On My Way Back Home - La Paz - April 12th - 16th

Back on the highway, back on the bus. On my way back home. 10 days to get to Lima with hundreds of kilometers to go, two borders to cross and 2 cities to visit (again). The Aldea Luna experience forced me to sacrifice several other plans and stops before arriving in La Paz, although with such little time I thought it best to go direct.

Thus I got the first bus to the border town, La Quiaca. With a late arrival I was forced to spend another night in Argentina and cross into Bolivia the following day. The Bolivian influence and native resonance shown in the towns and people up here were astounding and awakening. After spending so much time through Chile, Argentina and Uruguay I had forgotten the differences in society... man had I missed it. The next morning I walked to the border and crossed the dried river bed that separated the two countries and entered the Bolivian town of Villazon. Immediately upon entering into Bolivia there was a surge of intrigue. Markets lining both sides of the main street. Small shops, flags and other things hanging from above the streets. The interest of Bolivia that I had not felt in so long had returned, an interest, an excitement that may come from a higher risk but a higher gain.

From Villazon I opted to take the train to Oruro then a bus from Oruro to La Paz rather than a bus directly to La Paz for the sake of comfort consdering the lack there of of pavement in Bolivia. On the train I met an English girl and a Brazilian guy who were both going the same way. By the time we arrived in La Paz Hannah, Vitor and I had agreed to find a hostel together. Considering I had already been in La Paz, I had an idea of where the hostels where and where I wanted to stay. Suprisingly finding a hostel was difficult, the most difficulty I have encountered anywhere! La Paz was full of tourists including all of Israel. The hostels were packed full. Finally we found one for a good price and took a load off.

I had several things on the ¨agenda¨ that I wanted to do in the La Paz area and I spent the first 2 days in La Paz running around to find a way to schedule it in so that I could get to Cuzco with time to do things there. Essentially I didn´t have enough time to do what I wanted comfortably and I was stressing over it. I knew that it didn´t really fit in but I was trying to force it into the schedule just so that I would live up to what I had told myself I would do. The entire trip I had wanted to climb a particular mountain outside of La Paz, a mountain over 6000 meters an altitude goal that I had made for myself, a challenge. I didn´t really have enough time to acclimatize before climbing the mountain, yet there are still agencies that would sell you the ticket just to get you money, your welfare is of no importance of theirs and you climb at your own risk, no refund. I really wanted to make something of the last week before I got on the plane and it was all over. I didn´t want to spend the money, nor did I truly feel like doing it, but I felt like I should because I said that I would. I made a ¨promise¨ to myself.

I quickly realized that this was the wrong outlook. To much focus on the things that I had done and to little focus on the things that I had done, it was tearing me thinking this way, and so unneccisary. Upon seeing this I forgot about the mountain, expectations and promises made. I began putting more focus into what I had done and who I had met as well as organizing myself to go home. Spending time in the city of La Paz, feeling the people and the environment, bringing back memories which took place the first time I had been here, 4 months ago, 4 months ago! Even with the few days spent back here in Bolivia I am glad that I chose to come back to fly out of Lima. A circuit is a great trip because that way you can go back through the countries or areas that you went through at the beginning, relive things that may have been lost in the pile of memories that has built up between now and back then and also to see the country after 5 months of travelling and not only after 1 month of travelling, or 3 days of travelling. This may be the most key, because a lot can change after travelling for 5 months, a lot of priorities change, confidence and comfort are much more secure. For this it was really nice to just come back to Bolivia and now have so much more to compare it to than before. With that ability to compare I think my respect and love for Bolivia has grown a lot over the first time I was here, whence I was comparing it mainly with Peru. I think now my priority to revisit Bolivia over Argentina is much greater and to spend time here and unlocking the mysteriousness of the people and the culture. A mysteriousness that I don´t see nearly as much in the locations visited and people met in countries such as Chile, Argentina and Uruguay. A certain emotion and intrigue, as I said before, about Bolivia is extremely prominent, a land slightly untouched by exploration similar only to Paraguay I would guess. The two only countries in the continent that are land-locked. I think tourists have trouble enjoying time spent in Bolivia unless they speak Spanish. The culture in Bolivia is much more reserved, the people are much quieter and are not nearly as openly interested in foreigners as Argentines are. Likewise much less english is spoken in Bolivia in general, and there is much less touristic incentive to visit the country. The wonders are talking to the people (in spanish) and learning from them and being told tales and information. Once they realize that you can communicate with them and are interested in what they have to say, then they become interested in you.

So I leave La Paz tomorrow to go to Cuzco for a few days to do the same as I have done in La Paz. Relax, eat, shop and think.

Aldea Luna - Jujuy - Mar 27th - April 10th

Arriving in Jujuy the resemblance to Bolivia was astounding. The closer and closer you get to the border the more like Bolivia it seemed. Street markets, darker skin, dirtier streets, uglier buildings. I had really missed this environment, as strange as that may sound. People are seen walking around the streets, smelling weird and with cheeks packed as full as they can possibly get with Coca leaves. The chew on so much coca that smell sweats out of their pores, in a bus full of locals, as they usually are up here, tends to filled with an overwhelming smell of Coca with undertones of Body Odour, lovely. 

Anyway I spent that day walking around the desolate city of San Salvador de Jujuy, as there is nothing to really see or do. Walk around and get stared at. Once again being a giant gringo marks me as a bit different than your standard person. The town was devoid of tourists, hostels were empty and expensive compared to neighbouring Salta. I was had lost hope in  the place and decided to head the next day to Purmamarca a town a short drive north out of the city with the famous Cerro de Siete Colores (hill of seven coloures) their had to be more people there to meet and at least things to do. As I was losing hope in the hostel, feeling like I was the only one in the place I made dinner and a tall kinda clumsy looking guy walks in and buys a beer and offers to share it with me I jump at the offer and share dinner. Next thing I find out this guy is working on a farm just outside of the city. The farm is called Aldea Luna, the guy, named Alex, from France, has only great thngs to say about the place. Throughout my entire trip I was looking for a farm(s) to spend some time and learn. This Aldea Luna farm sounded like just the place I had imagined as the perfect farm to spend some time.  I had only little over 3 weeks to get back to Lima to get my flight but I felt this was a good choice to all other options, settle down some time, meet some people, learn some things, save some money. Alex and the owners were in town on errands and Alex had got a thorn in his leg and had to visit the hospital, lucky for me. Elizabeth, one of the owners suddenly showed up in the hostel where we were eating and drinking, after running it by her it was set. We would leave the next day to the farm. Couldn´t have been more perfect. I was thinking I would stay for 1 week still giving me time to go do some other things and not simply having to rush back to Lima. 

I think it is a standard thing to stay longer than expected at Aldea Luna. I don´t think any of you would have blamed me if you saw or experienced this place. The owners, a married couple, Martín and Elizabeth from Buenos Aires and Montevideo respectively with their son Matías and Martín´s lifelong friend Girardo are all amazingly warm and selfless people. They had come here to the Northwest six years ago looking to buy land and start a farm, before that Martín and Elizabeth had been in Ecaudor running a hostel where Matías had been born. Upon starting the proect Girardo joined in has been with them ever since. 

Alex and I got picked up that afternoon and drove maybe 20 kilometers out of town with takes around 1.5 hours along the unmaintained and windy road. Once off the road we crossed a river in the truck and through grass and mud paths kilometers into the completely green hills and mountains, opening and closing gates to finally arrive to their property. It had been raining heavily earlier that same day thus while trying to climb some sections of the dirt and stone roads to Aldea Luna we got stuck more than a few times. Jump right into getting dirty and physical strain. Completely abandon any hopes of staying clean and dry. After maybe 30 minutes we   got through the hard parts. Myself and my backpack were quite muddy and disorganized. The truck was covered in mud and the road was completely destroyed from spinny tires. We succeeded and carried on to the farm, the last section walking because we could go no further. Upon arriving to this place I immediately knew I had made the the right descision to come, that viewpoint would only be further solidified as the hours and days went by. Four structures made of stone and wood sat on the top of this bald hill. Paths connecting them all. One common building where the kitchen, dining room and games were. Two cabins in the rear with a total of 11 beds I think each with its own bathroom and shower. Then the large building down the hill a bit was for Martin, Elizabeth, Matias and Girardo. The extensive garden lay around that building and descending down the hillside. I had arrived there as a Volunteer thus working 4 hours a day 8am - 12pm and paying 50 pesos a day. That gives me accomodation and 3 fantastic vegetarian meals. By fantastic I mean the food was incredible, Elizabeth was always able to create something scrumptious. So the mornings were spent working, usually working with cement and stones down the hillside working on building Girardo´s house. After 6 years of sleeping in the same room as Matías he finally ¨wants to finish my fucking house che!¨ The work was usually relatively relaxed, as was everything on the farm. The afternoons were spent playing board games, reading  (lots), talking, or occasionally taking one of the extensive trails that led about their property, which was actually within the limits of a Provincial Natural Reserve. The setting was amazing. The sunrises every morning were very nice and the weather was, for the most part, sunny and warm with little rain.

The other people who were there at the time were extremely nice, a few in particular I connected very strongly with and learned a lot from. People more or less came and go. Alex was with his two friends, Antoine and Florrant, There was Jeremy from Belgium, Nicolas from Germany, and Vidar from Norway. These was the lineup when I arrived. We added up to 7 guys. On a farm in the middle of no where. You can imagine the environment. I had joined a group of 5 or 6 ¨pent up¨ men that were clearly sitting on the edge of their seats for women to start calling on the telephone. Thus with each telephone call, (they were rare) everyone would quiet down and listen for any potential tail to be heading out to Aldea. Although 9 times out of 10 it would just be Martín´s mother that would be calling, she usually called 3 times a day at least. Don´t ask why... So while there were no girls, there was lots of jokes, constant laughter a kind of community of people, for when you spend that amount of time with the same people, you grow very close, very quickly, you  actually get to know people, and you learn much more, expecially from the work. The owners were very talkative people, they all could speak English quite well and were seemingly constantly happy. The environment was always sos positive, anger, jealousy were non existant, Laughter was constant, smiling, peacefulness. It was a truly unique place created by the people that inhabit it. So after only a few days I was completely comfortable with everyone there and the location. When the weekend came around the 7 men packed their things and headed to Jujuy to search for the thing that lacked on the farm. For the three French they would not return, they had been there for 2 weeks already. but the rest of us would go back on monday. Thus we spent an entertaining weekend in the city, cold beer (no refrigerator on farm), warm shower (no hot water on farm), barbeque (no meat on farm) and hitting clubs. There wasn´t too much to do in Jujuy even at night, but it was still good times. We headed by to the farm on monday with an english couple who was starting their 2 month stay there. When we arrived it was a different scene at the farm. On top of the english couple there was a German couple, another french girl and two other girls that were planing on leaving the next day, they only stayed for a few days. I myself was planning on  leaving sometime during that week.

As the week went on faster than ever I was coerced into staying ¨just until friday man¨ cause friday would be party, then it turned out that the party was saturday so pushed it back til sunday, but then sunday was hike day, so I pushed it back to Monday, then Elizabeth and Martin told me they were going to Jujuy on tuesday morning so I pushed it back to tuesday... That adds up to 2 weeks. Leaving me 10 days to get back to Lima. No time to really do anything in particular. I still wanted to go to La Paz and Cuzco second times before Lima. 

I don´t regret it though. Friday we made a fire, played games, told stories and played music, Saturday we set up music, Martín has an awesome sound system and Aldea Luna brings in boxes of shitty wine to get good head aches from the next day. The parties their are amazing, blasting house and reggae music surrounded by wilderness, stobe headlights, and wine. Great environment. And the hikes around the area have awesome scenery. By the time I left on tuesday I was very attached to the place and the people. I was not looking forward to going home, I wanted to stay there for the next 4 weeks and leave with some of the other volunteers who were staying longer. Vidar, Jeremy, Nicolas and I. The 4 that came back from Jujuy the weekend before were quite close, especially Vidar. All great guys, good friends, varying in age but all equals. 

Amazing expereince and the descision to do it all was created and decided in a matter of minutes. Extremely satisfied with everything that took place. Very happy that I got at least one farm experience during my 5 months here, that experience will push me to do more of it in the future which is priceless in my eyes. The door of potential has been opened, in more ways than one.

Now with 10 days to get to Lima I´m back on the road, missing Aldea Luna already and the people there. But understanding that in a very short period of time I will be reunited with the connections that I miss at home. 

Canadian Companion - Salta - Mar 20th - 26th

On the bus ride to Salta a guy sitting behind me overheard that I was Canadian. I soon found out that he was from Toronto and would prove to be the strongest and longest lasting relation that I held with anyone from my home country. His name was Chad and he was from Toronto. He couldn´t speak spanish and was taking a break to visit his cousin in Buenos Aires, he was now touring around to see some of Argentina outside of the Capital. It was extremely nice to have some one of similar origin to be around for a change. Simply to talk about things at home and have the other person understand and know what and where you are talking about is something that I had completely fallen out of touch with!

Previously in Iguazú, I met a couple that had been to Salta and had reccomended renting a car as the best means of exploring the surrounding beauty of valleys of colourful rock walls and strange eroded formations. I told the couple that to do that I would have to go around my hostel upon arrival to Salta city and persuade others into joining my quest. I was not expecting to find the partner on the same bus ride, before even arriving in Salta.

Chad and I were on the same route, a route that included an 8 hour waiting time in Tucumán, a city 4 hours south of Salta, at the dead of night before we could continue. Thus after spending around 30 hours in transit together simply to arrive at our destination we understood what the other was all about and had agreed that renting a car would be the most exciting means of passing the time. 

Salta, sitting in the furthest reaches of the north-west of Argentina, along with Jujuy are two provinces that don´t have the nicest cities although contain a certain charm that attracts a large number of tourists. It is extremely hot through peak summer here and for that reason am glad for the time that I have arrived. Less heat, less rain, less tourists. The people who live in these areas have less work and less money. Being back in the mountains and closer to Bolivia there is less development and clearly a stronger line of indigenous native descent. The people are extremely friendly and culture is much more clearly defined. In Salta the Peñas are the most common place. Peñas are restaurants/bars where people gather to eat and drink and play the traditional folklore music of the Gauchos (cowboys). The nights start at around 10 and only get better the later it gets. Over a few hours it becomes a jammin meddly of Guitar, Acordian and Piano with the ever powerful and emotional spanish lyrics to be heard overtop. Chad and I spent the first day exploring the city, booking a car (for the following morning) and for the evening went to one of these Peñas. We ate a feast of meat, veggies, empanadas and local wine with quality music until past midnight. We went to bed exhausted and content, ready for the exploration with the car for the next 3 days.

Surrounding the area are old windy roads through the mountains that lead to great quality vineyards which cover the flat plains between mountains. Likewise there are large valleys of endlessly green mountains of several thousand meters leading into desolate craggy valleys of rock that soar rigidly into the air all over the dry floor. Essentially there is a great amount of natural beauty to see within a few hours of driving. On our itinerary was to go west 200 kilometers day one. South 200 kilometers to Cafayate day two. and back north 200 kilometers to Salta day three. Day one started extremely foggy and with rain. Upon checking the weather forecast it read that the next week would be that way. Slightly dissapointed we departed. The weather proved to stay this way for only part of the way. Climbing up windy, narrow roads, dense fog all around we could only imagine the spectacular view that could have been seen had it been clear. The roads were free of traffic and life, other than the odd other tourist who likewise had chosen this day to begin. As we climbed up out of the valley we also climbed out of the fog, now up at over 2000 meters blue skes could be seen. There was hope! Views proved to spectacular from here on out of colourful red shades of mountains and flat plateaus of green vegetation with animals and birds grazing about the fields. Random ruins of constuctions or the odd tourist market would dot the side of the highway, literally in the middle of no where, selling trinkets and bags of all the spices you could imagine. By the time we got to Cachi, mid day, it was extremely hot, full of sun and blue skies. We met 2 women who went to Cachi by tour and wanted to go from Cachi to Cafayate, we agreed that they could squeeze into our small Renault Clio at their own expense, plus it helped pay for the rental! Bonus. We spent the same afternoon driving around the area of Cachi simply because the town was boring. We took gravel roads through farms and field, weaving our way further into the mountain. The scenery  was spectacular. Colourful mountains with greens valleys at their feet.

Car rental in many ways, I think, is the most experiencial tourism. Choosing where you want to go and when you want to stop. Taking what ever roads you choose, usually being roads that buses and traffic do not traverse too often. This is where you see the true towns and people. Their lifestyle and living conditions. This was the case on day 2. The drive from Cachi to Cafayate, 2 relatively touristic towns although the road connecting them is hardly ever taken. Here is where we would drive by homes and communities of mud brick houses, isolated plain churches on the peaks of hills on the horizon. Guachos riding horses down the side of the road. Farmers leading donkeys, old men on bicycles for lack of a better means of transportation. These towns are only a few hundred kilometers from Salta city yet they feel completely isolated, it could be on the other side of the world to these people. Upon arrival to Cafayate and being thrust back into wealth and tourism we would smitten by where were coming from. The scenery as we neared Cafayate was absolutely stupendous. Driving through the Valley of the Arrows endless arrow head shaped rock formations surge out of the ground  all at 45 degree angles. It felt as if we had landed on a different planet, on Mars or something. It was hard to drive with so much to look at with out careening off the road. We stopped constantly!

Cafayate, a small, cute city surrounded and occupied by vineyards. This valley where this community sites is devoted to making good wines, and they do a damn good job. I got my wine tours in here and much cheaper than in Mendoza. Many being only a few dollars or even free! 40 minutes of history, information and good wines, not bad! They claimed the location is extremely ideal for wine because of the height above sea level. Being between 1000 and 2000 meters above sea level the sun is strong throughout the day and cool at night. This apparently creates a distinct flavour in the grapes which leads to unique wines. So we went to several wine tours through the afternoon. Made dinner in the hostel where the girls were staying and Chad and I headed several Km out of town to our cheap campsite next to the mountains. From there we could climb up the slopes and have a fantastic view of the entire city and surrounding valley.

We awoke in the morning for the third day. Picked up the girls and started our way back to Salta. Back on the paved highway. Within a few Kms we got to the Valley of the Shells. Windy roads through irregularly eroded rocks all shades of rad and brown was definitely the most memorable section of the trip. I pity anyone who took that road at night. It is impossible to explain the physical look of these rocks. We were once again on a different planet although a different one from the previous day. Only photos can give one an idea of the image.

Arriving back in Salta we were all completely exhausted. Chad and I said farewell to the girls and headed to the hostel to rest. After going through a silly communication breakdown with the car rental company we finally returned the car the next day completely dirty thus they would have no idea if there were any scratches or nicks on the car, as I´m sure there were. They hardly even checked the vehicle to make sure it was all good. Anyway Cahd and I killed time through the afternoon until his bus departure back to Buenos Aires. After Chad left and I was alone again walking back to the hostel I randomly befriended some Artesanos (people that work in the street making and selling hand maid jewellry or trinkets. I spent the next few hours with them sitting in the park and learning some of their skills and lifestyle which was neat. One of the guys was Colombian and had been travelling around South America and stays lengths of periods in places when he needs to and sells Artesania bracelets among other things.

The next day I tried hitch hikiing to San Salvador de Jujuy for several hours with no success which was annoying considering it is only a few hours north of Salta. I gave up and took the bus to Jujuy where I had no plan other than to go visit the spectacular valleys and mountains that sit between the city and Bolivia.