3 countries later

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Well now Matt and I are in the big city of Santiago. The time apart was good for me to level my head. of course I still don't know where I am headed in life but a bit of breathing room was good for both of us. We spent his birthday in the beautiful city on Valparaiso. Spent the day drinking win, eating great pasta and basically just walking around the city which has the best graffiti and it so artistic and colorful. We are now back in Santiago and today's mission is to get geared up for skiing. We will see how easy that is in a big, foreign city.

Chile is so far removed from the countries I have been traveling in. It feels like being in the states, it is so modern. Peru and Ecuador are so much poorer, undeveloped, traditional. It is actually nice for a little break to be in a place that has toilet paper, running water everywhere, hot showers, a variety of food...I've been living off of rice, beans and chicken or fish for 2 months...The transportation system here is another thing that is wonderful compared to the other places I have been.
Ecuador got me. the beaches are beautiful and sandy, the ocean is pretty warm, even in the winter, the people are friendly and so relaxed and mellow. I didn't get into the jungle area yet but will on my way back north. Saw the coast in depth...my favorite place is either the black beach by mompiche, a tiny little fishing village with great surf. They just got electricity and a road to access the town 8 years ago so the town is very behind the times. The power is only on for a couple of hours a day and the seafood is wonderful. Another place I really enjoyed was the surf camp south of Manta. High on a cliff overlooking some gnarly waves and about five buildings which make up the town there is a camp set up. The Argentinian/Colombian couple that was there taught me to cook ceviche on the fourth of july while we drank big bears and mellowed out by the fire at night.

Peru was a quick trip and I chose to travel during the transportation strike. bad move! It took me a lot longer and a lot more effort than it would have if the strike wasn't going on. Made down the coast, into Lima and on to Cusco where I did a 4 day trip to Machu Picchu. Biked down 3000 meters through the jungle and tiny towns, hiked for 8 hours the next day to end up at a hot springs, climbed to the town below the ruins and up a mt. with 45 meter ladders straight up, and then saw the ruins on the last day. Quite tiring, don't know how many million stairs I climbed in those 4 days. Machu Picchu was really cool, just as it looks in the photos but with about a million tourists. I about went crazy. Then took another 24 hour bus trip...absolutely miserable. crying baby, puking kids, freezing cold, broke down 3 times, almost didn't get across the border...but made it to Chile to meet Matt.

In Northern CHile we took a 4 day tour through the Lauca National Park. Visited the highest lake in the world with pink flamingos, Alpacas, rabbit like squirrels, tons of wildlife. And hot springs which were much needed because it was freezing!!! Saw lots of volcanoes and it looked like Yellowstone quite a bit. Saw ancient formations on the hillside that Matt swears were put there by aliens...don't think we will ever know. Then got on a plane to Santiago and here we are. Will be writing on this blog more often because internet is really good in Chile! I will post pictures next time I get some time on one of these machines.
Love you all!!!

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