Pictures

Just thought I’d let you know. When I have time I’ll hopefully be putting some pictures up.

Here's a taster. =)

The End…. yet the Beginning!

What a learning experience. It’s hard to sum up. I’ll just leave you with a few thoughts that will stick with me.

Slow down and enjoy God's beautiful artwork

~ Slow Down ~
On all our travels the thing I appreciated most about the countries we visited was how people took time for each other. Generally, you’ll notice how South and Central Americans make people their priority. Not work, Not being on time, Not school, Not getting ahead…. all that comes second. If you bump into someone you know there would be no question about it, even if you had to get somewhere, you’d stop and say hello. Not just a wave; you’d actually stop and chat, ask how they're doing, show interest in their lives, listen, give them a hug and a kiss. I think our whirlwind culture needs to learn from that. We have so many conveniences to make things speed up… yet they take away those very precious opportunities to interact with fellow human beings. Not that technology doesn’t help, but it’s sad how you can get through your whole day with barely communicating face to face at all. Drive thru: food, bank, post office… online communication… text messaging… it’s like we try to avoid letting people inconvenience us to the point where we almost avoid people all together. No time to just hang out on the front porch chilling and talking with the neighbours. No time to set aside the shopping list and listen to the old lady tell you the story she’s so excited to share. No time to play with your little siblings and show interest in their Lego sculpture. We need to SLOW DOWN.
“Slow down, you're missing the journey let the world pass.” We spend our life so busy “doing yet barely being.” Don’t let life go by in a blur. Take time for those around you. Love each precious person God has surrounded you with.

ALL ARE PRECIOUS IN HIS SIGHT

We tend to just think about the things we have to get done. In the rat race we often forget to pause and listen to what God is saying to us. We lack the willingness to let him work through us, no matter how busy we think we are. God wants us to be vessels for His Glory… fully surrendered to Him, so He can use us where He needs us and when He needs us. I pray that God would 'Take Me'. It’s so important to slow down and take time for people… but it’s vital to slow down and take time for God. If we aren’t feeding on His word and being refreshed ourselves, how can we expect to refresh and encourage others. Our priorities in the western society are so focused on getting ahead… it’s all about us. What does it matter at the end of our lives how nice a house we have… how big a name we’ve made for ourselves… what matters is: how we live, how we’ve affected those around us. “What’s the hurry take your foot off the gas…. There’s more to the journey than strict efficiency … more like savouring… less like A to B“… That`s a quote from a song I love. It`s written by Lance Odegard. The song is called: Motion is Easy (If you haven’t heard his music you should definitely listen to it. Great lyrics) The thought of Slowing Down has been hugely impressed on me. This trip was definitely a time of slowing down for me. I got to spend more time with God, and in His word, than I think I’ve ever done before. At home I get so caught up in the busyness. On this trip I really saw how the Bible IS ALIVE. It`s become an addiction for me. I have no doubt in my mind that God speaks through it to each one of us here and now. It just matters if we are willing to open our ears and listen. Like Samuel said: ‘Speak Lord, for your servant is listening’. Ask God that, before you read His word. On this trip time and time again God answered the very question I’d have on the tip of my tongue… or the verse I’d read in the morning was just what I needed for the events of that day. It was just as He promised, He’d go before and prepare the way. Now I’m back home… I can be such a go -go -go person. That’s not going to change much as this Fall I’m going to school part time and still teaching classes part time… But, I don’t want to let busyness take over my life. It’s going to be hard not to. Amid the whirlwind, I want to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and completer of our faith. I know that my journey isn’t over… it’s only just begun. God is moulding each one of us on our path. We can’t see the end of it but we can completely trust Him. How awesome is the promise He has given us. `He (God) who has begun in you a good work will complete it.` I want to be more sensitive to see the work God has begun in each of the people around me. To see others through God’s ‘Glasses’, as it says: “All are precious in His sight.” Home feels like a different place. It feels like I used to walk through my day ‘deaf and blind’, without really seeing or hearing God at all. Now everywhere I look there seems to be something God is working on. I’m more pumped than ever to live in tune with God - Ready and available to do His will.

If I leave you with a thought, it would be: Let us Slow Down. Let us be faster to Listen and slower to Speak. Most of all, we in ourselves are weak but through God we can be strong. Let us ask God: `Take Me, Speak through me, Love through me, Comfort through me, I want to walk with You where you lead, I want to know You More`.

(Doodle done in Costa Rica)

~ The End


THANKS!!!

Praise GOD for bringing Charissa and I home safely and drawing us closer to Him on this Journey!
(Here’s an awesome song my guy, Neil, sent me off with. I‘d like to sing it now.)

Sing aloud to God, our Strength! Sing with Wonder of His Love.
Who can tell its breadth and length, Who below, or who above?
Who its depth and height can measure? ’Tis a rich unbounded treasure.
Sing aloud to God, our Strength! He is with us where we go!
Fear we not the Journey’s length, Fear we not the mighty foe;
All our foes shall be defeated, All our Journeys safe completed.
~ T. Kelly

Thanks to our HOSTS! Each of you were such a blessing to us. I will always keep you in my prayers and memory. Hope to have lots of visitors to Vancouver next year. J

Thanks to the PRAYER WARRIORS! I just want to say how much Charissa and I appreciated having brothers and sisters around the world praying for our protection and blessing. We felt so many times that Angles were watching over us extra careful. There were so many dangers and health issues that we were preserved from. Thank you all!

Charissa & me

THANK YOU CHARISSA!!! I couldn’t have asked for a better travel companion. She seriously has such a giving servant heart. She’d always be the first to jump up and do the dishes for people, I could rarely beat her to it… no matter how hard I tried. She’d always go the extra mile for me or people we met. She was always gracious with me and put up with me. ;) We met so many other backpackers who were about ready to murder their companions after only a few weeks. We can honestly say from this trip we only love and know each other more. We can’t wait to travel together again. Charissa you are amazing!!!

Argentina

BUENOS AIRES

Colourful B.A.

From Santiago we took a flight over the Andes to Buenos Aires. As the beautiful peaks spread out below us, I couldn’t help thinking of the book/movie ‘Alive’, the story of the plane that crashed over the mountain range. If you haven’t read the book or watched the movie it’s an amazing story. Actually we were fortunate to even be on the plane. We almost missed our flight. The morning we left Santiago Charissa and I slept in, once again. We hadn’t even packed yet. I guess after taking so many flights the thrill had definitely worn off a little. We were so relaxed… too relaxed. Some of our friends came over to say good bye. They assured us we had plenty of time. “There’s no need to be at the airport a few hours early.” Saying good bye took a while, we were already cutting is short for time. The laid back attitude of South America had rubbed off on Charissa and me. Finally we got everything into the pickup and Ruth drove us to the airport. Yeah, we didn’t have much time to spare but she figured we’d still make it. Then… oh no! The highway came to a stand still. Cars were stuck bumper to bumper in front and behind us. Apparently there’d been two accidents. Oh well, it should clear shortly, we thought. But we didn’t move. Some cars were small enough to fit through a gap in the barrier and crossed a grassy patch to get to a nearby road. There was no way our truck would fit, so we just waited. Ahhhh… eventually it started rolling again. We raced to the airport… our flight was leaving. Charissa and I checked in our bags, ran through customs and security, and sprinted to the gate. Out of breath we arrived just as they were loading the last people onto the plane. Phew! In B.A. we were met by Robin and Eileen Garvie.

Charissa and Eileen

An old Argentinean couple my aunt knew. A funnier pair we couldn’t have asked for. I phoned to ask how we’d recognize them. “Just look for two fat old people” said Robin. Their car was covered in bumper stickers that said stuff like; Jesus is Alive. Eileen wore a homemade hat, very original. She makes the perfect picture of a cozy grandma. Robin also wore one of Eileen’s creations on his head. He welcomed us as ‘Shorty’ for Charissa and ‘Petrita” for me (because my aunt is Petra and so I was little Petra at first). Our names changed a lot. Charissa was Teresita, Clare, Carrie, even Chinny because Robin thought her chin stuck out when she watched soccer. In Argentina they say things as they are. It’s not even considered rude. If you’re fat they’ll call you ‘gordito’ ‘fatty’, if you're ugly they’ll call you ‘ugly’. It’s pretty harsh. Yet Argentineans are some of the warmest and most expressive people I’ve ever met. Spanish is spoken with the enthusiasm, hand gestures, and singsong of Italian. Of all the countries we visited Argentineans are beautiful. They have such stunning eyes and sharp facial features, we could have stared at people all day. The Garvies took us back to their place. On the way we stopped for some groceries. Everyone who comes in contact with the Gravies gets a little tract to encourage them… and share their joy. Inside you could read about the joy of having Jesus as your personal saviour and friend. What an awesome time we had.
That night Robin read us a little story he called Vision.
The story was about a tree that stood alone on the top of a mountain. It had to endure the wind and the storms. It wasn’t protected by a forest. Yet, from up there it could see all the starry skies and the horizons stretching fore miles. The other trees grew all together in a valley protected from the harsh conditions and so they grew perfectly straight side by side all the same. Unlike the battered mountain tree. Yet they couldn’t see the view. All they could see was each other. God doesn’t want us to be conformed to a mould. He want’s us to climb out of our comfort zone to a place where we can see and learn. But there’s a cost. We will have to endure the wind and the storm. We had such an encouraging time with them. We also got to tour B.A. We saw the widest highway, the widest river (Uruguay is on the other side but you can’t see it), the art street, the canals, and different parts from the busy shopping streets of the down town area to the little weekend markets in the more rural parts.

Eileen

The "Artsy" part of town

Robin took us out for lunch… he ordered Charissa and I steak. We literally got a whole plate of steak… nothing but steak. (Not your typical order as a female… hehe) Turned out to be so delicious. Argentina is famous for it’s steak. We also got to do some Argentinean wine testing. The vineyards all over Argentina produce some of the worlds finest wine. Robin’s nephew sells rare wines. He gave us the full experience… he even took the temperature of the wine before giving us a taster. (Tasted really good to me, but I’m hardly your wine judge.) The music in Argentina is way better than Peru. You’ll get a lot more of a variety. One of the most common desserts is: custard. (I’m not a huge fan of Argentinean custard…. but Charissa liked it.)
The POLICE
My one word of warning, if you plan to visit Argentina, is: Don’t go to the police or military for help.
Fortunately Charissa and I were warned by our friends of just how corrupt they are. The police are in cahoots with the criminals, most of the time. If they ever pull you over all they want is a bribe. It’s not even something they do semi-secretively. They’ll just come out and say, well how much are you willing to give me. If your house get’s robbed, like our pals did, don’t make the mistake of calling the police. They’ll arrive, take a good look around, and then come a few days later to steal what the robbers missed. It’s unreal. Everyone has a dog. You're better off with a guard dog than any other form of protection. I’m not exaggerating when I say ‘Every single person has a dog.’ Everyone we met had dogs, everyone our Argentinean friends know have dogs, and stray dogs roam the streets like a plague. You’ll see dog walkers everywhere. People pay the dog walkers when they are too busy to walk their own dog. The amazing thing is you’ll see the dog walkers going around with about 5 dogs to a hand. Skill! I’ve never seen so many dogs able to all walk around town together… never fighting… walking side by side… the leashes don’t even get tangled up. Apparently your dog get’s trained to walk in a group at a very young age. As far as honesty, the military are no better. You try to avoid conflict as much as possible.

PATAGONIA - ‘The Wild West’


22 hours on the bus took us all the way south to Bariloche, in Patagonia. The drive was incredible. The landscape changed from a barren flat plateau, to dry rocky badlands, to glacier ice fields, to turquoise lakes, to jagged snowy peaks and evergreens. Patagonia reminded me of the Rocky Mountains of B.C.




We were on our way to visit my uncle and aunt. (He’s my mum's brother Klaus) They are the couple who motorbiked the world for 16 years. The book he wrote became a best seller in Germany. Their slide show was more popular than the biggest rock concerts. (Funny, on our flight to Argentina we met a German guy. He asked where in Argentina we would be going. ‘To visit my Uncle Klaus’, I said. He perked up, ‘I read a book of a guy named that, he biked the world’. Hehe, there was my claim to fame, I told him, ‘Yup, he’s my uncle’.) Of all their travels Klaus and Claudia liked Patagonia the best. Mostly because the natural beauty is basically untouched. Few people live down there. Wild horses still run free. Rivers are filled with delicious fish. The soil is so rich. My uncle is very much a hippy. Our experiences down in Patagonia were to be some of the WILDEST of our lives, to say the least. We had no idea what we were getting into…
We arrived at the bus stop in Bariloche. (a beautiful ski/snowboarding area…. we got to snowboard a few days later.) From there our Uncle picked us up in his jeep.


It had been snowing for the last few days and we had to make it through a mountain pass to get to his place, which is 2 hours south in the area known as Los Repollos, meaning ‘the cabbages’. Because of the enormous cabbages that could be grown in the rich soil. Río Negro is the province we were in. The nearest town is called El Bolsón. If the snow covered the pass we’d be stuck on the Bariloche side of the mountains till it melted. My uncle wasn’t keen on that thought so he suggested we get going right away and see if we could make it through before it got dark. The pass was covered in snow and ice. Even though we felt the time pressure we had to creep along at a snail's pace to keep from slipping. Thankfully we made it to the top, from there we had to be very careful not to pick up too much speed and just start sliding down the windy road. My uncle is a good driver and we made it safely to his ‘neck of the woods’. He doesn’t live in any town, rather he lives out in the middle of nowhere. There are some neighbours around him, but each of them have huge plots of land surrounding them. Even still, they couldn’t be too far away for my uncle. His little cabin is on a hill looking down at the river. The hill is between two huge mountains. Our life for the next few days would be like going back in time. There was two feet of snow outside, we were freezing. We wore all the layers we could and kept a constant fire going in the stove to keep the place warm. We were completely disconnected from the rest of the world, no computer, and a phone line that didn’t really work. Showers had to be taken on shower day, because heating the hot water with fire wood took time. We all jumped in one after another when the water had warmed up. Routines of the day were: Taking the sheep up and down the mountain side from pen to pasture, chopping fire wood with chainsaws, baking bread, going into the store house to bring up more bottles of homemade apple juice (That had been made to supply the family for the winter), and every once in a while going into town. The water was the cleanest water we’d ever tasted. Fresh from the mountains. Charissa and I built a snow fort with my little cousins. Then we came in and dried up by the fire. I played around on my uncle's guitar. Seems like paradise??? Awesome as it is, after you settle in you find out just what kind of a place Patagonia actually is. We were in for a shock. It’s like the wild west. Before Patagonia was colonized the Argentinean government gave criminals the option of jail time or settling Patagonia. Just like Australia started out. Convicts got sent down to settle in the area. The people have become great at surviving in the rugged environment. They are the best trackers my uncle has ever known. Just by the sounds the birds make the locals know if a deer, dog, or human is crossing their land. They’re dead right every time. Fishing is second nature to them. Tourists stand a whole day on the river banks only to catch a couple fish. The local women will toss in their line and pull up fish after fish till they can’t carry anymore. Living off the land they can do, but the way they work and live together is less glorious. Everyone has to protect their land from each other. A more thieving bunch of crooks I’ve never come across. You seriously can‘t talk sense to them. The law in Argentina is: once someone crosses into your fenced area you’re allowed to shoot to kill. You can’t live down their without a gun to defend yourself. My uncle thought he could negotiate or make friends with his neighbours but until he got a gun no one respected his word. He tried to offer them work, but they cheated him. He tried to help them out, but they took advantage of his generosity. They walked all over him stealing left and right. Finally he got a gun. He wouldn’t shoot to kill but he goes for a leg or something. He also got a good guard dog. Going to the police with your problems or taking issues to court is pointless and finally my uncle just gave up. If the law agreed to put the criminal in jail, they would let him out again at night for revenge. He has lived there for 8 years, so he still isn’t totally considered Argentinean. The fact that he is a foreigner doesn’t help but the locals are just as bad to each other as they are to him. Feuds are constantly rising. When people fight over land or possessions they’ll often end up machete hacking at each other’s limbs. They figure ‘chop the birds wings so he can’t fly no more’. We noticed people walking around who couldn’t use a leg or an arm because a tendon has been sliced. Chopping a tendon means the victim can’t get back at you. Here are some of the crazy things that happened… which we’ll never forget. We chopped lumber with chainsaws for an hour, something my uncle does regularly… only to have neighbours come and steal my uncles wood. We saw them trucking it off. My uncle had to use his gun to scare people off his property. His horses got stolen and eaten, shortly before we arrived. He found his best guard dog poisoned and lying dead. His mouth wired shut around the poison. Two neighbours had an argument over who would steal Klaus’s lumber. In their rage they burnt a chunk of my uncle's forest and the one shot the other twice, in the chest and side, leaving him to die. My uncle went up to see what had happened. He found the dying neighbour, it was the same guy who had poisoned his dog. He lay there on the ground almost dead from the bullet wounds. Although my uncle hated the guy he took him to the hospital and saved his life. For a while that particular neighbour didn’t bother him… but soon the incident was forgotten and life continued as it had before. Those are just some of the unbelievable stories. Patagonia was like living in the ‘Wild West’. It was an unreal experience and I‘m so glad we’ve lived to tell the tale. =) It’s hard to believe how my uncle lives down there. We have grown a whole new appreciation for the law and order in our Country.

BUS STOP BLESSINGS

From Patagonia we bussed 50 hours north to Iguazu Falls. Our route planning could’ve been a little better. We pretty much went from the southern tip to the northern tip. It took 3 days. =) Yeah, you know how much Charissa and I love bus rides. On the way up we stopped in Bariloche. What a pleasant surprise God had in store for us. Some friends of friends of friends heard we’d be there. They live about 1 hour away… yet they backpacked all the way out to see us. Neither Charissa or I had a clue who these people were. They turned out to be a young couple with two little kids. Our 2 hours ‘to kill’ at the bus stop just flew by. (I believe that ‘killing time’ shouldn’t even be in my vocabulary anymore. If we’re sensitive to God’s voice and leading every minute is precious.) 2 hours wasn’t nearly enough time. It’s incredible how we felt so close to these people, even though this was our first time meeting. We hit it off right away. There we sat sharing favourite verses, stories, encouraging each other, and praying together, right in the bus stop. What amazing stories they had. If you’ve ever read the story of ’Nicky Cruz’ the Bariloche guy had a similar story. He didn’t really know his parents. His mom was a prostitute. Growing up he felt so unloved that he almost committed suicide at age 11. As a teenager he got into the gangs. He didn’t value life. Then one day he turned into a new man. Jesus came into his life and for the first time he felt really loved. He gave his life over to Jesus. Him and his wife are working as a team to spread the love of God to everyone around them. They’ve lived in India... and other places.. now they work down in the south of Argentina with troubled youth and rich kids too. Such amazing stories. We underestimate the power of God’s love to change lives. It passes all understanding. What a privilege to be a funnel of God’s love. (Isn’t it so awesome how God can give you so much love for people that you couldn’t possibly have in yourself. God‘s store house of love is so large.) They are also musicians as well. Traveling and sharing their music to reach out. Please, if you read this keep them in your prayers. Ask God to continue to reach out to hurting people through them.

One really cool verse we looked at was what Jesus said: “I am the way the truth and the life.” We really thought about that, it’s one we’ve all heard.

I am the way
Not only is He the way to the Father, He is the way to follow Him. We are called to follow him. The first thing Jesus said to Peter was: ‘Come follow me.’ Three years later, the last thing he says to Peter is: ‘Don‘t worry about the others, You follow me’. We are to be imitators of Christ. He’s shown us the way.

I am the truth
Really think about that. He is the Truth. We put Jesus in the place of verses where the word Truth was. The Truth, Jesus, will set you free. Cool. It’s sad when Christians kind of fight... oh we have the truth... not them. No, Jesus is the Truth.

I am the Life
For me to live is Christ. With Christ we can really have Life. Col. 3:4 Christ, who is our life. Once you’ve found life in Christ it’s like living before wasn‘t living at all! Taste and see!

That’s just one of the cool things we talked about together. Those 2 hours were the most refreshing 2 hours ever.

IGUAZU FALLS

Iguazu. What a totally different type of Argentina. Jungle (Malaria breading grounds) surrounded the city of Puerta Iguazu, where our hostel was. Charissa’s sister had stayed there half a year ago and made friends with the Brazilian couple that owned the place. One night the drain in our shower backed up (It had been monsooning outside) and flooded the whole room. Try as we might we couldn’t stop the water from coming up out of the drain. Charissa and I called for help. In came the owner, he started working… chatting away, mostly to himself, in a combination of Spanish, Portuguese, Italian… and who knows what. He pretended he didn’t speak English. (When in fact he speaks perfectly, he grew up in Australia.) In the end we learned he get’s a good laugh listening to people say stuff they think he doesn’t understand. We were cautious and talked only in Spanish… finally he chuckled and started telling funny stories in ‘Aussie’ English. Other than the plumbing incident we had little trouble. Except having the power go out several times due to the frequent thunderstorms. Before I tell you about the falls I have to tell about my phone booth incident. I had bought a phone card and was planning on calling Neil that evening. I asked the hostel owners where I could use a phone. She said ‘just up the road’. I wandered up the road a piece… no phone booth. Asking another guy for directions I kept walking. Finally I found a telecom place on the other end of town. I hadn’t had any trouble getting there and the town didn’t seem too dangerous, compared with previous experiences, so I called home. It was getting dark out but the streets were well lit with lamp posts. A storm was brewing, it didn’t look too bad though. To my surprise the power went out…. over the whole city. Me and the other phone booth users stumbled out the door and went our separate ways, fumbling in the dark. I was praying hard I’d find my way back to the hostel without the help of the street lamps. I could barely see… the city didn’t seem nearly as friendly anymore. After a frightening journey I managed to get back safe and sound. That was a pretty ‘dumb bunny’ move, as my dad would say. No more phone calls after that. Early in the morning Charissa and I jumped on a bus and headed to the world famous Iguazu Falls. It cost quite a bit, at least for our budget, to enter as a foreigner. Too bad we had to show ID, they thought we were just from the south. (Locals always get cheaper deals. We actually got away with paying less several times. It totally helps to speak the language) A train ride took us through the jungle to the edge of the river. From there we walked out along gangplanks to one of the view points. Along the way we were surrounded by some of the most beautiful butterflies I have ever seen. From stunning purples, blues, greens, oranges, to crazy optical illusion type patterns, their wings were masterpieces of God’s creation.

This one was totally brown on the outside but when it's wings opened you'd see a beautiful blue.

Outside

Inside

The falls were so powerful. It’s not at all like Niagara Falls. There are falls in every direction. You actually can see levels. Rocks covered with jungle plants stick up between the falls. When we were there it was the middle of winter and the water level was really high. Our view of the falls wasn’t your typical Google image picture. We couldn’t even see the river below because the white spray was so intense. All we could see was the top halves of the raging falls pouring into a white misty nothingness. Little rainbows danced around in the spray from fall to fall. It was totally cool in a different way. We got soaked just standing there looking down. You can’t go to Argentina and not go to Iguazu Falls. =) I had one experience I won’t forget. One day Charissa and I journal'ed outside in the yard of the Hostel. That evening I almost went crazy I was so itchy. I thought I’d been eaten by some kind of bed bug again. My whole back was covered in what looked like mosquito bites. I showed the hostel owner and she scared the life out of me by saying she thought I’d gotten herpes. I guess they get a lot of backpackers who get it. We weren’t even sure what it was and when we asked how you pick it up she said ‘from guys’. No way. We told her that was out of the question. In the end it turned out I had a sun rash. The ozone layer in Iguazu is so thin the sun is really powerful, like in Australia. We didn’t know that and had sat outside journal'ing for quite a while. What a scare, I breathed a sight of relief. I didn’t mind the itch so much once I knew it was only a sun rash. (hehe) So, when you visit Iguazu be sure to: Protect yourself from the sun and bugs and see both sides of the falls.

BRAZIL

Charissa and I were wandering down one of the streets in Puerta Iguazu when we saw a local bus driving along with the words Brazil on it. We really wanted to go to Brazil, it hadn’t been in our travel plans but here was a bus so why not. We waved and the bus stopped. We hopped on and hoped for the best. Clearing the border wasn’t a problem… we spoke Spanish to the guy. (Like I said that really helps. Some other English speaking guy got really hooped.) Once we got to the other side we met a Canadian guy who was also just crossing over for the day. He asked us how much we paid for our visas. What visas??? we asked. Oh no. Apparently if you are in the country without a visa (which costs $75 US) and you get caught you’ll end up spending jail time, no questions asked. The problem the better off South American countries have is illegal immigration. We were used to having busses stopped and searched by soldiers in Argentina, it’s not uncommon. We were happy to have saved the $75 but it wouldn’t be worth it if we had to spend jail time. In Brazil Charissa and I went to the ‘Bird Park’. A wild life refuge for tropical birds. It was amazing. We got to walk through the jungle and get so close to Toucans, Flamingos, Parrots, and all kinds of birds I’d never seen before. One looked like an ‘Emu Body’ with a ‘Blue Vulture Neck’ and a huge ‘Rhino Horn’. Unreal! I also saw a gigantic 10 inch millipede on the pavement at the bus stop. Thankfully we made it back across the border, even though we missed our bus change. It’s such a joke, the bus stops where you’re supposed to get off one and hop on the other are totally unmarked. The bus will just stop at some random place and you’re expected to hop out run across the street and jump in another one… of course we didn’t know… but in the end we still made it.


FLYING HOME

YAHOO…. sitting in the airport in Buenos Aires we were both so excited. It seemed like a life time had gone by. Being home would be so strange. Charissa and I were kidding how we’d probably greet people with a kiss unconsciously. There’d be so many things to get used to. A huge change would be not being together. Think about it, Charissa and I were together more than your typical married couple. =) It was a pleasure to be travel companions. I couldn’t have asked for a better partner. We can honestly say there wasn’t any time we were wishing we’d traveled alone. We felt so close at the end it made it seem like we were strangers when we left. We had gotten used to sharing everything. We consulted each other so much we started saying things like: “Do we have room in ‘OUR BELLY’ to finish that rice?” We pretty much got to know each other inside and out… The good the bad and the ugly. I can honestly say we only love each other more for it. Our flight was 12 hours, from B.A. to Dallas Texas. (Unreal eh? I had no clue it was that far down.) We flew through the night… with some of the best turbulence I’ve ever been through. It was exciting. Sure took away the boredom of the flight. Our chairs were rattling as though the screws would soon come loose. The kid sitting in front of me had a broken chair which reclined more than usual, that might have been OK if my chair could recline too. Unfortunately mine was broken and could barely recline at all. Basically my legs were pinned under his chair most of the flight. =) On the way home from Texas we sat next to a Miami chef. The whole flight we shared cooking ideas, what an inspirational journey. =) It’s always so nice to come home. Especially to see the familiar faces you’ve missed so much. Of all our travels we realized what an awesome place we live in. It’s got the combination of oceans, mountains, wilderness, city, four seasons, not an extreme climate… all in one location. WOW… I know I’m biased, but we truly live in one of the most awesome spots… BEUATIFUL BRITISH COLUMBIA!!!

Chile

TOO POOR TO ENTER CHILE

Arriving in Chile, what a hassle! I have to laugh just thinking back on it. Our flight from Peru was delayed so we got in at midnight. Delayed is normal and even expected in South America. The airports are so much more ‘lax’ than ours. In Peru when evening rolls around, and the workers want to go home, they just wave everyone through customs and security to speed things up. (Sometimes, towards tourists, they try to mooch as much off you as possible.) Foolishly, Charissa and I forgot that you have to pay an entrance fee before getting through customs in Chile. The fee was $130 USD. Ahhh, We were pretty much down to a few Peruvian Soles, less than $10 in total. At this point in the trip my visa card had stopped working. We were told we’d have to see the police. There we were: no money, no cards that we could pay with, no phone to let the people picking us up know what had happened. Charissa and I looked at each other. The police? The security guards told us to sit and wait in a corner. We waited…. and waited… and waited. Finally the airport was empty. All the lines of people going through customs were gone. We were alone. A guard came over to us. He asked us how we expected to pay. We told him we’d have to go to an ATM machine and get money out. He looked at us for a long time. I guess we did look pretty bad. We’d basically come straight from the Salkantay Trek. We were far from beautiful. Our hair was crying out for a shower. Our clothes desperately needed to be washed. Our back packs looked like they’d been through the war. Our shoes were covered in dirt. Our arms and legs had bug bites all over them. The guard looked us over. “If I take you to the ATM will you actually have any money to take out? He asked. =) We both assured him we did, yet he didn’t look convinced. Charissa and I grinned at each other, apparently we really looked broke. He repeated the question several times. Finally we were taken to a machine. Chilean Pesos was the only currency we could withdraw. Unfortunately, the airport rule is: Visitors to South America must pay the fee in US dollars. From the ATM we had to go to a money exchange place. We were feeling terrible for the friends who’d still be waiting to pick us up. Our guard got chatting with another police. As usual, conversations are never brief. We were dying to get back and meet our friends. Finally we got through security, paid our fee, collected our baggage and wandered out of the empty airport. It was almost 3:00am. Don and Hannah Passi met us. Wow, they’d been so patient.
Moral of the story: Definitely find out about entrance fees before entering a country. =)

SANTIAGO

Shock! The first thing that struck us was we were back to civilization, at least in comparison to our last 2 months. Santiago is quite westernized. People drove like rules existed. Houses and neighbourhoods looked almost European. There is a definite German, French, British, and Spanish influence that you’ll notice in the architecture and the people. I was really shocked to see things that reminded me of Germany. First I thought I was just imagining it, but apparently about 50 years ago a wave of German immigrants came over. Bringing with them a lot of German food, industrial ideas, and habits. For the fist time I could blend in pretty easily. Argentina and Chile actually have people who grow to be taller than 5 feet. Charissa could even get away with being lighter skinned, since it’s so cold down there. August is the middle of winter. Snowboard season for the locals. The city is surrounded by mountains. It was COLD! We were unprepared. Each night we’d fill a hot water bottle just to keep ourselves from freezing. Hot water bottles are amazing, Charissa and I can both become hot water bottle sales advocates now. =) Hannah, our friend, took us downtown to a place she new we could pick up some cheap winter clothes. We jumped on the metro system. It’s amazing. So clean and easy to get around on. It’s a cleaner system than London, New York, and Paris. (I guess it’s also probably newer.) We got to meet a friend of hers who designs her own line of fashion. She is definitely very original. She tries to sort of blend old-fashioned styles with her own new ones. Pretty cool to see, because I love to sew and alter clothes instead of buying clothes. Chilean food is delicious. It is actually similar to the way my mum cooks. They use a lot of olive oil, garlic, onion, salt & pepper, and lemon to spice things. In the evenings we got to meet lots of Hannah’s friends. Every night we didn’t get to bed before 2:00 or 3:00am. That’s because things don’t evening get started till 10:30 or 11:00 at night. If you plan a party or get together you’d generally invite everyone for 10:00pm but if they show up before 11:00 it’s like: they must be really bored. We never managed to wake up before 11:00am. On our first day Charissa and I slept in till 2:00. Neither of us even thought that possible. It was the first sleep-in we’d had on our entire trip. Chile was like a time to catch up on all the sleep we’d lost. What was most exciting for me was suddenly having a break through with my Spanish. I’d heard things over and over again but finally it just clicked. Before Chile I was able to do what I was told and get what I wanted, as well as ask basic questions. In Chile I found the words just starting to flow. I chatted all night on random subjects. My Spanish is far from perfect but at least I can be understood and pretty much understand everything. It was so exciting!

Spanish Quirks:
Spanish in Chile is hilarious. They have so much slang. You’ll almost never hear them pronounce the letter ‘S’. Costa Rican Spanish is so formal and perfect. It’s like they all speak in Old English, even to their kids. Words like: “therefore” are used all the time. You always say ‘Usted’ instead of “Tu” the polite form of ‘You’. In Peru the Spanish is less formal. It took getting used to, to make that switch. At first we were so polite and formal it was rude. We found Peruvian Spanish sort of whiny. Also in Peru there are lots of native languages that are still being used. Chilean Spanish is known to be difficult to understand, yet we actually kind of liked it. It was funny. Argentina was probably my favourite. They speak Spanish with the enthusiasm of Italians. It’s so singsong and expressive. They speak with a funny lisp but it’s just so much fun. Be careful, in each country we found words had different meanings. For example in Chile ‘Lolitas’ means ‘young girls‘. In Argentina it means ‘breasts’. An embarrassing mistake our missionary friend made when preaching in Argentina.

OUR HOST FAMILY

The Passi family are awesome!! We had such a good time at their house. A few years ago when they were visiting Canada they stayed with Charissa’s family and also our friends the Speidels. That was the connection. They offered to have us right away, when they heard we were coming down. Don and Ruth, the parents, felt God called them to be missionaries down in Chile. At the time their three kids were late elementary/early high school age, not your typical time to be moving down to another country to do mission work. Although they had just bought their first house and started to settle down they felt this was God’s call. Their ministry is working with University students (Navigators) - hosting bible studies and get together‘s. It’s been really cool. Ruth was a great role model for me to spend time with. Don is such a fun loving steady dad. Hannah was so much fun to hang out with and chat with. Listening to stories along the way was definitely the highlight of our journey. Everywhere we went we heard great stories of God’s work. I compiled a notebook of amazing stories. A lot of the time you’ll prove God in something that seems really little… yet not too small for God to care about or want us to trust Him with. Isn’t our God an AWESOME GOD!! So often His plan for our lives turns out different than we expected, yet He wants us to just trust Him, thank Him, and praise Him for the changes and challenges that come up. I’ve found in my own experience He’ll surprises us with something so much better than we could have worked out on our own. God wants us to soar on wings like eagles… yet we have to take that leap of faith. I love the eagle’s story. Growing up the baby eagle gets so comfortable in his little nest… all cozy and warm… mom even brings him food. The nest is on the edge of a cliff. Then one day mom starts pulling out the feathers and twigs from the nest. Why would she do a thing like that, it’s not so comfy anymore? But mom doesn’t want her little guy to be satisfied with just being comfy where he is… she wants him to experience the freedom of flying… soaring high into the air. Mom then pushes baby out of the nest and off the edge of the cliff. Baby is freaking out and screaming, I’m going to die! Before he hit’s the rocky ground mom swoops down and catches him up with her wing… he’s carried back up to the nest. Phew… that was close. Wow.. mom does it again and again, is she trying to kill me? thinks baby. At the time baby doesn’t like the unpleasant experience. But eventually he flaps his little wings and learns to fly. All the trials were worth it. It’s like God wants us to soar, just like the mom eagle. To step out of our comfort zone, trust Him… He’ll never let us fall completely and He’s promised that when He begins a good work in us He’ll see it through.

THE JONESES IN SAN FELIPE

Charissa and I jumped on a bus and headed over to San Felipe. It’s a beautiful city right at the foot of the Andes mountain range. From there you can take the mountain pass east and arrive in Argentina. The Jones’s, an older missionary couple, had invited us to come out. The drive was spectacular. Rolling hills spread for miles, covered with vineyards, fruit trees, and all kinds of greenery. Visiting the missionaries was such a refreshing experience. They are the grandparents of some of my pals back home. They’ve been dedicated to spreading the gospel in Chile for over 50 years. It was incredible to see what a blessing they have been down there. We also met another older lady called Margaret, she and the Jones’s are some of the spunkiest old people I’ve every met. Margaret told Charissa and I how she came to be in Chile. She’d been going to Nursing school and had huge ambitions for herself. She realized how all her plans were for herself… she hadn’t really cared to do what God wanted her too. She decided to live her life for God, to surrender her will to Him. Long story short, she felt called to go to Chile. At the time it really didn’t look appealing. Yet she decided it was more important to do God’s will than her own. In Chile she’s been a blessing to those God surrounded her with. She’s such a cheerful person. The Joneses have started churches in many different towns. The Catholic presence is huge in all of South America. Almost everyone will say they are ‘Christian’ yet it’s gone so far from following Christ. You’ll see little shrines with sacrifices below them and the people are so superstitious. God has opened up so many doors for Dave and Evelyn Jones. They are allowed to have 15 minutes radio time. They are allowed to preach in the public square, even the mayor makes sure all the music (That normally plays continually) get’s paused. They teach little kids Sunday schools all over the place. Margaret and Evelyn make a dinner every once and while for a whole crowd of people. They come for food and a bible study. Evelyn is like a mother to the hurting people God puts in her path. A verse they gave me was: John 15:4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.”

VALPARAÍSO

Valparaíso is protected as a World Heritage Site. Hannah and Ruth took us down for the day. It’s a port city that almost reminded me a little of Vancouver, at least when you look out to the ocean with the big container ships anchored. Of course the buildings and atmosphere is very different. (Thinking about home made us realize how long we‘d been gone., it felt like a life time. We’d both changed from the experiences we’d had and the lessons learned. For a moment Charissa and I were wishing we could be home… but there was lots more in store for us yet to come. Argentina would be another adventure.) Valparaiso, like most of Chile, is vulnerable to earthquakes. Everywhere you look is a photo opportunity. I got so excited just thinking about the cool paintings and graphics I could do with the pictures. We met a Norwegian Ski Team, who was filming a movie. They were visiting Valparaiso for the day. We got chatting, turned out the photographer and film guy were both from Vancouver… possibly even seen them when I was riding up at our local mountains. Small world.

There’s the nutshell version of my Chile experience. If you ever plan to visit you will surely be awestruck with the natural beauty of the country and fall in love with the colourful atmosphere.

Peru

What an adventure. Charissa and I stayed in Peru for 3 weeks. In that short time we saw so much of the country. Piura, Mancora, Ica, Paracas Islands, Arequipa, Colca Canyon, Cuzco, Machu Picchu, and Lima. Yup, a good chunk of our time was spent riding the bus. The country doesn´t look nearly big enough on the map. :) We really had no idea how big Peru is. The drive from Lima to the north, near the border to Ecuador, was a good 15 hours. Your looking at another 15 hour bus ride to get from Lima south to Arequipa.... and Cuzco is further still.

Lima
To begin the journey we started in Lima. There we stayed with Charissa´s friends parents. Rene and Jorge. It was quite the time. They are quite well off for Peruvian standards. We had our own room with an on suite bathroom. (Wow, that was amazing. A hot shower.... a toilet that flushed... running water. We still couldn´t use the water to brush our teeth though. Peru is 3rd world so it was very important to use only bottled water.... funny because we´d started out so cautious in Costa Rica and then become so lax we almost forgot to be cautious again.) Our beds had pillows. (The whole time in Costa Rica we had slept without pillows. I´ve grown a new appreciation for a good pillow.) The one thing that was too much for me was: They had a maid and cook. I just couldn´t handle it. Someone cleaning up after me.... doing my dishes... cooking my food. Apparently, once you´re upper or middle class it is expected to have a maid. That idea is so hard for me to understand. I tried to help but that was a big no no. In the end I was at least allowed to help out with the laundry. We didn´t have too much time in Lima. We met up with a girl called Natalie, who gave us her tour of the city. She´s really into art, so she took us to a bunch of artistic places and we got to see some Lima Art... and fashion designers. (Very colourful.)

Driving
We thought the driving in Costa Rica was bad. It´s nothing compared with the way they drive in Peru. I have never felt so close to death in my life. If it wasn´t bad enough we got a ride home with Patty. Apparently she can´t drive standard. Skydiving was nothing compared to the fear factor we got driving with Patty. I was literally praying the whole way. She started by pulling a U-turn on a really busy road... almost a highway... I was in the back seat, perfect target for all the cars speeding towards us. Each time I thought I was dead but the cars managed to screech on the breaks and swerve to miss us. Patty managed to stall ever 2 minutes. Even when changing from 1st to 2nd gear. It was dark out. The roads in Lima are always under construction. As we were speeding along, cutting people off, honking our horn and doing the usual Lima driving tactics, I suddenly saw a huge mound of gravel ahead. The road had been dug up. I was gripping the door handle as tightly as I could. Patty raced on as though she didn´t see it.... I thought, surely she´d see it. The mound was right ahead of us.... we didn´t slow down.... I screamed. (Anyone who knows me knows I don´t usually scream... not even jumping out of a plane... but I screamed.) She slammed on the brakes at the last second and we skidded into the mound. Fortunately we were OK. Charissa and I looked at each other and we both sent a prayer of thanks up to God. She backed out and we made our way home. After dropping us off at Rene´s she drove off. A little while later we received a call to say she had crashed the car on her way home. Thank God we weren´t still in it.

Food
The food in Peru is absolutely amazing!! Maybe being used to rice and beans everyday also made us appreciate the verity more. We were served like queens. Every meal starts with soup. They sure know how to spice the soup. Following the soup you´ll have your main course. Typical dishes are Lobo Saltado (Potatoes, onion, peppers, steak all mixed up with spices), Ceviche (Fish with onion and lemon, you eat it cold... it´s almost like sushi fish.), Stuffed Peppers, Anticuchos (Cow Heart. When we ate the cow heart neither Charissa or I knew what it was. We both loved it...wow this is good, we said, what is it? Thankfully we found out what it was after we´d enjoyed it.), Alpaca (Once again we had no idea what we were eating till we were half way through. We´d just been petting the animals and then we ate one. You should have seen Charissa´s face when she found out what it was. It is the most delicious meat I´ve ever had. Really lean.), Chicken Feet, Guinea Pig (We are not sure if we ate it or not, in the buffet it was hard to tell but other´s were mentioning it), Corn, Potatoes (There are 4000 different kinds of potatoes in Peru. I think people only eat about 1000 types. The rest are wild.). To drink you´ll get Chicha Morada (A drink made from purple corn and spiced with cloves. They also serve Chicha jello for dessert. It´s pretty strange at first... Charissa couldn´t handle it. She kept switching her cup with mine once I´d finished. They kept filling up our cups... I must have drank 2 gallons of the stuff. Charissa owes me. haha), Cocktail de Garrabina (An alcoholic drink that looks like coffee. It´s actually strangely really good... but don´t ask what´s in it... just enjoy it. I´ll be making some for my family when I get home. hehe), Pisco Sour is another famous drink. We wrote down a bunch of recipes, that way we can cook Peruvian for our families when we get home.

Ica
One of our first trips, in Peru, was to Ica. It´s a town in the middle of the desert. Once outside of Lima we saw how truly poor the rest of Peru is. I´ve never seen such poverty. Costa Rica was 3rd world, but in Peru you see so many people who truly have nothing. The houses are made out of whatever the locals can find. Scrap metal or cardboard. Almost no one can afford a car so there are tons of putt-putt taxis. (A motor bike with a backseat for two, sort of a rickshaw. They are so much fun to ride on.... but you get so dusty and breath in so much exhaust.) Ica is surrounded by dunes, as far as the eye can see. There is one big oasis. It was like we were in the middle of the Sahara. In the night you freeze but during the day it´s boiling hot. Our hostel was really nice. We met a bunch of other backpackers. But I was kind of going crazy being in the lap of luxury while just beyond the fence people were living in really really poor circumstances. All the backpackers spent the days sitting next to the pool chatting, drinking beer, or going on tours. I must admit I´m pretty turned off the back packer world. It seems to me the most of them have this loosey goosey life style. So few morals or boundaries. They live loose with no thought to the consequences. They don´t believe in God and pretty much figure they can make up what is right and wrong. I am so sick of backpacker romances. You´ll do one bus ride and by the end of it there will be a bunch of bus ride couples. Of course they don´t ever stick with one person. Anyway, I better not rant. I was just feeling like I didn´t want to come to a country and hang out with backpackers. I wanted to hang out with the locals. Charissa and I decided to go down the road for a walk. We saw a group of little boys playing soccer. Ohhh... I was dying to join in. They were like... venga... come and play... what a blast. Playing on concrete and sand is quite a trick but these boys had skills. After soccer they wanted to hear all about Canada. I was so happy to have spent the afternoon away from the backpackers. Later that day I was drinking my tea when I heard someone say: Hola. I looked around to see who was talking to me... but I was all alone. A few minutes later I heard it again. Someone was definitely speaking in Spanish to me. Finally I looked up into the nearby tree. There on the branch was a huge parrot chatting away in Spanish. It was so funny. Ica is famous for Sandboarding. It´s like snowboarding on the sand. Just up my alley. I was so stoked to try. Charissa and I got to rip around the dunes in Sand Buggies and then whenever we got to a huge dune we´d strap on the boards and carve down the slope. What a thrill. It was pretty easy for us because we can snowboard, but our poor companions had such a hard time. They were tumbling down the slope head over heals eating sand all the way. I got a good laugh. In the end they just wanted to take pictures of us riding. One evening Charissa and I walked up to the top of a huge dune. We couldn´t help but sing at the top of our lungs: How Great is our God! What a view. With the setting sun, all the dunes looked red. Beautiful. When we got back Charissa and I met two Christian Girls from Switzerland. They had brought song books with them... we were dying to sing some worship together. We made friends with some of the locals who had guitars and drums. They let me use a guitar and we got to sing together into the night. So much fun. It was really cool because we got a chance to talk to them about who we were singing of. The next morning we met another group of Christians who´d been traveling all around to rural parts of Peru sharing the gospel. It was really cool to hear their stories of how God opened up doors for them. We had a little devotional time together right there at the foot of the dunes.

Paracas
The Paracas Islands are off the cost of Peru. I was super keen to take a boat ride out to them because you can actually see PENGUINS!!! Back in Canada I taught so many little kids in my class about Penguins, now I actually have seen them. Humboldt Penguins. We also saw Albatross, Sea Lions, Boobie Birds, Inca Birds, Dolphins, and lots of other animals. I was definitely most excited to see Penguins.

Mancora
30 hours busing north we got to a beachy town called Mancora. It´s right on the Pacific coast. A surfer hot spot. The waves were ginormous. Natalie, the friend we´d made in Lima, came with us on the trip. We all agreed to try find a cheap hostel. 10 Soles a night is what we paid. That was a little too cheap. We had no running water, the toilet seat broke after the first person sat on it.... but worse than that.... bugs of all sorts and sizes could crawl right in. Lizards too. In the morning my whole back was covered in bites. It looked like I had terrible backache. The guy next door to us smoked weed all night... and during the day. He seemed to be offering us a joint constantly. Mancora was a total party town... all night long you could hear the music going. Apparently I was pretty tired because I managed to sleep through the sounds of the partiers and the smell of our weed smoking neighbour. In the morning I headed straight for the beach and rented a surf board. The guy only had short boards. (It´s definitely a better idea to use a long board when you´re a beginner, but I didn´t care.) Charissa and Natalie wanted to chat on the beach, but I couldn´t resist a surfing opportunity. The waves were so intimidating. Paddling out was pretty hard. In the end it helped to walk up the beach and grab the rip current out and then just ride the waves back in. I was a little nervous about using the current but there were lots of other surfers so I just tried to stick with the pack. One of my first waves was so scary. I felt like I was an ant on the beach getting crushed by a tsunami. haha, Not quite but it was pretty scary. I just knew I had to cling to my board for dear life and ride that wave in body board style. There was no way I´d try stand up with a wave that size. It sent me rocketing forward... for a while I was just under the foam. Finally I came out in front.... Wowzy. Eventually I got the hang of catching the smaller waves and just diving under the monsters. The short board felt like a banana peal under my feet compared with the longboard. You needed the momentum to keep the board above water. I didn´t manage to do much turning but at least I was able to stand up and ride the waves in.

Colca Canyon
After another 30 hours in the bus we made it to Arequipa. From there we jumped in another bus and made our way to the Colca Canyon. It´s the deepest Canyon in the world. On the drive up we started to feel the high elevation. The thing everyone does to prevent altitude sickness is chewing coca leaves. (Leaves from the cocaine plant) First you let them soak in your saliva and then you chew them in one cheek till your mouth feels numb. The leaves make you feel a little full and light headed. We noticed that if we even walked just a little bit we were huffing and puffing. On the drive up the bus suddenly began to smoke like crazy. Something was wrong with the engine. I was afraid it´d catch fire or explode. The driver pulled over and everyone piled out of the bus. There we were, freezing cold, on the edge of the road, in the middle of nowhere... with a broken bus. In the end the driver managed to fix whatever was wrong and we were back on our way. The drive was beautiful. There are 3 volcanoes that rise up out of the flat platau. One, called Misty, is still active. We heard all kinds of Inca legends. The used to make human sacrifices to appease the trembling ground. Because it´s so cold, the ground freezes and even preserved some of the bodies. The famous one is the body of a frozen girl called ´the Juanita girl´... we froze so much that night in our hostel I was afraid I´d become the ´wanita´ girl. There are so many earth quakes in the area. You can see huge fault lines that just rip through the middle of a town. We also saw lots of wild life along the way. Llama´s, Rabbit (not our kind of rabbit, they have almost a tail shaped like that of a cows), and of course Condors. All along the way we saw people in the traditional dress of Peru. You can buy all kinds of hand spun hoodies, gloves, tuques. Our first night in the Hostel Charissa felt so sick from the elevation. She thought she was dying. I was feeling fine...except for the fact we really hadn´t packed anything warm. I was too cold to sleep. We did a short trek in the canyon the next day and then after seeing the condors we headed back to Arequipa.

Cuzco and the Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu
15 hours later, again on the bus, we were in Cuzco. Charissa and I swore we never wanted to see a bus again. (But we soon had to eat our words, after the intense trek we were about to do we definitely had second thoughts about riding in a bus.) We arrived in Cuzco at 5:30am and booked into a hostel. The first thing I wanted to do was find out if I could go bungee jumping. We´d heard other backpackers talking about the Cuzco Bungee Jump. Sure enough, you could do it in Cuzco and it was really cheap. I was so excited. I´ve always wanted to go bungee jumping, since I was a little girl. The drop was 122 meters, one of the highest in the world. I asked the guy who strapped me in how to make it more intense. He said jump off backwards, so I did. What a fall. It was great..... except for the yank it gave my ankles. ;) We had one day to get acclimatized before our trek. It would be so cold. We had to rent jackets or else we would have died. (What a pair we made... we were trekking in one day but my ankle was hurting and Charissa was feeling sick from the food we bought from street vendors. Not smart... but we still haven´t learned our lesson.) At 2:30am we left for the base camp of Salkantay. The ride up was with two of the Peruvian Cooks on our trek. The road was on a cliff edge with rocks and creeks and mud all the way. We bottomed out so many times I was sure we´d leave the gas tank behind.... or punch a hole in the bottom and start leaking all the way up the hill. Finally we made it to the camp. From there you could only continue on foot or with a mule train. The sun was just beginning to rise over the distant peak. We had a to make it over the pass that day. A full day of hiking to be down in the valley before night fall. We´ve both hiked a lot back home, but this was a lot harder with the altitude. We were so out of breath and dizzy. Along the way we passed other trekker's who were so tired they needed to rest. Some times we´d be the ones who were needing a break. One poor girl had salmonella from the food she´d eaten. The fastest way to get to help would be at least a day on the back of a mule. We felt so bad for her. We made friends with another girl from Vancouver called Julie, who was doing the trek with a broken ankle. She was even passing people. Strong guys were put to shame. It was so hard. We seemed to just hike up and up without being able to see the top. The trail was really steep and on the edge of a cliff. We felt like dying on the first day. The trek ends up at the base of Machu Picchu. A lot of people do the Inca trail instead.... but the Salkantay is more spectacular, and more difficult. The trek literally took my breath away. :) It was so beautiful. I just felt like my soul wanted to cry out.... what an awesome God we have. He´s not at all boring. Look at this spectacular creation. I really want to know Him more.... and make Him known. We climbed up to glaciers. It was a beautiful moment when we were at the top... from here it would be mostly down hill into the jungle. As it got more and more jungly... we got more and more bugs. Mosquitos everywhere. Some peoples legs were so covered in bites they were just swollen to the max. The views were spectacular... but unfortunately because the trail was so steep and on the cliff edge you had to stay focused on your footing most of the time. We were breathing in the dust kicked up from those in front and by the time we made it to our lunch stop our nostrils were so full of it we could have filled 100 tissues with black dust. Our guide Henrike was hilarious. So unorganized. We were all starving by the time the meal came... and when it did the portions were so small the poor guys always left the table hungry. Our first camping spot was pretty cool. We were in tents, on the edge of a cliff, on a farm, in the middle of the jungle. The best part was the bathroom. It was dark out... we climbed up this hill to the little structure that was supposed to be a bathroom. It had 3 tarpped walls and one side was open. You had to balance on two rickety boards over a dark hole. While I was concentrating on my balance a bat flew in and bonked me on the head. It's wings flapped around in my face before it flew back out... I couldn´t believe it. What a surprise. If that doesn´t sound like enough of a thrill... the next morning we found out that the W.C. was on the edge of a sheer cliff. In the dark we wouldn´t have been able to tell. Had we stepped out and gone to the right instead of the left we´d have surely dropped to our death. For 5 days we hiked.... and hiked... sometimes through little towns, mostly on cliff edge. There were many crazy ways to cross rivers. One bridge was like fear factor. All the boards were rotten... half of them were missing... you had to hop from one rotten board to another. Other places you had little pulleys and a basket hanging from a cable. You could use the pulley to haul yourself across. In one of our camping spots we were next to a small town. Right next to our camp they were slaughtering a cow... the sound of saws cutting through the bones filled the air... along with the swarms of flies. It was actually pretty interesting. Our tent was in a field... that night I looked up at the starry sky. Beautiful. The sky is totally different... none of our constellations. Some of the stars are so big they must be planets. We got to go to a natural hot spring...you just had to jump in a local bus to get to them. That was hilarious. The bus was already so small, made for people with shorter legs than me for sure.... they never seem to think it´s full. We had people sitting on each other, on the floor, standing (Hunched because the roof is so low)... and still, the bus driver rides like he´s in a race car. We were on cliff edge. I was sure we only had 3 wheels on the road most of the time. On our final day of trekking we were supposed to take a train the last leg. Our guide decided to pocket the money and make us walk along the tracks for a good 3 hours. It was so dangerous... when a train would come you had to press yourself against the cliff to stay out of it´s way. When we arrived at the base of Machu Picchu we´d never been so happy to see civilization... sort of. Of course our Hostel was the furthest up the hill... and our room was on the third floor. We didn´t ever want to see another step again. The trek was over. We are both so glad we did it. Such an accomplishment. We crashed on our hard beds... and slept for a few short hours. The next morning we were up at 4:00am to catch the sunrise in Machu Picchu. We wanted to climb Waynapicchu... well,we weren´t keen on another hour of steep steps... but we´d come this far so up we went. When we got to the top... Machu Picchu was totally in the fog. The others in our group were getting so upset. We just hiked 5 days for this? I said the only thing we could do was pray the clouds would lift. Charissa and I prayed... no joke. The thick fog started rising so fast... we went from not being able to see anything to having the perfect sunny view of Machu Picchu. It was spectacular. What a construction... on the top of a mountain. Wow! Our guide was supposed to supply our bus tickets and train tickets back... once again he didn´t have them. Charissa and I were not thrilled with the idea of another crazy walk. Time to think of a solution. Two hungry guys were complaining they didn´t have any food and the food at the gift shop was way over priced. We had brought sandwiches up with us because we figured that would be the case. Taking advantage of their situation we traded them our sandwiches for their bus tickets. We weren´t even hungry. =) Fortunately our guide did get us the train tickets at the last minute. He had obviously just written down what he thought our names were... my ticket said AniLa Soderok and Charissa was like Brian Chariss. At least no one looked at them. haha

I could write a ton more about Peru... feels like I left so much out.... but this is really long and I´m sure it´s not half as interesting to read as it was to write about. The things I missed you´ll just have to ask me to tell you about. Over all Peru was such an adventure!

Our Costa Rican Family

I can´t not write about our incredible Costa Rican host Maritza. She´s a grandma.... mother... sister... and great cook, of rice and beans. Our amazing time in Costa Rica was very much thanks to her. She had a little upstairs bedroom for us to share. Each day she cooked us Gallo Pinto for breakfast and had dinner ready for us when we´d gotten home from work. We got to have a key and so it felt like we lived there too. During our month in San Jose we got to know most of her family. It was such a privilege.

Judith, one of her daughters, lives down the road from Maritza. Her and her husband hosted the youth bible studies in their home. Each week we´d go over there and join the group. Even though there was the language barrier we felt like brothers and sisters in Christ. It´s so cool how we can have family thousands of miles away... all around the globe. One of the highlights for me was a night where the theme was on surrendering to Jesus. I´d been reading in Philippians and Ephesians. Basically, I really got the sense of how we can only do things in through the power of God. He prepares the way. He gives us the wisdom and strength. It´s nothing of us, only Him. It´s so encouraging that God can use even the weakest person to work through. I´d been thinking about how privileged we are to have God work through us. How unworthy we are. So I was thinking about that and then at the bible study one of the guys started playing a song on his guitar. I only understood a little but it was exactly on those lines. Basically we have to lay ourselves on the altar... and let God do the working. It was like God was talking just to me. Telling me that he wanted me to lay all my ambitions, hopes, and plans on the alter. I feel so blessed to have gotten to know Judith and her family. She has two little boys and because it´s so hard to make ends meet she sells bread in the neighbourhood. We got to help her a few nights with the bread packing.

Sofia is Maritza´s other daughter. She is the hardest worker I know. Charissa and I both agreed we can never complain about being overworked ever again. She works two jobs (Cook and Bar tender).... 17 hour shifts every day, except Sunday. She runs on like no sleep at all. One of her Sundays off she wanted to take us to the beach. That meant waking up at 6:00, even though she hadn´t got home from work till 3:00am the last night. The drive to the beach was quite the ride. She drank 2 Red Bull´s after a coffee.... I don´t blame her. Charissa and I couldn´t believe how cheerful she was on so little sleep. There were a few scary moments... running red lights and nearly going off the road... but we forgave her of course. :) Once she drove through the biggest puddle ever... I was alseep at the time... but when the spray came through the window I was wide awake. We got soaked.

Saying good bye to the family was so sad. Hispanic people are very emotional.... and it´s rubbed off on us too. (It´s funny how every channel on the TV involves crying... getting angry... more crying... hugging.... more crying... Spanish soap operas.) Maritza cooked us a good bye breakfast... all the family was there.... and everyone was crying. Maritza told us she didn´t know what she´d do with herself when we were gone. Awww... We didn´t want to leave. But I´m sure we´ll see them again. They said they definitely want to come visit us. It´ll take them ages to save up, but Charissa and I plan on starting a piggy bank to help them come.

Costa Rican Funnies

Cooking for an Army
On one of our last nights in Costa Rica, Charissa and I told Maritza we wanted to cook her and Abuelita (Grandma) a Canadian Dinner. The afternoon of our cooking day came around and we noticed the house was full of family and friends. A bunch of them asked us what we were planning on cooking. It was then that the truth dawned on us. It seemed the whole of Costa Rica wanted to be in on an Canadian Dinner. We pretended not to be surprised. Casually Charissa asked how many we should prepare the meal for. Maritza said she thought maybe 16. Every minute the number grew... Sofia had a friend she thought might come.... Maritza phoned her sister... sounded like it´d be 18... oh, maybe 2 more. Charissa and I looked at each other and ran to our room, where we burst out laughing. What had we gotten ourselves into. First of all, San Jose had no running water. Secondly, shopping for ingredients would be quite the trick considering it would be hard to find stuff like we have in Canada. (Plus we had to translate using a dictionary to find the ingredients... you don´t learn the words like baking soda in school) Third, we had made our friends Canadian Pancakes the other morning and had found out that when you used too much electricity at once all the power goes out. Not only at Maritza´s but also in the neighbouring houses. For example, when we used the blender and the oven at the same time that caused the power to go out. Fourth, cooking in the oven meant cooking over a real flame. Neither of us had ever cooked a full meal over fire before. The list goes on and on... tiny kitchen... only a few pots... a small oven... and what would we even cook that is really Canadian? We made up our minds we´d try to do it anyway. First we made our shopping list. That ended up changing up quite a bit, because you simply can´t buy some things in Costa Rica. We started cooking at 3:00pm... and didn´t get finished till 8:00. (No big deal, they eat late anyway) It was such an adventure. Thank God the water came back on just in time. It would have been a nightmare cooking without running water. We cooked 3 apple crisps for dessert, with whipped cream. 3 onion, ham, cheese quiches. 3 pans of potatoes. Tomato avocado salad. 3 loaves of garlic bread. Plus someone brought wine to drink with dinner. The oven was so small we could only cook one thing at a time. We had to continually pop one in after the other and then at the last minute try keep it all warm. In the process I burned my arm. The scar is just about healed now... and it´s been over a month. Secretly we thoroughly enjoyed the madness. Praying the whole time we wouldn´t burn anything or end up serving something totally inedible. In the end we actually made enough.... and surprisingly it tasted pretty good. At least our army loved it.... and wanted the recipes. The cool thing was that they had never had any of the things we cooked, not even garlic bread. Charissa and I slept so good that night.... we both felt a sense of accomplishment... and I do believe any cooking after that will be a breeze.

Names
It was funny what we got called. Charissa just can´t be pronounced by the Spanish speaking world. So she´s been Clarissa for most of the trip. Or else they pronounce her name like chair... Charissa. I haven´t had any trouble with them pronouncing Anita, after all it´s a Spanish name. The funny thing is that Anita means ´little Anna´. They can´t figure why I´d be called Anita if I´m so tall. So most people call me Anna.... it has taken me so long to respond to Anna. Most of the time they´d call me and I´d just totally ignore the call. Oops.

No Water
During our stay in San Jose the whole city was having a pipe repair. Whatever it was we didn´t have running water.... for quite a while. No shower for 2 weeks. Fortunately there was a bucket that collected rain water, that became our shower tub. We had to wash our hair and clothes in the bucket. There are so many things we take for granted in Canada. (Running water. Hot water. Even when the water came back on it was freezing cold... and just a trickle. You get good at speeding showers.)

Buggy Surprise
One night Charissa and I were journaling and I heard something trying to get under the crack in the door. It sounded big... it was dark out.. but with the little light we had I could see something crawl into our room. Is that a lizard I asked. I got up to get a closer look. It was, no joke, a Cockroach the size of my hand. I´d never seen such a big bug in my life. I stomped on it about 10 times with my shoe to make sure it was good and dead. Then I picked it up to get a closer look. It was still alive! I couldn´t believe it. The thing just wouldn´t die. Seriously, I tried so hard. Finally I just sealed it up in a zip lock bag. The bug was coming home with me... to show the family. Unfortunately it stunk so bad I had to throw it away. It was really cool looking.... and HUGE! P.S. I got a picture... which you will have to see.

Bus Crash
On our bus trips there were many times we thought surely the bus would crash. Tight squeezes and sharp corners all the time. The bus drivers seem to continually play ¨Chicken¨ with the other taxis and motor bikes. (You´ll notice a lot of the vehicles on the roads are taxis, buses, or motor bikes. It´s expensive to own a car. Some of the buses are old American school buses.) You´ll be driving along what you think is a way too narrow one lane road.... with parked cars on either side... when suddenly you realize it´s actually meant for two way traffic. It seems like there is no way the speeding taxi and ginormous bus will manage to fit past each other. You grip your seat and wait for the crash. Yet every time they seem to manage the impossible. We´d gotten fairly used to the crazy driving. One day we saw it coming. Our bus and another taxi both tried to race to fit through a small gap. The taxi was coming towards us... this time I just knew there was no way we´d both fit. Sure enough... neither bus nor taxi gave up... and in an instant there was a crunch. The taxi was in the side of the bus. Both drivers shook their fists at each other... shrugged their shoulders and that was it. The taxi was still drivable, so it´s owner simply hopped back in. The bus pulled forward and the taxi drove off.