So after surviving the gruelling 12 hour crossing of El Chaco, we arrived, miraculously in Salta city in the evening. Salta is a cool, happening, hip place, with loads of backpackers coming from Bolivia, and lots of colonial charm. We rested fro 5 days in Salta and enjoyed the local comida, and a great cheap parillada, Don José. where we could eat a huge meal, for 25 pesos (about 8 bux).

Then we travelled North to Purmamarca, home of the Quebrada de Siete Colours...The Quebrada area is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site...See for yourself:







A cemetario near Maimara:



More landscape:



Humahuaca:





La Puña (The Tundra)







Shrine to Gauchito Gil (These are all over Argentina) Characterized by red flags, almost resembling the shrines and prayer flags of Tibet!



In the Quebrada de los Conchas we met a sweet indigenous potter lady, who makes these beautiful adobe ceramics and has the most amazing house. She has dogs, pigs and two really sweet llamas.







This llama thinks the dog is her mother.



Some more landscapes:





Our potter friend.



These are the ruins of Quilmes, a pre-colombian Indigenous group. They withstood the Incas and fought against the Spaniards for almost 200 years. Fierce warriors. Finally the Spaniards bombarded the community decimating the population, and marched the remaining 2000 survivors to Buenos Aires. I think only 300 survived the journey. There is a suburb here in Buenos Aires named Quilmes, after where the last 300 survivors settled...Also the National beer is named Quilmes. Rather an irony.



Cactii:


Llamas emerging from a thick soupy fog over a high mountain pass:



These next photos are in the Park Ichigualasto (?) or better known as Valle de La Luna.





This formation is known as the Sphinx!







Artificial Glacial Lake. Home of some of the best wind-surfing in the world.





José:


El Leoncito Observatory (clearest skies in the Western hemisphere)



More José:



Barreal:



Aconcagua (highest mountain in the Western Hemisphere)





The Inca Bridge.



Phew that was epic. Time´s out here in the Ciber, home your enjoyed.
Cynara

Well friends, guess you all thought I had given up. But I am no quitter. It has been probably over 2 months since I have last updated the journal and alot has happened. I or should I say we ( Tziscao and my boyfriend José)are living in Buenos Aires. After a harrying few weeks in Grenada, Nicaragua, getting organized, we finally flew with Tziscao to Buenos Aires. A gruelling flight and more that 45 hours without sleeping. We were all seriously burnt out by the time we got here... These are some of the last pics of Nicaragua: This will be a bit of a synopsis. After spending one month looking for an apartment and getting organized here, we went on a 5 week road trip around Argentina. I will explain more about Buenos Aires in a later entry. It is kind of an overwhelming city of 12 million... We decided to put Tziscao in el campo for the duration of our trip, to avoid all the hassles of trying to find hotels, and messes in the car...More on that too later... So the Road Trip: We rented a car and travelled up along the border of Uruguay to Gualyguaychu, home of Argentina´s largest Carvival celebration and also the location of a raging controversy with Uruguay over a papelera (paper factory) in the works...The ladnscape here is very agricultural, lots of Eucaliptus ¨farms¨, lots of forestry, loads and loads of cows. The roads all have the watery oasis look in the horizon.There were many police checks along the way, and since José had his license stolen in Guatemala, we were a bit worried. During the first one the police ¨bribed¨ us for 50 pesos, because we did not have a tow, apparently mandatory here. Also I learned how to drive stick-shift. On our way, we stopped in San Ignacio, the site of a huge Jesuit mission in the 1600s...hence the name Missiones Province. Amazing really the jesuits, they were sort of hippies, you know. And very good to the Indigenous People, mostly the Guarani in that area. And the ruins look strikingly similar to other Mayan ruins seen in Mexico... After about a week we made it to Iguazu Cataracas, the tri-border, with Brasil and Paraguay. We stayed with a friend from College, Marija, who is there now working on an Eco-Tourism Project with the Guarani people near Iguazu. Nice to see a familiar face! We made a visit of the Guarani community with whom she is working. The falls were amazing, no sun that day, so no rainbows, but lots of mist and loads of swallows forming huge clouds and flying kamikaze style into the falls (were they nest). Fascinating. The tri-border: Our Guarani guide demonstrates traditional types of animal traps: Baby Monkey plays with Kitten. Adorable! Me in front of the Gargantun del Diable - Iguazu The Falls. José: After the Cataracas, we crossed the impenetrable Chaco. A really long and ugly sort of scrub desert, which spans for 1400 km. It was one of the last places in Argentina to be colonized, because of the harsh climate...The roads were terrible, and we saw many dead cow carcasses on the side of the road, furthering an ominous atmosphere...There are locusts their the size pidgeons. In fact, we thought they were birds at first. Since this entry is getting kind of hard to manage, I am going to upload it and continue on another entry... See you soon!

Phew...finally did it, something really to write home about. Went snorkelling with sharks...Well to be honest, they were nurse sharks, and not very dangerous at all, but still a good size, and looked very shark-like. This all happened whilst sun-worshipping the Corn Islands...I wussed out and took the plane there, figured it was worth it with the dog. Tziscao was pretty shaken up though, when she got off the plane. I don't think they presuurize the cargo cabin. But she is a survivor, for certain.

My first stop was Big Corn Island, stayed in a secluded hideaway on the beach. Unfortunatly the weather was not very cooperative and for the first 3 days it rained pretty much every day, meaning I got lots of chance to put some miles on my book, Oriental Mythology. Some really interesting stuff in there. Stuffed myself daily on shrimps and lobster and took many walks on long, deserted beaches. The islands is shaped like a skull, no joke, and has a orad going around the perimiter. There is a small village in the bay, with many ship wrecks popping out of the water. The people are mixed, many African/blacks whom speak the coolest English and many Nico Latinos...I was surprised to notice the differences between the two cultures and also how little them seem to interact.

There are two big fish factories on the Island, which are smelly and ugly. Also walked by a cabana on the beach filled with gigantic sea turtles. Someone told me there are still alive, and the kill one daily and sell the meat. I felt really terrible the whole day after seeing that.

When the weather started looking up, took a long walk around the island. Many wild, beaches...Tziscao was in heaven. She has taken to swimming with zeal.

Then in the 6 day in the morning took a "panga", motorboat to Little Corn. A bone/crushing journey. It rained the whole way and the waves were terrific. Little Corn is much more tranquil and serene than her big brother. There are no roads there, only dirt paths. Most people walk around bare food, which surprisingly feels amazingly good on the feet. Most of the Islands is covered in jungle, lots of little lizards, toads and birds....Too many gorgeous beaches...Stayed in the Sunrise Paradise cabanas, on the breezy Eastern Side of the Island...The weather too was a little rainy, but improved alot...There are reefs all around the Island, and loads of fish, jumping out of the water and everything....

Took a boat with some divers out to a place called the White Hole, pretty deep site of about 7-9 Meters, with beautiful elkhorn coral, and 3 sandy "holes". The firstn thing I saw was a pair of giant spotted Mantaray, really sublime. Then barracudas, and many fish which I don't know there names...Then the sharks, lying serenly on the bottom sandy part...First one , then two and by the end at least 7 in total.

So there is my little Island Adventure. Pictures to follow!

Well not too much to report since the last entry. I am in Leon, Nicaragua, a lovely colonial town. On the weekend I finally saw the beach and the Pacific and realized how much I need some beach time. the waves are very wild here, and the current is strong and unpredictable, a kind of challenging swimming experience. Tziscao loved the beach though and spent the day chasing waves, digging in sand, and eating random beach things!

I am waiting to see about a flight to the Corn Islands. Turns out there are two types of planes that fly there, larger ones and smaller ones, and Tziscao can only fly on the larger planes, so I need to call the airline in the evening to find out which plane is flying the next day!

For the pics, dating back almost two months now...

This picture is of one of the many Santeria paintings in a gallery in Antigua. A person will make a painting of something they are very grateful for. SOme are hilarious and extremely graphic. Sorry if it offends anyone!


This was my guide in the textile museum in Antigua. She is showing a demonstration of a kind of embroidering weaving technique.



This is a child in the market, whom took a liking to Tziscao.


This very cute indigenous lady was in the market as well...


Some congregation of giants in Antigua!


As you can see Tziscao is growing up into a beautiful young lady-dog.


Some scenes from the market in Momotenango. Famous for their wooley warm blankets.


Tziscao meets her first pig. They seem quite curious about each other. It is funny.



Coincidentally I arrive in Momo on the last day of a festival for their patron saint. There are many wildly dressed and costumed persons in the streets. One such person takes Tziscao for a ride...


Some lion warriors!


A trickster fox god.


Some twins.


Finally Trama Textiles! This is Amparo, the president inside the Trama store.She is teaching one of the students the weaving process.


The is the other teacher, and vice-president, Oralia. Very sweet lady.


This is a day trip I took to a nearby village to visit an ONG called XelaAid. This Daycare is a part of the ONG. The kids were so sweet and went crazy for Tziscao.


Me and the kids.




18


19


Some students in the weaving school.


Me finishing my first scarf, and feeling quite satisfied to be nearly done.


Preparing another weaving to take with me on the trip. This is a board (oops forget the name) where you make your pattern and the basic structure of the weave.


Amparo and Oralia on my last day in Trama.


24


Rainbow over Lago Atitlan.


The stain glass studio in Acculax, San Marcos.


Two friends made in San AMrcos, Arrancha (left) from a puppeteer from Spain, and Alan, a shaman, maya-priest from France.

Well I am sure a lousy blogger. It has been a month since my last update and this time I don´t even have pictures. But something has been niggling in the back of my head that I MUST update pronto...never mind the photos for now...

My last days in Xela seem like eons ago. I was really sad to leave in some ways, although in other ways it did feel like the right time. The Cooperative made the move quite smoothly despite the amazing amount of things they have. And fortunalty AMe, a very competant lady from Australia came to take over my position. I was very relieved...ON the week before I left I went with Oralia to do a presentation at a language school. I actually learned alot of things about Trama that I did not know...How most of the ladies do not speak Spanish and how the Co-op would collapse if it were not for Oralia and Amparo. I really admire her strength, a quiet type of strength.

After Xela, I moved on to San MArcos, a small community on the shores of Lake Atitlan. NO cars there, only 2 main dirt paths winding through the avacado and coffe trees. Sort of a spiritual, new-age center, with loads of Massage therapy, reiki and energy re-adjustments and such things...Quite a welcome relief after the urban chaos of Xela. Tziscao was in heaven, sheer heaven, and I could let her free. She had her first dog fight and got a nasty scar near her eye.

Not much to do in San Marcos except walk along the beach or climb the small hill, and go swimming off the side of the rocks. The water is cool and fresh.

I stayed in an amazing eco-hotel, Acculax, made entirely of re-cycled materials, and full of beautiful pieces of stain-glass. Really a piece of art orchestrated by a German man, Nicholas. The artist, Alan, is a wizardly type originally from France.

I also had the chance to make it over to a nearby village, San Juan La Laguna, where there is a cooperative of natural tint. I took a class there on tinting with Socorro, a lady I had met previously through Trama. I also went back and she taught me some new tricks with the loom, how to make drawings!!! Quite difficult and I only have the basic technique. But I hope to take the technique to some new places. We will wee....

After tearing myself away from San Marcos, I spent a few days enjoying the fine food and ease of Antigua. I did a bit of modelling for a local designer there, in exchange for a wildly exotic outfit!

Then this last week has been a bit of a whirlwind through Honduras. First a terrible early and terrible late shuttle to Copan Ruinas. The ruins in themselves were not up to my expectations, but still it was nice.What is really special about the ruins are the myriad immaculately preserved stelae. The ruins themselves are in the midsts of being excavated and re-constituted (?) and they have these quite ugly corregated steel shanty-houses covering them, diminishing the overall aesthetic appeal. BUt on the whole, ruins are simply nice to visit and have an energy which is quite special. The town of Copan is very cute as well.

As I travel South, the culture becomes increasingly Latino, more Reggaethon music blasting from cars and stores, more grease in the hair, more male-attention!

After Copan bused it to Tegucigalpa, the capital, which is the biggest city I have visited so far on this trip. Nothing special really and very few foreigners. A capitilastic paradise however, will malls, and fast-food chains, Burger King, MacDonald´s, Pizza Hut...

and now arriving this afternoon in Nicaragua.

The puppy is growing big, she must weigh 20 lbs by now! It was a bit hairy getting her through the border. But I managed. I let her loose, and she followed although at inappropriate moments tried attacking my legs...that is another story!

More photos to come!!!

Hola, Well sorry for not updating for awhile. I cannot believe how time flies when one is in a place for sometime. I have been now in Xela for 5 weeks, and will be leaving in one more week!

Where to start? Things with my voluntary position are going well...They are in the middle moving their home though, because they have been evicted. So far we have found a location for the weaving school, but no-where for the store. I am growing closer to the two ladies I work with, Amparo and Oralia. They are both quite incredible ladies. SO much of my volunteer time has been involved with worrying and looking for a new home for Trama. They have been at their current location for over 4 years, and have accumulated many things. They have many foot-looms and sewing machines,none of which are in use now. It is a bit a logisitical nightmare for them.

I have started weaving. I am nearly finished my first scarf. There are many mistakes and it is painstaking in away, but also very relaxing. I found beautiful thread in Antigua, coloured with tinta natural , tea and berries. So amazing. That is also another skill I would like to aquire.

I have grown accustomed to Xela in a way one only can in staying awile. I have started cooking quite abit to reduce my costs. The vegetables are incredible cheap here. I make many soups, and even found yellow thai curry paste in a store in Antigua.

I managed to go for a quick visit to Antigua with Tziscao. It was not easy on such a long bus ride, with many changes. And soon I willnot be able to hide her anymore. We will see how is goes. Antigua is quite romantic and beautiful a city, but a little overun with foreigners! They have great bakeries there and fantastic restaurants as well.

This past weekend I went to some natural hotsprings, called Aguas Amargas, near Zunil. So relaxing!

Here are some photos¨:

This photo was taken in San Cristobal de Las Casa. The circus was parading these animals around in order to attract people to the show. I think she looks very sad.



This is the main church in the plaza of San Cristobal.



This photo was taken in Lagos De Montebello, near the border of Guatemala. Many cristal-clear lakes, with exquisite colours. This is also where I found Tziscao!



Introducing Tziscao!!

Well much to be updated on since my last entry in San Cristobal. I am curently in Xelaju or Quetzaltenango in Guatemala. After my last entry I travelled to the Lagos de Montebello, near the border of Guatemala.

I got off to a late start and arrived there in the evening.I chose a place near one of the lakes and settled in. The cabana was very simple, no running water and open to the sky in parts. It started to rain when I arrived and barely ceased raining until my departure. The ecosystem is rare in this area, a sort of tropìcal cloud-rain forest of mostly coniferous trees. In ways it reminded me of places in Canada, Alquonquin for instance...the lakes are deemed magical and I can say I certainly felt the magic. They are clear and aquamarine...torquoise...purple and ultramarine in parts. The connect to each other through a series of underwater caves. The second day I decided to find a hot shower at least and moved to a pension in a small pueblo called Tziscao.

It is here while I was walking I came across two children palying futbol with a small puppet, which as I approached turned out to be a very small puppy. This is how I found Tziscao, my newest best friend amd travel companion. I rescued her from these cruel kids, told them they were ugly (feo) and took the ittle trembling heap to a restaurant. I fed her some milk and she shook and shook and I thought for sure she would die. But no, sure enough that night she pulled through, ate alot, slept alot, peed and pood alot, but survived. I named her Tziscao because I liked the ring of it and so that she would not forget where she came from.

I will post a picture in the next post.

I stayed in Comitan while Tziscao recovered and brought her to a vet. No broken bones miraculously, only some parasites for wish she was given some pills for and her first vaccination. So now I am a proud dog owner.

Comitan is a charming town not over-run by tourists...Lots of colonial buildings, a beautiful plaza, a very relaxed atmosphere.

Thenalmost 2 weeks ago I crossed the border into Guatemala, hiding Tziscao in one of those plastic shopping tote bags one sees everywhere in Mexico. I am sure the border authorities would not have cared really, tons of stray dogs passing through the borders...but none the less thought is best not to take chances.

Guatemala was startlingly different from Mexico and I was not expected the dramatic shift. Much poorer, much dirtier, the landscape more lush, more dramatic. Even the people looked different. In mexico the people are more homogenized, but here they are more diverse...The first night I spent in HueHuetenango, found a great little cafe and a book market with some interesting esoteric books. Bought a copy of the Baghavad Gita, which turned out not to be the Baghavad Gita. Oh well...

And finally made it to Xela the next day. The combi dropped me off right in front of Trama Textiles, the place I was going to be volunteering at. t seemed somehow right. I went in and met the volunteer whom I had been corresponding with, Maria, from Beligium...She took me around to find a hotel and I wound up at the Casa Argentina....talk about a room with a view!

Xela is an amazing city, very gothic. The buildings are all crumbling and disintengrating before my eyes. The streets are cobblestoned, narrow and windings. There are strange bridges goign to nowhere in the middle of the street, and the markets line certain areas with brightly-clothed indigenous ladies, donnign the wildest colour combinations of patterns...Tha plaza is beautiful, one of the most amazing I have seen in Latin America, filled with a variety of wild gardens and flowers...

i have now been working with Trama Textiles for almost 2 weeks. In feel I have just begun. Undfortunalty they are already in crisis. the landlord wants them to move out. Today they came and told them they have only one week left. Everyone is in quite a state of preoccupation, including myself. I have not started learning to weave...but have been learning the process of it.Thw winding of the thread, the arranging of the thread on a board with pegs, placing thr thread on the sticks, setting up one´s thread and ´trama,´the winding thread. SO much to learn!

Next update will include photos.

Oops,
I wanted to add some pics here from the waterfalls near Palenque, Misol-ha:


A gigantic tree in Aguas Azules:


Now my first day exploring San Cristobal, coming across a little elderly lady walking in front of a church. She looked very cute and sort of hunched and I wanted to hug her!



This is a small indigenous Tzoltzil girl, running and chasing the pidgeons in front of the cathedral:


This is the cathedral near twilight when the light was very magnificent!


I came across this small boy alone on the street and passed him a few times during the day. he had a small scale and was weighing people for 5 pesos. He looked so lonely I started talkign with him and tickling him. he was very affectionate, and a little rude in his humour. poor kid!


These next three are all taken during a visit to the local market.






This lady I came across on my way to Chemula. She was simply quite stunning, so strong-looking and proud. She really moved me!

Hola,
Well I am starting to feel better and the fog and fever seem to be clearing from my head...On Sunday I went to the festival for San Juan in Chamula. I took a crowded combi the 10 or so kilometers to Chamula. As so happens Chamula is the location of the indigenous up-rising in the book I am reading, so it had an added interest for me. I was greeted by lots of relentless firecrackers and smoke, vendors with loud-speakers selling blankets made in China...then coming upon the market and the main square and church. I picked my way through the market, taking advantage of the crowds to hide my blantent picture-making.



When I made it up to the church and poked my head inside, I took a photo and received a rather violent push. Then another. And as I raised my camera again another...Duh! Photos are prohibited there, as I had already forgotten reading about in my guide book. Lucky they did not resort to further violence...Upon the main square in front of the church many youth wearing halloween masks raced around the platform, where a band played Ranchero tunes ( Mexican drinking music.) Then men carrying wooden toros would get lit up, and race around with fire and smoked crackling off thre blazing bulls...





Later in the afternoon after ample people watching, a large procession paraded around the square with many smoking idols on their shoulders.



Since Sunday I have moved my hotel and my new room is much warmer and dryer, so finally I am beating my cold and fever. Phew!!

Well, lots of rain here recently. I am currently recovering from a bout of stomach badness. Everyone says, "inevitable". I suppose so. I have been catching up on my reading. I am currently reading a book, by a Chiapanecan indigenous lady, Rosario Cadtellanos. The book is called "the Book of Lamentations." It was written many years before the Zapatistas up-rising, yet reads like a Deja-Vu. It tells the tail of an Indigenous up-rising in Cuidad Real, or San Cristobal de Las Casa...

This morning I went to the market to buy ingredientes for a rich chicken soup I wanted to make...I was overwhelmed...When I passed through the meat section I thought for sure the nausea would overcome me. You see people from all over the highlands here...and it is incredible the range of goods, with no apparent logic to their order.

Here one feels so close to the sky it seems to brush one´s hair as one´s walks. The thunder and lightening are urgent and ferociously close. My mind turns to higher things....

Oh and the soup turned out wonderful, by the way.

This is me!! feeling sunburnt and sleepy on Isla Holbox

This is a cenote near to Tulum. I went snorkelling here. They are mysterious and kind of eerie. You can dive down and swim underneath the mangroves...There are many different fish down there. This cenote goes under the beach and comes out in the ocean. If you scuba you can go through the cave.

This is the beach on Isla Holbox, a remote island north-east of Cancun. It is quite deserted and home ot mucho mucho aves, or birds.

This man is tropadore (sp),note it is different from a Mariachi. He serenaded myself and my new German friends in a local restaurant in Merida.

This is the grande pyramid in Uxmal. Really one of the best ruin experiences I have had, although you cant climb the pyramid. The site was filled with life, the reason it was so outstanding. Thousands of swifts living inside the ruins, and clouds of butterflies. Really amazing!



Here, can you see all the birds in the sky. They were hard to catch by camera.


Oops out of order. This is me in the same bar, with some very sweet, deaf, Mexicans...


This is one of the cave Cenotes near, Cuzama, really outstanding, the way the light would shine in through the holes in the roof. We had to take a horse-drawn cart, on a very small railway that brought us to 3 beautiful Cenotes. They Maya beleive the Cenotes are the gateways to the underworld!

Gosh this is my first time blogging. Not really sure how this goes. >Does anyone actually read these things?

Currently in San Cristobal de Las Casa, in Chiapas Mexico. Like the rumours, it is a city which oozes charm out of it's cobblestones...It is enchanting. High up, over 2000m, in a gentle valley, the sky feels as though you can reach up and touch it...I have arrived here after nearly 3 weeks of travelling from Tulum to Isla Holbox, to Merida and Palenque...

Not much else to report at the moment, but when I get the drive, I will upload some pics!

chao artichokeforest