And life goes on

Wel wel wel my friends.

Now its a log time ago that I wrote in Inglish. It is alot to tel but I´ll trye to make it short just to make you updated about what is hapening in my life.
In midle of october I finaly left Puerto Montt and my boyfriend ther. It was sad but I new I would see him again so it was ok. I left on my bice, alone with more or les 45 kilo luggage, it was a chalange to upp thous hils, but after some time I got much beter, and in the end of the trip I was almost flying. About one mounth I used on my jurney up to Santiago, and it was a beutiful mounth. What I enjoyed most was to stay in fisical activity every day and feal how my boddy got stronger and how it resisted more. But some times I felt lonly, when I was tired and I mist my boyfriend the upphils felt long and hard, then I would have loved to have my horses there to give mi some company. Because the horses are god compani and they give good confort when you need it. And trawelig by bice is wery diferent form with horses, It is much faster and you don´t have the peacefulnes and the same time to observar the plants and the nature or to conversate withe the people on the road. But yo do get to see more places in shorter time, the truck drivers gets your friends and it is lovely to feel the wind in the face in the down hils after a long swetty upphil.
The downhils were absolutly the best part when I felt flying of, that´s when the butterflyes song in my stomack and I felt happy.

Wel I lefte Puerto Montt and found my way upp the region de los lagos, and from there crosed over to Valdivia. Los Lagos is famus for its buty and it is true that it is butiful. The landcape is more or les open with many farms with greman origion. But in the bacground the vulcanos raises upp with all its power and buty, and when they reflect them selfe in the water in the lakes you get filed with a feeling of gratfullnes because they alowd you to admire them. In Pucon the turist capital of this aerea I did like everyone else and I walked to the top of the vulcano Villa Rica. It was a nice tour, with a beutifull overview but unfortunatly couldnt get all the way to the top because this day ower mother earth was coocing her dinner on fire made with wet wood so it was allot of smoke. But I would have loved to see the magma down there, they say it is impresing.

Wel in Valdivia I visited some friends that I got to knowe in Villa Ohiggens one year ago, and with them I had a grate time. They are a lovely family and that whay I tel about them here, to say thank you for good days.

Some days on the bice was hard. When it was raining the whole day from morning to night and and the wind was blowing strong in my face, the mud roads feals like glue and you are wondering if you are going forward or bacwords in the on flat mark. Other days were fantatic, The sun was shining, a smouth wind blowing in my back and all the down hils gave speed to the upphils so I hardly had to use force to get to the topp, the landscape beutifual and the smel of the flowers along the road was sweet. Thou days I wiched never ended and I felt like flying along the road.

Another nice experience on the road was the meatings with all the people. I got invited to sleap in peoples private hoase, slept in many very sympatic hostels were I wa the only turist amont workers and truck drivers. And everyone was so impresed that I traweld alone on bice. They all agreed on that I was a brave girl, and they asked and asked but also told me many intersesting things. An they wanted to helpe.

One of the funny thing with chilenos is their meaning of what is safe. One day I was bicing I was on my way upp a mountain on a small dirt road. It stooped a older coppel and asked if I wanted a lift, I thought that a lift upp the hill wouldnt be bad becaus my legs were tired and the evening would soon start. On the top they desided to bring me back dow on the other side. Upp there it ws beutifull with a view to vulcano Llaima (witch in january had an eruption) the sonw was stil laying on the ground and it was silence! Well they decided that upp there It was to dangerus for me to stay, all alone out there in the nature, and the Puma....Teh Puma could be dangerus tehy told me. The trough is that the Puma normaly runs away if they smel a human. Wel they tock me down to the valey and there they told me that. If you folow this road you wil get to highway 5, there y´ll be safe... a four fealds highway where the slow ones drives in 110... ther I will be safe on my bice....

And as I sed the truck drivers get your friends. One hot day I was strugeling with a some kilometers long upphill, the swett was wetting all my clothes and dripping fom my nose. In the middle a truck slowed down roled down the window and hold out a bottle with cold mineral wather and the mesaage you can do it only halfe the way left...This was a road with lots of trailer trafic and they was all biping in ther horns, spechaly in theend of the day when they crossed me for secud or the third time.

My road went in zik zak between the montains and the cost, and I did get to see allot. One of the most beutifule roads went from Lonimay in the montains. Wel if you can call it a road...becaus I think it was only posible to ride a horse or to cary your bice on the back. That was allmost what I had to do in some parts. Becaus it was steap and stony and with ome kilo lugage it was neater posible or me to bice upp or tu run down without my bice tipping ower. The probleme in the down his was not that it would fal to the sides but that it would do a 180 degree flip and land nice and softly on the toppof me, witsh it allso did ones or twice, but in low motion and without anny damage for me or the bicke. Wel brouses i got, but thay don´t count. The nature and the wiew on this crosing were fantastic, I could camp werever I would and it was full of nice clean water singin on its way down to the lake.

On my way I allso got to see de national sport of chile, the rodeo. It is a entertaning sport were two riders is chasing the calf inside s sircel. They don´t harme the calf and it is fasinating to see how they manage their horses. It is allso intersting to to observe all the other cutums that folows a rodeo, how they dreses, the mans wirld and the wimens wirld, the party that folows were they dance Cueqa, ther national dans wich simulate the proud cook and the flirting henn in their dans to get to knowe each other.

The last day on my bicke was my wormest day. And this was the day I desided not to continue with my bicke futher north and not to cross the Atacama desert alone. The heat was unbearebel, the sunn vas burning throug my pulower and my back got brown that day, my hands where I had sun cream got smal wabels from the sun burning them, and I felt dissey from the heat. They told me the day after that the temperature was 36 degrees in the shadow 6 in the evening, and that the day before when I was sitting on my bice was wormer. With the black asfalt obsurbing the sun and the heet y can imagen how the temprature was in the midle of the day..I have onlo two words to describe it....FUCKING HOT!!! Wel after that day I desided to continue my jurny by bus for some time, when the suffering getts bigger than the plaser I prefere to change my way of traweling.

Wel I arrived to Codegua close to Santiago to the farm of a freind that I got to knowe in Villa Ohiggens a year ago. And this ended upp as a nice and interesting experiense to get to knowe him and his wife bether. They are well off and are a part of the high susiety in Chile. And ther way of living, their walues and ther way of dooing is wery diferent form what I got to knowe on the countryside in Patagonia. They are beutiful persons, and they have helped me allot, they tock realy good care of mee and I had lots of funn togetehr with them. But some times I got chokt because I got to se the sosial clas diferenses in Chile and the old cods for the propper way to mingel with a person from a diferent clas. Wel in general y dont mingel wit some from another clas but sometimes you have to comunicate with them and that incluse sertan rools. And for mee theat was choking to see how you treat people diferent because they come from a lower sosial and economical clas then they do. After this days together with my friends I bether understud the diferenses in the Chilenian susaiety among the old welty familys and the majorety of the people. It is a big differense and they are stil stuct in the old lord and worker structure, with all that includes.

Wel the jurney continued and after a suprice wisite to Puerto Montt on the birhtday of Marcelo I tock the bus for 26 hours upp to Arica in the very north of Chile. It was a long but spesial buss ride. I have never in my life visited a desert before and it was amasing! It`s just so dry, so open, so hard but still soft, so crul but beutiful, so ded but so alive. Because it is nothing there, for hundrds of hundreds kilometers it is not a sign of life, but the colers in the mountens when the evening sun sets take your breth and you feel the heat and the energy before the cold night starts. And there in the midle of nowhere you loock down in a little vally and you se a litle river surounded of fresh livly colers shining in our ais. The coulr of grean has never been as beutifl as this, and you know that in this valy it is life. This is when you undrstand how important wather is for life and how important it is to mantain it clean, becaus witout wather there are no life.

In the end I arrived in Arica and it is a harbour, the senter is not the most beutifull but the contrast with the dessert and the see is fasinating. In Arica I satayd in the house of a girl who I met trough the web page chouch surfing, and had a good time with there while I surched for information for a track I wanted to do in the moantains. Wel the infomation I wanted i never found so I ended upp taking the buss upp to Putre and Lago Chungara on the border of bolivia. It is a lake 45oo m over sea level and it was beutiful, if you ever go to this aerea you should visite it. But upp there I notised that I dint have aire. I was walking so slow, and had to rest allot if not I would gett a terible hedaik, it was the first time I´ve been in this altitude and it was interesting to observe the boddey and how it reacted.

Upp there in the moantains I had a funny experiense with the police. Because it is few busses upp there I asked if the police were going the same way as mee and if I could come with them. An they told me; no problem come to the station at 9 am tomorow. When I arrived I jumped in the car and of we went, so far so good, but after a litle time they stopped and started working stopping cars, and I thought; wel if they dont go fuether I have to hitch hike, but they told me to wate and so I did. After a little while they stoped a trailer and they shoted at me..." this man is going to the border of bolivia you can go with him.." That is the most efective way I ever have hich hiced in my life... I have manny times lafth of this episod.. and it was nice, I saftly arrived where I wanted.

Upp there in 4500 meter I notised that I was quite handicaped but I was fine. But i girl i got to knowe woke up in the midle of the night womiting and with a terribl heddaik, But for me it was wurth it, the colores, the viev the alpaca and vicunas eating peasfuly in front of the vulcano was amasingly beutifull.

From here I left back to sea level and found my way to Iquiqe a sitey in the midle of the dessert on the coast. What is intersting here is that all the houses in the senter is made of wood, imported from USA in the 18th sentry. Here I got to live in the house of a very sympatick cupple un the beach some km out side the town. And it was beutifull... I got to svim in the spasific oacen for the first time in my life at day time and night time, and it was fantastic to lay floting in the water knowing that it was open wather from there to the other side of the wurld. In Iquique I allso got to trye parra gliding, that was a beutifull experiense. Flying there over the desert locking down on the cars which are running around like aunts under you, to see the structures of the montanias broken upp by the waves of the oachen constantly cleaning the beach pasiantly with its fuerse. That was a feling of freedom and an amazing experiense.

From Iquique I went back to Santiago where I piced upp my father on the airport. It was realy nice to se him again after a year, and we did get a nice trip togeterh. First we left to see Valpariso, through my whole stay in Chile I have heard that Valpariso is such a beutifull town and that you just have to go there, that its not posible to stay in Chile without wisiting Valpariso. Wel we arived and I cant say I`m imprest by this town, it is so far the most dirty and filthey sitty I´v seen so far i Chile and I hve never seen so manny druncen chaby people in the streat in the midle of the day as in Valpariso. Vel the arcitecter is spesheal in the way that all the houseses is build in the hillsides so they all stay on poles but I think half of them is falling apart, valparisio is also supose to have a interesting cultural and bohemic life. I would say it is enought with one day to wisite this town.

The jurney went on and after 24 hours on the buss and a stayover in calama we arived in San Pedro Atacama. San Pedro Atacama is a smal turistic town in the midle of the desrt at 2500 meater. The hoases are made of adobe wich is a mud mixture and the town is sympatic. Here we made and exursion to gaisires, we woke upp early in the morning and went upp to 4000 m and upp there it was freasing in the early morning. But beutiful, because of the season the water from the gaisires was not higher then 5-6 meaters but when the sun raised it ws beutiful with the light palying in the fog and the wather.

We desided to selebrate christms in Bolivia on a trip to Sala de Uyuni. we let from San pedro on the 24 desember together with three others. The fist day we drowe throug a fantastic landscape upp in 4000 meaters, the mountains colerd in red, white, gray, grean, and brown were shining in the lakes full with flamincos. Ant the lakes as wel had ther caracteristic color in red, blu, green og white, all dependong on the mineral in the ground.

The first night we spendt in a hostal close to labo colerado, a fantasticl lake wich shined in redd and withe, but with a terrible wind blowing every afternoon. It was beutifull upp there but it was dificult to find the christmas feeling, with salt spageti and dry bred foe dinner and a groop of brasilienos wich was drincking and vomiting in the corners.

The day after we was driving throug a lanskape with an icredible buty on a road that gave us a good but masach. We pased several lagoons and and obersved the vicuñas vaking freely in the montains and it seamd like they are eating stones becaus y cant see anny vegetation in the aerea. I the nighet we got to salar de uyuni and we slept on the chore in a hotel mad of salt. It is not a beutiful hotel but the consept is interesting and we got served llama meat to christmas dinner, it was a nice evening we had there and it was interesting to see the litle museum that they had build with three mumis inside.

Then we crosed over the salar Uyuni and that was a fantastic wiew... it was amasing how the salt is firm and that it is posible to cross it by car, and it is so flat so white and with a six angeld stucture everyvere... It was a buty and fasinating. Tehre in the midle it is a Island full of catuses and we were lucy to get there in the beginning og the lowering, and it was beutifull...thiopus big flowers in the midle of a aerea so dry and arrid. I you scroll down you wil see ten fotos from theis tripp together with my norwegian text.

After crossing the desert we got into the sity of uyuni wich is a quiet plase full og garbidg outside of the turist senter. It is moantains of garbidg in the road crossing and outside of the sity the buches is cowerd byplastic bags so that you cant see the ground. Its amasingly ugly and sad to see how we humanes is treating our mouther earth. This is also a sign of powerty and the people living upp her are realy poor. The wilages have notheing and you are wondering of what do they live... it is dry everyvere, and its hardly posible to gro anything.

The rest of the tripp was dominated of beutiful landscapes smal farms, desert and haigh altitud vallys with llamas grasing peasfuly next to the flamincos.

The forth day we returned to San Pedro Atacama and tock directly a bus to Santiago. In Santiago we had to wate some hours on the busstation before we could move on. On here on the bustation the bad luck arrived. Wile I was chikking the departurtime, my father stayed alon with our lugage, in the same moment the buss arrived and then someone was running of with one of our bacpacs.. Gaad that was bad, and I got realy angry, but because of the people it wasnt posibel to anything. There we lost our pasaportes credit cards, camera, photo disc, glases and sunglases, and all the other ting that you normaly carry around in a smal bakpac on transit. for me it spechealy sucked to loos my fotos form my bice trip because I still hadn´t made a bacupp of them.. Wel chit hapends and life goes on.

We arrived in Puerto Montt and there my boy friend was wating neviosly on the bus station for uss to come, and to meet my father. When they bouth got familiar with talking english they went good along and in the enda they achualy made frends.. so that was realy nice.

In Puert Mont we hanged aroung some days to fiks all the papaer stuff for the robberyand then we left by bus and bout to Palena. Waw it was grate to come back to palena to se my friends and espeshealy the women where I lived for so long. I alls got to see my horses again and they are now nie and fat with ashiny fur and that was beutifull to see.. Together with my father we made a litle horce ride and I then rememberd how much I ove to sitt on the horsebac and how peasfuly I feel inside sitting upp there fealing the rythem og the horce walking and listening to its hoovs hittig the groand. I lov it.

After this nice days in Palena we tock a flaight back to Puerto Montt, rented a car and went of to Chiloe. Chiloe is an island south of Puerto montt and it is famus for potatos, feritails and in newer time salmones. It is a beutiful and charmy plase and I liked the vilages there with its old wooden houses and gren landscape. During a year it normaly rains 3 meeters so it is good to bring a rain jacket if you want to go there. Wel our misjon on this island was to wisite the blue muselfarms there, so that my father could get an idee how they work with musels here in Chile. So we drove arund wisiting musel farms, and other institutions working with musels. It was interesting and as wel hard work some times because I had to translate for my father all the time. Back in Puerto Montt the musel exursion continued and all in all I lerned allot about this industry.

Then the mounth with my father was ower and it was then time for him to go back to Norway. And I have to say that we had a grate time together, it is the first time I have traweld with my fatehr and I`d like to do it again.

After i had seen my fateher wel of on the air port I went back to Puerto Mott to stay some time with m boyfriend and to wate for a new pasport. I had two nice weeks there, cuiet and easy going enjoying my time with Marcelo.

After twoo weeks it was time to leav again.. and I had no idea that it would bee so sad to go.. I cryed and he cryed, standing there on the busstation knowing that we want meet again for gaad knowes how long, he triced me to fal in love with him that basterd, and I like it. Never before in my life it has ben so imprtant to go to internett, to write e-mails and to see if he is conected on msn just to get his sweet words. I achualy realy miss that boy and I hope that I soon vil get the chans to see him again. Whel this is the price I have to pay for traweling all over the wurld, it is beutifull but as wel it hurts.

I left to Santiago and prepered the las things and of I went to Argentina. Another time, there on the buss from Santiago to Mendoza crossing the beutifull moantains I cried, knowing that I was leaving Chile and by this leaving futher and furter away form my boyfried. In Mendoza i found a nice hostal and there i stayed 4 days. One day I went with the others in the hostal on a wine tour wissiting 3 difeent winerys and a choealat and licur factry. It was interesting to see the whole proses from harvsting the grapes to the reddy wine. It is amasing how bigg wolum they produse.

Another day when I went with a groop of 5 other form the hostal to see a national park close bye Mendoza became a dramatic day. befre we arrived in the park we had to walk some hundred meeters on the road and then sudenly two yung boys came running aftr uss one with a gun and the other manding hour backpacs... I was frosen and was thiking that my bacpack they want get, because there I had my camera.. And I had luck i didnt loos it. My friend form switzerland gave them her bag and then thy runn off. KLucely she only had some wather and a litle of monney so the lost weere not big.

So no I have been robed to with a gun, it was not a nice experiense and I feel less safe in bigger towns now then before.

After this experiense the tripp went to Salta via Catamarca wich is a quiet litle town on the halfe way. And now I´m in Salta, it is a turist place but I like it here, the town is more or les quiet and the people nice. But what i like most is what I´m going to do next. Finaly I will bye a doncey and start walking in the mountains here in the north. I will walk on old Inca paths and dirt roads, climbe upp to 4500 m and down to the jungl.. Its going to be fantastic. I´m heding for Bolivia and think I wil use abut two mounths on this jurney.

In salta I got help frome a Mountain Guide Mariano Merani to set upp the rout, get the contacts and to bye the doncey. He has been a big help organising it all.

So tomorow I´ll leave Salta to bye a doncey and it is incredible, finaly I wil fulfill the dream I had when I was leving Norway, to walk with a donkey in the montains on the treritory of the Incas. Its nothing more than fantastic and I promice to write you all aboyt it.

wich me good luck!