Last couple weeks of South America....

So a little heads up to all, this is a rather long entry, but it was more than 3 weeks of my trip since my last blog. Just a note to warn you.

So, now that it has been quite awhile since my last entry I have quite a bit to write about to fill you all in. Last time I wrote we were staying at Felipe and Sylvanas house in Santiago and had gotten back from Portillo. We had to get some more skiing in so we stayed in Santiago a little bit longer to go to the resorts that were a little closer to the city since Portillo is a couple hours away. The weekend after we went to Portillo we went out one night with Sylvanna and some of her friends to celebrate my birthday. The plan was always to go skiing on my birthday while we were down here, but the snow came one day early so we went to Valle Nevado on Sunday the 13th. Just before the weekend we had rented scooters to drive all over Santiago to check it out and to be free to do what we wanted. They were a lot of fun but crazy driving those in the city. We wanted to take them to go skiing but with the snow the night before we went it wasnt possible so we took Sylvannas car which made it so much easier. So it worked out perfectly and I got a powder day for my birthday and on the day of Sylvanna and Felipe bought a cake for me to have as well. While riding that day we met some good people on the mountain. We met a guy who works at a snowboard shop in Mammoth where Phil works, and a guy who lives just down the street from where I was living in Denver. His name is Brandon too, crazy enough. They had some other friends there too so we ended up riding in a big group all day long, which is always a fun way to ride especially since the mountain is completely open with no trees. We still didnt get our fix of skiing so we had to go one more day. They had a holiday on that Wednesday and wanted to learn how to ski. They had lived in Santiago their entire life but never skiied. So as a gift to them we stuck around town a little bit longer than expected to take them up. The best way to describe it is Shit Show... Phil and I both realized why we arent and wont ever be instructors for people we dont know at a resort. It took them all day to get down once then they had enough of that. Of course we continued on. We met up with Blake who was from Mammoth and a couple other guys and rode with them. It worked out because Blake was living there all winter and brought a ton of gear to sell and rent so he hooked me up with rentals for much cheaper, and they were much better.

Our time in Chile had finally come to an end. It was time to go to Argentina. We were going to go straight back up the coast of Chile but figured since we were down here we needed to go to Argentina. The plan was Buenos Aires and then from there we would see what happens. The day after skiing we took a bus to Mendoza Argentina which was 7 hours and then caught one that was leaving 10 minutes later to go to Buenos Aires, a 15 hour overnight bus ride which we have become very used to. The buses in Argentina are by far the best so we didnt mind it as much. You actually get a good plate of food for dinner with another that is hot. They also give you wine with dinner and after you can have coffee, tea, or whiskey. Pretty sweet, plus a pretty decent breakfast and a nice size seat. The food on all the other buses if you get it is sugar filled candy or two pieces of bread with cheese, and meat if your lucky. Anywyas, Buenes Aires is a really cool city. One of the coolest that I have seen. It isnt really the city itself that was that cool, we were there for two days and I had my fill of it. There are just a lot of things to see and tons of little parks all over the place with really cool sculptures and statues. All the parks had tons of people and it was very social. We spent the two days walking all over the city and seeing everything we possibly could, including the new Batman movie which I am very happy I didnt have to wait to see until returning to the states.

We made plans to meet our friend Mark from Edmonton in Ecuador to do a trek (Mark is the same guy that did Macchu Pichu with us) so we were planning on taking a bus to Iguacu Falls on the Brazil Argentina border then take a bus to Paraguay, Bolivia, and Peru up to Ecuador. The plan worked out really well at first. We got to Port Iguacu in Argentina and stayed at a hostel with an outdoor pool which we spent the remaining part of the day at. It was nice to get to some warm weather. The next morning we got up to take the local bus into Brazil to see the falls from there because we heard you could see them a lot better. They are the widest waterfalls in the world and there are 275 seperate falls. The Argentina side has more hiking to do but the views from Brazil are better. After a little confusion we finally arrived there and just as we were told they were spectacular to see. Niagra Falls are really cool because of how tall they are but the width and landscape is just amazing. Here is where everything got really interesting in our trip to Brazil. After the falls we went back to our hostel to gather our stuff so we could take a bus to Asuncion the capital of Paraguay. What we found out is that we had to take a local bus to Brazil then to Paraguay and catch a bus from there to Asuncion. The first part would only take us about 30 minutes to go to Brazil and through it to Paraguay. When we showed up at customs for Brazil they told us that we couldnt enter because we needed a Visa, and also that we needed one for Paraguay. However we went into Brazil earlier that day. The local bus we were on stopped for us to check out of Argentina but never stopped for us to check into Brazil so dumb luck they drove us right across the border. We were wondering what was going to happen trying to get back out of Brazil now. Well things worked out perfect, they didnt stop for us to leave Brazil either. So we ended up sneaking in and out of Brazil without even knowing what was going on. The people at Argentina customs didnt even say anything to us. It worked out that they stopped us the second time because if not we would have been caught at the Parguay border in limbo of two countries we needed Visas for. Probably would not have been good, but the whole time down here that is the only really odd thing that has happened to us. Well since we couldnt go to Brazil or Paraguay anymore we were stuck, and found out the only option we really had was to go back to Buenos Aires and fly to either Lima or Quito Ecuador to still meet Mark on time. So onto another overnight bus back to Buenos Aires. We booked a plane ticket for the next day before we left and went to Lima because it was cheaper and now having more time we knew we could relax at the beach for awhile before meeting Mark. Getting back to Buenos Aires we had a whole day to relax before our flight, and after seeing the whole city before there was nothing much to do. Phil and I resorted to what has become our favorite way of passing some time waiting for buses or whatever. We got a box of wine, Gato Negro or black cat, and sat in the park enjoying it. It is nice that you are able to do such a thing down here. The parks are so social so the people watching is great and plus it makes us a little tired before we get onto the bus. That helps so much because being stuck on a bus for 15 plus hours on a regular basis gets tough. It seems as those most big attractions are all an overnight busride away. It does help because we then pay for a bus overnight and it takes place of having to pay for a hostel as well.

I have to thank my Dad at this point because he came through in the clutch once again. We were not landing in Lima until 3 or 4 am and it would be hard to get a hostel at that time and near the airport isnt very safe so he booked us a room at the Marriott with his points. Plus with Dad being a gold member we get free breakfast lunch and dinner plus checkout at 10 pm. Getting in there was the first real shower I had had in about 6 days so it was luxury. Thanks again Dad. Later that day we were on our way out of town to hit the beaches in northern Peru. Another overnight bus took us to Trujillo. We only stayed there for one day and caught a bus that night to Mancora. Trujillo ended up to be a great day though. We met a couple from Argentina who we hung out with all day, and then ran into a couple from Montana who joined in on the festivities. The guy from Montana actually grew up in Boulder. We have noticed one common theme on this trip and that is that the majority of American travelers are from either Colorado or California. Even all the Europeans had told us that as well. Some have even told us that we have given Americans a better name to them because most American tourists give us a really bad reputation. So Phil and I have tried to be the ambassadors to the states for good travelers. Random little bit but thought I would throw that in. So onward to Mancora on yet again another night bus.

Arriving in Mancora at 7 am was tough but a taxi driver took us to a place where we could camp. We scored the last tent spot. The best part is that getting in at 7 we went back to bed but didnt have to pay for the previous night. This place had a pool and a rather social environment and was a couple minute walk from the beach. Once it got too hot in the tent we went to town to try and find some breakfast, and ran into some guys we had met in Cusco. These guys were tons of fun then and we hung out with them for the day. In Cusco they took us to this great breakfast restaurant that they went to everyday. So oddly enough they asked if we wanted breakfast and took us to another amazing place as well called Green Eggs and Ham. Not too important but have to mention it. I had the best pancakes and breakfast burrito ever. Well it seemed that way since both sounded really good. Phil and I ate there the next two days we were in town. Mancora is a typical beach town but was the only place in Peru that I enjoyed spending time in the city at or could for a long time. The only problem is that the waves were really small so all the surfers were waiting for what they could get. Phil and I decided not to surf because it was so crowded so we went on daily swims pretty far out into the ocean to get a little bit of a workout in. The craziest of all our swims was with the birds. One day there were hundreds of birds flying in a flock and dive bombing into the water, one after the other. We went out near where they were doing it and they continued right around us which was rather intense to see. We were constantly looking around to make sure they were only after the fish, especially the huge pelicans that were there. Other than that we did what the best thing to do at a beach is the next couple days and that is sit and work on our tan. We have been in winter most of the time so the heat was nice.

Finally time to leave and head to Ecuador to meet Mark for our trek. Our bus ride that day turned out to be one of the worst we have had. We had to wait and switch buses at the Ecuador border. The one we got on had no seats so we had to stand for the next hour and a half. The bus was a sweatbox because the people here are so scared of the wind from the windows being open or scared of being cold. Every window was closed and we were sweating th entire time. At least there werent any animals, but there were puking children and still they wouldnt open the windows. Finally off that in Machala we couldnt catch a bus till the next day so a relaxing evening with the best street meal we had eaten. Really good meat. There is so much meat in Ecuador, it is all they seem to eat plus rice and potatoes. I am so sick of rice and potatoes now. The next day our bus ride was rather interesting. We needed to get off in a town that the bus wasnt going through so the driver told us he would stop at the place we could catch the next one to Latacunga. Well he dropped us off at 1130 at night on a corner next to the 24 hour gas station and little cafe. It was weird but we knew it would work out. Plus we had to be there that night because we were leaving the next day on our trek. Well we got there on time but not in a bus, a really nice guy with a pickup who lived right next to Latacunga said he would drive us there. We figured it was our best option instead of waiting for the bus. He did ask for some money which was no big deal, just good to get going. He brought us to the bus station and we took a cab to meet Mark at the hostel. So we kind of hitch hiked which was interesting and worth doing. I just finished reading the book Motorcycle Diaries and the two guys in the book had to hitch hike through most of their trip so it was crazy to do the same at least once on our trip. Trust me though, it was a very safe decision.

Finally off on our trek. We made these plans in Santiago so we traveled through most of the continent just for this. We went to the Quilitoa crater which is a little south of Quito the capital. The equator also goes right north of Quito so we were really close but no time to make it up there. We had to catch a bus to go to the crater which was amazing. From the rim down to the water was 600 meters so it was a good hike down. The other cool part about the crater is that it is filled from below so there are no fish and it is really deep. Once we got to the bottom we were relaxing on a little cliff area and saw someone take out a kayak. Then and there the impulse decision to go rent one and paddle to the otherside was made. Mark went alone and Phil and I shared a boat. It only took us about 25 minutes to paddle across and then we had a little beach spot we got out at and chilled for a bit. We only had them for so long so we had to get back, and all of us got a little wet in doing so, but it was a really fun way to spend the afternoon. That night we sat by the tent drinking Mate which is an Argentina drink similar to green tea that everybody drinks. As we drank that we all kind of fell asleep laying on the ground and decided it was time for bed since we had a rather long hike the next day. A little more than 14 km. It was a very technical hike and the trail not properly marked so we had to ask our way through it and like everything else it worked out and we arrived that afternoon. It was a lot of steep uphill then steep downhill, so it worked us pretty good. We were lucky enough to find a good place to camp that night with a good dinner at the hostel that let us camp, only to get up the next day to catch a 3 am bus.

We were now headed back to Lima where we are flying out of and the crazy trip started with that 3am bus ride. 3am to 7am back to Latacunga. Then 830 to 930 to Ambato to catch a 945 bus to Guayaquil arriving at 430. Then a bus at 930 that night to Mancora, we just wanted to get to Peru. We arrived in Mancora at 5 am and setup a campsite near the hostel we stayed at last time. We knew we had to catch an overnight bus that left that afternoon back to Lima so we took a nap on the beach, swam a little bit, but first had breakfast at Green Eggs and Ham again. In the top 3 of restaurants we ate at. We knew that our last bus ride on this continent was approaching soon, and we couldnt wait for it to be over. We brought some wine onboard to celebrate a little bit. We were supposed to arrive at 8 am but some traffic the evening before pushed us back and we didnt get into to Lima until 1030 which really bummed us out. Thank you again Dad. We were going to stay at the Marriott again, and they have an awesome breakfast that ends at 1100 and we showed up at the hotel at 1115. We went to the room and chilled waiting for lunch. We took the day to simply relax, and did so in robes and slippers they provide with some Mimosas and rum. What a great day back. The next couple days were all rather relaxing. That Sunday we met up with our friend Jose, who we had met at the beginning of our trip. We went around town a little bit then decided to go out that night and get drinks. On Monday we had to finish the trip in style. We knew there was paragliding next to the hotel so we made these plans at the beginning of the trip to come and do this. The hotel sits on cliffs above the ocean so it is a perfect location. After doing that it really makes me want to get into a few more high altitude sports. We just hung out the rest of the night until we had to leave at 3am to catch our flight back home. Our flight took us from Lima, Peru to Bogota, Columbia, to Miami, back to Denver.

I am now home and have been for a week. I wrote all of this down there but wanted to publish some photos to go along with it. I hope you all enjoyed the stories as much as I enjoyed my trip. It was an amazing experience, but the comfort of everything we have in the states is nice to have again. I am back in Colorado for two months until I leave on October 6 to go work in Antarctica for 5 months. I will continue with many more stories then.

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