moniques mail from cairns

well folks the last I wroteI was in Dunedin workinig in a hostel doing laundry well I didn't stay there long(I'll have to add that tomy cv of short jobs with the two nights in a pub. I then wenttravellingagain but wont bore you with the details.I decided to hitch up the west coast and
stay and work on a farm before flying up to Auckland to meet up with Isobel and Muireann.It was my first time hitching on my own but it was grand, I even got a lift from a cop in a squad car!
I was meant to do a walk up a glacier but it lashed rain all day so I didn't bother and headed up the west coast to work on Stu's farm for about 10 days with the 180 cows, 2 dogs, 1 puppy,1 cat,1 rabbit,deer, 2 sheep, chickens. It was brill!
Afterv Leavign the Farm I flew up to Auckland and myself Isobel and Muireann rented a campervan'the Buzza' for 10 days.We drove around allot of the North Island creatingas much trouble as possible ansd metloads of pe ople and managed to do some energetic activities too besides extreme swinging in the playground(it's the newest extreme sport) so here are the highlights and lowlights.
Highlights:
bone carving in Whitianga-we each designed our own pendant and carved it out of bone
white water rafting-7m drop!!
CoromandelGold-I have never been so fucked
The Buzza-our campervan
whale rider-really good NZ film
Polynesian Spa in Roturua-thermal spa pools
Powderoom bar+ tha party afterwards in the buzza
Being on Rock fm requesting acdc'it's a meltdown'

Lowlights:
waking up in the morning bursting to pee
digging holes in hotwater beach looking for thermal springs where there was none
watching Charlies angels 2(but didn't pay for it so it was ok)
walking40mins in freezing cold to the "happening" pub only to discover everyone had left an hour beforehand
driving back to Auckland on my own with a wicked hangover

I'm now in Cairns and about to head down the east coast, it should be a laugh.

D's mail from Colca canion
Hola everybody! In Arequipa in south Peru at the mo,
lovely city and really nice central plaza plus nice
weather. Arrived in Arequipa last Saturday and
ventured into the Colca Canyon on Monday for a three
day trek. However on Saturday nite ate bad food and
felt like shit leaving for the canyon on Monday. Could
not leave Tuesday with the others for the canyon cos
was too ill and a lot of time was spent running to the
banos all day Tuesday. However felt better that night
and the following morning i headed into the canyon
with 2 really cool Canadians on the 3 day hike. The
first day, oh my good god, i dont think i have ever
felt closer to dying, 10 times worse than the second
day of the Inca Trail. Had to walk steep zig zag
dangerously slippy downhill for 3 hours from
Cabanaconde only to walk continually in the same way
uphill for 4 hours, on empty stomach and severe heat.
I actually nearly passed out. But it was character
building i suppose. The scenery was also pretty
amazing. The second day was ok in comparison cos i had
a bit more energy and the trek itself was less
difficult and actually managed to appreciate the
sights. We walked to the beginning of the canyon
(still debate as to whether it is the deepest canyon
in the world) in the morning and saw a few waterfalls
and also Inca tombs where the Inca skeletons are in
full view, kinda eerie. Then walked 3 hours to Oasis,
which is really really beautiful. Met up with the 2
amigos there and at 3 am the following morning walked
in the dark for 3 hours continually uphill back to
base, Cabanaconde. No surprises why they call this
part the "death hike". I felt much better the last day
but poor Clare and an English girl in the group were
both puking before and on the hike. Eventually we all
made it alive to base and from there in a bus (thank
god) to the Cruz del Condor, also part of the Colca
Canyon, to see the famous condors. Supposedly there
was a record number of condors there at once, 18, and
were very impressive, especially with binoculars. Hung
out there for an hour and caught the bus to Chivay,
amazing scenery en route, and from there back to
Arequipa. When we reached the hostal, little Dee was
sickie number three and had to hit the hay. We were a
sight for sore eyes. Today after much needed sleep, we
r in fighting form again. Went to see real "Juanita"
the ice or Ampata maiden in the museum just a while
ago. I defo recommend anyone to visit this museum,
fascinating stuff. Juanita is a young Inca girl about
12 or 13 years of age, who was sacrificed by the Incas
to the gods about 550 years ago. She was found in 1995
in the Ampata volcano after a nearby volcano (forget
the name) errupted and the ashes melted the ice which
covered Ampata. An expedition at the time of this
erruption uncovered her body which was preserved by
the ice over the 550 years. Supposedly all her
internal organs are perfectly preserved. Anyway before
i bore u all, she and another 10 year old girl mummie,
Sarita, can be seen in the museum for half of the
year, i think, January to June, so we were lucky we
got to see her. Sorry folks just realised i have to
run cos meeting people for beers, very very important,
so chau or adios for now, d. (Will write again soon).

Beaumont birds, i want all the scandal from last night
at that ball!!

D`s mail from Cuzco
Hola folks! Still in Cusco, so much to see and do here
not to mention the nitelife! Arrived back in Cusco
last Sunday after an exhausting but amazing 4 days on
the Inca Trail. Started the trail on Wednesday and
walked on average 6 hours a day at high altitude.
Tougher than we thought it would be especially the
second day when we had to climb continuously uphill
for about 4 hours, oh the pain, but was so worth it
when we reached the first mountain pass, eventhough i
nearly passed out. The whole trek was incredible
though, defo makes the top 3 things to do in South
America. Saw a few ancient Inca ruins on route,
weather was beautiful but got too hot on the last 2
days, and scenery was gorgeous. Had a great group, 2
Canadians, 2 Yanks, 4 very funny Germans and us 4
Paddys, brill craic. Our last night we got a special
dinner and made a presentation to the guides and
porters who were super. Porters have a bloody hard
time, they have the job of carrying 30 kg of luggage
everyday and get paid squat. They survive on the
tourists tips. To see them carrying the tents, gas and
backpacks and running up steep hills and steps without
breaking a sweat would put u to shame. A lot of us
carried our own backpacks, sleeping bags and stuff and
tipped them really well at the end, which was
something i suppose. Anyway the last night we stayed
in a cool campsite with gorgeous surroundings, on a
mountain top overlooking a river valley and Inca
ruins. Had to be up the last morning at 2 am (!!!) to
(sleep) walk for 4 hours in pitch black for sunrise at
Machu Picchu. It was fine for the first hour and a
half until half the torches went dead so we literally
walked blind for about an hour until the sun began to
rise. Stopped off for brekkie halfway to Machu Picchu
and then 4 or 5 of us ran flat out with backpacks for
1 hour to Inti Punku or Sun Gate to get the sunrise.
It was the best feeling getting there and looking down
over the lost Inca city eventhough we were ready to
collapse. Stayed there until the sun shone over Machu
Picchu illuminating the whole site which was fairly
spectacular, never seen anything like it. Walked down
to Machu Picchu and hung around the ruins for the day
trying to take the whole thing in. Was the last to
leave and got a bus to the nearest town Aguas
Calientes, hit the sack, up at 5 am the following day
to get the train back to Cusco. Went out Sunday nite
on a big one to celebrate conquering Machu Picchu.
Since Monday i have just been hanging around Cusco
doing all the touristy things, visiting all the Inca
ruins, cathedrals (strange but beautiful, full of
silver and gold and Inca artifacts), museums etc.
Tomorrow we are heading on a tour of the Sacred Valley
of the Incas and Saturday we are heading southeast to
Arequipa. Coming back to Cusco again for Inti Raymi
(Inca Sun Festival) on June 24th which is supposed the
main festival in Peru. Supposedly in Cusco they have
150 festivals in the year and this is their biggest
one so it cannot be passed up. Anyway thats all my
Inca news for now, chau, d.

Lizzies mail from La Paz, 29 may 2003

Hello, I´ve a bit more time to write today. Its Thursday lunchtime here and we´ve been here since last Friday. We hadn´t intended to stay so long but in true Bolivian fashion absolutely everything shut down for the weekend so we had nothing to do but chill out. On Monday we went and booked our Gravity bike tour and went to the Qantas office to extend our stay here...very exciting i know, so we´re flying out of Santiago July 19th now, arriving in Sydney early on July 21st. (Sarah and Mari- I hope i won´t have missed ye).We didn´t want to stay that long but space on that route is very hard to come by. We´ve extended our stay because we´re doing more of Bolivia + Argentina now. At least it means we´re not rushing so much.

La Paz is good place to get stuck for a few days, great bars, loads of markets, nice people.(Except on Sundays cos the cops ALL have the day off which means its a crime spree free for all). We´re staying beside the Witches Market where they sell all kinds of weird stuff, including toads and dried Llama foetuses (ignore my spelling). La Paz smells pretty gross because all the market sellers use the street as a toilet, I think i´m getting used to it though. I´m also becoming used to seeing cops with huge machine guns everywhere, drivers who have no regard for their lives or anyone elses, and the slowest service in the world when trying to get food in a restaurant. (Dinner the other night took 2 and a half hours for 3 courses to be served and there were very few customers there!) People here live like we did a couple of hundred years ago.

We went to see Matrix Reloaded at the weekend, it was great but a bit too cheesy. We´re staying in a mainly Israeli hostel. Its great - theres a resaurant, tv room, library... the Israelis know the best value places to go cos they´re so unbelievably tight with money....every one of them will argue vehemently over 2cents or something! I think we´re among about 10 non-Israelis there out of 150 or more. We´re leaving La Paz today and heading for Copacabana on Lake Titicaca. Probably won´t have internet access for at least a few days so.

The Death Road biking was fantastic, but i´m still achey and covered in sandfly bites - not pleasant - there are no mossies at this altitude so we hadn´t been using repellent but those sandfly bastards survive up here! Its also pretty hard to breathe here especially going up hill.

Gotta go now i´m afraid, hopefully i´ll have more cheerful news soon.

Deirdre´s mail from Puno, 28 May 2003

Hola folks! We arrived in Puno, our first destination
in Peru yesterday. Our first impression was get the
hell outa of this town, because the place is fairly
dingy and a man pulling down his trousers and pissing
in public and broad daylight only helped tenfold to
reinforce this impression. However as we walked down
Lima, the main pedestrian mall, i slowly warmed to the
place, the indigenous people do hassle you, for
instance they rushed after little dee into a shop
trying in vain to sell her socks, but they are
friendly nonetheless. Puno is a town in the
southeastern part of Peru and situated on Lake
Titicaca and is the base for tourists visiting the
famous Uros and other floating islands of the Lake.
These islands are entirely made of reeds, which with
tourism are the 2 main incomes for the Quechua and
Aymara inhabitants. The markets in Puno are reputedly
the cheapest in Peru and Bolivia for alpaca wool, for
anyone who needs to buy stuff for the highlands and
the Inca trail, here is the place to haggle and buy.
Left Bolivia on Tuesday from Copocabana, which is also
situated on Lake Titicaca. This massive lake extends
for 8000 km, straddling the Bolivian/Peruvian border,
and is the highest navigable lake in the world and one
of the largest. From Copocabana, got a ferry across
Lake Titicaca to Isla del Sol, which is renowned for
being the birthplace of the Inca empire and where
Manco Kapac, the first Inca emperor made his first
mysterious appearance. The island is beautiful with
amazing views, and close to Isla de la Luna which is
where there was a convent housing virgins. From one
view point on Isla del Sol, there are three small
islands in a triangle, between these Jaques Cousteau
discovered a lost city in 1968, 10 metres below the
level of the lake, which dates back as far as 1500 BC.
I think he also discovered a few gold statues and a
pot of gold. There are a few Inca ruins on the island,
not majorly impressive but good to see, the rock of
the puma which the local Aymaras still worship, and a
ceremonial table where llamas are still sacrificed
every June. Walked 3 hours from the north to the south
of the island, really beautiful scenery on route
though there was a lot of indigenous kids asking for
photos and money. Also visited Horca del Inca, in
Copocabana, which are supposed to be Inca ruins, but
all there is, are a few rocks and an ok view of
Copocabana and the lake, dont get stung for 10
bolivianos once u get up there, not worth it. There
are brill and much better views from the Cerro, and no
charge. Copocabana has nice cheap restaurants
especially Orillo on the main drag and good chilled
out bars are Nemos, Sol y Luna and Coyote. The
nightlife has a bit to be desired though. Hostal
Colonial is recommended for accomodation, it costs 30
bivs a night with alright brekkie, and is on the
corner of Plaza Sucre. Had a spot of trouble leaving
Bolivia because the Peruvian campesinos (poor farmers)
and teachers are protesting and putting up barricades
at the borders and outside the major cities of Cusco
and Lima. They took down the barricades at the
Peruvian/Bolivian border yesterday, so we got the
first bus available out of Copocabana to Puno. When we
were crossing the border at Kasina (?), for passport
check, stamp etc 4 of us were brought into an office
with an "official" who tried to bribe us into paying
him money for a green tourist card which we did not
get but were supposed to when entering Bolivia via the
salares. It was all a big scam. We kicked up a major
fuss and between the 4 of us we managed enough spanish
to call his bluff and got away without paying.
Unbelievable though, the amount of corruption that
goes on. We met other backpackers after who were stung
and had to pay. After that ordeal and the bus nearly
leaving without us until some sound guy on the bus who
noticed we were missing, shouted at the driver, we
made it to Puno. Only to find out though, we would
either have to go directly to Arequipa to get to
Cusco, only by plane though, or stay in Puno until
Friday to get to Cusco because the buses wont run due
to the campesino barricades outside Cusco. Was talking
to 3 lads who got a bus at 2 in the morning as far as
the barricade, and then attempted to cross on foot but
were stoned by the campesinos! So i dont think we will
be travelling by night and until all buses are
running. We will probably head to Cusco tomorrow, cos
we have been told the barricades will be down and
there will be no campesinos on the road. We are
planning to get on the Inca trail for next week
sometime and will probably stay in Cusco for 2 weeks.
I will probably take a few lessons to improve my
sketchy spanish while there. From there we plan to
head to Arequipa and on. So thats all my news again,
gotta go because i have spent far too much time on
this computer. Sorry about the group emails, but would
be here all day if i emailed yous individually. Adios,
d.

Deirdre´s mail from La Paz, 23 May 2003

Hola folks! Back in the city again, big big change
from the countryside. Too much busyness and madness
for me. Arrived in La Paz yesterday, via military
plane, the flight was fine, and only 55 minutes long
as opposed to 24 hours on a bus on the "most dangerous
road in the world". We left Coroico last Friday
afternoon, it was very hard to leave there as the
place is phenonemal. Anyway, headed to Rurrenabaque in
north Bolivia, which is home to the pampas and jungle
that are part of the Amazon basin. Had to take the
bus, as was the only means of transport, and it was
the worst by far bus journey in South America that we
have had. It consisted of 24 hours of continual bone
shaking, dust inhalation as the windows did not close,
a near collision with another bus on the edge of a
sheer drop, and to top off with, 3 breakdowns and 3
hour waits in the middle of nowhere waiting for the
bus driver to figure out the problem and get the bus
fixed and oh again multiple drugs inspections.
Eventually got to Rurre alive covered in dust and
smelling of Bolivian bus (not pleasant). Headed to the
Pampas, with 8 other Israelis, for a 3 day tour the
next day refreshed, via jeep and motor boat. The
Pampas were cool, we stayed in a camp on the river,
and managed not to get eaten alive by the mossies
which was our one big fear. The state of us, decked
out in our beautiful white shirts which were buttoned
up to the last that i nearly choked, dirty jeans
(mossies cant bite thru them) tucked into our socks
and converse runners and repellant in hand, a site for
sore eyes, for fear of a mosquito bite. Anyway despite
looking like eejits and roasting ourselves, we saw a
lot of wildlife including lots of crocodiles close up,
a cayman croc in the distance, alligators, pink
dolphins, turtles, sloths, anacondas (one around my
neck, aaargh!!) and cobra snakes, kingfishers, herons,
malibu storks, howler and squirrel (beautiful)
monkeys. Held a baby crocodile in my hand, and went
fishing for piranhas but only managed to catch a baby
trout and a few catfish. Saw amazon sunsets and one
sunrise, too lazy to get up the other mornings, which
were pretty cool also. Our last day we headed back to
Santa Rosa before Rurre and again had a blast with the
Israelis at karaoke, we didnt leave until every song
in the karaoke tune book was sang. Next day we spent
chilling in Rurre, again lazing in hammocks and fairly
non eventful day. Hit La Paz yesterday and tried 3
times in vain to get into the San Pedro prison. They
do tours in this place and the inmates run the prison,
they even have football tournaments sponsored by Coca
Cola! For anyone who wants to try to get into the
prison on a tour say that u want to speak with William
or James and walk straight past the guards, no eye
contact. It used to be easy to get in there but now
the prison governor supposedly has a bee in his bonnet
and is letting no gringos in. We met up with 2 others,
both constables in London, and still no joy, even with
2 cops! Went to the cinema after to see Matrix 2,
jesus woz i confused! My excuse, i didnt c the 1st
one.
Today went on a haggling rampage, my new fave hobbie
in Bolivia, had great fun. Bought a lovely alpaca wool
jumper, woolly hat, another godamn camera on the black
market for 18 dollars which i got down from 25. Good
eh! Got the bus to Copocabana which is where we r now,
and staying in plush accomodation for 4 dollars a
night! Good stuff. Anyway thats all my travel news,
heading to Isla del Sol and Lake Titicaca on Sun or
Monday and onto Peru Wednesday hopefully. Adios
amigos, d.

Don leaving Aouth America mail

i leave this beautiful continent in only a few hours
and i don't get it... i don't really believe it.

i want to thank everyone that i met through this
adventure from Lisa Harrington whom i met in houston
before i even got here to Pete Bowers whom i met 2
nights ago in a drunken politically charged
conversation. i want to thank everyone inbetween too
but there are so many of you to mention and i will
undoubtedly forget someone. oh, what the hell, i've
got to shout out to Aitch for travelling with us for
most of the trip and being apart of so much. Andrew
Wells, what's up buddy, it was a pleasure meeting you.
Sara, Trina, PJ, Cassandra, Brandy, Matt, Fast
Toby... thanks.

on this trip i've learned that i will always live for
the moment... and in turn i will be willing to accept
that there will be consequences and i'll take them.
i've discovered that my memory has become a collage of
moments... feelings... i need to remember to remember
and embrace all those strong feelings wether blissful
or painful. there is suchgreat wisdon in simplicity
and in acceptance and it's hard to grasp sometimes. i
have found that i am really proud to be Canadian.
people like us, and for some of the most noble reasons
too. i am so happy to be where i am from. i have
realized that i have faith... and a lot of it! i
denied that for a long time always associating faith
with religion... thank you to that random girl in
Sorata for that. i also feel that i have defined
myself as a person. all this leads to my currents
state of mind, a state of mind i hold higher than
maybe anything else. this is a state of mind in which
i know what i like and in which i will always follow
what i like. i have the ability to accept and i know
that shit happens. i know now that what i am going to
do in my life is not based on what sort of job i have
or what things i accumulate; what am i going to do in
life? what i like... i can't go wrong! these
feelings go far beyond the capabilities of this
computer to convey and even beyond my capabilities to
do the same. maybe you get it, maybe you don't, but
what i am saying is that i almost feel invincible
because i feel that i have found my key to life.

"i know myself, and when i know myself, i fear no one
else"
-Beastie Boys

the time has come for this adventure to end and so i
say goodbye to this land of mountains, ocean, desert
andjungle where the currency is worth nothing and the
deep culture is worth more than you could fathom,
where nobody sews each other and there are no safety
precautions, a charming land full of stray packs of
wild dogs and some of the worst buses ever. i can't
wait to come back.

to everyone, peace love happiness and laughter
Don Juan, Lover of Life

Brandee's leaving South America mail, may 8th 2003

Hola!

It is with mixed emotions that I write my last
installment to you from South America...I am sad to
leave this magnificent continent full of majestic
beauty, diverse landscapes, rich native heritage and
passionate Latin culture. I will also miss the
friendships born along "gringo trail" - somehow, many
of you just appeared and reappeared when I least
expected!!!

Don, Cam, Achay, PJ, Cass, Isobel, Omid, Jane,
Patrice, Keith, Toby, Bex, Darren, James, Drew, the
Irish Mike´s, Antoine, Scott, Mark and anyone I forgot
in my haste - thank you for the fun! You ALWAYS have a
friend in me and a place to stay in San Francisco or
LA!

For those of you following my travels on my Web site,
you´ll notice that my journal lacks several weeks of
updates (I´ll try to blame Anngi, Neal and Stephanie
for distracting me with their visits). Nevertheless, I
still have been snapping away with the camera. Check
out my photos of Chile and Argentina at:

http://www.brandeertw2003.com/pages/8/index.htm

Our trek through Torres del Paine National Park was
incredible and worth a look!

So with just 2 hours until I leave Buenos Aires...I
wish you all the best and thank you again for your
interest in my travels.

Tonight, I bid farewell to South America...and dream
of Africa!

Love,

Brandee

Don's mail after the road of death, May 7th 2003

well, have i left you in suspense by taking so long to
write after tell you all that i was biking the worlds
most dangerous road? i'm talking about the road that
claims atleast 100 lives each year as trucks roll off
or as the road gives way on an edge or as frequent
landslides hit cars and maybe crazy bikers too! the
road that is as narrow as the drive way to the
cottage(just enough for one car) at some points as it
huges the side of a cliff with 600-800m drops straight
down and water falls falling from above.

the first leg of the adventure was a fast paced,
tucking for more speed, adreneline packed race down
the paved section... we hit speeds of 80km/h as we
followed behind trucks to break the wind waiting for
the right opportunity to pass.... we were faster than
every truck out there! after lunch we started our
"death" section, where the pavement stopped and the
fatal drops started. or guide briefed us on the rules
of the road: 1. right of way goes to those going up
hill (not us), 2. right of weight: heaviest goes first
and where the want (not us), 3. horns are like radar
for the drivers: they honk as they come around blind
corners, if there's a truck it will honk back, if
there's no honk it is believed that no one is there(
except maybe a poor sucker on a bike with no horn),
4.this is the only road in bolivia where it is law for
you to ride on the left side(cliff side) of the road,
this way traffic coming up has the inside track and
also this way the drivers coming down can see just how
close there wheels are to falling off the edge... this
is only overruled by the 'right of weight' rule...
large truck like to take the inside track
regardless(this left us on the edge).

this was alot to think about before starting but it
sank in after your first few near death experiences.

although these bikes were top of the line, the road
was still very bumpy and after not too long you were
really feeling it in your ass and in your hands. i
soon realized that if i didn't stretch my hands to use
my brakes my hands felt much better and i also found
that there was a very smooth track right next to the
edge... my conclusion: ride on the edge and don't use
your brakes and your a happy camper.

the beginning of the unpaved road started right in the
clouds amoungst beautiful vegetation and a number of
water falls falling right on to the road and some
flying right over the road and continued down into
nothingness. this led to very muddy terrain and
inturn, very... very muddy bikers, thank god for my
sun glasses. everyone had that mud trail up their
backs only in this case it was a full back of brown,
we had mud all over our faces and in our teeth and
every where else.

we ended the ride had some beers and took a bunch of
pictures of our filthy selves, then it was off to
coroico and hostel esmeraldas for lunch. this place
was an incredible utopia of sorts, esspecially after
what we had just been through. for under $10CAN we
stayed in a reasonable room with access to a free pool
table, a swimming pool, fuzball, hammocks in
gaezebos(sp?), over 100 DVDs and a movie room, there
were buffet meals!!! breakfast lunch and dinner!!!
there was a happy hour that cam and i took full
advantage of; showing up everyday at exactly the right
time to grab our 3 litres of beer for 20Bs =$3US

i'm back in la paz now and off to the very small town
of sorata to do some hiking to conclude this trip,
it's all ending now but i feel great

peace everyone, life is great, love it
i feel so alive
don

Don`s mail Fri 2nd May 2003 " Huayana ¨Kill Me Now!¨ Potosi "

let's see if i can spice things up a little since last
time. it seems karma(sara) has come back to kick my
ass after my blissful jungle/animal adventures.

"other than great views and a sense of accomplishment,
don't believe anything good anybody says about
climbing a mountain"

yesterday afternoon cam and i laughed our way up to
the base camp of Huayana Potosi. "that was so easy!"
"this altitudes got nothing on us!" after a snack of
tea and biscuits we retired to our tent to catch some
Z's before we hiked up this puny mountain at midnight
to catch the sun rise. we had been told that it was
very difficult to sleep at this altitude for some
people but i dozed off without a care, again proving
my theory that i was invincible. BEEP BEEP BEEP time
to get up. my theory was shattered! i couldn't move!
every waking movement, even every peak through my
eyelids caused a paralyzing wave of unbearable ache
through my head. i tried to exercise my discipline,
not the best time for a first attempt at something. i
managed to move myself, after rolling around in a
groaning heap of misery, into some clothes and out of
the tent. have you ever experienced the shear beauty
of a full sky of stars from a great mountain? well,
neither have i! each star pierced through my eyes
into my aching(like it's never ached before) brain,
and this mountain was far from great in my opinion at
this point, unless you were referring to a "great rock
of pain infliction". i fell back into the tent. cam
seemed to be suffering as much as i, yet he had
managed to dress himself as i lay fetal in position.
i attempted this discipline thing again and managed to
pull my overall snow pants up to my knees before i was
hit with a wave of nausea. alarms going off in my
head: i'm going to throw up! lie down! close your
eyes! that's it! this discipline thing is causing me
nothing but pain and suffering. i'm staying here! our
guide enters and tries to encourage me but i think my
attempt at "i'm going to throw up if i move" sign
language got through. "cam! good luck man!"... no
answer. had they gone? i must have passed out. what
followed was not comparable to cam's experience on the
mountain but was still nothing near anything good. i
thrashed around the tent in a restless, oxygen
deprived attempt at sleep. the situation worsened by
the minute as i managed to make myself more and more
uncomfortable, i was lacking the energy and dare i
say, the discipline, to do anything worthwhile for
myself and so i spent the next 6 or 7 hours groaning
and moaning in the cold tent. cam returned by morning
only to join me in my mess. he would, eventually,
tell me vaguely of his discipline packed(are you
sensing a theme here yet) journey up the mountain
until his legs gave out from under him and he throw up
only 188 vertical metres from the summit. it took us
near 3 hours to get our things packed and commence our
decent to a normal altitude(if you can call 3700
normal). remember that initial accent? "this is so
easy!" yada yada yada. well, we weren't laughing this
time as we thoroughly felt ever impact on every step
down through our throbbing heads.

this may sound all negative but there is something to
be savored here, for cam and i and all Canadian alike.
though many of you are probably unaware, this attempt
on Huayana Potosi was actually the 3rd and final round
of a South American: England vs. Canada Hiking
Tournament. The English took an early lead when they
managed to squeeze by the Canadians (and PJ, thanks
for the support) to finish the Inca Trail only seconds
earlier. The Tournament was quickly tied when the
young Canadians booted up Huayana Picchu in a mere 27
minutes the next day, beating the English(and PJ, your
support was not appreciated this time). The Hiking
Tournament was at a stalemate for quite some time
until Aitch, "The Little One", took on The Solo Aspect
of The Tournament by attempting to summit Huayana
Potosi without the support of her teammate "Fast"
Toby. It was a long and grueling battle(from what we
hear at least) but in the end the mountain would reign
supreme leaving "The Little One" dead in her tracks a
mere 300 vertical metres from the 6088m summit. A damn
shame, for Team England that is(and PJ, you two timing
bastard!) as the judges rule that "Killah Cam'Ron" of
Team Canada did successfully exceed Aitch "The Little
One's" attempt on the very difficult summit of the
great Huayana Potosi. The South American Hiking
Tournament was called to an end as Aitch "The Little
One" forfeited by means of "leaving the continent"(THE
RULE BOOK pg. 28 sec. 3). This concludes tonights
broadcast, goodnight everyone. THE CANADIANS WIN!!!
NO DOOT ABOOT IT!!!

i'll be back with reports on the world's most
dangerous road in no time, stay tuned
don
let's see if i can spice things up a little since last
time. it seems karma(sara) has come back to kick my
ass after my blissful jungle/animal adventures.

"other than great views and a sense of accomplishment,
don't believe anything good anybody says about
climbing a mountain"

yesterday afternoon cam and i laughed our way up to
the base camp of Huayana Potosi. "that was so easy!"
"this altitudes got nothing on us!" after a snack of
tea and biscuits we retired to our tent to catch some
Z's before we hiked up this puny mountain at midnight
to catch the sun rise. we had been told that it was
very difficult to sleep at this altitude for some
people but i dozed off without a care, again proving
my theory that i was invincible. BEEP BEEP BEEP time
to get up. my theory was shattered! i couldn't move!
every waking movement, even every peak through my
eyelids caused a paralyzing wave of unbearable ache
through my head. i tried to exercise my discipline,
not the best time for a first attempt at something. i
managed to move myself, after rolling around in a
groaning heap of misery, into some clothes and out of
the tent. have you ever experienced the shear beauty
of a full sky of stars from a great mountain? well,
neither have i! each star pierced through my eyes
into my aching(like it's never ached before) brain,
and this mountain was far from great in my opinion at
this point, unless you were referring to a "great rock
of pain infliction". i fell back into the tent. cam
seemed to be suffering as much as i, yet he had
managed to dress himself as i lay fetal in position.
i attempted this discipline thing again and managed to
pull my overall snow pants up to my knees before i was
hit with a wave of nausea. alarms going off in my
head: i'm going to throw up! lie down! close your
eyes! that's it! this discipline thing is causing me
nothing but pain and suffering. i'm staying here! our
guide enters and tries to encourage me but i think my
attempt at "i'm going to throw up if i move" sign
language got through. "cam! good luck man!"... no
answer. had they gone? i must have passed out. what
followed was not comparable to cam's experience on the
mountain but was still nothing near anything good. i
thrashed around the tent in a restless, oxygen
deprived attempt at sleep. the situation worsened by
the minute as i managed to make myself more and more
uncomfortable, i was lacking the energy and dare i
say, the discipline, to do anything worthwhile for
myself and so i spent the next 6 or 7 hours groaning
and moaning in the cold tent. cam returned by morning
only to join me in my mess. he would, eventually,
tell me vaguely of his discipline packed(are you
sensing a theme here yet) journey up the mountain
until his legs gave out from under him and he throw up
only 188 vertical metres from the summit. it took us
near 3 hours to get our things packed and commence our
decent to a normal altitude(if you can call 3700
normal). remember that initial accent? "this is so
easy!" yada yada yada. well, we weren't laughing this
time as we thoroughly felt ever impact on every step
down through our throbbing heads.

this may sound all negative but there is something to
be savored here, for cam and i and all Canadian alike.
though many of you are probably unaware, this attempt
on Huayana Potosi was actually the 3rd and final round
of a South American: England vs. Canada Hiking
Tournament. The English took an early lead when they
managed to squeeze by the Canadians (and PJ, thanks
for the support) to finish the Inca Trail only seconds
earlier. The Tournament was quickly tied when the
young Canadians booted up Huayana Picchu in a mere 27
minutes the next day, beating the English(and PJ, your
support was not appreciated this time). The Hiking
Tournament was at a stalemate for quite some time
until Aitch, "The Little One", took on The Solo Aspect
of The Tournament by attempting to summit Huayana
Potosi without the support of her teammate "Fast"
Toby. It was a long and grueling battle(from what we
hear at least) but in the end the mountain would reign
supreme leaving "The Little One" dead in her tracks a
mere 300 vertical metres from the 6088m summit. A damn
shame, for Team England that is(and PJ, you two timing
bastard!) as the judges rule that "Killah Cam'Ron" of
Team Canada did successfully exceed Aitch "The Little
One's" attempt on the very difficult summit of the
great Huayana Potosi. The South American Hiking
Tournament was called to an end as Aitch "The Little
One" forfeited by means of "leaving the continent"(THE
RULE BOOK pg. 28 sec. 3). This concludes tonights
broadcast, goodnight everyone. THE CANADIANS WIN!!!
NO DOOT ABOOT IT!!!

i'll be back with reports on the world's most
dangerous road in no time, stay tuned
don