Altitude sickness struck us hard in Cuzco on the first day. Along with food poisoning from the night before, our weak stomachs and nasty headaches left us with a day inside. We left the hostel for some exploration of the city, but quickly returned. Nothing twelve hours of sleep cant fix.
This morning we woke up with level stomachs, and restless minds. We hiked up to one of five or six Incan ruins to be found in Cuzco, surrounded by lush forests and green hills, something we have seen little of in Peru so far. There we met up with the only English speaking tour guide available, who ended up being perfect.
(Lizzie here!) Mario, our village shaman-philosopher-tour guide may not have given us an historically accurate or scientifically thorough tour of Cusco's ruins but he gave us a window into the many beliefs of the mysterious cultures that lived here in the Andes. He personifies the culmination of his ancestor's and today's beliefs. He explained duality or ying and yang in some of the stones, he had us meditate on sacred ground, recommended a local hallucinogenic drug, and told us that believing in Jesus above was the key to all spiritual struggles. As the shaman he uses his hands to heal diseases of the mind body and soul, especially healing the many lost people of today. Every stone wall hid symbols and philosophies and there was no limit to his insight. He pointed out the number of corners on a specific rock and the meaning of that number(he had an insight to almost all numbers), I couldn't even digest all the symbols and philosophies he shared but his breadth of knowledge was unforgettable.
And Spencer will finish this one off by mentioning that I rode a horse for the first time today! Beautiful scenery behind us, we rode a couple of small horses with gas problems from site to site, costing us only 20 USD together. Peru has been so fun!
Thanks for reading!
Monday, May 31, 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Lima round 3
Again we found ourselves back on a Cruz Del Sur bus, honking, jerking, passing trucks, and eating one-step-below airplane food. This has proved to be the best way to get around so far. The prices are steeper than the more localized buses, but the comfort of knowing you are going to get to your destination is worth it.
We arrived in Lima late in the evening, as we have in nearly every location. The dark gives a slightly nerve racking view of the cities, but it makes the next morning all the more of a surprise. There we satisfied Lizzie and my cravings for Mexican food, and made our way back to our loud hostel.
It was our third time in Lima, and subsequently our third district of the city. Our first nights, we stayed in between the two largely touristy areas, and the next directly in the historical center. This time we decided upon the beach-front section, but again were greeted by streets full of gringos. We explored the newer streets, parks, and made our way down to the beach. The sun sets over the ocean in the pacific, and we spent the evening watching it over the large group of surfers on the beach.
The following morning, priority number one was the clinic. Quick, thorough, and necessary, we both walked away with smiles on our faces. Not something you can always expect in a foreign hospital. From there we went to our first museum of the trip, El Museo de la Nacion. Excited about free admission, we skipped right in and quickly started to feel lost. We got ourselves a private English tour for a mere 5 USD. There we experienced the ceramics, textiles, metalwork and paintings ranging from the stone age until recent. We gained a deeper understanding of the different cultures from the southern jungles to the northern beaches, and the high country in between, while relating our personal Peruvian experiences to the art. Sometimes its nice to have the information handed to you.
Our most enthusiastic taxi driver yet drove us to his favorite restaurant for my previous favorite, new fear, Ceviche. He promised cheap prices, and a good cook that wouldn't have you running to the bathroom after. Ceviche is the Peruvian sushi. Fresh (hopefully) fish that sits in a sauce of lime, among other things. The lime is supposed to have almost a cooking property, and should kill all of the bacteria in the fish. And let me tell you, its delicious. Unfortunately this was my second experience with the food, and most likely my last. I still have yet to try Cuy, the more popular Peruvian dish consisting of a roasted guinea pig. Possibly a replacement for my previous favorite is on the way.
The next morning we had plane tickets to the mountain town of Cusco. This is where we will start our five day trek to Maccu Piccu. Our flight took off at 6:00 am, so we returned back to the Hostel, to attempt sleeping at 7:00. Food poisoning affected us both last night, as I ran in and out of our room until 3:30 when we departed to the airport.
The lack of good roads on the direct route to Cusco, or a long roundabout route would've both taken between 40-60 hours. We chose to fly, for a round trip price of 150 each. An hour after takeoff we woke up on the runway in Cusco, where we will spend the next 12 days. The city sits at 11,200 ft, so we will use the first 3 days to acclimate before our trek. Huge green mountains all around, and a red tile roof on almost every house makes for a beautiful sight, and we are excited to explore the city. Just have to catch up on some serious lost sleep first.
Thanks for reading
We arrived in Lima late in the evening, as we have in nearly every location. The dark gives a slightly nerve racking view of the cities, but it makes the next morning all the more of a surprise. There we satisfied Lizzie and my cravings for Mexican food, and made our way back to our loud hostel.
It was our third time in Lima, and subsequently our third district of the city. Our first nights, we stayed in between the two largely touristy areas, and the next directly in the historical center. This time we decided upon the beach-front section, but again were greeted by streets full of gringos. We explored the newer streets, parks, and made our way down to the beach. The sun sets over the ocean in the pacific, and we spent the evening watching it over the large group of surfers on the beach.
The following morning, priority number one was the clinic. Quick, thorough, and necessary, we both walked away with smiles on our faces. Not something you can always expect in a foreign hospital. From there we went to our first museum of the trip, El Museo de la Nacion. Excited about free admission, we skipped right in and quickly started to feel lost. We got ourselves a private English tour for a mere 5 USD. There we experienced the ceramics, textiles, metalwork and paintings ranging from the stone age until recent. We gained a deeper understanding of the different cultures from the southern jungles to the northern beaches, and the high country in between, while relating our personal Peruvian experiences to the art. Sometimes its nice to have the information handed to you.
Our most enthusiastic taxi driver yet drove us to his favorite restaurant for my previous favorite, new fear, Ceviche. He promised cheap prices, and a good cook that wouldn't have you running to the bathroom after. Ceviche is the Peruvian sushi. Fresh (hopefully) fish that sits in a sauce of lime, among other things. The lime is supposed to have almost a cooking property, and should kill all of the bacteria in the fish. And let me tell you, its delicious. Unfortunately this was my second experience with the food, and most likely my last. I still have yet to try Cuy, the more popular Peruvian dish consisting of a roasted guinea pig. Possibly a replacement for my previous favorite is on the way.
The next morning we had plane tickets to the mountain town of Cusco. This is where we will start our five day trek to Maccu Piccu. Our flight took off at 6:00 am, so we returned back to the Hostel, to attempt sleeping at 7:00. Food poisoning affected us both last night, as I ran in and out of our room until 3:30 when we departed to the airport.
The lack of good roads on the direct route to Cusco, or a long roundabout route would've both taken between 40-60 hours. We chose to fly, for a round trip price of 150 each. An hour after takeoff we woke up on the runway in Cusco, where we will spend the next 12 days. The city sits at 11,200 ft, so we will use the first 3 days to acclimate before our trek. Huge green mountains all around, and a red tile roof on almost every house makes for a beautiful sight, and we are excited to explore the city. Just have to catch up on some serious lost sleep first.
Thanks for reading
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
What I love about Traveling
The reason I love traveling is not for the unforgettable sights, the foreign smells, the new philosophies or the foreign languages, it´s for the moment every day when I wake up and have no idea whether today will be great or just tough. I take an antibiotic, a probiotic, an antimalarial and a vitamin then just head out to see what happens to me.
Today we flew over the famous Nazca Lines, huge drawings in the desert done by a pre-Incan civilization that have survived the winds and roads only to be discovered by planes flyig overhead.
Then we bought 5 apples, 3 mystery vegetables that a kindly farmer let us sample from his lunch, an onion, a pepper, and three tomatoes for fifty cents.
Lizzie
Today we flew over the famous Nazca Lines, huge drawings in the desert done by a pre-Incan civilization that have survived the winds and roads only to be discovered by planes flyig overhead.
Then we bought 5 apples, 3 mystery vegetables that a kindly farmer let us sample from his lunch, an onion, a pepper, and three tomatoes for fifty cents.
Lizzie
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Back on Track
After Lizzie´s scare, we have adapted to make this trip work around our situation. This was already the plan, or, our lack of having an itinerary for this trip is working well. We did not plan much of this trip in the states. Dreams, ideas, plane tickets, a group trek in Maccu Piccu, and a hostel for our first night was all we had.
We took a ¨collectivo¨ taxi from Huancayo to Lima. This meant that upon arrival to the taxi lot, we were mobbed by touts trying to get us to pay them, and not their competetors to drive us to Lima. The second we decided, the excitement wore off as we waited in the car for all of the seats to be filled. The benifit of taking the taxi vs. a bus was speed, as the price was equal. The road from Huancayo to Lima is a long, long mountain pass covering almost an entire lateral section of the Andes. Thus, the small taxi is able to cover the same distance 2 hours quicker than the buses, making our planned driving time a mere five hours. Of course, nearly half way through the trip west, we were stopped by a protest against local government, and held up for three hours sitting on the road in a small Peruvian town. But we made it.
After a tense taxi trip the next morning, we arrrived to a nice, modern hospital. This was a relieving change to the hospital we visited in Huancayo. There, Lizzie paid to have her bite wounds cleaned in an open, no-curtain room next to a woman giving birth. Uncomfortable to say the least. Also there, Lizzie was encouraged to get their rabies vaccination (vacuna antirabica). This vaccine wouldve been applied once every day for seven days, then once again in a week, and again two weeks after that. Fortunately, through Lizzie´s parents we were able to find out that the treatment for rabies never involves a seven day regiment. She wouldve, in fact, been recieving some sort of placebo vaccine to get us out of thier hair. So we ran. Back to the hospital in Lima.
There we were greeted by English speaking staff, modern looking rooms, and short wait times. Our doctor and nurse both spoke english, and quickly were able to get the vaccines needed, and give Lizzie her first two of four shots. Still though, we learned that we will have to return to Lima on the 29th of June, seven days after the first vaccinations, and again twenty-one days later to get her last vaccinations. This is how we will be structuring the rest of our trip through Peru. Wereturned to our hostel, excited of the professionalism of the hospital and the good news.
Our first time in Lima, our hostel was a 15 sole (around 5 USD) taxi ride to the historic center of the city. This time around, we found a hostel 2 blocks from the center plaza, or Plaza Mayor. From there we enjoyed Lima, visiting the Plaza, seeing the cathedrals and government buildings, took a tour of a courthouse and tourture chamber from the inquisition, and bought English novels to replace the few we brought. After the night, we concluded our second stay in Lima and got on an early bus to Paracas, a small beach town south of Lima. Update to follow, but its time for some dinner in Nasca.
We took a ¨collectivo¨ taxi from Huancayo to Lima. This meant that upon arrival to the taxi lot, we were mobbed by touts trying to get us to pay them, and not their competetors to drive us to Lima. The second we decided, the excitement wore off as we waited in the car for all of the seats to be filled. The benifit of taking the taxi vs. a bus was speed, as the price was equal. The road from Huancayo to Lima is a long, long mountain pass covering almost an entire lateral section of the Andes. Thus, the small taxi is able to cover the same distance 2 hours quicker than the buses, making our planned driving time a mere five hours. Of course, nearly half way through the trip west, we were stopped by a protest against local government, and held up for three hours sitting on the road in a small Peruvian town. But we made it.
After a tense taxi trip the next morning, we arrrived to a nice, modern hospital. This was a relieving change to the hospital we visited in Huancayo. There, Lizzie paid to have her bite wounds cleaned in an open, no-curtain room next to a woman giving birth. Uncomfortable to say the least. Also there, Lizzie was encouraged to get their rabies vaccination (vacuna antirabica). This vaccine wouldve been applied once every day for seven days, then once again in a week, and again two weeks after that. Fortunately, through Lizzie´s parents we were able to find out that the treatment for rabies never involves a seven day regiment. She wouldve, in fact, been recieving some sort of placebo vaccine to get us out of thier hair. So we ran. Back to the hospital in Lima.
There we were greeted by English speaking staff, modern looking rooms, and short wait times. Our doctor and nurse both spoke english, and quickly were able to get the vaccines needed, and give Lizzie her first two of four shots. Still though, we learned that we will have to return to Lima on the 29th of June, seven days after the first vaccinations, and again twenty-one days later to get her last vaccinations. This is how we will be structuring the rest of our trip through Peru. Wereturned to our hostel, excited of the professionalism of the hospital and the good news.
Our first time in Lima, our hostel was a 15 sole (around 5 USD) taxi ride to the historic center of the city. This time around, we found a hostel 2 blocks from the center plaza, or Plaza Mayor. From there we enjoyed Lima, visiting the Plaza, seeing the cathedrals and government buildings, took a tour of a courthouse and tourture chamber from the inquisition, and bought English novels to replace the few we brought. After the night, we concluded our second stay in Lima and got on an early bus to Paracas, a small beach town south of Lima. Update to follow, but its time for some dinner in Nasca.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Plans Change...
I was bitten by a dog. As I breathe in the alpaca wool face down, a local smears all kinds of medicinal plants from the jungle on my wound. I have to remember the face of the attacker so we can go find him and test him. Whatever the results we are headed to Lima for treatment. Thank goodness he rubbed energy healing stones on my head and I am ready to think ahead.
Will keep you posted on the rabies situation,
Lizzie
Will keep you posted on the rabies situation,
Lizzie
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Huancayo
We decided that one day in Lima was enough and hopped on a luxury bus through the Andes arriving in a small city called Huancayo. With dusty streets, numerous taverns and coal trains it was accurately described to us as a southwestern town in the Andes.
Unfortunately just after breakfast Spencer was feeling sick so we spent the morning lounging and planning the rest of our trip. It is almost impossible to find transportation using the route we are planning to machu picchu, but it may have come down to gut wrenching public transportation and 3am arrival times. (Most people just fly to Cuzco.)
We were however able to explore the town and fell in love with the traditionally dressed older women, the numerous shoe repair shops, the crowded sidewalks and the Churros, (yummy fried and sugared treats).
Adios!
Lizzie
Unfortunately just after breakfast Spencer was feeling sick so we spent the morning lounging and planning the rest of our trip. It is almost impossible to find transportation using the route we are planning to machu picchu, but it may have come down to gut wrenching public transportation and 3am arrival times. (Most people just fly to Cuzco.)
We were however able to explore the town and fell in love with the traditionally dressed older women, the numerous shoe repair shops, the crowded sidewalks and the Churros, (yummy fried and sugared treats).
Adios!
Lizzie
Monday, May 17, 2010
Lima first impressions
Im happy to say we began our trip with an adventure.
After over an hour of driving around lima asking for directions from every passerby we finally found our hole in the wall hostel just before 2am. Needless to say we slept in and then set out to find some breakfast.
Three hours later we sat down to lunch that redefined my defination of tortillas, maybe anything fried and flattened fits the defination. Three hours we spent staring blankly as buses whizzed by yelling their destination, and then walking several miles with maps in hand winding through pencil venders, hired street type writers and colonial mansions.
Once we finally reached the historical center of lima the day was almost spent and we took a tour of San fransico monestary and the catacombs below it.
Until next time!
Lizzie
After over an hour of driving around lima asking for directions from every passerby we finally found our hole in the wall hostel just before 2am. Needless to say we slept in and then set out to find some breakfast.
Three hours later we sat down to lunch that redefined my defination of tortillas, maybe anything fried and flattened fits the defination. Three hours we spent staring blankly as buses whizzed by yelling their destination, and then walking several miles with maps in hand winding through pencil venders, hired street type writers and colonial mansions.
Once we finally reached the historical center of lima the day was almost spent and we took a tour of San fransico monestary and the catacombs below it.
Until next time!
Lizzie
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