Taxing Bolivia

Yes, I am in Bolivia now. And to cross the border Americans have to pay $135 dollars. now that may not seem like a lot, but it is. and i never carry that much money around, thus i had issues getting into the country.

No ATM, no bank, no sympathy from the customs guard. Either go back to peru, or he would hold my passport while i go into Bolivia, hunt down an ATM, and then come back to the border and pay the ransom. Oh, and the nearest town has no ATM either.

Luckily i charmed $135 out of some English girl who was on the bus with me.

Don't worry, i paid her back eventually.

So as soon as i crossed into Bolivia you really feel the difference in culture. people are POOR and tend to stick to indigenous outerwear, which i like. They have preserved their culture but at the cost of western advancement and infrastructure.

It is weird too. There are a ton of Indios (indigenous people)who beg on the street and i am so numb to panhandlers that i usually just walk past. But the Bolivians who can give, do give. And quite often. I am not sure about the welfare system here, but it seems as if people have more of a tendency to take care of each other. It is a nice feeling.

For the last week i traveled with a Brazilian guy who was heading the same direction i was. We got to La Paz at 10 pm and ended up meeting a bunch of other travelers who we knew on the road and partied till 6:30 the first night. this same night i saw the english girl at the after hours club we were at and she had no money to get home. Thus it was blind fate that she lent me the border money so that i could pay her back when she was down, out and stranded.

From La Paz we took a tour/safari of the Bolivian salt flats. Largest salt flats in the world actually. we heard it is cool to take figurines with you on this trip because you can take cool interesting perspective photos on the flats. so we did. you will see.

This place was windier and colder than shit. I kid you not. Coldest i have been all trip. The wind was blowing dust non stop the entire time and you had to make sure you kept your mouth closed whenever outside. That being said, it was really cool to cruize around the landscape in a covered jeep. Crazy terrain that looked like a star wars scene.

we started in an old train cemetery that was interesting to check out and they let you scramble all over these old trains and take pictures, getting tetanus at your own risk. I wore gloves.

then went to the salt flats which were crazy. it looked like snow. but was delicious salt. we even slept at a salt hotel, completely made of salt bricks. we scrapped the ground for salt when we wanted to season our food. very unique experience.

then we just cruised around the high plains for the rest of the trip. seeing frozen lakes where flamingos apparently thrive, crazy rock formations, thermal geysers and volcanic craters.

After taking a 12 hr overnight bus to get back to La Paz we barely just made it in time to catch another bus for our death ride. We took mountain bikes down the most dangerous road in the world. 6 people died on their mountain bikes this year by falling off the cliff.

This was fucking cold too. we started above the clouds in the snow. through the clouds in the rain and mud, then below were it finally warmed up just enough for the bugs to attack our ankles. This was really fun. Biking in foreign countries is the shit.

Now i am just chillin in the hostel getting ready for the next couple of weeks where i will be in an animal rehab center in the jungle in Bolivia. I think i will mostly get to play with monkeys which is good because i need to overcome my fear of them. Let me explain.

when i was 10 yrs old i went to the shittiest petting zoo ever near acapulco. literally a donkey, a parrot and a monkey tied to a stump. you walk down the line and pet each one. well, the fucking monkey bit me and then we had to go to some shady mexican doctor who gave me a shot in the ass. first and only monkey bite and first and only shot in the ass all within 3 hrs.

so hopefully i can heal these old wounds with the little fuckers here. although i did hear that one of the retarded monkeys at this place bites someones pinky off every year. it should be interesting.

Bye Bye Peru

I just got back from a 4 day trek that consisted of mountains, jungle, and yes, Machu Picchu AGAIN. Had to go back and check it out some more. The trek was rad.

day 1: 6 hr mountain bike session that started in the clouds and ended in a gorgeous river valley. Cold as shit at the top which I combated with my ability to ride with one hand and drink from a flask of rum with the other. Oh, and I now have symmetrical blisters on each of my thumbs from the shitty handle bars.

Day 2 & 3: trekking through the mountains and jungle. We would trek then break, trek then break, trek then break. I would literally sweat through my shirt, then it would dry, then sweat through it again. This would happen at least 6 times a day. I don't know how it did not just disintegrate. At the end of the 3rd day our trek ended in a hot springs i.e. my first shower of the trip. Felt good but got destroyed by sand flies. I have at least 20 bites on each ankle not to mention other places. Bastards.

Day 4: machu picchu (again) But this time I woke up at 3:30 am, hiked to the entrance by sunrise and was one of the 400 people able to climb up to Wayna Pichu, the mountain above Machu Picchu. (they only allow 400 people up there a day) You literally feel like you are on top of the world. The Incas must have all had baby sized feet because you are hiking on 6 inch steps that wrap around shear rock faces with an easy 1000 ft. drop right next to you. A little nerve racking, but absolutely amazing.

Yesterday was a long day. I woke up at 3:30am to climb up to MP, and then stayed up till 3:30 last night. Today I am relaxing. Going to spend the last of my soles (Peruvian currency) on a $10/hr massage, not as sleazy as it sounds, I think/hope... Then I am off to Bolivia tonight.

Here are some pics of the trek and i also took some pics of some random Peruvians while i was drinking a cup of coffee on a balcony above a plaza in Cusco. Read: i am not a creepy voyeur. I just wanted some Peruvians in my memory card. is that weird?

And someone stole my fuckin jacket. Fuckers.

Alpacas & Machu Picchu

We went to machu picchu yesterday. I had heard such great things that i kinda figured there was no way it could live up to its expectations, but words nor pictures can describe the grandiosity of that place. Truly worth it.

Ken and I also had some fun interactions with alpacas. Here are the last of the pics from my journey with my brother.

Ken is gone and now and I am on my own.

This will be the longest stint by myself. Although I am a little apprehensive, I know the challenges I will face will make me stronger and am excited to face unknown adventures.

Guinea pigs, Condors, Pisco, Labor Strikes & Ken

After a nice refreshing time in the states, I thrusted myself back into the world. This time with my brother Ken.

Thanks to all who put me up and took care of me. I love you guys.

So here is the update so far. My last night in the states I spent quality time with some amigos. I barely made it to my 11 am flight due to my extreme hangover. Why do I always do that to myself right before I have to fly. The guy on the plane next to me couldn't look me in the eyes. Not only due to the smell of booze permeating through my pours, but the threat that I may projectile vomit on his recently purchased precious $10 airplane turkey wrap was real.

I couldn't eat anything till 10 pm that night in Miami. I am disgusting.

Got to Lima, Peru at 5 am where I met up with Ken who was waiting for me at a hotel. I caught 2 hrs of sleep before going back to the airport where we both flew to Arequipa to hang out and acclimate.

We stayed in the town center which had a really cool colonial vibe. We ate some guinea pig which is a specialty out here, which tastes like dark turkey meat, but you litterally have to gnaw on the thing like a guinea pig in order to get any of the meat off. We drank a bottle of Pisco, Peruvian booze, which tastes like ass, but once you get down to the last 1 tenth of the bottle you start to warm up to it. We saw a 500 yr old mummy found atop the nearby volcano, apparently the beatiful daughter of some weathy Incan family, which despite all the decay, was still kinda hot, and we explored the largest monastery we had both ever been to.

After feeling no ill affects of the altitude, we booked a trip to the nearby Colca Canyon, the second tallest canyon in the world. Woke up at 2:30 to catch the 3am bus, but waited and watched a drunk Peruvian guy stumble and swagger back and fourth in the same spot for a full hour before we were picked up. It is important to stay patient and not feel threatened by local drunks while traveling. You will inevitably have to deal with both.

Before diving 4000 ft into the canyon, we stopped along this ridge where we watched enormous condors fly in the crease of the canyon. We listened to Simon & Garfunkel's "El Condor Pasa" while we absorbed our impressive and truly awesome surroundings. Forever the song will remind me of that experience. Really cool!

The hike itself was a 2 day trek into the canyon basin. 4000 ft up. 4000 ft down. As is the Inca tradition, we chewed coca leaves to help prevent altitude sickness and to give us energy. The leaves tasted like crap. Like a we just chewed on a bunch of cud. However mixed with hot water the tea is quite pleasant. We stayed the night down below and then hiked back up at 5 the next morning. My legs are still sore.

Next we went to Puno, a town on Lake Titicaca. The town is whatever, but we did go to the floating reed islands on the lake. Really unique. Apparently a local tribe escaped the neighboring warrior tribes and Spanish by building floating islands on the lake made out out reeds. They travel in Vikingesk boats and take shits in little ceramic pots that they laid out for us to see. Enjoy the photos of that :)

We were going to hang out for one more night in Puno before leaving for Cusco (the base of machu picchu) but there was a huge labor strike that is currently affecting the whole region. They put up road blocks on the roads and organized huge protests while the cops stood by with riot gear and tear gas, just waiting for the shit to go down. We literally got the last bus out of Puno before being trapped. Kinda sketchy, but it was fun being displaced by uncontrolled events and forced to the town of Juliaca, which all the guide books label as "the most dangerous city in Peru."

ken and i made it out alive and are relaxing in Cusco right now. Taking a ciesta. when we awake, we'll drink a bottle of Pisco and go out on the town. He has a couple more days here before returning to reality and then i am off on my own.

it feels good to be back on the road again. more to come. enjoy the pics.