aaron and jennifer

Sweet Home Alabama

2009-10-27T10:54:00.001-07:00

Sept 15, 2009

Almost 7 months exactly since we left home. What a truly amazing experience!

My Home's in Indiana....

2009-10-27T10:48:00.000-07:00

More in Nashville (Indiana that is)

Granny, Judy, dad, and I in Nashville, IN

The bricks at the track.

The press room at the track.

Part of the fam at Ronda's house.

Sept 11-Sept 15

My Home's in Indiana? Well, not really, but it used to be...and my family is still there. This was Aaron's first trip to see where they live and learn a little about Indy. Also, Dad, Angie, Ashley, Barrett, and Gabriel made the trip up from Alabama to join us during our visit. We did a lot of family visiting, toured downtown Indianapolis, toured the Indy 500 Racetrack, and spent an afternoon in Nashville, IN.

Muskegan, Michigan

2009-10-27T10:46:00.001-07:00

Uncle Owen, Joan, and Aaron

Aaron and Joan at the helm

A ship similar to the one Aaron's grandfather was the captain of.

Joan and I at the bow of the ship

Sept 10-11

It worked out great that we were able to run into Joan on our trip again! Her and her brother Owen happened to be attending a reunion of the LST 1093 crew that their father was a part of during World War II. This year the reunion was in Muskegan, MI where one of the actual ship's is located. It has been remodeled and is set up for touring.

Michigan with Skip & Bev

2009-10-27T10:31:00.000-07:00

Peace & Quiet on the water

Skip & Bev took us out to spend a night on the boat at a favorite anchorage of theirs, Government Bay.

The farewell pic in St. Ignace

A fond memory of Aaron's from visiting St. Ignace...pasties, kind of like an empanada, but not really.

Bev, Skip, and I-bridge walking...

A few of the 80,000 people that joined us on the bridge walk.

Fayette, Michigan-Once one of the Upper Peninsula's most productive iron-smelting operations. This is a picture of the blast furnaces.

Sept 6-Sept 10

A visit through Fayette, Michigan, a historic townsite and state park, the 52nd Annual Mackinac Bridge Walk, and rest and relaxation with Skip & Bev in St. Ignace. At this point we have seen a lot of sites and done a lot of driving! It was great to have a nice place to stay for a few days in a row and enjoy the peace and quite on land and water! Thanks Skip & Bev!

Madison, Wisconsin

2009-10-27T09:41:00.000-07:00

Beggars can't be choosers...

Frank Lloyd Wright also designed the Convention Center here in Madison. Notice how the light post looks like the moon on the water. We are pretty sure that was not coincidental!

Downtown Madison and the Capitol

Sept 5

After visiting Talieson, on our way to find a camping spot for the night, we checked out Madison for dinner and a walk around town. It was gameday Saturday and a Memorial Day Weekend Festival so lots to see and do!

Talieson-near Spring Green, Wisconsin

2009-10-27T09:35:00.000-07:00

Sept 5

Not only did we get to see Frank Lloyd Wright's winter home in Arizona, we also made it to Talieson, the summer home. Again, it's hard to capture in just a few pictures, but he couldn't have picked a more amazing piece of land.

Minneapolis, MN

2009-10-27T09:12:00.000-07:00

The World's Most Dangerous Polka Band....enough said.

Lay in bed, watch tv, keep an eye on the car in the garage.
There is even a place to cook. Something we have learned from our experience on this entire trip is how little you need actually get by.

Sept 4-5

Next stop...visiting Jeremy Womack! Thanks Jeremy for giving us a place to stay! Somehow amidst all the fun, we didn't even take time for a photo op to post on the blog! We did make time for photos of one of the most interesting places we stayed through out the trip as well as one of the most interesting bands! Minneapolis-one of the top few bike friendly cities (if not the 1st). It seemed to be a neat town, wish we could have stayed longer.

The Badlands, South Dakota

2009-10-26T08:09:00.000-07:00

Sept 3-4

The Badlands. We arrived in the dark, set up camp, and left while the sun was still setting. This is why one day we will definitely be coming back for another visit so we can spend more time. There are amazing rock formations to admire and photograph, as well as hiking, camping, and more.

Mt. Rushmore, South Dakota

2009-10-26T07:54:00.000-07:00

September 3

A trip through South Dakota means a visit to Mt. Rushmore. Another amazing site.

Devil's Tower- Wyoming

2009-10-26T07:26:00.000-07:00

Don't feed the prairie dogs. These signs were everywhere. However, something told us these little guys were definitley being food. Not sure if it was the size of their bellies are how close they would come to the car??

Devils Tower-close up

Devils's Tower-from a distance.

Sept. 2-3

We spent one night in Cheyenne, WY after the rafting trip. The next morning we drove to Devil's Tower--America's First National Monument. It is hard to capture in a picture how massive and amazing this monument is. It is 1267 feet high and you can climb it. We actually saw someone summit while we were there.

The Upper Colorado River Trip

2009-10-16T12:30:00.000-07:00

Aaron & Sanchez

Van & Shawn

Floating

One of our campsites

Sept. 1- Sept. 2

It was almost like being in Auburn this past week after spending time with Colin, then Van and Shawn. We left Salida and began our trek north stopping not far from Leadville to meet the guys, their friends, and last but not least, Sanchez for a quiet float down the Upper Colorado, an entertaining night of camping, and floating back out. A big thanks to those guys for providing the raft, the food, and the cook! Also, a big thanks to my mom and dad for bringing all of our camping gear on their visit. It has helped finding a place to stay be a little easier on this part of the trip.

Salida, CO

2009-10-16T12:14:00.000-07:00

Big Fish.

Fishing on Lake Ptarmigan with Columbia.

Colin and I hiking up to Lake Ptarmigan

Aug 29 - Aug 31

Salida, CO. We couldn't take a trip through the west without visiting a Buskist for sure! We ate some good food, did some hiking, some fishing...good times with good people.
Check out Rocky Mountain Outdoor Center, www.rmoc.com

Great Sand Dunes, CO

2009-10-14T16:21:00.000-07:00

Aug 29

Mountains of sand in the middle of Colorado! Amazing. A tidbit of information: these huge dunes are the tallest in North America covering 330 square miles. People were bringing snowboards, skis, cardboard, etc...anything to try and fly down the mountain on. None of it seemed to work very well.

Cruising Colorado

2009-10-14T15:42:00.000-07:00

Streets of Crested Butte, CO

"The Painted Wall" at Black Canyon of the Gunnison

Aug 28-Aug 29

Yes, we have made it home by now but I'm determined to complete our blog by posting our pics all the way to Alabama. We left off at Grand Junction. After visiting our good friends John and Cassie, we hit the road to Salida to visit our good friend, Colin. Here are some pics of a few stops along the way. First we went to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (250 miles southwest of Denver) and drove along the rim stopping at lookouts along the way. I don't think there is much hiking here, but there is camping and some pretty amazing boating from what I hear. Moving right along we drove to Crested Butte to check out this cool little Colorado town and found a great place to camp in Gunnison National Forest.

Grand Junction and The Kellers

2009-08-28T20:10:00.000-07:00

The Schmidts and The Kellers

Aug 26-Aug 28

Today, 8/26, we spent the morning checking out Durango then on to Grand Junction, one of the prettiest drives we have done in the US. Passing through Ouray, Montrose, and Delta we arrived at the Keller's that afternoon. John and Aaron were roomates in high school. John, Cassie (John's wife), Gareth (their almost 1-yr old son), and Abe and Radar (the dogs) welcomed us into their home for a couple days (thanks guys!). After only moving back from Denver a month ago, they were fantastic hosts and it was fun reminiscing about old times!

The 4 Corners to Durango, CO

2009-08-28T19:41:00.000-07:00

A view from above of Cliff Palace Ruins.

One of the guard towers at Cliff Palace Ruin. The t-shaped doorways were common with the Indians of the southwest. We first saw them at the last ruins we visited in Northern Mexico (Casas Grande)

View coming into the kiva from below.

Aaron going down into a kiva.

A view of the ladder into a kiva.

Spruce Tree House at Mesa Verde. One of the best preserved, though not the biggest of the ruins.

A squash blossom necklace. We first saw this in Chinle and have continued to see them along the way. Navajo men and women wore them believing it helped crop fertility.

4 states at one time!

Aug 25- Aug 26

Today, Tues 8/25 August and Joan headed back to Chandler, and Aaron and I headed to Durango, CO, with a few stops along the way. The first stop was at the 4 Corners for our tourist opportunity to take a photo of being in 4 states at the same time (luckily there were no crowds). Aaron was able to get his last meal with Navajo frybread and we moved on. The next stop was Mesa Verde, extremely well preserved and impressive cliff dwellings along with an impressive museum. That night we ate dinner in Durango and camped outside of town.

Chinle and Canyon de Chelly

2009-08-28T19:28:00.001-07:00

A view of the canyon

In front of Spider Rock

The White House Ruins down in the Canyon (because of the white house at the top that doesn't really look white in this picture)

Turquoise and silver jewelry crafted by the Navajo

Aug 23 - Aug 25

After visiting the Petrified Forest we continued on to spend a couple nights in Chinle, the largest town in the Navajo Nation. Aaron's mom worked here for about a year when she was working as a traveling nurse. It has been on our list of things to do with her so she could show us around the reservation and the near-by Canyon de Chelly (pronounced shay) and the timing finally worked out. They offer jeep tours through the bottom of the canyon, or take your own vehicle with a guide (if you think it can handle the sand). August volunteered to take his H3 for the tour-a highlight of the Arizona trip for all of us!

Petrified Forest National Park

2009-08-28T19:07:00.000-07:00

A view inside the forest

Not the best picture due to the road being cut in, but this is a great example that shows the sedimentary formations. It is really amazing to see.

Aaron and his mom at Old Faithful

They call this "Old Faithful" because people faithfully continue to return?? Cheesy but cool.

A piece of petrified wood.

Aug 23

Joan and August drove up and met us in Flagstaff after our Grand Canyon trip. We had dinner in and stayed a night in Flagstaff. The next morning we checked out the Flagstaff farmer's market (purchased some mesquite and wildflower honey), had lunch at a favorite sandwhich shop of August's (he knows his food), and headed to the Petrified Forest.

Arizona-from Chandler to the Grand Canyon

2009-08-28T18:31:00.000-07:00

The Grand Canyon

A cloudy sunset

Aaron, the Grand Canyon, and the clouds!

Slide Rock-a swimming and camping spot

Talieson West. The school is actually still a functioning school with about 20 students annually. It was hard to capture this amazing place with a camera and many areas you were not able to photograph at all.

Aug 18 - Aug 22

Here we are, back in the USA. Our first stop was Chandler, AZ to take over August's house for a few days. Thanks August! I'll have to say, it was nice to feel a little like being at home (in a real bed) with home cooked meals (August's signature Greek salad being a favorite) for a couple days. We hung out, checked out the Pheonix area, and got a tune up for the car, which was necessary after 6000+ miles in a month and a half. We also visited Talieson West, Frank Lloyd Wright's winter home and architecture school. Finally, we gave August his house back and headed toward Flagstaff. On the way we stopped in a few recommended towns; Prescott for lunch, Jerome-for the scenery, and spent the first night camping out near Slide Rock. The next day we rolled into Flagstaff for breakfast and checking out the town, then made it to the Grand Canyon for sunset pictures. Unfortunately it was cloudy and raining by the time we got there and our first glimpse at the canyon was totally white with clouds! As we continued along the southern rim, the clouds lifted and we were able to see the amazing canyon. The weather, however, definitely warrants a return trip for sure!

6 Months to the day, Back in USofA

2009-08-20T12:17:00.001-07:00

USA straight ahead

The ruins of Paquimé

August 18, 2009

Today was our last excursion of the Latin American part of the trip,-Paquime Ruins. We crossed our last border into the states at 6384 miles since leaving Panama City, Panama on June 30, 2009. Exactly 6 months since we left Auburn and flew to Panama City on February 18, 2009. It has been an amazing trip so far and we are looking forward to traveling through the states for the next few weeks visiting friends and family along the way on our way back to Alabama.

Guanajuato, Torreón, Casas Grandes, Mexico

2009-08-19T11:37:00.000-07:00

Our last sunset in Mexico-Casas Grandes

One night in Torreon-This is the main plaza, underneath all the trees were lots of music and dancing.

Scenery along the drive through northern Mexico

A church in Zacatecas where we stopped for lunch on the way to Torreon

Snacks in Zacatecas-cactus fruit

At the top of the city-Guanajuato

The streets of Guanajuato

Exit of one of the tunnels.

Guanajuato-A view from the top of the city

The tunnels

Aug 15 – Aug 17

We are on our way to Chandler, AZ to visit one of Aaron’s brother’s, August and meet his mom, Joan there. With 4 days and still about 2000 miles to go, here are pictures of the last few cities we stayed at and visited on our trip through this area.

Guanajuato has been one of our favorite cities in Mexico. It is an old mining town. A lot of the main roads are tunnels that curve through the city. Originally the tunnels were old river beds. The city continued to flood so they diverted the river and turned the old river beds into a tunnel winding through the downtown. At one time this city was also one of the 3 mining towns in Mexico that produced a third of the world’s silver. Zacatecas was also one of those 3 mining towns as well, we stopped here for lunch and a walk around town.

Torreón was basically as far as we could get from Guanajuato in a day. This was one of the famous stomping grounds of Pancho Villo, villain turned hero.

We spent our last night in Mexico in the very small village of Casas Grandes. The main attractions here are the ruins of Paquimé and the world-famous pottery center of Mata Ortiz. We visited a near-by village of Colonia Juarez, a Mormon village established at the end of the 19th century, surrounded by peach and apple orchards. We also stopped in the city of Chihuahua for lunch this day…disappointed to only see one actual Chihuahua (though we have seen many others along the way).

Cuernavaca, Mexico

2009-08-19T11:28:00.000-07:00

Museo de Robert Brady

North Central Mexico

Aug 14-15

We left Oaxaca this morning, and are back on our own again. With long days of driving ahead we have tried to find some cool places to spend our nights along the way. Today we made it to Cuernavaca, still not even half way across Mexico. It is a bustling city and the capital of its state of Morelos. We only had time to visit one site, but it made the overnight stay worth it. The Museo Robert Brady. Robert Brady was an American artist and renowned art collector. He lived in Cuernavaca for 24 years and after his death, his house was turned into a museum. We have posted some or our favorite pictures.

Oaxaca, Monte Alban, & Teotitlán, Mexico

2009-08-19T10:23:00.000-07:00

Rugs in Teotitlán

Locals always knew they were father and soon right off! Wonder why??

The ruins of Monte Alban

A church in one of the plazas

Dinner on a rooftop terrace

Here they eat crickets as a snack with beer like some people would eat peanuts. Aaron tried them.

The Food Market

Streets of Oaxaca

Aug 12-Aug 14

The last stop on our journey with Richard and Peggy was Oaxaca. This place is famous for its many museums, great architecture, the art scene, and Mexican cuisine, as well as day trips for hiking near-by. Unfortunately, we only had a short amount of time to spend here, as this part of our trip has become an adventure of covering as many kilometers as possible, but seeing as much as we can along the way. We did make time for a quick trip to visit the ruins of Monte Alban and the village of Teotitlán, famous for weaving rugs. You can buy a rug from almost any house in this little village and most likely get a full demonstration of the dying, spinning, and weaving process.

San Cristobal, Mexico

2009-08-19T10:17:00.000-07:00

Sierra Madre Mountain Range

Passing a windmill farm along the drive to San Cristobal

Aug 11-Aug 12

San Cristobal was another interesting city to stop in along this journey, only we wished we could have stayed more than just one night. It is one of the typical colonial city’s with cobblestoned streets and markets to wonder through, but also has an amazing country side and indigenous villages nearby that you can take horseback rides through (maybe on another trip). Also the cool climate from the rise in elevation was a welcomed change from the past several weeks.

More of Mexico-Cancun to Palenque

2009-08-19T10:08:00.000-07:00

Richard & Peggy

Ruins of Palenque

The main plaza in Campeche

Aug 8 – Aug 11

On Sunday morning we left Cancun and drove west towards Palenque. We stopped for a short time in Mérida for more guayabera shopping, then made it to Campeche for the night. Campeche is a neat cobblestoned street city with portions of the old city wall from the 18th century still standing. One night in Campeche and the next stop was Palenque. Palenque is another Mayan ruin set at the base of the Sierra Madre mountain range and surrounded by a jungle. Some of the prettiest architecture and surrounding scenery has been here.

Tulum

2009-08-19T00:07:00.000-07:00

July 29-Aug 8

For the last 3 nights of Mom and Dad’s trip we stayed in Playa del Carmen. The highlight was visiting Tulum only a short drive away. The Mayan ruins of Tulum sit up on small cliffs along the beach of the Caribbean, which makes a spectacular view. (Our photos don’t really do it justice). It used to be a major port town for coastal trading. This was the end of the road for Mom and Dad’s vacation and the beginning for our next visitors, Richard and Peggy! We have pictures from the week of Aug 1-8 that we can show you once we get home.

Izamal, Mexico

2009-08-19T00:05:00.001-07:00

July 29

Leaving Mérida heading back east towards Playa del Carmen we stopped at the quaint little town of Izamal, nicknamed La Ciudad Amarilla (the yellow city). Almost every building in the town is painted a bright yellow. The town was built around a Mayan site, the area contains 12 pyramids, 3 of which have been partially restored.

Uxmal-A day trip from Mérida

2009-08-18T23:58:00.001-07:00

Casas de las Tortugas

The Governor’s Palace on top of an unrestored base

Dad and I on top of the Great Pryamid

Dad and I on top of the Great Pryamid

Next to the oval temple, this area was believed to be royal school or palace complex

An oval temple at the entrance in the background with a close-up of some Mayan stonework

July 28

About 1.5 hour from Mérida are the ruins of Uxmal. A little different than most of the other sites we have visited as Uxmal was built in a hilly region and the structures are made with a pink tinted limestone.

Mérida, Mexico

2009-08-18T23:50:00.000-07:00

A species of agave, named henequen. It used to be grown all over the Yucatan and used to make sisel rope. Now it cannot compete with synthetic ropes and it is used primarily for artesanías (local handicrafts) and some rope. Other species of agave in other parts of Mexico are used to make tequila and mezcal.

At work on a loom

A nun and a tortilla guy

A guayabera shirt

In front of a monument along Paseo de Montejo built in the late 1940s

One of the old mansions on Paseo de Montejo. This street is lined with mansions that were built at the turn of the century.

The Anthropology Museum

July 26-July 29

Mérida is the historic cultural city of the Yucatán Peninsula. It is full of plaza’s, artesanías, churches, museums. It is also famous for hammocks, traditional Maya clothing such as the huipiles (embroidered dresses) and the guayabera shirts.

Chichén Itzá

2009-08-18T23:11:00.000-07:00

The Rain God, Chac

The feathered serpent was a common part of the motif.

The snake and the iguana

The Mayan “box seats” for watching the game.

A ball court was usually part of these sites. There were two teams and the object was to get a ball through this raised stone hole. The game could go on for days, and some believe that the captain of the winning team rather than the losing team was sacrificed. This was believed to have been an honor since they believed in reincarnation.

In front of The Pyramid of Kukulkán

July 26

Chichén Itzá is the most famous of the Yucatan Mayan sites and one of the new seven wonders of the world. The Pyramid of Kukulkán or El Castillo (the main pyramid) is actually a large Mayan calendar.

Valladolid, Mexico

2009-08-18T23:00:00.000-07:00

Fruit from a cactus.

Mom and I hanging out in the Plaza.

Cathedral de San Gervasio

Central Plaza

July 25-26

On Friday, July 24 we headed north out of Belize making our way to Cancun, Mexico to pick up my parents from the airport! We spent the next week touring around the Yucatan Peninsula, enjoying the food and visiting the ruins. Our first stop was Valladolid. It is a neat little town that was the half-way point to the next stop and near the first set of ruins we planned to visit.

Belize

2009-08-18T19:59:00.000-07:00

Eel

Nurse Shark

Sunset at The Split

Aaron playing with a hermit crab

You choose your dinner and they put it on the grill for you.

Beachside bar

Caye Caulker departure terminal.

July 20 – July 24

After leaving Tikal, Guatemala we continued on crossing the next border into Belize. Belize was a British Colony until the early 1980s, therefore “English” is the first language, however they speak in English Creole which is almost as hard to understand as another language is. It was a bit of a shock for us crossing over after 5 months of traveling through Latin America. All the signs are in English and speed limits in mph. Another interesting side note, the population of Belize is around 300,000 now and during the height of the Mayan civilization in this area it is predicted that the population was around 1 million. The first night we stayed in the small town of Santa Elena, not far from the border. Tuesday we decided to take a short 10 minute flight to the small island of Caye Caulker to spend the rest of our time in Belize. The 2nd largest barrier reef in the world is off the coast of Belize. We did two dives while we were there.

TIkal, Guatemala

2009-07-27T15:03:00.000-07:00

Can you find the the monkey?

One of the temples.

Aaron on top of Temple V.

Resting on Temple IV

Temple V.

The view from Temple IV. Later we found out this is the view that you see in one of the Star Wars movies that shot some scenes here.

Temple I and the the Great Plaza

July 20

Today from El Remate we visited the Ruins of Tikal which are surrounded by the jungle. It is believed that this Mayan city once had a population of 100,000.

Guatemala City and El Remate, Guatemala

2009-07-21T22:10:00.000-07:00

The sun setting over Lake Peten Itza in El Remate.

Palacio Nacional de la Cultura

July 19-July 20

On Sunday we drove from Antigua to Guatemala City to send Laura on her way home and continue on our trek across CA. It was only about an hour from Antigua and we were all quite impressed to see how clean and well layed out Guatemala City actually is--definitely some city planning involved. We drove around the airport and to Parque Central to walk around a bit before heading to El Remate, a small village on Lake Peten Itza.

Antigua, Guatemala

2009-07-21T11:25:00.001-07:00

Having dinner and drinks for Laura's last night!

A market street in Antigua.

We ate lunch at a restaurant that was having a group of local kids perform.

Guatemalan Masks.

The famous arch in Antigua.

July 17-July 19

After the drive past the lake, we arrived in Antigua Friday evening. Antigua is yet another old colonial town with cobblestone streets. It is one of the prettiest we have seen with many of the buildings that have been restored and being surrounded by three volcanoes, the views are quite amazing. We hear there are more than 80 Spanish schools and any type of restaurant or hotel that you could imagine or want, you could most likely find.

Panajachel and Lake Atitlan, Guatemala

2009-07-21T11:15:00.000-07:00

Taking a ride in a tuk tuk.

A view of Lake Atitlan

A fruit stand on the side of the road.

July 17

Today we drove from the beach to Antigua by way of Lake Atitlan. We stopped in Panajachel, the main town by the lake where lake tours can be organized. We stopped to check out the lake views and see a bit of the town which was full of artensenal handicraft markets.

Monterrico, Guatemala

2009-07-21T10:40:00.000-07:00

It is grown to make a loofah sponge. For all of us who though they came from the sea....here is the proof they do not.

This is a type of squash grown all along the coast here.

Although it is not grown for cooking.

A view of our hotel.

The black sandy beaches of Monterrico

Aaron relaxing by the pool.

July 15-July 16

Today we crossed another border. Surprisingly no problems or long lines. We decided we would check out the Guatemalan beach first. It was extremely hot, the waves were big, and the mosquitoes were even bigger. The swimming pool at our hotel was the coolest thing about the town (literally). It was still a neat place to visit. It is not overun by tourism and we were able to practice our Spanish as much as we needed to with the locals.

Concepcion Quezaltepeque-Santa Ana-Tazumal Ruins-Juayua, El Salvador

2009-07-21T10:20:00.000-07:00

Aaron in the central square in Juayua with his coconut water in a bag. They serve everything from coffee, water, to coconut water out of a bag....and even cerviche.

A Salvadorean snack. Fried corn on a stick with cheese, mustard, and hot sauce or ketchup. We did not try this, only borrowed someone for a picture...

We did find a place in Santa Ana for Aaron to get his machete sharpened.

The town where they make hammocks...no matter what size you need!

July 14-July 15

Tuesday, July 14 we set off from Suchitoto heading towards Santa Ana, our pit stop before Guatemala, stopping for a detour to Concepcion Quezaltepeque along the way. This is the town were most of the hammocks in El Salvador are made. Santa Ana is another old colonial town and the 2nd biggest city in El Salvador. It wasn't quite what we expected, not really being set up for tourism at all. It was difficult to find hotels or even restaurants. The next morning we visited the ruins of Tazumal, and a small town called Juayua. Juayua is a small colonial village surrounded by coffee fields and volcanoes. It was a neat place to stop for lunch along the Ruta de Flores.

Suchitoto, El Salvador

2009-07-21T10:05:00.000-07:00

The church on the main plaze in town.
Photo courtesy of Laura Hanlon.

Grinding corn for the corn tortilla dough. They have tortillas and pupusas all over El Salvador. A pupusa is a corn tortilla stuffed with cheese, beans, etc. and typically served with a cabbage salad on top.

A street food stand.

A view of Lake Suchitlan

July 13-14

Suchitoto is a pretty colonial city about an hour north of San Salvador overlooking Lake Suchitlan. It was a nice place to stopover for a night and enjoy the scenery. The books seem to describe a lot of these towns we have visited as a place where the whole town comes out on their porch every afternoon and "watches the world go by". We have found that is not always the case, however in this town it really seemed that was the case. The locals were friendly and welcoming and the town was quaint.

El Tunco, El Salvador

2009-07-21T09:20:00.001-07:00

What better way to spend my 30th!! With my husband, a great friend, surfing in El Salvador, and a bottle of champagne! (The champagne came after the surfing!)

Laura's first and our second surf day of the trip. A little bit rougher waves here in El Salvador. This is a pic with our 19 year old instructors!

My birthday eve at El Tunco beach

July 11-13

We successfully made it through two border crossings in one day and spent Friday night, July 10, in San Salvador. After a drive through the city, it's quite obvious that it is the most industrialized Central American country. Saturday morning we headed to the Pacific once again to celebrate my big 3-0 in El Tunco.

Honduras

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We at least got to have a lunch and sample a couple local beers in Honduras.

July 10

Today we drove from Leon, Nicaragua through Honduras straight to San Salvador, El Salvador to meet Laura. We had planned to tour through Honduras and pick Laura up in Tegucigalpa. However over the past few weeks there have been some political issues in Honduras causing Laura to have to change her tickets and us to change our schedule a bit. This worked out for the best as once again, time is not on our side and we were going to have to skip something.

Masaya and Leon, Nicaragua

2009-07-21T08:58:00.000-07:00

A smoking volcano on the way to the Nicaragua-El Salvador border.

A view of our porch in Leon.

One of the markets in Masaya

July 9-July 10

From Granada we headed north again to Leon. We stopped in Masaya along the way. Masaya is where most of the artesenal handicrafts are made and there are a few large markets for shopping. Leon is another colonial city in Nicaragua, however most of the buildings have not been restored like in Granada, most of the business seem to be locally owned, and in turn it's not as touristy.

Granada, Nicaragua

2009-07-21T08:44:00.000-07:00

hospital viejo-there is a plan for it to be restored.

Iglesia de Guadalupe

A view of the cathedral on the central plaza.

Aaron in front of the chocolate shop. He seems to be able to find one in every town.

streets of antigua

A view out the window of our room.

July 8-July 9

Wednesday, July 8 we took the ferry back to the mainland and headed north to Grenada. We are working our way to El Salvador to meet our next visitor, Laura, on Friday. We only had time to spend one night in Grenada. It is a spectacular colonial city in which many of the old buildings have been restored and well maintained. It is one of the heavily touristy areas with lots of expats owning restautants and other businesses.

Isla Ometepe, Nicaragua

2009-07-21T08:32:00.000-07:00

cashews on the tree

A sunset view from our porch.

A view of the two volcanoes from the ferry ride over.

July 6-July 8

Isla Ometepe is the biggest freshwater island in the world formed by two volcanoes. Lava flows created isthmus between the two. There is a lot of agriculture on the island, mainly plantains and coffee. We spent a couple nights at a quiet little place right on the lake with beautiful sunset views. The two volcanoes are Concepcion and Maderas. We hiked Volcan Maderas. You will not see any pictures because it is a hike we do not want to remember.

San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua

2009-07-21T08:19:00.000-07:00

The Olive Ridley sea turtle heading back to the sea after she layed her eggs.

We both got up on the boards...this picture just looks much more graceful than the others!

Bird's eye view of San Juan del sur

July 4-July 6

Happy 4th of July! We crossed into Nicaragua from Costa Rica today. The most ridiculous crossing taking a total of 3.5 hours. (at least half spent waiting in what was supposed to be a line). We finally got through the crossing and heading straight to the beach, to celebrate the 4th like many from home probably did as well. We took our first stab at surfing (since 1 time 5 years ago in Costa Rica). This time we took lessons with a group which ended up being a better way to figure things out. We also went on a turtle excursion to La Flor Wildlife Refuge to see one of the thousands of Olive Ridley sea turtles that come to this beach every year around this time to lay their eggs. Right now there are only about 30 turtles a night coming, however during the peak time thousands of turtles come each night to lay their eggs. The entire process is pretty amazing.

Costa Rica-One border down, 7 more to go...

2009-07-03T18:44:00.000-07:00

Sun setting over the Pacific in La Cruz, Costa Rica. Border town to Nicaragua.

Lychee's at a roadside stand

On our way to the border town of La Cruz on Friday, July 3 we had to stop at the bridge and see the crocodiles again. They look they haven't moved since we were here 5 years ago!

It doesn't take long to change the color of a car on these roads...
Since we have been to Costa Rica before, we decided to breeze through, staying only one night in a little surf town, Pavones.

July 1-3

We did first border crossing with the car on Wednesday. We have more paperwork than you can imagine (many thanks to the car's previous owner, Nicolas) in English and in Spanish explaining why Aaron has an AL drivers license, a GA passport, a car from Nebraska, and a car title in the name of another person. Yes, we did everything legally, it is all notarized, and we made it through.

On the road again...

2009-07-03T18:37:00.001-07:00

A pic of our new ride for the rest of the trip and the reason we spent the past 3 weeks in Panama! (aside from the language course)

The car is from Nebraska. We bought it in Panama from an Argentinian who is currently in Argentina. Not the easiest transaction to make, but we finally made it all happen and as of July 1 we have started our trek north. Bama bound!

Panamá, Panamá, y más Panamá

2009-07-02T14:19:00.000-07:00

A photo opp with one of the pearl divers.

Some local kids playing on the beach.

One of the many beaches on Isla Contadora where we stayed for the weekend.

Pearl Islands. A 20 minute flight from Panama City. Here is a plane landing on Isla Contadora.

Did you ever think your old school bus would one day look like this and be public transporation in Panama?

With one of our teachers, Nancy, at SpanishPanama.

June 7 - July 1

So Panama has basically home base for us during this trip. We arrived back in the city for the 3rd time on Sunday, June 7. Since we had some planning to do and were not really sure when we would be leaving for our adventure north, we decided to use our time wisely and take more Spanish classes. We ended up taking 3 more weeks, now a total of 8 weeks. And to answer your question; no, we are not fluent yet! During our 3 week stay here in the city we took a couple weekend trips to nearby islands. The first weekend we went to Archipielago de las Perlas. Some of you may have heard of the Pearl Islands, named for the large pearls that can be found there, although the pearl diving is not as popular as it used to be. It is also now famous for the show Survivor being filmed on one of the islands. Another weekend we took a trip to Isla Grande, a 2 minute boat ride off the coast of Panama in the Caribbean.

Machu Picchu, Peru

2009-06-22T15:20:00.000-07:00

The view of Machu Picchu from the top of Waynu Picchu.

The quintessential photo of Machu Picchu. We also hiked Wayna Picchu (the mountain in the background) where there are more ruins at the top.

The beautiful mountain scenery surrounding the site.

June 6, 2009

On Friday from Ollantaytambo, we took the train to Aguas Calientes. This is the only means of transportation to Aguas Calientes. A.C. is the closest town to Machu Picchu. It contains mostly hotels, hostels, restaurants, and souvenir shops for the loads of tourists that arrive there daily (approx 1000 people/day in the high season). We woke before daybreak on Saturday to watch the sun rise at Machu Picchu. The ruins are amazing as well as the views that surround it, even the 998 other tourists couldn't ruin that.

Pisaq and Ollantaytambo, Peru

2009-06-22T14:57:00.001-07:00

A dog and a monkey?

The sun setting above the Inca fortress located on the hillside above town.

This is the town of Ollantaytambo. This picture shows original Inca roads, walls, and irrigation still in use today. This town has been described as one of the best surviving examples of Inca city planning.

Terraces

These are Inca tombs. The cliffs behind the Pisaq site contain hundreds of Inca tombs that were plundered by grave robbers.

Pisaq Ruins

Pisaq Ruins. The trapezoidal windows and doors were typical of all of the Inca ruins.

Corn, corn, and more corn.

The town of Pisaq

The road from the center of Pisaq up to the ruins.
(It also felt like going around a race track)

June 5

Peru was the end of our South America part of the trip, and time is not always on our side….(although we are not complaining J) we opted to do our own two day trip to Machu Picchu instead of a longer multi-day Inca Trail hike. In between our stay at Cusco we left early Friday for Aguas Calientes (the closest town to Machu Picchu) visiting Pisaq and Ollantaytambo along the way. Pisaq is a small colonial village that sits beside a river with a large Inca Ruin on the mountain side above. It is the starting point of the Sacred Valley. Ollantaytambo is another Inca village (the next stop on our trip toward Aguas Calientes). Its narrow cobblestone streets have been continuously inhabited for over 700 years and it is a great example of Inca city planning. It has a large Inca fortress on the hillside above it.

Cuzco, Peru

2009-06-22T14:45:00.000-07:00

A view of another church and a local walking in front of the market.

Cuzco

The cobblestone streets of Cuzco-as well as one of the many churches

Here you can see some of the original Inca stonework in this foundation wall

View from the room

Plaza del Armas-center of town

June 3-June 6

Once arriving in Cuzco, to our surprise we found a sprawling town of over 320,000 people. It is the continents oldest inhabited city. Again, we were first on the search of a place to stay. Hotel Royal Frankenstein (run by a German ex-pat) was the winner. Sounds a bit strange, but goes down in the book as one of our favorites-great location and 3rd floor room with an amazing view. Once you get to the center of the town you find out why it is known for being a beautiful place to visit. You can still see the original Inca stone foundations on many of the buildings in the center of town. However, it is also well known that the city’s economy is heavily dependent on international tourism and this is the launch pad for trips to Machu Picchu. Be prepared for being attacked by “sales people” trying to real you into their restaurants/travel agencies/etc. They even have shirts for sale that say “No Gracias”…hence, if you wore the shirt, you wouldn’t have to say it so much.

From Puno to Cuzco, Peru

2009-06-22T14:33:00.000-07:00

Sitting on the steps of a famous 17th century Jesuits church in Andahuaylillas. A traditional Andean village.

Kids playing in the fountain in the center of Pucara. A small Andean village

The Abra la Raya pass. The highest point on the trip (from Puno to Cuzco)
4319 meters, 14,166 feet. They actually have oxygen on the buses…just in case.

The temple of Viracocha located in the town of Raqchi. The temple was supposedly built by the Inca Wiracocha in honor of their Superior God invisible for the Andean people. Here we are at 3500 meters, 11,500 feet. This temple is had the largest know Inca Roof.

June 3

On Wednesday we took the Inka Express tour bus to Cuzco. We could have chosen a less touristy way to get there, however it’s about a 6 hour bus ride and this tour bus stops at 5 sites along the way, and includes a Peruvian lunch and tour guide. It made the trip a few hours longer, but was nice to see the sites along the way.

Another Border Crossing to Puno, Peru

2009-06-19T21:07:00.000-07:00

Peruvian taxi's

Yavari, the oldest boat on Lake Titicaca. It was constructed in England and shipped in pieces around Cape Horn (the southern tip of South America) to the port of Arica (Chile), then transported to Puno part by train and hauled over the Andes by mules. It took 6 years to arrive. It was ordered by the Peruvian navy to protect their territory on the lake, but it was never used defensively because the guns for the boat never arrived with the shipment. It was built in England in 1864 and launched in Puno in 1870. The navy used it primarily for transporting people and goods. In the 1940s, it was used as a tanker for transporting petroleum, until it was left to rust on the shores of Lake Titicaca. Recently it has been restored and now takes people out for private tours on Lake Titicaca…..muy caro!

June 1-June 2

We took another 3 hour bus ride from Copacabana crossing another border into Peru with the final destination to Puno. By this point everyone on the bus were tourists. When crossing the border the bus stops on one the Bolivian side, lets everyone out, you walk across, check in, and get back on the bus on the other side. Puno is a port typically used as a stopping point on the Gringo Trail for tourists to get to the many islands of Lake Titicaca from Peru as opposed to Bolivia. It was our stopping point on the way to Machu Picchu.

Copacabana and Isla del Sol, Bolivia

2009-06-19T20:40:00.000-07:00

Many parts of the island have been cultivated for generations. You can see the terraces here.

Terraces, Mountains, and Lake Titicaca

Inca Ruins along the lake

Hiking the trail

View of Lake Titicaca and the Andes Mountain chain known as the Cordillera Real.

The view of the lake and the city from the roof of our hotel at sunset.

We had to cross part of Lake Titicaca to get to Copacabana. They put the passengers on a small boat for the crossing and this was the “barge” that brought the bus across.

Our bus from La Paz to Copacabana (about 3 hours)

May 30-May 31

After sight seeing La Paz the next stop was Copacabana. At this point we were working our way towards Machu Picchu and quickly found out what they mean by the “Gringo Trail”! Copacabana is on the southern shore of Lake Titicaca. Lake Titicaca is one of the highest navigable lakes in the world. This city is at about 3800 meters, 12,464 meters. The main reason for traveling through here is to get to Isla del Sol, the legendary Inca creation site and birthplace of the sun according to the Inca legend. We traveled to the island for a day, and hiked from the north part of the island to the south part of the island seeing Inca Ruins along the way.

La Paz, Bolivia

2009-05-28T21:17:00.000-07:00

Calle Jaen. Famous colonial street in La Paz with several museums. In the background you can see the homes we described as “clinging to the sides of the canyon”.

Aaron's 2nd South American shave/hair cut at a barbershop here in La Paz. The barber posed for a picture with the flame he used to sterilize his tools.

Pedro D. Morilla; Palacio Legislativo (Legislative Palace)

Shoe shiners everywhere...not only for policia, for anyone who wanted it done. These guys are typically in every city we have been in. However, in Bolivia all of them wear ski masks over their faces.

Typical Bolivian women in typical attire. Many wore these hats. We are still not sure how they kept them on their heads.

Shopping in La Paz

The streets of La Paz.

The train to Oruro.

May 27-May 29

After our tour in the rental car through Northern Argentina, we took a 3 hour bus ride to La Quiaca, Argentina. (This is one of the border crossing towns into Bolivia from Argentina.) From La Quiaca we walked across the border to enter Villazon, Bolivia, and were surprised to found that Americans now need a Visa to enter Bolivia, which costs $135 per person. It is relatively new, and yes it was legit. (It is only for Americans b/c the US charges them the same if they enter our country). From Villazon we took a train to Oruro, Bolivia (lasting 22 hours-overnight). A Bolivian (1st class train)…dust coming from floor boards and windows, cold, and fried eggs for dinner. We arrived in Oruro 2 hours later than expected with still another 3 hour bus ride to La Paz (capital and final destination). After a total of 28 continuous hours of travel we arrived at Hotel Naira, highly recommended. The city of La Paz is located in a valley. The city’s buildings and the neighborhoods cling to the sides of the canyon. The streets climb uphill and are unpaved or cobblestone. Altitude sickness is common here for tourists. The city is at 3600 meters, 11,808 feet. The La Paz international airport is the highest elevation of any other international airport in the world.

Purmamarca-Tilcara-Humahuaca, Argentina

2009-05-28T20:45:00.000-07:00

I tried to talk to them. We more or less walked with them through the ruins and talked about their family and then paid them for giving us the tour! Our 5 weeks of classes have not included having a conversation in Spanish about pre-hispanic times.

Our 10 & 11 year old tour guides for the Ruins. They were too cute to say no to!

The town of Tilcara from the hillside of the pre-hispanic ruins.

A church in a little town of Calete between Tilcara and Humahuaca. We saw it from the road and drove through to take a look. The beauty of not being on a bus!

The streets of Humahuaca

A little girl in Humahuaca

The Tropic of Capricorn! We are happily moving north towards warmer weather!

The streets of Purmamarca.

The mountain of 7 colors and the town of Purmamarca

May 26, 2009

Purmamarca is the town we spent the first night of this trip at. It is most visited for its spectacular mountain of 7 colors, from terra cotta to green. It is quite a trendy little town with fancy restaurants and shopping, even among all the dirt roads. The best view of the mountain is in the morning, so we did a short little hike to see the amazing view and headed north to Tilcara. From Tilcara we drove a short distance to the town of Humahuaca, crossing the Tropic of Capricorn. We returned to Tilcara for that evening.

The drive from Salta to Purmamarca, Argentina

2009-05-28T19:57:00.000-07:00

Fun pictures at the salt flats.

Salina Grandes. The Salt Flats of Argentina.

A friendly indigenous lady and her dogs. She was sitting at a watering hole knitting and watching her sheep. We stopped to chat with her...the best that we could.

Llamas along the road. We were told we could stop and take pictures. These particular ones are apparently somewhat domesticated. They could have cared less that we stopped our car on the side of the road and walked up to them.

This is the door to the restaurant. It is made of cactus wood (cardon). They use this wood in Argentina (as well as Bolivia we have recently learned) for doors, roof decking, and for decorate items such as picture frames/light fixtures/etc.

An indigenous settlement along the way also. They have a cafe and a museum for tourist to stop in, visit, and see how they live. They live in adobe houses, but still don't go without a satelite.

An old adobe homestead along the route.

Near Santa Rosa de Tastil. Pre-Inca Ruins.

May 25, 2009

While in Salta we were able to arrange a 2-day trip to continue north as we wanted and visit some interesting Argentine places along the way. We arranged to get a rental car to drive one way and not have to return it. We stopped at several places along the way, ending in the town of Purmamarca to spend the night on the first night.

Salta, Argentina

2009-05-28T19:36:00.000-07:00

The streets of Salta.

Argentine Dancers

Cooking some empanadas. These were actually conejo empanadas. (rabbit)

Making the dough for empanadas.

1st Annual Empanada Contest!

19th Century Cathedral

May 23-25, 2009

Friday night (5.22.09) we parted ways with Carrie and Jerry. We sent them on their way on the overnight bus back to BsAs and we caught another overnight bus headed to Salta. Salta is another old colonial city in northwest Argentina and was on our route out of the country. We arrived on Saturday afternoon only to find out that it was the 1st annual empanada competition on Sunday! We have been eating empanadas since Panama, so this was kind of a big deal! (Jerry, you really missed out!) An empanada is a pastry filled with just about anything...meat, chicken, potatoes, vegetables, cheese, and also desert empanadas.

Mendoza, Argentina

2009-05-28T19:14:00.000-07:00

Enjoying the fake summit!

Stopping for a snack and a photo opp on (Montana Lomo Blanco)

On Thursday we drove out to Vallecitos and did a hike. The hike started at a ski area, though not sure how popular it actually is for skiing. We saw some Guanacos along the way.

The champagne tasting with Laura at Chandon. Everyone's favorite!

The vineyards at Bodega Norton.

The vineyards surrounded by the mountains at Salentein Winery.

Photo courtesy of Jerry Collett.

A night out in Mendoza at Antares.

May 19-May 22, 2009

We left BsAs on another overnight bus and arrived in Mendoza on Tuesday (5/19) morning. Wine country is usually the first thing that pops into your head when thinking of Mendoza, so finding a busy town with lots of traffic and smog was not quite what we expected. However, once you venture out of town is when you can find the amazing parts of this area. We packed a lot of things into a short amount of time and really got a great introduction to Mendoza.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

2009-05-28T18:30:00.000-07:00

A view of the fantastic apartment we were able to stay in for our last 3 nights in BsAs! Thanks Carrie and Jerry!

The Tango is an Argentine passion. The San Telmo area seems to be a well-known area for it. We couldn't leave Buenos Aires without going to a show. Here is a pic of us at dinner before the show with our friends Carrie and Jerry who came for a visit!

The wind blown man. You may find him on the famous Florida Ave. The things people will do for money?? Too bad there is not a photo of him chasing me down to thank me for giving a couple of pesos!

Cemetary of Recoleta

Cemetary of the Recoleta. Streets and alleys separate the family mausoleums. The architecture of this place is amazing. Evita Peron is here.

We spent a bit of time in the subway. Public transporation is a wonderful thing.

A view of the city.

The Obelisco of Buenos Aires.

Photo courtesy of Jerry Collett.

Palacio de Congreso. Modeled after Washington DC's capitol building, completed in 1906.

We spent a day in Buenos Aires before traveling to Bariloche. Then a couple more days before traveling to Uruguay. Then again a few more days after the Uruguay trip while visiting with friends.

May 14-18, 2009

Buenos Aires has definitely been the most developed city we have visited thus far, often considered more European than South American. It is filled with amazing architecture, loads of shopping, parks, museums, theater, and excellent food. We think some people may visit just for the food...fresh/homemade pastas, vegetarian, deserts, and of course-steak. It is also the largest city we have visited on this trip. It is made up of a bunch of small areas. Recoleta, Palermo, San Telmo, La Boca are a few of the main ones and we were able to get a taste of them all.

Colonia, Uruguay

2009-05-28T18:00:00.000-07:00

May 13, 2009

Today we took the Buquebus Ferry to Uruguay. They have a fast and a slow ferry that goes from Buenos Aires to Colonia, Uruguay most days of the week. We opted to take the slow ferry but didn't get to the station in time so we had to take the fast ferry. We didn't realize that it was pretty similar to checking in at an airport and you can't just expect to show up a few minutes early and get on. The ferry only took 1 hour. Colonia has a small historic section that juts into the Rio de la Plata and also a modern section of the town that extends around a bay. We stayed near the historic area which has the cobblestone streets that are lined with plane trees (sycamore). The town is full of museums; Spanish and Portuguese Colonial Periods, indigenous archaeology, natural history, ext. We went to all 7 for only 50 cents each.

May 8 until now (Argentina)

2009-05-12T15:54:00.000-07:00

We stopped in one other port, Puerto Varas. A town very similar to Bariloche (touristy). Then it was back to Bariloche and returning our car after our two week adventure on Sunday (Happy Mother’s Day!) We are back to the world of public transporation. We took an overnight bus back to Buenos Aires and that brings us to today. We have a trip planned for the next couple days and are looking forward to the Collett’s arrival on Friday! We hope everyone is doing well and that all the moms had a great Mother’s Day…I’m starting to lose track of all the new moms and moms-to-be! Take Care.

Isla Chiloe (Chile)

2009-05-12T15:38:00.000-07:00

This is a traditional dish served in this area. Pulmay. Mussels, clams, sausage, potatoes, and onions with a dipping sauce. Excellent.

Traffic jams on Isla Chiloe

One of the many ports in Isla Chiloe

Barrett turned the big 6 while on this trip and we weren't able to call so we made this to send when we could.

Sea urchins. A popular dish here. It is eaten as cerviche. Much to Aaron's disappointment, we never had a chance to try it.

Seaweed and smoked mussels for sale.

Castro. The capital city of Isla Chiloe. This is a church that has been there for as long as Castro has.

The ferry from Chaiten to Chiloe.

May 5 – May 8

Tuesday, May 5 we drove from Futaleufu to El Chaiten to catch the ferry. El Chaiten is mainly just a port for ferries to Puerto Montt and Quellon (our destination). Last year a volcano erupted and we were told that they are still recommending that no one spends the night there. Driving through it to the ferry we many deserted buildings and piles of volcanic ash. We took the ferry further west to the island of Chiloe, then driving north stopping to stay in a couple towns and visit even more. Chiloe is an isolated island depending greatly on fishing and agriculture. We had some of the best/fresh seafood we have ever tasted here.

Puyuhuapi-Futaleufu (Chile)

2009-05-12T15:13:00.000-07:00

A gaucho in Futaleufu.

We pulled in and knocked on the door only to find them making cheese back there. We bought some for the rest of the trip.

On the way to Futaleufu, we found the Queseria that the German lady, Ursula, from the hostal told us about. She had some of this cheese we thought was great. They make it in La Junta. It was basically just a house on the side of the road with this sign in front. Then behind the main house were a couple more buildings and another sign reading Queso.

After the hike we went to some hot springs closer into the town.

Near Puyuhuapi we did a 2.5 hour hike in Parque Nacional Queulat up to Ventisquero Colgante. Another glacier on top of these mountains, some refer to it as the hanging glacier. This was also spectactular to see with the clouds rolling and the amazing vivid blue color of the glacier. We can't decide which was best between this and Perito Moreno.

Desayuno a Hostel Aleman. A German owned hostal that we stayed at in Puyuhuapi. This was the breakfast we had each morning.

Villa Cerro Castillo-Coyaique (Chile)

2009-05-12T14:57:00.000-07:00

This is pretty much what all of our "traffic jams" consisted of on the Austral.

We went to visit Chile's Cueva de los Manos near Cerro Castillo. It was not quite as astounding as the one in Argentina. However since business was slow that day, one of the Chilean workers at the ranger station brought his father along and they took us for a tour to see more paintings and waterfalls.

The town of Villa Cerro Castillo

The Austral.

Right after crossing into Chile. It was amazing how quickly the surroundings turned from desert to green.

April 30 – May 4

It was an amazing drive into and through Chile, much different than Argentina. In Chile, the “well known” road, similar to Ruta 40, is Carretera Austral. The road conditions were a bit better than Ruta 40, but much more hilly and winding, therefore much slower. We had no places to stay ahead of time along the way, we just deciding, by reading and chatting with others what towns we wanted to stop in, and found a place once we arrived. We stayed in hospedajes most of the time, which are basically with a family that opens their house up to guests. Most include breakfast or at least the use of a kitchen. Cerro Castillo was the first night. A night in Coyhaique, a couple in Puyuhuapi, then Futaleufu before catching a ferry to the next part of the trip.

El Calafate to Los Antiguos (Argentina)

2009-05-12T14:49:00.000-07:00

The "bungalow". The name of these places were Los Antiguos Mayo de bungalows (or something similar). Of course we see an affordable price and the word bungalow, so we decide to check it out....it was clean and the literally the last stop before entering Chile so we figured why not.

Cuevo de las Manos, pero Guanaco's. (Like the ones running across the road in the previous post)

Cueva de los Manos

On Wednesday, 4.30.09 we left El Calafate back on Ruta 40 heading north. We went about half-way back up the distance we drove south and then west to cross into Chile. Near a town called Perito Moreno, we took a detour to visit Cueva de las Manos (Cave of the Hands). In a volcanic canyon, on a short hike with a mandatory guide, is an amazing series of 10,000 year old paintings of human hands and animals in red, orange, black, white, and green. Many studies/investigations have taken place, and they don’t really know why this was done. We ended the day in Los Antiguos, only 2 km from the Chilean border. Not much happening in this town…we stayed here (in a “bungalow”) for the night, so we could cross into Chile early the next morning. Early doesn't really mean early here though...the sun doesn't rise until 8 am. Crazy.

Ruta 40 to El Calafate, Argentina

2009-05-12T14:32:00.000-07:00

The Perito Moreno Glacier in El Calafate. To see this in person made the drive down Ruta 40 worth it. I’m not sure that the pictures can actually do it justice. This glacier is massive. It measures 30 km( 19 miles) long, 5 km (3.1 miles) wide, and 60 m(197 ft) high. According to recent information, it is one of the only glaciers in the world to be considered stable. We took so many pictures and I couldn't choose only one to post.

Amazing views of southern Argentina along Ruta 40.

Guanaco's. Similar to llama's. There were tons of these running across the road throughout the entire trip. Among other animals. (rabbits)

Ruta 40, Aaron, and the Chevy

April 26 – April 29
We left Bariloche in a rental car on Sunday (4.26.09) not really sure exactly where we were going or how long we would be gone. We knew most of the places we wanted to see but not really the order or exactly how long it would take. Ruta 40 is a well know route that extends the entire length of Argentina, north to south along the foot of the Andes. It is not exactly the main route, as it is mostly unpaved and mucho ripio (a lot of loose stones). The rental car company didn’t exactly know this was our planned route as it was not recommended for the Chevrolet Corsa they gave us, but we loaded the car headed south anyway. The first destination ended up being El Calafate. It took 2 days, 21 hours of driving, about 1500 km, and one rabbit bit the dust—taking part of our bumper with it! El Calafate is about 500 km north of Ushuaia, AR (the southernmost city in the world).

Bariloche, Argentina

2009-05-06T16:19:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we took the bus to El Bolson. A town about 1.5 hours south of Bariloche. El Bolson is in a valley surrounded by mountains. They have a huge feria 3 days a week in which the locals sell their handicrafts, home brews, fruits and jams.

There is more chocolate and chocolate shops than you can imagine in Bariloche! We made our selfs sick at least one day...

A short hike to the top of Cerro Campanario for views of the Lake and snow capped mountains.

Zapallitos. We ate a lot of these at Martha's house. It tastes similar to squash. We have eaten as a side sauteed with onions/eggs/tomatoes and a tart. There are larger ones are called zapallos and are like a pumpkin.

Our home for the week in Bariloche

April 19-April 26
We have traveled many kilometers since our last update...here is a re-cap.

It was quite an adventure to get to Bariloche. After leaving our hotel in Cartagena before the sun came up on 4/16, spending a night in the Santiago, Chile airport, stopping in Buenos Aires for a minute, and one overnight bus, we finally arrived in Bariloche on 4/19....ready to start school again on Monday. We arranged to stay with a host family again. This time it was Martha Vasquez and her son Marciano. She also, like our other family cooked breakfast and dinner for us. However, meals are a little different in Argentina. Breakfast-everywhere-is bread/toast with dulce de leche and duranzo (peach) mermelada along with coffee or tea. Dinner on the other hands is typically much more filling and usually not until 9:30 pm. Breakfast was at 8 since we had class at 9, so this has made for some long days here. Dinner was usually carne (beef) with something or pizza. School was fantastic here, we can tell we are progressing...but still so much to learn! There was some sort of excursion everyday with the school. We took salsa lessons, watched Motorcylce Diaries in Spanish with spanish subtitles (highly recommend...of course probably not in Spanish), did a short trek to the top of a lookout point with beautiful views of the area, and visited a brewery. Bariloche is part of the Lake District in Argentina. It is on one side of Lake Nahuel Huapi and near the foot of the Andes so there are amazing views all around the city. The ski season here starts in June, so it's starting to get chilly.

Cartagena, Colombia

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A view of El Centro from the top of the stone wall surrounding it.

A Colombian Americano

From the top of Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas. A huge stone fortress.

A street corner

Aaron and his new "hair-do" on the wall surrounding El Centro

Fruit on every corner. We have learned a lot of new fruits this week!

Iglesia de San Pedro Claver

This past week we have spent in Cartagena. We arrived via the sailboat last Wednesday. We were supposed to leave for Buenos Aires, Argentina the next morning, but ended up changing our tickets. Cartagena is a beautiful city, "a fairytale city of romance" they say. We stayed in an area called El Centro and did a lot of sightseeing. There are a ton of museums, cathedrals, shops, restaurants, plazas, etc. We also went to the Botanical Garden. Here are a few pics from the week. Aaron also got a Colombian corte de pelo....haircut

The Sail from Panama to Cartagena, Colombia

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A sunset aboard Attila

Isla Moron

A couple of the kids (He liked my hat)

The Kuna Huts

On the lookout I guess?

Captain Adrian (aka Jack Sparrow)

Attila

Friday April 3 to Wednesday April 8 we spent aboard Attila making our way to South America. We started in the San Blas Islands via a 4WD from Panama City. There were 5 of us in the front of the truck and about 7 Panamanians in the back. Crazy trip! Once arriving in the San Blas we were escorted to Attila where we met Captain Adrian, a crazy Hungarian. Adrian had one crew member, Kurt, and there were three others besides us on this 1977 34' Hans Christian Cutter Sailboat. The San Blas Islands (Kuna Yala) consists of about 360 islands. Many, more than half, are uninhabited, others are occupied by the Kuna Indians. They live in huts and multiple family members are usually in each hut. On some of the islands they have built accomodations for tourists. The islands that Adrian took us too, however see few tourists. He is quite good friends with several of the Kuna's. The first day (Friday), we spent the day on Isla Nalungea. The Kuna's showed us around the island and cooked a late lunch of fish, rice, salad, (and rabbit). We spent the whole afternoon there hanging out and some of our friends played with the kids. Saturday we spent the majority of the day at Isla Moron, one of the vacant islands. Sunday, more of the same, beach, sun swim, snorkel, eat. Monday early AM began the 50 hour sail to Cartagena. It was quite an unforgettable experience! I'll spare you the details of the sail and just post some pics now.

The last of Panama...

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The natives from the Darian Region weave these baskets and different masks. We love the baskets, however they are very expensive. One of the larger ones can take 6 months to make. They are woven so tight they can hold water.

The Kuna Indians- famous for making Molas.

The streets of Plaza Cinco de Mayo. This fruit is called pifa. It strangely tastes like a boiled peanut?

The ruins of Panama Viejo. Founded in 1519.

We had an opportunity to meet with Melva from Boquete in Panama City. We were able to meet some of her children and grandchildren and have lunch. This is a pic of Aaron and Stitch (named after Lilo and Stitch), her daughters dog. Stitch couldn't get enough of Aaron!

Boquete, Santa Catalina, Panama City (again)-Chao

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Aaron worked very hard to open this!

Hibiscus Garden. The last couple nights we stayed here. A great fairly new place to stay in the area. It is owned by a group of Germans. The built a house for themselves along with a few others to rent out. Serve wonderful food.

Santa Catalina. This is where we stayed one night as well as the view

Farming in Boquete/Guadelupe

The view at the top of Sendero de Los Quetzales once we reached Guadalupe.

A waterfall we stopped and had lunch near during the run down Chiriqui Viejo.

Another beautiful picture of Boquete. Here you can see the river running through the town.

Melva y David--Our wonderful host family in Boquete!

Hola de Panama City! We have traveled many o buses since the last post from Boquete! I hope I can remember everything! I will post a few more pictures of Boquete below. We had an exciting end of the week there. We went on a white water trip with Boquete Outdoor Adventure. I think they were actually started by some guys from the Nantahala Outdoor Center...a great group of people! Aaron was able to go kayaking and I went white water rafting...for the first time! It was quite an experience, not to mention I was in a raft with 4 Panamanians and a Panamanian guide! I now will never forget what Adelante and Alto mean! We rafted down the Chiriqui Viejo River. It was a couple hours from Boquete right on the border with Costa Rica. We opted out of hiking Volcan Baru and decided to do the Sendero de Los Quetzales (The Quetzal Trail). Some people say it is the best trail in all of Panama. You can start in Boquete or the other side and hike either way. We started in Boquete and hiked to the other side, to a town called Guadalupe. We did not seen any quetzals, but it was a really cool hike and absolutely beautiful entering the town of Guadalupe! The pictures cannot really do it justice! However it did take seven hours. It was good for us though...we have definitely been eating well while staying with Melva y David!

I have caught you up to Wednesday, March 25. We left in the first of three buses from Boquete heading for Santa Catalina. Santa Catalina is a beautiful beach/surf town. We stayed at a couple different places, lounged at the beach and spent a day traveling to and snorkeling around Isla Coiba. Isla Coiba is a large national preserve and part of a larger multi-national marine conservation area (which includes the Galapagos). There used to be a prison on the island, but now you can just go to enjoy the nature, beautiful beaches, camp, spend the day snorkeling/diving...85% of it's forests are original growth forrests. We only snorkeled but still were able to see lots and lots of fish (including a nurse shark and white tip reef shark!) as well as a sea turtle. The sharks were about 4-6 ft long...a little scary, but they mind there own business so it was okay!

This week we bused it back to Panama City. We have happily been staying in a hotel with A/C, cable, and hot water! We have toured some things we missed before, provisioned, went to the movies, and HAPPILY sent three boxes of stuff back home to lighten our load! (small boxes). We leave tomorrow beginning our trek to South America.

Boquete, Panama

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Pictures from Paradise Gardens. Most of the animals are being nursed back to health and set free. The toucan was a pet prior to its arrival therefore he will stay. The owls were found in the forrest and had fallen from their nest. In time they will be set free. The baby anteater's mother was electricuted only a week after he was born so he is being taken care of here.

Mi Jardin es su Jardin. A private residence but open for public to walk around.

Beautiful Boquete

Rio Caldera through Boquete

La casa de David y Melva

Our host family is just a couple minutes from school. In this picture you can see our house in the background and this is the entrance to the school.

We arrived here in Boquete on Sunday. The weather is like a perfect fall day in Alabama during the day and chilly at night. The wind is very strong, as long as you are in the sun it's nice. We have been staying with a host family this week, Melva y David. Melva cooks breakfast and dinner for us everyday...Es sabroso! We have been quite busy this week with school and seeing Boquete this week. There are many beautiful gardens, views, mountains. There is a river that runs through the town, Rio Caldera. There are many coffee farms here. We went on a tour with one of them, Cafe Ruiz. They have recently won multiple gold medals at coffee competitions for having the best coffee in the world. Panama is also one of the smallest coffee producing companies in the world. We also toured an animal rescue center. A couple moved here from England with intentions to only have a beautiful garden for their birds, however over the past 5 years they have become a rescue center for unhealthy and abused animals in which most are released back to the nature once they have recovered.

Another week in Bocas

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After a solid week of rain last week, we woke up Saturday to a beautiful sunny day! We went on a catamaran sail with some students from school. Lots of sun, snorkeling, and dolphins!

At our school, Wed. night is cooking night and Friday nights are BBQ night (bring food and get free drinks). Adrian, one of our teachers is also the chef on cooking night as well as the grillmaster on BBQ night. Good times-Good food.

Campaign Day in Bocas

Okay-so I'm finally figuring out this blog thing. I think the next post will be much easier. Things are not exactly in the order I want them, but you get the point.

Now for an update—So we are in our 3rd week of Spanish classes now! It is going fast and there is a lot to learn! Esta lloviendo todos los dias! Por lo tanto, estudiamos todo el tiempo! Even though it has rained a ton, we are still enjoying ourselves. We are definitely getting the most that we can out of the class and studying so Esta bien, besides the fact that everyone here speaks English so you don’t really get much practice conversing with the locals. They want to learn English. So a little about Bocas—it rains a lot and it is not the rainy season, you have to take a water taxi, a bus, or hike through mud up to your knees to get to a beach. The best beach is the 30 minute hike through the mud. With all the rain, we haven’t been very motivated to go. There is a Smithsonian Tropical Research Station here that we have visited. Plants, birds, underwater petting zoo (starfish, etc), frogs…the tour was halfway in Spanish because we went with the school so we probably missed some of the information…but worth the trip. This past Saturday was the first sunny day without rain in a week so we took the chance to do a catamaran sail with some people from school. They took us to a couple different reefs to snorkel and we go to see the dolphins. It has been sunny this week and today we are going kayaking. This is our last week in Bocas. Sunday, March 15th, we are leaving for Boquete. It is a small mountain town in the Chiriqui Province about 6-7 hours from Bocas. Another branch of our school is there so we will stay for a week with a host family. Hopefully this will help to improve our espanol! We will try to update again soon. Take care--

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A day hike on Isla Bastimentos--an island about a 10 min. water taxi ride from Bocas. We hike up to the "Shop on the Hill"

These are some pics of our home away from home in Bocas. Casa Verde. We live on the 2nd floor and this is the dock we share with the rest of the house.

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They say Bocas is the Venice of Central America…everyone travels by boat…

These guys also go out everyday and dive for cangrejos y langostas to sell

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Okay-sorry for the delay on the pics, but here is a recap of the ones I have already posted if you are still interested…sorry they are not in order

The most frequently asked question before we left was how are you going to pack….you’re looking at it in the first pic—carrie, this pic is for you! Everything we brought for the next 5 months.
Stray cats (and dogs) are all over the place in Panama City. In Bocas it is mostly dogs. It doesn’t appear that most of them belong to anyone so I guess they are just multiplying.

Next, a picture of the high rise buildings behind Aaron in the downtown of Panama City.

There were policia on every corner in Panama City-Casco Viejo. We weren’t sure whether to feel safe or scared!

This is a typical pic of a random calle (street) with dos policia on duty.
The pool is another pic of a random calle and what the locals do for fun on the weekend! We took a day trip by ferry to Taboga, an island just offshore from Panama City.

This picture of me in front of the church is in the town of Tobaga, it is the second oldest church in the western hemisphere. Another day trip to the Panama Canal was amazing.

These are a few pics of the Miraflores Locks and a few freighters waiting in line to pass through.

It was also the Carnival celebration while we were there. Similar to Mardi Gras. No flashing going on, but be prepared to get sprayed with a water hose, sprayed with a water gun, sprayed with shaving cream or silly string, or sprayed with tiny pieces of confetti that sticks to you like glue! Yes, we experienced all of the above with the exception of the water hose, thankfully. This is a pic of one of the kids throwing confetti.

And last for you Bev! They even have Curves! This was right by the Albrook Airport in Panama City where we flew out of to get to Bocas del Toro.

February 2009

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Hi to all! We are in the town of Bocas del Tor0, Panama on the island Isla Colon. We departed the states a week ago, February 18th. We flew from ATL to Fort Lauderdale and were able to have an early dinner with Aaron's dad and stepmom, Richard and Peggy. Then departing FLL and arriving to Panama City, Panama (not PCB for those that kept thinking that lol) at 2 am. It was surprising pretty easy to get a taxi to take us to our hostel that we had booked online. I guess pictures can sometimes be deceiving! It wasn't quite like the pics, but it was a bed and secure place to stay. We stayed in Panama City from Wednesday to Sunday. We read that more English is spoken in Panama City than in Miami....I haven't been to Miami, but I'm not so sure that is the case...not in Casco Viejo anyway. Casco Viejo is the area within Panama City that we stayed. It is a very old part of the city with many old buildings which are in the process of renevating. There is a lot of construction going on EVERYWHERE! I'm not sure what kind of codes if any they use. We'll try to post some of it later. We did go to the Panama Canal. It was pretty amazing to see the process of the freightors passing through the canal. At the museum of the canal was where the most English was spoken. We also walked through the downtown area of the city. Uruguay Calle (Street) is one of the "most happening"streets in the area, lots of restaraunts and bars. After a few days of being tourists in Panama City we flew to Bocas del Toro on Sunday. We started our Spanish Classes on Monday, Feb 23. We have just finished our first week. We are definitely learning a lot, but it's tough and we have to study quite a bit outside of school. We have found a pretty cool place to stay here after a few days of staying in a shared apt by the airport. We share bathrooms and a kitchen, but have AC and a washer and dryer (which are hot commodities around here) AND it's cheap! It rains just about everyday here, but kind of like Florida I guess the sun is always pretty quick behind the rain and it's nice because it cools things off. I'll stop rambling for now, post some pics and write some more later. Hope everyone is doing well. Please email whenever, we want to keep with your lives too! We have a mini computer and free wireless at the school!!