Half Way!

What do you think of my new man? He´s a beauty!!!!! He´s an Inca! More about him on my next blog!



Time to reflect...I´ve been on the road for 3 weeks! ¿What´s the buzz? Hmmm......

The Upside of Travelling:

• Travelling with my sister


• Meeting new people


• Spending time with fellow travellers in the hostels - sharing stories and experiences - their enthusiasm for life and learning is contagious


• Seeing how other people live and adapt to their environment


• Absorbing the colours, smells, sights, and sounds - hearing beautiful , uplifting tradional music


• Trying different food -( haven´t tried the guinea pig yet!)


• Being surrounded by history, the sense and wonderment of many years gone by - evident in their clothes, music, architecture, food, customs, language etc
  
• Being pushed out of my comfort zone- having to think quickly, draw on my own resources within


• A great time to think about home - putting my own life in perspective, makes me appreciative what I have; family, friends, my job, and my home.
• Time to reflect and set new personal goals for myself.
• Being challenged to learn a new language
• Having the support and encouragement of friends as I travel - I feel your love!!!! Thanks!
• Snicker Bars - great to eat while spending many long hours waiting in bus terminals.

The Downside of Travelling:

• Having to wear jandels in the shower
• Cold showers - In South America, what they call a ´hot shower´ is 2 degrees above freezing
• Bed bugs
• Not knowing spanish
• Wearing dirty clothes - not being able to wash them as often as I´d like.
• Long distances on gravelly, bumpy, windy roads - sometimes 18hrs in one stretch. Oh man!!
• The smell of urine - there are not many public toilets in Bolivia or in Peru so the people squat down on the side of the road or pee against the village walls. This is the dry season so the urine is not washed away!!!! STINK!
• Meeting beggars - every time, my conscience is exercised and contorted until it hurts. Life is not fair!!!!!!
• Walking around a big city late at night looking for accommodation - every where is booked out! Feeling very vunerable! Finally, at 1am, going back to the bus terminal, jumping on bus to sleep as it drives north!!!
• Homesickness
• Nearly giving myself a hysterectomy every time I lift my pack! (if only I listened to my friend and took out one third of what I had packed before I left NZ)
• Sharing an internet cafe one evening in Peru with 20 other males aged between 20 - 30 , all playing internet games, yelling and screaming in excitement! I wanted to screw their ears. They were way too noisy!!!!

Today Peruvians are celebrating Independence Day! I´m now off to the town square to watch the festivities - dancing, singing, beautiful music, wholesome food, gun salutes, plus more.

Adios