South America

Estoy Esperando.

2007-12-03T13:12:00.000-08:00

(I'm waiting, in Bogota, Colombia).

Here's a short excerpt from one of my final journal entries.

"I think it would be wrong at this point to say I miss home. Missing is for when you've recently left and it draws a more sorrowing connotation. I'm actually almost ready to leave, although I know I'm really going to miss South America. I've already been making plans for when I return here. Traveling alone has been different than anything I've ever experienced, and I now realize how much I love it. Being alone, you are your exact self. There is nothing and nobody directly influencing you, aside from normal necessary interactions with everyday strangers; it tells you a lot about your persona. I feel like I understand my thoughts and feelings much better: I understand beforehand how and why I will react to certain situations and ideas - my true personality - and I've now gained a sense of acceptance for myself and the rest of the world that I've never had. There's definitely a change. I feel that I've really grown into myself - not a person that anyone expects me to be or that society shapes to an image. Instead of accepting some high deity, esoteric philosophy, existential beliefs, or complicated daily ritual, I've simply accepted myself. And although I cannot claim to be familiar with all of the former, I can say the latter feels damned good. It's a relief and I'm new and refreshed. I'm now looking at life through appreciative, blessed (for as much as that means), and opportunistic eyes."

Unfortunately, for those few dedicated readers that still check, this will likely be my last entry in South America. I'm very near the end of my trip, and arrangements have been made (not without hassle) for my return to the states. If you didn't catch every blog, there's a drop-down list of links on the right side of the page to view old entries.

I appreciate all the support and encouragement from those around the world, and I'll be glad to show pictures and share stories with anyone interested (I've got plenty to go around) over a cup of coffee or a beer. I've had suggestions for a book, and some have seen the movie Into The Wild, but I'm not quite that brave or valiant yet, for now this public blog suited my needs. I'll definitely consider a future trip in my life alone, and a book would necessitate a much longer one.. don't hold your breath.

Again, for all my friends, family, and new travelers I've met along the way: You made this trip, not I. Thank you, adios, ciao, hasta luego, paz, y amor.

Until the next escape,

Brian Sumwalt

Travel in the North..

2007-11-23T16:47:00.000-08:00

Cartagena: in need of a clean-up day.

"You guys don't get the full experience!"Lunch with a traveler.

It's been a week since you last heard from me.

I've been through a bit. I'm still traveling with my friend, Aidan, from Minnesota. He's a chill guy. From Cartagena, we cruised out to Playa Blanca, an hour boat ride to a white sand, palm tree, clear water island of bliss. It was like the wallpaper your computer probably has as default. We stayed at a little camp-ish place in hammocks. We snorkeled. Everything was perfect. WAS perfect - that's past tense. I woke up covered in these:

Pictures don't do them justice, but still gross, right? They have Dengue and Malaria here.. but so far I didn't get it in those 200+ bites. We left the next day (I was miserable and gave up trying not to scratch) and spent one more night in Cartagena. From there, we went to Santa Marta.

Beauty.

Your new computer wallpaper:Yep, snorkeling. Buddy Aidan diving down.
Ray. I'm happy with my waterproof camera.

Santa Marta is unbelievably mellow. It has a strong wind from the ocean 24/7, and everyone's alright with you just wearing boardshorts, sandals, and no shirt everywhere you go, so that's what I did. It sits right on the coast, the water's not the cleanest but it's warm. We spent two days there doing absolutely nothing and relaxing. The third day we went to a nearby town that was exactly the same, and we just poked around.

It's a bit of a port.

We saw some dogs.. this is the worst I've seen in South America, though."How did you get purple?"Making guacamole in Santa Marta.Santa Marta by night.Ah, can't leave out the giant rum. I could put so many captions for this.

The fourth day, Thanksgiving day, we went to a national park about an hour away. It was amazing. After an hour walk through the jungle, it opens up to deserted beaches and cool, refreshing, clear water. We walked along those and jumped off some rocks.

Unfortunately we were in a bit of a rush to catch the last bus from Santa Marta to Medellin. We only stayed a few hours in the national park, then headed back. Since it was Thanksgiving in the states, we decided to treat ourselves to a great meal on the way out. We each bought two extra-giant hotdogs (they do them well here, better than the US) and fries. We also grabbed cookies, snickers, a 2 liter of coke, chips, and some beer. We planned to eat it all on the bus, but the bus was an hour late, so it was consumed at the station. No turkey, but hey, they have CHICKEN flavored chips. It sounds gross, I know. But they really taste like actual chicken.

Check out the rainclouds.. It didn't rain.

Jumping the gap.The view was better upside down.This picture of Aidan is awesome.This was the hour hike (Aidan) - through knee-deep mud mixed with horse urine.Our Thanksgiving. Clockwise from center: Giant hotdogs, fries, beer, redbull, snickers, Coca Cola.

So this is my second day in Medellin, Columbia. I'm leaving on a bus today back to Bogota (check last post) to figure out some travel details. It's very close to the end of my trip. I don't quite know how I'm getting back yet. I'll likely have another post or two before I'm home. I really appreciate everyone who's reading and commenting, it makes me feel great to know that I can always come back to open arms. I'll keep this post short (like I usually say and it's not, really). I miss everyone, and thanks again, it really does mean a lot to hear from you all.

Ciao,

Brian

Bonito Columbia..

2007-11-16T07:19:00.000-08:00

Sorry for not posting in quite a while. Since the last post I came through Columbia: Popayan, Cali, Bogota, and I'm now in Cartagena, on the caribbean coast.

Popayan was a beautiful display of Colonial architecture, and the city is one giant version of Old Town in San Diego. Small markets and Loncherias dot the sidewalks, and the few small parks were inviting. I would've loved to stay longer than a day, but I had too much on my list to spend more time there.

From Popayan, I jumped on a bus to Cali, Columbia. Cali was amazing. I met a cool Australian couple the first night sharing a room, and we went out for a night on the town. The discoteques and salsateques are everywhere, and each one seemed equally exciting. I won't lie: I can't salsa. But I still had a great time. I spent a few days in another nearby hostel with tons of friendly travelers, played some music, tried local foods, and went on a few exploration hikes. I learned a lesson the hard way the night before I planned to head to Bogota. I bought up every fruit that I had never seen before at the supermarket and planned that as my dinner. I was learning names and trying them all with the help of the hostel owner, and most were delicious (Columbia is known for its exotic fruit). The next morning, however, I regretted it. I guess you can't eat JUST fruit, because I was sick as ever.

Yeah, don't eat all of these at once, bad idea.

Club in Cali.. Reminds me of somewhere but just can't put my finger on it.
Cali dusk view from a mountain behind the hostel.

I packed up and headed to the bus station with a buddy I met in the hostel also heading to Bogota. Got sick there and on the bus, too, but after a nap I felt a whole lot better. We got in late in a light rain and headed to the hostel. Bogota is a pretty big city, and I felt like I was back in downtown Santiago or even a Latin version of New York. We walked the city and explored, checked out some cool markets, plazas, and parks. At night we decided to head to a club to experience Bogota night life. We found another friend at the hostel and asked a taxi to take us to "The best club." We arrived, it was free, and it was 80% females, and they were all extremely beautiful. Nobody was really dancing. It took us about half an hour to realize the taxi driver had dropped us off at a strip club/prostitute lounge. Nobody wanted to dance and they were all nice until they figured out we weren't paying and that wasn't what we came for. We stayed for a bit and still had a good time laughing about it, but none of us were expecting that scene, so we headed back to the hostel after a while.

Buddy Aiden in Bogota, La Candelaria (Old Town) Plaza.

Bogota scenery.La Candelaria scenery near the hostel.Government buildings and a large plaza.

The next morning we woke up and headed to catch a bus from Bogota to Cartagena at 5 AM. The almost 23-hour ride wasn't the most pleasant, but wasn't terrible. We arrived in Cartagena this morning around 7 with a new friend we met on the bus, so now we're three. We explored all morning, and Cartagena is awesome. It's a chill little town that really reminds me of Puerto Rico, and its hot as an oven but lies on the caribbean coast with a nice breeze from time to time. Street food's been good so far, and I think a cold shower will do me well later this afternoon.

View of the "New City" of Cartagena across the river.

A large old fort in the center of the peninsula.Travelers relaxing in Cartagena heat.
Colorful plazas and buildings are everywhere in Cartagena.City center: Statues and crowds.Caribbean soccer match.

A lot of travelers have told me that Columbia was their favorite country in all of South America. I can't say I've seen every country, but out of Chile, Bolivia, Peru, a bit of Ecuador, and now Columbia, it's definitely high on the list in beauty, hospitality, and a general welcome feeling. Most of the bad things you hear about Columbia are from people who haven't even been there: "It's dangerous!" "It's all drug wars and cocaine," or, "You'll get kidnapped by guerrillas!" The reality is that Columbia is dangerous and does have those features, but it's really not any more dangerous than any other South American country. I've met people with horror travel stories; everything from getting Dengue Fever to being in a shootout to getting robbed and kidnapped at gunpoint. But that's the .00001% of the thousands traveling that you hear about. Knock on wood, but Columbia is treating me well and is a wonderful country.

From Cartagena, I plan to travel east to Santa Marta and maybe explore the national parks there, then into Venezuela. With less than 4 weeks left, I'm hoping I can see what I want to see and somehow find my way back to the United States and not be stuck here.

Relaxing in the Caribbean couldn't be better until then. Think of me at your desks and from your offices..

Paz,

Brian

Ecuador y Policia Falsos..

2007-11-08T16:23:00.000-08:00

I've meandered my way through Ecuador since the last post. Sorry for not updating a bit more (for those that actually check often!), but I've been on night buses and a little sick the last few days.

From Chicama (prime surf spot), I went North to hit a couple other surf places, notably Pacasmayo, Lobitos, and Cabo Blanco. Unfortunately the swell had worn off, and none of those places had decent enough waves to warrant my staying there, so I continued North through Mancora and to a little town called Tumbes, the gateway to the Ecuadorian border.

The border is really weird. From Peru, there's an exit sign marking the supposed line, saying, "Thank you for visiting Peru." You get your exit stamps before that. Then there's this giant, dangerous marketplace, with shops and tons of people and mayhem going on, and THEN there's a sign saying, "Welcome to Ecuador," that is supposed to mark the line of Ecuador's border. No one really knows what country this in-between market is in. It's like no-man's land.

I decided to take a cab to the border, which I figured would be faster and they'd direct me to the right places, etc. Bad idea. The story is really long, so if you're extremely interested I'll tell it to you in person sometime. Basically there were 3 guys in the cab, and they were all fake cab drivers. I got my exit stamp, and they took me to some offhand location in this crazy market place, and a fake cop came out (he was in uniform but definitely was not real) and made me pay him 150 Soles (about $50 USD) entrance fee to Ecuador. There is NO entrance fee, for ANYONE to Ecuador. I argued, but really couldn't do much. I paid off this fake cop, and THEN was made to pay another 70 Soles ($25 USD) to the taxi drivers, even though they told me it would only be 12 Soles to the border. I couldn't do anything about it. So basically, I was scammed out of 75 bucks, and then had to get lost in this market and have a hell of a time trying to get into Ecuador (I was frisked by 2 different cops elsewhere for no reason).

I finally got some cash, got on a bus, and went all the way to Quito, the capital city. I spent a little time there trying to forget my border dilemmas and have a bit higher spirits. Today I took a bus out of Quito, North to a small town called Tulcan, where I am right now. Tulcan is the gateway to Columbia, and tomorrow I'll be cruising North in Columbia, but can only take day buses. I've been warned that night buses are often stopped and all passengers robbed by militants/guerrilla troops, and I'm really not into that kind of thrill quite yet. Other than that, most of the cities in Columbia, especially larger ones, are generally safe during the day... You just watch out and don't be a tanto gringo and walk around with your camera out, 200 bucks in your pocket, and your nice new gold watch.

Other than that, not too much to update. I'm planning to probably head through Cali, Bogota, and then up towards Santa Maria on the Caribbean coast.

Here's a couple old pictures:

My 6'4 beauty, she rides like a queen.

Chicama: Swell pefection at the longest left in the world. Looks small, but it's not.Big fan-wind-generator-thing at Chicama.

Lennon is alive and well in Quito, Ecuador..So are Chinese Restaurants.. Which taste kind of like if someone in Georgia who had never eaten Chinese food tried to cook it from a description. But they're really cheap and you get a PILE of grub.

For now, hasta luego. I'll talk to you in Cali, where everything's supposed to be beautiful.

-Brian

Surf, Surf, Surf..

2007-11-03T16:30:00.000-07:00

This is what I see from my window:

This post is mostly surf-oriented, so if you don't catch it all, sorry...

So I've continued venturing North, and am now in Puerto Chicama, Peru, which probably isn't on any map you might have, because it's tiny. Since the last post, I've been through Lima, Trujillo, and Haunchaco. In Lima, I bought a surfboard and wetsuit and all the necessary gear to get me in the water. I scoped the city just a bit, then headed to Trujillo, which wasn't extremely interesting. I kinda cruised through it and paid a little more attention in Huanchaco, which is a bit more surf/beach oriented. A quick surf check and I was in the water Friday afternoon, a strong current and all lefts. My new board, a 6´4 with a medium rocker, performs well and will be good to practice my lefts on.

Today I grabbed a bus to Chicama, famous for "the longest wave in the world." Not certain that that's entirely true, but the waves are definitely the longest lefts that I've seen, curling around two different rocky points with 20 or 25 second rides possible at best. They're beach breaks, but you have to walk over some pretty big rocks to paddle out, and the current is strong north so you're constantly paddling back to the sweet spot at third point. Once you catch a wave, that's it and you have to go in, walk back south to the point and over the rocks, and paddle out again, because its virtually impossible to paddle back out from the outside with the current. Luckily the local crowd of kids are super chill and the lineup has a good vibe, everyone is mellow. The waves are alright right now, but a swell is coming in so they should get bigger, hollower (they're already peeling off pretty well with constant onshore winds, they're like solid 3-4s) and faster. It doesn't come without a price, as coming in, if you come in in the wrong place, there's razor-sharp rocks to greet your feet lurking just below the surface, of which I've already had a good taste of.

Weak but carrying potential: Chicama, Peru.

Proof that you can find a place with only a picture as your guide. Chicama, perfection.
For Surfline.com's take on Chicama, read up here: http://www.surfline.com/travel/tripwire/tripwire.cfm?id=1311

I'll probably be hanging out here for 2 or 3 more days until the swell hits, then head north again to a few more good spots (Pacasmayo, El Gringo, Lobitos..).

Besides all that, there's nothing else to do here. Here's a few pictures from the last week or so for you all:

Plaza de Armas, main square in Arequipa, Peru, by night.

They had fireworks in the plaza every night for some reason.I saw a few dead people. Aplao, Peru.This is the river I went "rafting" on. This bridge was way cooler than the rafting.Huacachina, Peru. Tiny oasis town (lagoon center) and king of sandboarding. My view before taking the descent on the board.Huanchaco, Peru, close to Trujillo. These reed fishing boats are the "town mascot," for lack of better terms. They sell miniature ones to tourists as keychains and such, and even have them as statues when you enter the city..I visited a local surf shop and shaper... Shaping room.A little sandboarding action in Chicama.Here's some of the pretty good food I ate for super cheap. This chicken sandwich was the best I ever had, for a buck. I ate two.These next two were together in one meal with soup and drink for about a buck, too. Shellfish and full chicken dinner..

I've already been here about 5 weeks, not quite halfway, and I miss you all, but am having a pretty good time. Soon, Ecuador, Columbia, and Venezuela.

Ciao,

Brian

Huacachina..

2007-10-30T16:19:00.000-07:00

I am now in Huacachina, Peru (close to Ica on the western coast), the king pueblito of sandboarding. It seems pretty interesting. White water rafting was a bust (long story that I won't get into). I spent one night in Camana, Peru, which was a pretty dirty little town that gringos obviously don't pass through. Miss you all - after this I'm heading into Lima, then up the coast to buy a surfboard, and I've been thinking about attempting to just camp on the beach somewhere by Trujillo for a good long time alone and out of civilization. We'll see. I've been keeping a journal, and instead of writing on the blog about all the stuff I've been doing, I'm putting this excerpt from an entry in Camana, instead.

"...The streetlights are in need of repair: those that are not out are either weakly flickering or so yellow in color that the light is disorienting and not helpful while passing through its buttery glow. I keep my pace brisk, creating my own breeze over the inconsistent patches of dirty sidewalks, interspersed with cobblestone (laid primitively; someone didn't know what they were doing) and earthy, dry patches of dust. I keep my head down and covered with a hood. My eyes dart back and forth, and every minute or two I check my back to be certain I'm not being followed in these dark, yellow streets. With my pace, my heart rate quickens and my adrenaline rises to abnormal levels. This is the process I must partake in for the sole purpose of a quick stop at a street shop. Before pulling out my wallet to pay, I first look around. I stand with my back guarded against the wall so my pack is not accessible to passersby.

This is what South America has degraded me and so many others to. Poverty, greed, and petty opportunity have melted together to produce two new gangs: those that have (defense) and those that don't (offense). Society is broken here, and those that have must precaution themselves against those that will take every opportunity afforded them. This, as I play this game with all the other night owls on the prowl, is what South American society has brought on me. New nerves, new senses, new cautions, new fears. They will never be reconciled as long as life continues under the societal dirt and grime of the flickering yellow light. This is a case where some of the animals have shit upstream from where they drink. The streets covered in trash, mangy dogs, bums, and dilapidated buildings will never clean themselves up alone... South America must help itself, and to have widespread understanding and concurrence with such a broad goal is a dream that has long burned out in the hearts of these lonely souls, these people who live for themselves and a strong faith in Catholicism, but it is only Jesus, Mary, and Dio (God), three characters in a book but not physically present here, in these streets, except for a picture on a dirty restaurant wall, or a crucifix hanging on a neck; it is not a faith or belief in Mother Earth, or Mama Coca, or Pacha Camac, the Earth Maker. This is an unattainable future solely because it is predetermined in their minds to be so, and thus the trash continues to multiply, along with the bums and breeding packs of dogs and broken street lights; this is the dilemma of the third world: unless everyone can see and participate in the brighter, progressive future, it will always be unattainable and even regressive, plummeting itself into a black hole of poverty, crime, and disorder, constantly reinstating itself as the gutter of society, the ones that were kicked to the curb and never arose.

It is here I walk with lowered head, and my hood is to cover my identity as much as it is to cover my shame for knowing a better life based on the pure luck of the country I was born in."

-Brian

You Know You're In South America When..

2007-10-27T15:47:00.000-07:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm in Peru. For those of you just getting to your seats, I've already been through much of Chile and Bolivia (check past blogs by clicking links on the right hand side of the page).

Shoeshine boys in La Paz hide their identities, but it's a little shady.

So I'm writing this from Arequipa, Peru. After the Amazon, I took a 20-hour bus ride to La Paz, Bolivia (not that pleasant, I had a seat but it was standing room only, a lady with a monkey, and plenty of crying babies). I spent one night in La Paz and headed off West to Copacabana, Bolivia, which is right on the beach of Lake Titicaca and close to the Eastern border of Peru. I'm pretty sure it's not what Barry Manilow (Yeah, come on, you know you thought it) was singing about - I've been informed that it was about a club in Rio, I wish I could be his biggest fan but I'm not - but it was definitely as pleasant as it could have been without Lola.

Copacabana: Just like Barry said.

Lakshore.

I rented a kayak and went out on the lake for a while, then rented a mountain bike and rode an offroad path next to the lake. The path wasn't the easiest, as there were huge rocks on it and there was a drop off the side to the beach, which isn't sand, just giant rocks. But what made it difficult is the bike I was renting for 8 Bolivianos per hour (about a buck) was the most dilapidated piece of metal with wheels that ever attempted to call itself a bike, let alone mountain bike. I had met some English friends at the rental and was riding with them. Luckily we made it to where we wanted and started heading back without a hitch - then I ate it right over the handlebars. I was mostly ok, and we made it back even with my pedal actually snapping off about 100 meters before the rental place.

Don't be fooled, this was the easy part. Copa in the background.

After Copacabana, I grabbed a bus over the border into Puno, Peru. I stayed there a night, and had a pretty good vegetarian lunch for cheap (made by the Hare Krishnas..!). I learned that there was rioting in La Paz for something or other - labor or police corruption or something - and I had missed it by 2 days.. good job, me. I ended up not really liking Puno. In my opinion it's a poorly planned town (I was constantly getting disoriented and there are almost no street signs) and it just really didn't have much to offer; it seemed like every other little pueblito and nothing unique stuck out. Maybe that's just me being an ignorant tourist and not searching things out - but I read up on it and didn't find much.

Puno: Same ol' same ol'.

So in the morning I cruised on out and over to Arequipa, (which is where I am now) but not without a hitch. You know you're in South America when your bus is stopped by three men holding large guns in the middle of the street. Luckily they turned out to be police, but two of them weren't in uniform so it was a bit of a scare at first. Confusion took over everyone in the bus as 6 or 8 more uniformed police showed up out of nowhere. Spanish was flying and a couple people were forced off the bus, but basically, long story short, the bus was carrying a couple large bags of cocaine (according to those that translated). We were stopped for a while, then had to stop at another checkpoint and be searched, adding more than 2 hours onto a 5 hour bus ride.

Non-uniformed guy with big gun.

Uniformed guy holding something suspicious.Goodbye, ''cocaine,'' (who really knows if it was). Throwing it in the truck. Only like half these police are uniformed, very professional indeed.

Finally I arrived in Arequipa, which is a pretty cool city so far. I had dinner a while ago, and here's what I ate (I had to try it):

If you can't tell, it's a whole guinea pig, feet, head and all. And of course, it tasted like chicken.. just like everything else you're afraid to try.

My meal wasn't complete without begging from these two the whole time:

Hope everyone at home is doing well. I will be whitewater rafting on the Rio Majes in Peru in a day or two, and after that I'm headed toward the coast to buy a surfboard and grab some waves.

Miss you all, and thanks for the love in emails and comments.

Hasta mañana,

Brian

Tons of Pictures, Finally!

2007-10-24T08:38:00.000-07:00

So here are some of the better pictures that go along with the last two or three entries. I can´t post them all, it would be too much, so I tried to pick my favorites. Most are from Rurrenebaque, Bolivia, where I trekked into Las Pampas (Wetlands) for 3 days, and then trekked into The Madidi Jungle (National Park) for 3 days. Basically you have to give up any sense of cleanliness and all those little fixes you do every morning (''Is my hair the way I like it? Do I smell good? Are my hands clean?'') and take a cold shower and just suck it up when yoú're dirty again, sweating, and scratching bug bites 15 minutes later.

Enjoy and leave me some love in comment form.

P.S.: Pictures are in roughly reverse order that I took them, they start with La Paz, Coroico at the bottom, then move up through the Pampas and then up more to Jungle Pics. If you want them in order start at the bottom..

More crazy mushrooms - these aren't magic though.

Frog - there were lots of really big ones, but they were quick and too hard to get a good picture, like a lot of animals in the jungle (mainly pigs, monkeys, and high-flying parrots/birds, rabbits, possums..).

Jungle coconut. Small, but edible. The big ones you've seen are grown in farms but don't exist in the jungle (according to the guide).

A few good jungle vines to swing on, this one over a dry river.

This river crossing is higher than it looks in a tiny picture..

Even the trees'll getcha. Giant spines. There were others that when cut, tons of Currare poison spilled out, indigenous people use it for spear tips and fishing.

Saw this guy on the night hike, he was probably trying to find someone's bed to chill in. Bigger than my hand, and had super large fangs.

Jungle Tortoise.
Tough to get perspective, but this ant was about the length of my index finger and had chompers to match.

There are tons of different types, colors, and sizes of mushrooms everywhere. These ones are hallucinogenic drugs - ''Ongos Magicos.'' The guide prohibited us to touch any.

Giant sneaky leaf that´s really a huge praying mantis the size of your hand.

Madidi: This vine, when cut, has tons and tons of safe water to drink inside. Forest survival 101 (the guide is on the right, crazy-looking member of group drinking water on left).
Madidi: The trek to camp. Take off your shoes, watch for gators.

Other big non-poisonous but spiny spider waiting for your face.
Big dangerous termite, waiting for your unsuspecting toes.
Big spider. Lots of these guys waiting to get in your hair.
Madidi Jungle: There´s a thousand captions I can put for this picture. I´m going to stay away from most of them, but yes, these grow out of certain trees, some are long, some are short. The tree is unofficially referred to as ''El Arbol de los Hombres'' (The Man's Tree).MADIDI JUNGLE PICTURES ABOVE, PAMPAS PICTURES BELOW (Both are parts of the Bolivian Amazon)

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Me swimming with Alligators, Dolphins, and Pirhana in dark brown river water..

River sunset, Pampas.
Favorite picture from Sunset Bar, on the river in the Pampas after sunset.
Pirhana teeth.

Pampas guide, Bismar, and the 10 Pirhanas he caught. I caught zero, but ate 4. Generous?
This guy wanted my hand. He was on the shore while we swam next to him.

Las Pampas marshland crabs.
Me and wild Anaconda, small one. I look funny because I had been walking and sweating for 3 hours already.
Las Pampas grasslands..

Butterfly in an internet cafe.

Giant pig in the restaurant.. this guy had gnarly teeth.
Hungry monkeys eating out of our hands.
Pissed off Capybara.
Las Pampas, Rurrenebaque, Bolivia: Muddy shoes.

La Paz: Old School drums in the Museum of Musical Instruments! Rock on, 1907!

La Paz: Llama fetuses and potions in the Mercado de las Brujas (Witches' Market).
Coroico, from a quick hike I took. Rainforest, mountains, and rain.
La Paz, Bolivia: Che, something similar to ''All of our action is a rebel yell against imperialism.''

Llamas stop for nobody. Road to Coroico, Bolivia.

Hope you enjoyed all those and that they didn't take your computer 7236 hours to load. Now I'm off West from La Paz towards Peru, heading up the coast. Much love and hope the luck is turning better with the Southern California fires.

(La) Paz, (thanks Jean-Marc)

Brian

Los Amazonas (2)..

2007-10-22T16:22:00.000-07:00

So I'm back from the second trek into the Amazon. I'm keeping this short too because I can't post pictures here (too slow!) but tomorrow or the next day probably. I'm hopping in a bus tomorrow morning for an 18-hour ride back to La Paz for one night. Then I'm headed from there towards southern Peru.

The jungle I camped in (Madidi National Park/Reserve) was crazy. It was hot, wet and sticky, and basically you can't get away from just sweating all day, even though the sun is mostly blocked by trees. We took a 3 hour boat ride to get to camp, and the first thing we had to do while hiking to our site was remove shoes and socks (while carrying all our gear and equipment) and slop through a knee-high river that I know for a fact had more than one hungry alligator and probably several parasites. Camp was nice and a cook made us some pretty dank forest food. If I haven't said it already, I was there for 3 days and two nights. Pretty much all we did the whole time was hike places with our guide (who was super cool, by the way, and I was the official translator because I knew the most Spanish.. and I don't know much).

We went on a few shorter hikes (3-5 hours) and one long hike (8 hours), and I got 2 night hikes in. I saw the most animals I've ever seen in my entire life. I also got eaten and attacked by the most bugs I've ever seen in my entire life (and fire ants.. not pleasant). It's too long to list all of the coolest things ever that I got to see, but definitely at the top of the list were all the crazy plants: some move when you touch them, plenty of medicinal cures, poisons, fruits, a vine that our guide cut that holds tons of water you can drink - better tasting than drinking water - tons of crazy colored mushrooms... there's too many. I almost feel like I could survive in the rainforest with all the information he gave us. The animals and insects are too infinite to name.. you'll just have to check out all my pictures when I post/come back.

I'm sorry for no pictures and super interesting stories. Soon..

To all those in San Diego, Orange, and Los Angeles counties who are dealing with fires, I hope you all are ok. I read and heard about it, and I'm a bit worried, but I know all my friends and family all have the best luck, and that you'll all have no problems. Be safe.

Hasta Mañana --

Brian

Los Amazonas..

2007-10-19T15:01:00.001-07:00

(I´LL POST PICTURES AS SOON AS I CAN)

So, since the last post, I´ve traveled from Arica, Chile, into Bolivia. I spent 2 days in La Paz, the capital. It´s a huge city at 11,000 feet (give or take). Walking around, it was difficult to breathe. There were a good number of tourists and a large majority of the women in the city dress traditional Bolivian style. I stayed in a hostel in the middle of the Mercado de las Brujas (Witches´Market), where among normal tourist-y things, they also sold potions, coca leaves, and preserved bird and llama fetuses to ward off illness, fight curses, and things like that. No I did not eat a llama fetus. I did happen to meet a cool Peruvian couple and a pretty nice French guy, and I may end up meeting up with the Peruvians later on..

After La Paz, I went north in Bolivia to a small town in the Bolivian rainforest called Coroico. It was beautiful, but small and in the middle of the mountains.. hence nothing really to do besides hike, so I spent only one day there. I took a quick hike (I´m alone, I can´t go too far without some kind of company) and had some good eats (3 course meals, breakfast/lunch/dinner all under $1 USD).

The next morning I took a 3-hour taxi ride from Coroico to Caranavi, Brazil. The taxi ride, which I paid about $2.50 for, ended up being 10 people in a 5-person car. I shared the front passenger seat with a very (very) large traditional Bolivian woman for 3 hours on bumpy, unpaved, rainforest mountain roads (I now know more about traditional Bolivian women than I ever wanted to). I wouldn´t have minded spending the extra buck or two for a bus if I had known what I got myself into. Once in Caranavi, I had planned to not stay there, but rather take a bus to Rurrenabaque, Bolivia, more north. There you can access the Amazon. Looking in my wallet, I realized I had almost no money on me. Caranavi was a very small town, and the bank there couldn´t process my card. Great.. To make it short, I ended up waiting for 6 hours in an extremely hot, dusty, and noisy bus station for a bus to ¨Rurre¨, and got on the bus ONLY because the lady at the ticket window thought I was lindo and charged me much less because she felt bad I had little cash. A $10 bus ride (no, I didn´t have that much) ended up being $6.. A big discount in Bolivia.

The bus to Rurrenebaque was overnight, 12 hours of bumpy unpaved roads. Some bumps literally threw me out of my bus seat, not the most pleasant ride of my life, but better than the taxi. Arrived in Rurre at 6:30 AM, and at 9:30 I was in an offroad Jeep on my way to the Bolivian Amazon for 3 days.

It rained incredibly hard for the first day, and we trudged through mud to our canoe, and then had a two hour ride to camp. Luckily once in the boat, the rain subsided. In an attempt to keep this short, I´ll try to just post pictures of some of the stuff I got to see up close (tons and tons of alligators, cayman, river dolphins, capybaras, different birds, monkeys, pirhanas, anacondas...). We went animal watching on the river a few times, trekked in the swamplands and jungle, and fished for pirhana (and ate them for lunch). I even swam in the river with dolphins, huge alligators, and cayman. I´m alive, and tomorrow I may possibly arrange to go into a different, thicker jungle tour, but I´m not sure yet, and I´m still in Rurrenebaque.

As above, I´ll try to post pictures as soon as I can.

Yes the pirhana was tasty. No I don´t have malaria.

Paz,
Brian

UPDATE: I am going into the jungle for the next three days. I´ll post pictures and more info when I get to a bigger city. Paz y Amor to you all.

Puedo Caminar..

2007-10-12T16:58:00.000-07:00

I´m in Arica, Chile, a northern port town whose main claim is a few buildings designed by Eiffel (yes, the Eiffel Tower guy). This post is more of a story of what happened today and requires some actual reading.

I woke up to my dusty shoes shuffling clouds along the Northern Chilean coastline. The sky was gray and a cold marine breeze blasted my tired eyelids to a squint. An ominous smell from what looked to be a deserted fish processing plant wafted into my nose, guiding my view to rusted, darkened silos below me. The ocean´s consistent noise prevented me from recognizing the familiar sounds of a passing engine (they were few and far between, and each one emitted its own brand of spew-black exhaust trails behind muddy, rusted bumpers and windows clouded with years of untended grime) until it was too late to put a thumb out. Hunger tormented my stomach, despite the stale odors of rotting fish. My feet were swollen and panged with each step in my fading boots, and I had no idea where or how much farther I was headed.

For one second the peaceful war of waves and sand let up, enough for my right ear to detect the backfiring of a sadly maintained engine (my left ear was thoroughly busy waging battle with the steady breeze now, giving my eyes and the muscles in my forehead a break). I turned and a blue car, paint peeling, rambled toward me down the empty highway. The horn sounded a bleak, high-pitched dying sound - beeoonk beeonk - and slowed its half-flat tires next to me in the middle of the highway.

Inside sat four Chileans: the driver - a middle-aged woman, looked immensely like a prostitute and was missing a front tooth. Her hair was ragged and dreading from lack of a wash, and a soiled cigarette hung out of her mouth like it had been there for years. In the passenger seat sat a pirate of a man if I had ever seen one. He wore a denim vest over a black t-shirt, both of which were covered in grease of some sort. His hair was black and short except for a small part in the back, which lengthened itself into a fine mullet to his shoulder. An earring made from a rusty fish hook, two tabs from a soda can, and a few other various shiny objects dangled from his left ear as he turned to look at me with a hideous smile and yellowing eyes.

I won´t further try to justify my decision to get inside this car, because it was a terrible decision.

The two men in the back were also middle-aged and as grimy or more than the two up front. They both wore stupid grins, like the cronies of some evil high school arch-nemesis-coolguy in some bad 1980s film teen-angst film. The car tore down the highway back towards town with me in it, coating all my belongings with a fresh blend of urine-manure-fish smell. It soon became evident to me that these Arican pirates were all blind drunk, including the driver, as they slugged gulps of cheap bagged wine from a black liquor store bag, offering me some. They all resembled Meth addicts. Not surpisingly, I had immediately regretted my decision to hitch a ride with this wild bunch. The car sputtered, barely able to hold the speed that the woman gave the accelerator with an unsteady foot - we swerved on both sides of the road (luckily there was no traffic) and edged the curb more often than my nerves could take.

At once a million thoughts crossed my mind. They were going to just mug me and drop me off somewhere obscure with no clothes, no map, and no money. They were going to take me to their dirty coastal lair somewhere and I was going to be their pet the rest of my life. They were just going to drive right past the city and into the ocean and kill us all. Could it really get any worse? Yes.. As they were asking me questions in slurred, rapid Spanish over the roar of the tortured engine, I was discreetly fumbling around in my pack for my knife - and I couldn´t find it. Great. I wasn´t going to use it, but I´d feel a hell of a lot more comfortable at this moment in time with it in my hand or pocket. Although they looked menacing and smelled like a urinal at a rock concert, they were surprisingly nice to me, which scared me more. They were polite as I lied to them that I had friends in town that I was going to meet, so they wouldn´t kidnap me. The wine had run out.

As we pulled into town (to my relief, now we were in a populated area where I could yell for help if I needed it) the woman chose the steepest street to get to my destination. The hissing tires and sputtering engine couldn´t handle it. Halfway up the narrow street in downtown Arica, the engine stalled, and the car begin rolling down the hill backwards. The drunk driver couldn´t get it together quick enough to change gears and hit the brakes, and meanwhile the rest of the three drunk pirates howled and laughed, not a care in the world. I desperately tried to see what we were going to hit, but the back window was so covered in dust that it was hopeless. Somehow we made it to an intersection and the car stopped. My heart started again. After a few failed attempts (and me failing to convince them that letting me out here would be fine) the driver started up the sad engine, and proceeded to fly over a curb and slam directly into a parked SUV. Everyone in the car went ¨Sssssssss!¨ and she quickly backed up, redirected, and passed the SUV, flying through another intersection to my street. We nearly hit every single car, no exaggeration, along the way.

Once we had unsafely parked near my hostel, I paid them for the ride (the money was cleaner than they were) and the two in back immediately got out to use it at the liquor store across the street for more wine. I was alive.

It had been a bad decision. For those of you that worry about me, I apologize. I guess I had to learn the hard way, and it ended well. I guess I was lucky they meant no harm and just needed more money for booze. I wanted terribly bad to snap a photo of them all, but it wouldn´t have been a great idea to take out my expensive digital camera for them to snatch from my hands.

I learned my lesson: walking ain´t so bad.

Here´s for the lazy ones: The pictures that I walked for so long to get.

The caves were amazing, nobody was there, and these few pictures do them absolutely no justice. Some of them were incredibly scary, especially alone, as I didn´t want to 1) unlikely, get eaten by ogres only to somehow cut my way out of their stomachs and survive unscathed with no one believing me, or 2) more likely, trip in the dark and break my ankle alone.

South of Arica, Chile. Playa Corazones:

Picturas de Iquique..

2007-10-10T10:06:00.000-07:00

I´m still in Iquique, and the surf died, so I haven´t gone out. I will be traveling North to Arica, probably tonight or tomorrow morning by bus (pray it doesn´t break down).

Not as many exciting events to share as of now, but a few pictures for you to enjoy that can speak for themselves, and some meaningful words from a rising poet.

"I suppose if you aren't at once both terrified and electrified by the uncertainty that lies before you, then your life needs a serious shaking up."

-Brian

Solucion Por Todo..

2007-10-07T18:13:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: Iquique rocks. During the day it´s not dangerous, and it reminds me of Rosarito, Mexico. The surf is looking pretty good, and renting a wetsuit and board for 2 hours is only $14. Not bad. I´ll be going out tomorrow. A lot has happened in the last few days, so I´ll try to keep the story in Cliffnotes version and just post more pictures, because those are 1,000 words each.

Before I left Santiago I met some BMXers who let me take photos of them. They were pretty cool guys and were ditching school to ride around Santiago. The city also has some pretty good grafitti.

Friday morning at 8 AM I got on a bus north from Santiago to Copiapo. Halfway through the 11-hour ride, it broke down, in the middle of nowhere on the Panamerican highway. We waited four hours for another bus, and I finally got to Copiapo after midnight. It was extremely dangerous at night, and every local I talked to told me not to walk alone. There were also a lot of prostitutes hanging around. Every hostel and hotel was full, as it was almost 1 AM, and I had nowhere to stay, all because of the bus breaking down. Eventually, I walked back to the bus station, looking over my shoulder every 30 seconds and keeping my knife handy.. I´ve never been somewhere where I felt so vulnerable. Just before 3 AM I got on another 14-hour bus north from Copiapo, Chile, to Iquique.

bus #1 broken down:

Of course, just on time (around noon) the Iquique bus broke down, too. We were stuck, this time in the middle of Chile´s Atacama Desert, hot, dry, and wind blowing dust everywhere. It wasn´t the most fun I´ve ever had. Luckily we only had to wait just over an hour before another bus arrived. I had left Copiapo at 3 AM and didn´t arrive to Iquique until 7 PM. It ended up being about 36 hours of straight travel from Santiago, and although the buses are very comfortable (the seats recline almost all the way down), it still wasn´t fun.

bus #2 broken down:In the desert:There´s NOTHING out there. Except me looking goofy.Along the way there wasn´t much to see in the desert, not even a cactus. It was empty. However, where the Panamerican hugs the coast, I got to see every surf break North of Santiago. Some were firing, but I couldn´t get great pictures from the bus window. We drove past more than one break where perfect, glassy A-frames were barreling and spitting, rights and lefts, and going unridden. We passed through a smaller town called Tocopilla, and just before town, spraypainted on a giant boulder, was a stick man riding a surfboard in a wave. The words underneath him simply said, ¨Solucion por Todo¨- Solution for Everything. Unfortunately, I couldn´t get a picture since we drove past too fast. As simple as it was, it meant a lot, and I spent a considerable amount of time trying to dig deeper into that image. It will definitely be a landmark in my trip.

I wouldn´t mind living here.. It was deserted.
Needless to say, I was sad. Not about the bus delays. Not about the crying babies, cell phones that no one puts on vibrate, hunger pains in my stomach, or sweat drenching my two-day-old clothes without a shower because the bus had no air conditioning. I was sad that I was looking through the smudged window of a bus that stank of stale urine at 6-8 foot clean blue tubes, void of all human interaction along the Chilean coastline. I was sad that I was stuck passing them, with no one to share my excitement with, even with the small array of broken Castellano (Spanish) that I have in my translation book. No one to grip their seat and stand up to see the point breaks with me, let alone access to a board and wetsuit so I could run down there and throw caution away. I was sad I couldn´t even get a great picture with my small camera through the window of the bus, with its poor zoom.

Alas, now I am in Iquique, and the surf isn´t bad here, so a new excitement has gripped me.
Oh, and dinners aren´t half bad either. Empanada y Inca Kola.
Wish me luck,

Brian

Valparaiso Es Muy Bonita y Peligrosa..

2007-10-05T11:33:00.000-07:00

So I paid a visit to the smaller port town of Valparaiso, about an hour and a half northwest of Santiago. It's relatively easy to get there - a quick metro ride, then a shuttle bus for only about $6 each way. The town was beautiful and reminded me of some small European town, maybe in Italy, or Nice, France, even though I've never been there.

Access to the beach, my reason for visiting Valparaiso ("Valp" for local short) was closed unless I took a bus further north. A railroad runs the length of the beach and blocks it, and it was evident by the strong military/naval presence that government probably owned it, anyway. It also had a large shipping port and didn't seem like somewhere I'd want to surf or lay out.

...You thought your gas was expensive?

There wasn't much to do in terms of activities, so I was content with just strolling the city and studying the area and people. Lots of dogs here, too. I wanted to take pictures of the military ships, and especially one of some officers pumping gas into what looked like a big bread truck turned into a swat-type van with a gun turret on top, but you can be arrested and even put in jail for snapping photos, so I didn't think twice.

I also survived the second attempt at petty thievery on me in the three days I've been here. I don't think it happens that often (I'm giving Chile the benefit of the doubt) but I may have just been an easy target/stupid/unlucky. Either way, my first day my map was cleanly picked out of my pocket, as I saw a guy walk away with it, maybe thought it was money. That was in Santiago. The second one was in Valparaiso... I had just taken a picture of a park nearby and was walking with my camera in my hand. As I was going to buy a bus ticket on the main street, very public and broad daylight, I felt two or three tough jerks on the camera, and turned around to a kid about my age running away. Luckily the camera strap was around my wrist and I still had it.

I've been keeping an eye on my belongings pretty well and watching for suspicious people or unnecessary bumping into me, etc., and I keep a hand on my wallet most of the time... but I guess certain social circumstances draw people to low levels, and in response I must be more saavy and on guard than I had previously thought. Otherwise, I am safe. Hopefully that doesn't worry any of you, I don't intend it to.

If I choose to jump in the water, I better know how to swim, right?

Hasta,

Brian

P.S. I thought of it too late, but I should've taken a photo or video of the guy running away..

P.S.S. You almost had me fooled with this sign, Santiago, you sly city, you.. Right direction though.

Es Mejor Usar Tus Manos..

2007-10-04T06:10:00.000-07:00

Exploring Santiago alone is amazing. I imagine it as a cross between Los Angeles, Mexico, and San Diego's Balboa Park, as mixed as that combination sounds. It has plenty of modern apartment and business high rises mixed with like 30% classic architecture, influenced by romanticism and some baroque styling (especially las iglesias, the churches). The city is also full of serene parks, dotting the map all over, some large, some smaller, and it seems they're well utilized by the local people (and packs of wild dogs), who relax on benches or stroll the dirt walkways as I pass through.

I watched this cat kick a huge dog´s ass out of his office..

Most of Santiago is walkable, and although it is large it differs from any large Southern California city in this respect.. I spent a good eight hours of walking, but made a full loop around the major parts of el centro, the downtown bustle of the city and all the major municipal parks, without taking a bus.

I stopped into a street market on the main avenue that crosses the city to look for a knife, since I couldn't bring one traveling from the states. None of the fifty vendors I passed had any, and the closest thing I found was one with a giant samurai sword. He looked friendly enough, so I asked Sabes que donde puedo comprar un buen cuchillo para acampar? (Do you know where I can buy a good knife for camping?) After some deliberation and both of us flipping through our English-Spanish dictionaries to understand each other, he told me that (if I understood correctly) concealed knives are illegal in Chile, and even if it's for camping, and if I get stopped I could pay a big fine. I told him the knife was also for my security since I am traveling alone, so I was willing to take the risk. To that, he responded, "Es mejor usar tus manos!" (It's better to use your fists!) and he took the Notre Dame "Fighting Irish" stance. We had a good laugh and he told me about the only store where I could find what I needed downtown.

Hasta,
Brian

P.S. I'm keeping a "Helle-style" journal of my travels every night in addition to the blog. For those who know what that is, I'll share when I return. And Senor Helle, if you're reading this, I'll definitely get you a copy.
P.S.S. I fixed the comments, I guess there was some problem earlier. You can now leave one (and read others) by clicking the "comments" link below.

I´ve Arrived..

2007-10-02T19:23:00.000-07:00

Yes, I made it to Santiago safely, and managed not to get too lost along the way. My hostel is quite accomodating, and the next few days I will be exploring the city and planning travel out of it. The computers aren´t the best resources here, but I feel I´ll have better luck at an internet cafe.

A more comprehensive and (hopefully) picture-filled post will be up in the next day or two, so check back and drop me a comment.

Oh, and tomorrow, among other things, I plan to go to a restaurant that serves three-course lunch for $2 USD. That´s my kind of price.

-Brian, de Santiago, Chile

Two More Days..

2007-09-30T00:23:00.000-07:00

So if you're here, you probably have heard about my trip. Basically, I'm traveling alone to South America, flying in to Santiago, Chile, and backpacking as much of the continent as I can, hopefully in a counter-clockwise direction through Chile, Argentina, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, Columbia, and Venezuela. It's not for a school program or anything, just traveling on my own terms. I'll be gone until mid-December.

Why? Because I can. Really. It began with an urge to step away from Westernized "classroom" perspectives of the world, and seeing it on my own terms, immersing myself in culture, and learning new things about life. It sounds euphoric because it is. Why not another country/continent? I don't know.. South America and Chile was the first place to call to me.

Part of the allure of this trip has become the organization of it. There is none. I have no plans whatsoever, aside from a roundtrip flight. I know some places I'd like to see, and the basic route I'd like to travel, but I have no dates, reservations, or contacts. That is what makes this trip exciting. And no, I don't speak Spanish (or Portuguese), but I took two years in high school and have a basic understanding, enough to start. From what I hear, language isn't usually the hardest boundary when traveling the world.

FAQ's:

- Am I excited? Yes. I'm stoked. I couldn't be more ready for this to change my life and open my eyes, and learn tons of stuff that a classroom could never teach me.

- Am I scared? No. Not yet. I think that the fear won't set in until I'm on that plane heading there. At that point I can see myself thinking, "S***, what am I getting myself into?"

- Am I sad to leave? Sure, I'm gonna miss friends and family and the life I've settled into. But this is a priceless opportunity that I can't afford to miss, and I have all of your support along the way.

- Have you seen Touristas or Hostel? Nope. I know what those movies are about... Although it's truly dangerous in some places down there, it's also a naive Western stereotype to stick "South America" into the class of "dangerous, third-world, and crime-driven." Don't get me wrong, I'm going to walk softly and carry a big stick (AKA: knife), but I'm sure I'll be fine and generally safe.

On traveling alone, a good friend and former TA once told me, "Traveling on your own will be great. You encounter amazing opportunities by yourself, much more so than when with a companion... People will invite you into their homes, to events, and to travel with them." She's right, and although I anticipate choosing to be mostly on my own (and those few dark, rainy nights in a tent in some jungle..), I also plan to make some new friends along the way.

So I leave Monday night on a flight to Santiago, Chile. 13 hours of plane time. Luckily it's only NY time over there, so I won't have to deal with much jet lag. I arrive 7 PM Tuesday, Santiago time, and travel to my hostel in the heart of the city. I have 4 days of reserved rooms there and then no plans. We'll see what transpires. I will think of you all often, and save me your best wishes.

P.S. I won't be able to respond to as much personal email (bsumwalt@gmail.com) as I would like due to time constraints, so please forgive me for late/nonexistent responses to any mail.

NOTE:

You can leave personal comments on each blog post without having any account/signing up, etc. by clicking the "Comment" link below each post. The "E-Mail" icon below each post will conveniently forward the entire post to a friend, relative, etc. I love to hear from you, so leave one!

I will try to update the blog as often as I can, hopefully once a week or more. I appreciate all of you bookmarking and checking back on me often, as this is my only source of communication! Future posts will have less writing and more pictures. Your support, just by reading this, means more to me than you know.

Thank you all!

Cheers,

Brian