Pisco Sin Fronteras

Is Pisco a beautiful place? If beauty is defined by the amount of fancy houses and expensive cars a suburb has; by the high class restaurants and shopping centres; or maybe even the amount of nice parks and gardens that can be explored during quiet afternoons; then no it isn't. But if you measure beauty by the character, the comradely, the good will and the unity that this town produces day in and day out in desperate times of need; then Pisco is amazingly beautiful. This place is a roller-coaster of mental, physical and emotional challenges. You have your days when you feel on top of the world, and you have the days where you want to cry. But at the end of the day it's the smiles, the laughter, the tears and the efforts from volunteers all over the world ready to make a sacrifice and commitment that make this place unique.

Pisco Sin Fronteras is a place where the expression 'blood, sweat and tears' is taken in its most literal sense. People often use this saying to describe a time when great mental, physical and emotional strengths are pushed to the very limits, and extraordinary results are produced. This expression epitomises the non-profit volunteer organisation Pisco Sin Fronteras and the work from all the volunteers that come through the doors and make this place amazing. Volunteers come to PSF with the intention of only staying for a couple of weeks, and they end up staying for months and months.

For people who are unaware of the situation in Pisco, Peru, here is a bit of a back story. In the evening of August 15^th 2007 Pisco was hit with a catastrophic earthquake measursing 8.0 on the Richter Scale. As a result, 80% of Pisco was destroyed and over 500 people perished. However, for Pisco, the long-term damage far outweighed the short-term crisis. For the local people of Pisco this earthquake took away not only family, friends and houses; but it reduced the community to nothing.

Some of you may remember reading or hearing about the devastation in Pisco 3 years ago; or some of you may have never heard about it all. Whether you had or hadn't heard about the devastation in Pisco is not the problem; the problem is that Pisco is still a place in desperate need of assistance. And this isn't just a problem with the troubles of Pisco, this is a problem with many large scale tragedies around the world. At the time they are the buzz word amongst newspapers, people, organisations and sponsors getting on-board to help out the cause. By no means is this assistance without appreciation, but what many people seem to forget is that once the media buzz leaves these places for the next tragedy (think Hurricane Katrina, Haiti, etc) the former place is often forgotten in their wake. The reality that people need to understand is that the work is far from completed in these areas of need. Pisco received support in the beginning of the rebuilding stage, but by no means a feasible amount to make this city a minute percentage of it's former self.

What the people of Pisco Sin Fronteras are trying to do is get Pisco operational again. This does not always mean clearing rubble, digging trenches, pouring concrete, laying bricks, constructing roofs, hanging doors and making windows; even though we do all this work. PSF tries to make Pisco sustainable and able to self manage. PSF cannot be here forever. Everyday we overcome obstacles to remain here as long as we can and support the people of Pisco, but it doesn't come easy. Lack of funding is our primary concern; next is a shortage of professionally skilled labour.

Now, after two years in operation, Pisco Sin Fronteras is about trying to make Pisco sustainable. At the beginning it was all about getting in and helping where they could, however now a lot of the work at PSF is not just about helping to rebuild Pisco, but helping the people and the city help itself. Whether it's perfecting the bio-diesel project so locals can learn how to make their own fuel from left over cooking oils, whether it's teaching people how to make their own soap to enhance their hygiene with the possibility of turning it into a profitable resource, whether it's teaching English in the community to help expand the possibilities of employment or maybe it's passing on some skills to local volunteers who can now take these skills back to their communities and carry on the rebuilding process. What ever the project, PSF is here to help.

Pouring concrete for a new floor

From Torquay i work as a high-school teacher in the outer-metropolitan suburbs of Melbourne. I was never good when it came to construction and building. A lot of my friends are in trades and amongst them i became quite a running joke when it was considered i could be capable of skilled hands on work. However in the last month at PSF i have learnt some amazing skills that I'm putting to use for the people of Pisco. I'm being trained in the finer arts of concrete mixing and pouring (this includes pouring floors, roofs and columns), I've built roofs out of traditional sugar-cane, laid bricks (somewhat unsuccessfully in the beginning) and refined my power tool skills. Everyday i get the chance to learn new skills and help pass on my skills to those around, however at the end of the day everybody is here to help and is equal. Whether you are a professional in your field or a first timer; everybody has the opportunity to contribute to this fantastic cause. Even the people who make up our administration (all initially volunteers themselves) continually emphais how anybody who walks into PSF has the ability to make a difference and step up to positions of responsibility and leadership. This is not a bureaucracy, this is a family.

Modular Home Project

Since being here i have been witness to some amazing stories and examples of these highs and lows. Upon my first week i was unfortunate to have missed out on one of the most amazing projects to date in PSF history. It was called 'Extreme Make-Over: Pisco' and it involved building a new house for a family who, for the past three years, have been living in a tent that the immediate disaster relief supplied. With the work of 2 dozen volunteers, over the course of a single week, PSF were able to construct a house for a family for a little over $500. This process is done with a little bit of hard work and a lot of resourcefulness. PSF receives shipping pallets from the local steel factory in Pisco. From there they dissemble the wood and reuse it to build wall panels. Once they have enough panels for a house they pour a concrete floor and pop the panels together like a jig-saw puzzle. An extremely straight forward project and now a family is left with a house and an opportunity to improve their standard of living. This should bring home some reality for a lot of people. Before i left for my global travels i could waste this amount of money over the weekend with a good night out, a bit of shopping and some irresponsibility. Now i look at the amount of disposable money we are privileged to back home and can't but help feel guilty when i know how far this can go for people in need.

Get out there...and get it done!

This remarkable story is just one of many. In my short time here i have seen many special people enter this magical organisation, I've seen many people leave and i know in the times ahead there will be plenty more similar stories. Most people don't leave this place without a teary eye, without a heartfelt story or without some experience that will change their perspective on life forever. I have not set a date for my departure, and to be honest i don't want to think about it. This place is hard work, but being in this environment makes me feel privileged to be a part of it. The hard work does not come without the rewards. Para los niños! 

* If anyone is looking for further information or wants to donate please go to the website http://www.piscosinfronteras.org/

Carving the Coast and Pushing onto Peru!

I'm sitting on the bus on my way down to Lima, Peru. It's been 24 hours on a bus moving through Ecuador and down half of Peru to reach my destination. In that time I've had a lot to reflect on, and am pumped for the next chapter in the story that is my life. I have become so accustomed to travelling on buses now that i can actually sleep on them properly for the first time ever. This last bus trip has been for 18 hours, and it was pretty much a breeze. But before i get too far ahead of myself i need to fill you in with the last 2 weeks.

I arrived in Canoa after a bit of an epic (and strategically failure in planning) adventure. My days in transit are a lot of fun now that my Spanish is getting better. Some days i speak more Spanish than English in a day so it is definitely helping me improve. However when arriving at the bus station I'd befriended the only other backpacker on the bus so it gave me someone to talk to. We arrived in Canoa early morning on the overnight bus. After a big weekend i was pretty off-line so we looked to find a place quickly and get a nap before seeing what the day had to offer. We came across a hostal called Coco-Loco that we'd read about on the internet and everything looked good so we checked in. Little did i realise at the time that this place would become my home for the next 2 weeks and provide some great stories and experiences.
Another wicked coincidence and surprise i was greeted to upon check-in was when i went up to my room only to find it full of the crew I'd been knocking about with in Quito 2 weeks prior. It was a bit of a head spin because i hadn't expected to ever see these guys again. They were off on some fancy biology internship in the highlands, but had come to the beach for the weekend for a break from jungle living. Funny where your travels take you. Needless to say it was a bit difficult to go to sleep after finding this out so instead we all went out for breakfast to catch up.
Let me paint the picture of Canoa for you. It's like a little sleepy beach town. There is only one paved road in the town and only two main streets that intersect. One goes along the beach front for about 2km, and the other goes away from the beach for about 1km. Generally a small town, but always lots happening. Pretty much every place in this town is either a bar, restaurant or place of habitation to accommodate the tourism trade (local as much as international), however at this particular time of year, when the surf is less consistent and the weather not as shiny, it is very quiet. Which, if you're keen to surf uncrowded beaches and just relax, is prefect. I fell in love with the town straight away and realised i wanted to stay here for a while.

As if some touch of fate was handed my way the lady from the hostal was looking for someone to help them out in exchange for the basic offerings of helping out most hostals (free accommodation, food, laundry). At this stage I'd decided i wanted to stay around for a while so i took up the offer. What this included was opening up a little beach front bar during the days selling cheap snacks, mixing drinks, renting surfboards, etc. I opened up around mid-day, and closed at sun down, but if i wanted to go surfing i could shut it down during the afternoon for an hour. It sounded too good to be true, however as time progressed i soon realised it was a little bit too much of a good offer.

So i got to work after spending a couple of days kicking back with my mates before they headed back to work. We had some fun nights out even though the town was kind of quiet. During the weekdays the town wouldn't have much going on in terms of night life, however the hostal was always crowded with a pretty solid crew so there were plenty of crazy nights, bonfires, day trips and such. I got a lot of surfing down in this first week. The waves weren't fantastic, but i had a selection of surfboards from the hostal to suit most conditions so it was pretty sweet. I opened up the bar and got to work...only one problem. Where were the people???
I had the bar open for a while, and enjoyed just kicking back in there reading or chatting to my local mate that I'd made, Hairon. He didn't speak any English so it was great for my Spanish. He was a local fishermen, surfer and all round good guy. He worked early hours with his padre fishing and then we'd usually go surfing together in the morning or afternoon. During the days he'd just hang at the bar with me for a couple of hours or so and we'd chat about random stuff. At nights he'd usually join the hostal for a drink and to chat with people. Top bloke!
So as previously mentioned the town was quite quiet at this time of year. The bar wasn't really picking up and to tell you the truth i was getting pretty bored of the idea of working, but not doing anything. Plus at this stage the World Cup just started (an extravagant event in watch in South America) so during the days people would be watching the games, as opposed to eating/drinking at my little half-assed shack. It was unfortunate that this sweet little deal wouldn't eventuate, but i felt like i needed to take my next move. I had, at the time of arriving in Canoa, only planned to visit the beach for a few days before heading into Peru to reunite with Kevin at this volunteer project, but I felt that this deal in Canoa was too good to let go for the time. However if it wasn't going to be worth it, then i decided i should just stick with my original plan. I decided i was off to Peru, but i had some business in Canoa to take care of before i could leave.

I had, at the time of thinking I'd been around for a while, agreed to help out at one the local schools while one of the teachers went away for a few days. At the time of realising i was heading off to finally start the volunteer project (will explain more in next blog) i was really excited to head off, but I'd committed to helping out, so it was the right thing to do. The school that i was going to help out at was a primary school for 1st Grade, and I'd be teaching English...yeah right! Well this sure kept me on my toes. I think i under appreciated just how good my students are for me compared to this. The idea was that i was supposed to be teaching English, however they really didn't know too much, so I spent most of my time talking to them in Spanish. Luckily at such a young age i knew enough Spanish to converse so it wasn't too much drama, however teaching them in general was. They had the attention span of goldfishes. They were more interested with playing in the sand, drawing on each other, throwing jig-saw pieces while yelling out 'NINJA!' and asking for hugs. It was a great experience though, and one i look forward to doing again along my travels. I was also fortunate enough to witness the school music production on one of the days i was there. They were putting on a show for the sponsors of the school and it was a lot of fun. My class sang “He's got the whole world in his hands” in Spanish and were extremely cute.
After my 'work commitment' and the intense hours i put in (2 hours in the morning for 3 days), it was time for a much needed break. As previously mentioned i had my mind set on leaving Ecuador and starting my volunteer project, so i bid Canoa goodbye and started to make my way down South to Guayaquil, Ecuador before pushing on into Peru. Guayaquil, Ecuador's most inhabited city, is located close to the West coast, only a few hours North of the Ecuadorian-Peruvian border. I wasn't planning on staying there long so my plan was to maximise my time there and get a good feel for the city over a couple of days. For this reason i decided to hit up Couchsurfing again. Honestly there couldn't be a better way to travel and truly experience a new country, town or whatever. The opportunities you get to live like a local does and get an insiders perspective truly helps you get off the beaten track on a road that has been beaten to death by the Gringo stick.

I'd arranged to meet my host the day i rolled into Guayaquil from the overnight bus. We caught up in the morning and i freshened up before heading out into town with her to see the sights. The first stop was the Malecon, an area that used to be a shitty old waterfront (think Docklands before all the money pumped into it) until the government injected a new life into the area by completely reconstructing and redeveloping the area. Now it stands as an area for the people of Guayaquil to be well and truly proud of. This area matches any beautiful modern architectural structures that Melbourne could produce. After the Malecon we checked another couple of nice spots and i was privileged to a locals knowledge, perspective and interests. A much better way to travel and experience a new place then staying with other travellers all the time.
This is something that i have definitely been keen to get away from lately, this notion called the Gringo Trail. The Gringo Trail is basically the idea that Gringo's (once typically stereotyped as being American's but now roughly accounting for any English speaking foreigner) travel to all these foreign lands around the world, but end up going to the same places, doing the same things, meeting the same travellers and not experiencing the real elements that a country has to offer. I mean how could you possibly tell me you had a true travel experience if you sat on a tourist beach and paid for over-priced cocktails and tours. Don't get me wrong, if you're looking for a short vacation and want some time to relax in a beautiful carefree and easily accessible destination for your limited amount of time, then by all means these sorts of countries are more than extravagant for holidays. I'm not trying to be critical of anybodies travelling style, everybody travels differently, and no one is in right to impose their personal opinion on someone else. However if you want to know my personal opinion, this is it. There is a major difference between a holiday/vacation and a travel experience.
For one; with a holiday you don't really have the time to truly immerse yourself within a culture and find out the intricate details of the day to day operations from a country. You are there to escape the realities of your own life and live without thinking about the real world for a while. Tourists are trying to get away from the things from back home that bother/worry/stress or simply consume their time, however travellers are searching for things. (Kevin always knows how to articulate what I'm trying to think; yes that's right i have reunited with the good man; a story for my next blog).

A traveller is looking to find out new things about themselves, to gain perspective on a different situation, to accumulate knowledge of the world and to tap into new sources of living. Travelling is not just a journey, but it becomes a complete lifestyle. Anyone who travels for a long amount of time could not deny that travelling become a way of life, and something that, when looking back on the beginning of your voyage, you can notice an obvious change in the person you have become now compared to at the start.
Describing this change is quite difficult to explain however. Have i changed physically? Apart from putting on a few extra kilos from eating cheap ice-cream sandwiches, drinking copious amounts of beer everynight and not exercising as much as desired, then no i haven't. Has my personality changed? I don't think. I am still the same person with the same interests. I like to go out and have fun, but also like to have more serious moments such as; my work and conversations about things that matter. Have i changed my perspective on the world and my own life? This is the aspect that i would have to agree with that's changed. I could not disagree that the experiences and knowledge i have gained from this trip have changed the way i think about my own life. Being away from all the things that made me most comfortable back home has given me some hindsight about the way i used to live. It's like stepping outside the bubble that encapsulates your life and watching how you operated from an outsiders perspective. I have experienced so many different things and lived so differently in the last 6 months that elements of my previous lifestyle seem somewhat alien to me now. Will i continue to change along this journey? Will i slot right back into my old lifestyle upon returning home? Will i be able to cope with my old lifestyle? These are the questions i ask myself in times of reflection. Guess only time will tell.

OK so that is the serious stuff that i like to discuss every now then. Basically after a really cool experience in Ecuador i eventually bid it farewell to start the next chapter in Peru. I caught an express 24 hour bus from Guayaquil down to Lima. I arranged to CouchSurf again with someone down in Lima (the capital of Peru) so that was another great opportunity to spend some time getting to know Peru because i was only spending a few days there. We partied, i met lots of fun locals and was able to really get a feel for the place during my brief stay. After a couple of days (as the timing was just perfect) Kevin was actually coming up to Lima to take care of some business, so after 7 weeks apart we finally got the old team back together.

I must admit it was pretty awesome to see him again after all this time. You really get to know someone well whilst travelling with them, so it really was like meeting up with one of your closest mates again. That night we boarded a bus down to the city of Pisco, and that night has forever changed my life for the better. I look forward to explaining why very soon.

Volcanic Propotions!

As i sit in my house (temporary Ecuadorian residence) stroking my slowly developing beard i ponder my next move. By weeks end i will be finishing up a very successful three weeks of Spanish lessons. Where the first week was a little undisciplined as i indulged in the various festivities of Baños, after that i have been very structured during the week for my classes. As stated in my last blog i had a pretty good week with exercising, eating well and completing my homework. I once again returned to Quito for the weekend to give myself a break from quiet Baños life.

This weekend was quite like the other times in Quito. We had a pretty solid crew on the Saturday night and hit it up to all hours. I awoke the next morning with a plan, but the execution was less than delicate. Being my third time in Quito i was determined to finally make it to the Mitad del Mundo (The Equator/Middle of the Earth), for which Ecuador is not only famous for, but also named after. After the night that i had, unaware at the time of waking, it was no surprise that i was still extremely drunk. After terrorizing some of the guests at the hostel for a bit i managed to round up a little bit of a crew to join me on my expedition. There was, however, a preliminary requirement that needed to be fulfilled...KFC!

This was on my mind like crazy, and like coming home over the West Gate Bridge after a messy Saturday night, it was pretty much a mandatory part of my mission. I got to KFC and ordered the biggest box set they had and then proceeded to stuff my face for the next 10mins without breathing until i was bursting full of processed chicken goodness. Then it was off to the bus station to catch a crowded, stuffy, bumpy and rickety bus to our destination for the next two hours. Can anyone see where this story is headed? Needless to say after a torturous first leg of the bus journey i disembarked at the platform and ran straight to a private area to power spew like i haven't done since i was 16 drinking goon bags!

By the time i got to the Equator i was feeling pretty darn rough, but i preserved and it paid off. It was a pretty cool experience. I was still feeling pretty sketchy though so i may have trash talked and thrown a bit of disrespect the Equators way! I mean come on it deserves it! It isn't even the real geological positioning of the official line (approximately 250m off), but there is still a massive statue honouring its misinformation. There is another official museum that houses some historical information and gimmicks regarding the Equator, but we ran out of time. On the way back i once again felt quite ill, but still managed to generate enough power to stay up for a while before crashing. The next day it was back to Baños to finish my last week of studies.

It is also at this point that i should inform you about the famous Volcán Tungurahua that has been plaguing the city of Baños for not only all of eternity, but particularly the last couple of weeks as its fresh batch of eruptions have put the town in a state of panic. During the middle of my stay in Baños is when the first real signs of the potential volcanic threat arose. It started all in progressive stages one morning while i was in Spanish class. The windows started vibrating and shaking, every now and then giving out a shake and boom to indicate some growth in the developing eruption. These constant earth tremors continued on for a couple of days as the volcano reminded everybody just how close it really was. It would shake the whole town like mini earthquakes very regularly and the grumbling thunderous sounds that escaped it's ready to explode peak would keep us up at night. It was quite an exciting time around Baños as it became the talk of the time. And with my Spanish improving it was nice to be able to communicate with the locals about the ever changing status of the volcano.

The weekend i left for Quito and returned i was quite surprised to hear the great deal of misinformation published around the news regarding the volcano. Friends from Quito were literally emailing me to ask if i was ok and whether I'd been evacuated yet (an event that has happened in Baños in the past when the volcano got really big). While i was gone things in Baños got a little more heated as the volcano began to erupt. Although not directly in the line of lava flow, Baños' danger is being in the area for any potential hot mud slides (think Pompeii) or volcanic ash that is quite harmful to breathe in. On the bus back into town i got some great pictures of it erupting during the day. It pumped out smoke and ash all the time, but you could only really see the lava at night when the night was clear.

So my last week in Baños was quite exciting as the level of anticipation and waiting grew in response to the Tungurahua's latest advancements. The talk around the town was to be on alert for a whole town evacuation (a plan previous implemented and enforced in times of eruptions). As people were gearing up to leave the city the municipal of Baños decided to refresh everybody's memories on the plan and run a mock evacuation. Think high-school fire drill, but with a town of 15,000 people. We knew the day it was going to happen, but not the time. So we waited around on the day to hear the siren. Sure enough it hit at the most inconvenient time (right in the middle of the day). We had to bring our backpacks and really simulate the town plan. There were designated checkpoints and the town seemed to know what to do. We followed our Spanish grandfather as he made our way through town. It was actually a pretty cool experience to be part of. There were news crews interviewing people (mostly trying to reassure tourism and travellers that Baños was in fact safe), kids all in school groups being escorted by teachers and police making sure everybody stuck to the plan.

After everybody congregated for roughly an hour around the spots the people in charge deemed it satisfactory for everyone to return so that's what we all did. After that the continued excitement continued, but unfortunately my time in Baños was coming to an end. This upcoming weekend was my last in Baños and i thought it necessary to have a decent send off. And that's pretty much what i did...in style! I also, during one of the nights out, got to see the volcano erupt at night. It was by far one of the most awesome experiences to date. 4Am, sauced from a good night out, sitting on a lookout hill watching lava shoot out of the crater of a volcano like fireworks on the 4^th of July. Very cool!

So on the Monday after a bit of a three day bender I'm headed off to my next destination. Time to get back to the beach and enjoy some sun, surf and sand. I was missing the beach heaps so i was off to Canoa. My beach trip is another adventure, and one that leads me on a completely unknown and different adventure. Until then!

Operation Ecuador

Ahhh, OK, so i'm in Ecuador. Well technically by the time this blog goes up I'll have been in Ecuador for a little over 2 weeks, but that doesn't matter. While quite a bit has happened since arriving here, there isn't anything that has desperately compelled me to jump on the blog and get it across the world. Having said that though there is some developments to my trip that have taken a turn for the better.

When we (Kevin, Richard, Yolanda and I) arrived in Quito (the capital of Ecuador and the second highest capital city in altitude at 2,800m) we were all feeling a little worse for wear after the epic journey down from Cali (particularly Rich and I who may or may not have over indulged during our last night in Columbia). Best idea was to get a good nights sleep and feel fresh and ready to explore the next day. However if you've been following my activities over the last couple of months you will have already known that this is the exact opposite of what really went down. The excitement of entering a new country/city, with the different smells/tastes/sights/sounds and all round feel engrosses the senses and demands that you indulge in whatever and whichever activities will help stimulate them. This usually involves something along the lines of; rounding up as many people as you can from inside the hostel, consuming a bottle of rum, hitting the town, demanding Irish tunes at the so called 'Irish' pub, downing shots, reliving the fusball tournament days, making outrageous bets (will explain in the following paragraph), stealing a sombrero from behind the bar, unknowingly super disco dancing at a suspected Ecuadorian gay bar for 2 hours with all the gang, hitting up at least 5 bars/clubs along the journey, crushing an all night burger place and then arriving back to the dorm in the early hours and trying not to wake up the whole hostel. Somehow the more quiet you try to be the funnier it is; and you end up in laughter fits that go against the very aim you were originally trying to achieve.

That was pretty much the first couple of nights in Quito in a nutshell, but what about these bets you ask? Well not quite as outrageous as originally stated, but funny all the same. One of the nights out Rich and I, in a drunken state, shook hands for our plan to make the following day perfect. This involved the following; first priority was to find a sweet Ecuadorian style hat, second was to get a proper barber razor shave and lastly (unknown to both why) was to get a pedicure. After finally arising in the morning we shaped together a crew to hit the pavement and go explore the old town of Quito, secretly trying to full fill our obligatory conditions.

Quito, a massive capital split roughly between a distinguished Old Town and New Town, would undoubtedly have to be one of the most interesting, beautiful and architecturally delightful cities i have explored to date; with particular reference to the Old Town. We spent most of the day just wandering around the narrow streets that are rich with old colonial style designs. Every now and then we stumbled upon the random plaza that contained grand buildings, churches and monuments/statues honouring various national liberators or heroes. We hit up a few of the traditional sites and got some really good views of the city. While on the way to one of our destinations we just so happened to come across a hat store full of more hats than we could ever imagine; it was like we hit the hat heaven. After much deliberation over size, colour and price Rich and I finally came across our perfect hats, and then preceded to spend the next few hours complimenting each other on how awesome we looked. 

Kevin unfortunately did not get in on the hat deal, but i suspect it was because deep down he didn't want to get his heart broken when he couldn't find one that fit. The fact is, Kevin is a giant, and the miniature culture that makes up most of Latin America just doesn't fit him. Many times Kevin has been discriminated on because of his size along this trip; buses are too short for him so he has to crouch over when standing, local 'extra large' clothing fits him like Spandex, standard meals only just scape the surface and kids indiscreetly stand really close to him to gain some perspective of just how tall he is (quite possibly allowing their friends to take pictures to prove their encounter with this gentle giant). Miss ya buddy!

So part one of the deal down! As a group we continued to explore the old parts of the city. We checked out the grand San Francisco church, the large angel statue that sits on top of a massive hill/small mountain overlooking the city and then just so happened to come across a barber that looked perfect for part two of the plan. One by one Rich and I braved the barber chair and proceeded to get one of the freshest shaves we've ever had in our lives. Man this guy almost took the first couple of layers of skin off my face, but he left me feeling like a new born baby. Conveniently we both decided to leave our pathetic moustaches to add value to our slowly developing gypsy look.

Looking like pykies in our hats, dodgy looking moes, singlets and jeans we decided it was only natural that we hit the town to show off our new look. Feeling like Brad Pitt from Snatch, minus the good looks, we once again returned to our favourite Irish bar 'Finn McCool's'. Another messy night and another couple of funny stories.

The next day was not so good. No, it had nothing to do with the lack of sleep, excessive partying and eating rubbish food....it was at this point that Kevin and I bid each other farewell. Quite like our goodbye i will keep this section short and to the point to avoid any unwanted or forcibly oppressed feeling of great sorrow. We hugged it out, shook hands like men and then i watched as Kevin walked away and out of my life. OK all jokes aside. I know you'll be reading this champ so it was an absolute pleasure travelling with you mate, and i have no doubt I'll bump into along life's journey in the future. Life is not a path, but a combination of.....(i can never remember the quote).

For the first time in a while I was on my own. Well I mean technically, unless you have the personality of a wooden clothes peg, you are never really on your own while travelling. So it was time to find that next person to hang with. It just so has it that we'd also befriended a Scottish guy on his own in our first few days of arriving in Quito. He was still in Quito when the others left so we hung out a bit more. Having no plans, except desperately wanting to book myself into some Spanish classes, i was willing to go with the flow. The next morning Stuart (his actual name was Paul but i thought Stu suited him better) decided he was heading off to a cool little adventure town called Baños that was a couple of hours south of Quito. I'd heard nothing but good thing about this place, and not really wanting to learn Spanish in the ever tempting capital, i decided to join him on the journey.

And what a journey it was. We boarded the bus to Baños in what we thought was going to be a nice relaxing 3 hour journey. Having travelled from the top of Columbia down, where the shortest bus trip was 10 hours, this trip was going to be a piece of cake. However unknown to us was the fact that the indigenous culture of Ecuador was right in the middle of massive nation-wide protests against the governments proposed water reforms. They believed that these new reforms would eventually lead to the privatization of the water company, and therefore leave them a little up shit creek. With the indigenous culture making up around 50% of Ecuador's population it is only natural that this was going to cause a real shit storm for everyone. What they had done on this particular journey, and as we found out a few other protests over the course of the week, was set up big road blocks along the major highway routes to really disrupt and hinder all forms of motorway use. At the time, however, we didn't realise until our bus rounded a corner and hit a massive line of buses, trucks and cars banked up for miles. We didn't know how long this was going to take and over the next couple of hours we watched as people, fed up with waiting, decided to walk across the roadblock. As our patience ran thin we also decided that this was the next best idea. We grabbed our gear and started to walk up to the beginning of the protest. Someone had told us there were buses on the over side, so this was our goal.

Upon approaching the roadblock we started to get an idea of what we were facing. There were huge rocks places all over the roads to block traffic, burning tires and planks of wood, indigenous people lining the road with big sticks and (although thankfully not experiencing it first hand) people throwing rocks at you. We crossed the angry looking mob with our heads down, following closely behind the locals, and eventually broke through into the centre. Now all we had to do was pass the other roadblock at the end and we were homeward bound. As we neared the next section things started to feel a little lees safe and a little more sketchy. We saw ambulances rushing past, as well as more police and army. Feeling like we should turn around it was like perfect timing when our bus suddenly appeared after breaking through the last barrier. We flagged it down and boarded it again to the applause of most of the people on the bus who quite possibly feared for our lives when we first departed. The bus was determined to go on, but when it saw the tear gas being fired, it wisely took an alternative route. A route that took hours and our 'short 3 hour trip' ended up 8 hours later with us grabbing a quick bite to eat, checking into our hostel and then exploring the nightlife for a few sneaky stubbies.

Conveniently we were in Baños for the weekend so we thoroughly enjoyed our time here. However, we also got some wicked activities done during the days. For one, Stu and I hired go-kart type buggies and took them for a trashing round the town tracks. Highlight was finding a dirt/gravel track and ripping the absolute guts out of them for 15mins. It was throttle down, no breaks and drift king style for 15mins straight! Another good outdoor activity we completed, with another buddy Caroline who arrived from Quito, was hiring push bikes and riding the famous 68km from Baños to Puyo along the waterfall route. Before you are amazed in my athletic abilities i must state that the reason this is famous is because the road has quite a bit of downhill, with some seriously fast and long stretches, most of the way. Along the way you are privileged to an amass of the most picturesque and unbelievable cluster of waterfalls that you'd ever find so close together. I mean don't get me wrong, it wasn't by any way an impossible ride, but it was by no means easy. A lot of people we met didn't finish it, or even get half way, so we were feeling quite proud with our completion. To get back we hitched a ride with a local family, threw the bikes in the back of the tray (that now failed to close), jumped in the back with the bikes and then pretty much prayed for the next hour and a half, as we slid around in the back, that this guy wouldn't crash while overtaking buses around blind corners on a one lane road in the pitch black while raining. Mission complete!

So to one of the main reasons i ventured into Ecuador so quickly from Colombia; to learn Spanish. I'd done my research and visited the school i thought sounded the best in Baños. After a brief meeting with the man in charge, Marcos, i signed up to start the following Monday. I was booked in to do classes Mon-Fri, 2pm-5pm, for the next 3 weeks. It was time to go back to school and get the mind working again. Monday came around and i started classes. So far they have been going extremely well. It is such a relief to finally unscramble the masses of Spanish i have attained since travelling, and put it into some grammatical structure that makes sense. I am now starting to feel, after only a bit over a week, confident to have basic conversations with people discussing a variety of topics. I have more than i can comprehend still to learn, but the basic grammatical structures have really allowed me to advance quite quickly given i already knew some basics.

I am now trying to get back into a little bit of a routine to best help my studying and new frame of mind. It is also nice to have a bit of down time and give myself a break from all the late nights, excessive partying, lack of sleep and all round poor lifestyle that has made up the majority of my travels so far. I had a few crazy nights in my first week of study because a bunch of people i knew came to Baños for a couple of days (this also included a guy Kevin and I had recruited for the Lost and Found all that time ago in the Panama times and i hadn't seen since). We had a few wild nights out, but i managed to maintain my studies. The first weekend after my classes i also decided to change my scenery and head back to Quito for the weekend to visit some friends that were working in one of the hostels in the Old Town. Funnily enough one of these people just happened to be an old friend from back in Melbourne. Maddy (who i hadn't seen in at least 3 to 4 years) just happened to be travelling around the world with her fiance James so it was quite a funny experience to meet up with them in Ecuador of all places after all this time. That Saturday Maddy and I (along with some guy i can't remember) headed to the Otavala Market, famous for it's collection of indigenous artwork, clothing and handcrafts. It was a really good day out and it gave Maddy and I a good time to catch up on the 2 hour bus ride there. To tell you the truth it was quite a surreal feeling chatting to Maddy because it is the first person since leaving Chris 3 months ago that I've been able to chat to that knows the things, people, events and so forth that I'm talking about from back home. Particularly because Maddy and I primarily hung out in those golden years of 16-20 it was very funny to not only talk to someone from back home, but to also reminisce about the old days.

Perhaps it was thinking about things i hadn't thought about it a while, or perhaps it was the bottle of run i crushed that night with some people while playing cards, but the next couple of days have been quite nostalgic for me. Every now and then along this trip i get the odd nostalgic moment where i think about home for a while and wish (for one day at most) that i could just pop home and say g'day to everyone before heading back again, but that usually passes quite quickly when new adventures arise. However the last couple of days have been funny days. I'm not homesick, just thinking a lot about things from back home. Starting Monday this week i have been on a very good routine. I get up early, get some exercise either hiking or running, come back and have a healthy lunch, do my homework, head to class and then come back and either read or write until getting an early nights sleep. I've bucked the backpackers routine during the weekdays and it is quite refreshing to have a bit of downtime and time to myself, however it also gives me a lot of thinking time that allows me to contemplate things i haven't thought about in a while. Don't get me wrong, I'm in no way over analyzing myself or trip, but it is nice to get a bit of stability every couple of months just to reflect, revitalize and regroup before doing it all again. This is the calm before my storm. When the storm breaks again, there will be destruction!

Inner Thoughts of Travel, Surfing Bogota, Cosmetic Cali and Crossing Over the Equator in Ecuador

OK so I'm trying to get this update up and running before it gets too hard to control. Once you get sidetracked it can be very hard to keep pumping them out, and you begin to lose interest in describing the smaller more intricate details.

Since leaving for this trip i have had many varied conversations with people regarding the usefulness and worth of accumulating masses of pictures or keeping detailed travel logs/blogs. While most people, on the whole, seem to think that documenting and recording your travels in an essential element to travel, others sometimes think that the whole process may in fact be taking away your own personal interpretation or memories of how events took place, how places really were and smaller details of all the people you met.

I think this arises an interesting debate, and one that Kevin and myself have had numerous conversations about when talking about the deeper aspects of travel and life. I tend to agree towards the former view, that these various forms of documentation are a necessity for travel. But i also believe that is is true within reason, and that you should have a purpose when doing such. For me taking a picture isn't just about ticking a destination off my list or playing the 'picture game' trying to accumulate as many photos as possible. For me taking pictures gives me the opportunity to share my travels with those around me and those back home. They provide me with invaluable memories of my times away and allow me to look back in happiness about the good times that I've had along this epic journey. Pictures help unlock the tangled brain, but by no way influence the memories that lie in there.

As for my blog, this provides me with another completely necessary and valuable travel resource. Just like the pictures my blog helps to share my experiences with others. Perhaps it helps to inspire them to do the same and get out and see the world, or maybe it just helps people dream. Whatever the purpose is for others, for me it also helps me to reflect and look back on my times and process the many things that run through your head at warp speed while travelling. My blog gives me the down time to just bash it out for a couple of hours every now and then and then look back on the scramble that has exploded from my brain (often requiring a quick once over to eliminate rubbish ramblings). Many people ask why i keep a blog, this is why. Anyway with all this being said i shall get onto a quick recap of my last week in Colombia, couchsurfing in Bogota, spending a weekend in Cali and then getting down to Ecuador.

So we arrived in Bogota and went to our hosts house that was not too far out of the main city centre. At that point, after another long and painstaking bus journey, we were quite tired and didn't do too much that night but chatted with our extremely hospitable host Maria. We got a great night sleep (so good to be away from noisy dorms for a couple of nights) and woke up feeling ready to take on a new city. Quite like most times when entering a new city the best way to explore it is by putting on your best walking shoes and just hitting the pavement (or dirt track depending on where you are). These fancy tours and city excursions are often so unnecessary. You can find the true inner functionings of a city from just randomly cruising. We had been given a few spots to check out from Maria and we started our journey. For the first half of the day we simply admired the people and city view of Colombia's capital. People watching becomes such an exciting experience when travelling from place to place, and you really get to see the differences in cultures and regions.

For the second half of the day, unfortunately, we didn't get to see much because of the torrential rain that smashed down. Instead we ran, rain soaked, to the nearest internet cafe and did some general global communications work (Facebook, Skype and reading news from back home). After that we arranged to meet Maria, once she finished up at university, for a drink. We then moved onto another place to meet up with her friend and then headed back to her place. It was at this point that Kevin and I decided to repay the favour of Maria's hospitality by offering to cook for the girls. Having just discovered a new homemade recipe i was pretty confident in winning these girls over with my cooking skills. Needless to say it was a bit of a disaster, but Maria assured me it was delicious (such a good liar). Basically the ingredients include a whole bunch of random veggies fried in a pan and then mixed in with pasta that has cream cheese and milk mixed in. Where did i go wrong?

The next day Kevin and I did much of the same exploring and met up with Maria at lunch time. She showed us the really cool old area of Bogota called Canadleria and we spent a few hours exploring there. We also went up to the Monserrate church that sits overlooking the massive city of Bogota. To get up there we caught a cable car up the mountain and then spent some time exploring the beautiful views. Fortunately we were blessed with a perfect day to admire the city from such great heights.

After that we met back up with Maria for a quick drink and said our goodbyes before heading to the bus station for an overnight bus to hit up a town south of Bogota called Cali. Much of the same goes on here. Overnight bus for 12 hours, constantly worried about being robbed, well known movies in Spanish and guessing what they're saying and then feeling buggered once arriving at our next location.

In Cali we were feeling a bit worse for wear after a very quick trip down south so we really didn't get up to much. We explored a bit, which mostly involved going to the Chipichapi mall that is famous for being a hot spot for women indulging in the inner aspects of Cosmetic surgery...yes that's right big boobies. In actual fact we didn't get much done in Cali except have some very necessary down time before heading on our next leg down to Ecuador. Only exciting thing was our last night where i reunited with someone I'd met a week before in Medellin (Richard the Welshmen) and we had an unbelievably crazy night out. Partied it up in Colombia with style. Colombia was a whirlwind, but it was great fun. The next night Kevin and I, plus Richard who joined us, and Yolanda who decided to cruise along as well hit up the bus station to get on down to Ecuador.

The leg from Cali to Qutio (capital of Ecuador) is renowned to be one of the sketchier parts of Colombia so we were advised to travel with caution (like we hadn't been already). We booked in with a well known bus company (Expreso Bolivariano 36,000 pesos special price) and that took us express straight to the border town of Ipiales before we jumped in a taxi to the border, got our stamps, walked across, got in another taxi to the next town and then boarded a bus in Tulcan for $4 to Quito. Took roughly 5 hours and then we were back in the city and into a new country, new experience and new tale that shall be told all in good time.

Come on Colombia!

I've arrived safely in Colombia and have been on the go since the time the tiny little propeller plane touched down on the desolate stretch of land that is Cartagena's airport to now. Before boarding in Panama City we realised that we weren't exactly about to board a Boeing 747 for our small journey, but an old propeller plane was a bit of a surprise. The fact that they were winding up elastic bands before we boarded was never a good sign, but regardless we made it across to South America without any problems. In fact the plane ride was relatively smooth and had me thinking that modern advancements to aviation technology have really been quite unnecessary.

So touching down in Cartagena at midnight wasn't anything to write home about. The four of us jumped in an overpriced taxi (no real option at that late at night, and they certainly know it when extorting you) and headed to a place that was in our guide book. Upon checking in we probably realised pretty quickly that it wasn't the best place, but at this time at night, we really didn't have much choice. Instead me embraced the first time in our new country and went exploring before a restless night in our little hot box.

The next morning we checked out and headed into the old town ( the real attraction of Cartagena). Upon navigating the streets with a clueless taxi driver we arrived to what we thought was our destination, but with no idea where to stay. We met an extremely friendly guy on the street who introduced himself as Super Mario and he assured as that he could get us whatever we wanted, and i didn't doubt him for a second. But he did prove to be helpful when he pointed us in the direction of a cheap hostel and nice place to eat. Accommodation and food, check. Whore house and cocaine, no thanks mate...well...maybe later.

With the 4 of us checked in and settled in our new location we decided to go exploring and walk around town. A little history lesson on the beautiful and romantic city which is Cartagena. At the time of the “Spanish exploring” of South America (a.k.a rob and steal the traditional cultures of all their precious resources) the city of Cartagena proved to be a vital storage point of all the treasures for the Spanish. The most accessible sea port established in South America, it was used by the Spanish as the final point before the treasures made their way across the Atlantic and into the Spanish empire. Therefore it was a crucial point of protection for the Spanish, and also a primary target for pirates if they were looking for a quick fix. Because of this the old city has erected a big stone fortress type wall that spans across the sea front and protects the inner city from potential sea attacks and pirates. There is a massive stone fort that still stands in very good shape in the middle of the old town and then you can explore the old cobbled streets, plazas and shops that are guarded behind the fortress wall. It really is a site to see. Definitely makes you feel like you've skipped back in time.

For the next couple of days we ventured into the streets and got lost in the twisting and turning alleys that make up this old town. At nights we would find hidden plazas and watch on as the people went about their business. People playing music, old men playing chess, kids running amok, local venders serving up street meat, everybody enjoying a refreshing ale and old round good times. With all the exploring done we decided it was time to move onto our next area. John and Rachael at this stage had other plans so we said our goodbyes and parted ways. Sad times, but a common part of travelling so you get used to saying unemotional goodbyes. There's always the possibility of meeting them again in the future.

The next part of our trip was part organised and part desire to get off the beaten track. We'd read about this little place down south of Cartagena called Mompos (sometimes spelt Mompox) that is a little colonial town trapped in time. Like Cartagena, Mompos was also a very important town to Colombia a couple of hundred years ago because of its geographical positioning along an important river. Back in the day it was a proud modern city of Colombia, but after a sudden shift in trade routes, Mompos was left off the grid and suddenly frozen in time. Because of this there are many beautiful houses that look like they haven't changed a spec of paint in 200 years. It has a really cool feel to it and it was nice to get off the usual travel route. When we first arrived (massive adventure involving a 4 hour dodgy bus, crammed taxi and shipping ferry) we checked into this awesome hostel. For the cheap price and good location it was probably one of the nicest places we have stayed in to date, unfortunately it was completely empty. Not one single guest, and then upon walking around the city we soon realised that we were the only travellers in the whole town. This provided the citizens of Mompos with great amusement as Kevin (6 foot 5) and myself (still towering over the short South Americans) cruised around the town like giants.

Over the next couple of days we went about our usual business of exploring the back streets and unusual spots of our new town. Mompos was really quiet but it was a nice change. Nothing extremely important to report on Mompos, but well worth a visit to check out some different aspects of traditional Colombian life. When we left Mompos after a couple of days we decided our next stop was going to be the city of Medellin, home to the infamous former drug lord Pablo Escobar who at the time of his peak was worth 20 billion dollars and pretty much controlled Colombia's cocaine trade.

The journey down to Medellin was another mission in itself. Took us 6 hours to get to the next town (rickety taxi and then temporarily broken down speedboat in the middle of a river) of Magangue and then we got an overnight bus for the next 12 hours. Although Colombia has greatly improved its safety over the last couple of years, it is still by far a place to trek with caution. Guerrilla activity is still common (with various guerrilla groups still opposing the current regime), but less frequent along the bus routes so it wasn't too bad travelling at night. Every now and then in our travels we still come across the odd story about people being robbed by gun point at fake police check points along the highways. With this in mind we approached the bus with caution, but decided to run the gauntlet. Our security wasn't exactly enhanced by the fact that a man came on board at some random stage and started video taping everyone before dashing off in an unmarked taxi, but we've been assured since that this is purely a security practice. Either way i spent the next couple of hours running over strategies of how to evade the robbers and conceal my important stuff if the situation occurred.

Thankfully we arrived in Medellin safely, but after 18 hours of travel we were pretty stuffed. We got off at the North Station and decided to catch the metro at 5am into the area of our accommodation. The hostel that we were staying at (called Casa Kiwi and you guessed it, owned by a Kiwi) was right in the middle of the Zona Rosa (a very well known destination for people looking for some crazy nightlife). We checked in and tried to rest up a little after our long journey, but when arriving in a new town all you want to do is get out amongst it. Logically i should have rested up, but instead i got on the sherbets and before i knew it i was chugging rum and having one of the bigger nights of my trip so far. The Zona Rosa consists of half a dozen streets that are just packed wall to wall with pubs, bars and restaurants all ready to accommodate travellers and locals for guaranteed good times. And good times we had. The next morning was spent shaking out the cobwebs before deciding some fresh air would be the best idea. Kevin and I boarded a metro to the city centre and walked around the main centre checking out some of the sights. It was also at this stage that i had a moment of madness and decided upon a $4 haircut from an old Spanish lady.

With my Spanish still improving i was somewhat able to convey that just a short cut is all that would be required today, however i think she missed the point. Instead i went to the trusty haircut book and found the most normal looking haircut and picked it out. She simply nodded, put the book away, and then preceded to give me the same haircut she would no matter which person you picked in the book. I kind of knew it wasn't going to go down fantastically when she started cutting my hair without even brushing the wild tangles that had began to develop over the many months. In the end i was left looking like a pre-pubecent Latino boy on his first date, but i managed to mess it up and now it looks relatively normal.

That night, Saturday, was once again spent enjoying the festivities of the area, and then the next day was spent checking out a few of the local sights again. We checked out the Botanical Garden and then the university area before heading home for a bit of a quiet one. Well a quiet one in terms of not going out to a bar, but i still managed to tuck a few beers into bed before i got myself there. For the next couple of days we just enjoyed the area and took it easy before making our next move on a bus to the capital Bogota. In Bogota, before arriving, we had arranged to CouchSurf at a girls house for a coupe of nights. For those that aren't sure of what CouchSurfing is than you really should look it up. It would be to difficult to describe how much of an unbelievable travelling resource it is to you within a few sentences so i recommend you look into it. Anyway, basically we found a persons house to stay at for a few nights for free and we arrived that night to begin our next leg of the trip.

At this stage I'm getting a bit back dated so I'll leave it here for now. In the next instalment (hope you guys are actually reading this) you'll hear about our short time in Bogota, our trip down to Cali and then our adventure down into Ecuador.

Back to Bocas - Victory over Volcano Baru

Ok it's been a little while since we last conversed, but that is because i haven't really had steady access to the internet. So now i have a constant access to the internet and that is because i have decided to leave the eternal bliss of the Lost and Found. I will get round to explaining that detail soon enough, but for now i will fill you in with the events that have unfolded since arriving at the Eco Lodge.

Time here has been wicked. As previously stated most nights were spent boozing it up with the unique blend of fellow volunteers and the random guests that would float in. During the days i would hike, read, watch movies, continue to work on my orange picking business (profit of $3) and do a range of jobs around the hostel to fill in time (paint the bar, set up the fire pit). The first couple of weeks were off the chains. Some of the best times of my trip so far, but as the time wore on, the good times thinned out. The busy season was coming to an end and the typically quiet period was starting to begin. This left little influx of new guests and less loose times. Days started to just go by uneventful and i started to question the substance of my trip if i remained here. Like all elements of my travels so far; you only stick around till the good times run out, and then you go find some more. So with the last week approaching a few of us organised some final excursions to keep the times alive.

My last two weekends have been very eventful affairs. The last weekend (when our hostel literally had no guests) a few of us decided on a recruiting drive to the party town Bocas del Toro to try bolster our stocks. A real spur of the moment activity turned into a massive weekend. 4 of us jumped on the bus with little preparation or plans of attack. All we knew was that we were going to whore out the company in whichever ways possible. We took a big stack of flyers and set out on the journey. We hit up hostels, people eating on the street, people walking, on tours, anywhere we could. It was actually a lot of fun. We felt like, for the first time in a while, that i had a job and was responsible for trying to achieve something. Plus Kevin (my new Irish friend, orange picking business partner and philosophical conversation buddy) and i turned it into a friendly competition with the girls as to who could recruit the most people. Although technically out on 'business' it was far from a formal event. I spent the next two nights (having been in the cloud forest out of civilisation for two weeks) getting as loose as possible. It was great to get back into the scene, but i probably spent a bit more money than desired. Either way a good weekend had by everyone.

So after the crazy weekend we got back to the Lost and Found to find some more guests and some more activity. It was also at this point, after we realised the place was quietening down, that Kevin and i planned the next section of our journey. Our next move over the week was to scale the infamous Volcano Baru and then head off to Panama City to begin our journey down south in Columbia and the rest of South America. The next few days at the hostel were spent with friends and enjoying our last times together. Kevin and i planned out our trip to the volcano and decided to add an extra component to the trip. Liked previously mentioned hitch-hiking had become a prevalent method of getting around Panama for us so far, so we were going to attempt to incorporate this area into our little mission. We were also going to climb the mountain overnight, leaving after sun down, to ensure a perfect timing view of the sunrise. The idea was to hitch to the closest town (David 1 ½ hours away) and then hitch back up to the town of Boquette (40mins) where we are close to the base of the volcano. This all went pretty smoothly when we left the hostel around midday Friday. We were fortunate to score a lift within a minute after getting off the hostel trail from a couple of English chaps who were off bird watching. After enjoying their company for the journey we got off in David and in a couple of minutes got a ride from an American ex-pat to the town of Boquette. Who said hitch-hiking was dangerous. Boquette is most famous for being the forth top destination in the world for retiring ex-pats (mostly Americans) and this becomes fairly obviously once arriving in this part town/part retirement village.

Once in Boquette we hit up a local hostel that runs in an unofficial partnership with the place we have been volunteering at. They let us leave our bags there overnight because we were planning to head up that very same day. Kevin and I proceeded to stuff our faces for the next couple of hours as we 'carb loaded' our way through plates of rice and beans. We went to the local supermarket and grabbed some supplies. We stocked up on granola bars, got some fruit cups, water, Gatorade and cans of beans. We then went back to the hostel to meet up with a few of the other people who were meeting us there to also do the climb.

As hitch-hiking was our main objective to adding some unnecessarily stupid extras to this already massive adventure, we couldn't allow ourselves to catch a taxi to the base of the volcano. So instead, as a nice preparation for the climb, we walked the 10km to the base of the volcano just in time to meet the others who 'conveniently' caught a 10min taxi ride. We left to walk at 9pm and got to the base at 10.30pm before waiting around for the others who were meeting us at 11pm. Once they arrived we begun the climb up the mountain. The track, a fairly marked out trek but consisting of lots of different terrains, is 14km long and ascends 2.2km up to the summit which stands at 3.5km high and is the highest point in Panama. From the top you can see both the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast and the Pacific Ocean on the west coast.

We began our climb a little after 11pm and set off into the darkness at a cracking pace. The average time it takes people to climb it is around 5-6 hours, but after much slogging it out we managed to reach the base just before the summit in 4 hours. It was honestly one of the hardest and mentally tough things I've ever done. So many times we all wanted to stop, but we kept each other inspired to continue with poor jokes, stupid stories and childhood rhymes. The track was just a constant stream of up hill with the extremely rare teasing patch of flat ground that gave out fatigued muscles a much needed recovery period.

My legs were burning and although temperatures were getting close to zero we all were sweating like fat kids in a candy store. Probably one of the biggest reasons we got up so fast was because, although hot and tiring, every time we stopped the cold wind and temperatures would rip through our sweat drenched clothes and send bone chilling shakes down our body.

We'd given ourselves plenty of time to get up the volcano before first light, but after ascending to the summit at record pace, we got up there too early and were forced to wait around in the freezing cold in a tiny little shack. Cuddled up together trying to pass on body heat, setting the scene for the sequel Brokeback Volcano, we passed the time and then hit up the very summit.

For the next couple of hours we watched Mother Nature work her absolute best magic as she splashed the horizon with the richest colours of pink, purple, orange, yellow and white. The sun emerged from the clouds and the liquid gold rays immediately warmed our skin like a hot water bottle in bed. The views were breath-taking, the picturesque landscapes amazing and the experiences indescribable. The pictures really can't justify the beauty.

After falling asleep at the summit for a little while we decided to make our climb down. The way down gave us the opportunity to take in the treacherous track that we'd just ascended, but it was by no means easy. The constant downhill smashed the joints and after a couple of hours my knees were really feeling it. Not wanting to let it beat us we continued the 14km straight down and then walked back from the base to town for an additional 10km. Was it worth it...absolutely.!

Exhausted, we rewarded ourselves with a massive pizza and beer at the conclusion, and then headed back to the hostel to shower and rejuvenate. An intelligent person would have came to the conclusion that if you replaced sleeping for 8 hours with pure, constant, no stop hiking for 8 hours with no sleep than one might be quite tired and should sleep the next night. However, a person who needs a tad more intelligence (ie – us) thought that consuming almost a litre of rum while playing Ring of Fire was probably a better idea...WRONG! Hammered and really destroyed my sleeping pattern for the next couple of days. Well that did and the fact that the next night was spent with a loose farewell party at the Lost and Found for a few volunteers, and the night after was spent on an overnight bus to Panama City which is impossible to sleep on.

So we arrived in Panama City and spent a few days cruising around and checking out the sites. Kevin and I also spent a good deal of time at the marinas and yacht clubs trying to seek out a sailing trip down the canal or onto South America. We tried pretty hard and were willing to whore ourselves out, but it just wasn't meant to be. In fact we did get offered a trip across the Pacific past French Polynesia and onto Fremantle via Brisbane, but i didn't think it was time to come home yet. Would have been a wicked story though. Instead we called it a day, realised that our time in Panama was done, booked flights to Columbia and then smashed it up local style for our last night. I now write to you from Panama International 1 hour away from boarding a flight to Cartagena, Columbia. Not sure what the plans are, but as always, I'm sure they'll work out. We are headed over with an English couple John and Rachael how we've been traveling with for the last 10 odd days. They came to the Lost and Found as guests originally and then we recruited them for the Volcano Baru climb. From there we all decided to head down to Panama City together, and because we have the same travel plans, we are now all in Columbia together keeping the dream alive. So the awesome foursome continues to live the dream!

Until next time!

Lost and Found and Beyond

I have found the Lost and Found, or perhaps i should say the Lost and Found has found me? It's kind of a mutual longing we have for each other. I arrived at the Lost and Found Eco Lodge after spending the night in David. The English girls and myself caught the bus to the random coordinates we'd received and we were dropped out in the middle of the highway in the forest/hills/jungle of Panama. With our heavy luggage strapped to our backs we proceeded to climb the steep steps and path that followed towards the lodge. After a couple of weeks surfing i thought i was starting to develop some kind of fitness base, but after ascending the treacherous steps (that would soon become the equivalent of my driveway) i realised that the old legs required a much needed work out.

Once getting to the top it was almost like a feeling of liberation as i looked out across the mountains and valleys of Panama. From the top of the lodge you can see across to Volcano Baru (the highest point in Panama, which from the top you can see Costa Rica and both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans) and the valleys of the La Fortuna Reserve. It is truly a sight to see.

Once getting here i somewhat feel like i found what I'd been looking for, at least temporarily that is. There was a certain tranquillity that oozed from the surrounding of the lodge that encapsulated every aspect of serenity. We checked into the dorm and got settled for the day relaxing and enjoying the more temperate weather. Whereas most parts of Panama are stinking hot, the Lost and Found (situated in the cloud forest above the sweltering hustle and bustle of ground level), contains much more mild weather. During the days it gets quite hot if you're out in the sun, however at night (particularly if it is windy), and weather can drop down to be quite cold. After spending the last 5 weeks in boardshorts and singlets it has been nice to be able to throw on a hoodie and jeans at night.

After learning a little bit more about the lodge i soon discovered that all the people working up here, bar the owners, were working as volunteers. There job was to coordinate the operations of the day as the owners saw fit. This consisted of check-ins/outs, managing guests and generally hostel type tasks. In return they got accommodation for free and a few other little perks. They basically had a wicked set up and i was immediately drawn to the idea of this. I talked to the owners and next thing i knew i was starting to factor in the possibility of an extended stay at the Lost and Found. Before i knew it this became a reality and now i am officially on board the Lost and Found team. The minimum requirement they ask is two weeks, but the possibility to stay on longer is up to you. At this stage i have no idea how long I'm going to stay here, but it will be at least a month at this stage. Accommodation free, cheap food, cheaper rum (fair to say I've been converted to a dirty pirate hooker polishing off litres of rum a week) and the chance to settle for a period of time with a good group of fellow volunteers. After weeks of travelling solo it is nice to establish some more substance to friendships that last longer than a couple of days. At the moment there is a really cool crew working at the lodge, all pretty much starting the same time, so it means we are going to be together for a while. Since I've been here we have ventured out into the jungle forest, hit the hiking tracks (a passion that is slowly growing) and had some wicked parties. Staying here for an extended time gives a prefect balance because you have your mates that you've made working here, but you also have the constant influx of travellers moving in and out. Really can't complain too much up here at the moment.

There isn't really too much else to report right now. I'm going to be staying here for a while and my routine is going to be pretty similar. You generally work two days on and then one day off. The shifts are split between morning (7am-3pm), evening (3pm-10pm) and then party (6pm-last man standing). Needless to say the party shift is pretty sweet because generally you're going to be up that last anyway. The morning shift is probably the most hectic because you have to count, restock and record inventory, check quests out and check new guests in. Evening gets the odd check in, but you don't do too much except clean and organise events. With party it is your job to get people getting into the festivities. Foosball tournaments, poker, bonfire, drinking games, etc. On your days off you usually catch up on sleep or head to the closest town to get on the internet or do some grocery shopping. It takes about a half hour on the bus or you can usually hitch hike there pretty easily. Hitching has become a major method of transport here and is probably the most convenient way to get about.

Ok time to eat!