a thousand five hundred thirty one and a half miles from lima

Al fin, Valparaiso!

This past week has been a whirlwind of hostels, bus rides, and beautiful cities I will probably never see again. My camera was stolen in Lima by a small child who is excellent at distraction techniques, and for the first time I was very regretful that I did not have a camera because I have seen some of the most beautiful landscapes of my life this week. I will try to find some pictures online to steal for this blog, to keep everyone entertained.

Last Friday, I took an overnight bus from Lima to Arequipa, the second biggest city in Peru. I saw the Santa Catalina monastery there, whose bright colors and orange trees were both pleasant and strange--to think that the Spanish ordered this city to be built on a newly "conquered" territory, and to imagine that these nuns and monks would wind their way to this new world to live in seclusion, makes me believe that the beauty of these monasteries comes also from a need to physically manifest tranquility that perhaps was a myth in reality.

From Arequipa, which does not sit in vain at the foot of a volcano (from a quote), I took a 7-hr bus to Tacna, and then a 2-hr collectivo across the border to Arica, most of which time was spent going through emigration and immigration customs. Arica is supposedly the driest city on earth, which would not explain the two large fountains in the city center, and sits at the base of El Murro, a large cliff with a military museum perched on top of it. You have a beautiful view of the red and white plaza filled with palm trees (plus the seemingly wasteful fountains) from the top.

Arica to San Pedro de Atacama was another overnight bus journey, though this one included a very fun 4 in the morning stop at a police checkpoint where a man in a yellow vest poked at my clothes with a stick. San Pedro de Atacama, a town of dirt roads, hostels, and tour companies willing to take you as far as Bolivia to see what the earth has to offer, is in the midst of some of the most gorgeous scenery I have ever seen in my life. A fellow solo traveler and I took an afternoon mountain biking ride, which took us through narrow gaps between incredible rock formations and beautiful sand dunes. I also splurged and got a tour to the Salar de Atacama, the biggest salt basin in Chile, which was breathtaking. Such blue, blue water, with these barely pink flamingoes grazing among white salt rocks casting shadows into shadows, all against a background of active volcanoes and volcanic rock formations colored orange and red by the sunset and a clear, clear sky. Absolutely incredible. The tour guide told me he would send me pictures so hopefully I will have some up soon.

Finally, I boarded a bus bound for Valparaiso, where I met very generous people AND Britain and Meg, roommates from New York! (Roommate rendezvous count has increased to 3, with one in the coming and another possible!) Valparaiso is magnificent. The city is spread over rolling hills and spills down into the port by the sea. The views at night are like nothing else and everything is bright and colorful. I think I would like to spend some time here, but I am also anxious to find a farm.

Traveling solo (sola) here has been an experience as well. While I was a bit anxious about it, there were absolutely no problems at all; in fact, I feel like people were more willing to help me out when they found out I was on my own. There is a surprising number of other solo or couple travelers who are spending up to a year traveling South America or the world, and I feel like I've stumbled onto this whole new culture where people ask each other¨"so how long have you been on the road" or "where is the cheapest place to do laundry in this town". There are some ridiculous people in this world, and I'm starting to realize that if you put your mind to it, anything really is possible (motorbiking across the world? climbing active volcanoes? giving up a banking career for endless travel? why of course!). Who knows where this adventure will take me next.