wanderlust: faces and places along the way

[apparentlyahippie-blog]

Just when I think I have learned the way to live, life changes.

Hugh Prather

[apparentlyahippie-blog]

Brasil's got it all.... beautiful beaches, beautiful cities, beautiful landscapes, and beautiful people.  Although crime rules the streets of Rio, and the gap between rich and poor is evident just by looking up the mountainsides in any city you land yourself in, Brasilians are easily some of the nicest, happiest, and welcoming people I've ever met.  

[apparentlyahippie-blog]

while on the subject of picking up white girls...

Me: whats the difference between hitting on a white girl, and hitting on a Spanish girl?

My Colombian friend, T: a lotttttttt

Me: please do explain...

T: How is it different? One, the places to go clubbing. I like Spanish music only lol i don't like American bars that much. Second, I just don't know how to hit on them, like flirting

Me: but thats not explaining how hitting on a spanish girl is different than hitting on a white girl

T: Ok I mean myself, I don't know how to hit on them...its more difficult to do it. Maybe for other Spanish guys is easy to hit on white girls not for me lol

Me: thats insane! Spanish guys find no problem hitting on me, and i'm white...are you saying you couldn't hit on me?

T: Mmmmmm u don't count as white lol youre more spanish then most of the Spanish girls I know

Thanks for the clarification T....really, what would I do without you!

[apparentlyahippie-blog]

A hidden cafe in La Paz, Bolivia

[apparentlyahippie-blog]

Victor, the alpha male of "Earth" at CIWY Parque Machia.

http://www.intiwarayassi.org/articles/volunteer_animal_refuge/donate_eng.html

[elizabethmillie]

[elisabetheaves]

On the other hand, there’s this.

[apparentlyahippie-blog]

Love

[apparentlyahippie-blog]

Meet Nedita, a Capuchin baby born to two rescues, and now Quarantine "Earth" monkeys, at Inti Wara Yassi-Parque Machia.  As sweet as can be, but a bit skeptical of humans, a little food, and of course some playtime, is all it takes for her inner model to break out, and she lights up in front of the camera. 

The past 2 weeks at Parque Machia working with Capuchins have been one of the most incredibly rewarding, and surprisingly difficult weeks of my life.  Volunteers come from all over the world for anywhere from 2 weeks to a few years to help these animals have a second chance at life.  Hearing their stories of being dropped off at the park when people no longer wanted them as pets, being stolen as babies after hunters killed their mother, or kept as circus animals where they were beaten and nearly starved to death, gives you the strength to power through the 12 hour days (often in torrential downpours), and keeps hundreds of volunteers coming back year after year. 

Click on the link below to see how you can help...donations, volunteering, and simply sharing their story with friends, helps give these beautiful animals a better life.

http://www.intiwarayassi.org/articles/volunteer_animal_refuge/home.html

MORE MONKEYS TO COME!

[apparentlyahippie-blog]

Fun fact of the day: Argentina is home to one of the two kosher McDonalds in the world outside of Israel....and it's in a mall!

[apparentlyahippie-blog]

I absolutely loved Buenos Aires! My way-to-short 5 day stay went a little like this... beautiful rooftop terrace in a crappy hostel, free city walking tour, got stuck in a few protests, walked through the super posh area Recoleta and went "Lion Hunting" (which is the incognito way to say you spotted someone with massive amounts of plastic surgery...which by the way is free every 2 years in Argentina!! No wonder they're all so beautiful)...saw a bat dying on Avenida de Mayo, went to Colonia (Uruguay) for the day on a ferry, switched hostels, met an incredibly intelligent Spaniard, a punk Dane with her Uruguayo quasi-mother, a gay Brasilian from Bahia, and a Colombian who lives in Argentina and somehow speaks Portuguese...went to a gay club with them, got foamed on (that sounds wrong), wandered around the San Telmo flea market, and watched couples of all ages, nationalities, and skill levels dance tango in a square under a string of brightly colored lights. Volveré Buenos Aires...vovleré!

[apparentlyahippie-blog]

And so I'm off! Staying up all night until my 7:15am flight wasn't the best idea I've ever had, but oh well, I can catch up on some zzz's on one of the 24hr bus rides I have coming my way in the next few weeks! What's next on my list of adventures? Buenos Aires, Argentina Iguazu Falls, Argentina & Brasil Rio, Brasil Buzios, Brasil Santa Cruz, Bolivia Inti Wara Yassi Refugio, Bolivia La Paz, Bolivia Copacabana (Lake Titicaca), Bolivia Cuzco, Peru MACHU PICCHU!!! (with my queen mother, yayyy) Lima, Peru ...and from there making my way down the coast of Peru and the north of Chile until I eventually reach Santiago again... Xx P.S. and in case you are wondering, the above photo is .5 of an adorable gay couples feet, the non-Anderson Cooper look alike, sitting across from me..I totally expect better from him than a pair of Crocs!

[apparentlyahippie-blog]

What you've done becomes the judge of what you're going to do - especially in other peoples minds. When you're traveling, you are what you are right there and then. People don't have you're past to hold against you. No yesterday's on the road.

William Least Heat Moon

[apparentlyahippie-blog]

This is a sandwich.....no joke!

[apparentlyahippie-blog]

The Tinman of Chonchi, Chiloé

[apparentlyahippie-blog]

Somewhere along the unpaved rock roads between Chile and Argentina, a hundred grey, black and brown arms reach up towards the sky from a single, enormous body that dangerously engulfs the majority of the small path chiseled away from mountainside...the lush, and notably, small leaves devour the sun, letting only a few rays peek through.

A tree, an ordinary subject found anywhere in the world, was the most beautiful thing I've seen in the past 4 months in South America. It embodied peace and natural beauty. It was a photographers dream.

Too bad the car I was driving in didn't want to stop, because "why would you want to photograph a tree?"

...feeling uninspired

[elisabetheaves]

From Adam Ross’ novel “Mr. Peanut:”

Men dream of starting over. Not even necessarily with another woman. They dream of a clean slate, of disappearing, of walking off a plane on a layover and making a new life for themselves in a strange city—Grand Rapids, say, or Nashville. They dream of an...

[apparentlyahippie-blog]

agreed... 

[apparentlyahippie-blog]

Her owners clearly had a sense of humor ...

Meet Linda, the nasty (naturally) pink dog.

[apparentlyahippie-blog]

And he thought everyone on the flight was just super friendly...