and trains around this city trying to sell random items, such as a box of colored pencils, ... read more

This is a 1 horse kind of town. Actually, we saw 4 horses, so we kept changing the name with each additional horse that came into view. We were walking down the street singing out loud, ¨Oh just wandering around a 1 hourse town, I mean a 2 horse town.... na na na.¨Ect.... Puerto Pyramides is a 4 horse town. There are 300 residents, and the town itself is located in a rounded bay on Reserve Valdez, a island-shaped peninsula connected to mainland Argentina by a small sliver of desolate land. The entire island is covered in short drouht tolerent shrubs. Kids run amuk, shooting up and down the street on suped up quads and little go-carts. Many of them carrying groceries and such, but others, obviously just trying to have some fun. The police station ... read more

The cab driver helped me put my backpack on, then extended his finger down the dirt road in front of us. We had already been driving down unmarked, unmaintained dirt roads for about 20 minutes. I had no idea if I was in the right place, partially because I was unsure If my communication was correct, and partially because there were no signs anywhere. By this time it was pitch black, with thick bush on either side and above. Luckily I had a head lamp for light. I headed down the road with a full pack, a small day pack over my belly, and my purse, stocked full of groceries and my essentials, thrown over one shoulder. I walked down towards the river and saw a road crowded with cars, several of them had been there ... read more

Left early on March 2nd from Santiago, for a short 7 hour bus ride into Argentina. I was pretty dissapointed to have to cut the Chile portion of my trip so short, but with the Earthquake, the roads going South to where I originally planned on heading were closed. With no luck finding an organization to volunteer at, and the devastation of the area, I was ready to leave Santiago. The bus ride was so beautiful, we drove twisted roads up and over the Andes, with the border being right at the top (or so it seemed), with stunning views of jagged, ice capped peaks surrounded by dancing clouds. It was a great way to enter Argentina. I got to Hostal Lagaras in Mendoza, which was great and spent the first day, like most first days, ... read more

Well, I left the hostal in Arequipa at about 7am on Feb. 26, headed to the bus station, and rode for 7 hours to Tacna, the Peruvian Border town. I found three British girls who looked more lost than I was. I dont know how that worked out, but I congregated with them and we found a guy who could drive us over the border in a collectivo, or shared taxi. We walked across the street to the International Bus station and sat around for a few minutes, filling out forms and wondering if we were actually going to make it. Eventually, another guy came and led us outside to a cab, where another girl was waiting. So, 6 people in a taxi, that seems safe. Not to mention the cab was actually a beat up ... read more

Arequipa Walked around Arequipa all day with some friends that I met at the hostal, a couple from San Diego, Mike and Jackie. A English guy, Jeremy who is currently living in Ireland. And another lady, Penni, from England. They had all been volunteering in Pisco rebuilding homes and helping the communities. The White city def. lives up to its name. Beautiful Spanish colonial arcitecture, with the most elaborate buildings made of the white volcanic stone from the area. The churches and government buildings are covered in carvings and molds, with huge columns. We ended up checking out several markets and doing some souvenier shopping and pricing. Looking at everything from sweaters, hats, scarves, slippers, bags, everything you can think of as a Peruvian export. Asking the price at most the places, we would always ... read more

Travelling to Arequipa from Lima started out with a bang, literally. I got dropped off at the bus station and was wandering around trying to figure out where to go with my stuff and nobody was speaking any english so they got to laugh at me while I asked questions and then refered to my phrasebook and then, I did not understand what they were telling me anyways in response. As I was sitting on my bags near in the waiting area, a huge ¨POP POP¨ went off and I turned to see smoke coming from by the entrance and everyone started running towards the back screaming in rapid spanish. I had no clue what was happening so I grabbed everything and ran with the crowd. I thought we were being bombed or something crazy. Outside ... read more

My time in Lima has come quickly to an end. It was a fast whirlwind tour, but I will be back at the end of my trip, and there are so many places to see and things to do I have to keep moving. I am amazed at how many other girls are travelling solo around here. In my room there are 5 others here right now. We have become quick friends exploring the City together. Last night, I met up with Chris, and a couple of his friends, a chiropractor from Missouri and one guy from Sweden who does ayhuasca tours in the jungle. I did manage to get a free neck adjustment from the chiropractor! We stopped by a friends apartment to start the night off with some wine. Then we went out to ... read more

Well the adventure has officially started. I left the house around 6am yesterday, then spent about 12 hours in the air. The plane was the usual ordeal, nothing too thrilling, unfortunatly I got stuck next to loud sleeping people, but a few people on my flights are going to recieve honorable mentions. 2 clowns on my plane. Yes clowns. They were older ladies (in there 60's I would guess) with huge red shoes that reminded me of Ronald McDonald. They did not have face paint but, a very cleverly decorated surgeons mask with a clown nose and painted smiles. They also had funky hats and outfits. Crying babies, of course The best were a couple of Peruvian woman on my ride from Houston to Lima... 50 year woman old wearing fishnets, a red plaid miniskirt, and ... read more