The Saga Continues

Well friends, as humans tend to do, we've decided to take something good and make it better. That is, we're scaling up. Instead of 5 weeks, we'll be traveling together for 3 months. Instead of 1 continent, we'll be covering 2. Instead of 2 countries, our tentative itinerary has us crossing through at least 7.

If you liked "Carla and Audra do South America", you're sure to love the bigger, better, even more efficiently-packed, and even less pre-planned "East We Go!"

Some quick background to get you oriented:

Carla originally conceived of the idea as a follow-up to her 10-day Taglit-Birthright trip to Israel, which was scheduled for Feb. 13-23rd. As she is taking a year off from work, Carla decided to extend (really, forego) her return flight from the Birthright trip and use the opportunity to visit Greece and Turkey. While Carla was semi-searching for a Travelmate, Audra's plans were changing and evolving of their own accord...

After leaving her job with GSI Environmental in Houston for a 9-week volunteer opportunity via Engineers Without Borders in Nigeria, Audra was faced with the prospect of re-entering the work world, laying plans for a return to grad school, or...maybe something else? To Carla's surprise and delight, Audra asked if she could join the adventure...and the scheming began.

While discussing timelines, Audra mentioned that she had a wedding to attend in Hawaii on June 2nd..."so I'll have to be back by then" she explained. As a passing thought, she also mentioned that her friend, Joe, was going to be working in Nepal, at the Mt. Everest Base Camp, in the Spring/Summer months and that he'd suggested she come to visit. In a moment of revelation and glory, they looked at each other (proverbially, because I think we were on the phone), connected the dots, and the idea of a "round (more than half of) the world" trip was born.

At present, Carla is hanging out in Tel Aviv, decompressing from the 10-day whirlwind of Birthright and seeing the city at a more leisurely pace while Audra finishes up an interview in New York and gathers up all the things that Carla forgot :)

Audra arrives on Saturday!

I promise the next blog post won't be written in the third person. Stay tuned!

The adventure continues

Audra:

To anyone who's still reading this: sorry we never finished the Brazil stories! To sum it up, Rio continued to be pretty sketchy (I went to a place called Lapa where not only did a random guy try to make out with me without so much as a hello, and as I walked through a crowd after two other blondies, dozens of men grabbed at us and said stupid lines in bad English, but also I saw a group of obviously drugged and huffing ten-year-olds, one of whom stuck her hand in Eric's pocket and just wandered off in a daze when he pulled it back out), but at least the sun came out! Then Carla left and went back to Argentina in a burst of great airplane karma. Then I went home and repacked and saw friends for 48 hours before flying to Seattle to prove, in case anyone doubted it, that I am one of the principle causes of global warming. Oh, and to kayak for 8 days in the lovely San Juan Islands between Washington and Canada.

Kayaking was awesome, and more importantly, I got to catch up on sleep, relax, mentally process the whirlwind that has been my life for the past several months, and read and journal. I came back to the mainland in a much better state of mind, and after a few sunny days in Seattle, I left with my buddy Tom to drive his car to his new home in Washington, DC. So despite the fact that this blog is supposedly about my trip with Carla in South America, certain events have merited description and I will continue, for the moment, to update it.

Story one: Creepy crawlies.

The first night on the road, Tom and I camped in a national forest in northern Idaho. We didn't set up a tent, just slept out. Sleeping out is a mixed bag. On one hand, you get to breathe fresher air, see the stars, and generally feel closer to nature. On the other hand, nature is sketchy, and you are subject to bugs, rodents (I once had a mouse run over my face, no joke), and...

In the pitch black of the wee hours, I sleepily turned over, and my hand touched something wet and slimy on my ground pad, near where I was going to put my face. This woke me up a little. Then I debated with myself whether I wanted to know what it was. After all, if I just put my face somewhere else and went to sleep, maybe it would go away (assuming there WAS something and it wasn't my imagination). If I dealt with it, I would surely wake up and either have a hard time going back to sleep (if there was nothing) or have a REALLY hard time going back to sleep (if there was something). I put my hand back in the danger zone and sure enough, cold and slimy.

I was definitely awake after that. I sat up and again debated whether I wanted to know what had taken up residence on my ground pad. Finally I decided that it couldn't be anything deadly, so I might as well. I turned on the flashlight, and saw a slug that was approximately three inches long by one inch thick and one inch tall, chilling on my ground pad in a pool of slime.

I threw it away with a stick and eventually got back to sleep (turned the other way on my pad), and in the morning, lo and behold, there was a DIFFERENT slug at the formerly-head-end of my ground pad, and this one was at least six inches long. I have never seen such an enormous slug in my life. Slugs were all over the ground where we were. It was gross.

Story Two: Canada.

As a background to this story, I have gotten into the habit of calling Canada Canadia (pronounced canAYdee-a). I don't know exactly why I do this; it's sort of like saying "the internets," with the added benefit of making it seem like Canada is not important enough for me to get its name right.

So Tom and I took a 14 mile hike in Glacier National Park (note: this park is SUPERB. You must go.) and came out 5 miles down the road from our car. We didn't want to walk anymore, so we thumbed and got picked up by a Canadian fellow, with whom I proceeded to have the following conversation:

Me: Where are you from?
Him: Well, I live in Alberta, just over the border.
Me: Oh, is Alberta that close? Oh wait, Alberta is a state, not a city.
Him: State? Now you sound like an American!
Me: (trying to recover and sound smart) Right, it's a province. Well, I bet I can name all the provinces and territories! (I then did so, I only missed one)
Him: You just missed the Nunevut
Me: Right, Nunevut. So, as you go east in [Canada], does the land flatten out?
Him: (pause. pause) um, yeah, more towards Saskatchewan...

Anyway, he dropped us off and we got in our car, and after about 5 minutes, Tom said to me, "By the way, when you asked that guy about the land flattening out, do you realize you called it Canadia?"

I. Was. Mortified. I hadn't done it on purpose, or even noticed that I had called our neighboring country by the wrong name. Ugh. I bet that guy had a good story to tell the wife and kids, about some American who could name 12 out of 13 provinces and territories, but not the country itself.

Story Three: I'll make this brief, but I went to the concert of the band of an old friend I haven't contacted in years, and surprised him, and the band was the most unbelievably fun bluegrass show I've ever been to! It was better than Ozomatli in terms of energy and skill and crowd craziness. And I got invited to finish their tour with them, so I'm going back to Montana for two more days of crazy music and band tour living! I will have to report on what that is like, so stay tuned...

Dangerous things

Don't worry, Mom, apparently the most dangerous thing around here is lung cancer. Brazil has the most in-your-face warnings on their cigarette ads and packages! So right under the brand's tagline (so smooth, etc) comes a message like: "Cigarettes cause miscarriages." And then a picture of a crumpled fetus in a bottle. Or "Impotence" coupled with a picture of a naked man whose unmentionables are obscured by a hand giving a thumbs down. Oh, the double entendre.

What's apparently NOT as dangerous as it seems: favelas. We went on a tour to the favelas and it was SO INTERESTING!!! A favela is basically an unplanned city, where people just showed up and started slapping together houses. As a result you see houses on top of houses (people sell their roofs to other people to build) and endless expanses of hillside covered with randomly laid out, super narrow streets and stairs. There are virtually no recreational spaces. Garbage collects in what could otherwise be considered open areas. Rooftops are graced with large blue water storage containers that either collect rainwater or are illegally hooked to city water sources. Electric lines are a giant mass of wires, as people who don't want to pay for electricity just hook their own wire to the source and guide it to their residence.

There are 900+ favelas in the state of Rio de Janeiro, home to many millions of people. The one we visited brings in $4 million in drug money every month. Still, our guide stressed that the majority of people living in favelas are not gun-toting ten year olds and crack addicts, but just regular people too poor to live elsewhere, who commute into Ipanema and Copacabana to work as waiters, hotel staff, etc.

The favela tour was one of my favorite parts of Rio! Afterwards, we went to a football match, and then to a club until 5:30 in the morning. What stood out about the club, besides the fact that it was more expensive than even a similar place in SF, was that the men are so. agressive. The routine is "What's your name? Where are you from? Can I kiss you? Why not?" often followed by an attempt to kiss you anyway. Even when I chose the answer, "because I'm married."

Rio, unh.

Audra:

Okay, so I might have judged Salvador too harshly. It turns out Sunday is the really dangerous day because everything is closed, and we never encountered any actual problems unless you count a taxi driver trying very hard to talk me into getting a hotel room with him. Gross. Anyway, we did a couple of very cool things in Salvador, including attending a Candomble ceremony and taking a very fun drum lesson! Then we flew to Rio, where we are now spending the last few days of the trip in high style (triple bunk beds!) According to my long-term plan, I purchased a very revealing swimsuit to wear on Rio's beaches. Surprisingly, showing half of my butt is about half a butt less than most other women are showing.

Rio is very European seeming. Kind of like Buenos Aires; lots of modern stores and shops, worldly food, and not-tropical weather. There are a TON of foreigners and it has not been optimal for my Portuguese skills.

Another friend from SF, Eric, is with us now, which spices things up since Carla and I have both kind of scratched our travel itch, but Eric is still really excited about everything. Anyway, we're going out dancing soon so I will sign off!

Save me, Salvador

Audra:

Back when I first started planning this Brazil trip, the general consensus was that Salvador de Bahia was the place to go. I'm currently in Salvador, and while it's kind of cool to see (old and colorful buildings, cobblestone streets, lots of samba blasting from various radios), what stands out most to me about the city is that it's apparently really dangerous. I say apparently because nothing dangerous has actually happened, but every time we want to go somewhere, it seems like some native is standing there telling us it's not safe. Don't go up that street, it's dangerous! Go that way. Don't go that way, it's dangerous! Go back the way you came. It's a short walk to the park, but take a cab the roundabout way for 20 reais! Because it's not safe to walk! (granted, the cab ride took us through a very shady looking area that I would not have wanted to be walking in).

So basically, besides the fact that we ate a really tasty lunch and that we're going to see Candomble tonight (an African-based religious ceremony), which I'm interested in, I can take or leave Salvador. Preferably leave. I was happy with the music being played at much safer places in smaller towns, and I hate feeling like I have to stay in or take cabs if I want to go anywhere. Also, because there are more tourists here, there is also more tourist infrastructure (expensive things, people trying to get stuff from you because you look foreign, English speakers) Fortunately, though I thought it was unfortunate at the time, our crazy travel schedule got us here two days late so we only have another day and two nights before we go to Rio!

Some of my favorite parts in the week since my family left:

-taking the bus from the airport in Belem, because people were SO helpful and it was the first really backpacky-feeling event of the whole trip (before that we were either living longer-term in Buenos Aires, or traveling along swankier lines with my parents).

-the first night in Belem, chatting in Portuguese with some natives and one guy from Houston who is just really good at languages, and then going to the plaza to eat "coisas duvidosas da rua", aka sketchy street food. That's when I had my first coconut of the trip! The first of many... ice cold coconut water is hard to beat on a hot day.

-in Sao Luis on day 3, realizing that the fancy restaurant we were aiming for wasn't open yet and eating instead at a hole-in-the-wall, pay-by-the-kilo restaurant that felt really authentic.

-The entire trip to Lencois Maranhenses: riding in the back of a pickup over really rugged terrain, splashing through deep puddles, and then seeing incredible dunes and sparkling green lagunas. And SWIMMING in them! And rolling down sand dunes into the water!

-The all-day trip to Jericoacoara, and the night out when we got there. We had a series of delicious fruity caipirinhas on the beach (pineapple, then lime, then passion fruit), then danced the forro in the rain until the wee hours, when I crawled into a hammock to sleep. I woke up snuggled in my hammock with rain pouring down past the porch that sheltered me.

-The beach in Recife, and eating more dubious street food! And good fish and a tangirosca! (alcoholic drink made with tangerine)

-Breakfast at our Salvador hostel: pancakes and watermelon out on a porch where the weather was just perfect and there were lots of fun people to talk to.

A series of fortunate, unfortunate, or just plain funny events

Carla:

Since Audra did a great job summarizing the basic plot of the last leg of our journey, I figured I would cover the "entertaining vignette" angle and relay a few more detailed episodes:

Unfortunate event: Carrying lots of crap in one purse
Since we only have the backpacks and a purse each, anything of relative importance goes in the purse when we're in transit. Unfortunately, when you start considering the possibility of things getting stolen, everything seems a little more important.

Audra, rooting around for something in her purse: "I swear, I can't find a goddamn thing in here. How does this happen?? Everything is always under everything else! This defies the laws of physics!"

Fortunate event: Discovering the combination of a money belt underneath a dress
Money belts are always tricky because although it feels good to know that the really important stuff is right there with you, I also tend to feel incredibly conspicuous if I have to access it or if it somehow shows up when I don't want it to...like, all of a sudden everyone knows EXACTLY where all of your most important items are located...

Carla: "Oh, that's brilliant! You have the money belt under your dress! You can't even tell! Nobody's getting at that."
Audra: "Yeah...and if they are, it's probably the least of my problems."

Funny event: Trying to negotiate around the fact that you're not wearing underwear in a public place
So I guess this one takes some explaining...we had been on the road for about 24 hours and finally managed to squeeze in a shower, but of course were less than thrilled at the prospect of putting on the same pre-shower underwear...so we didn't. We were wearing long skirts, no big deal. Finally, we got to the bus platform where we decided it was about time to be normal again and put on a new pair. Just try to envision this scene:

We're sitting on the platform next to this other foreign-looking guy waiting for our bus to arrive. Audra takes this moment to decide that she will attempt to discretely put on underwear by covering herself with her fleece and maneuvering in one leg at a time. She asks me to hold her purse and sets herself up with the fleece over her lap, undies in her left hand, first leg partway through. Just then, the guy next to us decides it's the right moment to introduce himself and make traveler small-talk (where did you come from, where are you going, etc.). Since he's next to Audra, she's the one he starts chatting up. Meanwhile, I am trying to keep from busting out laughing as I watch her try to hold a conversation and finish putting a pair of underwear on less than 12 inches from the man she is conversing with. I will tell you ladies and gentleman, it was a true feat of multi-tasking.

Unfortunate event: Sunburn
Need I say much more? We spent the better part of a day frolicking in our bathing suits at these amazing dunes. Yes mom, we used sunscreen, but apparently not enough. While Audra got away with some rosy shoulders, I on the other hand have the worst burn I've had since middle school (when I refused to believe that I actually am incredibly pale)...all over my body. I'm trying not to complain too much so I'll stop there.

Unfortunate event: Mutant mosquito bites
Our first night post-Amazon adventure we went out to dinner in Belém. As mosquitoes had not been a problem prior to this, I neglected to apply bug repellant and foolishly forgot the fact that my body is a MOSQUITO MAGNET. This is a proven fact. When my dad and I go backpacking together, our bite ratio tends to be around 10:1. They love my body (can you blame them?). I ended up with about 10 bites on my legs and ankles. But these were not your typical run of the mill mosquito bites...these bites each swelled up to the size of a quarter and itched so badly they throbbed whenever I walked around (see new facebook album, coming soon). I quickly discovered that ice was the only thing that made any difference in the discomfort, so I learned how to say "can I please have a bag of ice?" in Portuguese and endured many strange looks from people who watched me rub ice cubes all over my legs in any variety of public places (restaurants, buses, you name it). Luckily those bites have gone down a bit and the brand of mosquito here in Jericoacora seem a bit more tame.

Current bite count:
Audra: 1
Carla: 15

Fortunate event: Managing to make it from Barreirinhas to Jericoacora in one day of travel
After spending a day in Barreirinhas taking in the amazing sight of the dunes and lagoons, we had to figure out how to get over to our next destination, Jericoacora. Now, the lonely planet guide describes this town as a "backpacker's haven", seaside location, plenty of outdoor activities, and rocking nightlife. Though they're not far apart, the roads between the two cities are not maintained (read: dirt path through the underbrush and accross sand dunes) and so travel can be a bit tricky.

We were faced with the choice of backtracking 4 hours to the nearest big city to catch a bus or forging ahead in the same direction by 4x4 vehicle...for a ride we were told would take 10 hours just to get to the midway point. 10 hours of riding in the back of a 4x4. I will admit, I was skeptical. But, the combination of the fact that it seemed like a shame to backtrack and Audra's adventurous spirit found us mounting up into the 4x4 with about 9 other backpackers at 9am yesterday morning with one common goal in mind: make it to Jericoacora in time to celebrate the journey with a caipirinha and some samba. We were told it couldn't be done. That the trip would take 2 days of travel at least and that we would have to waste a night in a middle of nowhere town. We would not take no for an answer. It was Jeri or bust. A synopsis of the most epic travel day of my life:
Part 1 (4x4, 9am-3pm): 6 hours in the back of a 4wd vehicle, winding through the jungle, through small rivers, over dunes, and through rural villages. This is by far the most exhilirating way to travel anywhere. Period. Though it made us a little nervous that our driver would hop out from time to time to tighten up the lug nuts on one or all of the wheels. Oh, and the fact that we stopped specifically so that he could throw back a beer. Regardless, our trusty steed managed to get us all the way to the town where we needed to catch the next bus, where it promptly broke down. We hopped out and literally ran to catch the next bus as it was pulling out of the station.
Part 2 (bus, 3pm-5pm): 2 hour bus ride to the next big town. We were feeling pretty heady at this point, given that we had wasted all of about 45 seconds in the transition between part 1 and part 2. We were on our way to glory.
Part 3 (bus, 6:30pm-9:30pm): Then we hit a snag...an hour and a half wait time between our arrival and the departure of the next bus. Some guys we were traveling with told us that arrival at Jeri tonight was unlikely...you usually couldn't find a ride in after dark because again, you had to travel by 4x4 just to get there. Our hope began to falter...
Part 4 (15-passenger van, 10pm-11:30pm): As soon as we arrived in Camocim, we were approached by a man, obviously sent by God, who told us he would drive us to the next stopping point in his 15-passenger van. 12 people, 12 backpacks, one van, one dream.
Part 5 (4x4, 11:30pm-12:30am): We rolled into the checkpoint bleary eyed and smelling of...let's just say "travel". The local tourist guides sprang into action, loading our bags into the back of a slightly less glamorous 4x4 (did you know there were glamorous ones?)...consisting of two parallel wooden benches that situated us facing each other and basically hugging our luggage. As we drove across the dirt roads and dunes under the stars, there was more than one comparison made to the experience of fugitives or refugees...refugees with ipods, that is. We finally rolled into town around 12:30am to the sound of pounding samba music. Our dream fulfilled! After a quick refresher, we hit up the town, sipping fruity mixed drinks by the beach and topped the night with an informal samba lesson at the nearest club, and finally rolling into bed around 4am. Overall, the most epic and successful day of travel of the trip, perhaps of all my travels.

Although the "unfortunates" outnumber the "fortunates" in this post, it's really not indicative of the great success this part of the trip has been so far. It's just that it's more fun (or at least funny) to read about what goes wrong than to read about what goes right, isn't it? Rest assured that there are many more things going very right. We have one more day here in Jericoacora, then we're headed south for the last few chapters of the trip, a few days in Salvador followed by a stay in Rio before heading home. Check back later today for a link to the new pictures...

Worldly wonders

Audra:

In the past seven days, I have seen some of the most incredible things in my short but action-packed life. Last Monday we flew to Iguazu falls, which is on the border between Argentina and Brazil, right by Paraguay. Carla met us at the airport, which was handy. Also handy was the tour company that picked us up there and took us to our hotel. After a short break to get situated, we went to see the Brazilian side of the falls. These falls are enormous--the river is probably half a mile wide (total guess; let´s just say it was wide) and spills over tall cliffs that whole distance. I don´t really know how to describe it except that it´s pretty awe-inspiring. I promise that we´ll post pictures again soon!

That night we went to a Pan-American dance show, of which the highlights were the Argentine tango, the abs on one of the samba women, and an act in which this guy spun balls on long cords that looked like they should be on fire, but he banged them on the floor rhythmically. Anyway, the show was good, but the food was kind of disappointing after the high bar that had been set :(

The next day we got up early and went to see the Argentine side of the falls. This time we were able to get a lot closer to the falls, and we even went in a boat and went UNDER them! It was cold, loud, wet, and overall very intense. I LOVED it!! Again, see the forthcoming pictures..

The following day, we got up REALLY early and flew to Manaus, which is right in the middle of the Amazon rainforest. Looking out the plane window, I was stunned by how much of the landscape is clearly devoted to agriculture. Eventually, though, patches of squared-off light green faded into unbroken dark green, and as we descended I could see the mighty Amazon. I was blown away by how vast the river was, how unbroken the landscape, and by the knowledge that I was about to witness the most biologically diverse ecosystem on the planet.

We boarded a little cruise "ship" along with the other passengers. There was a family from Brazil, a family from Atlanta, one from Venezuela, one from Germany, a pair of older professors from Spain/Canada, and a newlywed couple from Spain. Then there were the six of us (Mom, Dad, sister Stephanie, me, cousin Jennifer, and Carla). That first day we did debriefing, ate dinner, and then went out in some smaller boats at night with a searchlight to look for wildlife.

This was one of my favorite parts of the cruise. I don´t know how to explain how it felt to be out there in a boat on the Rio Negro. It was pitch black except for the stars, and completely quiet except for the sounds of frogs and insects. I was just aware how much life was going on all around us, and how out of place we were there as humans. At the same time, we were allowed to experience this place where so few people had been before relative to most places on earth.

The next day, we got up early and went out in the canoes again. Later that day we took a nature hike that was SO INTERESTING! Our guide kept stopping us and pointing out trees that produced gum (we could actually take some of the thick white sap and play with it until it formed tiny gum balls), menthol, incense, and shellaque. We saw carnivorous ants, ants that can be prompted to crawl all over your hand and then get rubbed out to create a spicy smell that apparently makes animals unable to smell human hunters, mound building termites, bark that can be made into fibers, a tree that makes the sound of a giant timpani when hit with a stick... it was simply incredible to learn all about the forest and how many of the products we take for granted in our streamlined lives come from this region.

After we got good and sweaty hauling around the forest, we went for a swim off the boat. We got to jump off the top deck like a high dive (I was kind of a weenie about it but I jumped when Carla counted us off, and though I apparently went down kind of spreadeagle, I did NOT bellyflop). The water was perfect and it was great to get some exercise after several days of sitting on my duff.

In general the trip was full of similar adventures mixed with lots of time to chill with my family. We don´t get to spend all that much time together these days, so it was really nice to be able to shoot the breeze together.

Saturday we all went to the Manaus airport and that´s where we split up; my family went back home and Carla and I flew to Belem to begin the third segment of our trip: backpacking the Brazilian coast.