Welcome (back) to the jungle - Nico and Beni do Madidi

Following some time in La Paz learning about the coca plant and watching tourists attempt to bribe their way into cocaine-riddled San Pedro Prison, Beni and I spent a couple of tranquil days in beautiful Sorata. Then it was back (bearing an herbal gift from our friendly hostel owner) to La Paz and north on a different road which joined at times the Most Dangerous Road in the World; that got us to Coroico and then Rurrenbaque, jumping-off point for trips into the rainforest of Madidi National Park.



What our location lacked in animal life it more than made up for in plants; the rainforest stocks more medication than we ever imagined. "Are there any plants that don't treat embarrassing medical conditions?" At the time, Beni's question was fair - we'd only seen a natural substitute for Viagra and a bark that fought hemorrhoids up to that point. We then discovered some more normal ones including leaves rubbed together to ease up sinusitis and wood rubbed on skin to drive away mosquitos.

The jungle knows its share of fun too - we tripped over "magic" mushrooms (unfortunately too dry for use) growing out of a log on our path and harvested leaves from the huara shrub known in Peruvian slang as marihuara. Unlike the mushrooms, these needed to be dried before use. More odd was the reverse-Viagra plant which was uniquely useful, according to our guide, "in case you want to get into the pants of your friend´s girlfriend."

But the biggest surprise was yet to come. According to our guide, the cure for (or at least prevention of) cancer has already been found(!) and lies in the wood of thin branches also notable for the huge amount of clean water stored inside that we drank simply cutting a piece off and angling it downwards. Sure as hell filled up my bottle with that water.



Also notable from the trip were my extremely ungraceful attempted sideways running dismount from the Tarzan swing and the French guy who wouldn't stop smoking yet still had the energy to climb up every giant tree we save (and the Tarzan swing). He also went swimming wearing only underwear and a funny hat.

Truth be told, in my case George of the Jungle swing is probably more appropriate.

Check back soon for Agent Salt - Nico and Beni do Uyuni.

Wavin' Flag - Nico does Sucre

Just days after I arrived in Sucre the whole city stopped to celebrate the Fiesta de Patrias, Bolivia's equivalent of July 4th. Since Sucre is the capital (and site of Bolivia's initial declaration of independence), every school, including my very own Fox Language School, was required to march in the parade.

Upon meeting up to march, however, Fox had a special surprise for me and the four other foreign students who had come to march with the local kids - huge-ass regional and international flags present to symbolize Fox's international focus. A few minutes later I was marching proudly through the streets of Sucre waving the Stars and Stripes in front of their Independence Plaza (25 de Mayo) and own version of a Liberty Bell. Felt pretty damn patriotic (and brotherly; we are, after all, cousins in liberation and democracy).

Though I had expected booing given the US's poor relationship with Bolivia, I received far more cheers than jeers. I learned later that Sucreans hate Bolivia´s president Evo Morales almost as much as Evo Morales hates the US. For them, the enemy of their enemy must be a friend. To quote my Spanish teacher after I commented on his president, "El Presidente, no mi presidente - The President, not my president."

In front of me, Kate was half-heartedly carrying the Australian flag, nearly considered treason for a Kiwi like herself. Just imagine a gun-toting Texan being told to carry the Mexican flag and you'll get the idea.

Admittedly, I could not take full credit for the crowd's cheers. On my left marched my Scottish buddy Neale carrying a regional Bolivian flag. His appeal, however, lay not in his flag but rather in his clothing - a revealing kilt straight from the motherland.

I post this after finally leaving Sucre, my home for a month of Spanish lessons, Bolivian cooking, drinking, playing (WallyBall, Rackuet, Poker, Ping Pong, Pool, Foosball), dancing, hiking, flirting with Bolivian girls, and movies with popcorn covered in chili powder. Good times.

Today I meet up with big brother Binny and begin more adventures on the road.

Check back soon for Welcome (back) to the jungle - Nico and Binny do Rurrenbaque.

Downward dog in the desert - Nico, Alejandro, and Michael do Huacachina

Mike and I bused back down from Lima to the world famous Nazca Lines, a collection of shapes and pictures etched in the desert by the ancient Nazca people ranging from 50-500 meters in length.  As we sat in our four-seater plane munching on some cookies and admiring the pictures whizzing by below, Mike had a tremendous insight into one of the most famous figures, a primitive outline of an astronaut seemingly waving towards space (a basis for the theory that the shapes were made by aliens) - "He's not waving, he's just holding his hand out to ask for an Oreo!"  Mystery solved.

We were soon reunited with Jesse and the next morning Alejandro as well in the desert oasis of Huacachina, a small natural pond tucked away in rolling sand dunes that stretch for miles on all sides.  We set off in the afternoon for the region's main attraction - a wild buggy ride up and down the dunes with breaks for sand-boarding mixed in.  Daring to take most of the hills standing up instead of lying on my stomach, I felt pretty bad-ass at first for someone who never snowboarded before.  And then the little Japanese boy sped by me.

Along with us for the ride was Canadian girl named Hue.  A yoga aficionado, Hue believed that the dunes, sunset, and yoga poses would make for a great combination.  I'll let the pictures (one of which features me screwing up the downward dog position) speak for themselves.

And then a tearful goodbye, and suddenly all my homeboys were gone and I began to adventure alone.

But not for long.  The next day I happened to sit next to an Israeli named Shachar on a bus, and it was Hebrew for the next few days on the Isla del Sol and in La Paz (also reuniting with Salkantay-buddies Oded, Stav, and Shaked and meeting new friends Yogev and Liron).

Check back soon for Wavin' Flag - Nico does Sucre

Asch kalt - Nico and Alejandro do Lake Titicaca

Though its main draw (for many) remains its difficult-to-believe name, Lake Titicaca is also famous for its high elevation and array of islands (floating and other) filled with remnants of Incan and pre-Incan cultures.  Taking a tour of some of these islands, we were hosted for a night by a native family along with fellow travelers Matthias and Diana from Germany/Poland. 

After climbing an island hilltop to watch the sun set, we ate dinner and prepared for the coming fiesta in the suddenly freezing night. Matthias pulled out a flask he had been carrying with Polish schnaaps straight from the motherland.

As Matthias was explaining that the schnaaps would warm us up from the bitter cold, Alé hoisted the flask. Wanting to toast in the language of our comrades, I asked, "How do you say it in German?" "Asch kalt." So Alé and I shouted "Asch kalt" and took sips.

Matthias and Diana started rolling on the floor laughing. "What did we do wrong?" "Asch kalt isn't what you say when you toast; we thought you were asking how to say 'Really cold' (literally: Ass-cold)."

Still, it made a good toast and we've been saluting "Asch kalt" ever since due to the frigid temperatures of high elevation Peruvian winter nights. Also, Polish schnaaps is great.

Dancing at the fiesta turned out to be the Peruvian version of a hora. As I was laughing about this the next day with a Jewish girl I'd just met, three other Jews overheard and concurred. Turned into a little Jew party on Taquile island (to the confusion of Lindsay, a nice Christian girl from Michigan who was also standing with us). Never know when the opportunity for Jewish geography will strike.

Soon we were back in Arequipa where we attempted to barbecue a guinea pig on the roof of our hostel. Then it was off to Lima with Michael for Shabbat. Check back soon for Downward dog in the desert - Nico, Alejandro, and Michael do Huacachina.

Things that no one ever, ever needs - Nico does Arequipa

After a two day adventure in the world´s deepest canyon (Colca) with Noam and Eliana featuring majestic condors and a couple beers in the hot springs, I had a few days to relax in Arequipa before more excitement.


Strolling around the beautiful White City, my business training began buzzing in the back of my head as I absorbed the socio-economic life of ordinary Peruvians.

The scenes brought to mind a classic quote from The Office when Oscar is advising Michael Scott (Steve Carell) how to think about his finances. "Okay, the green bar is what you spend every month on stuff you need, like a car and a house...The red bar is what you spend on non-essentials, like magazines, entertainment, things like that...The scary black bar is what you spend on things that no one ever, ever needs, like multiple magic sets, professional bass fishing equipment..."

Thing that Arequipa needs: A store for party supplies.
A non-essential: A store devoted entirely to selling piñatas (called a piñateria).
No one ever, ever needs: Eight piñaterias on the same block as our hostel.

Thing that Arequipa needs: Somebody selling water in the park.
A non-essential: People stepping onto city buses to sell candy bars and nuts.
No one ever, ever needs: Old people sitting on benches with scales on the ground in front of them. To my great delight, I witnessed a man pay to use one of these.

Thing that Arequipa needs: A Claro store for buying cellphones and calling plans.
A non-essential: Several Claro stores scattered around the city.
No one ever, ever needs: Two dozen Claro stores in the couple blocks surrounding the Plaza de Armas along with a Claro parade featuring a marching band and guys doing flips. Claro´s sole main competitor has few to zero stores in this area.

And don´t get me started on the sunglasses stores.  Somehow they have yet to realize that Peruvians just don't wear sunglasses.  Ever.


Check back soon for Asch kalt - Nico and Alejandro do Lake Titicaca.

In the path of the Incas - Nico and Alejandro do Machu Picchu

[Update: For those who care, I´ve added slideshows to most of the recent posts. I´ll try to get the older pictures uploaded as well.]
After a few days acclimating in the Incan capital of Cuzco while bargaining for Alpaca goods (including unbelievably soft giant matching rugs Alé and I bought) and eating fresh peas at the local market (they also had an entire aisle for potatoes), Alé and I set off on the Salkantay trail.  An alternative to the famous Inca trail, the Salkantay takes hardy souls up past 4650m to the Incan holy mountain Abu Salkantay before dropping down through the jungle and meeting up with the traditional trail en route to Machu Picchu.

From Salkantay

Highlights included being woken up in our frozen tent at 5AM with steaming cups of Coca tea, slide tackling Peruvians in an impromptu futbol match one afternoon (as the sole American for most of the game, I was nearly a liability to my own team), and quizzing the Icelandic girls in our group about former world´s strongest man Magnus ver Magnuson.
 One of the girls was herself quite strong as I found out to my detriment when she, a physical therapist, forcefully prodded several parts of my upper leg to demonstrate that one of my muscles there is "short."  She said that if I continue the exercise she taught me, it will not hurt so much next time.  Nothing like a buff therapist named Scylla [Silla] to intimidate you to follow an exercise routine.

Eli and I also had a great time with the dozen or so Israeli´s on the trip, making kiddush Friday evening (filmed by the Icelandic anthropology student for research), playing Wisk into the wee hours of the night, and learning Israeli army slang from our new friends Itai and Maya.  Those two taught us an incredible game called ¨"Sababa bakol" [Great in everything].   One person questions the group, "Would you date someone if s/he was great in everything, but this or that flaw?"  Their first example - "Sababa bakol, aval rokedet k´mo Eli [Great in everything, but dances like Eli]."  It´s basically an interactive version of Seinfeld (think man-hands, close-talker, etc.)  And you find some very interesting differences of opinion.

From Machu Picchu

After a glorious Teaneck reunion in the Lost City of the Incas with Noam, Michael, and Eliana, Alé and I climbed the adjacent mountain of Huayna Picchu for an aerial view of the city.  Stunning.


Then it was back to Cuzco and one horseback ride to the Incan ruins of SaqsayHuaman (also known as Sexy Woman) later, Noam, Eliana, and I set off to Arequipa, the White City of Peru.  Check back soon for Things no one ever, ever needs - Nico does Arequipa.