#apparently there's a rhythm game portion... goodbye

[catinfroghat]

I'm really out of practice with the controls so I know I will be dying a million times if I use the computer. The joysticks on my switch lite are a lot easier but I think I'll still be struggling knowing Toby Fox

[italicwatches]

GAMERS! Episode 02

Well yesterday ended bad and I’m still not doing great, but I can only put this off for so long. It’s GAMERS!, episode 02! Here we GO!

-We begin exactly where we left off, with Karen trying to be tsuntsun as Keita is being too kind for it to really work, and Tasuku just stares. And then, banana. Not a great day for her.

-Opening! And this opening has tons of game references, which we’re going to count down! Our very first one, right at the start after the title screen, looks like generic zombie action…But I disagree! That specific style of first-person viewpoint with minimal UI, to me, can only come from one place: The lightgun action genre! And if we’re talking lightguns and zombies, well, that can only mean The House of the Dead, Sega’s classic zombie-shooting franchise! Its very first release in 1996 was part of the wave of early arcade 3D games as we would understand them today, not counting the various 80s-era experimentations using hyper-minimalistic graphics and all that. The series is actually still going strong in Japan, with a new title announced earlier this year! Only time will tell if they’ll bring it to a home console and into the US market. As an aside, you can get HotD 2 and 3 on a compilation disc for the Wii that’s pretty cheap, pretty easy to find, and of course Wiis practically fall out of thrift shops when you open the doors, so you can totally get your lighten action with minimal effort and cost!

-DAY 02: Uehara Tasuku and New Game+

-So everyone is soon talking and gossiping about what they just saw, as Keita tries to just play his damn games, and Tasuku soon calms down his little entourage. Whatever’s going on with that loser isn’t their problem. But soon they’re deciding that Keita is getting too high and mighty for being such a loser…Until Tasuku shuts that down. Even as he’s starting to not have such good vibes about his friends anymore…

-And as class goes on, he can’t figure out what the hell is going on in that guy’s head…

-Lunchtime! Pink-haired girl comes to join Tasuku and his friends for lunch, tasty tasty lunch! And she brought some for him too! It…was a cute kitty when she put it in the box. Now it’s more of a murder face. And that’s why you’ve got to either overstuff the box when you do a design, or be damn careful with it. Reasonable portions and genki exuberance do not mix.

-So apparently even her class has heard about what happened between Keita and Karen, as Tasuku is about the only one to not be surprised by it. He can’t tell the reasons why, but they clearly existed…As he flashes back to when his pink-haired girlfriend confessed to him. And had a pile of snow fall off the roof and pile down onto her. Which both messed up her confession, and his original plan to let her down gently, and then things just kinda…happened.

-And now here they are.  She’s super in love with him, and he’s a confused mess at the best of times…Later that day, they’re all down at the arcade, to of course use the photo booth. But packing that whole group in there is difficult at best, so Tasuku chooses to excuse himself, claiming he’s going to the bathroom…Of course, instead he gets sidetracked around a claw game with old PS1 games in it, titles like Darker Blue, THE BLOCK, MOTORGAMES, and METEMPSYCOSE. Also what is clearly a shogi game but I can’t read Japanese so I’m just gonna assume that it’s called Shogi 2: The Sequel To Shogi. Only took them quite a few hundred years but they finally followed up on the much beloved classic!

-So he ends up throwing some coins in, putting his claw game skills to use to hook something something PHANTASIA…When he suddenly has a flashback. And he doesn’t see his current, stylish self in the glass reflection, but his old self, the middle school dork who loved games…Quit it, quit staring at him…Quit laughing at him, all of you…FOCUS, Tasuku!

-Deep breath. He hooks PARADIGM OF PHANTASIA this time, bringing it up…As he tries to get these flashbacks of middle school hell to quit happening…Wait that’s not a reflection of him. It’s Keita, watching him play! What the hell are you doing here?! Well…He…Thought you might like games, since you were playing this over any of the other claw games…

-And Tasuku retrieves what he got, as Keita is all up on it wanting to see! And oh man this is a CLASSIC, you should play it for sure! It got mixed reviews at the time since it claimed to be a revolution but then was kind of more of the same, but it’s a really good example of its era and looked back on way more fondly now! It’s top notch!

-Tasuku don’t care.

-…Right. Sorry. Um, well, goodbye! Keita promptly gets himself gone, going to the video game area of the arcade…Where Tasuku inevitably ends up. And he sees that Keita is…Woo boy. Keita is being very nervous, trying to get a single-player round on one of the fighting games, but of course everyone wants to versus on Arc System Works’s many storied and top-quality fighting games! So finally, Keita just up and goes to leave…When Tasuku decides to just grab the dork by the shoulder. Come on.

-Keita tries to insist he’s not into guys. Okay don’t even start with that ridiculous cliche they both know that’s not what this is. You want to play a game? Then they’re gonna play a fuckin’ game.

-So it’s to the Persona 4 Arena etc. etc. etc. cabs, where Keita admits that he wanted to play it, but felt all nervous having to learn it slowly when other folks were, you know, all…intense. Jeez, this nervous, awkward, passive kid is the one who just shot Karen down hard? …Fuck it, all in. What’s your relationship with Karen?

-Pardon? Oh, right, this morning…Look, you don’t have to say if you don’t want to, but Tasuku was curious.

-Cut over to pink-haired girl waiting, bored, for Tasuku to get back. Also her phone has a kitty case on it. I see a theme. Which is when she spots a blonde over by the crane games…?

-So Tasuku’s heard the whole story upstairs, and the only thing he doesn’t get is, why the club didn’t work for him. You like games. They like games. You want friends who like games. Tasuku’s not really seeing the problem. But before Keita can figure out how to put it into words, one of the sets opens up! And Keita’s so eager to get his chance that he wants to just play! (Fighting games in Japan are typically locked together as a twofer, where you literally play head to head against the person on the opposite side. This is in contrast to the side-by-side play of American fighting game cabinets, particularly back in the day. Depending on the game, it’s not uncommon for them to be able to go into local lobbies with all the other cabinets in the facility, or even play properly online.)

-Of course, the trouble is that Keita is so eager and enthusiastic and wants to Just Have Fun that it’s throwing off Tasuku’s more competitive side…As ROUND 1 starts! And Keita just goes at it, as Tasuku can see that the guy’s definitely better than his girlfriend Aguri. She just kinda mashes buttons with wild abandon, while Keita clearly understands what he’s more or less supposed to be doing…

-But he’s also incredibly easy to read. Guy like him tries all the buttons at the start of the match, does tons of jump-in approaches, relies strongly on heavy attacks and doesn’t use, or defend against, throws properly…Tries to just rely on projectiles when things start going wrong, and finally spams his super when his health is near the end. And that’s how he loses to Tasuku, who barely lost any health.

-But ROUND 2! Which starts to go totally sideways…As despite things, Keita is actually having fun…And Tasuku almost starts to feel some of the old joy that drove him back in middle school. …The only trouble is, Keita is so bad at this that he’s only able to feel a tiny smidge of it. Seriously, he’d go up against elementary kids who did better!

-So, match done, other people want on. And Tasuku finds himself wanting to play something else with this dork, something that’ll be a more even match. So Keita races over towards a lightgun game for co-op play, and pretty soon they’re just goofing off, spending the afternoon working through the arcade’s multiplayer selection, as Keita is just enjoying this chance to get to play games with someone else for a change…And Tasuku can’t help but enjoy it too. Even as it starts to remind him of something that happened back in middle school…

-When Tasuku notices a certain blonde crouched down by a rhythm game , watching. …PAY NO ATTENTION TO HER OH GOD TIME TO FLEE! When Keita sees…The rest of Tasuku’s entourage, and he promptly flees himself. Karen spots him and tries to talk to Keita as he runs by, but Keita is in total panic-flee mode as he doesn’t even recognize that she’s there.

-And Aguri is rather upset with Tasuku for just totally ignoring her! She called tons and tons of times! …Well shit that explains why his pocket kept buzzing. Sorry, he didn’t even notice. How cold! But something’s bugging Tasuku…As he tosses Aguri his bag, and before he even puts together what he’s doing, he’s is sprinting off after Keita!

-Commercial break! Showing off the original PZP’s neon-infused ad campaign.

-And we’re back, with the PZ4’s own stark red ad series in the same aesthetic!

-The sun is low in the sky as Tasuku tries to find that jackass, where could he have run off to…THERE! Up on the foot bridge! Keita! Why, did, you, run? H-He wasn’t running away—CUT THE BULLSHIT.

-He…He wasn’t trying to run, he just…Why would you want a dork like him around? You have a life. Friends, and a girlfriend, and…

-And Tasuku snatches Keita up, and FUCK THAT SHIT. Do you have any idea how much he busted his ass to get here?! How hard he had to work to get superficial friends that don’t even know who he really is, how many things he enjoyed he had to dump to shed his geeky persona from middle school?! Don’t act like he just fucking ‘has a life’ like it’s that EASY! You’re just fucking being salty, trying to justify the rut you can’t climb yourself out of! You think you want to play games by yourself, without having to try so hard? Then why’d you spend the whole day playing every damn multiplayer game you could the instant someone was willing to join you?!

-Nut up, chill the fuck out, and go tell that damn girl you’ll join her fucking ridiculous club! Or at the very least SAY SOMETHING!

-…Take it back. Take it back! He finds himself snatching Tasuku right back up, but his grab ends up with Tasuku halfway over the rail of the footbridge and oh god those are really fast cars really far below this just got Too Real! Even as Keita doesn’t even notice because he’s too busy in his own mess as finally it comes to the end where he’s a lot more mad about the insult to Karen than to him. Him being insulted, he can take. Himself, he dislikes almost as much as you do. But her…She’s driven. She’s kind. She tried to bring him into her circle twice. She, doesn’t deserve this from you!

-Yes yes okay okay DON’T THROW HIM MOTHER OF GOD! And Keita finally realizes what the situation he’s in is, as he yanks Tasuku back onto solid ground in a panic. And Tasuku, Tasuku flashes back again…To that fateful day at the end of middle school, when he packed up all his PZ3 games. Games like BASE COMBAT, and CALL OVER STRIKE: DESTRUCTION WARFARE, sealed up in cardboard. Abandoned his old glasses for contacts, and he realizes how much he was comparing Keita, to his old self…

-So, okay, deep breath. But jeez, to think you’d turn that girl down outright, and then defend her club that hard…You’ve got stones, Keita. …He’s going back to the arcade. You want to come?

-He’s going to head home…There’s a game he really does want to play on his own. And…Sorry for all this. Just forget about it, man. See you tomorrow.

-And Tasuku heads off, deciding that Keita’s got a real earnest heart in him…When he happens to pass by Karen, who saw the whole thing and is all blushy and squirmy and giddy over seeing Keita defend her honor like that.  …Oh dear, this is gonna be a mess. You okay, girl?

-Yes yes the great Tendou Karen is fine! Yahuh sure thing enjoy your romance. WHAT WAS THAT?! You and Keita up there. You’re into him. Karen’s brain goes poof, as Tasuku decides he’s gonna have to see how this goes…And keep poking Keita a little. The guy’s got some real fire, he just needs to let it out.

-Oh and then he gets back to the arcade, where Aguri is really mad. Oh. Oh dear. And that’s how Tasuku ends up having to spend even more money on plush toys out of crane games to try and calm her down. Even as he’s realizing how…kind of thin the premise for their relationship is. It’s been six months, and they more hang out than date. Hell, what even made her want to go out with him?

-So he just finally asks her that question…Expecting it’s because she thinks he’s cute, or tough, or stylish, or something else like tha—

-Because you were so cool when you first got her a plushy back in middle school! …Wait. Middle school? He never got a plush for anyone in…middle…He was a total geek! He…Oh god.

-And he remembers. That face. A nervous, ordinary, kind of sweet girl. Who he gave a plush he just happened to win, just so he didn’t have to carry it home. She fell for him hard, and when they ended up in the same school, she saw her chance…Only to learn he’d turned into this super stylish guy! She had to totally reinvent herself, in turn, to be the kind of girl who could stand next to the new him…

-And Tasuku just locks up, as he puts it together, and remembers the old her, and his brain just locks up, and finds himself feeling more…Something, something he can’t identify at all, as it sends him into a panicked flight as he tries to grasp his own heart!

-Next morning, class. Tasuku gets in, and spots Keita already in his seat. …Hey, you were right. That game you saw him won yesterday really was pretty fun. He’ll let you know when he’s done, maybe you can recommend something else to him. And Tasuku’s friends see how much of a good mood he’s in, as Tasuku admits he’s been having a good time with games these last few days…

-Credits! Which looks really cool, but doesn’t have any other particular game references.

-Aftercredits! It’s a few days later, and Karen is in her own class, in a complete daze…Because her brain is lost thinking about Keita kicking ass like that…When she hears someone mention Keita’s name! Oh god is he here?! He is. But he’s here for…Mono-san, in the corner playing her PZ Vivio. Karen’s brain goes poof.

Well, we have certainly had a shift. The games are now a bit by the wayside for the complicated love shapes. We’ll have to see what happens next time, in episode THREE of GAMERS! Wait for it!

[lugano2rwanda]

Monday October 31st

The travel to Rwanda was long. Bus to Milan, fly to Rome, fly to Addis Ababba, Ethiopia, and finally fly to Kigali, Rwanda. The first bus was 1 hour, the first flight was 9 hours, the layover was 5 hours, and the last flight was 3 hours. Ethiopian Air was super nice. The flight attendants looked like African princesses with their beautiful traditional garb. Of course all of them were gorgeous with super smooth skin. They were all really nice too. I was sitting next to Keely and Caroline on the first flight. They had these really nice TV systems with games, TV shows, movies, music, and more. I watched Me before you and city of ember before my TV started glitching in the middle of the sound of music. Such a shame. I was trying to see where I went in Salzburg. Me before you and Caroline and I bawling which was funny because I didn’t really like the book, it just made me mad. The food on the plane was ok. They served it at 2am, which sucked for many reasons. One was that they cut the lights on around 1 am to begin serving dinner so I couldn’t sleep even though I knew I had at least 30 minutes before I got any food. When I did get food I chose the fish, which was a terrible mistake. I did not like it at all. I sucked it up and ate what I could, knowing I had sun chips to eat in my backpack. The second flights food was MUCH better. We got this spicy chicken with rice. It was amazing. The chicken was so tender. I will be dreaming about that chicken the rest of the time in Africa I know it.

 So finally we had arrived in Kigali. We all got in busses and went to our hotels. My group stayed in Uranus while the guys and the other groups went to another hotel (a much nicer one where apparently celebrities stay when they are in Kigali). Immediately it was so different because we were stared at wherever. We are still stared at wherever. It is so strange but cool. Africa reminds me a lot of Fiji. We went to exchange money. 100$= 83,000 Rwandan Francs. Oh my. Then we went to dinner. It was a buffet style with meat, salad, fruit, veggies, fish, etc. It was all pretty good. The DJ was bangin. He was playing all the 80s hits!!! It was more amazing than coyote or mint. The next day we went to the Genocide Memorial. It was very emotional. I cried at the opening video and the children’s room. The children’s room was the worst. No doubt. It had pictures of kids with their favorite activity or food, their characteristics, what they wanted to be when they grew up, how old they were, and how they died. It was gut wrenching. Machetes, grenades, bludgeoned, burned, and thrown against a wall. The youngest was 9 months. I sobbed. The whole thing was so poignant. It really makes you wonder how something like that could have happened not so long ago. It made me think of the race relations in the US and pray that it never got that bad. People say that it wont happen but it is worrisome with all the negative attention that’s going on right now. Especially with Trump. After that we went to grab some lunch. It was basically Rwandan chipotle. It was amazing. I got a burrito bowl with chicken, rice, beans, guac, pineapple salsa, regular salsa, sour cream, and cheese. Oh my gosh. So good. I’m not sad about missing chipotle in Paris anymore (not that I really ever was). Then we all said our goodbyes to the other groups heading off to their locations L it was sad. Its crazy that we’ve spent all this time together and suddenly were separated for a month. Then our group and the Rilima group headed off to our excursion site. Before we got there though Des wanted to stop at a market. We all got out and walked around and people flocked over to stare at the group of 20 white kids. It was so funny. All the children were so curious. Then the cutest thing happened. You could see the older women trying to convince the kids to do something and they weren’t having it. The women began to clap and I began to catch on to what was happening. Then finally 3 of the children gave in and started to dance. It was so cute. They were amazing!! They had so much rhythm and the moves they were doing were so cool! Then of course it was our turn because reciprocity ya know they embarrassed themselves and now it was our turn. Of course out of all 20 of us Baylee and I were the only ones who danced. We jokingly threw some moves out there like the classic sprinkler. To me I knew I wanted to dance when the women turned to me and started clapping because I wanted them to know that they aren’t just my entertainment. Were here to get out of our comfort zones and culturally bond and learn from each other. I wanted them to know that I was putting myself out there too. That’s how I’m going about this trip and I can honestly say that’s because of my experience in Fiji. Fiji really taught me a lot that I didn’t even realize. So even though I was embarrassed and scared because I cant really dance when its not gyrating your hips, I did it anyway because its about putting yourself into these experiences. Its not everyday you’re invited to a dance circle with people of a completely different culture. And how amazing was it that we could communicate without knowing each other’s language. The best part is, when we left. One of the little girls was doing the sprinkler. I wish I left her with some better dance moves. But really there is no better feeling than bonding with people so different from you.

 Then we arrived at our hotel for the next two nights. The place is super nice. It even has a heated shower!! Its so funny because the same room that is so so nice here would be considers dingy in Europe or America. I don’t mind though. Then we all hung out until dinner. I played spot it with a bunch of people while others took my cards against humanity and played that. It was so much fun. Then we all headed to dinner. Dinner was so good. We had this mushroom soup with these banana chips that were kinda like French fries, with string beans, potatoes, rice, and fruit. Then we all headed off to bed because we had an early morning the next day.

So this morning we woke up at 4:45am sharp for 5am breakfast. Then we drove about an hour to the border of Tanzania where we were having our SAFARIIIIII!!!!! It was so much fun!! We saw so many different animals. I felt like Bindi or Eliza Thornberry. We saw every different type of antelope (lots of waterbucks), buffalo, giraffes, monkeys, zebras (two that were actively participating in the creation portion of the circle of life), warthogs, hippos, crocodiles, elephants, and even a leopard (which are nocturnal so super surprising)!!! We unfortunately didn’t see a lion :(((((( I wanted to really badly but everything we saw we got pretty close to: antelope, zebras, elephants, and the giraffes were so freaking close. The giraffes were really cool. They were very curious and walked around us. I got some good video of two of them cuddling too. Everyone was knocked on the way home. It was pretty funny. I got some good video of keely ptfo. Everywhere we go the kids wave at us and yell ‘white people’ in kinyarwandan lololol. It’s super cute.

[winstonhcomedy]

“Dope A-F” - 4/11 - “Three Mics to the Wind”

YES YES YES YES! I am actually up to date so this will be a shorter one. I love it. I love keeping up with it. I love kisses, and hugs. I loveeeee youuuu laydees and baybees! Let’s do it.

I have had a trash week at work. I am dying. I am getting worn out, but I am so stoked because I get to get up three times today. So as soon as work ends I hope in my car and drive down to The Camel (hosted by Jameson Babbowski). My buddies Tom Hall and Jason Klingman were the headliners and I was the first one there.

I started to do some writing and then talked to Castagne on the phone for a bit. I got some bits worked out a bit (although they still need work I at least won’t be meandering through them). Tom showed up next. we got to talk and catch up a bit. Then other comics started filing in. Anthony came by for a bit before he had to leave and change for the other two mics that night. Then Buhse, Kusterer, Beau, Castagne and some others. 

Right before the show started there was an ok sized crowd. Looked like a few regular customers and some people waiting for the concert afterwards. Jameson went up and did some newer material. He did ok hosting, but he did have one joke hit really hard and then he got into the show. I was super into my writing because I had gotten caught up to talking to people before the show. The only person in the first three who went up that I got to pay attention to was Alex. He did pretty well, but he lost them a few times. I respected tf out of the fact when a bit didn’t work he still powered through. He was treating the mic like the gym and that’s the right thing to do. Kusterer went up after him and did the same. He focused on the material and that was right thing to do.

I managed to get three bits written out during the first three open micers. Which was good. I was ready to go up. The first headliner was Tom Hall and he had a fine set. He did some stuff I hadn’t heard before and got some pretty big pops. The crowd was a little reserved. I think because the show is so early and it is so bright outside. Also because of where we are performing the stage is backlit so as Kusterer/Hall pointed out in their sets it was like watching a silhouette do standup.

After Tom got off stage Klingman went up and did well. I love Klingman. He runs Wabi and is a super dope room. He had some stuff really hit, but he also had to work his ass off to get the room on his side. All in all I think they both had good sets.

Beau Troxclair was hosting the open mic portion of the show. So he did some political stuff including a bit about Trump being a sign of the apocalypse that was really funny. He then brought up two newer comics who did ok as well. 

I then went up and tried the bits that I had finally written out. For the most part they worked. The crowd had thinned out a bit by the time I got on stage, but the material was working. I had one bit not work at all because I really can not get the wording right. It is too clunky right now. I am going to table it for a while, and come back. The other two bits did well with the add ons. I’d give this set a solid C.  Very productive and I felt good about it.

After this I went outside to talk for a bit. After a while James Muñoz came out and said he was going to uber to Garden Grove. I told him I could drive him, and we headed over. It was good to catch up because I hadn’t talked to him in forever. We get there and there is already a few comics hanging out. Like Bert (who apparently had an incident the night before at McCormacks and got yelled at and grabbed again). Dude needs to not drink so much at shows if it’s sign to lead to confrontations like that, or at least respect what people ask. 

I talked to Bert about it and we joke around. Shoot the shit. Pearlstein, Ryan Mather (British Buhse), Anthony, Alex, Kusterer, and others show up. There is a nice little crowd here. I always struggle in this room usually, but it has been a crazy long time since I’ve ever been there. 

James goes up and is high energy. Some people leave, but the people that stay are a little quiet but attentive. He does some good riffing up top, and is has them ready. Great hosting job. Then he brings up Bert. He didn’t ride the wave of the energy at all, and kind of meandered through his set. You have to make people pay attention to you in these rooms sometimes, and this was one of those times.

After his set I was up next. I go up and people are talking, and I don’t do a ton of crowd work but I am trying to get them engaged. As my set goes on the laughs start to build. I am focusing on newer material and it is all hitting. I close on a strong laugh as well. This was a super fun and productive set. I got some good laughs and it built the whole time. I’d give this set a C+. Definitely places to improve, but I got better.

I then hung around a bit and waited to watch Anthony’s set before heading out. He had a hot one. Best one I saw that night in that room. All the stuff worked and he sold everything. I need to get better about really selling my material even at mics. I get self conscious. So when I see people like Anthony using his energy even at these mics it makes me realize I can be better.

I then headed to Penny Lane and the only other comic really there was Mike Engle. We talked about what he spent his tax return on, and what new games we wanted to play. There was a few people when the show got started, but they were paying attention so it was nice. A newer comic was talking to his friends and was like, “this is a good place to get started in comedy, this room can be hard. Usually there are some really great comics here (he then looks around and says) but none of them are here now.” It legit destroyed me. I laughed so hard when he said that. Like that is a comics fear and he worded it so perfectly.

The show started and  Jameson went up and did ok again but the same joke that killed earlier killed again and he closed on it. He then brought up Mike and he worked on some new and brought back some super old stuff to tighten up and add to. After him was Will Minor (newer comic who talks in a 1930s radio announcer voice on stage). Neither was able to truly catch the audience’s attention and I felt like this was going to be a long set.

I finally went up and had my best set of the night. I started slow, but slowly got them into my rhythm. I did a little crowd work just to get them to pay attention to. Two people were named Dakota and I riffed on that for a bit. I then went into the jokes I’d been working on all night. They were doing great. It was a super solid set with some big laughs (including a call back to Dakota). I’d give this a solid B. 

I hung out and talked for an hour or so with my friends to get caught up. We had a blast talking comedy and riffing in the back room. Anthony went up and had the set of the night. Just slaughtering dealing with the crowd (which had grown a bit and also got a little more rowdy). He then went into his material and everything was working. I will one day get over being self conscious at mics. Stuff like this inspires me. He’s been in the game and did it before me. So when he gets back in the groove like this it is super fun to watch and be around.

I then went downstairs to talk to him, Kusterer, and Ryan Mather. Kusterer brought up a comedian that I have had a problem with for a while but never speak about it. We got to talk and vent and it was super nice because I usually keep that stuff to me, but it had been weighing heavy on me. So him letting me vent and talking to me about it felt really good. I said my goodbyes and headed out. It had been a long but super fun day. I was ready for tomorrow!

THAT IS IT SWEETUMS! We got it. I am caught up and the blog is sweet. Thanks for reading and thanks for being adorable. xoxoxo til next time!

[hellopatagonia]

Day 6: Hike to Lago Peohe

This part of the hike was my most favorite part. Because of time constraints and the fact that we didn’t have any camping gear and opted to stay in only the Refugios we had to hike a longer portion of it this trail. We basically hiked all the way to the end when most people hike to the Italian camp,explore the trail to the french base camp, then stay the night back at the camp before continuing to Lago Peohe. JP was on a different schedule and planned to stay in the camp. For a time Andy and I split up as I continued to Lago Peohe and he ran up as far as he could up to the French camp. 

Here is where I say goodbye to JP! And continued the rest of the hike on my own. 

This part of the hike I believe was the most beautiful because it was the most diverse of all the portions. This was a portion of the trail that got burned a couple years ago by a small campfire. You would walk through portions of the landscape that was healing. You could feel the trees in pain, burned and scarred by the fires that touched it years ago. It was so quiet, desolate, and eerie, especially since I was by myself with my thoughts and the sounds of my steps on this trail. 

After walking through the skeleton of this part, all of a sudden I turn a corner and come across an amazing field and lake. 

From scarred quiet landscapes to this beautiful view. 

“I see colors like you hear jet planes” -Dave Eggers

I stopped for a moment to take it all in. To see the mountains we climbed in the background, with this wide open space in front of me. I imagined dinosaurs walking in these fields, large brontosaurus bending his neck down to eat a shrub. I felt so at peace here, standing here where once a dinosaur stood. While the earth ravaged through war and hate, I stood where the earth grew life. 

I never would imagine years later this would be the place that would come into mind whenever someone would say “go to your happy place” I would imagine myself rooted in these hills on this trail. This is one of my favorite photos, after loading all my photos I found this on one of the images. I felt so compelled to capture the moment that I didn’t even bother to take the camera out of the wet bag around my neck. Resulting in this beautiful ghost image of a cross.  

I arrived at Paine de Grande in the afternoon. Andy was still on his way back from the Italian camp. I took a chance to take an insanely cold shower, relax, and wait for Andy to come up over the hill. I came to the cafeteria for some food I came across our Rugby friends, rowdy as ever and seemingly drunk and arguing with one another. Apparently they were playing a game of “truco”

Turns out the language barrier was a very interesting element in trying to teach me the game. I ended up just yelling and screaming like the rest of them, and turns out that was just as fun. After trying and failing to play I retreated to this little corner to read while waiting for Andy. 

Finally when he arrived we got some dinner and drinks with our new friends and went out to try to take some photos of the stars. Turns out they put their best face forward that night. 

The last image shows a plane in the air as our shutter stayed open to capture the stars. It goes to show that when you take a moment to stop, ground yourself, and open your eyes and the world will open to you. That sometimes in darkness you can find some light, if you can shut out the glare and noise around you and let your eyes adjust to the natural rhythms of this earth you can see so much more.