Copacabana, Bolivia & Peru

Copacabana, the quiet town that was our launching pad for Isla de Sol, is a great place. Every afternoon in front of the cathedral they have a Benedicion de Movilidades. Basically the people park their cars in front of the cathedral and proceed to decorate the heck out of them with fresh flowers and tacky religious icons conveniently for sale everywhere. A nun then came out with a bucket of holy water and blessed the entire the family before walking around the car a few times dousing it with the aforementioned agua santa. She even opened the car door and splashed some on the steering wheel. Then the men took turns spraying beer like it was champagne all over the car and then they drank the beer. I couldn´t make this up. The whole event was like a Holy Communion or something in that the entire extended family was there, tossing flower petals, getting blessed, drinking, and posing for the professional photographer who was documenting the entire spectacle. It was utterly fantastic.

I left Bolivia for Puno, Peru where I saw their Lake Titicaca islas. The reed islands were interesting, they are truly made entirely out of reeds, but more touristy than anything, and Taquile couldn´t hold a candle to Isla de Sol. Bolivia wins in the Lake Titicaca Isla Showdown.

Downhill Madness & Coroico

Soooooooooooooooooooo for reasons that will soon be obvious I did not tell anyone our plans to take a muntain biking trek down The World´s Most Dangerous Road, also know as Death Road. We started high in the mountains where the weather was freezing and descended over 3,000 meters. By the end the climate was hot and humid and were happy to be alive! Actually it wasn´t that scary, but I cannot believe buses used to use this road. The cliff looked over into a cloud filled abyss for most of the ride, but when we got low enough and could see the vast eternity we were happy we splurged for the double suspension brakes. The tour ended in the town of Coroico where we spent two fabulous days at Hotel Esmeralda. We lounged by the pool, used 98% DEET to discourage the mosquitoes (I may now be infertile but I am not itchy), went to a great cafe to drink beer and listen to the locals play music, and enjoyed the incredible views from our balcony. I´m just living the dream!

Mi amigo John

Only someone in HBS would decide that the perfect place to spend his spring break is Bolivia, and thank goodness John is that someone! He suffered through a late east coast winter storm and endured some serious planes, trains, and automobiles before finally arriving in a rainy La Paz very early on Sunday, March 18. The city is overwhelming when you´re well rested but I think his delirium helped him quickly adjust. We found the army band giving a free concert in the Plaza Murrillo, and as beautiful as the setting may have been we simply could not stomach an out of tune brass band that early in the morning on that little sleep. We could not wait to get to Lake Titicaca and La Isla de Sol, where the Incas believe the sun was born. After twon nights n the island, and one glorious day of trekking to see the ruins and shrine to Pachamama, their Earth Mother, John and I had to agree. The pictures should speak for themselves as I lack the words to describe how enchanting and mystical the island and lake were.

UNBOLIVIABLE!

I have never seen anything like La Paz, Bolivia. The city makes New York look like a sleepy island town. My morning began with a dip in the ocean and then began the 8 hour bus ride through the Andes. Gratefully the border crossing was uneventful, another stamp in the old passport, and higher and higher we climbed. The scenery was beautiful; mountains and farmland as far as the eye can see. When we drove through El Alto, an extremely poor community above La Paz, it was a bit of a shock. At least it was a shock until we turned a corner and WHAM! There it was, the highest city in the world, built smack dab in a valley in the middle of the Andes in the seemingly middle of nowhere, Bolivia. There are buildings everywhere, built straight up the mountainside as though reaching towards the sky, or the snow-capped mountaintops in the distance. The city itself is a screeching symphony of people and micros and pollution and gorgeous architecture mixed and it seems as if every inch of sidewalk space is part of an endless mercado. You can buy underwear, batteries, a TV, bootlegged DVDs, handmade crafts and coca leaves in the same block, practically in the same tent. The altitude alone is enough to make you dizzy but the incessant insistence of life coming at you from every angle is more like being drunk. I loved it.

Sunset in Arica, Chile

I left Santiago the morning after Placido´s concert. What more could that city possibly give me? Hell, what more could I aks for? My mermaid tail was itching for the sea and I stopped first in the coastal town of La Serena. Like another city I know on the Pacific this town also suffered from some serious marine layer and I never saw the sun. Luckily I quickly ventured further north to Arica where the beaches were big and deserted, the water was warm, the waves perfect for body surfing, and I saw my first sunset over the Pacific since October. Que lindo!

Pre-Placido prep in the Plaza de Armas

My opera fix: Placido Domingo en Santiago

After a glorious month in Argentina I finally made the move to Chile. The bus ride from Mendoza was a beautiful, lazy trek through the Andes Mountains. The sky was crystal blue, the snow-capped peaks were blinding. Fortunately my first border crossing went smoothly, their police computer did not find any trouble with the name Murtha, we must be slicker than we think, and another stamp added to my passport. Santiago is a huge city with a perfect metro system. Clean, quick, and easy to use. As I was checkng into the hostel the woman at reception causally mentioned that the following night, Sunday, there would be a free concert in the Plaza de Armas at 8 PM. If I wanted more information I should consult the poster in the hall. Later, I thought, as off I went to settle in, take a shower, and learn another city map.

A bit later I decided to take a walk around my new neighborhood, Barrio Brasil, and find a cafe where I could sample the beer of Chile. Every country has its own beer, I can´t remember the Nicaraguan ones but in Argentina it is Quilmes, and I make it a point to sample them. The wine waits until dinner! Anyway, I caught a glimpse of the concert poster and stopped dead in my tracks. PLACIDO DOMINGO. In concert. For free. On my 2nd and final night in Santiago. To commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the Teatro Municipal. I damn near screamed; after the disappointment of not being able to visit the Teatro Colon in Buneos Aires which is closed for a year of repairs, I could not have wished for a better opera fix in South America.

I started my day early on Sunday and found the Plaza de Armas in the midst of concert preparation. A line of Chileans were already queued for the few seats available by the stage, behind the VIP section of course, and I got as close to the action as I would all day. After the requisite sightseeing I prepared a picnic of wine, fruit, and cheese and headed over at 5:30. The square was insanely crowded, proving once again that it´s not that people don´t like opera they just don´t want to pay! I scrambled up onto some sort of contraption for a better view and got to see the man come out for his warm up. He was charming and casual, chatting briefly with the crowd in beautiful Spanish. Behind him was the cathedral, the sun was setting over the Andes Mountains in the distance. Actually he is quite handsome with the beard, white hair and of course the voice.

The concert started more or less on time. He was joined by the Chilean soprano Veronica Villareal, and I must confess that without Ian´s daily world-of-opera emails I had no idea who she was. I do know her choice of gown was questionable, diva or not. A hot summer night in South America does not strike me as the appropriate occasion for a full-length, long-sleeved black and white gown with the puffiest shoulders I have ever seen and more taffeta ruffles on a skirt than an entire flock of Texas debutantes. Placido opted for more casual in an all black suit, no tie, and played the dapper card perfectly. Her costume change later into something black with a matching feather boa was an enormous improvement but still looked a bit ridiculous. As usual I digress. The important thing to mention is that they began with opera and worked their way to more popular tunes. Two hours later they made the crowd swoon with traditional Chilean tunes that had couples dancing and children cheering. Not a bad way to spend an evening in Santiago.

NB: I wish the pictures were clearer but hopefully you get the idea!

I know this great new lunch place...

Patagonia is amazing. I know I am not the first to make this declaration, nor will I be the last, but it is honestly the most beautiful, varied, and vast place I have ever seen on Earth. I saw a glacier on El Calafate and went on the best hike of my life in El Chalten. I was totally alone on the trail, in the middle of the Andes Mountains, awestruck by Mother Nature. I think I smiled and giggled to myself the entire trek. When I finally made it to Lago Capri, I settled on a small beach and ate the best jamon y queso sandwich of my life! Traveling alone is challenging in many ways, but one of them is that I am the only in charge. I should have stayed in El Chalten for at least 3 days but alas I had already made plans to travel north to Bariloche. I am all set with 30 plus hour bus rides folks. Not in the least bit fun. But Bariloche was also beautiful, Lake Tahoe aspires to be it one day, and now I am in Mendoza. That´s wine country and I am ready for some vino! The plan is to bike around the different vineyards tomorrow and then go white water rafting on Friday. Saturday I make my way into Chile.