¡Feliz Navidad!

MERRY CHRISTMAS ONE AND ALL!

I have been looking toward this day since the beginning of our travels, wondering what it would be like, away from home during this special time. I freely admit that I yearn for snow, Christmas trees, the sweet voice of Bing Crosby, and all the wonderful traditions that are special to our family. ¡Que Lastima! How would I cope without pinochle, Tom&Jerry, and the carols of the cousins. And of course, Jansa has his own holiday cravings (his family, gloppin, and A Christmas Story amongst many others). In the name of all things sacred, we did not suffer Navidad without a present. For comfort´s sake (literally), we bought ourselves a gift, alpaca sweaters. A modest consolation prize to my first choice, an Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle! Oooh fuuudge!

Does anyone feel sorry for us yet?

No really, the holiday has been so wonderfully different here in Cuzco, Peru. As you can see from the photos, we enjoyed a delicious home cooked Christmas Eve dinner (which was quite the process for Chef Cory and Chef Michael) along with the local festivities and massive markets of the city. The beautiful truth is, I experienced the Christmas spirit in full force in a way that sent chills down my spine. The clock struck midnight, streaks of fireworks filled the sky for what seemed to be an eternity, and the air thickened with joy and love for all. Although I could not be home this holiday, Navidad still arrived and the reason for the season rang loud and true.

Travelling HADN'T stopped Christmas from coming! IT CAME! Somehow or other, it came just the same!

And I puzzled three hours, `till my puzzler was sore. Then I thought of something I hadn't before! "Maybe Christmas," I thought, "doesn't come from a store." Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!"

I am speaking for both Jansa and myself when I say that we miss you all, friends and family. Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad, and Happy Holidays with all the love in our beating hearts!

The Wilderness of the Mind

I am realizing that some of these blogs share similar characteristics and are beginning to run together. I apologize for the redundancy. I am planning to change the flavor of my blog soon, but for now you will have to survive another painstaking and predictable post of scenic vistas, enchanting mountains, and yet again more natural wonder of South America.

So, Jansa and myself found ourselves in Huaraz, home to the Cordillera Blanca and Negra ranges of the Andes in northern Peru. This is the same range of mountains that the incredible survival story from the book and motion picture ¨Touching the Void¨ took place. I will emphasize more than I have before that these are BIG BIG mountains with scary jagged peaks and gnarly glaciers. Welcome to the Andes!

After a little research, Jansa and I picked out a classic 4-day loop (Santa Cruz trail) that was manageable and gave a good taste of the Cordillera Blancas. Thanks to Jansa´s steadfast will to get the ball moving, we were able to prepare everything for the trip in one day. We hit the trail running, and we were off into the wilderness the next morning. Needless to say, it was awesome. I am going to leave the details to the photos. I don´t have the energy for the day-to-day happenings, and I doubt you do either.

I will mention that at some point along our hike, I realized that it was so easy to forget we were in a foreign country. There are no indications of it when you are in a wilderness. We did not have to speak Spanish and we were not immersed into an age old culture so drastically different from our own. For the most part, our reality was rock, water, and sky. That is what I love about wild places. It is not complicated, and there is no difficulty in discerning what is real. However, like a foreign culture, mountains can expose you; make you vulnerable. Often times, they can make you feel unwelcome. Anybody that has spent time in the backcountry can tell you this.

In a way, being out there on the Santa Cruz trail felt foreign, but familiar. The simplicity of rock, grass, and water collided with the repelling nature of forbidding peaks and the stirring of dark clouds. The combination made for an odd mantra, and it sent my mind on a trip. Over 19 hours of hiking, we had a lot of time to walk and ponder. For the most part, I enjoyed my reflections on this adventure. I let the cerebellum run far. I visited memories of Christmas and family, past adventures at Gonzaga and in Montana, and our recent experiences here in South America. All of which deserve reflection. And, I cannot think of a much better place. The environment along this gorgeous route was perfect for tranquil thought.

Along the trail, Jansa and I both agreed that it was easy to let your mind get lost up there. Maybe it was the thin air. I have concluded that it takes a sort of emptiness to liberate your mind. The Cordillera Blancas were absent of all the complications of the modern world, and therefore, I was able to let free thoughts imprisoned by a more complicated world.

We walked out on my 24th birthday, back to civilization (where some delicious beers were found).

The Road to Antiquity and Other Pre-Incan Babble

In recent email and phone conversations, I have had an influx of compliments regarding this blog. Thank you for the encouraging words. I will continue to write new posts when I can. By the way, does anybody know how to use ¨spellcheck¨ on this thing?!

Jansa and I have just returned from our recent adventure in the Chachapoyas region of northern Peru. These highlands are removed from the coast, and thus, are fairly isolated. This was evident when we arrived in town, as we did not see hardly any other white travellers. Alas, we were off the gringo trail!

The area around Chachapoyas is known for all the pre-Incan ruins scattered amongst the rugged peaks and deep valleys of the cloud forest. Chachapoyas translates in Quechua to ¨mount of haze¨. Amidst this haze is a wide variety of things to marvel at. There are ancient sarcofages (mummies) etched into sheer cliffs, unexplored ruins of Chachapoya houses, the third tallest waterfall in the world, and many other secluded sites clearly revealing the existence of an ancient civilization. Not to mention, the pre-Incan MVP of South America, the Kuelap Fortress. This fortress stands at the top of a high peak and is said to contain more stone than the Great Pyramid of Giza. The fortress had been in construction for 900 years before the Incans conquered the Chachapoya people. Archaeologists have only been studying Kuelap for 5 years. The other thousands of ruins and historical sites have not been studied at all. That is precisely why this area is so special. When walking among these ruins, it feels like you are discovering them yourself, for the first time. This is not Macchu Piccu!

But let me backtrack! When we arrived in Chachapoyas, our goal was to obtain information in order to trek through a variety of ruins and sites of evident antiquity. Jansa, myself, and Allison (a newly founded travel companion from Seattle) set out to make our plan. Being anti-conformity travellers and stubborn adventurists, we wanted to piece a hike together ourselves, without the confines of a Mickey Mouse tour. So we stuck our self righteous snouts in the air and boldly made plans for a 4-day looping trek through the Gran Vilaya. We stole information from tour agencies, picked the brains of some locals, and entertained the tourist office with a rousing game of ¨20 Questions¨. Each of which seemed to have a different ideas for the route, the risks, and the do-ability of it all without a guide. After hours of deliberation, we put our holier-than-thou travel tail between our legs and hired a solid and inexpensive tour. This proved to be a very good decision!

Our tour started a little shaky. In fact, there was a lot of shakiness throughout. Apart from Jansa, Allison, and I; there was a French couple whom walked like they were as old as the ruins we were marching to. The first day, we would walk 15 minutes, then wait for the Frenchies for 30 minutes. That continued for somewhere in the neighborhood of 8 hours! Luckily, we had a cheery guide, Augusto, who entertained us with some local Spanish phrases and constant jokes. He was an interesting character to say the least. At the age of 23, he could speak 6 languages and he has never been immersed in a non-spanish speaking culture. That makes an aspiring student of Spanish feel like a giant piece of Iguana dung! Almost as incredible as Augosto´s ear for languages was the sloth-like rate at which two Frenchies were travelling.

Our Frenchie frustration did not last long, as we were able to laugh at the situation, and marvel at the world we were travelling through. The cloud forest and terrain of this area was something special. I am sure that everyone is growing tired of my posts proclaiming the indescribable beauty of the countryside in the areas that we are visiting. The truth is, I have been genuinely brought to my knees by some of the sights that we have seen. I do not want to devalue my use of the word beautiful, but I cannot help but be honest. It turns out, there are a lot of beautiful things in this world, and I am okay with advertising the fact.

In short, the tour proved to be an incredible experience. It did not remotely resemble a cookie cutter Disney theme ride as I had feared. In fact, Jansa and I both agreed that our first night stay in the tiny village of Condon was one of the most genuine and real experiences that we have had in South America. In addition, the remnants of the past were evident, and the ruins were untouched. Pure in the sense that, for the most part, we were not hindered by Archaelogical restrictions or German tourists das Schraubening the experience. We were free to explore! For example, we found ¨real¨ human remains buried beneath a Chachapoya home that was for the most part reclaimed by the cloud forest.

I cannot begin to describe the details of this adventure, but I hope that the photos posted will give some idea of our experience.

The Last of Ecuador: Baños and Beyond

It has become apparent that keeping up with this blog is going to be a challenge. I have accepted that I won´t be able to report everything via these posts. There way too much to see and do, and sitting in front of a computer does not always appeal to me (imagine that!). However, I wanted to post some photos of two amazing places that Jansa and I visited in Ecuador, Baños and Vilcabamba.

Baños is famous for its extremely active volcano (Tungurahua), the corresponding thermal baths (hence the name Baños), and an array of adventure sports that the area provides. It is also a big religious center for the Roman Catholic Church in Ecuador and has a beautiful Cathedral in town. Jansa and I did several day hikes to look over the town as well as the looming volcano, burping above. We also rented bikes and rode approx. 40 km down a valley full of waterfalls, small villages, and stunning vistas.

Jansa and decided to spend Thanksgiving in a small town in southern Ecuador called Vilcabamba, a truly special place. The mountains surrounding this area are like none other that I had ever seen. From town, it appears that the rugged and green foothills are the mountains. As you climb, you can see that the much higher peaks of the cloud forest rising very high above the valley below. Again, too much ¨awe factor¨ for description. Also, Vilcabamba is famous for its supposed longevity of life. I was told that National Geographic wrote an article exploring the claim that there are people living up to 135 years old. The question of longevity has many missing pieces, but the mystery definitely adds to the charm of the village. It was clear that we would gladly spend weeks upon weeks exploring the different trails and cultural wonders of the town.

Miguel and I stayed two of our three nights in Vilcabamba in a ¨resort-like¨ hostal called Izchalyuma. Very luxurious for a whopping nine dollars por noche! We enjoyed a refreshing swimming pool, an awesome bar, and a delicious Thanksgiving dinner there. We have lots to be thankful for! Lots!

We did hikes during the day, including a stunning trek up and over the famous mountain point Mandango (the sleeping Inca), see photo below. This particular trek was unique for its spine ridges and breath taking vistas of the entire area. It is simply indescribable. Although Jansa and I both missed our families, turkey and football americano, this Thanksgiving was very memorable. We are both thankful for our opportunity to travel and the many blessings in our lives.

Update From Tropical Ecuador: Volcán Cotopaxi

After a lot of foot work and a little luck, Jansa and I got the opportunity to climb the famous volcano, Cotopaxi. It was certainly a once in a lifetime chance. Cotopaxi sits at about 19,347 feet (Denali´s alititude is 20,320 feet). The volcano has a conical symmetrical shape, and has one of the only equatorial glaciers in the world.



With our friend Alexis as our local expert/guide and our new friend Sylvia, we started toward the mountain refuge on Friday morning (Nov. 21). After a some practice with the crampons and ice axe we fed our bodies and put ourselves to bed early (7PM).

We started our bid toward the summit (la cumbre) at about 1:00 AM on Saturday morning. The morning was tranquil, and I felt strong and calm as we walked so slowly across the crusted snow. The environment around us was surreal, walking beneath bright southern stars among the silence. After about 200 m we could see the bright lights shining from Quito. The silence was briefly broken by awe.

The calmness was short lived. As we ascended into the clouds, the thin air managed to blow ice sheets into our bodies. Step by step, we progressed towards our goal. The weather and especially the wind started to take its toll on the team. We were walking slowly, so it was easy for the gailing wind to sweep the heat from our bodies. Both Jansa and I agreed afterward that this climb was just as much of a mental challenge as a physical one. After about the fourth hour of climbing, the entire exterior of our bodies were frozen. At one point we had to stop and set our ice picks into the side of the mountain and lay on top of it to avoid being blown right off the mountain and all the way back to Quito. We were weary, but with the help of snickers and Jansa´s 4 dollar powerbar, we were still physically strong and reacting positively to the altitude.



We climbed on for two more difficult hours until we finally reached the summit. We did it! We had a small celebration that lasted roughly 37 seconds, as the wind was still blowing ferociously and kept us from wasting too much energy. There was little to see at the top, but we could look down into the abyss that was the Cotopaxi crater. We tried to take some photos, but even the cameras were frozen solid. Not to mention we were much to cold and tired to do much, especially remove our hands from our gloves. We managed to get a few good photos on the summit with Sylvia´s camera. At one point, I looked at Jansa and his lips and eye lids were completely black. I knew that I had a good amount of ice in my beard and probably looked the same. *At this point, Jansa would like to say for the record that Cory´s beard reached its ultimate bad ass level in the history of his beard* Fortunately, the sun was starting to peak over the crest of the volcano and we knew warmth was to come.

Shortly after reaching the top, we started our descent toward the refuge. These next 3 hours were trying. Jansa was especially exhausted, and a little drunk from the altitude. By the end, it honestly looked like he was walking back from Jack & Dans after a night in May 2007! We did, however, have some amazing vistas on the way down. The clouds would occasionally part, and we could see the foothills crawling off the glacier to the Andean highlands. These views have been etched in my memory. It really felt like I was in a 737 flying over this country.

Jansa and I are both very proud of the accomplishment. We decided that climbing Cotopaxi is the type of thing that is a lot more fun after you are finished. The truth is, it is a lot of work and a mental challenge that rivals anything I have done before.

Sadly, because of camera malfunctions on the mountain we have few pictures of our climb, and the ones we do have simply do not do justice to what we saw and experienced. That being said, enjoy the few that we found remotely worthy to put on here.

Where The Wild Things Are!

Swimming with the pirahnas and much more...

Jansa and I had another successful outing, this time in the Ecuadorian Amazon. We hired a tour that took us to the far reaches of the Cuyabeno National Park (very northeast corner of Ecuador). We took an exhausting overnight bus from Quito to Lago Agrio followed by a 2 1/2 hour bus ride to the park, then another 2 1/2 hours by a motorized canoe. We were deep in the jungle! Both of us had an awesome 4-day experience. Thanks to our guide, we saw tons of wildlife including: anacondas, freshwater dolphins, monkeys, parrots, mccaws, sloths, colorful butterflies, poisonous frogs, pirahnas, tarantulas, and lots of other creepy crawlers. Needless to say, Mi Mi was not really excited about the giant cockroaches or the hand sized tarantulas in our room.

The Amazon is truly a unique ecosystem. We were able to see, first hand, the extreme competition among the millions of species to survive. It seemed that every animal had a specific edge in order to stay afloat in this dynamic phenomenon of evolution. For example, butterflies who had wings designed to look like an owl eye or a bird that from up close looked exactly (I mean exactly) like a tree branch. I swear that nearly half of the plants and animals we saw were poisonous. Also, it was very obvious that the trees and vines were involved in this "fight for life" as they would twist, turn and jut out toward the river to compete for sunlight. I cannot even begin to describe how impenetrable this part of the world is. No wonder it is impossible to categorize the infathomable flora and fauna in the amazon. We were both inspired to experience this completely new wilderness with some intimacy. The jungle is so different from anything we had every seen before. Awe.


We stayed in thatched hut style dormitories and ate like kings. We fished for pirahnas and it looks like the Mi Mi fishing curse may have been dispelled. Not only did not hook hook his face this time but actually caught a pirahna. We hiked around a nearby lake (so dense), swam in the rivers, visited some indigenous villages, and sat down with a medicine man. One of the most memorable things that we experienced in the jungle was on our 3rd night we got one of the most incredible and violent thunderstorms that I have ever seen. The storm lasted 10 hours or more with lightening every 2-4 seconds (big lightening and close lightening). Jansa, myself, and some of our jungle buddies sat on our hut porch, drank beer, and watched this monster tormenta.

Free Internet Equals Ramblin'

Hola amigos y familia! Jansa and I are safe and doing great! We had a wonderful past 3 days in the Andes. We spent some time hiking in and around the Quilitoa crater "pictured above" and some indigenous mountain villages. It has been a very genuine experience; more than I ever dreamed.

Both Jansa and I joked as we stumbled through the Andes that no pictures or words would do justice to our experiences. This has proved to be very true; although that didn't stop us from taking pictures. After some initial debate Jansa insited that we at least attempt to write about it for the sake of his beloved mother who loooooves to hear about all details. We apologize to our experience for what will ineveitably be a poor rambling rendition of our trip, but we shall try anyways (besides, my blog name is the RAMBLIN' Corkademus, it only makes since that I ramble on incoherently about some of our trips).

Heres a brief summary of our first mini adventure. After spending some time north of Quito in Otavalo we jumped on a bus to head south to the hike around the Quilitoa Crater. We changed buses three times and witnessed quite a bit over the course of a day. Everything from mountain villages, markets, farms, children on their way to school, the impressive magnitude of Quito, the stretching slums of Quito, several volcanoes, and more indigenous mountain communities. Afet spending the night in the first of a series of mountain villages and the morning at the weekly town market we got ourselves to the Crater. No words. Simply marvelous. After hiking down to the crater and back up (1,000 feet climb) we headed on a 5 hour hike to another neighboring mountain village. Our guide book gave some simple instructions, the people we spoke with gave us some basic advice, and we took a picture of the posted map of the hike. Needless to say within 45 minutes of our journey we were completely and hopelessly turned around on one of the hundreds of interlocking trails that weave in and out of mountain huts, farms, and canyons. We did not want to come off as some American buttheads stomping through these indigenous family farms with their overstuffed, fancy backpacks. However, avoiding this intrusion proved impossible after hiking around in circles, continuing to get stuck on various cliffs and slot canyons. Turns out the different farmers proved to be our saving grace and some of the nicest people we have met. Each time we came across another farm we were greeted with kind smiles, basic conversation, and much needed guidance to get through the many valleys and trails of the Andes. Needless to say the hike was phenomenal beyond words; up and down mountains, past huts, animals grazing on steep slopes, through a small village unreachable by road, back and forth across a river, rain dumping on us during the daily mountain thunderstorm, down one side of a massive 1,000 foot plus canyon and back up the other side, capped with an arrival at our village destination completely soaked and exhausted. Yet, we were greeted with the gifts of hot instant coffee and hammocks to lie in.

We decided to spend another day and night (which consisted of more hiking that was equally as amazing but less crazy, excellent hammock time, a massive thunderstorm enjoyed from the cover of our porch, and card games with some of the villagers) in the mountain pueblo of Chegchulan so that we could enjoy the beauty that we were surrounded by more fully.

The bus ride home confirmed our thoughts on the bus system: CHEAP, beautiful views, and an absolute cluster****! The bus ride down the mountain ended up having people crammed in every corner, including the roof. Que ridiculo!

Life is good, life is grand, life is great. We will continue to ramble as the internet presents itself.

On a side note, Michael Jansa has proved to be absolutely brilliant when it comes to speaking Spanish and saving the day (this sentence was written by Michael Jansa).

Obama for your Mamacita!

Both Jansa and I made it safely to Quito without any major hangups. We had a crazy experience of being able to watch history in the making as America elected our first black president. The hostel we stayed in had almost all the US news channels going. And it was on everywhere we went. We watch the electoral votes and projections with a multi-national group. People from Norway, New York, Britain, Ecuador, etc. Very interesting!

Anyway, today we are off to a famous market in Otavalo (just North of Quito). I will have more photos to come later on. We have been hunkering down in Quito to get our bearings. . . and now we are ready to get our travel pants on. Stay tuned.

Stompin' with the Stompy

I decided to post some photos of Michael Jansa, my súper compañero. For those of you who do not know him, draw your own conclusions. For those of you who are friends with the stompmaster....laugh out loud.

Let It Begin

Welcome to 'The Ramblin' Corkademus'! My plan is to keep my posts less wordy and full of photos. I do assure you that there will be no prize winning literature. I am a trained technical writer. You might find bulleted lists in my postings. So, don't be afraid to just look at the pictures. I am still learning how all this blogging stuff actually works.

I do want to thank everyone (friends and family) for their blessings and continued support. I am so grateful for you all! God has given me many gifts.

You see, I have titled this post "Let It Begin" because I consider the dawn of this new adventure a pivotal move in my life path. I am proud that I had the courage to take control of my future and follow my "personal legend". I am looking forward to this new chapter with an open heart and mind.