Santa Marta

Recent weather: upper 80s with 70+% humidity, feels like 110.
Recent reads: Galations-Revelation (!), ¨Piercing the Darkness¨ by Frank Perretti, ¨The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes¨ by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, ¨Hens Reunited¨ by Lucy Diamond, ¨The Shining¨ by Stephen King

The past couple of weeks in Santa Marta have been the perfect addition to the last phase of my travels. Santa Marta is is located on the Carribbean coast, towards the eastern edge of Colombia. The oldest city in South America, Santa Marta and it´s port have a lot of history. Today, there isn´t much to el centro of Santa Marta but it´s a perfect launching pad for the beaches and sights in the area.


The oldest church in South America, located in downtown Santa Marta

Santa Marta port

I found a gig in Santa Marta bartending at a very cool hostel. The hostel itself used to be a cartel house and, of course, has a few ghost stories to go along with it. The best part, considering the suffocating humidity this time of year in Santa Marta, was definitely the pool. A close second are the tons of hammocks in the hostel.

Fell asleep in these hammocks almost every day.

I just bartended in the evenings which meant I had plenty of time for day trips exploring the areas around Santa Marta. For 2 days I explored nearby Tayrona National Park and spent the night in a hammock.

Doing a bit of strolling.

Awe. Some.

Wandering along the path.

Accommodations for the evening!

One day I went to Bahia Concha which is a beautiful beach, perfect for swimming, which is definitely off the gringo trail. Another day I went to Costeno Beach to try my hand at some surfing again. This will not be the location for the next world´s surfing competition and I will not win anytime soon but it was a fun day.  I also went to Palomino, about 2 hours from Santa Marta, and tubed down the river which made for a relaxing afternoon.

At Bahia Concha. Ignore the old man in the water behind me...

Perfect swimming at Bahia Concho!

Strolling down the path to Costeno Beach to surf.

Is it really waiting?

Zero complaints at this moment at Costeno Beach.

Spent an afternoon in Taganga, a fishing town and 30 minute bus ride from Santa Marta.

My last excursion was to Minca, just a collectivo (shared cab) and a mototaxi ride away from Santa Marta in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It was a great spot for hiking, checking out local coffee fields, and enjoying nature. As isolated as the location is (only mototaxis can get up the moutain road), the hostel I stayed at was just as welcoming. The hostel itself was very inviting with a giant hammock on the hillside and a jungle hammock just a 10 minute walk off the nearby river. On my way down the mountain, I took a scenic 5 hour walk via the handdrawn map one of the hostel owners made for me which was a nice touch. A friendly black dog was my tour guide all the way down the mountain. He walked ahead of me sniffing just about everything and ¨marking his territory¨ pretty much everywhere. Just went I thought he´d left me and gone on his own little trek, I´d come around a corner to see him waiting for me, his neck craned back watching for me to come around the bend! Occasionally I´d come across some aggressive dogs along the way but my little friend would confront them with a fierce bark of his own while I sneaked past. When I finally stopped for lunch in town 5 hours later, a local recognized him as ¨Jugo¨ and offered to take him back up the mountain to his owner before I could even thank my travel companion by sharing my lunch!

Laying on the jungle hammock looking up.

Top right is Jugo, my tour guide. Bottom left is the amazing giant hammock! Bottom right is the open air window view from the toilet-no joke! 

Finishing up my hike just before dusk.

On Saturday I fly to Bogota, the final stop in my South American travels! While I am looking forward to a respite from the heat and humidity, it is surreal to think that this whole adventure will be over in just a matter of days!

R. I. P. Tupac

Recent weather: sunny and 65 during the day, 30s-40s at night in the mountains.
Recent reads: Mark, "Marching Powder" by Rusty Young, "History of the Incas and the Execution of Inca Tupac Amaru" by Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa.

This week I left Mancora, Peru and backtracked south to go to Huaraz. It was not the easiest journey. I know I am taller than the average Peruvian, but when I sit down in the bus seat and already my knees are in the seat in front of me (and they haven't even reclined yet which they will inevitably do), I know it's going to be a long night.

Huaraz's town center was actually bigger than I expected considering the only reason anyone comes to Huaraz is to go trekking outside the city.
Day 1 I mentally prepared for doing something more than just laying on the beach and serving up cervezas to backpackers.

Day 2 I hiked to Pastoruri. At an altitude of 5,200 meters/17,000 feet, the 2 hour gradual hike up was far more taxing than you'd expect but the glacier made it all worth it. Yes, that's right. A glacier.

Just a stroll in the park...

Just me and the glacier hanging out...

Panoramic of the valley

Day 2 I hiked the well-known Laguna 69. This was a much steeper hike, 14 km/8.6 miles round trip, at an altitude of 4,600 meters/15,000 feet. Starting at the base of the trek, it was relatively warm as I got moving, but soon it started to rain. And then at Laguna 65 as we went higher, the rain turned to snow. And then at Laguna 69, the snow turned to hail. The hail cleared up for a couple of minutes, our photo-taking window. The water in Laguna 69 was an amazing array of crystal clear blue shades. As we went back down, the precipitation cleared up. It was amazing to experience such different micro-climates within just minutes.

Llanganuco

Let's do this!

Lots of horses and cows along the way.

Nice little waterfall at the bottom.

Laguna 65, a good rest point.

Evolution of weather: sun to rain to snow.

Made it to Laguna 69! 

Survived the rain, snow, and hail and still smiling! 

Day 3 I went hiked to Laguna Churup. This was the most difficult hike if you ask me. The lowest in altitude at 4,450 meters/14,600 feet, the most challenging portion was scaling the waterfall. I say "scaling" because most of the way up the waterfall was complete and total rock climbing. There were definitely a few scares where I lost my footing and/or holding and slid down some rocks before catching myself. Once at the top, Laguna Churup was breathtaking but still I was thinking there was no way I could go back down that waterfall. I eventually found a different path over a ridge that was less heart attack-inducing than the rock climbing wall and I made it back safe and sound.

How about some more hiking?

The path...

On the right you can see a waterfall that I climbed up. Looks more threatening in person.

Worth it!

Huaraz was my last stop in Peru before they kick me out (90 days already!) so I thought it fitting to read a book about Tupac. No, I'm not talking about East Coast meets West Coast gang wars. I am talking about the original Tupac: Tupac Amaru. Actually he was Tupac Amaru II, a well-educated mestizo Peruvian with Inca roots. Tupac saw how many indigenous people in what is now Bolivia and Ecuador were treated cruelly and unfairly by the Spanish, working grueling jobs like mining, farming, and textile manufacturing for unjustly low wages and under dangerous and tyrannical conditions. Tupac organized an indigenous revolt to end the Spanish exploitation and abuse of the natives and to bring about equality between the colonists and indigenous peoples. In the end, Tupac's revolt was unsuccessful and he and his native enforcement were surrounded in Cuzco where Tupac was captured and tortured. In the main plaza of Cuzco, the Spanish cut off Tupac's tongue and forced him to watch the execution of his wife and son among other relatives before a horse was tied to each of his limbs and directed to run in different directions. While his insurrection was technically an unsuccessful, it was the first organized revolt in a Spanish colony and gave local indigenous people a new found sense of nationalism. To native Peruvians and indigenous peoples of South America, Tupac is still held up as an almost mythical character and his legacy lives on.

On that note, Ecuador, here I come!

Hasta La Vista, Chile

Recent weather: low 70s and sunny Friday-Monday in Iquique; low 70s and sunny during the day, lows in the 30s at night Tuesday-Friday in San Pedro de Atacama; current altitude: 7800 feet above sea level.

Recent reads: Ezra, Nehemiah; "Ernesto Che Guevara" by Marcos A. Alvarez.

Long post here but it has been the best week of my whole trip so far so forgive me for gushing. I won't be offended if you just skim through the photos. Well, mostly, I just won't know.

I arrived in Iquique, Chile mid-day on Friday. If Iquique sounds familiar to you, it's probably because an 8.2 magnitude earthquake hit Iquique just a little over a month ago which made world-wide news. The city is no stranger to earthquakes and reacted quickly but there still a major highway that is down to one lane as they continue to clean up the rubble that tumbled down the mountain.

Still not tired of these.

Follow the boardwalk to the casino!

Random petting zoo.

A couple of fishermen

Highlights of Iquique include:

1. Paragliding! I've wanted to go paragliding for some time now and Iquique has a reputation as being one of the best places in South America to do it. Once the pilot got the parachute under control, he called out for me to walk and then run until I'm sprinting towards the ledge. Just when there's no more ground to run on, the chute picked us up and we were off! I'm pretty sure I was still doing the running man for a bit even after we were in the air. Once we're up, it was time to sit back and enjoy the amazing views of the city. While most of the air time we're gliding about smoothly like a baby in a bassinet, we do follow thermal wind currents which can take us in circular patterns. I didn't get motion sick at all, but I can see how some would with the circular motions. Towards the end of the ride, the pilot did some acrobatic twists and twirls which brought me back to my Six Flags Great America days. We landed on the beach with a less than graceful finish, not surprisingly.

Ready for action!

Running off a cliff. Everyone was doing it. 

This girl gives paragliding 2 thumbs up!

2. The people! After spending 3 weeks with a family in Arica (don't get me wrong, I liked it), it was nice to hang out with other travelers my age again. The hostel had a pool table, table tennis, an epic playlist, and several balconies with ocean views which set the scene for socializing. The hostel seemed to be overtaken by Australians but with the regular smattering of Europeans and a few Americans. One sweet Aussie, knowing where I was headed and knowing how cold it was going to be, even lent me his llama fur jacket for my upcoming trip to Bolivia!

3. Sushi! I've been seeing sushi a lot lately but haven't tried any yet since I consider that to be a sharing type meal. We had a few rolls and salmon sashimi which was obviously very fresh-yum!

On Monday, a New Zealander and I discovered we were both heading to San Pedro in the Atacama Desert so we set out together, taking an 8 hour overnight bus to Calama and another 2 hour bus ride to San Pedro. San Pedro is a small village, mostly just tourist agencies and restaurants along the main drag. Just two days ago, San Pedro got a foot of snow and not all of it had melted yet. (P.S. Is it supposed to snow in a desert?)

Main street in San Pedro

That afternoon, fueled on pancakes and good coffee, the New Zealander and I hit some of the local sights. First, we went to Valle de Luna (Valley of the Moon). We hiked up huge sand dunes to get a 360 degree view of the national park. Even though it was late afternoon, the sun was still fierce. (See, I do know what a desert is like.)

Next, we went to Tres Marias, a 3 pronged stone structure that they say looks like Mary in different poses. Finally, we went to Valle de la Muerte (Valley of the Dead) where we watched the sun set and the mountains change all different colors proving that God truly is the ultimate painter.

Yes, that's snow. 

On Wednesday I went swimming in Laguna Cejar which is 40% salt content so you despite your best efforts, you just float at all times. (The Dead Sea is 30-35% salt.) The water was "refreshing" to say the least but completely worth it. Afterwards, you are caked in salt so a shower is a must.

All this could be yours for 3 easy payments.

Just floating...

Typical Wednesday.

Our tour continued on to Ojos de Salar, two round bodies of water next to each other like two eyes. No one is exactly sure how these were formed, perhaps by indigenous people looking for water, entrepreneurs looking for oil, or just maybe even an alien invasion! These little lakes were much less salty but also much colder. For some reason I was the only person out of the whole group who was brave (read: stupid) enough to swim here but as soon as I jumped in, I understood why. Brr. But hey, when in Rome!

No, I'm not wearing pants.

Our last stop was Tebinquiche where we watched the sun set and the mountains change colors. The mountains reflecting in the 10cm of water in the forefront made for an amazing sight! We capped it off with a pisco sour (okay, two) and headed back to San Pedro.

Snow on the mountains, salt in the foreground.

I'll cheers to that!

I had an incredible last week here in Chile, so much so that, despite the cold, I almost don't want to leave. But Bolivia calls! On Thursday I relaxed in San Pedro, resting and mentally preparing for what's next. Friday morning I head out on a 3 day, 2 night 4WD trip to the salt flats in Uyunia, Bolivia. Most say that the trip is almost as difficult as it is breathtaking with the rustic conditions, high altitude, and bitter cold but that it's all worth it. As always, I'll keep you posted on my travels as I see it.