jack and ken's grand adventure

Soo... its been about a month since we journaled on line... oops. There has been sooo much to write about, but the internet availability here, while plentiful, is INCREDIBLY slow and tedious... plus the keyboards are never complete. On more than one occasion Ive been pages into an email and the computer justs shuts the window, thanks a lot BOLIVIA! ANYWAY... were in Bolivia now, which is phenomenal. LOVE IT. But first things first, the past month of our lives has been anything but dull and we´d love to share with you! After leaving Bariloche Jackie and I headed to NE Argentina, and spent a few nights in a fairly large city named Salta. Despite some killer nightlife, and a ton of big spiders, Salta was fairly uneventful. We really wanted to get out and see the area so we rented a car in Salta, and took a two day road trip south, through the tiny towns of Cachi and Cafayete... passing through some incredible scenery along the way. The car was a manual, which means I was designated driver for the whole trip... scary thought, I know... and J was navigator. We made a great team, covering about 500 km in two days, driving through mountains gorges, along winding gravel roads barely wide enough for our car, let alone any oncoming traffic, which twisted through the Andes. The area is known as the Hills of 7 colors, and the name is extremely appropriate. The rock faces are brightly colored orange, red, yellow, green, blue... really strange, has to do with the minerals in the rocks. We had a great time driving through the many rivers which intersected the road, several of which we had to close our eyes and pray as we splashed through, hoping the current wouldn´t sweep us over the cliffside to certain death. (See why we waited until later to tell you about it MOM?) We took breaks during the day to visit some seriously eerie mountain cemetaries, a natural ampitheatre, and some wild rock formations which we OF COURSE had to climb on!! We returned the car without incident, thank god... a crash would have emptied our bank acounts, but Thanks to my superiour driving skills... its all good. ;)  After our roadtrip we headed by bus north to some teeny tiny little cities in NE Argentina called Purmamarca, and Tilcara. It was here that we began to experience our first taste of altitude sickness... every breath is labored, always exhausted... we felt like grandmas. We went for a 5 km run in Tilcara, it was quite possibly one of the most difficult things weve ever done... its strange how much the altitude can affect you! After our two nights in the middle of nowhere in Argentina we took a bus to Northern Chile, to a town called San Pedro de Atacama, there were some seriously insane stars there, unfortunately we only were able to enjoy them for one night... the next morning we headed, via 4 by 4 to the Salar de Uyuni, a huge salt lake, the remains of a dried up ocean in SouthWest Bolivia. Our tour was REALLY fun... there were 7 of us jammed in a tiny jeep, 3 Canadians, 2 English and Jackie and I. We all got along great, and had a blast joking around as we traveled through one of the strangest landscapes I´d never imagined possible! The salt flats are indescribably vast, reflecting the sky in perfect symmetry so you feel like your walking on clouds! Check out the pics of that, well have them up soon! We arrived in Uyuni, Bolivia, and after a bit of trouble with customs, we were admitted into the country, yay! We took a bus north to La Paz.. definitely the worst conditions for a long distance bus ride so far, the roads are unpaved, the seats are crammed, no bathroom for 12 plus hours... no fun. Luckily, thanks to modern medicine, I was able to sleep a bit, while Jackie stayed up and enjoyed the ride. La Paz... oh La Paz... it deserves an entire entry just to itself... truley an incredible city. We like it so much that weve decided to stay for a few weeks and work as bartenders at a hostel in town... the pay is a joke, but theres free accomodation, food and booze... so were excited! Brandon came to visit us here, and were just wrapping up a ten day trip around La Paz... spending 2 days in the Amazon Jungle and 3 days at Lake Titicaca, on the Isla del Sol, the place where the Incans believed the sun and the moon were created. The jungle was sheer sticky humid madness... Ive never experienced such humidity in my life, and the bugs were INSANE!! Ive never seen so many different types of creepy crawlies... were talking bees that attacked us, burrowing deep into our ponytails.. wierd, huh? Tons of spiders, some tarantulas, a creepy long legged spider with a huge web that Brandon actually held... weirdo!! Weve got pics to prove it! Other than insects we saw a few monkeys and some parrots.. the animals didnt really show off too much for us. We spent about an hour hunting a wild boar... we could here it and smell it, but never saw it. I felt like a jungle warrior, crouched against the steaming mud of the jungle floor, vines tumbling out of the dense canopy, and the constant whistle of insects as they sing through the humid air. I felt like I was in Apocolypse Now... crazy. We slept in a tiny hut in the Madidi National Forest... mosquito nets and all. The jungle is definitely the least comfortable climate Ive ever been in... dripping sweat within instants of stepping into the thick forest, and not stopping until we took off on our 15 seater lemon of an airplane, which thankfully got us safely home (yes, La Paz is home). The next morning we caught a bus to Lago Titicaca... were we then took a looong cold boat ride to Isla del Sol, the largest of the 40 islands on the lake. The boat dropped us off at the bottem of the STEEPEST LONGEST MOST HORRIBLY PAINFUL staircase of our lives, which in the altitude was certainly one of the most physically strenuous moments of our lives, the weight of our backpacks weighing on our trembling leg muscles and we puffed for breath all the way to the top. BUT... the good news is that it was worth it. The Island is SOOO utopic... the constant twittering of birds, the crashing of waves on the sandy shores, and the pleasant smells of farming and flowers wafting through the air. We were more than happy after our climb up the staircase of doom to enjoy a bottle of cheap Bolivian wine on the balcony of our hostel as the sun set over the massive sparkling blue mass of Lago Titicaca, the worlds highest altitude lake. The next day we were awoken by the strangest noise, the Island, which the day before had been super sunny and warm, was covered in a thick layer of hail, pouring from the grey clouds above. Luckily the hail storm blew over, and we were able to spend some time outside. We walked the lenght of the island, about 10 km, with our packs on our backs... passing through several small indigenous pueblos, some glorious white sand beaches and a TON of farmland, speckled with old Bolivian men herding sheep, pigs, donkeys and cows. The walk was beautiful, a great way to get to know the island. We reached the northernmost settlement, ChallaPampa, with enough time left for some sunbathing... I think we ALL got burned, but mostly my poor nose (I look like Michael Jackson, my nose is literally falling off), and the backs of Brandons thighs, which have not seen the light of day for a long, loooong time. We stayed at a tiny hostel on the beach, and of course indulged in our favorite passtime, sharing a bottle of wine during sunset... listening to the gentle lull of the waves, and the squawking (sp?) of donkeys and snorts and chortles of tons of little piglets, that run freely through the cobbled streets. The next day we walked the lenght of the island back to the boats, got to enjoy walking DOWN the staircase of doom... so gratifying... and caught the last boat back to the mainlaid. WHEW... it was a whirlwind tour of Bolivia, but we wanted to maximize our time with Brandon. We had a blast, it was great fun having a third travelling buddy for the week or so that it lasted. Brandon leaves tonight, so were going to spend the day milling through the hundred market stalls of La Paz, and taking it easy in our new home away from home. It will be sad to see Brandon go, but we had a great 10 day trip... definitely a bonding experience for all of us! Well... we´d better run off and enjoy our last day as a trio... hope all is well back home. Sorry for overusing the ellipses so much throughout this blog, this keyboard leaves little choices for punctuation! Love you all, CHAU