back in the spanish saddle

hola, all.

sorry for my absence. yeah, yeah, i say that all the time. it ain't easy keeping up with this on the road. internet and free time are both unreliable, and i get swept up in the daily life on the journey is anything but predictable.

three fantastic (though not without some obstacles) weeks in brazil have passed and i am now in santa cruz, bolivia. i didn't intend to spend more than a few hours here but, as luck (or lack of planning) would have it, there is no decent bus (if i don't opt for the ¨first class¨option, i will be sitting next to chickens and defecating humans, or so i've been warned) to sucre until at least tomorrow, if not monday, so i am chillin in the cruz with some israelis who have kind of adopted me. (i arrived at the airport in santa cruz last night at 1 am and intend to await sunrise there but quickly decided this was a shitty option and, as soon as i recognized two israelis froma previous encounter somewhere in argentina, i started talking to them, asked where they were shacking up, and hopped in a cab with them.)

but backing up a moment, let me say that brazil is quite a place, and the people are beautiful, passionate, exuberant, though largely unable to communicate in any language other than their own. that was a minimal challenge, but i got by alright. the beaches, for the most part, were stunning in beauty and devoid of too many turistas. i loved being in a bathing suit all the time, not wearing shoes or makeup, drinking tropical juice cocktails and eating salgados (empanadas, sort of) while walking down the street. i could have had better weather (the rio flood was one for the books), but i will keep that in mind when planning my return trip, which i certainly will be taking as i now have a 5 yr visa to call my own.

so here i am in santa cruz, bolivia. i had a cab driver today take me to the bus station while we chatted the whole way (en español) and then upon getting there i realized i didn't have proper change to pay him. so i asked if he'd wait for me and could drive me back. he waited about 15 minutes, took me back to my hostel, and didn't charge me anything extra for the wait. i didn't even want to say goodbye! i love marco. other than that, not much to do here, but it's not so bad. i intend to get some things done if i can. launder some clothes, get some sleep, spend less money than brazil, maybe learn some more hebrew. from here i plan to hit up sucre which i know little about but i enjoy having minimal expectations. someone tells me to go, and i go. simple as that. also will probably go to potosi and then to uyuni for the storied salt flats tour. after that, north to la paz and then maybe lake titicaca and/or the jungle before crossing over to peru.

i still have no idea what to do with my life. surprise? i don't know where i want to live when i come back, i don't know how i'll manage any kind of job and/or routine, i don't know what i'll do when i have all of my clothes and shoes again and don't see a need for them. life on the road is a strange beast. nothing makes sense anymore, nothing outside the frame of this experience at least. nothing is standard, redundant, recognizable. it's all new, even if it's happened before.

where will all of this land me? who the f knows. but for now, i am still going. there are definite dips in mood and luck--sometimes i wonder what the hell i'm doing. but then the highs validate those other moments that are less sweet. for anyone who has never done this though, i want you to know that it is not a VACATION. it is stressful and uncomfortable at times. you have to think fast and sacrifice and be miserable here and there to get to where you want to be (both literally and figuratively). i mean, look at me. i'm kinda crazy for doing this, but i'm here. and i dig that.

not my proudest entry--i haven´t even made a good joke or pun or even proofread--but i wanted to drop some updates on you so there they is.

here's some boliviano lovc for ya.

PAZ.