Back to Reality

People have asked me about my best experiences, what has changed about me, whether I got homesick, whether I am ready for it to be over, etc.

The best experiences/sights that will remain with me forever have been...the sunrises in Florinopolis & Machu Picchu, challenging myself with ziplines in Ecuador & Inca trail hiking & biking down the deadliest road, visiting Christ the Reedemer in Rio which has been a dream of mine for some time and the Silver Mines in Bolivia, eating some of the best food ever in Buenos Aires with my Mom. But the true beauty of the trip was all the people I met. So many different stories, experiences, outlooks, ambitions, and interests.

I got homesick twice. The day before my birthday as I was missing an incredible beach volleyball tournament back home and on the 4th of July.

I haven't so much changed as much as I have simply realized things about myself. A friend of mine has always been irked by my seemingly innate ability/ambition to invite as many people possible to events or car rides or trips because, well, why not??? Well, I think this ability, for better or worse, has only grown! I am still impatient as ever, but really tried working on it. The good thing about this trip was that nobody else had to feel the wrath of this bad trait of mine. I know many of my friends and the people that have been closest to me know exactly what I am talking about.

Ready for it to be over?? Who would want traveling to exciting and different places to end??? But, I am excited to begin the next step of my life, which is attending USC!!!

It has been the best experience of my life and wish I would have done it sooner.

A couple quotes that have always been in my head and even more so during the past months...

"Every passing minute is another chance to turn it all around"
"Thy lot, or portion of life, is seeking after thee, therefore, be at rest from seeking after it"

Thank you everyone for all your love and support.  See you soon.

Good Things.

TB

Mancora, Peru to Quito, Ecuador

I write this post seemingly in the lap of luxury and comfort. After 2 months of hostels, dirty clothes, and 12 person dorm rooms, I have made it to a good friend's apartment in Quito, Ecuador. Let me just say that your taxpayer dollars are put to good use down here.

But first things first...I did have to go thru some painstakingly journeys to get here. When I last wrote, I was getting on my longest of bus journeys. Basically 2 days of bus rides. 20 hours from Cusco to Lima, a 3 hour layover in Lima, and 16 hours from Lima to Mancora. It was as bad as it sounds...but well worth it once the ocean appeared out the window. It had been over a month since I had seen the ocean and I realized it was the longest I had ever gone, which means I have been pretty darn lucky. It was a great site and somehow made me feel like I was home/safe/comfortable.

The bus rides eventually ended and I spent the days of Monday-Thursday in what I can only describe as a spoiled vacation from my travels in Mancora, Peru. I stayed at a resort/hostel that was ON the beach, with a pool, ping pong tables, etc. and just happened to have a great surf spot out front similar to Haggertys back home. Of course the first thing I did on Monday morning was rent the worst, beat up, water logged surfboard and get in the water. All was good.

The plan for the days there were surf, eat, play futbol, and lay by the pool. I am, by the way, the absolute worst futbol/soccer player. There were about 25 of us playing and it was a unanimous choice. Once again, I did not represent the Americans too well.

The only thing that threw a wrench into my time in Mancora was my feeling on invincibility that I could eat nearly anything and basically drink the water. After a day of eating delicious Ceviche for lunch and dinner and having a few pina coladas (hey, I was basically at a Mexican resort) , I spent the better part of the next day praying to the porcelain god (i.e. the toilet). I was even throwing up the medication I was taking. It was not a good day and South America put me back in my place real fast.

I had one last bus ride to go on this adventure and got on my final overnight bus from Mancora, Peru to Quito, Ecuador on Thursday afternoon. Ecuador definitely has the strictest of border crossings. It is like every country likes to flex its power and strength just for intimidation purposes. I did leave one item on the bus that I had worn probably 90% of my days in South America...the brown/green/dark/whatever color fleece that you have probably seen in many pictures. It is ironic, but lucky, that I left it on the final bus ride.

I got to Ecuador and Bo's place on Friday morning and it was a very welcomed feeling when I stepped into his 12th floor apartment overlooking the city. A very beautiful place and city with volcanoes surrounding the entire city. I got to go into my first US Embassy and it is simply beautiful.

Saturday, Bo, me, and a couple other friends headed to the Cloud Forest to go zip lining. I have told you all about my fear of heights and this definitely topped all I have done while in South America. There were a total of 10 and after the 3rd, my stomach finally let up a bit. But, they saved the best/worst for last. This one, and we all agreed, probably went for a good 1/2 mile. 50 seconds suspended. Definitely gives you a lot of time to think up there and I have to admit that my eyes were not always open. I am getting better with heights but there is NO WAY I AM GOING SKYDIVING.

The day continued with a soccer game involving Quito's best team. 3 futbol matches for me down here. More than I have been to in 20 years combined.

My beard...it is definitely time to go. While in Mancora, I had someone say "You look like ____, but with a beard." There it was...an acknowledgment and it only took nearly 10 weeks!!! haha. I just have to show my roommate, who has always been a big proponent of my neck beard growing abilities then it goes. The last 10 days or so it has been getting to be a bit embarrassing...

I want to wish my nephew Cooper a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! 2 years old!?!? I can't begin to tell you how much seeing all these cute kids down here has made me miss all those little nephews of mine. Even though they are all dirty little hoodlums who like to beat up Uncle Tommy way too much.

It is Sunday and I have 4 more days of this adventure and then back to reality...

Buenas Cosas

Fight On! (My first supporting line)

Thomas Allen

(For some reason I can't upload photos, so I will try later)

Machu Picchu Trek

You see so many pictures of the place that you become immune to it, but once I was up there and walking around on this mountaintop, I was amazed. It is difficult to describe the feeling, but I just felt in the presence of something very special.

I started the trek on Tuesday with a 60 kilometer mountain bike ride going down 3000 meters. It is supposed to be the dry season, but it rained on us the entire day! Made things very cold, but fun as well. I also finally realized what ´mountain biking´ in South America really entails. It is basically biking down their unfinised/unpaved roads. Anyways, we stayed in a small town deep in a valley.

Wednesday, we (by ´we´ I mean a guide, 1 Brazilian, 2 Isrealis, 1 Kiwi, and 3 Americans) started walking along the Inca trail for 7 hours. It was a very tough and long day, but very rewarding because of all the sites along the way. Ancient ruins, crazy animals, trails down steep cliffs. The day definitely challenged my fear of heights. Got to play some volleyball in a tiny village with some local kids. The Peruvians love volleyball. Slept in another small town that night after another day of getting extremely dirty.

Thursday, we walked for 6 hours more until Aguas Calientes at the base of Machu Picchu. A very small town that relies solely on tourism. Went to bed early because...

...The Brazilian and I woke up at 3:45AM to walk up to the entrance of Machu Picchu. I have posted a photo of when we finished. It is an interesting feeling to be dripping sweat at 4:30AM! It is an hour hike straight uphill, but worth it because it is a race to get to Waynu Picchu and hike up the mountain. The photo of me on the rock is from Waynu Picchu. Amazing views. It is another hour hike seemingly straight up.

The rest of the day was spent wandering around the huge city of Machu Picchu. It is amazing how large everything is. The entire day I was wondering how many actual stair steps there are. The Incas loved them some stairs. Walked back down the hill after about 10 hours up looking at all the sites. A very LONG day.

On the bus ride back to Cusco it was dark out, but there were some car lights on the side of the road. Our bus driver slowed a lot and I was sitting in the window seat and looked out and saw a person laying on the street with a pool of blood and a chalk outline. It took me a while, but I realized that was the first dead body I have ever seen. Needless to say, my stomach dropped to places it had not ever been.

Well, tonight I depart for Lima and then to Mancora, a surfing town in Northern Peru. I am leaving tonight (Saturday) around 5pm and will not arrive in Mancora until Monday afternoon. Yes, 2 VERY long bus rides.

Good Things and I will see you all soon!

http://picasaweb.google.com/balltommy

La Paz, Bolivia to Cusco, Peru

Last I wrote, it was my birthday and I was in La Paz. Well, the first week of being 28 years old has been fun! Continued celebrating my birthday for a couple more days in La Paz. I mentioned I was going to the women´s wrestling match. Well, that was absolutely nuts. I actually got into the ring with a friend and ran around for a bit. The crowd throws things at the wrestlers, so when 2 gringos were in the ring it was game on. I survived unscatched though.

The next couple days in La Paz were completely about one thing---Vindaloo. Vindaloo is the hottest chili in India and a restaurant in La Paz challenges people to finish a curry of 30 Vindaloo peppers and you get a shirt. I was out one night and 4 people successfully completed it. I had to go back the next day to try. Well, long story short, after about 6-7 bites I was in the bathroom praying to the porcelian god. It was not my proudest moment. I have attached a picture of me immediately before sprinting to the bathroom.

Wednesday, I did something I wasn´t planning on doing in La Paz...biking down the ¨The World´s most Dangerous Road¨. About 100 people die each year from either driving or biking down the road which desends 3000 meters in 30 miles. It takes 5 hours to complete and is 2.5 meters wide at it´s narrowest point. Being the wimp I am, I definitely took it easy, but I did it and was stoked to be done! A friend and I stayed the night down in Coroico after the ride and it was a great change from the hustle and bustle of La Paz.

The next day, I got on a bus for Copacabana on Lake Titicaca. This is where the Inca´s claim that the Sun and Moon were born. Great islands with many ruins to see. Also went to Puno in Peru and went to the floating islands, which are made of reeds that float in the middle of the lake. Definitely strange.

Got up to Cusco, Peru yesterday and am starting the 4 day trek to Machu Pichu tomorrow! So excited to see the ruins on Friday. Should be a great experience.

I haven´t missed home so much as I did on the 4th. I saw about 3 Americans the whole day! I was out with some Germans that night they helped me celebrate, but I was definitely missing riding my bike on the strand!

I have less than 3 weeks to go and I am starting to see the end of my vacation! No bueno...

Hope everyone is doing great! I will post the pictures from my trek to Machu Pichu next weekend.

Good Things.

TB

Salta to Potosi to La Paz

Wow, well it has been a hectic week of traveling! My last day in Salta, I went on a journey to a peak above 5,000 meters, saw pre-Inca ruins and the 7 color mountain, and visited the Argentinian salt flats. Such an incredible experience. Of course, I forgot my battery to my camera, so the people who were with me on the trip promised to send me the pictures! The earth just looked so dead because the climate changes so much from freezing cold to scorching hot. On the day trip, we stopped in this tiny village to have lunch and I ate a Llama steak for the first time. Actually not too bad!



That night I got on a bus and headed to Bolivia. I wanted to get out of Argentina before the election today because the election is supposed to cripple the economy. The bus ride was quite a journey of extremes. The weather went from freezing cold overnight to 100 degrees during the day. The Bolivian buses are so awful and it is all dirt roads here in Bolivia!! I can't figure it out if the drivers here are the best in the world or the worst! They drive so close and never stop!! I told you that I experienced the richest part of South America in Sao Paulo, well on this bus ride, I experienced the opposite extreme. We stopped on the side of the road and picked up this gentleman and he sat next to me. He had to be 70 years old and was looking at me like I was an alien. I had my IPOD and he couldn't stop staring at it. Whatever food he kept eating was the worst smelling thing ever!! We stopped in another town and I was the only Gringo around. That is definitely eye opening.

I went to Potosi for one reason...to visit the silver mines. In the 1800's, Potosi was the richest city in Latin America because of the silver in this one mountain. Today, there are tours to visit the mines. It was an experience I am glad I did, but will NEVER do again! I could hardly breath, you have to crawl through tight areas, it is SOOO hot, and I was already 4,500 meters high, so the altitude headaches were incredible! As you can see in the pictures, I was much happier on the way in! Being down there for a little over an hour was very difficult, but the miners stay down there for over 24 hours at a time. They die after working in the mines for 20 years. It is not the most glorious job, nonetheless.

After one night in Potosi, I got on another night bus to La Paz. I met an American, Chris, on the bus as he was sitting near me. There was a drunk Bolivian sitting in the seat in front of me and Chris was sitting across the aisle from him. Well, the buses don't stop too often and the drunk Bolivian had to go pee and figured Chris was the toilet!!! Chris just started yelling at the guy. I could not stop laughing. It was definitely an experience and added to the aura of Bolivian buses!

I arrived in La Paz yesterday and we celebrated my birthday last night. It is such a fun, strange, and interesting experience celebrating with people I just met!! So much fun.

Today, I am going to a women's wrestling match here in La Paz. They say it is something you can't miss. I am pretty excited.

Hope you are all well!! I am off to Lake Titicaca and Peru over the next few days!

Good Things.

TB

BA, Mendoza, Salta

Well, the days in Buenos Aires were filled with walking to seemingly every part of the city and eating steak for every meal! I think I ate more steak in one week than I had in the past 5 years combined. One day we went to an ´Estancia`, a working gaucho ranch outside of the city. I rode a horse for the first time since I got freaked out riding my sister´s horse about 20 years prior. They aren`t too bad actually. Went to a tango show, saw Evita`s grave and her museum, went to La Boca (the colorful part of town), and ate more steak.

Said goodbye to DB and headed to Mendoza, Argetina´s equivalent to Napa. It is such a beautiful part of the country with many wineries. The clubs don`t really start getting crowded (and some don`t even open!) until about 2-3 AM. It takes some work getting used to and definitely can`t plan on doing much the next day! At one point, around 5am, I fell asleep in the chair and had to be woken up a Spaniard guy I was out with. I definitely was not representing the Americans too well! In the clubs, the music is all in English and everyone sings along. The problem is that most of the people don't speak English and have no clue what they are saying. It makes for good conversation.

The wine in Mendoza is amazing and about $15 US Dollars for the best bottle. Too bad my backpack already weighs about 40 lbs, otherwise I would have carried bottles around with me for my remaining time!

On Saturday night, I got on my longest bus trip yet. Scheduled to be 19 hours, it took nearly 22 hours to get to Salta. The bus broke down at about 2 am, near who knows where, and I was on a bus with no other English speaking individuals. My prospects were looking great at this point! I definitely had one of those moments of fear, nervousness, helplessness, and excitement once I realized there was absolutely nothing I could do and it was just part of my journey traveling in South America.

Once I finally got to Salta I was able to relax in this beautiful city. The appearances (skin/hair color, height and demeanor) of the people are definitely starting to change the farther north I go. I went on a run this morning to the bus station (my home away from home in every town) and I may as well been an alien. Mind you it is about 50 degrees...I am wearing just a t-shirt and boardshorts, have blond hair, and (being 6`2``) am taller than 90% of the people. Everyone just stared at me thinking I am the crazy `Gringo`.

Tomorrow I am going on a trek to the Argentinian Salt Flats, about 4200 Meters high. Then going to Bolivia the next day for about 10 days.

Go Blue, Congrats Ian for doing so well in the Ironman, and Happy Summer everyone. I posted a picture for those of you keeping track of my beard. It has been 4 weeks. And I posted a pic of the Argentinian Gaucho who fell in love with my mom. :)

I had to start a new web album, so here is the link. http://picasaweb.google.com/balltommy/SouthAmerica2FromBuenosAiresOn?feat=directlink

Good Things.

Floripa & Iguassu Falls & Buenos Aires

Well, it has been another week with a lot of adventures and many hours logged on buses. Is it bad that I am starting to kind of enjoy the bus rides because they give me time to finally relax??

When I last wrote, I was half way through my stay in Florianopolis. Well, the city continued to live up to all it`s hype. I learned to Samba dance (not very well) and in the morning my hips had never been so sore. I was able to surf a few times at Priha Mole and was stared at continuously because I was the only person in boardshorts (or maybe because I was the only gringo). Everyone else had complete fullsuits on and some even with booties. The water temp was about the same as it is was in May in L.A. On Thursday, I finally had to say goodbye to the lovely Tucano House and take the 16 hour bus ride to Foz de Iguazu.

Arrived Friday morning and immediately headed to the Brazilian side of the falls with some Irish folk I had been traveling with for about 8 days. This is the side with the overview of the falls. That night I stayed on the Brazilian side and in the morning headed over to Argentina and Puerto Iguazu. On this side, you can get very close to the falls as you can see by how drenched I am in some of the pictures. That is not sweat, just mist! It was breathtaking. My pictures are in chronological order, so you can get the jist of everything.

Saturday night I got on the 17 hour, which turned out to be 20 hours, bus ride to Buenos Aires. I swear, they seemingly pick any stranger up off the side of the road. It adds many hours to the journeys. I arrived Sunday morning and immediately got on another bus with my Mom to the Boca Juniors vs. Racing futbol match. This soccer match was just as exciting as the one in Rio. We had to cheer for Racing because that is where we were sitting, but it turned out to be a good thing as we won 3-0. I am still a Flamengo fan though...

It is nice to finally speak Spanish, but I am scared I trusted the fact that my high school Spanish would return quickly a little too much.

Had to change my plans a bit and am not able to venture any further south anymore. Thursday night, I will be taking a bus to Mendoza (the wine country) for some fun. Then headed up through MidWest Argentina to Bolivia to Peru to Ecuador! Bariloche is too much of an adventure for the little time I have remaining to hit up the other countries.

Got to see the Lakers win last night. Lakers fans seem to be acting like Raiders fans these days.

Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying summer. The weather down here has been incredible. It gets to 65 degrees and everyone wears snow gear! They think it is soooo cold.

Go Blue. Good Things.

TB