Peru, Land of the Incas!!!!
Peru has so far been everything I could have dreamed of. The landscape, the people, the spiritual energy of this place is intense! The landscape is so old, some of the terraces were built by pre-Incas. I know it`s not as old as some of the places I have visited in India, but there is a big difference. Some of the places we have visited so far are frozen in time and people still live pretty much the same lifestyle that the Incas might have lived. They farm on the same fields, they grow the same crop, they have very little interaction with the people in the city. It is such a strange feeling…like you`ve gone back in time.

Let me tell you about the experience I had that took me back in time. We took a boat to this island on Lake Titicaca to go for a homestay with some local people. WOW!!! Cant believe how little these people have. It was a good 4 hour journey that took us to this island….(Wow..i have to tell u about something crazy that just happened. I am at an internet café in a small place called Puno and guess what song is playing. Garam masala…a hindi song!!!! I cant believe it. This is too funny. Oh, I miss bollywood)

Back to the island…The boat ride took us past these floating islands made of reed that people actually live on. These people keep rebuilding on top of the reeds every 20 or so days. It`s so strange to see these little communities floating on the lake. So, we arrived at the island we were supposed to stay on and our ´mamas´were waiting to welcome us. Island was called Amantani island, pop 5000. We were introduced to our mama, Celestina, who took us on a really long walk uphill to her house. I swear, I think I am in good shape, but when you have to walk uphill at 3500mts (12000ft), it really takes your breath away. My heart was hammering against my chest like a jackhammer, my mouth was completely dry and I felt faint after this 20 minute walk.( Did I mention, I am starting on the Inca trail in 4 days!!! Hai Ram, its scary!! ) Anyway, after this gruesome walk, we arrived at our mamas house and were shown to our room in the attic. Basically, it was a room with 4 beds and not much else, including electricity!! The toilet was a hole in the ground, and not a very deep hole. Basically, you had to go drown the log that the previous person left!!! It was disgusting.

Our mama brought us some tea, called munia tea, which is really good for altitude sickness. I was willing to give this a try after saying no to coca tea. Coca tea gave me the strangest dreams ever. After the tea, we were taken to the soccer field where the Gringos faced off with the local guys. It was quite funny cheering on the gringos and lemme tell you there were a lot of them. I guess anytime something gets listed on the Lonely Planet, it becomes part of the gringo trail. After the soccer game, we started our 1.5 km trek up the hill to watch the sunset. The highest point was 4900 mts, the same as the highest point on the inca trail. It wasn`t that hard climbing up this hill and this time it was the view at the top that took my breath away. Reminded me a lot of Saturna island back home, except for the terrace farmlands!!!

Dinner time was something I was absolutely dreading. I can sleep anywhere, use any kind of rankus mungus toilet, but when it comes to eating, I don`t like funny smells. We went to the kitchen to see if we could help our mama cook. She refused but welcomed us to sit in the kitchen. She was cooking on an open fire stove and the smell was quite overpowering. She gave us quinoa soup, with potatoes and vegetables. It tasted much better than it looked and I forced it down my throat all the time saying ´sinchi sumay´meaning it is delicious!! After the dinner experience, our mama took us to our room and began the process of dressing us in their traditional attire. We only got two skirts, but apparently these women wear upto 20 skirts at one time. WOW! That would be one heck of a long stripping session! So, we got two skirts and a long shirt tucked in these skirts. There was a belt that was tightly wound around our waists to make them look tiny…felt like a corset!!! Then, we got a shawl (can I say it fucking stank!!!) to keep warm! All dolled up, we walked to the dance hall with our head torches lighting our way. It was so much fun, dancing like crazy people, with the Peruvians. We danced till about 10:30 and called it a nite. What a crazy nite it was. Poured like cats and dogs all nite on our tin roof. It was a really cold, wet, loud, sleepless nite!

In the morning, we got pancakes and Fanny jam for breakfast. Yes, the jam was called Fanny 100% guaranteed!!! Everyone needs a little bit of fanny in their life and I got mine this morning. After breakfast, our mama walked us to the boat dock. I was really happy to say goodbye to the island and return back to civilization. It was an amazing experience but not something I would like to repeat. I cannot believe what for me was an experience for one night is their life. It is a very tough life and I really admire these people for living it with big smiles on their faces!!!

Tomorrow, we head out to Cusco, the party capital of Peru. We are gonna be there for 2 days before heading out to the Sacred Valley, where we begin our ascent on the Inca Trail on New Year`s eve!!! Will write my next blog next year. Thanks a lot to all of you for sending me such lovely wishes for Christmas. It`s nice to know that even though I am so far away, I am still in your thoughts. Ashlu, are you listening??? I miss you loads!!!

Feliz Navidad everyone!!!! It`s been three months since I embarked on this crazy adventure. I remember leaving Vancouver, saying goodbye to all my friends and family and especially Ashlu…it was all so sad and extremely scary!!! I remember thinking why I was leaving this comfortable life I am living with people that I love. But I know why…because sometimes your heart knows more than you do at a conscious level. I knew I had a yearning for travelling, seeing new places, meeting new people…hoping that somewhere along my journey I will find some reason why I am here. Who I am, what I want, which direction I want my life to go. But I have realized that the more answers I receive, the more questions arise. I have learned one thing…one big thing..and that is to accept the cards that life has dealt me. To make the most of it in the present moment without fretting about the future. I don’t know what the future has in store for me…its all so uncertain. But I have learned that uncertainity is the breeding ground for evolvement. I have to live in the present, enjoy the spectacular ride and plan for the future but not get overwhelmed by it.

So, let me tell you about my amazing ride in the last few days. Bolivia, esp LaPaz was probably the dirtiest, stinkiest, weirdest city I have visited on this journey. But it is definitely also one of the cities that boasts character. This is one city that is not trying to be European, not trying to be hip, it is very south American!!! The clothing, the attitude, the food. Speaking of food…can I say its all about Llamas, Alpacas, Guinea Pigs!! The worst of it all is they sell this food on the street. Llamas fucking stink like death!! Went to the witch`s market where they sell all kind of scary stuff like dried out Llama skeletons, llama fetuses, and then some normal stuff like alpaca fur scarfs, sweaters and shit. The kinda stuff that screams BACKPACKERS!!! I resisted the temptation but both Sponge and Jess are now certifiably backpackers and I am not just talking about their clothes…

Christmas arrived in La Paz. We wandered around the city square looking for xmas celebrations. It was very tame though, with the exception of street markets that sold really trashy plastic toys and decorations for Christmas. We did find a Latino Santa to ask him to bring us gifts for xmas. I only asked for one thing but didn’t get it. Ashlu, are you listening? Two nites before xmas was really sad coz we again had to say our goodbyes. I hate saying goodbyes, esp when you know you are never gonna see these people again. Said goodbye to Maharani, Jose, Jason and Jerry. Now, we are on the last leg of the tour. The next 21 days it`s just the 10 of us and Geraldine, our tour leader. So, we went out for a big nite out to say our goodbyes. Met loads of people, danced like crazy, drank a lot…a great great fun nite out!!! The next day though was depressing and we all walked around moping until that nite. Went out dancing again and met loads of backpackers. On Christmas eve, we went out for a turkey dinner to a place called Mongos. We were all feeling a little restless and out of place all day so we decided to start drinking early…around 5 pm. Watched Christmas music on tv, drank, donned our santa hats and headed out for our Christmas dinner. Once we got there, it felt a bit more normal coz there were a lot of other people doing the exact same thing as us.

Next morning, on Christmas day, we headed out early to catch our bus to Puno, in Peru. The bus took us through beautiful, yet depressing Bolivian countryside. It was depressing coz at each bend, there were little kids begging for money. I was thinking the contrast was so strange…back home kids would have been opening beautiful gifts from Santa and for the kids here it was just another day. Just another day of trying to get some food. We do live in a very privileged world and should really be grateful for everything little thing we have.

The bus journey brought us to Lake Titicaca, the highest lake in the world, at 3900 mts. We stopped in a little town for some lunch and then boarded another bus that took us across the border to Peru. Peru is the 9th country I would be visiting on this journey so far. In Bariloche, Argentina I was going through such a hard time that I almost called it quits. But the only thing that kept me going was the thought of coming to Peru and going on the Inca trail. I had to keep going and I am so glad and so proud of myself for staying strong and continuing my journey.

More adventure than we bargained for....

So, after chilling out and partying for 2 days, I was ready to feel the adrenaline rush through my body again. So, I went and booked myself for a paragliding adventure. Me, and 4 others in my group got up real early and headed out to the cliff where we were supposed to jump off of. It was about a 2 hour ride where u see nothing at all for miles. Just barren mountains and fields as far as eye can see. But then suddenly, we`d see some random person walking. Where the hell were these people coming from and where the hell were they walking to? There was nothing, literally NOTHING for miles and miles. But apparently, that`s what Bolivians do. Since they dont have any money to afford cars or even public transport, they just walk from one town to another...no matter how far they might have to walk.

So, we were driving along this paved road and suddenly we veered off onto yet another dirt path which is not really a road. This path was going to take us to the top of the mountain. And, I think this was the scariest drive ever. Nothing but a sheer cliff and an asshole of a driver, who thought it was hillarious how the gringos were getting scared. Anyway, got to the top of the mountain and had to walk through some poor village`s crops to get to the edge of the cliff. They set up their instruments for guaging the wind force and directions. Now, back home I`d seen these instruments had a bunch of dials and numbers on them. But here in Bolivia, they think a stick in the ground with some toilet paper on it does the trick. So, first up was Anthony a.k.a Raton (mouse in spanish) and he was strapped in. THe guide told him to start running when the toilet paper was flapping in his direction. And then he was off!!! It looked really scary the way he ran to the edge of the cliff. So, after watching this, I was beginning to have second thoughts about my decision. When the time came for me to jump...i was panicking! I sat by myself and thought of all the reasons I couldn`t do it...and not one made any sense. SO, i strapped myself in and when the toilet paper faced me, and my guide told me to run...i fucking ran!!! It was the weirdest feeling to keep running to the edge of the cliff when everything inside you is yelling at you to stop. And then before i knew it I was floating, rising, flying!!!! It was incredible. I felt like all the burden of fear was left on the ground and I was free like a bird! I felt like a bird, coz i couldnt see anything but the ground...couldnt see the seat i was strapped in, couldnt see the parachute, couldnt see the guide. We swooshed around for about 10 mins and then came time for landing. My guide told me to run as soon as we touched the ground...and I told him there was no way I was gonna do that. And sure enough...i landed PLOP on my ass! Apparently, as per John and Ayesha who were watching me land, I bounced a couple of times! Imagine coming down from about 2000ft and landing on ur ass! It doesnt feel good....but it was quite funny.

After me, was Sponge and then the real adventure began. After she landed, we were waiting for the asshole driver to come down the mountain and get us so we could head back to our hotel. We waited for 2 hours for the ride that should have taken only 20 mins. Raton was in the van with the driver so were really starting to get worried. We were sure that he went over the cliff or something. Now, it was 4 of us gringos and our spanish speaking guide in the middle of a tiny village with literally 10 houses, no cars, no telephones, no water. After 2 hours, we decided we had to take some action...so we started to make our way to the street. We decided to hitchike and after our guide got rejected a couple of times, I had to take over. I flagged down a construction truck and in my really broken spanish and a lot of flirty eyes I begged him to take us with him. He agreed and we hopped in the back of the truck. This was the funniest thing...every time we hit a pothole (and we hit a lot of them), a cloud of dust would arise and completely envelope us. I have never been so dusty and dirty and stinky in my life. It was a load of fun but we were still worried about Raton. But when we got back to the hotel, Raton showed up. Apparently the jeep had broken down and they had to walk down the cliff face, and hitchhike their way back to the hotel. So, then now we had a good excuse to drink!!! To celebrate our adventure. Today, I am doing absoluetly nothing...taking a day off from my vacation. Gonna catch up on my emails, read, watch tv, heal my sore ass. Just chill chill, just chill!!!

On another note, life has been really good in general. Have been reading loads, getting a lot of love from back home. Parents, family, friends are filling up my life with love. Life is a mystery, ain't it?

From the driest desert in the world, thru the salt flats above the andes to the highest and the most depressing city in the world...what a journey it`s been in the last 10 days. After the last posting, we went to the oasis in the Atacama desert. The place looked like something out of this world, another planet, maybe what I would imagine the lunar surface to look like. It was weird how there was this real touristy town in the middle of nowhere. We rented bikes and decided to go sand boarding. The bike ride was real tough coz of the altitude (2900meters) and a little bit of exertion was making us dizzy. But sand boarding was rather fun but not an experience I would like to repeat. I can`t say I am a fan of having sand in my chucha (the spanish word for u know what!!)But I did enjoy visiting the inca ruins and the bike riding although at the end of the day I had a very sore and very sandy chucha. Had to put on pants saying ´closed for business´!

Atacama desert was our last stop in Chile and so the next morning we made our way to Bolivia. The Bolivian-Chilean border crossing is the funniest thing I`ve ever seen in my life. It's at approximately 12000ft and there is absolutely nothing there but a little office where they pretend to check ur passport. Anyway, we had our breakfast at this border crossing and set out in 3 4x4's to cross the antiplano (area above the andes) over the next three days. THe drive was breathtaking...green lagoons, red lagoons, white lagoons, flamingoes, llamas!! The pics speak for themselves coz it`s hard to put such beauty in words. We drove and drove for three days, stopping to take pics of these beautiful sites, staying the night in weird villages in the middle of nowhere! Finally after two days of driving we arrived at the salt hotel. This hotel is made of salt bricks...trust me I checked. The walls tasted very salty!! Beautiful hotel..but by this time all of us were exhibiting signs of altitude sickness...tiredness, headache, nausea, vomiting! But the troopers that we are, we drank some hardcore BOlivian alcohol and made the most of the nite. THe next morning started at 4 am to go see the sunrise. It was the most spectacular experience..to be sitting on what used to be an island in the middle of a salt lake and watching the sunrise. Sitting on top of the hill, u could see nothing but salt as far as eye could see. It looked like a sea of salt! Hard to imagine there used to be water and marine life there at one time. Very surreal! But after the sunrise, we set out on one of the longest journey`s of my trip. We drove and drove for hours and arrived in Potosi, the highest city in the world, at 11 pm. The bus that took us to Potosi was so battered that it was a miracle it could even drive on a flat road let alone the heights it was scaling! It was the most nerve wracking journey...sheer cliff on one side and a high mountain on the other, in the dark, with no lights. We were on what could definitely not pass for a road. It was at best a very narrow dirt road with two way traffic and lots of Llamas on it. When we came upon any oncoming traffic, our driver would stop the bus, get out with his flashlight to see how far we were from the edge of the cliff and to see if we were gonna be able to cross without going over the edge. In the end the decision would be made to cross each other real fast and see whatever happens! Gives the term living on the edge a whole new meaning!! I read my book (with a flashlight coz there were no lights inside the bus) to keep myself occupied with something other than the harrowing drive.

Finally, arrived in Potosi, a very dark, depressing, sad city. The city is known for its silver mines and we went to visit these mines, which again would have to be one of the most depressing things I`ve done on my trip so far. THe people working in the mines are as young as 12 y.o. and their average lifespan is about 10 to 20 years. SO, a kid who starts working in the mines at 12 should not expect to live past 30. These people work 12 to 14 hours a day, 7 days a week!! Very sad...went straight from the mines back to the hotel to drown our sorrows in alcohol. Just so happened it was Maharani`s birthday. We had a cake waiting for her and starting drinking at about 5pm. What started as a sad, depressing day ended up being quite a fun filled, eventful day after all. There`s so much we have to thank alcohol for :)

At the moment we are in Sucre, the capital of BOlivia. It`s a much better city than Potosi, especially our hotel. It`s a beautiful, colonial style hotel with a courtyard. Last nite was a crazy nite since we had three birthdays to celebrate. Went out drinking, followed by some real bad drunken karyoking. I can`t believe we actually got up on the stage in a club and sang `girls just wanna have fun`. It was hillarious how all the other people there were so serious about their singing. It was almost like they were auditioning for American Idol or something. But we had a great time and made total asses of ourselves. After that we went to a club and danced till 5 in the morning. Drank too much, and unfortunately smoked too much as well. My lungs and liver are recuperating today. TOmorrow I am finally gonna go jump off a cliff...i mean go paragliding! A little bit scared but mostly looking forward to it. Will keep u posted on how it goes.

THE TALES OF GUAVA (my new nickname):
So here I am again after three weeks of no blogging...and what an amazing journey I`ve been through..both physical and emotional. I have pushed myself to the edge both physically and emotionally and have come back triumphant!!! I pity the people who dont rise to challenges in their lives for the fear of the unknown, for the fear of losing, for the fear of not making it!!! But I have decided never to live my life like that any longer coz each time u r faced with a hurdle in your life, and each time u think u can`t make it past this one, and each time u pull yourself together and make it past it, you get stronger!!! I have surprised myself with my own inner strength...I have learned so much about myself and what I am capable of. Ashley, you will be very proud to know that I have not used any valium since I last spoke to you. I have found a good replacement for valium...i.e. running! I have started running in the mornings and I need to thank Michael for that. Michael has been a great source of inspiration and motivation in my life. It is amazing how when u need people in your life, they just turn up. For someone who doesnt travel long term, its hard to understand how anyone can not have fun on their vacation. There is a huge difference between travelling and vacations. When u r travelling for months on end, just moving from one place to another, away from your friends and family, away from anything ´normal´it can get a bit overwhelming sometimes. I have always said that I am the luckiest person I know and I still believe that. I have met some amazing people who have extended themselves to me...my fav five so far are Brett, Marisa aka Crazy, Jennifer aka Sponge Bob aka Spongy, Carolina aka Maharani and Michael who calls me Goddess Ria. I can`t say I have a problem with that name. Marisa is a rock, strong, independent, funny, caring. Reminds me a lot of you Larissa and her best friend`s name is also Laura :) Spongy is a goofball. If I am sad, she makes me laugh, mostly at my expense. But she`ll make goofy faces, dance like sponge bob, has an amazing sense of humor and I love her. She reminds me a lot of Ashley, they share the same birthday and also the same sense of humor, and the same pasty white colored skin. For example, she said to me today if I needed to go read this morning. I know only Ashley will get that joke but I am glad I have her with me for most of the trip. HI I AM THE SPONGE, AND APPARENTLY I AM A GOLFBALL, VERY WHITE AND A LITTLE BIT ROUND! Lol! Sorry, the sponge just took over writing and she`s laughing at me...AGAIN for being so cheesy! Anyway, moving on...Carolina is our trainee tour leader and she always is there to listen to me and also to provide us good material for humor. I must admit, she is the butt of a lot of jokes me and spongy come up with. She has such a cute Spanish accent and we make fun of her coz we think she is in love with a guy on our tour. Michael is an inspiration, when we go running, we talk about a lot of stuff that a lot of men won`t talk about. The fact that he is gay may make him a little bit more in touch with his feelings. Me and him share the same birthday so I think he has a very clear insight into my personality. He knows all my insecurities, my passions, my ambitions, without me really voicing it to him. He has really helped me figure out what I might wanna do with my life. And last but not least, Brett. Brett is such a fine human being, he really extends himself to people in his life. He is so positive and everytime we chat, or email, his optimism rubs off on me. I am so lucky that I have been able to make such great life long friends.

Now lemme tell u about what I have been up to in the last three weeks. I have been white water rafting, canopying, almost went paragliding but the weather was too unstable to jump off the cliff so i`ll have to do that in Sucre, climbed a volcano 4000 ft in one day, went horse back riding! It`s amazing when I look back at my life and I wonder where all that fear came from. And all the amazing experiences I was denying myself because of inexplicable fears. Climbing that volcano was absolutely fantastic. It took us 4 hours to do the climb. First we had to get to the base and we had to do that on a chair lift. My first time on the chair life was last April with Ashley in Whistler. I was so scared and it was only on a little bunny hill. This was a very high chair lift and the kicker was it didn`t even have a bar. I was amazed at how relaxed I was. The climb was tough, zig zagging our way up the snow covered mountain. Every time I looked up, the climb looked really daunting, but every time I looked back, it was breathtaking and would encourage me to keep going. But when I made it to the top, I was in tears. I could not believe the beauty of nature. I was standing at the top of the volcano, on the snow, looking inside the crater, while the earth roared and spit out hot molten lava literally a hundred feet away from me. We went for a bit of a walk along the edge of the crater. I was right behind the guide at this point and I asked him if he realized that what we were doing was absolutely insanely crazy. We were walking on the edge of the crater, not wide enough for two people to walk side by side. On one side of this ledge was the crater (no fence around it) emitting hot lava, on the other side was snow covered cliffs. Either way you fell, you were not gonna come out alive! It was exhilirating and the downhill sliding was so much fun. I have never felt so much like a kid for a long time. We wore these bum sliders on our bums and literally slid down the 8000 feet of snow with nothing but an ice axe to slow us down. Obviously in the beginning i was a bit scared of the speed and I kept using my axe to slow myself down. But as I got used to it, it was so much fun and i forgot to use my axe. Loved it but I have to say that was probably the max I can physically push my body to do in one day. Until ofcourse the Inca trail.

Chile is one of the most beautiful countries. We went to the end of the Pan American highway and Michael was gonna take a pic of me trying to hitchhike at the end of the highway. But we couldn`t find a sign that indicated the end of the highway. Penguins were beautiful when we finally got to the island of Chiloe. It was literally at the bottom of the earth. Tonite a 16 hour bus ride will take us to the desert oasis of Atacama. It is the driest desert in the world. We are gonna take horses into the valley of the moon. After that we make our way to the salt flats of BOlivia. But I will write about it when I have done that. There wont be any kind of communication with the outside world for a few days. BUt i am going to continue blogging from now on. Thanks a lot for ur love and support.