Everywhere I Roam

The Getty

2012-01-12T23:42:00.000-08:00

Welcome, twenty-twelve! It is a new year, a fresh start, and even though it doesn't feel like winter in Los Angeles I made the most of my last few days of Winter Break before diving head first into an intense quarter of classes and research. My lovely sister made the drive from the Bay back down to LA with me, which was the perfect excuse to do some exploring in this city I am beginning to call home. Give me another 5 years and I should be all settled in ;) We started with a landmark not far from my apartment, but it may as well have been a world away.

The Getty Center houses the art collection of oil mogul J. Paul Getty. More than just a museum, it is a 110 acre museum/research center/garden complex on top of a hill overlooking Los Angeles, from the skyscrapers to the mountains to the ocean. Even with smog in the air, the views were spectacular.

The feeling of the whole place may have been more impressive than the art collection. The buildings and grounds were peaceful and sparkling, white marble and fountains everywhere and tables and chairs nestled into shady corners. It certainly didn't hurt that it was a perfect 70 degrees and sunny outside, too! I'm sure it wasn't the busiest day of the year, but there seemed to be plenty of visitors and it didn't feel crowded or hectic. People were playing (or napping) on the lawns in the beautiful gardens, and seemed to be dispersed throughout the different museum buildings without the claustrophobia inducing crowds that are common at many attractions.

It is no accident this place is so awe inspiring. It took 13 years to build, and cost about $1.3 billion (only about $1 billion over the original estimated budget!). Most of the buildings are made out of Travertine stone, imported from a quarry near Rome. This is the same quarry that provided stone for the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain, and Saint Peter's Basilica! Somewhere between 8,000 and 80,000 years old, there are many fossils visible in the rough faces of the stones that cover the Getty.

All of this is pretty cool, but what's the best thing about this oasis on a hill? Admission is free. Thank you, multi-billion dollar Getty Trust. I'm looking forward to my next visit.

Pocket Mice!

2011-11-29T14:06:00.001-08:00

Contrary to popular belief, life as a graduate student can actually get quite hectic. While many popular coping mechanisms involve watching hours of YouTube, searching funny animal photos, and of course, Facebook, I have actually done something both fun AND productive! I've started blogging on the San Diego Zoo website (check out my first post here!) about my research with the Pacific pocket mice. My co-advisor is a researcher at the Institute for Conservation Research at the SD Zoo, and I am working on a conservation project they are getting started up over there. I'll be contributing regularly with updates on my PPM work and what it is like to be a graduate student and working towards a career in conservation research!

Eel Attack!

2011-11-01T01:18:00.000-07:00

Being a graduate student is (surprise!) a lot like being a student again. I'm taking a few classes my first quarter here and am actually enjoying them. But then again, I was always the kid who liked school (much to the astonishment of many of my classmates, I'm sure). I'm having fun mentally challenging myself, and there are so many mini discoveries every day that I'm constantly on my toes and excited about something. Granted, when I am talking about animals and conservation and biology, it doesn't take much to make me happy. Today, for example, I was reading an article for class about evolved morphological traits in the parrotfish, one of them being a pharyngeal jaw. I couldn't quite picture what that meant so I Googled it (also- thank goodness for the internets! I can't imagine being a grad student without it!!). I found a picture of how they work in Moray eels, another awesome creature. Basically, it is a second jaw that comes forward and helps drag food down your throat if you are an eel and can't swallow. It seems like something straight out of a sci-fi movie. Nature is the coolest!

Sueños de Chile

2011-10-18T22:04:00.000-07:00

It's been almost a year since I finished up my degu work in Chile, and I was feeling nostalgic the other day. Luckily, I was able to catch up with both Tina and Morgan and reminisce about our giant bag of mustard, silly names for all the street dogs, coffee and ice cream obsessions, and general sense of wonder that pervaded those 5 months. I found the blogs written by the current students in Chile who are on the same grant that we got to participate in last year. Most of their posts are actually about their projects and scientific theory and all that "appropriate" stuff. While Tina and I do (honestly) plan on finishing up and publishing our projects, it was the Chilean experiences- with some amazing kindred spirits- that will always give me a warm fuzzy feeling... and a simultaneous twinge in my heart.

Little daily reminders in my room: the Chilean flag from a fonda, mug from Pablo Neruda's house, and of course, Slothsicle; Valparaíso degu.

*** Oh dear. I never actually finished writing about my trip to Southern Chile after finishing degu work. It took me all the way down to Patagonia (the region, not the store) and in the town of Puerto Natales there is a cave where they found fossils of a giant ground sloth (milodon) and have a fantastic statue I wanted to pose with. On the last day I was doing some souvenir shopping and found a woman who made little clay figures on top of pencils. The best was obviously the milodon, but she had just finished painting them and couldn't put it in a bag. Instead she wrapped a paper bag around the pencil part (for what reason was lost in translation) and promised it would dry shortly if I let it air. So we walked around for the rest of the day holding a sloth pencil like a popsicle- which, incidentally, is what my hand felt like since it was freezing outside and I couldn't keep it in my pocket. That's a lot of background, but I can't remember laughing so much that my eyelashes froze since :)

Stumbling into Coincidences

2011-10-03T01:40:00.000-07:00

I recently stumbled upon www.stumbleupon.com. I don't know exactly what it is - just that it is like a guided tour of interesting pages on the internet based on a couple of questions and an uncanny insight into your head. You sign up, select a couple categories of interest, and start clicking the "stumble" button. It brings up a page - a blog, a photo, a video, anything - and you can like it or dislike it, see what other people have thought of it, and then move on after as little or as much time as you please. It shows you things based on what people with similar interests have liked, and I have to say. I was Impressed.

Tonight, after clicking through half a dozen or so somewhat interesting pages (for some reason it really wants me to like the Maldives), I stumbled upon a TED talk on crows. First of all, I love TED talks. Short talks by insanely intelligent people on interesting and thought-provoking topics. Score. But CROWS? I have had a number of conversations lately on the merits (or lack thereof) of crows, and someone mentioned teaching crows to pick up coins from the street which I thought was a bit clever. Turns out it is MUCH cooler and crazier than that, and this talk was by the guy who designed that study. I have a new respect for crows and all, but the real point is - it is kind of creepy stumble sent me that video, on that topic, a couple of days after I had that seemingly totally random conversation. I am sufficiently impressed (and a little creeped out).

This is the link to the talk. It really is fascinating, and will definitely give you something to think about the next time you see a crow!

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2zBIz8

P.s. I just remembered another crazy coincidence this weekend. We were being chided by our professor last week as none of us could come up with the name of the man given credit for starting the Green Revolution and thus saving over a billion people from starvation in the 1970's. On Sunday, while waiting for the bus, I randomly selected a podcast to listen to and it happened to be about food science. And of course they spent a few minutes talking about the Father of the Green Revolution. So now, next time that question comes up on Jeopardy, let's all be sure we can answer correctly "Who is Norman Borlaug?"

Riding the Big Blue Bus

2011-10-01T02:01:00.000-07:00

I feel like a true urbanite using public transportation every day. Los Angeles is the city of the car, but the roads (rather the highways) scare me and the little CRV, so I stick to the bus as often as possible. Plus, parking on campus costs something like $20 a day and that is waaayyy beyond the grad school budget.

I am starting to get a handle on the bus routes through the process of trial and error (example: even if the route looks close enough, where the bus will actually stop may be much further away than desired. Duly noted). Going to school I pretty much have to chose a line and commit, as there are 2 close by but in opposite directions. At first I was closely following the printed timetables (ok the Google Map timetables) but somehow I was waiting 15-20 minutes for the bus EVERY TIME. So I have started just leaving when I am ready and hoping it works out for the best. (Where's your equivalent of nextmuni.com, Los Angles? Get on top of it!).

Given the erratic nature of the bus schedule I typically leave my house fairly calmly, then begin to get nervous I'm going to miss the bus and power walk the alley to the main street. I have found that the alley is my best option because it provides 2 options - if I don't see the bus I can walk half a block against traffic and wait at the closest stop. More often than not, however, I seem to time it and see the bus passing me just when I am nearing the end of the alley. Luckily (in these situations, anyway) there is usually enough traffic in the morning to hold the bus up at the next stop light and I'm able to make a run for it through the 7-11 parking lot and make it on. Nothing like a little heart pumping action first thing in the morning. It is incredibly frustrating when I see the bus whiz by on a quiet morning and have no chance of catching up with it and am stuck waiting a full 20 minutes for the next one to come along. Some day I will get brave enough to ride my bike...

On a side note, the walk down the alley gives me a chance to observe one of the other urbanite experiences, that of the bottle (or just trash) collectors. There are dozens of people that methodically go through every recycle bin in the alley looking for cash-redemption bottles and cans. The 7-11 may draw them in, but there are clearly enough gems to keep them coming back. The major downside to this is that there is a dumpster grouping just outside of my window and there aren't conventional business hours for this system. The other morning I was startled awake around 4am by a bang- the dumpster lid being thrown open and hitting the side of my building (aka the wall 3 ft from my head). Good morning to you, too, Los Angeles.

Catalina Island

2011-09-28T01:17:00.000-07:00

The first weekend here (post move-in) consisted of a field trip to Catalina Island with my cohort so we could get to know each other, meet some grad students further along in their studies, and find out about opportunities to do field work off campus and collaborate with outside researchers. Actually, our first real gathering was for a full day of "quantitative boot camp" consisting of 8 hours of tutorial in using the statistics program R. THAT was a true bonding experience! So Catalina was a cake walk after that.

When we arrived we were whisked away (slowly whisked. In a large, lumbering van) and bypassed the main touristy town of Avalon which is home to the majority of the population and visitors. We went straight to the interior of the island, which is almost entirely controlled by the Catalina Island Conservancy who work to protect the island from man-made fire, over use, and invasive species. Two members of our cohort have been working on the island for the last few years and gave us an excellent behind-the-scenes kind of tour along with the chief conservation officer, Carlos de la Rosa, who is also adjunct faculty at UCLA.

Catalina is part of the Channel Islands archipelago and home to the endangered Channel Island Fox. A few years ago they did a major captive breeding and reintroduction program after the population was nearly wiped out by canine distemper. During this program they learned a lot about the behavior of the foxes, and one pup was born with too many health problems to be successfully released so they kept her as an "ambassador" to the public. We got to meet her and she was adoooorable- she had short little legs, like the corgi of foxes.

We also got to meet a bald eagle (native and a recovering population) as well as a golden eagle (non-native and a predator of the endangered foxes) who were in similar situations to the fox and wouldn't survive on their own in the wild.

Ironically, the most iconic animal on Catalina

is the bison. A herd was brought to the island in the 1920s for a silent movie shoot, and

because it cost so much to ship them off the island, they were left there. (Their scene was actually cut and they never even made it into the movie!) The bison have a long history on the island and are a major tourist draw (downtown Avalon is full of bison statues and pictures) and many places serve buffalo burgers or tacos or jerky, though there are strict rules agains actually eating the bison on the island (instead they ship all the bison meat in from farms. Seems silly). The herd has grown quickly and its size is naturally unchecked, and the animals were causing some serious damage to native plants and cultural sights. The Conservancy has begun implementing an innovative birth control method through shots to keep the population down, and so far it seems to be working. All the crazy things you learn about when you hang out with scientists!

As a group we also got to visit some of the island's lovely beaches and go on a couple of hikes. It was great to get to know people, and find out about this amazing part of Los Angeles County that is 20 miles off the coast!

A Whole New Sort of Adventure

2011-09-15T00:11:00.000-07:00

*Side notes- I believe I fixed the problem of not being able to post comments without a Blogger account. Anyone should be able to post now, so comment away! Also, the blog has a fancy (and easy) new mobile interface if anyone feels like reading it on a smart phone or iPad! Yay!

After a couple of years cavorting around the world I'm settling in for the long haul and have officially moved to Los Angeles, where I'm starting my PhD at UCLA in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology program! The move itself was very successful thanks, in large part, to my parents for being such good sports about driving me down and spending the better part of the weekend assembling Ikea furniture. I love the stuff, but they sure make you work for it! We got my room set up in record time though, and it feels great to be all moved in and able to focus on other things (like the 5 chapters of statistics programming homework I am procrastinating about!).

The campus is just a 20 minute bus ride from my apartment. I brought my bike in case, but am totally intimidated by the streets around here! LA drivers are FAST! I think the bike will wait for weekend cruises, or maybe when I know the streets better and am braver (or crazier).

Sunday night I went out to the field to help with the release of 50 Stephen's Kangaroo Rats, an endangered species that were being translocated from an area that is about to be bulldozed and developed to protected habitat. The little guys have been in acclimation cages on site for a week, and we simply lifted the wire cages off the top and pulled out the plugs of their cardboard tube burrows. Now it is up to them if they want to stay or go, but we're hoping they hang out and make that field their home! They are adorable little guys!

Since I've had some free time before classes start, I went to the LA Natural History Museum on their free Tuesday (can't beat that!) to check out the brand new Dinosaur Hall, which was excellent. The fossils were in bright, uncluttered rooms with lots of interactive touch screen activities, which was all very modern and grand. But I can't help being drawn to the classic natural history displays like the giant dioramas in dark, wood paneled rooms which are both morbid and fascinating. It brings you back to a day when science was really about collecting, and I'm glad we have moved beyond that but there is something about those displays that is still totally captivating.

I took more iPhone photos which I've been a little obsessed with lately, so I'll share a few of those here.

Road Trip to LA

2011-08-24T17:58:00.001-07:00

In late July I took a road trip with Jenna to Los Angeles. We found me a place to live for the coming year(!) and explored some of what the city has to offer. Luckily, I was pleasantly surprised :) (More photos from my phone camera)

(Me & Jenna at brunch; movie night in the Hollywood Cemetery; view of the hills and the Hollywood sign; Venice Beach; Planetarium; UCLA's Guide to Life- that'll come in handy!; backyard BBQ; cakes at The Alcove; driving back up 101; vineyards near Santa Barbara)

Adventures Close to Home

2011-08-21T17:59:00.000-07:00

I've been playing with some apps on my (fairly) new smartphone (and what a smarty it is!) and taking a lot of pictures, since I have this device on me all the time anyway. To share a few of my latest adventures here in the Bay Area- and show off my photo editing skills (haha thank you hipstamatic and instagram) here are a few.

(Creme brûlée maker at the San Francisco Street Food Festival; Dunkin' the pup; Annie & Ian dancing with Dunkin'; Stinson Beach; water lilies in front of the de Young Museum; pie shop)

Tortuguero and the Terrible Turtle Tour

2011-08-21T17:15:00.000-07:00

Tortuguero was my last real destination on my travels in Central America, and I really liked the town. I had my own private room and bathroom (!) at a small hotel recommended by a friend that sat right on the beach. There aren't hostels here, so it was more expensive ($20) since I was on my own. I spent the afternoon wandering the town and along the water and watched a spectacular sunset. That night I went on a turtle tour at 10pm to spot sea turtles laying their eggs on the beach. I'm not entirely sure what I expected, but whatever it was, it wasn't this. Obviously I knew it was dark at night, but I had envisioned spotting the turtles from a respectful distance, watching them silently, and feeling a sense of awe at the magnitude of their task. The females swim hundreds of miles to return (usually) to the area where they were born in order to lay eggs 1-4 times a year. They haul themselves out of the surf, clamber up the beach, dig a giant pit of a nest, lay hundreds of eggs over an hour or more, cover the eggs, pat the sand, camouflage (sort of) their nesting site, and then drag themselves back into the water. These creatures, so graceful in the sea, are cumbersome giants on land and it is a miracle they are able to successfully reproduce at all!

Knowing all of this I was excited to witness "the process" as our guide, Robert, called it. But instead of an awe inspiring experience, he viewed it as his means for his existence and seemed to take only a cursory interest in the animals or the quality of our experience. There were 7 of us in his group, and he literally ran us up and down the path along the beach according to the information he had from the professional spotters about where the turtles were. At first I thought he was worried we wouldn't get to see a turtle, but then I realized he wanted to show us the minimum promised as quickly as possible so he could get home.

On paper it was a satisfactory trip for him. We saw a turtle covering her nest, another one returning to the water (followed at a minimal distance by about 20 people), and saw a final mothering laboring through the laying of her eggs. When he moved her back flipper so we could have a better view it almost made me sick with anger. Instead of amazing it all felt so intrusive, so unnecessary, so voyeuristic.

While the tourism of watching turtles at night is fairly well regulated (you must go with a guide, paths are used in the woods behind the beach so you are doing minimal walking on their actual nesting sites, no regular lights or camera flashes are allowed, only faint red lights from the guides) I asked our guide about beach use during the day time and he said it is open to everyone for recreational use. There is nothing that marks known nest areas, there are no signs that there are eggs shallowly buried in the sand, and there is nothing to prevent people from walking on and digging at the nesting areas. For all their talk of conservation, this is one endangered species that needs a lot more protection, even from many of the people and organizations "protecting" it.

Travel Time and La Fortuna

2011-08-08T23:09:00.000-07:00

In my final few days I decided to make the haul out to Tortuguero, an area along the Caribbean coast where sea turtles come onto the beaches to lay their eggs. July and August are prime time for the green turtle, though also rainy season and not high time for visitors. The ever helpful Evan from the Tucan hotel in Monteverde made a million phone calls for me and helped me get a direct shuttle-boat combo from the town of La Fortuna, and a taxi-boat-taxi in order to reach Fortuna. Traveling is not always simple, though it is typically worth it!

My one night in La Fortuna I stayed in Gringo Pete's, which had come recommended to me (and, conveniently, was the cheapest in town at $6 a night). I spent the few dusky hours wandering the town which consisted of one main street packed full of tour operators pushing swanky natural hot springs that turn into discos at night, buffet included for $80. I passed on those. At the hostel, Pete, who was akin to Santa Clause in age and stature, though decidedly less jolly, was not my favorite though I ended up meeting some friendly other travelers. Turns out a Dutch guy there had been through Utila months before and my sister was his divemaster. Such a small world! A group of 8 of us went out for drinks and dancing (though it is not as glamorous as it sounds. It was a Sunday night and the one place playing music was a kind of hall with a man singing karaoke. We were the only people on the dance floor at the beginning, and it seemed the locals only decided to come out because we were doing such a butchery of their elegant moves). We all, however, had a good time and when we returned to the hostel after 2am, Pete came out onto a balcony and I am pretty sure was shooting us with rubber bands and definitely hissing at us to be quiet. It was good riddance to his hostel at 7 in the morning when I was picked up by my transport bus.

I made it to Tortuguero without incident. It was a beautiful ride (the parts I wasn't sleeping through) and we drove by mile after mile of banana fields. A "farm" doesn't do these places justice- truly the only way to describe them is as "plantations". There were complex drawbridges and pulley systems over the road, and the trees were producing an inordinate amount of fruit, each bundle of banana practically pulling its slender tree over. Every bunch was wrapped in a large blue plastic bag, protecting it from insects but contributing to the waste that goes into growing (not to mention transporting) this food. Many of the fields were tagged with Chiquita Banana signs, and undoubtedly end up in our local supermarkets. It is pretty incredible to actually see the early stages of this process- and realize how far our food travels!

The final stage of the journey was another boat ride, this time up a river and through a natural canal system, to the island of Tortuguero. (While not actually an island, it is accessible only by boat or by air). The boats are scheduled to leave at 1:30, and there was a long line of people waiting to get on. Though there are 3 different companies, people are shuffled, in a fairly orderly fashion, onto an empty boat and once it is full it pulls away and the process is started again. The boat I ended up on was definitely one of the older ones available, and before setting out our captain came down the narrow center isle to make sure we all were wearing our bright orange life vests. I have been on some pretty dodgy boats, but rarely has the life jacket policy been enforced- I was a bit worried that they expected their passengers to be falling out. Thankfully we made it in one piece, and the town was worth the trek.

Monteverde

2011-07-22T09:00:00.001-07:00

I made it to Monteverde a couple of days ago. The weather finally turned great in Tamarindo and some of my favorite people from Utila showed up to hang out for a few days- Alon and Eitan who I had been traveling on and off with, Jen who just finished her divemaster, and Sarah doing a visa run. We all spent a couple of great days on the beach and Jen and I got surf boards and rocked the waves!! By that I mean we surfed baby whitewash, but we were able to get up a bunch of times and had a lot of fun.

I set off with Pablo, a guy I met in San Juan del Sur and ran into again in Tamarindo. We took a 7:30am bus from Tamarindo and after 2 changes and a lot of bumpy roads, arrived in Monteverde at 5:30pm! On a map it looks like it shouldn{t be too far away, but the roads here and windy and the bus will stop for anyone along the way. Our final leg of the trip was the most scenic as well as adventurous, up a steep and windy dirt road in an ancient vehicle. Every time we stopped and had to start again (which was painfully often) there was a great grinding of gears and we all held our breath, hoping we would actually go UP instead of just rolling back down. Luckily I think the driver has been handling that particular bus for the last couple of decades at

least, and we made it slowly but without incident.

Yesterday we went on a canopy tour with Extremo, which consists of wearing a harness and flying around over or through the tree tops on zip lines. Needless to say, it was fantastic! It was almost 3 hours and at least a dozen different lines. We also did a rappel, where you are attached to a rope and drop straight down, and a tarzan swing which is exactly what it sounds like- jumping off a platform on a long rope and when you reach the end with a lurch you just swing back and forth through the jungle. The final zip line, 1km long and 180m high (more than 590ft!!) and we did the Superman, where you are hooked up by your back and feet, flying stretched out and face down over all the trees and valleys. I imagine it is about as close as you can get to feeling like an actual bird, and it was incredible!

Last night I also opted to do a Night Hike through the jungle at Finca Santamaria. Most mammals here are nocturnal, so your best chance of seeing them is to go out at night, in the dark. Even in 2 hours it was amazing how much we could see! Costa Rica is one of the biodiversity hotspots in the world- there are more species per capita than almost anywhere else, and it was great to see a tiny fraction of this. Within the first 5 minutes we spotted a 2 toed sloth and her baby, and they were eating in a tree maybe 8 feet off the ground and right in front of us! Later we spotted another sloth and in the same tree an opossum and a porcupine! There were a bunch of blue morphos butterflies, an owl and a sleeping brown jay, a couple of walking stick bugs, and an ENORMOUS orange kneed tarantula! We got up close to another opossum and saw an armadillo burrow (sans animal, unfortunately) and I saw some sort of housecat sized feline when the guide wasn{t around. We weren{t too far from the start of the hike, so I asked if there actually were housecats in the jungle. He said he had never seen any and didn{t think so, so it is quite possible I saw a wild jungle cat!! The guide showed us bioluminiscent mushrooms- microscopic fungi that use a chemical reaction when it is dark to create light and attract moths, which land on them and then spread their spores which is how they reproduce. We all turned our flashlights off and hiked for about 5 minutes in the pitch black looking for them, which was quite an experience. The guide was great and very knowledgable about all the flora and fauna of the jungle, and has been working there for the past 8 years so was amazing at spotting interesting animals when the rest of us were just worried about tripping over roots! Such an incredible day, I{m so glad I finally made it here!

Costa Rica in the Rainy Season

2011-07-16T09:14:00.000-07:00

I've made it all the way down now to Tamarindo, Costa Rica, a beach town on the Pacific. After sleepy San Juan, I feel like I'm in Waikiki. There is a clear disparity of wealth between the two neighboring countries, which was maybe more obvious doing the border crossing with local buses and on foot as opposed to an international bus that shuffles you across. On the ride down to the Nicaraguan border we took the beat up old school buses, and as soon as we crossed into Costa there were more luxury buses, car dealerships everywhere, and prices of pretty much everything had doubled if not tripled.

I'm actually taking a little break from hostel life and staying with a friend I met in San Juan who is from Argentina but lives here in Tamarindo. It actually feels like a mini Argentina here- she has a big group of Argentinian friends who are very sweet and remind me that my Spanish still has a long way to go when I'm in a group of 5 girls gossiping and joking and speaking extremely quickly!

The only downside to Tamarindo is that it is undoubtedly rainy season here. On my first full day it rained heavily and constantly and that night was practically a monsoon! Roads were waist deep with water, the hostel my friend worked at flooded, and all the clubs and bars were shut for fear of electricity in all that water. Somewhat ironically yesterday, when it wasn't raining during the day, all the city water was turned off for about 10 hours. It foiled our plans of showering, cooking, and doing laundry. Once it started raining again in the evening and the water started trickling I took a gamble and went for a shower. Unfortunately it all stopped running in the shower once my hair was full of shampoo and I had to rinse it in the trickle of the kitchen sink. Thank goodness that was still even semi-working! Everyday has been an adventure, and in a few days I will set off again for the jungle and hopefully the Caribbean coast where I will get to see sea turtles laying their eggs on the beach!

Grenada

2011-07-16T08:28:00.000-07:00

For me Grenada was just as a city should be. Busy but not hectic, clean but not sterile, old but not decrepit. It is a colonial city, built in a Spanish style with stucco and red tiled roofs. From the street, blocks of buildings look unbroken by greenery, every wall pushed tight up against the next. What makes them so lovely though is that they are all built around a large central courtyard that is open to the sky and fresh air. As you walk down a street you can often see in through the iron clad "screen" doors to a mini oasis inside.

The day Chris and I spent wandering the city was lovely. It had rained hard the night before but the morning was sunny and clear. We set out for breakfast and found a woman selling bags of cut up fresh fruit- pineapple, papaya, watermelon and banana, for 20 cordobas, or about 50 cents each. We wandered by lovely churches, sat in a shady park, came across an old military garrison which was closed to visitors but when the guard noticed us peering in unlocked the chain for us and told us to go up one of the towers for a view over the city. The grounds were beautiful and tranquil, and it was hard to imagine the torture and executions that took place there during the Somoza regime.

From another bell tower we saw the skyline stretch to Lake Nicaragua and volcanoes in the distance. We took a wander through a very local market- the kind where everyone is so pushed together you literally scrape past people to move, where there are vendor stalls inside the building (in this case it looked like an ancient church) but the market has grown out and around from it's center in a mass covered in tarps and plastic sheeting, where flies swarm and are lazily flicked away with a palm frond from raw chickens and blocks of cheese that are rarely even covered by plastic.

We didn't go that local but we had lunch in one of the many kioscos set up in the central park under the shade of palm trees and the view of the cathedral. The staple food of the country is "gallo pinto", a mix of rice and beans, and here we got some chicken, a piece of white cheese and a corn tortilla. Very simple food but my general impression is that Nicas can really cook because almost every plate I had was really tasty.

That evening I went with a group from Leo Tours to the Volcano Masaya. Six of us went with our driver/guide who took us to lava fields, 5 different craters, and a couple of short hikes where we got spectacular dusky views. Once the sun started going down we went into one of the bat caves in the area which is exactly that, full of bats. They are cute little tiny insect eating bats, and we were there just as they were waking and heading out for the night. At the entrance to a couple of the caves it was practically a swarm of bats rushing past your head! We took a final peek into the crater of the active volcano in hopes of seeing lava, but there was too much steam and gasses coming up to see anything. Once back in town I had a really nice evening with one of the girls from the group, sitting in the sidewalk cafes on the busy pedestrian street in the city center, sharing pizzas and beers.

Grenada seems a very livable city. It is actually full of expats now, and some locals "joke" it is the second American invasion of the city, after William Walker in the 1850's was hired to invade Grenada by the warring other major city of Leon, but then somehow had himself elected president of Nicaragua. These days it is foreign money buying most of the property in Grenada which brings lovely cafes, bookstores, and hotels, but also drives prices up and out of the range of locals. It is certainly a bit of a catch 22, but at the moment it has made for a lovely combination and a charming city.

The Tiger

2011-07-11T09:59:00.000-07:00

I may have found my true home away from home at the Naked Tiger hostel in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. Maybe not so much a home but more of a luxury vacation. We are on a hill overlooking the town and the beach in a converted mansion. I spend my days swimming in the pool, hopping in the back of a pick up and heading down a bumpy road to the beach, lazing in a cafe by the water, drinking a lifetime worth of rum drinks. Is this adventurous traveling? No. Is this paradise? Absolutely.

Strangers and Friends

2011-07-11T09:52:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons I love traveling is that I love the people I meet along the way. It is a mish mash of adventurous spirits, soul searchers, wanderers from so many different places with hugely different backgrounds but we all have so many things in common. We are HERE. Everyone loves to share where they have been, where they might be going, collect ideas for the Next Trip. I bumped into a girl I met in Peru last year. She hiked the Colca Canyon at the same time and partook in the great pizza debacle of 2010. I kept looking at her when I arrived at the hostel until I could finally place her, and once I said- were you in Peru last year? she immediately remembered me as well. What a small world.

In a totally unrelated story- the day before I left Utila I borrowed 80 lempiras from Lacey to get our giffidy shirts (but that's another story). I forgot to give it to her, and felt really guilty when I realized on the bus to San Pedro. While it is less than $5, it was still a substantial sum of money. That night I met a guy at the hostel who was traveling to Utila the following morning. We hung out that evening and shared a cab to the bus terminal at 5 the next morning. Before he left I asked him if he would take the money and deliver it to Lacey at the dive shop. He seemed trustworthy enough, but really, I didn´t know his last name, hadn´t exchanged emails, there was nothing to ever find him and make him feel guilty in the slightest if he didn´t. But he promised he would, and I believed him. A couple of days later I got a message from Lacey that a random guy had stopped by straight off the ferry looking for her with money from me. It is a small story, but it actually made me quite happy. It is nice to remember there really are a lot of honest people out there who will do the right, kind thing. So thanks, Ori, for the good deed.

Rain drops are falling on my head

2011-07-01T18:04:00.000-07:00

I left the sunny island of Utila a few days ago to come explore more of Central America. On the mainland here it is rainy season, and they are not kidding when they say RAINY. After a few hours on a bus through Honduras (ok, 3 hours plus 13 hours), I arrived in Managua, Nicaragua. I met up with some friends I had met in Utila in the colonial city of Grenada and stayed in an interesting hostel where I learned some Israeli card games and apparently the unoccupied rooms have an invasion of bedbugs never seen before by mankind. Eviatar, one of the guys I met up with, got a little confused after a late night and a lot of rum, and fell asleep in the wrong dorm room. Unfortunately when he woke up in the morning, he was covered in thousands of bites. When he added the inevitable mosquito bites the following day, his foot and leg swelled to about twice their normal size and he is now an invalid, limping around in the jungle. I thought I had escaped relatively unscathed, but somewhere in my first 24 hours in this country I picked up my own set of unnusual bites, which seemed innocent enough until they formed giant, puss filled blisters on the back of my leg. I popped them today, and am hoping rubbing alcohol and neosporin will do the trick. The joys of cheap accommodations and/or tropical climates.

After a brief morning in Grenada 5 of us took a shuttle to the Tree House, Poste Rojo, about 20 min down the road. It was a real life, full scale tree house up in the middle of the jungle. It is a 15 min walk from the main road, another 20 min hike up to the dorms and then main area. Everything is wood decked and up high, with viewing platforms over the valley, a suspension bridge, and a group of howler monkeys who hang out in the trees overhead. It is a relatively new hostel and really very cool, a nice chill alternative to cities- or even villages!

From the tree house we visited some natural springs, an exciting tuk-tuk ride down a bumpy dirt road and then a hike into yet more jungle. The water was clear and fresh and cold, a great reprieve from the hot day. Our tuk-tuk driver took us to a little roadside restaurant where the woman cooked us a delicious meal. It seems the typical Nican food is gallo pinto, or rice and beans, and most dishes come with this as a side. Rice and beans or some of my favorite foods, so I am a happy camper. We also managed to rustle up some groceries from the little stand. They didn't really sell anything, but one of the women would go running down the road- to a neighbor, a market, a field, we really had no idea- and would come back bearing the requested items. 10 eggs? Check. 3 avocados? Check. Only 2 were ripe so she threw in 2 extra for free. Tomatoes, onions, limes, bread? Check, check, check. A different trip for practically each one, but happily procured and still all less than $4 a person, including our cooked meal. This morning we made a feast, and the boys made the last of their precious tahini, which has a similar use as hummus but an intense flavor. Three of them are from Israel and can make some darn tasty food.

This afternoon Chris and I decided to explore the area a little more, even (gasp) get some exercise and go for a hike! We took a tuk-tuk to the tiny town of Diria, maybe 10 minutes away, and went up to the mirador (lookout) over Laguna de Apoyo, a beautiful, clean lake. We hiked down into the crater, a hot and slippery 30 min. Just as we were getting into the water the sky opened up and a downpour began. Being in a lake is not the worst place to be in a rainstorm. It was actually quite beautiful, and we swam until the rain stopped. Unfortunately it made for a very soggy hike up, and it kept raining off and on the rest of the day. There were claps of thunder so loud you could FEEL the electricity splitting the air. The weather here is impressive in its intensity.

We visited another of the Pueblos Blancos, the town of Caterina. Our tuk tuk driver for this leg was Pablo, his friend Carlito sitting in back with us. Apparently they are locals who lived in Miami as kids, and were pretty curious about tourists who were not with a church group. There were a lot of "yeah, dawg" and "homie" thrown around, and Carlito offered to show us the "local side" of things tonight and gave us his 2 phone numbers. But as Chris later summed it up, we might have gotten a little too local, left in a bar with no wallet and a broken face. We thanked him for the offer, and promptly lost the paper.

Caterina had an amazing view of the lake and you could also see Lake Nicaragua and Granada in the distance. The artisanal work we saw was on the tacky side- neon plaster piggy banks and such- but we found a shop with nice things and the woman explained some of the masks that represent a popular Nicaraguan play of the colonization by the Spanish. We also found a small spot for another tasty, cheap lunch. Half way though it began pouring again, and has hardly stopped since.

Chris and I decided to come back to Grenada and explore a little more while the others hang out in the tree house. We caught a "chicken bus" on the main road. These are old Blue Bird school buses from the US- the long yellow ones with vinyl bench seats. They are the cheap local option and are usually packed with people and their goods, often times live chickens. They will stop and pick you up or drop you off anywhere along the road. When we got on the driver was blasting a radio station straight out of the 1950s in America. When we jumped on it was playing "raindrops are falling on my head". How appropriate, given the monsoon outside.

To the Bat Cave!

2011-06-23T14:32:00.000-07:00

I have been on my share of spelunking adventures. Climbing up to the Batu Caves in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; checking out stalactites and stalagmites in the Jenolan Caves in the Blue Mountains, Australia; "black water rafting" in the underground rivers of caves in Waitomo, New Zealand. But none were quite like the impromptu caving adventure I went on the other day.

John Wayne and one of his friends took me, Caitlin, and Lacey to some small caves near the airport. There is a dive site called Airport Caves which is under the OLD airport, which they shut down when they realized it was built on top of a cave system. The new one is close, but I guess this time they did their research before building. We went local style, 3 of us on an ATV and 2 on a small dirt bike. Whole families here pile onto either type of vehicle, so I guess we were being conservative. After the paved road ended, and then the dirt track ended, we hopped off and went the rest of the way on foot, through jungle and the densest mosquito population I have encountered.

The caves are full of freshwater- the coldest water I have found on the island, including from bottles of refrigerated drinking water. It was chilly, but the only respite from the bugs. We brought masks and snorkels and looked around, but the passages underwater looked way too spooky to enter. We agreed to check out the other cave close by.

We had passed by the entrance on the way in but didn't even notice the 3'x3' hole close to the ground. John Wayne had a packet of candles, the white taper kind you buy to light in church. We each got a candle and climbed in. If the opening was small, the rest of the cave was tinnnnnyyyy. We were able to crabwalk for a bit, then kind of scootch along, and finally it was crawling and almost slithering through a low passage, candles aloft, until we reached the main part of the cave that opened up. There was a deep water pool, but none of us were feeling brave (or crazy) enough to jump in. Bats were swooping around us, no doubt woken by our light and noise. On our way out, on my hands and knees, one flew inches from my head and I could practically feel its wings pass my face. I like bats, but this was a bit too close for comfort.

Once we had braved the mosquitoes and bumped back down the road, us girls jumped off the second story dock of the bar next door and into the harbor. While we all agreed the water was pretty dirty, we figured it was cleaner than the mosquito blood and bat shit we were covered in. Another awesome day in Utila.

Swimming with Dolphins

2011-06-21T09:21:00.000-07:00

My course is complete and I am now an Advanced Open Water diver! Since I had the best instructor at the shop everything obviously went well :) We did our night dive on Friday which was cool in a kind of spooky way. We went out in the boat at dusk so there was still a little light when we got in the water. We brought down bright flashlights and it was a totally different experience than normal. Most creatures are asleep but Caitlin spotted us 2 octopus, 1 sleeping and partially burrows in the sand and another crawling on the coral.

On Saturday morning we went to the Northside of the island which is a little less busy than the harbor where all the dive shops are located. We had a couple of really nice dives. The water was super clear and we got to do our deep dive- down to 100ft (30m)!!! Because it was so clear it didn't feel weird being so far down, though you can definitely feel the increased pressure. There are lots of reef walls that drop really far down and it is cool being able to go deeper and see some different creatures.

On our way back to the dock Caitlin and I spotted a pod of dolphins! There were about 100 spinner dolphins in the pod including a number of small juveniles and they were jumping out of the water and playing near the boat. One even leapt and did a corkscrew flip before diving back in! Our captain Danito caught up with them and we all got to jump in and snorkel with them. It was incredible being surrounded by dolphins and hearing all their clicks and chirps in the water. They seemed relaxed about us being close to them and a lot of dolphins stuck around to check us out. They were so close I was almost able to reach out and touch them! What a fantastic experience, especially as an unexpected bonus to an already great day!

Island Time

2011-06-16T11:08:00.001-07:00

I've been on Utila for a week now, and I'm not entirely sure where all that time has gone! It is so hot and humid, and life moves pretty slowly. My biggest decisions so far have been whether I am motivated enough to walk to the beach (about 15 min away) or just nap in a hammock in the shade at the dive shop. I've been snorkeling a bit and on a couple of dives, but the wind has picked up and I got sea sick the last time I went out, so I am hoping things calm down before I start doing my advanced open water course tomorrow :-/

I went on a day trip to Water Cay, a small uninhabited island about 30 minutes away from Utila. There were about 20 of us who went out together, and it was a wonderful day sitting on the beach, lounging in the water, and hanging out under shady palm trees. The boat ride back was a pretty wild ride. Our captain, John Wayne (love the name!) told us to "fasten our seat belts and say our prayers" but expertly drove the Luna back, and it was like a crazy version of Splash Mountain. Half the people were wearing their scuba masks, and absolutely everything got soaked.

I've also been spending some quality time with Ruckus, Caitlin's dog. She is super sweet, if a little bit special. She loyally follows Caitlin absolutely everywhere she goes, including behind the bar when she is working. Ruckus loves the beach and playing with other dogs.

The nightlife on the island is pretty great, as is to be expected. Unfortunately the Honduran tax enforcement arrived the same day as me, and have since shut down about 80% of the businesses here for not paying their taxes on time. They put giant yellow signs across the closed doors and windows that say "I BROKE THE LAW" or "I DID NOT PAY MY TAXES". It is slightly humorous, but makes for slim pickings for going out to eat or drink. Everything should be back open Saturday, at which point I can go to the internet place and upload photos!!

Utila

2011-06-11T09:28:00.000-07:00

I made it to the island of Utila Friday morning. I successfully slept through the hour long ferry ride on the Utila Princess, or the Vomit Comet as it is affectionately known. Luckily it was a calm day on the water!

It has been great to see my sister again after over a year! I've been meeting all her friends and seeing what she's been up to these last 9 months!

Utila has been living up to expectations so far. It is a small island in the caribean and oh man is it HOT here! Hot and humid. It has both the mosquitos and lush vegetation to match. The first day we went to the beach. The water is clear and warm- pretty wonderful really. But then I was bit to death by mosquitos and sand flies when I laid on the beach.

Yesterday was my first diving day! I did a "tune up" with Caitlin, going over different rules and safety issues then doing a mini dive off the dock and practicing things like losing my mask and getting my air turned off. Hopefully things that will never actually happen! Caitlin is a great instructor though and it all went well.

In the afternoon we went out on the Virus, her shop's dive boat. The first site we swam through these incredible partial cave formations. We saw a giant stingray which swam right under me and lots of coral and beautiful fish. The second dive we encountered an enormous scorpion fish and a row of squid swimming along in a perfectly straight line. They seem to be looking straight at you as they go by. A little disconcerting, but I really enjoyed them.

I will start my course for advanced open water soon! In the meantime I'm planning on exploring the island more- there is a beach with shade trees and hammocks calling my name!

Central America!

2011-06-08T19:42:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe that time goes by so quickly, but it has been almost 6 months since I have returned from South America, so it seems like a great time to be heading to Central America! I meant to finish up my blog posts from the end of my trips in Peru and Southern Chile, but I guess that can wait a little longer- hopefully I will be better this time around!

I arrived in Honduras today, after a long but (luckily) uneventful trip. 3 hours to Houston, 3 hours in the airport, 3 hours to San Pedro Sula, 3 hours waiting for the bus, 3 hour bus trip to La Cieba, which is where I am staying tonight. Tomorrow I will take the early ferry over to the island of Utila where my sister has been living for the last 9 months! She is a scuba diving instructor now, and I fully intend on taking advantage of the perks that come with that! The plan is to spend a couple of weeks there and then travel through mainland Honduras, down through Nicaragua and finally a couple of weeks in Costa Rica before flying back home from there.

Not a lot to report so far. My first taxi driver of the day became very chatty after I said I was from California. He had a lot to say about Arnold Schwarzenegger's infidelities, and then asked about the other senators who solicit sex online and Tiger Woods and all his disasters. He explained that here that is unconscionable, but upon further reflection shared that a lot of leaders here are caught stealing money or misplacing funds, and locals don't always see that as a deal breaker. Pick your poison, I suppose.

I opted for the expensive bus today after doing some online research and discovering auto accidents are a huge problem here, and this company apparently has a much better safety records than the others. That seemed worth the $12 ticket compared to the $5 the others cost! Plus it was gloriously air conditioned and they gave us free snacks. We drove through a lot of agricultural areas, mostly palm and banana plantations. Things here are lush and green, though the livestock are all on the emaciated side. Everyone I have encountered so far has been very nice and helpful (except for all the people working for Continental Airlines in SFO! So unnecessary!). The first person I met at the hostel is from Chile and we had a nice chat about what has been going on there.

It is humid and sticky here. I bought an ice cream and a pineapple juice for dinner. Am really looking forward to making it to Utila tomorrow and seeing my sister!

Valdivia

2011-01-06T14:18:00.001-08:00

December 5-7, 2010

Leaving Pucon we took a 3 hour bus through more beautiful countryside to Valdivia, the largest city in Southern Chile. It has a strong German influence- at the end of World War II a lot of Germans came to Southern Chile and Argentina, and have left their influence in architecture, street names, food, chocolate, and beer. We stayed in a hostel that had been a big house, and the woman who ran it (who is from California) told us they found boxes of photos and journals in the attic when they were converting the place. The family that lived in the house way back when had been members of the Nazi party, and the teenage daughter wrote fondly about Nazi Germany and continued ties to the party in Chile.

While that is creepy, we enjoyed the benefits that some German heritage had on the area, and dove wholeheartedly into the food and beer sampling. Not about to be talked into another horrendous bike ride, we spent our first afternoon sunning ourselves on a restaurant deck and enjoying crazy tacos and tasty local brews. We wandered the city and saw some of the largest sea lions (or marine wolves, as their Spanish name translates to!)

Our second day in town we wandered through the morning fish market, then took a local bus out to the coast. After a few wrong turns (and some confused directions) we found Marcelo, the man in the second blue house on the right with the fence around his yard (the correct directions!) who let us into the nature preserve. It is a relatively small plot of land with one trail loop through brush, an old growth wood, and beautiful views of the coast line. It was the perfect day for a picnic and a walk and a snooze on the beach.

We caught the bus back towards the city. This vehicle didn't seem to be doing as well on the steep, narrow, windy roads. There was a lot of chugging going on, and as a rule, I am never very comfortable when the driver crosses himself before heading up a hill or into a traffic circle, though this seems to be a not-uncommon practice in South America. This driver was pretty much on the mark though. The bus broke down on top of a steep hill, and while some trickery convinced it to start again, we coasted down the hill and into a parking lot (luckily!). Everyone was reimbursed the 400 pesos it cost to make it the rest of the way into the city. As we were walking to the next bus stop, and van pulled up with the standard cardboard "Valdivia" signs in the windows. They slowed enough to literally pull a woman with her suitcase in, and we shrugged and jumped in after her.

We asked the driver to drop us at the Kunstmann Brewery where we spent many happy hours. So many, in fact, that we missed the last bus into the city center by a hare and had to take a taxi. Though really, it was worth it. We had a tasting flight of all the beers at the moment and both loved the Torobayo sin Filtrar (an unfiltered amber beer. Yum!) and had a giant steak sandwich.

Our final morning we took a ferry to the small fishing town of Corral and visited an old fort and ate some sea-food empanadas before heading south again.

Climbing Volcán Villarrica!

2011-01-06T14:17:00.003-08:00

December 4th, 2010

Finally, our 4th day in Pucón was clear and sunny- perfect for summiting Volcán Villarrica, one of Chile's most active volcanoes. The day before we had already been fitted for all our gear (boots, waterproofs, helmets, crampons, ice picks!!) and we joined in with about 20 other people at AguaVentura, the company that came highly recommended to us by all the locals we encountered. We all loaded into mini-buses and within 45 minutes were at the base of the volcano. We slathered on the sunscreen and were chairlifted up until we hit the really snowy part (since December is summer in Chile, the ski runs were all closed and there was dirt on the lower parts of the volcano).We strapped on our crampons, had a quick lesson about how to walk in the snow and ice (you really don't want to walk with your feet too close together when you have massive metal spikes attached to them!) and then we hit the snow.We zigzagged up... and up... and up. It was beautiful and sunny- incredibly bright with the reflection off the snow- and the perfect day for climbing. We took a couple of short snack breaks, and our group naturally separated into a fast and a slow. In the fast group we reached the summit in just over 3 hours and the wind conditions were good enough that we could sit around, take lots of photos, and stare down into the crater. Unfortunately the lava lake wasn't bubbling up but it was still smoking enough to be ominous.Our trip down involved trekking part way, then layering up with waterproofs, removing the crampons, and sliding down over the snow and ice on our butts (or faces, as sometimes happened). We had little plastic sleds to sit on for when it flattened out a bit, but for me the sledding was the most terrifying part of the day!
By the bottom I was exhausted, but we piled back into vans and headed back to the shop where we all sat on the roof and drank a couple of beers in the sun, back to where we could ogle the volcano from a distance and feel pretty awesome for tackling it.

Rainy Days and Hot Springs

2011-01-06T14:17:00.001-08:00

Dec 1st & 2nd, 2010

It was gray and drizzly when we pulled ourselves out of bed. The plan was to take a local bus to the National Park nearby and go for a hike. A couple of other people from the hostel had the same idea and we all set off together in the afternoon. It was a lovely walk, though the views were hazy with mist. We saw a few lakes and a good waterfall, got muddy and wet and waited for construction on a minor bridge to be complete so we could take the bus across it. As you do.

Patrick had a friend of a friend who's family friend was in town, and was under explicit instructions to call this man because he would be very entertaining. So we did, and he was.

We met up with Marcelo and his local friend Paolina for dinner and drinks. Marcelo wanted to take us to this place- he didn't know the name of it, but he said it served "the weirdest food ever". It was "gringo food" and he wanted us to go and tell him if we thought it was weird, too. He had apparently been there the day before and sent something back to the kitchen in a rage because it had meat in it when he was promised it did not, and stormed out. So he warned us "I hope they don't spit in our food or something". We asked why he wanted to go back and he said "you will love it. It will feel like home. And they have good beer". We were not too sure about the first points, but were sold on the third.

As it turned out, they did not still have the special beer they were serving the other day, it was pretty standard gringo fare (the owners had transplanted from Southern California), and what he had ordered before were chili fries, which was way beyond the scope of his imagination or understanding.

The place was closing early, so after eating we walked over to Mamas and Tapas, the place we had been the night before for happy hour. Apparently it is the hot spot in town, but was pretty quiet since it wasn't quite high season yet. We had an entertaining evening where Paolina showed us her trompe, a Mapuche Indian musical instrument like a mouth harp. Marcelo nearly lost his teeth trying it.
They invited us to go to the hot springs with them the following day since it was supposed to rain again. When we left the bar Marcelo insisted on giving us a ride back to the hostel so he would know where to pick us up in the morning. We explained it was literally only a block away, it would be faster for us to just walk, but he persisted and we were surrounded by a pack of dogs, so we all got in the car. The dogs played their car chasing game as we drove off- though these upped the ante by surrounding the car on different sides. Marcelo stopped after half a block to jump out and yell at them. They were actually taken aback and ran off. He got back in, we started off again, and he promptly got pulled over. Turns out they are all one way streets, but with the town dark and quiet, who would have known? Probably someone who has visited twice a year for the past 8 years, or the girl who lives there, but no matter. He ended up getting off with a ticket, drove another 20 feet to let us out by our door, and promised to pick us up in the morning.

The next day was even grayer and rainier, and was perfect for Termas Los Pozones. We got stuff for sandwiches, beers, cigarettes for the Chileans (all of which are forbidden) and after about an hours drive were at a beautiful spot along the river with natural-looking rock and sand pools full of scorching hot water. We spent most of the day soaking in the pools, and when the rain would hit the hot water it would sizzle and steam. It was a wonderful, relaxing day.

Pucón and Why I Never Want to Ride a Bike Again

2011-01-06T14:16:00.000-08:00

Nov 29th & 30th, 2010

After 3 days back in Santiago, I was ready to hit the road again. My bags had FINALLY arrived from the airport (after wasting many thousands of pesos waiting on hold to have 3 frustrating conversations in Spanish about why my possessions were not arriving) I was ready to set off. I had a new travel companion, Patrick, whom I had met in the hostel in Santiago before I left for Peru. It was my last week in the city and his first, and for some strange reason I threw out the offer of traveling in the South with me. For some stranger reason he decided to accept, and three weeks later, there we were.

Our first overnight bus was to the town of Pucón, about 11 hours south. Aside from an overhead bin sounding like it was about to come crashing down every time we went over a bump, the trip was pretty uneventful. I slept beautifully through it, as per usual, to the chagrin of my friend who has not yet mastered the art of being able to fall asleep anywhere, at the drop of a hat.

Pucón was bright and sunny when we arrived at 9am, with the chill in the air that lets you know you are in a ski town, even when it is technically summer. We walked the length of the town a couple of times in 15 minutes, had breakfast, checked out the lake, settled into a comfy hostel, and stopped to get information on the activity that drew us there- climbing the volcano that loomed over the town. It was too late to go that day- climbs start at about 7am, and was supposed to rain the next. The dude in the shop (no matter where in the world you go, I swear there will always be "dudes". This one was French, but no matter) guilt tripped us into doing something that day, so as not to waste the nice weather. Fair play to him, really, but his #1 suggestion was an "easy bike ride" over to a lake. Conveniently, his friend across the street could rent us the bikes. He also assured us it would be a lovely, scenic, mostly flat with a few hills at the end kind of ride. It should take about 4 hours, maybe 5 depending how much time we wanted to spend at the lake. We asked for a map and he gave us some line about not wasting paper- but offered to take a picture of the map on the wall with my camera so we could check the image as we went. Brilliant. He handed us a pump and a spare tube, promised we wouldn't need them, and off we went.
To preface this adventure, a few weeks before I had ridden down Volcano Chachani in Peru, which had been advertised for anyone of a moderate fitness level and could control a bicycle. On this particular trek at high elevation (over 19,000ft at the top!!), I thought my lungs would never inflate again, I fell off about 3 times and still had the cuts on my hands to prove it, and I got sick and also couldn't walk the next day. When Patrick and I had been making plans and talking about what we wanted to do, my one rule had been- no biking. First day, what do we do? Get on bikes. Fool me twice...

The ride started out fairly innocently. The highway out of town seemed to take a while and when we hit the gravel road it was kind of a pain to ride over (both literally and figuratively) but it was flat and the scenery was amazing. We crossed a river surrounded by wildflowers, had a great view of Volcán Villarrica smoking away, snow capped mountains, grassy fields. And then we hit the first hill. It was so steep they had to put cement tracks down so cars could drive up it. And then the next hill. And the next. I lost count of how many times I got off and walked that bike- pushed it, really. The downhill bits were really no better- they were steep and windy and lose gravely, and I had visions of going face first over the handle bars. Luckily I kept my terror in check and my face in one piece.

It was almost 2 hours before we reached the first point of interest, Los Ojos de Caburgua, which turned out to be a beautiful blue lagoon with 5 waterfalls dumping into it. Pat decided to jump in, and I probably should have too, if only to try and numb my muscles for the rest of the trip. We wound up on the highway and, after one last mighty hill (I hated those dudes in Pucón with my entire being) we made it to the lake. Which was lovely and idyllic, something out of the Sound of Music with the beautiful mountains framing it as the sun lowered in the sky. We chatted with a fellow cyclist who appeared to be an actual cyclist- he thought it was tough, but I don't think he was hating his life quite so much- took a few photos, and got back on the road.

Until I realized I had a flat tire. Then we got off the road and tried to change it but neither of us had a clue how to properly do that, so we just pumped it up like mad and hoped for the best. We took the highway home which was smoother and flatter, but longer. 26km long, to be exact. I was not above throwing the bike in some bushes and hitching a ride back, and apparently Patrick was thinking the same thing, but we were too polite (at that point) to start whinging. So, unfortunately, we rode the whole way back. The last few kilometers I really thought I might cry I was so tired and painful and angry, but at last we pulled up, dumped the bikes, silenced the dude who started to ask how the trip went with death stares, and stumbled across the street to a place that advertised happy hour and Mexican food. Perfect.

A couple of cold beers and a few plates of fajitas later, I felt like I was out of the woods (it was touch and go for a while there). We hung out, slouched on the sofa-like bench, until we figured we had to get up or we would really end up spending the night there. Back in the hostel- luckily just a block away- I was asleep before I had even stopped talking.

Home Coming

2011-01-06T14:11:00.000-08:00

Back in the States! It is hard to believe almost 7 months have passed since I first took off for Chile. So much changed in that time (goodbye, 15 years of being a vegetarian!) but so much is still the same. I have settled back into my job in the office, am adjusting to hearing English all the time, and have rediscovered the joy of having a closet full of shoes!

The last month of my time away was spent traveling in Southern Chile- from Santiago just about as far down as you can go. It was absolutely incredible- amazing scenery, delicious beer and food, great people. I got pretty caught up in the moment (and the lack of internet!) and haven’t had much time for a breather and a catch up until now. Sorry for the neglect to the blog- but hopefully I will get some of the best stories and pictures up before the next big adventure is under way!

Where in the World...

2011-01-05T23:59:00.000-08:00

Our Southern Chile route!

Puno and Lake Titikaka

2010-11-24T17:36:00.000-08:00

After coming back from our trek, Annie and I spent an afternoon at the Pisac markets (buying waaaay too much. We are bad for eachother in that way). On Monday I ran into the Colca Canyon crew and we wandered around town and sampled fresh juices at the market. They were heading to Puno that night, and Annie and I had been thinking about doing it but weren´t sure if it would be worth the trip. We figured we might as well, even though Annie was feeling less than stellar, and jumped on the bus with them for the 7 hour ride (which was more like 9 including a few hours broken down on the side of the road).
We hadn´t had high expectations for the city of Puno, and we weren´t disappointed. Pretty grungy and congested in areas, abandoned in others. We walked down to the Lake (or the Cake as the hostel sign misspelled it) and at one point Ian commented that it felt like we were walking through the Apocolypse. Apparently April saw a guy pooing in one of the sites we passed, but the rest of us missed this.The part of Lake Titikaka we saw was pretty scummy and surrounded by cheap markets and super sketchy fair rides. The one upside to Puno was the Bothy hostel where we stayed with really nice people and super comfy hammoks, where we ended up spending most of the day. We cooked a delicious feast of nachos with fresh guacamole and salsa with hot peppers and lots of cilantro, and nacho Doritos for lack of any other corn chips.The following morning Annie and I set out on a one day trip of Lake Titikaka. Our first stop was a floating reed island of Uros. Apparently people fled to the lake and decided to build their own islands out of blocks of roots and reeds that they piled on top. They have to keep adding reeds every week as the bottom rots. The houses and boats are also made of these reeds, and they weave and even eat parts of them. This all would be pretty cool, but the whole place has been turned into one giant tourist experience. It is questionable whether people even live on these islands anymore, and after a group demonstration of how the islands were made we were split up and taken into individual houses so the ïnhabitants¨ could show us their clothes and try to sell us expensive tapestries and miniature boats. When it was time to leave the women were gathered and they sang us songs in the native Amaranti language, in Quecha, and then twinkle twinkle little star in English which was a little unnerving. The whole experience was quite uncomfortable.The second island we visited was a few hours further into the lake. Taquile is a proper island of rock. It is known for its weavings, and especially the men are always busy making their hats that indicate their marital status. We climbed up and over the island, stopping near the top for lunch of trout from the lake, and then down the other side. It was quite pretty, but none of the locals seemed very happy to see tourists. I can´t blame them- a lot of people pull out their fancy camera gear and think because they have a big lens it is appropriate to get in people´s faces and take portrait shots of them and their children. While I am sure some of these photos are very nice, it seems like an uncomfortable situation for everyone involved.We finally returned to Puno and ate cake and coffee for dinner. I wouldn´t count the venture as a strike against Peru, but it is nothing I would recommend or voluntarily do again.

Trekking to Machu Picchu

2010-11-24T17:27:00.000-08:00

Our 4 day trip to Machu Picchu was on the Lares trek with the company SAS who were unbelievably wonderful. There were 12 of us trekkers representing the US, Canada, England, the Netherlands, Ireland and Australia. Our tour guides were Eddy and Danny, our chef(!!!) was Mario, the coordinator was William Wallace, and there were 7 horsemen along as well. As you can tell, this was really not roughing it! Tents were set up for us every night, we had a dining tent and probably 7 course meals for lunch and dinner, water and tea were supplied in full, and we didn't even have to carry our own sleeping bags! So good!!

The trek itself was a challenge, but in a good way. The scenery was beautiful the whole way through, scattered with llamas, alpacas, and chinchillas (viscachas!!). We were on a path very different from the traditional Inca Trail. We passed through mountains and valleys, by lakes and waterfalls, and through small towns and villages. We got to stop in the house of an 86 year old man and his wife who was 67. Their one room stone home was the size of many modern day walk in closets, but the decorations were out of this world. Under the bed was the obligatory family of guinea pigs (cuy) who bring good luck, provide heat (and sound effects) and probably serve as a source of food when the population grows. Also inside the house was the cooking area of a little fire place and 2 pots, and there were cut out pictures on the walls and a string of plastic party lights (including a shark and a pickle) hanging from a beam supporting the thatched roof. They served the same colorful purpose as the popped-balloons on a ribbon that were also strung up, as the closest source of electricity was at least a valley away.

Other than the lunch stops, the photo stops, and the chatting-with-locals stops, there was walking. A lot of walking. The highest pass we climbed was 4600 meters (about 15,000ft!!), and my lungs could feel every bit of it. Luckily I fared better than some others who took advantage of the ¨emergency mule¨ to make it up and over. My legs had been pretty well broken in from hiking the Colca Canyon, but the elevation makes everything more difficult. Our group was a lot of fun though, so even going slow was ok because you got to chat with people.

On the third day we walked down through part of the Sacred Valley and then took a bus to the city of Ollantaytambo where we said goodbye to our crew (after a massive meal, of course) and took the train to Aguas Calientes, the base for getting to Machu Picchu. The ¨vistadome¨ train was luxurious, and we were told we were riding Business Class. They really weren´t kidding. Someone in our group asked if they had beer, and instead of saying no, one of the crew jumped off the train when we were waiting for another to pass, ran to the nearest shop, and literally raced back with 2 big bottles for us. I´m not sure the other passengers found us as amusing, but we all had a great time!

The last morning we got up at 3:30 to get in one of the first buses up the mountain to Machu Picchu. The site is everything it is cracked up to be, and more. It was a beautiful morning with mist swirling in and out over the ruins and the surrounding mountains. Part of what makes the site so amazing is its inaccessibility. From 30m below you would have no idea it even existed, and from the top you can see how isolated it really is. Eddy gave us a fantastic tour full of facts and history, information about the Incas and customs and beliefs many modern Peruvians still hold on to.

After a few hours we had a chance to climb Wyna Picchu, a neighboring mountain that looks down on the site. 40 minutes of stairs was a good workout, but the view was well worth it. The planning that went into Machu Picchu is amazing, and you can see how well laid out it is from the top. Apparently it looks like a condor (most things are supposed to be either a condor, a puma, or a snake) and while I couldn´t quite make that stretch, it was immensely impressive. As something I have been looking forward to seeing for a very longtime, nothing about my Machu Picchu trip was a disappointment. It may be rare, but this time all the hype was right.

Arriving in Cuzco

2010-11-24T17:26:00.003-08:00

I made it to Cuzco early Tuesday morning after a 10 hour overnight bus ride. Annie successfully arrived from Boston and we set about exploring the city. I was still feeling a bit delicate after having a sick day in Arequipa and Annie was feeling the altitude so we took it easy. Luckily Cuzco is a city for slow living- there are lots of small squares and plazas and shady benches for little brakes.

We decided to have lunch at one of the places with a cheap set menu del dia- something that seems to be popular all over the country. On this occasion for 5 soles we got a potato in spicy h. sauce followed by soup with potatoes, yucca, cabbage, and some sort of mystery stew meat. For the main course we chose the option of chicken with noodles in a spinach and basil pesto. The meal also came with chicha morado, a traditional drink made of purple corn. The fun thing about this resturant was that it was crowded with locals and people sat where there was space, none of this 2 people at a table for 4! We sat with 2 middle aged Cusqueño ladies. One had lived in Florida for a bit but we spoke mostly in Spanish. The other lady was shocked to find out I was single and I am pretty sure tried to set me up with her 25 year old son. She at least suggested the possibility, then called him and tried to get him to come down to the restaurant. Luckily (or maybe unluckily, who knows) for me he was busy, so we finished our meals and said goodbye.

Annie and I planned on booking a trek to Machu Picchu in a couple days time, but as we wandered to different agencies realized our options were more limited than we thought, not because everything was full but because it was low season and fewer groups were going out. We found the trek we wanted at one of the recommended agencies, but it was leaving the next day. Neither of us was feeling fantastic, but we were promised mules to carry our things and horses to carry us should the need arise. We decided to go for it and are glad we did, though sometimes the guides were probably less pleased to have us along!

Best of the Last

2010-11-13T14:32:00.000-08:00

My last few weeks in Santiago were a flurry of work, but we managed to fit some fun in! Shocking, I know. Some of the highlights (in photos, because that´s the best!)

Peruvian food with Raúl and Diana

Visiting Pablo Neruda´s 3rd house, Isla Negra

Seeing the capsule Fenix used to bring the miners up while it was making its tour of Chile

Hanging out with our Spanish profesoras and friends from our language school

Butterfly halloween costumes!

Cooking taco dinner with Lindy and Gerardo

Asado (BBQ) with lab folks to celebrate the end of degu Spring trapping season

Empanada Photo Shoot

2010-11-13T14:21:00.001-08:00

We found the best empanada place on Paseo Bulnes, the pedestrian street just next to our apartment. Cheap and delicious, Tina and I ate these beauties about 4 times in the last 4 days of our apartment (they are an excellent alternative to grocery shopping!). For whatever reason, I decided to take a dozen photos in what became the Empanada Photo Shoot.

Simple Pleasures Take 2

2010-11-13T13:30:00.000-08:00

Little tiny window dogs

The dogs of Santiago give me more joy than can really be explained. They were one of the first things that stood out to me about the city. The street dogs are generally well cared for, well mannered, and so friendly. Tina and I knew our routs by the dogs that lived on them, a fact that my Spanish tutor couldn’t really get her head around. Of course there was Juliano who we finally got on speaking terms with, and sometimes even when a guard was around we would stop to pet him. There is Mitten Dog who is putting in more appeareances now that the weather is nicer and coming out of the cave that is his little mall to sun himself on the front steps.

Giant Dog and Friend

Now there is also BearDog, the biggest creature I have ever laid eyes on. There is Stoic Dog and Stoic Dog’s Brother. Giant Dog we finally re-encountered on the other side of La Moneda- he was looking a little rough and we hope he’s doing ok. A new favorite is Big-Headed-Leaping-Dog who lives by Santa Lucia and the first few times we patted his head, he surprised us by jumping over the fence when we started to walk away in order to follow us for a bit.

Big Headed Leaping Dog

Bear Dog!

Fat White Dog lives across the Alameda from us and is friends with a vendor. It has the terrible affliction of taxi chasing, which is the most popular dog sport in the city. Dogs will stand in the gutter with a gleam in their eye when the light is red, and as soon as it turns green and traffic starts to move they bark and chase and bite at the tires of taxis. We can’t figure out why it is not usually normal cars, though Tina’s theory is the black and yellow taxis might look like a herd. And I suppose any bus chasing genes have been selected against naturally…

Juliano getting some belly rubs

Stoic Dog´s Brother

There is a pet beagle who wears a pink harness and seems to get walked a dozen times a day, always by a different person. There is a fat bulldog who wore a “cone of shame” for a few weeks and we would see everywhere. There is a young guy who also hangs out at La Rosa and has a pug that he will pick up, throw over his shoulder, and carry through the park. Other times the pug very smugly sits on his lap at the table. I imagine it would eat off his plate if it felt like it.

Small dogs with short legs!

Simple Pleasures Take 1

2010-11-13T13:27:00.000-08:00

I am not entirely sure where the last month (!!!) has gone, but here are a couple of updates I wrote in my last week in Santiago and never got around to posting...

Degu trapping has finished, Tina has returned to the States, I have moved out of our apartment- our home for the last almost 5 months- and am now in a hostel in Bellas Artes. I have 2 fellowship applications, and 7 graduate programs to get out and 4.5 more days. I’m a frenzy of typing essays, requesting transcripts and GRE scores, and trying to organize a few more phone interviews before I leave the very civilized city of Santiago for the unknowns of Arequipa, Perú.

Even though I’m feeling the time crunch, I haven’t been able to kick that habit of luxurious multi-course lunches, one of my favorite things about this city. I have been getting a lot of questions in the hostel- what is there to see in Santiago? What do you do all day? Do you really like this city? Don’t you get bored here? I’m still at a loss of what to tell someone to do who has a week in the city. There are the hills of Santa Lucia and San Cristobal, the museums and parks to walk around, a day or weekend trip to Valparaíso and any of the 3 houses of Pablo Neruda… and beyond that, I don’t know what I would do as a tourist here.

But I can, without a doubt, say that I have loved my time here. I am well aware of what a luxury it has been. Sure I was doing work- though to many the idea of watching cute little animals for a few hours a day doesn’t sound like bad work, and I have to agree with that. I suppose it is the data analysis and writing up that I will eventually get around to that will be more taxing. But the rest of my day really was broken up into what café we should go to and work on dissertation and publications (for Tina) and applications and degu data (for me). It is the kind of thing we would normally do in the office, and did spend some time in the lab here, but really… why not mix it up?

I haven’t been to a Starbucks in 5 months and certainly don’t miss it. I think it makes it more fun to know that Café de la Pausa has a good cappuccino, De Las Artes has a ridiculously rich mocha, at the Flower Shop Café you get a cortado AND slice of cake with lunch, Emporio La Rosa has great coffee (because it must be made with heavy cream) but only for days when it is too cold to get ice cream! SNS is the only place with 100% reliable internet, and of course the nicest people in town. Café Soho has great asthetics and friendly servers, and Tomodachi is the only place to get iced drinks. I love pondering the decision of where to go at what time and on which day. Even more than a coffee addiction, I have developed a café addiction!

Disfrutar!

2010-10-16T15:02:00.000-07:00

I know everyone was worried we were starving... aka all we do is take pictures of foodVietnamese food!

Emporio La Rosa
Cafe Soho
Avocado, tomato, basil, and cheese toast after a trip to the veggie market

Look- we even eat healthy food sometimes too!
... but mostly we just eat ice cream
French bread sandwiches
Cafe de Las Artes

The Countdown

2010-10-16T13:57:00.000-07:00

October 16, 2010

Cuddling a baby degu!

I'm not sure when I started measuring the time I had left in Santiago in terms of weeks instead of months. And I fear that it will quickly slip into days, then hours, then poof! The five months that seemed like an eternity at the beginning will have passed and all that will be left will be memories. Plus a zillion photos, a handful of new but solid friendships, a much better grasp of the Spanish language (including some very unique vocabulary), and an urgent need for a gym membership as the result of a cafe/gelateria filled existence here.

Mitten Dog was out in all his glory!

At first Santiago seemed like an impersonal, busy city that was somewhat less than inspiring. To be fair, coming from the very charismatic San Francisco has left me with high expectations. But the longer I have spent here, the more immersed I have become in an actual life here, the more I want to stay here. Tina and I have lamented that 5 months is just enough time to establish ourselves but leaves us wanting a lot more- another week, another month... another year.

Recovering from my almost-mullet haircut experience

The turning point was really the Spanish lessons I have been taking with a tutor. As many mistakes as I still make, as many holes as there are in my vocabulary, as impossible as it still is for me to use the subjunctive tense, I can hold a passable conversation and have the confidence to talk to people who don't speak perfect English- or sometimes any English at all.

The days have sped by with degu field work in the morning- early morning- 4:30 in the morning, followed by afternoons in the lab or cafes working on my project and the all-consuming task of applying to PhD programs. Tina and I have indulged our gelato obsession with alarming frequency at our favorite place, maybe on earth, Emporio La Rosa. We have become conosouirs of the cortado- espresso with layers of milk and foam- which has become a staple in my diet and a blessing/curse that allows me to have time for something resembling a social life; dinner or drinks out with my roommates or friends, even the occasional Chilean date! Sleep has become more of a luxury than ice cream.

Juan with a baby degu in his pocket

I'm confident I got what I came here for- international fieldwork experience, an opportunity to do (and hopefully publish) independent research, a network of colleagues and collaborators, a better understanding of Spanish, and a stronger grad school application. But my experience has exceeded my expectations as to how wonderful life can be here, how little victories in daily life can be totally satisfying, and how even with a language barrier we can still find enough in common to build legitimate friendships.

I don't think that Chile is the "bland" Latin American country- I think you just have to give it a chance to warm up to you.
Santiago Gay Pride Parade

¿España Gano?

2010-09-25T16:22:00.000-07:00

Saturday was horse fonda day!! We went to a big park on the edge of the city in one of the wealthiest parts of Santiago for the fonda La Semana de la Chileanidad. There was a big area of make-shift restaurants, mostly grills for chorripan (a chorizo type sausage in a frech roll), anticucho (steak, chicken, and chorizo kababs), and empanadas baked or fried. Typical drinks include the ever popular terremoto, which means earthquake, probably for the way it makes your stomach feel after a few too many (not that we have any experience in that department…) It consists of white wine, pisco which is the local version of a brandy, and pineapple ice cream. The other popular offering is chicha, a thick pink drink that is apparently wine that hasn’t been fermenting for very long and is unfiltered. What it lacks in alcohol it makes up for in sugar content.

There was also a stage for the various bands that played, and 2 dance floors for plenty of cueca action!

In the main arena we thought we were going to see some Chilean rodeo, but the schedule online seemed to be incorrect... Instead we saw some cool skydiving and parachuting skills, followed by a lengthy battle re-enactment, presumably between Spain and the soon-to-be independent Chile. It was put on by some military group and was complete with period uniforms, guns, canons, and a plywood set of a village. Before the show started the roof fell off the church, which was pretty entertaining.

It was hard to understand the commentary because the speaker system was a little garbled, so Tina and I made up our own, very historically accurate, version of what was going on. At one point it seemed like Spain had killed everyone on the other side and taken over all the territory. I turned to Tina and asked- “did Spain just win??” which she repeated “España gano?” which the woman in front of us thought was hilarious. Luckily for Chile, Mother Russia (or France, I can never remember which flag is which) came to the rescue, and after another 10 minutes of pretend fighting, the presumably Chilean side was victorious and the Virgin Mary was paraded out… or something like that.

After checking out some of the tents set up in the park, mostly of the military craft nature, crawling through an old tank and being helped down by some very cute men in uniform, we went to watch the horse show!

(I was taking a picture of this crazy meat being grilled, and the man working the station thought it would be a great idea to take pictures of ME with the meat. So he put his apron on me, had someone hand me a giant knife, and took my camera!)

It was a fantastic mix of beautiful horses, outstanding riding, and some interesting dancing combos. There were Paso Finos from Peru, Chilean cowboy ponies, and some great bareback trick riding. Tina, Monica and I loved it and thought all in all, it was a pretty perfect day.

A beautiful setting right under the Andes!

La Bandera Gigante

2010-09-25T15:56:00.000-07:00

Awoken to the sounds of bugles, Friday morning we ran downstairs to find the best parade waiting in our street- the horseback marching band! Who knew?! The bandera gigante (giant flag) was getting raised that morning, and true to form the parade started on our street. Naturally, we followed them down to La Moneda and got pretty prime spots (standing on benches so we could see over heads) to watch the mornings’ festivities.

The flag really is gigantic- the size of a basketball court! They hoisted it up and had the military planes at the ready to fly over. We watched Presidente Piñera make a speech- about 40ft away!! It was pretty cool to be that close to the president of, well, anything really! He’s a controversial figure in Chile- a conservative millionaire who generally seems to be a little out of touch with reality. The giant flag seems to be somewhat typical of his style- very showy, expensive, and kind of pointless. And, to add insult to injury, the flag was made in the USA! That seemed to be a little offensive for a symbol of national identity.

I, however, claim to be no expert in Chilean politics and don’t have strong feelings for or against Piñera, the government, or the military here, so I thought it was pretty cool to see the president and a crazy big flag- and of course a military band on horseback

In the afternoon Tina, Monica and I went to a fonda- an outdoor party/BBQ that is typical here. This one was hosted by our favorite bar, The Clinic, at the castle on the hill right in the center of the city, Santa Lucía. There were entertainers that did skits, walked on stilts, juggled, and put on a slightly macabre puppet show for the kids. There was a band and people dance the cueca. And of course there was BBQ and jugs of wine-fruit-ice cream drinks. The weather was gorgeous, and it was a perfect way to spend a spring afternoon!

Walking home by Plaza de Armas

Happy Birthday Chile!!

2010-09-19T22:23:00.000-07:00

Thursday September 16

Chile celebrates Independence Day on September 18^th, and this year marks the 200^th anniversary of independence from Spain. I’ve been told by a number of sources that this date is somewhat incorrect, as September 18^th is the day that the first declaration was signed that started the move towards independence, which didn’t actually take place for many more months, but… hey, any reason to celebrate is good enough for me, and in Chile they seriously celebrate!!

Living 2 blocks from La Moneda, the presidential palace, is like living 2 blocks from the White House in DC. Especially for this national holiday, we found ourselves in the middle of things. To start the (4 day!!) weekend off, we went to a light show at La Moneda with Raúl and Diana. We had seen them setting up for a week and practicing the last few nights, so we knew it was going to be very cool. They projected different moving images and scenes onto the building itself, and created a big misty fountain on the front lawn that they projected photos or videos of dances and all sorts of other cool things onto. Additionally there were videos, strobe lights, and fireworks! Who wouldn’t want to see that?

Every one did, apparently, because the first night we were caught up in the crowd of between 20-60,000 eager Chileans. We were somewhere in the first third of the crowd, but I could just barely see the top of the building. The people in the back of the crowd must have gotten nothing but the fireworks. It ended up being a bit overwhelming, so we beat the crowds out of there and went back to our apartment to watch the last few minutes on our very fuzzy TV. At least we had the wine…

A quick sample of what we got to see here

The full version for anyone who has an hour to spare here

We went back on Monday night and braved the somewhat-less-massive crowds (and staked out spots over an hour before it started) and actually got to see about 85% of things! The show was absolutely amazing- hands down the best public celebration I’ve seen!

September 11ths

2010-09-19T19:58:00.000-07:00

September 11th is a day of remembrance in Chile. Their September 11th involved planes and bombs, nationally recognized buildings, lives lost for ideologies, terror and confusion, and a turning point in the country's history, both internally and internationally. Their September 11th occurred 28 years before the attacks on the World Trade Centers in New York City, but is still a date that resonates with every Chilean.

On September 11, 1973 a military coup d'état overthrew the democratically elected, but socialist, President Salvador Allende. The heads of Chilean Air Force, Army, and Navy worked together to take the port city of Valparaíso and cut lines of communication with Santiago. President Allende remained in La Moneda, the presidential palace, where he learned the full extent of the resistance. He refused to resign and hand control of the country to the military, and made a final farewell speech broadcast on the radio, which he ended by saying "These are my last words, and I am certain that my sacrifice will not be in vain, I am certain that, at the very least, it will be a moral lesson that will punish felony, cowardice, and treason". La Moneda was bombed (marks of which are still visible on its North face) and the President died inside, officially labeled a "suicide".

The man who led the coup and subsequently ruled the military dictatorship, Army General Augusto Pinochet, remained in power until 1990. During this time some 1,500 political opponents were murdered or "disappeared" and tens of thousands were imprisoned and tortured- 40,000 in the first month alone. There are few families in Chile who were not affected by the brutal rule. Former President Michelle Bachelet was imprisoned and tortured in a detention center along with her mother in 1974. Her father was tortured and died in a detention center the year before.

President Allende had not had a smooth presidency. There were serious economic problems, a divided constituency, and foreign relations were challenging during Cold War times when socialism was viewed as enemy #1. In documents that were declassified on September 11, 1998, 25 years after the coup, it came to light the US President Nixon had ordered his CIA director, Richard Helmes, to foster a coup and force an economic crisis that would make Chileans want to overthrow their government. The United States also financially backed the military junta during their first few years of rule... the same years 40,000 political opponents were detained, tortured, or murdered.

This September 11th, my thoughts will not only be with the families who lost loved ones in the attacks on the World Trade Centers, or in the subsequent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. My thoughts will also be with the Chilean families who suffered through 17 years of a brutal military dictatorship that my country, a country founded on the beliefs of equality and justice for all, helped to establish because a man came into power who believed in equality and justice for all- but he didn't believe in free market economics.

It is impossible to know what would have happened in Chile if the US did not have any interests in overthrowing Allende. But it is known that the US would rather support a military junta, at least for a few years, than a democratically elected socialist president. And as an American, I can't say that is something I am proud of.

Around Santiago

2010-09-08T19:40:00.000-07:00

Inspired by my recent travels to Argentina- and the beautiful weather! Spring is here!- I've spent more time wandering around Santiago, and have been really delighted with what I have found!
On Saturday I finally made it across the river to La Vega Central, the big vegetable market. Chile grows some amazing produce (the geography and climate are a lot like California, and like our Central Valley there is a huge agricultural region down the middle of Chile). Unfortunately, I think they export most of their good stuff, because the fruit and vegetables you can get at the supermarkets here are... less than inspiring. But like any city, the market is the place to really go.
Obviously a very local outing, a lot of people were doing their weekend shopping and the place was really in full swing. With every color imaginable and a plethora of produce, it was heaven for me. I'm particularly a sucker for nicely arranged food- green lettuce, zucchini, broccoli, brussel sprouts, GIANT celery, red peppers and strawberries, pink potatoes, purple beets, yellow lemons, all in their neat pyramids, piles, or baskets. Then there were bags of dried fruits, buckets of homemade pickles, and no vegetable market would be complete without a case of chicken feet right?
I bought basil, cilantro, clementines, strawberries, zucchini, broccoli, eggplant, peppers, and some palta (avocados) for less than US$8!! I love vegetables!!!

My excitement carried on as I walked back home through Plaza de Armas, the main square that the Spanish colonizers built when they first arrived and set up Santiago as a city (I've been going on great walking tours of the city through my Spanish language school here and have been learning so much about the history of Chile and Santiago!). But because Independence Day is coming up here September 18, and this year marks the 200 year anniversary of independence, the city is really starting to buzz with excitement. The patriotism is actually really nice to see- there are flags everywhere, including on many taxis and buses. Even our lobby is decked out with red, white, and blue crepe paper! But anyways... back to Plaza de Armas. They happened to be having a competition for the cueca, the national dance. Tina, Morgan and I first learned about cueca in watching Martín Rivas, our favorite telanovela that takes place in the 1800's... but that's another story! It was fun to see a lot of the traditional outfits, and people of all ages were dancing.
After dropping off my groceries and recovering from all the excitement, I really couldn't waste the rest of my day inside and decided to go get some ice cream. This was clearly the best decision because a) the gelato like ice cream here is fantastic (raspberry mint with dark chocolate peppercorn? YUM) and b) on my way over, I saw a man with his llama in the street!! He was going into a convenience store on the corner, and decided to tie his llama to a tree. In downtown Santiago. My favorite part is imagining where they came from and how they got here... it wouldn't be out of the question that they walked along the side of the highway. Near our field station there are a lot of small farms, and people still plow their land with horses, and have horse carts to transport their produce. It blows my mind.

Sometimes I get caught up in the mundane details of life- reading papers, staring at spreadsheets, sending emails- that I forget to look around. And when I do, I'm constantly amazed.

Buenos Aires: La Vida Dulce

2010-09-04T07:45:00.000-07:00

Flying over the Andes

My hostel! I stayed in the dome shaped room on the roof (photo from Felix)

Inside the dorm roomPub Crawl with friends from my language school: Rosa, Susanne, Mostafa, and me

Bakery near Plaza Italia. Yum.

Brownie covered with dulce de leche and marshmallow fluff, with a cappuccino. Double yum.

Cafe Hipopótamo in San Telmo

El Ateneo- theater turned bookstore was amazing

Catalina, the somewhat crazy and very fat dog of my host family

Buenos Aires: Recoleta, Puerto Madero, Microcenter

2010-09-04T07:33:00.000-07:00

Cementerio de Recoleta

Nothing was done in moderation here

Puerto Madero y la Puenta de la Mujer (bridge that looks like a woman tango dancing, apparently)

Casa Rosada, the Presidential House

Cabildo, the old government houseCongreso

Buenos Aires: San Telmo y La Boca

2010-09-04T07:18:00.000-07:00

Tea time at Las Violetas

Riding the old subway A line, built in 1913 and the oldest subway line in South America

Susanne at a little plaza in the neighborhood of San Telmo

Sunday antique markets in San Telmo

Glass bottles used to carbonate water... I may or may not have fallen in love with them and bought one

San Pedro Gonzalez Telmo Church

Group from our language school starting a mini tour of the neighborhood La Boca

Colorful houses and street vendors in La Boca

The thing about a tourist visa...

2010-09-03T16:39:00.000-07:00

... is that you have to leave the country before 90 days. Trip to Argentina because I HAVE to? Yes, please.

I just spent the last 10 days in Buenos Aires, one of the coolest cities I have encountered. Big, beautiful, a little grungy, but full of nice people, great street markets, pretty parks, insane buses, wonderful cafes, dulce de leche, and fantastic night life. Just enough time to sample it all, but not quite enough to be satisfied (back in Santiago, I'm really lamenting my decisions to do some "cultural" things and not spend all my time, and money, shopping. Next time...)

I spent the first 5 days taking language courses and living with a local family. My castellano is progressing, though after listening to the Argentinian accent I now have more sh than ll (y) sounds, and am mixing "vos" instead of "tú" into my already rough conversations. At the school I met other travelers to explore the city with, and with my host family I got to live with a dog again (Catalina, the slightly crazy and incredibly fat perra), and eat tasty home-made Argentinian food. Good thing I am on hiatus from being a vegetarian!

I moved into a hostel downtown just in time for the weekend. Argentinians do not mess around with going out- bars aren't busy til midnight, no one shows up in clubs until 2 or 3, and an early night is getting home before sunrise. Hard to get used to, but, when in Rome...

One of my favorite things about the city were all the unique neighborhoods. There was Palermo which was beautiful and shady with bars and restaurants spilling out into the sidewalks, a great weekend market and so many shops it was overwhelming. Recoleta with an amazing old cemetery and the lavish houses. Puerto Madero on the "waterfront" of river lochs, full of uber expensive high rises, sidewalk cafes, and a little too much American-export culture: here's where you can find your TGI Friday's and Hooters. Yuck. Then there was San Telmo, the oldest part of the city and birthplace of the tango. Packed with antique shops, it was a little quiet during the day but the weekend market was one of my favorites. And the neighborhood La Boca, right on the dirty river where the old seedy port was, with a rambling street of houses painted bright but dirty colors, and everyone hustling for the tourist peso.

The city seems to go on forever. While it is filled with tourists, and rightly so, it seemed easier than most places to get lost in the shuffle of every day life, on a packed subte (subway) at rush hour, an old cafe at tea-time, McDonald's at 7am... Buenos Aires. Sigh. Nos vemos.

¡Chau Chow!

2010-09-02T09:13:00.000-07:00

August 1-15Uruguayan parrilla, a giant pile of grilled meat. And yes, I did partake in eating that!

In 2 whirlwind weeks after coming back from Fray Jorge, we've said goodbye (or chau here, never adios) to half our group, obviously involving a lot of special occasion meals. First it was Loren and his parrilla dinner (giant pile of bbq, mas o menos). Morgan made the night more eventful by squeezing the closed mustard bottle so hard it exploded all over her and everyone on that side of the table. We made a slide-show for Loren's going away and shared embarrassing stories with the lab which was a good time for everyone.Morgan with mustard EVERYWHERE

Diana, Daniella, Michael, Morgan, Tina, Monica, Rachel, Loren, Raúl

Just a couple of days later Michael took off back to Berkeley. He finished off his time here with dinner at Tiramisu, our collective favorite restaurant in the city. And of course, with 2 desserts, as per usual.Supercopas! Best discovery ever!

We celebrated Monica's birthday in style, going to the restaurant De Congrejo a Conejo (From Crab to Rabbit) with a nice group from the lab.Squid ink crab ravioli. Yum!

Raúl, Diana, Rachel, Morgan, Monica, Tina, Meredith, Daniella, Fernando

Finally Morgan left us to start her Masters in North Carolina :( After a week of helping Monica trap coruros, we took the last day off and all went to Pablo Neruda's house here in Santiago. It was lovely, though not nearly as great as his place in Valparaíso. And of course, we went to Tiramisu again.Morgan's favorite bacon & egg pizza

Tina is sad because she could only finish half her pizza. Mega fail!

Hard to believe the first half of our time here has come to an end! Tina, Monica, and I are all taking trips out of the country because of our visas, and when we come back it will be degu baby time!Of course, Morgan had to say goodbye to Juliano :(

Valparaíso... in Photos

2010-08-14T15:38:00.000-07:00

Just because I loved the city so much... here are a few extras

Valpo... te amo

2010-08-12T13:46:00.000-07:00

5213 11.1287 This past weekend Morgan, Tina and I decided to take a trip to the city of Valparaíso. Buses run from Santiago every 10 minutes or so, cost about $7, and the trip is an hour and a half- super facil (easy)!

Valparaíso is a city of hills surrounding a still very industrial port city. Ships used to come here to be serviced and painted, and the workers would use left over paint for their houses. Today almost every building is a lemon yellow, cotton-candy pink, or of course a sea blue. Not surprisingly, the art scene here is really strong and there are murals and mosaics everywhere you walk and there is music coming out of many windows. We stopped in a café for afternoon coffee, and Morgan decided to bust out her piano skills on the dusty, semi-functional instrument in the corner. I guess there must be something in the air!

The city is an absolute maze. We had booked a hostel in advance and the directions were to get to a plaza, go behind the department store, make a left at the red house, a right at the pink house, and look for a green doorway that was the entrance to an ascensor (elevator, or in this case a funicular, a little tram that goes up and down the hills). We were dubious of this treasure hunt, but actually found our way sin problema.

We spent most of the day wandering up and down the cerros (hills), risking the slightly rickety ascensors- some of them were built in the 18oo’s! We found a great place for lunch, an even better place for ice cream, did some shopping, met a friendly dog who played tour guide for an hour, and took a zillion photos (being a tourist can be so much fun!). At one point we were taking pictures of a cute dog sleeping on a ledge, and a group of taxi drivers waved us across the street to show us something lindo (cute). We were all a little dubious, but it turned out to be a giant fluffy cat sleeping on its back and all stretched out! It was really cute and funny, and they all seemed to be more entertained with how entertained WE were and started teasing the cat with a towel. That is a close second to my favorite “cat in a box!” and also “dog in a box!”

We met up with Dominik, a German medical student traveling on his summer holiday, and the four of us ventured out to find a Thai restaurant we saw earlier (we have yet to find a Thai place in Santiago. Oh how I miss Marnee Thai being steps from my front door!) Sadly, the place was totally booked for the night. We promptly made reservations for the following day, but then had to find a new place to eat.

The Valpo gods must have been smiling down on us, because we ended up at Vinila, a cozy restaurant that specializes in authentic Chilean food with a modern twist. The waiter came over and explained each of the 6 dishes to us in great detail- in Spanish of course. And we understood it ALL!! Cow tongue (lengua de vaca), conejo (rabbit), something with seaweed (alga), salmon with a crust of tea, and of course, codorniz relleno con queso Philadelphia y membrillo- quail stuffed with cream cheese and a type of firm quince marmalade. No joke- when you combine food words with animal words and speak clearly, the three of us are amazing at Spanish! When you say, hello, good morning, I hope you have a pleasant day, we will stare open mouthed and confused. At least we have the important stuff down…

Because they probably didn’t believe we understood, the chef came over and went through everything again in a mix of Spanish and English. Tina decided to try the quail, and when it came out it was the smallest plate of food EVER. The little quail looked like it was trying to crawl off the plate, but was the size of a parakeet or little lovebird. We all were dying of laughter, especially when she realized it was even harder to eat than it was to look at. The waiter told her to use her hands, and when she refused he drew her a picture of a hand, just to clarify.

The rest of the food was delicious, and both the waiter and chef then gave us recommendations of the best places to go out drinking and dancing including directions (at the bottom of the hill walk towards the ocean, turn left at the second street and right just after, go down the first set of stairs, look for the unmarked door and ask for Lucas…) However, we had plans to go to the oldest bar in Valpo where there is a band with an accordion player. It really doesn’t get more entertaining!

The next morning we went to the poet Pablo Neruda’s house just up the hill from our hostel. One of the best things I have seen! The man had a great sense of humor and a great sense of style. The views from all the windows were incredible, and all of the things he collected were fantastical. My favorite was a large whit porcelain cow tureen from Italy that he filled with punch for his parties. Genius!!

We meandered over to our lunch spot and had amazing vistas of the hills and the sea. Thai food did not disappoint- my rice even came with the image of an elephant dusted on it in spices! Yummm.

On our way to the bus station we met the cutest, tiniest puppy in the world. A perfect end to a perfect weekend!

El Bosque de Fray Jorge

2010-08-10T20:28:00.000-07:00

On our last afternoon, Tina, Morgan, and I finally hiked up to the forest fragments

There are just a couple of areas on top of the mountains by the coast where there are forests like those in the South of Chile- very different from the semi-arid landscape we were used to working in!

They get the perfect combination of cloud and rain to sustain them

The vegetation was so different from just down the mountain!

And who knew- we were so close to the ocean the whole time we were in a desert!

We met Juan when he was finishing up his work for the morning

And he explained a lot about the forest and the plants. He's worked in this park for 20 years!

We took a beautiful path back to the cabin, through fields of wildflowers with cactus. Bizarre.

And of course, our last day wouldn't be complete without another guanaco sighting!

Fray Jorge- in Photos

2010-08-10T20:15:00.000-07:00

Many, many sunrises in the field

One of our favorite things to do was pull cactus spines out of our hiking boots with pliers. Not even joking.

Sad Cactus

We had to drive to the city of La Serena, about 1.5 hrs away, for groceries every few days (there was no refrigeration in the cabin, so everything that needed to stay cold went in the cupboard). In La Serena we discovered a fantastic supermarket called Jumbo. On our first visit, these girls were giving out free samples of Miller Genuine Draft. And clearly dressed up like Uncle Sam and an albino Statue of Liberty. Oh, also at Jumbo, we would buy 2 kilos of cheese to last us 5 days. That's about 4.5 pounds of cheese. It was amazing.

After grocery shopping we went to dinner and the beach!

Sometimes in the cabin we would have Spanish lessons with Professor Raul. Other times we would have Cafe Literario (book club) where we read out loud and discussed Martin Rivas (the first novel written in Chile and a super popular period TV show. We watch it whenever we can on our one channel, and decided to all buy the book for when we were out of TV range)

When the girls did night telemetry, the boys had to cook dinner. Sometimes we came home to candle light and wine! Usually we wrote "recetas" on the whiteboard to make sure there would also be something edible...

This is why there are fragments of cloud forest!

The bathtub outside of our cabin (un baño al fresco). One day there were other researchers coming to the park, and as we drove up to our cabin I remarked "Oh- there's a truck in our driveway." And a second later "OH- there's a man in our bathtub!" Thus, Bañera Juan got his nickname (amongst ourselves).

This was the day the muffler fell off the truck...

Luckily we got it reattached before the 6 hour drive back to Santiago. I don't think it would have fit very well. Chao Fray Jorge!

Guanaco Ataque!

2010-08-09T19:46:00.000-07:00

In addition to adorable small mammals, Chile is home to some pretty awesome large ones as well! Most people have heard of llamas and alpacas, but their wild relatives, guanacos, still roam parts of South America. There are two families of them in Fray Jorge and we were really hoping to catch a glimpse of one of them. We spotted them on a hill a ways away one morning and felt really lucky. Little did we know...Morgan's awesome attack picture

Guanaco ataque! We were all on the hill doing telemetry one day, and a guanaco ran through our valley! It was so cool! We were just getting over how exciting it was, when the guanaco reappeared over the ridge in front of us, followed by another one- who was chasing it! They raced back through the valley, heading directly at us. I was standing with Morgan and Loren, and we all thought we were actually going to get run over. Which would have been terrible, but also kind of awesome! At the last minute, the guanacos changed their course and thundered past us.

As if this wasn't enough excitement, maybe half an hour later I spotted one guanaco about 15m from where Morgan and I were standing. It was near a big dead cactus looking into the valley behind us. It reared up twice, then trotted back through our degu valley and out of sight. Crazy guanacos!

After this we continued seeing guanacos pretty often, sometimes alone and sometimes a whole group. We liked to joke that the guanacos were stalking us and were going to attack, and the night before Tina, Morgan, and I spent the day alone in the field we were having our usual laughs about guanaco attacks, when Juan decided to tell us stories about the rogue guanaco that roamed the park years ago. This young male would sneak up on unsuspecting tourists and bite them or charge them! All of a sudden, guanaco attacks were not quite so funny to us. Luckily, we made it out of the park unscathed. Sneaky guanacos!

Abrocoma Amor

2010-08-09T18:54:00.000-07:00

Morgan, me and Tina are thiiiiiiis excited!

In Fray Jorge I found, hands down, the new love of my life. It's name is Abrocoma, it has giant ears, nubby toes, and it loves to cuddle.

Abrocoma was cleaning his face while I was holding him!

From the first day in the cabin Tina, Morgan, and I became obsessed with seeing an abrocoma. These rodents are usually active at night, were supposed to be very docile (tranquilo), bigger than degus, and very sweet. We talked about abrocomas all of the time, went outside at night and peered under the porch in search of them, and joked about "accidentally" setting traps to see if we could get one. I even got nicknamed "Abrocoma" because I have a furry hat I wear when it is really cold.

LOVE

One morning we were trapping at a new site and- best thing ever! There was an abrocoma in one of the traps I was checking!!! We abandoned the degus and Tina, Morgan, and I fawned over the little guy for about an hour. After five thousand photos, a lot of cuddles and a couple of kisses, I had to resist the urge to put him in my pocket and we let him go back to his home. Best wild animal ever!!

Goodbye abrocoma. You are the best!!

So... you do WHAT in Chile??

2010-08-03T14:32:00.000-07:00

So I understand that what I am doing out here in Chile is somewhat of a mystery to most of my friends and family back home. "Chasing degus" doesn't really conjure up a full mental image for most people, so I'll explain some of the finer points of degu-poking just so we are all on the same page.

The Degu Crew. Morgan, Raúl, Tina, Loren, Me

I am helping study the home range of degus- where they go, who they hang out with, who they sleep with (haha) day and night. We do this by putting little radio collars on the animals and following them with telemetry- during the day we locate them once an hour, 6-8 hours a day, for 6-12 days.
The first step is to catch a bunch of animals and collar them. We use wire traps and bait them with oats. When the animals walk in they step on a treadle that shuts the door behind them, and then we walk around and check the traps every few hours. We take them out of the traps, determine the sex, reproductive status, weight, and snip a bit of the ear off to both mark that we have caught them before and for genetic analysis (at Rinconada, the field site near Santiago, the animals have ear tags with ID numbers on them).

Tina with a fat lady-degu in a trap

Animals that were over 150g were big enough to be collared, which took about 4 people to successfully do! Someone holds the animal, another person holds the paws so they don't get stuck in the collar while it is being fitted, another person puts the collar on, someone pulls the ends of the wire to tighten it, another person crimps the wires once it is the proper size, and then the ends are trimmed. We put plastic tubing around the wire collars so they don't rub the animals' necks. When we are done with all this, they look like little remote control degus with their antennas sticking up!!

Poor little degu getting fitted with a radio collar!

The radio collars emit a particular frequency, and so using 2 teams with antennas and receivers we search for the beeps until we can get a good fix on their location. Then we take a compass reading of the position and record it. We take GPS coordinates of our radio towers, and Morgan is plugging all the data into a program now which will tell us, based on the GPS position and compass readings, where the animal was at that moment in time. With 40+ points, you can get a good sense of how far an animal travels.

Morgan with the radio tower. She was the degu finder, I was the compass reader.

To figure out where they sleep at night, we use a single hand antenna attached to a receiver and walk around in the dark, pointing it at bushes until we find the strongest beep. It really is as bizarre as it sounds!! Some animals sleep in the same burrow system every night and are really easy to find, but other ones move around a whole lot and we have to tromp around the field site for a while to find them.

Me, Tina, and Morgan finishing up night telemetry!

Finally when we are done with telemetry, we have to set traps again and catch the animals with collars so we can cut the collars off. And that's it! No more robo-degus!Morgan and Raúl removing a radio collar

Back in the City

2010-08-02T20:29:00.001-07:00

Back in Santiago!! After spending 3 weeks in Parque Nacional Fray Jorge chasing degus, poking abrocomas, and getting spied on by guanacos, Tina, Morgan and I are back in our apartment with... INTERNET!!! This fantastic new development means we have been able to chat online and on skype, post a million photos to facebook, and look at way too much cuteoverload.com. It also means we haven't watched our usual single TV channel, gone to our favorite @SNS cafe, or even, um, bought groceries yet (it's only been 3 days!).

This is the beginning of the end for our band of "gringos". Loren (the boss) leaves tomorrow, Michael in a week and Morgan in 2. Triste!! Tina, Monica and I have to leave the country before the beginning of September to essentially renew our visas. I am thinking of heading to Buenos Aires, Argentina and going to a language school for a week. While my Spanish (Castillano) is improving (I have mastered the all important words like tuerto- cyclops, or one eyed person; acurrucarse- to cuddle; and arrastrado- creeper) I think I might need a few more fillers before I can have a decent conversation. Or, you know, some verb conjugations.

In the next few days I hope to catch up on my blog- so many stories and a zillion photos from the last few weeks! I have started to catch up on laundry, took a shower TWO DAYS in a row!! With hot water!! Such a luxury. And might even shower again tomorrow! That's pretty much all the excitement I can handle for now- more to come tomorrow:)

Parade in the Street

2010-07-06T17:42:00.000-07:00

This morning we walked out of our apartment to see the military band piling out of their bus on our street. It could only mean one thing- a parade!! Our apartment is 2 blocks from La Mondeda, the Presedential Palace and government building. It is like being in Washington, DC and living 2 blocks from the White House. But apparently here they do a changing of the guard ceremony every other morning, just like London (as our friend aptly put it). Naturally, when there is a parade on your street, you follow along, and this morning was a real treat.

Our street, Zenteno (our apartment is on the left)La Moneda, the Presedental Palace

View of the Andes on our walk to Catolica

Field Trip to the Andes

2010-07-06T17:19:00.000-07:00

We took the truck to Cajón del Maipo this weekend, a valley of the Río Volcan. The road heads East towards Argentina, and after turning into a rutted dirt track, abruptly ends in the “town” of Baños Morales which houses the entrance to Monumento Natural El Morado, a small National Park. In the summer you can hike to a lake with views of Glacier San Francisco, but with the danger of avalanches in the winter, you can only get as far as Cerro el Morado, which is a stunning peak, especially covered in snow.

We hiked up the mountain in the snow for about an hour. It was a gorgeous winter day with the sun shining and a cold win- perfect walking conditions. On our way back down Morgan (from Minnesota) taught us proper “penguin sliding” techniques. It involves flopping on your belly and sliding down steep icy hills. Pretty much the best thing ever.

On the drive home we stopped at a little semi-hidden café Monica remembered from when she was here last year. It was like walking into a hobbit hole with small doors and ceilings and little tables. It had incredible hot chocolate and cakes, and Michael ordered 2 desserts and the poor little old lady who brought us our food nearly died from surprise and delight.

Practical Spanish 101

2010-06-30T16:26:00.000-07:00

Learning Spanish in a classroom can never really prepare you for life in a foreign country, especially doing biology fieldwork every day. I have begun to put together a dictionary of my own most commonly used Spanish phrases from sitting on a hill everyday, using telemetry to track radio collared degus, watching owls and foxes, and walking around town. Here is a sampling of the collected works:

Oh chasquido! = Oh snap! As in, “oh snap, owl! You just tried to eat my degu!”

Oh Chasquido! (proper noun) = name given to said burrowing owl

Tu travieso pequen = you naughty burrowing owl (usually in reference to Oh Chasquido)

Phantasma degu = ghost degu (we think he was eaten by Oh Chasquido a few days ago)

(Searching Oh Chasquido's burrow for the remains of Phantasma Degu, who we are now quite certain got eaten)

Cortecésped degu = lawnmower degu (his radio signal sounds like he is mowing the lawn)

Extraterrestre degu= alien degu (sounds like an aliean)

Taxista degu = taxi driver degu (we pick up some taxi driver static on this degu frequency)

*For fantastic drawings of our favorite degus, check out Morgan's blog!!!

El zoro = the fox

Bocando = snack (update. Apparently in Chile, "snack" is also used, as is aperitivo which is harder for us to say and thus not as popular).

Perro con Manoplas = Mitten Dog (the oldest, fattest dog who has incredibly fluffy paws that look like mittens)

Juliano = Military Dog (not really vocabulary, but actually his name. We know that because he has a military name tag sewn onto the back of his military dog jacket. He also usually wears a purple scarf, depending on how cold it is).

Play time!

2010-06-30T15:59:00.000-07:00

(We bought light up Chile horns to wear during their match, even though we couldn't watch it. We did, however, listen to the end of it on the radio driving home from the field. A true test of Spanish vocabulary is listening to the radio!)

In the last week I have spent almost every day in the field, doing radio telemetry and tracking degu movements. In the time off from the field I have watched as many World Cup games as possible (adios Chile, England, and USA :( ). We discovered a fantastic pizza place with trees growing through the building. We also tried the "national soda", Pap, which has the most unfortunate name ever, and a color and taste to match. Yuck.

Morgan and I had an exciting night involving soccer, pub food, dessert with absurdly large utensils, a grocery shopping trip that resulted in a giant bag of mustard which was a) chosen not only for its giant size and amazing cheap-ness, but also because there is a picture of a fried piece of chicken with a face drawn on it with mustard and b) when asking some local colleagues what to do with a giant bag of condiment once it is opened, were informed that those are for restaurants and not normal houses. So now we have about 6 months worth of slightly weird tasting mustard in a bag that cannot be resealed in our fridge.

Also on the way home from our very exciting game/pub/grocery store/riding the metro night, we arrived in front of our apartment to find a small crowd of people taking pictures of some guy. So we naturally decided to take a picture as well, because clearly he was famous or something. One of the guys from the crowd came over and asked if we had taken a photo. Morgan replied yes, and asked who the person was. Guy was surprised we didn’t know, and explained he is the singer from the Screaming Trees, a grunge band from the 80s. Seeing our blank looks he added- “from Queens of the Stone Age” and we said ohhhh, we’ve heard of them! So we had a semi-famous person sighting to top it all off!

San Cristobal

2010-06-30T15:40:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went up the big, BIG hill, San Cristobal, in Santiago on a funicular railway!

Michael, Morgan, Monica & Tina

Monica has palm tree hair!

The semi-clear day

The giant statue of Virgin Mary you can see from most parts of the city

He was so cute!

I Finally Saw a Degu!

2010-06-23T11:30:00.000-07:00

Tina, Loren & Michael looking for degus

Sunday was our first day in the field. We got the truck, it stopped raining, and there was no riotous football on the schedule. All of us new kids went out with Loren to Rinconada, which is a little less than an hour from downtown Santiago. It is an interesting matorral (equivalent to the chaparral of California) landscape with acacia trees and some really large cacti. It actually looks a lot like parts of California.

Degu burrow with "runways"

We saw lots of degus running around and their burrow systems with little “runways” between holes. We practiced our radio telemetry skills by hiding a little radio collar like the ones that have been put on some of the animals and I got to “be a degu” and run around the field while Morgan tried to track me. Michael also decided to be one with the coruro (the subterranean rodents he and Monica are studying) and was crawling on the hillside for a better look.

Michael sneaking up on coruro

In our field site we saw a couple of eagles, a ton of hawkish looking birds called caracaras and even a burrowing owl! He was cute and very grumpy.

Morgan with the radio tower to track degus

Chilean Food Update

2010-06-23T11:25:00.001-07:00

I have discovered my new favorite Chilean food. It is called patatas duquesas. They are little fried mashed potato balls- like mashed potatoes inside a French fry and reminiscient of a Cheeto cheese puff. Amazing.

Also, Morgan ordered the biggest sandwich I have ever seen. Called the Frica Gigante, it was advertised under the heading “tengo hambre, mucho hambre” and boy were they NOT kidding! It was pretty much the best thing ever!

Mágico

2010-06-23T11:09:00.000-07:00

On Friday we spent all day in our coffee shop (@SNS) right across from Universidad de Catolica. It is the best place because they have wi-fi we can use for free all day, giant flat screen tvs that show all the World Cup matches, really nice people working there (we know all of them now since we are there every day) and really tasty fresh fruit juices (jugos). We watched the exciting USA game and the not so exciting England game, went out for dinner with the whole group, and got home pretty late.

Tina, Michael, Monica, & Morgan at the cafe

When we came home something seemed strange. Our shoes by the front door were in a different place. Our floor looked… shiney. The blanket on the couch had been folded, the couch itself looked… vacuumed. Someone had come in and… cleaned? Naturally we ran all over the apartment (and checked to make sure everything was still there. It was) and exclaimed in awe at the novelty of having an unknown and wholly unexpected cleaning person. We emailed our landlord and found out it is part of our rent. Awesome! So we took a lot of pictures of our clean place, and figured the apartment would be sparkling again in two weeks.

Morgan is confused by the clean apartment

And then tonight we came home, walked in the door, and I said- did we move our shoes again? And, with more confusion and slightly less delight, we realized our apartment had been cleaned AGAIN today. And it is only Monday. So we are back to not understanding pretty much everything that goes on in this country again.

In Search of Cuisine de Chile

2010-06-18T15:42:00.000-07:00

What foods define Chile? The tour books give unsatisfying answers. Seafood. Empanadas. Dishes borrowed from Peru and Argentina- namely ceviche (raw fish cured in lemon juice) and steak. Potatoes and pisco sours, which are jointly claimed by Chile and Peru. Chile is gaining renown for its wines, which I am sure are quite good but thus far beer and booze seem to be generally favored.

Unfortunately, the unsatisfying answers seem to be generally correct. The United States has a reputation for huge portions and unhealthy eating habits, but the Chileans seem to have taken this concept and run with it. It is like they borrowed some of the most popular (and fattening) options from many different cultures and put them on steroids. The lunch portions served here are enough for an average family of four. Fast food joints are ubiquitous. Plenty of McDonalds, Burger Kings, Kentucky Fried Chickens, pizza places, and then the hot dogs. Known as “completos”, these beasts are covered in chopped tomatoes and guacamole with a squiggle of mayonnaise decorating the top. Which is another thing- mayonnaise is definitely the condiment of choice here. In the supermarket there were 3 choices of mustard, 2 of ketchup and hot sauce, and over a dozen kinds of mayonnaise including a few in bag form (I will take a picture next time we go shopping. I think I was in too much shock and awe last time). Many little shop fronts “specialize” in completos and ice cream.

It is common for the fast food type places to display plastic renditions of the items on their menu. Tina and Morgan and I have gone out of our way to check out as many of these as we can find. There are slices of pizza covered in crazy toppings- what appears to be an entire can of sliced mushrooms, dozens of oysters or mussels, chopped up hot dogs, an inch thick layer of sliced meat. The toppings are odd, but the sheer quantity is mind boggling. Anything called “vegetarian” is bound to include fish, chicken, ham, or a combination (the only thing missing would be the red meat).

All this isn’t to say the eating experience hasn’t been enjoyable. The seafood is really fresh and there are plenty of restaurants to show it off- sushi seems to be really taking off here now, which kind of makes sense. Empanadas (similar to small calzones) are usually a tasty option and both gelato places we have tried have had delicious and inventive flavors. Raspberry with mint, green tea with mango, wild honey, pineapple or orange with ginger, a dozen kinds of chocolate.

And of course, the steak is fresh and delicious. That’s right, I had steak last night- for the first time in 14 years! We all went to an Argentine restaurant, and well, when in Chile. My first thought was “wow, I remember now what steak tastes like”. I didn’t think it was gross, but I didn’t love it. I ate about a quarter of it (and all of my potatoes) but that was about all I could handle. I made a cucumber lettuce sandwich for dinner tonight and was much happier!

Chi! Chi! Chi! Le! Le! Le!

2010-06-16T11:51:00.000-07:00

Viva Chile!!

In our "acclimation time" before starting work in the field we are watching a whole lot of the World Cup, aka Copa Mundial or just Mundial. Outside of the United States I think everyone loves football, so I was thrilled to find out I would be in Chile for it this year. The World Cup is one of my favorite things ever, and it has been pretty easy to convert the rest of the crew to fandom.

Today was extra exciting because Chile played their first match and beat Honduras 1-0. We watched in a big tent set up at the university where they had a projector and some seats. It was still dark out when it started at 7:30am, but the streets were alive almost all night with honking and horns and cheering fans. It is so fun being in a crowd that is so passionate and loud! I would bet the whole country was watching this morning, and there was some serious celebrating after the victory. We stayed away from the main plazas in the city because it isn't uncommon for police to break up big groups with tear gas and rocks. No thank you. Instead we saw some officers chase high school students around the parks a little bit. Ole ole!
Pedestrians taking over the Alameda, the main street downtown

A Clear Day in Santiago

2010-06-16T11:24:00.000-07:00

It rained on Sunday night which meant the perpetual haze temporarily cleared on Monday. We took advantage and climbed up the smaller of the two hills in town, Santa Lucia. From the fort like building on the top we had incredible views of the valley with the city of Santiago, as well as the Andes to the east and the smaller mountain range, the cordillera to the west.

Tina, Michael, Monica, and Morgan

Morgan and Tina climbing up Santa Lucia

Street Dogs

2010-06-15T08:43:00.001-07:00

The dogs of Chile are an endless source of fascination for me. What do they do all day? Where do they go at night? Why are they all so seemingly well behaved and not interested in people? Are they pets, or strays, or something in between? These silent sentries of the city roam the streets, usually solo, occasionally in pairs but rarely with a close association to one another. They sleep curled up on the sidewalk, sprawled out in the squares and pedestrian thorough fares, unmindful of the thousands of pairs of feet passing within inches of their prone bodies, too busy basking in the sun to notice. There are at least a handful of canines on every block, and while some are clearly garbage hounds, others are decked out in shirts and scarves, but running just as free as their mangy brethren. The dogs do not beg, they are not rude or aggressive, they just calmly go about their days, the city streets belonging as much to them as any of the bipedal pedestrians.

The dogs obey the traffic laws. They sit and wait for the little man to turn green, and briskly cross the street with the throngs of people. Some claim to have seen a solo dog wait for the light to change and then proceed to cross an avenue by himself.

This evening there was a dog, waiting at the crosswalk. When the light changed he became excited, but made no move to cross to the other side. We wondered if this dog didn’t quite understand the system, but then an older man, wheeling his wares to set up on the street corner (probably consisting of TV antennas and chocolate bars, which seems de rigur for the neighborhood) arrived on our side of the street and the scruffy poi dog greeted him happily and followed him into the crowded sidewalk. Is this a daily ritual? Does the dog follow the man home at night? Does the man even feed the dog, or make sure he is sheltered when it is cold out? Or is it just another city friendship, two old pals meeting up as usual, an unspoken commitment between equals?

Santiago de Chile

2010-06-13T08:55:00.000-07:00

After the commotion of arriving, we found ourselves tumbled into the city of Santiago. Never having been to Latin America before, there really aren't any meaningful comparisons I can make. It is busy but not frenetic, old but still modern, polite but not super friendly, and for the most part pretty clean and safe. The parks are well kept, the streets are cleaned every night, there are a lot of police but aside from a riot van that we see every night, their presence isn't overwhelming. There are shiny, busy supermarkets no different from those in downtown Boston (though you have to weigh your own fruit and stick the label on your bag. Our cashier was not impressed when we failed to do this). But there are also little hawker stands down the main streets in the evenings, selling TV antennas, shoe insoles, pantyhose, and wool hats. Dogs wander everywhere, which has really caught our interest.

I am sharing an apartment with 2 other girls, Morgan and Tina. We are in Centro, the downtown of Santiago. Our apartment is on the 12th floor with Southeast facing windows with views of the Andes. On the roof there is a small gym, a swimming pool that has been drained for the winter, and a BBQ area. The first day we explored the building, going up and down the elevators and stairs, much to the amusement of the guys at the front desk, who we later realized monitored the camera footage constantly streaming from all parts of the building.

Arriving in a Spanish speaking country, you are really thrown into the language. Everywhere else I have traveled, including Asia, it has been pretty easy to get around speaking only English with a few words of the local language. Not so here. Chilean Spanish is also a whole different beast than classroom Spanish. People speak FAST, there are a lot of different words for common things, and accents are thick. We get on ok in restaurants and shops (for the most part) but we had to go enquire about getting internet access in our apartment, and I felt like I had run a marathon by the time we walked out. What we found out, though, is you need a Chilean identification number (kind of like our social security number) in order to get a phone line, which is necessary in order to get internet. We are hoping our apartment service can find a way around that, but til then it is internet cafes.

Flying

2010-06-13T08:46:00.000-07:00

Delta, above all other airlines I have flown, must do special R&D to get the mood of their flights, start to finish, just right. It takes a slight and sparing hand to get that perfect mixture of frustration, panic, tedium, discomfort, and inconvenience. My flight from San Francisco to Santiago via Atlanta started innocently enough. I booked well in advance, had a nice (window) seat assignment, and was even allowed to check in online, which seems unusual for an international flight. Wanting to double check my departure gate, I called my new Sky Miles number (yes I even signed up for their club) and was told beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was to report to the international terminal to check in. Seeing as I was flying first to Atlanta and then changing planes, this seemed odd. Seeing as I have flown on Delta before, my mother agreed to accompany me to the check in, just in case I had to lug all my stuff to Domestic. Which of course I did.

After their tedious bag drop lines, a crowded gate with a broken PA, and over an hour of sitting on the tarmac before lining up to take off, only to pull to the side for a technical malfunction, we were on our way.

We arrived in Atlanta over an hour late, and as it is Delta’s hub everyone had a connecting flight they now had about 10 minutes to catch. This kind of situation really brings out the best in people, and shoving and some name calling ensued.

Rushing to the next terminal, I was a little relieved my flight to Santiago had been delayed. At least they are consistent.

The flight, once we took off, was pleasant and not crowded. We landed, met the one member of our group who had flown American (he had arrived early) and from there everything proceeded smoothly. Until the last of the luggage was delivered, neither of my pieces among them. Apparently the baggage from San Francisco never left Atlanta.

Oh Delta, how do you do it?

A New Adventure

2010-06-10T02:50:00.000-07:00

It's been about 9 months since returning from the land down under- high time to stuff the backpack and set out again! This time I will be going to Santiago, Chile, because apparently I'm one of those people who wants perpetual winter. On the plus side, I can always find good end-of-season sales.

This trip is about more than "just for fun" (though hopefully there will be a good bit of that in here too!). I'm going to work with a team and research the degu, a burrowing rodent that lives in the wilds of Chile. I will be working for about 5 months, then doing some traveling on my own for 2 more. After months of planning and a few hours of last minute packing, I think I am ready to go!

Into Cambodia

2009-08-23T01:51:00.000-07:00

Update from the road!

Our tour finished yesterday. Hard to believe 11 days and 3 countries passed already! We have 2 more days in Laos, a few in Sydney, then home sweet home. I am looking forward to a big bed (in my own room! Oh the luxury!), not having to carry around a headlamp and toilet paper all the time, modern plumbing and a lack of biting insects, easy phone calls and free internet- and washing machines!!! But I will be very, VERY sad to leave this part of the world. SE Asia has been incredible. I fell in love with Cambodia and Lao has been amazing. Wonderful people, amazing scenery, temples galore, delicious food... what more could you want?! Definitely a place to come back to.

Banteay Samre

Sunset at Bakheng

Quickie

2009-08-14T06:51:00.000-07:00

Tif and I are currently in Bangkok (and current photos are posted! yay!) I also added photos from Kuala Lumpur, and Koh Phi Phi (pee pee) the other night. Singapore and Tasmania are coming, but internet connections (ones that work well enough to upload pics anyways) are few and far between, so those may take a while still.

We met up with our GAP tour group and will be heading off to Cambodia and the Angkor Wat temples in the morning! Following that is a week or so in Laos, a few days in Sydney, and then.... back home to the states! Hard to believe, but these 4 months have really flown by- and I've loved every second of them!

Temple Tours

2009-08-14T05:20:00.001-07:00

Friday August 14th (Today!!!)

Bangkok, Thailand

Wat Pho/ Temple of the Reclining Buddha

Andy, our Thai tour leader

The Grand Palace and Temple of the Emerald Buddha

Bangkok- the first bit

2009-08-14T05:00:00.000-07:00

First night in Bangkok and Chao Phraya River Thurs & Fri Aug 13-14

Celebrating the Queen's Birthday- these are all giant photos of her

Venice of Asia- the Chao Phraya River and Canals
Water monitor lizard- we saw a few of these swimming around as well!
Longtail boat like the one we were in

The monks sell bread you can feed to the catfish (which are enormous!)

A house along the canal and the Thai flag

Selling souvenirs to tourists on the river boats

View of Wat Arun

Koh Phi Phi, Thailand

2009-08-12T08:38:00.000-07:00

Sunday-Wednesday, Aug 9- 12Thailand! It is everything you expect- and then some. We arrived in the airport, collected our bags, cleared customs, even had a vague idea of where we wanted to go, found an airport shuttle to take us... and then waited. For enough people to fill the shuttle to make it worth their while to take us about 40 minutes to the town of Phuket, which is supposed to be less touristy and seedy than Patong. Finally after a lot of hassling and threatening to just take a taxi instead, and then actually recruiting 2 newly arrived backpackers to come with us so we could all immediately take off, we were on our way. En route we were easily convinced that Phuket town was not worth bothering with, and we would just take the ferry that day to Koh Phi Phi, a smaller island about an hour away that is renowned for its beaches and night life. Tough decision.
Once again, we got a taste for "Thai time". We were dropped off in a hurry, but the ferry didn't leave for about 4 hours and there really wasn't anything there but a semi covered platform with 2 benches, a tiny stand selling drinks and chocolate, and at least a dozen dogs. The time ended up passing fairly quickly as we were distracted with a couple of thunder storms and made a bunch of new friends. There were a couple of Irish guys, David and Paddy, who were on holiday and it was their 4th visit to Koh Phi Phi, so they gave us some good tips (ie don't even brush your teeth with the tap water). We also met Carol from England and Loon from Australia. We actually ran into everyone numerous times on the island it was so small, so it was nice to have familiar faces!
After boarding the ferry and being handed little plastic bags for sickness, we promptly fell asleep as is the best idea. When we arrived we were met by a crush of "tour guides" though apparently here they are a legit group that will pre book everything for you. We were taken to a little stand at the end of the dock where we were shown pictures of all the hotels in our price range (about $20 a night, pricey for Thailand but Koh Phi Phi is for ballers). Carol from the ferry had been told about the Phi Phi Princess and convinced us it was the best so we all booked in and had a man cart our packs over. There are no cars or scooters on the island, so things are much more laid back and peaceful. Also, having someone else move your gear is glorious. Perhaps next time I shall travel with a porter.

The hotel ended up being very nice and in a fantastic location. Even our initiated Irish friends were jealous of our find!
Tiffany, Carol and I made the hike to High Point to watch the sunset. From the top of the mountain you can see the little stip of sand where the ocean comes in on both sides. The view is so expansive you can apparently go there for spectacular sun rise as well as sun set, and while we had the best of intentions, we never actually made that! The natural beauty really is astonishing, even on a slightly overcast evening.

Koh Phi Phi was one of the islands greatly effected by the tsunami in 2004. Most of the island was covered in water, destroying most of the buildings and claiming many lives. Always a tourist destination, after the tsunami visitors stopped coming and livlihoods were lost. Thanks to a lot of aid both physical and monetary, the island is coming back to life. Even when we visited 4 years later, you could still see many reminders of the destruction. The Phi Phi Princess along with many other buildings were still under construction and a lot of restaurants and business had signs thanking specific donors for helping them put their businesses back together. At the summit of the mountain there is a photo of the view taken a few days after the tsunami, and it is surreal to see the piles of debris and destruction in what seems to be such a peaceful setting.
After hiking down the hill Tiffany and I decided it was well past time to eat (all we had was McDonalds 14 hrs earlier!) and got a meal at a cute little place built on a platform in the tree canopy. Hellooo mosquitoes! The food was ok, the portions were small, and we were clearly not satisfied. So clearly, we went to a different restaurant and had second dinner. No one would have guessed it was our second meal in an hour, we ate like champs which makes people here really like you! We practically became regulars at Garlic 1992 (clearly the name of the restaurant) over the next few days. The man who seemed to run the place told us to come back tomorrow and go on the boat tour of the surrounding islands, he would offer us the best price and the best value. Turns out he was telling the truth!
We showed up in the morning for breakfast and ran into Loon who decided to come with us on our boat tour. A couple sitting next to us overheard us and decided they would come too. As it turns out, Jodi and Ulysses are from San Francisco! Such a small world.

We were taken through the back streets (ie people's decks and yards) to the longtail boats. We got masks and fins for snorkling, and waited another hour or so to take off. Our driver and guide went by the name Superman. His friend was called Spidermonkey and they would yell at each other whenever their boats got close. While we were waiting to leave Superman would come over, look at us, and say "5 minutes? Every one happy happy?" and then disappear again. We watched as he filled the fuel tank from a barrel he kept under the front plank "seat", using a plastic hose and the classic- stick one end in the fuel barrel, suck on the other and stick it in the boat before it gets in your mouth. I cracked a joke about how I was glad it was a non-smoking section, but then he proceeded to light a cigarette. I kid you not.
We finally got on our way and the beaches we saw were incredible. White sand, turquoise water, monkeys (scary!)... you really couldn't ask for more! Our last stop of the day was the island where the film The Beach was shot with Leonardo DiCaprio. Boats couldn't come onto the actual beach, so we swam from the boat to a rocky outcrop, grabbed onto some ropes to pull ourselves up over the sharpest rocks ever, walked across the island, and finally made it to the beach. It was an effort, but it was outstanding.

We also saw the caves where swallows make their nests out of spit, and men climb rickety bamboo ladders and pick the nests which are worth a lot and used in medicines and birds' nest soup (typically in China). Saw lots of limestone cliffs and beautiful beach huts. It was pretty amazing.
We got back at dusk and the tides were out. The boat got stuck on rocks in the shallow water, so we all had to get out and pull it in then wade to shore. Tiffany and got maybe our most memorable meal. We were starving and ordered enough food for about 4 average people. The waiter didn't seem to believe us, and they had trouble fitting all the plates on our table. We proceeded to eat it all, and women from the kitchen came out to look at us and smile. When we had finished the waiter jokingly asked if we wanted dessert, and we said sure, why not? We ordered the fried bananas (and when offered the choice of chocolate sauce or honey asked for both) and when they brought the plate out there were probably 3 whole bananas on there, even though the menu indicated about half as many. I think they were testing us. Clearly we finished it all, and were well liked in that restaurant.
The night life was no less interesting. There were lots of bars and people handing out fliers for the ubiquitous "buckets", which are, well, buckets that you put a 5th of booze into, a bottle of real Thai Red Bull (it comes in a brown glass apothecary looking bottle and apparently still contains amphetamines) and a can of soda with some ice and a few straws. They are as dangerous as they sound. In addition to typical bars and dance floors, there are DJs on the beach which is pretty amazing, as well as a place that had Thai boxing every night. After real boxers fought, they were open to volunteers. The prize for volunteering was a bucket. It was amazing. Koh Phi Phi lived up to all the hype- and then some!

KL Day 2

2009-08-12T05:23:00.000-07:00

After an amazing night's sleep (bless that air con) we headed out for some sight seeing. We picked up Chinese steamed buns for breakfast, found our way onto a local bus, and headed about an hour out of the main part of the city (though it is so sprawling you could hardly tell the difference) to the Batu Caves. These huge limestone caves are one of the most visited Hindu shrines outside of India, and the crux of the annual Thaipusan festival. During the festival people show their devotion by piercing themselves all over with skewers or hooking heavy carts to themselves and making the steep climb of 272 steps up to the caves and temples. The show of masochism is for Lord Murugan, who's largest statue is in front of the caves.

Unfortunately we were there at the wrong time of year for the festival, but the caves were still pretty impressive. Tom, a guy from England/New Zealand who we had met the night before came with us and showed us his trick of scaring the local monkeys. It backfired when a monkey went after him. I would not mess with those suckers- they look mean as hell and not afraid to bite you. Avoiding all serious injury, we eventually caught the bus and slowly made our way back to the city center. The guy selling tickets on the bus seemed happy to see us back on there, if a little surprised. It is never entirely clear where one gets on and off a bus- I think the rules change every time, but luckily we found some shade to wait in.
Discarded incense holders

Some of the Hindu kitsch they sell inside

monkeys everywhere!

Tiffany and I had another food court meal- this time at a place that had air conditioning (it becomes a theme, when you are sweating 24/7). The food is so good and so cheap! We also decided to give the ubiquitous fish foot treatment a try, going on strong recomendations from Sarah, who said it wasn't exactly fun or enjoyable, but probably the weirdest thing she's ever felt. For 5 ringgit, or about $1.50, you could have fish nibble on your feet for 10 min. In the mall there was a pool set up with chairs around it and these fish that love dead skin... How could this not be gross? Um, well, it is. Tiffany and I had some serious issues getting our feet in the water. The people running the place thought we were pretty funny and took pictures while we made horrible faces and could not stop giggling. Eventually we did get our feet submerged, and the feeling of fish scraping at your soles with their non-teeth was one of the most uncomfortable things I've subjected myself to, both mentally and physically. 10 minutes was more than enough (though really it was closer to 2 after all the squeamishness) but Sarah was right. Definitely an experience!

We met up with her for dinner and meant to make it to an Indian weekend market. Ended up getting food in a real restaurant and had a very pleasant meal. Some of the waiters tried to practice their English on us, but I think the only words they really knew were "hello" and "Michael Jackson" (his untimely death means his music will forever be linked with that part of the world in my head) so needless to say, they were pretty short conversations.

We went back and hung out on the roof, drinking expensive beers and talking for hours until we noticed that there was a man with a monkey wearing a diaper sitting next to us. He let us play with 4 month old Jojo who he got from a pet shop in Chinatown. Apparently it is legal to own a monkey as long as you register it and send it to behavior classes. Jojo had gone to his first month of class, and was scheduled to go for another month soon. Basically, these classes train monkeys not to bite people, an urge they must constantly struggle with. I am not in favor of pet monkeys, but couldn't really pass up the opportunity to hold the baby for a few minutes.

A bunch more people eventually came up to the roof, and we all hung out under the Christmas lights until way past our bedtime. Heard some horrifying stories of robbery on buses and police corruption in Thailand, learned you can live like a king teaching English in Taiwan, and all sorts of other tidbits from more seasoned Asia travelers.

We got a few (very few!) hours of sleep before being picked up by our taxi at 4am (pre-arranged through the hostel so as to avoid major scams) and taken to the airport. We spent our last few ringgit on McDonald's breakfast (noooooooo. But we couldn't stomach spicy fish soup, the only alternative, at that hour) and flew off to Phuket, Thailand!

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

2009-08-11T05:24:00.000-07:00

We boarded the early bus for Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia, which is only about a 4 hour drive from Singapore. The bus was luxurious with giant reclining seats and wonderful air conditioning! This was the first border we crossed by land, and the bus stopped so we could check out of Singapore and then 20 min later stopped again so we could get stamped into Malaysia. There was a huge crush of people but it was still civilized enough. Once we got into KL though, all bets were off.

The bus didn't actually stop in the terminal as one would expect. We thought we could pick up a map, ask for some directions, no worries. Stepping onto the street was like stepping into a whole new world. Hot, humid, polluted, crowded, loud, FAST. Everything about Kuala Lumpur was in-your-face, including all the people who literally got in your face about taking a taxi, exchanging money, trying to sell you something or take you somewhere. I guess overwhelming would really be the best word to describe it. We trekked around that neighborhood for almost an hour trying to figure out where our guest house was, sweating off a third of our body weight while we hauled around all of our worldly possessions. After asking 20 people and literally walking by the place 3 times, we found our diamond in the rough, Wheeler's Guest House. We couldn't really be blamed for missing it- there was a sign the size of a piece of paper at about the 4th floor level announcing it's name. The front was a little convenience stand you squeeze by, then head up some really dodgy stairs to the 3rd floor where we found reception. The decor was an interesting mix of fake flowers, fish tanks, and twinkle lights, but it worked better than I would have expected.

The entrance to the Guest House- which was hidden behind a convenience store/cartThe pile of bricks holding our bed up on one side
The whole place was heavier on the rustic than the charm- our room had a double bed with one side held up by a pile of bricks. But we did have air con AND a fan, which was heaven on earth. The toilets were down the hall and worked maybe 20% of the time. The showers were in the toilet stalls which is a space saving innovation. They were built on a concrete slab with some plywood slapped up as separators. Shower shoes are a definite must! For all of the griminess the place still had some charm. The rooftop was a deck and they had free catered dinner for everyone on Friday night. The food was good and we were encouraged to eat as much as we could, and ended up meeting some really nice people.

After dinner we wanted to explore the city a bit and set off with Sarah from Australia and two German girls who had just arrived from Europe that day after 4 connecting flights. Sarah had been to KL a few years before, and knew her way around a bit. We took the monorail downtown to see the Petronas Towers all lit up at night. They are gorgeous structures and were the tallest buildings in the world until being surpassed in 2004 (they are still the tallest twin towers!). At night they have lights running up and down and are pretty remarkable. Quite a contrast from other parts of the city! We checked out the ridiculously expensive shopping center located on the first floor, the dancing fountain show out back, and hung out with tons of other tourists for a little while before deciding to take the scenic route, aka walk, back to the hostel.

We were staying in one of the rougher parts of the city it seems, and on the way back passed a long building where one unit had the biohazard sign painted on the front, another was burnt out and you could see KL's other major building, the sky tower, through the windows because there was no roof to obstruct the view of the sky. The units at the end of the building were, of course, occupied.

Returning to the hostel we said goodnight to the other girls and were getting ready to go bed ourselves when we met some guys who were heading across the street for a drink. Somehow or other we wound up at a bar til 3am. Drinks in Malaysia are very expensive because it is a Muslim country and they have very high taxes on alcohol. I guess it all balances out when we paid less than $5 a night for a place to sleep!

Singapore

2009-08-10T23:25:00.000-07:00

Todo... We're not in Kansas Anymore

Singapore! Tiffany and I both found our new favorite airline (sorry JetBlue)- Thai Air. Not only was the plane empty enough we got our own rows, they wined and dined us the whole way to Singapore (via Bangkok). The flight cleared up the misconception that Australia and Asia are close together- at least not the parts we were heading to. Oops.

Our arrival card for Singapore was pretty standard, except for the fact that it said in big bold letters: welcome to Singapore. DRUG SMUGGLING IS PUNISHABLE BY DEATH. We heard chewing gum was also illegal, but hopefully that was perceived as a lesser crime- one can never be too sure. But aside from the slightly sobering welcome, the city was great. We took the MRT- their subway equivalent- from the airport to our downtown stop. When the doors opened and we stepped out was the first time we really realized what we were in for. It was HOT. And it was HUMID. Welcome to Southeast Asia, where you won't stop sweating!

Our hostel was in Little India, a very colorful and slightly chaotic neighborhood. The place was clean and efficient, and like the city as a whole, not as different as we had expected. Though we had to leave our shoes at the door and our bags on the balcony, they did provide free internet and breakfast- always a plus!

After showering but not really getting any drier, we set out armed with our 3x3' map of the city. We got interesting iced drinks down the street at probably the only place in the city where they don't speak English. We pointed at some pictures and wound up with one tea and one coffee drink, both with plenty of condensed milk- pretty standard. Visited our first (of about a million) temples, checked out a food court and started the trend of stuffing our faces that didn't stop for the next month. A local guy came and actually asked what we ordered and got it for himself- score! He clearly had daughters around our age, and sat with us for a while telling us how to be careful and not get into trouble. Can never have too many parent lectures, I suppose!

Over the course of the next few days we saw as much as we could and spent an extraordinary amount of time walking- in a city with great public transportation, 100 degree heat and 90% humidity. There were stops at the famous Raffles Hotel, Clark Quay, the 72nd floor of the Stamford Westin for panoramic views of the city, Chinatown and the Buddha Tooth temple, more food markets as well as the National Museum with an "interactive" exhibit on food, and my favorite, the Night Safari!

The zoos in Singapore are world class, and we checked out the nocturnal park. It is set up brilliantly with amazing animals that are active at night, and they have different walking loops to go by all of the habitats which look pretty natural but designed to give maximum viewing. There is also a tram that runs to the further, bigger exhibits of hyenas, lions, and my favorite, tapirs! They look kind of like a cross between an elephant, a pig, and an Oreo. I had no idea they were so huge! We stayed in the park until it closed around midnight, then were shuttled the hour or so back into town.

A few days is hardly enough time to spend in Singapore, but it was a good introduction to Asia. It is clean, modern, organized, efficient, and so much less foreign than I had imagined. It seemed even less intimidating than wandering into Chinatown- and I think more people spoke English! It certainly set the tone for the rest of the trip.