hiking/climbing at Greenbelt (Austin, TX)

         

     The other Saturday, I spent a beautiful, warm, sunny day hiking a gentle trail at Barton Creek Greenbelt in Austin, Texas. It had only been my second day in Texas and this place was definitely enough to give me a good impression of the state. The start of the trail was tucked away among some large homes in a little development. I wouldn't have thought it was even there.  The hike was mild enough most of the way because the start is really just walking down a rocky hill. Then, it was mostly just a nice dirt path which led us to the little creek. 

There were rocks by the little creek which were perfect for relaxing and enjoying the breeze and sun. The sound of the water and watching dogs play in the creek were so soothing, especially after a crazy semester.

After the short stop by the rocks, the trail continued on where I saw this very interesting little beetle...

 Then of course, there happened to be a perfect climbable tree right by the creek. Granted, the nearest branch was not close to the ground, so I had to do some good old fashioned monkey climbing in order to maintain my tree-climber status.

A Day in Montreal, Canada

While up at Lake Placid, we headed out to Montreal, Canada, a mere 2 hours away.  It was a very cold and snowy day, but we enjoyed driving around Montreal and visiting a couple of sites.  It was especially helpful that my sister spoke French, so we did not seem like complete stupid tourists.. even though we were since we didn't know where to go most of the time. :) 

Our first stop was the Jean-Talon market, where we visited the fromagerie for some yummy cheese, ate crepes for lunch and had Turkish Delights for dessert!

   

Then, we headed out to the Vieux Montreal to check out the Notre Dame Basilique.  It has been 15 years since I last saw this place and I forgot  how beautiful and unique this place was.

  

When we finally got our fill of beautiful architecture, we headed out in search of a good place for beer.  We wandered into a nice restaurant/bar called L'Assomoir.  It was kind of pricey, but we needed to warm up and ended up lingering for a couple of glasses of beer and plantain chips.  We ended the night by heading over to Boulevard Saint-Laurent in search of cheaper eats.  Somehow, we made a wrong turn and ended up in the more shady part of the street with sex shops and strip clubs.  But, once we headed in the other direction, there were many quaint little restaurants and shops.  We wandered for a bit in the cold, searching for a perfect place, but for a Friday night, the restaurants seemed to empty and not at all the boisterous, lively type of places we thought they would be.  So we decided to eat sushi, in Montreal.  All in all, it was a fun mini-adventure.  After dinner, we headed out for some coffee and went back on our merry way to the land of freedom fries, freedom poodles and freedom air. =P

Winter Wonderland

While most people choose warm, balmy beaches for their winter getaway, my friends and I decided to defy the masses and head up north!

It's been a week since I came back from a nice, relaxing, get outta the city trip to Lake Placid, NY.  We rented a quaint cabin in nearby Jay, NY that was perfectly situated in a secluded area near a creek.  This cabin was so warm and cozy, which was perfect in the freezing temperatures up there! If you are interested in renting this cabin, click here.

Down a short path, was a creek that was partially frozen, so my friends and I frolicked on the ice. 

In nearby Lake Placid, we decided to spend the $29 on their Olympic Passport to check out some cool stuff at the Olympic Village.  But first, we felt the need to frolic on yet another frozen body of water.  Mirror Lake was frozen solid and we went running, sliding, and simply enjoyed the fact that we were over a frozen lake.  We even saw some people on dogsleds!

By then, it was so very cold and we were so very cold and hungry, so it was time to check out the local brewery, Lake Placid Pub & Brewery.  Since we couldn't decide on which beer to choose, we first tried the sampler with 6 of their brews before deciding on one to order in a pitcher. :) 

Then, when our tummies were stuffed with beer, food and some 'smores (yep, 'smores!), we headed out for some ice skating on the speed skating track! There were no railings for me to rely on, so this time, I actually had to buck up and learn to ice skate.  

Other things on the Passport: visiting the ski jump! It was crazy getting to see the ski jumpers up close and personal. That thing was high!

 

Then we checked out the bobsled complex.  There was a koala bobsledding :)

 At the end of that day, we saw this awesome sunset/snowy mountain view.

Last but not least, what is a winter visit to Lake Placid without some snow sports on Whiteface Mountain! I got to snowboard for the first time this season in the freezing, windy, snowy cold. But it was a blast!

The toughest thing about travel...

is the part where you have to go back.

People greet you with a sarcastic, "Welcome back to reality!" I actually resent this remark. For short vacations where you spend the week at a beach resort, sipping margaritas or touring the countryside, I would let that slip. Living in hotels and having no responsibilities could definitely count as non-reality. But my recent adventure, that was real. It was reality. This summer, I actually had a chance to live in Peru. I had a rhythm, a routine. I had friends and a family. I had work and responsibilities. I spoke the language, mas o menos. Each day, as my friend eloquently put it, we worked to survive... watched our backs so we don't get mugged, hit by a crazy driver, cheated by the guy at the market or fall off a mountain. That's the part that seems to get lost on people.

It has been 3 full months since I've gotten back. Still, I find my mind wondering off to those days. As much as I love traveling and doing spontaneous things, I always take a while to adjust to change. Returning to America after Peru, definitely a change. It feels the way it did when I returned to the mainland after 2 years in Hawai'i. Though my stay in Peru was exactly 8 weeks, it was a whole lifetime. I went through things that touched and changed me so deeply that I have a hard time living life exactly the way I always had before I even left.

Anyway, I'm done with this random rant that has no real purpose. Next summer, I have a couple of trips that I do look forward to... the Dominican Republic, Alaska, Texas... but I know it's not the same... and I know it will be a long time before I have an experience like that again.



Just a quick peek at the Pisac Ruins from the highest point...

In the end... you think of the beginning

Where do I even begin on this blog?  Tengo solo 6 dias hasta estoy en Nueva Jersey y me siento muy triste.  It´s not like I don´t miss things about being in the States: high-speed internet, food I can taste, being able to flush the toilet paper in the toilet and not freezing my ass off during June/July.  And it´s not like I don´t miss my family and friends.  However, the last two months have been full of both good and bad adventures that are so beyond the realm of usual that I am uncertain as to what adjustment to my comfortable world in the States would look like.

Lately, I´ve been ruminating over these experiences, from the start of this trip, amazed at how it was only a mere 7 weeks ago when it feels like I´ve been here a lifetime.  But then, I guess in a sense it has been a lifetime since life in Cusco began 7 weeks ago.  I´ve built relationships with people I consider to be like family and basically created my own bubble of a life in this new place that is completely separate from the other.  I´m running over all the ¨Hey remember that time when...¨and all the inside jokes and of course the interesting Dutch phrases I´ve learned. haha.

But anyway, that´s the extent of my dark mood that I´ll write.  I have lots of things to add to the blog and have been completely behind on... mostly the adventures of Machu Picchu, Arequipa, Colca Canyon and Manu (which I´ll probably do retroactively).  Cusco in general seems to constantly have celebrations and fireworks (usually waking me at crazy hours of the night/morning.  This week is their Independence Day and last week was Virgen del Carmen so I guess it´ll be just as noisy and fun packed as June.  So.. stay tuned for more.

Puno / Lake Titicaca

The past weekend was a trip to Lake Titicaca in the eastern part of Peru.  It´s my first experience with an overnight bus as well as going to a completely different area of Peru (since Pisaq is in the province of Cusco).  Let me tell you, when they said it was gonna be friggin colder than Cusco, I almost didn´t believe them.  I´m glad my homestay family did not let me out of the house without a proper fleece sweater and winter jacket.

The ride there was atrocious.  It was 7 hours and I was freezing cold during the night, especially since I sat by the window.  We arrived at the Puno termino terrestre at about 5am and were met up by a guy named Marco who took us to his apartment while we waited for the bus to the boats.  That was weird.  He had a small one bedroom apartment and there was about 13 of us cramped in his sala.  So we sat for 2.5 hours, watching Big Daddy in Español (which had the funniest voiceovers since Adam Sandler had a deeeeeep voice). I was mostly weirded out by being at this dude´s apartment and many of the others were half jokingly questioning the legitimacy of the trip.  However, at 7-ish, we were ushered into a bus and headed to the boats that would take us to the islands of Lake Titicaca.  But, before we set sail, there were several visitors on our boat.  Most were selling things, which I didn´t mind. However, there was one who came in with his chiranga and wind flute tied to his neck.  He serenaded us with several delightful (sarcasm) renditions of Andean folk tunes.  Normally I´d be interested in this cultural experience... however, since I had barely slept in the bus the night before and had to be up very early, I was ready to throw orange peels at him.  But finally he left and we were off.

Our first stop were the floating islands of Uros.  These islands were really interesting because they were made out of the reeds that grew on the banks of Lake Titicaca.  Apparently someone had beef with them or something and they decided to make up their own islands to live on, on that is pretty mobile if they forget to properly anchor it.  The reeds were also used for eating and helped kept the islanders healthy.  As interesting as it all was, I didn´t like how very touristy these natives were made to be.  I mean, they sang ¨Vamos a la playa¨ when waving us off on this big reed boat that we had to pay 10 soles to be on.  And I ended up buying a pillowcase from the person who showed me her house because I dont know how to say no to nice poor girls.

Anyway, after that was a 3 hour boat ride to Amantani, which is the island we were to spend the night on.  Mind you, if the boats had put a little more gas in it, the boat ride might have been cut in half.  But then again, I had a suspicion that these boats were really up to code and would probably fall apart if they were to go any faster.  Nevertheless, I enjoyed the three hours because I sat in the back with my favorite Dutch, relaxing in the sun and taking a nap.  Granted, the smell of gas had made me nauseous.. but I heard it was colder in the other parts of the boat.  But... the smell, coupled with the altitude and cold from the trip served to hinder my climb up the steep slopes of the island as I headed to my place for the night.  I was the last one up.. along with my friend.. and when I got to the place, I was so sick that I ended up just sleeping and missed the excursion up the hill to see the sunset.  I even wondered if I had a fever since I had some chills.

However, I managed to get myself up in the evening as my host family dolled me up in their traditional attire and we danced away the night.  Of course, very touristy.. and I wonder if the families get tired of doing this every night with new tourists.  But I guess it helps them make a living. In general, I was just happy we didn´t have an outhouse for a bathroom!

The next day, we headed to Taquile.  If I thought Amantani was steep.. this was worse.  It was pretty.. but at that point, I had it with climbing up mountains.  And plus, we ate at a restaurant for 20 soles and the food wasn´t that good.  but I enjoyed learning about the different ways they wear hats to signify whether their married, single, looking or a player.  Then, we climbed back down and headed 3 hours back to Puno.  Our ride back on the boat was funny because once we got closer to coast guards, our boat people had us put on life jackets and climb down from the top of the boat.  Were we doing something illegal?  Yea........ 

Anyway, the town of Puno wasn´t very interesting.  We had 5 hours and spent about 4 hours of it at a restaurant by the plaza de armas.... with 3 hours of playing Never Have I Ever with no alcohol.  Yes, we were that bored.

That´s more or less the excursion for the weekend.  When i remember more things, I´ll add it.

Las fiestas de Inti Raymi

Theoretically, Inti Raymi occurs only on June 24th (originally June 21st) as the Incans celebrated their god, Inti (sol, sun) on the winter solstice.  However, Cusqueñans don´t seem to believe in celebrating for just a day.  As I previously posted, all of June seemed to have something or other occuring at the plaza.  However, little did I know what I was in for this past week until I returned from Pisaq to a Plaza de Armas filled with people, parades and random gigantic floats.  Since then, there has been a parade daily that lasts through most of daylight, lots of random fireworks going off and tons of people milling about the area.

Of course, all of these things looked like fun and it was difficult not to feel the air of excitement eminating from the city.  So, when I saw that there was a chance to dance in on the big parade the night before Inti Raymi, of course I went for it.  We spent Monday and Tuesday night rehearsing for it, which was frekain hilarious.  It was even funnier when we practiced at the plaza because all these locals were watching us and kinda laughing.  We also were not taking it too seriously so there were just good times all around. 

Wednesday definitely turned out to be an interesting day.  First, I had to buy a pair of jotas (sandals made out of car tires... yes really!) to go with the costumes.  However, when I was trying to get to the mercado, there was a parade going on and I ended up detouring through the streets with few tourists in order to get to where I needed to be. It was definitely an interesting area to be at.  There was a street with just stuff being sold on the street and sidewalk.  To top it off, there was a 5 year old who totally just whipped out his dangalang and peed on the street by where he stood.  I had to ask around for the jotas but everyone pointed me to actual shoes.  When I told them I needed jotas, they looked at me quizically but pointed to a certain direction until I finally found it.  I tried on the size 5s, which turned out a little too big.  But when I asked the kid for 4s, he thought I meant price and countered with 4.50.  So I ended up getting a pair (in the right size) for 4.50 soles.  :) 

At about 6:30, we all met to get our traditional peruvian clothing on.  It was a skirt and sandals on a winter night!  I was so afraid of freezing to death since the parade lasts til 2am and I didn´t know when we were going to go on!  However, the teachers took care of that.  When we got to our places, they handed out shots of ron y cocacola as well as bottles of cervezas for the duration of our walk before the plaza.  It was hilarious that we actually were allowed, if not had to, drink while walking in the parade!  To top it off, my Dutch friends had totally been pre-gaming and therefore were totally drunk for most of it.  This was more fun cuz they had an Amauta chant in Dutch and in general, would just randomly chant-sing-yell something or other.  When we got to the plaza, we were ordered to basically chug the beers so that we could perform.  There were so many people and they all cheered.  The announcer made a point to mention that we were comprised of people from around the world and everyone seemed to enjoy a lot.

So after that amazing experience, we were pretty much elated and just hugged everybody.  We went out to grab some dinner (it was midnight at that point) and decided that since the rest of Cusco was partying, we were gonna do the same and headed out to one of the discoteca.  Most of my friends would probably be surprised to hear this, but I actually do enjoy dancing.  And somehow, the discotecas here were more fun than whatever I encountered at home.  We ended up dancing until around 3 in the morning. 

So, basically, I had 3 hours of sleep before heading out the next morning to catch the Inti Raymi celebration, which was a steep uphill climb from the main square.  When we got there, there were so many people and all of them were pushing for space.  It got nasty though when some people pushed their way in and didn´t have space to sit because the people behind were yelling for them to sit and started throwing things at them.  This started out a little more innocently with fruit peels, but slowly turned to bottles and even pebbles.  It was definitely a little scary being around those people.

After a while, we just decided to head back down the mountain for a late lunch and I walked back home with my friend so that we could nap.  Nap was very much necessary since my other friend would be heading back this weekend and we needed to celebrate.

Okay, this is a long account already.  But basically last night, we ended up at a nice chill place for some drinks and even tried a hookah (didn´t like the flavor though).  Then we went for more dancing.. though only until 2:30 in the morning.  ;) Okay, that´s it.  I´m so tired and really need a siesta ahora!

Ciao.