- Public transportation - cheap busses and cheap cabs
- Juices - any kind you can imagine and all of it fresh, delicious, and EVERYWHERE!
- Laundry service
- Ice Cream buffets!!
- The company of hostels
- Israelis
- Farmacias! with any kind of over the counter drugs you need. (you all know I don't mean narcotics, though you can get those too)
- Hearing so many other languages spoken around me daily!
- No stress
- Dancing until 5Am!
- Huari beer
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Things I miss about Central and South America
Now that I am back home and I have had time to reflect on my journey, I decided it wouldn't be fair to all the places I've traveled if I didn't mention the things I miss about them. Would it?
Monday, February 8, 2010
South America randoms....
1. Getting peeped on in the McDonalds bathroom in Lima Peru.
2. Chain mail lingerie. Sold on the sidewalk in Santiago.
3. Kids spotted swimming in a city fountain in Buenos Aires. Their mothers were bathing the toddlers. Honestly, who needs a water park or YMCA?2. Chain mail lingerie. Sold on the sidewalk in Santiago.
4. Leaving a great Italian restaurant in Palermo, BA we notice a lone, naked, scary doll sitting in the corner of a booth. This was meant to be part of the decor.
5. Spending Christmas Eve and into early Christmas morning at a ¨tranny hipster coke¨ bar.
6. Dogs wear jeans in La Boca BA.
7. I found a t-shirt in the San Telmo market in BA that I REALLY should have bought for J. Mills. It was the Chic-fil-A cows holding signs that said ¨Come Mas Pollo¨. The randomness of this is that first, there is no Chic-fil-A here and second, Argentina is known for it's beef.
9. Playing with dynamite (the real stuff my friends) in Bolivia.
10. The four year old kid with a pimp jean jacket and a big pout walking down the busy Cusco street without a parent in sight.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
The final days....
There was much debate between Jenna and I about whether or not to go to Cusco. The recent flooding of the Sacred Valley with stories of stranded tourists worried us. We finally decided we would go see Copacabana and Lake Titicaca and then head to Lima from there skipping Cusco.
We were enjoying the first sunshine we had seen since getting to La Paz next to the bus when we noticed them. Two guys taking notice of us. At the ferry crossing of the Straight of Tiquina they introduced themselves as Andrè and Gustav from Brasil. While chatting with them we spotted the Chileans we had met the night before at Mongo's. We were all headed to Copacabana!! On our way to the hostel with the Brazilians in tow we ran into Alejandro, another friend from the night before. We are not that popular, it just truly is that small of a world.
That night our possè braved a hail storm to haggle for cheap rum and coke, play pool, and salsa to a live band.
The next day our plans to tour the lake were foiled by continuing rain, so we decided to just get a bus ticket to Lima. As it turned out the Brazilians got a ticket to Puno on our bus and in the three hour layover Jenna and I had in Puno the boys managed to convince us to go to Cusco with them. We go to Cusco, we don't go to Cusco, we go, we don't go. The Brazilians think we should go? Ok then. The problem is our tickets are non refundable, but luckily we are at the end of our journey therefore that much more resourceful. We find a couple of travelers going to Lima and sell them our tickets.
The overnight in Puno gave us all time the next morning to go tour the floating islands on Lake Titicaca - an awe to see. Then the four of us went to straight to the bus station for the trip to Cusco.
My last day in South America was spent in Cusco. Because I had been there before, it was a mellow day wandering the streets. My bag was packed and my flight to the U.S was scheduled, but once home in the states it seems the journey will continue. A road trip from L.A. to Denver via Las Vegas may just be a little more icing on my big fat cake!!
We were enjoying the first sunshine we had seen since getting to La Paz next to the bus when we noticed them. Two guys taking notice of us. At the ferry crossing of the Straight of Tiquina they introduced themselves as Andrè and Gustav from Brasil. While chatting with them we spotted the Chileans we had met the night before at Mongo's. We were all headed to Copacabana!! On our way to the hostel with the Brazilians in tow we ran into Alejandro, another friend from the night before. We are not that popular, it just truly is that small of a world.
That night our possè braved a hail storm to haggle for cheap rum and coke, play pool, and salsa to a live band.
The next day our plans to tour the lake were foiled by continuing rain, so we decided to just get a bus ticket to Lima. As it turned out the Brazilians got a ticket to Puno on our bus and in the three hour layover Jenna and I had in Puno the boys managed to convince us to go to Cusco with them. We go to Cusco, we don't go to Cusco, we go, we don't go. The Brazilians think we should go? Ok then. The problem is our tickets are non refundable, but luckily we are at the end of our journey therefore that much more resourceful. We find a couple of travelers going to Lima and sell them our tickets.
The overnight in Puno gave us all time the next morning to go tour the floating islands on Lake Titicaca - an awe to see. Then the four of us went to straight to the bus station for the trip to Cusco.
My last day in South America was spent in Cusco. Because I had been there before, it was a mellow day wandering the streets. My bag was packed and my flight to the U.S was scheduled, but once home in the states it seems the journey will continue. A road trip from L.A. to Denver via Las Vegas may just be a little more icing on my big fat cake!!
Monday, February 1, 2010
From Rags to Riches!
In my life I am lucky to meet the most wonderful people in the world. I am also lucky that those people lead me to other wonderful people. Maggie and Cindy Beitler, I love you two. And I love your family in La Paz!! Tio Rulo and Tia Marilou took Jenna and I into their beautiful home like we were long lost familia just like you said they would!
Tio's home is located in Los Pinos which is in the south part of the city. Jenna and I had our own room with a clean bed and clean bathroom. We hadn't been this excited since we found that brand new bar of soap in Brazil. Adela, the wonderful housekeeper, immediately put breakfast on the table for us all and then took our dirty laundry to be cleaned. It was the first of many moments I considered permanently moving in.
That afternoon Tio took us to Club Aleman where we went for a swim and then relaxed in the sauna. That evening Tia Marilou and Prima Sandra escorted us to the leather shops downtown where Jenna placed and order for a beautiful custom fit leather jacket for $110 USD!!
The rest of the week we spent touring the city with Tio. We got two hour pedicures for $8 USD and an hour massage at the Club also for $8 USD. We ate like princesses - no meal costing over $10 USD. And when Jenna got sick with bronchitis and a sinus infection we were driven straight to the home of Rulo's brother who examined Jenna in his living room (he's a doctor) and perscribed her appropriate meds. Tio and Tia were so kind to us!
On our final night Sandra took us out to a sort of speak easy - what she called a secret bar. The decor and drinks there were amazing. Then we went to Mongo's where we ran into friends from Salta and Potosi, made new friends from Argentina and Chile, and danced until 4 AM.
The next day we had to leave our life of luxury. But we will definitely be back to visit our new Tio and Tia again. They are wonderful and La Paz is fantastic!!
Tio's home is located in Los Pinos which is in the south part of the city. Jenna and I had our own room with a clean bed and clean bathroom. We hadn't been this excited since we found that brand new bar of soap in Brazil. Adela, the wonderful housekeeper, immediately put breakfast on the table for us all and then took our dirty laundry to be cleaned. It was the first of many moments I considered permanently moving in.
That afternoon Tio took us to Club Aleman where we went for a swim and then relaxed in the sauna. That evening Tia Marilou and Prima Sandra escorted us to the leather shops downtown where Jenna placed and order for a beautiful custom fit leather jacket for $110 USD!!
The rest of the week we spent touring the city with Tio. We got two hour pedicures for $8 USD and an hour massage at the Club also for $8 USD. We ate like princesses - no meal costing over $10 USD. And when Jenna got sick with bronchitis and a sinus infection we were driven straight to the home of Rulo's brother who examined Jenna in his living room (he's a doctor) and perscribed her appropriate meds. Tio and Tia were so kind to us!
On our final night Sandra took us out to a sort of speak easy - what she called a secret bar. The decor and drinks there were amazing. Then we went to Mongo's where we ran into friends from Salta and Potosi, made new friends from Argentina and Chile, and danced until 4 AM.
The next day we had to leave our life of luxury. But we will definitely be back to visit our new Tio and Tia again. They are wonderful and La Paz is fantastic!!
Things I miss about the U.S.A
I am almost at the end of my journey. I have had a lot of people ask me things like "What do you like better, this or that?" and "Where has your favorite place been?" So I thought it may interest you all about things I haved missed most about the U.S. Here are some items for you all to appreciate today.......
- Peanut Butter
- Clorox Bleach (or any bleach for that matter)
- Towels - dish towels, paper towels, hand towels, and napkins even!
- Shower curtains
- Solitude of home
- Salads!!
- Order - in traffic, in lines, in life
- Nonsmoking restaurants and bars
- English keyboards
- My dog, and of course you guys!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)