Mona's big adventure

Back in Lima after an amazingly diverse 5 weeks of travelling around this continent. After a not-so-comfortable start (I found Lima to be not the nicest of places), I flew to Cuzco and met up with my friend Tash, whose flight from Sydney was cancelled and was lucky to fly the next day and still make the start of our tour. We met at Hotel Marqueses which was gorgeous and had an afternoon to explore Cuzco´s hidden treasures. This town is very cute with its cobbled streets and plazas but I found it extremely touristy. We were constantly being hounded to buy stuff, which really took away from the authentic Peruvian culture we were both keen to experience.

The tour wasn´t what we expected either. Having booked a 12 day package, we expected to join a group of people doing the same tour. Instead each piece of our tour was separate and there wasn´t a proper briefing beforehand. Most of the time we weren´t sure if our transfer was going to arrive or what was to happen next. The mystery made it interesting though and at least we didn´t have to put up with the same people.

Amazon jungle
First stop was the Amazon. We flew to Puerto Maldonado, an hour north of Cuzco. Soon we were in a van with a Canadian couple and two local Peruvian men and hoping we were in the right place. Before we knew it we were being escorted onto a boat and cruising down some river which turns out joins up to the Amazon and is still surrounded by jungle. We arrive at the Jungle Lodge and given a fresh juice made from some unknown jungle fruit (I think it was a jungle tomato). We´re shown to our cabin and ours just happened to be a few meters from the ¨Tarantula tree¨, where at night some tarantulas like to show themselves. Poor Tash is a little freaked. That night we are taken into the jungle for a night walk. Obviously the jungle isn´t creepy enough during the day..no, no, its best to go when all the critters are out & about. Great. I was just a little jumpy, ok maybe a lot..and for some reason, I seemed to be a target for bugs. One I didn´t mind so much, the largest and brightest blue butterfly I´ve ever seen landed on my chest and only flew away as Tash tried to take a photo. Not long after that, the girl behind me says ¨There´s a giant bug on your leg¨- exactly the words you want to hear when you´re walking through the jungle at night! Ahh it was just a giant grasshopper which didn´t want to let go but no harm done. Whew. Still, let´s get the hell outta here I´m thinking. We saw lots of tarantulas and even an anteater high up in a tree. Did anteaters live in trees? And don´t they have a long snout to suck up the ants? Both Tash & I agreed it didn´t look like an anteater, more like some sort of possum. Ah well, no use arguing with the guide. After an hour or so we were finally safe back in our cabins.

Day 2 started early, around 5am and after breakfast we take a boat to Sandoval Lake. After half an hour or walking we come across some canoes and the guide rows us through a narrow windy part of the lake which was incredible. We then cruise around the lake for the next few hours, which was so peaceful and serene with a lot of wildlife in the surrounding jungle. We saw many birds, bats, turtles and a whole family of otters. A few hours in the hot sun though and we were literally baked and ready to head back but the guide was definitely in no rush. We finally headed back for the most delicious lunch and in the afternoon we went to Monkey Island where a family of monkeys were moved here and can usually be found in a couple of locations. We trekked through the bush for an hour calling to the monkeys with no luck. Oh well. The boat ride back was unique - we went cayman spotting. Caymans are like alligators and they come out on the river beds after dark. They didn´t seem to like the spotlight being shone into their eyes much (as wouldn´t anyone) but we got to see heaps of them, mostly babies, before they ducked back into the water.

Day 3 in the jungle started even earlier than the day before, 4am. Yikes. This time we headed 90 minutes up the river to watch the parrots. Every morning at sunrise, hundreds of parrots come to this one part of the river to extract minerals out of the clay. Unfortunately we couldn´t get that close without scaring them off but the sheer number of birds was amazing. The Canadian couple didn´t seem that impressed, given the amount of effort it was to get there, but I enjoyed it. A few hours later and we´re heading back to the airport and Cuzco for our next adventure.

Inca trail & Machu Picchu
Next is a bus ride through the Sacred valley. We find out days later that the valley is considered sacred for various reasons, but mostly because the Incas believed the mountains to be Gods. It was also perfect for different types of agriculture, which the Incas experimented with using terraces in the side of the mountains. We went to some ruins and had a buffet lunch. By the afternoon I started feeling ill with stomach pains but I thought it might have just been the new foods. Unfortunately I was woken in the middle of the night with a strong fever and the urgent need to use the bathroom. This was 6hrs before we were due to start the 46km trek to Machu Picchu. What wonderful timing! Tash is awake and is worried that I´m going to pull out. I go back to sleep and feeling a little better in the morning decide to do the walk, but first Tash kindly translates to the pharmacist that I need immodium. What are friends for? lol

The next four days were extremely long and difficult. Although my stomach seemed to ease a bit during the day (and thank goodness..having diahorrea in the middle of the Andes is not the best), I was still very weak and tired and the Inca trail is not an easy walk at all. There are so many stairs. At the end of the first day we see a peak in the distance called ¨Dead Woman´s Pass¨..and our guide tells us we´ll be crossing that tomorrow. Holy cow. But somehow we make it by lunch time the next day and the view is unbelievable! The feeling of achievement is amazing too. I´m feeling a better at this point as we decend thousands of stairs and undo all the hard work we just did climbing that mountain! After lunch we look back at Dead Woman´s Pass and the guide explains that this bit of the trail is not part of the original trail by the Incas. ¨Do you think the Incas wanted to walk up a mountain & down again??¨He shows us a horizontal line in the distance that was the original trail that is not safe to walk on due to avalanches. Oh great, thanks for that. My aching legs were hating him right then.

After an enormously long day 2, day 3 is much shorter and we arrive at our camp by lunch time. The organisation of this tour was amazing. We had 18 or so porters, which are local Peruvian men that carry all of our stuff and food and equipment (up to a maximum of 25kgs compared to my 6kgs on my back) and they also RUN past you in their sandals and over rocks so that they get there a couple of hours ahead of us, set up our tents and prepare our meals. The food was incredible. We had a full 3 course meal every time, although I unfortunately missed every single dinner due to feeling unwell. The third night I started vomitting, and when we finally arrive in Machu Picchu the next day they took me to a doctor & I was put on antiobiotics. Arriving at the Sun Gate at around 7am was meant to reveal a spectacular view of the ruins below as the sun rises. However, it is impossible to arrive in time for the sun rise - they don´t open the trail until 5.30am (for safety reasons) and then its still a 1.5hr walk to the Sun Gate, in which case the sun has well & truly risen. Secondly, the entire valley was covered in cloud so we couldn´t see anything. Up until then we had had absolutely perfect clear weather! Doh. We continue walking down to the ruins, which was probably the hardest part of the trip for me, we were almost there and yet my legs were extremely sore & I wanted to pass out. Finally we see Machu Picchu! And the hundreds of other people as well. I thought the whole idea of doing the trail was to get there BEFORE anyone else, but obviously not. After my doctor visit, I´m given a private tour by one of the guides who makes me climb more stairs (ouch) and all I can think about is when all this will be over. Finally they let me rest in the hotel where we have our celebratory lunch. Hooray.

Lake Titicaca
We take the train back to Cuzco through the spectacular scenery, everyone feeling dog tired and we arrive pretty late, at around 10pm. Ah but we have an early bus tomorrow south to Puno and have no clean clothes left. Our hotel is amazing and washed our clothes in the short space of time and we´re still feeling exhausted when we jump on the bus. On the 8hr trip we make a few stops at various markets, ruins and the tiniest waste-of-time museum. We´re told when we check into our hotel that we´ll be picked up the next morning and taken to our boat for our 2 day adventure on Lake Titicaca, which is the highest navigable lake in the world (3800m). Tash & I go out for dinner and witness the most amazing parade that seemed to be for no real reason. We eat dinner while we admire all the costumes & dancing from the restaurant window. This parade was never ending! What an awesome experience.

The boat the next day first takes us to the floating islands. These islands are made up of reeds and then completely covered in straw. Everything on the island is made of straw, the huts, the beds, everything. There are many families on each island and apparently if they get sick of each other they cut the island in half. Even though these islands were originally made to avoid the Spanish invasion, they now seem to be more for tourists. I was then guilt tripped by the wife of one of the families to buy a Peruvian hand-crocheted rug (even with my poor Spanish skills I understood I must buy a rug from her & not the other families since she showed me into her house..geez). Back on the slowest boat in the world for 3 hrs and we finally arrive on an actual island where we stay with a local family and they feed us lunch (more rice & potatoes). A long hike up to the top of the hill to a so-called temple (does a pile of rocks placed in a square count?) and I´m craving a snickers bar. For some reason chocolate was helping to settle my stomach. I even said it out loud to Tash that I really really wanted a snickers and whaddya know, just before we arrive at the temple a lady was selling chocolate bars so I got my snickers! This temple is said to grant wishes so maybe it works after all.. It then starts to rain so we hurry back down. I was still feeling a bit crap so I went to bed while Tash & the other two girls got all dressed up in a traditional Peruvian outfit and saw some of the locals dancing.

The final day of our tour and we go to another island to see more locals and the way they live. By this point, we were getting a bit sick of having a strict schedule and were looking forward to finishing the tour & being able to do what we like. We finally get back to the hotel in the afternoon and head out for a nice dinner (and tried guinea pig!) & a relaxing drink at a small funky bar.

Arequipa
The next day, our transfer doesn´t arrive so we frantically try to get to the bus station and figure out where to go. We board a fancy double decker coach and have front row seats, which at first I thought was awesome only soon to discover it was not fun watching the bus dangerously overtake and swerve to miss oncoming traffic. Every time we stopped I was paranoid we were going to get hijacked. Why else would they film you getting on the bus and everyone individually sitting in their seat? We arrive in Arequipa at night and start to freak out when we read in our guide books that taxi drivers can´t be trusted and have been known to rob tourists. Great. We don´t really have a choice but to jump in any taxi, and Tash then argues with the driver in Spanish who seems to refuse to take us to our hostel which is apparently too far away and tries to convince us to stay in another hotel. We finally arrive at our hostel which is not a hostel at all but a hotel far away from the square in an apparently dangerous area. We decide to only stay one night but unfortunately still had to pay for two. The penalty for booking in advance. Luckily it was cheap. We find a nice hostel and then go explore, starting with the museum that contains the Ice Mummy - a 12yr old girl who was supposedly sacrificed in the time of the Incas, 500 hundred years ago. She was found by an archeologist who was hiking in the Andes 10 or so years ago after a volcanic eruption uncovered her in the snow. She´s now stored in 3 glass boxes that has the temperature monitored electronically at minus 20 degrees. Pretty amazing.

The Monastery in Arequipa was also worth doing, even though it is very expensive to enter. We walked around for an hour or so and imagined how the nuns lived centuries before. The bright colours were cool. We did some shopping and had a glass of wine at a restaurant ont he roof which overlooked the square and was the perfect position for the sunset.

The next morning we are heading to Colca Canyon, which it seems everyone who goes to Arequipa does, and we have to set our alarms for 2.30am. Yes, 2.30am. Barely a night´s sleep. The bus picks us up at 3am and its freezing. We arrive at a view point of the canyon 6hrs later and witness Condors flying around our heads. They are so close! The canyon itself wasn´t that impressive. Apparently its better if you do the 2 day trek down into the canyon and you can stay at some oasis hotel, but we didn´t have time. On our way back Tash & I decide to have lunch in the square instead of with the rest of the group and our guide says she´ll pick us up on the through to take us to the hot springs. Except they don´t. She forgot. So they come by an hour later to pick us up, after they´ve been to the springs and we´ve been waiting the entire time, unimpressed. Damn.

We find out INXS were playing in the square the next night (random!) but we had to head back to Cuzco in time for our flight to Buenos Aires. So back on the bus for another 10 hours but this time we booked a Cama, a seat that reclines 160 degrees so the trip is actually pretty comfy and we both get a good night sleep. Our last day in Cuzco we spent shopping like crazy, both of us having to buy another bag to carry our souvenirs. Tash even got a Shaman healing from one of the shop keepers! So overall an amazing Peruvian experience, very diverse and quite cultured with some incredible scenery. Next was Argentina and Chile..

Many of you have been asking about my next blog entry. Its nice to know you are interested in my adventures and I'm sorry for the delay. To be honest, I wasn't sure what to write. After Burning Man, everything seemed pretty ordinary, just big city after big city, plus you can pretty much see what Ive been up to with all the facebook photos. But I guess you might still like to hear the stories. So here's a summary of my 6 weeks in North America.

SAN FRANCISCO
This was my favourite city of them all. What an awesome place! Cute little streets, everything so close and such a positive vibe. I never knew San Fran was such a small island and part of the Bay Area. The best part for me was the people. Having friends there really helped to delve into the city. They took me to a Speak Easy bar (like in the prohibition of alcohol days) set in the 1920s. You need a password to get in, you cant take photos and you can have drinks in the Library which is behind a secret door that looks like a bookcase. Very cool. The alcohol in those drinks could seriously kill someone though. My time in San Fran was a mix of sight seeing (Golden Gate, Alcatraz) and lots of partying. I made some amazing friends and didn't want to leave, even purposely missing my flight so I could stay longer.

LOS ANGELES
Next was the concrete jungle. I arrived by bus in Downtown LA and had to try to ignore black men who kept approaching me while I tried to figure out how to get to Santa Monica. Apparently Aussie girls like big black..ahem. Or so I was told. Nice welcoming. I finally figured out which bus to catch (even a bus driver had no idea). Its amazing how much harder things can be when you're travelling by yourself. Santa Monica was nice but unfortunately I didnt really meet anyone at the hostel, so my goal of recruiting someone to join me for Disneyland was unsuccessful. Instead I did a movie star tour which felt really weird driving past people's houses. Universal studios was fun though, the Simpson's simulator was incredible, I couldnt stop laughing. I met a friend of a friend from San Fran one night and we had a great time at the video arcade where I beat him at everything. Or at least I had a great time. Ha. I then stayed in an awesome 2 bedroom apartment for one night which was managed by a guy I also met in San Fran who let me stay for free. A double bed all for me! And a washing machine! So far the social networking was working wonders. Thanks again Ethan

I then couchsurfed for a night, staying at this couple's house close to Disneyland. I also rented a car. What a buzz driving on the other side of the road! Even though it was an auto, I kept reaching for the gears with my left hand..except the stearing is on the left and the gears on the right. It was like I was upside down. Lol Disneyland was fun, I raced through both parks in a day which was exhausting but I really enjoyed the themes. So much detail. Most of the rides were little carts on a track that goes inside a building and runs u through the story of the movie, like Pinocchio and Alice in Wonderland. The big rollercoaster was closed so the only two 'extreme rides' was the Tower of terror (Enter the twilight zone..an elevator that drops u a few times) and the Indiana Jones ride which was AWESOME! After like a km hike through an underground cave to the ride entrance, you get on a humvee like vehicle that races through the cavern with hydraulics that lift up the vehicle so you bounce along & scream around the corners. There's even a giant boulder that heads your way but the track opens up and you drive on underneath. The caverns were huge. So much fun. I also watched an Aladdin musical (amazing) and a Muppets in 3d show. The Colours on the water show at the end was pretty cool too. After that I was pretty much theme-parked out.

SAN DIEGO
I drove the 2hr drive down to San Diego and went to the zoo. There were lots of exotic animals and I got some cool photos of animals doing funny things. The two turtles mating was my favourite, with a little girl saying "he wants a piggy back ride"..yes little girl, he does, says her father. Cute. Unfortunately the Safari tour which the zoo is famous for is at a different park so I missed out. I was meant to stay with a girl Id met at Burning man but she had to fly somewhere last minute so I luckily scored a bed at the international hostel, despite it being Friday night & there being a huge baseball game on. I also scored a park on the main street which at the time was a blessing but soon to be a hindrence. A pub crawl by the hostel was fun & I made some more friends over one too many shots

The next day the plan is to drive to Vegas, I walk to the car & find the side mirror closest to the pavement smashed off and sitting on the ground. A few other cars had the same problem. Fuck. Some workers said they've been having problems with drunks doing that lately. Great. They suggest calling the police, good idea. Except to make calls on my phone is expensive. The cafe nearby say they'll call soon but it doesnt seem to be the case. I'm in a 15min parking spot too, so I quickly walk to try to find a pay phone with no luck. Screw it, I need to get on the road. I'm sure it will work out. My insurance will hopefully cover any excess.

LAS VEGAS
The drive to Vegas was fun. I drove via Joshua Tree national park, which adds an extra few hrs but was well worth it. Its famous for a U2 video. I arrive in Vegas around 7pm and get lost trying to find the rental car return. Finally find it and realise I didnt fill up with petrol. Grr. I eventually drop the car off and the guys at the car company seem worried when they see the damage & that I didnt tick the insurance box. I assure them my travel insurance will cover it. They photocopy my documents but and tell me I should hear from them in a few days, except its expensive for me to receive calls on my mobile. So I end up chasing them over the next week and they tell me they'r still assessing the damage. That was 4 weeks ago and I still haven't heard anything. Oh well, when they want me to pay I'm sure they'll find me.

Vegas was crazy, so many flashing lights. My budget hostel was crap and I wish Id taken advantage of the cheap fancy hotels. I was hoping it would let me meet people but I had the room to myself. I ended up meeting a nice girl on the bus tour to the Grand Canyon and we went out after the tour to do the rollercoasters on top of the Stratosphere. The person that thought putting rollercoasters on top of a sky scraper was frickin´ insane. I guess thats why one of the rides is called Insanity! Ironically I seemed to be the only insane person to do this ride, dangling off the edge all by myself while people took photos & listened to my screams. Lol. I only got 2hrs sleep that night, having to get up at 4am for my flight to New York.

NEW YORK
New York, New York..the expectation for this city was quite high. Everyone had told me how amazing it was. It was pretty good but again, just another big city. Enormous in fact. Central park was a highlight, the park is beautiful. Going up the Statue of Liberty was also fun, especially since I´d booked to go up the crown of the statue, which is apparently now booked out until 2013 (its being refurbished next year). Another highlight of course was that I met up with Matty, a friend of mine from Tasmania. Awesome fun Matty! We went to a couple of Broadway shows, rode around Central park, went to the Museum of Natural History which was a little disappointing (mostly because we didn´t allow enough time) and then there was the food..Matty had to try everything that was traditionally New York. A hot dog, a giant slice of pizza, a Manhattan cocktail, and of course a Long Island Ice Tea on Long Island. Anything unique & Matty had to eat it. Ive never known anyone to eat so much and then go without food for 2 days. Lots of fun though. So overall a good experience, but a week in this city and I was ready to move on to the next place. I don´t think I could live here. Oh and it was here in my trip that my digital camera broke - week 3! All good, I bought a way fancier one at a pretty good price and now I think I´m a true photographer

WASHINGTON DC
This city was pretty cool. I loved the monuments, it really puts things into context. The Lincoln Memorial was awesome but I kept hoping he would come alive (like in Night of the Museum) haha. Speaking of museums, wow.. they were fantastic! I saw the Air & Space Museum, the National Museum of Natural History (focuses on America & much better in my opinion) and the last one was the American History Museum, also very interesting. I learnt a lot and felt I knew enough about America for one lifetime. Matty had now gone back to Toronto while I headed to Boston.

BOSTON
Boston was a very unique experience. A friend that I met in Europe in 2005 and now lives in Ohio had a sister in Boston. Coincidentally, her parents were coming to stay so they picked me up and took me in to their home. I felt like I had adopted a family for the weekend! They were amazing, so generous and helpful. Took me out for dinner, gave me a local mobile phone to call them when I needed a ride and even a bus ticket. Unfortunately my friend was unable to come but I still had a wonderful time. Thanks guys!!

MONTREAL
Next on the list was Montreal. French and more french!! It was like stumbling across Europe, except these people were friendlier and were happy to speak English. The service was amazing and the city itself was very interesting. I didn´t expect so many modern buildings. It was a strange mix of old and modern archictecture. I did a walking tour and a bike tour where we got to ride around the Grand Prix track. The light and sound show in the Notre Dame Basilica was really good too. I also did a couple of pub crawls which were alright but I started to resent alcohol at this point. Way too much for my weak immune system and I could sense I was starting to get sick. Uh oh.

OTTAWA
I really like this city. Similar to Canberra, its the capital and is very small compared to Montreal and Toronto, but is probably the nicest of all three. The Parliament building was incredible, a beautiful old cathedral. I was only here one night but stayed in a hostel that used to be a jail. The jail tour was pretty good, hearing all the stories although the tour guide was a little strange. Some of the cells were converted into rooms but I slept in a normal room and thankfully there were no bumps in the night, compared to a friend of mine who heard keys dangling and footsteps. Oooh...no thanks!

TORONTO
This was the last city I visited in North America. Thankfully I had friends here and one let me stay in her apartment while she was away for the weekend so I had a whole place to myself where I could relax and catch up on some much needed sleep. Thanks Nev! It was heaven. I stayed in Toronto for about 5 days. There wasn´t heaps to do except wander the streets and strangely the weather was unusually warm for this time of year. I did catch a ferry across to Toronto Island which was beautiful with the Autumn leaves and I got to take some nice photos. I also met up with Matty again and a couple of girls I met in Montreal.

I would´ve liked to have seen some more of the wildlife in Canada instead of just the cities but you really need to hire a car and have more time.

Well folks, that´s pretty much it. Hope that satisfies you all. Now for South America...

Mona

The start of my trip and my first experience of the USA was the Burning Man Festival. Bloody hell!! What a way to begin my overseas adventure. It was nothing like I've ever experienced before. I didn't even know a place like that existed on this planet. Ok let me start from the beginning of the week so you can see how it unravels.

Day 1

First I needed a ride out there. I found a shuttle service organised by a non-profit organisation & expected to be picked up by a bus but no, it was a car driven by a big black man with the funniest over-the-top American accent. We crammed ourselves in and he warned us that we could still change our minds if we wanted to What is so scary about this place? We discovered it was going to be about a 6-7hr trip depending on traffic..after a couple of stops we're now in the Nevada desert flying down the highway. We're doing 100m/h in a 70 zone on our way to the biggest festival in the United States so it's not surprising that a highway patrol pulls us over. The officer approaches the back right door (safer I guess) and speaks through the window. He also informs us that we'd passed the turn off to Burning Man 10 miles before. He takes all our IDs (wtf?) and returns 15 mins later, issuing the driver a $200 fine. He got off pretty light. I'm amazed he was allowed to get back into the vehicle. So he takes us to the closest "town" to the festival, if you can call a corner store a town. The husband of the lady sitting next to me offered to pick us up and take us right to our individual camps (otherwise the shuttle would've stopped at the gate & we'd have about a 2km walk with our bags). This is just the start of the generosity I'm about to witness. The design of the event is cool, it's a clock with alphabetical streets that represent the 'Rites of Passage' (this year's theme). So there's A for Anniversary.. B for Birth.. and my camp is in D for Divorce at position 4.30. The man is at the centre of the clock so you can see him from every cross street.

Driving around was fun, there were so many cool things to look at. People walking around in strange costumes or little at all, themed camps and activities. Ooh a kissing booth! Will have to go back there. lol. Pee funnel? Yeh sure, why not (all the girls jump out to grab one). I'm feeling excited to be here. I finally get to my camp and am greeted by a member of the camp who shows me around. What, you don't have a tent? Um no. Hmm, so I'm told put my stuff in the dressing room and I guess I'll figure out where to sleep later. Riiight. But what do I do now? What do you actually DO at this place? I don't know anyone. I decide to go for a walk and check out the man & the temple while there's some light left. Holy crap, the playa is MASSIVE! I walk and walk and walk, past the man & finally get to the temple. It's about a mile from the camp. It's beautiful but I feel like a tourist, taking photos, not really relaxing or 'being' in the place, and I feel rushed, like I have to get back to the camp before dark, so I spend little time here before walking back.

I'm introduced to more people at the camp and I'm dressed in cargos & a fleece, while everyone else is wearing really strange shit and are covered in glowing devices. I feel really out of place. It feels strange to be 'normal'. We have dinner then it takes HOURS to decide where we're going next. Everyone is bouncing ideas around, a guy from the camp is DJing somewhere later or there's an Aussie party (that'd be cool, sort of like home). I end up following people out into the grand playa but the group soon breaks up so there's just a few of us. Wow, everything is flashing or glowing. There are gigantic art cars all lit up with fire coming out or laser beams. There is music and noise coming from everywhere. I am completely overwhelmed and exhausted. So much stimulation for my poor little jet lagged brain. Again, we walk and walk, to the far edge of the camps to 10o'clock to a 'No pants party'. ha. Its about midnight & the people I'm with are ready to party all night. I don't stay here for very long before deciding it's time for bed. So I walk the extremely long and crazy trip back and sleep in the cold dressing room thinking about when is the soonest I can leave this place.

Day 2

I begin today hesitant and feel the pressure that I have to behave a certain way. Do they expect me to strip off my clothes? Hug everyone I meet? Get high on mushrooms? Are they trying to convert me to become a hippy? Argh, I'm over analysing so I go lay on the hammock to try to relax. I hear an announcement.. "Today is socially acceptable boner day". Great, I'm going to be seeing hard-ons all day. lol. What the hell is this place? The hammock is divine. A couple of people join me & we just lay there under the mist sprays for hours. One guy doesn't say anything for ages then suddenly bursts out into poetry. Our camp hosts a party this arvo and I get asked for ID at our own bar. They don't realise I'm a member. I meet some cool Brits and more people from my camp and just chill out in the tent, still wondering what this place is all about. Is it just a gigantic party in the desert where you can drink, take drugs & have as much sex as you like while suffering from heat stroke & dehydration?? Surely there is something I'm missing. Why do parents bring their children? I borrowed a bike and went & explored and this is where my perception started to really change. I cruise around, not feeling any time pressure or expectation to be a certain way. Just observing and absorbing the energy of the place. I meet a guy from New York on the path, called Slick, his playa name obviously (people take on a different persona here). We ride next to each other and have a great chat. Soon we're stopped by a lady in about her sixties offering salsa & crackers. Slick declines but when she persists he suggests eating them off her nipples. Before I know it, she's pulled down her dress & he's eating salsa off her breasts - in the middle of the street! Ha! Then we continue riding like nothing had happened. Too funny.

I'm starting to realise that this place isn't about the destination. It's completely about the journey, who you met along the way, the experiences you have, the opportunities that present themselves. Time doesn't matter. You don't wear a watch, you don't need to check your phone for messages, you just see what happens next & you are completely in the moment. There's no exchange of money either. Everything is free. It's a gifting system. People often give you gifts. I got presents from people all over the place, like glow sticks, necklaces, keys, stickers, alcohol, anything.

Soon night falls and I'm riding out in the playa with a guy from the camp, Martin, with some glow sticks and riding wherever we want. I know they're burning the Trojan Horse tonight but it's no longer lit up so we can't find it. Instead we stumble across a large group of people to then witness one of the best fireworks displays I've ever seen. Random. An hour or so later of walking and we again stumble across an even bigger group of people and make our way to the front to see what's going on. There's the horse!!!!! Hurrah! We sit at the front and wait.. And wait.. And I vomit. Yup, on the playa, in a neat pile next to me. Ha. Martin doesn't look impressed. Too many margaritas? The thing with this place is you have to clean up after yourself. Any MOOP (Matter Out Of Place) must be taken with you. Hmm.. I try my best to clean it up (gross). At least it helped past the time. The horse is lit with bows & arrows! Cool!! More fireworks, coming out of its body WHILE its on fire. Wow. Incredible.

The next few hours are filled with playful fun riding art cars (one had a merry go round & a slide out the back!) and meeting people. It's an adult amusement park! I loved going up to strangers and finding out their story. I remember a few months ago saying to friends how I wanted to travel and "meet the world". Well, this was exactly that. I was meeting everyone and anyone and loving it. Everyone was so friendly & welcoming. There's no anger or violence, just love & peace (hippy conversion complete). It gets to about 4am and is really cold so we head towards fire and stumble across the remains of the horse. The four wheels are left intact and we sit & fall asleep next to the burning embers. I wake to find the sun almost rising. Beautiful. Falling asleep next to a burning Trojan Horse in the middle of the Nevada Desert. Far out, unbelievable. This was definitely a highlight. We head back and watch the rest of the sun rise from our camp's tower built by our engineers and then try to sleep a few more hours during the hot day.

Day 3

Tonight is the Burning of the Man. I'm pretty excited. I disappear from the camp and spend the whole day exploring. I can't get enough! The weather is fantastic too! Apparently last year they had several dust storms where u could hardly see in front you and the playa was soft sand which made it hard to ride your bike. We had clear skies and hard dirt. Dust still flew around but it was pretty harmless.

I attended a geology talk and learnt about the playa. I then hung out in some palm trees & talked to a guy about life. I climbed a giant flower, had a vodka shot at a far away saloon bar, went fishing on the end of a jetty. Its really a "do anything you like" kinda place. Pretty awesome. For the burn, I decided not to hang out with people from my camp & try to make some new friends. After a demonstration of the Earth Harp at the temple (lovely), I walked to the Man and sat down next to a girl who introduced me to her whole camp - "Welcome Simone!" all 20 of them shouted. How nice! They proceeded to give me champagne & tequila. Awesome. The show was magnificent. Fire dancers, people setting their whole bodies on fire, people on stilts throwing fire, so much fire, and lots of drums. The music was great. There were more incredible fireworks, this time coming out of the man until his head caught on fire. Every time a piece of the wood structure fell, people would cheer. I actually got very emotional here, tears streaming down my face as I watched the man disintegrate. I could feel the energy of the place, filling me up. I was completely sober yet high on life. This is more than just a hippy festival. It's life-changing.

What happened next was really cool..when the rangers gave the OK (I'm surprised 50,000 people actually waited), everyone stampeded towards to the Man's remains and marched around it in a circle anticlockwise, all squished together. We were close to the front & the heat when suddenly more fireworks accidentally went off a few meters from us!! Oops! Not as safe as they thought.. Luckily no one was hurt. I spent the rest of the night exploring and being in the moment and ended up sleeping for a few hrs at the camp of my new friends.

Day 4

Today is pack up day. Boo. I now wish I got here earlier. I wanted so badly to explore but felt guilty if I wandered off for too long. I did spend some time with a friend across the street (mutual friend of a girl I worked with in Sydney), it was great how close her camp was to mine! Most of the day was helping out, or at least trying to help out but not knowing what needs to be done. People just stood around waiting for instructions.

Today I also had my first shower. I know, you're probably thinking gross, no shower for 3 days, but our camp shower was very public and I wasn't ready to expose my bare naked body to the world or even my camp so I used baby wipes to get rid of the dust. You also needed a shower buddy to turn the water on & off. Ha. Why is it such a big deal to shower naked in front of people you don't know? Anyway, I did it and it was very refreshing, and I actually don't think many people saw me..I wasn't able to wash my hair though, the big matted ball of hair behind my neck was not going to be an easy task to fix. Oh well, the joys of being in the desert.

Oh and by this stage I have found my playa name. Wanderer. A few people from the camp kept saying I was always out wandering and could never find me. I think that name suits me pretty well. I am on a 5 month adventure after all and I do like to move a lot.

Tonight the magnificent temple was going to be burned. This was going to be a very cleansing process for a lot of people, for those who had lost a loved one or wish to heal their lives in some way.. People had left letters, photos and relics in the temple, plus written things all over its walls. We all walk down to the temple and wait. I get a great position on the double-storey bike that a guy from the camp had built. We're up high & can see everything. People were starting to get cranky & impatient. I guess a week in the desert would do that to you. "Sit down in front!" people screamed.."Lasers off!" they all chanted as the giant laser beams covered the temple from a mile away. We also had a run in with a lady & her van, she didnt want us to pass so we threatened to run her over. lol. Yep the energy had definitely changed. I think people just wanted it over with so they could go home & clean the dust out of their noses. The burning was fricking incredible, words cannot even describe. There were several explosions and the heat was insane. We were hundreds of meters from the temple yet had to shield our eyes. I have no idea how the people in the front row weren't scorched. It was mesmorizing.

Then began our journey home. A guy from my camp Julien decided to try to hitch hike a ride back instead of leaving the next day. I was up for an adventure and having never hitch hiked before, this is a pretty good place to do it since everyone is willing to help others & there are so many people. The odds are pretty good. We created our sign, left the camp at around 10.30pm and walked the mile to the gate and waited across from our competition, 10 or so other hitchhikers. I expected there to be more, and I also expected to get a ride much quicker, but we waited over an hour. It seems no one had room or was going to San Francisco. Julien suggested we might have a better chance if we were naked. Ha, no thanks. So we then tried to go to Reno, which is about half way and then Martin could drive us back from Reno where he'd parked his car (he was getting a lift back there tonight but there was no room for us). That worked - we jumped in a run down bus with a Canadian couple, their friend (a girl who talked a million miles an hour) & a guy from Lithuania. I had to sit on the floor cos the seats were mounted with bicycles. We spent several hours creeping slowly out of the playa, extremely sleep deprived & getting on & off the bus to stretch our legs, while the young girl talked and talked to me about her sexual experiences. Six lanes of traffic finally merged into one final lane in which our bus literally broke down at the exact point when no one could drive past us, only 200m to the highway. Doh!! The battery was dead. So out we jump and move the witches hats so people could drive around. Julien & I tried to hitch hike again. Some of our camp members drove by us & couldnt believe we were stranded. Fortunately someone stopped to help us jump start the battery & the bus was up & running again so we're finally cruising down the highway. An hour or so in and the driver was exhausted & suggested we park on the side of the road for a few hours but we'd end up missing our connecting ride in Reno so Julien offered to drive. I had no phone signal to tell Martin to wait for us at Reno & Julien's phone was dead. I left a voicemail at a gas station and only finally got reception 5mins from Reno! Strangely he was only 10 miles behind us even though we'd been travelling for 7 hours. Amazing timing! He met us at McDonalds at around 6am and we enjoyed a delicious breakfast before hitting the highway again. I felt like absolute shit, having stayed up all night & had little sleep over the past few days. Sleeping, showering and being able to brush my hair again have been fantastic.

So there you have it. My first experience of Burning Man. I understand now why they greet you at the gate with "Welcome home". It really does feel wonderful to be there. It's a community with a hidden language, a deeper level of understanding where everyone is equal and we all treat each other with respect and admiration. I liked the person I was in this place. Everyone was a human being actually "being". Living in each moment, loving each other & being generous and non-judgmental, instead of the consuming, ignorant, detached humans we have become in our society. It was really eye-opening and I'm so glad I did this at the beginning of my trip. I feel more open & at ease to be travelling by myself. I feel I can go up to strangers more easily & strike up a conversation. Another cool thing about Burning Man is you can choose to experience whatever you wish there. If you want to learn how to crochet, spin a giant hoola hoop, learn to trapeze, walk down the street naked, do yoga, kiss a random stranger, gaze into someone's eyes for an hour (they actually had a class for this), get tied up & be whipped or get wasted on mushrooms or LSD, all before lunch time then this is the place to do it. There was no judgement or expectation at all. That was all in my head. If you don't want to do something, that's ok. If you do, that's ok too. The liberation of this place was incredible and I hope that this mentality spreads throughout the world so that we can all live in a more peaceful and loving place.

Wanderer

After what seems like forever sitting at a desk in a cubicle, spending almost every weekend over the last 4 months finishing my Masters and serving chicken for over 400 hours, the time is almost here to start my travel adventure. No work, just play, for six whole months. Every moment prior to this has led me to this moment. Years and years of talking about it and it's almost time! The excitement is building, and soon I will be boarding that plane to the USA and experiencing the freedom of travel and the magic of meeting strangers and seeing new places. What an amazing, incredible feeling.