Is it really over again/already?

I am at the Caracas airport waiting for my flight to go home. I cannot believe it. This trip has been absolutely stupendously astronomically dynamic and amazing and incredible and at times quite terrible.

Honestly, I don't even know how to write this entry. To summarize everything would be useless because it is impossible, when words only limit us. What I can say is that every difficulty, every problem, every bump in the road, has only served me. Problems in life are like that. I was watching 13 Going on 30 in the posada last night and the girl´s mother in the movie said that she had no regrets in life because if she didn't make the wrong choice sometime she would never learn how to make things right. I feel that way about my travels and my life. Yes Venezuela is dangerous. Yes, I put myself in situations that others would never dream of. But I do not live my life with regrets, because any obstacle only makes me stronger and more capable of dealing with adversity. To leave at a moment of hardship would be a disservice to me because I would not have learned how to deal with the difficulty.

I am happy to be returning home. I miss everyone and everything. But this trip has a special place in my heart, because all I've seen, and all I've done, are now a part of me, and a part of my life.

Until my next travels...

Anthony

VENE VENE VENEZUELA

After 16 hours on a bus I ended up on the border of Brazil and Venezuela, in a city called Santa Helena. The city is famous for its treks to Mount Roraima and other tepuis (see above photo.) Tepuis are flat topped mountains. The treks take lie 6 days or so of hiking and travessing through the woods to eventually get to the base of the mountain and climb to the top. I opted out of doing it because of the time constraint, but I did get to take a tour of the Gran Sabana, a place famous for its indigenous peoples and beautiful tepuis. After my day there, I took an overnight bus to Ciudad Bolivar, the jumping off point for trips to the Salto Angel, or in English, Angel Falls, which is the tallest waterfall in the world. The overnight bus was... an experience in itself. The bus was super comfortable, nice and cold, which is quite conducive to sleep, however the bus was stopped 4 different times by military checkpoints. Hugo Chavez (the president of Venezuela, if you don´t know who he is please google him) has military personnel on all the roads stopping people for their ID cards and passports. Sometimes they make everyone get off the buses to show their bags and then are able to continue once they´re cleared. We were lucky, I suppose, in that we didn´t have to show anything but our passports. Some people say that the checkpoints are to check for drugs, I think that it´s more of a psychological power game, so that the people in the country know that the state has a lot of control.

Venezuela is an ineresting place, from what I´ve seen. Because of the large amounts of petroleum, the streets are filled with cars. There´s a lot of traffic, everywhere. Even in this small dumpy city. The city is kind of historical, so the streets are cobblestone and narrow, yet big ass cars clog the streets and don´t yield to pedestrians. They eat arepas here, which are basically pitas made of corn, stuffed with meat, cheese, or anything you want, really. They´re delicious. Also, randomly, there are a lot of places that sell "fresas con crema" or strawberries and cream. It´s delicious, but random. Also, the name Bolivar is everywhere. The name of the city, the name of the state, the name of the currency, there is a street name Calle Bolivar, there´s a huge statue of Simon Bolivar, there´s a Plaza Bolivar... it´s a little much.

SALTO EL SAPO

Salto Angel was incredible, as was Salto El Sapo, a smaller waterfall near Salto Angel. I got to Canaima, the small indigenous city that exists near the fall where all the lodges are, on Friday, and immediately dropped off my things at the lodge and went to Salto El Sapo by canoe. The guide told us that everything we had would get completely mojado (wet) so we had to make sure we put our cameras inside of plastic bags. We get into the boat, there was a group of about 10 of us, and glide through this beautiful lake, with water the color of tea, due to the high level of plant matter in the water. The rushing waterfalls were in the backdrop, as was the thick mist that they left behind. The air was chilly and humid, but with the excitement I didn´t feel cold. I wasn´t exactly sure what we would be doing, but whatever it was, I was ready. We docked the canoe and started walking, the guide pointing out different species of plants and their uses. We stopped by this spherical brown thing that looked like the ant´s home that I saw in the Amazon. The guide asked what we though it was and I said "una casa de hormigas¨ , or a house for ants. He said that it was, actually "una casa de termitas" or a house for termites. And then he ate a handful of the crawly creatures. He passed them around, I actually had already eaten termites when I was in Belize, but decided to go for it again. It tasted like herbs. The guide said that they´re an excellent source of protein and not harmful to our bodies.

A little bit later, after trekking over thick roots and wet rocks, we arrived at the Salto El Sapo. It was LOUD, thunderingly so. The water rushed down, and there was a little path behind it. I stripped down to my scivvies and started going through, leaving my camera and clothes behind. The water wasn´t that powerful at first, but once I got about midway, tons of water were falling on top of my entire body. I couldn´t breathe through my nose because I would be inhaling water, and I could barely open my eyes because of the force of the water. Three Italians from my group were in front of me and stopped because they couldn´t see. But I couldn´t breathe. I had to get out. I grabbed the rope and used my sense of touch to get out. The other end was paradise. A beautiful rainbow cascaded across the waterfall, and me and the Italians took a picture in front of the falls from a rock. The way back was easier, and the adrenaline rush wasn´t bad either.

SALTO ANGEL

The next day we left early for a 4 hour boat ride to the camp near the Angel Falls. The rain was pouring down on top of us and the river was tumultuous. Water splashed into the boat and the ponchos we were wearing did no justice. When we finally got to the camp, which was some hammocks under a roof, we ate and fell asleep, as it was completely completely dark. No light from the stars or moon, because of the clouds. At one point, I woke up in the middle of the night after the candles were out, and it was the same amount of light with my eyes open or closed. Scary, a little. We got up with the sun and trekked for about an hour through more roots and wet rocks, small streams, and mossy trees with birds singing in their branches. Getting to the viewpoint was absolutely stunning. We were lucky because it was a clear day, so we got to see the top of the Angel Falls. The mist and wind enveloped our group and we all stood in awe, watching the water fall from the peak, which is about 1 km tall. I sat on a rock and closed my eyes just feeling the mist cool my face and the wet rock beneath me. I listened to the rush of the water falls from the peak to the river, and then from the river down a smaller waterfall. When I opened my eyes after those minutes, the stunning waterfall was all I saw. It´s energy and greatness really struck me. Its power. Something that mankind could never create. After taking a few pictures and truly feeling grateful of my experience, we started the trek back down the mountain. I have this inclination to like being alone in nature, or at least with people I like. I was in a group with practically strangers, so I ran ahead to be able to experience the hike in a more profound way. I got to the bottom of the mountain and waited by the river, and then took a dip. Absolutely amazing.

Going back was hard, especially because going back to Ciudad Bolivar meant getting back into a scary 5-seater Cessna, but I did it nonetheless. And here I am, about to go to some crazy caves.

Peace and love

Anthony

Amazon Rainforest: Conquered

I'm back in Manaus, after about 10 days of Amazonian madness. My little problem that I wrote about in the previous entry was resolved, luckily. I showed up at the terminal, frantic, only to be met with the typical, laid back mentality of the north of Brazil. No one seemed to care. I boarded the boat, even though I had no hammock, just my giant travelers backpack. The port was totally empty. There was only one person on the boat, a woman who was in a wheelchair. I asked an employee if there was a hammock that I could borrow on the boat, he smiled, almost laughed, and then told me to ask the manager who apparently was sleeping. I left to get some food for my trip, leaving the backpack with the lady in the wheelchair (she seemed trustworthy enough). All of the hammock stores in the streets were closed, still. It was still only 6 AM. I got my food and when I got back to the boat, the manager had woken up. He told me that there were no hammocks on the boat, but there was still time to buy one. How? I asked. If we`re leaving at seven, how is it possible? The stores don`t open until eight! He laughed, we`re not leaving until ten! You have plenty of time.

And this is the story in Brazil. People are constantly giving false information.

The boat ride was beautiful. Sleeping in the hammock was fine, the nights were beautiful, with stars and stars and a bright almost moon, one night. On the banks of the River Solimoes, were tiny communities who lived in houses on stilts, because of the seasonal flooding of the river that happens. In this region, people travel principally by boat. The school buses are school boats. The gas stations for the boats are also afloat. I made some magnificently happy friends, who were great company. One night we all sat in our hammocks singing songs, me American songs, them Brazilian songs. One woman invited me to her house in Tefe, and I accepted, as I had no other plans. When we got to Tefe, which is the jumping off point to the Amazonian Reserve Mamiraua, we got to her house and it was locked. Her son had the key, and he was away for the weekend in this tiny village of 400 people. After visiting with her mother, brother, and daughter, we went to Caiambe for 2 days. When we got back I went to the Reserve.

The pousada (bed and breakfast) inside the reserve floats above the water, and is made of a beautiful wood. All day and night long, you hear the loud, healthy calls of all different types of birds, the Reserve alone has 950 different varieties. Some other things I learned about the Amazon:

- Its 7 million km2 , which is about the size of Europe
- 1/5 of all river water comes from the Amazon
- the Amazon has 60000 types of plants, 324 types of mammals, 300 types of reptiles, and 1500 types of fish.

I saw some animals, including sloths, howler monkeys, a huge cobra, lots of caimans, pirarucu (rare fish), and some jaguar pawprints.

My room in the pousada luckily came with a mosquito net, because the creatures in the Amazon are brutal. They own the Amazon. They buzz all around you all the time, and not just 1 type of mosquito, a few different types. God are they ugly. I visited a community that benefits from the Reserve, and I thought it was interesting. They live 100% sustainably. If the world ends in 2012, they`ll be fine : ) .

All in all the trip was awesome.!

dilemma

Since I wrote last, I've toured the capital, gone to a 3day electronic music festival where the trance music never stopped in the middle of a national park, gone on hikes to waterfalls, and spoken nothing but Portuguese. I'm currently in Manaus, which is the gateway to the Amazon. From here I have to take a 36-hour boat roat along the Rio Negro westward, deep into the Rainforest, to go to one of the best ecotourism spots in the world, the Mamiraua Reserve.

The dilemma is that on these boats you need to have your own hammock and rope to tie it up with, because that´s how you sleep. There's no beds, no chairs, just hammocks that you need to bring and tie up to the posts in the boat. My dumb ass didn't read the part of the guidebook where it said to bring a hammock and I didn't think to ask. Now its about 5 AM, none of the stores are open, and my boat leaves at 7. I don't know when the stores open or even where they are. I know there's some by the boat station so in a few minutes I'm gonna hang out outside one of the stores and wait until they open. The only drawback is I have everything with me-- my huge backpack, and everything in it, so it's ridiculously heavy.

This may sound crazy, but this type of adventure and problem solving is what makes us more equipped to deal with things in our day to day lives. Imagine this fucked up situation! I know it'll all work out. You'll hear about how this turned out once I get back from the AMAZON!!! AHHHHHHH!!!

No Rio de novo (In Rio again)

Being here now feels like I´ve never left but at the same time that I´ve grown up so much since I´ve gone back to the United States and come back here. On my way to the apartment that I´m staying at, the one on Rua Farme de Amoeido that I lived in when I lived in Rio before, I took note of all the things I was noticing again, that I had forgotten about before in the city. This is my list:

-palm trees
-kombis (cheap van taxis)
-beauty of the lush green mountains in the background
-the small cars
-the dilapidated infrastructure of the poor neighborhoods called favelas
-strong revolutionary messages written in graffiti

Leaving as a college student and coming back as an adult has a lot to do with the switch in perspective for me. Now, I feel more independent because I'm not tied to PUC-Rio, the university I studied at. I know only one other gringo here, so this whole time I've only been speaking portuguese, unless I'm talking to Eve. Relearning the language has been interesting-- I've forgotten a lot of words, but slowly they are coming back to me. Every day that I'm here it gets easier and easier. Luckily Eve's portuguese is really good, so if I need a word,, she's there to help me out. I find it easier to remember the word though if I look it up myself in a dictionary. I tried speaking Spanish to a hippie colombiano on the praia (beach) and it was really hard. I started in Spanish and ended every sentence in Portuguese. The languages are very similar so you have to pay a lot of attention to every word you, at least at first. It'll be easier speaking Spanish once I'm in a Spanish speaking country in a few weeks.

Otherwise, I'm loving being in this country, the people are so happy and friendly and warm, not to mention gorgeous. I've been eating salgados every day and I ate at a churrascaria on Thursday after I went to my friend's graduation ceremony. I can see how people get targeted here for crime, and luckily I think I'm blending a little better this time than I did last time.

I'm leaving for the capital tomorrow, but tonight it's all live samba at this nightclub called Melt.

Beijos!!

Anthony

No Promises

When it comes to blogging habitually, it becomes a pain the ass. Taking time out of a travel experience to record what's being done can be a daunting task for me, but I know that it needs to be done in order to have the memories last. In light of this, I entitled this entry "No Promises" because even though I'm leaving to go back to South America in a few hours and would love to blog about everything I do there, I'm not making any promises :-) .

So yes, I am leaving at 3:00 PM, eastern standard time, to go back to Rio de Janeiro. I have a short layover in Houston, and will arrive in Rio at 8:10 AM. SWEEEET! I have an agenda planned that shall unfold as the blog does.

Some highlights:

-Catching up with old friends,
-the Amazon,
-a crazy hippie electronic music festival in a national park,
-an indigenous flower festival in Medellin, Colombia
-the Angel Falls

But, like I said, no promises :-).

I love you all, and don't be afraid to show some encouragement! I know a lot of you read my blogs and never leave comments. Don't be a silent stalker.

A

SEATTLE!! days 1 and 2

OK, so I know this was supposed to be my "Brazil" blog but I am traveling and actually inspired to blog so why wouldn't I report on the enchanting city of Seattle?

My flight out here on Sunday night was pretty smooth, no serious problems, and actually landed 40 minutes ahead of schedule due to the winds working in our favor. Now many people have been asking me, "Why Seattle?", and the answer was that I was visiting a dear friend of mine and Seattle has been a place that I've been wanting to visit for a while. Something about the flannel reputation, coffee culture, and mysterious weather that intrigued me. Plus, since Ashley moved out here she has told me nothing but the best about it.

So after getting getting off the plane at the Seattle/Tacoma Airport on Sunday, I anxiously walked toward the door of the airport to get to feel the temperature of the night air. Upon walking outside, the air felt quite moist and cool, but nowhere near the blistery temperatures that I left behind in New York. I was looking at around 50 degrees and cloudy skies. My thick wool sweater and light khaki jacket with scarf was enough to keep me warm. Gideon, Ashley's fiance, picked me up from the airport, and brought me through the city to their apartment in a duplex house in the trendy neighborhood called "Capitol Hill." The hills in this neighborhood are extremely steep and one thing about all of Seattle's neighborhoods is that they are extremely lush and green due to the high amount of moisture in the air and the mild temperatures. We went to visit Ashley at the coffee shop she works at, and waited there until she finished closing up. The coffee shop, Roy Street Coffee, is owned by Starbucks and has a very local coffee shop feel, with every coffee made to order, really friendly employees, wine, beer, and an area for indie film bookings (that Ashley actually is in charge of.) I had a vanilla rooibos tea, which was sweet and fabulous, and a tomato soup, with some type of fluffy pastry with black olives inside. Delicious. I also had a glass of Malbec while I was there and was pleasantly surprised.

On Monday morning, Ashley and I woke up, went to a vegetarian breakfast at Cafe Flora (I got biscuits and vegetarian gravy, Ashley got this fluffy omelette with amazingly fresh garden tomatoes and carmelized onions with cheesy grits) and then mosied through a beautiful arboretum with different colored bushes of budding flowers. The air was still quite moist and foggy, and the whole city had an eery vibe. The air was so wet that I actually felt moisture gathering in my nose and I had to keep sniffling. The arboretum had a rich aroma of earth, and due to the moisture many of the trees had a thick, healthy layer of moss growing on their trunks. I picked one of the flowers from a bush and put it in my front pocket because I was in such awe of the fact that flowers were blooming in the middle of February.

We spent the rest of the day exploring the city, I did a little thrifting in the Capitol Hill area and bought a cute shirt and sweater and then had a coffee from this spot called Vivace . After, we went to this market with goods from all over Seattle, mostly local, home grown items, only to be found in Seattle. The market was set up right on the water, with the back drop of the Olympia Mountains and the Sound. There were street musicians, some of which were actually pretty talented, fruit stands, chocolate sellers, clothing, anything, really. The vendors were friendly and courteous seemed to genuinely be interested in the customers. I liked that :-). After indulging in tasteful goodies (READ: macaroni and cheese made with with homemade cheese, OMFG) we went to a gay bar by the house called Madison Pub and enjoyed some Slim Chance beers, which are from a brewery just outside Seattle. It was a light beer, but with a good flavor. The bar was pretty empty when we walked in even though it was Happy Hour, at least in New York it was.

We came back to the house tired and drunk, after a long day of sightseeing, and Gideon made the most delicious meatloaf and quimoa. I was very happy :-). We had some beers, chatted for a while and passed out early. And here I am on day 3, itching to get outside and enjoy the beautiful day.

Anthony