in the southern most city in the world (ushuaia) and where in the hell is annette?

so...here it is...today annette and i both woke up from the same hostel in the same city (buenos aires) and took the same cab to the same airport and even checked in together...seems like a normal travel day, right?

after checking in at the airport, we went to sit down and began to engage in a game of uno (as much as i love uno, i hate, hate, hate the fact that annette almost always wins)...so as we played and annette once again squeaked out "uno", i became agitated (i know this is petty, but try losing uno for the 167th time and you would be agitated too)...and decided to get in line for the plane. now, the gate we had been assigned kept changing, but finally there was an announcement that we were to board at gate 10...i saw people boarding and asked annette if she was getting on the plane, to which she curtly replied no. i figured this was because she wanted to wait a bit while others waited in line, but i wanted to get on the plane after the many delays...so i gathered my belongings, got in line, and smugly waved to annette through the glass...thinking, i would have a bit of a break from yet another uno failure...so i followed the line and finally got to the flight attendant, who looked at my ticket and kindly informed me that i was not in the right line and that i should consult an aerolineas argentina official (apparently i was not even with the right company)...a bit of shock comes about here because i was sure this was the gate, so i turn to go back to our seat and see annette laughing at me with this argentinian guy that she had just met at the airpoirt...she fucking had me go through that line, knowing it was the wrong one!!! i was mortified, but laughing my embarassment away...the thing is, annette would not stop laughing, so i decided to go for a break and walk around...my last words to her being "i´ll see you on the plane"...famous last words...

so i walked around for a bit and then checked the monitor to see what was up with the flight ("annette will not fool me again!", i proudly thought) and saw that the flight was boarding now at gate 7. i checked my ticket a few times to make sure that i had the right flight before humiliating myself in another line. there was a big crowd of people, so i assumed annette was already in process of boarding, or at least would be boarding soon, so i meandered on through, got on the bus that took us to the plane and boarded. i was thinking how i was not going to talk to annette as punishment for her little trickster ways, but when i got to my seat, she was not there. i decided that she must be on the following bus and just waited for her to board so i could snub her...but as the people started to taper, there was no sign of her. i then heard one of the flight attendants call her name, so i went to the front of the plane, shouting"ella es mi amiga". the flight attendant said that she would call for her, although i really don´t think she believed me when i said that annette was down in the waiting room. they held the plane for about 15 minutes, then finally another flight attendant informed they couldn´t find her, but there would be another plane in 2 hours and not to worry. not to worry?!?! i was going to the southern most city in the world and i had no idea where the hell she was. i asked him to let me off the plane, but he wouldn´t because the bus had already gone and i was not allowed to walk on the tarmac. so that was that. i somehow lost annette at an airport. on my way to the southernmost city in the world. a city that is close to antarctica. fuck. where the hell was she?

so i journaled, trying to brainstorm, what possibly could have happened to her. i even looked for her new argentinian friend because he was supposed to be on our flight as well, but i didn´t see him so i was a bit confused. regardless, i got to ushuaia and had to make my way over to ask if she made it to her next flight, nervously stuttering in spanish. the guyt at the kiosk was a total dick and at first wouldn´t give me any information because i needed to have her passport (which of course i didn´t and of course she had mine, go figure)...finally after showing him the luggage claim ticket with her name on it, he looked it up and informed me that she was on that flight and would be getting in at 7...i figured, ok, it´s only 2 hours that i would have to wait, but then was told by the waitress in the airport restaurant, that it was actually an hour earlier than i thought, so i ended up having to wait about 3 and a half hours for her...i was going to go and drop off our luggage and get a hostel, but was told i wouldn´t be able to check into a hostel without my passport (plan foiled!)...so wait i did...

after 3 cups of coffee and a ten dollar sandwich,. i moseyed on over to the waiting area, and lo and behold she was on that flight and we reunited...man oh man...the great thing is is that she was laughing and i am glad that we were able to laugh away this experience...i know a lot of other people who would have not been in the greatest mood after that...so it turns out that annette was talking to this guy and somehow they both missed the announcement that the plane was boarding. at some point in her conversation with this guy, she thought to go and look for me (time had been ticking away) and when she couldn´t find me, she so wisely decided to look at the monitor and see what was up with the flight. and then she realized there was no mention of the flight on the monitor, so she and her new travel buddy went to the gate and showed their tickets. the flight attendant looked at them and said (with disdain) "this flight left an hour ago" and informed them that their names had been called...so in conclusion, annette was talking so much that she missed the announcement that the flight was boarding, which is why she was not sitting next to me on the plane. for anyone who knows annette, you know she is a talker, but man oh man, this is seriously the icing on the cake. luckily, she got on the next flight and now we are together, blogging away...how long will we be together? i guess that will depend on how much her mouth will be running the next few days...

bike and wine...2 perfect combinations...

on the bus going from santiago, chile to mendoza, argentina...this is what i woke up to...so very beautiful

wine tasting in mendoza, argentina (they have these cool bike and wine tours; which is a great way to see the country through rose colored glasses)

annette and me enjoying the good life...taking a break from the biking to enjoy a great malbec

after leaving santiago, chile we took a minibus and did a border crossing into mendoza, argentina, which is right in the midst of wine country. some of the best wines come out of here, like riojas and malbecs. and as great as these wines are, they are unbelievably cheap. also, argentina is known for their steaks (sorry rania)...i was really looking forward to a great steak and we had an amazing, high quality dinner with a bottle of wine for only 25 dollars...

in mendoza they have different companies that let you rent bikes so you can go and visit the wineries...so we hopped on those bikes and sped away (even annette was happy on the bikes this time)... while we were doing our bikes and wine tour, we realized that it costs 20 pesos (around 7 US dollars) for both of us to do the wine tastings at each vineyard...but it cost 18 pesos (6 US dollars) to just buy a bottle of wine...so being the great mathematicians that we are, we decided to buy that bottle of wine and enjoy it on a nice grassy knoll (at least i think it was a knoll)...the winery we bought this bottle of wine at was called wayna (which means young man or young wine)...we wanted to open it and drink it there, but the guy that worked there told us that he couldn´t let us drink it there, not sure why...but he conspiratorially offered to open the bottle for us and let us drink it outside the gate, which was really pretty nice...and drink we did...

after drinking our wine, we merrily biked away and went to the next place on our tour, a chocolate factory...is there anything better? there we sampled a bit then bought 24 alfajores (dulce de leche cookies, yum!) and ended our tour...quite a lovely way to spend a monday...

what i love about traveling...or...(who am i?)

picture 1...me, heather (who had already been traveling for a few months), jasmine (on her way to teach english in brazil), and jasmine (a superb dancer!)

picture 2...me (obviously) and scott...a cool aussie fellow

picture 3...aaron (a fellow san franciscan who is on month 11 of his ´round the world voyage)

picture 4...annette being annette with aaron

granted, there are a million and one things that i love about traveling...and so as not to bore you, i will not list them all...for the purpose of this email, i will simply focus on two. 1) all the wonderfully, crazy people you meet and 2) the ability to reinvent one´s self (without even trying). the things is, upon meeting me, people make all kinds of assumptions and since these are all new people who have not seen me in my natural habitat (think taking a tiger and putting him on a glacier in antarctica), they are witnessing one of the many Other Sides...it is so hilarious...and as a marooned animal outside of her natural habitat, i have the oportunity to play into that perception, totally reject that perception, or maybe just tweek it a bit. case in point, upon meeting scott, the aussie, i told him that i had read shantaram a couple of times (a book that almost everyone who travels reads)...he took this to mean that i was a quiet bookworm who never goes out and parties (ha!)...so when we went out all as a group one night, he was astounded that i was someone who danced...and not only danced, but DANCED (aka humiliated myself in various ways)...now to anyone who knows me, i am obviously the one person you can count on going out with and who will inevitably be rolling around on the floor and doing an approximation of the worm (which i like to call the snail)...but i blew this kid´s mind and i think that is hilarious...

the other side of that coin is that for the most part on this trip, i really have wanted to be the book worm..in fact, my arm has had to be twisted before i have agreed to go out (another ha!!)...i have in fact preferred going to bed at 10 (and that is late) than staying up all hours of the night. in fact, when we went out our last night in santiago, i was the one who hit the wall and went home before everyone else (a 3rd ha!!!)...so there it is...the early stages of the reinvention...i have perpetually been known as the wild crazy party girl (which i am), but at the same time there is a reinvention process wherein, i am slowly metamorphosising (sp?) into the quiet bookworm who likes to stay in...small wonders abound...

needless to say, i had a wonderful time being a square (and also leaving the box), while i was in chile...i even salsa danced...and i hate being led while dancing...these hips are not made to be controlled in any way...i did have a great time meeting fellow gringos, dancing part of the night away, and seeing the city proper (which is quite beautiful)...

stay tuned to more adventures (or misadventures) that will be coming...

falling heads, bikes, and death machines...or.. (what is easter island all about?)

some of the damage done after falling off the scooter MANY times

some of the many moai statues that pepper easter island. almost all of them face the island so as to watch over the land and people...

me, trying to pick up one of the moai statues with my feet...it was remarkably easy actually...i am quite strong

annette in utter defeat at about mile 22

the bluest waters of rapa nui

the gnome gets a piggy back ride from annette whilst we explore easter island

i honestly had no idea what to expect from easter island. all i knew was that it was surrounded by water and annette wanted to go there. needless to say, i was pretty indifferent about going. at least as indifferent as one can be when traveling. the day before we were supposed to go i also got sick with a terrible head cold. argh!! so i was not in the greatest of moods...but i have to say easter island (also known as rapa nui or la isla de pascua) was a great place to visit, especially when sick, simply because the chill island culture is so soothing...to the soul and body...i had a marvelous time. it is definitely a place you only need to spend a few days at because it is pretty small, but it is beautiful. the water was the bluest i have ever seen and the island is peppered with the moai, which are heads that the indigenous islanders made from stone as an homage to their ancestors. they are crazy to see. i am constantly amazed at how much cultures have been able to accomplish without modern conveniences. these are heavy little buggers and not only were they carved out of stone, but they were also moved...wow!

so...in addition to taking in the beauty of theisland, annette and i also had some adventures...the 2nd day we were there, we decided to rent a scooter. mind you annette and i have never driven scooters...but this guy, who rents them out of his house, and is also a berkely alum, just gave us a crash course (pun intended) in how to turn it on, start, stop, and go... and we were off. annette took the 1st shift and it started out very smoothly...mostly because we were on a paved road, which i seriously appreciate when on a motorized 2 wheeled vehicle. i took over for a while, which was mostly fine, although i did fall twice, taking annette down with me. what is really confusing is the accelerator being on the handle bar right next to the brake. so when one is first starting out and nervousness attacks, confusion ensues. there was one point when i swore something was running out in fromt of me (turned out to be a shadow) and i meant to brake, but instead accelerated way too fast. then braked. then got so confused, so i just jumped off the scooter while it was still going and bam! crash! boing! then it was smooth sailing for a while...

riding a scooter s really fun and a wonderful way to see an island. what a scooter is not, is a fun way for 2 novices to see an island on rocky, unpaved roads. annette and i pulled over to see some of the moai off a beaten path ( i had annete ride on the dirt roads....not enough trust in myself)...then looking at our map, it seemed that the dirt road would connect bck to the paved road a different way...so we decided to take the road less traveled, which may make all the difference, but the diference doesn´t always turn out the greatest...in fact, it can downright suck...we fell so many times trying to cross teacherous terrain...seriously i was not sure if we were going to mske it. there were times we had to push the scooter up the these hills because we were to scared to start the motorized death machine to fall yet again...annette definitely gets the rock star award because she powered through...i refused to ride on the dirt road...looking back on it, i am sure the road was not bad for someone with skill...but for our first day, it was not the best choice...it probably took us 2 hours to go half a mile. we were so scared, dazed, and confused about how to get the death machine to get us back to civilization...the funny thing is that it was such beautiful scenery, but we could not fully appreciate it...at one point we had a group of wild horses on our left and a rainbow came out on our right (seriousy i am not making this up)...when i pointed this out to annette, i was pretty much met with silence...

we did manage to survive the death machine experience (with one more fall when i took over and tried to turn left...so much easier when you go straight)...but man, were our spirits tested!! the speed limit on the island is 60 km, which is about 40 mph, but we never broke 30 miles an hour and when we went that fast, i thought we were in the indy 500...but we did survive... so yay!

the next day, we thought it a good idea to slow down our pace a bit and rented bikes. i was elated...i love seeing things by bike...and it was a glorious day for bike riding...little did i know, it was going to be the longest day of annette´s life. she hasn´t owned a bike since she was 8 and was not really ready for the 34 mile excursion we were about to embark on. our plan was to bike to the beach, lay out, then bike back with gay songs and sunshine following us all the way. tra la la la. but alas, expectations are meant to be met only sometimes (refer back to previous scooter paragraphs)...

getting to the beach was along a nice paved road...we went through beautiful shady tree lined areas and the terrain was not so bad...some hills, but really a lovely little jaunt. one small travesty when annete´s chain came off, but easily fixed. then we got to the beach...which was picturesque...but it was not the most amazing day to lay out...a bit cloudy and chilly...and sadly annette kept getting attacked by flies and ants while we were laying out, so it was not quite the relaxing experience we had anticipated. so we cut this part of our day short and headed back. i wanted to do a loop instead of going back the way we came and annette, being the trooper that she is, agreed, despite the ever growing sorenes in her bum. sadly, the first part of our ride back was the painstaking rocky dirt road again...but it was along the water, so that made up for it (at least to me)...it is a lot easier riding a bike on a dirt road than a scooter, i can say that much. sadly for annette, there was a hawk´s nest along the road and the hawk kept swooping down to keep her away, almost taking off her head...at the end of the ride, a hawk came after me and seriously grabbed at my hair with its sepulchral claws. i was terrified and my only response was to start cawing at it. i didn´t know what else to do. at this point, annette got attacked again, but instead of trying to get it away, she was so tired that she was willing to let it eat her. some of us have a stronger will to live than others, i guess...

so we had adventures...we had a bit of spirit broken, but like the phoenix rising from the ashes, we persevered and triumphed. we are both still here and happy...albeit a bit tired...so we are now in santiago, which is a lovely city. we did a walking tour yesterday and it was divine...i will make a confession and say that my pinnacle of happiness was when i saw a starbucks. i know it´s pathetic to be the american who gets excited about something as evil as starbucks, but i have not had one decent cup of coffee since i have been here. seriously every cup of coffee so far in south america is instant and that fucking sucks. so i proudly oredered a venti iced latte and drank it like a true, spoiled american, while walking down the street. i will probably get another cup today. don´t judge...it´s nice when something familiar makes its way into the unfamiliar...

hasta luego...

hiking machu picchu...(will i stay or will i go?)

the city of machu picchu (with the mountain we climbed to get to wayana picchu next to it)

annette, me, and the gnome after getting to machu picchu...the gnome is a lazy little bastard and was carried up the whole way...

although i have only been traveling for 11 days, one of the things that i have learned is that the potential for death is all around me. it is just waiting for me to step into its gallows. hiking machu picchu was quite an amazing experience (we also hiked wayana picchu, which is the mountain next to it)...but as i climbed up stairs that were death defying to make it to machu picchu, and the even more dangerous wayana picchu, i kept going over in my head all the possible ways i could die...here is a list...although not exhaustive because i don´t want anyone to get the impression that i am completely crazy:

1. rocks off the side of the andes mountains rolling on top of me and crushing my body and therefore my spirit

2. an inability to breathe in such high altitiudes that my lungs would actually collapse

3. missing a step while climbing up (and down) that would plunge me to my death

4. the ghost of an incan person coming to bludgeon me to death for walking upon ancient lands...

as many of you may have inferred, none of those things happened to me...which is not to say that an incan ghost will not come after me...minus a few slips and stumbles, and having to slide down my butt at times to actually come down the mountains, it went well. i made it and that is what is important. i like to think of my self as the tortoise from the tortoise and the hare folktales. seeing machu picchu was more glorious than i could ever have imagined...mostly i was awestruck by the fact that the incas were able to carve an entire city out of a mountain...it is mind-blowing. they didn´t have bulldozers or other luxurious tools like we have today, yet they were able to make this amazing city and build these buildings out of stones (i have not ida what they used for mortar), but the stones fit together perfectly... i can barely lift a book i´m reading due to my laziness, but these people carved a city out of a mountain!!!

another thing that perplexed me was the stairs. now, the icans were little people...but the stairs they built out of rocks were really high. i just don´t get it. i´m 5´7¨ and i was lunging to go up, i assume that the incas were great jumpers.

after our stint in aguas calientes (the town at the base of machu picchu), we spent a night in ollantaytambo, which is one of the cities where the incans defeated the spaniards (alas...this was one of the few times they were to defeat the damn spaniards)...we hiked up to see some of the defense structures, which was pretty fucking amazing. last night we had a really great dinner as a reward for out efforts...and had some amazing chilean wine. we met a guy from los angeles who offered to be our agent if we wanted to publish a book about our travels...i have to say the romantic notion of writing a book or creating a photo essay was quite nice...we would need an angle first...so that is something i will be thinking about over the upcoming months...

well...that is all for now. i can´t wait to hear from all...

hugs, kisses, and more hugs.

it´s raining...it´s pouring (or...have i really left rainy san francisco?)

annette and me on las islas flotantes de los uros

this is one of the floating islands we visited (there are over 50)...where everything, including the ground is made of reeds...

one of the reed huts on the islands Pretty Lake Titicaca

well...we were supposed to be in machu picchu today, but instead we learned one of our most important lessons in traveling: be prepared to not get what you want (but maybe what you need?). little did we know, tomorrow is a peruvian holiday so today they shut down all trains, etc. so we could not get to aguas calientes, which would then lead us to the hike up to machu picchu. so instead we hopped on another bus and went to puno...the ride was only 8 hours, which felt magical after spending 22 hours on a bus to cuzco from lima. the cool thing is that puno is the port city near lake titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world at 3800 meters...you do the math to figure out how high it is in feet..i also found out that¨"titi" means puma and "caca" means gray, which really seemed to take all the fun out of my perpetual laughter upon reading or hearing that word...but now i am more "educated", whichh should shortly translate to maturity. although, still, it is kind of a funny name...gray puma or not. also it is called that because when you look at the lake on a map, albeit upside dowon, it looks like a puma eating some animal it trapped...look at it and tell me if you see it...
so today we took a boat trip on the lake and went to the islas flotantes, which are so crazy. the indigenous uros people live there and have built these islands completely out of reeds (I have attached pictures) and although these islands are pretty stable, they are also prone to movement with a strong current on the lake or an earthquake. it is really an awesome experience being on this lake and being surrounded by these islands made of reeds (also the houses and bathrooms are also made out of reeds, which is quite cool).

i also learned that you are supposed to bargain with the people here when buying crafts, after buying a necklace for 7 soles (which translates to about6 dollars). according to annette it is disrespectful not to because of cultural blah blah blahs, but i still have a hard time talking someone down when i have enough money to pay and they could probably use the money more than i could. although, that is one less beer i can drink...damn! ANY THOUGHTS ON THIS WOULD BE APPRECIATED.

so now it is pouring rain and i mean pouring...perros y gatos...luckily the rain started after we had already gotten off the boat from the islands...although it was still pretty sunny there even after we left...i have to say that i feel that rain follows me a lot, as egocentric as that is.

today i also had my first experience in frustration...not being as good in spanish as i want to be. this is the first time i have travelled with someone who speaks spanish so much better than i do and sadly, i eventually just stop trying. it is really pathetic, but i get so flustered, especially because annette speaks so fast that by the time i try to get the words out, it is already too late. silver lining though...i understand almost everything that is being spoken around me. i just need to buck up and stutter through a conversation. especially since we are here in south america until december. well..i have extended the amount of time i can sit at a computer before wanting to destroy something...so, hasta luego, amigos...

will we ever get to peru? or donde esta peru?

the trip began in fine form when we got to the airport, were shuttled out via bus to our terminal (Latin and South American airlines are the step-children of the airport), waited for aout 20 minutes to board, then were shuttled back to the airport due to techincal difficulties. Our flight ended up being delayed 6 hours, but we did get $20 food vouchers (alas, no alcohol included). When we finally got on the plane, it was quite a magical experience (seriously, LAN is the way to fly). We had video games and could pick our own in-flight movies. I played Battleship with Annette and kicked her ass!!!

WE FINALLY got to Lima at 5:30 in the morning, somehow made it to the place where we were staying, and slept until 4 in the afternoon. I really don´t fel as if I missed too much, Lima seems like a pretty unappealing big city. We leave for Cuzco this afternoon...a 22 hour bus'ride...but the seats do recline 150 degrees...yippee!!!

annette has brought a gnome along that we will be taking pictures with so look forward to seeing it, as a tribute to amelie...

until next time...