Last Hoorah in Lima

The final final par-tay! As we moved on back to Lima, we weren't really sure anything could top our surfing experience. But once again, that proved to be wrong. We quickly indulged ourselves with fine food and salsa dancing in Barranco. Soren was off to the market to find his appropriate attire and us ladies enjoyed getting dolled up by the locals one last time. This night was a huge celebration for many occasions. Not only was it was Kristin's B-day, but it was the last night of our trip. And we were able to share this experience with our dear friends.
First we wined and dined savoring the experience, then quickly hit the dance floor. Party like you just don't stop! That's right, all night long! It ended at about 4 in the morning with beers on the patio. Cheers!!
The next day, our last day, we basked in the sun, hit the markets, and relaxed in our cozy hostel reminiscing about our trip.
We headed off to the airport and said our goodbyes. Monica, Kristin, and Soren were on the same flight to Florida continuing the card game madness of shithead, rummy, uno, and james bond, all staples of the journey!
What a crazy, wonderful and wild whirlwind the trip was! It's truly hard to believe that five months can honestly feel like the blink of an eye. We miss our friends but are so incredibly appreciative of the people we've met and their kindness and to have been able to have this experience and share some of our stories with you all. Watch out for the debut of "Mullet Man" "Afternoon Delight" and "Travellin" the newest and best hits of Los Dos. We miss you America Del Sur and all of our dear friends there and we'll be baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack.

mas San Bartolo

Surf's Up in San Bartolo

Yay! We all met up in Lima to figure out our next step either heading north or south for some surf. It was weird being in Lima again where the trip started almost five months. It was just like old times staying in our same hostel www.friendshouse.com and getting back to old routines of running along the cliffs, eating fresh papaya/mango, and enjoying our homemade breakfast, but now we had two new faces finishing the trip with us, Soren and Tracy.
After a little research we decided the southern coastal area would best suit our surfing needs. Tracy found an amazing posh hostel right on the edge of a cliff in a well known surfing town of San Bartolo called H110. When we first heard the pricing of 170 soles=$56 bucks per night por todos, our eyes enlarged a bit, since we were use to paying 30 soles=$10 bucks per person per night in Peru, but with a little bargaining we were able to talk them down a bit and turned our time there into a birthday celebration for Kristin. Happy Birthday Granny!
The pimp condo pad was top floor overlooking the bay area, equipped with two huge bedrooms, two bathrooms, dining room, living room, patio, full kitchen. two pools, and a hot surfer willing and ready to take us out for a ride.
Once we settled into our new home, we quickly found a local renting surfboards. Since we were beginners, except Soren, we were told to stay far right away from the rocks. Soren gave us a quick briefing on paddling, catching the wave sets, and reaching our ultimate goal of standing up. Here we go! First wave is on it's way and it's a big one, (about 4 ft mas o menos) big enough to put fear into our entire bodies. With Soren yelling "paddle," we three ladies paddled fast and hard, so hard we all did what they call "flying over the handle bars" and over our boards to get tossed like ragdolls in a washing machine. As Monica and Tracy were trying to grasp for air, the set of waves kept coming and they got pummeled wave after wave. Kristin was not in sight and a moment of panic stuck the air. Tracy sprung into action following emergency protocol, while doing so she managed to step on a sea urchin. Meanwhile, Kristin was not missing, she had caught the next wave and road it all the way to shore. Soren and Monica finally noticed from afar Kristin paddling back into the waves with a huge smile on her face. After all the excitement of our first wave, we realized the current had taken us a little farther left than we should have been. We all paddled back out into the blue and had a great time, and accomplished our goal of standing up! Righteous!
This time of year, San Bartolo is a ghosttown, so our nights there were accompanied with our personal Chef Soren, live music performance by Monica Whittington & Los Dos, and a dance party lead by Tracy Warner and the rest of the crew. We lived like what felt like royalty for those few days and had to head back to Lima to have our final final and wrap up the trip.

Sorata

Oh the fresh air again! Sorata is a magical little jungle town at the foot of the high peak of Illampu on the otherside of the Cordillera Real and on the edge of the Yungas. We ended up staying in this place for almost a week and could've stayed longer but had to move on due to friends coming in. Our first adventure was walking along a dirt road surrounded by 20,000 ft peaks, beautiful blue river below, and saw a circus monkey on a rope, where we ended up at a bat cave, which was Kristin's favorite part (NOT)! Inside was a big lagoon complete with paddle boat for 5 bolivianos per ride, and we wasted no time hopping in and paddling around.
Second adventure, we hired a guide with a mule and hiked to Lago Challata and camped out among Incan Ruins and soaring condors. Monica had an alien in her belly and so could not move onto the higher lake, Lago Glacier, with Soren and Kristin.

Kristin & Soren
At sunrise the next morning, we moved on the submit and reach Lago Glacier, which is a little over 15,000 ft. We both managed the hike extremely well considering the high elevation and occasional steep inclines. When we reached the top we had lunch while enjoying in the breathtaking views of Lago Titicaca and the face of Mt. Illampu. When the clouds starting to roll in when headed down the mountain to check on our little friend with an allen in her belly. Pobrecita!

Because our guide had a futbol game early the next day, his 60 or 70 year old father hiked up in sandals to meet us and guide us down the mountain. Tired, hungry, and exhausted, we arrived back into the little town of Sorata and fell into our beds to reenergize ourselves and enjoy the rest of our stay there. We were told that the father was the first guide in this area of the Cordillera Real range! This family are descendants of the Aymara culture, which is still a thriving community. They spoke the ancient language of Aymara all weekend, which is only one of the 30+ national languages spoken across Bolivia. To the ear, it is very beautiful and sounds almost like a native american langauge.

Sorata/Mt. Ilampu...an outdoor paradise

La Paz

The transition from a tropical paradise to the big busy city was an interesting one. Upon arriving, on a Saturday afternoon, we decided to let loose and paint the town brown. Mind you, La Paz sits around 12,000 ft and we stayed on probably the 10Th floor of our hostel. As we settled in, we indulged in some new hot outfits that would make Romi and Michelle blush and warmed up with a few brews and a few bottles of wine. We then headed out for a night of salsa and cumbia with a good buzz and our dancing shoes on.
Romi and Michelle outfits: 100 bucks
Cumbia cover charge: 15 bucks
Tequila shots: 40 bucks
Wine: 20 bucks
Pisco sours: 10 bucks
Lost Camera: 250 bucks (hence no photos!)
Memory loss and one crazy night in the capital of Bolivia: priceless!!

The next day, we all had one hell of a hangover and stayed in our hostel watching bad American shows and cheesy music videos. Note to self: Hydration is KEY at high elevation. Needless to say, we survived. We explored the city a bit, visited a few markets (including the witch's market), ate local trucha (trout), literally ran into our friend Colin in the streets and skipped on outta there, heading to the mountains.

true Paradise @ Ginger´s

For the over two years, Kristin has been researching and contacting this farm in Bolivia. The day finally came to make a small dream come true. We arrived at the farm after a short stay in Samaipata, beautiful subtropical mountain town a few hours away, where we also picked up the new member to our traveling crew, Soren. To get to the farm, you have to cross a very high bridge over the river. If you are lucky enough, as we were, you might spot cars in the river. It happens every few weeks where a car will turn the corner too fast and fly off the road and into the river. From the seatbelts and tires, Cristobal (the father of the farm) makes sandals.
We crossed the bridge and were welcomed by the family with an all vegetarian lunch made fresh from the garden. After, we got our asses to work. We picked up hoes and dug in the dirt, harvested, planted, fed the horses and learned a little about growing cycles. Then one day we decided we didn´t want to hoe no mo! With the sun shining bright, we played by the river in the natural water slides and laid naked as jay birds. One day we ventured off into the jungle, with machete in hand, and hiked to a prestine 25 meter waterfall. All along the way we were guided by butterflies of every color!
The farm is nestled in a jungle valley surrounded by thick jungle and a towering red rock. In their garden is just about anything you could imagine. They harvest the only hibiscus in Boilivia and make bomb ass tea with it. They also harvest papaya, mango, guava, mandarins, avacado, different types of peas and beans, soya, any and every herb you can think of, pumpkins, tomatoes, arugula, varieties of lettuce, yuca, onions, carrots, the magical san pedro, honey from their own bee hives, peppers, as well as coffee. They have horses, chickens running around everywhere, little pup named Gaia, opportunity for jewelry making, chinese checkers (Soren tried to win....he can beat the 5 year old....), best bolivian chocolate and wine (be careful when you bet with the padre!) and lots and lots of music making.
The padre is Cristobol, beautiful bolivian wife Sol and their children Ginger and Dzi. Another son, Nova, lives in Santa Cruz as a wood carver, but we weren´t able to meet him. Chris is an incredible musician, wild crazy jungle man with a passion for connecting with and sharing his knowledge nature and spirituality. His wife Sol is an amazing vegetarian cook with a warm heart, sweet energy and a talented and patient teacher of her jewelry making. They both have extensive knowledge about natural and herbal medicine and practice it regularly. Both kids are incredibly smart, wild, and funny (not to mention bilingual) who made us laugh every single day! Dzi is quick witted and knows the jungle like the back of his hand. We joked about how he is the one who will be the next Bolivian predsident. Ginger, the farm´s namesake, is a fiesty little one, cute as a button, and seranades while sitting on the baño seco.
We only spent a little over a week but felt a strong connection to the place and the family. Anyone in traveling through Bolivia who want to experience a true piece of paradise should check this place out and stay! Here´s the link for anyone interested:
http://www.gingersparadise.com/

The Best Bolivian Bus Ride

checklist for the perfect 13 hour bus ride:
1. nightbus
2. no bathroom
3. peed in a bottle
4. lucky to buy last two seats on the bus (in the very back)
5. crying babies
6. whining puppy in a box
7. unpaved, bumpy roads
8. broken seat
9. drove alongside steep mountain roads at highspeed
10. bus broke down
11. jumped on another small bus, w/out asking questions
12. hot AND stuffy
13. no sleep

= two very grumpy girls

Salar de Uyuni

In order: the miner´s blockade, panoramic view from the car, flamingos and baby llamas

Salar de Uyuni

After a midnight bus to the border of Bolivia, we arrived in the bolivian town of Villizon. We met two ladies at the bus station who were interested in a tour of Salar de Uyuni from Tupiza. Long story short, we found a company in Tupiza and started our next adventure. We all piled into a toyota 4x4 with a girl from Colombia and a woman from the UK, a concinera (cook) named Lidia and our guia (guide) Seriviano (aka our fearless leader, Mick Jagger meets James Bond) and headed to the wild high desert of southwest Bolivia. Our days were filled with vast open spaces, blue sky, llamas, donkeys, vicuñas, pink flamingos, ghost towns, huge mineral mountains of different shades of orange, red and white, we played soccer with local niñas and slept at 12,000 ft (around 4,000 meters), peed at almost 15,000 feet, slept at a hotel made almost entirely of salt, dodged a blockade, visited white, green and red lagunas (some extremely toxic), saw Chile from the east side, saw a smoldering volcano, ate delicious comida including pancakes for breakfast, recorded music for a french girl named Axhel, and danced as little people in a big world on the salt flats. Que rico! When it was all said and done, we all had a hard time saying goodbye and left with tears in our eyes. It was by far an experience that still seems like a dream. ¡Viva Bolivia!

It´s Just Friday....

Get Your Ass to Work!

farm life at Reko

A little over a month ago, we took a bus to a dirt road to hike to a farm called Reko outside a little town called El Bolson. And thus the journey began. The first week was hard. We were either digging trenches, making natural insulation with clay and hay, manhandling chainsaws, stocking baño seco, recycling, or cooking in the kitchen for about 25 people. Everyday was filled with a 2 hour siesta, which was really battle of the paddle ball and music.
The farm is owned by 3 crazy brothers, one has 3 little boys and a beautiful wife. All are involved in the permaculture at Reko and educating the volunters who come. They are striving to be totally self-sustainable and doing a great job at it. We were treated like family towards the end, going on family vacations, driving their cars, or watching the kids. The entire month spent at Reko was the most rewarding experience which inspired 3 new songs (coming soon!). It was hard to say goodbye and we will truly miss this family and the volunteers.

making music

Life after the farm has been very tranquil. So far, the farm inspired us to write 3 songs. Today we recorded 2 of them. Hope you enjoy!

hike to Chile

21’3’2010
Sabado. Nos levantamos, Kristina, Mike, Sari y yo, muy temprano es que ayer llame un remis para buscar nos a las ocho de la mañana. Esperamos… no remis. Fui a la casa de Paula y Gerardo que estaban durmiendo, para llamar otra vez el remis. Llegamos en el Bolson, compramos comida para llevar, despedimos con Sari y tomamos el colectivo hasta Lago Puelo. “Vamos!!!” Con un sonríe grande empezamos nuestro aventura en la lluvia. Problema… tuvimos cruzar el rio Azul en cuatro veces sin puente. Tuve un poco miedo: el agua muy frio, con mucha fuerza, cuasi hasta mi culo, las rocas debajo mis pies helados,… Bueno, Mike passio, yo también, pero “donde está Kristina???” “Kristina!” “Kristina!” En el bosque, los nubes, al lado del lago Puelo, las montañas fumando,… y todo mojado! Paseamos al lado de la sola casa: La gendarmería Argentina. Cansados llegamos enfrenten de los carabineros Chilenos, entramos y nos dicen que no podemos seguir. Estabamos ilegal en el payis. Porque no tuvimos el sello de la gendarmería Argentina para salir del país. Tuvimos que volver mañana. “No!” “No es posible!”
22’3’2010
En la mañana realizamos el sueño de Kristina: Volvemos en un pequeño barco de madera hasta la frontera, hasta el final del lago Inferior. Una hora y media caminamos hasta la gendarmería y volvemos por el mismo camino hasta nuestras mochilas en los carabineros. Bueno, mi corazón en el barco fue muy rápido, estaba saltando enzima del banco. Las olas estaban altas y fuertes!
No estaba posible de ir hasta el mar… decidimos de ir a ver los árboles muy grandes: Los Alerces. Dentro de la casa de madera, muy agradable, comemos una cena de fiesta convictor, su pareja y su hijo Gabriel. La ropa mojada secamos arriba de la cocina… Mmmm! Feliz entré en la carpa.

23’3’2010
Salimos de la carpa naranja y ordenamos todas las cosas rápido, para tomar el desayuno en la casa. Fue muy agradable, como ayer, comiendo y hablando con Victor, su pareja y Gabriel. A la nueve salimos en la lluvia con Gabriel. Sin mochilas andamos durante dos horas hasta los Alerses, los árboles gigantes y impresionantes. La lluvia parró pero los nubes molestaron nuestras vistas desde arriba de las montañas. Un poco triste que no pode ver los valles sigue el camino detrás de Kristina que estaba siempre “bailando” (cuasi cayendo de las rocas, el barro y las maderas) El árbol el más grande fue un Alerse de 50 metros alto y 14 metros el alrededor y muy, muy viejo. Volvemos a la casa para despedirse y para tomar nuestra mochila. Andamos de nuevo dirección Argentina. Después de cruzar el Rio Puelo en el mismo barco, paramos para comer demasiados moras. Con las manos violetas de las moras he dado mi pasaporte al carabinero Chileno, tuve vergüenza… Seguimos y paramos al final en la gendarmería Argentina. No vemos mucho, el sol estaba durmiendo y estaba lloviendo. Los tres estamos más que cansados y pusimos la carpa debajo de algunos árboles muy grandes. Unos segundos después estábamos durmiendo (muy mal porque la lluvia no parró y hubo mucho ruido) Este día hemos andado durante once horas con dos veces una parrada de una media hora. Estamos locos? ;-)
No nos da cuento que hemos puesto la carpa en un gran agujero…
24’3’2010
Nos levantamos en un lago. “Dios Mío!” Como una cama de agua. La mochila de Mike estaba lleno de agua. La carpa estaba puesta en un agujero. Ayer no vemos nada es que estaba sombre.
Después de levantar la el gendarme, andamos muy cansados hasta el Lago Puelo. Allá tenemos que cruzar los ríos, como cuando andamos cuatro días atrás. Pero durante este cuatros días estaba lloviendo siempre y los ríos estaban demasiado altos para cruzar a pie. “Oh, No, tenemos que seguir el camino ocho kilómetros más y pasear por la única pasarela.” Pensé con mi madera en mis manos… Como los otros días realizamos nuestros sueños y encontramos Christian, el dueño con su barco. Estaba tan agradable y fuimos en su barco hasta la entrada del Lago Puelo. Estamos muy Feliz! En un barco con mucha vítese, encima del agua azul, en el primer sol de nuestro aventura, el viento en mi cara, el paisaje,… hermoso!
Llegamos en el Bolson y comemos muchos facturas y helados. MMMmmmm ricíssimo!

Terremotos en Chile

This past Saturday when we awoke, we heard the heartbreaking news of the 8.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Chile early that morning. The tremors from the aftershocks were felt all the way up to Peru and as far east as Buenos Aires. People here in Mendoza reported closet doors opening, fans and beds moving, pool water soaking terraces, and other out of the ordinary movements. Luckly, there was no major damage. We did not feel a thing because we were dancing at the local discotec with extremely large loud speakers next to us. These speakers were so big and loud they made the ground vibrate all night long.
The past month we have met and connected with some of the coolest people who are Chilean. Some of them are from Concepcion and Pelluhue, which are some of the hardest hit areas from the quake. We have been unable to contact them. We hope they are safe including their family and friends.
This disaster hits close to home, not only because it is so near, but because our friends in Chile embraced us and gave us an experience that was unforgettable. We got true taste of the culture, the people, the history, and we are so thankful for that. We are sending positive thoughts and prayers to the people of Chile.

Los pintures

As traveling goes, plans changed once again. We missed our bus to the mountains, walked around Mendoza in the hot sun looking for a hostel when Monica finally had it and dropped her bag and called a cab to the nearest open hostel. That night, we were on the terrace making up songs and drinking an unthinkable amount of beer, when a group of chilean painters came out and joined the party. Immediately, they picked up any nearby instrument they saw and jammed. Kristin got in impromptu harmonica lesson. She learned it´s all about moving those arms and respirating like no body´s business! Without really knowing why or what they do, we were invited to paint with them the next few days. We woke up late, weird right, and met them at a near by city building, called the Municipulidad de Godoy Cruz. There, we helped finish painting a mural in celebration of the bicentennario anniversay 2010, commemorating Chile and Argentina´s independence from Spain. We painted with people from Canada, France, Brazil, U.S., England, Argentina and Chile. The next day, we returned to paint, but in a more rustic part of town. This building was an old school building and the mural we painted was to help inspire learning, reading, music, art and creativity for the kids. We later came to find out this group, called Colectivo Brigada Ramona Parra (BRP), travels the world painting murals depicting history, peace, justice and human rights for the people. It was truly incredible to be a part of this and meeting this amazing politically charged group of people! It was all by chance of circumstance and we thank them for sharing the experience with us! They were just invited to paint in Barcelona, Spain in October! We wish them the best of luck and hope to see them and their art in the U.S.!