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.