Eco Yoga Park - near Lujan

This post is brought to you from a hammock underneath a pear tree at http://www.ecoyogapark.com/ … it’s a tough life!

After all the heavy celebrating in Buenos Aires, we came here for full on relaxation and clean living.  It is park run by Hare Krishnas with the aim to be fully sustainable through their vegetable garden.  In keeping with their faith it is vegan and they prohibit all bad stuff like alcohol and cigarettes and those well known aphrodisiacs such as onion and garlic! 

(Shirley)Temple



Home for the week



You notice the peace and tranquillity as soon as you arrive; you can hear the wind in the bamboo, birds calling and it all looks out over huge open fields.   The vegetable garden is a treasure chest, rows and rows of tasty vegetables like aubergines, beetroot, sweet corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers … It really is amazing.  

 The days here live up to the relaxation that was promised!  By 6am we’re in the garden weeding, watering or harvesting vegetables for the meals throughout the day.  At 8am the breakfast bell rings and we eat fruits, fresh bread and oats.  And then it’s back to work for another couple of hours.   At the moment it is the height of summer, so by 10.30am the heat is unbearable and it’s difficult to do anything more outside, so after that the day is ours to do as we choose!

Sunrise in the garden

There is meditation in the morning or just lying in hammocks and catching up on reading.  Lunch is at 1.30pm followed by more chilling out.  The next event is music therapy at 4pm and then yoga at 4.30pm.  I had a real reality check sitting in the beautiful temple on the cool concrete listening to the monks and mothers singing Hare Krishna.  In all the thoughts I’ve had about this trip I did not think I’d be experiencing something as authentic as this.  And it reminds me that having an open mind and a desire to experience the weird and wonderful can take you to some pretty amazing places.

Afterwards we are fed again – amazing little, fruity snacks and tea and then more free time.  Sometimes there are talks by the spiritual leader who explains the faith and beliefs of Hare Krishnas and sometimes films to provoke thought on why we’re here and how to make the world a better place.  As far fetched as it all sounds it’s difficult not to be just a little bit inspired by people who practise love and happiness.

And then the final meal of the day – dinner.  For those of you counting, yes, that is 4 meals!  You can understand why I love it so much here!  The food is so good, I wasn’t sure what I was expecting from vegan food, but every meal is so fresh and tasty.  They bake their own bread in a wood burning oven and everything else pretty much all comes straight from the garden.  I’m so impressed how each meal is so creative and different to the last – we’ve even had pizza!  And if you’re still hungry after 4 meals, there’s always the peach tree to go to for a snack! With food like this, I really don’t miss meat or dairy. 

Watch out Dominoes - Vegan pizza from a wood fired oven is a taste sensation!

I felt healthy just looking at the food!


There have been a couple of things which have been hard to handle … the lack of coffee and the heat.  Instead of tea and coffee we are served lovely fresh herbal teas, but the lack of caffeine did leave me with the classic withdrawal headache for a couple of days – who knew I was such an addict!  And then the heat!  It has hit 41 degrees since we’ve been here, a couple of days of not being able to cool down anywhere has been pretty tough to handle because your only option is to sweat it out and wait for the sun to go down.  But those are the only things!  The lack of alcohol or nightlife hasn’t bothered me at all!

It really is a dreamy place where you are granted full permission to relax.  It’s easy to get caught up in urgency to see every single thing while you’re travelling and not just enjoy the moment of having very little concern and the ability to do whatever makes you the happiest in that moment.  It’s hard to shake off the work state of mind of trying to be efficient and effective with every minute of the day.  Being here gives you the permission to just be. 

There isn’t anything else to do apart from relax and take your time, the hardest decision is which hammock to choose … under the pear tree or the fig tree?!  You can literally feel the batteries being recharged.

After a week of being at the yoga park I felt completely replenished and fully prepared for the next part of the journey –the Lake District and Patagonia.  Bring on the trekking and outdoor pursuits!

I Love Buenos Aires

I don’t know why I am so in love with Buenos Aires.  It really did take me by surprise.  Was it the stark contrast of being in a Western city again after having spent a month in the underdeveloped (to put it mildly) Pisco?  Or was it because it took 77 hours on a bus to arrive there?  I am not sure, but as soon as arrived I was drawn to it, there is excitement in the air and a constant sense of anticipation for fun.  It’s infectious.

I stayed in BA for a month and took the opportunity to go to Spanish school. I picked Ibero after hearing some good reviews, them being able to take me at short notice and it was cheap!  It’s true what they say about S.America, having a basic grasp of the language is hugely helpful.  You are able to talk with locals, it’s much easier to navigate the continent and also you don’t feel completely ignorant just trying to complete basic tasks.  A friendly smile goes a long way, but I’m beginning to look like I’ve taken a month’s supply of Prozac.

Pisco Sin Fronteras

I went to Pisco Sin Fronteras just a couple of weeks into my trip to volunteer with the organisation. I’ve wanted volunteering to be a part of my trip for a few reasons. Firstly, I don’t just want to have the standard Lonely Planet tour whereby I mindlessly follow the tick list of a book and feel bound by their recommendations and timelines. I have my own values, like and dislikes and want those to drive the contents of this trip. Secondly, I think that volunteering with different types of organisations will really help me to get a deeper understanding of the countries that I visit and give me an opportunity to better know the people, rather than just spending time with travellers in different hostels having the same conversations about where they’re from, where they’ve been and where they’re going.

Check out Pisco Sin Frontera’s creds here http://www.piscosinfronteras.org/. Briefly, the organisation is committed to supporting the town of Pisco in it's fight to rebuild itself after at 8.0 earthquake in 2007. There isn't any government support and PSF are the only organisation who remain and continue to help where they can. I don't think I can express sufficiently the value of this organisation nor how impressive it's achievements. It is run by volunteers, most of whom are travelling themselves and have come to PSF and been inspired and stayed to help as much as they can. The impact that this transient group has is incredible; they have amazing ideas which they put into action quickly. Each volunteer works hard and gives their most to the organisation and the people of Pisco. 

At the time that I was there they had run out of money to fully fund projects and so were only able to offer the labour of volunteers, but no materials. I saw a number of volunteers raise the money themselves to get projects running. Within a week one volunteer raised £500 from back home and they quickly started building a new modular house for a family (see an example http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AbpQ6Byn4Q) It really was inspiring to see how this group was making a real impact quickly. I have worked for large companies with all the resources they could want and they don’t get things off the ground so quickly. Remove bureaucracy and office politics and in its place put a group of people who want to make a difference and really great things happen.

A modular home in Pisco

Being part of PSF was a humbling experience, the people there are so grateful for your help. You are recognised as a volunteer walking round the market and people wave to you and are happy to see you. One afternoon I met Delia (see her story http://vimeo.com/23397356) and before we had even been introduced she had hugged and kissed me ... despite me being covered in plaster dust and god only knows what else ... just because I was part of PSF. It was moments like these which continued to highlight to me how important PSF is to this community.

A classic street in Pisco -
hard to believe the earthquake was 4 years ago and not 4 months ago.

First job of the day ... start the truck.

The new hospital wing in progress.

I stayed in Pisco for a month and mostly worked on a construction project to add a new wing to a hospital.I sanded, I plastered, I painted, I laid concrete … it was physical work for 5 and a half days a week.Days started at 8.15am after breakfast when we’d have a morning meeting to discuss projects and allocate volunteers and then we’d be off in crazy taxis to our site. We would work a full day and return to the house tired and very dirty. Despite all this hard work, it was still great fun to turn your hand to something completely different to your normal 9-5 and to work with a team who just want to get stuck in.

PSF accommodation was far from luxurious, but that’s to be expected from an organisation which can house up to 90 volunteers in a small space. Alongside working all day everyone is on a cleaning and cooking rota. PSF is seriously productive!! But also Pisco is a very poor area and some of the basics can’t be guaranteed …running water and sewage for example! So, not only were we all working very full weeks we were also trying to avoid contracting typhoid and parasites (on this occasion I'm not being over dramatic!)


The PSF nerve centre! 
This yard contained the tool shed, the kitchen, the eating area, the bio diesel shed,
the office and the eating area ...  everything you need for this organisation to work miracles.



And equally important the PSF dog - Gringo!

Now this isn't meant to be a post about what a self less, do gooder I am (I am not, they are still at PSF devoted to making a difference and I have the deepest of respect for them) and I had anticipated to be writing a light hearted blog ... so for some lighter entertainment the next bits are all about humiliating myself ...

You can’t be somewhere like PSF and not have stories to tell afterwards... So, there was the day that I burned my hands chopping chillies… yes, chopping chillies… and burned as in I thought my hands were going to blister the pain was so intense! It was our turn to cook dinner and for a group of 60 people and only one small kitchen you want simple dishes, like curry for example. We knew it would be tricky to get all the spices from the local market but we thought that as long as we had chilli peppers we’d be heading in the right direction. We came back with about 40 chillies and I set to work… 10 in I could feel the tingle… 15 in and I was scrubbing my hands for dear life! Before long everyone knew and the Peruvians were killing themselves laughing at the crazy gringa who was chopping chillies that normally they wouldn’t even eat because of the heat of them. And every one of them had a remedy! Scrubbing with salt, soaking in yogurt, soaking in milk, rubbing with toothpaste … and jockstrap itch spray! I don’t even want to know why the last one gave the best relief! For the next 6 hours and while everyone else continued to cook curry (only using half of the number of chillies we initial planned!) I rotated remedies trying to get the chilli oil out of my hands. By about 6.30pm I was able to cope without my hands being submerged in dairy products. But the struggle against the loss of dignity took longer to get rid of!

My next episode of drawing attention to myself was more dramatic again … On my final day working at the hospital I was trying to take lots of pictures for posterity ( and to bulk up my blog ;) ) and decided that the best picture to capture all the hard work should be of a group of us on top of the roof of the new hospital wing (where else?!) The very mention of the word roof should have been enough for me to realise this was not one of my brightest ideas! I’m sure you’ve guessed what’s next and yes it involves me and a very undignified/dangerous dismount from said roof! Once our posing was done, it was time to finish clearing away and head home. I said I would get down first (using the broken ladder which had already fallen over several times and concussed one person … like I said not one of my better decisions!) Being the health and safety conscious person that I am, someone was in place holding the ladder. As I made my dismount, showing to everyone how safe this was, the ladder began to give way and before I knew it, it had gone entirely and I was left hanging! Actually hanging with legs spinning like crazy in hope of the ladder magically reappearing! My carefully placed ladder holder … despite not holding the ladder! … was still there and had to help/ carry/ lift me off the roof! It was all a bit shocking… and most of all embarrassing! Apparently there are still patches of blood remaining on the roof where I left parts of my skin in an attempt to hold on … nice.

 Extreme posing - pre dramatic dismount! 

It was an amazing month and I was sad to leave … although I was a little bit relieved … not being there means I can avoid more humiliation and the risk of contracting typhoid! Seriously, being at PSF allowed me those important moments in life where you not only reflect on how fortunate you are but more importantly, how as an individual you can have a positive impact on other people's lives. I am so pleased to have been a part of PSF and to have met such a passionate group of people dedicated to making the lives of people struggling in Pisco better.

If you've read this and feel compelled to help, please go here: http://www.piscosinfronteras.org/donate.html. As I write this, I have found out that PSF has been burgled and all of the power tools have been stolen, without these the modular houses and other construction projects cannot continue and those in desperate need of accommodation more permanent than the tents that they've been living in since 2007 will not be helped.

Climbing a Canyon!

I like to be thorough, so before I launch into how much fun I’m having on a day to day basis, I feel the need to do a quick catch up on what I’ve been up to so far!  I thought I’d be able to be brief, but I hadn’t realised how much I’d actually done and how much I had to write about… feel free to skip to the pics and get jealous!

My trip started at the end of October when I arrived in Lima, Peru.  I had a week before I was due to arrive in Pisco to start volunteering with Pisco Sin Fronteras.  In that week I needed to get over jet lag and the previous 12 weeks of working a notice period, of packing up my life, saying my farewells and packing everything I might need for the trip into a rucksack .  So what better way than to get stuck into some outdoor activities?!

Lima, is a nice city, but it didn’t really feel like the pictures I had in my mind of South America.  It has some lovely areas like Miraflores and Baranco but it is a bit like a lot of other cities and I have come to South America for exploration and adventure!  And Arequipa fitted the bill!

As soon as I stepped off the plane  I felt like my trip had begun.  The scenery was breath taking.  Huge mountains sitting against the sunset … no kidding, it was that picturesque.  As we took a taxi to our hostel I couldn’t believe that I had finally arrived in South America and my trip was beginning.


We had chosen Arequipa because of it’s proximity to Colca Canyon and we had read and heard some amazing stories about the trek.  It had everything;  spectacular scenery, wildlife, an oasis and a few bits of challenging walking to blow away the cobwebs!  What surprised me though was how nice Arequipa was and how much I liked it.  It is a small colonial town mostly built from white stone, add to that the setting of the amazing mountains in the distance and it really is impressive.  It is also the perfect size with not too much to do which was perfect as it meant that I could settle into the travelling game slowly.  There were a few lazy days where all I did was drink coffee and read a book.

Heads in bread ... don't know what to say about that!

We decided to tackle Colca Canyon over 3 days.  The first day started at 3am (what fun?!) with a 3 hour drive to the canyon.  We stopped for breakfast in a small village which tasted great after the early morning.  Amongst other things they served a warm apple and quinoa drink which tasted so good, I had no idea you could do anything with quinoa other than put it in salad.  And baked corn kernels, I’ve since learned this is very common in Peru and I’m very glad … they taste great with everything, especially a cold beer!

We then headed to see the condors.  I have never seen anything like it (Just to mention, I did spend my first week in awe of everything that I saw … and actually I continue to be!) There were so many of them and their size and grace was so impressive.  You can’t keep your eyes off them.

And then the walking began.  4 hours down to the bottom of the canyon in pretty hot weather.  As we descended we watched the bottom of the canyon get closer and closer until finally we were at the bottom next to the river where some well  deserved cooling down took place.  Afterwards we arrived at our accommodation for the night.  We ate lunch and dinner before having a very early night to recuperate.

View from the top

All the way at the bottom.

Home for the night

 Waking up the following day to the sound of a river rushing through a canyon was brilliant.  It was a spectacular place to watch the day begin.  After breakfast of pancakes and dulce de leche (so wrong and yet so good!) we set off for the oasis.  

We passed through some small communities which still exist in the canyon, which were amazing considering how remote it is.  It was a hot day and there was some uphill walking but a swimming pool at the end of it is pretty motivating!  And it didn’t disappoint!  A freezing pool and some shady spots for recovering were just what we needed to revive ourselves.



 The thought about how we were going to get out of this canyon started to play on my mind… there are no roads in the Colca Canyon and everything is brought in and out by mules.  It’s amazing how you don’t want to believe the obvious.  The obvious being that we were going to have to walk out of the canyon the next day.  The plan was to leave at 5am before the sun rose and the heat set in and climb 1200m before breakfast… gulp.

It was hard going, especially as I wasn’t acclimatised to the altitude.  I had to walk incredibly slowly in order to keep some control of my breathing … passing out on the side of a canyon with no medical services was not an option! 

But despite the sheer exhaustion, the views were spectacular as the sun rose and the shadows receded across the ravines and the site of an eagle passing by a ledge I was resting on were just the things to uplift me and get me walking out of that canyon.  And the thought of breakfast-  no surprises there!  Reaching the summit provided the high of completing any challenge, it made the previous 2 and a half hours worth while.  And a basic breakfast of bread, eggs, jam and coffee tasted out of this world! 

That trek was the perfect way to start my South American journey, it energised and excited me about all the adventures that lie ahead.

FELIZ ANO NUEVO!

Happy New Year!  And a warm welcome to 2012!

As you'd expect there was a big party here in BA :)  There was champagne, there were fireworks ... and there was sushi!  And of course, there was a lot of partying on the roof terrace of the Chillhouse until we saw the sun come up at 5.30am and then, like vampires, we retreated to our beds to recover!

New Years are usually the time for resolutions and new beginnings, but for me January has always been a rubbish time for reviewing the previous year and making changes.  The chilly weather and the long nights seem to be hard enough without then having to try and improve yourself!  The natural time for me to contemplate turning over a new leaf is when I'm outside, in the sunshine with a breeze on my face.  It's a time when I feel uplifted and ready to take on a challenge. 

So, as I find myself outside in the blazing sunshine I am starting to consider what I want for 2012 and how I would improve on 2011. 

2011 was a great year for me.  I promised myself that I would be fearless and take on a big challenge, I wasn't sure what it would be but I was ready for the opportunity when it arose.  And that challenge hasn't disappointed!  It has involved some serious organisation, a complete change in lifestyle and a substantial cash injection but as I sit here surveying the roof tops of BA I am once more amazed at what my own determination can bring. 

And what do I want for 2012?  Right now, there isn't a single thing I would change! I am in the middle of a huge adventure and am excited by every moment.  The promises I am making to myself this year are to continue to enjoy my trip and the space it has given me to be inspired by the unusual.  I promise to live by my own rules and tackle the new adventures that arise from having created a fundamental change in my life. 

At the moment, the way I see these ideas playing out are in two areas.  Firstly, I want to learn more Spanish to help me to get a deeper appreciation of South America and secondly, I want to put more energy into this blog.  I'm enjoying creating something inspired by this adventure and seeing how it evolves over the coming months.