No more 20+ hour bus rides!

WOW. It was one interesting and very LONG journey, but we are finally back in Lima, Peru. The 2500 Km journey up the Pacific coast was painful, but we managed. We took a 4 hour flight that had 2 stops all the way up to Arica, in Northern Chile. I’ve never been on a plane that landed and took off three times before – let alone in just 4 hours, so that was an experience.

Once we got into Arica, we took a shuttle to our hostel and slept for 8 hours, ate breakfast and caught another taxi to the international bus station. When we got out of the taxi, there were a bunch of men asking us if we wanted to go to Tacna. It’s really common to take a shared taxi with strangers across the border, so we got the best price and Stef and I squeezed into a car with 3 other people plus the driver. Not particularly comfortable, but it only took 1.5 hours to drive to Tacna and the border crossing went smoother than if we were in a bus.

Inca Trail, Peru

Stefanie and I at Machu Picchu

I have never done anything so difficult and physically tiring in my life! Three months after first booking, Stefanie and I finally started the trek to Machu Picchu along the infamous Inca Trail.

We left early Thursday morning with a group of 16 hikers, 2 guides, 1 chef and 18 porters. Quite the team! We booked with the company Llama Path, a sustainable tourism operator. We researched quite a bit beforehand and decided that they seemed like the best fit. It was a little pricey, but overall I am very satisfied with the tour. The guides were knowledgeable and entertaining and the porters had adequate equipment and proper hiking shoes, which is more than I can say about the other porters on the trail. I saw some porters who had only broken sandals to hike in and plastic rice bags to carry supplies.

Stefanie and I were too late to book an extra porter to carry our clothes, sleeping bags and mats, so we had no other choice but to carry it ourselves. I was not thrilled. The guides gave us walking sticks and helped us attach the 3kg of sleeping gear to our day packs…. not an easy feat. We took a group photo at the first checkpoint and set off on the trail.

Lake Titicaca, Peru

Reed Boat on Uros Island

Now that I have some free time, here is a glimpse into our weekend trip to Lake Titicaca…

After the whole ordeal last Friday, it was nice to get away for a bit. A bunch of the girls from our volunteer house booked a weekend trip to the world’s highest lake in the world, Lake Titicaca, which divides Bolivia and Peru.

At 9:30pm, 8 of us boarded a night bus to Puno, Peru, the starting point of our adventure. We arrived in Puno at 4am and took a taxi to our hotel for a quick nap and hot shower. After breakfast, our guide picked us up and drove us to the dock where we met our captain and island guide. Our first stop was the Uros islands.

Do not go ATVing in a foreign country

This past weekend has been a whirlwind of emotions. Friday, five of us from the volunteer house decided to go ATVing in the mountains of Cusco, Peru. I have never been on an ATV and I was a little apprehensive, but decided to go anyways. Probably from FOMO, a new term I learned from my fellow housemates…. FEAR OF MISSING OUT.

When we arrived at the ATV location, we were each given an ATV and shown how to maneuver the beasts. After 10 minutes of practice, the guides gave us these documents to sign detailing that if anything happened to the ATV, we were responsible for the damages… hmm. It took me 10 minutes to decide whether to sign. It sounded a little strange – so I bombarded the guides with questions and after everyone had already signed and were waiting on me, I signed (my savings account) away and we hit the trail.

Cusco at 3400 metres!

We arrived in Cuzco early Saturday morning after a grueling 21 hour bus ride from Lima. The ‘puke bus’ was true to its name and a few people were quite sick throughout the journey. Thankfully with the help of two doses of anti-nausea and a lot of water, Stefanie and I managed to avoid vomiting – although there were a few close calls. To pass the time, I watched 4 movies, played Bingo and slept and then FINALLY we reached our destination.

Our first day in Cuzco was spent napping, reading, and drinking coca tea. Coca tea is nature’s remedy for altitude sickness, headaches, temperature sensitivity (it’s cold here!) and pretty much anything else. Coca tea is brewed from the same plant they make cocaine from – so, apparently if we need to take a drug test anytime soon… we’ll fail! You don’t experience any sort of ‘high’ though. We’re also drinking plenty of water.

By nightfall, I was feeling much better and had a great night’s rest. Stef, on the other hand, was vomiting all night. Poor girl. It took her an extra day to adjust, but she is feeling much better now. I feel pretty weak and tired, but the fresh air is quite nice. Walking around Cuzco will take your breath away – literally!

Landing in Lima, Peru

ruins near Miraflores (Lima), Peru

I made it safe and sound. Stefanie and I arrived in Lima’s airport at around 10pm. It was late so we decided to order a taxi from our hostel to pick us up. They had a sign with my name on it and everything. I felt special! So, we met up with our driver and hit the streets of Lima. It was pretty flashy – there was even a fire dancer in the middle of the street. I was actually surprised about how cosmopolitan it felt.

I am staying in Miraflores, which is a safer, more upscale neighbourhood of Lima. It’s near the beach and has a cute park in the middle where vendors sell popcorn and children play. I really enjoy the area. It’s very friendly and familial- although someone did ask me if I wanted ‘blow’ which I politely declined and continued on my merry way with a little more speed than usual.

Stefanie standing next to the life-size replicas at the ruins

I didn’t have any major plans for our stay here. The reception recommended some ruins within walking distance – so I decided to checked it out. The site was very interesting and I definitely recommend it. Basically, an ancient civilization (before the Incas and Mayans) built temples where they would perform rituals and human sacrifices and worship the moon and ocean. Every 20 years, they would cover the temples and build a new one over it. The temples are solid throughout – no rooms or passage ways. They are very common in Lima, but this particular Waccah (I think that’s the correct spelling) began being excavated in the 1980s. Before that, it was simply a hill in the middle of the city. These people were very small compared to modern day humans. They were so tiny, I felt like a giant standing next to the life-size replica.

On the way back, I walked by a house with makeshift barbed wire (i.e. cement layer on top of a concrete fence with shards of glass bottles sticking out from it) If that won’t deter a robber, I don’t know what will!

Today, I tried tampales for lunch. We bought them at the grocery store because Stefanie said she had tried one back in Costa Rica. They are made of meat, corn and other ingredients and then wrapped in banana leaves. You are suppose to boil them, but our reception recommended we just microwave them – so we did and they were terrible. Never again! The chicken was actually decent, but the orange mush was NOT. I threw the rest in the garbage and ate a chocolate bar to last me until dinner, but that was also a disaster so we decided to just give up and eat out. We went to this diner-style sandwich shop with fresh fruit smoothies. YUM! It was a wise choice.

Lima ruins (old meets new)

Now, I’m  just taking it easy at the hostel. I think I’m going to try some Pisco Sours tonight – Peru’s signature drink. Tomorrow, I am leaving for Cusco – a 21 hour bus ride through the Andes and up, up, up! I’ll let you know how it goes 🙂

Back in my hometown

As I predicted, leaving Toronto was awful. It could have been much worse, if Sarah and Todd hadn’t offered to give me a ride back to Windsor. Our chit chat helped take my mind of the cutest pup and man I left behind.

I still cried, of course – but it was different. When I left for Europe, I think I cried more because of Oli. I was nervous he would not remember me or maybe resent me for leaving. I couldn’t explain to him that I would be back soon and not to worry. This time, I cried because it would be the longest Kyle and I have ever been apart – but I also teared up for Oli during his final tummy scratch. I’m a sucker for good-byes.

Now, I’m in Windsor and I’m trying to gather my things, do laundry, pack and spend time with friends and family – I also watched the Emmys (did anyone else think Dexter should have won?).

Our flight takes off Wednesday morning at 10:30am, which is actually pretty convenient considering I’m used to those dreadful 6:00 am departures. We’re flying Spirit. I know, I know – you are probably thinking, WHY!? But, we didn’t feel like paying an extra $100 for a flight with food. Screw it, we’ll bring our own snacks.

Tomorrow, I’ll pack and go out for dinner with the girls. I have been splurging a bit on food/drinks that I love because I know I won’t be indulging in them for some time. Double tall lattes and green tea frapps from Starbucks AND ribs and med bread from Moxie’s tomorrow. Yes, I already know what I’m ordering! I’m weird like that.

The next post will be from Lima, Peru! Farewell friends.

13 days before South America

I am one day past the two week mark. I am becoming more excited, but nervousness keeps creeping in. It’s not like I am completely new to this whole travel thing (as I’m sure you can tell), but every destination is different – every situation is novel. So, I guess I’ll have to embrace this feeling with an open heart and get a move on things.

I am trying to upload my Europe photos to Flickr, but for some reason, it doesn’t want to play nice and keeps shutting down my iPhoto. If there is anyone who can help out, it would be MUCH appreciated!

Stefanie has been in Toronto all week and we’ve been going over possible itineraries for our backpacking stint in South America. It took some blood, sweat and tears – well, maybe not tears but DEFINITELY sweat (from no A/C) and blood (due to a bike accident) to get a super duper awesome destination list going. I’m sure you’re all excited to read it! This isn’t in order, but is listed by country to make things a little bit easier. I linked some fun photos as well.

PERU
Lima / Miraflores,
Cuzco & Sacred Valley
Arequipa
Puno & Lake Titicaca
La Huacachina
BOLIVIA
La Paz
Rurrenabaque (Amazon Basin)
Sucre
Potosi (Highest city in the world)
Uyuni (salt flats)
CHILE
San Pedro de Atacama (driest desert in the world)
Santiago
Arica
ARGENTINA
Salta
Puerto Iguazu
Buenos Aires
Bariloche

I’m also thinking about traveling through Patagonia in Argentina to see some marine life, but I’m not entirely sure where to go between Buenos Aires and Santiago. I have about two weeks to get from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Lima, Peru, so there is room to take some interesting side trips and wander. I’ll be updating a few more times before leaving – so stay tuned!!!