South America – twoOregonians

Bolivia, Destinations, Musings, Photography, South America

Travels Through The Middle of Nowhere

February 25, 2012

Sometimes, I don’t do my research.

I sign us up for random 4×4 tours through the middle of nowhere South America and, aside from the Salt Flats, haven’t the foggiest idea of what we’re about to see through the car window…

Sometimes, the surprise is worth the negligence.

Day two of our three-day-expedition meant little to me when I saw the route on the tiny 4×6 map we were given at the outset: tiny mountain symbols, a few “Lagunas,” dashed lines, and some lingering memories of beautiful flamingo snapshots from a fellow blogger.

Sometimes, as we travel, time is spent on today. The people, the places, the tasks at hand.

Sometimes, we trust that at a certain point, neglecting the planning and research means that tomorrow really will take care of itself.

How jaw-dropping to encounter plants and wildlife, mountain scenes and colored lakes, high country snow (the first snow of our Brazilian companions’ lives!), and approach each new bend in the road with wide eyed anticipation and wonder.

Sometimes, we have no idea what to expect. And that’s when travel comes alive.

Enjoy the peek at beautiful, wild, surprising altiplano of Southern Bolivia…

Bolivia, Destinations, Photography, South America

Salar de Uyuni: Please Pass the Salt {and the Chocolate, too}

February 23, 2012

Island Vacation? No, not a golden beach on tropical shores: a vast, evaporated lake of salt sitting 11,995 feet high in the land-locked country of Bolivia. The 4,000 square mile Salar de Uyuni (Uyuni Salt Flat) is roughly the size of Oregon’s entire Willamette Valley floor.

A visit to this natural phenomenon was part of our transportation scheme as we maneuvered overland through southern Bolivia and on into Chile. Continue Reading…

Bolivia, Destinations, Photography, South America

Cementerio de Trenes: Where Transportation Hopes Come to Die

February 22, 2012

Hello, hello, friends! This is the beginning of a rapid-fire blog journey following our tire tracks south from La Paz, Bolivia by overnight bus to Uyuni and then onward via 4×4 through cemeteries, salt flats, volcanoes and lakes, through lands of geysers and hot springs and high elevation passes, and finally past the Chilean border and into the Atacama desert. Enjoy the ride!

He stopped the vehicle and welcomed us to the Cemetery of Trains. An auspicious beginning. Continue Reading…

Destinations, Musings, Patagonia, Photography, South America

Patagonia Preview: Thanks to the Princess Bride

February 4, 2012

“Roberts had grown so rich, he wanted to retire. He took me to his cabin and he told me his secret. ‘I am not the Dread Pirate Roberts’ he said. ‘My name is Ryan; I inherited the ship from the previous Dread Pirate Roberts, just as you will inherit it from me. The man I inherited it from is not the real Dread Pirate Roberts either. His name was Cummerbund. The real Roberts has been retired 15 years and living like a king in Patagonia.’”

I’m only slightly embarrassed to admit that my fascination with this crazy region at the ends of the earth began with a little line from the Princess Bride. Little did I know the first time I watched it (while home sick from summer camp), that all these years later, I’d be flying to the tip of South America to explore a place that’s captivated my imagination for so long.

Since we flew down to Punta Arenas on my birthday, Ted gave me the window seat (aww….), and I spent blissful hours watching the world of volcanoes, lakes, glaciers, and mountains pass beneath our wings. Take a peek, and enjoy the view!

Departing the hot desert of northern Chile…

Active Volcanoes

Beautiful islands on decent into Puerto Montt

Snow-capped Beauties

I have a thing for setting the scene with music. It’s a good soundtrack, I promise…

Enormous Glaciers!

The tip of the world, across the Straight of Magellan from Tierra del Fuego.

Yes, I’m officially geeking out. Best. Birthday. Ever.

Tomorrow, Ted and I leave bright and early to begin a five day, four night adventure on the “W” Track in Torres del Paine National Park. Gratefully, the area has re-opened to trekkers after the enormous forest fire that began on December 27th consumed more than 50,000 acres in the south and eastern portions of the park.

While we’re away from the computer this week, I’ll leave you with a few tidbits and pre-scheduled posts. Can’t wait to share the photos and stories that this coming week is bound to supply!

Destinations, Landscape Architecture, Musings, Peru, Photography, South America

Climbing Huayna Picchu & Constructing Life in the Scheme of Things

February 1, 2012

We arrived at Machu Picchu via Inca Trail, explored the ruins on foot, then returned for a second day to climb Huayna Picchu and examine the site from an alternate perspective. Like many humbling places on the planet, the entire setting cannot be justly captured on film or photo; the three dimensional relationships are too difficult to represent in 2D. After visiting the ancient site in person, I’m still truly in awe. The following are images and thoughts from day two…(and then I’ll get off my Machu Picchu kick, I promise!)

Yes, we watched documentaries, read books, flipped through photographers’ collections, and fantasized about wandering the ancient terraces in person, but nothing truly prepared us to see Machu Picchu in the flesh (or in the stone and land, as it were).

After trekking for days and viewing other once-alive-and-now-as-shadow shelters and outposts along the way, I wondered: What makes this ancient site beat with energy all these centuries later?

As a landscape architect, I am called to consider relationships between natural systems, material elements, and humans who dwell in artfully crafted spaces.

While the layout and planning and masonry walls and terraces are masterfully executed, the deeply responsive situation within the natural setting elevates the ruins from impressive to profound.

Imagine: without Huayna Picchu looming in the background, would the world so quickly recognize the iconic image of the ancient city?

It is not simply the marvel of the stones, it is the glorious context of the design that makes Machu Picchu shine. Continue Reading…

Destinations, Landscape Architecture, Musings, Peru, Photography, South America

Rainy Season Flora of the Inca Trail

January 30, 2012

Do you know the secret of western Oregon’s beauty? The rain.

We natives either love to hate it or love to brag about our webbed feet, but more than that, we love to enjoy the sweeping vistas of indigenous green and the rainbow of ornamental plants that grow effortlessly up and down the Willamette Valley.

When Ted and I booked our Inca Trail journey for Peru’s rainy season, we were well-prepared with waterproof pants and jackets. What we weren’t prepared for was the surprise of beautiful wildlife growing lush along the trek. It makes perfect sense, though.

I only wish I’d had enough forethought to geek out and carry a field guide to Peruvian flora.

Instead, I captured photos of favorites for a future self-imposed research assignment.

This collection is dedicated to my design collaborator and fellow Oregonian, Gavin Younie of Outdoor Scenery Design. Enjoy the plants, my friend! I was thinking of you all the way…

Destinations, Musings, Peru, Photography, South America

Reaching Machu Picchu

January 28, 2012

The last scramble along the Inca Trail to reach the Sun Gate fell into the utterly epic category. Up by 3:20am, packed bags, quick breakfast, squished along the bench at the fast-forming passport control line. We waited until the last six kilometers of trail opened at 5:20am, then bolted. It felt nothing short of silly to be so rushed, but the pressure of sunrise and the crowds of loud Argentinians following hot on our heals kept us in rapid forward motion.

The reward?

A spectacular circular rainbow at the top and the first glimpse of long awaited Machu Picchu…

Destinations, Musings, Peru, Photography, South America

The Inca Trail: Footfalls and Photos

January 26, 2012

From initial brainstorm to final ticket purchase, a visit to Peru’s famed Machu Picchu ruins topped Ted’s travel list. It became a non-negotiable.

We spent time researching our options:

Go ultra budget and hitchhike to Ollantaytambo, hoof the railroad tracks to Aguas Calientes, tromp the switchbacked road to the top of the mountains, eek out a few Soles for entry tickets, and smuggle G.O.R.P. inside the deep recesses of our backpacks.

Go medium budget and score cheap tickets on the train, pay for the bus to the entry gate, and visit Machu Picchu for the day.

Go money and sweat equity and sign up for three nights and four days of camping and trekking along the 48 kilometer Inca Trail to eventually arrive on the final morning overlooking the ancient ruins at sunrise, then augment the experience by purchasing second day entry tickets with passes to climb Hyuana Picchu for mountaintop perspective.

Go full bananas and helicopter in from the Sacred Valley, perching at the $1200/night hotel just outside the park entry.

I’ll bet you can guess which we *didn’t* choose to do.

The call of the trail pulled us in…

Older Posts

Newer Posts