Spring Break!!!

It is said that everyone has a summer.
I say that everyone has a spring...break.
I also think that since this wasn't actually my spring, it doesn't totally count, so I get at least one more;)
But I will definetly never forget the places I went or the people I've met.

Chandi (my traveling buddy) and I left the night of Thursday, September 14. So I arrived by colectivo by her house, and walked with my pesado (heavy) backpack (huge, huge, huge!). Before I left, Omar me dijo que mi mochilla estaba tan pesado (was too heavy), but I, of course, like to have everything I could possibly need, como, tasa(duct tape), bandaids, neosporin, shirts for every occasion, wet suit, bathing suit, pajamas... you get the point. I did only bring one pair of jeans though! Back to the story. I arrived at la casa de Chandi so that her padre could llevarnos al terminal de bus. Of course, while we're waiting for him to finish playing his new game boy, he teaches me some more garabatos (bad words). Haha, love it this time i learned ... I'm sure you can get it- ¡Conche tu madre!- I didn't understand it at first because he slurrs his words and mumbles a little, but he was like- Es como "Show me the money!"- I love that guy! He is so funny. Y la madre me dijo- Hija! No lo digas! No lo digas! Es un mala palabra! (Don't say that, it's a bad word!) Of course she thinks I'm a gringa who has no idea what that means... They are so great. During the whole car ride with him, he was telling me that Peruanos son sucios (they're dirty), no bebes el agua, they might give us false money( ha, which they did!), and they're malintencionado( bad intentions). And when a peruvian driver drives badly say- Conche tu madre! It was awesome.

Next stop- La Serena. How i love it. We arrived at 6am. i was worried about our hostel guy not finding us, but within about two seconds of waiting, out comes Andrès! We got to our hostel, awake as ever. i couldn't call any of my friends! No one get up till at least 10am! Dios mio! I ended up falling asleep till maybe 10am. You know, when in La Serena... Yes. So I called Juan, who was a little busy at the moment (i thought for sure they didn't get up till 12...) nad he told me that he'd call me in a little bit. From my bad experience with flaky Fabian, I thought for sure that he'd forget or something. No surfing for me. Oh well. We ended up meeting Enrique from Tejas? and his two friends. We ended up having an awesome, cheap lunch at this restaurant, Donde Gallo or something like that. The waiter was so great, he gave us a sample of chicken because we had no idea what he was talking about. He was so great.

We did end up meeting with the guys (surfers), after running all over town to get there. We packed in the car like a can of sardines, and headed off to see the wizard. I mean the olas (waves). After going to the gas station, driving down a dirt road, and riding in a car full of cigarette and such smoke, we arrived at puente teatino. It wasn't really sunny and the waves didn't look perfectly glassy, but this was where we were to surf. It was a right hand break. Damn. So Juan me prestò su tabla, and I headed out with Matias to the point. The channel was great. The first two waves I caught were the worst ever. I thought I had forgotten how to surf. That was twice now. I decided to take off my booties and try again. Back out to the surf. To my suprise, I caught the most amazing wave. I didn't fall. I didn't just kind of stand up again. I was carving and doing cut backs! I didn't forget how to surf! It was the booties!!! I couldn't believe how great it was. Two more perfect waves, another hour, and I went in. I had the biggest smile on my face! I had just surfed the best waves I had surfed in so long! Hugs to everyone! Juan was already ready to go. We watched him surf till the sun went down and we were attacked by mosquitos. Muy impresionante. We taught Matias and Negro the words "Ripper" and "Shredder." I don't remember the words in spanish, but they are pretty classic.

Sice Chandi was tired, she missed out on the all night long asado and pool game. I suck at pool. It's so awesome. What's even more awesome was that i was playing with Mateo (Juan's brother), who also sucked (maybe he was just trying to make me feel better). It was great. I did drink a little too much wine, which made me have a headache more than anything else. Yeah. I think it's time to stop with the alcoholism before it even starts. The next morning, Juan wanted to go surfing. Nope, I was out. Fabian's cousin came to the hostel to take me to the beach- No, no puedo, estoy cansada... No one could wake me up! It was great. Sleeping... Ah...

Pisco elqui!!! If this was all I had for spring break, I would have been totally content. A supposedly two hour long bus ride turned into four. Juan didn't answer his phone. Ay yay yay. What was I going to do? Chandi was sleeping. I called Juan's sister she told me I couldn't get a hold of him because there was no reception. Ay. So when we get off the bus, we looked for a hostal. Thery were all full. Mind you, it was already 9:30pm when we arrived. We walked around pisco elqui, asking to rent floors or couches becuase there was no way Chandi would camp with the guys even if we found them. We did look for them in campings (campsites) but they were no where to be found. If only we had checked the other campsite next door, but Chandi wanted to find a bus terminal even though there were no buses running. We bought pan y queso, and sat on a park bench en la plaza, and ate our bread. Everywhere I went I was hoping to run into one of the guys. We did run into someone from fùtbol, but alas, no one else. As we went to preguntar where the terminal was, we ran into a guy who had some rooms en la piscina(pool). I was a little suspiciosa, but I saw posters in the bus, so off we were. We ended up meeting Andrès (Andy), who was very handsome, stylish, and friendly. Out came three other guys, Bechara, Steve(o), and ... Oh no, what's his name? The other one. I am so sorry if you are reading this!!! Anyway, me encantan. Bechara, mi amore, (Andy's novio), is the most amazing, funniest guy ever! I love him! And Andy! They are so great! Poor Stevo, he was sick. To much pisco and too much sun. We all ended up going bike riding (except for what's his name) and took like a billion pictures. It was so amazing. Ice cream, electro music, bbq, we had our own little independance day party. I wish I went to la fonda though, I really wanted to dance queca (national dance), but sleep called. The next day we were on our way back. We went with the guys, they bought us cute little fruit tarts for breakfast ( they are the best), after they changed the flat tire. Our ride back wit them was great, as was everything with them. Andy said that he loved being with steve and... because they're from Lebanon, went through hard times, and now, they make the most of every second. He said that many of us live in the past or the future, but the most important is living right now. Memories are important, plans and dreams are important, but if we don't live now, we're not really living at all.

Juan called as soon as I got reception. So sweet. He makes me feel great. Ended up having lunch with him and Cris. Chandi had beans.

So longs and fare the wells were so sad. Ah... Te extrañarè Juan.

We rode for 22 hours to Arica. Met Peruanos who claimed that Pisco was peruano. Alejandro was our attendant, and since the bus was pretty much empty except for us, he just kept us company.

Arica. Slept at las palmas hostal, with crappy water pressure and stingy bread services. If someone's not in the kitchen and breakfast is supposedly provided, I will take, toast, and eat the bread. Oh yes, and drink the tea.

Train to Tacna, Peru. Everyone wants to get past the border!!!

Tacna to Ariquipa. "Ariquipa, Ariquipa, Ariquipa!" yelled a burly man with a loud voice. I will never forget him. Haha. Everytime I hear that name, I will think of him- Ariquipa!

We had lunch with a Japonese couple. They were so sweet. Miki and... I can't remember her name. Què lastima!

I was really sad that we couldn't see Ariquipa as we went through it on our way to Cusco. It was supposedly a beautiful city, "The white city," with volcanes. Ah. So sad.

Cusco. A city with great achitecture and great style... I mean there are so many people wearing their native dress, it's great. We went to Qoricancha, which was originally an Inca temple and then was taken over by the Spaniards. It was so beautiful. Can you imagine having the most important part of your culture being taken over by foreigners though? It must have been devastating. The architecture was a mix of Inca and Spanish design. It was so beautiful. There were paintings done by the spanish of the saints. They were so inspiring. so romantic. I know that maybe Christianity shouldn't be romanticized, but I love the stories and paintings, and everything that makes it beautiful. I wish that there was more of that now days, people dedicating their lives to make beautiful cathedrals, paintings, writings...

Bargaining at the mercado central was an adventure. I love how everyone tries to make you feel sorry for them and when hustling, they try to get even one Sol (like a quarter) out of you. -Es solamente un sol mas... It's awesome. I made some lady very rich that day.

I gave in. I signed up for a tour. Luckily we were the only ones in the tour(me and Chandi). We had an amazing tour guide, Alexis. We went mountain biking to Machu Picchu!!! Well almost, it was so beautiful. My hands were brused from all of the shock though. As I was waiting at the bottom of a hill... Along came Alexis... we waited... No Chandi. Five minutes more... No Chandi. So I biked up the hill as fast as possible. And there she was. lying on the ground, surrounded by the mountain people. They were preparing a fire, cutting up onions, and getting ready to eat her. I ran with my knife in my hand and started attacking them! I finally got her out of there even though we were being chased by mad indigenous people! Ok, ok, back to the part where she was on the ground. What really happened... she hit a rock and fell, dislocated her elbow, and the peopld didn't know what to do. Alexis went to the town, 15 minutes away, and I entertained her, singing "The ghost of corporate future" very strangely. I think the village people were confused. When we got to the hostal, I took pictures of Chandi's wounds before cleaning all the dirt off of her body. she didn't really want to be cleaned because it hurt, but I thought it was really important. Who know's what's in that dirt??? A bone doctor came to relocate her elbow. She was not happy. I wouldn't have been either, but it was for the best. She kept telling him to stop, and I'm sure that it seemed like forever to her, but he was fast and gentle.

The next day was strange, no one was really in a good mood because they were so stressed out, Chandi because of her arm, and me because I felt like I couldn't make her happy in any way. The journey was long to Aguas Calientes, and we walked the whole way. After lunch and getting some food in us, I was in a better mood, and fell behind, taking pictures and such. We walked for about four more hours to Aguas Calientes. Didn't have enough money to go to the hotsprings, sadly, but we ran into Charlie, Thomas, Raul, and Amanda while we were eating in a restaurant! I was so happy. Even though I supposedly renounced alcohol, I had a sip of sangria. Mmmm, so good. Like fizzy fruit punch... Spagetti was awesome. Food.

3am. It's time to get up. The time is three o'clock. Ugh. Alarm. Ran to the plaza because Thomas said he's leave if we were even 5 minutes late. They were 10 minutes late. I thought they had already left us. I was super stoked to go to Machu Picchu. I was again left behind, climbing the steps of the Incas because I couldn't breathe. I was so sick. Coughing all night long for three nights didn't do me any good. Oh well, just me and God and my dying flashlight. It was actually really nice. Very peaceful. Had the lamp to my feet and the shadow of death scriptures going on in my head at first... why didn't I pay more attention to those before, I can't even remember the whole verse! When I got to the top an hour later... at 5ish am, The guys were super bummed because they thought that M.P. opened at 5am. Sorry boys. I guess I was the only one who knew. Ha. It was great. So we had vanilla galletas, kind of likt vanilla wafers, but way better. There was no sunrise to see that day, even though that is supposed to be the most magnificent sight ever. It just rained. Lleve sobre mojado ( It doesn't rain, but pours). We found a path, a strange one, out of the way. I kept climbing, just a little more, just a little more, I told Chandi. We ended up climbing for over an hour and a half more. The view was increible. We were climbing Wayna Picchu, the highest peak in the area. We didn't make it to the top, though I wish we had. Only 45 minutes more and we would have made it. I guess I'll have to save that for another trip. M. P. itself was amazing, it was so huge! Way bigger than I had imagined it. I didn't mind the rain so much, even though I was pretty much soaked. I am so grateful for my waterproof hiking boots (thanks mom). Those and my pashmina have been life savers, the best things that I have brought on this trip.

Back to Cusco. Problems with the agency and changing our tickets, and having enough money to get back(since I stupidly forgot my debit card in the atm- thanks again mom for helping me out with that). But after going to the hospital (too many visits there on this trip for my taste), everything worked out really smoothly. We met some Columbianos and crossed the border with them (after riding on a bus for like 18 hours and being the only gringas on the bus). They were great Djs and Vjs on tour. Bus ride for like 40 more hours... altogether over 50 hours straight. I was so happy to be home. I've had amazing meals ever since I got back, and my bed doesn't move ( like the bus)! Yay! So now I'm off once again, tomorrow to Santiago for a day, to visit my love, Bechara and we are going to share music, photos, and tear apart the city. Bacan. Ya po. And then Thursday back to La Serena to take more photos, see my honey, Juan, and surf. Maybe go to San Pedro. Don't know, but that story will be for another time.

That's all for now folks!

Over and out.