Ilha do Santa Catarina

I arrived on the island of Santa Catarina almost a week ago and to my new home, Algurgue do Pirata. I have signed up to work in a little hostel on the very south corner of the island for about a month. It turns out that this hostel is the end of the road around here and in a sort of jungley middle of nowhere. Due to this, I have yet to see the city of Florianopolis where I thought I was going to be.
When I first arrived, I thought I ws going to hate it here. I decided that I needed to leave as soon as possible and started trying to figgure out Plan B. Though this took time, and as the days passed I got used to the lack of people around and started to enjoy doing nothing. Apprently first impresions arn´t always correct.
Here at the hostel, I have my own little house across from the hostel. Once and awhile other travelers comming through come to stay there with me. I was hired to clean the hostel, so I keep my house clean and for the first two weeks I am here, am helping the owners remodel and sproose up the hostel in preperation for the high season. The high season starts next week and apprently brings loads of travelers. Im hoping this is true because it would be nice to have a few more folks around. When the season starts, I will become a cleaning lady along with Josephina, an Agrentinian girl who is working here as well.
This past week there hasn´t been much to do so I have spent my days, getting to know the few travelers passing though, cooking, going to the beach, and reading. Being a city girl at heart, it took a lot of ajustment, but now I have gotten used to it. Caitlin comes next week, so I am anxious to see her. Our Portuguese classes start on January 3rd, so I am also looking forward to that!
For now, I am enjoying my little house, and having some time to myself! The holidays are comming up, and its going to be strange not to be home, but as usual this is an adventure and things are often strange.
Hope all is well on the home front!
Much love,
Cora

Girl From Ipanema

Since I last wrote, I have started the second leg of my trip, seen three completely different big cities, and been to Iguazu falls. In her last post, Caitlin updated you all on my travels so I though I would expand on that a bit. I am currently in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I have been here since last Wednesday, 5 days total. Before that, I spent three days in Puerto Iguazu, a huge waterfall on the border of Brazil and Argentina. Prior to Iguazu, I spent two weeks in Buenos Aires. I have been traveling with Maria and Michelle, two English girls that I met in Cusco.

Lima:
Even though it was more than a month ago since I visited Lima, I thought I would write a little bit about it. I went to Lima, expecting it to be a really horrible, ugly city, because that is what I was told. I decided to go anyways. I decided I needed a break from tiny Cusco, and wanted to see the capitol of Peru at least, before leaving the country. Lima turned out to be quite a surprise. I loved the area I was staying in, Miraflores, because it had an artsy and relaxed vibe. I learned how to use the public bus system and did sight seeing on my own by day, and at night hung out with my friend Patrick and his friend Jose who were also in Lima at the time. Some other friends from Cusco also ended up being in Lima for a few days while I was there, so Lies, Sarah A., Sarah M. and I also did some sight seeing together. I enjoyed everything about Lima while I was there, from my hostel, to traveling around on my own. I thought I was going to get lonely being by myself for most of the days I was there, but after living in a house with 21 other people for almost two months, it was relaxing to have some time to myself. Overall, Lima is a very cool city and I think many travelers don´t give it a proper chance.

Buenos Aires:
Buenos Aires is by far my favorite city I have visited during this trip. For me, there was nothing not to love. Buenos Aires is a beautiful city in all respects. The architecture is European and gorgeous, the people are not only polite and classy, but they are extremely attractive, there is a endless amount of shopping, and the city never sleeps. Cafes are open until two in the morning Monday though Sunday, and bars and clubs don´t close until the sun comes up in the morning. Everyday, Michelle and I explored the City and found all the nooks and crannies of the city, while Maria hung out with her dad who had come to visit. At night we watched tango, hung out in cafes, and went to a outdoor music festival, where I saw Calle 13, a Puerto Rican rapper who is really famous in Latin America. What was not to love? I´m sure I will be back when time and money provide!

Iguazu falls:
Iguazu falls took my breath away, literally. It is one of the seven natural wonders of the world, and for me at least, was far more amazing and exciting than Machu Picchu. The waterfall is on the border of Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay. Before arriving in Puerto Iguazu, the girls and I had planned to go to both the Brazil side of the falls, as well as the Argentina side. We ended up just seeing the Argentina side, because you can see all three sides from that side. The waterfall is massive and impossible to imagine without being there. The amount of water that is crashing down is unreal and it is not only high but also extremely wide. The photos don´t do it justice. I would have gladly stayed and watched it all day. We spent the day in Iguazu hiking around the park to see different view points, and ended our day by taking a boat ride under the falls, which was a perfect finish and left us completely drenched. Thanks to some friends who had gone a few days before us, we knew to take a extra change of clothes!

Rio de Janeiro:
Though I have been here for five days, Rio is so huge that I don´t feel like I have any since of the city at all. For the first few nights, we stayed in Ipanema. We are now staying in Copacabana. I have a good feel for both of these areas but in terms of the greater city, I haven't got a clue. We have spent most of our time here on the beach. The beach in Ipanema is much quieter, cleaner, and more beautiful than the one at Copacabana in my opinion, far superior. Ipanema, is a really nice part of the city. It is relaxed and full of chic boutiques and frozen yogurt shops. In contrast, Copacabana is busier and feels more like real Rio. I prefer Ipanema, but I'm glad I got to see another area of the city as well. On Saturday we went on a city tour with some people from our hostel, and saw the Christ on the hill, and quite a few other tourist attractions. We drove around the city and saw different neighborhoods as well, but I think in order to properly understand Rio as a city, I would have to stay for a longer period of time.For now, I am enjoying getting an ear for Portuguese and trying to pick up as much as possible!

The next few weeks:
Tomorrow, I head to Ihla GrandeFlorianopolis, and Maria and Michelle go to Sao Paulo, to catch their flight back to England. They are really looking forward to landing in -5 degree weather (Celsius) 23 degrees Fahrenheit. It's going to be really sad to see them go! In Florianoplois, I will be starting my job, working in a Hostel. Caitlin comes to meet me on December 22, just in time for Christmas! I'm extremely excited to see her! In January we start our Portuguese classes. I am hoping to have a basic grasp of Portuguese by that time, so hopefully my job will help immerse me in the language. I am picking it up slowly already!Well I guess that's all for now, but I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving and doesn´t mind that my blog posts always come out sounding like letters!
Much love,
Cora

Breaking Borders

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!!!!

It's been a while since either Cora or I have blogged, so here's a brief overview of what we've been doing!!

Cora went with Patrick, a housemate to Lima for 5 days while I was in the jungle at the beginning of November. She took lots of pictures, went to lots of museums, and got her fill of cathedrals! Then, on November 13th, Cora left Cusco, Peru for Buenos Aires, Argentina to meet up with Michelle and Maria, two English girls we met at La Florida. While there she has been sight-seeing and getting to know the city, which she loves and says she definitely will return to some day! Currently she is traveling on bus to Rio, stopping on both the Argentinian and Brazilian sides of the Iguazu Falls, hopefully taking lots of pictures!! :)

As for me, I returned to the jungle for the third time, making it a total of 20 days spread out over a month and a half that I spent there. As usual I loved it and didn't want to leave!!! I began TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) on Monday, and already love it!! It's like being back and school, I have homework and 6 hour days, but I enjoy the material so much I don't mind! In another 3 weeks, I'll have completed the course, and will travel to Lima for a few days, and then head to Florianopolis, the next leg of our trip to meet up with Cora!!! I'm looking forward to seeing her, it's been just of two weeks without her and Cusco is just not the same!!! Other new adventures for me was trying Chicha for the first time, a corn drink fermented by spit. It was a once in a lifetime experience, I'm not a fan. I went to Pisac, a quaint town about 45 minutes outside of Cusco known for their artesenal market, with lots of good bargains! And, to celebrate my first Thanksgivings away from home, the La Florida crew all cooked and ate dinner at a friends apartment, with all the traditional foods: stuffing, green bean casserole, sweet potatoe casserole, mashed potatoes, and apple pie for dessert!!! The not so traditional being roasted chicken and french fries!!!! It was a really unique evening, an Australian, 3 Canadians, and a bunch of Americans, but we've all formed a tight-knit family here and Cusco, and I couldn't have asked to spend the night any better!!! 

I hope everyone is healthy and happy and enjoying the changing seasons back at home!!!

Simon and Danny, a couple of the guys I met in the jungle.

Polly the parrot. She could say hola and coca cola!

Cora's first time on a horse!!!

Crossroads

Starting Monday of this week, our trip has taken a new path. Our plans have morphed quite a bit since we left SFO, and so I thought I would give a bit of an update. On Monday Caitlin left Cusco to go to the jungle to to conservation work for the second time. She really enjoyed her self last time, so she decided to go again! She will return next Wednesday, just in time to help me get ready and take me to the airport on Saturday! 

Today I leave Cusco to go to Lima, for four days. I decided that I wanted to see the capital city before leaving Peru! I am going to be staying with a friend that I met in Cusco and exploring the city. On Saturday of next week, the 13 of November, I fly to Argentina, to meet up with some girls that lived in our volunteer house up until 3 weeks ago. I will be living in Buenos Aires for two weeks, visiting the Iguazu falls which is on the border of Argentina and Brazil, and continuing on to Sao Paulo, and Rio with them. I will then meet up with Caitlin on the 22nd of December in Florianopolis, Brazil. During the time that I am traveling, Caitlin will stay in Cusco, and take a TEFL course through the program that we have been working with, Maximo Nivel! She has stuck to the program a bit more than I have!

We are both very excited for this upcoming month but its going to be difficult to separate. Though we have chosen to do different things and take different paths, we will see each other again after only a month of separation!

Wish us luck!

Cora

Pictures!!!!

Here are some long overdue pictures of our adventures, Cusco, and friends!!!!!

The Plaza de Armas, where you can book tours, eat good food, and buy llama sweaters, or just hang out and enjoy the people!!!

The beautiful Machu Picchu. This was our view until about 8 am when it magically started to clear!

In the jungle, Mario is a co-owner and guide at the reserve. He's 72 and more fit than any of the volunteers!!!!

Mia Patricia, one of the cuties from Puririsun!

This was the yard where the kids would play at the end of the day. The colorful rails were only recently put in by Maximo volunteers after a lot of kids were falling off them, yikes!

Some of our housemates posing with us in front of the ever famous 12 angle rock!!!!

Looking over the city, it was very windy there!!!

Cristoblanco, a completely white statue that gets lit up at night and can be seen from downtown!

There was a themed TEFL party and all of us from La Florida dressed up!!! Cora was her beautiful self, and Caitlin (with Sara) was a Black-Eyed Pea!!!!

A procession through the Plaza de Armas. We're not exactly sure what for...

Cora and the colorful Cusco!

A bus just for Cora!!!

Machu Picchu

I promised to write an in depth post about Machu Picchu and failed to do so for about three weeks, so because of that, this is a memory clouded with a bit of time, hopefully it is still accurate.

Caitlin and I went to Machu Picchu with a group of six other people from our house. Though there are multiple treks that people can do to get to Machu Picchu, we chose to take the easy way out and toke the bus and train. We left on a Sunday, stayed the night in a cheep hostel before waking up at 4:30 in the morning to take the bus to Machu Picchu. We wanted to get to Machu Picchu as early as possible in order to climb Huayna Picchu (a limit of 200 people are allowed to climb it each day.) We arrived right after the sun had risen. When we first got there, it was difficult to see the ruins because the mountains were covered in fog. It was really magical to watch the fog burn off and watch Machu Picchu sort of appear on the mountain. Caitlin was quite sick and ended up sleeping for the entire day, but I climbed the sun gate, a hike that takes you to see the view of the valley surrounding Machu Picchu. It was a stunning view, but also quite an intense hike because of the altitude. After we returned to the ruins, we explored the stone structures, walked around looking at different view of the ruins, and snapping lots of photos. 

Machu Picchu is one of the seven wonders of the world, and the fact that the Incas built it all by hand without machines is incredible! Personally, I wasn't all that taken with it. I was interested in the history and mystery behind it, but other than that, I didn't think it was all that fabulous. The views were wonderful, and I enjoyed myself quite a bit, but a few hours were enough for me. After climbing the sun gate, I was worn out, and one of our house mates, Taylor, and I took the bus back to Aguas Calientes (the last stop on the road to the ruins) and explored the town, relaxed, and went to the market. The rest of our group climbed Huayna Picchu, and Caitlin continue sleeping. Later that afternoon, we took the train and a taxi back to Cusco.

Over all, Machu Picchu was a really interesting experience! I enjoyed myself quite a bit. Tips for future travelers are: bring your own food (its ridiculously overpriced there), bring mosquito repellent, and wear layers! We thankfully had these tips before hand, but just in case, those of you that didn't know before, now you do!
Cora

Cusqueñan life: 5 weeks down, 3 to go.

Dear friends and family,

For our first four weeks we were doing quite well and blogging once a week. We have sense dropped the ball and begun slacking on our blogging. Sorry about that, we will try to be a bit more regular from now on!

Each week here in Cusco feels like a year. So much happens every weeks that it is hard to remember what all happens and when. These past two weeks have been quite full! I (Cora) finished my Spanish classes, and so I gained free afternoons which is nice. Caitlin and I switched volunteer projects in order to feel more useful. We volunteered at Puririsun, a pre k and kindergarten school that served extremely poor children from the slum of Mancco Capac, near our house, for the first month of our stay. I was working with children ages 2-4 and Caitlin had children from the ages of 4-6. It was a good experience but we felt that the school was very well run and needed resources more than anything. We decided that our help was needed more else where, so we switched to working in a nutritional center called Madre Teresa. We are now working with malnourished infants and 2-3 year olds. We help feed them and make sure they are well taken care of. We feel more useful at Madre Teresa and are really enjoying working with the children. The teachers seem very thankful for our help and the children are beautiful and endearing.  

Aside from our volunteering, we have been hanging out with our housemates most of the time. Our house has changed a bit in the past few weeks because people have been moving out, and new people have moved in. Because of that we have had multiple good byes and spent lots of time getting to know the new people. We had a halloween party last night which was lots of fun, and we have been going on adventures and playing lots of card games. Next weekend we are going to carve pumpkins to celebrate Halloween on the real day. 

Caitlin and I went to see Cristo Blanco today, a huge white stone statue of Christ that is on the mountain side above Cusco. It was one of the first sightseeing things we have done together so far apart from going to Machu Picchu. I realize that we never wrote much about Machu Picchu so I will write a paragraph or two about it after I finnish this letter. Other than that, there haven't been many notable moments. We spend most of our days hanging out with our housemates, going to the market, volunteering, and doing a bit of exploring. 

Over all our experience so far has been great! Cusco is a comfortable city, our volunteer house is lots of fun, our volunteering placements has gone smoothly, and the Spanish classes have been useful. Though we miss home comforts, good thai good, and our friends and family, we are enjoying ourselves! The rainy season has begun, so everyday it rains from about three in the afternoon until late into the night. We don't seem to be able to escape bay area rain no matter where we go! This is a bit of a drag at times but its also refreshing because it helps to clean the air and Cusco is a very polluted city. 

Well, thats about all for now, I hope everyone is well!

Much love,

Cora

Hey guys,
It's been a while since we've last blogged, but better late than never!
It's just Caitlin writing today, Cora's off translating for some friends who are taking a bus to Bolivia next week. Since we last posted, I've had some fun adventures!!! On Saturday morning I got back from the Amazon Jungle where I'd spent Monday to Friday as a volunteer at the Atalaya Reserve. It was my first time in the jungle, and despite some of my other housemates opinions, I loved it. I went with 5 others from La Florida (our house), but they decided to go on a 3 day tour where as I chose to stay on the reserve and do conservation work. As it was, everyone from the reserve except for four other volunteers either went on the same tour as my friends or on another longer tour, so I had a nice quiet 3 days in the jungle. Our routine each day was to wake up around 7ish make your own breakfast of eggs and toast or cereal, and then we had about an hour of relaxing while we waited for our 72 year old guide Mario, a part owner of the land, who knew literally everything there was to know about the jungle. Once he arrived, we would head out to wherever we would be clearing, wearing gum boots and with our machetes in hand! The plot of land we were working on used to be a bamboo plantation, so there was bamboo all over the place killing the native trees and other wild plants. Our job was to clear it in order to plant trees that would grow to support a variety of jungle wildlife. We usually worked for about two and a half hours, leaving around 9am and getting back to the bungalow around 11:30. Then we'd change into our bathing suits and go up to a little waterfall, about a 10 minute walk, where'd we'd get to cool off and clean up after sweating all morning. Then we had the whole afternoon to ourselves to play cards, take a nap, or sit around and chat. It got dark around 5:45, and since there was no electricity on the reserve, we'd eat dinner by candle light and pretty much be go to bed around 7:30 with nothing else to do. All in all it was an amazing experience, I am considering going back to spend another week! Although I could have done without walking in the rain to catch the 9 hour bus back to Cusco, but I guess that's why they call it the Rainforest!!
Now back to life in Cusco, its starting to rain a lot more here as we're entering the rainy season, but its still very reasonable weather as it only rains about an hour out of the day! Cora had a calm week while I was gone, only having to go to our project 3 days because the kids weren't there Thursday or Friday. She got to know some of the new housemates better, and became the translator for everyone when they went out!
Cora and I went to our volunteer placement today, it was only my 3rd day going since in Cusco, and for once I got to see what class is like on a normal day. The other two days ending up being fiascos because the first day they had a party, and the second we went on a field trip to the Circus! It was nice to see what it is normally like, and I enjoyed it a lot helping out in the classroom.
We celebrated a housemates birthday yesterday, and are now anticipating my 18th b-day on Friday!
Cora and I both love it in Cusco and are still exploring all it has to offer! We're trying out a yoga class later tonight, we continue to find cool new cheap places to shop, and are loving how cheap good food is here!!!
It's been a good week for both Cora and I and we will update you soon on more of our adventures and everything we're doing!!!
Caitlin

First Week Impressions...

This week we:
Started our volunteering
Explored the city
Got sick
Got hair raps by Peruvian hippies/ watched and translated for the other girls
Started Spanish classes
Went to Machu Picchu
Celebrated Gretchen's Birthday
Started Conversation partner meetings
Went to the black market... and much much more.

What do we think so far??
Well, today this is Cora writing so I can only speak for myself, but so far I love Cusco. Our house mates are amazing, so is everyone else we have met. I really enjoy our volunteer project, I am working in a small preschool as a teachers assistant with 2-4 year olds. They are from the slums and very poor. I feel as if I am a good help to the teacher with the children as well as helping her with her English. The children behave much differently then children I have worked with in the past so it is a learning experience for me as well. I have taught them many songs as well so far thanks to Lydia as well as to my random knowledge of children's songs in Spanish.
Im terms of my Spanish conversation practice as well as Spanish classes, they are both going very well. Both my conversation partners are really nice and my Spanish class is very helpful. Señora Ester is funny and I like her teaching style. The only down side is that we like our house mates so much that we rarely have to speak Spanish, hopefully we can change that.
This week I am going in search of a guitar, guitar lessons, and a Andean dance group. The girls and I are going to try to find clothes with western clothes that are not covered in llamas, and go to yoga class. I am contemplating connecting my phone, even though I am enjoying not having it, as well as joining the gym in order to take classes because it is so cheep here. Caitlin might go into the jungle with some of our housemates next week, but I had my first and last jungle trek in Bolivia, so I will stay behind. I am planning on going to a different church mass every week in order visit them without paying. I am jumping head first into the culture here, so I have decided that that justifies my going to church without being Catholic.
So far, that is a snap shot of our week. I will write more about Machu Picchu when we put the pictures up because I think it deserves its own entry. In terms of the sickness I mentioned earlier poor Caitlin has been sick almost the entire time we have been here and I got a bit sick today, but not to worry, it is nothing to serious. So far the only change in our well being is that we can eat very little due to that altitude, and we are developing British accents and Ausie slang by being around our foreign housemates!
All and all everything is going smoothly and I hope you all enjoy reading about our trip as much as I enjoy writing.
Well, thats it for today,
Cora

Better Late Than Never

Although our trip has begun, we thought it would be a good idea to post our full itinerary so that everyone can get a sense of the complete path we are taking.

Caitlin and Cora's Gap year itinerary 2010-2011:
September 16 2010- Leave SFO for Cusco, Peru, Arrive Sept. 17
September 20- November 13 - Volunteering in an Orphanage (arranged by program IVHQ)
November 15-December 21 - Traveling though Peru, visiting major cities, and sight seeing
December 22- Leave Lima, Peru for Florianopolis, Brazil
January 3- January 28- Portuguese school ( Step One Idiomas)
January 30- Leave Florianopolis for Salvador de Bahia, Brazil
January 30-March 13- Living in Salvador, Hopefully taking classes to get our TEFL Certificate
March 14- Leaving Salvador to go to Santiago, Chile
March 15-May 15 (Cora), June 15 (Caitlin) - Living in Chile visiting people, and teaching English

As of today, September 18th, we have arrived in Cusco and are living in a volunteer house. Our 13 hour flight went very smoothly, and felt extremely long, but in comparison the the Australian's 24 hour flight, it seems very reasonable.  We have been taking it easy so far in order to adjust to the time time difference (2 hours ahead) as well as the altitude. We have about 15 roommates, some from the US, others from Europe and Australia, everyone is very nice and welcoming. Cusco is quaint and easy to navigate, a good starting place for us. The weather is Bi Polar and similar to Berkeley (cold nights and mornings, and hot days.) The program has many activities to for us as well. So far we are enjoying ourselves, except for Caitlin's cold. We start our volunteer placement and Spanish classes Monday, so we are waiting to find out, what the rest of our 2 months here has in store for us.
We will keep you all updated!

The First Step

Tomorrow is the big day. At 1:10 pm, we leave San Francisco to fly to Cusco, Peru. Hopefully Jacob from Maximo Nivel, will be there to great us when we arrive at 6:30 in the morning! Wish us luck!!