We finally made it to Cusco around midday, after much confusion about taxis and hostels we finally settled into another Loki hostel. (we first went to this brokedown hospedaje with doors that locked behind us, locking all our stuff in the room. The key didn´t work, so we had to climb through the window. We got our stuff and left.) This Loki is set in a refurbished colonial compound with three sunny courtyards.
We perused the town for a day, took a city tour of the surrounding ruins. Saqsaywaman (say it out loud) was reaaaaallly amazing and the sheer size of the stones boggle the mind. The next day, we got all our tickets for our trip to Machu Picchu. That was quite the money hole, I must say. Tickets for the bus to the train station, tickets for the train, hostel reservations, park tickets, all insanely overpriced because of the tourist influx. But we finally made it up to Aguas Caliente, a small touristy town nestled in the jungle valley below MP. There´s not a lot here besides backpacker hostels and pizza places (complete with bossy hostess shoving a menu in your face), but the setting is undeniably beautiful. We only stayed one night and woke up around 4 in the morning in order to hike up the hill to the ruins. I nearly had a panic attack in the morning when I couldn´t find my ticket. I was SURE I put it in the pages of the guidebook, but upon flipping through it in the morning it seemed to have disappeared. Upon the 5th shakedown of the book, it finally came fluttering gracefully to the floor.
Hiking up this ancient mountain was creepy at night. Bugs attracted to my headlamp were pegging me in the head constantly. And they felt BIG. The hike took us about an hour and a half to get up the gnarly steep mountain. ALL steps and ALL uneven. But we finally made it up. It was AMAZING coming up the hill and seeing the newly risen sun shining its rays on the ancient ruins. We explored for a few hours and then decided to try to hike Wayna Picchu, despite missing the 400 person cut off (they only let the first 400 people in the park go to Wayna Picchu, but not everyone will go). We asked the guy if we could come back later and hike it but he just waved us through. We explored that secondary mountain ruin for a bit, took tons of pictures with our old school 35mm camera, and then b-lined for the overpriced snack bar. While we were having lunch we started talking to this really nice couple from Colorado, Travis and Dayani, who invited us to share a bottle of wine with them on one of the terraces. We found a secluded terrace and enjoyed their Malbec for about 2 hours just talking and taking in the sights. Fantastic. Theo and I stayed at the ruins until 4:30, a total of 10 hours, and then hiked down.
That night, while taking a Combi back from Oyantaytambo, I was so tired that I left my hat on the seat. Bye hat. We shacked up in a dorm at Loki again, but the rest of the tenants were in the mood to party, and we were not. We vowed not to dorm again unless absolutely necessary.
The next day we took a tour to Maras and Moray to see this odd circularly terraced ruin and the salt flats. The salt flats were really cool- giant puddles of water with crusty white crystals collecting along the sides of the puddle walls. That night we headed for Puno and Lake Titicaca
Monday, September 20, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Lima and Nazca
We planned on just passing through Lima, which we had heard was just the armpit of Peru, and get on out way to Nazca, but Connor´s eye infection took a turn for the worse and he needed to see a doctor. We ended up staying a night and in the process, actually found some fun things to do. Resigned to explore the gargantuan city (complete with skyscrapers and Malibu-esque beaches), we chatted up the hostel keeper for some things to do. He informed us that the annual food festival, Mistura, was taking place that night. This festival is a culmination of the countries best chefs, restaurants and purveyors showing off their shit. Theo and I were like kids in a candy store! Free pisco shots everywhere! Free Chocolate! Free Pisco Sours! It was really cool to see all the regional foods and teas (mostly of the Coca variety). They had displays of the 100s of varieties of corns and potatoes that seemed to span an entire city block. Unfortunately, as I reached into my pocket in order to capture such a sight, there was no camera to be found. I´d been picked. Well, I was bummed, but I didn´t let that stop me from enjoying some delightful foods (steak and alfredo) and drinks (one huuuuge pisco sour).
The next day we goofed around town while waiting for our night bus to Nazca. We saw some other ruins which our tour guide, despite working there and even growing up on the very site of the ruins, knew nothing about them except the process of excavation and restoration.
That Night we took a night bus to Nazca. Since it was only a 6 hour ride, we arrived around 4 in the AM. Luckily a nice hostel keeper was there to round us up and let us sleep the morning away for free. In the morning we found a cheap flight tour of the Nazca lines. We went to the airport and waited about an hour for our plane to arrive. We finally got to board the TINY 6-seater plane. NEVER again. It was the smallest plane I´ve ever been on and DAMN that was a rough ride. I immediately felt sick for the entire half hour flight. The lady in front of me puked. It was cool seeing the mysterious and alien art of the Nazca lines, but totally not worth spending the money just to feel sick and watch someone puke.
That night I made dinner and boarded our bus to Cusco. Worst bus yet. SO cold, uncomfortable and smelly. But we finally made it to Cusco!
The next day we goofed around town while waiting for our night bus to Nazca. We saw some other ruins which our tour guide, despite working there and even growing up on the very site of the ruins, knew nothing about them except the process of excavation and restoration.
That Night we took a night bus to Nazca. Since it was only a 6 hour ride, we arrived around 4 in the AM. Luckily a nice hostel keeper was there to round us up and let us sleep the morning away for free. In the morning we found a cheap flight tour of the Nazca lines. We went to the airport and waited about an hour for our plane to arrive. We finally got to board the TINY 6-seater plane. NEVER again. It was the smallest plane I´ve ever been on and DAMN that was a rough ride. I immediately felt sick for the entire half hour flight. The lady in front of me puked. It was cool seeing the mysterious and alien art of the Nazca lines, but totally not worth spending the money just to feel sick and watch someone puke.
That night I made dinner and boarded our bus to Cusco. Worst bus yet. SO cold, uncomfortable and smelly. But we finally made it to Cusco!
Friday, September 10, 2010
Peru! Mancora and Trujillo
We left Montanita around 10 am on Monday, Travelled all day on various buses, crossed the Peruvian-Ecuadorian boarder around 6:30 and arrived in Tumbes Peru around 9:30 at night. We taxied the rest of the trip into Mancora, and unfortunately got ripped off by the taxi driver. He got us into the car by telling us the trip was going to be 35 soles, but then stopped on the side of the dark and deserted road about half way through our trip and insisted that we misunderstood him, the trip was actually $35 per person. Liar. Asshole. We ended up only paying 50 tho. So, we got there ripped off, but unscathed.
We´re staying in a backpacker´s hostel called Loki del Mar. Its this resort-turned-hostel that has been taken over by some aussies and Americans to be the ultimate young person beach resort. This compound has beautiful White painted, wave inspired buildings which are mostly bare inside. Not much time is spend inside, however. There´s not a lot to do outside of the compound, so we´ve been spending most our time walking, talking and drinking.
On the third day we found out that buses to Trujillo only leave at night, so we had to hang out all day in the shit weather waiting for our bus. Couldn´t sunbath, couldn´t go to the beach. Just had to sit around and drink with the other gringos. The buses with Cama seats are pretty nice (except for the cell phone behind me blaring ¨Jenny From the Block¨. We woke up at around 8am to find that we had traveled time and space and were magically in Trujillo. We immediately took a taxi to the smaller beach town of Huanchaco and found a hostel for only 10 soles a night (that's about 3 US dollars people!). It eventually turned out to be NOT such a great bargain, as the ¨Electric Shower¨ (however THAT´S supposed to work, i dunno) delivered two lightening bolts to Theo´s dome. He woke up two hours later naked and hypodermic. Also, red painted floor + wet feet = red feet. And the relentless soundtrack to such discoveries: Legends and the theme song from Cops.
We spent the day visiting the amazingly well preserved ruins of Chan Chan. They had excavated one of the 10-20 palaces in the 20-square km area of the former city. The preservation of the baseboard-like designs of squirrels, fish pelicans, etc. were really amazing. I particularly liked the decorative lake that was also used as a reservoir. We also visited Huaca del Sol y Luna which were equally stunning. 13 colors of mineral plaster still coat the walls in intricate patters and paintings, mostly portraying their omnipotent, shape shifting god, battles and their daily activities. Its amazing the amount of natural preservation that has taken place thanks to the arid climate.
On to LIMA!
We´re staying in a backpacker´s hostel called Loki del Mar. Its this resort-turned-hostel that has been taken over by some aussies and Americans to be the ultimate young person beach resort. This compound has beautiful White painted, wave inspired buildings which are mostly bare inside. Not much time is spend inside, however. There´s not a lot to do outside of the compound, so we´ve been spending most our time walking, talking and drinking.
On the third day we found out that buses to Trujillo only leave at night, so we had to hang out all day in the shit weather waiting for our bus. Couldn´t sunbath, couldn´t go to the beach. Just had to sit around and drink with the other gringos. The buses with Cama seats are pretty nice (except for the cell phone behind me blaring ¨Jenny From the Block¨. We woke up at around 8am to find that we had traveled time and space and were magically in Trujillo. We immediately took a taxi to the smaller beach town of Huanchaco and found a hostel for only 10 soles a night (that's about 3 US dollars people!). It eventually turned out to be NOT such a great bargain, as the ¨Electric Shower¨ (however THAT´S supposed to work, i dunno) delivered two lightening bolts to Theo´s dome. He woke up two hours later naked and hypodermic. Also, red painted floor + wet feet = red feet. And the relentless soundtrack to such discoveries: Legends and the theme song from Cops.
We spent the day visiting the amazingly well preserved ruins of Chan Chan. They had excavated one of the 10-20 palaces in the 20-square km area of the former city. The preservation of the baseboard-like designs of squirrels, fish pelicans, etc. were really amazing. I particularly liked the decorative lake that was also used as a reservoir. We also visited Huaca del Sol y Luna which were equally stunning. 13 colors of mineral plaster still coat the walls in intricate patters and paintings, mostly portraying their omnipotent, shape shifting god, battles and their daily activities. Its amazing the amount of natural preservation that has taken place thanks to the arid climate.
On to LIMA!
Friday, September 3, 2010
Montanita
So we left Quito two nights ago. We took a night bus to Guayaquil and then an early morning bus to this really awesome town called Montanita. This place reminds me of OB. Tons of "shitties", as Theo calls them, but here they are actually productive members of society, all artisans and craptspeople making beautiful jewelery. I couldn´t help but buy about 4 necklaces of amazing wrapped stones, not wrapped in traditional metal, but rather in hemp. so cool. The one I bought has a small, oval shaped quartz cluster in it.
This town has some charm, i might say. Pretty much every storefront is topped with a hostel with balconies drapped in hammocks. Its one of the few places in Equador where their expectations of vertical expansion has actually fullfilled itself, and the buildings look unusually tall, rickety and somewhat¨"Seusical" . But that all adds to the charm of the place. The only problem is that the bars don´t close until 6 am and the construction begins at 10. There are limited hours of sleep available in a town like this.
Its really safe feeling here, too, becuase the town has thrived on backpacking tourism. The townies appreciate the business from north americans and europeans. In Banos, for instance, they were so grateful, they had painted a mural paying tribute to their light-skinned and light eyed patrons and their dolla bill$$. Every person in the mural had blond hair and blue eyes.
The beach is one of the most beautiful I´ve seen here. Dark sand, strewn with colorful stones. So much nicer than Atacames.
This town has some charm, i might say. Pretty much every storefront is topped with a hostel with balconies drapped in hammocks. Its one of the few places in Equador where their expectations of vertical expansion has actually fullfilled itself, and the buildings look unusually tall, rickety and somewhat¨"Seusical" . But that all adds to the charm of the place. The only problem is that the bars don´t close until 6 am and the construction begins at 10. There are limited hours of sleep available in a town like this.
Its really safe feeling here, too, becuase the town has thrived on backpacking tourism. The townies appreciate the business from north americans and europeans. In Banos, for instance, they were so grateful, they had painted a mural paying tribute to their light-skinned and light eyed patrons and their dolla bill$$. Every person in the mural had blond hair and blue eyes.
The beach is one of the most beautiful I´ve seen here. Dark sand, strewn with colorful stones. So much nicer than Atacames.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Day 6-10
Soo I haven't had much time to update lately. Our trip to Banos was incredible and blew Atacames off the map. We took a bus through the planes south of Quito. Before it got dark I got a great view of Cotopaxi's snowy peak. Its amazing how fast the scenery can change in these parts. It goes from Eucalyptus covered hills in the city to pine trees, to jungle in a matter of an hour's drive. We arrived in Banos after dark and we had no idea what kind of beautiful scenery we were dropping in on. In the morning, Theo and I made our way up to our Hostel's rooftop breakfast cafe and we were greeted with all the beauty of Banos. The green, towering mountains, the quilt-like patchwork of the farms which have learned to utilized the extreme slope of the mountainside, and the natural masterpiece of the town, the Veil of the Virgin waterfall. falling seemingly directly out of the side of the mountain. Beautiful.
So after breakfast, Theo and I walked around town and check out the waterfall and the hot baths that the town is famous for. They looked kinda gross, like 50 year old bathwater. After that we hung out for a bit and then went HORSEBACK RIDING through the mountains. SOOO amazingly fun and beautiful. so tranquil too. Especially because my horse was 18 years old and walked realllllll slow. I was in the back of the group the whole time. And when I would try to get to the front the other, younger horses would bite my horse. sad. After that we got a quick lunch and rushed over to this tour place where we had arranged for a canyoning trip. That´s when you hike up a mountain in a wetsuit and then rappel down the waterfalls all the way down the mountain. It was a bit scary the first time because you're supposed to lean so far back that you're essentially horizontal, and then rely on your own strength and the ropes to lead you down. It was invigorating, looking down from up top, and then looking up from down below. I felt really accomplished and brave. It was unfortunate that I couldn't bring my camera.
Amazing times in the amazon. now i´m tired just writing about all that stuff.
The next day, Courtney and I got AMAZING massages at one of the many spas around town. It was about 1.5 hours of pure bliss. Whole body massage, foot massage/reflexology, hot stone therapy, aromatherapy, a face massage and a mud facial. All that was only 25 bucks!!!!! can you believe it?! I couldn't pass it up. After that, we headed home to Quito.
Monday, Theo and I took a nice walk down to Parque La Carolina where we spent a few hours perusing the Jardin de Botanica. It was so awesome! I loved all the greenhouses and Orchids. We took about 100 pictures of flowers. That night, the whole gang headed over to Plaza Foch to enjoy some endless tapas and vino. The tapas were great, but the wine was the main event. The meal started out mellow. That is, until, Courtney's friend Amanda ordered a straw with her wine. We eventually got louder and sloppier. The hijinx escalated until the waiter gradually stopped coming to our table with wine. I don't think we will be welcome back. Oops.
On Tuesday, Theo and I traveled 40 minutes North to visit the EQUATOR! We arrived in front of this seemingly deserted monument, and paid 2 bucks to get into this weird, rundown plaza that houses the historically calculated equator. All I can say about Mitad Del Mundo was that it was creepy. Folk music played faintly in the background as we looked for something, ANYTHING to do in that tourist trap. We consulted our Lonely Planet book and found that a much more exciting version of the Equator was just a few hundred meters away, and was the REAL equator, as calculated with a military GPS. We paid another 3 bucks to go into Museo Solar Inti Nan, which included a free tour in English! We got to see a real shrunken human head, as well as a shrunken sloth head. We also did the obligatory equator tricks, such as watching water fall straight down a drain (instead of swirling around clockwise or counterclockwise), balance an egg on a nail, and strange muscular resistance things. Apparently it's really easy to pull apart a thumb and forefinger while standing on the equator. We ended our tour with a "energy test" with guinea pigs. Apparently they are really sensitive to negative energy. But we passed without a squeak. It was a great experience. We came home and ended up walked around in the rain for about 30 minutes looking for some food. Everything that we wanted to eat was closed so we ended up getting Papa John's pizza. Safe, but tasty.
Today, Theo and I strolled down to the Parque La Carolina and finally found the Vivarium. I got to hold a huge boa constrictor. We hung out in the parque a bit, kissed like the other lovers were doing, and bought some bread. Theo bought this thing called a Papa Rellena. Imagine this: fried rice with pork wrapped in mashed potatoes and deep fried. DAMN. I got to eat it since it had pork in it.
Tonight we leave Quito for Guayaquil and then Montanita. Montanita is supposed to be a lot like the Ocean Beach of Ecuador: hippie surf town. I hope I can get some shut eye on the night bus, but even if I can't, I'm sure I can get a bit of sleep on the beach. I can't wait to surf!
So after breakfast, Theo and I walked around town and check out the waterfall and the hot baths that the town is famous for. They looked kinda gross, like 50 year old bathwater. After that we hung out for a bit and then went HORSEBACK RIDING through the mountains. SOOO amazingly fun and beautiful. so tranquil too. Especially because my horse was 18 years old and walked realllllll slow. I was in the back of the group the whole time. And when I would try to get to the front the other, younger horses would bite my horse. sad. After that we got a quick lunch and rushed over to this tour place where we had arranged for a canyoning trip. That´s when you hike up a mountain in a wetsuit and then rappel down the waterfalls all the way down the mountain. It was a bit scary the first time because you're supposed to lean so far back that you're essentially horizontal, and then rely on your own strength and the ropes to lead you down. It was invigorating, looking down from up top, and then looking up from down below. I felt really accomplished and brave. It was unfortunate that I couldn't bring my camera.
Amazing times in the amazon. now i´m tired just writing about all that stuff.
The next day, Courtney and I got AMAZING massages at one of the many spas around town. It was about 1.5 hours of pure bliss. Whole body massage, foot massage/reflexology, hot stone therapy, aromatherapy, a face massage and a mud facial. All that was only 25 bucks!!!!! can you believe it?! I couldn't pass it up. After that, we headed home to Quito.
Monday, Theo and I took a nice walk down to Parque La Carolina where we spent a few hours perusing the Jardin de Botanica. It was so awesome! I loved all the greenhouses and Orchids. We took about 100 pictures of flowers. That night, the whole gang headed over to Plaza Foch to enjoy some endless tapas and vino. The tapas were great, but the wine was the main event. The meal started out mellow. That is, until, Courtney's friend Amanda ordered a straw with her wine. We eventually got louder and sloppier. The hijinx escalated until the waiter gradually stopped coming to our table with wine. I don't think we will be welcome back. Oops.
On Tuesday, Theo and I traveled 40 minutes North to visit the EQUATOR! We arrived in front of this seemingly deserted monument, and paid 2 bucks to get into this weird, rundown plaza that houses the historically calculated equator. All I can say about Mitad Del Mundo was that it was creepy. Folk music played faintly in the background as we looked for something, ANYTHING to do in that tourist trap. We consulted our Lonely Planet book and found that a much more exciting version of the Equator was just a few hundred meters away, and was the REAL equator, as calculated with a military GPS. We paid another 3 bucks to go into Museo Solar Inti Nan, which included a free tour in English! We got to see a real shrunken human head, as well as a shrunken sloth head. We also did the obligatory equator tricks, such as watching water fall straight down a drain (instead of swirling around clockwise or counterclockwise), balance an egg on a nail, and strange muscular resistance things. Apparently it's really easy to pull apart a thumb and forefinger while standing on the equator. We ended our tour with a "energy test" with guinea pigs. Apparently they are really sensitive to negative energy. But we passed without a squeak. It was a great experience. We came home and ended up walked around in the rain for about 30 minutes looking for some food. Everything that we wanted to eat was closed so we ended up getting Papa John's pizza. Safe, but tasty.
Today, Theo and I strolled down to the Parque La Carolina and finally found the Vivarium. I got to hold a huge boa constrictor. We hung out in the parque a bit, kissed like the other lovers were doing, and bought some bread. Theo bought this thing called a Papa Rellena. Imagine this: fried rice with pork wrapped in mashed potatoes and deep fried. DAMN. I got to eat it since it had pork in it.
Tonight we leave Quito for Guayaquil and then Montanita. Montanita is supposed to be a lot like the Ocean Beach of Ecuador: hippie surf town. I hope I can get some shut eye on the night bus, but even if I can't, I'm sure I can get a bit of sleep on the beach. I can't wait to surf!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Day 5
Sooo we're back from Atacames. I've decided I was not charmed by that town, despite the beautiful climate and scenery. The mosquitos are aggressive and so are the townfolk. It's more of an Ecuadorian tourist spot so we got stared at from every angle, being the only whities in town. They did have some damn good pizza tho.
Back to Quito for less than 24 hours. Tomorrow we head to Banos a mountainous town on the edge of the amazon rainforest. Hot baths, Mountain Biking, and spa treatments, Oh my!
Back to Quito for less than 24 hours. Tomorrow we head to Banos a mountainous town on the edge of the amazon rainforest. Hot baths, Mountain Biking, and spa treatments, Oh my!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Day 4
Today was great. We woke up around 9 and walked down the beach to the tourist area for some breakfast. We had some "desayuno Americano": a breakfast of eggs, juice, coffee and toast. We then changed into our suits, slathered on some SPFs and went for a swim. We found a boogie board in the closet and had some fun with that. We walked to the cliffs and found a cave to hang out in, as well as some rocks to sit on, little mermaid style. I bought a coconut and drank the water straight from the machete-gauged hole. Yum.
We spent the rest of the evening drinking beer and Pina Coladas on the beach.
We spent the rest of the evening drinking beer and Pina Coladas on the beach.
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