What I can't describe in words, I can take in pictures

Packed and ready to go. One year: One large back pack, one day pack, one carry on suitcase and one pink motorcycle helmet.

My last Tim Horton's.

Sunrise over Mount Kenya.

Finally! After hours and hours of flying, I arrive at Kigali International

My room for the next nine days.

My little friend showed up just to say "good night"

I made it to Rwanda!

I have arrived! I should be resting, I know, but my body can’t decide whether it’s 2am (it is in Calgary), 10 am (it is in Kigali) or the middle of the afternoon (which is what it feels like outside). I will rest soon but for now, blog! I’ve decided it’s better to type in Word and save it so that I don’t forget anything and when I find an internet connection, I can post multiple blogs. So, here I sit in my room at the Amani guest house. Above me is my mosquito net which will come in handy tonight. I’m looking forward to it actually. Sort of like building a fort when you’re a kid. At least I hope it feels that way! My flights from Calgary were entirely uneventful and for that I’m very, very thankful! Before leaving London for Nairobi I met up with Christine who is another volunteer from Montreal. I recognized her from the picture she emailed me. The flight itself was long and my personal entertainment system didn’t work – not that it mattered, I’ve seen most of the movies offered at this point. So I tried to sleep but was terribly uncomfortable. I tried to read but you can only do that for so long. At one point I felt a tightening of my chest when I realized that I would be away from home for an ENTIRE YEAR. Logically I knew this but it really sank in. It’s a long time. What have I done? But I tried to focus my energy on my excitement rather than my fear. Then it happened. It was near 6 am and I looked eastward. There, over the Indian Ocean, the sun was starting to rise. It was slow at first. Just a thing orange line over the horizon. The line grew and the sky turned from black to blue and at once it seemed that God had only two colours on his pallet, one bright orange, the other royal blue. The sun was rising over Africa and I was witnessing it! I grabbed my small camera and tried (unsuccessfully) to capture it. One year is a long time, I thought, but to see sunrises like this might make it worth it. I was like a tourist in Banff, trying to get the perfect image. The silhouette of Mount Kenya appeared in the distance. It was beautiful. In Nairboi we met another volunteer from Florida named Portia. Together we headed outside to take the plane to Kigali. Over Lake Victoria we flew and arrived to the Land of A Thousand Hills. We cleared customs (Welcome to Rwanda!) and my passport received another stamp. My luggage made it! I didn’t bring much, though - my pack from Peru and a small suitcase, the kind small enough to bring as a carry on. After Portia realized her luggage was still in London, we went through to meet Ruth, Jean-Claude and Samir who were holding “VSO Rwanda” signs. They almost didn’t get though because today is dedicated to community work and no one is supposed to be out driving. On our way back we were stopped by the police again until they believed that our drivers were picking up volunteers. As a result of the community work day the streets were void of cars but full of people. First impressions of Kigali (now keep in mind I’m comparing it to Lima, La Paz etc.) is that it’s very clean and orderly. Rolling hills, green trees and very beautiful!

Stopped here for a rest.

Well, I slept for a bit and showered. I feel a bit better but did not want to oversleep. I’m afraid of not sleeping tonight. I woke and took a shower – a very cold shower. If you remember my story about Copacabana Bolivia, you’ll remember that I’m a) not good in cold showers and b) not coordinated when it comes to keeping water off the floor. But at least we’re not high in the Andes where it’s cold outside – we’re in hot Rwanda where the cold water, while made me just about lose my head, was manageable. So, clean and refreshed I hear voices outside my door and peek out to see a few old and new British and Irish volunteers had arrived – and just in time for lunch! This afternoon we’re going to an internet cafe so I can post this and send a few “I’m here and I’m okay” emails to everyone. We were each given 5000 Rwandan Francs to see us through today and tomorrow. It’s equivalent to about $15, from what I can tell. So here I sit, ready to start this adventure. I’m missing you all already but can’t wait to see what the next year will bring.

Friday August 28th: Londong

I’ve just arrived at London Heathrow and have completed 1/ 3 of my flights before arriving at Kigali. I will fully admit that with the amount of travelling I have done this year, I have yet to acknowledge this is IT. This is THE ONE that I’ve been planning for all year (this is my sixth journey and who knows how many flights that includes!) It just hasn’t hit me yet that it’s real. Saying good bye to Aimey and my parents was hard. Made harder by a photo album my mom gave me at the airport. I told her “I can’t look at this right now” as tears welled up in my eyes. The situation was not made better when she said, “It’s not for now. It’s for….you know…Christmas.” As if that helped!! We did have one last Tim Horton’s and I don’t even like Tim Horton’s coffee. I went through security and there I waited. My flight was at 10pm so I did sleep some before arriving here. After having travelled with Aimey in South America, it was sad to sit next to an empty seat. My travel buddy should have been there. And then I got all panicky remembering that I was sick in Peru. What if I get sick here? Who’s going to help me? What about Africa? Who’s going to take care of me? The panicked subsided and I did ask myself “Am I crazy?” (I’ve heard the jokes…save it!)

Now I sit, reading through the Rwandan “Primary Methodology How to Guide” that was developed for VSO volunteers. I have realized, lately, that by the questions some of you aren’t exactly sure what I’ll be doing in Rwanda. Truth be told, either am I!! Well, my title is Basic Methodology Trainer for teachers. The goal of Rwandan schools is to develop child centred schools in the country. That is, schools where students participate in their own learning, take an active role and draw from their own experiences. In short, move away from traditional teaching where the teacher stands at the front, talks and writes on the board hoping students have learned something. As I read through the 55 page document, I’m starting to get excited about the job I have to (get to!) do. This is what I love. If I forget for a moment that I’m ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PLANET, I’m more excited than I am terrified. When I first started teaching my principal, M.R, hired me to teach math. I know, folks, math. Me! A social studies teacher! I accepted the job on the spot and when I hung up the phone said to myself “Uh oh. What have gotten myself into?” I’ve been teaching math since (as well as social studies, thank God) but I was talking to M.R. one day about a month into my first year and he said “Your learning curve must be very steep, so steep that you must be flipping backwards by now.” He was right and now, as I wait to board my next plane to Nairobi, I feel like I’m starting the steep climb of a learning curve and pretty soon I’ll be all Mary Lou Reton – except without the leotard.

The Long Journey Begins!

First, you all need to read Tina's blog - especially if you have any worries at all about me. She has done such a great job of taking pictures of her house, which will be my house soon enough. The link is on the right of this page. 

Well, I think I'm packed. It took me no more than 40 minutes. Two small bags, which is good because I can divide everything in half: socks, underwear, shirts, pants, malaria pills, contact lenses, shoes. That way, if one bag goes missing at least I'll having something. I hope it doesn't happen but just to be on the safe side. I still have to wait to pack in last minute things. I'll put off putting on clean clothes for a while. My journey begins tonight at 8pm when I check in and ends Saturday morning at 8:30am in Kigali - and that's assuming everything goes as planned! 

Tuesday night I got together with some friends to say good bye. It was harder than I thought. A lot can happen in a year! I also met a second cousin. We met on facebook after she recognized my last name on another friends profile. We have the same great-grand father! It's such a small world. She has been to Africa and brought me the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency which I've been meaning to read for years now. Nadine also brought along "dry shampoo". I'd never heard of it before but you can get all the oil and crap out of your hair when you don't have water. Apparently this happens often.

Keri, me and my dad.  Fitzgibbon cousins!

Cheers!

Nadine and I

Representing J23. 

Yesterday, after my procrastination, I made my second last Canadian meal which was a spinach tortellini dish. Yummy! And I made a tray of brownies. I don't know the last time I had brownies but I certainly don't know when I'll have them again. I got to talk to Em in Victoria and then talked my parents over Skype just to test it out. Now, assuming I can get reliable internet once in a while in Kibungo, I'll be able to chat with them for free! Tonight they come over for a "last supper" (guess we'll all have to sit on the same side of the table.....) and I've convinced Aimey to made her cashew spinach salad. We'll also have cheese smokies on the bbq and sweet potato fries. Then, we'll all head to the airport to say good bye / see you soon. This is my last post from C-Town. I will likely write sitting in Heathrow for 7 HOURS but if not, we'll chat again when I get to Rwanda. 

 

Let me set the stage for you....

In my room there are boxes and things EVERYWHERE. I have box or two for my parents, one for storage, one for Aimey, and one for the trash. I have stuff all over the place and it got too much for me so I decided to do something productive: check the internet to what the weather will be like in Kigali on Saturday (+27 for those interested!). I've read about Ted Kennedy and the amount of sugar we eat and a fire in Calgary last night. Then I realized that my favourite (read: only) eye liner is too small to last me though the year and I can only get it in the city and I don't have a car. So I panicked. What on earth will I do in Africa without eyeliner? The funny/ridiculous thing is that I hardly ever where eyeliner and have probably had that pencil for well over a year. Honestly, Anna! Get a grip. Last night I got together with some good friends to say "goodbye". I held myself together but did have a few tears on the drive home. I have such good friends and I will miss a lot in Calgary. I realized that a lot can happen in a year and I will be so far away as it does. I will miss at least 9 or 10 book swaps! This is a pretty big thing for me and I suppose the longer I type, the longer I procrastinate. My suitcase won't pack itself, after all!

Some final thoughts

I'm back in Calgary now and happy to be home. It's a quick turnaround, as you know. I leave for Rwanda tomorrow. I have had this week, while my friends and family are back at work, to gather my belongs and myself, for that matter. Peru and Bolivia were amazing! It was the first time I'd been to South America or a developing nation, for that matter. The culture shock was there and the language barriers were frustrating but I grew and pushed myself farther than I'd thought possible. Here are some highlights:

Scariest moment -- biking the World's Most Dangerous Road. I take it back. Driving back up the road was worse. Going down, I didn't have time to see the cliffs.

Biggest relief -- wondering if I would have to back out of the Inka Trail but waking up the next morning feeling weak, but better (and 5 lbs lighter!)

Best thing I ate -- Saltenas in Bolivia and Tacu Tacu in Peru.

Nastiest thing I ate -- it wasn't the guinea pig and llama. It was actually a fish soup I had my second night in Peru which made me violently ill.

Best find at the market -- a gift for my brother. 25 cents and I bought him a plastic yellow volvo to hang from his car, Valentina (yes, he named it!) that I got in Copacabana during the car blessings.

Grossest thing I saw -- a man drinking his own pee. Literally, peeing into his hand and then drinking it.

Most challenging thing I did -- there were a million! Probably hiking up to Dead Woman's Pass on the Inka Trail.

Books that I read -- 

--I finished "The Time Traveller's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger (good story, easy read but apparently the movie is getting bad reviews. Too bad, really), 

--"The Other Side of the Story" by Mirian Keyes (super easy, super fun and super thick. The perfect holiday book that you can leave behind and not feel bad about it) , 

--"The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (a novel written in letters about the German occupation of the Channel Islands during WWII. Great story) , 

--"Twilight" by Stephanie Meyer (if you haven't heard of this, you must live under a rock! It's a teenager book and a fun story. Not sure I'll committ to the other two books, though)

--I started "The Space Between Us" by Thrity Umrigar (so far, so very good! Story of an Indian woman and her servant. Sort of like a A Fine Balance - which is one of my favourite books of all time)

Most relaxing day -- hot springs in Chivay after hiking up the Colca Canyon.

Friendliest local -- the lady in the market who warned us that men will spit on you to distract you and then slash your bag open. She warned us to be careful with our money. (Of course, she only spoke Spanish - which we didn't understand - but gestures communicate well!) Also, the lady in the sandwich shop in Arequipa who remembered that we liked Avacado spread on our buns.

Biggest rip off -- Paying 90 soles to get to Arequipa on one bus line. When they only had six passengers, we were put onto another line, that cost only 60 soles. But, we were wise to their game and demanded our money back!

Most frustrating moment -- struggling with the language. Eventually we could say what we needed and had some basic words. Our numbers, our colours, hot, cold, water with gas, water without gas, toilet, orange, apple, the bill, delicious, stop here please!, thank you, and (for all the people hounding us to buy things) no, thank you!

What I missed the most -- hair conditioner, good toilets

What I miss most now that I'm home -- new challenges every day and Orange Fanta. 

Best thing I brought with me -- hand sanitizer and toilet paper, without question. One thing I could never figure out was that all washrooms had a toilet paper roll holder but never any toilet paper.

Would I recommend that you all go -- without a doubt! 

I've spoken with people since who have been reading this blog. I didn't realize it (I thought it was our parents checking in to make sure we were okay). I'm flattered and a bit shy now but thanks for reading! The adventures are going to continue as my suitcase heads off to Rwanda tomorrow. 

 

Let me make myself clear

As far as I know, Zebras are not native to Bolivia. Llamas, yes. Alpacas, yes. Stray dogs, OH YES! As per a few questions, there aren't real zebras. The issue in La Paz is that traffic is insane. The lines on the road mean very little. Horns are the main method of communication. And drivers have an amazing ability to avoid hitting pedestrians. Perhaps that is the Bolivian sixth sense. Drivers, though, don't pay attention to traffic lights, nor do they listen to the traffic police. As a result, the La Paz government decided to get 16 and 17 year olds to dress up like zebras (I kid you not!) in an attempt to get the drivers to pay attention. After all, why wouldn't you pay attention to a zebra? In all honesty, I didn't see one zebra direct one car, but they were there, marching to their post! So, just as a point of clarification, the zebras aren't real!

We are back on Canadian soil now and I will write a final wrap up soon!

Final Days in Peru

So, when last I wrote we were in our last night in La Paz. What a great night it turned out to be. I might have mentioned that we had been zebra hunting since we arrive in the capital - but to know avail. However, as luck would have it we were wandering toward El Prado and there it was! One lone zebra marching toward us, likely on his way to police traffic. Quickly we snapped a picture. As soon as he was gone, there was another. And then another! By God, an entire herd of zebras galloping towards us. Okay, so there were only four and they weren´t so much galloping as they were walking. But, pictures we did get and our time in Bolivia could now end.

We flew to Cusco and arrived early morning. Finally, I was in Cusco (which everyone says is their favourite Peruvian city but because of my altitude sickness in the beginning, had still no experienced it) and the sun was shining! We wandered the streets in the sunshine! Glad to be out of diesel filled La Paz and the Bolivian winter. We even sat on the Plaza de Aramas with a drink and took it all in. The next day we met up the bike company Gravity Peru to do the ¨BikeAsalt¨tour. There was Aimey and I, an American named Meghan, a Canadian named Gerald and an Israeli, who´s name I still don´t know but had a tendency to refer to any ruin as "Inca shit", of which he was obviously tired of seeing. Once we all got over the shock of us bluntness, he was actually quite funny. So we climbed into a van, bikes strapped to the roof and headed off. I had it in my mind that "I did The World´s Most Dangerous Road, how could this be any more difficult?" But it was!! I opted to ride for the second third of the trip because in the first third, could not manage up the hill without a literal push from our guide. I think it was a combination of altitude and not having really been on a bike this year. The scenery, however, was stunning (aha...breath taking!!). We passed through villages and farmers fields. The last third was all downhill but on terrain that I was neither used to or comfortable with. I did challenge myself and looking over the cliff, whilst managing to stay on my bike, is something I´m very proud of. I only had to get off my bike really toward the end but I decided that since I PAID for this venture, I would rather not pay extra for a hospital bill. Lunch was great and hammock laying was even better. Our ride back saw us stopped by the police because they "weren´t okay with the bikes on the roof" and after a midly long wait our guide gave the police 10 soles for permission to pass. In his words "just a way to make some money" because they had never been stopped before.

Next morning we board a day bus for Arequipa. Nightbusses are okay with Cruz del Sol (apparently) but safety aside, we weren´t really interested in losing a full night´s sleep. Many backpackers do this to save money. We chose to spend the day travelling and get to a comfy bed. Our journey was LONG. 14 hours long, to be percise. But we had meals, some heat during they day, Nancy Drew movie in English and blankets when it got cold. We check into the hotel at Arequipa thankful for a place to rest our heads. Next day we wandered Arequipa and found info about the Colca Canyon. We tried to find bull fighting but ended up at a children´s festival sort of like the Stampede. Whoops. Our hotel was AMAZING. Great breakfasts, a courtyard with grass and hammocks and a pool! Maybe we splurged toward the end of our trip but that´s okay. We didn´t really have time to enjoy it because the next morning we were up at 4am to catch the 6am bus for the canyon.

We arrived at noon at Cabanaconde ready for the ¨litte" hike down the canyon (which is apparently the first or second deepest in the world...both are here in Peru). The hike was to take 2 to 3 hours. We had one day pack and my big pack with sleeping bags and clothes. I figured that because I´m SO SLOW going downhill, we´d probably reach The Oasis around 3 o´clock. Well, I was wrong. My knees are so bad that I dread descents and this was 1000 metres. So, after getting lost in the town (should be hard to do....you really can´t "miss" the canyon on the one side...) we eventually made it down by 5 o´clock. Just in time for the sun to go behind the mountain and it to be too cold to swim the pool. It´s a wonder we made it down at all. Aimey carried my big pack most of the way and tripped and literally rolled down the hill (cuts and bruises to show for it). We even stopped a local who was on his way up about getting us some mules for the next day. (Seriously, you try it and tell me you don´t want a mule!) The Oasis (as it´s called) is four lodges with pools and huts to stay in. This was the first mud hut I´ve actually stayed in. We dangled our weary and dusty feet in the pool before supper and were joined by three French guys who had passed us on the way down. After looking upward and admiring the celestial beings that we NEVER see in the city, it was early to bed (and I mean I think I was asleep by 8:30) only to go back up the next day!

Breakfast at 6:30 and we were on our way up an hour later. This time, I took the big pack. It fit me better and I felt like going up would be easier. It was. My bones didn´t ache but I sure got a work out on my lungs. It took us the same to get up and I think we were both happy to not have taken a mule. We caught the 2pm bus to Chivay but couldn´t buy seats in advance because we weren´t going all the way to Arequipa so prayed we get seats. We were in luck! 2 hours to Chivay was a breeze. We got off, found a place to stay and then jumped in a mototaxi (man I love those things) to take us to the hot springs. I WAS IN HEAVEN. I love hot springs more than anything. We soaked in the warmth until we though every ache and pain was gone and headed back to town.

Today, we arrived back in Arequipa to our hotel. After a quick lunch, we changed into our swimsuits and sat by the pool reading. I finished my book (which, by the way is very good. It´s called the Guersey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society) and now here I am. I know it must seem to you all that I´ve spent my entire trip at an internet cafe but in truth, this is a journal of my experience more than anything. Like writing it down but more efficient. So, we head to Calgary in a few days and likely this will be my last post from South America. Maybe I´ll get some pictures up. That´s when the next adventure begins....

One week from tomorrow, I´ll be on the plane to Kigali. Wow...it´s already here!

And I thought Iceland was isolated!

We are in our last night in Bolivia. While I'm certainly not going to miss Bolivia's aversion to toilet seats, there are so many things I have seen and done that I will miss. Firstly, Saltenas! Yum, yum! They are these football shaped pastry things that are sort of sweet, sort of salty and all yummy! They drip everywhere when you eat them but when Aimey and I arrived back into La Paz this morning at 6am and needed a mid morning burst of energy, we did what the locals do - had a coke and 2 saltenas. Yum!

"Why did you arrive in La Paz at 6am?" you may now be thinking. There is a simple answer to that....in addition to toilet seats, Bolivians apparently do not believe that busses should run during the day. Rather, all busses should run in the middle of the night and have passengers arrive at their destinations groggy and wanting saltenas.

We did much relaxing and internet/blog catching up when last we were in La Paz. We're here again and I get to write about an amazing time we had in the south. We booked a "must do" when in Bolivia, and that is, visit the Salt Flats near Uyuni. The only way to get there is a night bus and so on Saturday we boarded the "luxury" tourist bus and hunkered down for what we thought would be a reasonably comfortable event (we were assured of a meal, heat, blankets and pillows - how could that POSSIBLY be uncomfortable?). Three hours out of La Paz we hit they town of Oruro and apparently the end of paved roads, as we know it. Imagine the next seven hours bumping, bouncing, and jostling along in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere. Sort of like driving on rumble strips for an entire night's sleep. Awesome. It was so bumpy that the water bottle I had "securing stored in the overhead compartment" woke me up from a "sleep" by falling and hitting the guy next to me and them my foot. Whoops. Then my scarf fell. Then I "woke up" to find my glasses on the floor and Aimey's Ipod under my seat. How on earth these things managed to jump out of the pockets infront of us, I'll never know. Needless to say, we didn't get a lot of sleep but arrived safely (I'm learning that this is actually far more important than comfort) in Uyuni at about 7:15 am - a measly 11 hours after our journey began.

Uyuni was cold. VERY COLD. So when we fount our tour operator, we prompty began adding layer, after layer, after layer. Until we were moderately cold. We went for a quick breakfast and at 10:40am met the rest of our group, our driver and departed for the tour. Our driver was an old, short, grumpy Bolivian named Roberto / Alberto / Rodrigo (we called him by all three names and still aren't sure of the correct one, but I'll call him Roberto because I'm pretty sure that was it). He loaded the group - Three Columbians, two Canadians, a Spaniard, and a partriage in a pear tree - into the Toyto Landcruiser and we were off!! First stop, train graveyard. Not that exciting. A bunch of old trains. You get the picture. It seemed we were out snapping pictures for no more thant 10 minutes when Roberto was saying "Vamose" (Let's go! sorry for spelling). This became his catch phrase for our tour. We got into our truck and he actually said to the Spaniard (named Jordie) "We don't have time for you to be snapping pictures all day!" Now, Mr. Roberto, isn't that EXACTLY what we have time for? Isn't that exactly what we paid for? (At this point, I was annoyed but the story changes A LOT as the days when on.)

Next stop, Uyuni Salt Flat. This is an INCREDIBLE words-can-not-describe type of place. Thousands of square kilometres of white salt. It was left after a massive lake, which covered most of southern Bolivia, dired up. As we sped through, it felt like we were on a massive frozen lake and I was ready for our truck to start spinning out. As you can tell from the pictures, it's pretty amazing. Nothing but salt for miles. I had an urge to lick the ground, but resisted! Our lunch stop was a place called "Fish Island". It's an island in the middle of the salt flat that has enormous cacti (plural for cactus, right?). They group up to 20 feet tall! Roberto graciously gave us 2 hours on our own so we played with the camera to get some good shots. Next, we sped to our night time destination. We were to stay in a town called San Juan. When we arrived we were delighted to find that we got to stay in a hotel made entirely from salt! This, we found out later, is normally reserved for the "expensive" tours (our's was the budget one) but Roberto's hurrying us along, paid off! We were going to spend a chilly night surrounded by salt! Before the sun went down and the tempurature dipped below zero (it was to be minus five that night) we headed out to a burial ground with skeletons and tombes. Yikes. Dinner was a Bolivian poutine of sorts and we had some wine and played Uno. Aimey and I practiced our Spanish by playing Uno only in Spanish. We are now experts at our numbers and colours! Early to bed under down sleeping bags (I was thankful for mine) and two wool blankets. No heating in the salt hotel meant that we had to take care. It didn't matter. I slept like a baby!!

Up in the morning and we're on our way again! Roberto saying "Vamose! Vamose" and we're trying to hurry! We really are. We're on the road by 8am and heading for hours across barren, rocky, deserts. Nothing for miles except the odd other Landrover crusing along. Roberto looking at the other drivers as a sort of challenge. I thought, for a moment, we were in the Dakar rally. He seemed keen on beating other drivers and I begain to realize that each driver was out for himself. We saw volcanic rocks, lagoons full of flamingos, and more llamas that I ever thought existed. We arrived at our second night's accomodation early (Roberto, again, making sure we weren't taking our time). This hotel was nothing compared the first night. It was dodgy and old and all six of us had to share a room. Before the sun went down, Aimey befriended a little girl named Lydia who was afraid, it seemed, of everyone else. Aimey was out sitting on a rock when Lydia, who is probably about 6, came out to change her drying laudry to move it into the sun. (Pause for a moment to reflect on a 6 year old doing their own laundry....) Aimey began to help her and within minutes, Lydia shyly sat down next to her. They played Paddy Cake, Aimey showed her some post cards and then, always the teacher, taught her to count to ten. (Remember, we are now experts because of our Uno game).

In our new abode, there was, again, no heat and we were soon to realize that staying warm was not an option. I played a crazy card game with some South Americans, met a Canadian from Toronto who has to cook her own food because she has a Koser diet, stayed by the little furnace that one of the owners started for us, and have never been to cold in all my life! Because Aimey had given her Nalgene bottle to our Inca Trail guide as a thank you, we had to share mine filled with hot water. We passed to each other until the shock of a frozen sleeping back was gone. I slept somewhat okay - I was warm enough in the end - but the 5am wake up call by Roberto came to early. "Vamose! Vamose!"

This day, however, I was going to warm up. We were going to visit a thermal pool. So, at 5am, with the tempurature hovering around 15 below zero outside, I put on my swimsuit under all my clothes under my sleeping bag. This was the only way to not freeze. We head out, under amazing starry skies, and begin another bumpy ride in southern Bolivia. First, as the sun was rising, to see 20 or so geyers and steam springs. Then a 30 minute ride to the hot pools. Roberto said "No one gets breakfast, unless you go in!" (I think this was when I started warming - no pun intended - to the old fart). We arrived and most people stood around staring at the water in their toques and mitts saying "I'm not going in there!!" but a few brave souls - including your's truly - stripped down to our swimsuits and got in. I admit, I needed some coaxing, but it was worth it! Finally, I could feel my toes! In the pool, then for breakfast and then to our last stop. The "green" lagoon - which wasn't green at all. After the lagoon, the Spaniard left us to go to Chile and Roberto, it seemed, changed personality. He was smiling, put on music, and gave us all lollipops (remind us that if we broke our teeth, it wasn't his fault.) I wonder if he just didn't like our Spaniard - who was always late and for whom we were always waiting. Regardless, we settled in for an 8 hour journey on dirt, gravel, bumpy roads back to Uyuni.

The journey was made shorter by Roberto who took a short cut, through a field of nothingness (except llamas). He cut our trip down by an hour, compared to the other guides. Although he did this by racing along, passing - very dangerously - other vehicles, not stopping to help the 6 or so trucks we saw broken down (probably 1 in 2 vehicles have something go wrong), nearly hitting a llama, driving through rivers and playing chicken with another driver! He's been doing this for 25 years and it showed. Everytime there was a 4 by 4 short cut through a field he took it. But we arrived in Uyuni safely, if not a bit shaken up, grabbed a pizza dinner and caught the bus back to La Paz. Another night of rumble strip sleeping. We were smart this time and took Gravol. I really only woke up once, when our driver turned on the lights and told us there had been an accident, we needed to get out....oh...no....never mind, go back to sleep. We arrived in La Paz tired, smelly but happy that we had yet another great adventure.

Tomorrow we head back to Peru. I wonder what that will bring.....

Pictures: Southwest Bolivia and Salt Flats

Aimey on the Uyuni Salt Flat.


Anna also on the salt flat. (This is a "classic" picture that all tourists do when they get here.)

Snoopy also took a a visit to the Salt Flat!

During our great game of Uno someone spilt a glass of wine. Well what do you do in a salt hotel when someone spills red wine? Grab some of the floor (made of sand-like salt) and see if that will work!

Breakfast at the salt hotel

The dining room. Chairs, tables and floor - all salt!

Outside the salt hotel in the morning. The bike was not made of salt.

Two Canadians, three Columbians and one Snoopy. Somewhere in Southern Bolivia.

Chilean flamingo in Bolivia.

More flamingos. Too busy eating to look up.

Aimey running to get to the truck as Roberto yells "Vamose!"

A Landrover crusing through the Bolivian desert.

Us at the Tree Rock - a rock that looks like a tree.....

Aimey and Lydia playing a game.

Turn your heads sideways and you'll see us trying to stay warm by the "furnace". If you're lucky, you might see a thermometer that says -15 degrees! (Okay, there was no thermometer but that's what the locals told us.)

Bundled up trying to stay warm. (Our neighbours had a hole in their window, so I guess we were the lucky ones.)

Sunrise at the geyers.

Two brave Canadians.

The change room after the thermal pool. Notice that not only is Aimey wearing her toque and sweater, but the chickens who didn't go in are entirely bundled up in the background.

This was the view as we sat in the hot pools.

I did it! (Now where is my towel? I'm freezing out here!)

Pictures from Bolivia

Taking part in a cha´lla. This ritual blessing for the apus (moutain spirits) required us to sprinkle our bikes tires (normally done on a vehicle) before beginning our descent. It is to ensure that the achachilas (ancestor spirits who live in the mountains) look after us. Then, our guide suggested we drink it. It was about 90% proof and not that tasty!


A view of the most dangerous road in the world. You can see a pull over for vehicles but often right of way disputes were the cause of many accidents!

I couldn´t smile. I was too focused on the road and not crashing!

You can see the drop offs here. Thankfully we didn´t see them as we were biking. Only on our way home did we have time to actually see what we were getting into!

Giagantic bag of popcorn in Copacabana. We were there for the festival.

Little boy in Copacabana.

The view from Cerro Calvario above Copacabana. We hiked up here to watch the sunset over Lake Titicaca and gota great view of Copacabana beach.

At the ferry crossing on our way to La Paz.

Aimey pointing to our bus. We had to get off and take a ferry across the lake. If you look closely you can see that our bus is floating on a barge. We were just thankful that it, along with our belongings, made it across!

Planes, Trains and Zebra Crossings?

I've been travelling now for three weeks and today, as I chugged up the hill away from La Paz to the city of El Alto, was reflecting on the different ways I've travelled so far. Planes, trains, buses, motorcycle, mototaxi, collectivo, boats (both powered and not), mountain bike and by good old fashioned walking! Here are some highlights:

Mountain Bike: Aimey and I went with Gravity Assisted Mountain Biking and biked 64km down the World's Most Dangerous Road the other day. It was so named by the Inter-American Development Bank in 1995 (I think) because of the sheer number of deaths recorded on the road. It was averaging around 320 until a new road was opened. The WMDR now really only serves local villages and crazy mountain bikers, so there is some traffic. The reason it's so dangerous? In many spots it's only 3.2 metres wide - barely enough for one vehicle. On one side there are drops of up to 600metres - straight down! In rainy season many parts are washed out. Mostly, though, drivers lose control and many accidents were due to drunk driving. As we biked down, our guide stopped at a few spots for us to peer down the the cliffs to old vans and trucks that had gone off the cliff. When you had a second to take your eyes off the road, you could see crosses lining the road in spots where people had died. Since biking started on the road 12 years ago, 11 bikers have died. How did I feel going in to this, then? Well, officially, if someone is to ask me what the scariest thing I've done in my life is, I would include this! But Gravity Assisted has a great record (none of the deaths were with them) and they take safety very seriously. Plus, we had great weather (it was dry season) and I took my time. It was quite a rush! Pictures will be coming shortly....

Collectivos: In La Paz, you can't help but notice the number of white van-like busses that congest the streets. All have signs in them and people standing in the doorway, shouting the destination. In fact, there are so many crowding the roads, ignoring both traffic police and lights that I think the World's Most Dangerous Intersections have got to be here! Aimey and I have a new game. It's called Traffic Dodge. I've nearly been hit at least 3 times but realize that dodging taxis and collectivos is a bit of an art form. Either way, today we wanted to leave La Paz proper (which is n a valley) and head up towards El Alto for a better view of the city. Collectivos are cheap so we studied what they were shouting, read the signs and hopped in. 15 people crammed into the collectivo (think a small Ecoline van, with lower ceilings and no seatbelts) and headed up the hill. We jumped out and a good time and took some great views. Catching one back was a bit more of a challenge. We stood on the road and as soon as we saw one that said "Prado" on it (where we needed to go) we pointed, it swerved infront of another and slammed on its breaks just after us. We hopped on and away we went!

Traffic in La Paz: so as if dodging traffic was interesting enought....La Paz has thought of a great way to get help deal with the traffic dodging problem. They have teenaged kids dress up in Zebra costumes to act as crossing guards. Why zebras? Apparently, zebras get noticed. We saw them the other night but did not stop to take pictures because we were told they were at the traffic circle every day. However, we have been on the zebra hunt now for two days and can't find them again! We're trying to get a picture but at this point are having little luck.

Today, in addition to visiting El Alto, we toured the Coca museum. The Coca leaf is sacred i Peru and Bolivia. It's been used forever by high altitude living locals as a way to deal with the altitude. Of course, it's also the source of cocaine and it's cultivation a source of international debate. The UN has actually said that the only appropriate use for the Coca leaf is in the production of soda (Coca Cola, specifically) but not for indigenous use. Tell me this isn't one sided. I know that since I've been here, I chewed the Coca leaf regularily on the Inca Trail and swear that it helped me complete the trek without getting sick. I drink Mate de Coca nearly every morning (Coca tea) and even began taking a supplement. Although, in the last few days I feel that I've aclamatized and have stopped taking it.

Tomorrow we take a tourist night bus to a town called Uyuni where we will begin a three day tour in a 4 wheel drive to see the salt flats and a few other sights in southern Bolivia. It's a long journey so everything we read suggests taking the tourist bus. It has a toilet and heating!! However, on our way back, this bus is all booked up, so we'll be on a local night bus. The downside, no heating, no meal, maybe no toilet. That, and the 4WD along the salt flats will be more of an adventure I think.

Pictures from Peru (in reverse order...start at the bottom)

Swimming in the Rio Madre de Dios in the Amazon. (Swimming means staying in the water so the bugs don´t bit you! See me try to get them off? My arms and legs STILL look like I have the chicken pox)

Canoeing with the Caimans in the Amazon Jungle. Thankfully he wasn´t hungry that day, but he was eyeing us up a little bit!

Aimey eating beetle larvae in the jungle. (Picture following shows her eyes squeezed shut and scrunched up face. Yum!)

Our basic mode of transportation (other than motorcycles) in Puerto Maldonado.

See, I told you the fog lifted!

Aimey and llamas at Macchu Picchu
Anna sees Machu Picchu for the first time!! (Yes, that´s fog...but it lifted eventually)

The start of day #2 - our hike up to Dead Woman´s Pass. We are all so happy (and dray) at this point but 7 hours later, the story was oh, so much different!

Our view, night #1 on the Inca Trail. See the Andes in the back?

Locals overlooking Cusco, Peru.

Anna and the Pacific Ocean. In Miraflores, Lima.

The flight to Cusco. This is the Andes...just before altitude sickness claimed me!




So, if you read the title and are actually starting from the bottom, you´ll know that we have taken, together, over 1200 pictures!! Here are a few highlights but they were hard to choose.