tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57982987653794827482024-03-21T12:48:38.772-07:00The Gypsy Monologues"I feel about travel the way a happy new mother feels about her impossible,
colicky,
restless newborn baby--I just don´t CARE what it puts me through.
Because I adore it. Because it´s mine. Because it looks exactly like me.
It can barf all over me if it wants to--I just don´t care."lauraromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12735913433374439286noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798298765379482748.post-89440143866554147902009-03-03T13:16:00.000-08:002009-03-22T23:15:36.217-07:00Quilt for Water for People<div><div><div><div><div><div><div>As most of you know, Matt and I have asked friends and family to sponsor our trip as a means of fundraising for an exemplary NGO called Water for People (www.waterforpeople.org). As a special thanks for the highest donation, we have a beautiful quilt made of cloth and weavings that we have collected throughout the trip. This quilt represents the large community of people we met and are hoping will benefit from the work we are supporting at Water for People. Below is a picture of the quilt (made my my wonderful Aunt Crystal), along with photos of, and information about, the women who sold us their artwork. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314956022851418562" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 193px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxmnsQdBD8iVqz3YAD3fh7vbPTIBTN5pYwe0VKKJxC53bwNXpd5dtKks2f3Kpn922qf7sxXfk4PnICofBbjGVT_xTqr1pPGzi0ioUl9SU-WJGnPUwKFA_V8LmuY4fcWD7TbJ9h9q0TQQ/s320/Quilt+Composite-compressed.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div><br /></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314956628070699954" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDAa-lKdmYDPA89AX3LyOgBzlsvSDVAuK8Q-F5uXgWg3GSozGjxvmbqOdjKGwH6tZj1hTpFEvSISnNr-rJU6ErZcjuXSOoocRsc7TPmGSfVClolcDy0tKLM8MS7pswW6mIlno5E9vkxg/s320/Quilt+pic+1.JPG" border="0" />We started the project in the white, colonial city of Sucre, Bolivia, where we meet Emiliana Yankee and her gregarious husband. Though we spoke in Castellano (Spanish), as that was our only common language, Emiliana's mother language is Aymara (the main language of indigenous Bolivians) and her second language is Quecha (the language of the Incans and indigenous people throughout the Andes). A few decades ago they moved from Oruro to Sucre to start her weaving business and raise their family. Most of her children live near-by but never learned to weave. The skills she learned from her mother and grandmother will end with her. The piece we bought from her cost 180 Bolivianos (approx. 25 USD) and is made by hand out of Alpaca wool. She showed us how long it takes to weave by comparing it to out a belt that took a week for her to make. She also demonstrated how to use the spindle to make the yarn. </span></span></span><br /><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314958392498349490" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPlRdELGiv09ZSNp5SGvJMgefB37UHYyMiB-tdCipMzWu-ITCCOnvFJ-5sRaLJr4FtZraKLMBwxqtsEIeIVr8VRIoTs2NByteMyPaelR1GonC71WvVXfSeSXqdcePo5WypfCH2-OLnLA/s320/Quilt+pic+Prema.JPG" border="0" />We met Prema outside of the 'witch market' in La Paz, Bolivia, next to a stall of coca leaves and dried llama fetuses. Prema learned to weave at the age of 10, taught by her mother in her home town of Oruro. She has 5 kids (ranging from 25-19 years old), but none of them want to learn to </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-STYLE: italic"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">tejir</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> (weave), just to study. The piece we bought from her took 6 weeks to weave, cost 120 Bolivianos (approx. 17 USD) and is made of llama wool.</span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;"></span><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314957210222947922" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisCfCEeJT6V-A64tztEtIb_k8alq2ewmhEFOO51BLCtILsdLjcwJS0pnhhqoqAP-LSuNrRhvQ2BO4EWdpyf0b0n47Yp2MdWYPCrUvX7H0CfEojOryC5nVrTsl0H1Ap3VEVb4uuojWIKw/s320/Quilt+pic+Gregoria.JPG" border="0" /> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Gregoria was particularly shy. It took a minute for my Aunt Jeannie and I to coax her into letting Matt take her picture surrounded by all of her art. Eventually she obliged and proved to be very sweet. She sells her work on the tourist track around the Sacred Valley (a collection of villages and ruins between the Incan capital city of Cuzco, and the lost city of Macchu Pichu). The colorful scarf we bought from her is made of Alpaca wool.</span></span></span><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314958160495594722" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaB-wy7C_ZOptAiCgt23hBbmoPZouz70Ns2o7R-BAEKH_4HPTaSnGMAq-3CblJ00aEk6gGau76Ea3kKHzcwh5rmrZJsvdgQyGU_IYAj3YI4RLG4D3ofELfo1d-UZskDxRQ66sH3il7-w/s320/Quilt+pic+Mili.JPG" border="0" />Mili's piece is my personal favorite and makes up the focal point of the quilt. We met her on the Bocas del Toro islands of Panama near the Costa Rican boarder. Though her mother helped her a little to learn to sew, she is mainly self taught, beginning from age 10. She loves to learn and try new things, but most of all she likes to make the designs and patterns and cut the fabric, giving the pieces to her sisters and other women to help with the sewing. While some of her designs are geometric, like the one in the quilt, she mostly makes animals, like the strawberry poison dart frog that is famous on the islands. Mili is 29 years old and has one son who probably won't learn to sew (some men do, but it is mostly a business for women). This piece took one week to sew, cost $10, and is made of cotton.</span></span></span></div><div> </div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314957873466673826" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOQISsGL00dxUYK8cjg2y4GRWFRJh-btnHdHS7NHjLpyhn1OjTYZ9ApSSyUAdlGHOeoeM5dh20OLg8g7x6gfCY2a_vibm8nJLIzMoJrqCFnvyx3kNC2jcnsNol699U3WueIzH8Fwfxsw/s320/Quilt+pic+Julia.JPG" border="0" />Julia had a thriving business in the town of Panajachel on Lake Atitlan in southern Guatemala. She sold her own weavings as well as that of her mother and grandmother and various women from towns around the lake. She learned to weave from her mother and grandmother at the age of 12. The piece we bought from her took 5 days to weave using a belt system. It is made of </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-STYLE: italic"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">lana</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> (wool), though not from sheep (that's all I could figure out...my Spanish isn't PERFECT, give me a break!).</span></span></span></div><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314956942369761842" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhilwMWJGC0RUqNIflBtJ0ch4PVI21eYHrpLLofZHIrOpSJgFBMGEz4sp3R3xyo1_rsFTOy5kYFiHmYxlkSLBmdEY2E3DHnv3RT-1PdQsWosd7Oy-DVFHT5dTUiQ5x5G2S4hyphenhyphen5MsR9XQQ/s320/Quilt+pic+6.JPG" border="0" />The same day we met Julia, Maria approached us with her daughter. She is originally from Santa Catalina (another town on the lake) but lives in Panajachel with her daughter for her business. She learned to weave at the age of 8 and is currently teaching her daughter to continue the business. The piece we bought from her is made of cotton and took one month to make by hand.</span></span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>lauraromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12735913433374439286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798298765379482748.post-26898997199253901102008-06-22T09:29:00.000-07:002008-07-03T13:44:03.106-07:00Friends actually...<p>...ARE, all around.</p><p>I suppose I should start with a profound apology to all my avid readers who have not blog cheated on me by giving up on me to read my bros blog (just kidding, I actually encourage it), for neglecting an update on my adventures the last 2 1/2 months. And thank you for not assuming we are dead and calling the Bolivian embassy after 6 days (Momma!). I am going to go ahead and blame med school apps and my lazy reliance on Matt to thoroughly document our journey.</p><p>I believe I left you lovely souls hanging after our fantastic trip to teh Bolivian salt flats where we met the lovely Frenchy and the spunky Karina. From there we spent about a month exploring the rest of Bolivia (two words: beautiful, cheap). the majority of which we spent in Cochabamba taking Spanish and Quechua lessons while volunteering in an orphanage in the afternoons.</p>We crossed the boarder into Peru on the shores of Lake Titicaca, and on our way to Cuzco to meet our wonderful Tia Jeannie we made a few-day pit stop in the White City of Arequipa and the deep gorge of the Colca Canyon (2x deeper than the Grand Canyon). With Tia we explored the Sacred Valley and trekked 5 days via the very high (4,600 m) Salkantay Pass to the PHENOMENAL ruins of Machu Picchu. After leaving the tia :( we made our way to Lima by first hopping over to the coast, flying in a 4-seat Cessna over the mysterious Nazca Lines and dune-buggying through the sand dunes outside Huacachina oasis. in Lima we met up with Matt´s good high school buddy Chris, had a few fun nights and a few good laughs (with me acting as the perfect wing-woman for the boys, as per usual), and set off for Huaraz and the Cordillera Blanca to do another beautiful 4 day trek. Huaraz is where we met Team Stretch (see below), taught the locals how to play Twister, and where I said goodbye to the bro for 2 weeks as we went our separate ways: he to Quito to meet another old friend, and Chris and I back to Lima to meet a few of his med school classmates. After a few more laughs in Lima we headed to Iquitos, Peru accompanying some Denver Docs on a medical mission to remote villages on the Amazon River and its tributaries. MUCHO MUCHO more about this later as the experience definitely deserves its own entry.So, if you want more details and pics of any of the above experiences I encourage anyone to visit my bro´s blog (myhighwayhome.blogspot.com) as he has not become the 4-star slacker general as I, and also, it is kind of sick how good he is getting at photography (if you like the pics he is trying to sell them to get a portfolio together, so just let me or him know and he can matte (sp?) and frame it for you when he gets back!). Since I can´t go into detail about 2+ months in one blog I have decided to pick my favorite theme of that time period: FRIENDS. New friends, old friends, cute friends, cold friends. Below are a few pics of awesome people and a quick profile of each:<br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8GdQ73xfqARd0DqRWbFeOOdpfK4xxBMDsyb63MXa6iEHYduRJe6b_dvqhevopycb4OzkgSG2CjLXT1_esslXJC2CFlVGMVRZ_sxDs8ej1u_t_DEBu0WHcoXqgFghUdRKvSt7VMiifIg/s1600-h/emiliana.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5214745428601278450" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8GdQ73xfqARd0DqRWbFeOOdpfK4xxBMDsyb63MXa6iEHYduRJe6b_dvqhevopycb4OzkgSG2CjLXT1_esslXJC2CFlVGMVRZ_sxDs8ej1u_t_DEBu0WHcoXqgFghUdRKvSt7VMiifIg/s320/emiliana.jpg" border="0" /></a>This is Emiliana, a cute Bolivian weaver from whom I bought the first piece of cloth for my quilt project! She and her husband were super sweet, thought not sweet enough to give me a sweet discount. haha<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwCkPjcjn1Q_x6FzRvDBc_Kh5nL64W8oyKOr24lDSmTACV3eo0xdS2ThNSo883o3Eu2vKzpW5yMLKjbs_o_mJG-Vs7BtTwSZlWp5y-fOAjOYfwiaca-Mx2UtylcHMwGbf-ZGpzdm9HGg/s1600-h/carola.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5214745171688365970" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwCkPjcjn1Q_x6FzRvDBc_Kh5nL64W8oyKOr24lDSmTACV3eo0xdS2ThNSo883o3Eu2vKzpW5yMLKjbs_o_mJG-Vs7BtTwSZlWp5y-fOAjOYfwiaca-Mx2UtylcHMwGbf-ZGpzdm9HGg/s320/carola.jpg" border="0" /></a></p>This is Carola (short for Carolina), one of the little girls at the Orphanage we volunteered at in Cochabamba, Bolivia. She was a fire-cracker, always keeping me on my toes....this pic is about 5 seconds prior to our Elmer´s Glue explosion fiasco.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Ez64vTw8CcY5T_0Fo4Q17OEFgSJAi-RPrBmQWD0IHrOBOYgCJCGA1lXHybrm-WzNz8WdSrewBr6F1S-QZcDfWsTVYphzNJxUbDWaWycuL-R3mNQS3LJWuf9jDF02-gNJIuY5yUL9eg/s1600-h/julie.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5214745171383380050" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Ez64vTw8CcY5T_0Fo4Q17OEFgSJAi-RPrBmQWD0IHrOBOYgCJCGA1lXHybrm-WzNz8WdSrewBr6F1S-QZcDfWsTVYphzNJxUbDWaWycuL-R3mNQS3LJWuf9jDF02-gNJIuY5yUL9eg/s320/julie.jpg" border="0" /></a>This is Carola´s little sister Julie. Dirtiest kid I have ever met, but you can´t tell because they just put on her brand new dress in this pic. Too cute.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijNFgkTW4Y8f6n9c3JQuprRcvSmmTZ1abPRFEbDAlviEDZvyJX-uk9tUVMaczAux6CZSsoVOc3d2ebIOfICIq0L7SLSw735HP2JRkUFxjzMGhEz4FwbDzaOubuI2UKmsQbwRk3T1182A/s1600-h/n606158_35074686_3764.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5214744484940234290" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijNFgkTW4Y8f6n9c3JQuprRcvSmmTZ1abPRFEbDAlviEDZvyJX-uk9tUVMaczAux6CZSsoVOc3d2ebIOfICIq0L7SLSw735HP2JRkUFxjzMGhEz4FwbDzaOubuI2UKmsQbwRk3T1182A/s320/n606158_35074686_3764.jpg" border="0" /></a>I don´t know if this pic will come out, but this is my beautiful American friend Katelyn (don´t let the crack-head appearance mislead you, as she is one of the sweeter souls I have ever met) in Cochabamba who was also volunteering through Sustainable Bolivia.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2GNemb-i-b-Fq00RHbgRu4IjW82geJ-wQTTXzfjYSaoI0lxESufWmAI6aBCiJXFQ3bllu5-RkViOB9VFy2hzqITCrZTIhpyMpzhW9ab8xgm3fN37_N68S6zo4cLVNjApy8ebgE7QDKg/s1600-h/100_1184.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217952521709165858" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2GNemb-i-b-Fq00RHbgRu4IjW82geJ-wQTTXzfjYSaoI0lxESufWmAI6aBCiJXFQ3bllu5-RkViOB9VFy2hzqITCrZTIhpyMpzhW9ab8xgm3fN37_N68S6zo4cLVNjApy8ebgE7QDKg/s320/100_1184.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><p>This is Gregoria, a Peruvian weaver who supplied another one of my pieces for my quilt project. She was a little shy.</p><p><br /> </p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQV_3ICVw34RPjeGMs1dpAzvlx_uUiFt_w6aRbq2S82kSOxuvT1u2-NQELwgvKTNG70f1xAjDzIlsRASlyCkTyaj3PM-3Do5ZbLsz6ZVr5kD19RYJmQDuxbOKN0rNR6fmTUvjfzOp4AQ/s1600-h/100_1264.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217951795253354114" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQV_3ICVw34RPjeGMs1dpAzvlx_uUiFt_w6aRbq2S82kSOxuvT1u2-NQELwgvKTNG70f1xAjDzIlsRASlyCkTyaj3PM-3Do5ZbLsz6ZVr5kD19RYJmQDuxbOKN0rNR6fmTUvjfzOp4AQ/s320/100_1264.JPG" border="0" /></a>TIAAAAAAA!! Nuff said. Rock on. (At Sacsayhuaman)<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtVLV4Bs-B1bhuLgj5umjnDHzAh51zP2MdHlPPbulDStQ89ZWfZkimtUfiP8aYYiKS_PxhepkRWN1DDfku66MK70lj31sBOfkluHRfgtDWQemVXNWFpvboU8p2aQpl2LVEHLWTdDcvIw/s1600-h/100_1535.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217951159521294754" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtVLV4Bs-B1bhuLgj5umjnDHzAh51zP2MdHlPPbulDStQ89ZWfZkimtUfiP8aYYiKS_PxhepkRWN1DDfku66MK70lj31sBOfkluHRfgtDWQemVXNWFpvboU8p2aQpl2LVEHLWTdDcvIw/s320/100_1535.JPG" border="0" /></a>This one may not turn out either, but it is the after shot of our Salkantay trek team. Including our Peruvian guide, two aussies, and two other Americans (from good ol´Phila! No wonder I was craving a cheesesteak when I got back!)</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaC1ZPBDz0lMHuXBSrgfXUfYCQVeLwHKuSrz5Npl00d2M6ZyloBMhF7e2_gT3_mZhtY-yFgRSGg4r34l1cEnu-c7LY7Z1W4YBQZRufwxH4R0a3E3tNkg6c23GjVwDvqX6tdmgL_NgIvQ/s1600-h/IMGP2337.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217950613958319650" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaC1ZPBDz0lMHuXBSrgfXUfYCQVeLwHKuSrz5Npl00d2M6ZyloBMhF7e2_gT3_mZhtY-yFgRSGg4r34l1cEnu-c7LY7Z1W4YBQZRufwxH4R0a3E3tNkg6c23GjVwDvqX6tdmgL_NgIvQ/s320/IMGP2337.JPG" border="0" /></a>The two aussies on the trek (Patty spent about 7 minutes trying to get the timing right for Rene to jump....I got it on the first shot. I know, gangsta)</div><div> </div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIfRPsAJcjYG4My8YX-v95HcUY12K9rILyHlKirqbcPylsg2UJD_LvVn8_cYdHP2sxqHj5ISEZz5HPjY42jNg16b-EITOQW4hLR5QihFal6qotV1JZ3Ymfueh__y7mYi4H3guygSs6-w/s1600-h/IMGP5782.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217950039696033202" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIfRPsAJcjYG4My8YX-v95HcUY12K9rILyHlKirqbcPylsg2UJD_LvVn8_cYdHP2sxqHj5ISEZz5HPjY42jNg16b-EITOQW4hLR5QihFal6qotV1JZ3Ymfueh__y7mYi4H3guygSs6-w/s320/IMGP5782.JPG" border="0" /></a></div>This is Tia with JESUS the donkey (he was my aunt´s savior going up the tricky parts of the pass: hence the name)<br /><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0FDJzy_F-4r8tMYLvlKN6JW7JRbwZeRbOi6phhHWfE6UpezNvic15MVY7ClWxwAAo9OqVzPLpuBbMTyXd6eKZ3lladupA1QD6D0a2_CHypXtXIPzMmQcBtShBw8C4jgGpz9sm-ZYkFg/s1600-h/IMGP2017.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217948971692308754" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0FDJzy_F-4r8tMYLvlKN6JW7JRbwZeRbOi6phhHWfE6UpezNvic15MVY7ClWxwAAo9OqVzPLpuBbMTyXd6eKZ3lladupA1QD6D0a2_CHypXtXIPzMmQcBtShBw8C4jgGpz9sm-ZYkFg/s320/IMGP2017.JPG" border="0" /></a></div>Hamish, trying to keep warm playing his guitar and wearing Chris´ socks and my flip-flops after his valiant attempt to save his hacky-sac from the rapids of the river.<br /><div><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj160cT8Ofddvm_bFSUgjOFjGSTElTnWk6M9CJXQSrHwksPxUgcj-p-x_7VtQVOmK5ZOLyAFbkeM8PrqfJ94M15MxidLy2SEMUoNNWsbPi-1aYidlngIN28ILiEW3zg3rMqiARV64Ho1w/s1600-h/IMGP6348.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217948228415869970" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj160cT8Ofddvm_bFSUgjOFjGSTElTnWk6M9CJXQSrHwksPxUgcj-p-x_7VtQVOmK5ZOLyAFbkeM8PrqfJ94M15MxidLy2SEMUoNNWsbPi-1aYidlngIN28ILiEW3zg3rMqiARV64Ho1w/s320/IMGP6348.JPG" border="0" /></a>Team Stretch trying to keep warm as we wait for the mules to arrive with our tents.From left to right we have yours truly, our futbol crazed Northern Irishman, three of the four Kiwis (Hamish, his brother Blair, the lovely Jaz), Chris, Matt leaning in the background, and I am assuming Steve (the other Kiwi) stretching....but wait, where are the Swede and my favorite Japanese dude?! Hope they didn´t fall in the river too! </div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVvfexeoY4ORbOXvF9MLqLCwSsHU0IcEItAPCnkExQQxrq47AgVnZlkcgAK75r3sR9Z2Z1d-zcRDmfE1kJKHVVmeQr6LaBJg-zcBiWDocFqJPny01O8jE5VB8cGzGAOAaSB41cSZ5Kjg/s1600-h/P6090472.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217946633972960818" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVvfexeoY4ORbOXvF9MLqLCwSsHU0IcEItAPCnkExQQxrq47AgVnZlkcgAK75r3sR9Z2Z1d-zcRDmfE1kJKHVVmeQr6LaBJg-zcBiWDocFqJPny01O8jE5VB8cGzGAOAaSB41cSZ5Kjg/s320/P6090472.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div>Bonding around the fire the first night, whittling sticks, burning socks, and stoking the fire.<br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKm5Lcx_FU5uBL67eSUtuReU9FWJpXJHZWbZYJtVkSc9euGj9ywizlnZjdU3-7LppzUMDN2xBRIg2WAleRMHD_MgGmGPFSLykNU8v4VoTYF35-89VcvkwGxMqxIDNo2b5_TCX6r0cslg/s1600-h/IMGP2058.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217946377125901714" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKm5Lcx_FU5uBL67eSUtuReU9FWJpXJHZWbZYJtVkSc9euGj9ywizlnZjdU3-7LppzUMDN2xBRIg2WAleRMHD_MgGmGPFSLykNU8v4VoTYF35-89VcvkwGxMqxIDNo2b5_TCX6r0cslg/s320/IMGP2058.JPG" border="0" /></a>My spunky roomie Murial (left) and her daugher Gail (Doc Z´s wife). Two truly beautiful ladies.</div><div> </div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuJG5zSK2B96Vp_Lf6d0UTgw4111KOL70E__pTNfJsNpW-stGanmUei3m16QEMJBaNhNYwAsLZGCQJ5B_OVebp4fHlxGKT5zOU4MD9nSeOrt8todBcdVZSPA0be166ZsXq9RAq22LU9Q/s1600-h/IMGP2112.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217945448540916482" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuJG5zSK2B96Vp_Lf6d0UTgw4111KOL70E__pTNfJsNpW-stGanmUei3m16QEMJBaNhNYwAsLZGCQJ5B_OVebp4fHlxGKT5zOU4MD9nSeOrt8todBcdVZSPA0be166ZsXq9RAq22LU9Q/s320/IMGP2112.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div>All smiles, this one. I laugh thinking that my first impression was that he is a hard-ass. How could I ever think such a thing of a caring Buddhist? Maybe because he is also a monster that scares little Peruvian children so that it makes my job to weigh them all that much harder. Thanks for all the help, Ro ;)<br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDdpnnkfz_2-yikqlzOeCFjsysXlQCbuTP-K2sOvAqjGldKx4vdhjzH7t_QgyzBjeIvzRc7dhrnBGi6EUogoFXahWLysCRQAb_gzRatQNFFXbjCMAzsE5ydDJWo4Pe5Vo0oxkAv7_IfA/s1600-h/IMGP2073.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217944693188852642" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDdpnnkfz_2-yikqlzOeCFjsysXlQCbuTP-K2sOvAqjGldKx4vdhjzH7t_QgyzBjeIvzRc7dhrnBGi6EUogoFXahWLysCRQAb_gzRatQNFFXbjCMAzsE5ydDJWo4Pe5Vo0oxkAv7_IfA/s320/IMGP2073.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div>Charlie looks cute, but don´t be fooled. His farts can kill. He is also the biggest rodent in the world, so that might give you a clue. I will also add that he likes beer, so don´t go leaving any bottles under your hammock while you sleep!</div><div><br /> </div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK8l5sEFdImQpJBY8J8T4PokjJhxh1RWum_xLPsgI-RUsB71AvzEhPRus3WjLH1phTC7hkQyh-zAs8loZNXUAFFO8LwKflqR2VNhyxF1TcyJcnD-9VfaphFNrxCij4uTJGnmb94ShDzg/s1600-h/IMGP2079.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217943779389499842" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK8l5sEFdImQpJBY8J8T4PokjJhxh1RWum_xLPsgI-RUsB71AvzEhPRus3WjLH1phTC7hkQyh-zAs8loZNXUAFFO8LwKflqR2VNhyxF1TcyJcnD-9VfaphFNrxCij4uTJGnmb94ShDzg/s320/IMGP2079.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div>This is the second village we visited that made us presents (beaded dolls and jewelry...some with Pirahna jaws on them) to thank us for visiting them and caring about them. I am assuming the little boys are not excited about anti-parasite meds and vitamins, but psyched that they get a day off of school (we always conducted the mission in the school houses).<br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFGklGrw0QEgANkljm5ZzvCxCOySV98RWqfcQO6RkKnx-rdAfct9Xj9Z0ZISFFBS6IDH3MRi8qrVPC12jFKeJI2EVfjQsbhiWQcnQBWbRnUalWSoALNWixhJxfvxOk3oB11j2rXgZi2Q/s1600-h/IMGP2093.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217942639722453314" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFGklGrw0QEgANkljm5ZzvCxCOySV98RWqfcQO6RkKnx-rdAfct9Xj9Z0ZISFFBS6IDH3MRi8qrVPC12jFKeJI2EVfjQsbhiWQcnQBWbRnUalWSoALNWixhJxfvxOk3oB11j2rXgZi2Q/s320/IMGP2093.JPG" border="0" /></a>Once again, don´t be fooled by the pretty feathers. This parrot can sneak up on the best hammock sleepers and eat Harry Potter books....he can also drive doctors to passionate arguments with only two words: Hola, and Whatever.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTQAwvhU7l_zXTw5FE9AOpg-Lc537PcWHoKwH76wqk0Ye2drAHoTcIK2IIurzK140tcg4p31Q1z80jTEeAgLZpBglDbeYC3JG-y6J0NcWiTCSZSXBA3ddscOS2vsUuIsbRPvONJHnASw/s1600-h/IMGP2130.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217941093234987234" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTQAwvhU7l_zXTw5FE9AOpg-Lc537PcWHoKwH76wqk0Ye2drAHoTcIK2IIurzK140tcg4p31Q1z80jTEeAgLZpBglDbeYC3JG-y6J0NcWiTCSZSXBA3ddscOS2vsUuIsbRPvONJHnASw/s320/IMGP2130.JPG" border="0" /></a>These boys taught me how to play marbles while the lines for the docs dwindled. Little do they know that bocce balls is in my blood...better watch out, boys!</div><div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxHs16_-lhxJWRAYSzq20Lofe_xCHY4q5oIpDSkMLYLos62cYt5XOoBIP325yucybvOJetLyguW-E9lwssIG6aAH9hhudw3DyhN_fOoJNxEyeWG9793NFhQn3al2Q-ua7cAVtttan5iw/s1600-h/IMGP2138.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217940369413871522" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxHs16_-lhxJWRAYSzq20Lofe_xCHY4q5oIpDSkMLYLos62cYt5XOoBIP325yucybvOJetLyguW-E9lwssIG6aAH9hhudw3DyhN_fOoJNxEyeWG9793NFhQn3al2Q-ua7cAVtttan5iw/s320/IMGP2138.JPG" border="0" /></a>This is my boyfriend, the Peruvian look alike to the little actor in the 2 and 1/2 Men sitcom. He latched on and didn´t let go. Those of you who know of my baby fever are probably not surprised that I didn’t mind.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxjnR-V941I4H_U4j-aR0APojs7rzUHJdDHS7WNU5IcJN-WeN7N351gk_5jN_Aqy0kytuyeTmJrbtLnCulz-h8LUy8RNadRD9eBa3key83tmhyGVoKTUDORalMIzv7U8ntPTCci7MAEw/s1600-h/deathroad.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5214745429815951474" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxjnR-V941I4H_U4j-aR0APojs7rzUHJdDHS7WNU5IcJN-WeN7N351gk_5jN_Aqy0kytuyeTmJrbtLnCulz-h8LUy8RNadRD9eBa3key83tmhyGVoKTUDORalMIzv7U8ntPTCci7MAEw/s320/deathroad.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Side note: Did I mention we biked the deadliest road in the world? This is a pic of the crew gathered around one of the CURVES OF DEATH! There are 70 or so cars at the bottom of one of them.</div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div>Until next time.....UN ABRAZO!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>lauraromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12735913433374439286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798298765379482748.post-46479528782981763462008-04-24T09:28:00.000-07:002008-04-25T09:46:21.479-07:00Salty, I shrunk the French!Before heading to Bolivia we dipped into Chile <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-3NigjA0MAdmGAhIoORr91Lfme3HKbbORQb2moO5EFNjOBsqLN_OjBiqh2Vln05y01M23ZAPT6BSOl2n2UWClyt5umfnNZPRF0BEfLGnvjmj0JjnmzIg9K6FjPCYSB0EvuqnQVLFDzQ/s1600-h/IMGP1966.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193195883431996946" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-3NigjA0MAdmGAhIoORr91Lfme3HKbbORQb2moO5EFNjOBsqLN_OjBiqh2Vln05y01M23ZAPT6BSOl2n2UWClyt5umfnNZPRF0BEfLGnvjmj0JjnmzIg9K6FjPCYSB0EvuqnQVLFDzQ/s320/IMGP1966.JPG" border="0" /></a> one last time and picked up a passenger, our new friend the Afro-portuguese Londoner. Though we have only been friends with the lovely Carina for little over a week, there are few people I can reminisce about the sand, salt and candle wax surfacing in places that they shouldn’t. Our friendship started with sandboarding in Chile<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEzmdec6zkcYxe8sXbZUGj9lSeB0YDDml4HV0F7JQEPT-4I6ikM1YaQ88c4Urf37JwAmdAAz0K-84oPAcqmSq2Vkhx54B3z0OLckrrjbUO4og-gOj7NJ_ZIpg31lZBA-ZSRSyKVNx8Og/s1600-h/IMGP1702.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192851998285507954" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEzmdec6zkcYxe8sXbZUGj9lSeB0YDDml4HV0F7JQEPT-4I6ikM1YaQ88c4Urf37JwAmdAAz0K-84oPAcqmSq2Vkhx54B3z0OLckrrjbUO4og-gOj7NJ_ZIpg31lZBA-ZSRSyKVNx8Og/s320/IMGP1702.JPG" border="0" /></a>, crossed the train tracks to get to the customs office at the boarder<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIQW2FcQh2eUDJZ2b65ouU8GNEDJx-UPqkCchss89V8FJ0A7k3HXLF5drrZAtC8_Wu-niBMHdUs35Q30IfHFSJHuW00sVS7RaX0ctHQKo5vvjcwvLma-D6O740T2ZQN37tFcZ4598ZTA/s1600-h/IMGP1707.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192996511050116530" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIQW2FcQh2eUDJZ2b65ouU8GNEDJx-UPqkCchss89V8FJ0A7k3HXLF5drrZAtC8_Wu-niBMHdUs35Q30IfHFSJHuW00sVS7RaX0ctHQKo5vvjcwvLma-D6O740T2ZQN37tFcZ4598ZTA/s320/IMGP1707.JPG" border="0" /></a>, and survived multiple crazy-french-headlamp-candlelight-card-games in Bolivia (with interspersed, open-minded discussions of gun control and veiling in french schools).<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwvrOzsahTcqlj2YKvmUJsFCJA-WF97cLBekKLwTGQifJRRrKR21RUYVkZlFZTLpIsGVi2qc6W3Ckjv8tKjhdxHidnZTnyZb7kj7GUIR2YwiQvSNpbFe_9UOcfTv0T8wOLJpJdCS9q9Q/s1600-h/IMGP1735.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193000174657220034" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwvrOzsahTcqlj2YKvmUJsFCJA-WF97cLBekKLwTGQifJRRrKR21RUYVkZlFZTLpIsGVi2qc6W3Ckjv8tKjhdxHidnZTnyZb7kj7GUIR2YwiQvSNpbFe_9UOcfTv0T8wOLJpJdCS9q9Q/s320/IMGP1735.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div>After arriving in Uyuni, Bolivia, having the best pizza ever (yay for crazy Bostonians who marry Bolivians and move down to the middle of nowhere to make really good pizza for tourists), we were fortunate again to pick up two more random friends (yay for adorable French couples) and set off on a private 4 day adventure into the salt flats. It was just the five of us--Hueona stayed behind under the care of the Bostonian.<br />Our driver was 16---just kidding Mom! He was 21. Haha, that didn´t make us feel much safer until the cooks (his young wife and 5 month old daughter) hopped in the car with us! (Yay for the big happy multi-ethnic family we became!)<br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKZvi9mNguHiW9LvdgyhfoAyc_sdzxAicY6zxHGerzSfgXMXLvYa3OsPWBoSnFZdkD_T_mQ-AyVjpMQ8tovkn0Fp2hCX_M-7TREeqFyyWgUZKw0UXAj-XkBVRn_CIMn19kuSRCsdr97Q/s1600-h/IMG_4498.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193002339320737234" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKZvi9mNguHiW9LvdgyhfoAyc_sdzxAicY6zxHGerzSfgXMXLvYa3OsPWBoSnFZdkD_T_mQ-AyVjpMQ8tovkn0Fp2hCX_M-7TREeqFyyWgUZKw0UXAj-XkBVRn_CIMn19kuSRCsdr97Q/s320/IMG_4498.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Though we had only known our new family for a few hours we broke the ice like many do: with food. First I ate my brother.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxBinrOPKzXkRWm6kDxcon2zSb8mMXauqBpXEtbKCuWPXcdP-QpSczUH-tV6J7niC3pMsX8abdOfyBnO5fQ4BNwPzo6VuS8XQDIm4SFovwllgngda6tQUVdwZGWd61-mfC4Ytec3Lewg/s1600-h/Copy+of+IMGP1724.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193003567681383906" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxBinrOPKzXkRWm6kDxcon2zSb8mMXauqBpXEtbKCuWPXcdP-QpSczUH-tV6J7niC3pMsX8abdOfyBnO5fQ4BNwPzo6VuS8XQDIm4SFovwllgngda6tQUVdwZGWd61-mfC4Ytec3Lewg/s320/Copy+of+IMGP1724.JPG" border="0" /></a> Then my brother tried to eat the girls.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYpmKTPV3oE5Ya8XA56rNP8CLB5hghOAp0RV_rtn5AbU4rABLAmcLTe6lAykbNC5cbOLcumAcWseu7LbVzAWfjJviNRg7wcQT-lG8YZt7uc8iOTe3KYPzO7vR0gezaJaTvsxMfaoVdMQ/s1600-h/IMGP1718.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193007042309926386" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYpmKTPV3oE5Ya8XA56rNP8CLB5hghOAp0RV_rtn5AbU4rABLAmcLTe6lAykbNC5cbOLcumAcWseu7LbVzAWfjJviNRg7wcQT-lG8YZt7uc8iOTe3KYPzO7vR0gezaJaTvsxMfaoVdMQ/s320/IMGP1718.JPG" border="0" /></a> Then the condor tried to eat us all.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW-Sfjcp9-XypXVzVYM6GajIi2uAHLdd0YxzwjGNTn2XV0KGMtgBzu0JBdZj63awCJ_loWamq31uH-bMFTwj2FxmdFCNe20jltvOk0GlI9_t7hSAXTB9G-Mmid_0YcmPW_gA05eaxh-Q/s1600-h/IMGP1726.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193010688737160706" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW-Sfjcp9-XypXVzVYM6GajIi2uAHLdd0YxzwjGNTn2XV0KGMtgBzu0JBdZj63awCJ_loWamq31uH-bMFTwj2FxmdFCNe20jltvOk0GlI9_t7hSAXTB9G-Mmid_0YcmPW_gA05eaxh-Q/s320/IMGP1726.JPG" border="0" /></a></div></div><div>Of course, you all know that my happiness would not be complete without lots of cute little kids running around the salt hotels, which are made entirely--walls, beds, tables, chairs--of salt. Learning that playing hand-games is universal was the icing on the cake.<br /><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9U81F1NPPj_V4hzkbyDuV9owVTpRdv9-WZfNueVp14H3ZGKXMN7PPiR7iY30BoRrMozVT7hVPH1KP971S8o1ZJqEgzaphpirh-nljVa7UDoCnSInK5ZJoXf3Lv0jJVhgh10h4vYU5lg/s1600-h/IMGP1745.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192993126615887266" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9U81F1NPPj_V4hzkbyDuV9owVTpRdv9-WZfNueVp14H3ZGKXMN7PPiR7iY30BoRrMozVT7hVPH1KP971S8o1ZJqEgzaphpirh-nljVa7UDoCnSInK5ZJoXf3Lv0jJVhgh10h4vYU5lg/s320/IMGP1745.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqlkOj_htett_PS0BNUp_iyB2KcWTiJWrFmwSYNvJJnbSo__S-P4LCoORvm4eQaO8jKP8yEDV5ip9kWJihxZtATYkdQUJ3T7aYv-TnuIM32JE8O7I3bG53W4C4NpzVoos63WxkHO8M4Q/s1600-h/IMG_4336.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193197352310812194" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqlkOj_htett_PS0BNUp_iyB2KcWTiJWrFmwSYNvJJnbSo__S-P4LCoORvm4eQaO8jKP8yEDV5ip9kWJihxZtATYkdQUJ3T7aYv-TnuIM32JE8O7I3bG53W4C4NpzVoos63WxkHO8M4Q/s320/IMG_4336.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div><br />Oh, did I mention the flamingos in the red laguna<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeJNKfourll55HUg8wexoCJiGltfH4XI8omdsSrFOr8Y61HvVivYN9brkWn7kb5ParRBIQI7b36u1853152FGCRpgdGqjrY5EEbzE9TlYPKtnijjpUb5R7JFhFmZT2NQtvUx7c-HVtQQ/s1600-h/IMGP4731.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193202811214245442" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeJNKfourll55HUg8wexoCJiGltfH4XI8omdsSrFOr8Y61HvVivYN9brkWn7kb5ParRBIQI7b36u1853152FGCRpgdGqjrY5EEbzE9TlYPKtnijjpUb5R7JFhFmZT2NQtvUx7c-HVtQQ/s320/IMGP4731.JPG" border="0" /></a> the primordial soup <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha1HzCiVFprDShFnX-Z0_JiRg9ezytjwDuS7njy7Ehk-o-oybWG_tJ0W0Z-IKc5goBhW2JLqATV2OB9ePwdjL_WdTwH0QMNgOteTzcgEfW-Jo39Qt3w9r03PeS1qbTPuaXcMMRbfjbOA/s1600-h/IMGP2050.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193216834282466946" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha1HzCiVFprDShFnX-Z0_JiRg9ezytjwDuS7njy7Ehk-o-oybWG_tJ0W0Z-IKc5goBhW2JLqATV2OB9ePwdjL_WdTwH0QMNgOteTzcgEfW-Jo39Qt3w9r03PeS1qbTPuaXcMMRbfjbOA/s320/IMGP2050.JPG" border="0" /></a>and the 10,000 year old mummies (this creepy pic thinks it´s too good to load)? Nuff said.<br /></div><div>Yipee!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlLZ3jx_Lq9bCAgvL3gj7bJ0A-qmlWyfpvLcJFgFG07nrMB8afPObb9G92Ck7PShwAHAD4wkiKgNRYtjsFTsGJoSdpK8ORuhEd5AcsN41_7aAyBhNcDC3VhwgcPQRXhBlRgaiFZYtScA/s1600-h/IMGP4387.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193223959633211026" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlLZ3jx_Lq9bCAgvL3gj7bJ0A-qmlWyfpvLcJFgFG07nrMB8afPObb9G92Ck7PShwAHAD4wkiKgNRYtjsFTsGJoSdpK8ORuhEd5AcsN41_7aAyBhNcDC3VhwgcPQRXhBlRgaiFZYtScA/s320/IMGP4387.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>lauraromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12735913433374439286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798298765379482748.post-81377305228803023112008-04-13T16:05:00.000-07:002008-04-24T18:32:12.161-07:00Don´t cry for me Argentina!<div>(Note: being able to stop at random wineries composed of a small shack and courtyard = the reason we decided to do this trip by car! <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuRqxNRaGz1qIZHHjWOwkKwh-PRYMsGql4-hr40QnsA9s3RoDmqezkQn39wC6_p2qU4gzxlSXe8FX3piJv_lY8enjsTLxX4Rj8TAjGUENy6veKaTpP7CmSSeFoKdzPEAmXoVF_qqi2ZQ/s1600-h/IMGP1631.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188875097217871938" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuRqxNRaGz1qIZHHjWOwkKwh-PRYMsGql4-hr40QnsA9s3RoDmqezkQn39wC6_p2qU4gzxlSXe8FX3piJv_lY8enjsTLxX4Rj8TAjGUENy6veKaTpP7CmSSeFoKdzPEAmXoVF_qqi2ZQ/s320/IMGP1631.JPG" border="0" /></a> )</div><br /><div><br />We combined celebrating our last few days in Argentina and the beginning of our training for the Inca Trail by ditching our comfy 4Runner and getting our butts on bikes. Granted, the real intention for the bikes was to ride to 7 wineries scattered at the foot of the Andes outside a beautiful little town called Cafayate. We sampled a FEW wines<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiljjxR_9oJse-Ze3xQ7T7m42MmEIbJ1gdQrNWKUoVwESwadZChw6SIRuEn2MdF2xlRbKbY5OPAJrVy3I7rvnIbJTkFEsm1BTpcCkkCxDIyQECj0szEczkpdLKLi1mEz_Ru9jxEUZOpLw/s1600-h/IMGP1635.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192833465501625602" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiljjxR_9oJse-Ze3xQ7T7m42MmEIbJ1gdQrNWKUoVwESwadZChw6SIRuEn2MdF2xlRbKbY5OPAJrVy3I7rvnIbJTkFEsm1BTpcCkkCxDIyQECj0szEczkpdLKLi1mEz_Ru9jxEUZOpLw/s320/IMGP1635.JPG" border="0" /></a> and bought a FEW bottles ;) <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqTEqWjnDvsHLV41F4qWsqqx8thJZYa8SoPgePaws_RhHxlUbwmOZsPC0MfWBSYUQ3-tLI5422-VU5gS7sMcZgHDj-eVcxYtJdosQv3-KKHJY92CDdrwK4h7R7lvQDNv5tUthH4HSucw/s1600-h/IMGP1647.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192835960877624594" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqTEqWjnDvsHLV41F4qWsqqx8thJZYa8SoPgePaws_RhHxlUbwmOZsPC0MfWBSYUQ3-tLI5422-VU5gS7sMcZgHDj-eVcxYtJdosQv3-KKHJY92CDdrwK4h7R7lvQDNv5tUthH4HSucw/s320/IMGP1647.JPG" border="0" /></a> Our favorite was the organic wine…though I will admit it was the last bodega we entered, so there is no guarantee my taste-buds were sober. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirs1jSdOjZF7yeT1EJ5cRBlnmC0iIFFXFhbc0AzqI-d8rsOIzV3pnTrCy54-i3gz94yVr2BtKvuoCsoAbiJgfs5d2FdIxs4qvnx8vYi3X3enNw0jrvQVE0iaNnWLhUJWoPNTE0Nv6cHw/s1600-h/IMGP1775.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192839830643158306" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirs1jSdOjZF7yeT1EJ5cRBlnmC0iIFFXFhbc0AzqI-d8rsOIzV3pnTrCy54-i3gz94yVr2BtKvuoCsoAbiJgfs5d2FdIxs4qvnx8vYi3X3enNw0jrvQVE0iaNnWLhUJWoPNTE0Nv6cHw/s320/IMGP1775.JPG" border="0" /></a>I’ll let your imaginations give you the giggles with images of me tipsy on a bike. </div><br /><div>Alas, the next day we traded in our bikes again for the comfort of our beautiful Hueona (now heavy with wine bottles) and headed along a beautiful dirt road with varying landscapes. Although I hate to equate the unique beauty of a landscape to any other in the world, this small corner of Northern Argentina really made me reminisce about our Eid vacation 4-wheeling in the desert in Egypt (here’s another shout-out to my anti-struggle partners in crime). <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGiKBiIuM0z3eXMcu8pb79Wpyc9DC2ZXsyTALRCi-UnUVxZ2dzlq6t0A8onzmWzvVCJ3AM4x_FSwy5hcFKJzhOnCo8vmPJmZbaE34sVcB_cBGHMjEOvXcm4-S0c3EIj8Z74c9xhVQ5ig/s1600-h/IMGP1838.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192841462730730802" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGiKBiIuM0z3eXMcu8pb79Wpyc9DC2ZXsyTALRCi-UnUVxZ2dzlq6t0A8onzmWzvVCJ3AM4x_FSwy5hcFKJzhOnCo8vmPJmZbaE34sVcB_cBGHMjEOvXcm4-S0c3EIj8Z74c9xhVQ5ig/s320/IMGP1838.JPG" border="0" /></a>Though, it was a bit windier.</div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTDakofy4A-_LRXw8Ty4lj9RFSL7i33H4RhdRfBYqzaaqoOkXnEBCS9cBcpc_YpdD-wVWtTQOudlTU3EFCDuLRzuPk81vXG-r8zfnZhlH8Gr5DL7u894OeZVLyWoU1e2YlfYPsoY3p1w/s1600-h/IMGP1907.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192845538654694738" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTDakofy4A-_LRXw8Ty4lj9RFSL7i33H4RhdRfBYqzaaqoOkXnEBCS9cBcpc_YpdD-wVWtTQOudlTU3EFCDuLRzuPk81vXG-r8zfnZhlH8Gr5DL7u894OeZVLyWoU1e2YlfYPsoY3p1w/s320/IMGP1907.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><div>We had to make a pit stop in the city of Salta to patch our first flat, rotate our tires (10,000 mile marker, baby, yeah!), and refresh our spirits with much-needed Chinese food<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTrReqlCkvyoz9kBjZfKbfAQGmi8UvoPkzOrj6z5zQAsBE4n5ObTsNDotMJNiecvjXfd6PtJGaROs-ZMYMoz9jMsw1XYhEA7kjxqS-dVgtt2VY15kzBtbJDhkpqf_siC8SNgvTf4lMGA/s1600-h/IMGP1938.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192849142132256098" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTrReqlCkvyoz9kBjZfKbfAQGmi8UvoPkzOrj6z5zQAsBE4n5ObTsNDotMJNiecvjXfd6PtJGaROs-ZMYMoz9jMsw1XYhEA7kjxqS-dVgtt2VY15kzBtbJDhkpqf_siC8SNgvTf4lMGA/s320/IMGP1938.JPG" border="0" /></a>. Then it was off to spend our last night in Argentina at the base of the Cerro de Siete Colores. We think whoever named it was as bad at counting as Matt (hint to this inside joke: refer to my Antarctica blog).<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLvdEvGM0ldayWOcfpXBYaE4h1Jiv0iTDy5gSlDeiy1xkQdhuu-jHYhi_f5fhLI_nVd7Jgi0lPLvTH92JgLkBdcd96eW9dqCOrT8qeEs8GB-sFFo5SCFeLKovp8nZ5YYJk92XDDpvwDw/s1600-h/IMGP1957.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192989505958456722" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLvdEvGM0ldayWOcfpXBYaE4h1Jiv0iTDy5gSlDeiy1xkQdhuu-jHYhi_f5fhLI_nVd7Jgi0lPLvTH92JgLkBdcd96eW9dqCOrT8qeEs8GB-sFFo5SCFeLKovp8nZ5YYJk92XDDpvwDw/s320/IMGP1957.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />But don’t cry for me Argentina…my brother fell in love with your Buenos Aires. I’m sure I’ll use him as an excuse to return sometime very soon!<br /></div><br /><div><br /><div><br /><div><br /><div><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div></div></div>lauraromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12735913433374439286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798298765379482748.post-85747254843469557942008-04-11T18:27:00.000-07:002008-04-11T19:55:24.434-07:00One bug Two bug, Red guts Blue guts<div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp8QvB8oos_F0mRs_UYrFWyaTNCvxHg1EVOND5gZ3YHgY-H7qkXOAGHtCjaz3PMWdPXgNiIOJySvPHwp1QPuq9J0jcfqT4JHYUlgNqH_MQZR_YkTKZhJq8lcH2cfMs83P7mxMhqwTBrw/s1600-h/IMGP1504.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188165619882301570" style="CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp8QvB8oos_F0mRs_UYrFWyaTNCvxHg1EVOND5gZ3YHgY-H7qkXOAGHtCjaz3PMWdPXgNiIOJySvPHwp1QPuq9J0jcfqT4JHYUlgNqH_MQZR_YkTKZhJq8lcH2cfMs83P7mxMhqwTBrw/s320/IMGP1504.JPG" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp8QvB8oos_F0mRs_UYrFWyaTNCvxHg1EVOND5gZ3YHgY-H7qkXOAGHtCjaz3PMWdPXgNiIOJySvPHwp1QPuq9J0jcfqT4JHYUlgNqH_MQZR_YkTKZhJq8lcH2cfMs83P7mxMhqwTBrw/s1600-h/IMGP1504.JPG">Again, sorry this has </a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp8QvB8oos_F0mRs_UYrFWyaTNCvxHg1EVOND5gZ3YHgY-H7qkXOAGHtCjaz3PMWdPXgNiIOJySvPHwp1QPuq9J0jcfqT4JHYUlgNqH_MQZR_YkTKZhJq8lcH2cfMs83P7mxMhqwTBrw/s1600-h/IMGP1504.JPG">been so delayed, friends! The last few weeks have been characterized by lots of changing scenery! Since I last wrote about our drive from the south of Chile and into Uruguay we have done a lot more driving and seeing! First we spent a week in Buenos Aires brushing up on the Spanish that I lost years ago and getting involved in the Mafia (Fooprints Guide hit it spot on when they described the Tango show we went to as äuthentic¨!....see pics here <span style="font-size:+0;">http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2148655&l=adf2c&id=606158</span>).</a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAGlFqhxd2bNQAsF669WKLsIfN_0RC3PjXnroPPFUzcViN_9mShllFt5-x9Aw8Y_HeNPfSkEdh78C0PbP8xN4Vo_lV7hhbkfQqitUkHeyD-ZsGok6HhQLU1cxEYcFvX3EDD4Gbols3hg/s1600-h/lr.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188177933553539442" style="CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAGlFqhxd2bNQAsF669WKLsIfN_0RC3PjXnroPPFUzcViN_9mShllFt5-x9Aw8Y_HeNPfSkEdh78C0PbP8xN4Vo_lV7hhbkfQqitUkHeyD-ZsGok6HhQLU1cxEYcFvX3EDD4Gbols3hg/s320/lr.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp8QvB8oos_F0mRs_UYrFWyaTNCvxHg1EVOND5gZ3YHgY-H7qkXOAGHtCjaz3PMWdPXgNiIOJySvPHwp1QPuq9J0jcfqT4JHYUlgNqH_MQZR_YkTKZhJq8lcH2cfMs83P7mxMhqwTBrw/s1600-h/IMGP1504.JPG">The finale to this awesome week was the arrival of our lovely parents with whom we spent a relaxing week on the beach in a quiet town--made quieter by the fact that it was the off-season and absolutely NONE of the restaurants or shops were open...suffice it to say it is a good thing mom brought us a lot of Easter candy! (I miss you already Mamita!)</a> Shout out to all you PEEPS lovers out there!<br /><br />After returning them to the Buenos Aires airport and getting lost trying to leave the city (only and hour detour, or so!) we had our longest driving day yet: 14 hours through farmland and getting lost in more urban centers!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhgXPatY6cIgYLio405p6st46dZOekmfRopLRwSVkMDgOhXHsv66uAcwkyolifi1NtqwtAKiclXuvHN7TY8ipLBL6x0d7t9zkM-P0efZSYbNLxEUputsUdyPgEHyBgmpOQig_AORDY0Q/s1600-h/IMGP1732.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188181472606591426" style="CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhgXPatY6cIgYLio405p6st46dZOekmfRopLRwSVkMDgOhXHsv66uAcwkyolifi1NtqwtAKiclXuvHN7TY8ipLBL6x0d7t9zkM-P0efZSYbNLxEUputsUdyPgEHyBgmpOQig_AORDY0Q/s320/IMGP1732.JPG" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8l29UQZj_bV_68kRaxUfzikigQqChJ4C47X_JLB8wWASdRoEix-YoYqCQxB5CPCW6NCQle9JFzX7cWU9N86OePSHtFxf01aJ0C9fx8rxFQkCYHAWvHN3viMbnn_U7J1xd41YAeedWHA/s1600-h/IMGP1519.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188179956483135874" style="CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8l29UQZj_bV_68kRaxUfzikigQqChJ4C47X_JLB8wWASdRoEix-YoYqCQxB5CPCW6NCQle9JFzX7cWU9N86OePSHtFxf01aJ0C9fx8rxFQkCYHAWvHN3viMbnn_U7J1xd41YAeedWHA/s320/IMGP1519.JPG" border="0" /></a>Slowly, but surely we started to see the scenery change (even the color of bug guts on our windows went from boring black mosquito to rainbow-sparkly butterfly...I am absolutely not exaggerating, ask my bro!). Even the road-kill started to change...from dogs and foxes we started to see coatie (a racoon-like species that we could have sworn was a monkey from behind!) and toucan (okay, that wasn´t road-kill but for all that know my mother I just had to add it in!). We stopped by some awesome Jesuit missions<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjThk4BFdgFfq7SxRZW3WFMS-0TWY_lmacKt8yAFo-Usi7q2m0Ck_NERE3zB_ein6KC6EJmLdT5V9nlC-xFwgznU-i-eHCoQbMPFjLcqZZB3Mqx6sQkDWiQt-r-HWfxB-1G-YtEqW_RPg/s1600-h/IMGP3596.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188170662173907186" style="CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjThk4BFdgFfq7SxRZW3WFMS-0TWY_lmacKt8yAFo-Usi7q2m0Ck_NERE3zB_ein6KC6EJmLdT5V9nlC-xFwgznU-i-eHCoQbMPFjLcqZZB3Mqx6sQkDWiQt-r-HWfxB-1G-YtEqW_RPg/s320/IMGP3596.JPG" border="0" /></a> with these cool trees that some call parasites but they are more like Anacondas as they wrap themselves around other things and suffocate them (pic: trying to suffocate the stone pillar of a Jesuit mission)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV9xxTaz05euXAE8oGtUtin_gpNMPAi_aXM5ezdqOgtLvwH8cBoxqaVGWdU3z1jZAW22RdLX8psoQ2TjHawcBgVpvprWnXnABRQ4kzPCt_5c3KAoAypz1Ccnpna-0GOF3aWAh12iXjpQ/s1600-h/IMGP3567.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188184122601413090" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV9xxTaz05euXAE8oGtUtin_gpNMPAi_aXM5ezdqOgtLvwH8cBoxqaVGWdU3z1jZAW22RdLX8psoQ2TjHawcBgVpvprWnXnABRQ4kzPCt_5c3KAoAypz1Ccnpna-0GOF3aWAh12iXjpQ/s320/IMGP3567.JPG" border="0" /></a>. Then we came upon our goal: the CATARATAS (waterfalls) of Iguazu (as you can imagine....the number of bird and insect species here were enormous!)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ5lwZ6P8i9HrJOV_G67Uh10f_L27jXi7tDglxz8shhnNuB7Czgpd1gdXqwNh9wlSQ-E9DxlRPM_R2lFTHSGQyg7HZzQTbY5k1dU69uJPfpo8z75HG1ulURxVPBqI0A59cDerLhVH5_w/s1600-h/IMGP1680.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188179969368037794" style="CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ5lwZ6P8i9HrJOV_G67Uh10f_L27jXi7tDglxz8shhnNuB7Czgpd1gdXqwNh9wlSQ-E9DxlRPM_R2lFTHSGQyg7HZzQTbY5k1dU69uJPfpo8z75HG1ulURxVPBqI0A59cDerLhVH5_w/s320/IMGP1680.JPG" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTlx8rdpcy1C4QZdplG29_7IPptw7LyrR__KrnqvqZfxc3zfnKU8qnwYLllBmdPFCFtVszha7bNHsfAE-Z039JJhTJHT3ib3COs8QzXfAlWxG2WPZo-zBxNWlXXJYAXYZu-Kplho2KsA/s1600-h/IMGP1674.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188173801795000626" style="CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTlx8rdpcy1C4QZdplG29_7IPptw7LyrR__KrnqvqZfxc3zfnKU8qnwYLllBmdPFCFtVszha7bNHsfAE-Z039JJhTJHT3ib3COs8QzXfAlWxG2WPZo-zBxNWlXXJYAXYZu-Kplho2KsA/s320/IMGP1674.JPG" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhkRbiXzqXakj5d8gXKXch3KMfKubFCf4UkJuvdqvzmsOCYvHbTuNd6wi7egO8bAEScFdg30CicYoAY-cf-AuRm_yeskvWlByxu5-FvWM_TRaHcAJWwD7y16jYF6C_oybzF26_qzjqBw/s1600-h/IMGP1694.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188172500419909906" style="CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhkRbiXzqXakj5d8gXKXch3KMfKubFCf4UkJuvdqvzmsOCYvHbTuNd6wi7egO8bAEScFdg30CicYoAY-cf-AuRm_yeskvWlByxu5-FvWM_TRaHcAJWwD7y16jYF6C_oybzF26_qzjqBw/s320/IMGP1694.JPG" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyUeIi0eOV6yXRYUGbArOdUjudNq1MmrOF87BRRh4jXPaa8RY4NpX434LcZ2QAXLIj3DjyMxB5Boxp9grCu6o7MymmHii6MHw9PPoH4sTSfYZJnKj-IORFP2zc255u5MMAXdNd7ntmmA/s1600-h/IMGP1697.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188171538347235586" style="CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyUeIi0eOV6yXRYUGbArOdUjudNq1MmrOF87BRRh4jXPaa8RY4NpX434LcZ2QAXLIj3DjyMxB5Boxp9grCu6o7MymmHii6MHw9PPoH4sTSfYZJnKj-IORFP2zc255u5MMAXdNd7ntmmA/s320/IMGP1697.JPG" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI7UkRsd2j-QKxDi4zb9CFY_rr3g-IDdZz48CP5LLQkqaPG5yDUl-toNwr-wiUw0M5UVTjxBJ7v9kCfPY2TjDNEe6z_5H7RehBvo6RWN2-32EsnA1FAN8o6XhiRekVmgGFxYGiEMA6zQ/s1600-h/IMGP3648.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188170657878939874" style="CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI7UkRsd2j-QKxDi4zb9CFY_rr3g-IDdZz48CP5LLQkqaPG5yDUl-toNwr-wiUw0M5UVTjxBJ7v9kCfPY2TjDNEe6z_5H7RehBvo6RWN2-32EsnA1FAN8o6XhiRekVmgGFxYGiEMA6zQ/s320/IMGP3648.JPG" border="0" />I think I will let the pics speak for themselves (the one with me squinting in the sun is next to the appropriately named GARGANTA DEL DIABLO (devil´s throat) portion of the part. Technically it was on the Brazilian side (which we didnt go to because the VISA was too expensive and they didn´t have the right gasoline for our car), but the Argentinians have taken advantage of an awesome walkway over the river and through the woods....to this awesome mirador (viewpoint).</a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHI-1bK2htNXlsVJEcx_uHuoY_mLkRelIz-yK0v_Vo0rMPKrTzkIVWwNR1K4bF7Ko4Lt4ahFMbaxxuedGRH4YQgVZlRbiDg7c6ULCq4puzGXeuQL-Vy9f2BTWn6jt649UpP6UufxAF7g/s1600-h/IMGP1685.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188173797500033314" style="CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHI-1bK2htNXlsVJEcx_uHuoY_mLkRelIz-yK0v_Vo0rMPKrTzkIVWwNR1K4bF7Ko4Lt4ahFMbaxxuedGRH4YQgVZlRbiDg7c6ULCq4puzGXeuQL-Vy9f2BTWn6jt649UpP6UufxAF7g/s320/IMGP1685.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDnNXii2TsKMWebaQYou6ZIvC_f64RH8cGfGBGwIopX4fG7X-E0nNxvT3DHTPiCTliJJzuP5mYBk5YKRH_ZTId3h7vBGsKoB_PG-h5lJpU8XN4VGaYC3nNC7Mq20FeCE7EG3XrBzLlJQ/s1600-h/IMGP1546.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188166062263933074" style="CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDnNXii2TsKMWebaQYou6ZIvC_f64RH8cGfGBGwIopX4fG7X-E0nNxvT3DHTPiCTliJJzuP5mYBk5YKRH_ZTId3h7vBGsKoB_PG-h5lJpU8XN4VGaYC3nNC7Mq20FeCE7EG3XrBzLlJQ/s320/IMGP1546.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5-Xa1zax4ZZKGy_q-z47q3O0KGrNARwv7B1ekju31UTboyT_3TycVDne7GkoS3rgw1CsIQjJDETIdbOgyJPFytORY0QZm5bRKLfWdIrGEIk7b1qXJk4QHS8bMNpeu_aZQRiKlECAmnw/s1600-h/IMGP3758.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188184139781282306" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5-Xa1zax4ZZKGy_q-z47q3O0KGrNARwv7B1ekju31UTboyT_3TycVDne7GkoS3rgw1CsIQjJDETIdbOgyJPFytORY0QZm5bRKLfWdIrGEIk7b1qXJk4QHS8bMNpeu_aZQRiKlECAmnw/s320/IMGP3758.JPG" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYlMB3KKgJx3hPWex0B5v6LxNoMugFiW6cTEVMzHQdlWLskZiaNqJk9H_xo4xO1k-OtzJdG9_iC4PFAgNdxnXef_eV8ND1WPHFblOB7G4WveZFcUcgpFbvtUWcvSkPEcr4gignBWLi7g/s1600-h/IMGP3715.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188169549777377490" style="CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYlMB3KKgJx3hPWex0B5v6LxNoMugFiW6cTEVMzHQdlWLskZiaNqJk9H_xo4xO1k-OtzJdG9_iC4PFAgNdxnXef_eV8ND1WPHFblOB7G4WveZFcUcgpFbvtUWcvSkPEcr4gignBWLi7g/s320/IMGP3715.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />The next fews days showed another change in scenery (that is, of course, after we got around the our second 2 hour demonstration)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigxLc16dEBFXsNdZo4HF5aE9jygeVbBPmaYpjjAwhR2gJZKVtAwvRl2RzQk6nheB5POHQ0Q-rAt8ivujYlBSN297-kYwT1iRb67GRDSNnMvxNHtG9ER1TczBZ9BVtVu8laHwDLeIScJw/s1600-h/IMGP1706.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188181468311624114" style="CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigxLc16dEBFXsNdZo4HF5aE9jygeVbBPmaYpjjAwhR2gJZKVtAwvRl2RzQk6nheB5POHQ0Q-rAt8ivujYlBSN297-kYwT1iRb67GRDSNnMvxNHtG9ER1TczBZ9BVtVu8laHwDLeIScJw/s320/IMGP1706.JPG" border="0" /></a>, this time from east to west instead of south to north. Starting in the sub-tropical climate of Iguazu (meaning BIG WATER....touche).....through farmland and chaco (wetlands)--talk about two inch long grasshopers!....to what I am going to go ahead an stereotype as typical Mexico<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSGou8eZtygTiIFw-FA4Gf9r0pmj4rLIbDFXFJTFW0WaG75rg9UCfDx0S_GX2XfVnsIehjvVNnivHdm_DSEcGoENkFaIYVEngaJMTtqF-_mcZmmzQMhkBGpRV4hF42xz8gL3486TsTZw/s1600-h/IMGP1596.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188168394431174818" style="CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSGou8eZtygTiIFw-FA4Gf9r0pmj4rLIbDFXFJTFW0WaG75rg9UCfDx0S_GX2XfVnsIehjvVNnivHdm_DSEcGoENkFaIYVEngaJMTtqF-_mcZmmzQMhkBGpRV4hF42xz8gL3486TsTZw/s320/IMGP1596.JPG" border="0" /></a>. Of course it is just the dry climate and enormous cacti that gave me this initial impression. We also got to explore the ruins of a city that resisted both the Inca and the Spanish for 130 years before being marched to Buenos Aires on their own Trail of Tears<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXRkhyZEm0JloAgeTIBtoRpYHi7cwqi0Z_ADx9xfuL8aPCsnwggsNZms50VUPJzoNzoB7wDFASAutp7yIglddQWPQpyepRO_KUyiMBa5MNyM0WY5fK9j_D2jdkh-KQTvGf_K0RAdZm4Q/s1600-h/IMGP3843.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188185763278920210" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXRkhyZEm0JloAgeTIBtoRpYHi7cwqi0Z_ADx9xfuL8aPCsnwggsNZms50VUPJzoNzoB7wDFASAutp7yIglddQWPQpyepRO_KUyiMBa5MNyM0WY5fK9j_D2jdkh-KQTvGf_K0RAdZm4Q/s320/IMGP3843.JPG" border="0" /></a>.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkuEpaE-XJUAZGskJtJ-vYmKys6mzW3ny6sKQba2v79rdGxGvY-Eua6gFwGddpU1hXpqmBxLUmtupo694vQZdDoTOEhQlaNow59TwigCGryXdPE1jwA5ipVspf-50A4Dq705maBAZDYQ/s1600-h/IMGP3837.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188169545482410178" style="CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkuEpaE-XJUAZGskJtJ-vYmKys6mzW3ny6sKQba2v79rdGxGvY-Eua6gFwGddpU1hXpqmBxLUmtupo694vQZdDoTOEhQlaNow59TwigCGryXdPE1jwA5ipVspf-50A4Dq705maBAZDYQ/s320/IMGP3837.JPG" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvqaEBIeba7Mc-KYZH3TrGAl5mRtSxjykfS95xPH6sGg0Du-q7y_0_XQTpZfNeCxE4PgPkzKJ65surXyfFa-5V4pCAkkMNJ2Hpdxj7IRVk9H_gKjpHjZA_O6e9WLiBUeFP7ZbUkZbRkw/s1600-h/IMGP1630.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188179965073070482" style="CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvqaEBIeba7Mc-KYZH3TrGAl5mRtSxjykfS95xPH6sGg0Du-q7y_0_XQTpZfNeCxE4PgPkzKJ65surXyfFa-5V4pCAkkMNJ2Hpdxj7IRVk9H_gKjpHjZA_O6e9WLiBUeFP7ZbUkZbRkw/s320/IMGP1630.JPG" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkuEpaE-XJUAZGskJtJ-vYmKys6mzW3ny6sKQba2v79rdGxGvY-Eua6gFwGddpU1hXpqmBxLUmtupo694vQZdDoTOEhQlaNow59TwigCGryXdPE1jwA5ipVspf-50A4Dq705maBAZDYQ/s1600-h/IMGP3837.JPG"> (Beware of the donkeys that will beg at your car window=.We camped a little.</a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMOkT7ZxERlOuAyGgljEKxQ6Azxde2bZnqBys-wx1fbiFfvynFGU_1zu4QjybnmvxrvKjtJIxkgN8IjkTTLeJgUv8PG3ee9rH2GYGjkkb-9cLNCnFc4zWm6hCc1NmtCBD0qWnHcrwUcA/s1600-h/IMGP3811.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188185771868854818" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMOkT7ZxERlOuAyGgljEKxQ6Azxde2bZnqBys-wx1fbiFfvynFGU_1zu4QjybnmvxrvKjtJIxkgN8IjkTTLeJgUv8PG3ee9rH2GYGjkkb-9cLNCnFc4zWm6hCc1NmtCBD0qWnHcrwUcA/s320/IMGP3811.JPG" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSYhnfOPAVF4nQxQ8JF7WD7ObBdRTPBeA0a6orW48879D5JNYSvgJNXxAuXzbFiyUu2MNrGdJUbHaagHtdHcICCh3016hxue3JHyw_GYxTyeI2gA0FPJkWE4KIdMX8Fm314BtQRMimoA/s1600-h/IMGP1614.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188173810384935234" style="CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSYhnfOPAVF4nQxQ8JF7WD7ObBdRTPBeA0a6orW48879D5JNYSvgJNXxAuXzbFiyUu2MNrGdJUbHaagHtdHcICCh3016hxue3JHyw_GYxTyeI2gA0FPJkWE4KIdMX8Fm314BtQRMimoA/s320/IMGP1614.JPG" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkuEpaE-XJUAZGskJtJ-vYmKys6mzW3ny6sKQba2v79rdGxGvY-Eua6gFwGddpU1hXpqmBxLUmtupo694vQZdDoTOEhQlaNow59TwigCGryXdPE1jwA5ipVspf-50A4Dq705maBAZDYQ/s1600-h/IMGP3837.JPG"> </a>Stopped to futbol a little.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5lB-HppMPaJwj0zECOfvUEPZf-oNJVUkqUd7hyi54kJnTSiNs1VLUrBz06NjpTKn-AMgsHSXCuGTlfGcZ7sZH-v0edgU0DcICC66V1vxHwTUs7G5FhMM1MbA2Ui8ALpEC0Jp6opqjMQ/s1600-h/IMGP3642.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188184131191347698" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5lB-HppMPaJwj0zECOfvUEPZf-oNJVUkqUd7hyi54kJnTSiNs1VLUrBz06NjpTKn-AMgsHSXCuGTlfGcZ7sZH-v0edgU0DcICC66V1vxHwTUs7G5FhMM1MbA2Ui8ALpEC0Jp6opqjMQ/s320/IMGP3642.JPG" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkuEpaE-XJUAZGskJtJ-vYmKys6mzW3ny6sKQba2v79rdGxGvY-Eua6gFwGddpU1hXpqmBxLUmtupo694vQZdDoTOEhQlaNow59TwigCGryXdPE1jwA5ipVspf-50A4Dq705maBAZDYQ/s1600-h/IMGP3837.JPG">And we museumed a little. (I am going to take it as a benevolent sign that I decided to pose under this statue, considering I later found out it was the figure of a Shaman.</a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7lU7nMRZc0R_dHDKx-7CcawphOOeh2hNbIuyF3FxWi3ZrHVtwAHDH7KevoiNzgCcZg252xap4DaNV0gk2mAzTIduAl4JXHOMYNB_5fG9MjhpVguZZKLPXHWE9cZO-9qWAgv6Q8MCaPg/s1600-h/IMGP1604.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188168403021109426" style="CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7lU7nMRZc0R_dHDKx-7CcawphOOeh2hNbIuyF3FxWi3ZrHVtwAHDH7KevoiNzgCcZg252xap4DaNV0gk2mAzTIduAl4JXHOMYNB_5fG9MjhpVguZZKLPXHWE9cZO-9qWAgv6Q8MCaPg/s320/IMGP1604.JPG" border="0" /> </a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkoKrkcbV9NVOYNfvIyj-vrUVZUXwbgtDA82KkgtbIQRbzrPCJL9iIsfXhOgoDipPmxsW2a4s8ukx2z4Ko6R1huT8MHeyxCbaZpSmh548olJm3fEsIiaGtcs991mP4bbXbHm2FCMZFNA/s1600-h/IMGP3770.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188185780458789426" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkoKrkcbV9NVOYNfvIyj-vrUVZUXwbgtDA82KkgtbIQRbzrPCJL9iIsfXhOgoDipPmxsW2a4s8ukx2z4Ko6R1huT8MHeyxCbaZpSmh548olJm3fEsIiaGtcs991mP4bbXbHm2FCMZFNA/s320/IMGP3770.JPG" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7lU7nMRZc0R_dHDKx-7CcawphOOeh2hNbIuyF3FxWi3ZrHVtwAHDH7KevoiNzgCcZg252xap4DaNV0gk2mAzTIduAl4JXHOMYNB_5fG9MjhpVguZZKLPXHWE9cZO-9qWAgv6Q8MCaPg/s1600-h/IMGP1604.JPG">At this point the bugs were not Kamakazi-ing our windshield, but rather our headlamps. (Did I mention Matt killed a bird?).</a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ_YRaQfiLlqIO7io6MfRtEX69zgDZvtdJzuYc9CL4SI_xQELD0iLZ8wbFuxalqCLQKxp9jhuZ2sNwUPZy1GFcI7u6apAhpV0cDL6vPL_M1HTibr3aaocVClMVfw8SebK3TN-Qqr521w/s1600-h/IMGP1738.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188181476901558738" style="CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ_YRaQfiLlqIO7io6MfRtEX69zgDZvtdJzuYc9CL4SI_xQELD0iLZ8wbFuxalqCLQKxp9jhuZ2sNwUPZy1GFcI7u6apAhpV0cDL6vPL_M1HTibr3aaocVClMVfw8SebK3TN-Qqr521w/s320/IMGP1738.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I think that´s about it for the last three weeks.</div></div>lauraromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12735913433374439286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798298765379482748.post-41833366628115965022008-03-26T20:16:00.001-07:002008-03-26T22:22:00.080-07:00Follow the yellow-dirt road<p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGVuXTp2zvZW_aUaOcWZRzA-GO0hMhzXJWqwEqM3s_XRMwZphif95oolKdfbFBZ0AOzGmsORz8GDymnkcDqtaFXpQ_h3Ce6ZVm0g_tnc5jw5gH7PQPjVF0yFwiVOcyEUOl6d2715uySQ/s1600-h/IMGP1364.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGVuXTp2zvZW_aUaOcWZRzA-GO0hMhzXJWqwEqM3s_XRMwZphif95oolKdfbFBZ0AOzGmsORz8GDymnkcDqtaFXpQ_h3Ce6ZVm0g_tnc5jw5gH7PQPjVF0yFwiVOcyEUOl6d2715uySQ/s320/IMGP1364.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182283990128116146" border="0" /></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Sorry it has been a while y’all.<span style=""> </span>Finally sent my final (cross your fingers) copy of my thesis to my ‘committee’ to be approved!<span style=""> </span>Now this is a story all about how my map got flip-turned upside-down, and I’d like to take a minute—just sit right there—I’ll tell you ‘bout our crazy journey to a town called ‘good air.’</p> <p class="MsoNormal">ummmm….right. <span style=""> </span>And I have been given the title of official navigator.<span style=""> </span>Great: <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVM2k9f5HcBrZ4PBn3-2KXCMLHwqdUpCtq4BIgvZhx0lHbsphQeILTJ5bO3o89xhlZBhA9KN3PTOazsXpbUzECJ2q8V3HDnvX6OuqJkC5yU3jCNwi4PrwQWowRanjEv0oJZKZi1ARZ9Q/s1600-h/IMGP1424.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVM2k9f5HcBrZ4PBn3-2KXCMLHwqdUpCtq4BIgvZhx0lHbsphQeILTJ5bO3o89xhlZBhA9KN3PTOazsXpbUzECJ2q8V3HDnvX6OuqJkC5yU3jCNwi4PrwQWowRanjEv0oJZKZi1ARZ9Q/s320/IMGP1424.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182283981538181538" border="0" /></a><br />We left Puerto Natales , Chile—way in the south(51 degrees Latitude)—and finally started our journey NORTH.<span style=""> </span>Almost 50 hours of driving in 4 days!<span style=""> </span>(Marvelous.<span style=""> </span>That is, only when considering that we did not anticipate an additional 20+ in the following 4 days.) Suffice it to say, Hueona was not looking her sharpest<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqMgqfS0O7EsHu8CYWynQ_R4_lqzP-sbxka4arX-slA3LUBasKYUe_xw9CzxqJaSkceFz9yPIxsBXDIm8unAPhE7UZEBj9WRgre3kRvB4HvJuYMC8bzcbxeoGgBm85r44evXmcIrzYtA/s1600-h/IMGP1373.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqMgqfS0O7EsHu8CYWynQ_R4_lqzP-sbxka4arX-slA3LUBasKYUe_xw9CzxqJaSkceFz9yPIxsBXDIm8unAPhE7UZEBj9WRgre3kRvB4HvJuYMC8bzcbxeoGgBm85r44evXmcIrzYtA/s320/IMGP1373.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182281116794995090" border="0" /></a> .<span style=""> </span>I am sure you can imagine that this update will be short and sweet (for me), because let me tell you: when you’ve seen a mile of the Argentinian pampas, you’ve seen it all ,my friends!<span style=""> </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghYGvEQ1H4K1BvqVBLg6IJDvqGZ5odrumKLQ1jsi-r9OQji1ZQ_6pc-ithJWw2jVGdH91hPnD2qfy8DD2gFM2rO0qU6_QBA9f4l-f49LHg-sL6xeVlbg-b38MFIObd-Eq_0X_YXIjaxQ/s1600-h/IMGP1372.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghYGvEQ1H4K1BvqVBLg6IJDvqGZ5odrumKLQ1jsi-r9OQji1ZQ_6pc-ithJWw2jVGdH91hPnD2qfy8DD2gFM2rO0qU6_QBA9f4l-f49LHg-sL6xeVlbg-b38MFIObd-Eq_0X_YXIjaxQ/s320/IMGP1372.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182281108205060482" border="0" /></a><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">We broke up the journey mid-way with a highly recommended “must see” Peninsula Valdez<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPRqLS2ZPWQSglTJkqRLWmKr4SfftyA8_uHPkhy74gKtl4pWgZi0-LSDAo_xZ8tzfIeLfHzkNlan98znUSGXuRYv6MkWPYSQkR1UTx87YSQ76AgKH17vswRw0yEOH46JA3CNFXGnEPkA/s1600-h/IMGP3051.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPRqLS2ZPWQSglTJkqRLWmKr4SfftyA8_uHPkhy74gKtl4pWgZi0-LSDAo_xZ8tzfIeLfHzkNlan98znUSGXuRYv6MkWPYSQkR1UTx87YSQ76AgKH17vswRw0yEOH46JA3CNFXGnEPkA/s320/IMGP3051.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182276551244759394" border="0" /></a>, known for its whale-sighting (oh wait, scratch that--wrong season! Though, we did see Orcas from afar—alas, we did not get any Animal Planet footage of a seal massacre.<span style=""> </span>How disappointing! ;)<span style=""> </span>)<span style=""> </span>My only question is if it legal in the U.S. to own an armadillo…<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJYceVj3GLBZ2xWKE-iDFxPGBWS2T3L6S8Yd-lHUllnIkCvD1NW7Zn76HtxS3cgzw4UKTwv2-T-ZhKCSOC4Phs61drj4UeILMfMRkqyAts8sXmJb52pao1BCMJSL4UGRb_iPwO6Az1nw/s1600-h/IMGP3064.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJYceVj3GLBZ2xWKE-iDFxPGBWS2T3L6S8Yd-lHUllnIkCvD1NW7Zn76HtxS3cgzw4UKTwv2-T-ZhKCSOC4Phs61drj4UeILMfMRkqyAts8sXmJb52pao1BCMJSL4UGRb_iPwO6Az1nw/s320/IMGP3064.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182276559834694002" border="0" /></a>Because I fell in love! (Mom, tell my perrito not to worry) I know, how could a hairy pig with a shell on its back ever be cute?<span style=""> </span>Answer: when they beg for cookies in parking lots.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">After getting ourselves mixed up in hours of traffic caused by farmers striking all over the country, we came upon an awe-inspiring site: a multi-lane highway with…other cars! We had not seen such craziness the whole trip! <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihKpIa9wdS8OInw9gn1aTYK1YFy67b7X_SjHX3gk5D-T4ZFMbznsFkSwpzaVvDq5KypiW3crQiHHJ8_1CK5SAW7wtCBbQmC2N1nLWY55gEUv7Ke4CbIuyJ5PJogFEYJRznrFiZj4kyKA/s1600-h/IMGP1398.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihKpIa9wdS8OInw9gn1aTYK1YFy67b7X_SjHX3gk5D-T4ZFMbznsFkSwpzaVvDq5KypiW3crQiHHJ8_1CK5SAW7wtCBbQmC2N1nLWY55gEUv7Ke4CbIuyJ5PJogFEYJRznrFiZj4kyKA/s320/IMGP1398.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182270439506297170" border="0" /></a>We had finally arrived in Buenos Aires—even though it would only be for one night.<span style=""> </span>The next morning we set off on a new adventure to reach Uruguay.<span style=""> </span>Our first attempt (via ferry) was thwarted by Easter weekend.<span style=""> </span>Silly gringuitos! Imagine trying to travel last minute on Thanksgiving and Fourth of July combined!<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So we put Hueona to work again even though she desperately needed a break.<span style=""> </span>We picked up and left straight from the port, driving up the Argentinian/Uruguayan border for four hours only to be thwarted yet again by a Finnish paper mill.<span style=""> </span>Yes, a dispute over the pollution caused by a paper mill has halted anyone from crossing the border at the southern most points (the closes to B.A. and Montevideo)—at least that is how it was explained to us by the two French Canadian hitch hikers we picked up later (one of which was going to school in BA to be a MIME! Whiskey Tengo, dudes (!?).<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Did we turn back?<span style=""> </span>No, we persisted!<span style=""> </span>(The colorful<span style=""> </span>town kept our spirits up! <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaFEFgaSoiK04eOaGvj0WyMR7g3Qh0QejR6tiUDgHMRVojRybUuJ7-a32dfeLx1FaL_Rbxh3u61b5J4F2OkWGgJF_xA37wqYcajIuxkhyIbGVlkUWLYzBcnWFx-9cJl6hz2tE0f_J-8Q/s1600-h/IMGP1415.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaFEFgaSoiK04eOaGvj0WyMR7g3Qh0QejR6tiUDgHMRVojRybUuJ7-a32dfeLx1FaL_Rbxh3u61b5J4F2OkWGgJF_xA37wqYcajIuxkhyIbGVlkUWLYzBcnWFx-9cJl6hz2tE0f_J-8Q/s320/IMGP1415.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182269421599048002" border="0" /></a>)<span style=""> </span>We drove another few hours and crossed our 7<sup>th</sup> boarder and arrived in a hot springs town just as night fell.<span style=""> </span>Um.<span style=""> </span>It was packed.<span style=""> </span>All the Coloradoans can imagine Glenwood Springs on the 4<sup>th</sup> of July….nuff said.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The next day we packed up and drove another 4 hours to Colonia (never made it to Montevideo <span style="font-family:Wingdings;"><span style="">L</span></span> ),<span style=""> </span>a beautiful town with the last remaining bit of colonial architecture in the region (or at least I think that is its claim to fame—too lazy to look in the book again!) <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2VZE6VSU_iq5_EJg96odv-wNiIWwhwYWspgC1LhGuiouG3qnnzaa2RNRLme7VVRo3CNlXRwLj-Vhz6h_dd9bKmo2umk5r3huzH3UG3sLE0mLSvm3B_tpGjpUYKEU509VGB8oCtGdMIg/s1600-h/IMGP1442.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2VZE6VSU_iq5_EJg96odv-wNiIWwhwYWspgC1LhGuiouG3qnnzaa2RNRLme7VVRo3CNlXRwLj-Vhz6h_dd9bKmo2umk5r3huzH3UG3sLE0mLSvm3B_tpGjpUYKEU509VGB8oCtGdMIg/s320/IMGP1442.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182265680682533170" border="0" /></a>.<span style=""> </span>But by that point we were le tired so we took a nap with the flowers (and then fired ze missiles!). <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin8_zyBxekCWkH9zEgdh_j9sCU1_tFTwzckKylf8dIyCGvhN2XyrGqfs1rkBZsjZ1HjwoWfYInQDr6DzRbaDrcCqEaLbt9mncYBz47jahjxGqQ35zFBPE6im0_dQxamFxstMv7Nx3p4Q/s1600-h/IMGP1448.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin8_zyBxekCWkH9zEgdh_j9sCU1_tFTwzckKylf8dIyCGvhN2XyrGqfs1rkBZsjZ1HjwoWfYInQDr6DzRbaDrcCqEaLbt9mncYBz47jahjxGqQ35zFBPE6im0_dQxamFxstMv7Nx3p4Q/s320/IMGP1448.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182265672092598562" border="0" /></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">The drive back to BA in the next few days was going smoothly except, literally, for all the LOMOS DE BURROS (read: backs of donkeys)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7PnfJo38Z5GlKLOCdzrjMOnFCpE5JdcPnJs2u6X2gLieouTIcGODyf2t5UZrY75YSEUsl0CTwDrmRzoPpljbPzH0uy4WxggvEdmcpDq8XmQgUCZFrdq-vNN4-xMuLy1q8WymC27QAiw/s1600-h/IMGP1418.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7PnfJo38Z5GlKLOCdzrjMOnFCpE5JdcPnJs2u6X2gLieouTIcGODyf2t5UZrY75YSEUsl0CTwDrmRzoPpljbPzH0uy4WxggvEdmcpDq8XmQgUCZFrdq-vNN4-xMuLy1q8WymC27QAiw/s320/IMGP1418.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182259641958514946" border="0" /></a> and routine traffic stops (yay for undeserved fines that cause one to miss the big futbol game!).<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">And that is the story of how we drove to Buenos Aires.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB4jQxCAtDmf4ftC2rMzd5HCwMYwdS2DsThI7taAvfMWKVQvzFzjsOJn_ZHoxNn2N1n_Ms2_3xr3hud-q8Zx9X1J6su45j5XAMn4GZhW_YUItye5PSNvtYilPSvFMefU7fBBHXZGe6hA/s1600-h/IMGP1473.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB4jQxCAtDmf4ftC2rMzd5HCwMYwdS2DsThI7taAvfMWKVQvzFzjsOJn_ZHoxNn2N1n_Ms2_3xr3hud-q8Zx9X1J6su45j5XAMn4GZhW_YUItye5PSNvtYilPSvFMefU7fBBHXZGe6hA/s320/IMGP1473.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182262803054444818" border="0" /></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal">(P.S. I just like this pic of an old Jesuit-mission-turned-orphanage-turned-ruin and this sweet-ass tree outside)</p> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd6LUonf5D6_EvhZ8oSZM8vZpiKknUYKLt3IGK12XUEnjM0BAaMYpvEUu1Ai0dJ9IVMd_P6COJoNkdSZehTsstbYABrNY2qigdtxWLcCmck2ZmCSw-pq9BqltlmpOYbbeTeZg_OeXmPw/s1600-h/IMGP1458.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd6LUonf5D6_EvhZ8oSZM8vZpiKknUYKLt3IGK12XUEnjM0BAaMYpvEUu1Ai0dJ9IVMd_P6COJoNkdSZehTsstbYABrNY2qigdtxWLcCmck2ZmCSw-pq9BqltlmpOYbbeTeZg_OeXmPw/s320/IMGP1458.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182257473000030450" border="0" /></a>lauraromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12735913433374439286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798298765379482748.post-63159685598353561072008-03-14T17:29:00.000-07:002008-03-15T16:55:14.502-07:00Coldplay and cold pizzaWell, I have some exciting news...after 4 days of listening to Coldplay (what else can you expect from an internet cafe--my new home--in a hippie/trekker base-town?) and eating cold pizza left overs in my hostel, I've finally finished a full draft of my Master's Thesis. Well, more or less. Ha!<br /><br />I spent quite a few hours in this internet cafe<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5H78lJj55hyphenhyphenn9Twriw4YwcynBRDTDpZ1b9VX_oJl4fuOeyiX2tBTjLXRzNkSqm3NP_ylhBlm6OUb20oMPYU7keqRwoTKrU03mK9t2p49x8b6v-md3KzU_rMKL8EiRFRFA-bxTX3jDLA/s1600-h/IMGP1269.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5H78lJj55hyphenhyphenn9Twriw4YwcynBRDTDpZ1b9VX_oJl4fuOeyiX2tBTjLXRzNkSqm3NP_ylhBlm6OUb20oMPYU7keqRwoTKrU03mK9t2p49x8b6v-md3KzU_rMKL8EiRFRFA-bxTX3jDLA/s320/IMGP1269.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178110670064767682" border="0" /></a>and have become bff with the owner, who has unofficially hired me as his WiFi tech rep. I am not sure whether this is sad on my part because it demonstrates how many hours I spent here, or on his because I am decently computer illiterate for my generation...<br /><br />My brother saved me from my misery yesterday afternoon...but the look in his eyes trumped my pain. Let's just say he was a little beat up. Enough so that I wouldn't dream of making him return to the park in anything less comfortable that our beautiful Hueona, whom he had missed dearly. So we spent today just driving around what we had planned to hike in 7 days. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNjLHCrs0Ym7iUgIo4l9_wRoRl2ZjTt6Jv36cqNWmrkFMyl5pdvQfkDXWZaO4BNR1WnKR1bycvtB7TeB4ZpNYMQG_KdJ2HkUH3VuYa9P3W2vXBV0Pi3Dz4QM6C_btKmE5h04J7UTF86Q/s1600-h/IMGP1320.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNjLHCrs0Ym7iUgIo4l9_wRoRl2ZjTt6Jv36cqNWmrkFMyl5pdvQfkDXWZaO4BNR1WnKR1bycvtB7TeB4ZpNYMQG_KdJ2HkUH3VuYa9P3W2vXBV0Pi3Dz4QM6C_btKmE5h04J7UTF86Q/s320/IMGP1320.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178120831957390130" border="0" /></a>Exciting and nostalgic moments included a lot of wildlife including a horde of zorros chillin' on the gravel of a mirador (viewing spot)...but that made me sad because they made me miss my little white fox I like to call 'piaga,' and a titastic shout out to Team Tejas (see the pic kids...what do those mountains look like to you? Don't let the name--Cuernos/Horns--mislead you, friends!).<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSNlD4g8TvpZusP7uIlnSKS7JejV4pq-utoIiY0hux9XFREPoYtsj2_JzhNyhl13lN-mW_yttdxLURJI1WsjHTnX7u9EJi1NbIvl4dOSaHx2K5dCJkthTvpJi8AM1eekHCm7RnN4yUHg/s1600-h/IMGP1323.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSNlD4g8TvpZusP7uIlnSKS7JejV4pq-utoIiY0hux9XFREPoYtsj2_JzhNyhl13lN-mW_yttdxLURJI1WsjHTnX7u9EJi1NbIvl4dOSaHx2K5dCJkthTvpJi8AM1eekHCm7RnN4yUHg/s320/IMGP1323.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178113659362005730" border="0" /></a><br />Unfortunately, the the national park's namesake peaks were in the clouds most of our day and only peaked out at the end (pun intended)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwXKMWFNkI4rfKeoHWYJy6_mRvW10-n-fNdm45yzPWUfLCUjlS7DLGXKeFdQCV-G5-COhm6tGEjAn3XgDlN0ab6qA2fcqS5saiB5sqgW0GrpYzK80N8D-ZXQZaJrDPJsGgyWfLCetIfg/s1600-h/IMGP1337.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwXKMWFNkI4rfKeoHWYJy6_mRvW10-n-fNdm45yzPWUfLCUjlS7DLGXKeFdQCV-G5-COhm6tGEjAn3XgDlN0ab6qA2fcqS5saiB5sqgW0GrpYzK80N8D-ZXQZaJrDPJsGgyWfLCetIfg/s320/IMGP1337.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178119199869817618" border="0" /></a>(caption: you can see the base of two of the torres just to the left of the bridge uprights), but the whole park was beautiful anyways and my brother was overly nice to make it up to me (any bets on how long that one will last!?)<br /><br />And side note: outside the park is a giant cave<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSZGpRLqRLY_dA5N5CEDjkUT6UgyVdOiwNh2GmS1eB-Kv9Y1OW3JiojO7dQi8supRiNiA9pOquTonZzdhykslhQPjEkPV6K5la7Gkx8n3ofNezwvsM0OC0iuJMWmAPChtq15HF9F6RxA/s1600-h/IMGP1276.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSZGpRLqRLY_dA5N5CEDjkUT6UgyVdOiwNh2GmS1eB-Kv9Y1OW3JiojO7dQi8supRiNiA9pOquTonZzdhykslhQPjEkPV6K5la7Gkx8n3ofNezwvsM0OC0iuJMWmAPChtq15HF9F6RxA/s320/IMGP1276.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178111765281428178" border="0" /></a> that used to be inhabited by a Milodon (aka giant sloth aka my big teddy bear aka my new bff)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji9MH-9ntqgVPu6iZzk2hSdSCgGuza_BoF2HuoQIwu0Gaxt9hQsRFoG1TTt7-8OQqKA8Jsa5-JmpJFtRYzZ68cXiq3FkBSIxOIYnljyIj7iOGcE2r4L03IU_3aHXb-qJ1Cs5FDOpkzOg/s1600-h/IMGP1281.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji9MH-9ntqgVPu6iZzk2hSdSCgGuza_BoF2HuoQIwu0Gaxt9hQsRFoG1TTt7-8OQqKA8Jsa5-JmpJFtRYzZ68cXiq3FkBSIxOIYnljyIj7iOGcE2r4L03IU_3aHXb-qJ1Cs5FDOpkzOg/s320/IMGP1281.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178114947852194546" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Anyways, this is just more of a boredom update because I am back at my second home while my dear brother re-asserts him back into the world....<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGNpCk-7eqqp7GVx_1T8iezWtRtbKtDwf5dm5tspffAh6UsNOM2GgjiRl9g30LCXM5hQfqc29yhgxFpDk71Rq9l8VUVMBdNd9APWzghCAJL3h6l2McyEuLC8_OKkzy7BDiBpeuKPkhUA/s1600-h/IMGP1345.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGNpCk-7eqqp7GVx_1T8iezWtRtbKtDwf5dm5tspffAh6UsNOM2GgjiRl9g30LCXM5hQfqc29yhgxFpDk71Rq9l8VUVMBdNd9APWzghCAJL3h6l2McyEuLC8_OKkzy7BDiBpeuKPkhUA/s320/IMGP1345.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178120213482099490" border="0" /></a><br />...dang it, I thought I was done with BREASTFEEDING for the week!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipsJbsq1lUi8pXsJ9_yEsecOnyfuzIK9bCng2bb4QSJXINd-txqypTDaW8PZtKc5_grVAGrIaBAWmii9-MRLCFm8jpJcn7VftqP9E-IXavrA-Puy0THVKZR6YICDeWI_Uu56PZmoNQsA/s1600-h/IMGP1264.JPG"><br /></a>lauraromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12735913433374439286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798298765379482748.post-38941107001118704132008-03-09T18:14:00.000-07:002008-03-11T08:32:40.743-07:00Walking on snow cone...but Im as cold as a girl can be.<div><br /><div><br /><div><br /><div><br /><div><br /><div>Well. That was one of the coolest things I have ever done :)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEika-6A0abDBrm25dYftVJTCq5GCeR2_KkcWs_9yVqWUiKljvdj1yWNLzk1pw5tDe8cX6hbF7SQ_AHfQlqLyCIEEkVfFFagRZb7uTExVRntYFECofx9Jebru_KSm9eXRwszv7bj8F3cvQ/s1600-h/DSC_0061.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176225703407833618" style="CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEika-6A0abDBrm25dYftVJTCq5GCeR2_KkcWs_9yVqWUiKljvdj1yWNLzk1pw5tDe8cX6hbF7SQ_AHfQlqLyCIEEkVfFFagRZb7uTExVRntYFECofx9Jebru_KSm9eXRwszv7bj8F3cvQ/s320/DSC_0061.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZx4UD0b6KH8LWyxNfebwCnPqvMS5DRYcCO8SKx0RSd66UgQkQSQ3yQbae8pVw-Og7wFUKGK19Ec4tcHaHeSe6412TB7SUXbkdUcb79rGisZAUn8s8-plLzrFY653IxM7dfT6e5Zit9w/s1600-h/IMGP2482.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176500671509090914" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZx4UD0b6KH8LWyxNfebwCnPqvMS5DRYcCO8SKx0RSd66UgQkQSQ3yQbae8pVw-Og7wFUKGK19Ec4tcHaHeSe6412TB7SUXbkdUcb79rGisZAUn8s8-plLzrFY653IxM7dfT6e5Zit9w/s320/IMGP2482.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />On Saturday Nick (with whom we finally met up on March 1 in Bariloche, Argentina), Matt, and I strapped on some cramp-ons and hiked on the Perito Moreno Glacier in the Parque Nacional del Glaciares near Calafate, Argentina.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiykBzn2I4tCaxgIiKVxR5v11gd__KCUlzs-uM5Iof7o2uBQLFAAg3isehn5FLr5D0XRY89i2UHDgmrXVKWF9b94Hkl61_-8VIH9xMhqOD1MMXDa-v1dCDaqHYgU-qTSt3d_QfIpKgZNQ/s1600-h/IMGP2457.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176499756681056850" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiykBzn2I4tCaxgIiKVxR5v11gd__KCUlzs-uM5Iof7o2uBQLFAAg3isehn5FLr5D0XRY89i2UHDgmrXVKWF9b94Hkl61_-8VIH9xMhqOD1MMXDa-v1dCDaqHYgU-qTSt3d_QfIpKgZNQ/s320/IMGP2457.JPG" border="0" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhODE3FXzmu-sD0PAXh5hP5Eoni4TRRNGIg88wh8EXCxJcrupDT-QdjWtASr_L22EAuFFKdV3LRXSOMg_XYsuaT5kPtF5p9kQRH69SIlwBLwUvBqqt6gtfLH1eaiuODRtWeSj7dhleeVg/s1600-h/DSC_0026.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176502505460126338" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhODE3FXzmu-sD0PAXh5hP5Eoni4TRRNGIg88wh8EXCxJcrupDT-QdjWtASr_L22EAuFFKdV3LRXSOMg_XYsuaT5kPtF5p9kQRH69SIlwBLwUvBqqt6gtfLH1eaiuODRtWeSj7dhleeVg/s320/DSC_0026.JPG" border="0" /></a>I believe, in my heart, that it would be a very similar experience to walking on a giant snow-cone, or (in the center where the ice is harder) a giant, slippery, sand-dune shaped golfball. I know, sort of strange to associate desert with a massive chunk of ice, but I was definitely forced to reminisce about the good times we had in the Sahara--Sarina and Franny panties, I sent a little anti-struggle vibe to you guys.<br /><br />Before that awesome finale we made the long trip down the unpaved route 40 from the beautiful lakes of Bariloche to Mount Fitz Roy near Chalten<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBf1aVz19qS4PjowlEz7dL2KnJs9uCBtE9vuo9bCmiTMdVUjSQ419gHQw_xPrhFN7zNzuT2GBclqK_Re4aSuTq_y0l8OUB6-q5VbxgwS1-ZpJP9M9O__TJKetKh2qAboxyNdE00weziw/s1600-h/DSC_1284.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176501539092484722" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBf1aVz19qS4PjowlEz7dL2KnJs9uCBtE9vuo9bCmiTMdVUjSQ419gHQw_xPrhFN7zNzuT2GBclqK_Re4aSuTq_y0l8OUB6-q5VbxgwS1-ZpJP9M9O__TJKetKh2qAboxyNdE00weziw/s320/DSC_1284.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfPD_hePfV1si26uRZ8UId6Q4g0o4AdV6EIEWFUZNrQt4JY9b04WfdkXoOfabjiX_bpyusXzsrFQXODPkIimiEL8reqH76oNBc2-3_TTTPylVH-f8C6WILHwJHPgyJBlTzZ0Nqt3eJQw/s1600-h/IMGP2400.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176498863327859266" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfPD_hePfV1si26uRZ8UId6Q4g0o4AdV6EIEWFUZNrQt4JY9b04WfdkXoOfabjiX_bpyusXzsrFQXODPkIimiEL8reqH76oNBc2-3_TTTPylVH-f8C6WILHwJHPgyJBlTzZ0Nqt3eJQw/s320/IMGP2400.JPG" border="0" /></a>. The days in between can be described in one word: Nevada. I often felt more isolated than in Antarctica! Perhaps it was the lack of telephone wires--never thought those would make me feel at home. On the other hand, staying at a hostel run by the only policeman in a town of 35 before seeing some cave paintings probably didn't help the phenomenon. The driving was rough at times (especially for our butts) but we were mostly just running on adrenaline because our road trip had finally started! We've made two boarder crossings successfully, but have already run out of gas one mile from a station (yay for two extra gas cans) and had to buy a new battery. Bring on the challenges!<br /><br />Anyways, I am going to let the pics speak for themselves (more on facebook) because I shouldn't even be on the internet right now (the bros are doing a 4 day hike while I get my act together and make a dent in the infamous thesis). <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7uoXL0cwuNWr3jSfBcotmI_1SCYNePku4m6BAgJ4ExKAo80Xu-V0ANFCXz-BF75u2tWKA9vUnLH_F0vrN8o8Q7mmeQcstGWQmOugDRoNHmm7PrDggiMTTo2gOrc-wDq7KtOgMzBdwTA/s1600-h/DSC_0109.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176506559909253794" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7uoXL0cwuNWr3jSfBcotmI_1SCYNePku4m6BAgJ4ExKAo80Xu-V0ANFCXz-BF75u2tWKA9vUnLH_F0vrN8o8Q7mmeQcstGWQmOugDRoNHmm7PrDggiMTTo2gOrc-wDq7KtOgMzBdwTA/s320/DSC_0109.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Pn4NhyphenhyphenjHYBdPyEjxJVn_h9CtV-JKu1ABUnDYbbrl_xnaxD1C3hyphenhypheny6sXHZfCYTI_PpK-AdKoLuw5XcckcOwGa7fVe8hAZs7-0SwMy5quySL3CHvnoyHe47eVYq_55BGAgBggg3a68Ow/s1600-h/DSC_0103.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176503759590576786" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Pn4NhyphenhyphenjHYBdPyEjxJVn_h9CtV-JKu1ABUnDYbbrl_xnaxD1C3hyphenhypheny6sXHZfCYTI_PpK-AdKoLuw5XcckcOwGa7fVe8hAZs7-0SwMy5quySL3CHvnoyHe47eVYq_55BGAgBggg3a68Ow/s320/DSC_0103.JPG" border="0" /></a>[Having a huge struggle loading pics, so this one will have to do for now--I'll try to get a few more up in the next few days!]<br /><br />But, before I go I have something very important to bring up: I had brainstormed with many of you about ways in which I could selfishly enjoy this trip before med school (big insha'allah), while simultaneously make it into something more meaningful. Originally Matt and I were going to volunteer for this awesome NGO called WATER FOR PEOPLE www.waterforpeople.org (they are in need of professional engineers as well as social scientists for monitoring purposes...add in my interest in preventative health care and women's empowerment, and we are a perfect match!) but alas, the schedule of their projects did not line up with route and itinerary. So, NEW PLAN: we are thinking of raising money for this organization through y'all's sponsorship. Some people walk for cancer or bike for MS. We are going to DRIVE for WATER!! We don't know exactly how we are going to pull this off, so that is where you all come in. I need ideas from you! We are in the process of keeping a record of mileage, drive time, and stats like that, in order to keep everyone updated. Perhaps people can sponsor us for every mile/kilometer we drive, border we cross, city we visit---WHATEVER YOU WANT! Of course 100% of the donations would go to Water for People ("In 2006, 82 cents out of every out of every dollar donated was directed to international programs and their work in the field" translation: pretty awesome). If we reach $500 we can specify a certain site that the money goes to, and if we reach $5000 dollars we can donate it to a specific region--which would be ideal considering we are driving through all of the Americas, not just one country! I think it's good to set a goal for us to work towards :) Maybe we'll figure out a prize for the highest bidder ;)<br /><br />Anyways, my problem is with logistics. How do we set this up? I know that those who know us will trust that we won't take the money if we have it sent to a paypal account or something--so does anyone know of a different way to do this? Any NGOers out there that know about any legal issues with this? And, of course, keep the suggestions coming. Please forward this blog/my email to anyone that you think will donate or help me figure this all out.<br /><br />Oh, and DOUBLE THANK YOU to everyone that has kept in touch and given updates on their life (I love my brothers, but wow, women really ARE from Venus).</div></div></div></div></div></div>lauraromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12735913433374439286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798298765379482748.post-52243844943101053912008-02-29T18:26:00.000-08:002008-02-29T20:29:04.096-08:00Man, that Iceberg is ICY!I know I know. This is a bit late and some of you have been wanting an update on my trip to Antarctica. For the day by day action you can get a pretty thorough recap on my brother's blog: myhighwayhome.blogspot.com<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2XAeXTINYio7FHNhNBxRSBoXxEa81kC3smzmcZX2hr6ojHPXjwkl6TLcd_dWbDyS-qVy_DmgxbC3imRi-fQIBph-4nLkFW0Td-h2J-Fqf3p9RInPvPiHMo04IbLW0UkaPxUMVXSSwMg/s1600-h/IMGP1371.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2XAeXTINYio7FHNhNBxRSBoXxEa81kC3smzmcZX2hr6ojHPXjwkl6TLcd_dWbDyS-qVy_DmgxbC3imRi-fQIBph-4nLkFW0Td-h2J-Fqf3p9RInPvPiHMo04IbLW0UkaPxUMVXSSwMg/s320/IMGP1371.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172624465091607474" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpMoooUeeYt9b7FJgE_Op0aOVCsBWL_kEVjNN5tjQorP8imRbdfUEvn-C_dqpRjO_8N26jZZFHxnxykBdj6aAyBRRJDM80Fu1IQD_H60vz-G57wFHYij5_kPzAMj6gpXwEskwgwxtpug/s1600-h/IMGP0939.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpMoooUeeYt9b7FJgE_Op0aOVCsBWL_kEVjNN5tjQorP8imRbdfUEvn-C_dqpRjO_8N26jZZFHxnxykBdj6aAyBRRJDM80Fu1IQD_H60vz-G57wFHYij5_kPzAMj6gpXwEskwgwxtpug/s320/IMGP0939.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172624576760757202" border="0" /></a>Well, there were many highlights to the trip, including wildlife and scenery, and even though I don't want to state the obvious, I have to: it was just the most pure and isolated place I've ever been. I felt like I was in one of those I-spy books where you can only see one corner of the world and you just have to imagine the rest of it out there. This feeling of isolation was probably exaggerated by all the fog and low cloud ceiling that seemed to envelope us constantly. Also, the lack of culture and people helped. At first I couldn't put my finger on why, but it was strange how this place could feel so lifeless and deserted, yet there was wildlife all around (penguins, seals, flying birds, and whales). I think what was throwing me off was the lack of flora (obviously, not much more than moss and snow-algae can grow there!) as well as creepy-crawlies. Not until the 8th day did I realize I hadn't seen a single insect--no mosquitoes, no flies, no spiders, no moths. It was sort of creepy not having any creepers around.<br /><br />That being said, the wildlife and flora that did exist were spectacular! Many of you know I don't like birds, but darn it, I adore penguinos! I even forgive them for the absolutely horrendous smell of their guano (aka penguano). But maybe that is just because I am now so far removed from it. My favorite is definitely the Chin-strap penguin because they look like they know they are bad-asses (maybe they just remind me of the penguins from Madagascar). <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNZvGcDbrg-eojtWTxkt3otH2v8Hc2TuUO9JdOL9_9uMfY7cZhxHbuscA9_Yfre0IrsBKTYw880rxHEy97RIuz0jj6ns4hc9kQMx1y1z-1_6wdllWPXlokcEWLyZKIDRaMiOVgHTtvug/s1600-h/DSC_0210.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNZvGcDbrg-eojtWTxkt3otH2v8Hc2TuUO9JdOL9_9uMfY7cZhxHbuscA9_Yfre0IrsBKTYw880rxHEy97RIuz0jj6ns4hc9kQMx1y1z-1_6wdllWPXlokcEWLyZKIDRaMiOVgHTtvug/s320/DSC_0210.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172618568101509986" border="0" /></a>We didn't see too many small babes because it was pretty late in the breeding season, but there were older chics just about to lose their baby-down and they were always hungry. We often saw the two chics chasing their fathers around squaking for food while the father would just run around trying to dodge them and get away--those suckas have pretty big strides!<br />Seals were the next animal we saw most often: Weddle-seals (sp?); Fur seals; Elephant seals; Leopard seals. Elephant seals are beautiful--the females have great big eyes like stuffed animals, and the males can weigh up to 4 tons!<br />But by far the most amazing thing we saw was a group of Humpback whales who flirted with our boat for over an hour! I think my brothers took 300 pictures and quite a bit of video! They were SO close to the boat, you could see them right through the top of the water as they were swimming alongside and then under to the other side. They were magnificent and it was definitely the best valentine's day present we could have asked for!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnc7Oqlb1Lq_tjmKICRHx8gQdOhNY28A3JmN91LELbLe3pDH9RPjK_DDyehVDAg2W0yaMIG1tRE4ccnoFd-VmbpOlgUZkmWEqJPM4WWBmY7NREzk4XOlM02NEulEqYCu6UNW01XsIw1g/s1600-h/DSC_0454.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnc7Oqlb1Lq_tjmKICRHx8gQdOhNY28A3JmN91LELbLe3pDH9RPjK_DDyehVDAg2W0yaMIG1tRE4ccnoFd-VmbpOlgUZkmWEqJPM4WWBmY7NREzk4XOlM02NEulEqYCu6UNW01XsIw1g/s320/DSC_0454.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172618623936084866" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Of course the scenery was another highlight. I am in love with icebergs. the end. see pictures. and try to come close to imagining it in reality. good luck.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrYMfZuPcbTdrStQuZvkfLSsym-2U_FJmHC5qOrJbgjFEIjwtMpbvo7CI2T0QWEl2Bl05xL5PDxxurPtRL9FtWQ74exWo0IM9dc_1D2LbQryxfHq-Ygu7NshLphs8HLT2q18bi0qOOYQ/s1600-h/IMGP0997.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrYMfZuPcbTdrStQuZvkfLSsym-2U_FJmHC5qOrJbgjFEIjwtMpbvo7CI2T0QWEl2Bl05xL5PDxxurPtRL9FtWQ74exWo0IM9dc_1D2LbQryxfHq-Ygu7NshLphs8HLT2q18bi0qOOYQ/s320/IMGP0997.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172624417846967202" border="0" /></a><br /><br />(Yes, I am an anthro major and proud of it...so yes, I am going to talk about the "c"-word). I was really interested in how the culture at the present day stations and the history of old whaler/sealer stations added a twist to the isolation aspect. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTOQBOiv2my9-KkVIFjlNUlZo4GYTwWIp3t-VarWBx9HTEZGF-TAtpVhZg2jONBFGKvwY5o0C-yxjCY3VZerBz6HDwHQhNaPp40i3z1Olt3vpyxynQ47CpN2Watj-Lnk4865VgtdE8gg/s1600-h/IMGP1612.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTOQBOiv2my9-KkVIFjlNUlZo4GYTwWIp3t-VarWBx9HTEZGF-TAtpVhZg2jONBFGKvwY5o0C-yxjCY3VZerBz6HDwHQhNaPp40i3z1Olt3vpyxynQ47CpN2Watj-Lnk4865VgtdE8gg/s320/IMGP1612.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172624508041280450" border="0" /></a>One second you are in this untouched corner of the world, snapping pictures of penguinos and seals, and you come across an old wooden ship, or a penguin building its nest on the vertebrae of a whale at an old hunting station. Of course there are no native people in Antarctica (unless you count the few people that have been born there--only the Chileans and Argentinians allow pregnant women to stay if they are stationed in Antarctica), and even though the continent in itself is a symbol of international cooperation and peace, each station brings along a little bit of the culture from its homeland. The Chilean station was stereotypically tidy and organized (I loved the sign off of the path from the dock to the front of the living quarters that read something like: penguins only beyond this point) and I'm sure you're not surprised that the Ukrainians built a bar on top of their station and serve home-made vodka! (trust me and try following your next shot of vodka with an orange or grapefruit slice dipped in coffee grounds and sugar. Sounds nasty right? That's why we are going to call it the "Nadsky." Just kidding, we are going to call it that because it was Vernadsky station. It's actually quite good!)<br /><br />As for the boat itself, the Drake passage was not too bad on the way down, but the way back was pretty rough, though only one woman fell hard enough to warrant an x-ray when we got back to land. Most of the passengers were quite a bit older than us, so I was surprised that no one else got hurt! I was the second youngest after a 19 year old German boy--Martin, what a sweetheart! That is if you don't count the Ice-captain's daughter. Seriously, we had an Ice captain. I know, bad-ass, right? Anyways, I guess I shouldn't complain because it was because of the generation gap between us and the majority of the passengers that I ended up befriending the crew...the kitchen staff in particular (yes, Katie, in true fat-kid style, an effort 100% dedicated to you!).<br /><br />Anyways, I suppose I'd better wrap this up if y'all are still with me, so here are just a few more highlights (of course I'm leaving some out...gotta save some good stories for my return!):<br />-SWIMMING in the ocean! We were one of 8 passengers that pleaded insanity and went for a dip in the 36 degree water! Just kidding. Well, not entirely. We did run out into the cold water for just a second, then retreated to the very edge of where the tide was coming in. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8EjYEWdOWU4sZSNKIewAzFvoenO_hl_6B1GRjhYHQY7TuUWOrDim05Vm1qAyJ6DLe1OMyw4-bTgiDgcAuQl3GEdqHRFN4M9FSb2aZHdZVHSnn5qD9gFeJ6NyD-SY18o85keZirCRynA/s1600-h/DSC_0313.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8EjYEWdOWU4sZSNKIewAzFvoenO_hl_6B1GRjhYHQY7TuUWOrDim05Vm1qAyJ6DLe1OMyw4-bTgiDgcAuQl3GEdqHRFN4M9FSb2aZHdZVHSnn5qD9gFeJ6NyD-SY18o85keZirCRynA/s320/DSC_0313.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172618598166281074" border="0" /></a>The island was the edge of a volcanic crater that had been flooded by ocean water a long time ago but is still partially active. So, if you dig a shallow ditch in the sand near the edge of the tide you get a little hot spring. Digging too deep actually burns....but then you get cooled off by a cold wave!<br />-reaching our SEVENTH continent! Of course my brothers were competitive and I had to count to three so they would get off the zodiak at the same time so that I wouldn't have to hear one bragging forever that they got to their seventh first. Oh brother. (pun intended). <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbH36vqGTOj_vggZF0p1vOgXEJgDxBHuWwoKKcbgpKuBlnHbd-O9F_isnsmRptliGYMVvyfooqPLF2cyCfXePtj5LpwSomTOPCE0bBsxDp72S2hAXsQ0tKbA2PxUVrjKC8-68Lo6Tyng/s1600-h/IMG_1106.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbH36vqGTOj_vggZF0p1vOgXEJgDxBHuWwoKKcbgpKuBlnHbd-O9F_isnsmRptliGYMVvyfooqPLF2cyCfXePtj5LpwSomTOPCE0bBsxDp72S2hAXsQ0tKbA2PxUVrjKC8-68Lo6Tyng/s320/IMG_1106.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172618636820986770" border="0" /></a>Though we definitely WILL make fun of Matt forever for only putting six fingers up in all the pics Katie took. oh brother, again!<br /><br /><br />[As for my delay in writing, I have been busy chasing down the car through miles of red tape and paperwork for 4 days (a process we found out is supposed to take 3 hours, not done by us, and while the shipment is in transit)--but after an extreme amount of frustration we finally have our car!! We got it late last night and we started out of Santiago this morning and made it down to Valdivia for the night. We are going to meet up with my other brother tomorrow in Bariloche, Argentina :) The real adventure begins! Probably won't update as much in March because I have this little thing called a Master's Thesis upon which I need to work...]lauraromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12735913433374439286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798298765379482748.post-71243046287220805942008-02-08T16:18:00.000-08:002008-02-08T16:51:02.784-08:00Birthday and Playmobile toys part dos<div><div>Thanks to everyone that sent me awesome birthday wishes!! Coming off of a 12 hour bus ride to all of your e-mails and facebook posts was really a sweet surprise :) :)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOy12P7QBDj0rvMwQB7e-Jjk6Ao0Whvw_GrinYamlbRBgKwajjnpQ2UJrxZeAPBJCrEgQwG3UgcOv8mu-grcDt21SAFAnVLGQKi73CgtHJ_Jq8qwOeTUsXkwJS-qJ8ZU34t9xrhxWEGg/s1600-h/laura+039.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5164772698301639058" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOy12P7QBDj0rvMwQB7e-Jjk6Ao0Whvw_GrinYamlbRBgKwajjnpQ2UJrxZeAPBJCrEgQwG3UgcOv8mu-grcDt21SAFAnVLGQKi73CgtHJ_Jq8qwOeTUsXkwJS-qJ8ZU34t9xrhxWEGg/s320/laura+039.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>So, the day itself wasn´t so eventful, but the first few hours and the last few hours were definitely nice :) We were originally just going to take it easy the night of Feb. 6th...just a bottle of house wine and a game of gin (whoever was winning by the time the wine was gone gets first choice of seats on the bus--even though it was going to be my birthday...what a sweet brother I have). But instead we found ourselves eavesdropping (sp?) on the table next to us at the hostel. So of course we started chatting with this group: a girl from the Netherlands (also named Laura), an Israeli named Amit (sp again?), and a really sweet Chilean guy named Pablo. They taught us a new card game (thank god, we definitely needed a new one), and upon learning that it was going to be my birthday in 15 minutes, decided to take us out to a club down the street. It was a good time (namely me making a fool of myself dancing again--<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivdH5FKdgoa0sqhPNcFmj7ouhMpYihKkxg71e0rzn0ZmnLBFzuoMBy7UzUHNBl_021aI1YpJ-djCjNxSyuXaq4XeYwhs15GrZ9YBujsXXocatIuHWd9NgCJ25J-m2pC8EQTSzmrRwhiA/s1600-h/laura+050.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5164772706891573666" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivdH5FKdgoa0sqhPNcFmj7ouhMpYihKkxg71e0rzn0ZmnLBFzuoMBy7UzUHNBl_021aI1YpJ-djCjNxSyuXaq4XeYwhs15GrZ9YBujsXXocatIuHWd9NgCJ25J-m2pC8EQTSzmrRwhiA/s320/laura+050.jpg" border="0" /></a>but Pablo was insistent in helping me learn to Salsa...he was very sweet...I´m pretty sure some people at the bar were yelling at us) until we got locked out of the hostel and Matt pissed everyone off by snoring like a fog horn.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>Then bus for 13 hours through what I like to think of as the Sahara desert with a 5 o´clock shadow of yellow grass. I think that is a sufficient description of the experience.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>Then we arrived in Ushuaia and said goodbye to our friends from the night before (they were also getting up at 7:30 to catch the bus to Ushuaia) and headed to our SWEET hostel. Anyone coming here, definitely go to the Yakush hostel!! We finished off the day by trying the local BEAGLE beer (isn´t that the name of Magellan´s ship or something?).</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>Happy Birthday to me :) Paz. Afuera.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>(also...the day before we spend in Punta Arenas Chile. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-FT1BxyuUyB9lzd6SmAgXIA_-hpPzKzWzE1WYApTCX9SmNXl05CHmxofoAxB5qEa90sxRWSmKyAcIrb541Z_ezmAJFQKAipdmxnCTEWZRZXNcF3ekZ_y6m1cuPYjA2hAER8aR3adv7g/s1600-h/laura+086.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5164775756318353954" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-FT1BxyuUyB9lzd6SmAgXIA_-hpPzKzWzE1WYApTCX9SmNXl05CHmxofoAxB5qEa90sxRWSmKyAcIrb541Z_ezmAJFQKAipdmxnCTEWZRZXNcF3ekZ_y6m1cuPYjA2hAER8aR3adv7g/s320/laura+086.jpg" border="0" /></a>It was this cute little town that reminded us more of a small Norwegian village or something. We have definitely left latin America. There was not to much to see in half a day except for a really cool cemetary<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsG39wNM2LJVbuWE5jw5bAKSHBAoqeYkIu5mtdNaKKhjOp4TAuINTFHI7MgDAk7KpEEg4RT6WujH3ou7i0rL4IF3ntFfC_I0BWY2euUTldbmY0z0jnUEmxmV5gkOSXWHiAdYeBn5I3VQ/s1600-h/laura+063.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5164772736956344770" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsG39wNM2LJVbuWE5jw5bAKSHBAoqeYkIu5mtdNaKKhjOp4TAuINTFHI7MgDAk7KpEEg4RT6WujH3ou7i0rL4IF3ntFfC_I0BWY2euUTldbmY0z0jnUEmxmV5gkOSXWHiAdYeBn5I3VQ/s320/laura+063.jpg" border="0" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJGzZIfcY7JGeRrD0qzO2uNQ4s4yNFmQDEd6lnPeEafziIKFQe8Lm1wdvPE1gUk-6DhVrtzsq7mBC7Jyfo-roytNfgoqeoQoZWeV4wyAR41OqFwbvWwcfdizTehBqOhaq06S_IbJVElw/s1600-h/laura+058.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5164772724071442866" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJGzZIfcY7JGeRrD0qzO2uNQ4s4yNFmQDEd6lnPeEafziIKFQe8Lm1wdvPE1gUk-6DhVrtzsq7mBC7Jyfo-roytNfgoqeoQoZWeV4wyAR41OqFwbvWwcfdizTehBqOhaq06S_IbJVElw/s320/laura+058.jpg" border="0" /></a>with lots of slavic sounding names--interesting--and the walk back from a nature reserve) (Photo 1: outside of a cute school with a bunch of cartoons, photo 2: attempting salsa with Pablo; Photo 3: cool colors of the town; Photo 4 and 5: crazy cool cemetary; photo 6: cool fence coming back from the nature reserve--you can see the typical landscape behind; photo 6: cool colors to the town)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhefg5NcU3vqP_dkzIFMbkIU6bKzCe1WZyb7g2okKLFdn1U9q3ipKc1xvsoRY8yIHgHrgMeCRmZJf98IL2v8Th8SXpaESti3mEvJmB0SC7dkoSbARHLgq6m6hAVLgwiTvyz3I3xCNL4kw/s1600-h/laura+078.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5164775743433452050" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhefg5NcU3vqP_dkzIFMbkIU6bKzCe1WZyb7g2okKLFdn1U9q3ipKc1xvsoRY8yIHgHrgMeCRmZJf98IL2v8Th8SXpaESti3mEvJmB0SC7dkoSbARHLgq6m6hAVLgwiTvyz3I3xCNL4kw/s320/laura+078.jpg" border="0" /></a></div></div>lauraromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12735913433374439286noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798298765379482748.post-36383527202738165052008-02-08T11:20:00.000-08:002008-02-08T16:17:55.214-08:00Birthdays and Playmobile Toys! Part IPlaymobile.<br /><br />That is the endearing nickname the my gracious brother and our friend Fabian have bestowed upon me. Actually, it was Fabian´s even sweeter sister, Meme, that came up with it in the first place. As some of you know, I shaved my head before we started our trip. My hair grows quickly. I have, at this time, what my brother likes to call the ´tweener helmet head, where my hair is no longer that short, but not long enough to lie flat. So now they call me Playmobile (you remember, those crazy plastic toys with the hair that pops off?) (picture caption: a foto of my brother and I...we call him BOB, short for bob esponja (sponge BOB) and ´brother of baksheesh´...those who know him, I am sure can figure it out).--this pic won´t add right now so I¨ll put it up later.<br /><br /><br />So basically my hair is always covered by a bandana or a headscarf (I wear yours a lot, Nikki!), and we are pretty sure that everyone in Chile thinks I have cancer. (disclaimer: our joking is not meant to make light of cancer or offend anyone. God knows that one heartbreaking loss of a family member is enough for us to understand it is no joke). So Fabian asks his little cancermobile what I want to do with my last months on earth.....hmmmm. What a good question! My first reaction is that I want to do exactly what I am addicted to: travel. I want to experience all the corners of the world and meet all the kinds of people it has to offer.....oh, wait, that´s what I am doing! It is a pretty cool feeling to realize that this truly IS a trip of a lifetime. Can anyone say carpe diem?<br /><br /><br />But I want to think about it further, and really let it sink in. A 12 hour bus ride through flat, barren land is a perfect time to ponder that question--especially considering this bus ride falls on the anniversary of my birth :) At first I become saddened because there are so many things I want to experience beyond seeing and experiencing foreign landscapes: I want to fall in love, I want god to open my heart to her, I want to share my life with my kids, and I want to keep fighting the long defeat (fellow Dr. Paul Farmer admirers will know what I am referring to here).<br /><br />I love traveling, that is for sure. I have the bug. I love meeting different people. Anthropology major, hello! But I am reminded of an awesome quote by Mark Twain (and backed up in the movie 'Into the Wild' if any of you have seen it): "To get the full values of joy, you must have somebody to divide it with ". What I would REALLY do with my last few months on earth would be to spend it with the people that I have already fallen in love with. Doesn't matter where; doesn't matter what--we could just make dents in couches the whole time, if you are game. That being said, this trip is undoubtedly going to be amazing (besides, I always have my bro to share it with), but more than anything I want to share it with you all. So that's how I want you to view this blog. It isn't just an update for you to know what I am doing and use for procrastination (though I also support that with my whole heart)--instead, know that it is my way of sharing my experiences with you...because that's the only way any of this will ever matter. Love you, and keep sharing YOUR lives with me, please!!lauraromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12735913433374439286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798298765379482748.post-70248606417969833152008-02-05T08:42:00.000-08:002008-02-05T17:26:57.578-08:00Cantaloupe Juice and 2 minute warningsBecause I don't really have that much to tell still (once again making a dent in Fabian's couch), <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiktRTWwdgZbnJH_ljiAHhlpQ0cGhc9nfeZUkGi579M5f5PC0y-e5MCS0UKahFEDiCa51Y2kZfFHb7eQW4rlbg05o2B_EnDyJYR00B0U2rbF1X7bFlQ-RyChHwfngqeIYh6bkQ-f4xmhA/s1600-h/Other+006.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiktRTWwdgZbnJH_ljiAHhlpQ0cGhc9nfeZUkGi579M5f5PC0y-e5MCS0UKahFEDiCa51Y2kZfFHb7eQW4rlbg05o2B_EnDyJYR00B0U2rbF1X7bFlQ-RyChHwfngqeIYh6bkQ-f4xmhA/s320/Other+006.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5163580827697129794" border="0" /></a>this blog is dedicated to those in need of procrastination--you know who you are ;)<br /><br />Update on the car situation: after Matt decided to use the magic words "my lawyer" we got some QUICK results. They called us right back (they had never called us back at all before those words were uttered) and we got a tracking number for the title that they finally sent! So one barrier is down, and we are feeling much better because we feel respected, at least! On the other hand, now they say the car isn't getting here until Feb. 14th--but we don't care anymore, besides no one can control that aspect. So things are slightly looking up (knock on wood).<br /><br />As for my life, it is full of juice and food. Fabian's mother and nanna are making us eat constantly.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWuX-0fXZ_wVurzM2wPPw6bLnp1HWRJLQvKY2HCmLD0j2MWsDsg4VIt9_FY3tpmLWBLtXaRyI2_p4lku3_KjBbOTvys1Gz9iymHLtIWugX43FaGiZyP3SaYY-83f2PaELsPYJEvOSqYg/s1600-h/IMGP0804.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWuX-0fXZ_wVurzM2wPPw6bLnp1HWRJLQvKY2HCmLD0j2MWsDsg4VIt9_FY3tpmLWBLtXaRyI2_p4lku3_KjBbOTvys1Gz9iymHLtIWugX43FaGiZyP3SaYY-83f2PaELsPYJEvOSqYg/s320/IMGP0804.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5163586209291151730" border="0" /></a> (This is not a complaint, though my stomach would beg to differ). We have had all kinds of amazing juices, from watermelon to strawberry to banana, but our favorite is cantaloupe juice--sounds nasty, I know. Even crazier was a chilean dessert we had: wheat grains in peach juice. Add in all the avocados and bread and you can summarize the last ten days as "Matt and Laura do CARBFEST while simultaneously never leaving the couch" So his mom gave us fruit, and what did we give her in return? French Toast. She loved it :)<br /><br />Sunday we gave the couch a reprieve from my butt and went back to Valparaiso (the port town that also has a bunch of clubs and great beaches).<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb5TYNrhDBIVCul1TdH2uIL3SId5PBAaEPCGbH_rkKspkZNEvYyobSss1Ee0XUB4wKbNBOg92NGQF9tk-pYEwyP6vdEMXd6n8Hl36oaIw2ImeFbjjHUj40BuGkxrMQVoVfVDiifqCfVw/s1600-h/IMGP0808.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb5TYNrhDBIVCul1TdH2uIL3SId5PBAaEPCGbH_rkKspkZNEvYyobSss1Ee0XUB4wKbNBOg92NGQF9tk-pYEwyP6vdEMXd6n8Hl36oaIw2ImeFbjjHUj40BuGkxrMQVoVfVDiifqCfVw/s320/IMGP0808.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5163586192111282514" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitYpqXtGh2AAy4RO4rHegu_wSgD360jjMENLPwOkSqmR4Z3R1C0pisza8YvSgBnXFitLzY_LSueMy218n7ob_AZNWeEg77tOfuorA6PVEL98o4wh7PvGAIc4Gdk1hOHJVq-dSbywghWA/s1600-h/IMGP0814.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitYpqXtGh2AAy4RO4rHegu_wSgD360jjMENLPwOkSqmR4Z3R1C0pisza8YvSgBnXFitLzY_LSueMy218n7ob_AZNWeEg77tOfuorA6PVEL98o4wh7PvGAIc4Gdk1hOHJVq-dSbywghWA/s320/IMGP0814.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5163586217881086338" border="0" /></a>We got off to a late start so we didn't get to Fabian's aunt's apartment until half an hour before the Super Bowl and we ran out to find a bar that would switch off the soccer and tennis and play the game. Wasn't that hard actually, because no one goes out until like 11 anyways, so they didn't mind showing it on a few TVs. As those who watched know it was pretty boring, up until the two minute warning--when the bar decided karaoke was more important and switched our TV to the singers 5 feet away!! (Thanks Brittany, my lovely petite wafflette, for giving me a play by play via telefono). The rest of the night consisted of me making a fool of myself trying to learn from Fabian's sister (Meme, the cutest and sweetest 27 year old I have ever met) how to move my hips. The next day was also typical: get up at 1, eat a HUGE lunch at 2....then take a nap until 9 (but this time, nap on the BEACH, wahoo!), then learn how to play Craps at the casino across from the beach.<br /><br />I'm off to Punta Arenas tomorrow, then a 12 hour bus to Ushuaia. Not sure if I'll be able to update until after the ship gets back on the 20th, but I'll try my hardest for you lovers of procrastination. MWAH!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsPkusgj_NpMrOnLisQlmCvyKe65pUWJRLchSPg44JK6nIFEfbG7TayExyaqOEx4y2yPjxkIpC2AkBJ5uV8g5TqZOfNbXCLmsHH2nMGvF1oKMgcaW0X08fzVXf9ieNMuzevaCJvLg-Zw/s1600-h/IMGP0802.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsPkusgj_NpMrOnLisQlmCvyKe65pUWJRLchSPg44JK6nIFEfbG7TayExyaqOEx4y2yPjxkIpC2AkBJ5uV8g5TqZOfNbXCLmsHH2nMGvF1oKMgcaW0X08fzVXf9ieNMuzevaCJvLg-Zw/s320/IMGP0802.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5163586200701217122" border="0" /></a><br /><br />(Pictures: My thesis 'nook' on Fabian's couch; pretty blue sky (and pretty lady) at the beach; seagulls and the Chilean flag; me and my partner in crime)lauraromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12735913433374439286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798298765379482748.post-10878984454137183302008-01-31T08:51:00.000-08:002008-01-31T15:22:10.671-08:00When all caca goes to the diabloWell, many have been writing and inquiring why a) my Facebook profile is full of anger (a rare emotion of mine that I think freaked a few of you out) and b) my AIM away messages have been slightly depressing. So, the point of this post is not to fill you all in with reasons to hate your lives and be extremely jealous of me, but rather to simply explain the reasons for my frustration. (disclaimer: despite the following rant I am very very aware of the great opportunity that this trip has afforded me, and in the end--just like I say above in my title for this blog--I don't care if traveling barfs on me, this is a trip of a lifetime).<br /><br />So Matt and I got to Santiago last Friday where Fabian--the guy we are indebted to for life--picked us up and we had a blast with him all weekend. We basically slept til noon everyday, had him drive us around as a personal tour guide, and spent our nights learning that Chileans love drinking coke with any liquor (Mom: chill. HOUSE parties with his FAMILY!). Most of our convos centered around crazy hilarious Chilean slang and it was a good thing, because on Monday and Tuesday the curses we had learned came in handy for SURE!<br /><br />I don't know who I have kept up to date on all the issues with the car shipment but here is a monologue of my rant: Matt dropped the car off in LA in mid-December with a verbal guarantee by the shipping agency to have the car in Chile BY Jan. 15th. Come the second week of January we find out the car won't make it until the 24th or so. Okay, a little annoying, but we'll work around it. We'll just have to drive faster and switch around our itinerary to make our boat to Antarctica. So Matt leaves for Buenos Aires to take a week of Spanish classes while I wait in the U.S. for the car's Title to be sent to CO (has to go through U.S. customs first). Oh wait, now we get another email: new ETA (estimated time of arrival) is Jan 28th, and now the title still has to go BACK to the company and THEN to me in CO. Change of plans: we'll send it to Fabian in Chile and I'll meet it down there, the shipping company tells us. Okay. Can you send it Fedex, because we NEED the title to pick up the car. 'Sure, sure, it'll be there, sure sure, we'll keep you updated,' they say. (Sure my BUTT!). So we get to Santiago and Friday the title still hasn't gotten here. So we try to figure out if the car registration will do instead. We even get a copy of it and Matt's passport notarized. We think this will work. We are getting excited. The car will be here Monday (28th) and we really think the registration will work.<br /><br />Monday: Fabian takes off work, we get the stuff notarized and we head to Valparaiso(1 1/2 hr drive). We call the dock on the way. They can't find our container number. So we stop by an international call center to fax them all the info we have and to call our shipping dude. The title has been shipped and should get here today! Oh wait, we get the name of the lady who has the title and call her. She has had the title for two weeks and still has it. She is awaiting PAYMENT from our company (I hate liars...just tell us the situation straight so we can deal with it!). We can't pick up the car until she gets the payment--she will email us when it is sent. We paid our company over a month ago! As of today (Thursday--four days later) she emails to say she still hasn't received payment and the title STILL hasn't been sent form the U.S. But the best part of Monday is when the lady at the Chilean docks calls to tell us that she has talked to the agent from the actual ship company and the boat the car is on is not going to get here until FEBRUARY 6th! 7 weeks after Matt originally dropped off the car. (This is confirmed later by email to the U.S. from two different sources---EXCEPT our company, who refuses to email us back and is conveniently out of the office when we try and call long distance). Now we DEFINITELY don't have time to drive to Ushuaia, Argentina.<br /><br />I understand weather and ship mechanics screw things up, but returning phone calls and e-mails I think is just common-sense business etiquette. Would have been nice to be told the truth that the title hadn't been shipped and been updated about where the boat really was. Now we have had to spend a boat-load (pun intended) more money buying plane tickets last minute (it's summer vacation here!) down to the tip of Argentina, plus the docking fees that we will be charged until we get back from Antarctica, since we can't take the car out in our name before we leave and leave the country without it (that's assuming we can even get the title)(plus add on all the extra costs my other brother Nick is going to have because we were going to be his ride back to Buenos Aires after Antarctica). If it weren't for Fabian's family's kindness and hospitality I don't know what we would do. Does anyone know a lawyer?<br /><br />Thanks for letting me rant. You are great friends.lauraromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12735913433374439286noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798298765379482748.post-6220233121781513322008-01-26T15:00:00.000-08:002008-01-27T12:07:28.454-08:00Let the games begin!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLqapnNhjMscmo2OkvD8d2PfZ-q_ghN2g5T56oMrFH5QTJyEXjPb77OxkuMm8G2DqMl1fGIp6oKq-fD_a1PxwII_g2MosUijesrj3evskdTjw7tmjw2YaHjxDwqJh7gurxmh81sg-FBg/s1600-h/wine+tour+007.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLqapnNhjMscmo2OkvD8d2PfZ-q_ghN2g5T56oMrFH5QTJyEXjPb77OxkuMm8G2DqMl1fGIp6oKq-fD_a1PxwII_g2MosUijesrj3evskdTjw7tmjw2YaHjxDwqJh7gurxmh81sg-FBg/s320/wine+tour+007.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5160249951710062898" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGB08FMkA26iLAM61Ru8utnxPT4YJvJkSGTw-MThNJpWeASJauSVuxji2k6Nr4SajaabcKYcpJwClupiq964R0T5UIjGuZY48dRolMKKnHryh8RMICcTUdzvCrQK_izPo1RW62zjmOGQ/s1600-h/wine+tour+001.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGB08FMkA26iLAM61Ru8utnxPT4YJvJkSGTw-MThNJpWeASJauSVuxji2k6Nr4SajaabcKYcpJwClupiq964R0T5UIjGuZY48dRolMKKnHryh8RMICcTUdzvCrQK_izPo1RW62zjmOGQ/s200/wine+tour+001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5160248916622944546" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The team has assembled!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Team members</span>: Bob Esponja and Sinead<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Team mascots</span>: El Pato and the dancing leprechauns<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Team theme-song</span>: Rick Astley's "Never gonna give you up"<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Team mottos:</span> 'You need the best mules for the best price!!' and 'go papas fritas yourself!'<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Team captain:</span> Walter the mini-bowling bartender<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQIUeHcq89YBahCaToMlZwyr-qdmGI2ZvlRNyG73cI2Dd6Gn_Svx9kaKryzCA7hPKBWSOI_8h-uAaGj3BViBowy0S1UQ_9Mh6O3xFUGRHJnPAVyoLNlnAtkkDcg1XB7iUgYBTorQcqmg/s1600-h/Matt's+Pics+027.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQIUeHcq89YBahCaToMlZwyr-qdmGI2ZvlRNyG73cI2Dd6Gn_Svx9kaKryzCA7hPKBWSOI_8h-uAaGj3BViBowy0S1UQ_9Mh6O3xFUGRHJnPAVyoLNlnAtkkDcg1XB7iUgYBTorQcqmg/s320/Matt's+Pics+027.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5160247941665368338" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Team call sign</span>: Whiskey Tango Foxtrot<br /><br /><br />We have had a good time so far (as you can already see from the plethora of inside jokes that none of you will get). I arrived in Buenos Aires last Monday afternoon where my bro was nice enough to meet me and we left straight for Mendoza. Though we thought it was kind of a weird little town, it was where most of our team themes were born. Therefore, we must pay it a bit of respect. But now we are in Santiago awaiting the arrival of the transportation device (2002 Toyota 4Runner). Things could get super complicated and our route is ever changing, but that is part of the adventure! Plus we have met tons of super nice people that are psyched about our trip and willing to help us if they can. We would like to thank the Academy, and especially our amigo Fabian (Brittany's boyfriend who lives in Santiago) and his familia. Thank you and good night.<br /><br />P.S. for more info on what we have been up to so far. See my bro's blog: http://myhighwayhome.blogspot.com/lauraromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12735913433374439286noreply@blogger.com0