Bolivia

Today I am in Boliva...another world from Argentina and Chile. But somehow, I like it better already...even though we are trapped in the little town of Uyuni, waiting for our 3 day tour on Wednesday of the Salt Flats. It all started with a 27 hour bus ride, crossing the Bolivian border (Much better than expected), and a 9 hour train ride. We arrived in Uyuni at 12:30AM and stayed at the first hostel we found. The woman who owned the hostel dressed traditionally and was about 5 feet tall. The best thing and worst all at once was that she popped up everywhere, especially when least expected. What I mean by this is that, she knew exactly what we were doing AT ALL TIMES! Oh, and I forgot to mention that not many other people stayed at this hostel, so she was especially vigilant at her task of keeping an eye on us. A sign on the wall read "5 minute showers" and up until now, these types of rules are given a bit of leeway. Oh, but not here. When Lindsey passed the 5 minute mark, most likely to the second, the woman came around the corner, upset and yelling in Spanish that she was taking far too long. I looked at her, wide eyed, and a bit afraid of her and then made Lindsey time my shower to the second. This worked much better. When we cooked, there she was. When we went to the bathroom, she appeared again! Looking back, it is a bit humorous. We had booked a tour with this hostel and were supposed to leave for the Salt Flats today, but unfortunately, it being Carnival and all, all the drivers were drunk today and consequently we were out of a tour. But it gave us a good excuse to switch hostels and find a more reputable tour company.

Carnival. CRAZY!!! Dodging water balloons, squirt guns, and shaving cream. Parties in the street all night long. A band marched in the street for hours upon hours, playing the same song over and over and over. We hid in our hostel yesterday and watched the craziness happen from our window, so as to avoid the craziness. I think we might embrace it tomorrow, and prepare to get soaked!

Bolivian Food: Not my favorite. Not really good so far. Hope to have my mind changed as we move out of this small town, but the prospects look grim. Well, on second thought, we did eat one thing that I very much enjoyed: Its called Milinesa. It is sort of like meatloaf, shaped like a hamburger bun and served with rice and veggies. That was delicious.

The bus station here consists of a street with several agencies selling tickets and busses lining the dusty street. We havent been on a bus here yet, but from what it looks like it will be an experience! We took a train to Uyuni and watched Avitar in Spanish. Yes, its still in theaters, but pirated copies constantly play on busses and trains and are readily available.

We are currently roughly 4,000 meters high right now. When I got off the bus, I sucked in air twice as quickly as usual and nearly passed out at first! I think that I have finally acclamated after taking my altitude medication for the first two days. But Cody and I laughed at each other this morning for breathing so hard when we were sleeping that it was like we had just gotten in from a run!

Most of all, I am looking foward to volunteering in Santa Cruz. I am looking foward to purpose and something meaningful and most of all community. We should hopefully arrive this weekend.

Things I appreciate more today:

1. Hand soap
2. Toilet paper in the bathrooms
3. Flushing toilets
4. Good water...Seattle water
5. Clean laundry

Hope this note finds you all well.

Signing off from Uyuni,

Michelle

(Sorry about my spelling...I have been relying on spell check for far too many years of my life.)

Hiking the "W": What I learned about life and God

Day1: The wind crashed into us at speeds that would call for a panic on the King 5 News team back home. It would have broken every Seattle record and Im sure lots of people would have died, trapped in their homes. The power would be out all over the state. It would have been a great Seattle catastrophe. We were in the middle of nowhere: Patagonia. Absolutely beautiful, terrifying, awe-inspiring. A winding, narrow dirt road took us to our destination via bus. Mountains jetting up into the sky, encircling and trapping us in. Guanacos, flamingos, crazy hawks..all caught our attention through the bus windows. And in a flash, we were there--grabbing our packs, bracing ourselves against the bitter wind, beginning our journey into the wilderness. First, a waterfall. Second, a boat ride...oh and on the boat, coffee. So far, so good. The boat took us across a lake and dropped us off on the other side. That is where our journey really began.

Hiking through the hills, stashing trail mix in my nylong travel pants pocket...not sure it will ever be socially acceptable to do this again, but I soaked up every minute. For 2 days, that trail mix was the most delicious thing I had ever tasted. Now, I shudder, even when I write those two terrible words. We hiked for around 5 hours, stopping every now and then to take picturs, to rest. It was cold, but sunny, and well...breathtaking. We made it to camp, and I thought to myself that it was not nearly as bad as I anticipated. I could do this. And then it rained.

Day 2: Rain beat down on our tent during the night, and we woke up to wet shoes, and cold weather. Ice bergs floated by on the lake we camped next to. And it was absolutely freezing. The first half of the day was bearable. As I walked, I prayed and God talked to me about how life was a lot like hiking this trail. There were parts that were easy and fun, and other parts where I wanted to give up completely, that were hard and painful. I talked with God about being more active at home, about community, about people that I love.

And then the day took a turn for the worst. It rained and I was cold. Cold enough that I thought the my thoughts were freezing inside my head because I couldnt think clearly anymore. I was frustrated and uncomfortable. And then I told God that I didnt trust him anymore and I was angry at him and I wanted to go home. One time my shoulder gave out and a sharp pain overtook me. I had to stop. I had to give Cody my pack...which probably hurt my pride more than the pain in my shoulder. I walked behind everyone and stopped because I didnt think I could do this anymore. And thats when my friend stopped with me and waited with me and said that I could do this and that everything would be okay. And then after a few moments, I was okay. I put my pack back on and carried it the rest of the way. That night, I was still frustrated. I told Lindsey that I was going to go punch the mountain and Im pretty sure she believed me. I didnt talk to God much that night because I was still cold and frustrated.

Day 3: On day 3 I decided to trust God again. Maybe because I was able to sleep in and we only had to walk for 2 and a half hours. The day was short and still very cold. We stayed at a windy, rainy campsite at a "refugio", and were invited to a blazing campfire where a sheep was cooking over the open fire. We sat by the fire, attempting to speak in spanish, and made some new friends. After 4 hours of cooking, we were then invited to an "asada" and I ate lamb like I had never seen food in my life. That night I was restless in my sleeping bag, and then I prayed more. I felt God there, holding me, bear-hugging me, quieting my heart until I fell asleep.

Day 4: I talked to God a lot more on day 4. Even though this was technically the hardest day, I felt his joy propelling me up mountains, down hills, through valleys. I felt strong, hopeful, loved. Before we knew it, we had reached our destination. After setting up camp, we hiked up the steepest mountain yet to the Torres del Paine. And when we arrived...pure beauty. It was all worth it in that moment. Three rock towers flew up into the sky. In the valley below, an enchanting, pearl green lake glowed in all its glory. Indescribable. Lovely. A place where God himself dwells and where my mouth drops open in pure and utter wonder and amazement. Yes. It was worth it. Every last step.

Day 5: It was our final day. I felt strong again. But today my friends were in pain. Both of them had badly hurt knees. I walked behind with Lindsey and prayed for her with a desperation that I have come to realize should be in more of my prayers. Then we hiked and sang the rest of the way off that mountain. I prayed for joy and He made my heart sing. Lindseys knee was better, not completely, but enough to make it back down. And God was with us, right beside us, caring, loving, breathing life into our spirits.

And maybe thats what it was all about. Maybe it was about choosing joy. Maybe it was about believing God, trusting him to be bigger, to love me when I knew I didnt deserve it. We made it. After all of that, we made it. But I only made it because God was right beside me. I would have quit if he had not propelled me on. And so it is and will be with life. I need more bear-hugs. I need community. I need more of the one who I can trust to take me through my mountains.

Puerto Madryn

Sitting in a hot, dark room in the middle of the day, checking emails, and yes, facebook. I cannot seem to completely escape technology and rather than completely throwing it out, have come to accept that maybe community can still be created through an avenue which I initially wrote off and attempted to leave behind.

The rest of Puerto Madryn is asleep for the time being...Siesta will be over shortly, and part of me wishes I would have joined in...you know...just to be culturally sensative and all.

Northern Patagonia. A desolate land mass, not all that different from central washington, except with maybe a few less hills. It is windy here, causing the dust to swirl around us, leaving a new coating on our hot, dry skin. I learned today that it is rainy in Seattle and 40 degrees. And then I decided that I have absolutely nothing to complain about.

Two days ago, we rented a car. The 3 of us and two friends hopped in and set out for the Peninsula Valdes, mostly in search of penguins, but also adventure and the joys of riding in a car for the first time. First things first: after sitting in the hot car for a while, Cody thought it would be a good idea to turn on the air condition. We rolled up our windows, excited for a cool blast of air. And to our shock and surprise a cloud of dust shot out from the vents, indiscriminately swallowing us in all its glory, and momentarily interrupting our vision. Well, we did see penguins. An entire colony. Lindsey thought that they were dirty animals, because they are. They burry themselves into the side of the dusty bluff and waldle back and forth from their make-shift homes to the sandy beach. I still thought that they were cute and funny and perhaps took one too many pictures of them. But they made me smile and laugh and very glad that I saw them free and in the wild, rather than a little bit sad in a caged zoo. It made me not like zoos very much. We saw lots of other animals too, like a whole beach filled with sea lions and seals. They made lots of funny noises and were play fighting. And then other seals lounged in the sun, flicking sand on themselves to cool off and I thought that they didn´t have such bad lives. In the parking lot, we saw armadillos! They were very friendly and posed for pictures like it was no big deal.

Our hostel here is run by a man named Gaston. Lindsey sang him a couple lines from Beauty and the Beast. He has a little boy around the age of 5 or so, who runs around the hostel with his toy dinasours. He is the cutest and makes me miss being around kids. I like this hostel. It feels a bit more like a community than the others we have stayed in. Every night, Gaston cooks dinner for the travelers. Yesterday we joined in for a delicious meal of steak, chicken, chorizo, veggies, and rolls, which Gaston had cooked over the coals from wood from Patagonia plains. We sat around the table talking about our travels with our new friends from Germany, Austrailia, the States, and Wales. I sensed community for the first time, when I did not realize I missed it at all.

Today consisted of drinking coffee, having meaningful conversations, and prayer. Praying with friends is better sometimes than praying by yourself. Learning more. Taking more action. My question of the day: When all is stripped away, who am I? When I do not have a job to define myself by, when I do not have activities planned, when I am not surrounded constantly by friends, family, people--when it´s just me and God, who am I? Pondering who I want to be and praying more.

Thank you for reading and for your thoughts and prayers. Signing off from Northern Patagonia. May God be with you all.

I am pleasantly surprised by Uruaguay. I did not really know what to expect. But I am grateful to have traveled in this country.

Highlights:

Sitting on a rock on the beach talking to God, soaking in beauty and ocean and culture.

Climbing the stairs of my first lighthouse in the small town of Colonia.

Watching the countryside pass me by as I consider what really matters, what I really need, who I am, who I want to be.

Finally being able to sleep nomally. Thanks for all the prayers.


What I learned in Uruguay: Doing what matters and what is important to me takes effot. I am beginning to learn what it means to live life intentionally and on purpose. And when I chose to live my life like that, it is not easy, but often uncomfortable and inconvenient. But the alternative is far worse.

Please keep the three of us in your prayers as we continue this journey. God is good. All the time. God is good.