¡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.