The first photo of the trip: meeting at the Washington D.C. airport. I look absolutely horrible in it, but I like to think it´s the beginning of something really big.
One of our first real interactions with the locals. These kids lived near the bus station of Buenos Aires (in a poorer section of town) and were just mountains of energy. Of course they were completely enthralled with our cameras and took a zillion pictures.
Tierra del Fuego National Park. Near the gorgeous town of Ushuaia, Argentina, this was a wonderful park to walk through and is famous for the fox trying to steal Jordan’s sock to get at our food. This would be one of the first photos of Jordan and his ongoing love affair with horses.
Mounya: our first long-time travel partner . She was so full of life and enthusiasm. And she was absolutely a devil to play cards with! She was a compulsive cheater, claiming that it made the game more fun. When I picture her I always see her like this: arguing and trying to justify why she’d won over someone else.
Torres del Paine. One of the most breathtaking locals on this planet. Where else can you see lush forests, craggy mountains, serene lakes, and jaw dropping glaciers all in one park and one day hike between them? Sadly these pictures are what little remains of our adventure through the park as the rest were all on my Ipod (stolen in Costa Rica around six months later). Heartbraking let me tell you. I’m going to have to come back some day and get more.
Moreno Glacier in Argentina. A huge tourist attraction so it´s a lot like visiting Disneyland (in a crowded bad way) but still you have to admit that this humongous wall of ice is an impressive sight to behold.
Cerro Fitz Roy. Right before I saw it the first time the woman who ran the hostel we stayed at called the day a ”Heaven´s Gift”. I really liked this phrase, and after seeing this majestic mountain before me I really got the point. This was also the first real trek we had with our longtime traveling companion Fabrice.
The puppy of Los Antigous: easily my favorite part about the town. He actually slept with us while we were outside at a campground.
Tortel is one of those places you think could exist only in books or movies. It’s a village that has no streets; only wooden boardwalks allow people to wallk around the town.
Trisha was a part of our journey for only a very short while, but it sure was fun with her around. As I understand it she now has a job with NGO or a similar organization in Washington D.C.
Canyoning was one of those good adrenaline rushes on the trip. It took a lot of faith to jump blindly into a pool of water and believe you weren’t going to snap your neck. I wish I could have had pictures of the actual trek. Unfortunately it wasn’t camera friendly. Those suits made it really hard to move.
Open air markets. Not the most sanitary of set-ups, but a smorgasbord of colorful sights and smells.
San Sebastion de la Cruz. Old forts are cool. That is all.
I love action/adventure shots. This one came while hiking around Pucon’s volcano. It was also where we met Sylvia and Jackie and Andrew, a kooky couple frome North Carolina.
Santiago is a smoggy and noisy city, but Cerro Santa Lucia is a virtual oasis in the urban jungle.
Aconcagua is the highest mountain in the world not located in the Andes. We hemed and hawed about attempting to climb it and ultimately decided it was better not to under the circumstances. Maybe someday though…
Skydiving. ‘Nuf said.
The Buenos Aires Zoo was an animal enthusiast’s paradise…so long as you have no objection to animals in captivity. The city was much better the second time around, including meeting Dani’s brother Hugo and an unexpected party in the streets.
Iguazu Falls: one of the most mesmerizing sights I have ever seen in my life. Words can hardly describe the breathtaking experience. I definitely want to come back here some day.
Salta was not an incredibly interesting place. Most of our time there was spent going to movies and internet cafes. But there were lots of good times as we met Sam and Katie there, not to mention meeting up with Fabrice and Mounya again.
San Pedro de Atacama holds the distinction of the world’s driest desert. The Valle de la Luna is a awe inspiring sight, especially at sunrise. I had many bike adventures here, including a solo journey to a ruin sight and a entertaining encouter with a local man and his animals.
Uruguay didn’t hold our attention for long, but it’s more relaxed nature was greatly appreciated. It was also the only time during the trip I got to drive a car.
Salar de Uyuni: another one of those places you wouldn’t think exists but actually does. The wide salt flats are an empty but mystifying wilderness. Touring all of it in a jeep with a rag tag band of tourists was a hoot.
Potosi is the world’s highest town and it’s main attraction is the mine. It’s still in operation but tourists go through all the time. Just imagining the kind of life these miners have makes me exhausted.
The Interminable (the unfinishable). This La Paz based pizza’s 2 1/2 foot diameter defies the laws of physics. Eating just two slices was enough to render a normal person completely immobile.
Biking the World’s Most Dangerous Road. Wet, wild, and so much fun hanging on for dear life.
Isla del Sol was our first foray into Lake Titicaca as well as our first encounter with ancient Incan ruins. It was also the land of the infamous “Puma incident” and the crazy indian Roque Choque. I really liked this place, but it was hard to enjoy it fully as I was really sick for most of it. Darn the luck!
Julian is a young man from Germany who we met in Atacama and then traveled with until he went back to Europe. He became a good friend and a vicious card player. Hopefully someday I’ll get to visit him over there.
The Floating Islands, made entirely out of reeds, are inhabited by a large group of people on Lake Titicaca. I’m still not sure how this works, but it seems to work well, so long as you don’t mind no electricity and the like.
The Lake’s nightlife was hopping. It was part of the tour for the local girls to dance with us. They probably were bored stiff but we really had fun with it.
Machu Picchu and the Inca Trail. Go review the album. Seriously. There are way too many good shots for me to put here. Definitely I highlight of the trip. The ruin site is infinitely better if you do the trail.
Me in Cusco on a horse for the first time ever in my life. One of those things that sounds cool but you never think much about doing, and then all of a sudden it happens. I had no control over this animal by the way.
I wasn’t in Arequipa when Jordan and Fabrice met the Vice President of Peru, but that is still pretty dang cool.
The people at this hostel drove me insane, but sandboarding across the dunes was a kick.
Seeing the mysterious Nazca lines was one of the things on my life’s checklist. They are incredible from above, but hold onto your throwup bag. There were five tourists in my plane and three barfed before the end of the flight. 3/5 are not comforting odds.
If I were to make a list of worst places on the trip that I visited Lima, Peru might make #1. But despite its faults like being horribly smoggy and expensive, it did have some things going for it like lots of movie theaters, fast food, and malls built into the side of cliffs.
The Peruvian jungle via canoe. Relaxing almost to the point of being in a coma, and then a crocodile comes outa nowhere!
Agua Blanca was an adventure of a different kind. Teaching little kids to speak English felt simultaneously rewarding and like you were banging your head against a wall.
Quito, Ecuador easily became my favorite large city we visited. Not only did we engage in exploits like church climbing, equator jumping, and salsa dancing, but it was also the point where Jordan’s sister Amanda joined our trip. She quickly became one of my favorite travel partners and was so much fun to tease.
What’s the best way to see the country? Ride on top of a train!
Panama City and the famous canal. It was way too hot for my tastes but this burg has many beautiful buildings. The canal itself is a marvel to watch, so long as you don’t spend too much time doing that.
Bocas del Toro was the Caribbean in a nutshell. Beautiful beaches, gorgeous weather, crystal clear water, and plenty of tourists. The water trampoline was fun too.
Maintaining a positive attitude in Costa Rica was rather difficult for me. Not only was this country that hosted us for our “Week of Burglary”, losing both my iPod and both Jordan and Amanda’s cameras in less than a week, but it was also where money started to become a really significant worry for me. Even still we had good adventures zip lining a hundred feet off the ground, riding horses, and viewing rushing waterfalls and lava spewing volcanos.
Nicaragua was not my favorite country, but it did have it’s charms like the tranquilo island Ometepe with quiet beaches, plenty of space to roam, and loud monkeys. And any hotel that keeps a pet deer is going to be memorable.
El Salvador holds the record for briefest period spent in one country: less than three days. I wish I could have spent more time there as the people were incredibly friendly and the scenery wasn’t bad either.
Tikal. This ancient Mayan site was a dream come true for me. I have a huge interest in history and vanishing mysterious civilizations really stir my adventurous nature. I could roam these grounds for hours constructing all sorts of exotic stories about them in my mind. It could also host the best game of capture the flag ever!
Lago Atitlan. The most gorgeous lake I’ve ever seen. If you need a place to rest and just kick back and enjoy God’s creation this place could definitely satisfy you. The people are very devoted as well.
Antigua wasn’t the most remarkable place we visited, but it was pretty and was a good place to rest and wander. Also home of the esteemed Monoloco Brownie. We met the mission team here and made repeat visits to the colorful market of Chichi and Lago Atitlan.
The mission trip itself was a very moving experience. I don’t know if it was so much life changing as it was life affirming. It’s wonderful to be able to work with both the people of the village and my fellow Americans and develop relationships despite language and cultural barriers. It really shows God’s hand in everything. There are once again way too many good pictures to post so I’d suggest going through the albums again if you haven’t already.
The last days. They were good. That’s all I really need to say.
The End.