Reaching the end of the road

As always, my plans the past few days ended up changing. I did not go to Cachagua as planned because I had difficulty finding a bus there, and as I met some new friends who were going to be in Valparaiso, I decided just to stay here with them. Tomorrow we will head to Santiago, then the next day Sue comes!

Each time I come back to Valpo I fall more in love with this city. I'm pretty sure if I ever decide to live in Chile for more long term, I would seriously considering moving here. I just love the vibe here, the downtown is full of people, and then as you walk up into the hills, it gets quieter, filled with street art, curving streets and almost hidden stair cases. It's just one of those places where I feel at home in.

Today we tried to go to Pablo Neruda's house in Isla Negra, but for some reason it was closed. I will have to try that another time, it's a place I definitely want to visit.

Soon my traveling days will be finished for the time being, next Monday I start my job, it's hard for me right now to imagine what that is going to be like. A part of me definitely wishes I could keep going, I love living this lifestyle, although it is quite dreamlike. But, I am also more than ready for some clean clothes and a bit more structure in my life. I suppose it is time for me to take on some responsibilites again. But, I without a doubt have been infected with the traveler's bug and will certainly return to the backpackers lifestyle again someday.

La Serena

Yesterday I got to La Serena, and by some wonderful act of fate, I ran into two people I really enjoyed the company of, who I met in Arica. We were hoping to meet again but hadn't been able to find each on Facebook (oh the perils of our century), but luckily, we somehow managed to check into the same hostal. So I've been enjoying my time with my new friends. Today we went to the beach and loafed around, even fit a bit of yoga in there. The beach here definitely isn't as nice as Iquique's and it's not quite as warm, but it was quiet and I took a dip in the ocean, despite it's frigid temperature.

I was planning on heading to Cachagua tomorrow to meet up with family friends, but because it's the weekend and the end of summer, I had a lot of difficulty finding a bus there. As it is a small town, I can't get a direct bus there, and most of the buses going nearby were full or almost full. So I decided to catch a bus to Valparaiso tomorrow, stay the night there, and try to get to Cachagua the next morning, just a few hours north. Plus, my new friends are heading to Valparaiso tonight, so I will meet up with them tomorrow evening when I arrive. Because the bus companies are so busy this weekend, I had to buy a seat in the first class section, full cama, which I have yet to experience. I'm sure it will be a nice splurge. The woman at the booking desk gave me some headphones, pretty fancy.

There is definitely a part of me that wishes I didn't have to stop traveling, at times this lifestyle can be quite addicting. But, life must continue rolling on, and it is time for me to have some different kinds of experiencing. I am making the most of my last few days, though.

Pica, Iquique

Still in Iquique, tonight I will leave for La Serena, only about a 16 hour bus ride. I didn't want to do really long rides, but there aren't too many places I want to stop between here and La Serena, plus I don't really have that much time, so I decided to just go for a long ride. Hopefully I will sleep through a big chunk of it since it leaves in the evening.

Yesterday I went to Pica for the day, an oasis in the desert. It's a nice little town where many lemon and lime trees grow. The big attraction there is the communal hot spring which is basically like a huge swimming pool with a little cave and a waterfall. The entrance fee was not much so of course I had to go for a dip. It was quite crowded though so I really didn't stay all that long as swimming by yourself amongst a crowd of people isn't the most fun. But I did enjoy the people watching. For some reason, many people decided to smear dirt onto their faces from the side of the spring where trees grow. Then they would continue to swim with the dirt on their faces so the result was some kind of mud face mask. Maybe it's good for the skin.

The other main attraction of Pica is the fresh juice, of course I had some, and of course it was delicious. Since I've crossed back into Chile I've had fresh juice at least once a day, but usually more like twice. I like the juice here better, I think they might put more sugar in it than the Peruvians do, plus in Peru they use a lot more water. Although I will say, yesterday I ate a mango, and any of the mangos I ate in Peru would have beat that mango in a taste competition, hands down. I miss the mangos of Peru.

I returned to Iquique after my day in Pica just in time to sit on the beach and enjoy watching the sun set. The sunset is probably the best thing about the Pacific Ocean, absolutely gorgeous.

Today is a day for hanging out, getting stuff done I need to do, and so on. I will definitely spend some time loafing around on the beach this afternoon. Then it's time to move on. I have really enjoyed Iquique though, I'm glad I came here. It has a great relaxed atmosphere which is probably exactly what I needed.

I am still missing the children of Casa Hogar tremendously. Occasionally I look at the pictures I took of them on my camera. Soon I will be reunited with my computer and will be able to share many more photos from these past few months.

Back to Chile

I´ve made my return to Chile safely, I´m currently in Iquique, a beach town in the desert of the north. On Sunday, after a slightly complicated border crossing, I arrived to Arica. The town itself was nothing special, very industrial. But it saddened me because it has potential to be beautiful. It´s in the desert on the coast, beaches surrounded by huge sand dunes, some interesting architecture and lovely weather. But the beaches are covered in garbage. And I mean covered. The river that runs into the ocean is just straight brown. I watched a boy throw a candy wrapper into it. This kind of treatment of our planet saddens me beyond belief. I just can´t understand.
Yesterday I took a bus to Iquique. I like it here, it´s very pretty. It´s a bit touristy and the beaches are crowded, but very nice. And the downtown is really nice too. I think today I am going to try to visit Pica, the oasis town nearby.
It´s nice to be back in Chile, it feels familiar to me. I like that I fit in here a bit more, it´s easier to pass for a Chilean than a Peruvian, obviously. The food is familiar, I ate an empanada on the beach and I was so happy, after trying empanadas ini 4 countries I maintain my favorite are in Chile. Same with the manjar. I guess it feels kind of like being home in a way. I am very much enjoying my chance to explore the north.

Goodbye Arequipa, Hasta Luego Perú

My last day at the orphanage came and went, as I predicted, it was very difficult to say goodbye. But I had a wonderful last day. They made me a special lunch (camotes, yum), I was given the honor of sitting at the head of the table, and they gave me a nice gift of some jewelery made by Marco, the guy who is charge of all the washing. Right before I left some of the kids perfomed Peruvian dances for me, which was adorable. My friend took a video which I will try to post at a later date. It was not easy saying my goodbyes, I felt a little like my heart was breaking. I know these kids have to say goodbye a lot to volunteers, and it doesn't seem like it ever gets any easier for them. I hate that they have to say goodbye so much. But, as many of them poited out, Chile isn't that far away, so maybe someday I can come back for a visit. I have a feeling that I will.

A new baby arrived the day I left, he's one and a half years old and absolutely adorable with his hip haircut and warm smile. I'm sad I didn't get to know him, but even more sad that he's there in the first place.

Overall, the last six weeks have been some of the best of my life. I have never enjoyed going to a place that I was "working" at so much. Every day I wanted to go in, and that was a new feeling for me. And of course I got attached to the kids, how could you not? I also met some really great people while being here, learned about other cultures, and made some really good friends, friendships that I know are going to continue on despite the distance. Casa Hogar, as well as Traveler Not Tourist, are places that are so full of love and support, it was an absolute joy for me being here. Even though it rained almost every day. I still woke up each day happy to be where I was, happy to be living my life. Of course I hope that I will continue to feel that sense of happiness. but I think I will, I think it mostly comes from being able to do what I want to do. And I've just learned so much about what I need to feel happy. It's not all that much really, just good people, good food, and a good attitude.

It's almost 3 in the morning and at 4.30 AM I will get on a bus that will take me to Tacna, and from there I will cross the border to Arica. I plan to spend the night in Arica, then Monday morning I will head to Iquique. After a day or two hanging at the beach and hopefully checking out the oases towns nearby this desert beach town, I plan to take a bus to Chanaral, Chile so that I can visit the Parque Nacional Pan Azucar, a coastal park, where you can see some wildlife such as penguins and dolphins. After that I will head down to La Serena then visit the birthplace of Gabriela Mistral, the famous poet. From there I will go to Cachagua, a beach town where I will stay with some family friends for a few days. Then it's back to Santiago and hello to my friend Sue! This of course is just my rough plan. Since I am traveling alone, it's definitely possible it will all change. But it's clear I have a lot to look forward in the coming weeks.
As much as I wish I could stay here in Arequipa a little longer, I must accept that my time has come to an end. It's been great and I will always treasure this experience. And as the old cliche goes, when one door closes another one opens. It's time to begin yet another chapter in my travel adventure story...

"Food is...the way in which we humans shape the planet and ourselves."

I got really excited about this article I read this morning about food. Let's be honest, I'm always getting excited about food. I spend a great portion of my day thinking about it, what I'm going to eat, what I want to eat, what I shouldn't have eaten, what I need to eat, and so on. And I have a lot of strong opinons about food and especially about the current food system that exists in many developed nations, but mainly the U.S. because that is what I know. However, I won't get into all of that right now. Mainly I don't have time and that's not the point of this post. As I write, I am about to go to one of the many vegetarian places in Arequipa in search of a fresh juice (a delicious wonder that is very easy to find here in Peru). And while I would love to spend time to write about my views on food, I won't bore you.

I simply wanted to share a few observations about food in Peru. Food is obviously a huge part of culture here. You see it everywhere, there are always vendors selling it on the street, or people selling snacks off of little carts. There are resturaunts everywhere offering full meals for very little money. The big meal here is lunch, almuerzo, like most of South America, which people usually take a couple of hours off of work to enjoy. At the orphanage, we are not allowed to eat until we pray first and bless the food, and the children (and adults) must eat everything off their plates. After they eat everything, the children are allowed to drink water, which is usually warm and flavored with some kind of fruit or herb. It's taken me a while to get used to the water here. It's never cold as the water in Peru must always be boiled before you drink it. I know someone who has gotten hepatitis from the water and was bedridden for six months, so it's really important to boil it first. Plus it always seems to be flavored, and some flavors I enjoy more than others. Some flavors taste a bit like cleaning supplies to me. The desserts here have also taken some getting used to for me. There's a lot of jelly textures, and the sweet is a different kind of sweet than I am used to from desserts in the states. I think they use a lot less sugar here. Hot chocolate is popular, but it is made from natural cocoa from the Peruvian jungle and sugar is rarely added so it tastes very different from the hot chocolate and marshmellows mix from a bag I enjoyed as a kid. They also make a variety of other warm beverages that I have really come to enjoy, many of them involving some kind of quinoa or other grain. Fruit juice is also quite popular as I mentioned before. That is because an abundance of fruit grows here, just like in Chile, which is something I absolutely love. I think my favorite here is mangos. They are so rediculously cheap, you can get a kilo of mangos, usually two huge, perfectly ripe mangos for about 75 cents. I pretty much eat one every day. I will really miss the mangos.

There is a lot more I could say about food here, but because I am hungry and looking forward to the food I am about to eat, I am going to have to stop here. Perhaps I will continue to develop these thoughts another time.

Sadly, tomorrow is my last day at the orphanage. I am not looking forward to it. But Lilia, the director, asked me what my favorite meal is, so I have that to look forward to. I wasn't sure what to say, so I said something vegetarian. And she said, how about something with sweet potatos, and I said, sure. I'm sure whatever it is, it will definitely be delicious.

Last Week

In the midst of my last week at the orphanage, of course I'm starting to feel a bit sad, as well as reflective. Every since returning from the beach, I have just started feeling closer to the kids, as if they have opened up a bit more with me and began trusting me more. It breaks my heart that I have to leave them. And probably if I didn't have a job waiting for me in Chile, I probably wouldn't be leaving, at least not until I absolutely had to. When I orginally planned to come here, a month seemed like a long time to stay in one place, especially a place where I had no previous attachment to. But now, going into my sixth week, it doesn't feel like enough time. It takes just that time to start to feel truly comfortable and settled in a place. It takes that much time to begin to form meaningful relationships with others. So now I am wishing I had a bit more time.

I have come to really enjoy living in Peru. Living in Chile for me, was different, I have more of an emotional attachment to Chile of course, my pride for the country flows through my veins. But Peru, I had no personal attachment to whatsoever. I kind of ended up here by fluke, I knew essentially nothing about the country and its people before I arriving. But now I have a deep appreciation for its culture, its food, its resourcefulness of its people, its rolling, expansive, land. But I have a feeling I will be back here someday. I would really like to come back to Casa Hogar someday. Although, if I do, I sincerely hope that the same children will not be there.

So I am taking my last week in stride. I feel so grateful that I have had this opportunity to come here, spend time with some awesome kids, meet some wonderful people, and get to know a great culture.