Lia and Lorna pose in the Salt Desert

Lia and Lorna pose in the Salt Desert

Holding Mini-Lorna

Holding Mini-Lorna

Nat takes the leap

Nat takes the leap

7 Color Mountains

7 Color Mountains

Buenos Aires Graffiti

Buenos Aires Graffiti

Three Chicas on Bikes

Three Chicas on Bikes

The Desert

The Desert

Valle de la Muerte

Valle de la Muerte

Lorna at Lake Miscanti

Lorna at Lake Miscanti

Lia and Nat in the Thermal Pool

Lia and Nat in the Thermal Pool

The Salar de Atacama

The Salar de Atacama

Geysers de Tatio

Geysers de Tatio

Nat and Lia warming their feet

Nat and Lia warming their feet

Nat made it!

Nat made it!

Downhill finally

Downhill finally

The View

The View

Monday, June 30, 2008

Biking in the desert...just another day in San Pedro

After sleeping in until 10 this morning unwittingly, we decided it was time we saw a little more of the desert outside San Pedro, but this time, we would take no tour bus. What better way to explore such sandy territory than by moutain bike? Though it took us a while to find a bike rental place that would take credit cards (all of the TWO atms in town are broken - go figure), we figured it out and were on our way.
We rented bikes about 12, with 6 hours to ride around and discover the area. We set out soon after with water, sunblock and a poorly drawn map to guide us (which Lia promptly lost on some crazy sand dune or something, no biggie). Being the adventures that we are, we decided to take the first off-road path we saw...a sort of road (and I use the word road loosely) through a desert canyon. Eventually, after bouncing our way through the ¨road¨and almost falling off multiple times due to the deep sand, we arrived at an enormous dune where the craziest of the tourists in the area do something called sand boarding...basically going down a steep dune on a snowboard. Why would you want to do this? We don´t know. Especially considering that there are no lifts around here...you must walk your board up the dune each time you go down. Worth it? We think not. So we turned around and went back down the bumpy path to the real road...actually paved, and started on a death-defying (not really) ascent.
Man! What a climb...even Lia was huffing and puffing, seeing as we are 2,700 meters above sea level. We climbed and climbed, gave some faulty directions to passersby, and kept climbing...and were rewarded at the top with a view to end all views. Gorgeous, spiked desert formations and snow capped peaks rose in the distance, and San Pedro looked like a little gathering of some desert flora.
Seeing as we had amost no water left at that point, we headed back to town, bought chocolate, ate chocolate, and then Lorna and Lia head back out for some more desert riding fun. Too bad about 30 minutes in, they saw a moving (not human) thing in the road with lots of smaller things jumping around and whining. What was it? We don´t really know, but you can bet we turned around and pedaled in the other direction as fast as we could (not that fast).
Our butts are numb and our arms are multi-colored, but we have finally done something somewhat athletic and feel better for it (and we survived!)
Tomorrow, on the Argentina...love to all!

Las Tres Profesoras

Sunday, June 29, 2008

San Pedro de Atacama...an oasis in the middle of the driest desert in the world

Sorry for the long delay...we have been kicking back and kicking up dust at a desert oasis known as San Pedro de Atacama...the driest desert in the world! We are at a mere 2,700 meters above sea level (that´s meters folks, not to be confused with feet). The village is an amusing mix of ex-pats from all over the world, nutsy locals, and young Chileans immigrating from other, less interesting cities (we guess). Since we arrived here on Thursday morning, we have been all over town seeing the sights, eating the food, and enjoying the laid back atmosphere of this little dusty village.
We got here after an overnight ride, which was 12 hours long, from Arica, Chile. Dazed and confused by the sun once we arrived, we settled into our hostel - which, although an improvement over the icebox in Puno, is no cozy cottage. But whatever, our skins are toughened and it ain´t no thing.
Here is a rundown of some of the crazy things we have seen and done since we have been in San Pedro:

1. A nighttime trek to Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley) which apparently looks like the surface of the moon, where an Irish girl tried to convince Lorna that the Americans landing on the moon was all a conspiracy...pssh. It was beautiful, and Lia licked a wall of the canyon to see if it would taste like salt (it did) and then was warned by the guide (Um, have you ever heard or arsenic?) We watched the sun set over the mountains and turn the whole desert pink.

2. A full day whirlwind tour of the Salar de Atacama and the Flamenco reserve (the Atacama salt flat and the pink flamingos that live there) - this might have been one of the most otherwordly sights than any of us had EVER seen...knee high craggy salt formations as far as the eye can see...with strange, absolutely still lagoons in the middle. Pink flamingos stalked about as the three of us tried to be quiet (it is hard when you are walking on craggy salt) and surprise them. The whole scene of the mountains, the salt, and the birds was perfectly reflected in the lagoon...amazing.

3. A visit to an idyllic mountain lake, amazingly still and glass-like. The snow capped mountain that rose above it was perfectly reflected once again...almost as though another mountain grew down into the ground. The guide, Alan (who, by the way, definitely stopped the van to make a shady deal on the way to the Salar) was a little too entranced by Las Tres Profesoras, but it was all in good fun, and anyway, we understood his English.

4. This morning, Natalie and Lia got up at 3:00 am in the bitter cold (they had slept in their clothes to avoid having to unnecessarily expose skin) and took a bumpy, crazy van ride up to 15,000 feet to watch a moutain explode with geysers. Too bad their toes were too cold to stay out long, but it was definitely almost like an alien planet, with steamy geysers of all sizes rising out of the earth while making sputtering noises. What was even more amazing was 20 minutes later, when they got to wade with their frozen feet in a natural hot spring...despite all the Europeans getting naked and jumping in, Nat and Lia, needless to say, where not going to risk hypothermia. However, wading was fun enough, and definitely toasted our feet and hands back to life. From there we went on to a little village stop where Nat had here first Empanada and Lia had a llama kabob (delicious!).

Other than these sights, we have been just enjoying the culinary array that San Pedro has to offer (and REAL omelettes....so exciting), the cheap beer and the fun and crazy people. Last night, Natalie and Lia found themselves haphazardly at the local hangout spot. Unable to communicate with anyone (people in Chile talk REALLY fast), they hung out by the fire, unable to figure out why the wiry Chilean dude all in black kept taking pictures of them. On some random Chileans myspace page, we are sure you will find us, beer in hand and confused look on face. The night before, Lorna and Lia were in a fire pit debating American politics with some brits. All in all, a great time :)

We are here in San Pedro until Tuesday morning, when we take off for Salta, Argentina...supposedly a beautiful and bustling colonial city in the Northwest. From there on to Buenos Aires. We love and miss you all and can´t wait to read your emails or comment so keep em coming!

Lia, Lorna and Nat (Las Tres Profesoras)

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Arica..the land of nowhere

Here we after...after the shortest flight ever, we find outselves in Arica, a beach wasteland covered in fog. Currently trying to waste time in the basement of a deserted shopping center (yes, almost as sketchy as it sounds), we thought we would give it another shot at putting the pictures on the blog. Here goes!
Success! Even though they are small, there they are at the bottom of the page. More once we get to San Pedro!

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Strangest.Bus Ride. EVER...ending in what Nat calls paradise

Yesterday we left the ice box which was Puno to travel to Arequipa. We had paid the man at our hostel 25 soles each to book us bus tickets...25 soles is about $7 for a six hour bus ride...we should have known what we were getting into.
We awoke at 6:30 am and crawled out from under our two wool blankets. We could see our breath in our bathroom as we packed our backpacks and got ready to hit the road.

Our bus ride was funny at first- crazy bus driver who passed everything and everything on the road at warp speep, waiting two hours in Juliaca while they tried to fill the seats, and women with bags of popcorn, cheesy potatos, and gelletina (jello) screaming a cacaphony of food into the door of the bus. We watched the women for quite a while mesmerized by the fact that they were so persistent as to wait by the door, completely silent, then all in unison wailing their wares at us.
Then we had to switch seats...the bliss of first class (and the first floor of the bus) became the terror of having our feet resting against the cracked windshield of the front of the bus (we were in the first row of the second floor of the bus). The view was beautiful, but hard to enjoy as we watched as our bus driver tried to pass cars, bikers, trucks, and other buses on the winding road. To our right a steep drop off seemed all to near...good thing the bus was severly tilted to the left the whole ride. Lia found is especially hard to enjoy the ride...she had to use the restroom, but unfortunately for her the bus didn´t have one. So she had to make do when the bus pulled over to the side of the road near some bolders which were to serve as the restroom for the 50 people on the bus who piled off and popped a squat. Lia tried to hide, but she was found by a peruvian man looking for a similar hiding place...hopefully he found a better one than Lia.

Six hours later and greatful they had survived las tres professoras got off the bus in Arequipa found a taxi and took it to The Andes B&B...aka PARADISE. WARM WATER!!!(something our ice box in Puno was missing), comfy beds, and a beautiful roof top terrace with views of the surrounding mountains and volcanos. Dinner and sleep followed.

Today we woke up without an alarm clock, ate a long breakfast, and talked to other travelers. Natalie unwilling to leave the comfort of the beds returned to the room to sleep while Lia and Lorna headed off to explore. Lia and Lorna went to the Santa Catalina Monastary, a convent bulit in the 1500s out of the beautiful white stone Sillar. This place was beautiful. It was like a city. Vibrant colored walls and sunny courtyards filled the monastary, Lia and Lorna felt like they were in a small town in Mexico and spent two and a half hours wandering.

The rest of the day was filled with shopping for jewerly and sipping on a roof top terrace. Now we are off to see the Incan Museum which houses the mumified remains of a fourteen year old girl who was an Incan sacrafice to the gods.

We love and miss you all and love hearing from you so keep the comments coming.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

The Slowest Boat in the World on the World´s Highest Lake

Before beginning, I must congratulate the one and only Paul Izenberg and Paul Karen for getting the riddle - we clearly owe you a beer and we won´t dissapoint.
The answer is that the train can´t take the corners on the way down the hill and reverses and goes foward over and over to make the switchbacks down. Would have been clear if we had bothered to look out the window and notice that the scenery was continuously changing. Who knew?

We´re currently in Puno, which is even higher in altitude than Cusco, and a lot dirtier. There are no colonial buildings or llamas walking around. The real reason we came here at all is floating on Lake Titicaca (we can finally say the name without laughing - are we really teachers?).
Again we woke in the wee hours and managed to find our way onto a boat with a driver that was an amazing multitasker - spinning yarn WHILE navigating the lake! - and an enthusiastic female tour guide. Add that to a brit named Lister (???) two touristas mas jovenes than us, and some Frenchies, plus boat fumes, and you´ve got a day made for exploring.

Our first stop were the amazing (seriously) floating Islands, called Uros. Yes, they really do float. literally in the middle of the lake. They are made of cubes of dirt topped with reeds. Where do the cook? Where do they pee? All our questions were answered by Aldo, the President of the island. We were a little scared to walk around considering that someone had told us a Taiwanese tourist had plunged through the reeds just a day earlier, but we´re brave and without fear. We even got to ride on the matrimonial reed boat. SO cool. Really, the islands, although commercialized, were still incredible and one of the coolest things we have EVER seen. Pictures to come later.

From there, the boat took off for 2.5 hours to Isla Taquile, a real island (not floating) in the middle of the lake. Now, this boat was slow. We mean SLOW. So slow we didn´t leave a wake. But, Isla Taquile was well worth the trip. An Island that you can pretend is untouched aside from all the tourists, it seems like a little world all it´s own. There are no cars (or anything motorized for that matter), beautful children selling bracelets everywhere (un sole, por favor!). We hiked up part way towards the top, leaving the bulk of the tourists behind, but only Lia made it to the true top of the island with the younguns from Davidson. The views were incredible, and you could see the snow capped peaks of Bolivia poking out in the distance. Women spinning yarn and walking about (seems to be something you must do while doing other important activities) and baby goats were in abundance. Truly something magical.

We never thought it possible, but the boat ride back was SLOWER. A lot slower. Somewhere in the reeds with about 10 minutes left in the ride, the engine cut out - and one rebooted, was somehow faster than ever. Wha????


Now here we are, back in our ice box of a hostel, getting ready to eat dinner and then meet our new friends for beers in what Lonely Planet dubbed ¨"the best bar in southern Peru".

Tomorrow, we are off for Arequipa, where we WILL NOT take any tours, we swear - stay tuned :) We miss you all!

Love,

Las Tres Profesoras (Las Touristas Muy Jovenes)

Friday, June 20, 2008

Las touristas muy jovenes...

...was what the lady at Saqsaywaman(aka Sexy Woman) called Lorna and Lia after she realized that we had lost our tour bus and were stuck on a moutain. "Um, nos perdimos el bus." Stares, raises eyebrow, rolls eyes and gets on the walkie. "I have two young tourists, very very young, who lost their bus," she said in Spanish. Natalie was smart enough to have stayed back for this part of the tour. After being told they could not walk down the mountian (no es seguro!), Lia and Lorna, feeling sheepish and silly, took a taxi down the hill and hightailed it back to the hostel.

Cusco is the land of roasted guinea pigs and women in traditional Peruvian garb (plus the ever bizarre fedora hat). So far, we have witnessed at least 300 dancing troupes shake it through the main square as part of a Sun Festival, which the locals say goes on throughout June. We have hiked cobblestone streets and come a little too close to many a llama (which, by the way, are led around on leashes like giant dogs - which is funny seeing as none of the dogs here are on leashes). We have, as you read before, had one busted tour, but yesterday turned out to be exactly what we had hoped for and more.
Even if it was long and exhausting, our excitment about finally seeing the infamous Machu Picchu made the long, bumpy, jolting trip worth it. We got up in the wee hours, boarding a bus, then a train, then another bus, and finally, we were there. Machu Picchu is an ancient Inca city which is carved out of the mountain and surrounded by steep, pointy, tree covered peaks. The view was absolutely breathtaking. The weather was perfect, warm and clear. Our guide on this tour was not a fan at first...but don´t worry we won him over by saving him a seat on the bus and offering him coca candy (ps, Peruvian men LOVE when we offer them candy, especially Jelly Bellys). Mario was enthusiastic and hilarious, trucking around with his yellow flag. We loved it. See our elation in the picture below:)

After the strangest trainride ever getting back to Cusco, we would like to offer a riddle based on our experiences...and whoever emails us with the correct answer wins a free beer upon our return. Make that a pitcher. A train is on the top of a hill. The station is at the bottom. The train goes down the hill and then back up a total of 15 times. The train is not broken, nor is there something on the track. THere is no other train coming the opposite way. Las Tres Profesoras reach their station 25 minutes later. How? You must explain how the train got to its destination, even though it went up and down the same hill and over and over.

With much love, we leave you here - tomorrow our travels take us to Puno. And then Southward towards Chile! We want to hear your comments and will reply in our blog, so post em and don´t be shy!

Love,

Las Tres Profesoras

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

We are here...

hola, guapo!

Does Natalie speak spanish? Why yes, muy bieno in fact. She is, unfortunately, not shy about practicing her language abilities on unsuspecting strangers, or anyone who will listen. Yes, she really said bieno...to the ticket man at the counter, Omar, who was trying to seat us.
8 long hours later, we are in the Lima airport awaiting our departure for Cuzco, complete with Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks and McDonald`s. And masseuses, even at the wee hours of 3:30 am. Confused? So are we. In fact, our poor ears are ringing from the constant shrieking of a small child with his hand down in his Superman underpants, yelling, mama! I wanna go pee pee! And for the life of us, we couldn´t understand why she would rather let him scream for hours instead of letting him take a freaking pee.
But we digress.
So we trek forward, Lia with 25 pounds of luggage, Natalie with a shocking 27, and Lorna with a whopping 33 pounds! GO LORNA!

Updates when we get settled in Cuzco.

Love,

La Tres Profesoras

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Vamanos!

Hola, familias y amigos (I think that's right...)

Four months ago, three frazzled teachers bought three expensive plane tickets with their hard earned cash. These plane tickets were to take them to a destination far away, away from the teenaged children that once occupied their days (and often their sleepless nights). Thoughts of their adventure got them through the February blues, the March crazies, April testing time, and the May rush of frenzied grading and hyper students. Over Monkey Heads at Triple Rock each Thursday night, the three teachers schemed and toiled away trying to learn some Spanish phrases ("Hola gordito" was perfected). Finally, on June 6th, las tres profesoras graduated from Teach for America, with a cheaply framed "certificate" under plastic courtesy of the organization (and with the gift of knowing we made significant gains in our hearts).

These three teachers, Lia, Lorna and Natalie, embark on their adventure tomorrow, June 16th!
We're off on our South American Journey. We have a loose itinerary due to some last minute changes, but we're hoping to keep family and friends updated with this blog. We'll be spanning the continent from Macchu Picchu to Buenos Aires, so keep your seatbelts on. None of us have blogged before, so we're amateurs, but we hope you will enjoy our stories. We'll try our best to keep it real.

Much love,

Lia, Lorna and Natalie