22 hour bus ride from hell

I'm in a rusty white pick-up truck. A Latino man is driving and I'm sitting in the back seat. He starts to back up. A police lady is directing him. She waves her hand, signaling him to back up, then gives the "stop" signal... but he keeps backing up. We are on a steep cliff and soon we find ourselves teetering on the edge. I start to panic. The driver keeps backing up. "What's wrong with this guy?!", I think hysterically. 

Soon I feel the weight of the truck shift. It slides down the rocky mountain. The tail end of the truck catches on the rocks and soon the truck is upside down in mid air. The roof is about to crash onto the ground, with us in the middle. Everything goes in very slow motion. At this point, I know it's the last second of my life. 

I will be smooshed by the weight of the truck. I feel an overwhelming amount of anxiety, yet an incredible sense of clarity. "I don't want it to be over yet!!! I'm not ready to die!!! This is so unfair!!! I have so much to do!!! This stupid guy just killed me!!", are the thoughts that run rampant in my mind. 
A millisecond before the truck crushes our skulls and snaps our necks, I wake up. 

I feel uncomfortable and anxious. I can't fall back asleep. I snuggle up to Dinh. I feel so grateful to be living. Wow, that dream really sucked. 
Do you know what sucks even more? Having the same dream a few nights later. 
It really bothered me and I wondered if there was an ulterior meaning to the dream. 

 About a week later, I find myself on a bus traveling from Lima to Cusco. 
Dinh is with, but only because I begged him to give the whole long bus ride thing another try. He didn't do so good on the 24 hour bus from Baños to Lima. I promised him this one would be different. 

The bus left promptly at 7 pm. I was totally prepared with plenty of snacks, water and entertainment. We had 22 hours between us and Cusco. 
Twenty-two long, dreadful hours. 

About 4 hours into the bus ride from hell, Dinh was muttering "This is the worst mistake of my life", over and over. 
I knew this could never be a good thing. 
I kept reminding him to be optimistic and that we can all choose our attitudes.
He was blessed with the motion sickness gene and was fully feeling the benefits of it. 

I was actually enjoying the ride. You can see so much more of a country when you travel by land. We traversed through multiple small indigenous towns, witnessing life that we would have missed otherwise. 

But Dinh didn't seem to notice any happenings outside. He looked like he was in a trance. I've never seen him this miserable. I patted his head with a cold wash cloth, offered him snacks, and tried to distract him. All of my attempts were in vain. 

As the bus ride progressed, the road got windier. The little girl behind me starting ralphing and her mom struggled to catch all the vomit in a little plastic bag. "Aye yai yai, niña", I heard the mom say. 
Like dominoes, more and more passengers became sick. You could hear multiple people throwing up in the rows behind us as their stomachs swayed from one side to the next. 

The "double decker puking bus" creeped higher into the mountains and into thinner air as the night progressed. I covered up with a blanket as the outside air dropped drastically. Night fell and I closed my eyes for a little rest. Less than an hour later, I was stirred awake from the strong pull of the bus from side to side. We were going through the mountains on a hairpin-turn road and we were being violently thrown from one side to the other. 
I didn't sleep much that night. 

I wiped away the fog on the window and looked out with tired eyes. My stomach turned as I looked down. Only a few inches stood between us and a very steep rocky drop. I saw a white wooden cross on at least every other turn, signifying that someone had died there. This road had taken many lives and I feared it would take ours. 

My reoccurring dream came to mind and my heart started to beat hard. So this is what it was trying to tell me! Our bus was going to go over a cliff and kill us! 
I sat in intense fear. It was the middle of the night and I was on a crazy train. I wanted so badly to make the driver stop. By the way, who was the driver?? Is he falling asleep?? Is he young and reckless?? I wanted to know!!
I didn't want to be a part of this risky business anymore!! I haven't even had the chance to be a mom yet!!!

I looked over at Dinh and watched as he stirred awake. Yikes, the motion sickness meds were wearing off! I thought that if he stayed drugged up he could make it through the miserable journey, but he was awake now. Even worse, he was threatening to get off the bus at the next stop. He was talking crazy and it was scaring me. He wasn't himself, at all. 
The bus would stop periodically for locals, letting them catch a lift to the next town. 

I started to worry about how I was going to take care of Dinh because he wasn't thinking rationally. He didn't even have a coat and there were big patches of snow outside. He would freeze to death out there! If I went with him, we would lose our bags that were piled underneath everyone else's bag under the bus. There was no way they would let us dig them out in the middle of the night, hanging precariously over the edge of a mountain. No siree!

The motion sickness meds were making him loopy. I decided I would have to physically restrain him if the bus came to a stop, like we do with psych patients that are on a 24 hour hold because they are a danger to themselves. Dinh was crazy at this point and I was his POA. I had a responsibility.
I was nervous for the next 3 hours straight. 
"Maybe you should take some more medicine?", I urged him, hoping he would zonk out again. 
"God, what I would give for some Phenergan right now!", I thought. That would knock him out cold and solve this nightmare of a problem. 

He eventually closed his eyes and went to a happier place for a while. 

In the morning, he started griping about how miserable he was again. I actually wished that he would have gotten off the bus the night before, because then I wouldn't have to listen to him. Ha.

Men.

The bus finally came to a halt the next day. I had not fallen to the same fate as in my dream. 
It felt like we had spent an eternity on that bus. We disembarked and enjoyed the freedom of walking and stretching our legs. Our bodies were mad at us for cooping them up for so long. 

Traveling through third world countries can be very unsettling at times. The safety standards are not anywhere near the United States. For all I know, the driver of the bus was drinking whiskey (which happens all too frequently in South America). 

Here it is.... THE bus

This bus journey was a turning point in the trip. Dinh swore to himself he would never put himself through this kind of punishment. He would never get on one of those miserable buses again. 
I could hardly blame him. 
Because South America requires frequent long bus journey, this meant it was the end of the trip for Dinh. 

But the show must go on!!! I will continue the trip on my own..... again. 

South America is for hardy backpackers, and I'm afraid to say, but Dinh just wasn't cut out for it. 

Word to the wise: if you are traveling from Lima to Cusco, for the love of GOD, fly instead of taking the bus. It costs the same and your life won't be in nearly as much danger. Your nonexistent children will thank you.

The middle of the world, the equator

Apparently the center of the world is pretty interesting. When we visited Quito, Ecuador, the equator was a must-do activity. When we got there, we were blown away by all the education we received that day. 

Here are some of the mind boggling knowledge we filled our heads with that day:

The Incas had a handy dandy sun dial which was made from a nail and a piece of stone. From this, they could tell the time. Ahead of their time, I tell ya. 

We had an obligatory guide that was full of fun facts. 
He showed us how the water in an eddy would swirl clockwise on one side of the line and counter clockwise on the other. Groovy stuff, man. 

Ecuador actually means equator in Spanish. 

You can try to balance an egg on the top of a nail at the equator. If you succeed, you get a certificate. Dinh succeeded. 

Our guide said that it was impossible to walk along the equator with your eyes closed and arms out. Dinh and I tested if out for ourselves, and sure enough, we both walked like a couple of drunks. We would have failed the sobriety test miserably. At first I thought it was a sneaky trick they played to make the equator seem a little more interesting than it really was. 
But, I can attest firsthand to the off-balance properties of this "special" line. As I was standing on the big red line that depicted the actual 0 degree equator, I took my camera out of my backpack to snap a few photos. I lost my balance and also the grip of my camera. In slow motion, I fumbled with my camera in mid air, "nnnnooooooo!!!!" until eventually it crashed hard on the cement ground. I watched in horror. Crrrrrruuunnnccchhhh!!
Oh, that didn't sound good. 
I picked it up and inspected the damage. The LED screen was broken with multiple horizontal black lines obstructing the screen. Crap. 

I was thankful that the camera still worked, even though it wasn't as cosmetically pretty as it was before. Beings it was a more expensive  camera, a few choice words came to mind. 
I moped for a few minutes and Dinh kept apologizing that it happened, even though he had nothing to do with it. 
Although it was unfortunate that it happened, it honestly put me in check. Materialistic things can be replaced. We shouldn't become so attached to them. I can always buy a new camera, I just have to work a few more shifts, that's all. 
So, please, take care with your camera if you visit the equator line!!

on the way back

Also, make sure you go to the real equator. There is another site that claims to be the equator, but it is not the real McCoy. 

Overall, I thought the whole thing was pretty cheesy. But, it's kind of a must see, so we went. Oh well, I guess we can say we were there. 

Goofy South America dance video

In case you didn't know, I'm a big dork. At times, it can be hard to resist the temptation to act silly. But what would life be without goofiness?!

I hope this video makes you smile :)

Baños, and I don't mean bathroom

When I emailed my mom and told her I was taking a 7 hour bus ride to Baños, she replied something like, "whoa, that's a long time to go without a bathroom. Make sure you go before you leave!" 
I did a face-palm plant and wrote back, "No, Baños is the name of the town! Lol ". 
Baños does mean bathroom in Spanish. I haven't the foggiest idea why someone would name a town such a thing. 
Baños is located in central Ecuador. It's a cute backpacker's hub that creates a comfortable place to lay your head for a few days.

 I'm not going to tell you about the famous taffy that's made here, and how you can see locals stretching the taffy on wooden pegs on the door frame of their shops. 

I'm also not going to talk about the local hot springs here that are nice to soak your bones in. 
But I AM going to tell you about a cute-as-a-button little old lady we encountered!
Sometimes when Dinh and I would see homeless elderly people in Central America, looking particularity poor and skinny, we would buy them a much needed hot meal.  
They seemed thankful, although some of them had a hard time expressing themselves due to psychological disorders. We felt better knowing that they would have at least one hot meal that day. 
We were wandering around the center of Baños when we spotted The Itty Bitty Lady. As she brushed passed me, I looked down and saw her for the first time. 

I covered my mouth, muffling my squeals. She was so tiny, I fought the urge to run up to her and pick her up! 
Please tell me you've felt this before. 
I was at least twice as tall as her. She was hobbit-like small. 
We followed her, acting like undercover cops. Well, Dinh was less conspicuous than I was. 
I snapped some photos of her, being careful not to blow our cover. But, she didn't seem to know we even existed. 

After I did a little shopping, and Dinh did a little patient waiting, we returned to the street. The little lady caught our eyes again. Sitting on the sidewalk, her legs were curled up underneath her body with her old raggedy wool blanket covering her tiny body, exposing only her face. Her cane was propped next to her and, strangely, she had a aluminum pot with her. She kept herself entertained by watching tourists pass her by. Dread locked Israeli's with baggy pants sashayed past her, not giving her a second glance. How could you miss one of the cutest ladies in town?!! Maybe she was too small to be seen?
Suddenly Dinh suggested, "c'mon, we have to go get her a hot meal." 
"Oh yea, why didn't I think of that?", I thought. 
We made our way to the local market about a block away. There was lots of funky foods here. You could buy guinea pig, as well as all kinds of exotic fruits, some we had never even seen before. 
We had eaten here a few times while staying in Baños, and each time we were shoulder to shoulder with locals. This was the perfect spot to chow down.  

We chose a chicken soup with hearty chucks of chicken and loads of vegetables for The Itty Bitty Lady. Asking the cook for a spoon, we set off with our soup in a styrofoam bowl. It was an exceptionally large bowl. 
"There's no way she can eat all of that, it's made for a family of 6!", I joked. 
"Oh well, let her deal with that", was Dinh's response.
I prayed she was still in the spot we saw her last. 
Sure enough, she was there, sitting in the same position. 
Only her head moved as she people watched. 
"Here, you go give it to her", Dinh instructed as he placed the bowl in my hands. 
A woman is less threatening. 
I crossed the street, not knowing how she would react to our generosity. 
While crossing the street, I rehearsed what I would say to her in Spanish. 
As I approached the teeny grandma, I squatted low, getting down to her level.
Her wise old eyes focused on me. There were large black moles speckled around her eyes. 

On my haunches, I handed her the plastic bag containing the soup and spoon. 
"Good morning lady. Here, we bought this soup for you", I told her in Spanish.
She took the soup and placed it on the sidewalk in front of her. She started speaking a dialect I didn't understand. It was definitely not Spanish. She was indigenous and probably speaking a language very few people speak. I smiled warmly at her as she rambled on. She didn't show much emotion in her facial expressions. The tone of her voice suggested she was talking about everyday stuff, but I had no way of knowing. 
I smiled and nodded some more, then waved goodbye and slowly stood up to walk across the street towards Dinh. We pretended to shop a couple doors down so we could do a little more spying on her. She couldn't see us. I practically held my breath as I watched her peel off the lid to the styrofoam bowl and inspect the contents. Would she eat it?......

It must have been to her liking, because she dug out her own personal spoon and started gobbling it down. We laughed at the size of her wooden spoon, almost too big to fit in her little mouth. 
"Haha, look, she has her own spoon", Dinh chuckled. 
We watched her for a while and then decided to let her enjoy her meal in peace. We walked away with warmed hearts, knowing she would have a full stomach that day. We had done our good deed. 
It is so easy for a first world person to help third world people. 
Forget the touristy attractions, it's the interactions with the locals that really make the most precious traveling memories. 
This is my fondest memory of Baños.

"The World's End"

Today I'm leaving for Antarctica for the next 2 weeks aboard the Ocean Diamond by Quark Expeditions. There will be no internet on the boat so I'm just warning you that there will be no blog posts for at least 2 weeks! Sorry guys!! :(
I've been in the town of Ushuaia  (the southern most town in the world) for the last 2 weeks, waiting for my ship to leave for Antarctica. They call this town "The end of the world". At first, I thought it was cute and quaint and I was having fun exploring it. But after a while, the novelty wears off.  I'm ready to pull my hair out from boredom!! I don't do well being stationary! So you can imagine how excited I am for this day to be here!
What makes this day so special is that it is the last of the 7 continents of the world that I will travel to. This is as successful of a day for me as a businessman getting a promotion to the top of the ladder.
I've finally made it!! It meant a lot of hard work and sacrifices, but it was all worth it.
I will be busy catching up on my blogs on the ship so I can post them once I get back to Internet land!
Until then!!

It's a jungle out there!

During our 4 day Amazon tour, we were acquainted with some of the tough locals who live along the Amazon. 
These people rely mostly on the medicinal properties of the jungle around them for their health care. If there are any major catastrophes, they are forced to travel many hours to a hospital, and even further for a larger hospital. 
It's not an easy existence out there. But this is the only way they know. 

Local family

Paharito, our guide, told us about a tribe that exists about 8 hours away by boat. The people of this tribe wish to have no contact with the outside world. They are modern day cavemen. Any outsider that enters their village is killed immediately. And it's happened more than once. Helicopters have flown over their community and they have launched spears at it.
They are as primitive as they come. They have no idea that television exists, let alone a helicopter. So can you imagine what was going through their heads when they saw a helicopter hovering in the sky??
They are happy with their lives in the jungle and want to be left alone. So, people leave them alone......most of the time.
The important thing is, we know that they are there. That's pretty cool to know that these kind of people exist in the world today. 
Throwing them into a city like L.A. would be something straight out of the movie "Encino man". Haha!

One day Paharito brought us to a local village to learn how to make bread from cassava, which is a root. 
First you pull the root out of the ground...

 Then you shred the root into small flakes...

Then squeeze out the excess water...

Then bake it on an open flame....

It tastes similar to a potato bread. 

Paharito had a sore on his leg. I watched as he took a scoop of the soft shredded cassava, slapped it on his leg and covered it with a plastic bag. He said it helps with the healing and the pain. 

Paharito was a master of making bird noises. He could distort his mouth in all sorts of peculiar ways to make some very believable animal sounds. He could mimic them to a T. 
He said that while growing up along the river, he would practice the noises everyday, out of boredom. It really paid off because it's helped him in his career! When we went trekking in the jungle, he made a monkey noise and the curious monkeys came closer. The noises that come out of his mouth are unbelievable.  

We also met a shaman (a medicine man) during a visit to one of the communities. He was dressed in traditional dress, looking very warrior-like with the paint on his face. 

He gave us a very lengthy explanation on how he became a medicine man. It's a family thing. His dad and grandpa were medicine men, and so is his son. He was born into it. To be completely honest, I don't believe these medicine men have any real powers. Just like I don't believe the witch doctor in Mexico that worked on me was real either. 
Ok, I'll come our and say it. I think they're phonies. 
The medicine man, happy to be getting $3 from each tourist, explained what he had to go through to become a medicine man. It entails drinking a hallucinogenic tea made from leaves. It's called ayahuasca. This way, they can cross over to the "other side". They can see entire villages from a birds eye view and see any danger lurking nearby. 
You know, hocus pocus stuff. 

He announced how he would be doing a cleansing on one of us that day. 
The group elected me to have the cleansing and I was super pumped about it. I love to experience different forms of medicine in other countries. It's very interesting to me. He chanted and ran some leaves over my back and shoulders. Then he ran his hand down my back and wipes his hands clean in the air to take away all the evilness. I was cleansed, even though I felt nothing different. Oh well.....

One more thing before I go. I have to warn you all about a fish that exists in the Amazon. This warning is for males only. Males who decide to pee in the river. There is a fish that is attracted to the ammonia and will swim up your penis. It only travels in a one-way direction, so once it's in, you will need surgery to remove it. It has a pretty nasty barb on the end of it's tail. Ouch!!
Consider yourself warned!!

The penis fish

The Amazon Jungle... at your own risk

As we all know, tarantulas aren't my favorite insect. I'm guessing they aren't yours either. I knew a rustic trip to the Amazon jungle of Ecuador would entail creepy crawly encounters, but I didn't let this deter me from seeing the largest river in the world. Technically, the Nile river is the longest river in the world, beating the Amazon by only a schmidge. The Amazon, however, contains more water than the Nile. 

Getting to the Amazon itself requires quite a bit of effort. We left from Quito on an eight hour overnight bus to the small town of Lago Agrio. From there, we had to take another 2 hour van ride to the river itself. THEN we took a 2 hour boat ride to the little resort we would be staying at for 4 days. 
Don't think for even a minute that by the word "resort" I mean luxury. It was anything but. Think of a bunch of pieces of wood thrown together to form a shack. Add a cold water shower, lots of insects and a mosquito net that smells like urine and you will have our resort. There was absolutely no electricity. Candles and flashlights lit our way after the sun disappeared. 

The workers told us we might see tarantulas in the straw ceiling but not to worry because that's where they lived. Sure enough, the furry little guys were up there. We shared our home with the tarantulas, or vise versa. 
While driving the 2 hours by motor boat to our resort, I was mesmerized by this river. It felt so exotic. I had dreamed about seeing this river for many years. Tall green trees with hanging vines lined the way as we navigated the muddy brown, windey river. 
During the day, the sun came out and tempted to give us sunburns if we left any skin exposed.  
There were 5 other tourists in our group. Together, we would pile in the wooden boat and be taken to some remote place along the river to explore each day. We spotted lots of beautiful creatures in the trees and water. I saw the most vividly bright colored feathers I've ever seen on a bird. There were actually 3 macaws in a tree. As they stretched their wing to fly, I was dazzled by their bright blue, yellow and red feathers. They communicated by screeching at each other across the tree tops. 
Our boat sliced through waters where anacondas, crocodiles and pirañas lurked. 
We saw a baby anaconda, but other groups reported seeing an anaconda the size of a bus in the water, with a big lump in his tummy. Wonder what he ate??

Our guide's name was Paharito. He was an experienced Amazon man. One day he took Dinh and I hiking into the jungle. We walked quietly behind Paharito as he searched for wildlife and pointed out medicinal plants. We saw a latex tree and a tree that contained a special oil that makes your hair grow long and luxurious. Apparently it's not for sale, so only the ladies living along the Amazon have the privilege of having nice hair. I'm jealous. 

Paharito

He pointed out other medicinal trees as we explored the thick lush forest. It was so neat to see where some of the medicines I administer as a nurse come from. 
We heard rustling trees overhead as monkeys made their way over the tree tops. The canopy above us seemed to be at least 20 stories high. 
As we traversed through the sometimes muddy floor of the jungle, my bright yellow rubber boots would periodically get swallowed up. I wondered how I would make a quick getaway from any predators with this issue. I asked Paharito what would happen if we stumbled upon a hungry anaconda. He said we would definitely be eaten. My stomach turned as I thought of the feeling of being squeezed to death. Yikes.

He said that people assume anacondas are slow moving animals, but they are actually quick. Then he told us a story that sent shivers up my spine. One night while everyone was eating supper at the lodge, they heard a loud commotion in the river. Everyone ran with their flashlights to the edge of the river. The group witnessed a spectacular battle between a 10 foot crocodile and an equally large anaconda. They are both at the top of food chain, so it's 50/50 who would win the fight. That night, the crocodile lost and was squeezed and swallowed up by the massive snake. What an entertaining show for those tourists!!! Can you imagine??!!

One night we took a 2 hour hike through the jungle. We nearly stepped on a poisonous snake and I almost ran directly into a spider the size of my hand. 
Gives me the shivers just thinking about it. 
So many times during the 4 days I thought, "this is so unsafe, why are we doing this?" BUT, it is Ecuador, and you also sign a waiver before you leave Quito. Things can and will go wrong at some point. It's very adventurous. It's not for prissy girls. 
If you get seriously injured, you're screwed because any hospital is several hours away. Did I mention it's a small Amazon-y hospital? Something we wouldn't even call a hospital in the US. It would be condemned. You won't find any level 1 trama ER's here. 
Any kind of head injury and you're a goner. 
Although Dinh and I can really rough it, we were both missing civilization. The hot, sticky, wilderness lifestyle was not for us. I can take it for a short while, but then this western woman needs her creature comforts. 

Where's my blow dryer?

Another story Paharito told us: he had a group of tourists in a boat and suddenly a gigantic crocodile started stalking the boat. Before they knew what was happening, the crocodile jumped into the boat and bit a chunk out of the other guide's leg. All the tourists panicked and started crying. Needless to say, they all left the tour early. 
As you can see, it can be scary business out in the Amazon. You're in a third world country in the wild. Things can go wrong real quick. And that's why they make you sign the waiver form!!! Hehe

That eerie feeling in the water

Surfing was on our "to do" list for the Galapagos, by Dinh's choosing. He's like someone without their morning coffee when he doesn't surf. We found a tranquil beach with a good wave. It was so beautiful, it was almost unreal. As I was on the beach taking pictures of Dinh surfing, I watched him keenly. What happened next was something out of a movie. 

 It happened in slow motion, like most unbelievable life moments do. The water was brilliantly clear blue. A big wave came curling up perfectly. I watched as Dinh floated gracefully over it. 

Directly to the left of him I saw a dark object nestled in the light blue wave. My eyes focused and I see the body, then the fin. 
A SHARK!!!! 
It was plain as day to see. 
My eyes lurched out of my head and for a second. I was in denial. 
Reality hit me quickly and I started screaming as loud as I could to Dinh. 
"DIIINNNH!!!"
I strained my vocal cords and took another deep breath. "DIIIINNNNNNHH!!!!!!"
My shouts were drowned out by the roaring waves. It was no use. 
I closed my eyes, knowing what was sure to happen next. The shark was headed straight toward Dinh. 
I didn't see any chaotic movements on his part. No blood in the water either. My heart beat fast and my anxiety level was sky high. I paced anxiously on the beach. 
Dinh caught a few waves and paddled in early. 

I was still shaking as I told him about the shark. He told me he had just seen him when he paddled in early. I felt relieved to have Dinh in one piece. 
The shark didn't have Dinh on the menu that day. 
The waters of the Galapagos are chalk full of sharks. 
A few days later, I fought my fear as I paddled out to surf myself. I got the eebie jeebies as I floated in the beautifully blue waters. There was a lull in the waves and I felt trapped out there. I had no escape if I saw a shark. 

I would have to paddle frantically, hoping he didn't bite my arms off. Finally a wave came and I surfed it in to shore. I didn't go back out, I had already pressed my luck that day. 

scared

When I'm in the water, I can always sense if there is a shark nearby. Believe it or not. It's an eerie feeling and it sends me into panic mode. You have to have a little talk with yourself sometimes. It's a mind game.

looking for sharks

I felt it the strongest while surfing in Hawaii. I was paddling in deep dark waters. No one was close by. I paddled as efficiently as I could, making sure each stroke count. I didn't want to be lunch for a shark. It's one of the worst feelings to have a big unknown world under you. Something lurking below, looking up and perhaps mistaking you for a seal. 
Eeeekkk!!
I live another day!!!