I made it home safely. The plane ride from Lima to Los Angeles was by far the most uncomfortable experience of my entire trip. But I'll spare you the details.
It's good to be back. Although it feels strange to be surrounded by English speakers. I have a few days in the Bay Area before I head back to Esalen for a month of yoga in Big Sur.
I hope to catch up with some of you before then. Thanks for reading.
Cusco turns into a different city at night. The town thumps with beats from nearly every corner in the plaza. Last night I decided to check out the scene, see who I might meet. I wasn´t sure which club to check out first.... Mama Africa boasts a safari theme, Mythology claims it´s just for the gods, Xtreme has free salsa lessons, there´s a live band every night at Kamikase. And they´re basically all in the same place... In fact, you can be sitting on the balcony at Mama Africa and hear the music across the way at Mythology and Xtreme. No cover charges and half the time there are people on the street handing out free drink tickets. It´s quite the party in Cusco late night. Fun times. ;-)
Today I went to the nearby town of Pisac which is known for it´s Sunday market. Amazing craftwork from all over Peru can be found in Pisac. I ended up spending my very last centimos, leaving only enough to get back to Cusco on the colectivo. When I reached Cusco, I realised I had no money for a taxi back to the Plaza.... it´s not too far of a walk from the bus terminal, unless of course it´s pouring rain. It´s funny now that I look back.
Tonight I´m going to my friend Carlos´ restaurant for dinner. Perhaps I´ll try the cuy. Apparently they serve it whole, the head, the claws, everything.... an entire guinea pig on your plate. Doesn´t that sound appetizing? Yeah, I know, I´m a vegetarian, but where else in the world will I have the chance to order a roasted guinea pig. I hear alpaca meat is actually really good too. I´m more tempted to try the alpaca, when it comes to specialty Peruvian dishes. Alpacas are these beautiful creatures, similar to llamas with shorter necks and soft wooly fur. In reality though, I´ll probably just end up with another quinoa veggie soup for dinner.
I´m looking forward to another night of bailando en la discotecas de Cusco.
I don´t even know where to begin to put it all into words. The last four days were spent hiking through the Andes, climbing massive mountains, trekking through cloud forests, and especially discovering ancient ruins along the trail. And then to finally arrive at Machu Picchu... that feeling is so absolutely priceless.
Each day brought new rewards and new challenges. I had a fun group to trek with. We laughed, we cried, we shared an incredible experience together that we´ll remember for the rest of our lives. I want to highly recommend Andean Life
to anyone considering the Inca Trail.
I am feeling like my trip is coming to a close here in Peru. I fly out on Tuesday night, and arrive back in California on Wednesday morning. I´m sad that it´s almost over, but I´m also ready to come home. I miss certain things.... toilets with seats... clean showers with hot water... ice in my water... and most of all, my friends.
These next couple of days I plan to go shopping. If you´re reading and you have any specific requests for something you might want from Peru, leave a comment and I´ll do my best.
I´ve been discovering some great music here in Peru. I was sitting in a cafe here in Cusco, and this amazing music was playing. I asked the waitress about the band, and she said in that beautiful sweet Peruvian accent, ¨un grupo de la selva, Alborado¨ I found their cd today, and I´m excited to share when I return. I think I love them even more knowing they are ¨de la selva.¨ Muy talento.
I also really enjoy the traditional Andean folk music. You can hear the sound of pan pipes along the streets day and night here in Cusco. This town is quite lively.
Tomorrow I start out on the Inca Trail, a four day hike in the Andes ending at Machu Picchu. I´ll update when I return! Adios amigos!
Leaving Iquitos this morning was truly heartwrenching. I fell in love in so many ways in the rainforest (la selva). My heart burst open. I was overwhelmed with love for the trees and the butterflies and the constant orchestra of exotic sounds. And most of all, the people. Beautiful beautiful beautiful.
Swimming under enchanted waterfalls in the pouring rain. Finding a deserted beach along the river in time to watch an amazing sunset with new good friends. Dancing with natives in their tiny tribal villages. Long nights of soul searching in an ancient ceremony. Cuddling with a sloth and later an anaconda. Laying in a hammock reading for hours when it was too hot to do anything else. Tasting new jungle fruits nearly every day.
There are so many beautiful memories. Iquitos has forever touched my life.
As the plane took off this morning, and I watched the winding river below, I knew in my heart I would return someday. Now as I sit here in Lima, I´m off to my next adventure in Cusco. Everyone I´ve met travelling so far tells me how great Cusco is. I´m looking forward to being there. I think I will spend the remainder of my trip there and in the Sacred Valley. Machu Picchu awaits me.
I´m in La Paz now. I´m grateful to have met someone in Copacabana who was heading the same way, ´cause this city would be pretty intimidating on my own. Last night me and three Peruvians sat under the moon and I listened to them philosophize about the Incas in Spanish. We chewed on coca leaves and gave thanks to the earth for bringing us all together.
Today, Wayra (which means "wind" in Quechua) and I sat on the bus and he gave me lessons in Spanish and Quechua. It made the bus ride that much more interesting. At one point we all had to get off the bus to take a boat across a river where the bus met us, apparently because the highway is quite dangerous. While we sat waiting, Wayra gave me the name Ch`aska which means "star" in Quechua.
Something I´m realising I really love about the culture in South America is all the romanticism. So many stories from the history here are about love and the crazy things people do for love. The love of the earth and the sky and the stars.... It´s something I find enchanting about South America.
I managed to cross into Bolivia a couple of days ago. Now I´m in the town of Copacabana which is right over the border on Lake Titicaca. The sunsets here have been amazing.
I made friends with some of the locals and I´ve been spending my evenings at this hipster bar in town. There are murals of Bob Marley and Che Guevara on the walls, as well as scribblings from the many travellers who have passed through and managed to find this cool little spot. Night life in Copacabana involves playing board games and sipping cervesa with your amigos. The bar is right next door to my hostal, which I should mention has an amazing view of the lake, and for only $5 a night.
Today I took a boat ride to the Isla Del Sol. The boat dropped us off at the north part of the island, and then we had about five hours to hike the length of the island and meet back at the south part of the island. I´d say the visit to Isla Del Sol has been the most magnificently beautiful portion of my trip so far. There were times where I´d be standing at the top of a peak on the island with the lake surrounding me in every direction, and all I can say is WOW! The photos will never do this place justice. Apparently this island was once home to the founders of the Inca Empire. The hike was amazing. The weather too was just perfect. Truly gorgeous.
Tomorrow I´m taking a bus to La Paz where my main task is to find a flight to Lima. Otherwise I might end up on a 25 hour bus ride, so I´m hoping I can get a cheap flight. I need to make it to Lima in time to catch my flight to Iquitos early Wednesday morning. I´ll be in the jungle in just a few days!!!!!!!
I´m a bit sunburned and windburned after nearly two days on a boat travelling around the beautiful Lago Titicaca. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, and from what I hear, we were lucky.
We set off yesterday towards the floating islands of Uros. These man-made islands are charming made from the strong grass reeds that grow in the shallow part of the lake near the shore. The people who live in Uros travel to and from the adjacent islands on boats made from the same reeds. And the reeds also make a tasty snack, sort of like celery.
From there, we set out on a (*sings*) "three hour tour" to the island of Amantani. I had no idea what I was in store for when they said I´d be staying with a local family because there are no hotels. They passed me off to mi familia when we arrived, and the little Quechua woman, Florencia, brought me to her small hut made of stone and mud with chickens running in and out of the tiny cocina where we chopped up potatoes and cooked yummy quinoa vegetable soup. The people on the island only speak Quechua and a tiny bit of Spanish, so communication was really challenging for me. Mostly Florencia´s daughters and I all just smiled and laughed a lot with each other.
Then I met up with the rest of my tour group and we set out on a hike which turned out to be really challenging.... considering we were at 4000+ meters and it was completely uphill. We must have climbed a good 500 meters or so, and somehow made it to the top of the island just in time to see the sunset which was absolutely divine with sunbeams stretching through the fluffy clouds. From this spot we were able to see all the way to Bolivia.
Heading back downhill I managed to get somewhat lost with the group of French travellers, who were such trouble makers and so fun. I amazingly found the way back to mi casa. Florencia´s oldest daughter, Gladias, dressed me up in the traditional dress and her older brother brought me to the fiesta in town with the rest of my tour group. We danced around the room in circles and laughed over how exhausted we all were after that hike and here we were dancing.
Today we got up super early, made a stop at another island called Taquile for a quick lunch, and now here I am in Puno again.
These last couple of days have been the most culturally diverse of my trip so far. It was interesting to really experience life on the island from the inside. The people I met on the island were so sweet and happy, staring at that magnificent lake all day, it´s easy to see why. Their lives are so simple, and it´s quite beautiful. I worry about the tourists always visiting them like this though. Already the children hardly old enough to speak, hold out their tiny hands expecting money.
Tomorrow I´m crossing the border into Bolivia to hang out at Copacabana. I´m looking forward to not doing anything for a couple of days. I feel like I´ve been constantly moving from one thing to the next, and I´m ready for a break. And what better place than... At the Copa! Copacabana!!
I didn´t realise it would be so hard to say good bye in Areguipa. I really like that town with its beautiful volcano, El Misti, in the background and the relaxed atmosphere. I was starting to feel at home there. I actually ended up staying a day longer than planned after meeting a nice Peruvian... He showed me one of the lesser known miradors on a hill just outside of town overlooking the valley where Areguipa exists. The view was fantastic.
There´s only been one time where I´ve felt particularly unsafe, so far. Mostly I´ve just been using common sense, staying away from dark alleys at night, and always looking as if I know exactly where I´m going. But last night while visiting the mirador with Humberto, our taxi left us, and we had to navigate our way through this area with steep uneven stairwells and angry dogs to find our way back to the road. It was slightly unnerving. I was glad when we found a well lit street and a taxi. Anyway, it wouldn´t be a trip to South America without at least one experience like that, I think. So there, I got it out of the way, and I´m still alive.
Now I´m in Puno which sits on the edge of Lake Titicaca after a five hour bus ride from Areguipa. The town itself isn´t all that interesting, but the lake is beautiful and the weather is sunny. Tomorrow I´m going on an overnight boat tour of some of the nearby islands.
So far, I´ve been able to get by on anywhere from s/35 - s/100 a day, which translates to something like US$10-30. That includes meals, lodging, tours, and transportation. I splurged on a hotel for tonight ´cause I wanted a nice hot shower. I´m paying $10 for the room which includes a full breakfast. Livin´large here in Puno!
Thanks for all the love on the last post everyone. I´m glad you´re reading. Much love to you!
I´ll check in again from Copacabana, which is where I´ll be this weekend.... unless of course I meet another nice Peruvian here in Puno... ;-)
Not that anyone´s reading, but I thought I´d check in anyway. It makes me feel better to think people care, thus the blog.
I´m back in Areguipa after travelling with a group for a couple of days north into the Andes to visit the Colca Canyon. WOW! Totally amazing. We visited the little town of Chivay on the way, and stopped at these great hot springs to soak under the moon. We had dinner with traditional folk music and danced together around the room. Then we got up early to catch a glimpse of the condors. On our way back south, it was snowing. Snow!!!!!
Tomorrow I´m going to figure out how to get to Puno near Lake Titicaca somehow. I´ll probably spend a day or two in Puno. And from there, I want to cross into Bolivia furthur south and head to Copacabana, all of which is around the lake. Might as well get another stamp in my passport while I have the chance.
I love Peru! The landscape, the people, the music, the culture, the history, everything, I love it!
Just so everyone knows, I arrived safely in Peru!
I made it to Lima late Wednesday night. My new friend, Vasco was there to pick me up, and took me directly to his place where he had a room available for me to use. He and his family are very kind and welcoming. They wanted me to know that their home was my home for the duration of my visit to Peru. Vasco lives in a nice part of Lima called Miraflores. On Thursday, I walked around his lively neighborhood, and had my first meal at a restaurant known for its excellent cebiche. How very Peruvian, cebiche and a pisco sour! Yum!
I also visited a museum in the middle of town with some ancient ruins. There were these giant pyramid like structures built around with plazas and large areas on top and inside for celebrations and ceremonies.
Thursday night I took a 14 hour overnight bus ride to Areguipa, which is where I´m at now. The landscape on the way south was magnificent. Mountains on my left and ocean on the right for most of the way, then deserts, and finally farmlands before reaching Areguipa. I am really enjoying this little town so far. My hostel is near the Plaza de Armas which is where the main activity in Areguipa happens. There are impressive churches on just about every other block. Everything is within walking distance. My hostel is within a block of the local biblioteca. Finally, a reason to use the phrase, "¿donde es la biblioteca?"
Not knowing the language has proven to be my biggest challenge thus far. Hardly anyone speaks English at all. Really the only person I´ve been able to have a conversation with has been Vasco. You would think that someone might know English at the "Tourist Information" offices, but no such luck. I´m being forced into remembering back to those Spanish classes I took years ago. Mostly I just smile and nod.
I haven´t met any other travellers yet. So far I´m the only white girl everywhere I go. I definitely stand out in a crowd. The taxis love to honk at me.
Tomorrow I´ll start a two day tour to Colca Canyon and the town of Chivay. Afterwards, I´ll probably head to Puno and Lake Titicaca. I´ll check in again soon. Much love to you!
