Valparaiso: Graffiti Art Spotlight

Valparaiso is a city that wears it soul on the outside.  I mean this quite litterally as the entire city is painted.  Not only are homes painted bright (you cannot paint your house the same color as your neighbor) but local and foriegn aritsts have come to make their mark on many of the city walls.  I came to Valparaiso because I was interested in expereincing this painted city for myself.  I have always been interested in public art and view it as a true expression of the people and the cities values. I want to spotlight a few artsist and hope this will act as inspirtation to my fellow travelers to go out and explore this inspiring city.

The best plac to begin in ith Valpo Street Art tours.  The tour is free but tipping is more than recommended.  This tour is fantastic.  The guides are grafitti artists themselves and are very involved in the community as a whole.  These are the best guides you could ask for.  As they are all part of a larger community, my guide was able to explain the nature of grafitti culture.  He explained the significance of grafitti and street art around the world and how it has inspired so much of the Valparaiso street art scene.

There are three primary artsist that made the most personal impact.  Each has a clear presence all over Valpo.  Un Kolor Distinto, Inti, and Cuelli Mangui.

Un Kolor Distinto is the only grafitti artist recognized by the Municipal Council.  He has paid peices covering the entire city.  Un Kolor Distinto (Sammy) collaborates with mnay artists to make incredible works of art.  His personal style is very surrealist and have a whimiscal feeling to them!

My absolute favorite artist in Valparaiso in Inti.  He gathers his inspiration from traditional Chilean culture.  According to my guide, Inti is the most talented and respected artist in the city.  He has gained international recognition and is currently sharing his beauty with Germany.  Lucky them!

I was fortunate enough to briefly meet Cuelli Mangui while he was selling some of his paintings.  He explained how he gathers inspiration.  First, he throws color in patches all over the wall.  Using these colors he fills in the spaces with black lines to define his peice and what the colors will represent.  One of his peices turned the many colors into the scales of a lizzard and another became fish.  I was so excited to meet one of these great artists and am now the owner of a Cuelli Mangui origional!

Valpo Street Art tours are the perfect intoduction to the style and popular artsists.   I used them as my jumping off point to explore much more of the murals and grafitti around Valpo.  This is a do not miss!

Bolivia´s Uyuni Salt Flats, The Cheapest Ticket to The Moon

Every traveler has an exceptionally long bucket list.  Traveling to Bolivia, I was able to cross off a bold point on my MUST DO trips.

Salar De Uyuni is one of the largest Salt Flats on the planet.  Stretching over 100 kilometers, the flat hold enough salt to support the entire world for over 50 years.  The once ocean is a vast, flat landscape of strictly white ground against a bluebird sky only found in deserts.  To the Inca, it is a worshiped site  of Pancha Mama, Mother Earth, they to find spiritually charged and healing.

I planned the start of my trip around an expedition to these Salt Flats.   Travel to here is exceptionally easy and the Bolivians could not be more helpful and friendly. 

There are dozens of tour companies in Uyuni.  Most companies are a type of travel agency that work with just a few companies.  When searching for a tour I took a few things into consideration, an English speaking guide, the number of people on the tour, and online ratings.  After a bit of research before leaving home, I decided on a trip with Red Planet Expeditions. I emailed Maria with Red Planet a few weeks prior to enquire about space.  She allowed me to book the tour in advanced without any kind of payment.  The agreement is if you email to confirm three days prior and arrive before 8:30, they will honor your reservation.  A great requirement if you are like me and do not like to pay before entering the country.

Red Planet was an amazing choice!  The guides are fluent in English and provided us with fantastic information on the area.  I decided to go for a three day tour as it covered the most terrain.  The tour also has the option of dropping off at the border on Chile.  The first day explore the salt flats followed by a nights accommodation in a hotel made completely of salt, even the chairs and dining table! 

The second day tours the many lagoons and is perfect flamingo and Vicuna spotting.  The tour reaches 5,000 meter, roughly 15,000 ft, above sea level.  Be prepared for such a dramatic altitude as it can be painful!  The day completed at the Geysers before heading down to a comfortable 4,300 meters.  Thought the second night of accommodation is basic, it is located directly next to hot springs for late night soaking.  Red Planet is the only company that stays directly adjacent to hot spring.  Be ready for the most surreal experience of perfectly hot water and the most expansive sky and a display of stars that rivals any other sky in the world!

Finally, the tour commences at the border of Chile and San Pedro de Atacama.  Once again Red Planet exceeds expectations and towers over other tours.  The guide helps direct you through customs and has the entire group wait until the transfer bus comes to the boarder. 

This adventure has made my personal list as 7 wonders of Lauren Sakin's world.

 

Peru: The $700 Journey

I finally made it to Peru and no short of a millon little struggles.  I though I would have at least one travel post about some of the difficulties of international travel.
The first leg to Houston I made with no problems.   Just as everyone was about to board to Lima, the plane had mechanical errors. We then all needed to switch planes whichof course  was too small!  Therefore, 24 volunteers were needed to take another flight.  Well the reward was a $700 voucher good for one year!  I jumped on that, and was given a room and food for the night and next day and a flight the following morning connecting in Panama... That too was delayed!
And to top it off my bag was lost meaning I had to take an extra day in Lima (there are worse places to get stranded in 3 day old underwear) before I could take my 22 hour bus trip to Cusco.  Well I am here now and all is well :P
Time to start traveling

My super comfy bus seat to Cusco that reclined nearly all the way and featured on demand moves in Spanish with subtitles and a few in English. As well as wifi, and meals and drinks included. Best bus I have ever taken! 

Cusco : Adventures in Cusco-topia

Its been a bit over a week in Cusco and I am working hard to sum up my time here.  This city is truly fantastic.  Though it may be a tourist hub there are tons of museums, a fabulous market, lots of great squares, and wonderful shopping.

San Pedro Market is my favorite stop.  As is well known I love to spend time is local market places.  This market is very clean compared to its Asian counterparts.  I have started my mornings with a freshly squeezed juice made of carrots, banana, orange, and Maca powder!  If you want you can be so healthy in Peru.  The rows are lines with Chia seeds, Quinoa in all colors, Maca, loads of chocolate, and setvia.  There are fruits I have never heard of, such a noni, which is meant to cure cancer and help digestion.  In the lower areas women sell all sorts of treats like Jello, cakes, hot coco, and cerviche.  Additional booths have fresh fish eggs, seaweed, all types of other herbs, and of course... huge logs of sacred paulo santo that the hippies would dye to get there hands on for the alters!

The streets of Cusco are lined with both high end alpaca shops and vendors who sell lower quality alpaca hats, socks, sweaters, and scarfs.  All the kinds of Peruvian gifts that anyone has ever dreamed of are here next to adorable cafes fulls of tasty treats and sweets (they do love there treats here especially ice cream).

I bought a 10 day tourist pass which gave me access to many museums around town as well as ruins in the Sacred Valley area.  I spent a few days visiting these and exploring the winding streets.  It was a great collection of exhibits that ranged between Incan history, Spanish colonialism, and modern Peruvian Art.  On my day two friends I had met in Lima arrived and we packed our bags and set off on a self designed tour of the Sacred Valley that took us all the way to Machu Pichu and back!

*Something I have noticed is the disabled ramps in Cusco.  There are on almost every corner and while there are many stairs to climb in this hilly city most streets have ramps.  I am not saying it would be easy to get around seeing as it is cobble stone in most areas.  However, all ramps are marked.  They also seem better here than in some American towns.  Just an observation...

Machu Pichu: AKA Mucho Pictures

There are about A million tour agencies to help you get to Machu Pichu.  Ofthose  agencies they have about 100 different options to help you get there.  Each way cost like $500.  It was just way to overwhelming for me.  So, I came up with my own plan!  Why not make up my own tour that would let me see all the cool little towns on that way to Machu Pichu and call it ¨Lauren´s Tour de La Sacred Valley.¨  Works for me.  So here was the plan.
Day 1 Pisac
Day 2 Chinchero, Maras, Ollayntaytambo
Day 3 Figure out how to bus/walk to Aguas Calientes
Day 4 Hike to Machu Pichu
Day 5 Cusco
Well it kinda worked...
Everything went well untill we reached Oyantayambo.  The ruins in each town were wonderful.  I loved visting each town and taking in the sacred valley with just two friends rather than on a tour. To help with my knowledge I picked up a book along the way called `The Andean Codex,` about Quechua Incan Shamanism and the Sacred Valley.  That allong with my guide book gave us some reference on the significance of the areas we were trekking through.

Women sitting by the ruins at Chinchero

Local artisan near Chincero market

Moray, where they believe the Incas learned many farming practices

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However, once we reached Ollayntaytambo our plans got rocky.  We realized we could not reach Aguas Calientes and Machu Pichu safely by car and foot and would need to splurge for the train.  Oh well!  Also we all seemed to have eaten something that didn`t sit well and took a day to rest :(

A day later we were on our way and to our relief the rest day meant we skipped the busiest and rainiest day of the week!
The following morning myself and travel companions woke up at 4AM to begin the 500 meter acent to Machu Pichu. 

 It only took a bit over an hour in all and we took a break at the top before spending the next 7 hours trekking around from the edge of the sun gate and around the entire complex, stopping whenever a prime llama picture presented the opportunity.  (Its as if they flash their eyelashes just to show you how camera ready they are).  

It may have been nice to higher a guide but there were plenty of large tourists groups to sneak into we just happened to be a bit dirtier then most of the other partcipants. All in all Machu Pichu success culminating in the best rotisserie chicken dinner I have ever had!  Kudos Aguas Calientes.

Funny little dog in Aguas Calientes that looks like our family dog Zorro!

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It took two more days to return to Cusco as we decided to spend another full day and night in Ollayntaytambo, liking thetown and  the hostel so much.  When we arrived an enormous fair for the towns birthday was in full swing, giving the perfect opportunity to party with the locals and try some tasty local eats like river trout, chicha (sweet corn juice), and lots of fried chicked and churros!

Then back to home sweet Cusco, my juice lady, a comfy bed, clean clothes, reliable WiFi, homemade high altitude Irish beer, and halloween.

*If Peruvians can find an opportunity to have a parade, street fair, marching band, rally, dress up, or yell scream and cheer abut something it is bound an sure to happen.  Rarely has three days gone by that I have not witnessed one or more of these things at once.  It`s great.

Another random religious celebration (couldn't understand what it was for) 

Oaxaca: Holy Mole

Oaxaca, Mexico May 2014!  A short off season break to get away from the mud of Colorado snow melt and expereince the flavors of south central Mexico.  To be honest I never considered backpacking to Mexico until my friend from college, Andy, mentioned the idea of visiting Oaxaca city and the coast for a few weeks.  I did a bit of research, and my restless legs, wandering mind, and belly all agreed.  Needless to say I have thus far thoroughly enjoyed non-resort Mexico.

A bit on Oaxaca.  First off, everyone should, if they already have not, try Molé.  its amazing.  A strange combination of chocolate, chili, and maybe tomatillos.  This thick sauce really tastes good with anything.
Every corner in Oaxaca is full of flavorful treats that are dangerous for a foodie like myself who holds no limits to what she will try (even crickets!).

Oaxaca is colorful.  Actually Mexico is colorful.  Most of the buildings are cement or stucco.  They are painted in brilliant colors of blue, purple, and green.  People are dressed in brilliant colors and embridery.  I generally think when I see pictures of typical clothing thats this will be just for show.  However, homes seem to be decorated in woven cloths and painted pottery.  Some places almost look sureal and I have found myself thinking "really, is this for a photo or do you actually live this way!"  Andy and I have had so much fun merely exploring all corners of the city for its utter cuteness and to speak with all the friendly shop keepers who help us with our mediocre (at best) Spanish.

Needless to say Oaxaca is a fabulous city and worth the exploration.

Also, Andy got an awesome hat!

Trip Planning: Can't Throw Off The Groove

So when I decided to move to Aspen I knew there were two off seasons.  This meant a prospective 4 months out of the year that I could travel.  However, I thought that I was to late to the game for this off season to get a good price on a ticket to go anywhere.  I was dreading the idea of sitting by as all my new friends took off on there well deserved epic adventures.  How WRONG I was...  This boundless nomad will always find a way!

Next stop, Peru

October 16- November 14th.  Bring it on one month of amazing trekking, astrology lessons, high altitude lakes, and as many Emperors New Groove jokes as I can get away.

-Happy traveler out :o)