Planes cambian

Hola a tod@s, espero que este mensaje les encuentre bien. Bueno voy a saltar un poco de lo que escribí en ingles, porque fue demasiado. En general subimos muy rápido por el norte de Peru por Huaraz, donde la lluvia no nos dejo hacer mucho treking. Después de dos noches y un día entero de viaje en bus entramos a Ecuador y fuimos a un pueblito que se llama Vilcabamba. Nos quedamos en un hostal hermoso con una piscina rodeada de plantas tropicales en medio de las montañas, fue espectacular. De allí fuimos a Loja, donde no nos pensábamos quedar, pero el grupo Bacilos (cantan las canciones “Caraluna” y “Tabaco y Chanell”) iban a dar un concierto y todavía habían entradas. Entonces nos quedamos y valió la pena, el concierto fue buenísimo. Desde Loja viajamos a Cuenca pero otra ves con la lluvia no pudimos hacer mucho. Desde Cuenca salimos a Quito para pasar solo un día. Tengo que regresar a Ecuador cuando no sea la temporada de lluvia, y también visitar la costa, porque sentí que no vi casi nada.
Entonces cambiaron los planes. Cuando salimos de viaje pensábamos cruzar de Peru a Bazil e ir por las amazonas a Venezuela. Pero conocimos tanta gente que nos dijo que teníamos que ir a Colombia, entonces aquí estamos! Desde Quito salimos a Pasto, Colombia y desde el día que cruzamos nos enamoramos del país. Tomamos el bus a Popayán, un camino espectacular. Nunca en mi vida había visto montañas como esas, un paisaje increíble. Pasamos algunos días en Popayán, una ciudad muy bonita y viajamos al pueblo de Silvia donde cada martes bajan los indígenas de la región para el día del mercado. Fue muy bonito ver como han conservado sus tradiciones. De Popayán fuimos a Cali, la capital de la salsa. Salimos a bailar a la avenida sexta, pero como no estuvimos para un fin de semana no pudimos ver de verdad como son las noches de fiesta en Cali. De Cali fuimos A Medellín donde vimos la exhibición de Botero en el museo de arte. Como no teníamos mucho tiempo sentíamos que estábamos volando de ciudad a ciudad sin hacer una conexión con la gente del lugar. Y los otros turistas que conocíamos en los hostales eran un horror. Casi todos venían por las drogas y las prostitutas. En un hostal un chico en la misma frase me pregunto que hora era y cuanto costaba la cocaína por acá. No lo pude creer. Era una desgracia ver como los extranjeros venían a dañar más al país. Sentíamos que aunque estos extranjeros estaban en Colombia no tenían idea de donde estaban, de la situación socio-política. Y también sentía que la Colombia que estábamos viendo no era la que entendía por las historias de mis amigos colombianos o de mis padres que trabajan en el trabajo de solidaridad con Colombia. Y entonces llegamos a Cartagena muy desilusionadas y no era porque no teníamos contactos de gente que nos podía mostrar Colombia, sino que íbamos viajando tan rápido y como fue de último momento que decidimos ir a Colombia, so pudimos hacer los contactos antes. Pero en fin, llegamos a Cartagena y pudimos encontrar un amigo de Marie que es de Cartagena que conoció en Francia cuando estuvo estudiando allá. El es parte de una compañía de danza que se llama El Colegio del Cuerpo que trabaja con chicos de comunidades marginales de Cartagena y usan una metodología de empoderarse y respeto que es increíble. Y entonces pasamos una semana con el y su novia y sus amigos discutiendo política, hablando de racismo en Colombia en comparación a EEUU, de la inigualdad económica. Fue una semana increíble donde en verdad sentí una conexión humana, la formación de una amistad muy especial. Nos mostraron otro entendimiento de Colombia, compartieron su trabajo y sus experiencias con nosotras. Ella hace documentales y trabajo con un grupo de mujeres que se llama Liga de Mujeres Desplazadas y nos mostró las documentales que hizo sobre el trabajo de las mujeres. Fuimos a ver un concierto de Petrona Martinez, una cantante muy famosa de Palenque que canta música folklórica de Colombia. La pasamos supero bien en Cartagena, encontramos una comunidad de gente joven que están viviendo sus vidas tratando de cambiar las injusticias en el mundo poco a poco. No nos queríamos ir de Cartagena, pero en fin teníamos que irnos. Salimos de Cartagena a Santa Marta donde fuimos al Parque Tayrona. Un lugar espectacular con una combinación de playas hermosas y una selva tropical. Celebramos el cumpleaños de mariela allí con ron y música. Pero el parque queda en una región controlada por los paramilitares y no deje de pensar que dentro de tanta maravilla existía tanta violencia y opresión. En este país tan increíble hay tanta violencia y hay tantos que no pueden regresar a su país y que no pueden ver la hermosura que yo he visto en estas ultimas semanas, que no pueden ver sus familias. Sé que tengo que regresar a Colombia muy pronto. Esta visita me ha mostrado la superficie, pero sé que tengo que regresar y haber más conexiones y seguir el trabajo de la solidaridad en EEUU.
Mañana cruzamos a Venezuela por una semana antes de que regrese a Chicago. Este viaje ha sido increíble y seguiré procesando mis experiencias después que termine. Bueno entonces los dejo con esto y les cuento de Venezuela en el próximo mensaje.
Los quiero mucho.
Paz, Juanita.

Change of Plans

Hello everyone. I hope that this e-mail finds you all well. Since my last update we headed to Huaraz in the north of Peru and unfortunately were met with rainy weather and so were not able to do that much hiking as we had hoped in the Cordillera Blanca (the highest mountain range in Peru). But we enjoyed a lovely hostel and used the time to work on our artesanias and we made three sales in the hostel! It was quite exciting. From Huaraz we spent two nights and one full day taking one bus after another to get to Ecuador. We made it to Vilcabamba, Ecuador, a lovely little town in the mountains that is called the town of longevity because people are supposed to live to be 100 years old. In Vilcabamba we stayed in this hostel that was a complete paradise. There was a swimming pool and tropical flowers and plants all over. We re-energized from our long days of travel and headed on to Loja. We hadn’t planned on staying in Loja, but found out that the musical group Bacilos was playing there the following night and tickets were still available, so we changed out plans and saw them in concert. The group is made up of a colombia, a puertorican, and a brazilian who all met up in miami. They sing the songs "Caraluna" and "Tabaco y Channel" for those of you who might know those songs. It was a great concert, totally worth it! From Loja we headed to Cuenca, a lovely colonial city surrounded by mountains. We stayed in Cuenca for about a week, although because of the rain we weren’t able to do much. The rainy season is definitely upon us, and so our activities were a lot more limited. But we’re reading and writing a lot and working on our artesanias, so it’s all good. From Cuenca we headed to Quito, but because of our limited time line we only stayed in Quito for one day. Our time in Ecuador went by fast and because of the rain we didn’t get to do all the national parks that we had originally hoped. So I definitely have to go back to Ecuador and spend more time there to get to know the coastal region and see all the beautiful parks in the mountains. You can see my pictures of Ecuador under the link of "Grinnell Gallery Photos" on my blog.

And then there were a change in plans. We originally planned to go back down to peru and get to venezuela via the amazon. But, we talked to so many travelers who said that we just had to go to colombia, and so guess where I am? Colombia! We have spent the last three weeks traveling in Colombia and head to Venezuela tomorrow for the last week of the trip. I must say I am so happy we decided to come to Colombia, it’s an amazing country. From Quito we took a bus to the border and crossed with no problems at all and then headed to the city of Pasto, that is three hours from the border. We were told that it’s safest if we travel by day, and so we spent the night in Pasto before heading to Popayan. The scenery on the road between Pasto and Popayan is incredible. The skyline is covered in lush green mountains with trees and fruits of all kinds. It’s definitely one of my favorite views thus far, it seemed like it was out of a fairytale. Yet, amongst the beautiful scenery I couldn’t help but think of the people who are living in those mountains. It’s crazy to think that people continue on with their daily lives even with a war going on, a war that has been going on for over 40 years. And as I have traveled through Colombia I can’t help but think of all of my friends who are in exile from this country and who cannot see the amazing scenery or taste the traditional arepas or see the beautiful faces of their people.
And so the from Popayan we headed to Cali, the salsa capital of the world. We were only there for two days but were able to go out on Avenida Sexta and check out the dancing. From Cali we headed to Medellin for two days and we went to the art museum where they have a wonderful Botero exhibit and the park in front is full of his sculptures (you can check out some of the pictures).
We had really been enjoying seeing the beautiful cities, museums, parks, etc. but were really missing a human element. We were disgusted by tourist who com to colombia for the drugs and prostitutes, which happens all over, but we really saw it here more than anywhere else in our trip. The other day a guy asked me what time it was and how much cocaine costs around here all in the same breath as if it was a totally normal question. And so as we headed to Cartagena we were very disillusioned with the type of tourists we were meeting and because we were only spending short periods of time in each place it was hard to meet colombians. We arrived in Cartagena, a beautiful city where it’s hot and humid all the time. Marie had met a friend when she was studying in France who was from Cartagena and part of a dance company here and so we decided to look him up and we found him! The dance company is called Colegio del Cuerpo and is a school that started nine years a go to work with youth from poor and struggling neighborhoods in Cartagena and teach them how to dance but with a very specific methodology of empowerment and consciousness-raising. They do some amazing work and are very well recognized for the work they have done in Colombia. And so we have been in Cartagena for the past week having an amazing time. He and his girlfriend and their friends are very politically conscious and our first night having dinner with them we talked all night about colombian politics, US politics, racism, classism, everything under the sun. And we just kept wanting to stay longer to go to different cultural events like a concert of Petrona Martinez a very famous singer of African descent from Palenque who sings traditional folkloric music of the coast.
She also worked with an organization called Liga de Mujeres Desplazadas and so we have had a great time talking with her about her work with them and watching two documentary films that she made about the group. Finding the two of them and their community here in Cartagena was exactly what we needed. We have felt so welcomed and included here and that it’s made me feel like I want to come and live here. It’s great to find a group of people who are living their lives to try and make the world a better place each using his-her talents in a different way. He using dance as a tool for change, she using her skills in communication and film making as a tool. Each one of us using what we know as a way to educate people, to inspire people, to connect with people to try and fight against all the injustices that exist in the world. My time in Cartagena was inspirational for me: A time of personal reflection, of deep thought provoking discussions, formation of great friendships. Although we didn’t want to leave we left Cartagena for Santa Marta where we stayed for a few days before heading to Parque Tayrona, a beautiful national park with spectacular beaches and tropical jungle all in the same place. We celebrated Marie`s b-day with rum and drums on the water front, it was a great celebration. But the park is in a region controlled by the paramilitaries and so although It was an amazing place I couldn’t help but think of all the violence that has and continues to occur in that paradise. From Tayrona we headed back to Santa Marta to try and head into Venezuela, but missed the bus, so will head there tomorrow and spend a week on the coast before I fly back from Caracas on the 19th. The trip is coming to an end so soon. I can’t believe that I will be back in cold Chicago in a week! It’s been an amazing adventure, and it’s not over yet. So i`ll let you know how the last week goes.
Love, Jenny

it`s been a while

As you have noticed i haven`t written an update in a while. It has been a combination of being in places without internet access as well as not being able to put into words all of the things that i`ve expertienced in the last month. Since I last wrote I`ve spent time in La Paz, Sorata (a magnifisant town in the middle of the mountains, 4 hours noth of La Paz), back in La Paz, Copacabana and Isla del Sol and then Peru. That`s the quick description of our route of last four weeks. We had a blast in Bolivia and we could have stayed there a lot longer if we had the time. The highlight of the second half of our time in Bolivia was Sorata. It is this town tucked in the middle of gourgeous mountains with a spectacular view of the snow-capped mountain of Illampu. We made friends with a group of Argentine artisans and spent our days drinking mate and making crafts by the river. The place was truly magical, i felt so at peace with myself and the natural surroundings. We went to Sorata planning on staying 3 days and stayed 10 and if we had the time we would have stayed longer.
The next highlight was Copacabana, a beautiful town on the shore of Lake Titicaca. We met up with two Grinnellians, Justin Riley and Nick Fogg and travled together up to Cusco. In Copacabana we made friends with a group of Peruvian and Colombian artisans, who taught us how to make a lot of different kinds of bracelets and necklesas. Marie and I decided that we keep wanting to buy so many crafts, that we should learn how to make them and this would also help our financial situation if we could sell some of the things we made. So we bought materials in La Paz and as we meet artisans we learn new techniques. We have sold one necklace and a pair of earings, and hope these numbers increase as we go north. Who knows, if you`re traveling you might run into Marie and me with our display of artesanias in some plaza in a little town in South America? Some might say that we are turning into artisan, traveling, hippies.

We sadly left Bolivia, but with great antisipation for what was ahead of us in Peru. We arrived in Cusco and booked the alternative hike to Machupicchu called the Salkantay trek. To do the traditional Inca Trail you have to book months in advance and it is really expensive and so this wasn´t an option for us. The Salkantay Trail is five days and four nights and ends up in Machupicchu the last day. We had a great group of people that were brought together by various different agencies. There were 16 of us: 3 Spanish, 2 Danish, 2 Dutch, 2 Canadians, 2 US, and Mariela and me, 2 guides and a cook. We luckily didn`t have to carry all of our belongings, we only carried water and snacks and then we had mules carry the rest of our things. It was a tough hike, up mountains and through valleys, across rivers and through humid jungles, through rain and shine. The highest point we climed was 4540 meters high at the pass of the snow capped Salkantay Mountain. Everyone in the group got a long and we all helped each other through moments where we didn`t know if we could keep going. I had never done anything like this, but it made me really excited about future camping and hiking adventures. The last day at Machupicchu was cold and rainy and when we got there we couldn`t see anything! We had hiked four days to get to the highlight of the trek, and fog and rain covered everything. Our guide pointed to a cloudy area and said, “This is where you would take the traditional Machupicchu postcard picture, but you can`t see anything.” We were all so disapointed, but there was this eternal optimist voice from my mother calling out to me saying “It`s going to clear up, i`m sure it is.” And so we began the tour with out guide and sure enough the fog began to lift, it was still rainy and cold, but we could at least see Machupicchu. And still i had this feeling that the sun was going to come out, and guess what? It did! Just as I was about to lose hope and resign myself to the fact that it would stay cloudy, the sun peaked out through a patch of blue sky. The morning was cold and rainy and by the afternoon the clouds and fog had cleared and it was warm and sunny and we spent the afternoon in the sun admiring the ruins of the mysterious Inka Empire. It was spectacular! A great ending to a tough hike.
After returning to Cusco we headed to Cabanaconde, a town at the edge of the Colca Canyon, the second deepest canyon in the world (3000 meters deep). We spent two days at a hostal called El Paraiso in the heart of the canyon. It was a great place to relax after several days of intense hiking: it really was like a paradise, with a swimming pool, tropical flowers and palm trees all nestled next to a beatiful flowing river surrounded by red and orange endges of the canyon. And before we left the region we got to see several condors flying over us (with the help of my dad`s binoculars, thanks papí:) from a look off point called El Cruz del Condor.
From there we headed to Lima, which is where I am writing from now and are headed to Huaraz in the Cordillera Blanca, the highest mountain range in Peru, before heading north to Ecuador. We are excited to hit the warm beaches, a nice change from the cold mountains of Bolivia and Peru. Although the sceneries have been spectacular, it has been the people I have met along the way that have really touched me and will stay with me long after this trip is over: Artisan travelers, local residents, travelers from abroad; people from all walks of life who see and experience the beauty of South America in a million different ways. The artisan who sits with me for hours teaching me a new point. A simple act of kindness from an old woman who offers me a tissue to wipe my forehead when i`m feeling sick on a crowded bus. A child who smiles at me as a hike past his home. A kind stranger who offers directions to a pair of lost travelers. These are the faces and images that will accompany my memories of this traveling adventure.
I`ve uploaded some pictures from the last month under "More Photos" if you want to check them out and Marie also has some great pictures.
I hope you`re all doing well.
love, Jenny

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Y les pido disculpas a tod@s los que leen mis mensajes en español, pero es muy tarde y no tengo tiempo para escribir sobre mis aventuras en este ultimo mes. Pero espero que disfruten las fotos y subi del link "More Fotos." Los quiero mucho y les contare de mis proximas aventuras muy pronto.
con mucho cariño, Juanita

Sucre y Cochabamba

From Potosí we headed to Sucre, the constitutional capital of Bolivia. We enjoyed a few chill days of hanging out in the main plaza. We met a bunch of artisan hippies from all over Latin America and Marie played the drums with them and we drank mate and shard stories, it was a lot of fun. In Sucre I also got a chance to see the largest fossilized dinosaur tracks in the world, which was cool, but nothing spectacular. (It made me think of Ross from Friends). From Sucre we headed to Cochabamba. I was really excited about going to Cocha because of the rich political history and the social movements that have arisen around water privatization during the Water Wars of 2001. Cocha is really busy and the streets in the center are packed with people. We walked around the city, and ran into this group of activists from the International Humanist Movement. They were having a candle-light vigil and action calling for world nuclear disarmament in the central plaza and so we checked it out and ended up talking with them into the night about politics, their movement, and their lives as young people in Cocha. It was really cool and if we had had more time it would have been interesting to do a more in-depth investigation into the social movements there, but it just means I have to return. I also went to talk to the Franciscan Peace and Justice Office, they didn’t have a lot of time to talk with me, but they gave me a general idea of the work they do around ecological and human rights issues. We could feel the general political charge of Cocha by just walking through the plaza: one evening there were circles of men through the plaza discussing various political issues in groups of 5, 10, or 20 people. It was really impressive to see.
From Cochabamba we headed to the tropical jungle in the Chapare region to the town of Villa Tunari. The town is full of international volunteers who come and help out in the parks. We visited an animal refuge Parque Machia where we hung out with monkeys all afternoon. They crawled all over us and tried to steel Marie`s camera. We also went to Parque La Jungla, which is more of a ropes course in the jungle where we jumped off swings of 5, 8, 12, and finally 18 meters in the air. It was really scary, but a lot of fun. Marie`s love of hights has definatley helped push me to be more adventurous in this area.
But what really stood out about our visit to Villa Tunari was our talk with a restaurant owner who gave us the history of the Chapare region. He said that 60-80% of the cocaine production in Bolvia comes from this area. In his analysis, growing coca has not always been a central part of Bolivian indigenous identity. Instead, he argued that with the Spanish conquest the Spaniards realized that the indigenous slaves could work longer and harder and needed less food if they chewed the coca leaves, and so the growing and chewing of coca leaves became a part of the indigenous tradition. And it was the Europeans who discovered how to make cocaine from the coca leaves and the demand for the drug came from the US and Europe. And of course if was from these two regions that Bolivia received pressure to begin the eradication of the coca. First through peaceful means by offering money to stop growing and then through CIA supported violent means. Yet the growing of coca continues because there is the demand for it and it is the only thing that campesinos can survive on. The restaurant owner we talked to said that the first major process in making cocaine is stomping on coca leaves with kerosene, and you can make U$100 for working 6 hours, while the average monthly salary in Bolivia is B$300 (a little over U$30). And although there is a lot of police and check points trying to stop it, the chain of people involved from the campesino to the police, to customs officials, to politicians, and the mafia; it’s a really complicated situation. As we were walking to el Parque de la Jungla we saw a little girl sitting on her front yard drying coca leaves and when we walked by she ran inside to hide from us. After visiting Villa Tunari the cocaine industry have a human face, we didn’t talk with any actual growers, but I will always think of that little girl who has become involved at such an early age in such a complex and dangerous industry, but the only choice her family sees for survival.

I hope you are all well.
Lots of love, Jenny

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Desde Potosí fuimos a Sucre, a capital constitucional de Bolivia. Pasamos varios días relajándonos y tomando mate en la plaza. Conocimos unos artesanos de diferentes partes de América Latina en la plaza y Marie toco percusión con ellos y compartimos experiencias. De Sucre salimos a Cochabamba. Yo estaba muy emocionada de ir a Cocha por lo que había estudiado de los movimientos sociales de las Guerras de Agua en 2001 y los otros grupos sociales que trabajan en Cocha. Nos encontramos con un grupo del Movimiento Internacional del Humanismo que hace trabajo social y trabaja por la paz y justicia. Estaban teniendo un evento en la plaza central llamando por el desarmamiento nuclear mundial. Pasamos toda la noche hablando con ellos sobre su trabajo, la política de Cocha y de sus vidas allí. También fui a la oficina Franciscana de Paz y Justicia para aprender sobre el trabajo que hacen y aunque no tuve mucho tiempo para hablar con ellos, me dieron una idea del trabajo ecológico y por los derechos humanos que hacen por todo el país de Bolivia. Simplemente pasando por la plaza central podíamos ver la gran energía política que hay en Cocha. Pasamos por la plaza y vimos grupos de hombres discutiendo diferentes temas políticos en grupos de 5, 10, o 20 personas. Fue muy interesante.
De Cochabamba fuimos a la región Chapare que es una región tropical y amazónica. Fuimos al pueblo de Villa Tunari donde hay muchos voluntarios internacionales que ayudan en los parques de la área. Fuimos al parque Machia donde rescatan monos, pajaros y pumas de zoológicos, circos, hogares, u otros lugares que los ha domesticado. Estuvimos toda la tarde con monos agarrándonos y abrasándonos por todas partes, y casi se roban la cámara de Marie. También fuimos al Parque La Jungla que tiene columpios de 5, 8, 12, y 18 metros de altura. Nos divertimos bastante y pienso que si no fuera por Marie no me atrevería a aventarme de tantas alturas.
Lo mas interesante de nuestra visita a Villa Tunari fue una conversación que tuvimos con un dueño de un restaurante que nos hablo de la historia de la región Chapare. Nos dijo que 60-80% de la cocaína de Bolivia viene de esta región. Pero en su análisis nos dijo que la coca no siempre ha sido una parte central de la identidad indígena. Sino con la conquista de los Españoles, los conquistadores se dieron cuenta que si los esclavos indígenas masticaban coca podías trabajar más tiempo, con menos descanso y menos comida. Entonces la hoja de coca fue utilizada como un instrumento de opresión. Y fueron los Europeos que descubrieron como hacer la droga de cocaína de las hojas de coca y de Europa y los EEUU vino la demanda para la droga. Pero a la misma ves vino la presión de erradicar la coca. Al principio fue una erradicación pacífica pero cuando eso no funcionó, con la ayuda de la CIA usaron métodos violentos. Pero los campesinos se organizaron y siguieron con la cosecha de la coca porque es lo único que les permiten sobrevivir. El salario mensual en Bolivia es B$300 (un poco más de U$30) pero pisando hojas de coca con caroseina (el primer paso para hacer la droga) pueden ganar U$100 por 6 horas. ¿Cómo se puede compara? Es una red muy complicada de los campesinos, los policías, la aduana, políticos, la mafia. Pienso que esta visita puso una cara humana en la producción de droga. Cuando estábamos caminando al parque La Jungla vimos una niña en frente de su casa secando hojas de coca y se escondió cuando nos vio. Pensar de una nena tan joven que ya este involucrada en la producción de droga, en un sistema tan peligroso, pero es el único que ve la familia para sobrevivir.

Los quiero mucho.
Un beso, Juanita

Uyuni y Potosí

Como la última vez no escribí en español, voy a comenzar esta vez con el español. Mucho ha pasado desde que salimos de Purmamarca. Pasamos unos días en Humahuaca y Yavi y de allí cruzamos en La Quiaca a Villazón, Bolivia. Inmediatamente cuando cruzamos la frontera nos dimos cuenta de la diferencia entre Bolivia y Argentina. La forma en que se viste la gente, el lenguaje de Quechua, la venta de gran bolsas de hojas de coca.

El viaje por tren a Uyuni fue una gran aventura porque cuando llegamos a nuestra parada el conductor no nos despertó y eran la 1:30am y de repente vino y nos pregunto porque no nos habíamos bajado porque nuestras mochilas estaban en Uyuni pero nosotras no. Entonces encontraron un ferrocarril (un tren de carga) que paro y Marie y yo con una familia Boliviana con dos niños nos subimos al ferrocarril. Nos dejo un kilómetro afuera de la ciudad de Uyuni y llegamos a Uyuni como a las 3:00 de la mañana. Fue una gran aventura, y ahora puedo decir que me he subido a un tren de carga como mi mamá hizo cuando era joven J . Por suerte encontramos nuestras mochilas y todo salió bien.

Uyuni es el centro de turismo para un tour de tres días por el Salar de Uyuni y varios volcanes y lagunas con flamingos. Nos quedamos en un hotel todo echo de sal (las camas, mesas, sillas, etc.) y pudimos ver el amanecer y el atardecer, que en realidad fueron maravillosas. Viajamos los tres días en un jeep 4x4 con una pareja de Israel, tres chicos de Inglaterra, el chofer, y la considera (muy apretaditos). Pero la pasamos muy bien y pueden ver las fotos por el link “More Photos” y “Marie´s Photos” de mi blog, que solo viendo las fotos pueden imaginar como era el Salar.

De Uyuni fuimos a Potosí. Esta ciudad fue central en el imperio Español y el resto de Europa por los minerales que hay en las minas. Y tomamos un tour de la minas que fue muy fuerte físicamente y emocionalmente. Los mineros de Potosí siguen con las mismas tecnicas que usaron hace 500 años, con algunos cambios, pero en general lo mismo. Trabajan de 6-12 horas por día enterados en el cerro con nada más que una bolsa con hojas de coca que pasan masticando para ayudarles con la altura, la falta de aire, y el polvo. Desde los tiempos coloniales han muerto 8 millones de trabajadores en las minas y el número va sumando cada año.

Con el tour nos metimos en túneles muy peligrosos, y nos costo bastante tener que caminar y gatear con tanto polvo y con poco aire. Y aunque por supuesto no es lo mismo, pudimos tener una idea de la vida de un minero adentro del cerro. Yo había viajado a las minas de carbón en Pennsylvania con mi familia y aprendí de las horribles condiciones de los trabajadores y de mis antepasados que trabajaron en esas minas. Pero eso ya es historia, y aquí en Potosí siguen trabajando así. Hablé con tres viejitos en la plaza de Potosí y les pregunte si habían trabajado en las minas y dijeron que por supuesto que sí, si uno nace en Potosí en minero, es el único trabajo que hay. Y dicen que solo le falta 10 años de vida al cerro y ya no va haber minerales para minar, y pienso en como va a cambiar la ciudad de Potosí cuando eso pase. Seguro pasará como pasó en todos esos pueblos de minas en Pennsylvania, cuando ya no hay mina, ya no hay trabajo y ya no hay pueblo. La experiencia de ver y compartir con los mineros fue muy difícil, pero puedo llevar la experiencia con migo y compartiéndola con ustedes es parte de la red de solidaridad y educación. Y seguiré enfrentándome con experiencias y realidades difíciles, pero eso es parte de mi viaje y parte de mi formación.

Los quiero mucho y gracias por su apoyo. Un gran beso – Juanita

Las próximas paradas en Bolivia?: Sucre, Cochabamba, La Paz…

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Since the last time I wrote only in English, this time i started in Spanish and y English e-mail Hill be the abridged version. From Purmamarca we went to Humahuaca and Yavi in the north of Argentina and then crossed from La Quiaca into Villazón, Bolivia. We could tell that we were in a different country the moment we crossed the border: the way women were dressed, hearing people speak Quechua, and the huge bags of coca leaves that were being sold.

It just so happened that the day we decided to cross into Bolivia was one of the days that the train going to Uyuni (that only leaves twice a week) was leaving. So we took the 9.5 hour train ride. But at 1:30am the conductor came to wake us up and asked us why we hadn’t gotten off the train, because our backpacks were unloaded but we weren’t there. And we asked why they hadn’t woken us up, and once we did a little bantering back and forth they finally said there was a cargo freight train going back to the city that we would soon cross paths with and we could take that back. So along with another Bolivian couple with two children, who also missed the stop, we got off the passenger train in the middle of the dessert and got into the engine of the freight train that took us to the outskirts of Uyuni and we then walked into Uyuni at about 3:00am. Luckily our backpacks were safe and sound and so were we. It was quite the adventure.

Uyuni in the tourist center for the tour of the Salar de Uyuni and so we headed out on a three day tour with a couple from Israel, three young guys from London, our cook, and the driver, all crammed into a 4x4 jeep. The Salar was amazing and we were able to stay a night in a hotel all made of salt, the beds, tables, chairs, etc. And we saw volcanoes, colorful lagoons with flamingos (in the middle of the desert, a little strange, but very cool). You can go to the “More Photos” and Marie´s Photos” link on my blog to see the pictures of the trip, the views were quite spectacular.

Then we headed to Potosí, a city whose mine was the foundation of the Spanish empire and helped build much of the European wealth. We were able to go to a tour of the mine. This tour was not the average gringo tour. We climbed through narrow caves leading down into the mine. The miners use the same technique (with some technological changes) that they did 500 years a go. They work 6-12 hours a day inside the belly of the mountain only chewing coca leaves. 8 million workers have been killed in the mine since the colonial period and the number continues to grow. I was talking with three old men in the central Plaza and asked them if there worked as miner and they said of course, if you are born in Potosí, you are a miner. The experience in the mines really made me think of the time my family and I spent touring the coal mines in Pennsylvania. But the big difference in that to me the coal mines that we visited we history. The suffering and horrible conditions was not going on right now like it is in Potosí. Our guide of the Potosí mine said that there is 10 more years left in the life of the mine, and I can’t help but think of the abandoned coal mining towns on the east coast of the US. If there is no mine, there is no work, and if there is no work, there is no town. The experience of going into the mines was really challenging both physically and mentally, and I’m sure I will continue to face difficult experiences and harsh realities of the Bolivia people, but that is part of my trip and part of my own formation.

Well it turned out that this entry in English was not so abridged, but I had the time to do it, so I’m glad that I could share it with you. I love you all and I thank you for your love and support and words or wisdom from afar.

Love – Jenny

Next stops in Bolivia?: Sucre, Cochabamba, La Paz…

Purmamarca

Well in turns out that we didn’t follow the travel plan that I wrote in my last entry. From Tafí del Valle we headed straight to Cafayate. We were in Cafayate for four days. It’s a beautiful little town surrounded by dessert and bright red and orange mountains. The town in known for its wine vineyards and so we tasted some good wine and ate good cheese. We took a day trip through the Quebrada de Cafayate (which marie and I both have posted pictures of). The scenery reminded me of the desert scenes from our spring break trip to the border region. We then headed north to Salta where we stayed with a friend of Marie’s who plays the violin in the Salta Orchestra. Salta is a nice city, but is a city and so it definitely was a different feel than Cafayate. But after three days in Salta we were ready to leave the city and headed to Jujuy where we transferred buses to Purmamarca, which is where I’m writing to you from right now. The town is completely surrounded by colorful mountains - mountains with red, orange, yellow, green, purple, and so many other variations of colorful earth. I can’t even describe to you how beautiful the scenery is (I forgot my cord to download pictures, so the pictures will be in the next entry). The scenery is breath-taking. The other big difference is the temperature. It is SO cold! Marie talked about the cold, but I just couldn’t imagine it. And the biggest different is that there is no heat inside of places, so you’re cold outside and inside, you can’t escape it. I am sitting in this internet café wearing a tank-top, t-shirt, long-sleeve shirt, two sweaters, a wind breaker, long underwear, pants, two pairs of socks, a scarf, and a wool hat. And we have good sleeping bags and so we can sleep comfortably at night. And I’ve been told that it will get colder as we get closer and into Bolivia, so we’ll see how I do.
On a different note, being surrounded by such natural beauty really makes me believe in a higher being that must have created such spectacular vistas. Yet, among this natural beauty there is also intense poverty and suffering. And so I am presented with the constant conflict within my own faith of witnessing such suffering and asking why this higher being that created such amazing sceneries would allow for there to be such poverty and hunger. And this is not the first time that I am confronted with this question - from my time in El Salvador and my travels throughout Central America to the streets of Chicago I constantly ask myself this WHY? And yet, as I process my past and present experiences, it is among these people where you will find the strongest faith and hope. I will constantly be confronted with this question and so at this point the best way to deal with it is to decide what I can do with the power and privileged position that I was born into. And this will be a life-long struggle. And as I slow down my pace in life during this trip I have plenty of time to process and analyze myself, my relationships, the world, and anything that pops into my head.
Another major issue that I have had to deal with is my attachment to material possessions. No matter how hard my parents tried to instill in me the importance of detaching myself from material things, it’s hard after living in such a consumerist society for so long. And so in Salta, Marie and I emptied out backpacks and sent a box of things to Buenos Aires and then left another bag of things that we gave away to Marie’s friend Gala. And even after
Literature update: I finished Cortázar´s book and have moved onto another Argentine author Manuel Puig “El beso de la mujer anaña.” The book is about the relationship between a political activist and a queer person who are prisoners together during the Argentine dictatorship of the 70s. It’s a powerful read and is definitely interesting to read while I’m in Argentina giving me a historical perspective on the land that I’m traveling through. (Thanks to those of you who sent book recommendations, I don’t know if I will be able to find them, but ill keep my eyes open).
And so the plan from here is to leave tomorrow morning to Humahuaca (1.5 hours north of here) and then to Yavi (a town right near the Bolivian border) and then cross into Bolivia via the town of La Quiaca. But as you know this is just the idea and the plans are sure to change, we’ll see where the wind blows us…
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Y a mis amigos que hablan español, les pido mil disculpas, que no me quedo tiempo para escribirlo en español. Pero pueden mirar las fotos que agregue en “My Photos” y “More Fotos” de mi tiempo en Tafí del Valle y Cafayate. Los quiero mucho y hasta la próxima.

Tucumán

The rest of my time in Buenos Aires was great. Marie´s mom was able to get us free tickets to really nice dinner and Tango show. There was singing and dancing, it was an amazing show and an incredible opportunity to see the real Argentine Tango.
We had a lovely farwell dinner with some of Marie´s friends the night before we left and then heading north to Tucumán. We left at about 8pm and the bus ride was supposed to be 15 hours, but at about 2am the front tire exploded and we were delayed about 5 hours trying to get to a station and get the tire changed. And no 20 hours later we arrived in Tucumán and Sebastian (the son of one of Marie´s mom´s hotel owner collegues) greated us at the station. He was very hospitable and let us stay at his apartment for 5 days. Tucumán is a city of about 1.6 million people, and is the most densly populated area in Argentina. Sebastian took us out on his motor boat in the nearby lake and drove us around the mountains that surround the center of Tucumán and took us to the mountain of San Javier where where was a paragliding competition. That´s where Marie got the idea to go hang-gliding. And it turns out that Sebastian has a friend who is a hang-glising instuctor and he could take us out for a reduced price. And so Marie and I jumped off a cliff 830 meters high hanging on to a nothing more than a kite-like structure (Paco, the instructor is flying with you, so he´s the one who knows what he´s doing.) It was AMAZING!! The feeling of flying is indescribeable. It was definately a memorable experience and if i get another chance i would do it in a heartbeat.
The other great thing about being in Tucumán was that Sebastian´s family owns a restaurant where we ate like queens during our entire stay there, the food was amazing and i don´t know if we´ll eat like that again during our trip. If you´re ever in Tucumán, check out La Leñita, it´s really good.
And so after 5 days in Tucuman we left for Tafí del Velle. The town is about 8,000 people and is 2.5 hours north of Tucumán. The view is completely different from Tucumán, it is very dry and a lot cooler. I´m so used to traveling in the tropics that i was definately not expecting this cold. We climbed a small mountain with a couple from Spain and sat at the top drinking mate and talking about the worlds we come from and the worlds that we have traveled to. The wind was so strong and blew clouds of dust all around us.
In terms of literature, I finished Che´s Motorcicle Diaries in Buenos Aires (in English) and then in Tafí del Valle I finished Walter Mosley´s "The Yellow Dog", which was a good and fast read, but it felt very out of place to read a book about California gangsters and issues of US racism while traveling in Argentina, although the stories of oppression and poverty are similar. Now I begin a book of short stories of Julio Cortázar, an Argentine author (and Marie´s favorite). If anyone has recomendations of books you think i should read during my trip, please e-mail me.

You can really feel the difference in the land, the people, and the language as you travel north in comparison to Buenos Aires. As we get closer to Bolvia we get more indigenous populations. And I stand out more as a foreginer than i did in the big city. But as our new friend from Spain said today, "we are not tourists, we are travelers" - "tourist" go for a place for a few days and spend a lot of money, "travelers" on the other hand are on a budget and are there for a longer time and try to connect with the people. And thus, I as a traveler continue on my journey.
Tomorrow we head to Amaicha del Valle where we will take a day trip to see las Ruinas de Quilmes and then head to Cafayate the next day... Or at least that´s the plan for now.
(I also put up some new pictures under "My Photos" if you want to check them out)
Until next time.

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Aqui es donde into contar mi historia en español, y pueda ser que escriba mas en resumen porque estoy canzada. Pase los últimos días en Buenos Aires super bien. La mamá de Marie nos consiguió boletos para un show de Tango. Cantaron y bailaron Tango y comimos una cena riquisima. Fue una experiencia que tenía que tener en la Argentina.
Tuvimos una cena de despedida con amigas de Marie, la pasamos muy bien, fue bonito conoser los amigos de Marie y ver su mundo en Buenos Aires.
El 19 de agosto salimos a las 8pm de Buenos Aires para un viaje en bus que debería de durar 15 horas, pero se explotó una llanta y tuvimos 5 horas de retraso en el camino. Despúes de 20 horas en bus nos encontramos con Sebastián (el hijo de un colego de la mamá de Marie). Él nos dejo quedarnos en su apartamento por los 5 días que nos quedamos en Tucumán. Sebastián nos trato super bien, nos saco a navegar en su lancha, vimos las montañas al rededor de la ciudad. Y nos llevo a ver una competición de parapentes en San Javier donde se le ocurrió a Marie que quería ser alasdelta. Entonces Marie y yo nos tiramos de una montaña de 830 metros de altura con nada más que una esctuctura de alas (y no se preocupen, el instructor Paco, volaba con nosotras. ¡Fue Increible! Ni tengo las palabras para describir la sensación de volar tantos metros de altura. Y sín duda lo ahira de nuevo si se presenta la opportunidad. Fue una experiencia inolvidable.
Otra cosa buenisima de Tucumán fue la comida. La familia de Sebastián son dueños de un restaurant y la comida en buenisima. No sé si vamos a comer hasi en el resto de nuestro viaje. Hasi que si están en Tucumán, vallan a La Leñita.
Despúes de 5 días en Tucumán salimos aller a Tafí del Valle que queda 2.5 horas al norte. El pueblo tiene 8,000 habitantes y esta rodeada de montañas. Subimos una montaña pequeña con una pareja de España y nos quedamos ariba tomando mate y hablando de los mundos de donde venimos y los mundos donde hemos viajado. Tanto de he viajado en ambientes tropicales que no me esperaba este frio, y lo peor es que no hay califacción en los hosteles, entonces hace frio todo el tiempo. Pero, bueno, sobreviviremos.
En el tema de la literatura, termine de leer los Diarios de Motocicleta del Ché en Buenos Aires y ayer termine "The Yello Dog" por Walter Mosley, pero es raro leer un libro sobre gangesters de los años 60 de California estando aca en Argentina. Y si tienen recomendaciones para libros que debería leer durante mi viaje, porfavor mandenme un e-mail con los autores y titúlos. Acabo de compenzar un libro de Julio Cortázar, un Argentino, (y el autor favorito de Marie).
Subiendo más al norte de Argnetina me paresco más y más como extranjera porque estamos en comunidades mas indigenas. La gente, la tierra, el idióma, todo es muy diferente a Buenos Aires. Y lo bonito que me quedo de nuestra conversación con los españoles fue que el español dijo, "Yo no soy turista, soy viajero" - la diferencía entre el turista y el viajero es que los turista se quedan en un lugar 15 días en un hotel de 5 estrellas y gastan un montón de plata, en cambio los viajeros van viajando con poca plata y tratan de conectarse con la gente y la tierra. Y es asi que como viajera continuo en mi camino.
Mañana salimos a Amaicha del Valle donde tomaremos el día para ir a ver las Ruinas de Quilmes y de alli seguir norte a Cafayate el proximo día... bueno ese es el plan por ahora, pero quien sabe.
(Subi algunas fotos en el link de "My Photos" si las quieren ver)
Hasta la proxima.

Buenos Aires

And so the trip begins. i´ve just finished my fourth day in Buenos Aires. I got here without any trouble with my flight, although a 10.5 hour flight from Dallas was a little much to take. I was received by Marie and he brother Matias. Marie lives in Martinez, a type of suburb of Buenos Aires the city. And so i`ve spent two of my days exploring the center of Buenos Aires, going to museums and tourist landmarks while Marie works at the internship. The best part so far was when marie and i went to march with the mothers of la Plaza de Mayo, who have been marching evey week in the Plaza in the name of their disapeared children from the Dirty War. We then met a group visiting from Ecuador, and who would have known, but the leader was my siter Lucy`s boss from her internship in Quito with APDH. What a small world!
It`s also been great hanging out with marie and her family and friends. I had already met marie`s family in the U.S. and so it feels like i`m at home, i feel so at home that i forget i`m in a different country and sure enough the first day i forgot to bring my camera out with me. It`s interesting that i feel less out of place because i blend in with the crowd, i don`t look that much different that a lot of Argentinians, and so i don`t feel like everyone is staring at me as I walk down the street. It`s a feeling of not standing out that i haven`t had before when traveling in central america.
I`ve started reading Che Guevarra`s Motocycle Diaries and getting so excited about the trip. Che was 23 years old when he left for his big trip and now marie and i are 22 as we head off in this transitional period in our lives and open to whatever we encounter. The coolest part has been the ever expanding network of friends that i am plugging into of people who are opening their homes to us during our trip. And that is what is so great about Che`s story is how the people he met changed him and how his eyes were opened to the world through this travels.
And so i have one more week in Buenos Aires to explore the city and get ready with Marie for the trip that lies ahead of us. on aug. 19th we will head for Tucuman and then stop in small towns on the way to Salta, which are in the north of Argnetina, and from there who knows where we will go next.

Bueno, voy a intentar de escribir sobre mis experiencias en español, pero ahora tengo pensado que mi amiga mariela va ha escribir en su blog en español y yo en ingles y asi todos nuestros amigos pueden saber de nuestro viaje, y las dos no tenemos que escribir en los dos idiomas. Entonces veremos como lo hacemos cuando salgamos de Buenos Aires. Pero ahora les cuento de mis cuatro dìas aqui en Buenos Aires. Me encanta esta ciudad, es bastante Europea, algo que es muy differente a mis otros viajes por centro america, y tambien que me paresco mucho a los argentinos y asi no todos saben que soy turista cuando me ven pasando por la calle. Y para todos ustedes la proxima ves que me vean seguro que voy a tener un accento argentino porque ya se me esta pegando. Llegue bien mi amiga Mariela me llego a buscar con si hermano Matias despues de un viaje de 10.5 horas desde Dallas, Texas. (demasiado largo)
Y lo mejor fue que pude marchar con las madres de la plaza de Mayo que han estado marchando todas las semanas desde la Guerra Sucia en los años 70s y todavian siguen marchando en nombre de sus hijos desaparecidos. Y despues de la marcha hablo un señor de Ecuador y me presente para ver si nos encontrabamos cuando marie y yo llegamos a Ecuador, y resulta que es le director de la organizasion donde trabajo mi hermana Lucy hace algunos años. ¡que mundo màs pequeño!
Comense a leer los diarios de motocicleta de Che Guevarra y estoy tan emocionada para el viaje que me queda adelante. Che tuvo 23 cuando hizo su viaje y yo y marie tenemos 22 y listas para cualquier cosa. Otra cosa impresionante ha sido la red the amigos que he comensado de amigos en diferentes lugares en nuestro camino que nos han invitado a quedarnos con ellos. Y que fueron la gente que encontro Che por el camino que lo cambio.
Y entonces tengo una semana mas en Buenos Aires para explorar y prepararme para el viaje que nos queda adelante. El 19 de agosto salimos para Tucuman y otros pueblitos en camino a Salta, dos ciuades que quedan al norte de Argentina y quien sabe despues de eso. Veremos.