The Dirtbag Diaries

The past few weeks we've spent in the company of glorious mountains, cheerful outdoor folk from all walks of life, frigid glacial lakes and autumn trees that are timidly starting to transform into an explosion of colors. We've covered a lot of ground recently and every day holds its own adventure- even if it consists solely of sitting in the tent and listening to the pattering rain overhead. 

We trekked to the various climbing Refugios near Bariloche where we saw the sunset on incredible granite spires, climbed up (and down, and back up again) ridge after ridge, "hill" after hill and down loose rock fields. We ate countless servings of oatmeal and tried our hand at bringing eggs into the backcountry. We discovered the magic of a homemade Argentinian alfajor after a brutal day of hiking and played cards in the candlelight of the rustic climbing refuge cabins. 

To give our legs a rest we took a 23 hour bus to the south and did some more trekking. Go figure. I woke up to the glorious view of the Fitz Roy skyline as we pulled into El Chalten. The sun was just coming up and the peaks and glaciers were glowing rosy pink. The full moon was just about to set, hanging over the face of Mount Fitz Roy. 

We quickly discovered that the town itself was very limited and settled on the word "skimpy" as the best adjective to describe it.

After we managed to scrounge up a map and seemingly enough food for the coming days, we were off and back into the mountains. We hiked to beautiful glacial lakes and sat atop glacial moraines, staring at the glowing blue masses. For a good bulk of our trip we had some weather and learned  our lesson about rain in Patagonia. The last morning I stepped out of the tent and let out a small shriek as I realized the mountain was showing. Finally! We had been waiting to see it the past two days and the feeling of elation when we finally did was almost overwhelming. 

Every twist and turn in the trail revealed a new view of something incredible and beautiful in its own way. Joe's always waiting for me because a) I'm slower but b) I'm practically spinning in circles with my head in the clouds, just enjoying the show. 

We get back to town and head for the bakery- the lady recognizes us by now because we've become somewhat addicted to her dulce de leche pastries. 

Mountain life is good to us. Undeniably we really enjoy all the delicious foods we cook when we get back to civilization, like the Philly cheese steaks we made last night for dinner, but canned tuna and "listo arroz" (ready rice) will definitely suffice in the meantime. Back on the bus now and headed south. 

Going South

Reclined in my retro-patterned, velvety seat, I sit back and enjoy the show. The sun hits the linear scratches in the window and gives the outside world a slightly purple, faded-polaroid kind of filter. The tourist next to me is sleeping and her head keeps violently swaying from side to side with each turn and curve. Every once in a while she wakes up and closes the corriagated curtains. Does she even know what she's missing out on? Does she have any idea the magnitude of beautify that is hiding behind that hideous mustard colored fabric? Clearly not. She's back asleep now so I shift my view to the left. There's a couple drinking matte and looking outside then occasionally looking at each other as if to make sure the other one is seeing the same thing. 

We are in the Lakes district and have only been in Argentina for several hours now. 

The woman next to me pushes away the curtains and the movie resumes. Paul Simon is singing in my head and my eyes are feasting on the landscape. 

The hills are dry and barren. It must be windy here and as a result, only golden grass covers the dirt mounds; swaying back and forth like oscillating waves. Steep cliffs of red, lunar rock line the edges of the hills. In the distance, tree-less mountains fill the horizon. They are jagged and sharp and have rock spires that jut out straight to the sky, like a seedling growing towards the sun. We pass the occasional forest- a clump of short pine trees- but there is relatively no vegetation. Instead, the bright colors come from the lakes. We have yet to drive more than five minutes and not see one. They are enormous and appear to be very deep. Their dark blue color gives them a crisp contrast to their surroundings. The beaches are like combed lines of eroded white pebbles, lining the edges of blue and highlighting the irregularity of shape.

It's one of the most beautiful and unique landscapes I've ever seen. I think the woman next to me has also just had that realization too. She's trying not to fall asleep. 

A Hidden Gem in the Middle of the Pacific

Easter island, the most remote, habitable island in the world.
"Rapa Nui’s mysterious moai statues stand in silence but speak volumes about the achievements of their creators. The stone blocks, carved into head-and-torso figures, average 13 feet (4 meters) tall and 14 tons. The effort to construct these monuments and move them around the island must have been considerable—but no one knows exactly why the Rapa Nui people undertook such a task. Most scholars suspect that the moai were created to honor ancestors, chiefs, or other important personages, However, no written and little oral history exists on the island, so it’s impossible to be certain." 
-National Geographic 

On the four and a half hour plane ride from mainland Chile to the speck in the Pacific called Rapa Nui, ones mind can't help but wonder what's to come. Joe and I had seen only photos of the giant heads before and I had read some about the islands history, mostly about its society's demise due to environmental reasons, but beyond this we knew nothing more. We knew not about the feelings of awe and confusion we would experience while looking up at the giant statues. We knew not about how they were made and knew nothing about how they were transferred. We knew nothing about the size of the island, the nature of its locals, or what there was to do, and with this lack of pre-conceived notions- we were in the perfect situation to be absolutely blown away.
For our first day on the island, we rented some rusty bikes and hit the road with a map lacking any detail, to say the least. We rode under the Eucalyptus trees, along the countryside road and over the island completely to the other side. We parked our bikes at the entrance to our first Moai, and walked on the white sandy beach towards the brilliant blue water. The heads stood in a line, their backs to the water, all wearing slightly different expressions. One had a Pukao, the stone hat (usually around 8 tons) that's sits atop their heads.  This was only the start to a week of wandering.
From there we continued in a loop along the coast, baking in the harsh sun light. The feeling of awe and curiosity only seemed to amplify as the day went on. At one site, there were fifteen statues standing in a line, enormous in their presence. We kneeled at their base in silence as I shifted focus from face to face, discovering the differences of each individual.
The next site, Rano Raraku, was the stone quarry in the crater of the volcano where the rocks were carved from the ground then transported to the rest of the island. It was fascinating to see the origin of the gigantic creations and somewhat uncomfortable- noticing the dozens of statues still in the rock, left behind almost as abruptly as the culture that died off with them.
We finished our 30-mile bike tour with one last hill and a downhill cruise into town as the sun began to turn orange. Complete with a gourmet seafood meal watching the waves and sunset, we were all smiles and sufficiently tired for a good nights rest.
Throughout our week on the island, we experienced no lack of adventure. One day we hiked to the nearby volcano of Orongo. At the top we were rewarded with a view down into the lush protected environment inside the volcano. we walked to the edge of the rim where the 300ft cliffs dropped down straight to the crashing ocean waves below.
We walked around the short houses with small entrances, several feet of stacked shale rocks. The houses used to hold the indigenous people during their annual bird man festival; a ceremony where the men would paddle across the open water to the nearby islet on a palm trunk and wait for the sea birds to come. The one to collect the first egg of the head was pronounced bird man, or tangata-manu and would have special rights and privileges throughout the year.
One day we took our bikes back out and ended up riding up a dirt road to the top of the tallest volcano on the island. Our tired legs were well worth the 360 view atop and the adrenaline of riding down, alongside the horses and soft grass. Thanks to the detail of our wonderful map, it was inevitably so that we got lost. Check.
The last bike stop for the day was Las Cavernas, the lava tube caves where the Rapa Nui people grew pants, lived, and hid out during times of war. The caverns were huge and seemingly infinite. From one room to another, we wandered around with our flashlights and occasionally stumbled upon a cliff lookout to the sea. We found one hidden lava tube and were forced to crawl on our stomachs to pass. Unknowing what was ahead, we were dumbfounded with the view once we reached the light at the end of the tunnel.
Our last day on the island was spent trying to catch the waves while simultaneously trying not to scrape the bottom, the sharp coral-covered bottom. We paddled through the warm salty water and enjoyed our last hours in the whimsical place we were.
Easter Island by far surpassed any and all expectations I had. It was much more than simply big stone heads and torsos. 

Easter Island

sitting, staring, waiting,
they've been looking at this for ages;
now we kneel in front,
our gazes meet;
only a speckle of sand in their lifetime,
a boulder in ours;
in their hands they hold the key-
knowledge from decades past,
etched in their minds of stone,
cut from the earth with human hands,
with human force;
oh the things they must know

Onto Different Places; Chile

The past week, I've had the good fortune of traveling with my cousins from Denver. Meeting them in the vibrant city of Santiago, Chile, we enjoyed our first days roaming the city and exploring several sites. 

We drove down south to the small town of Caracautín where we visited the nearby Conguillio National Park. Our first experience with the Chilean outdoors was a success and we filled an entire day with 

hiking through a Jurassic landscape- with foreign trees, bright lakes, black stones and conical volcanoes rising up on all three sides of us. We wandered through a seemingly enchanted forest and were enamored by the orange flowers, illuminated from behind their veins were glowing gold on the forest floor. Our experience in nature was beautiful and unlike any landscape than we'd ever seen.

The next day we hit the road again and by noon we found ourselves in the heart of Chilean wine country: the Colchagua Valley. Coincidentally, our timing was impeccable and our first day there was the beginning of Fesival Vendimia, their annual harvest festival. We spent our time touring gorgeous vineyards, wineries, tasting an assortment of wine then going to the festival and trying even more. I learned all about the process of wine making and different varieties of wine. The festival was set up like a farmers market- artisan crafts, wine, and cheese stands. We sat in the grassy park of Santa Cruz and sipped on a Malbec, comparing its taste to the previous carmeneré we tried and taking a delicious bite of goat cheese in between. 

We had a really neat time together during our Chilean visit and as we liked to put it, we feasted on "a plate of Chilean appetizers" -trying a variety of different things. 

#HATCHLatAm16

"There were three and a half days in the Panamanian jungle. Students with astronauts, Emmy award winners, journalists, inventors, musicians and entrepreneurs gathered. The event served as a trigger to break down the walls that limit access to information and ideas.

Questions, answers, smiles, tears, sweat and company shared the audience at the Institute Kalu Yala, located in the community of Tres Brazos in La Mesa Pacora."

                     -Anaximena Esquivel (La Prensa)

I am so honored to have had the opportunity to participate in HATCH- by far one of the most transformative experiences of my life. I spent a week in Panama, surrounded by the most inspiring people and brilliant minds.

Yarrow Kraner, the founder, developed HATCH with the idea to bring people together to help reach a common goal and this mission is very apparent upon arriving- everyone is there to help each other and to work together rather than compete. 

HATCH took place at Kalu Yala, an institute started by Jimmy Stice, in the Panamanian jungle. The mission is to build the world's most sustainable town. The students there are divided between the various programs and hard at work designing, researching and developing things for the future town. 

Riding in the back of a pickup on the way there, it quickly became obvious that where we were going was a very unique place. Once we arrived the interns and staff greeted us with the warmest smiles and directed us to our rooms- about one hundred different tents in a big open field. We dropped our things and fled to the river, "the rio" as the students call it, to cool down. 

That evening we ate a deliciously gourmet meal freshly cooked by the farm to table program in the glowing light of solar-powered lanterns. It was a great way to start the week to come, and truly only the tip of the iceberg. 

The next day was the beginning, and all the HATCHers fled in from all different parts of North and South America. The Kalu Yala institute was instantaneously filled with diverse, interesting, accomplished and incredibly intelligent people. Conversations during every meal were often a combination of mind-blowing and inspiring. I would be sitting under the night sky with an astrophysicist to my left, and artist to my right, a marketing expert next to me and an engineer across from me, discussing an array of topics. 

In the mornings there were workshops like farm tours and yoga sessions where we focused on the synchronization of breath. After breakfast, we sat in the amphitheater and listened to presenters speak about their passions, their experiences, their successes and their stories. Throughout the days we participated in several group workshops; one of which was setting our intention for the event, our "ask" in other words. This challenged me to think about what it was that I needed help with or guidance with and forced me to be straightforward and to just ask. I feel like we are so often taught to be independent and self-sufficient that we are frequently discouraged to admit when we need help. This exercise broke down that barrier and made us form our wishes into plain and simple terms.

Another exercise we participated in was identifying our inner superheroes. We determined our names and our super powers and in smaller groups, we talked about ourselves in third person from the perspective of our superhero. This was a really eye opening way to think about our lives and it really helped put things into perspective. We would sit in an intimate group of unfamiliar faces and speak about ourselves and the struggles or successes we are currently facing. When we finished speaking, the members in our group would ask questions like how we, the superhero, can help our human or how we can use our powers. In text this may seem like a childish or even cheesy exercise but in reality it was very powerful.

After reconvening and listening to intriguing talks about the environment and how our world is changing, the HATCHers divided into three groups- sustainability, creativity and entrepreneurship. We then pinpointed certain issues and would brainstorm solutions. We all made a commitment to follow through and take action even after the event finished. With the array of people in our groups, there was no lack of knowledge nor experience and everyone brought something unique and valuable to the table. The sustainability group discussed ways to use art to communicate climate change and we brainstormed various ways to incentivize reducing the use of single use plastics. We also talked about the very obvious effects climate change is having on local people in rural areas of developing countries- such as entire islands getting wiped out due to rising ocean waters- and pondered how we could spread awareness about the changing climate.

When our minds were filled to the brim with ideas and thoughts, we would break for an incredible meal, like ceviche in cantaloupe. We would meet new people every night at dinner and with full stomachs, listen to more speeches and eventually live music by various artists from various different backgrounds. Tired and worn out from the day, we wandered back to our tent village and drifted to sleep, excited to see what the next day would hold. 

After three days of living off the grid in the peaceful jungle, we loaded into cattle cars and returned to civilization. We were brought to a modern and luxurious hotel in Panama City- a stark contrast to the conditions we had just come from. Our closing ceremony consisted of 125 people on a boat during sunset in the Panama Canal, smiling and laughing as we attempted to dance in the swaying waves.

I am so grateful for this experience and really looking forward to see the things that will come out of it. I am inspired and motivated to do good.  #becauseofHATCH

To read more about...

• HATCH: https://hatchexperience.org/hatch-latin-america-set-to-launch-feb-17-21-kalu-yala-panama/

•Kalu Yala: http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/8628176

•The people who attended: https://hatchexperience.org/hatch-panama-2016-attendees/

•En Español: http://m.prensa.com/impresa/economia/Superheroes-citan-Panama_0_4425307446.html