Thursday, April 11, 2013
4/11 I think this might be my last post. The last 3 days have been great. Sun, sand and water. No sightseeing or going anywhere. Lima, the Miraflores area, is beautiful. Right on fhe ocean. Below is a picture from our balcony. The first day, we arrived about 4pm because we had an hour delay due to a mechanical problem with the plane. But, they immediately served us a hot sandwich and some drinks. No problem. The ride from the airport was interesting. First off, our taxi driver got hit by another taxi while we were in the crosswalk, walking to our taxi. Scarry. Second, there are no traffic signs or lights in this city. Every intersection is a crapshoot and you just go. Picture NYC like that. Third, there are all walks of life. Women in andean costume to men in business suits. There are bike taxis, cars, burrors, etc all going at their own pace and whim.
T and I went out for a nice dinner in Larcomar. This place is a huge restaurant and shopping complex built into the cliffs. It is 4 stories deep, with all sorts of balconies to eat on. Really nice. It is only a 3 minute walk from the hotel.
The 2nd day we were going to rent bikes to explore the "boardwalk". However the rental place wanted to keep our passports to insure we would bring back the bikes. NO WAY! Instead we walked down to the beach, 371 steps and some other downward inclines. This whole area is up on a 200 to 300 ft. cliff. I forgot to mention, when we woke up and until about 1pm, the entire area was socked in fog. Down by the beach it was clear. We literally laid around on the beach area all afternoon. We watched the surfers (this is a big surf area). It made me think of our trip to Puerto Rico. These are pretty big waves for surfing. We met B and G around 6pm, went to the store and bought some food and had dinner on our balcony. So peaceful.
Yesterday was day 3 for us and back to the beach. T keeps himself busy picking up garbage on the beach. I know Nikki will be smiling. In the evening we went to Circuito Magico del Agua. A wonderful fountain show with 9 fountains, music and laser lights. We spent about 2 hours there. The taxi brought us back and we decided to go to the Casino. I put 10 soles in a penny slot machine and in 2 spins lost it. Seems the maximum bet button had been pushed. Oh well another 10 soles, one spin and I won 16, 000 credits which equaled 84 US dollars on a penny bet. G won 16 dollars. So, we immediately cashed out, went to Mangos in Larcomar and had a goodbye, double pisco sour. They were yummy. Lima is the birthplace of pisco sours.
Today we are all packed and have to check out at noon. We are going to take a double decker city tour, have a nice lunch and then leave for the airport about 6pm. In a city of 8 million, with a cab ride of at least 35 minutes, it is best to leave early. We learned that lesson in Arequipa with the taxi ride from hell.
See you all soon.
Sunday, April 7, 2013
The Inca Trail
Our adventure started on Sunday with an overnight stay with a porter's family in an Andean village in the Sacred Valley. We met at the tour office, where we met our "family" for the 5 days.
Donna - 48, traveling for 10 days with her daughter, Liz, 17. She wants to be a marine biologist. They are from Saratoga, NY. It was a grad present for Liz
Manate - 18, Liz's friend. She is asian and beautiful. Wants to be a doctor.
Alex - 27, from Wash. D.C., she is a political fund raiser for the DNC. Helped get Obama elected
Lauren - 26 from Seattle. She is a 7th grade english teacher in a private school
Brianna - 26 from Los Angeles, she works in human resource for Zillo, a company assessors hate because of how they determine property values.
Tatianna - 27 from Seattle. Not sure exactly what she does, but she travels all over the world
The 4 girls were college friends and roommates. When they 1st walked into the office the 4 of us were very worried. They were so disorganized and ditsy. We were always waiting on them, etc. But, they turned out to be so much fun and good company. Alex is extremely smart and we had interesting conversations. Poor T and B, the only men except for the guides and porters.
On the way to the porter's house we stopped at Izcuchaca, the largest market in the area. People come from villages 100km away. It is for locals only. There were all sorts of fruits, vegetables, grains, herbs, meat (we saw sheep heads with the wool still on ), and drinks like their homemade chicha. It is alcoholic made from corn, which was used in the Inca times to drug the children before they were sacrificed to the sun or mountain gods. Not very hygenic, as the liquid is in a 5 gallon pail and they just scoop it out with a glass that we all shared. Then they swish the glass in a pail of water, ready for the next customer. We joked about how we really are family now. The girls surprised us and just went along with the whole thing, earning our change of heart. We tried passion fruit, corn on the cob with cheese and a few other local treats. Of course we had to use the toilet. YUCK and GROSS is the best way to explain. Stinky stalls with a porcelain hole in the mud floors. When you are done a guy comes with a pail of water to rinse away whatever. Who knew this was going to be the norm for the next 5 days (except we had to rinse ourselves).
We arrived at the porter's house and were super shocked when we started putting up our tents in the middle of a barnyard...no exaggeration. We had to shoo away the roosters, dogs, a burro, and the 2 pigs. Good thing I packed my allergy pills at the last second. Needless to say, with all the animal noises (oh, can't forget the bull), no one slept much. After setting up camp (3 man tents for 2 people, 1/2 inch mats, warm mummy sleeping bags), we went into the fields to pick beans and potatoes for dinner. That was actually fun. We had to shell the beans (they were like lima beans in pods). There was a huge bowl to do. Enough for about 20 people. Dinner consisted of a yummy soup with potatoes and beans in it...no meat. We then had coca tea for dessert. The kitchen had a hard dirt floor, an adobe fire pit to cook on and a large plank table with benches. On the 2nd floor was the sleeping area. One room for the whole family. The Ingall's house on the prairie would have been considered luxurious compared to this. Although, 2 years ago they got electricity. They have one light bulb in the kitchen and a very small and very old tv upstairs. The government controls the tv stations... nothing westernized. This porter had 4 children. After dinner, the neighbors were invited. This included Mario, a carpenter/musician. He made his harp and played andean music, which we danced to. I volunteered first. Boy, was I out of breath. Lots of jumping around, but fun. We all had brought little gifts for the children. Things like candy, hair clips, colored pencils, notebooks and stickers. Our guide, Alfredo, had them sit on the floor and one by one they performed. Either dance or sing. So cute. Their eyes were like little ones at Christmas and for such little things. A very humbling experience. We took a group photo.
The next day we were off to start the trek. Up at 6am, gone by 7. Breakfast was boiled potatoes with the skins on, some chili pepper pesto and homemade cheese. Really quite good. This was served with bean tea. The tea is made from the same beans we had picked, but dried, which makes them sweet. Pretty tasty.
We took a little bus to Ollyantaytambo, the start of the trek. As luck would have it, the sun was beating down, but there was a breeze. Right at the get-go, the incline started. And that is how the day went...up, up, up, down, up, up, down etc. We passed a lot of homes. These people walk this trail daily. The kids walk over an hour to school. They are farmers and we saw burros with grasses on their backs being herded by women in local garb. So interesting. Our 2 guides for the trek, Jose and Edwin, would stop us every so often to explain local traditions, plants, etc. I loved learning all about that stuff. Both of them are Quechua and very proud and passionate about their ancestry. It was infectious. We learned that the Incas had 3 laws...Love, Learn and Work. What a better place the world would be if everyone lived by those rules. We picked some wild prickly pear and all shared them. We stopped for lunch and when we got there, what a surprise. A dining tent was set up with tablecloths, real silverware and dishes. The met us with a fresh cup of mango juice and bowls of water to freshen up. Lunch was...stuffed avocado as an appetizer, bowl of vegetable soup, grilled chicken, rice, carrots and potatoes. All with more coca tea. Our chef, Freddy, wore a chef jacket and hat. Super cool. A quick 15 minute rest after lunch and off we went. For the rest of the day we followed the Urambamba river to our campsite.
What is really amazing is the porters. We had 14 to take care of the 11 of us. Before we started off, the porters were packing their packs. There was an overseeer who weighed each pack to make sure it did not exceed 20 kilos. But the packs were huge. They carried propane tanks, eggs, crates of fruit, chairs, tents etc. The porters would leave camp about an hour after we did because they packed everything up and then would run by us on the trail. Incredible! Before dinner we had tea time. Complete with 6 different teas, hot chocolate, coffee, fresh popped popcorn and some pastry thing....everyday. Dinners were trout, pasta, beef and always with an appetizer, soup and dessert. The last night we had a frosted cake that said "May Machu Picchu Be Magical.
That is how the days went, up at 5:30am with a cup of coca tea and a bowl of cold water. Yummy, hearty breakfasts (omlettes, oatmeal, pancakes -one thing each day), and off by 6:30. We trekked at our own pace. Sometimes you were alone, which gave you time to reflect amongst the majestic mountains, ruins, and clouds. Sometimes you walked with someone from our group or other groups. I met lots of people from all over the world, but very, very few were over the age of 30. One guy from England had done the trail 30 years ago. He was back with his wife and 3 grown children. The cool thing was he had taken a picture with his guide back then. He brought it with him, showed it around the village to see if anyone recognized him, which they did. He met the guide , who is now in his 70s. So many interesting stories. Everyone was in it together and helped each other. Such comaradery.
It is hard to explain the days. I know for me, there was at least 2 dozen times where I thought I couldn't go on.....leaned over and almost couldn't breathe. But, you rest and move on. The first day we went up 250m and it was hard. The 2nd day we went up 1200m and it was nearly impossible. So steep with so many steps. We got up to 4215m about 14,000ft. The pass is called Dead Woman's Pass. Up at the top there are lots of people cheering you on for the last 10 or so steps, when you really believe you can't make it...not one more step. By now, you can hardly breathe because the air is so thin and you are so tired. To top it off, your legs feel like jello and your shoulders and back ache from carrying your pack. I was surprised to see how many people did not carry their own packs. They hired a porter. It wasn't really that expensive, but we wanted to say we did it on our own. And then.... you are up there too. What an exhilerating feeling. Hugs and kisses from all the guides, high 5s from the other trekkers. But it is short lived because there is another 2 to 3 hours to go to camp. As a group we had decided to forgo lunch at noon (before the pass) and to just keep going. It was going to be hard enough without a full stomach. We just had a snack (granola bar). It was pretty much all down hill to camp. That may sound easy, but it was a different kind of hard. Now that our legs were like jello and pretty weak, the stairs down were painful. Oh, the pass got its name from an Inca legend. It has to do with a boy and a girl running away from their villages to be together and the girl died on that pass. This was over 500 years ago.
The 3rd day was very hard. First we had an hour up a very steep slope because our camp was down in a valley by the river. We had to go down about 3000 steps (yup, not 300). They call them the Gringo Killers. Sure is hard on the knees and calves, especially after the day before. And it is even worse, because there are parts where you have to go up just to go back down.
The trail itself is nice, either hard packed dirt or stone. The entire trail system is 27, 000 miles long and goes from southern Ecuador to lower Chile. Not all of it has been discovered yet. The only thing is, much of it is precarious. Sometimes only a foot or two wide with a sheer drop of over 1000ft. A couple of months ago a tourist fell off and died. That section now has a yellow tape railing. The section of the trail on days 3 and 4 are all original Inca work, which is over 500 years old.
The last day we got up at 3:20am. Not too bad considering we went to bed at about 8:30pm every night. We had a quick breakfast and were in line at the Machu Picchu Park gate by 4am. Of course this day it was raining. We waited in line until 5:30 when the park opened. Good idea to get there early. The line was enormous. And once again, off we trekked, a large part up hill. There was one section that consisted of about 40 steps, but was more like a wall. We had to go up the steps using our hands too. The hard part was to keep from falling back because we all had on our pretty heavy backpacks... it was that steep. It was about one hour to the magical sun gate, where we were suppose to see the sun rise and where all the pictures you see of Machu Picchu are taken from. But, no sun since it was raining. We all decided that the clouds and mist were even better. I had goose bumps looking at it. So magical. You could feel a presence. We then continued walking over an hour to the actual site.
After the formal process of being admitted, Jose and Edwin gave us the best tour I have ever had. You are allowed to wander around on your own, but that would have been such a shame. The background information of the culture was amazing. How smart and organized the Incas were. These ruins were so big and how all the buildings, plazas and farming terraces were designed and built into the existing mountain was pure genius. They made use of existing outcrops, ledges and any flat parts. None of it would have had any meaning without the info Jose and Edwin provided.
After about 2 1/2hours of walking around, we took a bus to the little town of Aguas Calientes. Very cute and quaint. Our family shared one last meal at a nice little restaurant. The bathroom was a real treat.
We said goodbye to all and headed off to our hostel. We were too tired to go to the hot springs. Tomorrow. So nice to get out of our damp clothes and wet shoes. We immediately gave all our clothes to be laundered, enjoyed the 1st hot shower in 5 days and with nothing to wear, we took a long nap. B and G did the same and we all woke up when the laundry was delivered. B went to get a bottle of wine, and we went up on the roof terrace to celebrate.
Dinner consisted of a quick sandwich. They have the best tomato, avocado and cheese sandwiches. By 9pm we were all in bed, and did that mattress feel good after sleeping 4 nights on hard packed dirt ground. The mats really didn't do much.
Friday we got a good breakfast and headed to the hot springs. Hard to believe it was a 15 minute walk up hill again. Everyone's thighs and calves were very, very sore. When we were walking round the ruins, it was actually painful. Whenever we stopped to listen to the guides all the muscles tightened up. It was funny to watch people go up and down the stairs. All the stairs have very high risers, so up hurts the thighs and down hurts the knees and calves.
Once at the springs, it was wonderful. The water was hot and deep. We ran into the 4 girls from the trek there and relived the past 4 days. After soaking for 2 hours, we enjoyed pisco sours at the very colorful and tropical bar.
We spent the remaining 2 hours looking around, doing some market shopping and eating lunch. Perfect amount of time before the train left for Cusco. Turns out we couldn't take the train all the way to Cusco because there was a mudslide a little while ago during the rainy season and it was dangerous. So we went to Poroy and took a bus the rest of the way. Got back to Casa Carlos at 10pm. A quick repack of all our stuff, discussed Lima with B and G and went to bed.
This truly was a once in a lifetime experience.
Donna - 48, traveling for 10 days with her daughter, Liz, 17. She wants to be a marine biologist. They are from Saratoga, NY. It was a grad present for Liz
Manate - 18, Liz's friend. She is asian and beautiful. Wants to be a doctor.
Alex - 27, from Wash. D.C., she is a political fund raiser for the DNC. Helped get Obama elected
Lauren - 26 from Seattle. She is a 7th grade english teacher in a private school
Brianna - 26 from Los Angeles, she works in human resource for Zillo, a company assessors hate because of how they determine property values.
Tatianna - 27 from Seattle. Not sure exactly what she does, but she travels all over the world
The 4 girls were college friends and roommates. When they 1st walked into the office the 4 of us were very worried. They were so disorganized and ditsy. We were always waiting on them, etc. But, they turned out to be so much fun and good company. Alex is extremely smart and we had interesting conversations. Poor T and B, the only men except for the guides and porters.
On the way to the porter's house we stopped at Izcuchaca, the largest market in the area. People come from villages 100km away. It is for locals only. There were all sorts of fruits, vegetables, grains, herbs, meat (we saw sheep heads with the wool still on ), and drinks like their homemade chicha. It is alcoholic made from corn, which was used in the Inca times to drug the children before they were sacrificed to the sun or mountain gods. Not very hygenic, as the liquid is in a 5 gallon pail and they just scoop it out with a glass that we all shared. Then they swish the glass in a pail of water, ready for the next customer. We joked about how we really are family now. The girls surprised us and just went along with the whole thing, earning our change of heart. We tried passion fruit, corn on the cob with cheese and a few other local treats. Of course we had to use the toilet. YUCK and GROSS is the best way to explain. Stinky stalls with a porcelain hole in the mud floors. When you are done a guy comes with a pail of water to rinse away whatever. Who knew this was going to be the norm for the next 5 days (except we had to rinse ourselves).
We arrived at the porter's house and were super shocked when we started putting up our tents in the middle of a barnyard...no exaggeration. We had to shoo away the roosters, dogs, a burro, and the 2 pigs. Good thing I packed my allergy pills at the last second. Needless to say, with all the animal noises (oh, can't forget the bull), no one slept much. After setting up camp (3 man tents for 2 people, 1/2 inch mats, warm mummy sleeping bags), we went into the fields to pick beans and potatoes for dinner. That was actually fun. We had to shell the beans (they were like lima beans in pods). There was a huge bowl to do. Enough for about 20 people. Dinner consisted of a yummy soup with potatoes and beans in it...no meat. We then had coca tea for dessert. The kitchen had a hard dirt floor, an adobe fire pit to cook on and a large plank table with benches. On the 2nd floor was the sleeping area. One room for the whole family. The Ingall's house on the prairie would have been considered luxurious compared to this. Although, 2 years ago they got electricity. They have one light bulb in the kitchen and a very small and very old tv upstairs. The government controls the tv stations... nothing westernized. This porter had 4 children. After dinner, the neighbors were invited. This included Mario, a carpenter/musician. He made his harp and played andean music, which we danced to. I volunteered first. Boy, was I out of breath. Lots of jumping around, but fun. We all had brought little gifts for the children. Things like candy, hair clips, colored pencils, notebooks and stickers. Our guide, Alfredo, had them sit on the floor and one by one they performed. Either dance or sing. So cute. Their eyes were like little ones at Christmas and for such little things. A very humbling experience. We took a group photo.
The next day we were off to start the trek. Up at 6am, gone by 7. Breakfast was boiled potatoes with the skins on, some chili pepper pesto and homemade cheese. Really quite good. This was served with bean tea. The tea is made from the same beans we had picked, but dried, which makes them sweet. Pretty tasty.
We took a little bus to Ollyantaytambo, the start of the trek. As luck would have it, the sun was beating down, but there was a breeze. Right at the get-go, the incline started. And that is how the day went...up, up, up, down, up, up, down etc. We passed a lot of homes. These people walk this trail daily. The kids walk over an hour to school. They are farmers and we saw burros with grasses on their backs being herded by women in local garb. So interesting. Our 2 guides for the trek, Jose and Edwin, would stop us every so often to explain local traditions, plants, etc. I loved learning all about that stuff. Both of them are Quechua and very proud and passionate about their ancestry. It was infectious. We learned that the Incas had 3 laws...Love, Learn and Work. What a better place the world would be if everyone lived by those rules. We picked some wild prickly pear and all shared them. We stopped for lunch and when we got there, what a surprise. A dining tent was set up with tablecloths, real silverware and dishes. The met us with a fresh cup of mango juice and bowls of water to freshen up. Lunch was...stuffed avocado as an appetizer, bowl of vegetable soup, grilled chicken, rice, carrots and potatoes. All with more coca tea. Our chef, Freddy, wore a chef jacket and hat. Super cool. A quick 15 minute rest after lunch and off we went. For the rest of the day we followed the Urambamba river to our campsite.
What is really amazing is the porters. We had 14 to take care of the 11 of us. Before we started off, the porters were packing their packs. There was an overseeer who weighed each pack to make sure it did not exceed 20 kilos. But the packs were huge. They carried propane tanks, eggs, crates of fruit, chairs, tents etc. The porters would leave camp about an hour after we did because they packed everything up and then would run by us on the trail. Incredible! Before dinner we had tea time. Complete with 6 different teas, hot chocolate, coffee, fresh popped popcorn and some pastry thing....everyday. Dinners were trout, pasta, beef and always with an appetizer, soup and dessert. The last night we had a frosted cake that said "May Machu Picchu Be Magical.
That is how the days went, up at 5:30am with a cup of coca tea and a bowl of cold water. Yummy, hearty breakfasts (omlettes, oatmeal, pancakes -one thing each day), and off by 6:30. We trekked at our own pace. Sometimes you were alone, which gave you time to reflect amongst the majestic mountains, ruins, and clouds. Sometimes you walked with someone from our group or other groups. I met lots of people from all over the world, but very, very few were over the age of 30. One guy from England had done the trail 30 years ago. He was back with his wife and 3 grown children. The cool thing was he had taken a picture with his guide back then. He brought it with him, showed it around the village to see if anyone recognized him, which they did. He met the guide , who is now in his 70s. So many interesting stories. Everyone was in it together and helped each other. Such comaradery.
It is hard to explain the days. I know for me, there was at least 2 dozen times where I thought I couldn't go on.....leaned over and almost couldn't breathe. But, you rest and move on. The first day we went up 250m and it was hard. The 2nd day we went up 1200m and it was nearly impossible. So steep with so many steps. We got up to 4215m about 14,000ft. The pass is called Dead Woman's Pass. Up at the top there are lots of people cheering you on for the last 10 or so steps, when you really believe you can't make it...not one more step. By now, you can hardly breathe because the air is so thin and you are so tired. To top it off, your legs feel like jello and your shoulders and back ache from carrying your pack. I was surprised to see how many people did not carry their own packs. They hired a porter. It wasn't really that expensive, but we wanted to say we did it on our own. And then.... you are up there too. What an exhilerating feeling. Hugs and kisses from all the guides, high 5s from the other trekkers. But it is short lived because there is another 2 to 3 hours to go to camp. As a group we had decided to forgo lunch at noon (before the pass) and to just keep going. It was going to be hard enough without a full stomach. We just had a snack (granola bar). It was pretty much all down hill to camp. That may sound easy, but it was a different kind of hard. Now that our legs were like jello and pretty weak, the stairs down were painful. Oh, the pass got its name from an Inca legend. It has to do with a boy and a girl running away from their villages to be together and the girl died on that pass. This was over 500 years ago.
The 3rd day was very hard. First we had an hour up a very steep slope because our camp was down in a valley by the river. We had to go down about 3000 steps (yup, not 300). They call them the Gringo Killers. Sure is hard on the knees and calves, especially after the day before. And it is even worse, because there are parts where you have to go up just to go back down.
The trail itself is nice, either hard packed dirt or stone. The entire trail system is 27, 000 miles long and goes from southern Ecuador to lower Chile. Not all of it has been discovered yet. The only thing is, much of it is precarious. Sometimes only a foot or two wide with a sheer drop of over 1000ft. A couple of months ago a tourist fell off and died. That section now has a yellow tape railing. The section of the trail on days 3 and 4 are all original Inca work, which is over 500 years old.
The last day we got up at 3:20am. Not too bad considering we went to bed at about 8:30pm every night. We had a quick breakfast and were in line at the Machu Picchu Park gate by 4am. Of course this day it was raining. We waited in line until 5:30 when the park opened. Good idea to get there early. The line was enormous. And once again, off we trekked, a large part up hill. There was one section that consisted of about 40 steps, but was more like a wall. We had to go up the steps using our hands too. The hard part was to keep from falling back because we all had on our pretty heavy backpacks... it was that steep. It was about one hour to the magical sun gate, where we were suppose to see the sun rise and where all the pictures you see of Machu Picchu are taken from. But, no sun since it was raining. We all decided that the clouds and mist were even better. I had goose bumps looking at it. So magical. You could feel a presence. We then continued walking over an hour to the actual site.
After the formal process of being admitted, Jose and Edwin gave us the best tour I have ever had. You are allowed to wander around on your own, but that would have been such a shame. The background information of the culture was amazing. How smart and organized the Incas were. These ruins were so big and how all the buildings, plazas and farming terraces were designed and built into the existing mountain was pure genius. They made use of existing outcrops, ledges and any flat parts. None of it would have had any meaning without the info Jose and Edwin provided.
After about 2 1/2hours of walking around, we took a bus to the little town of Aguas Calientes. Very cute and quaint. Our family shared one last meal at a nice little restaurant. The bathroom was a real treat.
We said goodbye to all and headed off to our hostel. We were too tired to go to the hot springs. Tomorrow. So nice to get out of our damp clothes and wet shoes. We immediately gave all our clothes to be laundered, enjoyed the 1st hot shower in 5 days and with nothing to wear, we took a long nap. B and G did the same and we all woke up when the laundry was delivered. B went to get a bottle of wine, and we went up on the roof terrace to celebrate.
Dinner consisted of a quick sandwich. They have the best tomato, avocado and cheese sandwiches. By 9pm we were all in bed, and did that mattress feel good after sleeping 4 nights on hard packed dirt ground. The mats really didn't do much.
Friday we got a good breakfast and headed to the hot springs. Hard to believe it was a 15 minute walk up hill again. Everyone's thighs and calves were very, very sore. When we were walking round the ruins, it was actually painful. Whenever we stopped to listen to the guides all the muscles tightened up. It was funny to watch people go up and down the stairs. All the stairs have very high risers, so up hurts the thighs and down hurts the knees and calves.
Once at the springs, it was wonderful. The water was hot and deep. We ran into the 4 girls from the trek there and relived the past 4 days. After soaking for 2 hours, we enjoyed pisco sours at the very colorful and tropical bar.
We spent the remaining 2 hours looking around, doing some market shopping and eating lunch. Perfect amount of time before the train left for Cusco. Turns out we couldn't take the train all the way to Cusco because there was a mudslide a little while ago during the rainy season and it was dangerous. So we went to Poroy and took a bus the rest of the way. Got back to Casa Carlos at 10pm. A quick repack of all our stuff, discussed Lima with B and G and went to bed.
This truly was a once in a lifetime experience.
The Hostels
Rio - Fabio's apartment
Iguazzu Falls - Garden Stone and Summertime
Puerto Madryn - Hostel la Tosca
El Bolson - La Cosana de Odile
El Calafate - I Keu Ken Hostel
El Chalten - Aylen Aike Hostel
Puerto Natales - NaviMag
Viallarrica - La Torre Suiza
Talca -
Vina del Mar - Maria's apartment...Sporting Edifice
La Serena -
San Pedro - Hostel Mammatierra
Arequipa - La Posada del Parque
Cusco - Casa de Carlos
Aguas Calientas - Hostel de Tambo
Puno - Punuypampa Inn
Lima - Hotel Boutique Casa Inca
4/7 We are in Puno /Lake Titikaka. We arrived yesterday at about 4pm. For some reason the bus trip seemed very long. The trip took us through the Andes Mountains. We drove through many tiny, tiny villages and farms. We saw bulls, sheep and llama grazing along the road. There were lots and lots of people walking carrying grasses or herding burros with a load of grass. I really like this because it is so authentic. The homes still have thatched roofs and are about as big as Cory's bedroom. Our hotel is amazing. A jacuzzi tub, sitting area and a super comfy bed, just what we needed after the Inca Trail.
Today we took a tour to the island of Uros. The entire island is made up of floating reeds. We took a boat there and then got off to walk around. It felt weird in spots, kind of squishy. We learned how they build the islands, the houses and how they cook without starting the island on fire. They took us into a home, which was also built of reeds (including the mattresses). They have boats made of reeds and we got a ride. See pics below.
For some reason my stomach felt horrible this afternoon. Not sure if it is the altitude because we are at 3800m (higher again than Cusco). So, we napped and I felt much better after that and eating some soda crackers. Terry and I explored the historical center. So many beautiful buildings. We saw the oldest house in the Americas. We bought some fruit at the local market too. Terry and I love to shop in those markets. Everything is so fresh.
Well, I guess we will pack for the flight to Lima tomorrow morning. We have a reservation in the Miraflores area, right on the Pacific Ocean. Three days for relaxing before we head back home. It is hard to believe that the 2 months are just about over.
Today we took a tour to the island of Uros. The entire island is made up of floating reeds. We took a boat there and then got off to walk around. It felt weird in spots, kind of squishy. We learned how they build the islands, the houses and how they cook without starting the island on fire. They took us into a home, which was also built of reeds (including the mattresses). They have boats made of reeds and we got a ride. See pics below.
For some reason my stomach felt horrible this afternoon. Not sure if it is the altitude because we are at 3800m (higher again than Cusco). So, we napped and I felt much better after that and eating some soda crackers. Terry and I explored the historical center. So many beautiful buildings. We saw the oldest house in the Americas. We bought some fruit at the local market too. Terry and I love to shop in those markets. Everything is so fresh.
Well, I guess we will pack for the flight to Lima tomorrow morning. We have a reservation in the Miraflores area, right on the Pacific Ocean. Three days for relaxing before we head back home. It is hard to believe that the 2 months are just about over.
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