So I'm officially back home but due to the lack of Internet cafe's in Huacachina I wasn't able to post on the last leg of our trip... until now that is...
The night before we left Puno, we checked out this bar called Kamizaraky... I'm only mentioning it because it was my favorite bar of the entire trip. A total dive, Kamizaraky is a place to just chill, have a beer, hang with good company, and listen to a pretty great selection of music. T'was sweet!
On Thursday morning we're supposed to be picked up at the hotel by a collective transport van for our 1 hour ride to Juliaca Airport. The van never shows up so our hotel staff arranges a relatively cheap private taxi ride (45 soles/ $15)... all goes well until we reach Juliaca and realize that our driver does not know where the airport is and has to stop and ask about 7 or 8 people for directions. Did I mention that Juliaca is pretty sketch? Two thoughts flash across my mind -- either we miss our flight or we get carjacked. Good times!
We finally make it to the airport only to learn that our reservation was canceled. Great, thanks for telling us! Glad I gave you my email address and hotel telephone number when I made the reservation. We're like, "okay, is there room on this flight? We'll just buy the tickets now".... "sure but it's $200+ and we'll only take cash, no credit cards." All would have been well but there's no ATM in the airport and we weren't traveling with that much $$ on us. I thought I was going to lose it... there was no way in hell I was staying in Juliaca.
Thankfully a different airline had a flight just a bit later and they were kind enough to take VISA... phew! It just meant that now we'd have to take the local bus from Lima to Ica (at 8pm to 12:30am) since we missed all the nicer tourist buses which only go earlier in the day since arriving in Ica late at night is not very safe. It actually wasn't too bad... it was late and our cab driver looked like a dealer with gold teeth, but we arrived safely at lodging in Huacachina by 1am.
Our last couple of vacay days were spent basking poolside, enjoying Pisco Sours, sandboarding, riding a doon buggy, and playing with Capuchino the pet monkey. Can't think of a better way to end the trip!
Back to work tomorrow...
Oh, and thanks for reading :)
Sorry, I had to make a crack because every time I say Titicaca it makes me giggle a little inside. I´m so mature ;-)
K, have to backtrack a bit... yesterday Ash and Io spent our last day in Cusco attempting to mountain bike. The owner of the tour company promised it was suitable for beginners (the last time I was on a mountain bike was in Colorado ´99 and Ash hasn´t done it since high school).
So the dude lied!!! I mean not only was the trail not suitable for beginners, but I think it was more geared towards seasoned mountain bikers. We´re talking steep narrow drops with huge rocks and boulders to maneuver around. Not to mention the steep inclines (a la Dolores St. in SF) at 12,500 feet altitude... my legs weren´t tired by I felt like someone was putting my lungs through a coffee grinder. Needless to say Ash and I spent much of the tour off our bikes... it´s good thing there was nobody else on our tour so it was only our poor guide that suffered our painfully slow pace. Oh well, at least we tried, right?
We rewarded our accomplishments with an overnight bus to Puno at Lake Titicaca. And despite our exhaustion this morning, we set out at 6:45am for our tour of the lake, the Floating Islands, and Isla Tequile. So there were definitely some cool things to note... Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable lake in the world at over 12,500 feet which makes the air super crisp and clean and the waters a perfect shade of blue. The Floating Islands were originally inhabited in 1000 BC by pre-Inca native Ayamara tribes. These islands are made up of reed which grows in they literally float and are anchored in place (unless the inhabitants decide to move the island which happens occasionally). They replace the reeds on top as the old ones rot away from the bottom. The islands last about 12 years so the families need to plan in advance and create a new island which takes about 5 months.
We also stopped at Isla Tequile (not a floater) for a bit of a hike in which we climbed to over 13,000 feet. My lungs really love the Andes ;-)
So up until this point of the trip we pretty much avoided tours... but for Machu Picchu we made an exception and I have to say it was well worth it. We used SAS travel who took care of everything for us... hotel pick up in cusco, train to Aguas Caliente, lunch, dinner, hostel, tour of Machu Picchu, and train back to Cusco. They were great!
The first day in Aguas we just took it easy and checked out the hot springs... which looked a bit gross but alas, we paid our 10 soles and didn't want to be premadonnas. It really wasn't that bad... after all the water is supposed to have some curitive properties, albeit a bit mucky :) At least we were able to relax before a 5am wake up call and our trip to Machu Picchu.
Ashley and I wanted to hike up that morning but it was pouring rain... and when I say pouring, I mean thick coulds and sheets of rain coming down in blinding force. So we took the bus up hoping that the rain would ease up. Our guide said it usually only rains for 3 or 4 hours but that did little to bolster our spirits... our tour was pretty miserable. It was me, Ashley, Ana and Trevor from Ireland (backpacking around the world for 1 year), and 4 Aussies. The Aussies had just finished the Inka trail, a grueling 4 day hike, and were understandably even more disappointed about the dreadful conditions in which we had to experience the wonders of Machu Picchu. We couldn't even see 15 feet in front of us, much less the panoramic vista of the Inca ruins. Ash and I decided to take a bus back down to Aguas and try again when it cleared.
The rain finally stopped and we were able to hike up a portion of the Inka trail from Aguas to Machu Picchu a bit later in the day. And by hike, I mean climb the hundreds of steep steps from the valley up to the top of the mountain... but it was absolutely worth it! The sun was out and the weather was absolutely amazing! Machu Picchu was truly a wonder... It's really hard to put into words. I haven't seen anything this impressive since Petra in Jordon. I can't wait to share the pictures (just wait till you see the before/after pics of the morning visit v. the afternoon). I also got to do a pretty cool hike up a little mountain while I was there and earned a pretty sick view.
We headed back to Cusco later that evening and joined the rest of the backpackers in our hostel for a pretty amuzing toga party. It felt like some wierd flashback to my frat party going days back in BU... but I have to admit it was fun! Plus who can complain about seeing hotties in togas. We're been recovering since then and of couse, shopped a bit more. Tomorrow we have to be up pretty early for a mountain bike ride to some of the ruins in the country side. then tomorrow night we head out to Puno and Lake Titicaca. I can't believe we have less than a week left!!
The past few days have been pretty crazy. Lots of jumping around from Mancora to Lima, then off to Cusco, and now Aguas Caliente. Tomorrow we head to Machu Picchu... I can't wait!!!
Lima was just alright...
I mean it's probably a great city to live in or explore if you have the time to get used to it but frankly, I found some of the Limenos we encountered unbearibly pushy (and that says a lot coming from an Israeli). After our flight landed from Piura on Tuesday we got outside the airport to take a taxi to the bus station as we planned to head straight to Ica/Huacachina. The taxis line up as they do in other cities, but as we approached all the drivers got out of their cars and litterally accosted us, trying to get us to choose their taxi over the other guy's... I mean it's one thing to try to convince us verbally but these guys were trying to grab our luggage cart and our arms to push us in one direction or another. It's like they've never heard of the concept of 'personal space... I nearly lost it.
Finally, some dude that supposedly works for the airport pointed out which taxi we should take. When we're already on the road, the driver convinces us NOT to go to Ica, "It's totally gone, destroyed from the earthquake "Aug. 07" he says. Ash and I had to make a split second decision whether to believe him or stick to the plan. While in hindsight we should've done the latter, we chose to believe him... after all, it would suck to take a 4.5 hour bus ride to a dead town. After we told him to take us to the Flying Dog Hostel in Miraflores (which was recommended in our book) he tried feverishly to convince us to stay in a different hostel that his friend owns. He would not let up... even took us there first just so we could have a look. I was at my limit with this asshole at this point and demanded he take us to our hostel immediately and he oblidged. When we arrived we asked the friendly English speaking dude at the front desk if he knows what's the status with Ica/Huacachina... "totally fine. Pisac is destoyed but Huacachina is all good. you girls will have a great time!" Shit, we're so gullible. Oh well, that stop will just have to wait till the end of our trip.
Incredible Cusco and the Sacred Valley...
What a city!!! Cusco is one of the most beautiful cities I've seen... it's nestled about 10 thousand feet up in the majestic Andes. This city is old and has similar charm to the old fortressed towns in Tuscany, with its cobblestone streets and steep slopes. But this is no tiny fortress... it's a bustling urban center with a lively energy and a vibe that totally exudes it's Inca culture and background. So much history and som much shopping!!!
Yesterday we toured the Sacred Valley... specifically the Inca ruins and of course, the AWESOME markets! From Pisac to Urubamba, then Ollantaytambo and Chinchero. We learned all about Inca history and their architectural engineering... from how they designed their granite blocks to withhold stong earthquakes to how they used hydrolics to pump and distribute water throughout the towm. It's really quite impressive! I also did a lot of shopping yesterday but we don't have to go there ;)
Today we arrived in Aguas Caliente and tomorrow we set off for Machu Picchu. Will let you know how it goes!
These past 24 hours in Mancora have been the funnest by far... I totally realize now why its a better idea to stay in some places more than a few days to really get comfy. Yesterday afternoon Ashely was a bit under the weather so I set out on my own which is good to do sometime since you meet so many other solo travelers. I met Anna, an Aussie girl in her early 20´s traveling around the world in 7 months by herself (I wish I had the balls). We ran into Mark (the surfer dude from New Jersey who´s been living in Costa Rica, then traveling for the last 8 years) at Angela´s -- a pretty decent vegetarian cafe. We ended up spending the afternoon and evening chilling out on my balcony overlooking the beach... then headed out for a killer steak dinner. Me gusto!!!
We decided to stay another day and night in Macora and head to Ica tomorrow... this gave me the chance to surf which I now regret not taking very opportunity to do it earlier on the trip. Surfing was awesome and my surf instructor Maleo was amazingly patient and a great teacher -- I kept calling him ¨professor surfado¨ because I forgot his name and didn´t know the spanish word for teacher. My terrible spanish seemed to amuse him quite a bit but thankfully we managed to communicate somehow and I was able to catch about 6 waves. My lesson was during sunset which is really the best time to go -- only surfers out, beatiful warm water, calm wind, the firey setting sun. I really need to start surfing more... it´s pretty incredible!
Following my last post on Sunday, we had a pretty chill evening in Quito -- actually that´s an understatement, Quito is totally dead on Sunday night and frankly, a bit on the boring side (especially if you´re just starting your vacay and looking for a fun time).
Have to share a bit about our dinner at Mama Clorinda´s -- an authentic ecuadorian retaurant which served great ceviche de camarones and an interesting leg of beef an corn soup... The corn was good but the leg of beef was just a pile of fat and cartelidge (yummmy!) hey, had try something new, right?
Luckily, we happpened to meet a 20-something Israeli living in Quito named Yoav who was nice enough to give us a bit of advice on traveling in Ecuador over a few cervezas. He travelled South America for 9 months or so before settling in Quito (jealous!).
We took Yoav´s advice and set out for Mindo on Monday afternoon... when our bus arrived in this little mountain village in the middle of a majestic cloud forest, we looked out for a tall blond chic named Claudia as Yoav instructed. He did not steer us wrong -- Claudia (a California native) took us back to her El Rocio hostel which was surrounded on all sides by lush jungle flora. It´s a cool 3 story log house with funky terraces adorned with hammocks.
Claudia is taking good care of us -- she hooked us up with a ride up the mountain for the waterfall hikes. This was the highlight of our trip by far... We hiked about five miles through the jungle and visited 5 different waterfalls -- they were pretty amazing. I won´t even tempt to describe them so you´ll just have to wait for pictures :)
We´ve hooked up with a bunch of travelers in Mindo as well which has definitely made things more interesting... last night we had dinner with 2 American chicks (from Seattle and Hawaii), today we hiked with two other backpackers - Sachar aka Chuck from Israel (who´s been traveling in South America for 3 years) and Robin from Calgerry, Canada.
Actually, heading out to dinner with them now. More soon!
Hola Amigos,
We arrived in Quito last night and headed staight to the Crossroads Hostel in the Mariscal District. We found that our temporary home was party central. Seriously, this place (the Mariscal) is popping until all hours of the night with American dance music blasting from every club, streets crowded with tourists and hipster locals, and restaurants and cafes with inviting patios serving food, coffee, and booze into the early morning. We grabbed some food and drink at La Boca de Lobo - a trendy little place with a fun atmosphere and hip, well-dressed crowd. Great food, slow service!
Today we checked out the big crafts market in the Park -- I did a lil' shopping of course. Then headed to the Basilica del Voto Naciaonal - a Gothic, huge cathedral similar to notre dame. It was pretty impressive! We walked around Old Town a bit... it's sunday so all the stores are closed and the big street market isn't open today, but it was so pleasant to just walk around among the locals enjoying their Sunday afternoon just lounging around the Piaza del Grande.
Still not sure what we're doing tomorrow but I'm sure we'll figure it out over a few cervezas tonight en la Mariscal!
