So I haven't updated this in a while, a long while and right now probable won't be a long update since I have written about it extensively in my journal. This past weekend I needed to escape the noise, pollution and stress of Lima so I decided to take a trip by myself to Huaraz, a city about 5,000 m above sea level and 8 hours from Lima. Huaraz is a magical place where the Cordillas Blancas and Cordillas Negras meet, they hold hands and between those hands is encapsuled the region of Anacash and the city of Huaraz. For all you archelogical or trekking buffs it boasts some amazing sights, ruins and cultures. A vast majority of the population in Anacash is Andean Indian, before you hear Spanish you hear Quechua 1 (not to be confused with Quechua 2, although they understand each other they are not the same language). It was such a nice break and so romanticized, you have probably seen the photos of the Andean women in their skirts and top hats which their babies wrapped in their bright colored mantels, little pointy shoes, long braids, no joke 85% or more are dressed like that all the time. What are especially cute are the little girls. Many of the little girls are Shepard's and tend to flocks of sheep and or goats in the mountains, they are adorable, one chased me because I was trying to take a photo of her sheep. Others proudly display themselves so you will pay them to snap a photo, the cutest one I saw was a girl probably 8 or 9 with a baby lamb she had knitted a matching scarf and hat for, he held the little creature as it bleated and cried out and tourists snapped photos at s/. 1-2 a piece. Many people here speak Spanish as well and tour guides and some hostel owners speak English but not many. I arrived in Huaraz at 6:15am and as anywhere else in Peru you are bombarded with people trying to sell you things, I was in no mood to listen to a guy pitch a hostal so I decided to walk and try and find one I had read about in Lonely Planet, I was unsuccessful but was able to find a place in downtown with a single room, with 24 hour hot water (ha!) and my own bathroom for s/. 15 which you should know by now is about the equivalent of $5, as you also know right now the American and Canadian dollar are equals, which means the value of the sole has dropped… which is not cool, I have tried haggling at change counters (hahaha) but of course that never works. When I arrived August 3, 2007 it was $1 USD 0 s/. 3.14, today it is $1 USD/CDN = s/. 3.04… that's in a 2 month time span…. We´ll have to wait and see what happens. I was feeling the effects of altitude sickness since I was at 5,000 m so I checked into my room and took a nap, for those of you who haven't experienced altitude sickness it is a very bizarre experience, a tingling sleepy nightmare of sorts. Nothing a little water, sleep, protein, sugar and gravol can't fix though! When I got up I went for a walk to check the town out, the sun was shining which is unheard of in Lima and it was 31 degrees farenheight and in Lima is was only 15. I went to see the town and started laughing because I saw a bar named Zero Drama, I thought this was hilarious. What was more hilarious is that there was a bit of a cafuffel in front, so I went to check it out, there were police and women crying, the whole shebang! Turns out that a group of men beat another man to death! So much for Zero Drama!My first day I went on a hike to some ruins, forgive me for not knowing the name, saw some great sights and went swimming in hot springs, it was great. It was just me and the guide who I will continue to refer to as "The Guide". "The Guide" is around my height, thin guy with shoulder length brown hair with one longer dreadlock apparently this is a sign of nobility and respect, a single man has a brown one and a married or taken man has his colored red women have them too, I thought this was because they were poor and couldn't afford hairbrushes but he said that as NOT the case and that they were intentional, dark skin, almond shaped black eyes and a distinct Andean Indian look, his first language is Quechua 1, then Spanish, then English. We spoke mostly Spanish while he tried to teach my a little Quechua which I was better at after drinking a few Cusquenas. The hike was great; the thermal baths were great, all in all a good time. The thermal baths were more like rust colored swimming pools which they claim can heal bronchitis, asthma, muscle pain, arthritis, etc a whole slew of ailments. I am not sure about that but I felt great afterwards although the color had stained my skin a bit and it was hard to clean off. While I was gathering my things I met a deaf mute man who was trying to raise funds, I literally had s/. 10 and $3 CDN that I had found in my money belt, so I asked him in Spanish if he could read lips, he responded a little, so I explained that I work with other people with disabilities. He was a beautiful man, older with these brilliant blue eyes and a cranberry sweater. I hope he was able to raise enough money that day. When we got back "The Guide" invited me to dinner but I told him I needed a bit of time alone, I didn't want to be tied down, so I went and had a coffee at a café. I met a women slightly older than myself who owned the shop and was an experienced trekker, she owned a business in fact, we spoke in Spanish for a while and she invited me out as well, but Latin Americans don't like Maybe as an answer, and, well, that's all North Americans will commit to. So I said if I was up for it I would get a hold of her. I walked around a bit more, had a coconut gelato, watched some folkloric dancers, treated myself to an awesome dinner of chicken bouquets and chilled at the restaurant writing in my journal as they played Yes! All in all awesome. I went back to the hostal and there were more people my age there, I believe Germans, but they were cold when I introduced myself and didn't ask me out with them. Which was cool, whatever. Sunday I met up with "The Guide" and we went horseback riding, the horse was slow and ornery, his name was Panchito, but it was great to watch the women farming and just breath in the fresh moutain air, remember there is NO fresh air in Lima! Afterwards we went back to Huaraz for some "platos tipicos" and I insisted that we go somewhere where the people eat, not tourists. We went for a 15 minute or so walk to another part of the town and passed many fiestas along the way, each one a little crazier than the last. When we were approaching the road that is closed off every Sunday for people to have lunch I noticed a woman staggering, before we knew it she went into an epileptic seizure! She started drooling and was in a full flung seizuristic fit! I ran over to her with "The Guide" and a woman pointed at me screaming in Quechua, "The Guide" said she was blaming her fit on my presence. We walked through crowded streets of couples, families, kids, dogs; you name it all looking for a meal. There were roasted pigs, chicken, caldo de gallina, jugs of chicha morena, chicha de hora, cuy, panchamanca, the list could go on. I had already agreed to eat cuy, since I am sure everyone has heard about the first time when I cried and threw it in the freezer never to be seen again. This time it was served on a plate of potatoes (like everything else here) and was only a quarter, the only way you could tell was it's little paw, which you are supposed to hold it by as you eat it, and everything but the paw! Well, I expected I would cry, but I didn't, and didn't hold it by the paw either. I did eat it all though, I was disappointed by the lack of meat although not surprised, and surprised bythe fact that the skin tasted like bacon! Not bad but I wasn't running back for seconds! We drank a jug of chichi de hora and went back to Huaraz. "The Guide" had to go back to the office but we agreed to meet later for some beers and went our separate ways. I went and had a nap, then a coffee and then dinner at the same restaurant as the night before, it was very relaxing and tranquil. Pretty much exactly what I wanted. When I met up with "The Guide" we went to a discoteca but I told him that I would rather go to a pub, one that served Cusquena and wasn't playing reaggeaton nor the ballads that they play in the Andeas, all about a women farmer being left alone by her cheating husband with her kids, it is backed by an instrument that looks like a ukulele, pan pipes and a harp with an overall Asiatic sound. We ended up at a bar called "13 Buitos" (Thirteen Little Owls), here owls represent mystery and good luck. They were playing Sublime and showing Ray on TV (the movie about Ray Charles NOT Everyone Loves Raymond) so we sat for a couple hors playing Jenga we did a puzzle and it was a great time! Fast forward to the next morning…I went on an expedition to Postouri which is a glacier in the area, about 2 hours away. I saw a girl who I thought was unmistakably from Quebec, and guess what, she was from Quebec. Her names Annie and she was awesome, we spent the day cracking jokes and laughing, Postouri was beautiful and when we returned to Huaraz we went for coffee then dinner. When you get on the busses you are bombarded, of course, with people trying to sell you sunglasses and cocoa candy and leaves. The cocoa is supposed to fight off altitude sickness, I like the taste and drink the mate or tea regularly at home but with eucalyptus, delicious! She's an awesome girl with lots of stores and I really enjoyed spending time with her. She had spend 3 months in Peru in the pervious year then came here 6 months ago again to teach in Ice, the city that got hit the hardest by the earthquake. We did the same ol same when we got back, had a coffee then dinner and then she walked me to the bus station. As I was about to board the all night bus "The Guide" showed up to wish me well… a nice gesture but a little creepy. For more details about the encounter just ask, I have some interesting cultural comments but as this entry is long enough already I will skip them for now. The bus was not very crowded back to Lima but I slept awfully the entire way home. If you're traveling by bus in Peru I recommend Cruz Del Sur, great service and compared to companies at home like Acadian Lines it kicks ass and is cheap, compared to other Peruvian. They have sleeper bed/chairs, show movies and give you a packed lunch! My entire bus trip was less than $50 and in total was 16 hours (round trip)! Comparatively I pay (read as my parents pay) $75 for me to go on Acadian Lines from Halifax to Moncton return, all in all not a good deal at all! I had an amazing trip, totally recommend Huaraz, my hostal Hospadaje Continneltal, and traveling alone!!! I think Cruz del Sur is good and yeah, lovin life! I am going on another trip this weekend to a northern region Trujillo, stay tuned for more details, I am traveling this time with a good friend Mel who's also a CIDA inters. Mel and I are pretty much the same person although I am a little crazier and she's a little more… um… respectful? We have a bunch of eerie parallels and similarities, for example both parents Queen's Alumni in the same years, both have moms whose dads retired early to become farmers but couldn't kill their own animals, the list could go on, hate to be other one taking photos are parties, can be heinously socially awkward, etc etc etc. What else…. I have made some good friends, Jenni from Finland, then there Nefeli of course, who works with me and I know from living with her in Newfoundland while we were training for July, and most recently Antje who is pretty much me but German. All in all a great group, I am constantly laughing and being my usual jerky self, only more relaxed at times, more stressed at time, more drunk at times and more Spanish at times. Oh, I also hit up Turkish Baths; I recommend them to everyone, amazing! I also finally started using those stovetop espresso makers; they are pretty much a god sent. I sometimes drink milk now because the soy here is freak nasty, I would never drink a glass of milk but I do have kisses of it in my milk. I drink straight espresso because I am so hard core. I eat avocados (palta) soaked in lime (which is VERY strong and sour here, what were regular limes at home are Tahitian Limes here) and salt every day! All yogurt is drinkable (barf!) non is natural or not loaded with sugar (so I have to water it down); the bread sucks and I like passion fruit although it's really sour. Most places don't serve white granulated sugar but blonde instead which has a much nicer flavor. Oh, also, Bjork is playing in Lima in November; I bought my ticket for only $50! I booked a trip to Iquitos for Christmas, I am going to play anthropologist and pretty much I am Margaret Mead besides the whole lesbian thing, because clearly I am not into women. I am going to Lake Titicaca, crossing over into Bolivia to renew my visa, in early November, I will participate in a healing ceremony then I am going to Cuzco and Manchu Pichuu. I am finished work on Jan 24 I believe and this week I am buying my tickets for Brazil for Carnival, then to BsAs, Santiago, Isle de Pasque (Easter Island) and if I am not disgustingly poor (which I will be) the Galapagos then to Canada. Oh the life… how sweet it is. Miss you all and hope everyone is doing as well as I am!