For those of you that don’t know, I’m currently driving around New Zealand in a sweet little 4door hatchback that I’ve rented for 7 weeks. It’s working out to be a bit more expensive than I had anticipated but the freedom it affords is amazing!

I bought a bunch of used camping gear from a guy in Auckland that was just finishing up his 3 month road trip and it was a great deal for everything. For 8 days now I’ve been camping by the beach, by some rivers and here in Wellington in my car by the boardwalk with a bunch of other campervan folk!

Some of the highlights so far have been:
- Having showered only in the ocean, rivers and lakes of NZ for the past 8 days.
- Waking up at 5am to leave a camp site early so I wouldn’t get yelled at for camping there and having the bonus of the clearest star studded sky I’ve seen
- Body surfing masssssive waves!
- Trying to learn how to surf for 2 hours (did actually get up a few times too! But this was also in those same massive waves hahah hard to learn on)
- Sleeply packing up my stuff in my tent at 6:30 in the morning then having a nice elderly New Zealand man come by and say, “Knock knock are you awake? There was an earth quake in Chile so there is a taunami headed our way. Should be here by around 7 or so. Care to come up to the top of the hill and have some tea and coffee with us?” (which I took him and his wife up on and had some great coffee and toast!)
- Hiking the my first “Great Walk”, the Tongariro Northern Circuit! (around Mount Doom for you LOTR fans) and doing it in 2 days vs the standard 3. Although my feet would beg to differ that this was a wise choice hahah
- Driving 2000kms and having maybe 10kms of straight road lol a biker’s wet dream!

And now I’m headed to the South Island for 5 weeks! I’ll try and get some pictures up sometime in the next week or so to share because my god it’s beautiful here!

Until then my friends…

It’s 9:30am and I’ve just arrived at the Los Angeles airport from a transfer in Dallas and Buenos Aires before that.  My flight out to Auckland isn’t until 11:30pm so I figure now’s a good time to head out and see a bit of LA.  From talking with a few different people, Santa Monica was the place to go.  I jump on the airport bus to the public bus terminal and catch the 30min ride into town.

It’s a nice area, all the shops are just starting to open and the streets are starting to fill up.  I cruise around, window shopping at various stores trying on hats*, looking at clothes I can’t afford and jumping on my iPod and cruising the net when I’m in range of free wifi.

The day wanes on with nothing particularly exciting happening** as I walk the harbour front, the pier and various streets of Santa Monica. As evening sets in more people begin filling the streets, everyone undoubtedly going to the posh restaurants in the area for sushi and doing some shopping at the high end stores.  As I am waiting to cross one of the busy intersections I see a man on the other side holding a piece of cardboard and laughing while yelling at some people on my end of the street.  He’s probably in his mid forties, his raggedy hair and torn clothes jostling with his movements, a beaming smile proudly displaying his missing teeth.

The light turns green for him to walk over and about halfway across his eyes lock onto mine.  I grin back honestly as he just seems so happy crossing the road.  He takes that as an invitation to come over and talk to me. I naturally presume he’s homeless and going to ask me for money, but most of the ones that are that happy usually have something clever to say or are at least fun and interesting to talk to for a minute.

He gets close as he starts talking to me and I’m surprised to realize that his breath smells (verrrryy strongly) like garlic versus the usual smoke or alcohol. His boisterous and friendly attitude beaming from his grinning face. This should be interesting, I think to myself.

Him: Hey! Can I ask you a question?

Me: Well in asking me if you could ask a question you’ve already asked a question!

Him: Hmmm, well can I ask you another question?

Me: Hahaha you just did again!

Him: Hahaha oh come on, I just want to ask you if you think this is as funny as I do.

He holds out his piece of cardboard for me to read. “Stop circumcision!” is written in dark black letters across the top with the rest of it filled with smaller writing in pen.

Him: You see I’ve been protesting circumcision for over 20 years now.

Me: A good cause! I too am against circumcision.***

Him: Exactly! That’s why I have this sign.

Me: It’s a nice sign hahah

Him: You see all this small stuff here?

Me: Yes

Him: I’ve tried to come up with all the different uses of the word! I think I’ve written all the inflections of it.  Conjugations of it as a verb and declensions as a noun and come up with sentences for them.

Me: hahaha really? That’s pretty hilarious man!

I take a closer look at the cardboard and indeed, everything is there as far as my knowledge of grammar**** goes.

Him: Here check this one out, I just wrote it today and I think it’s hilarious! I want to see if you do too.

He points to the phrase near the bottom that is bigger than the other ones.

Him: It’s using it in a passive subjunctive sentence! “I don’t feel so good.  I must be being circumcised.”

He looks at me grinning after reading it out to me.  The entire reality/absurdity/wonderful strangeness of the situation hits me and I burst out laughing.  He joins in my laugh, seemingly pleased with my response as his already friendly smile transforms into a booming laugh.

Me: hahaha ya man that is indeed pretty damn funny! Some fine work there!

Him: Why thank you, I’m glad you think it’s funny too! Alright have a good night.

Me: Will do and you too. Keep on spreading the good word against circumcision!

Him: Always!

He walks away down the sidewalk, catching up with his friends he was yelling at previously.

That was interesting I think to myself, he didn’t even want any money! All he wanted to know is if his passive subjunctive sentence using the word circumcised was funny or not hahahah

Ahhh what an interesting world we live in with such interesting people.

_____________________________________

* due to the high efficiency of my brain, less volume is needed so my head is smaller than most people’s thus resulting in almost all hats digging into my ears.  So I’m on a constant mission to find a hat that both fits me and I really like…I am still on that mission.

** except I ended up buying the Patagonia – Better Sweater that I always wanted for far too much money than any sweater should be…I am weak…lol

*** true story

**** which is an extremely limited knowledge of grammar because I like to say that being an engineer provides me with an excuse to not concern myself with proper understanding of my own language.  Talk math**** to me baby!!

***** which I’ve clearly all forgotten since I’ve been out of uni for 2.5 years…hahah

I stare up at the vast star spotted Argentinian sky from the large 2nd floor bus window on the way to Buenos Aires and think to myself of all the other people in the past and future that have smiled and will smile looking up at the stars as I am right now. Thinking, wondering, taking a moment, however brief,  from the insanity of normal day life and just having an appreciation of being.

All of us sharing one instantaneous life in a finite amount of infinite parallel moments. Taking the time to appreciate what we have, the awesome wonder of an experience, of reflection, of life.

Being able to make our life and those we meet greater and greater.  It´s losing yourself in one of those moments and saying to yourself, el mundo es hermoso.

——————————————————————–

I wrote this on the 17hr bus ride from Tucuman to Buenos Aires last week.  I haven´t updated the blog in a while so thought I´d toss this up for fun! I´m not sure if this kind of thing is the answer to when people ask if I´m traveling to ¨find myself¨, but maybe! The one thing I´ve loved about traveling and these crazy long distances between places is that it gives me time to just think about anything and everything.  I don´t think we take enough time out in normal life to just do that without distractions for hours on end.

In normal news though,  Buenos Aires has been a lot of fun! I´ve met quite a few amazing people here at the hostel, many in the same place in their lives that I am which is great hahah

A couple nights ago we went out to a salsa club/pub for a few drinks and the people dancing combined salsa and samba into some awesome dancing.  The moves these people were pulling off were incredible!  I don´t know if they had just grown up on it or were actual professionals, but I really wish I had had my camera to snap some pictures or movies of the stuff they were doing!

Headed to NZ tomorrow night (leave wed night…arrive saturday morning…figure that one out!), which I´m pretty psyched for!  I´ve already started looking into the WWOOFing (organic farming help for food and lodging) locations in the different areas of NZ and some of them are truly awesome.  I have no plans yet, but I´ll figure it out as I go along (as this is the best way to travel by far!) haha

Next post will hopefully have some good stories from NZ next week!

Finally found an internet cafe here in Argentina that has a decent connection!

Pictures from the end of Peru and then Bolivia up to the salt flat tours:
Click me!

Pictures from the salt flat tours:
Click me!

Enjoy!

After spending a few weeks in Bolivia, there are a few things I´ve guess you could say I´ve ¨learned¨.

Things I´ve taken for granted living in Canada:

• paved roads
• adherance to traffic signs and lights…actually…even just having traffic signs and lights!
• street names found at intersections
• drinkable tap water
• a strong currency (relative to most of South America)
• everyone speaking English
• lack of hippies
• flushing toilet paper down the toilet
• not having to work in a mine
• not having a rainy season
• hot water for showers!
• being able to travel 60kms by car in under 3.5hrs (see first bullet point)
• not being asked to have my fabric hiking boots polished by the shoe shine boys lol…
• internet faster than 28k dialup

Things I´ve started to take for granted traveling in Bolivia:

• $4 per night hostels, $6/hr horse back riding, $10 for 12hr bus rides (and in luxury mind you! Grayhound, you could learn a thing or two…), all inclusive 4 day adventures for $150, hell….dirt cheap everything!!
• lack of laws replaced by common sense.  For example: they leave the door on the public bus open all the time, if you go near it while the bus is moving and fall out, it´s your own fault!
• empanadas…mmmmmmmm
• 1litre yogurts in every store for breakfast!
• if I were wearing dress shoes, then the ability to get them shined at intervals of every 20 feet!
• terrifyingly exhilarating bus rides on flooded mountain switchback roads with shear cliff drop-offs hahah
• crazy markets with a ridiculous abundance of food!

I guess this is the official good-bye to Bolivia, you will be sorely missed, and a giant steak and wine hello to Argentina!

I arrive by bus to Tupiza, Boliva at about 3:30 in the afternoon from Potosi.  I´ve only been here a few hours and have already fallen in love with this city.  Nestled in a small flat, surrounded by mountains, it´s a quite city but still seems to maintain a vibrant feel as the locals are bustling around and the many local teenagers are chatting and laughing among themselves along the streets.

The poverty stricken houses normally found surrounding other larger Bolivian cities are no where to be seen from my view atop of the small mountain I decided to  climb. From my vantage I see a city thatbenefits from tourism, but isn´t overrun by it.  It´s a pleasant equilibrium that is a first for the cities I´ve so far visited.

The warm wind blows gently as I watch the sun setting over the horizon of distant mountains.  Clean air fills my lungs with each relaxed breath, a sense of tranquility falling over me.  The sound of children playing soccer in the streets and dogs barking along whispers up the mountain from far below me.  I sit down and face the sun as it slides behind another mountain.

I eventually get up and slowly trek down the back side of the mountain.  A small garbage dump is at the base where I´m descending and I see a mother and her son in it, combing through the refuse, looking for what I can only guess will be something to sell or recycle for a few cents.  It pains me to see this. Every time I have to drive through the shanty towns of cities it depresses me.  It´s an all too common reality here in Bolivia, and obviously everywhere in the world. The advantage that so many of us have in our first world countries becomes glaringly apparent.

At this moment though it´s too much for me. The mother is sitting on the ground with worn plastic containers around her, examining the different objects she sees around her, occasionally calling out to her son to bring her what he is finding. I go into my wallet, find a $100 bolivian bill ($1CAD = $6.7Bolivians) and clamber over a few piles of garbage, avoiding the dog shit that litters the ground. Getting the mother´s attention, I hold out the bill and tell her inspanish that it´s for her.  Her worn and tired eyes look up at me as she takes the note and looks at it.  She seem confused at first and then her eyes light up as she realizes what she´s holding. She thanks me many times and we smile at each other as I walk away.  I only hope it will help make a difference in her and her son´s life, if only just for a few weeks. It´s hard to escape the reality of people´s situations even in such a seemingly perfect city.

I stroll back into town, passing more kids playing soccer in the streets and families walking around enjoying the evening. One small child wears aspider-man mask and runs around his parents making his own sound effects, we all laugh together at his antics as I pass by.

Losing myself in the streets I realize this is definitely a place I could definitely stay for days or even weeks.  It´s too bad I have my flight out already from Buenos Aires on the 17th.  My god it´s fast approaching.  At least I still have a few more days here, horseback riding in the mountains tomorrow and a 4 day tour of the salt flats the day after. Ahhh the traveling life is hard

I lazily walk past the small, covered trucha kiosks that line the Lake Titicaca beach front in the tiny town of Copacobana, Bolivia. Without fail, each owner beckons me to come and sit with a look of hope (not desperation) in their sun worn eyes. They each seem to be run by one family, with the mother outside trying to bring in patrons, the father in the back cooking and the kids either playing along the beach or helping their parents.

I chose the ninth covered kiosk, aptly numbered Kiosk #9 and the mother at the entrance beams with pride as I settle in to one of the red plastic seats and look over the menu (which is the same as kiosks 1-8 and 10-20). She says some soft words to her daughter who then comes over to wait for my order.

The small girl giggles as she takes my order of trucha a la mantequille and un servesa. When I ask how much the beer is she replies with a giant ear-to-ear grin that the servesa is $8Bs ($1.15cad) and then brings it out with a small glass to pour it into. I can hear the fish, caught fresh today in the lake, frying in the pan just behind the counter as the aroma pleasantly fills the air.

After a little while and half a beer later the succulent food is laid before me on the table by the smiling father, who goes then to the front to join his wife and chat.

The flesh of the fish nearly melts off as I take a piece and put it into my watering mouth. “Esta muy rico!!” I exclaim to them as I realize this is probably the best trout I’ve ever had. “Gracias!” replies the father.

The little girl walks by with a grin as I take another sip of my servesa, lean back in my chair contently and happily return the smile.

Just did a photo journal thing on facebook so follow this link to check it out!

“Why are you doing this?” my grandfather asks of me. “You have a good job, you save money, you buy house, find good girl, get married and have children. This is what you do, not this quit work and fly to South America.” I smile and laugh as he asks this of me and then questions everyone in my family as to why they are letting me do this crazy thing.

To me, our experiences define us. Our memories are who we are and shape us into the people we become. It’s these memories that slow down our illusion of time. It’s about looking back on the previous years and not thinking “Damn, where did those years go?” but rather knowing exactly where they went with vivid clarity and a large database of pictures.

You don’t need to travel the world to do it (just the avenue I chose), it’s about just doing anything worth that precious space in your mind. It can be playing soccer with your kid in the backyard, taking a chance on a new restaurant or driving out to the lake, opening up a bottle of wine with someone special and giggling endlessly while bouncing up and down on a teeter-totter.

It’s not that I wasn’t enjoying work because I certainly was. The friends I made there will last a life time and the hilarious times we all had and millions of never dying inside jokes will stay with me forever, but what more the world can offer?   What do you feel gazing over the ancient Incan ruins of Machu Pichu as the sun creeps over the mountain horizon? How much work is required to live on an organic farm in New Zealand? What stories from far away places can a new friend share over a beer in Vietnam?

How could I ever know without trying? Life is about experiences that create pleasurable memories upon reflection, and if they’re not pleasant memories then you use the memories to know what to avoid or to learn from and turn a potential bad experiance into a good one.

Sure I could stay at work and still be happy, but the vast number of experiences I could get from travelling around the world is incredible. How can I possibly not do it when I follow this philosophy?

Life is fleeting, the world is continually changing and if right now I’m able to do this I really feel I should. It’s scary as hell especially when I haven’t done the planning or research I normally do to make major decisions, but that’s also part of the excitement of it. It’s pushing my own boundaries and expanding my own capabilities. It’s forcing me to grow in ways I can’t yet imagine.

As I write this on the bus to the airport, I think of everyone I’m leaving behind. My friends, my family, the people I love. My eyes water knowing I won’t see them all for a while. Will they all still be the same people when I return? Who will change, who will be the same? How will I have changed to them?

I don’t know the answers, but I’m dammed excited to find out

My bags are packed, my adrenaline is pumping and time is running short.  To the Robert Q (that’s who) I go!

See you all on the other side =D

Carpe diem friends, carpe diem!