Easter Island

So here's the beginning of my Christmas expedition recap.

Before we left for our flight to Easter Island, we had our last asado of the semester at the casa, and waived off the kids going back to the states. Shortly after, Mark and I headed out to the airport. We flew to Santiago and the descent down was amazing as the sun was setting on the western horizon and threw a rainbow of oranges, reds, and yellows upon the faces of the mountains that encircled the beautiful city of Santiago. We spent that night in the hotel in some random, obscure, abandoned corner of the airport.

The next morning we woke up for our flight to Easter Island. As i was waiting in the check-in line i got some tingles up my spine as the reality of it all sank in. I couldn't believe that i was about to be on THE Easter Island that i had read about in history books, seen on TV, and had dreamt of going to for so long.  The flight there was super comfortable, had good food, and had tons of good movies. I watched the Motorcycle Diaries- a documentaryish movie about the early years of Che Guevara. We landed to tropically dressed woman putting flower necklaces on us and a band playing some kind of hula music, pretty cool welcome party if you ask me. We found a campground to stay at, set up camp, and then set out to explore the city. On the way into town, we passed some Moai, nbd. We played some frisbee at the foot of the Moai, checked out the musuem, checked out the city streets, and got some food at a grocery store. That night we walked along the rocky coast, sat on a hill and watched the huge waves crash against the rocky shore. The resulting towers of splashing water were easily 4 stories tall, so so cool. When we went to bed there wasn't a cloud in the sky so we figured there was no chance for rain. Big mistake. We woke up to being poured on and had to get out and set our rain tarp up. Getting up outa bed is hard enough but when you're wet, cold and, dirty it sucks. All things considered (wet sleeping bag, wet pillow, dirty feet) i slept pretty well afterwards.

The next morning we got up, went into town and rented a scooter and some scuba gear and headed on over to the other side of the island. Zooming through the pastures, forests, and open areas of the inner island was pretty surreal. It looking like the rolling hills of green fell straight into the earth and were quickly engulfed by a never ending horizon of water on all sides. When we arrived to the other side we did a bit of exploring, found a campground, saw some moai, saw the main beach of the island, and then headed to where we were told the good snorkeling was. Neither of us had ever done snorkeling before which was made evident as we tried to walk on the beach with our flippers on- not the easiest thing to do. We eventually got the hang of it and began to see a few fish and cool coral formations here and there. Within 5 minutes or so everywhere we looked was covered with schools of fish and colorful coral formations. Blue fish, blue and orange fish, yellow fish, long and skinny fish, and all colors of coral. I had read that the waters of Easter Island were famously clear, but what we saw was amazing! I kid you not, we could see over 100 feet down, clear as day, no exageration. Because of its isolation and location in the ocean currents, Easter Island is one of the most coveted diving locations in the world. I remember coming over underwater mountain ridges/cliffs and feeling a sense of weightlessness like i never had before. In my head, i was flying. As the cliffs dove down to over 100 feet deep, i was still zooming along the cliff faces, chasing fish, and swimming between coral formations. Amazing experience. Good thing we weren't told this beforehand, but apparently where we were diving was the prime time area for sharks to hang out at.

We took the scooter back to the far side of the island the next day and just kicked it at the beach all day. We read, listened to our ipods, napped, swam, watched some locals play rugby, and threw the frisbee. The beach was pretty epic as the Moai sat at the edge of the bay, palm trees provided shade along the sand, and the pristine water quietly lapped up on shore.

For the next morning, we planned to get up for sunrise at the most famous Moai location- Auu Tangriki but we woke up to the sound of pouring rain and decided to go back to sleep. Later that morning we went to one of the two main attractions on the island- it was where the Moai were formed. The Moai were carved out of the side of a inactive volcano and transported to all corners of the island. We got to see the Moai in all stages of construction and got to see some active archaeological work going on. You can't see it on most Moai because of erosion, but initially they all have intricate carvings down all up and down their backs. We climbed along the inside of the crater for a bit and at one point climbed to the top and had a pretty cool view of Ahu Tangriki. Afterwards we took a little off-roading adventure and went to the isolated and kinda dead corner of the island. Years ago a volcano had erupted and killed all life on that part of the island. We parked the scooter at the edge of a fence and proceeded to walk along the cliff sides for what felt like over a mile. With every passing step the cliffs got higher and higher until we were hundreds of feet up, looking nearly straight down into the ocean. Definitely one of the cooler, more unique places I've ever been. (Reminded me of some shots from Sigur Ros' music video to Glossoli.) That night we had our first nice dinner of the trip at a coastal restaurant about a half mile away from the campground. Their was only one other group of people there besides us so it was super chill. We got to sit outside in the perfect weather and watch the sun fall beneath the horizon, pretty romantic. The fish i had was easily the best fish platter i had ever eaten. Our waitress was pretty cute, and due to the lack of people she wasn't too busy so we got to chat her up at bit. Her little cousing also tried to teach us some Rapa Nui (the island's official language).

We were able to get up for the sunrise the next day fortunately, and it was well worth it. Probably one of the more epic sunrises I'll ever see. We hung out and basked in the majestic-ness of it all for quite a while. Then we went back took naps, returned the scooter, got some souvenirs, and hung at the campsite. Mark continued to nap for the afternoon, i went out and boogey-boarded. They were literally the best waves of my life. i could ride them in for 150 yards easy. So much frikin fun. When i was getting out, I saw a HUGE sea turtle- the symbol for Easter Island. Super cool.  Later in the afternoon we went geocahing near the cemetery right along the coast. I know I'm using a lot of superlatives here, but it was truly one of the coolest locations for a cemetery that I have ever seen. After dinner we went to Kari Kari- a dance show, and during the show i got pulled up on stage to dance with the girls. We got back to the campground and hung out around the fire with our Australian friends- Bill and Jess.

The next morning we tried our luck with fishing. Bought some line, some hooks, and some raw chicken.  Let's just say we weren't as lucky as jesus' disciples. The lack of rods, crashing rocks, and poor eyesight didn't make it too easy for us. We had our chances, but couldn't capitalize. After fishing, i wrote all my postcards, had a great hangout sesh with God on the coast. We went on another walk up the coast to the big crashing waves for sunset. That night we played a game of Settlers with a German and Scottish dude. Wish were could have played Risk, then we could have reenacted WWII, jk. The stars were amazing that night- being so isolated and being without much electricity resulted in some of the clearest skies imaginable.

Our big adventure the next day was the other main attraction on the island- Orongo. It was their most sacred sight and the location of many important cultural ceremonies/competitions. Through preservation and restoration, there are still many earthen and rock huts left standing and many carvings on the rocks are still visible. The village is situated precariously on the edge of a crater that falls into a sunken volcano and the other side is cliffs that fall hundreds of feet into the ocean. Later we went down to the marina and tried to do flips and gainers with limited success.

One day we rented mountain bikes and took them to the more isolated and unreachable roads of the island. This part of the island had tons of really cool caves. Some of them i would even classify as caverns, as they stretched on for endless distances (which we were not prepared to explore without a headlamp). During the biking journey, it start raining pretty hard and we got pretty soaked and dirty on the dirt/gravel roads. After showering off, warming up, and Settling, we went to the same coastal restaurant we had visited before. Our creeper Chilean friend tagged along. He forcefully bought us drinks, let us try his lobster, and some of his dessert. He was definitely a friendly guy, just kinda weird...Mark thought he was gay.  We also got to talk to our waitress for quite a while again.

On our last full day, we started packing up a bit, checked in for our flight, and went to go rent a surfboard. Unfortunately the waves were wack and we couldn't surf, so we decided to go get some icecream. Our Chilean friend showed up again and got some ice cream with us. Later we got ready for the Church service and I skyped the family back in Illinois. We went to the Christmas Eve service with the Germans and Scottish dude and then headed back to the party/asado at the campground. There they had tons of meet, amazing sweet potatoes, tons of real tropical fruit juices, and tons of other drinks. We stayed up til 4am talking with all our friends- definitely one of the more unique and memorable Christmases I'll ever have.

The next day we closed camp and walked to the airport, took our flight, landed, Mark took his flight back home, and my solo adventure began.

Back in the B.A.

So i have a tooon to catch up on but i figured i'd better recap our first week back in BA so far. We got back alte on thursday and on friday we had an orientation/family outing day. Took it pretty easy on saturday with unpacking stuff and recovering from 6 straight weeks of travel. On sunday we went to the Belgrano Lakes, rented a little cart and went "offroading" around the lake and surrounding areas. Afterwards we headed to the recoleta fair and recoleta cemetary. That night alycia and i had an interview for a internship with crossfit  at our boss's apartment-bomb dinner. monday i had a physical to get cleared for surgery and we had our first day of intensive spanish. tuesday i met with the anesthesiologist and surgeon and had intensive spanish. we also went to Jobs that night and played giant foosball, card games, and the roadtrip game. wednesday had a lot of preparation for surgery. we also had our fist convo-got my job back, the casa was flooded, and we went to calcio. afterwards we had a great worship sesh. surgery tomorrow

Finals, Goodbyes, and Free Fall

This week has been jam-packed with papers, studying, finalizing travel plans, packing, doing errands, and taking finals. Last night we had our final banquet complete with sushi, diplomas, teacher/staff presents, superlatives, and Kev's video (sooo sick).  Later that night almost everybody in the program went to Kika for one last clubbing experience of the semester and it was a blast. Somehow I got in way before the guys I came with and to top it off, i didn't have to pay...don't know how that happened.

All that craziness is dwarfed by the journey I'm about to embark on. I think im more nervous for this than I was for finals. Its not a bad kind of nervous, just an excited and anticipatory nervousness. Gaaaaah so pumped for this. Movies, books, pictures, and stories that have been accumulated over the years are now reeling through my head like a highlight reel. I'm about to go to places that i thought were merely wild dreams a couple years ago. When i applied to Pepperdine, i knew next to nothing about studying abroad, let alone Argentina. I had read books and seen movies on the adventures to be had on this continent, but as i said before, i thought id always only be a dreamer, not a doer of those things. Now those dreams are being realized.

BA has been great, but the main reason I came down to South America was for this next 6 weeks of crazy travels. I still can't believe the semester went by in the blink of an eye and now I'm approaching the cliff, working up the butterflies, and jumping into a free fall of unknown adventures. God is too good. This isn't real life. Prayers will be appreciated so that I can hopefully continue to be live this life 6 weeks from now.

Here's my rough itinerery (in case you wanted to follow me in your head throughout these next 6 weeks):
dec 15:fly to santiago (with mark travis)
dec 16:fly to easter
spend 9 days on easter island
dec 25:fly back to santiago
immediately start busing up to Cuzco- alone (over 50 hours on connecting buses; i am thankful for my ipod and kindle)
dec 28-31: get to machu picchu through a back door route and then do machu
jan1-4:bus down to lake titicaca and explore what it has in store
jan 5: get to La Paz
jan 5-9:fly into an amazon village and do an amazon adventure
jan 10-12:bus down thru the salt flats of bolivia to get to jujuy,argentina
jan 12:fly back to back
jan 14:fly down to calafate and meet mark and kevin
jan 15-22: roadtrip through torres del paine
jan 22: fly to ushuaia from calafate
jan 22-?: EFT with all of Pepperdine

It'll be funny looking back at this and seeing how it all plays out...no promises. I'll try to update my blog or fb every so often so that people will know that im still alive.

john 10:10

Ice Cream, Dinner, and Clubs

Yesterday we went to the #5 ice cream parlor in the world and it truely was the best scoop of ice cream i've ever had. Later that night we went out to a super bomb restaurant for matt's last night and i got patagonian lamb. Then at 1am we went out to Crobar and got in free because of christina's connection with nacho menendez (usually it'd be 100 pesos!). It was my first club experience and it was a blast! I walked out as the sun was rising.

Last Night

Last night I was at the dinner table for 5 hours. We ate for 2 hours and then most everybody left and got ready for bed, but my padre and I stayed at the table for the next 3 hours (til 2am). It definitely wasn't the most fluid of conversations but we were able to get our points across. It was one of the deeper conversations I've ever had, and to think that it was in Spanish is unbelievable. While everyone else was out at clubs, bars, and who knows where else, I was at my dinner table and there wasn't a place in the world I would have rather been.

Uruguay

So I set this night apart to be productive, but its 12:06AM and i have not done an once of schoolwork so ima make these recap simple. In a lot of ways it was a simple vacation so this recap should be fitting. As with previous travels God showed up big and everything went picture perfect. It was one of the most chill, relaxing, fun weekends I have ever had. Getting out the the urban jungle was great as well.

Tuesday
 went to ferry, met american girls studying abroad in uruguay, chilled on the top deck and watched the BA skyline float by like a blackness light up by a million-jillion little lightning bugs, took a short nap, arrived in Colonia, took a bus to Montevideo, and arrived at 7am- yes we pulled a red-eye.

Wednesday
  waited for the info center to open, took a bus to our hostel, walked around Montevideo and went the the famed fisherman's market that was a converted train depot, ate at a parilla that mark saw featured on the travel channel, walked along the ACH (the equivalent of our PCH), took a much needed nap, watched sunset form the highest point in the city, randomly met another group of Pepperdine kids at our hostel, hung out with them on the balcony of our hostel, climbed the jungle gym of buildings that Montevideo offered (unlike BA, they didn't have security guards EVERYWHERE), and chilled on top of the highest building while overlooking the bay and dazzling display of lights all around

Thursday
  woke up, had breakfast at the hostel, rented a car, roadtripped up the coast to Casa Pueblo -a San Torini-esque array out white buildings built on a cliff on the edge of the ocean, went cliff jumping below Casa Pueblo, continued on to Punta Del Este, went and saw the famed fingers, chilled on the beach while waiting for the other Pepp group to get to their beach apartment, went for a walk on the beach, went out to eat with eaverybody at Pizza Mundo, hungout in the apartment for the night

Friday
  woke up before everybody and read+swam+walked on the beach, left apartment and got groceries, got out at jose ignacio and walked a beach, took a sketch ferry across a delta thing, continued on all the way to Punta Del Diablo, walked around town, cooked dinner, kicked it with the guys at Cero Stress- a cabana restaurant right on the shore, super chill atmosphere, picturesque beach hangout, set up camp in the dunes 100 feet away from the ocean, and fell asleep to the sound of waves and blanket of burning bright stars

Saturday
   woke up early and walked to the lighthouse (we were trying to find a flag to take back with us), packed up camp and went into town, bought a mango for supes cheap, read books and chilled at cero stress, hung out on the beach for a couple hours while watching surfers, got some empanadas made with fresh fish from the cove we were chilling on, hung out under a tiki hut, kicked it with the guys, swam in the lagoon, splurged on a super nice fish dinner (also caught that day in the cove), kicked it at cero stress again, and then set up camp in the dunes again

Sunday
   woke up early, listened to my ipod on the beach, drove down to cabo polonio, took some rad truck/jeep things over some gnarly territory to get the the national park/small town of cabbo polonio (during the ride our dinner and sunscreen fell off the side of the truck and theres nothing we could do about it except watch it fade into the distance), walked through town, had an amazing nature poop on the coast, had lunch on the point, attempted to slap a sea lions butt but almost got killed by the ones hiding in the cracks around it, watched kite surfers, drove back down towards Punta Del Este and stopped at Rex's in La Barra, watched wind surfers, camped in dunes at Atlantilda

Monday
  woke up early and read+swam, returned rental car, cooked lunch in the central plaza, took bus to the bus terminal, caught bus to Colonia, took ferry back to BA and watched the sunset on the top deck, got home around 11:30pm

super. solid. epic. trip.

Montevideo sunset

Casa Pueblo

sketch ferry

Punta Del Diablo fishermen

Cero Stress

thanksgiving

short recap of the week so far: got back on monday from our long weekend in Uruguay (more on that to come in another post), had school all day tuesday and cooked for you thanksgiving feast (made banana-nut-chocolate chip bread because they didn't have pumpkin stuff down here to make pumpkin bread), wednesday was our thanksgiving feast- so so great, just as good or even better than any thanksgiving meal ive ever had and it was even more special because it was all made by us; my banana bread went quickly and was a huge hit! afterwards we veged like any other post-thanksgivng meal, and then had the last worship sesh of the semester. today was our last asado, i don't know how i could eat more after the night before but i did and i ate a lot. tonight i went on a man-date with jeff.