Friday, March 28, 2008

San Pedro Prison

So I have fallen behind on my updates...

But I did survive the world's deadliest road and 65 kilometer hike to see Machu Picchu, so yeah me!

San Pedro prison in La Paz was the most surreal 3 hours of my life. On my way to La Paz some Aussies on my bus were talking about things to do in LP. They recommended looking into going to San Pedro. When I arrived I asked the girl at the front desk how to visit San Pedro, so she gave me two numbers to call a man named Kenneth.

I called Kenneth, who as it turns out is a South African prisoner in jail for large amounts of drug trafficking. He arranged a tour for 6 of us from my hostel. He told me to bring 150 bolivanos and a goodie bag full of cigs, deodarant, and toys for the kids inside. Yes, there are kids inside of the prison. So we did as we were told and walked to the prison. Once arriving we walked through a metal detector that with 100% certainty was not working, and walked right past the guards. They didnt check our bag of goods or pat us down or anything. I could have brought 6 sub machine guns, a couple of stun guns, some grappling hooks and a Chipotle burrito and they wouldn't have noticed. Once inside we were rounded up into an apartment type room and given a brief overview. Another South African would be leading our tour through the prison. About the apartment, they dont have cells in the section we are in, they have different properties, which can be bought and sold Monopoly style. The rich live in what amounts to a crappy dorm room, while the poor cram into what the engine room workers on the Titanic would sleep in.

There are no guards inside the prison, the prisoners elect leaders who run the security and make sure things stay under control. There are 8 sections in the prison, the section we were in had 90 prisoner and plus or miuns 15 women and kids, overall the prison has 1100 or so prisoners. I visited the nice section, meaning many less stabbings and assorted violence. The prison as a whole averages 4 deaths amonth, some are natural and some are chalked up to ¨accidents¨. We walked through the courtyard where kids were playing soccer, visited some different apartments, and hid in the gym while our group leader sorted out some two year old beef with another guy who didn't like tourists. We visited zona roja, the area where all of the junkies elect to live. I talked to ¨Superman¨for awhile, a 49 year old Canadian who smokes 20 grams of crack a day. INSANE. When I looked around where I was inside of his room I seriously thought I was living in a dream world. I saw him and some buddies make some crack and smoke it, Jesus Mary and Joseph that was nuts. The prison is said to have the best cocaine in all of Bolivia, which would make sense seeing that 75% of the inmates are there for drug related crimes. After the tour we went back into the apartment where we originally started and were offered a chance to order a cornocopia of different products for sale. Since it was St. Patty's, I shared a bottle of whisky with some buddies from the hostel. After 3 hours I walked out wide-eyed and forever changed. I honestly can't explain what was going through my head throughout the experience, other than a lot of Torbush's.

p.s. The Machu Piccu hike was great. More on that later.


Torbush- http://www.utexasclan.com/images/wow.gif

Song of the moment- Sufjan Stevens- Chicago http://www.seeqpod.com/search/?plid=c29bfe9d21

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

I went to San Pedro prison yesterday on an unoffical tour. Most surreal experience of my life. Here is a brief synopsis on BBC News.
It cost $150 bolivianos to get in and you had to bring a goodie bag of toiletries and cigarettes. I will go in more detail on my next posting, I am still trying to wrap my mind around the whole experience.

The St. Patty's Day party at the hostel was insannnnnnnnne. Had a blast, and met some really cool people. It is supposedly the highest st. pattys day party in the world (3748 meters above sea level)

At 7am tomorrow I am waking up to bike down the worlds deadliest road. I can't wait. I get a free picture c.d. included so that is sweet. The bikes are really nice, so I feel as safe as I can.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Bolivia holla!

So the last week I have been travelling around Bolivia. I left Salta at 7am on Monday (terrible idea to leave that early) and made it to the border at around 2pm. I sat next to a


mouth-breather who decided to read every word of the paper out loud. I could not stop thinking of different murder-suicide methods throughout the 7 hour trip. Upon arriving at the border I got to deal with the long dick of Bolivian customs, as Bolivia has now placed a ridiculous amount of requirements for Americans to enter the poorest country in South America.





Tourist Visa Requirements for U.S. Citizens Enteringinto Bolivian Territory via Airports and at Border Entry Points
1. The sworn statement for visa application form


2. A passport valid for six months


3. Hotel reservation or invitation letter


4. Photocopy of roundtrip ticket or travel itinerary


5. Economic solvency


6. Payment of $100 visa issuance fee


7. International yellow fever vaccination certificate








what a pain in the ass.





So after scrambling around La Quiaca, the Argentina border town I managed to compile all but number 4. It turns out that they didn't care one iota about any of the requirements except for the $100. Nice little money grab they have running here. After entering Bolivia I ran into a British couple Hannah and George who were staying at my hostel in Salta. They helped me figure out how to get to Tupiza and filled me in on all the details of the Salt Flat tour. I stupidly left my ATM card in the machine in Villazon so I am currently down to a credit card and my dashing good looks. After taking the bumpiest road in the history of man from Villazon to Tupiza I was able to relax in a nice hotel surrounded by the Andes.





On Wednesday I began my 4 day tour of the Bolivian Salt Flats, one of the best trips of my life. Unfortunately I don't have a camera, so I am relying on the charity of fellow tour mates to hook me up with some pictures of our trip. I was in a 1985 Toyota Landcruiser with Hannah, George, two other British birds, Samuel the driver, and Archie our awesome english-speaking guide.


I guess the easiest thing to do would be give a run down of the days.





Day 1: Begin in Tupiza and drive through some impressive mountain passes. We saw routes that Butch Cassidy and Sundance used to avoid the law, and ate some llamales (tamales filled with llama meat). At night we stopped in a remote village that was over 4200 meters in elevation. I had the genius idea of rounding up about 8 of us gringos to challenge the local kids in futbol. Needless to say we lasted about 5 minutes before we were doubled over and tasting blood in the back of our throats. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life. Because the kids thoroughly destroyed us, we had to buy them 2 large sodas.





Day 2: We rose at 4:30 am to see the sun rise over the mountains. It was amazing terrain, however it was a really long day. We saw the landscape that Salvador Dali used for his background in ¨Melting Clocks¨ and also saw some cool lagoons all of which were a variety of colors. We also drove onto a volcano and got out and walked around active geysers. This was absolutely in no way safe. I mean, we were walking on 6 inch ledges with boiling water to both our left and right, and steam hissing from underneath or feet. I was glad that we escaped with all of our limbs in tact. The place we stayed was in the middle of nowhere which made for the best star gazing opportunity I have ever had. I think we were able to identify at least 3 planets and a ton of constellations. It was an incredible view, and even though I was freezing, I didn't want to go inside.





Day 3 was fun as we climbed on some huge rock formations and got some good group pictures. We had lunch by the ¨stinky lagoon¨ a pond with thousands of flamingos and a lot of domesticated llamas. At night we stayed in a hotel made completely of salt blocks. You could actually lick the walls. It was quite a unique experience.





Day 4 was my favorite as we drove to the middle of the salt flats to watch the sunrise. It was probably the best sunrise of my life. The pictures I have really do not do justice to how big the flats really are. The guide said they are the same size as Belgium (hi Talie!). We had a lot of fun taking pictures and hanging out, soaking in the last little bit of our time together. We finished the trip in Uyuni, and had a few drinks at a crazy tourist bar before we headed our seperate ways.





Last night I took an overnight train for La Paz, and arrived safely at 7 this morning. I haven't done to much today, but I needed a day to recover from the salt flat tour. Tomorrow is St. Patty's day and my hostel is having a huge blowout. Hopefully it is a lot of fun. I think on Tuesday I am going to bike down the world's most dangerous road. Wish me luck.



Salar de Uyuni (Salt Flats)



















View of Tupiza from my hotel

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Some new pictures

Talie and I hanging out in Plaza San Martin, BsAs















Butting heads before we go canopying



















Natalie rappeling by a waterfall



































Look at that form



















Delicious Malbec infused vanilla helado.



















Amazing view of where we were hiking/rappeling/rafting/canopying



















Our last meal together



















Having a great time at a bodega in Mendoza



















Amazing wine grapes



















Enjoying a cold one after 3 hours of rafting.



















View from the hill that we summited



















Me going upside down over the lake, it was incredible.





















Friday, March 7, 2008

To Chance Encounters...

Entonces, yesterday Natalie left back for Buenos Aires and then back home to Chicago. It was really hard to say goodbye, as we has such an amazing 6 weeks together. She is a really fun and easy person to travel with and made my experiences in BsAs, Iguazu, and Mendoza wayyyyyy better and more memorable. Have a safe trip home Natalie, I will miss you!

Our time in Mendoza was amazing, starting about two hours after we arrived. We decided to rent bikes and explore different bodegas (wineries), where we sampled amazing wines and ate delicious wine grapes straight off of the vine. The next day was Sunday and EVERYTHING in the town was closed, it seriously looked deserted. We manageged to round up enough people from the hostel to have a soccer game so that was a lot of fun. Throughout the week we decided to stay in and cook dinner rather than go out and we made a lot of good meals while drinking many top bottles of Mendozan Malbec. On Tuesday we went on a 25km white-water rafting trip through the Andes. I was the first one to fall out of the boat, ja ja (how haha is written in Argentina). It was beautiful and both of us had a blast. On Thursday we went trekking and rapelled near a waterfall in the morning and went canopying in the afternoon. Canoyping is similar to ziplining, but with 6 stations instead of one. The scenery was breathtaking as the last two lines ran across a lake and then back over. Both Natalie and I went upside down over the lake with the help of an instuructor. Describing it doesn't really do it justice, so I will post some pictures of it when I can. It was an amazing rush to be zooming over a beautiful lake in the mountains upside down. Yesterday we had a perfect last day together walking around Mendoza and checking out all of the sites we wanted to do before we left. We got a final helado that was exclusive to Mendoza, vanilla infused with Malbec, it was delicious. We made a last dinner of spinach ravioli, bruschetta, and a blood sausage sandwhich (ha!) with a final bottle of Mendozan wine. Perfection.

I hopped on a bus an hour after Talie left and now I am 17 hours north of Mendoza in the ciudad of Salta. It looks beautiful so far and like Mendoza, there are a lot of outdoor activities to explore. I am about to leave to explore the city. Next week my sisters and mom are going to Mexico for spring break with my aunt, so I want to tell them to have a great time and to enjoy some mojitos and attention from all of the guys. Two weeks from today, my dad, brother, and his roommate will be down here to hike with to Machu Piccu with me. I am really excited for that. I hope everyone is doing well, but I am not going to lie, I am in no rush to head back, Argentina is an amazing country.
Love you all,
Kyle