ARGENTINA!!!!!!!!!

Cotahuasi Canyon is behind us and it is time to head south. The clock

is ticking and we want to see as much as we can before we leave South

America. We got a bus from the small mountain town of Cotahuasi to Arequipa so we

could get a bus to the border. There were three different bus companies

and ALL THREE leave at the exact same time. It was a ridiculous site. Three large buses acting like they don´t do the same

thing everday. The streets were jamed and it took about a 15 point turn

to get our bus past the other three to leave first. By the way, the buses all leave

at 5:00pm so that you get to Ariquipa at 3am. I will never understand

the logic behind this.

So its three in the morning and cold. Jill and I are just kickin it

in the bus terminal waiting to get on our 7am bus to Tacna (the

Pervian border town with Chile). Im reading to pass the time but Jill

is having fun of her own. A peruvian family but mainly one man is just

fascinated with Jill. They are all just staring at her. Not saying a

word. The family looses interest after 10 minutes but not this one

gentleman. He keeps looking at her like she belongs in a zoo. Jill,

wanting to blend with the culture, trys to act Pervian normal and

stares back. I know that staring contest aren´t exactly the most

exciting thing but at 4am in a cold bus terminal it was more entertaining than

the best movie I have ever seen. The match was equally weighted so I was forced to

join to tip the scales. We won!!!. Don´t worry though - we were still stared down until we got on our bus hours later.

So we finally get on the next bus. We get to Tanca around 11 and have 5 hours to kill before we can take a train to Chile. Finally,

we get our tickets and go through customs. We get ripped off. The

last chance the Peruvians had to get us and they did. Sucking my last

nine american dollars away from me. After the confusion and many people go in front of us, we get on the way overly crowded

train and our luck turns for the best. Instead of cramming us in we got to get out and ride up front with the conductor. It was a great way to end our Peruvian trip, however,

our travel south are far from over.

We made it to Chile at 5pm. We had been traveling for 24 hours and

made the quick decision to continue south. The border town we were in

was a cool surfer beach town but we decided we would get enough of this in Honduras

so we got a bus ticket that left around 10pm.

The trip was long and stopped a lot. For some reason we have to go though

customs again half-way though our travels and unload all of our bags at

4 in the morning. We reached our destination at 9am the next morning.

At this point, Jill and I are pumped. We have be Traveling for about a day and a half

and we reached this desert town. Located in the dryest desert in the

world this town has sandboarding, geysers, world renowned stare gazing,

and a hole bunch more outdoor action stuff. We hit the town ready to

roll. We just want a hostal to drop our large packs and hit up the

geyser tour. Wait, Chillian pesos are worth a lot more then Peruvain

soles. Not good. We learn that it is a super super touresty town and

it is a Chillian holiday weekend. Hostals cost upwards of $100 US,

geyser tours are full and food costs $5-10 US. We decide these prices are not worth it and decide to head to Argentina - a hard choice but being who we are, we both thought it was for the better. After making this decision, we

find out buses are $100 America and only run 3 days a week (the next one is not for another 2 days and both companies have the exact same schedule---so dumb) Anyway Jill and I come up with plan B. (Mrs. Heck this part is not for your eyes) We decide

to hitchhike. We start asking all the cars lined up at customs for a

ride. We are getting shot down pretty fast. Finally, with diminishing hope

and our luck takes a change for the better. We

ask a gentleman on a laptop sitting alone in his car. He said we can join him and

that he would enjoy the company. All right our luck is changing for the

better. NOOOO..... He said that he would take us but the road is closed.

Snow. The dryest desert in the world happens to get snow the night

before and the mountain road to Argentina is closed. They don´t know when

it will open. Without even on word of news from the clean up crew we sit at

the border for 2 days waiting for it it open. What a waste of time.

Really we should of been getting frustrated but the break was nice

and we were able to talk with Sergio who I would like to tell you about. Sergio, the man who said we

could ride with, happens to be one of the nicest people I think I have ever met.

He was nice but not that weird over bearing nice. A normal guy with a

son traveling in Europe and he just hoped that if his son was in our

position someone nice would help him. We really enjoyed sharing stories with him and he helped us out so much. He drove us around to find

hostals the first night, split one with us the second night, bought us food, and when the road

finally opened the third day he drove us to the town we wanted to get

to in Argentina. He wouldn´t let us pay for much at all and just kept telling us that he is greatful that we volunteered our time and just hopes that when we get older we would pass it on as well. Traveling is such an experience and meeting people

like him make it all worth the experience. He was the nicest person

and best of all when we get to his home town in Argentina he invited us to come to a BBQ so we can meet his family. He hopes that we can become friends with his kids (who he proudly showed us pictures of) and they can practice English with us. It is now a must on our travels through this new vast country.

So now we are in Argentina. We spent last night in Pummamarca. It has

¨the hill of seven colors¨. It was crazy landscape -the driest mountain is 7

distinct different colors. Jill and I hiked through it this morning and

then took a midday bus to Tilcara. Here, we hiked up a catcus filled, crazy color

canyon to see two water falls. Then we hiked down to some old Inca ruins.

Thats it for now. Our travels contain so many details, but I dont want to bore you and I would be happy to catch up with over a beer with I get home.

Good bye everyone and thanks for the comments. They are appreciated.