katiemergen

The aftermath

2008-01-15T19:03:33Z

So, back in Buenos Aires finally and chilling. The back packing trip was very fun if exhausting. I have tons of great memories and really can't believe how far we went when I look at it on the map. It feels really good to be back at my uncles house and not moving around from place to place constantly. Tomorrow my mom is coming, she will be here for a couple days then we are both headed back to the states. This may be my last post in Argentina because the appartment we are renting doens't have internet. See you all stateside!

Machu Picchu

2008-01-07T02:46:12Z

So this morning we got up really early and got on the second bus of people to the ruins of Machu Picchu. Annie went to do the really hard climb up to Winapicchu, which i didn't want to do so i wandered around the ruins mostly by myself for a long time. It felt so sacred, the mist was clouding everything it was like a dream. Watching the mist burn away with the sun coming over the mountains was beautiful. The landscape gradually appeared out of the clouds and then would sink back into them as the mercurial morning weather went through its phases. It felt like I was intruding on something sacred, that this beautiful place was letting me in on a part of its history. I was alone for about 3 hours with my thoughts while Annie was hiking. After she got back we wandered around, did some group whoring (jumping from one to the other) so we didn't have to pay for a tour guide, and saw the whole city. It was beautiful, the sun came out before it started raining, but only just a little. It was just amazing. Can't explain it better than that.

katiemergen @ 2008-01-03T19:01:00

2008-01-06T16:18:00Z

Today we left Cuzco for traveling to Machu Picchu. After a harrowing bus ride through the mountains, in which I slept most of the way, we arrived in Uritambo, where we took what amounted to a van with about 15 people crammed in it to this little cute town called Ollantytambo. We did some shopping at the market, then went to the cool ruins right outside of town. The pictures are goregous. Not too much other than that happened, were catching the train for Aguas Calientes tonight, then Machu Picchu tomorrow!

More ruins, And rain

2008-01-06T15:56:01Z

Yesterday bieng a pretty much wasted day, owing to hangover from New Years excesses today we decided to do more ruins outside of Cuzco, called Saqsaywaman. The ruins were really impressive. We took a horseback ride around the area and saw a temple. We got off and explored around some caves that made a neat maze through this hillside. Got a little chlostrophobic in some places but it was really neat. It rained nearly all afternoon though, and walking around wet gave me a cold, so am not feeling great again. This is a beautiful city and all, but the rainy season can be a bummer

New Years Eve

2008-01-06T14:54:07Z

Wow, New years in Cuzco was a party! We met up with some of Annie's friends in Cuzco for a volunteer trip then went bar hopping for a bit. Then we went to The Plaza de Armas, a beautiful square right in the middle of the city. I heard from alot of Peruvians that was where the party went down so obviously we wanted to be there. We got there at about 11:30 and there was already tons of people gathered around the square. Theres no firework laws, so the air was full of Roman candles, fountians and whatever fireworks people could get ahold of. We found a bar with a rooftop view of the square, had a drink, the view was amazing, then went outside for the countdown. People were crazy, everyone had opened up a circle in the middle for fireworks, we went right to the rim of that circle. Couple of Annie's more daring, and drunk, friends ran across the square while the fireworks were all going off right around them. We counted down a couple different times, cus there was just the clock in the square to know when it was actually midnight, becides it was an excuse to drink several different times. We went back to the rooftop bar and danced for the rest of the night, I even found a cute boy to dance with. All in all a perfect night. Happy 2008 everyone!

Happy New Years!

2008-01-01T23:55:24Z

I hope everyone had a great Holiday season and a fun New Years Eve!

katiemergen @ 2007-12-29T21:17:00

2007-12-30T02:29:23Z

Tonight is our last night in Copacabana, its on to Cuzco tomorrow. Today was a fun chill day. Excepting when we climbed to the top of this hill (ha ha) for some cool views and wow it looked way easier than it was, like everything else here the elevation just makes the body work so much harder. On the way down we went way off the beaten path and, rather than the nice stairs we took on the way up, basically went down this goat track. It wasnt as hard as canyoning, but in some ways it was worse cus the path was really steep and rocky. At least in canyoning, you could bruise something or possibly get a concussion, but like this I felt like i could overbalence and fall all the way down this "hill" The rest of the day was pretty chill though, we went kayaking on Lake Titicaca, very fun. Did some shopping and sleeping as well. Will try to write from Cuzco soon, Macchu Picchu! Yay!

Copacabana

2007-12-28T23:37:43Z

So today we got in and did some touristy stuff around Copacabana, which is this really cute town on Lake Titicaca. Yesterday we went to Tiawanaku, i would have written about it but i was pretty sick all day, and crashed right after birthday cake. We had one cake for the two boys whos birthdays yesterday was, put 15 candles on one side for David and 22 on the other for Marco, then we sang to them in Spanish and English. It was quite fun. Sleep was amazing and today im over whatever I had yesterday. We took a boat over Lake Titicaca to the Isla del Sol, Island of the Sun, which was goregous. It was a clear day, a bit cold though. The altitude is really high here, and climbing the "Incan Staircase" was really really difficult. The name is in quotes because it was really built by the Tiawanakus that built the temples we saw yesterday. The Incans did live at both sites for a while but the artifacts are pre-incan. To dinner now, laters all

La Paz

2007-12-27T05:30:56Z

We just arrived in La Paz today, its this beautiful city tucked in the mountains. On the way here we got treated to lots of snow-capped mountain vistas, which means the high elevation makes it fairly cold here. Great views though. Tomorrow we are going to Tiawanaku, to see some more Incan ruins, then out for the 2 birthdays members of our group are having tomorrow. So it should be fun. Now to sleep for big day tomorrow.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2007-12-25T21:00:46Z

I hope everyone is having a good Christmas whatever they are doing and where ever they be. I am currently hanging out with Suzannes family in Chocabumba, Bolivia. Eating, meeting people, more eating, that whole Christmas thing. We leave for La Paz tomorrow with a big group of Suzannes family, plans are still in the making. So I go to be social now.

Canyoning, Repelling down a Waterfall, Hiking, Yah I did it... yes, me

2007-12-24T18:08:39Z

Today was quite possibly the neatest and most terrifying day of my lifetime. So we signed up for this outdoor activities day thing, which includes hiking, trecking canyoning and repelling, and something about waterfalls.   Now I didnt even know what half of those things entailed but boy did I find out really quick.  He starts by putting us in these harnesses people use for climbing and then  we go on this this really intense walk up a steep hill in the forest. Now both Annie and our inexhaustable guide are in way better shape than me (but even he was sweating at the top) so im dying and asking them to stop like twice but eventually we made it to the top of this thing, where we see the reason for those harnesses, which are those ziplines going from a tree at the top to one fairly far away.  Now they explain everything but its all in Spanish so im just hoping im not going to die. We were really high too, the pictures are amazing.  The ziplines end up bieng totally fun and we go through about 3 of them before getting to the platform for repelling. So its just baiscailly tying a rope to your harness, placing your hands on it and letting go slightly to lower yourself down.  So it sounds easy, but putting all your weight on that thing and defying all millions of years of evolution telling you to keep your feet on nice solid ground is difficult. We were doing the hard kind too, with no place to put our feet for balence as Annie is used to from her climbing experience.  But I get to the bottom in one piece and exhilerated.
So at this point we go back to the resort area to break for a bit, and because our guide has to set up some stuff for the next part of our adventures. Its worth mentioning that we are the ONLY people there, it was billed as a group tour but, like yesterday, there was no one else. We got our guide and 2 other guys helping us the entire time. While were waiting for the guy we listen to some music, they set up some hammocks for us, and we relax for awhile. Finally the guide comes back and all 5 of us climb into this sketchy looking toyota and set off for the next part of our adventures.
We go back through town, then off road, like way off road. We cross 2 rivers, shallow ones, in the car of course. Its a really hot day and im really looking forward to swimming in the advertised waterfall. The road starts to get steeper and the road is mostly rock at this point. So on par with our amazing luck for transportation this trip, the truck overheats, it makes this horrible noise and steam comes out of the engine. Just great. The guys try to put some cold water in to cool it down, but no dice, so one guy stays with the car while me annie and our guide continue the next 1/4 mile or so on foot. It was really hot, and I had to take a break or too but we made it. It gets alot cooler when we get into the forest however and when we reach the river we get to wash off. When we set off, we follow the river itself, walking, swimming, trying to avoid rocks... not succeeding(the bruises are proving that). This was very fun in jeans and I was very loathe to ruin my hiking boots but yah I did it.  After another ten minutes or so we reach the waterfall.  Theres a little one at first, 20 feet or so high and we just climb down that one with a rope and our hands.  Then we can see the big waterfall, and, just wow, its high. I was so glad im not scared of heights because it was giving me total vertigo. Theres no way to get down but over, doing the repelling thing. We get in the gear again and I nervously watch annie climb down. Im biting my lip untill we get the tugging on the rope that means shes down ok. Then its my turn. Great.  I get over the side and go really slow and just am praying not to freak out, this thing is literelly 200 feet high.  I do ok until I reach the first overhang where I lose my footing and am hanging by the repell rope, this would be fine, I wont fall or anything, but for the fact that my hand is stuck between my climbing rope and the rocks.  For about a minute im calling up to the guide, Thank God i was close and he did speak a bit of english, it took a lot of time trying to make him understand that i was really and truly stuck. After the longest minute of my life he gives the rope some slack and I can pull my hand free. The rest of the waterfall is pretty easy after that, once I get the hang of it and learn to watch my left hand.
We eat lunch and I stop shaking, then go on to canyoning. This is apparently following the river downhill as it winds through rocks trees pools and stuff. I do good, but the guides go really fast, so I slipped on some slippery rocks and came down really hard on my  knee.  We stop for a second but I can still walk on it so we go on. There are a few really tricky points, I slip a couple more times, but mostly cus i was over scared of the slippery rocks. We make it back to the road and the truck still didnt work! In a stroke of luck, Annie and the guide try pushing it backwards to see if that will kick start it, and it does. Marcello, the guide, said he need a lucky woman just like Annie, I knew he´d been flirting with her all day. It was cute.
We went back to the resort area and had tea and snacks which were very good especcially after all that exercise. Marcello flirted a bit more and wanted us to stay longer but we needed to catch a bus to Cochabumba so we had to go.
More adventures at the bus station where we couldnt find tickets anywhere so Annie had to buy them from a scalper, but we checked and they were legitimate. It was chaos catching the bus, and confusion but we got on ok. Yah I slept great on the bus that night.

On Incan Ruins and South American driving

2007-12-22T01:13:01Z

So today we got to do one of our first guided touristy things, unless you count going around Buenos Aires with Uncle David, which was fun, but today was our first guided tour day. And it was awesome, we went to this fort which was the southermost border of where the Inca´s settled. The pictures will be up eventually, it was beautiful.  Breathtaking views, we got to talk to the guide one on one the entire time and ask him all sorts of questions.  The explanations go better with pictures so they will go up when those do.
After that we went to see a waterfall and annie went swimming in it. I waded cus I left my suit in the hotel but it was really beautiful. Pictures of that too are forthcoming. It was really fun to play all over the rocks too, we had a blast.

And for funny stuff I have more things I learned about driving in South America.

White lines=playfull suggestions
Less than a foot of water= bridge
Horn=defensive driving
Dirt roads through mountians=taken as fast as possible
Cows=menace! (but you knew that one already)

And now, to dinner

Adventures!

2007-12-21T02:55:42Z

Here in is account of the harrowing and terrifying journey of one Katie and Annie Mergen on the bus from Buenos Aires, Argentina; to Santa Cruz; Bolivia. This is a tale with thrills, chills and wandering Vacas. And here it is, and for your sakes I have omitted most of the tedium for more action and cow guts!

Bus leaves Argentina: 8:00 am tusday. Plan:30 hours 2 days one night, to arrive at 6:00 in Bolivia

Hour 1 we pick up a bunch of people; kinda boring. I sleep

Hour 3 We are stopped. Flat tire. I think.

Hour 4 Still stopped, I read.

Hour 5 Did they have to build a fucking service station!

Hour 6 finally going again; not much better, cept that we are moving. I read.

Hour 10 Try to sleep, ten minutes later we crash into something! Early reports, Caballo; but horses arent that stupid.

Hour 11 Ah, Vaca. Cows are that stupid. The bus is wrecked we probly have to wait on another one. Oh and our Second driver broke his leg. Poor man.

Hour 13 Ambulance finally arrives. Poor driver.

at this point loooooooong hours of tedium progress. Bus finally arrives around 5 in the morning, about 8 plus cow hours
Next day is hot, still boring. New bus is -cow damage and -adequeate airoconditionado.

Bolivian border is interesting, gross but interesting. Kid sets off a firework and nearly scares me to death. We are here about 10 hours behind schedule.

Night is not worth recounting at this point, driver stops for sleep. it is at this point we learn we were not given another driver and the same one has been driving since cow incident. Hits pothole everone freaks.

We finally get in at about 8am this mornign
30 hour bus ride, turned into 48 hour bus ride from hell
damn vacas

Bolivia, and the really long trip

2007-12-18T05:18:01Z

Tomorrow we are leaving for Bolivia, which means I will be pretty much out of contact until january 5, when we will be back in Buenos Aires. Thirty hour bus ride tomorrow, thats going to get old really fast, but hopefully the scenery will be pretty. Or hopefully it won't be too boring, but, thirty hours in a bus is thirty hours in a bus no matter where you end up at the end of it. Have to sleep now, will write in my journal along the way and back log it when I return. Goodnight all and have an amazing Christmas!

katiemergen @ 2007-12-16T19:48:00

2007-12-16T22:58:16Z

I hope you all are enjoying the nice snow I heard about. I thought of you all when I went swimming today :D It has been so crazy here, both nights ive been out til dawn partying with annie's friends. She tells me this doesn't happen all the time, and I almost hope not, cus it is tiring! Especially when our hostel needed us to check out by 11 today. It was fully light outside and we were not the last ones to leave the discoteca! The city is beautiful, we did some sightseeing with my uncle's family and are staying at his house tonight. Going to eat now with them as well

24 hours

2007-12-15T08:25:39Z

I have officially been here an entire day and, with the help of sleep deprivation and drunkenness, here is a list of things that I have learned.

1. Traffic laws are really only advisorys in Buenos Aires
2. Partying until dawn is awesome, but not advised in 2 inch heels
3. I know alot more and alot less Spanish than I thought.
4. The whole cheek/cheek/kiss is really hard to get used to
5. Alcohol+Sleep Deprivation+Dancing= Fun!

That is all.
Goodnight.

I have arrived!

2007-12-15T01:47:57Z

It has been a long day, but really awesome first day in Buenos Aires. Nor is it over, in about a half an hour we are going to go out to a party with some of Annie's friends. I love the time people go out here, its about 11 and we are just getting our acts together to go out, its pretty awesome. Will post more later as am bieng told I need to get ready. Bye for now

I post

2007-12-12T06:11:14Z

I just put 4 scoops of sugar in my coffee because its going to be a long night. (yes Craig, I enjoy tons of cream and sugar in my "jane" tyvm). Most all finals are over, just have Art and Geology left at this point. Oh and huge paper, but thats the reason i'm getting like 2 hours of sleep tonight. Ah well, I can sleep on the plane, which is going to be an all night fun-fest. I think ill try to get bumped to first class, they do that right? Free booze yay! My plane leaves Thursday at ten, after much drama of canceled flights and horror stories. My other flight left at two which put me getting in at 8 or nine am Friday, but this one leaves earlier so I get in all of the ass crack of dawn. Who cares, ill be in Buenos Aires! On that, this will be my last post in the states! To everyone I haven't gotten to say goodbye too in person, Erich, The whole gaming crew, Ash and Brit, Old friends and new, I will miss you all and hope you have a wonderful Christmas.

One week

2007-12-06T05:47:09Z

In one week, ill be on the plane....

Pre-trip complaints

2007-11-28T21:35:39Z

So theres been tons of irritating things this week, some relating to the trip some not. Whether its the Fedex guys who require a signature to deliver my tickets being incapable of showing up at the house when I'm at home, my art appreciation teacher on a power trip and refusing to give me another chance to do the final just because I accidentally scheduled my flight the same day, yah its been irritating. Now, I need to work on my ten page paper, I have to give a presentation about it tomorrow so I should work on some more of it I guess. Will post later with more updates

katiemergen @ 2007-11-28T14:40:00

2007-11-28T20:42:40Z

So, its T-14 days until my trip to Argentina and I decided to take some advice from friends and write this journal about it. The first part will probably be complaining about all the shit I have to do before the trip and such things, but when I get there it will most likely contain a lot less whining. So far the rough itenerary is still bieng ironed out, but that really only matters to me. We do know I will be arriving in Buenos Aires on the 13th of December. We will be having Christmas in Bolivia with the family of a friend of my sister Annie. Either before or after Christmas we are taking a bus to Maccu Picchu, something i'm totally psyched about, hiking up the Inca trail and seeing that ancient city. Theres gonna be tons of sights on the way too but I don't know all the details yet. When we get back to Buenos Aires there will be tons of stuff to do to. So theres a rough look at what you have to look forward to from this journal over the next month or so. Hope you enjoy it!