Into Bolivia

Well we have a lot to recount from an exciting last week. So we will try not to leave anything out.

We spent Christmas Eve in a fun fashion (mostly). Tracy was still recovering from a rough cold, and Adam decided to ride a bicycle out about 7km into the desert to try his hand at sandboarding. Turned out to be the only one there. It was a surreal experience to be in the middle of a giant desert, on top of a giant dune, alone. Sandboarding was fun, like snowboarding in the hot and without turning abilities. We decided to attend mass on Christmas Eve at the small Catholic church in San Pedrio de Atacama. It turned out to be a wonderful experience. We were lead into the church by a 30 minute processional of children dressed in traditional clothing dancing to drums and accordians. The mass was really wonderful as the priest gave a wonderful sermon while standing right inn the middle of the people. You could see that this priest was disinterested in being high and holy and felt much more comfortable standing right in the middle of the people in the church, conversing with them during mass. He talked about the dificulty of singing songs about joy, peace and hope while living in a world full of hunger, injustice, war and ugliness. He went on to resolve his sermon by explaining that he feels this is exactly why we must sing songs about these things and why Jesus was sent into a world full of these things. It was a beautiful sentiment and I think the setting and the Spanish language made it all the more beautiful. At the end of the mass (which did not conclude until midnight), the church proceeded again, led by the children and the musicians, to the town square where they placed baby Jesus in his manger.

Christmas morning at 8am we loaded into a bus and were driven to the Bolivian border where we would cross the Atacama Desert over 3 days. We watched as all of the Europeans and Australians went through getting their entrance stamps and read the poster on the wall explaining all of the requirements for us to enter Bolivia, some of which we did not have. At risk of sounding like we felt victimized (as our dear neighbors here in LAtin America have to go through a million more hoops and processes in order to apply to enter the US, which is a hope that has very little posiibility because most applications are denied), it was an interesting experience. We were alloowed to pass through the border, but our driver had to hold our passports until we could go to the immigration office in Bolivia to officially go through the process.

From the border crossing we loaded into a 4x4 with 4 Swiss folks and a Bolivian driver named Jose (who was an excellent driver and a knowledgable guy pointing outlots of great things along the way). Our frist day we passed by several lagoons. The most impressive of which were the Laguna Verde, which is colored a bright and impressive turqoise and set against the backdrop of a dormant volcanoe. The other was the Laguna Colorada, which was an amazing Lagoon that is colored bright red due to the microorganisms and minerals it contains. It was outlined by deposits of Borax, which were bright white and looked like snow. The lagoons also had thousands of bright pink flamingoes walking around eating and occasionally flying to a new spot.

We then continued on to a location that contains geysers and volcanic activity. This location is over 16000 feet altitude. Which means if you climb to the highest point in the continental USA, you will still lack about 1500 feet of being at the altitude we spent this little bit, and it was in the desert, surrounded by mountains which went much higher.

The evening was spent in a very basic room that blocked the wind and that is about it. The temperature was below freezing at night and the altitude where we slept was well over 14000 feet. Altitude sickness effects people at random, no matter how fit or healthy you might be, and Tracy got bit by it. Our driver made her a home remedy drink for atitude sickness. This is a cultural remedy throughout Bolivia, PEru ecuador and Colombia. She finally started to feel well enough to get some rest and would cope quite well throughout the rest of the journey.

On day two we continued through the desert, seeing more lagoons filled with pink flamingoes, wild ostriches, vicuñas (which are related to deer, but remind me of a mix between a deer, camel, giraffe and horse) and occasional llamas. We got to see amazing rock formations, volcanic rock flows (from thousands of years back) and incredible desert landscapes.

On night two we slept in a small hotel that is located about a mile away from the Salar of Uyuni, or the Uyuni salt flat. The hotels walls were made of bricks which were made of salt and the floor was covered in salt. The tables and chairs were made of.... yes, salt. It sparkled in the light and was an amazing thing to see.

The next morning we woke up before sunrise and drove into the salt flat. Words cannot describe what it is like to be surrounded by salt in every direction. It looks a lot like snow in the desert. It is bright white and feels like another planet. The colors of the sunrise reflected wonderfully off of the salt. We stopped along our route through the salt flat at the lone island that stuck up out of the thousand square mile flat. The island contained thousands of giant cacti, asome of which were close to a thousand years old. Again a bizarre and mind blowing landscape. We were able to relax and eat breakfast here by the island and take fun pictures (which we will try to upload once we get to good internet).

Finally we arrived to Uyuni, Bolivia and Jose took us to his home for lunch where his mother had prepared llama steaks and vegetables for us. It was really delicious and a great finish to an amazing trip. Our busses have been fun, but this kind of travelling was amazing.

We finally got our immigration issues worked out in Uyuni and now have our Bolivian Visa. Yesterday we travelled about 10 hours to Potosi where we currently sit.

Potosi has the honor of being the highest altitude city of its size at over 13,500 feet in altitude. We have adjusted to this for the most part, but it is impressive to see. The city was once of of the richest cities in the world due to mines rich in gold, silver, copper and other valuable minerals. As has unfortunately been the case with much of the rich resources in Latin America, exploitation has been the name of the game ever since the Spaniards arrived and every other power in the world has followed suite in trying get their riches from this place.

This morning we toured a convent that thrived in the 16-18th centuries, but still is in operation. It was actually the most enjoyable 2 and a half hours I have ever spent in a convent. The art, all done by local artists from Potosi, was incredible and all frames, adornments and shrines were made of gold or silver. The most impressive, however, was the self flagellation instruments. I dont think any tour of a convent is complete without some mention of this, so I was rather content.

This afternoon we dressed up in helmets and head lamps and took a trip into the mine. We were able to meet many of the miners. On the way, people visiting the mine are able to stop at the miner market and buy gifts for the miners. They benefit from the gifts and are thus willing to take time to talk to the gringos who have ventured into their mine. We took big bags of leafs (which the miners put in their cheeks to offset altitude, weather, hunger and fatigue), cigarettes, big bottles of soft drinks, dynamite (yes, you can buy large sticks of dynamite on the street) and alcohol to them. This was not really a gift basket of things we thought they might like, but things that we were loaded up with by the market people and our local guide. (I am guessing if we showed up with broccolli and tofu, the miners may have been less apt to give us their time). There was actually an interesting explanation of how each of these items helped the miners deal with the extreme conditions in which they work (i already mentioned the coca leaves and the other items, such as alcohol, have similar explanations). We were able to see only a small amount of the conditions they experience, but they are really nasty conditions. Most miners are only able to work in the mine for 10-15 years before either being too sick to continue or dying. Most miners who make a career of mining die at age 35. These statistics made us look at the faces of the miners in a different way that I dont think can actually sink in on the same day. (The Devil´s Miner is a documentary about this that I hear is wonderful --Thank you Maria!)

Tomorrow we head to Sucre to celebrate the entrance of a New Year. Thanks for reading all of this, we will take time to post pictures as soon as we get an opportunity.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Merry Christmas everyone. We are currently in San PEdro de Atacama, which is in the middle of the Atacama desert. We leave tomorrow on a 3 day trip crossing into Bolivia. Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas, we miss spending time with you all but are thankful for being able to stay in touch.

A few more pictures

Still enjoying La Serena and trying to figure out our Christmas plans. A cool town with a nice beach, street performers, colonial architecture, nice downtown and a very good, cheap hostel so we are pretty content.

Tracy and I on Cerro Allegre in Valparaiso. The town is very large and densely populated, built up the hills in a horseshoe around the bay. Old architecture and signs of the former elite having had residendces here (we hear they have since moved north up the beach as Valpo has become more urban over the past half decade). You can see a piece of the bay and the steep ascent of residences in the background.


This one of Valpo´s famouns "acensores". Built around the turn of the 20th century, they make for an interestng ride and it defnitely beats hiking all those stairs. For about 20 cents a ride, it is half transport and half entertainment.


Tracy admires a piece of artwork in our room at the last hostel in Valparaiso. Oh we the ways we etertain ourselves.


The scenery changes quickly as we rode what was supposed to be 7 or 8 hours north up the coast (turned out to be 12). Last night we were able to be in the desert as suset.


Last night we went to an observtory in the desert. Chile is a very popular pace for these things aparently as the high altitudes in the desert make for good viewing. It was interesting and a unique experience. We had a really good time and were able to appreciate being in the southern hemisphere a bit more.

Valparaiso

Greetings from a big city. Since we need to upload pictures in order to get them saved somewhere, we will update you on our latest movements with the captions.

This is a church built in the early 1700´s in Achao, which is on a smaller island in Chiloe. The church is filled with amazingly ornate woodwork. The coolest thing is that it was constructed with the use of no nails. Only joints and wooden pegs were used. We were not allowed to photograph inside.


Here is our campsite in souther Chiloe, right in the middle of an apple orchard. Unfortunately, the apples need another 6 weeks or so to be ready. We finally got real laundry done (not in a sink or shower), so we hung out here for an extra day with little to do. It was great. We are about 3 weeks ahead of tourist season, so we are often the only ones at campsites. It is quiet, but we do enjoy being social now and then.


Here is Tracy at a Laguna. We made it here without use of public transportation or walking, but for the sake of our parent´s blood pressure, we will not say exactly how. (It rhymes with smitchhiking... no worries all the locals assured us the Chiloeans are 100 percent good people, and the lady who picked us up felt bad for our lack of towels and brought us some from her house) Tracy is eating a "completo" which is a Chilean classic- hot dog covered in enormous amounts of guacamole, tomatoes and mayonaise.



Who wouldnt want to pick up this guy? (The sun finally cooked my face to the point that I had to buy this one dollar hat).


From Chiloe we went to Valdivia. A hip little university city at the junction of two rivers and near the ocean. German influences is particularly strong here. Our favorite part was hanging out near the market, where locals buy and sell veggies, fruits, flowers and sea food. These sea lions hang out by the market and wait for the folks cleaning fish to throw them the scraps.


The veggies and fruits were quite beautiful.


This one is for Nana since the last one was such a hit. Those Germans love to put up cutouts of stereotypes for travelers to pose in. We could not find two children to accompany us.


We travelled overnight to Santiago, the capital of Chile. We spent several hours walking around this morning. This picture is in front of the capital building (I think). Our ultimate destination was Valparaiso, where we currently sit. We tired of hot dogs, french fries, french fries covered in lots of stuff and baked chicken with potatoes, so the city was a welcome place to find some variety...today we found some Chinese.


We will try to get up some Valpo pics soon.

We are starting to see lots of Christmas around. Christmas trees everywhere (plastic, of course), carols on the radio, street vendors selling wrapping paper and singing Christmas lights. Not sure where we will be at Christmas time, but we are starting to get in the spirit.

Beauty of Travel

We spend much time takign in new things and this leaves us with very little time to fully digest all that we see. In spending an extra day in a small town waiting for our clothes to be clean and dry, we spent time thinking and making this list.

Theologian Philip Sherrard, whom I know nothing about, said that "Creation is nothing less than the manifestation of God´s hidden being."

We have seen amazing landscapes and natural wonders as well as come into contact with many beautiful people. Here are some of the places, over the last 11 weeks or so, that we have seen the face of God more clearly:

-In Hector, who showed us great hospitality from few resources.
-In the sharing of a maté with farmer Gabriel
-In the flocks of sheep
-In lunch and a warm welcome from family of a friend in Buenos Aires
-In Iguazu Falls
-In a campsite overlooking a bay
-In penguins, sea lions and sea otters
-In a woman giving us a ride to a lake and bringing us towels from her home, without even knowing our names
-In seeing people with seemingly little, stopping on the street to find change for the homeless, and giving it with a smile
-In Mr. Hugo´s smile and ability to make his guests feel welcome
-In a kind local man who made change for 2 strange gringos in order to help them ride the city bus (after no stores would do so)
-In Alex the Brit making us finally laugh while telling us about being robbed by "gypsies" after a stressful day of losing a bookbag ourselves.

Adios Argentina y Hola Chile- En Fotos

In hopefully chronological order we will try to throw up a few photos of our past few weeks:

Tracy at a river we hiked to from our farm in Epuyen, Argentina. A large forest fire burned out this area a few years back, so the growth is all new. We got to hear interesting stories of the small community pulling together in response to the fire.


Adam´s favorite job on th farm. Loosens the soil very nicely before planting. Broccoli, lettuce, and raddishes went in this plot afterwards.



Tracy in our little bedroom at the Epuyen farm. The brick/clay oven in the background was used for much of our baking.


Adam crossing a bridge on our way to the cajon azul. The bridge is actually more rickety than it looks. Many of the planks were broken making us wonder who the poor soul was that had the unpleasant experience of breaking it over the icy river.


Our ultimate destination, the Cajon Azul. Beautiful little canyon near El Bolson, Argentina.


Adam back to milking sheep for delicious cheese.


We successfully crossed into Chile and made it to the Chiloe Islands. This is our campsite, which is breathtakingly beautiful. We are in the town of Ancud.


Tracy ordered what we knew to be the local special, "curanto." We did not know exactly what it was. Tracy had the restaurant taking bets on whether or not she could finish it (nope, not even with Adam´s help).



Speaking of food, we had another Chile specialty our first night. We cannot remember the name, but it was a bed of french fries covered in cheese, hot dogs, beef tips, italian sausage, dill pickles, pickled carrots and cauliflower, mayonaise, mustard, hot sauce, and boiled eggs. Organic it was not, bloody AWESOME, it was.

This morning we rode a fishing boat out to a penguin colony and a sea lion colony. Very beautiful, interesting and incredible creatures to see up close. We really did take these pictures from the boat.

Osorno

We made it into Chile and are currently in Osorno. We will be coming back through here as we head south tomorrow into Chiloe for camping, penguin colony visiting and fun exploration.

We went south through Argentina yesterday with a plan to cross in a more remote location and then take a ferry to souther Chiloe and head north. However, it makes it very difficult to arrive in a town when it was destroyed by a volcano, and the locals look at you funny when you say you are headed there. So we turned around and have now made it after 2 different searches with a drug dog.

More updates to come.

Alan and Trip move on to Chile

We have aquired some new names from folks who dont understand us when we tell them our name. Adam and Tracy are not the most common names in Latin America, so we just enjoy the new identity and deal with it.

We finished up a little less than 2 weeks on our latest farm. We were working with an Austrian family living in Argentina. We got to enjoy fresh, unpasteurized milk from the milk cow every day, fresh homemade cheese, and homemade champagne like drink made from a flower called ´sauco´ (ok, researchers, help us figure out what this p`lant was, because this sprite like drink was delicious), homemade bread, oatmeal, canned cherries and apple juice from last years harvest and lots more. We also milked one of the sheep for cheese. We spent most of our time moving lumber and firewood for about 10 and 11 hours a day and just became exhausted from it.

We came to the internet today to figure out the best (and by best I mean most interesting/exciting/not too expensive/somewhat convenient) way to cross over into Chile. We will be starting on the Chiloe islands and moving northward, hoping to cross into Bolivia eventually, assuming we are able to aquire a visa to do so.

Good news is, we were able to find a small sweet potato pie from a local ´panaderia´, so we celebrated our own thanksgiving a day early.

We will try to post some more pictures soon as we know it has been a while.