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cabin fever.

i haven't been back in the country for even a week....yet...i have cabin fever. summer is coming. my 25th birthday is coming. and i. don't. have. a. ticket. booked! my original plan was to go to africa, but i don't think that is financially possible. but then when i check for tickets to europe--they're over a grand! even for flights out of ewr/jfk. it's insane. the cheapest place to fly into in europe is dublin [that's even over 800 and doesn't count the other tickets you have to buy on ryanair or air lingus. it's 1300 to get to casablanca in morocco...might as well just go there! there's always south america and the caribbean........butttttttttt, i've been to those areas so many times....

i haven't left this side of the pond in over 2 years! fortunately, i've gone to colombia 3 times, costa rica, jamaica, honduras...and jersey probably 6 times....in the past 2 years. i guesssssssss we could to central america...maybe nicaragua...ohhhhhh i dont know. the two places i want to go in south america--brazil and bolivia..are pretty pricey flights and require $150 visas. yuck. chile is another option. maybe suriname. i want to go somewhere french-speaking. i found tickets to toulouse, france for 900. canada is ehh..i wouldn't want to spend 3 weeks there. this is really how my brain works---i travel the world every day. mentally. i have 12 tabs open in this window...no joke...and another few in another window.

here's what i have open at the moment:
-a listing of local restaurants where i can earn delta skymiles
-delta deals from nyc
-a lonely planet post i wrote about the copan ruins
-lonely planet discussion boards: central america
-a kayak search for fll-toulouse
-a map of terceira island
-tap portugal airlines
-a map of europe
-my aunt's cooking blog
-my blog
-a thing about a scholarship
-my email
-facebook

i beleive that's it. and i've been sitting here for almost 3 hours....just...researching and searching. okay...im going to check out some info on suriname. wish me luck.

honduran hooha

so i just got back from honduras this morning....great trip....well, minus a few hiccups. for one, we arrived in san pedro sula at 12.15am...i had initially booked a hostel to come pick us up; but, after having not received adequate confirmation, booked an additional, so as not to have to search for a place to sleep in the middle of the night. well, the second hostel confirmed...shortly after, the original did....so i cancelled the original because it had been so laggy in responding...HOWEVER, when we landed, drivers from BOTh places were there to pick us up. apparently my cancellation email had never been received--because the establishment's email is a "do not reply". well, that is not my fault; they should have direct email! needless to say, we did not go with the original booking--the woman was livid and tried to charge us 25USD!!! we told her no, and after more haggling and badgering, walked out the door with the other driver. i received an email later that day from the woman saying that she was sad we did not choose her [she had been yelling and screaming at us while the other driver remained calm]. c'est la vie.

we took a bus to copan ruinas the following afternoon...we were told it would take 2.5-5 hours............well, with no air conditioning, small seats and a passive driver, it took us 5 hours, plus the 1.5 we sat on the bus waiting for it to even leave in the first place. fortunately, we had planned to have a relaxing vacation and so had a nice hotel waiting for us when we finally arrived in copan. we stayed in a clarion, which had a pool, jacuzzi, fresh flowers in our bedroom, room service, internet, beautiful views and a gorgeous overall appearance. its a bit set back from the city, but that's the beauty of it.

the next morning, we did the ruins--mayan ruins. it was 15USD to get into the site; 15 for the tunnels; 7 for the museum. we did not do the tunnels, but did do the other two. it was really nice....very hot and dusty, though. in comparison to machu picchu....well, it wouldn't be fair to compare such a small area to the incan metropolis...but it was still very neat and worthwhile....the site is known for its stelas (carved statues) rather than its buildings and temples. there are all kinds of bright birds around--supposedly people see an occasional monkey.

overall, honduras was great! i had a slight issue with hostels on the first night....i had made a reservation at tamarindo back in january, but did not go back and find that it said to reconfirm at least a week in advance until the day i was leaving.....so i checked hostels and hostelworld--to see both were booked. i sent an email asking if we would still be able to stay there...and i waited a few hours..........so, i booked a room for la posada bb (our flight got in 12.30am and i did not want to spend hours driving around looking for a place. i sent posada an email asking about airport pickup and they confirmed it within the hour. well, perhaps and hour later, tamarindo emailed me and said we were confirmed and they would be there to pick us up. i replied to tamarindo that i had had to make another reservation due to the circumstances.......i thought that was the end of it.

well, we got to the airport, and....waiting on the other side were drivers from both places...they were fighting over us--i told the woman from tamarindo that i had sent an email hours before and she denied it....after a few minutes of them badgering us, we ended up go to posada bb (pretty nice place, near a mall in a residential area, pretty cheap)....found out later that the email from tamarindo said "do not reply" on the bottom; so, she never did get that message. i feel bad about the situation and am going to suggest they make their emails repliable.

the next afternoon, we took a bus to copan ruinas....casasula to be exact. it wasn't the worst bus in the world, but it was very hot (no a/c) and long (1.5 hours waiting On bus to leave; 5 hours to finally get there). when we got the the ruinas, we spent the first night at the clarion--very nice, serence, had airconditioning, jacuzzi (the turn on the jets upon request), clean rooms, great staff.

the next morning, the driver from Hacienda San Lucas (Pipo, maybe) picked us up and took us to the ruins...he brought our bags back to the hotel for us. ruins were awesome...we spent maybe 3.5 hours there, including museo, ruins, restaurant and little shops...so we walked from there up to san lucas....was a nice walk....about an hour......the place is spectacular....amazing views, very pleasant and accomadating staff..we were a bit worried about not having air, but the fan proved quite alright. we walked down to los sapos and bought a cornhusk doll from the kids in la pintada...then we came back and sat down to one of san lucas' famous dinners.

finally, we stayed in hotel marina copan, right near parque central. we were told this is the oldest hotel in copan....it is very quaint and aesthetic, with courtyards and ponds--a pool and jacuzzi. they offered to take us to aguas termales for 45USD each (40 if we'd had a bigger group), so we went into town to see if we could find a better price....we did...a tour company (starts with a Y) charged only 30 each. the hot springs were great..they weren't crowded at all and we spent almost 2 hours there. we spent the night in our airconditioned room with plasma tv (this hotel was actually the cheapest of the three, and included breakfast).

in the morning, we had our complimentary breakfast (it was also included in san lucas) and tried to figure out what we could do before we had to catch a bus back to SAP at 2.30. we decided to hang out at the hotel until check-out, then walk around town and grab lunch. we went with hedman alas and splurged the extra few bucks for class plus....well-worth it....the ride was much more comfortable with a/c, blankets, pillows, a movie, a bag lunch, and semi-cama seats--even cupholders!`i think casasula was 7USD; this was maybe 19USD.....but it was pretty much 3 hours to the dot

we got into SAP around 6 and had to find something to do for a 1.22am flight....we had dinner and decided to pay 25bucks to get a room in Hotel Real for a few (3 to be exact)hours....there was no discount for our shortened amount of time, but it was nice to have an airconditioned place to relax and watch tv---instead of sitting in the airport for 6 hours. all was good...taxi driver to airport tried to overcharge us...we got it down a bit.

once at the airport, we ran into some problems. the lady asked for our passports when we were in line for spirit. she said she couldnt find our stamps....we told her we hadn't noticed any either and figured they may just stamp on the way out (i was in and out of both france and italy with no stamps several years ago, so did not think it much of an issue). well, apparently they thought we entered the country illegally.......even though we had been on a spirit flight in and had papers......the migration officer said they were going to detain us and investigate our case.....absolutely ridiculous.....he kept us hanging around for about an hour...we were both exhausted.....then he decided we could pay a fine, instead. in a very shady manner, he stamped a piece of paper with the dates, accepted the money and sent us on our way...no receipt...nothing....spirit took the stamped paper when we went to get our tickets, and the departure tax place didn't mention it. we went through security....both getting our bags double-checked...and got on the plane with no further problems. customs in ft. lauderdale were quick and easy.....they didn't look for our non-existent stamps. i am upset that i didn't get stamped....and even more upset that their customs somehow forgot to stamp us--if it hadnt been so late and us so groggy upon arrival, we probably would have paid more attention. the migration officer said it was Our fault for not noticing. im not sure how that works...but it definitely allowed them to get off with a chunk of bribe money.

minus the last mishap, the trip was great, relaxing and peaceful. if anyone has had any similar experiences with customs, please let me know...i am interested in hearing the stories of others.



****on a side note, i'm honestly not sure what happened at the airport....it was about 2.30am our time by the time we got there, so we were feeling pretty fatigued/half asleep........i just remember handing my passport to the person, them handing it back, and me walking through....i don't remember what was said, but i do know that there was no issue at the time

in retrospect, we think we may have been targeted when we first entered ..........they may have figured, 'if they don't notice now, we can get them for money when they try to leave.' this is just speculation.....i only say we may have been targeted because the bribe part seemed so natural to the migration officers, who agreed to somewhat negotiate the price....they basically told my boyfriend to go to the cajero to get money, then go to the bathroom and put the money in his passport, then give it back to them......while he was doing that, i was with them, answering questions so they could fill out and stamp a paper about our arrival. i guess that paper is similar or identical to the one we should have received when we came in...we didn't get our passport stamped by them, though

other possibilities are that the border agent was new? not doing his job correctly? forgot to stamp? who knows?

ive been to about 20 other countries and never had anything so bizarre happen with customs....it won't stop me from traveling, of course....im wondering if i will have any problems getting back into honduras in the future....we ALmOst went to guatemala....and....thank goodness we didn't.....we would have had bigger problems trying to get back into honduras! lesson learned: if they don't stamp your passport, ask them why; make sure they give you all proper documentation and check you into the country!

laggy posts....

so...i've been to...costa rica, jamaica, colombia (twice), and new jersey (twice) since my last post.

let's do this in chronological order, then. costa rica=awesome, but, WAY too touristy! my boyfriend and i flew in on the afternoon of december 31, 2009 (new years!!). we stayed in a hostel in san jose...i think it was called pangea--something like that. the place was pretty cool, neat artwork, pool...for new years, we went to the rooftop bar and were handed sparklers....we could see all the fireworks in the city. it was spectacular. we didn't stay up too late; however, because we had to catch an early bus to la fortuna.


then, we went to la fortuna--which was quite touristy. the major attraction is volcan arenal--which ended up running us $40 each--for a 10 minute lift and a 2 hour tour--overpriced. they say you can see eruptions on clear nights; our night was foggy, but we could hear some rumbling. in la fortuna, we camped by a stream behind someone's tourist agency (about $6 per person). it rained, so it was a good thing we had sprayed sealant on the tent before. we stayed--mostly--dry, save a small leak in the ceiling. when i woke up the first morning, i found a wriggling ant squished on my face, just above my mouth. there were also ants inside the tent...so we became suspicious. well, we found a line of ants leading up to the tent...and, sure enough, they had made a hole.

monte verde was pretty cool--as in cold. it was neat, too. theres a cloud rain forest; you can see the clouds passing very rapidly just before sunset. we went ziplining with what is referred to as the best ziplining company in central america--extreme. it was sick. the flew across canyons, rappeled, swung like tarzan and flew like superman. i highly recommend this operator. we ended up catching a ride to the west coast beaches with a couple from spain (there was a dry erase board in the hostel for people to announce if they were offering or needed rides). it took 5 hours. we offered them money, but they refused it. they were nice people. they dropped us off at a shady campsite, but came back ten minutes later, beggging us to just stay in a hostel. the campsite was empty and the one guy working was pounding down beers, so we agreed. we were in tamarindo..aka tamagringo.

MORE TO COME.

colOmbia

yes, i emphasized the O in colombia. there is no U....get it right. so..i went to colombia for 9 days last april/may. i write about it over a year later, because master's degree part II has taken my attention from my blog. and i have also been encouraged by a friend to keep up with my writings. onward.

we landed in bogota april 28...i had dipped out of a class called "end of the west" a week early to make the journey (i got a B for claiming that the us and france had a positive future--the professor was germna-swiss..you do the math).....so, it was cold! coming from tropical florida to mountainous colombia...change of pace. unfortunately, i had only brought one pair of jeans and some sneakers that looked ridiculous with them.

we hung out in the city a couple of nights. good scene...relatively cheap in comparison to america. we took some buses out to the salt cathedral, which was far worth the sojourn. a friend and i licked the wall. mind you, swine scares were at their zenith at this time, but we didnt care. we survived. the next day, someone apparently died from the swine flu at, or shortly after having visited, the edifice. i survived, so did my friend. in fact, my group was 7 deep, and none of us contracted the disease. so we took a night bus to bucaramanga the next day. let me tell you, night buses are awesome...they're cheap AND they save you the fee of one night's accommodation. ;)

bucaramanga was much much hotter. we spent some time in a market, and shopping by street vendors. we went to the quaint town of giron for a few hours, and moved on, via taxi, to a nearby farm. finding a taxi was hard; but, getting up that damn mountain was harder. two cabs, stuffed with 9 people (we had acquired some friends) later, we arrived at the finca. one word: breathtaking. okay, we got there at night, so i didn't actually see anything, but i did the next morning. some of us went for a walk through the valleys; some of us slept in. then we went parapente...that was one of the highlights of this trip. paragliding, in english, i suppose. imagine jumping off of a hill and flying over a valley for fifteen minutes. frightening? absolutely...but, the adreniline rush...much greater....id do it a million times again...and it was only about 20 bucks!

next, we took a bus to santa marta. slept through the night again. hung out in santa marta for a bit before finding a ride out to parque tayrona (must see). there, we saw little monkeys and hiked an hour to the cabanas on the beach. the park is very peaceful and serene...it has this vibe--a partially hippie one...that makes you not want to leave. the cabanas we're too expensive, and..for those on a really tight budget, you can walk another half hour to find a campsite and hammocks. the beaches were nice, beautiful. several of my friends tried to find the lost city....many hours, no shoes, and a rainstorm later, they apparently did. they also took the donkey trail, so there may be a better route somewhere.

from there we to another bus to cartagena. tourist trap. it's pretty, cute, commercialized. it reminds me of san jaun, puerto rice--it's probably the fort. the city was alright (pretty damn hot), but it didn't make my top ten list. in the interest of time, we ended up flying back to bogota from there. we didn't do much, as we had a day left. as for the exit fee, we did not pay one. we had to go first to tax exemptions, where they stamp your passport, then onto the ticket booth. this was over a year ago. next week, im going to colombia for three weeks...we shall see what it brings.

poland in brief.

july already? shit. i never reblogged after dublin and krakow and warsaw. it turned out well...cold as hell, but i finally got to see poland. i knew enough polish to get around and ask the basics. we wanted to go to the salt mines on the same day we did auschwitz, but jak daleko wielesa i gdzie jest weilesa just didn't get us there that day. we did see the wawel castle and cathedral. still, i have plenty excuse to go back to poland. yay.

i ended up breaking my glasses on the train ride from krakow from warsaw (appx three hours). we only had a day in warsaw. i passed out for five hours in the hostel. hmm...we pretty much only went to the polish uprising museum, saw a socialist castle, had some perogies, but it was awesome. it was so long ago, that i don't have the energy to type of it right now. poland was the first country i ever wanted to visit, when i found out i was half polish as a child.

on my way home from the dub, we had a layover in newark. i had to leave the airport and get to atlantic city. this cost me some extra money, but i had been so hung up on someone that i just had to go there and see if i was wasting my time. seven hours and four trains after leaving newark airport, i walked a mile or so through the city at night towards my parents' house. i told my job there was a death and i couldn't get back down to florida. i skipped a class or two. i really just layed low in the city for a few days. but the most important part..i didn't see him once. and i could finally get over it. and just like that, i was completely over jersey and indiana. i found closure. maybe even nirvana. magna rosa...and how beautiful it was.

the dub.

so here i am in ireland. at the abigail hostel at 1.18am. been here since yesterday. in the city that is. flying into krakow, poland at 7am. i saw all the main touristy sites....for the third time. christ church...st. pat's catherdral....guinness disillery...temple bar and area. the norm. been there done that. my friend, brian, is all new to this so it's way more exciting for he than i. idk. i just want to upload my photos online so i know they are safe. oh, also went to the jameson distillery and got my whiskey certificate. hopefully be able to upload some pictures onto here later.

met up with an old irish friend i hadn't seen since i was fourteen. had no idea who i was looking for...just a phone number and a name. good times, though. jameson and gingerale is a nice mix. but im excited to go to poland. jesus. six people sleeping in our hostel....i didn't make it to sleep until 3am last night due to jet lag and loud people running around. i don't mind it much. but ive been to ireland three times now...and there isn't really anything new to see in dublin, especially.

i've still got it bad and that's making me quite the downer. i don't know what to do, if anything, about it. i'm just constantly thinking about it...even now...five drinks later. we have to walk to the bus stop around 4.30am....it's 1.30 now. yay. it's a short flight to krakow...on ryanair, mind you, so it may be interesting.......it's probably going to snow. wow. okay im gonna take a nap before i have to wake up. ill be six hours ahead and even colder tomorrow.

besitos.

depletion.

my tank is way past empty. im going to crash. waiting around for phone calls from people with numbers of other people in poland....my mom waited til the last minute to contact my family, so i doubt anything on that part is going to go through. my uncle hasnt been there since 1968. that going back to soviet shit. even before solidarity and shit. i feel like hell. ive slept like 8 hours over the past three days. i packed last weekend, but i dont remember what i packed. i and dont feel like unpacking to check. oh well....here goes nothing.

emotions and airplanes.

you know something is wrong with me when ive lost the stamina associated with an upcoming trip. too much on my mind. too many papers. too much work. a boy. i don't even feel like going on the ireland/poland trip on which i am about to embark in two days. im sad and lonely. there's someone i like. a lot. and he is consuming my mind to the point where everything else seems.......blah. i know, that's not my personality at all.

no news, no feelings.

so, five months have lapsed since my last recording. my fall/winter expeditions were dry and mundane. i went to indianapolis for a grand total of five time....for what? a boy, that apparently doesnt care. burn. spent december up north...eight days in.....yea, indianapolis.

then i flew to philly....spent a few days in atlantic city..then drove seven hours to vermont to snowboard a couple of days.....back to the city...met up with old friends....then felt the urge to drive to d.c. on a hangover and three hours sleep....it was sweet though. nothing quite compares to old stomping grounds. but nothing is ever the same. simultaneously, nothing is different. it is what it is.

grad school = a bitch. gives you no time to yourself. it's a constant avalanche of readings, writings and presentations. at least i passed. four jobs in tandem with a full graduate schedule is not ideal in any way shape or form. so i quit my office job. still, i just picked up more hours at starbucks.

finally got diagnosed with adhd...apparantly this is the gift of most sucessful entreprenours. only time will tell. i have an itch to leave the country. i haven't been anywhere signifigant since peru. oh peru. id rather avoid another episode of that nightmare. though still, no regrets.

impending trips include....possibly columbia in march. i'd like to go back to jersey either this month or next. money is a bitch. i am going to taiwan for sure in may...this shall be payed for by the gracious student loans i receive this month.

then comes the issue of where to study in the summer. i could do london for three weeks in the summer. but, it seems so bland. they speak english...so many damn americans, i might as well stay here. but i can't deal with another florida summer. so i can go anywhere. i prefer south america. but, im keeping my options open. for now. who knows. every plan tends to change, so i can't really depend on anyone/anything. hopefully, i'll be able to keep this thing updated more so this semester than last.

indie indeed.

grad school starts in exactly one day, and i have yet to book a trip for december. this is slightly disturbing, despite the fact that i flew to indiana on a whim the other day and am still here now. i will be speeding down 95 around from west palm beach at2pm tomorrow in order to make it for my seminar in international relations course. that should be an interesting endeavor.

i flew out of pbi (ie, west palm beach) for the first time in my life on friday. now, i had only ever flown from fort lauderdale or miami since my immigration to the state in 2006. let me just say...pbi was amazing compared to fll. it was much larger, cleaner and less crowded. whereas im normally forced to sit on some random space of floor in fort lauderdale, i had a whole section of chairs and i table to myself in west palm. the two airports are virtually equidistant from boca raton and cost about the same to fly from. new recommendation: go for pbi over fll..any day.

in other news, i booked a plane ticket to chicago for this november. it was only 164/rt so i had to do it. i wish i had unlimited funds. ive been kayaking for a cheap fare to europe for december. it looks like jfk and ewr are the cheapest departure hubs...dublin and frankfort the cheapest destinations. i definitely have a place to stay in germany, and possibly in ireland. of course, i dont want to spend so much time in a single destination, especially in europe. this continent kind of bores me. it's too quotidian for me. although, i would very much like to get to eastern europe and discover the land of my ancestors (poland). of course any country is a good country to visit.

well, indiana is not india but it's still work a trek. i was here two years ago, but on some random rainy weekend in may. that time, i slept in creepy three-story schoolhouse owned by my friends father. we also drove around in a car in which the turn signal, windshield wipers and window were all underperforming, or not performing at all. and, as i mentioned, it rained the whole time. it was a unique and cherished experience, however. that friend i had visited passed away last march. she had no relations with the friend i am with now. it was quite eerie when, last night, i found myself standing on the same bridge as i had with her over two years ago. may she rest in peace.

muffled musings.

i turned 22 yesterday. i feel old. almost a quarter century, and i don't think i've even seen a quarter of the world yet. i just got back from a short stint to atlantic city, nj (my hometown)...so, that wasn't really any kind of new adventure. i get up there at least three or four times a year, anyway.

i want to do asia. i thinking taiwan and/or japan, since i have friends living in both places at the moment. three of my friends are coming home from a month-long trek through thailand tomorrow. words could not even begin to express my envy.

i just want to go everywhere and see everything. of course, it's rather difficult when your broke as shit. that is all. i just needed to rant.

peru-ed out.

i'm so sick of telling people about peru. i've been back for nearly a month, and still i am forced to reiterate the entire solemn story at least once each day. the man died. i saw death. i saw his wretched, twisted body, and i don't think i'll ever loose this grotesque mental image. sometimes, i see it in dreams. or i dream about that horrible swing contraption and the river. it's not a big deal, though. at least i'm not afraid of heights. we got new guides as a result of his death...and the drama continued.

we walked three hours on train tracks from the hydro plant near santa theresa to aguas calientes, since the only alternate route is by train. it was hot. we had to walk On the tracks, themselves, because the ground was covered in large rocks that made it more difficult on the legs than the wooden planks they called tracks. the train tracks were very uneven and sporadic. they were not evenly distributed; ie, two tracks were two inches apart, and the next two were five inches apart. it was like this the entire way. i felt mostly numb during that "walk". i mean, i had just watched a man fall to his death less than 24 hours prior. in addition, i couldn't stand my boyfriend. if i could offer a little advice to anyone, please do not travel with an individual with whom you are always fighting. this will ruin your trip. it got bad at the end. this scenario i will relate in due sequence.

we spent a night in aguas calientes. the place was a tourist trap. but, they did have 4 for 1 drinks in many of the bars. that's right, FOUR for ONE! of course, the drinks are tiny. my capirinas tasted more like sugary lime soda and didn't even give me a buzz. there is a neat little market up near the train tracks. i bartered a LOT. when bargaining in south america, you can usually tell within the first thirty seconds whether or not the vendor will lower their price. telltale sign: they don't chase after you when you start to walk away, saying the item is much too much money. most people, women especially, will immediately lower their price as you walk off. for example, i really wanted a pair of blue hippie pants for under 20 soles (which in american money is about $7--i was just being cheap). i went to several places on my quest. one woman told me 25, another 20, another 15. the first would not go lower than 20. now, keep in mind, this is in a market where the vendors are very close together and relatively in sight off one another and of each tourist. so the lady across will run up to you shouting a lower price than the one with whom you are engaged in conversation. i say lady because the men don't do as much active bargaining. they will certainly lower their prices, but they do not pursue you and try to convince you to purchase their commodity. anyway, i ended up getting my pants for 10 soles, or about $3.50.

another trick is to tell the vendor that you saw an item for much cheaper at another nearby stand. in my own battered spanish, i would say, "no, es mas caro aqui! es mas barrato en l'otro tienda!" often, this will prompt them to lower their asking price, as the fear another vendor will steal their sale. this is probably my favorite trick. :)

another way to lower prices is to shop in the bulk. if you by several items in one place, you are more likely to receive a discount. a classic example involved my ex-boyfriend and his poor spanish. the woman tried to charge him 25 soles for one t-shirt because it was an extra-large. he was willing to shell out the cash because he really liked it. i stepped up and got her to lower it to 22 soles. then i came up with a better idea. two t-shirts for 25, i demanded. sold. that's how i cut the price in half. and it doesn't hurt to be comfortable with your spanish.

i totally went off on a tangent here and forgot about macchu pichu. i'll do that later. for now, i must go surfing for airplane tickets. i think im going over to europe this december. probably taiwan or at least somewhere in asia during the summer. maybe by then i'll be able to blog in a more organized matter.

the man and the mountain.

so...we came to a point where we needed to cross a wide river. the only mechanism in sight was a small wooden seat looped between ropes that were strung across this river. the distance across was certainly over 500 feet, and we were freakishly high above the body of water. so, the guide summoned myself and the other two females who were in the group and told us to go first. we cramped into the seat and held onto each other tightly. the men pushed us off, and we rushed across the river. we laughed...at first. until the swing started going backwards. i thought we might fall to our death at this point. we giggled nervously as the man on the other side fussed with the ropes and tried to pull us over. within seconds, we were on solid ground and more than happy to be so.

the rope was then thrust back across, and the seat was occupied with our guide, my ex-boyfriend and a german. the group also experienced the backtracking of the swing. the were quickly over the lake and safely on the ground as well. the guide then prepared to help the operator send the seat back across the river for the next group. seconds later, we heard something drop through the brush. it sounded like a backpack or a water bottle. "what was that," someone asked. "omg, THE GUIDE FELL!"

there were thirty seconds of confusion and chaos. WHAT? HOW? the english girl said she saw that the rope had caught him around the belly and pulled him back over the cliff. he had tried to hold on, but he failed mortally. where do we go? what do we do? we have to go after him!, we all agreed. how to get down to the river was the next dilemma. we were high up, and there was no short or direct way down. we took off after the trail and zig-zagged our way down to the rocks on the shore. we dropped our bags--passports and all--and began running over the rocks in search of the man. amie and i saw blood splashed across some rocks. my stomach was in my mouth. i had no idea what to think. we knew not what we would find.

tom and lisa got there first. they pulled his stiff body from the water and coerced him to breathe. amie and i were only seconds behind. not long after, he exhaled and we exhaled with him. but he did not speak. his breathes were shallow and forced. his body was twisted and mangled. blood and brains oozed from his head. his spine was morphed. but he was breathing!

dozens of people soon came scurrying across the rocks to the scene. we had no idea where they came from. they told us it would take thirty to sixty minutes for a doctor to arrive. local began breaking tree branches in an effort to fabricate a stretcher to carry him from the rocks. this was inefficient and they gave up. a woman from another tour group, who claimed to be a doctor, soon came rushing over. she panicked as the man refused to respond to her shouts and pinches. this was serious.

the other members of our group soon appeared on the shore. how did they cross? a BRIDGE! why hadn't we taken the bridge in the first place! but there was no time to speculate: a man way dying here. several police officers were now making their way over. many of the spectators now began to stagger off. tom relinquished the man, who's head he had been holding out of the water, to the authorities and headed back. he yelled at me to do the same.

next, there was a search for a flashlight, so that they might shine it in his eyes. but no one had one. a group of men then hoisted the man up in a sheet and began carrying him towards the mountain. blood poured from his head and his body bopped along with no support. he was to be taken to cusco for brain surgery, the doctor woman told us. he had spinal injuries, internal bleeding, and his brain was hemorrhaging. cusco was six hours away.

within the next hour, our group was informed of the death of our guide. we thus became a mosaic of sadness, sorrow, exasperation, exhaustion and fear.

continuing my story.

so, i ended up having to ride downhill through dust and rocks for nearly FOUR HOURS. my ass hurt, my hands hurt and my arms hurt. i wasn't to cry. i almost did. each time a car drove by, i was surrounded by a cloud of dust and couldn't see in any direction. it was even worse when two cars went in opposing directions at the same time. i was nearly knocked off of the road! and my contacts were caked in dirt, making my eyes hurt. the vegetation was covered in dust. it sucked.

eventually there were uphill bits to this journey. i threw my bike and screamed. each time i stopped, i became quickly covered in a thick layer of sand flies. the bitches bit holes into my skin and sucked my blood. so my arms and legs were dirty AND bloody. bullshit. i didn't think i was ever going to make it. i couldn't wait to reach the alleged town of santa maria, where we were told we could SLEEP.

after hours of riding and stopping and eventually walking, we finally made it to santa maria. we placed our dinner orders at a small restaurant and headed up to our hostel to clean up. the showers were freezing and i didn't have any soap. i used shampoo as soap, and a small hand towel to dry off. it was terrible.

i shared a room with three girls, and was very thankful to have a night away from my boyfriend, who had been driving me crazy. we had a bland dinner and fell asleep before 9pm. this was much deserved sleep, and we had to wake up at 7am the next morning to commence our all-day hike.

after a breakfast of omelets and bread, we started off on our hike. the coco tea, which is nothing like cocaine, was certainly no substitute for coffee. how i missed my coffee. we were tired and dragging. and i was fighting with my boyfriend.

the first segment was easy. it was flat and straightforward. we walked along a wide dirt road in small groups. i walked for about an hour with a german girl and an english girl. good conversation made time go by faster.

after about an hour, the guides stopped and told us we were about to embark on an official tier of the INCAN TRAIL or camino del inca. the next thing we knew, we were hiking through bushes, uphill, on a small, narrow, steep trail. this was even harder than the biking of the previous day.

i was pouring sweat and covered in dirt in a matter of minutes. i am in great shape, but i was having severe difficulty breathing and had to stop constantly. i believe this is due to an unfortunate condition i have: mitral-valve prolapse. yuck. but the mind is stronger than the body and i wanted nothing more than to complete my journey, so i ultimately prevailed.

we had several group rests throughout the morning. the first was a little stop where two young girls were selling overpriced liquids with their pet monkey tied to a tree. there was also a little tienda/shop with a woman selling freshly squeezed juices and candies and drinks. the bathroom located here was a mere hole in the ground. it was disgusting. i think it would have been cleaner to pee in a bush.

we had lunch around 1 or 2 and a "restaurant" high in the mountains. there were very few people living in these areas, as the only way to reach the remote locations was a great, long trek such as our own. everyone enjoyed his spaghetti and maize juice. we rested there for almost two hours before continuing to our destination town of santa teresa.

during the next hour, we saw coco plants and beautiful vistas. we were very very high above the lakes. "tengo mierdo!" we all agreed. it was scary. there were no guardrails or fences to keep us from falling hundreds of feet below. there were steep passages both up and down the mountains and they were extremely narrow. we often had to lean to the rocks for support. if nothing else, this part was humbling.

eventually we got back down to level ground. we had more or less climbed up to the mountain so that we could get to the other side. we were now walking on large rocks along the river. "fifty minutes," the tour guide said, "then we will be in the hot springs!" "en serio?!" i asked, completely elated and relieved. we had been hiking for a combined total of about six hours that day.

we came across an american family with two small boys who were also hiking. their energy made me feel lazy and pathetic. if they could walk this treacherous walk, so could i. and soon we came to a crossing at the river. what happened next was beyond anyone's wildest dreams.

events of note.

i have so much more to say about my peruvian "vacation". it seems silly to relate my adventures in any order but chronological; however, there is one segment of my journey which i must account for before describing what i think are only minor details of the trip.

now, i was having a lot of issues with my ex-boyfriend-who joined me on this trip. we decided to go to the bar at our hostel in cusco in order to forget some of these problems. somewhere between being frustrated with him and tipsy from the pisco, i decided we would embark on the four-day bicycle excursion that i had seen advertised in the downstairs reception area.

i spoke with the bartender about my decision, and she seemed a great supporter. she didn't think it would be too difficult on the body. she also mentioned the it was actually only one day of biking, and three of trekking. this seemed potentially exhilarating; potentially frightening to me...so i decided to go ahead and do it.

the next morning i was handing $180 of american money to a man who claimed to be the tour operator. the route was explained to us three separate times by three different people...once in spanish, once in english and once in spanglish.

the next morning twelve people from five different countries woke up at 6am and gathered for a desayuna of dry bread and instant coffee. then we piled into a van and rode to a bus. the bus ride lasted 4 hours and nauseated the hell out of me. the roads were windy and steep...and scary. there are no gaurdrails and the altitude in that area reaches 12,000 feet above sea level.

when we got to our destination--the top of some mountain area--most of us were carsick and enthusiastic to begin our biking tour. we paid a little girl .50 soles for toilet paper and the use of her family's outdoor bathroom. the trek would be solely downhill, we were told. after an hour or so of reassembling a dozen old mountain bikes, our guide gave us permission to take off.

i was a bit apprehensive. after all, we have to ride downhill and in the road. i was shaky at first, but the breathtaking views of mountains and valleys soon allayed my fears. of course, i was still riding the brakes--for fear of loosing control and going to fast. after a few minutes i fell behind some of the other rides and cruised alone. this solitude was much appreciated, despite my former boyfriends pleas for me to ride alongside himself.

i soon came across several dogs in the road who decided to chase me. so, i had three small dogs chasing frantically after me and jumping in front of my bike. i was scared shitless that i would fall in an attempt to veer away from them. i was also afraid to stop, as they may have attacked. after a few hundred feet, though, they were winded and i was successfully able to avert any actual contact with the mangy creatures.

the first time i saw an impending car, i almost lost control. i panicked and swiveled my handlebars as i tried to move as deeply into the shoulder of the road as possible. flustered and grateful that i didn't fall, i lowered my head as the truckload of men laughed at my idiocy. i was careful to maintain greater composure as i can across more vehicles throughout the rest of my descent.

after about 20 or 30 minutes of smooth cruising, the conditions of the road took a turn for the worst. the beautifully paved asphalt turned into rocks. lots of rocks.

more to come.

airborne scribbles.

3-2-1...oh my god i feel sick. the plane just took off from lima and we're soaring thickly in the bright clouds. god, i hate flying. i keep imagining a morbid newscast announcing the death of some unfortunate americans on this peruvian flight to cusco.

so,lima was generally boring, though worth the two-day glance. upon arrival, we were hounded by taxi drivers announcing their services. exhausted by our travels, we settled on the very first driver (for 45 soles)to lead us to Miraflores. The trip took about forty minutes, although i don't think the driver knew exactly where he was going. fortunately, i had written down the name (inka lodge) and address of our hostel prior to departure.

upon entering the hostel, we were greeted in friendly spanish. i had emailed the hostel the day before about a change in dates, as i had accidentally reserved the wrong days. this was no problem, and the woman kindly handed me a key to the room. the hostel itself was very clean--despite the musty-smelling air. it boasted two computers with free internet and plenty of tourist information in the lobby. the guests were relatively quiet, and tended to go to sleep quite early. such an environment was like nothing i have ever experienced in any hostel. the serenity was a nice break; however, i am more than happy to be on my way to cusco.

a blog is a blog is a blog.

though ive browsed through plenty of other people's blogs and rant pages, ive never actually gotten into blogging myself. i find this amusing, as i am a writer and a thinker. i like to network and share my views and experiences. so i might as well start blogging. a bit about myself:

i am an independent world traveler who hates to stay in one place for more than a few weeks at a time. i have an associate's degree in literature as well as a bachelor's degree in anthropology. i will begin graduate school this fall, focusing on political science as my major. i have taken six languages, including french, latin, italian, spanish, hebrew and japanese. obviously, i speak english. i am also fluent in two childhood languages: pig latin and jibberish.

my traveling addiction began sometime between the womb and the philadelphia birthing center in which i was born. my parents constantly traveled domestically and took me and my four younger brothers along with them. before the age of nineteen, i had traveled decently throughout the states and had also visited canada, mexico and ireland.

i ended up visiting france and italy on my own shortly breaking up with an ex-boyfriend. this was my first time traveling alone internationally, and i found the experience to be thoroughly exciting. i wandered the streets of paris and rode trains with no destination. i accidentally walked to the effiel tower from some random stop near the river. i stayed in my first hostel in italy and met a guy who had a mutual friend in california. i lost my party on new year's eve and was scooped up by an italian who made out with me and summoned his younger brother to get me back safely to my hostel. the trip was only about a week long, but it was only the beginning of the rest of my life.

last summer, i spent two months living in a small town in coastal ecuador. here, i studied culture and anthropology. i went to the country with no previous knowledge of the language, and came out conversational. weekend trips and outings were amazing. i once took 3 buses 10 hours to see incan remains. it was an amazing summer, which i will cover more extensively at a later time.

this past march, i spent a month in argentina. i lived in a residencia in buenos aires and attended classes at UBA. i met people from around the world, with whom i am still in contact. perhaps my two most outstanding memories were the 22 hour bus ride to bariloche in patagonia and the 4 hour ferry across the murky brown rio de plata to uruguay. again, more at another time.

now, i am on the brink of a ten day trip to peru. i would officially like to blog this voyage as i bounce from hostel to hostel, city to city. i think this will be beneficial to both myself and the reader and look forward to nurturing my first blog.