Milton

I have found Paradise. Belinda Carlisle was right, heaven is a place on earth and its called ¨Ilha Grande.¨ The island is 60 miles by 30 miles, has 3000 foot mountains, fewer than 4000 people, and no cars. The pictures you see are not enhanced. This is really how it looks here. All the Brazilians that I have met call this the most beautiful place in Brazil, and they were not kidding. A guy working at my hostel came here for two days and has ended up staying 7 weeks. While I won´t be here that long, I will be here longer than anticipated...

No more Ansel

So, its official. My camera is dead. I will be back in the States in three weeks so I am going to wait until then to get a new camera. I couldn´t bring myself to pay $600 in Brazil for the most basic digital camera. So, I think I am going to have to post other peoples´ pictures from the next few places I enjoy. At least you´ll have an idea of the places I am visiting. (Right now I am in Parati, which you will see in the enclosed pictures.)

Penis Fish

Below is an email that my parents just sent me. I am glad that they sent it to me AFTER I swam (and peed) in the Amazon River. Thanks mom and dad...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
This interesting amazon fish is the story line on "Grey's Anatomy'
Having just visited the Amazon I thought you would find fascinating.


The candirú or canero (Vandellia cirjjkkrhosa) or toothpick fish is a freshwater fish in the group commonly called the catfish. It is found in the Amazon River and has a reputation among the natives as the most feared fish in its waters, even over the piranha. The species has been known to grow to a size of 6 inches in length and is eel shaped and translucent, making it
almost impossible to see in the water. The candirú is a parasite.

The candirú parasitizes other fish. It swims into the gill cavities of
other fish, erects a spine to hold itself in place, and feeds on the blood in
the gills, earning it a nickname as the "vampire fish of Brazil". Recent research [1] has shown that candirú do not suck blood, but rather latch on to an artery and have blood pumped into them.

It is feared by the natives because it is attracted to urine or blood[2], and if the bather is nude it will swim into an orifice (the anus or vagina, or even the penis—and deep into the urethra). It then erects its spine and begins to feed on the blood and body tissue just as it would from the gills of a fish. The candirú is then almost impossible to remove except through surgery. As the fish locates its host by following the water flow from the gills to its source, urinating while bathing increases the chance of a candirú homing in on a human urethra.

A well-circulated myth is that the candirú is capable of swimming up the stream of urine in mid-air to a victim standing on shore or a boat. However this is physically impossible as the maximum swimming velocity of the fish is opposed by the downward velocity of the urine stream, and the further impossible act of the 5-14 mm wide fish maintaining position and thrust within a 2-7 mm wide column of fluid.

A traditional cure involves the use of two plants, the Xagua plant
(Genipa americana) and the Buitach apple which are inserted (or their extract in the case of tight spaces) into the affected area. These two plants together will kill and then dissolve the fish. More often, infection causes shock and death in the victim before the candirú can be removed. Though there have been documented candirú attacks on humans, there is no evidence the fish can survive once inside a human. It was recently sought after by Nick Baker, a wildlife specialist on British TV in a series about the world's strangest animals. Although the fish might not live in humans, the producers of Grey's Anatomy have felt it correct to show that the fish can live in humans. The candirú was featured on episode 3.21, "Desire", of Grey's Anatomy.

Sao Paulo

Well, I can't disagree with many of Igor's impressions of Sao Paulo (reprinted in my previous blog posts). I have been here for three days and haven't been terribly impressed with the city itself. A city the size of Sao Paulo (19 million people) should be much, much more vibrant. However, I thoroughly enjoyed Sao Paulo in spite of traffic that makes Cairo look like Orbit City (The Jetsons reference), Soviet-style apartment buildings that probably account for 86% of the world's concrete, and prostitution that makes Amsterdam's Red Light District appear prudish. My visit was made enjoyable because I stayed with a great friend, Roberto, who actually has to live in Sao Paulo.

Two highlights from Sao Paulo: Haircut and Alex Flemming. After several days of stewing, I worked up enough courage to get a haircut in Sao Paulo. Ok, so it didn't require THAT much courage because its pretty hard to screw up my hairstyle. But the barber and I played a pretty funny game of charades; he couldn't even say "hello" in English and I don't know the Portuguese phrase for "just take two inches off". Something must have gotten lost in translation because I walked out of there with 15 fewer dollars in my pocket and a receding hairline.

This afternoon, Roberto's friend invited us to see artwork at another friend's apartment. It happened to be the apartment of Alex Flemming, apparently a well-known local artist. This guy's work included: a yellow canvas with a creepy mannequin head protruding out of it; a huge, real cow's head painted blue; and a series of pictures/paintings of near-naked body builders. Who said that Sao Paulo doesn't have culture?

Tomorrow I leave for Parati, a beach community halfway between Sao Paulo and Rio. It is 120 miles outside of Sao Paulo, so it should only take me 16 hours to get there....

Sao Paulo Picture Album

If you want to see a few more pictures of Sao Paulo, click on me drinking out of the coconut. I didn't take too many pictures because: 1) there are only four buildings in the entire city that don't look like East German bunkers, and 2) my camera is about to die. Enjoy the pictures while you still can.

Sao Paolo

Amazon Women

I have a request. Can somebody please investigate the origin of the term ¨Amazon women¨ and post their findings in a comment on this blog? Having been in the Amazon earlier in April, I can testify that the women there are not Xena look-alikes; they are anything but tall and broad-shouldered.

Igor´s Brazil posts (1 of 3)

I am in Sao Paulo now. My visit here reminds me of my friend Igor, who came to Brazil last year and penned some of the funnier travel writings I have read. I thought I would share three of them with you, as they are much better than anything I could come up with:

Before I went to the game, I asked the woman at my hostel desk if the surrounding neighborhood was safe.

``Oh yes, very safe,´´ she says, ``But take very little money with you.´´

Inside this same hostel is a flyer with the following message: ```When going out, don´t let exposed your camera, and avoid leaving you bag on your back. Don´t carry too much money with you. Enjoy your day!´´

What a great couple of statements. They´re just so Brazilian.

So I feel here that, in the interests of accuracy, I must translate into English what Brazilian statements of safety mean.

1. Statement: ``There is absolutely no risk involved in this neighborhood. It´s completely safe.´´ Translation: The risk is mild. But make sure to constantly stay aware of the situation, don´t walk down any dark alleys, keep at least one fist cocked and ready to blast, and keep your camera in your other hand instead of your pocket, so that it can be used as a weapon, too.

2. Statement: ``The risk here is slight.´´ Translation: The risk is high but not outrageous. The camera in one hand is still useful, but it better have at least six megapixels, because anything below that cannot provide enough damage, just in case. In the other hand you need a fine leather whip. It can be conveniently rolled up and allows you to simultaneously maintain your distance from your attacker and inflict heavy damage. You also should wear a cup.

3. Statement: ``It´s safe during the day here, but not at night.´´ Translation: During the day, you dress and behave like a goalie. The most important part of a goalie´s uniform is the mask, so splurge on this part. In fact, ones fitted specifically to your face are best. If you cannot afford a mask, use a strainer or cast-iron skillet with holes cut out for one eye -- keep the other one protected at all times -- and your mouth. At night, you should not go out alone. You have gone from being a goalie to being a member of an entire hockey team. In fact, you probably should take a hockey team with you. The Philadelphia Flyers of the late 1970s are best. If they are not available, head to your local Canadian prison.

4. ``It´s not safe here.´´ Translation: Chances are that your hockey team has abandoned you and would rather choose prison over being here at this moment. At that point you might as well abandon your hockey uniform because it will only hinder free movement and will not provide you much protection from armor-piercing bullets, anyway. All you will need is an excellent tool belt with a few attachments, including, but not limited to: a semi-automatic pisol, a fully automatic machine gun, a harpoon, three muskets, a couple of angry badgers, 18 Ginsu knives, your ex-wife, your ex-wife´s family, your ex-wife´s new boyfriend, your ex-wife´s new boyfriend´s grenade launcher, at least one wolverine (but six are best), the most-experienced member of the Yakuza, and a thumb tack, just in case of close combat. I´m assuming that you have a will, but if you do not, please write one at this point. Your heirs will need all of your weapons.

5. ``It´s dangerous here.´´ Translation: At this point, you are in this neighborhood only under two circumstances. One, you have a nuclear weapon. Two, you have grown weary of life.

6. ``It´s very dangerous here.´´ Translation: You are dead. I am not actually having this conversation; I´m just daydreaming. It´s also possible that I am dead.

Igor´s Brazil Posts (2 of 3)

I´ve been in Brazil for a few days now, and there are a couple of things about which I have absolutely no knowledge. One is just about anything I´ve eaten. The food here is different than what´s in the rest of South America, even though it sometimes looks the same. For example, yesterday I ordered what I thought was a sweet baked good. I bit into it, and it was full of chicken and corn. It also had enough salt to drop an elephant. As a result of the increased blood pressure the salt caused, I felt juuuuuuuuuuust a teency, weency bit of a stroke coming on, so I stopped eating this thing. Eating here is a bit like gambling.

I´ll take what looks like the empanada. Yes! Tastes good, coming up kings. Let´s double down.

Give me the fruit that looks like a cucumber. Yes! Very sweet, tasty. Ace on one one. Blackjack, baby!!!

Next, I´d like the vegetable (???) that looks like a Martian rodent. Not bad. Six, but dealer showing seven. Tricky situation here, folks. Fuck it -- hit me.

D´oh! Busted out on the meat that looks like meat but tastes like a running shoe.

The second thing I don´t understand at all is the language. Let me first say that, along with Italian and Greek, Portuguese is one of the most pleasant languages I´ve heard. It´s really nice, but this is part of the problem. The language is difficult enough as it is, but it´s so appealing that, especially when a cute girl is trying to explain something to me, I get distracted and have no idea what´s going on. I ask things in Spanish, which the Brazilians are adept at understanding, but, of course, I get an answer in Portuguese. Sure, the words are similar when written, but the pronounciations are different enough from Spanish to throw off a person.

...It´s time to gamble. I mean eat.

Hit me.

Igor

Igor´s Brazil post (3 of 3)

In a few conversations with Brazilians that I´ve had in other countries and in the time I´ve spent here, I´ve noticed a pattern: they have an almost pathological inability to admit that Brazil has any problems. According to them, every other country in South America is struggling, and the U.S. is really in deep shit and full of bastards, but things in Brazil are just fine. So in an effort to continue the process of understanding, allow me to issue another set of translations.

-- Brazilian statement: ``We have the most beautiful women in the world, and all of our residents in general take great care of their bodies.´´

-- My perception: Either these people are smoking crack or there is some kind of hallucinogen in one of the countless weird, yet definitely tasty, types of fruit that Brazilians eat. I cannot begin to tell you how disappointed I am with the quality of the women. Simply put, they´re nothing special at all. Sure, you occasionally see some really good-looking women here, but most, in fact, are not really all that attractive. In fact, many are overweight or otherwise appear unhealthy. The women in Chile were better, as they were in Argentina, where some of the women were some of the most gorgeous I had ever seen.

Brazil, you see, has the diversity -- in fact, next to the U.S., it most likely is the world´s most diverse country -- but it´s standard of living is shit because of the immense gap between rich and poor. I haven´t gone to the beach yet, and I´m sure there will be some gorgeous women there. But, hell, there are gorgeous women on any beach.

As for people´s really taking care of their bodies here, it´s nonsense. There are plenty of sloppy-looking people here, just as there are in the U.S.

It´s really rather ridiculous how people, instead of thinking for themselves, just continue to buy what others tell them and continue to repeat the same lies, half-truths and exaggerations.

-- Brazilian statement: ``We have no racism in Brazil. Everyone gets along fine here.´´

-- My perception: There is a kernel of truth here, but it´s a half-truth at best. It is much more common to see interracial couples around here, and I see many more mixed-raced people hanging around together than I do in the U.S. So, at least on a personal level, some of that may be true.

However, the racism here is more structural. As a percentage of the population, blacks are far more likely to live in favelas -- slums, that is -- than are their white counterparts. They also are far less likely to get a decent education or find a good job. No country -- and this certainly includes the U.S. -- can claim a lack of racism when these situations exist.

And while we´re on the subject of race, let me say this. I was told by many people before I came here that, being white, I would stick out. This is absurd. Here is the reality -- according to the official stats, the majority of Brazil´s population is white, as is the vast majority of the population in Argentina and Uruguay, and possibly Chile. There simply is no shortage of white people in South America. The only thing that might make me appear like less of a Brazilian is my manner of dress, but even that isn´t completely true because people dress so differently here.

-- Brazilian statement: ``Brazilian food is excellent.´´

-- My perception: Next to the food in China, Brazil has the worst food I have eaten, and this seems to be an opinion that is shared by many foreigners around me. There are three main problems. One, everything is salted to absolutely outrageous levels. It´s so bad that the Brazilians don´t even recognize it. In fact, many of them continue to douse their food with salt even after it´s been more than generously salted. Two, the quality of the ingredients is very, very low. The meat is fatty and tough, the sausage is cheap, many of the vegetables are rotten. There´s simply no attention to detail. Three, nearly everything is overcooked. I ate pasta today that was falling apart as I was sticking my fork into it. It was foul.

I really am not looking forward to my next Brazilian meal. I´ve got to find ethnic restaurants here.

-- Brazilian statement: ``The people who lives in favelas have good lives. They want to be there because they have no worries. They live better than you and me.´´

-- My perception: Two people have given me variations of this statement, and I felt like decking both of them. You´ve got to be a first-class piece of shit to say something like that. I have yet to take a favela tour, which I will do so soon, but these places look absolutely awful.

A favela basically is a large slum. Until I arrived here, I had no idea how large. When you first come into Rio, it is absolutely shocking to see how expansive they are. There is a favela right outside of the my hostel. Many residents there have problems accessing fresh water and electricity. They are in constant danger because they frequently get caught in the crossfire between the vicious battles fought by police and drug dealers. In fact, the general consensus seems to be that they are at greater risk to be killed by the police than by drug dealers.

In the 1990s there was an incident in Rio in which police, angered by some kind of a confrontation with a teenager in which a cop was injured, stormed a place at which they knew many favela teenagers hung around, and shot everyone in there, killing at least 15 kids. Apparently the response of many Brazilians was nonchalant, and no cop was reprimanded.

These are the kind of conditions people in the Favela must face, in addition to the fact that many kids who grow up there do not have access to health care or schools.

-- Brazilian statement: ``Brazil is the greatest country in the world.´´

-- My perception: I thought only Americans made absurd statements of this nature, but the Brazilians are much, much worse. In fact, they´ll gladly recite to you the littany of problems that the U.S. has -- shortly before they tell you they´ve never actually been to the U.S. -- but ignore all of their own. To fail to believe there is a problem in your country is to not do anything to improve conditions. As a society, much of Brazil simply does not work. Although I detested Sao Paulo, I like Rio because it amuses me. And yet it´s obvious how horribly dysfunctional this place is.

This is a country with one of the worst gaps between rich and poor in the world. Brazil is heavily industrialized and rich in natural resources. Yet one would never know it by looking at the population. The country has major environmental problems. Its rainforests are disappearing at shocking rates, and there is no slowdown. The government is not committed to slowing down the poachers who are responsible for much of the logging because officials have committed so little money to enforcement. According to one talk I had with an Australian guy who was an environmental expert who has spent the past several months working down here, Brazil had hired only five people to enforce environmental regulations in an area that amounted to something like one-sixth of the country. And bear in mind that Brazil is huge -- about the size of the continental U.S. The police corruption out here is categorically ludicrous. Not a single person I have spoken to has any faith in the police. Some fear them more than they do criminals.

People are struggling here, and yet the population here seems hesitant to discuss it and instead would rather march around in their yellow and green shirts with ``Brazil´´ logos on them and talk about what a great place this is. What makes all of this so sad is that Brazil really could be a great place -- one of the greatest in the world. It has so much natural beauty, so much wildlife, so much resource wealth, so much potential, so much size, so many young people, so much culture. And yet so much is being wasted and squandered and unfairly distributed.

Igor

Fortunate Son

I can´t help but wake up every morning on this trip and feel like one of the luckiest people in the world. I have a girlfriend that I adore. I have a wonderful family. I have awesome friends (for the most part...). I have my health. The weather is beautiful everywhere I go. I am seeing the most gorgeous places on the planet. Don´t mean to get too sappy one month into my trip, but I really am having the time of my life.

Robert and I had a great time in Mendoza, Argentina. Over the course of the last week, we went on a wine tour, did a trek in the foothills of the Andes, ate a LOT of steak, drank a LOT of wine, wandered around town, and rented a car for a two-day side trip to Barreal.

A small story behind the picture you see above. The weather didn't completely cooperate on the day of our trek so you can`t tell that we are on the summit of a mountain (neither could we). Our guide said, ¨it is customary for hikers in Argentina to take their picture with the cross whenever they reach a summit...of course unless they are Jewish.¨ At that, we both started laughing pretty hard, immediately grabbed the cross, and insisted that we have our picture taken by our confused guide.

We got out of Mendoza on Friday and Saturday and drove up to Barreal, about three hours north of Mendoza. The town is among the most picturesque I have ever seen. The town of several hundred people is nestled in between two mountain ranges in the Andes. Autumn is in full swing down here and all the poplar trees were shedding brilliant yellow leaves. The area is home to three observatories because it has some of the clearest air in the world. We felt pretty lucky because the town hasn´t really yet been discovered by tourists; we only saw three other gringos there in two days.

The food in this city is incredible. We ate at the same restaurant--Don Mario--twice and probably would have done it again had there been a single inch left in our small intestines. Robert´s steak (on the right) was eight dollars and weighed in at just under two pounds! This is not a country for vegetarians. Alas, our trip is done. Robert has headed back to his desk job in Washington and I am onto Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and three weeks in Brazil.


As always, click on the last picture--the one of the beer bottle--to see some more pictures of our trip in Mendoza.

Mendoza, Argentina

Fish and Chips

I wanted to share with you one of the more ironic things I have encountered on my trip. It involves the British and their food. The Brits are notorious for their less-than-stellar cuisine. But almost every single Brit that I have met has either:
1) complained about how horrible the food in South America is,
2) gone on and on about how much they miss their mum´s cooking, or
3) survived for the last three months on Snickers and Twix candy bars.
If your national dishes consist of fish and chips, Worcestershire sauce, warm beer, and baked potatoes, you really don´t have any right to complain.

Taxis of the World

I´ve decided to do a ¨Taxis of the World¨ series on my blog. I thought it might be interesting to show you different taxis from different parts of my trip. Below are the first four in the installment. The first one, above, is an Amazonian (Peru) taxi.


To the right, you´ll see a mototaxi, very common in Iquitos (Peru).

On the left, you'll see a good example of a Mendoza (Argentina) taxi. This city is full of old Renaults, Peugeots, Citroens, Fords and Dodges.

On the right, a common taxi in Barreal (Argentina), a rural town at the base of the Andes.

Winnie's Restaurant?

Would you eat at a restaurant with a name like this?

Amazon Album (2 of 2)

AMAZON! 2 of 2

Sorry it took so long for me to post the second batch of pictures from the Amazon. It was an amazing experience. I hope some of these pictures convey the Amazon's overwhelming beauty. Click on the goofy guy to open the album. Cheers.

Darth Vader's Winery

Robert and I had a great time visiting some of Mendoza´s wineries yesterday. Its a little surprising to me that they have wineries at all here, because Mendoza is essentially re-claimed desert. The scenery is spectacular, as the city and its vineyards sit right at the base of the Andes' 10,000 foot peaks.

The good news is that wine tastings are no less pretentious in Argentina than anywhere else in the world. Robert and I heard that various wines had hints of chocolate, leather, sand, asparagus, citrus, and mango. What a load of balogna! All I tasted was 18 glasses of pretty damn good red wine. (But I may not have the most refined pallette, as I think Taco Bell tastes good....)

The last winery we visited was described in a local magazine as ¨Darth Vader´s bodega.¨ It was definitely 22nd century architecture. It reminded Robert and I more of an Iranian nuclear processing facility. The entire building was made out of concrete and could probably withstand most of what Chile's army has to offer. We weren't at all surprised to learn that Kim Jong-Il had a 20% stake in the winery.

We´ll be here until Sunday, when Robert flies back to his desk job in Washington and I fly onto sunny Brazil. Ciao for now.

Rants (the good-natured kind)

I am in sunny Mendoza, in Argentina´s wine country. Its 80, sunny, dry, and no mosquitos. I had some time to think about a few things between the several boat, plane, shuttle bus, and taxi rides it took to get from the Peruvian Amazon to the Argentinian Tuscany.

Recliners. Not lazy-boys. I am talking about the people on airplanes, buses, and trains that feel the need to recline their seats. I hate every single one of these people. Inevitably, the recliner is well under 5 feet tall. And they have the quickest trigger finger; they push that round stainless button the second the wheels leave the tarmac or the train/bus leaves the station. Do they really think that the 3 extra inches they get by reclining is going to help them sleep better? Does it accomplish anything except really piss off the person sitting behind them? Do me a favor; don´t be a recliner.

I made the mistake of trying to save 100 dollars by flying Aero Condor to the Amazon last week. Aero Condor is like the budget version of Southwest Airlines. For example, they handed out the Aero Condor magazine after take off and then went around and collected each single one before we landed. (Did they really think that people were going to steal the airplane magazine? When have you ever taken the airplane magazine off a plane?) Anyway, when I left the Amazon and went to the airport yesterday, the Aero Condor desk tells me that my flight has been delayed by five hours and fifteen minutes. Isn't that a random amount of time for a flight delay? I told them fine, but I needed to make a connecting flight in Lima that night. At that point they admitted that my Aero Condor flight had really been canceled (not delayed) because the airline had only sold five tickets for that flight. Then they literrally took a handful of cash out of their drawer and walked over to their competitor's desk and bought me a new ticket. Do me a favor; next time you are in Peru don't fly Aero Condor.

Finally, when I got to the airport in Chile this morning they separated all the Americans out of lines at passport control. They made each American pay $100 for entering Chile. I explained that I would only be in Chile for 6 hours because I was in transit to Argentina. They said it was irrelevant and that I was being charged the fee because the United States charges Chileans $100 to visit the States. (At which point I thought but didn't say, ¨we can charge money because people actually want to go to the States. Nobody wants to go to "#$!@ Chile.¨) I unwillingly paid and the agent told me the stamp was valid for the life of my passport (4 more years). I told her it didn't matter because I would never ever be coming back to Chile. Do me a favor; skip Chile on your next trip to South America.

Bed-Wetter

So I finally found the one place on earth that is hotter and more humid than Washington DC in July: the AMAZON. The first night I was in my bungalow--not much more than mosquito netting on stilts over the Amazon--I literally had a rude awakening. I woke up at about 3AM and thought I had reverted back to being a first grader....Yep, I thought I had pissed myself. Fortunately, it wasn't piss. The Amazon is just that humid. My sheets were drenched from the humidity. Not a little damp. Drenched. I was doing the 200 meter backstroke in my sheets.

I also discovered a corollary to the law of the jungle, ¨eat or be eaten.¨ The new corollary is ¨sweat or be eaten (by mosquitos).¨ I´ve never felt stupider in my life. Here it is 100 degrees, and now 5000% humidity, and I am throwing on shirts, long underwear, a rain coat, long pants, and huge boots. The alternative is not pretty. Our guide showed us some musquitos that were 8 inches big. (Although I´ve been known to exaggerate, I am not kidding about the mosquitos. Some were the size of my hand.) You may be asking yourself ¨why didn´t he just throw on a little insect repellent? It would have saved him from having to re-hydrate via an IV drip every 20 minutes.¨ I was wearing 98% DEET. You can´t find DEET that strong for sale in very many places: perhaps on the black market in Pakistan or from an arms dealer in Moscow. (I got mine in New Jersey....) There is a reason DEET that strong comes with a warning label longer than War and Peace. You can actually feel it burn when you apply it to your skin. Anyway, the DEET advertising is pure crap. The Amazon mosquitos are drawn to that stuff like bears to honey.

All kidding aside, the Amazon is spectacularly gorgeous. I got to see dozens of animals including tucans, parrots, monkeys, three-toed sloths, huge tarantulas, butterflys the size of my head (and you all know how big my noggin is), PINK dolphins, caimans (like an alligator), woodpeckers, and of course piranas. I endured many a cruel joke from the other 6 people on the trip when we went fishing. All were very happy to point out the irony of a lawyer fishing for piranas.

I am back in the airport in Lima, Peru. I fly tonight for Santiago, Chile. There, I will catch an 8 hour bus to take me to Mendoza, Argentina, where I will hopefully be greeted by a slab of dead cow, some french fries, and a glass of Malbec (Argentinian wine). I´ll spend a week there with my a good friend and former co-worker, Robert Telchin. Hopefully, they don´t have mosquitos in Argentina.

As usual, click on this last picture (the water lillies) to see more of the Amazon. Not many pictures turned out well. I will post a second batch in the coming days. Ciao for now.

AMAZON!

Hot as Hell

I made it to Iquitos, a remote city in northern Peru, deep in the heart of the Amazon. Tomorrow, I take a speed boat three hours up the Amazon river. I will spend several days in a bungalow hovering on stilts over the Amazon. I hope to see pink dolphins, piranas, monkeys, and anacondas. I hope even harder that I don´t catch a glimpse of malaria. (Although, malaria might not be that bad; I hear that you get the chills when you have malaria. And it being 110 degrees and 4000% humidity, I wouldn´t mind having the chills right about now....) Be back in contact in several days. Is anybody reading this blog?????

Photo Albums

As promised here are the photo albums from my time with Ben and Libby. Click on each picture to view the album. Again, they are best viewed as slideshows. Enjoy!

Baking in Huaraz

Hiking in the Cordillera Blanca

Musho, Ben and Libby´s Peace Corps Site

Yamiyaco

After our three day hike, Ben and Libby took me to Musho, their Peace Corps site. Musho is a small rural community of approximately 2,000 and lies two hours outside of the regional capital Huaraz.

Most of you already know about the Peace Corps. It is an amazing U.S.-government funded program that sends Americans to other countries to share their knowledge and experience with local communities. I am proud that my dad was a volunteer in the program´s earliest years and that Sarah, my girlfriend, was a volunteer in Panama more recently. These U.S. volunteers face inummerable challenges, including: learning the local language, gaining the community´s trust, overcoming divisions within the community, identifying people´s needs, ensuring that any improvements are sustainable, and more than two years away from friends and family in the United States.

My first day in Musho was ¨World Health Day¨ and I spent it watching Ben and Libby give charlas (workshops) on handwashing and waste management. They were both amazing. Libby created a cartoon story to explain the importance of hand washing to Musho´s children and Ben created a posterboard that highlighted the need to properly dispose of inorganic waste and recyle. They are doing an incredible job in their site. (You can check out a description of their experiences at: http://theadventuresofbenjaminandlibby.blogspot.com/)

The town of Musho is goregeous as it is situated at the base of 21,000-foot Huascaran, Peru´s highest peak.

Ben, Libby, and I spent many hours discussing their work and ways to help the people of Musho. They have been in the town for nearly four months and are still grappling with how they can be most beneficial to the community. Libby is working to improve the health of those living in Musho and the surrounding areas. Ben is charged with helping Musho better manage its resources. Ben and I spent my second day in Musho helping a farmer harvest his potatoes and hiking in the hills above the town. I was sad to leave Musho, as I enjoyed the town and my time with dear friends, Ben and Libby. I am eager to hear of their successes over the next year and a half. Musho has potential, and I am confident that Ben and Libby can harness it.

I am now back in Peru´s capital city of Lima. But I am only here for a few hours because this afternoon I am flying into Iquitos, a remote Peruvian city deep in the Amazon. I am really excited to see the jungle, the river, and all the area has to offer. (P.S. ¨Yamiyaco¨ means ¨how are you?¨ in Quechua, the local language.) I still haven´t had time to upload more photos from the Cordillera Blanca hike or from my time in Musho, but I will do so as soon as I get the chance. Ciao.

Doors of Musho

I spent the last two days in Musho, Ben and Libby´s Peace Corps site in Peru. The roughly 2,000 person pueblo is two hours outside Huaraz. I´ll have more to write about my visit there, but for now I simply wanted to share with you some of the town´s doors.

Loneliness

I am only two weeks into my six month trip. I have been asked repeatedly by people that I have met whether I am traveling with anybody else, whether I am meeting people in the places I am traveling, and whether I am lonely. The answer so far is a simple one: I was only lonely the first night of my trip. Last week was spent with my good friends Ben and Libby. I will spend next week in Argentina with Robert, another good friend. But for the most part I am traveling on my own and meeting awesome people at every turn. That is not to say that I don´t miss Sarah, my family, and my toilet....

¨Rolling¨ through the Cordillera

As I mentioned in my last post, Ben, Libby and I went on a 3-day hiking and camping trip in the Cordillera Blanca. They had set up the hike with Ryan, another Peace Corps volunteer working outisde of Huaraz. Several other Peace Corps volunteers and their friends joined us to form a group of 8 hikers. We began the hike in Hankopampa, Ryan´s Peace Corps site and a small rural town an hour outside of Huaraz. Ben and Libby, professional outdoorspeople, gave me endless grief about my rolling suitcase which doubles as a backpack.

As I also mentioned in my last post, the Cordillera Blanca is a compact set of majestic peaks within the Andes. The Cordillera has a staggering 20 mountains over 18,000 feet. (Note: the tallest peak in the lower 48 states is Mt. Whitney at 14,500 feet.)
We spent the first day hiking to a 12,000 foot high pampa, a flat wide-open space, where we camped for the night. I am wearing a hat and gloves in these pictures for a reason. Nighttime temperatures dropped to freezing and we saw sleet several times over the three days. Although the weather was iffy, we all had a fantastic time. I think the Peace Corps volunteers, Ben and Libby incuded, benefitted from leaving their sites and spending the Semana Santa (Holy Week) holidays in the great outdoors.

The second day was spent hiking up to a glacial lake. Like most other glaciers, this one was receding at an alarming pace. Several times during that day and night, large pieces of the glacier broke away, scaring the hell out of all of us. I don´t have time right now to post all my pictures from the hike, but stay tuned in the coming days. Ciao for now.

Definitely not Kosher for Passover

The flight from Cusco back to Lima and the overnight bus from Lima to Huaraz were uneventful. I left Cusco on the second day of Passover. The previous night I heard there was a seder in Cusco with over 500 attendees (mostly Israelis I presume).

Ben and Libby Skolnik, my friends working in the Peace Corps, graciously met me at the Huaraz bus station at 6AM. I have known Ben since nursery school and Libby, his wife, for several years. We spent most of the day buying groceries and preparing for our 3-day trek in the Cordillera Blanca (¨White Mountain Range¨) just outside of Huaraz. Huaraz is a city of 80,000 people, 8 hours north of Lima. It is a bustling jumping off point for trekers interested in hiking in the Cordillera, a compact mountain range with 20 peaks over 18,000 feet.

The highlight of the day was being invited by a pastry chef, one of Ben and Libby´s friends, to learn how to bake bread in his bakery. Edgar showed us how to properly mix the sugar and yeast, how coffee can be used as a coloring and flavoring agent, and explained how altitude (10,000 feet) affects the bread´s baking time. We chowed on a lot of chocolate croissants, cheese breads, spicy chicken empanadas and hot fresh buns.

Check out our final product! Edgar gave us two loaves and sold the rest.

Hail to the Victors: Machu Picchu

Wow. Absolutely amazing. Although billed as a ¨moderate¨ hike to Machu Picchu, it was anything but. The 5-day trek consisted of mud, rain (even snow), stomach cramps, and 60 miles of hiking at elevations up to 15,000 feet. But damn, was it ever worth it...
Our trekking group consisted of three dry-humored Brits, a lively Brazilian, a chain-smoking Hungarian, a 19 year old Canadian trying to find himself, and an American/Chilean Buddhism teacher. We couldn´t hike the easier and more popular Inca trail because the Peruvian government limits the trail to 500 hikers (including guides and porters) per day. All the Inca Trail slots are filled until June.

We woke up at 5AM each day, ate meals prepared by our guides, and hiked for roughly 10-11 hours before camping under the stars each night. The Andes are incredible because they are not only massive but so lush. Never before had I seen 14,000 feet peaks covered with grasses, banana and palm trees, as well as home to parrots and hummingbirds.

The last morning we woke up at 4AM to climb Machu Picchu (¨Old Mountain¨ in Quechua, the Inca´s language.) We saw the sunrise over Machu Picchu, a magical sight. Most tourists aren´t crazy enough to hike there, so they come by train later in the day. That meant we had the place mostly to ourselves for a few hours.

The Incas were amazing stone masons. Their work has survived, largely intact, for more than 500 years. Fortunately, Machu Picchu was one of the only main Inca sites not discovered by the Spanish. As somebody remarked, if the Spanish had found Machu Picchu, there would probably now be a tacky cathedral way up in the Andes. I feel very fortunate to have seen this place and experienced its wonders. Tomorrow I leave to visit Ben and Libby, my friends in the Peace Corps, 8 hours north of Lima.

If you want to see more of my pictures from this past week, click on this last picture--the one of the gate--and view it as a slideshow. (Alternatively, you can view the pictures by visiting: http://picasaweb.google.es/dkroth1/SelectPicturesFromCuscoMachuPicchu)

Select Pictures from Cusco-Machu Picchu