Stirring the Pot

Photos!

2010-08-31T18:49:00.000-07:00

We haven't blogged since the wedding because we've been busy recovering, honeymooning and now back to real life. But we want to thank you all so, so, so much for celebrating our wedding with us. It was an amazing day and an incredible weekend.

Now what you have all been waiting for... some amazing photos from Jessica Hill. Check out her photo blog. Feel free to comment on her blog, she loves it.

Lizzie also created a Shutterfly site for everyone to share photos that they took at the wedding: kimybrianwedding.shutterfly.com. You can upload your photos and share with everyone. Thanks Lizzie.

Logistics

2010-08-02T11:46:00.000-07:00

We can't believe the wedding is coming up this week. So many of you (like us) are probably of a suddenly wondering about some of the logistics.

When?
The wedding ceremony begins at 4:00 pm at the Pine Cone Bluff at the Resort at the Mountain. The music will go until 10 pm, but since many of you are staying at the hotel the party will likely go on for longer.

How long will it take to get there?
NOTE: There will likely be traffic in Portland on Friday afternoon at 3pm, so plan accordingly.
From Portland (downtown): approx. 1 hour 10 minutes
From PDX Airport: approx. 1 hour 5 minutes
From Seattle: 3 hours 45 minutes (could be extra because of construction on I-205 near Portland)
From the Oregon Coast (Seaside): 2 hours 30 minutes
From Condon: 2 hours 50 minutes (there shouldn't be much traffic)
From Chicago: 1 day 10 hours (hopefully most of you took a flight!)

Directions?
From Portland
From PDX Airport
From Seattle
From SeaTac Airport
From Oregon Coast
From Condon

View Larger Map

Transportation?
Your best bet may be a rental car if you are travelling with a few others and can split the cost. Otherwise, you should be able to set up a town car or small bus shuttle out to the resort (probably would cost ~$80 each way). Here are some options.

Engagement Photos

2010-07-20T18:16:00.000-07:00

We met our wedding photographer, Jessica Hill, a few weeks ago in Portland and she took some photos of us... mostly goofing around. She posted some photos on her BLOG.

Jessica also created a video that she has been experimenting with. Check out the video here. The music is sweet.

The wedding is coming so fast! We are getting really excited to see everyone.

Kim and Brian's Wedding Olympics!

2010-06-17T11:32:00.000-07:00

ATTENTION!!!
You are invited to participate in Kim and Brian's Wedding Olympics

When: Saturday August 7th at 12:00
Where: The Resort at the Mountain
Why: To continue the celebration of Kim and Brian's wedding!

Since so many people will be traveling far distances to see Kim and Brian, this is just an excuse to spend more time with them! Please do not be scared away by the word "Olympics" - there are events for everyone or at least beer! If you are going to be at the Resort on Saturday please plan on participating in the Olympics! All you need to do is go to the following link and answer 2 simple questions (name and t-shirt size) by July 10th!
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MX7FFRK

If you have any other questions please feel free to contact me at ltracy08@gmail.com

Thank you
Your Olympic coordinator Laura Tracy (future sister-in-law to Kim Bennett)

The Life and Times of KimyBrian, Chapter Two: Road Trip!

2010-06-16T22:04:00.000-07:00

If you haven't heard the news, we just bought a new car (actually a van) in Colorado and drove it back to Seattle this past weekend. It was a great trip. We started in Ft. Collins, CO at Troy and Jen's house. We got to visit friends long the way in Bozeman, Missoula and Spokane. Here is a compilation of video clips from our road trip. I'll warn you, it is a little long (about 10 minutes). We had plenty of time to take video!

Chicago Shower Weekend

2010-06-08T10:26:00.000-07:00

We spent Memorial Day weekend in Chicago and had a great time at the Aunts' shower on Saturday and the Rock Shower (don't ask us to explain what this is) on Sunday. The Bennetts (minus Will, who had to work) made the trip to celebrate with us. It was a great, action-packed weekend. Here is a little clip from the weekend.

Brian

Mr. Brian

2010-05-21T18:21:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, my Junior and Senior ELL class asked if they could have a party, and if the guest of honor could be my fianceé. The party was on Thursday and Brian got time off of work to spend the morning with us! The party became a Senior graduation celebration/Ms. Bennett and Mr. Brian wedding shower.

We had a giant spread of food. Sambusa, Filipino food, chips, juice, soda, rice, cake, you name it! All at 9 in the morning.

The students have just started a research project about careers, so we had Brian talk to them about his job. It is such a novelty these days to see someone who got a job in the field they trained for in college. It was great for my students because they got to see an example of the amount of school someone might need in order to go into a solid career. All of the students loved it.

The whole office staff and Nathan Hale also has a crush on Mr. Brian now...

It was nice to share a bit of my life with my students.

Love to you all!

The Life and Times of KimyBrian, Chapter One.

2010-05-20T10:47:00.000-07:00

Kim and Brian's super busy Saturday

2010-04-25T12:28:00.000-07:00

In response to the request of the wonderful Miss Laura Huysman, I must tell you all about our super busy Saturday. Watch out, Knot.com! All of those little alarm clocks next to my to-do list won't even see what's coming for them.

We started our day at Mighty-O's, as we do most Saturdays, and we were pleasantly surprised when we ran into Laura and Brian Dower who joined us for breakfast number two. Laura recently returned from South America and it was so fun to hear and share stories. Brian got restless around 11:30 and we had to take off. It was going to be a super busy Saturday.

First stop: Bed, Bath, and Beyond

We registered up a storm! Cook ware, Tupperware, towels, you name it!

Second stop: The Tux Shop

Ha ha, Brian! Your cover is blown! We are still waiting on a final decision, but it was a good start. It was funny to see a tux shop after seeing so many wedding dress stores. The tux shop had college football flags all over the walls, and a catalog of tuxedos that definitely had not been updated since the late 80's. Brian did well.

Third stop: REI

Brian bought a new watch band. Not too exciting. But we did decide that REI would be an awesome place for people to visit if they decide to checkout Portland and Seattle during their West Coast visit.

Fourth stop: Home

Home maybe doesn't sound super busy, but we went straight to work and registered for things from REI online. We also checked out photographers (another looming thing on our list).

After such a busy Saturday, we recovered with margaritas, entomatadas and mole negro from La Carta. What else could we ask for.

Brian, of course, needs extra time to recover and is off to spend the day in the mountains.

Stirring the Pot Revival

2010-04-22T22:12:00.000-07:00

Location. Check.
Wedding Dress. Check.
Our beloved friends and family saving the big date. Check.
A blog revival. CHECK!

Brian and I are so excited to bring back "Stirring the Pot!" We plan to use this blog to share pertinent wedding information with all of you. If you want to know more about things to do in Portland, or about our wedding venue, or maybe more about how Brian and I are faring in the chaos, this is the place. Stay tuned for further posts, and check out the links on the right side of the screen for more details.

Read, comment, enjoy. We are so excited to share this time with all of you.

Written Images of La Paz

2008-07-01T16:19:00.000-07:00

While I was sick in bed for those 3 solid days in La Paz, I had plenty of time to think about the outside world. It made me realize that we haven`t really described La Paz to all of you. So here are a few mental pictures I`ve taken, and I`ll try to bring them to life for you to imagine...

· Outside of the Plaza de San Francisco, at the bottom of Calle Sagarnaga where all the touristic shoping is, one will come across the fruit juice ladies. There must be at least 20 of them around the plaza - some men, but mainly plump, round, cheery, gossipy women. They sell fresh squeezed mandarin, orange and grapefruit juice (increasing in acidity respectively). One cup of the grapefruit juice and all the pores across your nose would open up and your face would involuntarily pucker. This was a common face seen around the plaza as the orange and grapefruit juices were popular. Some of the women use plastic cups, but save them to clean for the next day; some use glass and wash them there in front of you. Their juicers are large metal handles: they cut the citrus circle in half, plop in half by half, and squeeze every last drop out of them. Brian, of course, found his own juice lady - as he does with all his favorite street food.

· Everything is for sale. There are stores on the narrow streets, but the stuff doesn`t seem to stay in them. The colors, the fabrics, the little knit finger puppets and pachamama figurines flow out of the stores like blooming flowers. Going inside to shop is like passing through a tunnel into a cave. Amazing. And that`s just the stores: the streets also transform into markets. You have your fruits and vegetables street, your blankets street, your skirt-making-fabric street - everything is clumped together and looks confusingly similar. I`m pretty sure that every morning, the women and men haul their merchandise to the corner (their own slice of sidewalk) and every night they back it up and take it back home. They carry everything wrapped up in colorful blankets and strapped to their backs. Again, amazing.

· Traffic, traffic, traffic. Taxi rides are terrifying. Not only do you have to worry about pedestrians (who typically know to watch out for you), but dogs as well. The streets are narrow and steep and cars don`t seem to understand that when a car is coming your way on the other side of the street, you should not pass! There maybe isn`t much honking as there was in Trujillo, but the squeaking of brakes can be heard from miles away. The brakes work, they just like to be heard. The pollution rising from La Paz can be seen from the Huayna Potosi base camp: out in the middle of the mountains.

· Some restaurant has people dress up like animals and dance around on the streets. Strange.

Okay - we`re off for our last Peruvian dinner: pollo a la brasa (chicken), papas fritas (fries), and Inka Cola (this Mountain Dew looking, cream soda tasting pop). Delicious. Then, tomorrow morning, we`ll see the floating islands outside of Puno and then head home to see all of you!!!

Paz y amor.

The Finale in the Altiplano

2008-07-01T15:50:00.000-07:00

For our final few days of our trip we took off on a 3 day trek in the altiplano. Here are the highlights:

It was cold! Our first night at Condoriri base camp there was ice on the inside of our tent. Our 35 degree F sleeping bags didn´t keep us too warm, and we were really happy for the sun to rise in the morning. Very little sleep was had. The next night we set up our tent inside an adobe house and were luckily much warmer.

It was high! We started at an altitude of 4,500 meters (about 14,850 feet) and we never went lower. Only higher to passes around 5,000 meters. It made it difficult to breath, it was impossible to drink enough water, and headaches were pretty common.

It was beautiful! The landscape was incredible. Big, glacier filled peaks that rise up above 6,000 meters contrasting with the brown, dry altiplano. We saw gorgeous mountain lakes, small mining communities, and llamas grazing everywhere.

We didn´t carry our gear! We payed about $10 a day to get our gear carried from camp to camp for us because we knew it would be difficult with the altitude. Our packs were first on a donkey, then a motorcycle, and finally with two porters on the final day. The porters were a 20 year old local and his 10 year old nephew. The 10 year carried Kim´s pack and was our guide. He was small for a 10 year old and there was still no way we could keep up with him. Luckily he was a great guide and constantly waited for us. It was unbelievable. The people that live in the altiplano are TOUGH. And they were also incredibly kind and fun to talk and hike with for the day.

Brian climbed Huayna Potosi! On the first day we hiked up to the Condoriri base camp with a guided group because we got transportation from the company. After speaking with one of the guides I found out that I had just enough time to summit Huayna Potosi. We were ending our trek at the base of the trail up the mountain. We arrived at the trailhead and a refugio in the afternoon of the third day. Kim stayed at the refugio, and myself and the guide hiked up to a higher refugio at 5200 meters. We woke up at 2:00 am and started hiking up the glacier. By 7:00 am I was at the top. There were incredible views of Lake Titicaca, La Paz, the fog above the Amazon Basin, and the Cordillera Real. It was amazing to be 6,008 meters (19,974 ft) above sea level. I got back to the refugio where Kim was waiting by 10:30 am, and we were off to La Paz.

I´ll try to post some pictures along with this some time soon. So our trip is coming to an end. We are in Puno right now, and fly home tomorrow night. We´re both looking forward to seeing a lot of you soon.

Views of La Paz

2008-06-25T17:00:00.000-07:00

These pictures are too incredible not to share. Both we´re taken from our hotel window in La Paz last week. Illumani is the peak in the distance. This city is pretty amazing, my only complaint is the car exhaust can be horrible on the busy streets.

Hippie Heaven

2008-06-25T15:13:00.000-07:00

La Paz was not the ideal place for me to be recovering from my third stomach bug. This bug was not as mean ast the 1st, more predictable than the 2nd, but by far the most stubborn. After 2 full days of HBO movies and chicken soup, Brian and I decided to bag the Choro Trek and just head straight to the end destination: Coroico.

I was talking with this woman who owns a store that I can`t afford to shop in, but like to hang out in, asked me the other day if we were planning to go to the jungle. No, I said, we don`t have enough time - but this woman went on and on about the amazing sensations: the smells, the sounds, the temperatures. And when she said it was only 3 hours away, I knew I had to go to this place. And let me tell you, it was everything she said and more.

May and June are the months when the coffee, the coca and the citrus trees are all in season. You could walk down the street, go for mini hikes, relax by the river, and all the while munch on ripe mandarins that we just plucked from the tree while butterflies of all shapes and colors whirl around you. The weather is humid, but not too humid (my skin has finally recovered from the Altiplano). In the mornings a fog covers the whole town. Sometimes it is right in your face, making it feel like the middle of winter; sometimes it is in the valleys below and swirls up the mountains and over the houses; sometimes it`s right above you and you think that the sun will never come out, but it always did. The birds create the orquestra in the morning and the bugs take it over at night. Truly, this place was a slice of paradise.

Our hotel was the actual "hippie heaven" however. Mandarin trees on the grounds, hammocks, our own cabin: every morning, Brian and I would open up our double doors and watch the hummingbirds wizz through the trees. The birds got us up at 7, breakfast (an all natural, from their own garden, delicious vegetarian breakfast) was at 8:30. And after 8:30. the birds would die down and Enya would do the singing for the day. The owners of the hostel also led meditation sessions and yoga. Beautiful.

We spent our last day (yesterday) by the river with our good friends we met in Huaraz, Max and Shaina. We swam in swiming holes and hiked up stream between small canyons and through vines. Then we laid out on the hot rocks to dry off as the sun went behind the hills.

You may all think that I`m exaggerating, but this place was a dream. Maybe I should work on just one more stomach bug... No. Back up to high altitude we go. And this time with our own donkey! And donkey driver of course. We`ll keep you posted!

Thanks for all of the great comments!!

Kimberly

11 days left...

2008-06-20T11:01:00.000-07:00

Our trip is winding down fast. The past couple days Kim has been layed up in La Paz. She´s having another stomach issue, and is now getting better. Luckily we found a good hotel (with a sweet shower) and have done nothing the past few days. The down time has made me realize how soon we will be back in the States. Bolivia has been difficult to explore between road blocks and sickness so it gives us more reason to get back down here some day. We are still planning to do the El Choro Trek when Kim is healthy, and we´ll have a bit more time to explore Sucre or another area near La Paz.

The thought of coming back home is weird. I´m probably ready, but at the same time feel very comfortable down here. I´m excited to see friends and family and enjoy the Northwest summer. But I´ll miss the simplicities of life here. Travelling around with just a backpack filled with my necessities and living cheaply. It has not always been comfortable. We´ve been too hot, too cold, on hellish bus rides, in dingy hotels, and much more. But I ¨enjoy¨ (or maybe the better word is appreciate) being in these situations, probably for the same reasons I enjoy climbing and skiing; it makes me feel more alive. While travelling there isn´t such thing as a routine day. We´re moving around, changing plans and always seeing new sights. And even when we were in Trujillo we would have a weekly routine but walking through the barrios to teach each morning could never feel normal. After growing up in Libertyville and living in Seattle it is impossible to feel numb to the living conditions of the people in those places. Anyways we have done a lot. The time has gone fast at times and slow at other times. It probably will take a while to digest everything we´ve seen and done on this trip. But luckily I´ll have some great pictures and stories to share with all you when we´re back.

Salar de Uyuni and Southwest Bolivia

2008-06-18T12:52:00.000-07:00

This past Friday we took a 12 hour, bumpy and cold night bus from La Paz to Uyuni. Then we quickly booked a 3 day tour around the Southwest Corner of Bolivia. We piled into a Toyota Land Cruiser with 3 other travelers and set out. The first day was spent exploring the Salar de Uyuni. It is an enormous salt flat. That night we stayed in a salt hotel... the building was actually made out of salt blocks! The next day we drove on passing smaller salt flats, volcanoes, lakes and expansive deserts. The final day started by exploring a geyser basin at 4900 meters at sunrise. Then we took a dip in a hot springs to warm up, and went back to Uyuni via a long, and often bumpy, road. We were mostly expecting to explore the Salar de Uyuni, but were pleasantly surprised to get to see so many other sights. It was a fun trip and we were definitely ready to get out of the Land Cruiser by the end.

Once we got back to Uyuni we found out there were roadblocks in Potosi, so our plans to go there and on to Sucre changed. We spent an extra day hanging out in Uyuni waiting for a bus to get back to La Paz. And by hanging out I mean playing cards, reading, and having a bit of tea... there isn´t much to do in Uyuni! But we made it back to La Paz and are now planning our next trekking adventure.

We took a ton of pictures and here are some of the good ones.

Crazy perspective photos on the salt flat... Kim holding a mini Brian by the head.

The Salar de Uyuni from the Isla de Pescado.

More fun pictures on the salt flat.

Flamingos.

La Piedra de Arbol (the Tree Rock)

Amazing sky.

Reflections in a steaming lake.

Reflections of Laguna Colorada.

Pictures from Isla del Sol

2008-06-12T16:21:00.000-07:00

We took a lot of pictures on Isla del Sol, and here a few of the best ones... enjoy.

The three of us on Isla del Sol.

Kim and Laura chilling with a view at our hostal in Isla de Sol.

A condor flying by us... gorgeous!

Laura´s 15 observations of South America

2008-06-12T15:42:00.000-07:00

15. Everything is extremely cheap
14. I am tall
13. Brian´s purse is cuter than mine
12. It´s cold, but you still get tan (or burned)
11. I cannot breathe in high altitude (or I´m out of shape)
10. Getting from one place to another in a van with less than 12 people in it, is impossible
9. I don´t remember any spanish and would be lost without Kim (and Brian too)
8. The sunset is BEAUTIFUL
7. People wear blankets instead of coats
6. Anything you need can be bought on the street
5. I like coca tea
4. There is really a place called Copacabana (it´s not just in the song Kim keeps singing)
3. Llamas are real
2. It´s ok not to shower every day (especially when its cold)
1. I have the best brother ever!

Laura (If you come and visit you get to write your own blog too!)

In Bolivia!

2008-06-07T18:09:00.000-07:00

Laura`s debut on the blog!!

Plaza de Armas: Arequipa, Peru

The three of us (Laura is with us now) made it into Bolivia this afternoon, after spending a couple days in Arequipa. We arrived in Copacabana around sunset and it was beautiful. Lake Titicaca is gorgeous. We found an awesome hostal and good restaurant for dinner. It is exciting to be in a new country. We had gotten pretty comfortable in Peru.

Anyways that is the quick update. We´ll be spending a few days around here exploring Isla del Sol and then it is off to La Paz to finish Laura´s whirlwind tour in South America. Hopefully we´ll have some good pictures to post soon.

The 3 of us in Copacabana, Bolivia! We literally ran across the border and this was the perfect little town to relax in. It`s gorgeous.

DIY Trekking

2008-06-04T07:12:00.000-07:00

After doing the Santa Cruz trek we felt ready to ditch the guides and donkeys and head out on our own backpacking trip. First we heard of a recommendation for a lightly travelled area from another traveller at the California Cafe. After getting more advice we decided on a route starting in the Quilcayhaunca Quebrada, going over a 5,000 meter pass, and going out the Cojup Quebrada. Next we found a place to rent some gear: tent, stove, pots, and sleeping pads. Finally we went shopping for food, and quickly realized that normal backpacking food isn´t very easy to find in Peru. We made due with Snickers, Ramen, oatmeal, and PB&Js.

We started at the trailhead for Lake Churup and soon entered the Quilcayhaunca Quebrada. It was beautiful. A perfectly glacier carved, U-shaped valley that was flat in the middle from sediment deposits. The walking was mellow and only slightly uphill. We found a great spot to camp near the end of the valley, and set up camp just before some afternoon rain came.

The next day we started for the pass and were quickly climbing switchbacks out of the valley. The switchbacks lead us to an open valley and the trail dissappeared. We were told that the route finding to the pass was tricky. We followed the advice we had recieved in town (or so we thought) and soon we were gaining elevation and breathing harder and harder. Finally we reached a ridge with a view and realized we were not aiming for the pass we were looking for. Instead we were looking at a steep, snow covered moutain col. We took a break and enjoyed the spectacular view for a bit. Then we tried traversing to the correct pass, and quickly found that this was impossible. The only way to get to the pass would be to go way down, and way back up! We made a unanamous decision to head back down to the Quilcayhuanca and camp the night at a more comfortable, lower elevation. The hike down ended being nearly as difficult as going up. The route finding was difficult: weaving through soggy marshes and steep rocky sections. We finally made it back to camp and were exhausted.

Our final day we only needed to walk out the Quilcayhuanca Quebrada. We were treated with beautiful weather. The morning was incredible... see poem blog. We enjoyed the hike, the views, and the sunshine. Before long we were back at our room at Caroline Lodging in Huaraz, and taking some much needed showers.

It ended up being a great three days adventuring in a different part of the Cordillera Blanca. It was nice to be alone in the wilderness. The wilderness in Peru, in many ways, is similar to the US or anywhere else in the world. It was a nice little break to feel at home in the mountains and take a break from the cities of Peru.

The Quilcayhuanca Quebrada.

The mountains and blue sky in the morning.

Kim cozy in the tent.

The sunset on a 6000+ meter peak.

The same peak during the day.

The two of us right before we got stuck in the marsh behind us.

Pelo Bonito II

2008-06-03T07:43:00.000-07:00

Brian Tracy: voted "Best Hair" of the Santa Cruz Trek 2008

Frosty Morning in the Quilcayhaunca Quebrada

2008-06-02T16:13:00.000-07:00

Frost on the valley floor.

Sun painting the mountain tops.

Long shadows on peaks and cliffs.

The snow, high above, a blinding white.

Back on the valley floor,

It is in shadow.

Crisp, cold, fresh.

The frost crystallized on everything,

Lupine flowers and cow pies alike.

The only sounds are trickling streams.

The valley sleeps while the mountains look awake.

And here I am.

Bundled up with layers.

Leaning on a rock with hot coca tea nearby.

Admiring the view of the mountains above,

And watching my breath in the frosty air.

Enjoying the morning and the start of a new day.

(The picture I took while leaning on the rock)

Santa Cruz Trek in Pictures

2008-05-29T15:04:00.001-07:00

Alpamayo (the peak on the right) at sunrise.

The scenery on the way to the high point of the trek.

The high point of the trek and Talluraju in the background.

Us, with Talluraju behind.

A condor flying above us. These birds are like small airplanes. They have wingspans of 15+ feet! We were incredibly lucky to see a group of them fly right over us.

The Quebrada Santa Cruz.

One of the donkeys that carried our gear.

Kim walking along the Quebrada... lindazo!

Alpamayo in the background and mountains across the valley in Kim´s glasses.

Lupine... the flower and the person (Kim´s outdoor school name).

Sleeping while we can get it.

2008-05-25T12:36:00.000-07:00

It was sad leaving Trujillo. I cried. There are so many good memories. I´m missing strange, everyday things:

· Eugenia´s home cooking
· The combi drivers who took me to Huanchaquito every day: ¨La A, la A. HuanCHAgo! HuanCHAgo! Vas? Sube, sube, sube. Spera, spera, spera. DaLE!¨ That was the money collector´s way of communicating with the driver. ¨Dale¨ means give it, or hit it so the driver knows when he can start again. I think I´ll bring that term to the Lake to tell Dad or Uncle Bill to start driving the boat while waterskiing...
· I miss lots of the things my students used to say, like Fiorela´s counting: ¨Uno, dos, tres, cuatro... cINco... dos?¨ or Angel after I gave him his midday snack, ¨Plofesola! Glacias¨ or Diego´s singing when he got too antsy in his seat.

At the same time, it was awesome to arrive in Huaraz with friends to welcome us. One hike down (see Brian´s previous post) and we have a 4 day hike coming up tomorrow. I don´t think I´ve every even camped for more than 4 days... but I´m starting to like this whole hiking thing. We´re even thinking of heading up to some snowy areas.

It´s beautiful here. We have about 8 more days, and then LAURA COMES! This trip is going to be awesome!

To be continued.......

Poem for Churup

2008-05-25T12:00:00.000-07:00

We tried it once in March

And the lake was not to be.

Rain, thunder, altitude and time in our way.

Now we are back in May.

Bluer than blue skies.

Nevada Churup rising high above us.

The lake a brillant blue-green.

Mountain air thin and fresh.

Feeling alive!

A great hike, a great day.

Que lindo: Churup

Back In Huaraz!

2008-05-23T07:57:00.000-07:00

After two nights on buses we made it to Huaraz this morning. Our friends Teo and Rex picked us up from the bus station and we ate breakfast with the view of the Cordillera Blanca in the picture above. We even have the same room we stayed in last time we were here!

Kuelap in Pictures

2008-05-23T07:00:00.000-07:00

On Monday through Wednesday we went to Chachapoyas and visited La Fortaleza (Fortress) de Kuelap. It was incredibleand as impressive as Macchu Pichu. An amazing ruin of a very interesting culture, and there were barely any tourists (we saw less than 20). There is too much to write about right now, so hopefully the pictures tell part of the story.

Kim at the base of the incredibly high fortress walls.

Ruins, cloud forest, and llamas inside Kuelap... que fuerte!

Kim and Brian waving from an old window.

Kim in the main entrance to Kuelap. It narrows down to only fit one person at a time and was used to fend off invaders.

A puma inscribed in one of the bricks in the entrance.

In front of the main entrance to Kuelap.

The sky in Chachapoyas.

Chao Tortas

2008-05-19T07:09:00.000-07:00

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

We´ve said goodbye to our Peruvian home and friends in good fashion: stretching out our goodbye party over 2 nights. We´ve found a wonderful community in Trujillo and while we can´t wait for our travels to start, it was hard saying goodbye to everyone: the kids especially. While our role in their lives was small, we were able to make small, positive changes. The kids in my class now play games that I learned at Outdoor School like ¨Rock, Paper, Scissors, Splits¨ and ¨Evolution¨. I learned a ton from the kids and I hope the best for them: Jorge Luis the artist, Sergio the poet, Manuel the comedian, Fiorela the independent-six-year-old (she may end up president of Peru one day... once she finally starts to recognize the numbers 3 and 7), Diego the scientist and Julissa the artisan worker. So much potential. Then there´s Erika and Cintia - the biggest challenges of the class. They need more help than I was able to give... while they were total pains in the patoot, they were also the hardest to say goodbye to. They have a tough road ahead of them. The class is being left in great hands, however: a commited teacher and good friend, Deisy; and a Canadian volunteer, Ivanka, whose energy, non-profit experience and brains are the amazing combo to keep the class in shape. I´m excited to hear about how the class comes along in the future.

I guess that´s it. During our last week in Trujillo, Brian and I tried as many cakes from Amaretto as possible, ate at our chicken sandwich place almost every day, and finally tried all the flavors of ice cream at our Huanchaco ice cream spot. I know Dad: ¨A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips¨... but hey - Brian and I are doing a 5-6 day trek here in a couple days so I figure I should pack on the calories while I still can. Mmmm.

Chao y Gracias

2008-05-17T12:15:00.001-07:00

Our going away party! Party decorations, Aji de Gallina, Torta de Tres Leches, corsages in American flag colors, and hats identical to the ones that Señor Bruce himself wears every day. Dinner followed, of course, by dancing: it was quite the party.

We´ve made some amazing friends.

Pelo Bonito

2008-05-13T11:50:00.000-07:00

"Best Hair" 2001 Libertyville High School

(See comments in this blog from a couple days ago)

Happy Mother´s Day From Cajamarca

2008-05-11T16:21:00.001-07:00

Plaza de Armas, Cajamarca

This weekend we decided to check out Cajamarca. It is about a 7 hour bus ride into the mountains northeast of Trujillo. We arrived early Saturday morning and read about the sights to see around Cajamarca, and quickly learned there is a lot of history. Our first stops were to check out the colonial church and hospitals of Belen. We hired a guide (in Spanish) and it was very helpful to learn a bit more about the history. Our last stop of the morning was the El Cuarto del Rescate (¨Ransom Room). This is where the Incan king, Atahaulpa, was held ransom for gold and silver. The Spanish conquistadors captured Atahaulpa in Cajamarca. The history of the Spanish conquest and downfall of the Incan Empire is fascinating and it began right in Cajamarca. Here is a link if you want to read more (we recommend it!).

After grabbing a snack we hopped on a micro to the Baños del Inca. This is where Atahaulpa was before being lured to meet with the Spaniards in Cajamarca. Now it is a complex of different rooms with hot water from natural springs directed into bathtubs. It was amazing. We soaked for about an hour. Next we went for an hour long walk through the countryside to the pre-Incan ruins of Ventanillas del Otuzco. These were burial sites carved into a cliff face. It was interesting and the walk there was a lot of fun. We really appreciated being able to speak Spanish because we asked for directions about 8 times. It was a great day.

Today we woke up early and booked a tour to Cumbe Mayo. This is another pre-Incan archeologic site located about 12 miles from the city of Cajamarca. It consists of an aqueduct that strectches for 9 kilometers. There is not a lack of water in Cajamarca. The aqueduct was made for ceremonial purposes. Much of the 9 kilometer aqueduct was cut into rock! Once we got back to Cajamarca we decided since we are only here once we should take advantage of it. So we went back the to the hot springs at the Inca Baths (after calling our Mom´s, of course). The rest of the day was spent walking around Cajamarca. This town is really nice. Tons of history and archeology, cheap, and barely any tourists. In a few hours we´ll be heading back to Trujillo for our last week of volunteering.

Here are some pictures from today. We hope everyone had a great Mother´s Day.

Pre-Incan petroglyphs on the aqueduct at Cumbe Mayo.

Colonial church on the Plaza de Armas.

A rainbow at sunset!

Sunset on the street.

Recent Developments

2008-05-08T16:13:00.000-07:00

Here are some new developments in photos:

My class in Huanchaquito. As my life changes, so does theirs. I´m learning a lot from these kids.

Brian and I finally saw the famous and enormous Chimu ruins, Chan Chan.

Brian picked up a new sport... Sandboarding!

It´s a lot colder. Pobresita Arenita...

One other good one: Brian has picked up the nickname of Pelo Bonito, or Beautiful hair. Hilarious. I´m sure you all can imagine how that got started. I can´t wait to see what a beauty he´ll be in 2 months! (Marla: it might be a good idea to set an appointment with Maria for when Brian gets back...)

As for me...

Mancora changed me. Surrounded by hippies and beach, I felt that I was being taken back to my Oregon roots: a local down the road weaved my hair into dreads and in one of the street markets, I had a local ink artist tattoo a hibiscus on my lower back. I feel great. Happy Mother´s Day, Mom!

Just kidding!

Really, things are pretty normal around here. I thought of the title ¨Recent Developments¨ back when it felt like everything was changing: our mentor, friend, and faithful leader Bart retired from his position as Volunteer Director to move on to new projects in Buenas Aires with his lovely lady Marjiolijn; Brian and I decided to stay in Trujillo for 2 more weeks after a kind invitation from Bruce himself; I turned 24; and a new wave of volunteers were on their way.

Now, our two weeks are almost up. The new (and fantastic) volunteers are here and working hard. And Brian is now running the show as our Director (he has to have a cell phone - haha!). Things are good. The only major development lately with me is that I did get my hair cut: 4 soles, 10 minutes, and a free chocolate bar. Awesome.

Still, as our time is running down, ideas are flowing like never before.

· We´ve started a guest/guide book in Bruce Peru: a work in progress of sorts. Brian and I have written down some of the tips and cool places we´ve learned about while we´ve been here with the hopes that future volunteers will use these pages to get to know the city better and then add pages of their own. Additionally, when we leave, we´ll write a little blurb about how much we love the place.
· Brian and I are working on a manual for future volunteers and staff to use as a reference. It´s fun to think back and figure out the clearest way to communicate all that we have learned over the past two months.
· We´re also working on developing a project in Huanchaco that would hopefully develope a sustainable, local tourist industry and help the local fishermen and farmers to develop the Huanchaco food market. We´re hoping to do something like the initiatives in Ballard or around Portland where a store could put a sticker in their window that says that they promise to buy products from the local workers. We´ve hooked up with some locals who are also interested in the idea and are hoping that the enthusiasm continues.

That´s about that, I suppose. I´m appreciating more and more everyday the great community we´ve developed around us here in Trujillo. However, my mind will still drift to images of New Seasons Market in Portland, or Greenlake in Seattle, or even my white pants that my mom and I found at Anthropology right before I left on this trip. Cultus Lake, the hanging out with the Sanders family in Seattle, Lydia´s wedding, and other summer excursions are also lingering in my mind in anticipation.

We still have so much to see and learn on this trip and I truly can´t wait for it! Laura´s coming to travel with us in Arequipa and Lake Titicaca; we´ll have another tour though Huaraz (yes!), and then many more surprises to come once we´re in Bolivia. Still, when the time comes, I think I will be ready for the comforts and familiarity of the Northwest, as well as the future opportunities of applying all that I have learned here to more local and personal projects.

As a side note, here´s a recommendation for a fantastic book that Brian and I have been reading (Thanks Donee for leaving it in Bolivia!):
· Whispering in the Giant´s Ear by William Powers. A great read regarding the changing global economy though the eyes of Bolivia.

Ecuador (very briefly) and Mancora

2008-05-04T11:01:00.000-07:00

This past Thursday was a ferriado (holiday) in Peru, so we had a four day weekend to do a bit of travelling. We needed to extend our Peruvian visas, and the easiest way is to leave the country and return. So Wednesday night we set out from Trujillo via an overnight bus to Tumbes (about 30 km from the Ecuadorian border).

We heard different stories on what the protocol is for extending our visas. The most reliable sources at Bruce Peru seemed to agree that you have to spend one day in Ecuador before returning to Peru. Everyone, including the Lonely Planet, warned that this particular border crossings is a bit sketchy. So the plan was to spend a night in Guaycuil, Ecuador. But our plans began to change when the moto-taxi we flagged down in Tumbes took us to the border contrary to our request to take us to a bus station in town. The driver told us a bunch of lies saying that the bus station we were looking for in Tumbes didn't exist, etc., and we ended up taking the expensive way to the border (not by choice). The good news is that we spoke to the Peruvian migration officier and found out we were allowed to get both exit and entry stamps (and new visas) in the same day.

We made our way to the Ecuadorian migration office, a few kilometers from the actual border, got our passports stamped a couple times and were crossing back into Peru within a half hour. The border town was interesting. There is free trade between Ecuador and Peru, so there were carts stacked high with all sorts of fruits: bananas, mangos, pineapples, and more. We found a cheap colectivo to take us back to Tumbes and he even stopped and waited for us at the Peruvian migration office. By 11:30 am we had new visas and were back in Tumbes.

(Here is a picture of the border. Peru on the left and Ecuador on the right, with a really horribly contaminated stream in between.)

We quickly grabbed a combi from Tumbes and within two hours were in Mancora. According to the Lonely Planet Mancora is Peru's "worst kept secret". It is the most "resorty" town along the north coast of Peru. I also happened to see an article in today's New York Times about Mancora (check out this link), so it isn't getting any less popular! We quickly found out why this is an attractive spot for backpacking travellers and Peruvian tourists.

The beaches are beautiful and the Pacific is warm in Mancora. The water is crystal clear and the weather is hot. It feels more tropical than any other place we have visited in Peru. We were lucky to get a place to stay at Laguana Camp. It is a hostal that is comprised of different bungalows, hammocks everywhere, and a really layed back owner who we chatted with a lot. Here are the highlights of our two and a half days in Mancora.

Having fresh squeezed juice with meals. All the restaurants served homemade juice and it came in a small pitcher with a straw for about 4 soles ($1.50). The fruits in season were papaya, pineapple, banana, orange, passionfruit, and others... yummy!
The beaches: white sand, swimming, surfing, beautiful sunsets, and even some decent people watching. The only downside: we both got a bit sunburned yesterday.
Hanging out with Eduardo (owner of Laguna Camp) and chatting about random subjects in hammocks and around bonfires while drinking a few beers. The Laguna Camp was away from the busy Panamerican Highway where parties in the street and semi-trucks passing through somehow co-exist. The only sounds we heard were the waves.
Eating fresh fruit on the beach. One morning we had bananas, mandarins and the best mango ever. We were covered in as much juice as we were sunscreen and we didn't care. The mango tasted like a dessert for breakfast.

Mancora was nice but in our minds Huanchaco (our local beach near Trujillo) is more our style. We loved the warm water and tropical climate, but Mancora is a bit more of a tourist trap. You have to be more on the lookout for people trying to rip you off. And after many weekends in Huanchaco we have friends and our favorite places, which makes it a special spot.

Brian after some surfing.

A gecko friend we found in our bungalow.

Another beautiful sunset.

El Milagro

2008-04-24T00:57:00.000-07:00

I have been assigned to the Bruce Peru school in El Milagro, a suburb to the north of Trujillo. El Milagro means "The Miracle" in English, and it is quite the contradiction when you walk through the area. Every morning we hop on a combie, and it takes about 20 minutes to get to our stop in El Milagro. The Bruce Peru classroom is located at the normal El Milagro colegio (elementary school). The director of the colegio has been nice enough to let us use a room for the morning. Here is a brief overview of the bad and good experiences I've had at Milagro so far.

The Bad:
I always travel to El Milagro with Lourdes, the Peruvian teacher hired by Bruce Peru. When I first came to Trujillo I was here for the first week of school. To start the year Juan was the teacher. After Kim and I came back from Huaraz and Cuzco, Juan had found another job so Lourdes had replaced him. Lourdes has been difficult to get to know. She doesn't seem to like to talk a lot and is not overly friendly to anyone. It has been difficult the past few weeks because the class is not very "classlike". Lourdes comes in to the classroom, sometimes takes attendance, and then starts giving out work to do without evening saying hello to the kids. I would like the class to feel more like a group. Lourdes has been getting better at giving the kids work to do, but her teaching style is very difficult for me to understand. I'm worried that the students aren't getting as much out of the classes as they should. Some other folks in the organization are concerned with her teaching style as well, so I've been waiting to see what happens. But it has been frustrating to watch.

The good:
For the most part the kids are fun to work with. It has been great to help kids one on one and actually feel like I've taught them something. I really enjoy teaching the older kids. Math works the best for me because I can use my basic Spanish to explain the math concepts fairly. And some of the kids are quite sharp and hard working. There are days when some of the children don't want to work or learn, and they can be very difficult and frustrating. There are only nine kids in the class now, and I've been able to get to know all of them pretty well over the past couple months. I have even been to some of their houses, with Rosa, and seen their living conditions. It makes it much easier to have more patience with them when I remember where they live and some of the hardships they have already encountered in their young lives.

A couple more good experiences:
About two weeks ago the director of the colegio asked us to plant a garden in front of the classroom. I asked the kids to bring plants from home and I bought several plants as well. The next day nearly everyone brought a plant, and most of the kids knew more about how to garden then me. It was a fun day (there are some pictures below). Yesterday and today I played soccer with the kids during recess. It was a lot of fun, eveyone laughing and the entire class participating. Someone would score a goal and the kids would run around celebrating just like the professionals.

Here some pictures I have taken the past few weeks... Chao, Brian

The colegio at El Milagro.

The children working on the garden.

A group photo after the garden was completed.

Rosa having a meeting with the children's mothers.

Omar posing on the top of the monkey bars.

Almost the entire class on the merry-go-round.

A nice artsy shot of the kids at the playground.

Volunteering in Trujillo

2008-04-04T20:55:00.000-07:00

Author Key: Brian = blue, Kim = black

We have written a lot about our travels, our thoughts, and observations. The main reason we came to Peru was to volunteer and help the people (and kids) that need it the most.

Yes - Brian's right. The travels were amazing, but tons of amazing things happen every day here in Trujillo and since it feels more "normal" we don't write about it. So here we go:

The work we do is pretty basic. The directors locate an area, close to Trujillo, that seems to have the need for a "free" school. These areas are in the barrios that extend outward from the center of Trujillo, and we currently have four schools: El Milagro, Nuevo Jerusalem, Alto Trujillo, and Huanchacito. Then, a social worker or teacher walks around the town - going door to door - asking for kids who are not currently attending school. These reasons can be economic or personal, but if the family does not have the means to send their child or children to school, we sign them up. By going door to door we see the child's living conditions and also connect with the parents.

The master at this is Rosa. She strides through neighborhoods in her sunglases and gold earrings, asking everyone she sees whether they know of any kids around who aren't in school. The only thing that slows her down are the overly-protective local dogs. Seeing her in action is quite the lesson in persuasion. "No" is not an option - which makes sense because school is only from 9:00 - 12:20, the kids do not have to bring anything, and (most important) their children receive an education. The kids even get lunch! Rosa signs them up right there on the spot and then throws in a little spiel about the responsibility of the parent to make sure their child attends class. Once we have at least 10 students, we hop back on the Micro (bus) and head back - job well done. Both Kim and I have had the experience of walking through the barrios and knocking on doors with Rosa.

The classrooms are quite basic - four walls, chairs, desks or tables, and a white board. With the right teacher and a firm but loving hand, kids ranging in all ages and skill levels come together as a class. Of course we have our problems: kids can fight and push and steal and say nasty things... but it seems to function pretty well. Yes, I took a pencil away from one boy 3 days in a row, and yes, I made him cry 3 days in a row. But he keeps coming back! Tough love.

So this is an introduction to the work that we do every morning (M-F) in Trujillo. Currently Kim is teaching in Huanchacito and Brian is at El Milagro. We'll blog more about the different schools, our personal experiences, and some of the students we work with.

Here are some photos of kids from Alto Trujillo. This was the school Kim was working in before we went on our Cuzco trip.

Momentitos

2008-04-04T20:16:00.000-07:00

A lot of "little moments" have happened over the past couple weeks. While some moments were a bit longer than others, each has stayed with me through our 2 week travel vacation to now... and I'm sure they'll stick around for a while longer:

Memory Trail: My mom and dad traveled through Peru in 1973 on their honeymoon (quite cool, I must add) and the kids have been hearing about the stories that were made for years. The trip Brian and I took to Machu Picchu and Aguas Calientes made all those stories come to life. We saw the hotel by Machu Picchu where Dad famously smashed his lunch bill into a fruit cocktail to make an angry point to the waiter and stormed out of the building. We also hiked the trail where Mom almost divorced Dad for trying to drag her up Wayna (Huayna) Picchu. It's funny how the government, politics, inflation, tourism and so much more in Peru, has changed drastically in the recent past. At the same time, so many things here have stayed exactly the same.

Wheelbarrows: In Aguas Calientes all the men we saw were working in manual labor. The town is built essentially on a hill and cars don't seem to go into town so all goods are delivered by wheelbarrow. Machines are a luxury in Peru. All this work was done by hand. These people were amazingly hard workers.

Anita: In Huaraz, Brian and I spent our last night around our hostel's dining room table, drinking homemade Pisco Sours and telling stories with our Peruvian hosts (Anita and Teo) and two French couples. Now I don't think Brian and I wrote about it before, but in 1970 a massive earthquake hit Huaraz, killing about half of the 30,000 inhabitants and destroying 80% of the city. The town of Yungay, just down the road, was erased by a landslide. Anita was 8 years old when this happened. Here are some of her memories (I'll quote as accurately as possible):

"Our neighbor was leading her sister and her kids through the streets, away from the falling debris. After a few steps, she turned around to see if everyone was still following her, and they had been swept away."

"Fue terrible." (it was terrible)

"My mother's boutique was new so we were safe inside of her building. We ran to find my brothers. In these moments, all you think about is your family. My brothers had dug a hole out of the rubble to climb out of. There are 10 of us in my family. We all survived."

Pisco Sour: limes, Sprite, sugar, Pisco, and an egg white. Blend it all. And don't worry, "the alcohol kills the salmonella".

Anticucho: I looked this work up in the trusty Lonely Planet and it defined it as shish kebab. We'll, yes, it is meat on a stick... but it's not just any meat: it's heart. I can now add cow heart onto the list of strange things I've eaten. Right up there with cow tongue.

We've met some amazing people and seen amazing things so far on this trip, and it's crazy for me to think that we still have 3 more months!

Machu Picchu and The Sacred Valley in Pictures

2008-03-31T04:29:00.000-07:00

March 26, 2008 - Aguas Calientes (near Machu Picchu)

Kim climbing up the ladders on the way to the top of Putucusi Mountain. The trail was like a "jungle gym for adults"!

The view of Machu Picchu from the top of Putucusi Mountain.

March 27, 2008 - Machu Picchu

The view of the ruins of Machu Picchu from Huayna Picchu as the clouds are lifting.

The view improving.

The clouds disappear!

There it is! (Huayna Picchu is in between our heads)

The postcard shot.

An artsy shot, using the sweet Incan stonework.

March 29, 2008 - The Sacred Valley near Cuzco

The Incan ruins at Moray. These are concentric circles that they terraced for agricultural purposes.

Another view at Moray.

Yet another Incan relic: The Salineras. They routed salt-laden water from a hot spring through this system to harvest the salt.

The Salineras with an USAid garbage can!

DIY

2008-03-25T17:04:00.000-07:00

We wrote this while waiting for a flight to Cuzco this morning. It is written about our last day in Huaraz - yesterday.

Tourist information can be fantastic. Laguna 69 was beautiful and a great recommendation. However when all recommendations seem to point to the typical tourist routes, the curious explorer knows there must be more. So we got a lead from some resident gringos and decided to follow the good old do-it-yourself (DIY) motto. Here is the story of how it went...

Buenos Dias, Rex
Caroline Lodging has truly been our home in Huaraz. The friendly staff was so welcoming we felt like we were a part of the family. This feeling rang true when we found Rex outside our door, anxiously waiting to make sure we didn´t miss our trek. ¨Buenos Dias, Rex¨.

We packed up our things and had another delicious breakfast on the terrace of Caroline Lodging. Then we set off on our day.

Cafe Para Llevar
Of course we couldn´t help but stop by our new favorite coffee spot, the California Cafe. Luckily it was open (and on our way). Gladys welcomed us in and dug out some ¨to go¨cups from storage. We chatted with her a bit and added a couple of slices of banana bread to our order. Then, again, we set off on our day with smiles on our faces and good coffee in our hands.

The Quechua Combi

The typical combi driver will run you down at first sight and try to pull you into his minivan. After passing several of these men, we finally found our combi to Llupa. This was not your typical combi. Essentially we had to sell ourselves to the driver. We loaded into the back of the van and tried to act natural. The combi was full of brightly dressed Quechua women in their top hats exchanging the latest gossip (or so we speculated). The driver loaded the last huge bag of rice on the top of the van and we took off. The women continued to chat and joke around with smiles on their faces. Their easy-going and happy demeanor was infectious, and the entire combi had a peaceful vibe. These women are clearly the glue of their society. It was an amazing experience to see them in their element (even though we couldn´t understand a word they said).

The Hike to Laguna Churup

The beginning was quite mellow. We passed the local school, two women and man digging a trench by hand for a water pipe (serious manual labor!), a chatty campesino gathering wood with his little dog, and a handful of other locals carrying on with their daily work. Additionally, as if the people and culture wasn´t beautiful enough, the views were tremendous. There were snow capped mountains shrouded in clouds above, and Huaraz nestled in the valley far below.

The moment we entered the National Park (at Pitec) the trail went up, up, up. Though the trail was steep we felt good at the high altitude. The journey was so much fun we didn´t have time to get to the lake. We stopped at a beautiful waterfall near the lake and had lunch.

On the walk down we were treated to some incredible weather. There were thunderstorms and rain in the valley, and sun above our heads. Then the snow capped peaks popped out of the clouds and into clear view.

On the rest of the trip back to town we gave a woman a banana and we talked to another women about tasty cuy (guinea pig). A satisfying day.

Learning like it's my Job

2008-03-24T16:16:00.000-07:00

Well... I guess learning kind of is my job right now. Learning and teaching. A pretty good combo.

So! For some new life lessons.

When surfing: if your wetsuit covers all the way down your arms, but not all the way down your legs, you must put sunscreen on the back of your legs!! Yes, when lying on your stomach on a board all day, that sun hits the back of you with quite a punch. Maybe the rest of you knew this already, but it's still important.

When hiking: just keep walking. Take however small of steps you need, sing an upbeat song to yourself - but slowly - and just keep putting one foot infront of the other. Dad: I know you've taught me this before, but as you can tell by the aftermath picture of me on our previous hike, the lesson was truly learned.

When at a cafe: if you're starving, still just start our with a reasonable amount of food. While everything may look amazing on the menu, it doesn't mean you can eat all of it.

When in a crowded bus of Quechua women: smile and try to blend in.

What a vacation we've had!! I'd say it's been a good mix of lazy, Seattle-style relaxation and hard-core outdoorsy climbing (for me anyway). When Brian and I aren't sipping delicious coffee (I can't stop talking about the coffee!) and eating delicious bagels, we head up to the mountains! Brian climbs around like a mountain goat in his ever durable and practical Mountain Khakis, and I follow along - slow but steady - in my ever-stylish, mud-caked Sevens jeans and Whizbang hat (thank you Annie!). Now some of you may think that it's a crime to hike around gigantic mountains and massive cow pies in designer jeans, but let me tell you - I could make a fortune! The most comfy walking pants I've ever known. Carharts: bring it on.

Day Hike to 15,000 ft!

2008-03-23T07:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went on a day hike. The hike was in Huascaran National Park and the scenery was gorgeous. We had all types of weather: rain, sun, snow, wind. Our destination was a lake named Laguna 69, at 4600 meters (about 15,000 ft). So the adjustment to altitude was interesting. When we got there we were treated to the magnificent turquoise blue color of the lake. And on the way down the weather improved and we got a good view of a couple of the towering peaks of the Cordillera Blanca. I took a ton of pictures, so here are a few of the good ones.

Brian and Kim reached the end of the hike. Que bonito!

Chacararaju (6112 meters) rising above the lake.

Huascaran trying to peek out from the clouds.

Kim at the end of the trip.

Rolling with the Punches

2008-03-21T16:01:00.000-07:00

I have learned a lot over the last month or so, both in the States and Peru.

* Everyone should do a full clean-out of their fridge and freezer at least once a month.
* Never think that you can move out of a house on your own (little brothers with big muscles are amazing).
* A good cup of coffee is something that should be treasured.
* Life will test your flexibility.
* No matter how organized you are, plans change.

Brian and I are in Huaraz right now. In the Cordillera Blanca. It is absolutely breath taking.

So Plan A (as of last Monday, officially) was to say our goodbyes to the great folks in Trujillo, to spend a long weekend in Huaraz, and then to move to Cuzco. We were really excited for the upcoming challenges as directors of the Cuzco project. Wednesday came, however, and we were forced to create Plan B. The plug was pulled on our move to Cuzco and now... well... we´re figuring out how flexible we really are.

For now, Brian and I have truly been treating ourselves. This beautiful little town has delicious coffee, amazing chocolate cake, bagels with cream cheese, and all the outdoor adventures you could want. We only wish we had a bit more time here. Acclamizing to the altitude (we´re at 10,000 ft.) has been a very new experience for me. It´s like suffering from a hangover that you certainly do not deserve.

Wednesday was rediculously busy - trying to cancel our flight to Cuzco, teaching classes, saying goodbye to friends, checking out of Bruce Peru (to maybe go right back on Tuesday). Then that evening was our 8 hour overnight bus ride where we could have sworn the driver was trying to roast us for dinner it was so hot. After such a day, well, Huaraz is practically heaven on earth - even with the headache.

Our plans for tonight are to play a ton of ping-pong (yes, we found a ping-pong table!), and then get a good night sleep for a day trek we are taking tomorrow at 6 am. Life is pretty good.

Oh!

* Brian and I got locked inside our hostel for half and hour. It was us and a French couple on one side - unscrewing the door handle and wiggling a knife in between the door jam - and the Peruvians on the otherside - wiggling the key back and forth and offering futher solutions. Other than that, it´s been a great place to stay.

The view of Huaraz and the peak of Huascaran poking out of the clouds. We took this picture from the top of our hostal on the morning we arrived.

Fotos

2008-03-16T21:11:00.000-07:00

People have been asking for more pictures, so here are a couple. Today we went to Otuzco for the day. It was a two-hour bus ride from Trujillo and the scenery was beautiful. Otuzco is in the mountains, at ~2600 meters, and was so much colder than Trujillo. It was a very pleasant break from the heat, and we enjoyed the lush, green scenery. We walked around the city for the day checking out the church, markets, and some cafe con leche. It started raining in the afternoon, and it felt a bit like the Pacific Northwest. The other pictures are shots that we have taken around Trujillo.

Kim and Brian with the city of Otuzco in the background.

Brian in Otuzco (and happy to be wearing a flannel!)

The cathedral in Trujillo

Plaza de Armas, Trujillo

Arena, our guard dog at our home in Trujillo

From Soup to Sand

2008-03-15T19:35:00.000-07:00

Friday, March 7: 11:57 pm - a bug in Brian's stomach is hard at work.
Saturday, March 8: 4:02 am - Brian is in the bathroom. Sick.

Brian spends the next day in bed or in the bathroom. While he's doing his best to recover quickly, Kim and Danilo (our cook's son) run all over Trujillo buying Electrolight, hydration salts, and bottles of water. By the next day, Brian is out of bed and doing better. Health advice came flooding: drink lots of liquids, no fruit, definitely no ceviche, and you must eat soup. Sopa. "Soup with chicken, nothing else" is what everyone kept saying. Poor Brian stuck to his strict diet and followed the rules, eating soup for the next two days. On Sunday night, however, Brian and Kim were able to make it to the Beach, Huanchaco, to catch the sunset (see Ocaso post below).

Monday, March 10: 8:36 am - We start teaching classes in the barrios. Brian continues to eat soup. Brian and Kim are offered the director position for the Bruce Peru Cuzco site. A bug in Kim's stomach is hard at work.

Tuesday, March 12: 1:03 am - Kim is sick.

As Kim stumbled back and forth between her bedroom and the bathroom, with a dizzying fever and an active stomach, Brian took on the role of two people. He took on the role of sandwich maker (for the kids we teach); school teacher; professional liason between Bruce, our director and Kim; errand runner; nurse; english teacher; and planner.

By Wednesday Kim is a bit more vocal, but still not very mobile, and Brian continues to work through the kinks of whether or not we should make the move to Cuzco. It's an amazing opportunity in a beautiful place, but were not sure we wanted to leave the good community we've found here (the conclusion to this is still in the works). Kim eats soup.

By Thursday, Kim begins a new diet of fried chicken and rice and takes on a bit more of the load in the organization again, teaching an English class at night. Three more volunteers arrive to the center, which is a huge help. All are British and seem to be working their way right in.

Friday, Kim is eating like a champ. After a fun morning teaching the kids, Brian, Kim, and new friends Simone and Megan all head to Huanchaco. The ocean breezes and the calm atmosphere are the perfect way to close such a week. And we had enough energy to take our second surfing lesson on Saturday morning.

As for the bug, which started it all - well, he maybe came to us from Huanchaco (this very beach we went back to). Hopefully, all the soup taught him a lesson.

Ocaso Lindo!

2008-03-10T10:39:00.000-07:00

The word of the day: Ocaso. It is what the folks in Huanchaco call the sunset. Yesterday evening we caught this beautiful one at the beach. Que fuerte!!

First Impressions Together

2008-03-08T13:11:00.000-08:00

1. It's hot.
Really hot.
Everyone says it will get cooler in March... but I don't think that they realize it already is March.

2. Fans are the greatest invention ever.

3. Cars have a million reasons to honk. And by cars, we mean taxis. There are more taxis here than there are people. It has to be somewhere around the same ratio as the number of sheep to number of people in New Zealand. You have regular taxis, you have collectivos where they'll squeeze anywhere from 5 to 10 people into a normal car; you have combis - a van; and you have micros which is a bus that supposedly runs on a schedule, but how you figure out what that is, I have no idea. Once they get to a check point, the driver's assistant sprints out of the bus while it's still moving and races to a little store where he gets a paper stamped which proves the bus made it there on time and then stops for a coca-cola, chats with his buddy and mozies back to the bus for us all to take off again. Each form of transportation has its own norms and etiquette.

4. Trujillo has good food, cheap shoes, and effective wizards - so said our taxi driver in Lima. We've loved the food (although Brian is suffering from it at the moment), the shoes really are cheap, but we've yet to try out a wizard's spell. Maybe I should see one about a cure for Brian's stomach...

5. Trujillo gets poorer from the inside out. The center of the city is beautifully structured: gorgeous and enormous churches, buildings of marigold and blue, and a statue in the center of the plaza that hails artistic value and hard work. As you work you way to the outskirts of the city, however luxuries and utilities begin to disappear. Houses go from concrete walls to adobe walls. Adobe to reed huts. As you work your way out, first goes water, then electricity, then means for an effective roof.

These are the areas where Brian and I will be working. We've seen so much already! Brian went with a group to find a new building to hold some classes that will start on Monday. They spent an entire day moving bricks out of the middle of the building and now I think they'll be ready to start classes. I've gotten to see a project in micro financing that is a pilot program in one of the areas and I was also able to tag along in signing up children to start school on Monday. We've been able to get a really good idea of what we will be doing for the next 3 months and can't wait to start teaching next week.

Okay, back to the list:

6. Surfing is awesome! We took our first surfing lesson yesterday. We had so much fun. We are living only 20 minutes and 30 cents away from the beach. We surfed until the sun set and my arms could no longer summon the strength to paddle. It was a beautiful day.

7. Guinnea pig is actually quite tasty.

Thanks so much to all of you who are posting comments. While it's more difficult to write back to you guys using this blogging program, it truly is great to hear from you. We think of all of you all the time and love hearing your thoughts. Thanks again!

Yanayo and the EWB trip

2008-03-03T12:38:00.000-08:00

Yanayo was quite an experience, and it is very difficult to describe in words, but I´ll give it a try.

The trip started by having to hang out all Sunday in Cochabamba because we needed some materials from a store that wasn´t open until Monday morning. We were able to leave by about noon on Monday with the car (we rented a Toyota 4Runner very similar to mine) loaded on top with a bunch of HDPE pipe. I was the driver, and Andrea and German (Yanayo´s ¨mayor¨) were the passengers. After nearly 8 hours we made it the whopping 150 km (about 90 miles) to Yanayo. I had never been so gripped driving a car before. The roads were sketchy in places, but we made it. Myself and Andrea joined with Donee and Jeff whom had stayed in Yanayo.

The first day Jeff, Andrea, and I went to look at the sketchiest part of the road we are trying to fix/rebuild. To the right is a picture of a river that is now flowing where the road previously was. We were also treated to some great views, which became very common in this part of Bolivia, which they call the Valles. In the afternoon I went to a few houses with Donee and Ruben to fix some of the stoves that were installed this past summer. Ruben is the stove ¨guru¨ and we were mostly observing and helping him with fixing the stoves. It was very interesting to see the homes of people in the community. Everyone in the community is Quechua and only a few people can speak Spanish. It was difficult to communicate with some of the community, but I could understand the Spanish of Ruben fairly well. They live amazingly simple lives in very tough conditions.

We got rained on almost every night. This is the rainy season in Yanayo and everything was green as can be. In a few months, once the dry season has kicked in, all the green will disappear and turn to brown. Over the next couple days I continued to help Donee with the stoves as well as with some health and air quality testing she is doing. One highlight was when we went to the school and did spirometer tests and weight/height measurements with the kids. The kids did a good job with the spirometer testing, and it was amuzing as well.

Guido is the school teacher for Yanayo, and I was able to get to know him well (he speaks Spanish). Kids come from neighboring communities to go to school in Yanayo. But the school is only up to 3rd grade. After that kids have to go to Acasio for more education (20 km away). Not many children do that, most start helping their parents with farming and livestock. There are even children in the community that are younger than 3rd grade and are working (like the women in the family in the picture below).

The last night we were in Yanayo we bought a goat (with the help of Guido). It was cooked by Donna Pacifica (Ruben´s mother). She cooked it in an outdoor adobe stove, and she is a great cook. The only problem was the volume of food that was served. The first course was a big bowl of rice, potatoes, and fried goat (some of the inner organs). Then the second course came (and shown to the left), and it consisted of more rice, potatoes, and a mound of goat. I tried to force myself to finish, and got everything down except a bit of the rice. It was a ton of food to try and eat. But it was a nice evening and fun to eat at Donna Pacifica´s home.

We made it safely back to Cochabamba after another scary 7+ hour drive with a loaded down car. I learned a lot in the short time I was in Yanayo. It was amazing to see the Quechua culture and how they live. It was incredible to see how these people live simple, subsistence lives in often harsh conditions. The people of Yanayo always made us feel welcome and were very appreciative of what we are trying to do. There are going to be more successful projects in this community coming up this summer, and I am excited to see how they go.

I´ve left a lot of details out and I have a ton of good pictures, but for now I´ll leave you with this one of some kids having a good time on the swingset.

La Paz... and the end of Bolivia for now

2008-03-02T16:57:00.000-08:00

Hola,
I am currently in La Paz (above is a picture of La Paz from El Alto). The EWB trip to Yanayo was successful and we left Cochabamba on Saturday. I will write a bit about the trip and post some pictures soon. There is a lot to talk about and I took a ton of pictures.

Today I went up to the only ski area in Bolivia: called Chacultaya. Doc Odle and two of his USAid colleagues stationed in La Paz went on the trip. Doc´s daughter, Andrea, was on the Yanayo trip and I also know his son Kevin from the dorms in Seattle... small world. The base of Chacultaya (which you can drive to) is at 17,000 feet above sea level. Then I hiked up to 17,500 ft. I actually felt OK at that elevation, especially for not spending a lot of time acclimatizing in La Paz. It was snowing up there, and it felt nice to be in snow again. The visibility was not very good, but Doc pointed out where the glacier used to be. It has receeded a ton in just the past 30 years or so. The Andes are definitely some of the most vunerable mountains affected by global warming.

Here I am at 17,500 ft. The visibility wasn´t great!

After that little hike we drove to the south end of Lake Titicaca and had trout for lunch. It was very cool to see this enormous lake at 13,000 ft, and experience the altiplano. The weather was not exceptional, but the mountains of Peru could be made out in the distance. It was a nice day.

In other news I think I have been suffering from altitude sickness and/or my first stomach issues of the trip. It is crazy how living at 12,000+ ft affects your body when you are not used to it. My Spanish is also improving, and I feel pretty confident communicating. Tomorrow morning I fly back to Lima, Peru. Kim gets in to Lima late tomorrow night, and I am very, very excited to see her and begin our adventure together.

Brian

Buenas Noches y Buena Suerte

2008-02-22T23:32:00.000-08:00

**This is a post that I started in Seattle right after Brian left and I'm finishing now**

He's off and running. Now that you all know Brian is officially out of the United States, I feel it's time for me to give the preamble to his February 22nd post. In short, this post details "Brian Tracy: Packing and Un-packing".

Brian is a planner. I know this because he has been planning (verbally) what to take on this adventure for the past month. "Kim, I think I'm going to bring the grey fleece. Do you think I should bring the grey fleece. It's really warm and could be great in the mountains and I like to use it as a pillow". An hour later: "I'm not going to bring the grey fleece. Should I bring the grey fleece?" And so on and so forth it went until the night before he left when I called him to see how excited he was and he says, "I'm bringing the grey fleece."

Brian has made us prepared for absolutely anything, which is nothing to complain about. We could get left in the Andeas for three months and Brian and I would be prepared to hunt and gather our own food, make shelter, purify water and shield ourselves from all kinds of nasty bugs. It would be marvellous.

Now, as a disclaimer, I feel comfortable poking a little fun at Brian solely because he should be poking fun at me for all the opposite reasons. This became apparent very quickly after my arrival in Lima. As I walked out of the costums area to meet up with Brian (who arranged a taxi driver and a hotel and an exact spot to meet him a week in advance), I realized that I had only packed one pair of pants (jeans, which I was wearing), one pair of shorts, too many tank tops and not enough t-shirts. Oh well. I think it makes us just that much better of a team.

So, these days, as Brian and I ready ourselves for the day (me in the same shorts I've been wearing for almost a week now), we both grab our purses (Brian bought a man bag in Bolivia - it's actually really cool) and head out to face the world. Team USA. Yin and Yang. Calm and Chaos. It's gonna be good.

My Observations After One Day in Lima

2008-02-22T15:04:00.000-08:00

So the adventure has begun for me. I made it safely to Lima last night, and it was pretty smooth getting to my hotel in Miraflores. Although the mix of the heat and a noisy street made it hard to get much good sleep. Today was my day to check out Lima (AKA waste some time until I fly to La Paz). Here are my thoughts right now:

It is really hot here! Chicago was the last place I´ve been that is warm and humid like this. My body and mind are used to the rain and cold. I probably have already gotten sunburn! I definitely packed too many warm clothes for now, but it may be worthwhile in the Andes in June.
My Spanish is not as good as I had hoped. I started to gain a little confidence on the plane... going through a Spanish workbook and listening to some movies in Spanish. But people speak it so fast. I´m pretty confident that my learning curve will be fairly fast as well. I´m learning words on the bus, walking down the street, etc. by listening.
Travelling is tiring. I don´t sleep too well on the plane. I´m looking forward to getting to Yanayo and being in one place for a few days.
I think Bolivia will be a lot different than Miraflores (in Lima). Miraflores is very posh and there is shopping everywhere. There are some nice views of the ocean and la playa, and it definitely feels very safe. La policia are everywhere.
Lima is a big, crazy city. This afternoon I took a bus from Miraflores to Central Lima and the traffic and exhaust were incredible. Then I got out of the bus a bit earlier than I wanted to and wandered around not knowing where I was. Finally I decided to go into an art musuem, which was very cool, and it gave me a chance to sit down for a few minutes. Then I hopped a bus back. It is intimating to be in a gigantic city that has more confusing streets than Seattle (and I´m not yet an expert with the language).

I´m heading back to the airport in a few hours and I can´t say I will be sad to leave Lima (plus I´ll be back soon). I am really looking forward to meeting up with the EWB group, and getting out to Yanayo. I´ve been curious about what that place is like for a long time. I´m also formulating a plan to hang out with Doc Odle (a connection from Seattle) during an extra day I have in La Paz on the way back. The options include mountain biking or heading up to 17,500 ft to check out some receding glaciers!

Brian

The Storyline

2008-01-19T13:35:00.000-08:00

Characters:
Brian Tracy - 24 year-old mountain man, engineer, and grilled cheese master.
Kimberly Bennett - 23 year-old terminally unemployed international studies major, amateur salsa dancer, and translator.

Plot Outline:
Brian and Kim quit their jobs. Fly to Peru. Volunteer for 3 months in Trujillo, and then travel for 1 month through the surrounding areas.

Possible Endings:
1. Brian decides to become a Peruvian mountain man and lives as a hermit in a cave near Huaraz.
2. Kim joins an Andean wind band. You may see their tour on the streets of Seattle in August.
3. Brian and Kim have an amazing time, maybe contract a parasite or two, but return to the Pacific Northwest happy and healthy.