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.