Houston we have a photo... or two....

If you are interested or want visual evidence that we have been really having adventures and not just making them up while we sit and eat ice cream on the sofa.... here they art...
South America on our camera before it broke
Disposable Camera numero uno

corrupt fried chicken

Half way to San Francisco. We are awaiting our next flight, to LA. Due to a bit of a mix up with our flight from Chile to Lima we had to take the roadtrip option... 21 glorious hours on a bus. We were really pushing it fine as we had a flight out of Lima a couple of hours after our arrival there. They also were wanting to take a super long time getting our luggage out of the bus so we were begginning to freak out abit. Tim was obviously dissapointed that 5 weeks in South America had produced no dabbling in bribery and corruption and felt this was his moment, reaching into his pocket he was determined to bribe the bus driver to get our bags off first. (what a rascal) In the end some kind chap helped us and lost time was made up by our cantankerous and road ragey taxi driver who halved the 30 minute airport trip.
Anyway... here at the stop over in El Salvador a couple of vagabond cops were the cherry on the top of our Latin American adventure. In answer to our question about where everyone was getting these delicious looking boxes of fried chicken and chips from we were met with a mysterious whisper and some glances over their shoulders. With a backhanded $10 dollars on some gloomy steps Tims desire for the corruption experience was sated and 20 minutes later we sat enjoying our greasy goodness.
Anyway, boarding queues are calling and this plane really needs to be on time for us to catch our Greyhound down to see Tims bro, Andy, in San Fran. So adios, amigos from the Americas south of the US of A.

Carneval

All over South America over this last month Carneval has been being celebrated (originally a pagan celebration of meat, most famously manifested in Rio's elaborate street parade.) A major theme of it is water wars. Here in Cochabamba you literally can not walk for 5 minutes down the street without several water balloons whizzing past or occassionally meeting their target (its pretty refreshing in the heat, thanks.) On Saturday we joined in the fun, after buying 50 filled balloons for 5 B's we trawled the city streets and woe to any rascal with a water gun who surely felt our liquid wrath. (Well, Tim's. Most of us were just the subjects of hilarity with our totally lame throwing skills. Generally soaking only ourselves.)
This weekend is the climax of the festivities with 2 statutary days off, the only holiday many Bolivianos will get all year. But this year the celebration is having a stand off with disaster as the clouds decide to join the party, bringing the most rain for 40 years. Flooding and land slips are making several appearances all over Bolivia. As the heavens declare their own water war the president has declared the country to be in a state of national emergencey.
52687 families have been made homeless from the damage
73495 acres of crops have been wiped out
21 main roads impassable
35 dead, 6 dissapeared
1200 with dengue fever (risen from 20 in 5 days)
and the stats are climbing by the minute....

It's already in a pretty sorry state, old Bolivia, (it receives the 3rd most global aid) and you've got to wonder why this stuff has to happen to such a country. A bit of me says- "its just the self perpetuating cycle... if the politically situ wasn't so unstable then infrastructure could cope with natural disasters etc." But a big chunk of me simply wonders why nature (which ultimatley God could stop!) chooses to let loose so regularly on places that can't cope.

(A site I have found since being in South America is the Democracy Center, which has offices in Cochabamba and San Fran, whose aim is "building democracy from the ground up", they have some rad articles. They also have a super interesting blog that has some light reading on Carnival from Bolivian perspective.)

rainy season in the rainforest...

is pretty flippin rainy!

We have been here (Trinidad, a jungle town tucked into the amazon) for a few days, got a short flight out from Cochabamba to do some floating on the river, wildlife spotting.

The river is flooded by 15 metres, so we were mostly passing the canopy layer of the jungle (lots of birds, hehe)

Although we saw.... pink dolphins (yes, there are freshwater dolphins in the world... and they are pink!! totally news to me) monkeys, tucans, giant kingfishers and storks, a snake, little amazon beaver things, fireflys, bats and their babies in our room! And a whhooollllee lot of trees.

Generally all very wet, has rained the entire time, like, torrentially...soaked to the bones! We even got freezing cold, blue lips and everything... that would have been a peculiar story, hyperthermia in the hot, wet season in the jungle! Back to the Hasties now ( we are just waiting for our flight at the moment) and then only one more week in Bolivia.

politiko

I don't know if you know, but we only just really made it to Cochabamba because of the political unrest. It has been super crazy but has settled down. Anyway, Nathanael, the oldest Hastie kid (14 year old genius, upcoming social entrepeneur/ UN Secretary General/ global justice advocate) has started a blog on the socio-political experience in Cochabamba. His first one describes the recent hooha.

Update from Cochabamba

In the last week we have...

Visited islands made out of reeds on the lake in Puno where thousands of people have lived for centuries.


Stayed on the beautiful Isle Del Sol in Copacobana, where we did heaps of trekking and swimming in the snow melt of lake Titicaca. It is the birthplace of the first Inca...


Stayed in a flash hotel in La Paz that we thought was 20 Bolivianos for both of us ($4 nz) and then it turned out in the morning it was um... $20 american, hehe. (Thats a HEAP of money for Bolivia!!!!)


Been to the jungle (Coroico) and went tramping to these waterfalls. It was freaky thinking about all the things out there that want to eat us! Okay, not so much, but imaginations really run wild in the wild! (There were hundreds and thousands of beautiful butterlies, that really wanted to hang about the water and our feet. It made me think about how they were so fragile- so much can kill them- but it doesn't stop them flying daringly about being what they were meant to be!)


Experienced some manic thunderstorms, both on the lake and in the jungle, where a roll of thunder actually feels like giants are playing bowls with gargantuan concrete balls over your room.

Left both our books on the bus to Cochabamba, which also had all my written and addressed postcards in. (Yep, I was totally sending all ye postcards!! But now they are all vamos!)


Made it to Cochabamba, Bolivia, where we are staying with our friends the Hastie Family for a couple of weeks. They are kiwi Salvation Army officers working here in the Calicanto Community. It has been rad hanging out with them the last couple of days... lots of food and laughs! (we have also watched 5 episodes of MacGyver. They totally have the first 5 series.)


Been a comedy duo of clowns for the Sunday school...(I have the aff and Tim has the plait hat)
Okay, off to watch another Macgyver. He rocks.

sometimes it is okay to be a sheep, you know...

Today we got the bus from Copacabana to La Paz. About half way we stopped at a little town, the driver yelled something down the back so me and Tim looked at each other and went "Ah, toilet stop". Everyone got off the bus, Tim said "Need some fresh air lu?" No, no, I didn´t really need any fresh air, or the toilet, so I carried on reading my book. Moments later I looked up as the bus groaned back into life... why was I the only passenger left? did they ALL need the loo? Were they ALL sick of stale bus air? Something fishy was going on. All became clear as the bus rolled onto a big barge on the lake and I looked out of the window to see everyone else queuing up for a speed boat. RATS I WISH I HAD LEARNED SPANISH BEFORE I CAME HERE! WHY DIDNT I NEED THE TOILET! OR FRESH AIR!!
It turned out to be in my favour though, for after 20 minutes of rolling along the lake we all met up again on the bus on shore AND I was in the money! They all had to pay 1 Boliviano for the speed boat ride! mohaha. (Yep, I saved 15 cents... gonna get a treat..)

The South Americans know how to....

Party:
Wherever there is a group of more then 2 or 3 people they seem to be having the most joyous and exciting time...chatter... laughter... exubiant. Mind you, the last few days we have seem some real partying with panpipe karaoke on the back of a truck and hundreds of gleefull dancers following a day of parading through the streets throwing confetti and having mass it seemed. (That was a bit weird)
Protest:
In every major city we have been in we have been met with large scale protests, at least one or two. Complete with plattoons of armoured guards with tear gas, tanks and water canons. Todays protest in La Pas was the biggest I have seen in my life, at least 5000 miners and their families swarmed the main streets. They are camped out together, united in their desire for change. (Well, okay, thats what we think it is, seeing as our Spanish isn´t crash hot, speaking of which....)
Crash:
Yep, we have been here two weeks and already have witnessed the world infamous dangerous roads. on our first bus trip we were traffic jammed for 3 hours or so because 2 trucks had had a head on. And on our way into Bolivia we passed a truck that had been full of humans (like a cheap bus) that had come of the road onto it´s side, leaving about 70 locals and the vehicle upturned. We were gonna cycle down the worlds most dangerous road tomorrow, but dont really feel much need to anymore! ´
So, this is why South Americans truly know how to Party, Protest and Pcrash. (Silent P, okay, gosh.)

Blisters, archeology and natures wee treasures

Have just returned from Ye Trail of Ye Inca. WOWZA, hard work! Days beginning between 4 am and 6 am and lasting between 6 and 10 hours, mucho up hill mountaineering styles!

Gods finger prints all over it: from the magnificent snow capped craggy peaks to the tiny orchids splashed all round- colourful intricacies the size of your fingernail...

We were with a crazy bunch of singing Brazillians. We got our first warning when we turned up to the 4 day trek feeling totally illprepared (no hiking boots or rain gear) and they exclaimed "Ooh, you two are very professional, yes?" They began the trail using plastic shopping bags to hold their sleeping bags, mattresses and clothes, and finished as a choir of sopping, sodden singers. (Honestly, they sang non stop, from Britney to the Beatles) One of the new amigos from the group will stick in our minds forever I think, he was a pure breed of Edward Scissorhands and Mogley from the Jungle Book, he walked at 1 metre an hour and (as you can imagine) arrived consistently 2 hours late to each meeting point.

Arrived at the Sun gate at Macchu Picchu today at 7 o clock. A mindblowing thing, this little Inca city plopped right in the middle of the jungle. My favourite moments there were when the walls came alive with animals- the lazy chinchillas cosied up in the corner of a shrine, the massive purple millipede hurrying along the steps... the baby llamas: WAH!

The drive home was lit up by the nightly lightening display over the Andes and energy infused by having to push our coach out of a hole it got severely stuck in.

Very tired now, but trying to stay up till a sensible going to bed time. Off on a bus to Puno (On Lake Titicaca) tommorrow for some time on the floating Islands.

little shepherds and hot guinea pigs

Have just got back from a fabulous trip to Urubamba, a small town in the Sacred Valley, where we spent Tims birthday. It was awesome to be out of a tourist centre. To glimpse genuine Andean life and not be treated as a money machine... The Quechans seem to be such a warm, genorous and loving people. Yesterday we hired mountain bikes and bustled around the valley. We made it up to these amazing "salinas" or Salt Pans, terraces that have been exploited for salt since Inca times. They were still working at them, with chisel and hammer. We wanted to go further up the mountain, to a place called Moray where there is an old Inca site, but it got insanely steep and sheer. A couple of shephard boys caught site of us and we swapped- mountain bike for shephards crook. They half carried, half rode the bikes along as we tended the (pretty manky but still kind of cute) lambs and mules. The locals farm so high up the mountains... a whole community up there in this remote, snowy place.
Dusk was setting in as we whipped down the 2 hour ascent in 20 minutes. Bit scary.
Other delights included tasting the cactus fruit from a local womens garden (so weird this sweet, lucious thing coming from such a gnarly spikey plant) and seeing the guinea pigs on a spit which is part of the old staple for these guys! (Blugh)

Mucho hat plaits

Have arrived in Cusco after a most trecherous journey over the Andes, a good solid 13 hours of winding and bumping around unimaginable heights! So mad to pass through a town tucked away into the top of an incredibley high mountain after hours of climbing in the bus, only, 40 minutes later, to look down and see it miles below as a tiny speck of glitter.
Cusco is such a beautiful city, a harmonious mix of Inca ruins and Spanish colonial architecture. There are hat plaits everywhere you look (You know, the wooly ones) as well as Llamas lolling around on the streets.
We are hoping to go exploring around the Sacred Valley over the weekend- Tims birthday tommorrow- and then to begin the Inca Trail on Monday. But, you see, Tim is a bit of a crook one... please pray that he gets well soon, so that not only does he feel better but so we can get on with the intrepidness. Gracias, amigos.
Also, sorry no pictures, our camera has truly died a death so we are on to the old skool disposables!!!

grace and wonder

I am reading The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning, and there is this rad bit in it that talks abut wonder. About how easily we lose our wonder over the big and little beautiful things around us, and about this wise old Rabbi who on his death bed praised the Lord that he was able to retain his sense of wonder throughout his life.
When you are on holiday your wonder sensors perk up a bit ay? How can you not have your breath taken away at the sight of the sun setting over majestic miles of sand dunes?! Or at the Hola exclaiming parrots who want to be your mate!
There are a few nonwonderous moments too, like when your camera gets irrepairabley wasted by the iron in the sanddunes and you can´t post the pictures people want to see! Or like having the runs when your bus gets stuck in traffic for 3 hours in the middle of a desert. (Last nights bus trip was due to take 2 and half hours, it lasted 7! Tonights bus trip to Cusco is due to take 20 hours....!!!)
i guess, I want to have my sense of wonder nurtured on this trip to the point of no return. So that even in mundanity I can glimpse the grace and beauty of God in the big and the little.

Thirsty work

Had a lovely day. Walked for miles and went surfing in the worlds dirtiest water! The colour of tea. Its funny we are being so seriouspants about typhoid- cleaning our teeth with bottled water etc- and then today I pretty much swallowed 3 stomachfulls of portaloo juice.
Bus to Pisco tommorrow.

ahhh, amigos!

We are sitting in a lovely hostel in Lima. We have been in the skies for 23 hours and in transit lounges for 20 hours more. We are feeling a bit rough! Up untill now I have been dropping off to nodland 3 or 4 times an hour, whenever I shut my eyes really... but now that I have a bed I am wide awake! Rats, why does that always happen?! But other than that Peru is so far friendly, hot and fascinating. We will probably only be here in the city for another day or so then we will traverse down the coastline, up to Machu Piccu and then down to Bolivia via Lake Titicaca.
At the supermarket I saw a giant corn on the cob, with kernels the size of my thumb. (This one was yellow but they had purple ones too) So, sweetcorn being my most favourite thing ever, I snapped it up and bought it back and cooked it up. It totally tasted like broad beans! Blughh. Not sweet corn at all... perhaps the first of many culinary surprises.
I am busting out with spanish all over the place, I think I am embarressing Tim. Every time I say something, I give him a proud nudge but I dont think he is down with it as much as I am.
Okedokio, Adios and Hasta Luego.
(By the way, to answer Glyns question... we are on our way to London to spend a few years there, via a bit of the Americas!)

phew. I'm human.

I have really not been feeling too sad about leaving Aotearoa. A childhood of roaming about regularly has seemed to make me a bit callous hearted about moving on; "Friends are friends for ever, family too. So, you know.... See Ya!!" styles.
Finally, yesterday I got sad. Hurray!
Having our last church service at Mt Albert Salvation Army really sucked. It is truly the most inclusive and embracing community I have ever been a part of. As a church goes, it is so hitting the nail on the head- being utterly genunine, incarnate in the community, to the marginalised. Can a space like that - the values and ideas, the theology and outworking of that-be recreated ever? I will miss Mt Albert with all its curiosities and frame breaks very much.
And then last night we had one ginourmous Farewell Sundaes on Sundays. We didn't know how many friends to expect, I had in mind about 20, but in all about 90 loved ones showed up to eat ice cream and hug good bye. Such amazing people, that I am sad not to get to hang out with more and more.
Our corps officers (pastors) sent us out from Mt Albert as missionaries, to go and build community where we go. I so hope we can be faithful to the this, and the other things God has done in our minds and hearts over this year (thoughts shaped and values confirmed) - through church and other friendships- wherever we end up.

ooh, eek, ouch, argh

That's a sound effect for each immunisation we just had! (PLUS blood tests yesterday) 536 dollars of pain! Yellow fever, tetanus, hep a and polio. wowza, ain't nothing gonna get in now. (apart from maybe typhoid and malaria)
Passports finally both arrived this morning safe and sound, with a visa for Tim. A big wondrous sigh of relief, for they are a rather fabulous and helpful thing when you go travelling...
Not long to go now!!!
I have packed my bags! Even my toilet bag! Still 5 sleeps to go for goodness sake- this is the first trip ever I have not packed the night before. I am simply so giggleingly amped....

Peace

So... the Whanganui River canoeing was incredible! The most amazing scenery and company. It was pretty gruelling work but worth every bit. The amazing gorges, waterfalls, rapids and um... nasty rodents. One night I woke up to find this fat greedy guts possum tucking into our friend's snacks!

After the canoeing we made our way to Taranaki, we stopped off at Jerusalem- A mission station up the river where Sister Aubet worked with tangata whenua on establishing a religious community and home for orphans. It is also where my favourite kiwi, J.K Baxter, spent much of his time. It was a beautiful pilgrimage....

We also got a preview of London (Aotearoa styles!!)Parihaka Peace Festival was just the most relaxing and fascinating time. I have never seen so many dreadlocks, genuine hongi (Maori nose press greeting) and face moko (Maori tatoos) in my life! An amazing mix of people committed to Maori and Pakeha healing history, environmentalists and musos. Challanging speakers on justice, peace and biculturalism, beautiful weather, the raddest music- Katachafire, Kora and Dave Dobbyn rocked my world. This is a bit of Dave's gig-

Our hitch home was a pure God hook up.. all the way to Auckland, with awesome talk, she and Tim are from the same iwi, Te Atiawa and were able to talk about Parihaka and the regions history. Phew. Fabulous times. Now on to prep and the countdown for leaving in one week. ARGH! Hope you are all well! Peace....

'Appy New yearrr

What a fabulous restful week it has been! A quick update.... Spent Christmas down in Rotorua with the extended Aitken Whanau, which was really fab.

Today we are off to canoe down the Whanganui river for 4 days, 13 of us. It is going to be wonderful, so beautiful down there. We will mostly all be sleeping under a tarp, except for one night I think when we'll be on a marae.

Then Tim, me and one of my best pals, Jenna, are going to Taranaki for the Parihaka Festival for Peace and Justice. Bands, speakers, Te Reo Maori etc, (its not too late to join us! text tim if you want to come- 0274798111)

Then we are hitching back to Auckland to get ready for the big leaving day on the 17th of January! Wahoo! Spending 6 weeks in Peru and Bolivia, 2 in Canada to arrive in London on 15th March.... ARGH canny wait.

Well- Happy New Year everyone. A weird kind of party time, eh? As half the time we dont know what we are celebrating! But today I am celebrating hope in God for:

new adventures that God can infuse in each year, a rejuvenated passion for justice and mission, a recommitment to following Jesus so closely (even into the darkest, weirdest, grottiest places) and more courage to actually do this...

Yup, thats me prayer.

Festivities

Well, its Christmas Eve. I have finished work and am well up for these holidays and celebrations. Have a FABULOUS Christmas, I pray you sense Gods peace. Here is a beautiful Aotearoa Christmas Tree:

And another of my favourite carols. . . .

"Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;
And in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever,
His power and glory evermore proclaim.
His power and glory evermore proclaim."

PS - My friend has written some awesome thoughts over on The Marinade.

Still frantic for Christmas Pressies?