It is all starting to hit me that I am leaving Montero and I am not going to be back for a while. I am realizing how much I am going to miss Montero, the people, the Spanish and los cambas. When I arrived in August I never realized how much this trip but mainly being in Montero and living here was going to change my life.
This past week I have been working a lot. We are changing the filing system in one of the clinics and I have been helping a lot with that. The work is very boring but someone needs to do it and I love working in the office in all of the clinics but especially in Villa Cochabamba the two girls I work with are awesome and we talk and laugh and it makes the boring work a whole lot better. Wednesday night of this week I went to the birthday party of one of the bosses at the clinics which was awesome, so awesome in fact we basically stayed up the entire night.
This past Saturday I went fishing again with some of Daniel’s uncles, I do not know what it is but apparently every where in the world it is the same in the sense that all the uncles take do fishing trips. We had a lot of fun and even caught some fish which obviously makes it even better. I am all ready with pictures and everything to explain how this Bolivian fishing thing works.
Wednesday night Guabira played and even won. I think they decided to give me a win since it will be the last game I am going to see. I have kind of made a group of friends in the stadium I never see them outside of the games but we always sit in the same area and talk I have really enjoyed getting to know all of them and of course sharing our passion Guabira and soccer in general.
I have a busy weekend coming lots of hanging out with friends to do before I leave as well as getting all my stuff together that is scattered about my apartment. I am headed to Mancora, Peru where I am going to meet Camille. It should take me about three or four days in bus to get there I am hoping everything is going to go smoothly or at least as smoothly as possible. In Mancora I am hoping to learn to surf but we will see if that happens I have heard it is really hard to learn but we will see.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
Viva santa cruz bella tiera de mi Corazon
I know it has been a while since I have written but that’s a good thing I think because that means I am busy and have not been bored out of my mind which was initial worry for me. Last week a group of medical students from Johns Hopkins came to visit and do some things at the clinic. I played the part of translator, guide, host, and guide some more. I had an awesome time. During the time they were here I would go to one of the clinics or one of the hospitals in the area and “translate” the Spanish I could translate, the medical terms were not being translated at all and generally took the doctor explaining to me what it was so I could explain to them so the could find the right medical term. There was a medical student who was about to graduate and when we worked as a team he would always know the medical term in English because about all the medical terms are very similar. I had to continuously remind him I was not a doctor and had just graduated high school so knew very little about biology. This was incredibly interesting I loved it. I got to see a few cases of Tuberculosis diagnosed and really learned about the day to day illnesses that the doctors see. We went to a soccer game in Santa Cruz and I took a couple groups around Santa Cruz and tried to act like we were not lost and I actually had an idea of where we were. I had a whole lot of fun with the whole group.
One of the medical students who is about a month away from being a doctor stayed an extra week so he came and stayed at my apartment since it was free and we also went to Samaipata. It is a town about 5 hours away from Montero where there is some cool jungle, water falls, and ruins. We left Thursday morning and got there about mid afternoon and stayed until Saturday night. Friday we did an awesome hike through the jungle with a group and got to see some pretty cool stuff. Lots of butterflies, bugs, interesting plants, and I even saw a monkey for a whole 0.5 seconds. Saturday we went and saw the ruins and also went saw three gorgeous waterfalls and had a fun day just hanging out in the water. Apparently this little town is the get away for all the young rich kids from Santa Cruz and since we were traveling on Easter weekend when they did not have school it was packed with them. I would say they were a little less interested in the natural beauty and a little more interested in the drinking and partying.
My next week was relatively uneventful I worked a lot and hung out with some people from work outside of the clinic which was pretty cool and the first time I had really done that well minus Daniel of course. There was what we would call a fair in Montero and very near my house only two blocks away. I went with a few people from the clinics there and ate a lot and played lots of table soccer. I just want to throw it out there that my team continually dominated however am not sure if it was me or if it was because my partner, a doctor, was incredibly good.
Camille arrived on Friday I believe to stay a week and see the clinics. Daniel and her completely hit it off and were constantly speaking in French and talking about Switzerland. We had a few different traditional Swiss meals in which I have concluded just involve lots and lots of cheese. It is honestly amazing to me how one nation can eat cheese for every meal every single day. I worked a lot at the clinics. My main job for this week was to transcribe patient files from paper on to excel documents. Now if you think you have done something frustrating in your life let me open your eyes. I was paired with a nurse who read the illegible handwriting of the doctors out loud as I typed. Let me reference the first part of this blog in which I said “the medical terms were not being translated at all” this is still the same thing, I was writing in Spanish but was not familiar with a single medical term or medicine that they were prescribing this proceeded to be very frustrating. I am sure there were lots and lots of spelling errors. After three ten hours days with Emilse, the nurse, we finally finished and were both extremely relieved to be done. Saturday we Camille and I went fishing with Daniel’s dad, brother, and uncle. I can see my uncles’ and aunts’ faces gleaming with joy at this moment. Now this is not the kind of fishing we know. This is what I am going to call Bolivian fishing it involves a net, at least three people, understanding where the fish will be, and then obviously some look. I will let your imaginations run wild with how we did it because I am not sure if I can explain it in the blog, however; I will explain when I get home and see all of you. We had bad luck and did not catch any fish and were told it was because the river was to low right now and all the fish and headed up stream to deeper waters. I will be going on another fishing expedition with them when we have more time. We left Montero Saturday night at 7 for La Paz.
We arrived Sunday morning in La Paz after a fairly smooth bus ride in which we only had one flat tire. Sunday night was going to be a big night Camille and I were going to see our first hardcore metal concert. Daniel is a big fan of this band named Epica from Poland and they were playing in La Paz so we decided we would all go. I have felt out of my element in my life but wow this was really like nothing I had ever experienced. The concert was very good and we had lots of fun, now we may have hearing problems but that’s just one of the effects we will have to live with.
We parted ways with Camille Monday night she was headed to Cochabamba for “la Cumbre” and night Daniel and I headed to “el Salaar de Uyuni” or the Salt Flats in English. We arrived in Uyuni Tuesday morning about eight and headed out on our “trek” at ten. We signed up to do three days in a car that drives us around to see all the beautiful sites the Salt Flats have to offer. The Salt Flats of Uyuni are about 12,000 square kilometers which is the largest salt flat in the world. There are also a few other Salt flats in that area but are significantly smaller. We saw some huge cactuses some being as tall as 20 meters. The Salt Flat is one of the prettiest places I have ever seen in my entire life and is absolutely colossal. This is a must see for anyone who ventures to South America. It is completely flat and completely white. There are some places where you can see white forever until it meets with the horizon. I am going to post some pictures as soon as possible. Daniel and I finished our trek Thursday afternoon and left on a bus for Orurro. We arrived in Orruro at five in the morning and got directly on another bus to Cochabamba. We stayed in Cochabamba for two days and arrived this morning at seven in Montero. The traveling has been awesome but I am ready for a little break of all the going.
One of the medical students who is about a month away from being a doctor stayed an extra week so he came and stayed at my apartment since it was free and we also went to Samaipata. It is a town about 5 hours away from Montero where there is some cool jungle, water falls, and ruins. We left Thursday morning and got there about mid afternoon and stayed until Saturday night. Friday we did an awesome hike through the jungle with a group and got to see some pretty cool stuff. Lots of butterflies, bugs, interesting plants, and I even saw a monkey for a whole 0.5 seconds. Saturday we went and saw the ruins and also went saw three gorgeous waterfalls and had a fun day just hanging out in the water. Apparently this little town is the get away for all the young rich kids from Santa Cruz and since we were traveling on Easter weekend when they did not have school it was packed with them. I would say they were a little less interested in the natural beauty and a little more interested in the drinking and partying.
My next week was relatively uneventful I worked a lot and hung out with some people from work outside of the clinic which was pretty cool and the first time I had really done that well minus Daniel of course. There was what we would call a fair in Montero and very near my house only two blocks away. I went with a few people from the clinics there and ate a lot and played lots of table soccer. I just want to throw it out there that my team continually dominated however am not sure if it was me or if it was because my partner, a doctor, was incredibly good.
Camille arrived on Friday I believe to stay a week and see the clinics. Daniel and her completely hit it off and were constantly speaking in French and talking about Switzerland. We had a few different traditional Swiss meals in which I have concluded just involve lots and lots of cheese. It is honestly amazing to me how one nation can eat cheese for every meal every single day. I worked a lot at the clinics. My main job for this week was to transcribe patient files from paper on to excel documents. Now if you think you have done something frustrating in your life let me open your eyes. I was paired with a nurse who read the illegible handwriting of the doctors out loud as I typed. Let me reference the first part of this blog in which I said “the medical terms were not being translated at all” this is still the same thing, I was writing in Spanish but was not familiar with a single medical term or medicine that they were prescribing this proceeded to be very frustrating. I am sure there were lots and lots of spelling errors. After three ten hours days with Emilse, the nurse, we finally finished and were both extremely relieved to be done. Saturday we Camille and I went fishing with Daniel’s dad, brother, and uncle. I can see my uncles’ and aunts’ faces gleaming with joy at this moment. Now this is not the kind of fishing we know. This is what I am going to call Bolivian fishing it involves a net, at least three people, understanding where the fish will be, and then obviously some look. I will let your imaginations run wild with how we did it because I am not sure if I can explain it in the blog, however; I will explain when I get home and see all of you. We had bad luck and did not catch any fish and were told it was because the river was to low right now and all the fish and headed up stream to deeper waters. I will be going on another fishing expedition with them when we have more time. We left Montero Saturday night at 7 for La Paz.
We arrived Sunday morning in La Paz after a fairly smooth bus ride in which we only had one flat tire. Sunday night was going to be a big night Camille and I were going to see our first hardcore metal concert. Daniel is a big fan of this band named Epica from Poland and they were playing in La Paz so we decided we would all go. I have felt out of my element in my life but wow this was really like nothing I had ever experienced. The concert was very good and we had lots of fun, now we may have hearing problems but that’s just one of the effects we will have to live with.
We parted ways with Camille Monday night she was headed to Cochabamba for “la Cumbre” and night Daniel and I headed to “el Salaar de Uyuni” or the Salt Flats in English. We arrived in Uyuni Tuesday morning about eight and headed out on our “trek” at ten. We signed up to do three days in a car that drives us around to see all the beautiful sites the Salt Flats have to offer. The Salt Flats of Uyuni are about 12,000 square kilometers which is the largest salt flat in the world. There are also a few other Salt flats in that area but are significantly smaller. We saw some huge cactuses some being as tall as 20 meters. The Salt Flat is one of the prettiest places I have ever seen in my entire life and is absolutely colossal. This is a must see for anyone who ventures to South America. It is completely flat and completely white. There are some places where you can see white forever until it meets with the horizon. I am going to post some pictures as soon as possible. Daniel and I finished our trek Thursday afternoon and left on a bus for Orurro. We arrived in Orruro at five in the morning and got directly on another bus to Cochabamba. We stayed in Cochabamba for two days and arrived this morning at seven in Montero. The traveling has been awesome but I am ready for a little break of all the going.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Nina, nina, nina blancaa… Te ponen reggeaton y cambia a mulata
I finished up my time at the language school and went out a couple of nights with some of the other students who were studying there and had lots of fun. I made it to the two soccer games that were in Cochabamba while I was there which was awesome. I even got to see my team from Montero play one the Cochabamba teams, but; was disappointed we could only get away with a tie when we should have easily won and played with one more man for about sixty minutes of the game.
Saturday after quite a long trip (but what else is expected while traveling in Bolivia) I arrived in Montero, Bolivia about an hour north of Santa Cruz. Saturday I went to the Guabira soccer game which is the team from Montero. Currently they are in “la liga” which is the highest level of professional soccer in Bolivia. Quite a feat seeing as Montero is a town of more or less 100,000 people. When compared to all the other cities Montero is the smallest. Our stadium holds 10,000 people where as generally all the other stadiums hold between 20,000 and 50,000. Guabira won 2-0 and beat PotosÃ. Currently they are tied for first place in our division. I have seen two games and plan to see everyone I possibly can. To get a decent seat in the stadium you need to arrive about two hours before the game starts. So like a true fan there I was with all the Bolivians sweating and waiting. Currently our coach cannot enter the field because he pushed or hit a ref so is banned for a number of games, however; he cannot be stopped he was in our section by the fence yelling at players and the assistant coach. Where he was is only 5 or 7 feet from the field so it was more than possible. At one point I was positive he was going to get into a fight with one of the fans because number 8 was playing bad and the fans were telling him so yelling, “SAQUE OCHO P*%A” and other obscenities. Unfortunately it did not escalate to a fight like I would have liked it to but, probably for the better. I do feel for number 8 he is only 18 or 19 and has the skills but lacks the sureness and when is on the ball he seems unsure of himself. I am sure it is his first year in the league, therefore; his bad play I didn’t feel warranted the abuse.
Monday and today I have worked at the clinics I have been working in the reception office with two girls and have actually felt very helpful. Today Reina or Queen in English did not come into work today. So with a little guidance I basically did her job, nevertheless; not nearly as efficient as she does it. I have a lot of fun working in the reception office because I have done it a bunch and understand stand the system and can feel helpful. Tomorrow I will be working at the Red Cross clinic and honestly have no idea what I will be doing.
I cooked my first dinner tonight and was fairly successful. Not to say it was the hardest dinner to make but never the less I was proud. I made grilled cheese and green beans. The grilled cheese was awesome thanks to Howard who taught me how to make a mean grilled cheese. The green beans on the other hand were lacking. I didn’t add any salt or pepper or anything for that matter and I think that’s where I went wrong but there will always be tomorrow.
I have been very happy that all of the people I have seen remembered who I was and of course remembered “las gringas” or the white girls. Our Senora who owns the corner store and I had tea the other day and everyone at the clinics remembers me as well as asks where “the girls” are. Even the workers at the restaurant where we ate lunch about everyday were happy to see me and asked about Dee and Maya. I have been recognized by some people who I am not really sure who they are. Mainly by the drivers of the motorcycle taxis and usually they are just asking if I am here with the girls again. Lets just say Dee and Maya left their impact on Montero.
Saturday after quite a long trip (but what else is expected while traveling in Bolivia) I arrived in Montero, Bolivia about an hour north of Santa Cruz. Saturday I went to the Guabira soccer game which is the team from Montero. Currently they are in “la liga” which is the highest level of professional soccer in Bolivia. Quite a feat seeing as Montero is a town of more or less 100,000 people. When compared to all the other cities Montero is the smallest. Our stadium holds 10,000 people where as generally all the other stadiums hold between 20,000 and 50,000. Guabira won 2-0 and beat PotosÃ. Currently they are tied for first place in our division. I have seen two games and plan to see everyone I possibly can. To get a decent seat in the stadium you need to arrive about two hours before the game starts. So like a true fan there I was with all the Bolivians sweating and waiting. Currently our coach cannot enter the field because he pushed or hit a ref so is banned for a number of games, however; he cannot be stopped he was in our section by the fence yelling at players and the assistant coach. Where he was is only 5 or 7 feet from the field so it was more than possible. At one point I was positive he was going to get into a fight with one of the fans because number 8 was playing bad and the fans were telling him so yelling, “SAQUE OCHO P*%A” and other obscenities. Unfortunately it did not escalate to a fight like I would have liked it to but, probably for the better. I do feel for number 8 he is only 18 or 19 and has the skills but lacks the sureness and when is on the ball he seems unsure of himself. I am sure it is his first year in the league, therefore; his bad play I didn’t feel warranted the abuse.
Monday and today I have worked at the clinics I have been working in the reception office with two girls and have actually felt very helpful. Today Reina or Queen in English did not come into work today. So with a little guidance I basically did her job, nevertheless; not nearly as efficient as she does it. I have a lot of fun working in the reception office because I have done it a bunch and understand stand the system and can feel helpful. Tomorrow I will be working at the Red Cross clinic and honestly have no idea what I will be doing.
I cooked my first dinner tonight and was fairly successful. Not to say it was the hardest dinner to make but never the less I was proud. I made grilled cheese and green beans. The grilled cheese was awesome thanks to Howard who taught me how to make a mean grilled cheese. The green beans on the other hand were lacking. I didn’t add any salt or pepper or anything for that matter and I think that’s where I went wrong but there will always be tomorrow.
I have been very happy that all of the people I have seen remembered who I was and of course remembered “las gringas” or the white girls. Our Senora who owns the corner store and I had tea the other day and everyone at the clinics remembers me as well as asks where “the girls” are. Even the workers at the restaurant where we ate lunch about everyday were happy to see me and asked about Dee and Maya. I have been recognized by some people who I am not really sure who they are. Mainly by the drivers of the motorcycle taxis and usually they are just asking if I am here with the girls again. Lets just say Dee and Maya left their impact on Montero.
Monday, March 15, 2010
First days of the second part of my drip
If you would like to see pictures from the first part of the trip follow this link
Link for Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/mansfield.fisher
Finally to be back in South America and I could not be any happier. After a grueling 22 hour trip I arrived in Cochabamba without almost any problems. I am currently studying more Spanish in Cochabamba, Bolivia. I am living with the same “mom” I lived with before her name is Cira. Cira, the best Bolivian mom you could ever ask for, lives by herself currently because her son is working out in the country as a doctor so me being here really works out for both of us.
Daily routine (more of less)
7:05 my alarms goes off and its time for a fun-filled day
7:05-7:30 I snooze my alarm several times until Cira comes and drags me out of bed
7:30-8:15 We eat breakfast or I should say she eats breakfast (bread, butter, and fruit) and I drink coffee and long to go back to sleep. I will normally finish any homework I had if I did not do and then am off to the school.
8:15-12:15 SPANISH SPANISH SPANISH and more Spanish. Everyone is working one on one with a teacher so you really speak and learn Spanish the entire time. I love all the teachers there and we are able to have many fun and interesting conversations ranging from girls to politics. It’s nice to have teachers who want to learn about you as well laugh and have fun.
12:30 Cira and I eat lunch at the house where she cooks some sort of amazing food every single day. It makes me feel like I’m back at home.
12:30-6:30 Normally head to the center of the city for a little to just see the city and buy anything if I need it. The market is always fun to go to. It’s incredibly huge and spans 2 or 3 full city blocks whatever you want you will for sure be able to find anything thing you could possibly imagine except apparently a map of Central America which I have looking for. The have things ranging from dried lama fetuses to people who want to read your “alma” or spirit with coca leaves and some sort of cards. Today I bought some DVDs for about 1.50 apiece and some Latin music cds.
6:30-7:15 Cira and I eat dinner, and practice Spanish.
7:15-to when I go to sleep. Usually this contains going out to the “cancha” or basketball court so watch some pick up soccer, maybe going to a little shop where you can play Fifa on Xbox and pool. Some nights I will head out to the Center for a few drinks and just to relax with other students at the school as if I am not relaxing enough already.
This past weekend one of my best friends from the US was leaving so we had a party for her which included lots of Bolivian dancing. I am not sure why but to me it seems like every time I end up dancing a traditional Bolivian dance it always includes a tissue and lots of spinning. A friend from Switzerland who I met last time I was here and is still here working in the Southern part of Bolivia in Tarijah came to visit me and also brought a friend along which was good we had lots of fun. Friday we went to another going away party for a different student and stayed out and danced, ate and drank. Saturday we headed out for dinner at Paprika in which we had a meat fondue which was very very good. Camille and her friend Gasper are from Switzerland and I am slowly learning that the Swiss LOVE fondue. I agree its good but if there is not fondue of some sort they feel there is something missing and maybe even wrong. We went out to a Cuban bar after and played Cacho, a Bolivian dice game, and just hung out. Sunday I went to a soccer game. At the end of the first it was 0-0 and worried that I was in for a boring second half as well soccer wise atleast; however, I was in for a grand surprise. There were six goals in the second half and three red cards. Five of the goals were scored off set pieces. Which is not normal and I felt there could have been a little more active defense on the corners. I will be leaving for Montero either Friday night or a Saturday morning depending on when and if there is a soccer game in Montero. I will be headed back to work at the medical clinics again in Montero and am very excited about returning now that I speak Spanish much better than before.
Link for Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/mansfield.fisher
Finally to be back in South America and I could not be any happier. After a grueling 22 hour trip I arrived in Cochabamba without almost any problems. I am currently studying more Spanish in Cochabamba, Bolivia. I am living with the same “mom” I lived with before her name is Cira. Cira, the best Bolivian mom you could ever ask for, lives by herself currently because her son is working out in the country as a doctor so me being here really works out for both of us.
Daily routine (more of less)
7:05 my alarms goes off and its time for a fun-filled day
7:05-7:30 I snooze my alarm several times until Cira comes and drags me out of bed
7:30-8:15 We eat breakfast or I should say she eats breakfast (bread, butter, and fruit) and I drink coffee and long to go back to sleep. I will normally finish any homework I had if I did not do and then am off to the school.
8:15-12:15 SPANISH SPANISH SPANISH and more Spanish. Everyone is working one on one with a teacher so you really speak and learn Spanish the entire time. I love all the teachers there and we are able to have many fun and interesting conversations ranging from girls to politics. It’s nice to have teachers who want to learn about you as well laugh and have fun.
12:30 Cira and I eat lunch at the house where she cooks some sort of amazing food every single day. It makes me feel like I’m back at home.
12:30-6:30 Normally head to the center of the city for a little to just see the city and buy anything if I need it. The market is always fun to go to. It’s incredibly huge and spans 2 or 3 full city blocks whatever you want you will for sure be able to find anything thing you could possibly imagine except apparently a map of Central America which I have looking for. The have things ranging from dried lama fetuses to people who want to read your “alma” or spirit with coca leaves and some sort of cards. Today I bought some DVDs for about 1.50 apiece and some Latin music cds.
6:30-7:15 Cira and I eat dinner, and practice Spanish.
7:15-to when I go to sleep. Usually this contains going out to the “cancha” or basketball court so watch some pick up soccer, maybe going to a little shop where you can play Fifa on Xbox and pool. Some nights I will head out to the Center for a few drinks and just to relax with other students at the school as if I am not relaxing enough already.
This past weekend one of my best friends from the US was leaving so we had a party for her which included lots of Bolivian dancing. I am not sure why but to me it seems like every time I end up dancing a traditional Bolivian dance it always includes a tissue and lots of spinning. A friend from Switzerland who I met last time I was here and is still here working in the Southern part of Bolivia in Tarijah came to visit me and also brought a friend along which was good we had lots of fun. Friday we went to another going away party for a different student and stayed out and danced, ate and drank. Saturday we headed out for dinner at Paprika in which we had a meat fondue which was very very good. Camille and her friend Gasper are from Switzerland and I am slowly learning that the Swiss LOVE fondue. I agree its good but if there is not fondue of some sort they feel there is something missing and maybe even wrong. We went out to a Cuban bar after and played Cacho, a Bolivian dice game, and just hung out. Sunday I went to a soccer game. At the end of the first it was 0-0 and worried that I was in for a boring second half as well soccer wise atleast; however, I was in for a grand surprise. There were six goals in the second half and three red cards. Five of the goals were scored off set pieces. Which is not normal and I felt there could have been a little more active defense on the corners. I will be leaving for Montero either Friday night or a Saturday morning depending on when and if there is a soccer game in Montero. I will be headed back to work at the medical clinics again in Montero and am very excited about returning now that I speak Spanish much better than before.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Copacabana & Cuzco
Lake Titicaca was beautiful. I guess since Bolivia has a lake that big it makes up for not having a beach. Actually no, nothing can replace the beach, but the lake was still awesome. Its incredible how unbuilt-up (not sure if that´s a word, but we´re going with it) the area surrounding the lake is. I can only imagine the condos that would be all over the banks if the lake was in a developed country. There were also no jet skis or speed boats to ruin the peaceful atmosphere. Our last half day in Copacabana Mansfield and I spent an extremely enjoyable afternoon laying on the beach reading. We also ventured out to Isle del Sol (an island in the lake) for an evening. On the boat on the way over we met 2 french guys studying in South America, and they joined Camille, Mansfield and myself as we hiked from the south to north end of the island. It was a very nice hike, though perhaps a little longer than we expected. We reached the north end in time to settle into our hostel and catch the sunset on the beach.
After Copacabana we said goodbye to Camille, and Mansfield and I took a 9 hour bus ride to Cuzco, Peru. The ride seemed rather short compared to others we have taken. We had about two days in Cuzco before our Machu Picchu trek began, and we spent the time checking out local museums and getting to know the city. The city is incredibly touristy with people constantly trying to get you into their restaurants or stores. While its slightly annoying, it hard to expect much different in a city that sees thousands and thousands of tourists a year. We also bought some additional warm clothes (including rather cool toboggans (hats not sleds) with lamas on them) that turned out to be incredibly useful on the hike.
We left for the trek at 6 am on Tuesday (the 8th) and took a 2 hour bus ride to the town where the hike would begin. There were 3 other people in our group: two guys from Switzerland and another guy from Canada. I was slightly worried that being the only girl in the group I might slow us down, but that turned out not the be the case. It was great having such a small group, just 5 of us and a guide; we ate meals together, played cards in the evening together and got to know each other very well.
The four day hike was along an Inca trail that was discovered about the same time as Machu Picchu. Its believed that the Incas followed this route on religious pilgrimages to Machu Picchu. The first day of the trek was only about 4 hours and fairly easy. We also saw another Inca ruin site along the way. The second day was much harder. We only hiked about 5 hours, but the first 4 hours were pretty much straight up. The last part of the uphill consisted only of Inca stairs and at one point I was fairly sure my legs were going to quit on me. But they didn´t, and when we reached the top we had a lovely view of fog and rain awaiting us (what else can you expect during rainy season I suppose). We had a long siesta during the afternoon of the second day, but my legs were still a little swore and very tired when we began the 3rd (and longest) day hike.
I think ¨miserable¨ may be the best word to describe the morning of the third day. The hike started with a tiring uphill climb in the pouring and freezing rain, and the rain continued steadily until we reached our lunch site. My ¨waterproof¨ gear is apparently not very waterproof after about 3 and a half hours in a steady downpour. By the time we got to the lunch site we were all completely soaked and very cold. Fortunately the porters (who carried the tents and food the entire way) had the lunch tent set up and warm food cooking by the time we arrived. (Just a side not about the porters because without them I don´t think we would have made it. They carry max 25kg of gear for us all 4 days. They hike, in sandals made out of old tires, the trail twice as fast as the tourists. Before the government started regulating how much they could carry they used to up to 70 kg of gear. They would always beat us to the campsite and have the tents set up and food cooking before we arrived. They also woke us up with hot tea every morning. They are probably underpaid, but definitely not under appreciated, and they made our trip much more comfortable.) Ok back to the 3rd day, during lunch the rain stopped and we were able to dry out our clothes before finishing up the final four hours of the trek. Fortunately it didn´t rain too much in the afternoon and the hike wasn´t very hard. We also saw 3 more ruins sites along the way. The day ended in a very small town where we could get a hot shower and cold beer in celebration of the hike almost completed!
The following morning (the 4th day of the trek) we woke at 3:50, ate a quick breakfast, and were the second group in line at the gate for the final climb to Machu Picchu. The day turned out to be gorgeous and we had a clear and sunny view of Machu Picchu from the sun gate. After taking pictures there, we descended into Machu Picchu, stopping for many pictures, and our guide gave us a tour around the ruins. We were also lucky enough to be some of the few people allowed each day to climb Waynapicchu, a mountain overlooking Machu Picchu. I guess we felt we hadn´t had enough hiking so we climb to the top of ¨Young mountain¨ and saw another spectacular view of the ruins. It was an amazing trip, the group was great, the guide was awesome, and while the weather wasn´t always perfect, the last day made up for all the rain.
On Monday, we will fly to Bogota to see Jorge!! We are both really excited and will have updates from there.
After Copacabana we said goodbye to Camille, and Mansfield and I took a 9 hour bus ride to Cuzco, Peru. The ride seemed rather short compared to others we have taken. We had about two days in Cuzco before our Machu Picchu trek began, and we spent the time checking out local museums and getting to know the city. The city is incredibly touristy with people constantly trying to get you into their restaurants or stores. While its slightly annoying, it hard to expect much different in a city that sees thousands and thousands of tourists a year. We also bought some additional warm clothes (including rather cool toboggans (hats not sleds) with lamas on them) that turned out to be incredibly useful on the hike.
We left for the trek at 6 am on Tuesday (the 8th) and took a 2 hour bus ride to the town where the hike would begin. There were 3 other people in our group: two guys from Switzerland and another guy from Canada. I was slightly worried that being the only girl in the group I might slow us down, but that turned out not the be the case. It was great having such a small group, just 5 of us and a guide; we ate meals together, played cards in the evening together and got to know each other very well.
The four day hike was along an Inca trail that was discovered about the same time as Machu Picchu. Its believed that the Incas followed this route on religious pilgrimages to Machu Picchu. The first day of the trek was only about 4 hours and fairly easy. We also saw another Inca ruin site along the way. The second day was much harder. We only hiked about 5 hours, but the first 4 hours were pretty much straight up. The last part of the uphill consisted only of Inca stairs and at one point I was fairly sure my legs were going to quit on me. But they didn´t, and when we reached the top we had a lovely view of fog and rain awaiting us (what else can you expect during rainy season I suppose). We had a long siesta during the afternoon of the second day, but my legs were still a little swore and very tired when we began the 3rd (and longest) day hike.
I think ¨miserable¨ may be the best word to describe the morning of the third day. The hike started with a tiring uphill climb in the pouring and freezing rain, and the rain continued steadily until we reached our lunch site. My ¨waterproof¨ gear is apparently not very waterproof after about 3 and a half hours in a steady downpour. By the time we got to the lunch site we were all completely soaked and very cold. Fortunately the porters (who carried the tents and food the entire way) had the lunch tent set up and warm food cooking by the time we arrived. (Just a side not about the porters because without them I don´t think we would have made it. They carry max 25kg of gear for us all 4 days. They hike, in sandals made out of old tires, the trail twice as fast as the tourists. Before the government started regulating how much they could carry they used to up to 70 kg of gear. They would always beat us to the campsite and have the tents set up and food cooking before we arrived. They also woke us up with hot tea every morning. They are probably underpaid, but definitely not under appreciated, and they made our trip much more comfortable.) Ok back to the 3rd day, during lunch the rain stopped and we were able to dry out our clothes before finishing up the final four hours of the trek. Fortunately it didn´t rain too much in the afternoon and the hike wasn´t very hard. We also saw 3 more ruins sites along the way. The day ended in a very small town where we could get a hot shower and cold beer in celebration of the hike almost completed!
The following morning (the 4th day of the trek) we woke at 3:50, ate a quick breakfast, and were the second group in line at the gate for the final climb to Machu Picchu. The day turned out to be gorgeous and we had a clear and sunny view of Machu Picchu from the sun gate. After taking pictures there, we descended into Machu Picchu, stopping for many pictures, and our guide gave us a tour around the ruins. We were also lucky enough to be some of the few people allowed each day to climb Waynapicchu, a mountain overlooking Machu Picchu. I guess we felt we hadn´t had enough hiking so we climb to the top of ¨Young mountain¨ and saw another spectacular view of the ruins. It was an amazing trip, the group was great, the guide was awesome, and while the weather wasn´t always perfect, the last day made up for all the rain.
On Monday, we will fly to Bogota to see Jorge!! We are both really excited and will have updates from there.
Machu Picchu (there are pictures up)
Link for Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/mansfield.fisher
We got back last night from Machu Picchu and it was one of the most amazing places I have ever seen. We did the four day hike on the original Inka trail that spans a around 45 kilometers. It took us four days and three nights and was one of the best experiences of my life.
Day 1: We were picked up around 6 am were we met two of the other people in our group. They were two friends from Switzerland names Alex and Raphael both of which turned out to be a lot of fun and made our trip even better. We went and picked up our 6 porters and our cook. Porters are the Peruvian guys who carry all the tents, pots, food, and everything thing else we need all of there bags weigh 25 kilos. We only carried clothes, some snacks, our sleeping bag and pad our bags averaged about 13 kilos. We drove two hours through the mountains where we ate a small breakfast and met the fifth and last person in our group his name is Carlo and is from Canada. We arrived at kilometer 82 (the starting point) and hiked an easy 7 or 8 kilometers to our first campsite. We soon learned that we were in an awesome group our guide was named Freddy and was a lot of fun. We arrived took a short nap and then had "happy hour" in which we had tea and popcorn and played cards. Freddy then prepped us for our hike the next day he told us day two was the hardest were we would climb about 1200 meters and would be about 7 kilometers. He told us the first 4 hours would be up hill and was divided into 3 three parts the first part being "gradual up hill" the second part being the worst with lots of steps more commonly known as the infamous "Inka Steps" and the third part being "gradual" as well. We would summit at Dead Women's Pass.
Day 2: we woke up at 6 and left camp about 7 for our agonizing hike that awaited us. From the beginning we realized we were in for a long day. We learned Freddy had a completely definition of gradual then we did and it would turn out no part of day two would be gradual up hill. As we trudged through the hike we were all awed by the porters. None of the porters are over 5 and a half feet and none weighed over 130 pounds yet they carried 55 pound bags and basically ran up the mountain. To make it even more incredible they all were wearing sandals made out of tires. We soon realized how incredible the porters are and how essential they are to making our trek possible. Dee and I summited around 1130 were we greeted by Raphael and Alex yelling our team name (the second day were the Alpacas) we celebrated with some skittles and water at the top. We did not stay for long because we were also greeted by freezing rain. We then descended 600 meters or so in the pouring rain for 2 hours. We arrived at our campsite where our porters had tea waiting on us of course they had probably been at the campsite for an hour.
Day 3:By far the longest day, day three began about 530 we were hiking 15 kilometers so we wanted to get and early start. We got up and had another awesome breakfast by our cook. Hernan, the cook, was an amazing cook and we ate like kings for four days. We had only been hiking for ten minutes when the down pour began. We hiked for 4 hours in the pouring, freezing rain. I am not sure if i have ever been that cold in my life the last twenty minutes to our lunch camp site was basically a sprint for our entire group. We arrived and once again our amazing porters had the cooking tent set up so we could have some shelter we all crowded inside the tent and began to unfreeze. The sun god was looking out for us that day because once we were done with lunch it cleared up and began a beautiful day. We finished that day in very high spirits as our hike was a lot easier then the morning and the sun was beautiful. Once again though we found Freddy's sense up gradual and steep to be vastly different from ours. We all found this hilarious and continued to give him a hard time about it. We arrived at our last campsite were there was a place we could get beer and have a hot shower. We shared a few drinks and listened to music and bonded as a group. We had a feast for our "last supper" as Freddy referred to it.
Day 4: We woke up at 3:50 so we could get to Machu Picchu as early as possible. We reached the Sun Gate about 630 were the sun god once again gave us a spectacular day. We saw and incredible view of Machu Picchu as we sat in complete awe of what we were witnessing. From there the day progressed as a day at Machu Picchu would we got a tour took lots of pictures and spent a day in heaven. Though is not very relevant to Machu Picchu minus the fact that it happened there it was quite funny and showed how well our group bonded together. We spent lots of time taking shots at each others countries they all picked on Dee and I because we were just a bunch of hicks from the south. We picked on the guys from Switzerland because they are just neutral in everything and the Canadian guy well he is from Canada so there are an endless amount of jokes. Carlo said to me "I cant believe your proud to be from the south because you know Texas is in the south" i shot back "woaaahh no we don't claim those idiots from Texas" and right on cue we were walking past a couple from Texas and they had a few words to say about that. But all in all Machu Picchu is absolutely incredible and I will never forget this trip. Our group was perfect we laughed continuously for four days as we all made jokes and had a blast.
Tuesday we are headed to Colombia to visit Jorge and are very excited.
We got back last night from Machu Picchu and it was one of the most amazing places I have ever seen. We did the four day hike on the original Inka trail that spans a around 45 kilometers. It took us four days and three nights and was one of the best experiences of my life.
Day 1: We were picked up around 6 am were we met two of the other people in our group. They were two friends from Switzerland names Alex and Raphael both of which turned out to be a lot of fun and made our trip even better. We went and picked up our 6 porters and our cook. Porters are the Peruvian guys who carry all the tents, pots, food, and everything thing else we need all of there bags weigh 25 kilos. We only carried clothes, some snacks, our sleeping bag and pad our bags averaged about 13 kilos. We drove two hours through the mountains where we ate a small breakfast and met the fifth and last person in our group his name is Carlo and is from Canada. We arrived at kilometer 82 (the starting point) and hiked an easy 7 or 8 kilometers to our first campsite. We soon learned that we were in an awesome group our guide was named Freddy and was a lot of fun. We arrived took a short nap and then had "happy hour" in which we had tea and popcorn and played cards. Freddy then prepped us for our hike the next day he told us day two was the hardest were we would climb about 1200 meters and would be about 7 kilometers. He told us the first 4 hours would be up hill and was divided into 3 three parts the first part being "gradual up hill" the second part being the worst with lots of steps more commonly known as the infamous "Inka Steps" and the third part being "gradual" as well. We would summit at Dead Women's Pass.
Day 2: we woke up at 6 and left camp about 7 for our agonizing hike that awaited us. From the beginning we realized we were in for a long day. We learned Freddy had a completely definition of gradual then we did and it would turn out no part of day two would be gradual up hill. As we trudged through the hike we were all awed by the porters. None of the porters are over 5 and a half feet and none weighed over 130 pounds yet they carried 55 pound bags and basically ran up the mountain. To make it even more incredible they all were wearing sandals made out of tires. We soon realized how incredible the porters are and how essential they are to making our trek possible. Dee and I summited around 1130 were we greeted by Raphael and Alex yelling our team name (the second day were the Alpacas) we celebrated with some skittles and water at the top. We did not stay for long because we were also greeted by freezing rain. We then descended 600 meters or so in the pouring rain for 2 hours. We arrived at our campsite where our porters had tea waiting on us of course they had probably been at the campsite for an hour.
Day 3:By far the longest day, day three began about 530 we were hiking 15 kilometers so we wanted to get and early start. We got up and had another awesome breakfast by our cook. Hernan, the cook, was an amazing cook and we ate like kings for four days. We had only been hiking for ten minutes when the down pour began. We hiked for 4 hours in the pouring, freezing rain. I am not sure if i have ever been that cold in my life the last twenty minutes to our lunch camp site was basically a sprint for our entire group. We arrived and once again our amazing porters had the cooking tent set up so we could have some shelter we all crowded inside the tent and began to unfreeze. The sun god was looking out for us that day because once we were done with lunch it cleared up and began a beautiful day. We finished that day in very high spirits as our hike was a lot easier then the morning and the sun was beautiful. Once again though we found Freddy's sense up gradual and steep to be vastly different from ours. We all found this hilarious and continued to give him a hard time about it. We arrived at our last campsite were there was a place we could get beer and have a hot shower. We shared a few drinks and listened to music and bonded as a group. We had a feast for our "last supper" as Freddy referred to it.
Day 4: We woke up at 3:50 so we could get to Machu Picchu as early as possible. We reached the Sun Gate about 630 were the sun god once again gave us a spectacular day. We saw and incredible view of Machu Picchu as we sat in complete awe of what we were witnessing. From there the day progressed as a day at Machu Picchu would we got a tour took lots of pictures and spent a day in heaven. Though is not very relevant to Machu Picchu minus the fact that it happened there it was quite funny and showed how well our group bonded together. We spent lots of time taking shots at each others countries they all picked on Dee and I because we were just a bunch of hicks from the south. We picked on the guys from Switzerland because they are just neutral in everything and the Canadian guy well he is from Canada so there are an endless amount of jokes. Carlo said to me "I cant believe your proud to be from the south because you know Texas is in the south" i shot back "woaaahh no we don't claim those idiots from Texas" and right on cue we were walking past a couple from Texas and they had a few words to say about that. But all in all Machu Picchu is absolutely incredible and I will never forget this trip. Our group was perfect we laughed continuously for four days as we all made jokes and had a blast.
Tuesday we are headed to Colombia to visit Jorge and are very excited.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Onward with our journies
I know Dee hit on this a lot but I feel I need to reiterate this point. The entire population of Montero welcomed us with open arms and made us feel that we were part of the community. Whether it was the owner of the corner store who had us over for dinner, the girls at the ice cream shop who always made friendly conversation, or our friends who we spent many long and fun nights out with. We made a fair amount of friends though none of you know them I feel I should name them, Henry, Henry, Johanna, Jaun Carlos, John, Marioly, Carlos, Danny and Omar. I am sure I have left some people out but everyone in Montero made a huge impact on our stay. We were all a lot sadder to leave then expected. The friends we made at the clinic made our trip so much better. Everyone at the clinics was always willing to work with our struggling spanish and willing to explain everything when we asked questions. I spent a lot of time working in Archives/reception office as well as going on many home visits with many nurses but one nurse in particular her name was Isabell and we spent many awesome hot days vaccinating what felt like every dog in Bolivia.
We have spent the last couple of days in Copacabana, Bolivia visiting Lake Titicaca which is stunningly gorgeous. We visited the sun island or ¨isle de sol.¨ We have been traveling with a girl we met at the language school named Camille. We met two french guys on the boat on the way to the island which made Camille very happy since they both spoke French and the jabbered in French for a better part of two days. We hiked across the entire island which is about 4 or 5 miles long. We stayed over night and ate some amazing Trout. We made it back yesterday Camille and the French guys headed on to La Paz as for Dee and I we are headed to Cuzco tonight and will arrive early tomorrow morning. On Tuesday we being our four day trek to Machu Picchu. We will be taking the original Inca Trail. We are both very excited about this. We leave for Colombia on the 14th of December.
So as one part of our travel comes to a close and are very sad about this we are still very excited about the adventures that we are going to encounter.
We have spent the last couple of days in Copacabana, Bolivia visiting Lake Titicaca which is stunningly gorgeous. We visited the sun island or ¨isle de sol.¨ We have been traveling with a girl we met at the language school named Camille. We met two french guys on the boat on the way to the island which made Camille very happy since they both spoke French and the jabbered in French for a better part of two days. We hiked across the entire island which is about 4 or 5 miles long. We stayed over night and ate some amazing Trout. We made it back yesterday Camille and the French guys headed on to La Paz as for Dee and I we are headed to Cuzco tonight and will arrive early tomorrow morning. On Tuesday we being our four day trek to Machu Picchu. We will be taking the original Inca Trail. We are both very excited about this. We leave for Colombia on the 14th of December.
So as one part of our travel comes to a close and are very sad about this we are still very excited about the adventures that we are going to encounter.
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