I don't remember much of Ecuador.. well, perhaps since I breezed through that country faster than the others. I have to say though that the traditional Ecuadorian women on my way to Cuenca were by far the most fantastically dressed folks I saw in South America. Dressed typically in hand-woven skirts, dark fedoras and long shawls, they were too cool for school! (mean that seriously) My only regret is that I didn't take any photos of these women.. I was busy admiring to take out my camera. I found this photo online and thought her face was just beautiful. Not quite the too cool for school attire that I wanted to share but who cares when you have a face like this .
Lima.. eeek!!! I don't think I will visit Lima ever again. The car traffic, the human traffic, the bland colors painted all over the city, I stayed for 2 nights and immediatley left for Ica. I would like to believe that I missed the better part of Lima somewhere but I highly doubt it.
The only reason why people go to Ica is to go to Huacachina (the "oasis" of the Americas) Yes, it's worth it and so is the sandbuggying. My sunglasses went flying off my face during the ride. I thought it was lost forever somewhere in the vast sand dunes... but nothing is lost forever when it is meant to be found. After staying in Huacachina for two nights I checked into a hotel in Ica for an anticipated one night. This hotel was suppose to be one of the best in town but when I arrived I felt like I was transported back in time. The lobby was decorated straight from a 60s catalogue yet they blasted music from the 80s all day and night. I felt confused and nostalgic at the same time. I loved every minute of staying in that hotel and kept hanging out in the lobby near the sound system to soak up this most definite eerie feeling that I couldn't shake. Although.. I'm sure the sight of an Asian girl pacing the lobby and touching all the furniture only to occasionally stop and paste her ear to the boom box as she started to mouth the words to Love Bites by Def Leppard was probably eerie in itself for the staff.
Okay, this post is long. I shall cease my ramblings for now.
I'm having serious insomnia. I figure its from my brain being so ancy since I have been home. My body has restored its balance but now my brain is on overdrive. I need to move... need to move. I am leaving for Europe on Sunday. Sadly it is only for 2 weeks since I need to be back in the states in mid-November. Thank goodness for my fellow insomniatic friends and time zone differences to keep me company at night.
MA: Are you asleep yet?
SB: No. I'm blogging now.
MA: That's what you should have been doing.
SB: What you didn't like my ramblings?
MA: They should have been refined.
SB: Snob
I think my body is finally recovering from the past two months of living out of my backpack.. I have been trying to recover with plenty of sleep, good Korean food, catching up with people and of course, entertainment. Saw an excellent performance at BAM the other day. Then neutralized it with an annoying film last night Landmark. The only highlight was seeing Joseph Gordon-Levitt sitting a few rows down. He's such a talented young actor - I want to eat him.
While in Santiago one evening I met this young woman. What started off as an act of kindness on her part (I was lost and she offered to find my hotel with me) ended up being an all night event. We grabbed a few drinks and began to talk about life. I promised her that I would visit Valparaiso before I left Chile, apparently her favorite place. Next day I jumped on a 2 hour bus ride to this unfamiliar city. I was dropped off in the middle of town. For the next 45 minutes I walked around town with only one thought in mind - WHY?? why was she so adamant that I visit this city? It was like any other city.. No, if anything, it was less attractive than other cities I had seen. I started to get annoyed.. Was I missing something?! That is when I looked up... literally. Perched up in the hills I saw hundreds of colorful little houses linked by these old funiculars (cliff rails). How cute, I thought.. Why not?! I decided..
The cerros of Valparaiso is the first place in South America I thought, "I could live here". Actually.. more like I can run away here should I ever want to live a quiet hermit existence. I felt like I was transported to a little magical city full of pastel color homes. Strolling through the labyrinth of cobblestone streets and hidden alleyways, I couldn't help but wonder about all the other little gems out there hidden behind the trees and facade of the big city lights.. Life is much more enjoyable when you find the beauty often hidden behind the surface of things..
This internet service at this hotel is horrid! I will do my real sum up of South America when I return to the states... speaking of which, I couldn´t fall asleep last night. I was tossing and turning thinking about returning to the states. My flight is tonight and I am wondering, what´s next?? Asia or Europe.. Europe or Asia... I don´t know. I will toss and turn a little more on my flight home...
Today was bizarre. Somehow I found myself spending the entire afternoon outside a cafe in Buenos Aires with a recovering heroin addict, a crack whore, alcoholic and junkie. No seriously. The crack whore (I don´t mean to be cruel but that is what she was) approached me while I was sipping my expresso and reading the paper. ¨You want to talk?¨ ¨Umm.. okay¨ I responded. ???? what the heck???
She had been clean for the past 45 days and counting, hence, her severe outbreak of blemishes all over her face. About 30 minutes into the conversation I discover that she is the actual Narcisa of Jonathan Shaw´s new book. I further discover that John is sitting in the next table with his editor, Den, going over his book.
2 hours later.. Narcisa invites her friend to come hang with us. The friend also a writer and recovering junkie, who published her first book at the age of 19, happens to be the daughter of a famous Brazilian writer.
3 hours later... Jonathan and Den are robbed right next to us. I see John running after one of the robbers while Den is chasing after the other. The robbers are caught. Mucho drama!
5 hours later... we are still sipping coffee outside the cafe recanting our nightmare stories of Buenos Aires. It appears the junkie writer was robbed twice since she arrived in Buenos Aires 2 days ago. The editor was abducted, shot at and assaulted during his time in Buenos Aires. Me, yeah, well I´m just super duper lucky!
Finally.. my last leg of the trip in South America. I arrived safely to Buenos Aires this morning. I was not planning on staying in Santiago for that long but I quickly found myself getting use to the place.
More updates soon..
Pardon this brief interruption of this very important news: THE SECRET MACHINES ALBUM IS OUT TODAY!!! I´m addicted to their new album.. actually, I´m addicted to this song: Now You´re Gone - by The Secret Machines. Go Getz It Nowz..!
Thank you.
Yesterday on my way to downtown Santiago I passed by a little outdoor market. In the back of the market was a beaten up old sound stage with a barely there sign ¨Artesian Chilean¨. On stage was a man in his late 30s playing his acoustic guitar. He proceeded to play song after song for over an hour. His voice was gentle and beautiful. He reminded me of the Chilean version of Jose Gonzalez from Sweden. This music was certainly a nice break from all the new wave 80s music I had heard my entire time here. However, what made this moment memorable was not the singing (although beautiful) but the other man on stage. He was actually off stage but to me he was the star of the show. An elderly gentleman in his 70s with a vibrant blue scarf around his neck kept pacing near the stage with something in his hand. I didn´t realize at first but I should have known when he, too, stayed until the end.. clapping enthusiastically song after song. He would cautiously approach anyone that would stay and watch his son perform on stage. He would then take out the two cds in his pocket and present it to anyone that might be interested. He eventually held unto those cds until the very end. He would wipe the leaflet cover every now and again to make sure it was presentable. It didn´t matter for me. I wanted to meet the man who was so incredibly proud of his son on stage singing before an audience of one.
I´m sure these two cds in my pocket are the best purchases I have made thus far in South America. I cannot wait to return home next week to play them.
Colca Canyon was brutal!!! I thought my heart was going to burst out of my cage last night. Needless to say, I didn´t get an ounce of sleep as a result. I always heard of people getting really sick due to altitude sickness... oh man, I get it now. It hurts just to take a step let alone walk down a street. I was going to head to Puno tonight but I have decided to nix that idea. Puno is worse in altitude.. about 4000 metres... I won´t make it out of the bus station without fainting if I go to Puno... lol
No more altitude PLEASE!!!!!
A new travel friend I met in Quito emailed me to inquire whether I was in Africa by now. I have zipped through cities in record time.. its crazy actually! I feel like I am always on the road.. I´m sad to report that I will not have enough time to go to Macchu P. I know.. how can a person come to Peru and not go there?! I tried numerous times to schedule it in but somehow timing just didn´t work out... I´m further disappointed to inform some of you that know why I came to South America first that I will not be partaking in that ceremony as well... This only means that I must come back and do this next time..
As for the next few days, I have arrived in Arequipa today and am already in the Colca Canyon trying to acclimatize to this crazy altitude.. I hope to see a Condor or two tomorrow before heading to Puno to hang on the islands.. if I ever get there. I hope to post some photos when I arrive in Chile on Thursday. Can´t wait to get to Santiago!
One minute I´m in Lima and the next in Huacachina. I spent a total of 2 days in Lima and that was enough for me. The traffic in Lima is RIDICULOUS!!! It reminded me of rush hour in New York all over again. I always wondered how KIA Motors stayed in business since no one buys their cars. Yep, now I know.. Peru is their number one fan.
I´m beat once again. 4 hours on a bus from Cuenca to Guayaquil only to then jump on a plane down to Lima. Off to explore the city... No photo post for now but I did receive a friend´s photos from his trip this summer. Enjoy!
http://www.johnnyfogg.com/
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