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.
It´s been 5 days in Santiago, Chile. I think this is the longest I have stayed in one place thus far in South America. Today I am off to Valparaiso because the locals tell me that I¨must go there¨...
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.
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.
There are parts of Lima that are quite cosmopolitan (Miaflores, San Isidro and Barranco). I probably could have stayed an additional day or two to further explore but I found myself getting bored. Any city that is like a city is like a knock off of New York City, the best city in the world! Lol.. homage to home.
So I woke up this morning and was aching to get to Huacachina for some sand boarding. So here I am. After checking in I strolled over to the backyard of my hotel. It was sand. I took a few more vacillant steps only to suddenly stop and stare at the sky. It was pitch black with only a tint of light emanating from the few scattered stars and the quarter moon in the sky. At first glance, my eyes could not fathom what was standing in front of me. My brain had to struggle a few seconds to figure out the lines that were shaping the now portentous sky... it then registered.. these lines were of the mammoth sand dunes that looked like a tidal wave of water ready to crush down on me and this entire oasis at any minute should there by a shift in the earth´s crust. I gasped in fear... literally... the word ¨oh my god¨released from my mouth without any volition. It´s sound a bit dramatic but this is because I have a serious phobia of tsunamis. My backyard looks like a tsunami of sand. I´m blogging as a form of fear therapy really. I´m afraid to go outside... because I know my feet will lead me back to this sight... (I´m disturbed that way)
Hopefully tomorrow will make it better. There will be light and even the most ominous things are naked (and at times beautiful) in the light... especially when it´s suppose to looks like this...
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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