Tuesday, July 20th
Today, the plan was to white water raft through the beautiful lush Andean mountains of Ecuador. Interestingly, the white water group consisted of all Americans and all women (two from Hawaii, one from San Fran and one from Wyoming). The rapids were rated at a level 3 to 4, so a lil more challenging than the rapids in Peru. Only one of the girls had never been before. The safety briefing before the rafting was the longest and most in depth safety briefing I've ever heard. At the end of it, the girls in my group were like "dam...I guess there's a real chance of us falling in!" We started down river and hit tons of great rapids. One of our first big sets the girl siting behind me fell into the boat and pulled me in with her. I wondered how I hot into the boat since I was in control on the water and then sh told me that she was trying to grab ahold of something and that something ended up being me. The rest of the way down river was both challenging and exciting. The scenery was filled with waterfalls, mountains in every direction and lush green forest. After the rafting was finished we headed back into Baños and I met up with my bunk mate, Stephanie from England, and we wandered around town together. We decided to cook a meal as well - I volunteered to cook macaroni and cheese with chorizo. Our other roomate, Whim from Belgium, joined us as well. The dinner was a success. After dinner I played cards with a big group of folks from all over the world. We played till 1am. It was a blast! Tomorrow, Stephanie and I will go horseback riding through the mountains in the morning, do yoga in the afternoon and try to hit up the hot springs in the evening. It's gonna be a great day.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Panchamama's bathroom
Monday, July 19th
Today was mostly a travel day. Ecuador is an awe-inspiring country. The country is teeming with forests of eucalyptus trees, rolling green hills, giant snow topped active volcanoes, rivers and lakes, fields of fresh produce, and farms of pigs, horses, and cattle. My destination was to the majestic town of Baños. Yes...the town is called bathrooms, but I tell ya what...if this was a bathroom it would be mother nature's powder room because the town is gorgeous! Baños is surrounded by luxuriant green peaks and is blessed with medicinal thermal baths and beautiful waterfalls. It is known as the city of adventure and tranquility. If you seek adventurous thrill seeking sports - You can do whatever your heart desires here from white-water to bungee jumping to canyoning to trekking. If you wanna be spoiled and pampered - there's loads of spas here to satisfy your everyneed from massages to accupunture to colon cleansing. My mission was to go white water rafting and horseback riding. When I arrived into town I found an amazing hostel and made buddies with my new roomie - Stephanie from England. I wandered around town, ate dinner, and booked a rafting tour for tomorrow. I took it easy today since I was still feeling a lil under the weather.
Today was mostly a travel day. Ecuador is an awe-inspiring country. The country is teeming with forests of eucalyptus trees, rolling green hills, giant snow topped active volcanoes, rivers and lakes, fields of fresh produce, and farms of pigs, horses, and cattle. My destination was to the majestic town of Baños. Yes...the town is called bathrooms, but I tell ya what...if this was a bathroom it would be mother nature's powder room because the town is gorgeous! Baños is surrounded by luxuriant green peaks and is blessed with medicinal thermal baths and beautiful waterfalls. It is known as the city of adventure and tranquility. If you seek adventurous thrill seeking sports - You can do whatever your heart desires here from white-water to bungee jumping to canyoning to trekking. If you wanna be spoiled and pampered - there's loads of spas here to satisfy your everyneed from massages to accupunture to colon cleansing. My mission was to go white water rafting and horseback riding. When I arrived into town I found an amazing hostel and made buddies with my new roomie - Stephanie from England. I wandered around town, ate dinner, and booked a rafting tour for tomorrow. I took it easy today since I was still feeling a lil under the weather.
Inca vs. Cañari
Sunday, July 18th
Nope...my "genius" master plan of sweating out the flu didn't work out as planned. Still sick. :(
Today, Padraic and I had booked a trip to go see the Inca and Cañari ruins of Ingapirca. Our tour company never showed up to the hostel so we said "fuck it...let's go anyways" and so we did. It's almost a blessing in disguise because the tour would have cost $45 per person and on our own we spent $11 per person for everything (including transport, lunch, and park entrance fee). The ruins were originally built in the 15th century by the Cañari Indians and about 500 years later inhabited by the Inca's. The site was solely built for a place of worship and ceremonial purposes. The site is not very large (nowhere as big as Machu Picchu) and most of the stone buildings have been dismantled by the early Spanish colonists for the purpose of using the large stones to build churches. As soon as we walked into the ruins, a guide approached us and asked us if we wanted a tour of the grounds. We said "clarrro!" Our guide (name unknown) was absolutely fantastic. He was such a story teller. The way he described how the ruins were built and what they were used for was as if he was saying a Shakespearean monolouge. Padraic and I walked around the ruins for a few hours and took it all in. After the ruins, we had a great lunch at a lil mom n' pop shop. Hoppe back on the bus and just chilled for the remainder of the day. Tomorrow I will head north (alone) to a mountain town called Baños. I've heard loads of great things about this town so I'm totally looking forward to it.
Nope...my "genius" master plan of sweating out the flu didn't work out as planned. Still sick. :(
Today, Padraic and I had booked a trip to go see the Inca and Cañari ruins of Ingapirca. Our tour company never showed up to the hostel so we said "fuck it...let's go anyways" and so we did. It's almost a blessing in disguise because the tour would have cost $45 per person and on our own we spent $11 per person for everything (including transport, lunch, and park entrance fee). The ruins were originally built in the 15th century by the Cañari Indians and about 500 years later inhabited by the Inca's. The site was solely built for a place of worship and ceremonial purposes. The site is not very large (nowhere as big as Machu Picchu) and most of the stone buildings have been dismantled by the early Spanish colonists for the purpose of using the large stones to build churches. As soon as we walked into the ruins, a guide approached us and asked us if we wanted a tour of the grounds. We said "clarrro!" Our guide (name unknown) was absolutely fantastic. He was such a story teller. The way he described how the ruins were built and what they were used for was as if he was saying a Shakespearean monolouge. Padraic and I walked around the ruins for a few hours and took it all in. After the ruins, we had a great lunch at a lil mom n' pop shop. Hoppe back on the bus and just chilled for the remainder of the day. Tomorrow I will head north (alone) to a mountain town called Baños. I've heard loads of great things about this town so I'm totally looking forward to it.
Dancing the flu away!
Saturday, July 17th
Last night was the first full night of sleep I've had in a while, and let me tell you, I needed it! I still felt sick when I woke up this morning but alas I won't let it keep me down. Padraic and I spent the day together walking around the city. Cuena is a charming city with cobblestoned streets, whitewashed and red-stoned buildings, beautiful plazas, classic and grandeur churches. The city sits alongside the banks of Rio Tomebamba. It's a pleasant blend of classic Spanish colonial architecture with a modern edge. The whole day was kind of amusing because we saw numerous amazing churches and all we wanted to do was to peek inside of them and admire the interior design but sadly for us ALL of them were closed. We did, however, find something that was open for lunch - an amazing restaurant with the best seco de pollo ever! The day was pretty rainy so we called it quits around 5ish. At breakfast, I ran into a girl, Nicoll from California, I met in the Colca de Canyon in Peru about a month ago. We decided that a bunch of us should go out to dinner and dancing together tonight. And so it was...our group grew from 2 people to 9 in an instant (Padraic from Ireland, Nicoll from Cali, Jenna from Cali, Freddy from Chicago, Evan from Brooklyn, Christine from Boston, Till from Germany, Mary from France. We went out to this kitchy worldly restaurant that had a live salsa band. We all had an absolutely fantastic time dancing the night away. I struggled to catch my breath becuase of my chest cold but...hey...I figured maybe I could sweat it out of my system. Tomorrow we'll see if my master plan works.
Last night was the first full night of sleep I've had in a while, and let me tell you, I needed it! I still felt sick when I woke up this morning but alas I won't let it keep me down. Padraic and I spent the day together walking around the city. Cuena is a charming city with cobblestoned streets, whitewashed and red-stoned buildings, beautiful plazas, classic and grandeur churches. The city sits alongside the banks of Rio Tomebamba. It's a pleasant blend of classic Spanish colonial architecture with a modern edge. The whole day was kind of amusing because we saw numerous amazing churches and all we wanted to do was to peek inside of them and admire the interior design but sadly for us ALL of them were closed. We did, however, find something that was open for lunch - an amazing restaurant with the best seco de pollo ever! The day was pretty rainy so we called it quits around 5ish. At breakfast, I ran into a girl, Nicoll from California, I met in the Colca de Canyon in Peru about a month ago. We decided that a bunch of us should go out to dinner and dancing together tonight. And so it was...our group grew from 2 people to 9 in an instant (Padraic from Ireland, Nicoll from Cali, Jenna from Cali, Freddy from Chicago, Evan from Brooklyn, Christine from Boston, Till from Germany, Mary from France. We went out to this kitchy worldly restaurant that had a live salsa band. We all had an absolutely fantastic time dancing the night away. I struggled to catch my breath becuase of my chest cold but...hey...I figured maybe I could sweat it out of my system. Tomorrow we'll see if my master plan works.
Bleh day
Friday, July 16th
Today was a tiring day and lonely day. Woke up at 6am to catch an early flight to Ecuador. Flew from Cuzco to Lima to Guyaquil and then took a bus fom Guyaquil to Cuena (third largest city in Ecuador). Somehow, I got food posioning and a terrible chest cold along the way. It sucked. Once I arrived in Cuena I saw a cute guy, Padraic from Ireland, waiting in the taxi queue. I brefriended him and coincidentally we ended up going to the same hostel together. This was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Today was a tiring day and lonely day. Woke up at 6am to catch an early flight to Ecuador. Flew from Cuzco to Lima to Guyaquil and then took a bus fom Guyaquil to Cuena (third largest city in Ecuador). Somehow, I got food posioning and a terrible chest cold along the way. It sucked. Once I arrived in Cuena I saw a cute guy, Padraic from Ireland, waiting in the taxi queue. I brefriended him and coincidentally we ended up going to the same hostel together. This was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
The butt-crack of dawn
Thursday, July 15th
We woke up at 3:30am today to start our difficult hike up to the top of Machu Picchu. The first 20 minutes of the hike was flat and then we climbed up what seemed like thousands of stone stairs for the next hour. Mind you this hike is in the middle of the night so the only light we have to see where we are going is the ingenious invention of the head lamp. The Scottish guys in the group, Connor and Ally, had no light whatsoever, so I hiked directly in front of them and was their beacon in the night. I started the ascend without the coca in my boca (mouth) and I quickly realized the mistake I made. I popped that shit in my mouth quicker than Lady Gaga changes her outfits. The exhausting climb was more bearable once the coca kicked in. (side note- Mom...Dad... Don't worry I'm not addicted to cocaine nor it's deriving plant). We got to the sun gate around 5:30am. The park opened at 6am and the point was to hike to the top to be one of the first in the park to see the ruins without hoards of tourists around. The sun slowly came to say good morning once we arrived at the top. I have to say... I had sweat like a beastmaster on the way up the steps and by the time we got into the park I was wet and cold. The gates opened and one by one we were let in. As I am walking down the long paved path, I am trying to imagine what I am about to see (hoping that all this hard work will be well worth it). The sun was bobbing behind the clouds when I got my first look at the Inca empire. She was breathtaking! Sadly, words cannot describe just how amazing, fascinating, enthralling, mysterious, and awe-inspiring Machu Picchu is. All I can say is you have to see it for yourself. (side note - McCarron family... You are never to old to see it...I saw lots of white folks in their 60's and 70's.) We went on a guided tour of the ruins. I learned so much about the Inca people and how they were master architects (most of the buildings were almost perfectly still intact), farmers (they had 50 different types of corn), and astronomers (they built circular reflecting pools so they could look down and watch the stars instead of injuring their necks by looking up for hours on end). You can really get a true perspective on "the modern" western world and it's culture until you see something like this. I was atop Machu Picchu for 5 hours. I didn't want to leave. It's the best preserved Inca site on the planet mostly because of it's remote location. After taking it all in, my buddy Chris and I trekked back down the gazillion of steps that we hiked up at 4am. The view was stunning. Once we decended, we rewarded ourselves with the tastiest and most expensive frappachino in all of south America! We chilled for the remainder of the day and ate our last dinner together as a group. We took a train and then a bus back to Cuzco. I felt severely ill on the train ride home. I got food poisioning in Aguas Calientes and didn't manage to sleep much that night.
We woke up at 3:30am today to start our difficult hike up to the top of Machu Picchu. The first 20 minutes of the hike was flat and then we climbed up what seemed like thousands of stone stairs for the next hour. Mind you this hike is in the middle of the night so the only light we have to see where we are going is the ingenious invention of the head lamp. The Scottish guys in the group, Connor and Ally, had no light whatsoever, so I hiked directly in front of them and was their beacon in the night. I started the ascend without the coca in my boca (mouth) and I quickly realized the mistake I made. I popped that shit in my mouth quicker than Lady Gaga changes her outfits. The exhausting climb was more bearable once the coca kicked in. (side note- Mom...Dad... Don't worry I'm not addicted to cocaine nor it's deriving plant). We got to the sun gate around 5:30am. The park opened at 6am and the point was to hike to the top to be one of the first in the park to see the ruins without hoards of tourists around. The sun slowly came to say good morning once we arrived at the top. I have to say... I had sweat like a beastmaster on the way up the steps and by the time we got into the park I was wet and cold. The gates opened and one by one we were let in. As I am walking down the long paved path, I am trying to imagine what I am about to see (hoping that all this hard work will be well worth it). The sun was bobbing behind the clouds when I got my first look at the Inca empire. She was breathtaking! Sadly, words cannot describe just how amazing, fascinating, enthralling, mysterious, and awe-inspiring Machu Picchu is. All I can say is you have to see it for yourself. (side note - McCarron family... You are never to old to see it...I saw lots of white folks in their 60's and 70's.) We went on a guided tour of the ruins. I learned so much about the Inca people and how they were master architects (most of the buildings were almost perfectly still intact), farmers (they had 50 different types of corn), and astronomers (they built circular reflecting pools so they could look down and watch the stars instead of injuring their necks by looking up for hours on end). You can really get a true perspective on "the modern" western world and it's culture until you see something like this. I was atop Machu Picchu for 5 hours. I didn't want to leave. It's the best preserved Inca site on the planet mostly because of it's remote location. After taking it all in, my buddy Chris and I trekked back down the gazillion of steps that we hiked up at 4am. The view was stunning. Once we decended, we rewarded ourselves with the tastiest and most expensive frappachino in all of south America! We chilled for the remainder of the day and ate our last dinner together as a group. We took a train and then a bus back to Cuzco. I felt severely ill on the train ride home. I got food poisioning in Aguas Calientes and didn't manage to sleep much that night.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Swimming for midgets
Wednesday, July 14th
Today the plan of attack was to hike to a waterfall, go for a chilly swim and then continue down the inca trail to base camp at Aguascalientes. Well since our guide was still drunk and high on cocaine from the previous evening, the day didn't exactly go as planned. We arrived to the waterfall which we were told was "huge and we could swim underneath it" to learn that the waterfall was in fact 35 meters high but at the base sat a pool of water only about 2 feet deep. Totally swimmable for midgets like the Mccarron family! I waded it and went for a chilly, shallow dip. Then we had to drove for a lil bit to reconnect with the inca trail. We ate some lunch which later gave a few guys in my group food poisoning. Then we continued to hike down the trail to the touristy base camp, aguascalientes. The hike today was absolutely amazing. The Peruvians built a railroad that runs along the widest part of the trail. This is what we trekked down for the next 4 hours. The flat trail was at the base of the Andean valley and it followed the river the entire way. It was great to be able to look at my surroundings as I hiked becuase the day before you always had to watch where you were stepping to make sure you didn't fall off the edge of the mountain. As we got closer we could barely see the ruins of Machu Picchu high up in the distance. As soon as we got a glimpse of the ruins we all felt as we had accomplished something phenomenial and we had done it together. Once we arrived in Aguascalientes we were relieved that we have almost completed our mission. Aguascalientes is pretty little town that sits at the base of Machu Picchu mountain. Clearly, the town's main purpose is to attract tourists to Machu Pichhu and overcharge the crap outta them with inadequate food, dirty hot springs, and overpriced personalized tours of the ruins. We had a mellow dinner and we were told to get to bed as early as possible becuase we had to wake up at 3:30am to start our ascend up the mountain at 4am to reach the sun gate by 5:30am. I couldn't fall asleep till 11:30pm becuase my mind was racing with excitement.
Today the plan of attack was to hike to a waterfall, go for a chilly swim and then continue down the inca trail to base camp at Aguascalientes. Well since our guide was still drunk and high on cocaine from the previous evening, the day didn't exactly go as planned. We arrived to the waterfall which we were told was "huge and we could swim underneath it" to learn that the waterfall was in fact 35 meters high but at the base sat a pool of water only about 2 feet deep. Totally swimmable for midgets like the Mccarron family! I waded it and went for a chilly, shallow dip. Then we had to drove for a lil bit to reconnect with the inca trail. We ate some lunch which later gave a few guys in my group food poisoning. Then we continued to hike down the trail to the touristy base camp, aguascalientes. The hike today was absolutely amazing. The Peruvians built a railroad that runs along the widest part of the trail. This is what we trekked down for the next 4 hours. The flat trail was at the base of the Andean valley and it followed the river the entire way. It was great to be able to look at my surroundings as I hiked becuase the day before you always had to watch where you were stepping to make sure you didn't fall off the edge of the mountain. As we got closer we could barely see the ruins of Machu Picchu high up in the distance. As soon as we got a glimpse of the ruins we all felt as we had accomplished something phenomenial and we had done it together. Once we arrived in Aguascalientes we were relieved that we have almost completed our mission. Aguascalientes is pretty little town that sits at the base of Machu Picchu mountain. Clearly, the town's main purpose is to attract tourists to Machu Pichhu and overcharge the crap outta them with inadequate food, dirty hot springs, and overpriced personalized tours of the ruins. We had a mellow dinner and we were told to get to bed as early as possible becuase we had to wake up at 3:30am to start our ascend up the mountain at 4am to reach the sun gate by 5:30am. I couldn't fall asleep till 11:30pm becuase my mind was racing with excitement.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Livin' la vida coca!
Tuesday July 13th
We woke up very early to start our day off with some white water rafting. I shared a boat with Orla, Mark, and Ally. The river we rafted down flowed south to north through the basin of the lowland forest. The river eventually meets up with the Amazon river in Brazil. The rapids measured around a 2-3 class rapids (nothing too tough). The dramatic setting for the white water was brillant! We conquered the white water for the next two hours. Luckily, noone fell out of the boats. After we were done with out aquatic adrenaline fix, we set off to start our 8 hour hike. You could say it would be an exhausting day... fo sho! I could not tell you how far or how high we hiked because as soon as I heard how long we had to hike for I just thought..."well let's get 'er done!!" The hike was in no way easy. We started off the hike ascending a mountain up ridicuosly steep switchbacks. Hiking up switchbacks is already tough enough but the "true" killer is the altitude. It dries out your throat and makes it hard to breath almost to the point where you are panting like a dog in heat. To remedy this problema, I shoved a handfull of coca leaves in my mouth and chewed like it was my J.O.B. I tell ya what, the coca really helps! I'm not saying that I was able to run up the mountain after the coca kicked in, I'm just saying it made the climb more bareable and breatheable. We hiked up and down various Andean mountains along the Inka trail. We passed through coffee farms, fruit plantations, crossed rivers, and the Peruvian jungle. At the end of the day, the group had bonded and we felt truly satisified about our accomplishment!
We woke up very early to start our day off with some white water rafting. I shared a boat with Orla, Mark, and Ally. The river we rafted down flowed south to north through the basin of the lowland forest. The river eventually meets up with the Amazon river in Brazil. The rapids measured around a 2-3 class rapids (nothing too tough). The dramatic setting for the white water was brillant! We conquered the white water for the next two hours. Luckily, noone fell out of the boats. After we were done with out aquatic adrenaline fix, we set off to start our 8 hour hike. You could say it would be an exhausting day... fo sho! I could not tell you how far or how high we hiked because as soon as I heard how long we had to hike for I just thought..."well let's get 'er done!!" The hike was in no way easy. We started off the hike ascending a mountain up ridicuosly steep switchbacks. Hiking up switchbacks is already tough enough but the "true" killer is the altitude. It dries out your throat and makes it hard to breath almost to the point where you are panting like a dog in heat. To remedy this problema, I shoved a handfull of coca leaves in my mouth and chewed like it was my J.O.B. I tell ya what, the coca really helps! I'm not saying that I was able to run up the mountain after the coca kicked in, I'm just saying it made the climb more bareable and breatheable. We hiked up and down various Andean mountains along the Inka trail. We passed through coffee farms, fruit plantations, crossed rivers, and the Peruvian jungle. At the end of the day, the group had bonded and we felt truly satisified about our accomplishment!
Bike or bust!
Monday, July 12th
I woke up at 6am to meet up with my new fellow travel adventurers. The group consisted of Chris (New Yorker), Ben (Ohio), Jeff (Ohio), Mike (Minnesota), Connor (Scotland), Ally (Scotland), Orla (Ireland), Mark (Ireland), Pierre (France), Audrey (France), our guide Leo (Peru) and me...so basically 3 women and 9 men. I was happy. Ha! We all met on the bus and we got along swimmingly straight away. We drove 3 hours through the majestic Andes to our drop off point. The scenic drive was absolutely magnificent. They call the area surrounding Cuzco "the sacred valley" Once we arrived at our destination, we were given our bikes and met with our guide Leo. He seemed like a reckless jokester. So the 12 of us set off down this insanely windy cliff road in the Andes mountain range. We would bike down over 2500 meters (about 7500 ft) in 3 hours. The first part of the ride was on a paved road; however, the last half was on a rocky, bumpy, dusty, under construction trail. I was a lil nervous for the ride because I'm not the most confident person on a bike. The ride was scary because we rode down the edge of a cliff for miles on end. It was a pure adrenaline rush. The view was amazing! The mountains looked like no other I've ever seen. At the top of the Andes you could find glaciers and a tundra ecosystem. However, at the base of the mountains was a lush lowland tropical rainforest. It was a beautiful contrast. We flew down the mountain sometimes going ridiculously fast speeds. I say that now...but probably...in actuality...I was going 5 mph downhill. Ha! Towards the last 20 minutes of the ride my rear tire went flat, it sucked, but worser things could have happened. After we decended down the mountains, we arrived at our hostel for the night. We had some good conversation, good beer, and some good laughs.
I woke up at 6am to meet up with my new fellow travel adventurers. The group consisted of Chris (New Yorker), Ben (Ohio), Jeff (Ohio), Mike (Minnesota), Connor (Scotland), Ally (Scotland), Orla (Ireland), Mark (Ireland), Pierre (France), Audrey (France), our guide Leo (Peru) and me...so basically 3 women and 9 men. I was happy. Ha! We all met on the bus and we got along swimmingly straight away. We drove 3 hours through the majestic Andes to our drop off point. The scenic drive was absolutely magnificent. They call the area surrounding Cuzco "the sacred valley" Once we arrived at our destination, we were given our bikes and met with our guide Leo. He seemed like a reckless jokester. So the 12 of us set off down this insanely windy cliff road in the Andes mountain range. We would bike down over 2500 meters (about 7500 ft) in 3 hours. The first part of the ride was on a paved road; however, the last half was on a rocky, bumpy, dusty, under construction trail. I was a lil nervous for the ride because I'm not the most confident person on a bike. The ride was scary because we rode down the edge of a cliff for miles on end. It was a pure adrenaline rush. The view was amazing! The mountains looked like no other I've ever seen. At the top of the Andes you could find glaciers and a tundra ecosystem. However, at the base of the mountains was a lush lowland tropical rainforest. It was a beautiful contrast. We flew down the mountain sometimes going ridiculously fast speeds. I say that now...but probably...in actuality...I was going 5 mph downhill. Ha! Towards the last 20 minutes of the ride my rear tire went flat, it sucked, but worser things could have happened. After we decended down the mountains, we arrived at our hostel for the night. We had some good conversation, good beer, and some good laughs.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Poker in the front!
Sunday, July 11th
I have arrived in the magnetic and beautiful city of Cuzco. The city used to be the heart of the mighty Inca empire. It sits at 3,300 meters in elevation and is a blend of old Andean tradition and modern Peruvian culture. The streets are made of smooth cobblestones and the cathedrals are an adobe brick color and smell of culture and traditions. Cuzco is filled with museums and historic buildings. In addition, the city is alive with people - college students, professionals, locals, and tourists alike. When you are here you succumb to it's beauty, life, and energy.
Today, I wandered the streets solo. I haven't done that yet...I was kinda refrshin to know that I could do whatever I wanted. I saw lots of amazing catherdrals, an anthropological museum (it had amazing art pieces from 1500 B.C) narrow hidden streets, ate some incredible food, and enjoyed the day to myself. I also booked a 4 day bike and trek to macchu picchu. I can't wait...it should be amazing! After flying solo, I headed back to the hostel and I joined a Texas hold 'em tournament for a children's charity. I placed 4th (didn't win any money) but I still had a great time and it was for a good cause! I must try to sleep now although my mind is racing with excitement for tomorrows journey.
I have arrived in the magnetic and beautiful city of Cuzco. The city used to be the heart of the mighty Inca empire. It sits at 3,300 meters in elevation and is a blend of old Andean tradition and modern Peruvian culture. The streets are made of smooth cobblestones and the cathedrals are an adobe brick color and smell of culture and traditions. Cuzco is filled with museums and historic buildings. In addition, the city is alive with people - college students, professionals, locals, and tourists alike. When you are here you succumb to it's beauty, life, and energy.
Today, I wandered the streets solo. I haven't done that yet...I was kinda refrshin to know that I could do whatever I wanted. I saw lots of amazing catherdrals, an anthropological museum (it had amazing art pieces from 1500 B.C) narrow hidden streets, ate some incredible food, and enjoyed the day to myself. I also booked a 4 day bike and trek to macchu picchu. I can't wait...it should be amazing! After flying solo, I headed back to the hostel and I joined a Texas hold 'em tournament for a children's charity. I placed 4th (didn't win any money) but I still had a great time and it was for a good cause! I must try to sleep now although my mind is racing with excitement for tomorrows journey.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
24 hours of bus trippin
Saturday, July 10th
I took the night bus (10 hour ride) to La Paz from Uyuni and arrived in La Paz at 6am today. The bus was freezing but I luckily had 2 blankets to keep me warm. I slept surprisingly well on the bus. As soon as I hopped off the bus I had to buy a bus ticket to get to Cuzco (another 10-12 hour ride). It would be a long 24 hours (in total) by bus. I would also have to beg the immigration office in Peru to let me stay a lil longer since they only gave me a visa valid for 30 days and today is the 30th day. Crossing the border was a snap and the immigration officer kindly extended my visa for 3 more months. (I'm not comin home...just kiddin). The road that we drove down to get to Cuzco was very picturesque. The Andes were on either side of the bus and there were little villages that would pop up in the middle of nowhere. I'm really looking forward to seeing Cuzco. I've heard wonderful things about the city from everyone I've met.
I took the night bus (10 hour ride) to La Paz from Uyuni and arrived in La Paz at 6am today. The bus was freezing but I luckily had 2 blankets to keep me warm. I slept surprisingly well on the bus. As soon as I hopped off the bus I had to buy a bus ticket to get to Cuzco (another 10-12 hour ride). It would be a long 24 hours (in total) by bus. I would also have to beg the immigration office in Peru to let me stay a lil longer since they only gave me a visa valid for 30 days and today is the 30th day. Crossing the border was a snap and the immigration officer kindly extended my visa for 3 more months. (I'm not comin home...just kiddin). The road that we drove down to get to Cuzco was very picturesque. The Andes were on either side of the bus and there were little villages that would pop up in the middle of nowhere. I'm really looking forward to seeing Cuzco. I've heard wonderful things about the city from everyone I've met.
Smell something salty?
Wednesday July 7th - Friday July 9th
The seven of us (Sophia, Ville, Jos, Willem, Veronique, Camille, and myself) set off for a three day surreal experience. We would drive across the salar - which contained salt plains, hot springs, volcanoes, geysers, lagoons, flamingoes, llamas, and buildings/towns made completely of salt. The Salar de Uyuni is the world's largest salt flat. The park sits at 12,000-15,000 feet altitude and spans over 19,600 square miles. It used to be a prehistoric salt lake and was created when the Andes were being formed.
The first day we drove to a railroad cemetery - a bunch of old (steam/coal engine) trains that were no longer being used. It was pretty cool. Next we headed to a salt processing center. This is where Bolivians process all the salt that they gather from the salt flats to make it edible and ship it out all over the world. Now I was thirsty to see the salt flats and to see just how much salt there actually was. We then drove to the heart of the salt flats and I was AMAZED! The earth for as far as you could see in every direction was covered in salt; in addition, the layer of salt was 15-20feet deep. The ground was cracked like the Mohave desert and was sharp to the touch if you rubbed your hand across it.
We then drove to the first ever hotel made completely of salt. The building itself and everything inside of it was made of salt (tables, chairs, beds, etc.). It smelt like salt and even tasted like it when you stepped inside the hotel. It was bazare! We ate lunch outside the hotel and then worked off our meal by riding bikes around the flats.
After the bike ride, we drove to an "island" called isla del pescado (kinda funny since there were no dig or water to be found near or on the island). The island was hilly and covered in huge cactii that stood about 30 feet tall and was surounded by a sea of salt. After a hike on the island, we set off for our sleeping destination - a hotel made of salt. For the remainder of the next few days and saw lots of different topogrphical features. The land changed rapidly from white salty ground to desert to giant rock structures shaped by wind erosion to rivers to giant valleys to volcanoes and lakes/lagoons to boiling geysers and finally the refreshing hot springs.
One lagoon that we visited called Laguna Colorada was brick-red in color and was rimmed with white minerals. It was surrounded by colorful snow-topped inactive volcanoes.
The Sol de Mañana geyser basin sat at 4950 meters high and contained boiling mud pots, sulfurous fumaroles, and crackling earth. It was stinky but fascinating.
The Termas de Polques hot springs were a very comfortable temp of 90 degrees. We jumped in the hot springs at about 9am and the air temp at that time was about 0 degrees. I didn't want to get out of the hot springs once I was in...you could imagine my dilemna.
The animals that lived on this harsh landscape were a few different species of flamingoes, llamas, vicuñas, foxes, donkeys, and various farm animals. It was surprising to see animals, but I couldn't even believe that people lived out here. At night temps were around -5 degrees (and during the day the high was probably around 40 degrees farenheight. It was ridiculously freezing. And these folks that live out here don't have heaters, fire places or hot showers. Most of them don't even have easy access to drinking water. It's a harsh but beautiful world out here. The seven of us had the best time. We nick-named our group the "extreme fun" group. All of us got along swimmingly and we thoroughly enjoyed each other's company. We joked around, played numerous games of truth or dare, and shared personal stories. It's amazing how well you can get to know someone when traveling with them for two weeks. I felt very close to all my compadres and was sad to part ways from them all. Everyone but me headed south to Chile. I had to start a long and exhausting 24 hour voyage north back to Peru, more specifically to Cuzco and to hike Macchu Picchu.
The seven of us (Sophia, Ville, Jos, Willem, Veronique, Camille, and myself) set off for a three day surreal experience. We would drive across the salar - which contained salt plains, hot springs, volcanoes, geysers, lagoons, flamingoes, llamas, and buildings/towns made completely of salt. The Salar de Uyuni is the world's largest salt flat. The park sits at 12,000-15,000 feet altitude and spans over 19,600 square miles. It used to be a prehistoric salt lake and was created when the Andes were being formed.
The first day we drove to a railroad cemetery - a bunch of old (steam/coal engine) trains that were no longer being used. It was pretty cool. Next we headed to a salt processing center. This is where Bolivians process all the salt that they gather from the salt flats to make it edible and ship it out all over the world. Now I was thirsty to see the salt flats and to see just how much salt there actually was. We then drove to the heart of the salt flats and I was AMAZED! The earth for as far as you could see in every direction was covered in salt; in addition, the layer of salt was 15-20feet deep. The ground was cracked like the Mohave desert and was sharp to the touch if you rubbed your hand across it.
We then drove to the first ever hotel made completely of salt. The building itself and everything inside of it was made of salt (tables, chairs, beds, etc.). It smelt like salt and even tasted like it when you stepped inside the hotel. It was bazare! We ate lunch outside the hotel and then worked off our meal by riding bikes around the flats.
After the bike ride, we drove to an "island" called isla del pescado (kinda funny since there were no dig or water to be found near or on the island). The island was hilly and covered in huge cactii that stood about 30 feet tall and was surounded by a sea of salt. After a hike on the island, we set off for our sleeping destination - a hotel made of salt. For the remainder of the next few days and saw lots of different topogrphical features. The land changed rapidly from white salty ground to desert to giant rock structures shaped by wind erosion to rivers to giant valleys to volcanoes and lakes/lagoons to boiling geysers and finally the refreshing hot springs.
One lagoon that we visited called Laguna Colorada was brick-red in color and was rimmed with white minerals. It was surrounded by colorful snow-topped inactive volcanoes.
The Sol de Mañana geyser basin sat at 4950 meters high and contained boiling mud pots, sulfurous fumaroles, and crackling earth. It was stinky but fascinating.
The Termas de Polques hot springs were a very comfortable temp of 90 degrees. We jumped in the hot springs at about 9am and the air temp at that time was about 0 degrees. I didn't want to get out of the hot springs once I was in...you could imagine my dilemna.
The animals that lived on this harsh landscape were a few different species of flamingoes, llamas, vicuñas, foxes, donkeys, and various farm animals. It was surprising to see animals, but I couldn't even believe that people lived out here. At night temps were around -5 degrees (and during the day the high was probably around 40 degrees farenheight. It was ridiculously freezing. And these folks that live out here don't have heaters, fire places or hot showers. Most of them don't even have easy access to drinking water. It's a harsh but beautiful world out here. The seven of us had the best time. We nick-named our group the "extreme fun" group. All of us got along swimmingly and we thoroughly enjoyed each other's company. We joked around, played numerous games of truth or dare, and shared personal stories. It's amazing how well you can get to know someone when traveling with them for two weeks. I felt very close to all my compadres and was sad to part ways from them all. Everyone but me headed south to Chile. I had to start a long and exhausting 24 hour voyage north back to Peru, more specifically to Cuzco and to hike Macchu Picchu.
Victory for holand
Tuesday, July 6th
The fabulous five arrived into Uyuni at 1:30am. We were all exhausted because none of us slept well on the freezing and bumpy bus. We slept in and had a lazy day. We walked around town for a short while. Uyuni is small and nothing special. It's mostly known for a jumping off point to see the salar de Uyuni (salt flats). We booked a 3 day adventurous tour to visit/hike/bike through the salt flats, volcanoes, geysers, and hot springs. I am so excited to see this type of environment that I've never been exposed to.
The only other exciting thing we did today was watch the world cup. Holand played Uruguay today and was victorious 3-2. So my Dutch friends, Willem and Jos, were elated and wasted. After the game was over, a news crew came into the pub where we were watching the game and filmed them cheerin and celebrating their victory. Later that night we coincidentally happened to be sitting in front of a tele and saw them in black-and-white on the evening news. It was helarious!
For dinner we ate at a pizza place that was owned by a Bostonian, called minuteman pizza, and the food was amazing! Tomorrow, the five of us and our two new friends from our hostel - Veronique from Holand and Camille from France will join us on our 3 day Salar de Uyuni tour.
The fabulous five arrived into Uyuni at 1:30am. We were all exhausted because none of us slept well on the freezing and bumpy bus. We slept in and had a lazy day. We walked around town for a short while. Uyuni is small and nothing special. It's mostly known for a jumping off point to see the salar de Uyuni (salt flats). We booked a 3 day adventurous tour to visit/hike/bike through the salt flats, volcanoes, geysers, and hot springs. I am so excited to see this type of environment that I've never been exposed to.
The only other exciting thing we did today was watch the world cup. Holand played Uruguay today and was victorious 3-2. So my Dutch friends, Willem and Jos, were elated and wasted. After the game was over, a news crew came into the pub where we were watching the game and filmed them cheerin and celebrating their victory. Later that night we coincidentally happened to be sitting in front of a tele and saw them in black-and-white on the evening news. It was helarious!
For dinner we ate at a pizza place that was owned by a Bostonian, called minuteman pizza, and the food was amazing! Tomorrow, the five of us and our two new friends from our hostel - Veronique from Holand and Camille from France will join us on our 3 day Salar de Uyuni tour.
Into the darkness
Monday, July 5th
Today, the fabulous five woke up early to venture deep into the unknown world of a silver miner. We met up with our guide, Julio Moralez, and he suited us up with a green fisherman-type jumpsuit, rain boots (still way to big for my midget sized feet), a helmet, and a headlamp. I was also given a handful of coca leaves to chew on to help with alertness, hunger, and acclimation of altitude. Now I was ready...And off we went. The tour began at a market where we were taught all about how miners use and have to pay for all their own materials - dynamite, fuses, gloves, etc... As a group, we bought the miners some materials that they could use for their job.
When we entered the mine, I was carrying 2 sticks of dynamite and fuses on my back to give them to a miner as a present. As if I wasn't already nervous enough about climbing deep below the surface of the earth...but now I have dynamite strapped to my back as well. The mine shafts were completely pitch dark - the only light was from our headlamps. The passage was narrow and short, where even I had to bend over and duck almost the entire time. The path was cold, wet and muddy. The rocks surrounding the tunnel were beautifully rainbow colored and some parts of the cave had stalagmites. You could see the evidence of where there were zinc and silver "veins" discovered. We trekked into the mines for 3 hours. At one point we climbed down ricketey old wooden ladders to descend deeper and deeper into the mountain. I kept thinking to myself..."am I crazy...no...this is fun...right?"
We met some miners who were installing explosives. One group was preparing to blast 16 different sites and we watched them prepare the hole and install the dynamite. Next we walked to a different part of the tunnel and not only heard but felt the blasts go off. It was crazy!!!! The miners are known to drink heavily and chew on the coca (cocaine) leaves as a part of their work culture. All the miners were very shy and sincere. One was a litle TOO friendly with me but, for the most part, they were all very kind and hard working. Juilo was an amazing guide and very informative. He knew all the miners personally that we visited. Julio used to be a miner himself for many years when he was a teenager. He said it was the toughest job he had ever had because the hours were long and the work was very strenuous. He had friends whom had died working in the mines and some who got very ill from the poor ventilation. After seeing and experiencing the mine for myself, I thinking it's amazing how people (some have no choice due to lack of job availablitity) can work in an environment like that.
After climbing an crawling through the mines for three hours, we were all relieved to see the sun and breathe fresh air again. We thanked Julio for a fantastic tour and went on our way. We ate a well deserved lunch and booked a bus for tonight to our next destination - Uyuni (the largest salt flats in the world).
Today, the fabulous five woke up early to venture deep into the unknown world of a silver miner. We met up with our guide, Julio Moralez, and he suited us up with a green fisherman-type jumpsuit, rain boots (still way to big for my midget sized feet), a helmet, and a headlamp. I was also given a handful of coca leaves to chew on to help with alertness, hunger, and acclimation of altitude. Now I was ready...And off we went. The tour began at a market where we were taught all about how miners use and have to pay for all their own materials - dynamite, fuses, gloves, etc... As a group, we bought the miners some materials that they could use for their job.
When we entered the mine, I was carrying 2 sticks of dynamite and fuses on my back to give them to a miner as a present. As if I wasn't already nervous enough about climbing deep below the surface of the earth...but now I have dynamite strapped to my back as well. The mine shafts were completely pitch dark - the only light was from our headlamps. The passage was narrow and short, where even I had to bend over and duck almost the entire time. The path was cold, wet and muddy. The rocks surrounding the tunnel were beautifully rainbow colored and some parts of the cave had stalagmites. You could see the evidence of where there were zinc and silver "veins" discovered. We trekked into the mines for 3 hours. At one point we climbed down ricketey old wooden ladders to descend deeper and deeper into the mountain. I kept thinking to myself..."am I crazy...no...this is fun...right?"
We met some miners who were installing explosives. One group was preparing to blast 16 different sites and we watched them prepare the hole and install the dynamite. Next we walked to a different part of the tunnel and not only heard but felt the blasts go off. It was crazy!!!! The miners are known to drink heavily and chew on the coca (cocaine) leaves as a part of their work culture. All the miners were very shy and sincere. One was a litle TOO friendly with me but, for the most part, they were all very kind and hard working. Juilo was an amazing guide and very informative. He knew all the miners personally that we visited. Julio used to be a miner himself for many years when he was a teenager. He said it was the toughest job he had ever had because the hours were long and the work was very strenuous. He had friends whom had died working in the mines and some who got very ill from the poor ventilation. After seeing and experiencing the mine for myself, I thinking it's amazing how people (some have no choice due to lack of job availablitity) can work in an environment like that.
After climbing an crawling through the mines for three hours, we were all relieved to see the sun and breathe fresh air again. We thanked Julio for a fantastic tour and went on our way. We ate a well deserved lunch and booked a bus for tonight to our next destination - Uyuni (the largest salt flats in the world).
Cowboy up!
Sunday, July 4th
Today the fabulous five would leave Sucre behind as a beautiful memory and we would head off to the silver-mining town of Potosi. The city of Potosi also happens to be the highest altitude city in the world - about 4,070 meters up. Potosi is known for having a tragic history of horrific working conditions in the silver mines. The mines are very dangerous and toxic with poor ventilation and basic raw materials. Today, there are over 12,000 miners that mine for silver (rarely found nowadays), zinc, and tin. The silver is predicted to run out within the next 50 years. In the 1500's, Potosi was one of the wealthiest cities in the world because of the abundance of silver found in the mountain.
The pyramidal mountain where all the mines are located is this beautiful copper and burnt amber color.
When we arrived in Potosi I was very impressed with how beautiful it was. When you look at the city from above it looks like a working class city and it doesn't seem to impress, but once you get into the heart of it...it pleasantly shocks and charms you. We found a fantasticly colorful hostel with wonderful guests. The five of us then went out and walked around the city, ate some grub, and booked a tour to get a glimpse into the heart of the mines for tomorrow. I had heard mixed stories about the mines - some said it was scary and uncomfortable, some said it was informative and like nothing you've ever seen before. After listening to all the tourists' stories about their experiences, I was nervous about going deep into the mines...but I must cowboy up!
Today the fabulous five would leave Sucre behind as a beautiful memory and we would head off to the silver-mining town of Potosi. The city of Potosi also happens to be the highest altitude city in the world - about 4,070 meters up. Potosi is known for having a tragic history of horrific working conditions in the silver mines. The mines are very dangerous and toxic with poor ventilation and basic raw materials. Today, there are over 12,000 miners that mine for silver (rarely found nowadays), zinc, and tin. The silver is predicted to run out within the next 50 years. In the 1500's, Potosi was one of the wealthiest cities in the world because of the abundance of silver found in the mountain.
The pyramidal mountain where all the mines are located is this beautiful copper and burnt amber color.
When we arrived in Potosi I was very impressed with how beautiful it was. When you look at the city from above it looks like a working class city and it doesn't seem to impress, but once you get into the heart of it...it pleasantly shocks and charms you. We found a fantasticly colorful hostel with wonderful guests. The five of us then went out and walked around the city, ate some grub, and booked a tour to get a glimpse into the heart of the mines for tomorrow. I had heard mixed stories about the mines - some said it was scary and uncomfortable, some said it was informative and like nothing you've ever seen before. After listening to all the tourists' stories about their experiences, I was nervous about going deep into the mines...but I must cowboy up!
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Born again carnivore
Saturday, July 3rd
Today we woke up early to watch the Germany-Argentina world cup game. The five of us went to a German cafe to watch the game and root for Germany. If you watched the game, you'll know that Germany won 4-0. As soon as they won all the German fans, instead of jumping up and down and cheering, got up grabbed their nation's flag and marched the streets. After the game, we went for lunch. We went to a Dutch restaurant and I tried something for the first time ever - Dutch meatball sandwich. It was amazing! Oh yeah...btw...I've eaten steak, meat, pork, and alpaca since I've been here and I haven't eaten any of those for about 20 years. The alpaca actually tasted pretty good. The steak...not so much.
After lunch Sophia, Ville and I walked around town and went to a cemetary at the edge of the city. The cemetary was like no other I've ever seen before. It had huge moseliems, tombs and "flats" for the deceased. It was tragically beautiful. After meandering around the cemetary, we headed back into town and the five of us had dinner together. Dinner turned into cocktails and cocktails turned into dancing the night away.
Today we woke up early to watch the Germany-Argentina world cup game. The five of us went to a German cafe to watch the game and root for Germany. If you watched the game, you'll know that Germany won 4-0. As soon as they won all the German fans, instead of jumping up and down and cheering, got up grabbed their nation's flag and marched the streets. After the game, we went for lunch. We went to a Dutch restaurant and I tried something for the first time ever - Dutch meatball sandwich. It was amazing! Oh yeah...btw...I've eaten steak, meat, pork, and alpaca since I've been here and I haven't eaten any of those for about 20 years. The alpaca actually tasted pretty good. The steak...not so much.
After lunch Sophia, Ville and I walked around town and went to a cemetary at the edge of the city. The cemetary was like no other I've ever seen before. It had huge moseliems, tombs and "flats" for the deceased. It was tragically beautiful. After meandering around the cemetary, we headed back into town and the five of us had dinner together. Dinner turned into cocktails and cocktails turned into dancing the night away.
Celebrate good times...come on!
Friday, July 2nd
After a long and restless night aboard a 12 hour bus ride we (Sophia, Ville, Willem, Jos, and myself) arrived in the beautiful city of sucre. The city is stunning filled with whitewashed buildings. You can see the Spanish colonial influence in many of the churches, universities, and governmental buildings. Although La Paz is the de facto capital of Bolivia, Sucre remains the constitutional/judicial capital. Walking around the city, you can tell the locals are proud and care for their city. Sucre is very clean and well maintained. All the buildings looked like they just got a fresh coat of white paint. Sucre sits in a valley surrounded by 360 degrees of mountains.
We checked into our hostel and grabbed a bite to eat while we watched the Holand-Brazil world cup game. We decided to seek out a Dutch cafe to wath the game. My two Dutch friends, Willem and Jos, we dressed in head to toe Holand colors to root for their home team. If you watched the game you'll know that Holand won 2-1. The bar was filled with only Dutch fans and they went bonkers over the victory, dancing and singing.
After the game, Willem and Jos stayed to continue celebrating while Sophia, Ville and I walked all around th city taking in all the sites. We hiked up to a mirador and ate at a cafe that overlooked the whole city. It was absolutely beautiful. We met up with the Dutch boys a few hours later and they were wasted...so we called it an early night.
After a long and restless night aboard a 12 hour bus ride we (Sophia, Ville, Willem, Jos, and myself) arrived in the beautiful city of sucre. The city is stunning filled with whitewashed buildings. You can see the Spanish colonial influence in many of the churches, universities, and governmental buildings. Although La Paz is the de facto capital of Bolivia, Sucre remains the constitutional/judicial capital. Walking around the city, you can tell the locals are proud and care for their city. Sucre is very clean and well maintained. All the buildings looked like they just got a fresh coat of white paint. Sucre sits in a valley surrounded by 360 degrees of mountains.
We checked into our hostel and grabbed a bite to eat while we watched the Holand-Brazil world cup game. We decided to seek out a Dutch cafe to wath the game. My two Dutch friends, Willem and Jos, we dressed in head to toe Holand colors to root for their home team. If you watched the game you'll know that Holand won 2-1. The bar was filled with only Dutch fans and they went bonkers over the victory, dancing and singing.
After the game, Willem and Jos stayed to continue celebrating while Sophia, Ville and I walked all around th city taking in all the sites. We hiked up to a mirador and ate at a cafe that overlooked the whole city. It was absolutely beautiful. We met up with the Dutch boys a few hours later and they were wasted...so we called it an early night.
Friday, July 2, 2010
super market sweep tour of La Paz
Thursday, July 1st
We woke up very early today to fly back to la Paz. Our flight was a piece of cake. We walked around la Paz all day - saw some sights, got our shop on, and took a trip to the sauna. I wasn't too impressed with La Paz as a capital city. I found it rather dirty and polluted. The people, however, we very kind and helpful. While we were shopping, I ran into 2 girls (fay and Jodi) that I befriended on the boat going to the floating islands in puno (about a week earlier). It was a nice treat to run into them. Overall, it was a mellow day. Tonight, we were going to take a 12 hour bus ride to our next destination - the beautiful white city of Sucre.
We woke up very early today to fly back to la Paz. Our flight was a piece of cake. We walked around la Paz all day - saw some sights, got our shop on, and took a trip to the sauna. I wasn't too impressed with La Paz as a capital city. I found it rather dirty and polluted. The people, however, we very kind and helpful. While we were shopping, I ran into 2 girls (fay and Jodi) that I befriended on the boat going to the floating islands in puno (about a week earlier). It was a nice treat to run into them. Overall, it was a mellow day. Tonight, we were going to take a 12 hour bus ride to our next destination - the beautiful white city of Sucre.
River dolphins
Wednesday, June 30th
Today our only planned adventure is to swim with the river dolphins - a.k.a boto dolphins. I was sooo jazzed for this activity. Honestly, I didn't care if I swam with them or not...I just wanted to see the mysterious and perplexing pink dolphin.
We set out for a swimming hole where they frequent. When we arrived at the bend on the river I saw a group of tourists standing around an alligator. Two of them were poking at the gator with a stick in its face and taunting it with a fish. I got so fired up at this ridiculousness that I stood up and said something. I yelled at the tourists and told them that they were making bad choices and being irresponsible jerks. My guide thanked me for saying something to the other tourists. He said that their guide told them to stop doing that but they wouldn't listen to him. After that ordeal, my group and I decided to go elsewhere to find the dolphins an get away from the stupid and disrespectful tourists. We found another vacant spot upriver and jumped in. At this point, this was probably the craziest thing I've ever done. I jumped head first into the river KNOWING that sitting on the banks are alligators, caymans; and accompanying me in the water are different species of pirannahas. Luckily, I still have all essential toes, fingers, and body parts. We did spot 2 dolphins but they we not near us when I was in the murky amazonian river. After the swimming, we ate lunch and travelled 2 hours upriver back to the main launching site - to return back to the town of ruennebacke. I was sad to leave the jungle behind, but I was more than satified with my experience. I believe that I am very lucky to have had spent my time there with such amazing people. We hopped back into the dusty buckin bronco of a truck for the 3 hour ride back into town. When we arrived we had a fantabulous fish dinner and prepared ourselves for our returrn voyage back to la Paz.
Today our only planned adventure is to swim with the river dolphins - a.k.a boto dolphins. I was sooo jazzed for this activity. Honestly, I didn't care if I swam with them or not...I just wanted to see the mysterious and perplexing pink dolphin.
We set out for a swimming hole where they frequent. When we arrived at the bend on the river I saw a group of tourists standing around an alligator. Two of them were poking at the gator with a stick in its face and taunting it with a fish. I got so fired up at this ridiculousness that I stood up and said something. I yelled at the tourists and told them that they were making bad choices and being irresponsible jerks. My guide thanked me for saying something to the other tourists. He said that their guide told them to stop doing that but they wouldn't listen to him. After that ordeal, my group and I decided to go elsewhere to find the dolphins an get away from the stupid and disrespectful tourists. We found another vacant spot upriver and jumped in. At this point, this was probably the craziest thing I've ever done. I jumped head first into the river KNOWING that sitting on the banks are alligators, caymans; and accompanying me in the water are different species of pirannahas. Luckily, I still have all essential toes, fingers, and body parts. We did spot 2 dolphins but they we not near us when I was in the murky amazonian river. After the swimming, we ate lunch and travelled 2 hours upriver back to the main launching site - to return back to the town of ruennebacke. I was sad to leave the jungle behind, but I was more than satified with my experience. I believe that I am very lucky to have had spent my time there with such amazing people. We hopped back into the dusty buckin bronco of a truck for the 3 hour ride back into town. When we arrived we had a fantabulous fish dinner and prepared ourselves for our returrn voyage back to la Paz.
Mud and mayo
Tuesday, June 29th
I had the best night of sleep on my trip so far. I slept all night without a second of interruption. I woke up this morning to breakfast being ready. Today we have a few things on our agenda. One - to search for an anaconda in the swamps. Two - to go searching and fishing for pirranahas. Three - to spot a river dolphin, a.k.a boto.
We ate our delishous breakfast and was off like a prom dress. We were all given rubber rain boots to wear for trudging around in the swamps. I, however, was not given a pair since they didn't have children's sizes. The smallest size they had was a 39 which is a 9 in American sizes...so...no bueno for me! Instead I just wore my hiking boots and some sweats and set out for my adventure. We hiked for about an hour through tall grass (it was grown to heights above my head) to get to the swamp. When we started trekking through the swamp I had no idea what I had signed up for. When the adventure tour company said we'd be looking for anacondas, I convienently forgot that they live in knee deep murky swamps. So, within 5 minutes of sloshing my way through the mud I got stuck and fell in. Mind you...all the other members of my group are wearing knee high rain boots and aren't muddy at all. All I could do at this point was laugh at the situation and say "fuck it...it is what it is!" We waded through the mud for another hour or so in search of the mighty anaconda. We found one such snake but it was a juvenile...nonetheless it was an anaconda. Also, I must add that the festering muddy water we were trudging through also housed alligators and caymans. Real smart... right? We searched for the anacondas for about 4 hours and only saw that one juvenile. We took a break for lunch and then we got ready to fish for pirannahas. We set out on the boat again in search of the nasty tempered lil fishy fish. We fished for a few hours and caught a few types of pirannahas. They were beautiful fish with dentition that could do some serious damage. We immediately released the fish after we caught them. No pirannahas for din din. After the fishing we went to a recreational field where hoards of tourists and locals alik were playing soccer and volleyball. My group and I enjoyed a tasty beverage while watching the sun go down. As the night was approaching all the tourists started to head back to their designated jungle lodges. We left the fields when it was pitch black dark out. We then floated down the river in the darkness with the stars as only navigable guide home. You could actually see the tail of the milky way galaxy. It was absolutely amazing and (sadly) very romantic. When we turned on a flashlight and shined it on the riverbank you could see all the hundreds of eyes glowing in the darkness straing back at you. They were the eyes of all the alligators and caymans sitting on the beach. It was quite a sight to see. It was the perfect ending to an exhilarating day. That night we had a fun communial dinner together and played some interesting games that involved mayonnaise ending up in places it does not belong.
I had the best night of sleep on my trip so far. I slept all night without a second of interruption. I woke up this morning to breakfast being ready. Today we have a few things on our agenda. One - to search for an anaconda in the swamps. Two - to go searching and fishing for pirranahas. Three - to spot a river dolphin, a.k.a boto.
We ate our delishous breakfast and was off like a prom dress. We were all given rubber rain boots to wear for trudging around in the swamps. I, however, was not given a pair since they didn't have children's sizes. The smallest size they had was a 39 which is a 9 in American sizes...so...no bueno for me! Instead I just wore my hiking boots and some sweats and set out for my adventure. We hiked for about an hour through tall grass (it was grown to heights above my head) to get to the swamp. When we started trekking through the swamp I had no idea what I had signed up for. When the adventure tour company said we'd be looking for anacondas, I convienently forgot that they live in knee deep murky swamps. So, within 5 minutes of sloshing my way through the mud I got stuck and fell in. Mind you...all the other members of my group are wearing knee high rain boots and aren't muddy at all. All I could do at this point was laugh at the situation and say "fuck it...it is what it is!" We waded through the mud for another hour or so in search of the mighty anaconda. We found one such snake but it was a juvenile...nonetheless it was an anaconda. Also, I must add that the festering muddy water we were trudging through also housed alligators and caymans. Real smart... right? We searched for the anacondas for about 4 hours and only saw that one juvenile. We took a break for lunch and then we got ready to fish for pirannahas. We set out on the boat again in search of the nasty tempered lil fishy fish. We fished for a few hours and caught a few types of pirannahas. They were beautiful fish with dentition that could do some serious damage. We immediately released the fish after we caught them. No pirannahas for din din. After the fishing we went to a recreational field where hoards of tourists and locals alik were playing soccer and volleyball. My group and I enjoyed a tasty beverage while watching the sun go down. As the night was approaching all the tourists started to head back to their designated jungle lodges. We left the fields when it was pitch black dark out. We then floated down the river in the darkness with the stars as only navigable guide home. You could actually see the tail of the milky way galaxy. It was absolutely amazing and (sadly) very romantic. When we turned on a flashlight and shined it on the riverbank you could see all the hundreds of eyes glowing in the darkness straing back at you. They were the eyes of all the alligators and caymans sitting on the beach. It was quite a sight to see. It was the perfect ending to an exhilarating day. That night we had a fun communial dinner together and played some interesting games that involved mayonnaise ending up in places it does not belong.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Welcome to the jungle
Monday, June 28th
Today the fabulous five (Sophie, Willem, Jos, Ville, and myself) were off to the jungles of Bolivia. Along the way we picked up 3 German's (Melissa, Sandy and Felix) at the airport. Then we had a 3 hour car ride to the river followed by a 3 hour pamapas ride down the river into the heart of the jungle where we would sleep and spend all of our time. The car ride was expectedly bumpy like a buckin bronco. When we arrived at the river it looked exactly as I would picture it. The river was a browish-muddy color and the trees lining the river were various shades of green. The pampas were long narrow boats that sat eight people and when afloat barely rested above the surface of the water. It was a beautifully sunny day for our journey down the river. Within a few minutes of chugging downriver we saw caiymans, alligators, capyabaras, and numerous birds species. If you have seen the movie apocalypse now, you have seen the jungle I have just been floating through. The river was teeming with wildlife and beauty. After about 2 hours down river we came across a family of capuchin monkeys - there were about 20 of them. They were adorable and we got amazingly close to them. In fact, at one point a monkey jumped into into boat and walked on my head. I had no idea it was a monkey until I saw it jump back into the tree. After the monkeys we continued down river and arrived at our lodge.
The lodge is built on the river bank and is built about three and a half feet off the ground so you won't get bit by a gator. The entire logde is made of wood, tin roofs, and mosquito nets for windows. It's amazing! When we arrived we saw howler monkeys in the trees surrounding the hostel and then sun was just starting to go down.
The sunset here was unbelieveable! As the sun went down it turned neon orange and you could stare right into it. Then the sky and sun turned a orangish-pinkish color.
After the sunset, we ate a great familial meal. I then taught the fabulous five and our new German friends how to play shithead. So, we played some cards, drank some booze, and had some good laughs. It feels good to be a gangsta!
Today the fabulous five (Sophie, Willem, Jos, Ville, and myself) were off to the jungles of Bolivia. Along the way we picked up 3 German's (Melissa, Sandy and Felix) at the airport. Then we had a 3 hour car ride to the river followed by a 3 hour pamapas ride down the river into the heart of the jungle where we would sleep and spend all of our time. The car ride was expectedly bumpy like a buckin bronco. When we arrived at the river it looked exactly as I would picture it. The river was a browish-muddy color and the trees lining the river were various shades of green. The pampas were long narrow boats that sat eight people and when afloat barely rested above the surface of the water. It was a beautifully sunny day for our journey down the river. Within a few minutes of chugging downriver we saw caiymans, alligators, capyabaras, and numerous birds species. If you have seen the movie apocalypse now, you have seen the jungle I have just been floating through. The river was teeming with wildlife and beauty. After about 2 hours down river we came across a family of capuchin monkeys - there were about 20 of them. They were adorable and we got amazingly close to them. In fact, at one point a monkey jumped into into boat and walked on my head. I had no idea it was a monkey until I saw it jump back into the tree. After the monkeys we continued down river and arrived at our lodge.
The lodge is built on the river bank and is built about three and a half feet off the ground so you won't get bit by a gator. The entire logde is made of wood, tin roofs, and mosquito nets for windows. It's amazing! When we arrived we saw howler monkeys in the trees surrounding the hostel and then sun was just starting to go down.
The sunset here was unbelieveable! As the sun went down it turned neon orange and you could stare right into it. Then the sky and sun turned a orangish-pinkish color.
After the sunset, we ate a great familial meal. I then taught the fabulous five and our new German friends how to play shithead. So, we played some cards, drank some booze, and had some good laughs. It feels good to be a gangsta!
Go fish!
Sunday, June 27th
Sophie and I took a flight from la Paz to rurrenebeque - amazon basin. The flight was a quick 30 min ride plus a 30 min minivan ride. This was the much more convienent and time efficient option since the other way to get there is an 18+ hour bus ride. The flight and ride was a snap. We found an amazing hostel stright away. Our hostel sits on the river that borders the jungle. The entire hostel is open air. It's made of bamboo, thatched roof and has beautiful stone arches that line the whole building. Sophie and I then went to lunch after getting settled. We had the most AMAZING fish lunch ever!!! I had a local trout roasted with garlic and herbs. Sophie had a fish soup that somewhat resembled sweet and sour cabbage soup. Both meals were incredibly edible!!! After our satisfied bellies were beyond full, we walked around town and booked an amazon jungle pampas (river boat) trip for 3 days/2 nights. Sophie also had some friends who were in town and were going to join us in the amazon - Willem (holand) Jos (holand) and Ville (Finland). It would be a great adventure! The five of us enjoyed a great dinner together and shared some great laughs. After dinner, we watched inglorious basterds in an open air "theater" with the full moon glowing bright behind the screen. If tonight is a predictor of the next few days to come...it's gonna be a good time with our new friends.
Sophie and I took a flight from la Paz to rurrenebeque - amazon basin. The flight was a quick 30 min ride plus a 30 min minivan ride. This was the much more convienent and time efficient option since the other way to get there is an 18+ hour bus ride. The flight and ride was a snap. We found an amazing hostel stright away. Our hostel sits on the river that borders the jungle. The entire hostel is open air. It's made of bamboo, thatched roof and has beautiful stone arches that line the whole building. Sophie and I then went to lunch after getting settled. We had the most AMAZING fish lunch ever!!! I had a local trout roasted with garlic and herbs. Sophie had a fish soup that somewhat resembled sweet and sour cabbage soup. Both meals were incredibly edible!!! After our satisfied bellies were beyond full, we walked around town and booked an amazon jungle pampas (river boat) trip for 3 days/2 nights. Sophie also had some friends who were in town and were going to join us in the amazon - Willem (holand) Jos (holand) and Ville (Finland). It would be a great adventure! The five of us enjoyed a great dinner together and shared some great laughs. After dinner, we watched inglorious basterds in an open air "theater" with the full moon glowing bright behind the screen. If tonight is a predictor of the next few days to come...it's gonna be a good time with our new friends.
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