Alrighty Then.
So since our first few nights in arequipa, post hot tub party, we have both been relatively busy working. I was on the bar every night until it closed and cami was doing some reception and lazing around and some shopping i think.. Not too stressful, i think she wasenjoying spending other peoples money.
So we did that for a week and a half, i got fairly sick of it pretty quickly, Cami is still loving it. But anyway we decided that i would leave and go to Lima for a week or so until after independance (another big party for cam to plan) and then cam would meet me in Lima. But first: Huacachina.
Huacachina is a crazy little oasis in the middle of the desert, mostly populated by backpackers and restaurants. But its the place for sandboarding and dune buggys and all that stuff. Its actually a really cool place, the desert is pretty amazing. Anyway so we splashed out and took the sandboarding buggy tour thing that everyone does. You basically scream around the dunes for a few hours doing dangerous things in a giant buggy, then hop out at the biggest dunes you can find and slide down them on a piece of wood. Usually face first lying down, the dunes were a little too big to surf down (about 200m up mas or menos) and freaking steep. Anyway that was awesome except i fell off the board when i was trying to surf it down and almost broke my thumb. The guide didnt seem too worried, so i must assume worse stuff happens all the time. Anyway so we finished and i went to the doctor, did all the x ray stuff, and im all AOK.. Just have a large thumb for a while and a big sandburn on my back. Good fun really.
So i left after that and headed North for Lima, Peru`s Capital. Cam is still in Arequipa, but she might have to let you know how she is herself. Lima is alright,big and polluted and rich (comparitively). It even has a shopping mall and a maccas and Kfc and everything. And its meant to be a beach city, but from what i understand it is constantly grey (worse than london atm) and the water is polluted, so not too much laying on the Beach. Ive met some freinds from Sucre here and should be able to kill another 6 days or so before we can finally head north and get to the nice beaches and hot weather again...
So until then Cya
Steve.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Arequipa Pt 1
Hey All,
How's everyone going?? I do want to know, but obviously i wont find out for a while, so here is what we have been doing.
We left Cusco the night after our Machu Picchu trail, because it was our only chance to make it through the road blocks surrounding Cusco. Even though we left early our bus was still forced to stop outside the city of Arequipa when we arrived the next morning and we had to walk for around an hour to get past all of the road blocks so we could jump in the back of a ute and get a lift into the actual city.
The first thing we did when we arrived was find a hostel which we could work at so we could stay for free. We rocked up at The Point hostel and were welcomed immiediately so we decided to stay. Steve is working in the bar every night and I am (supposed to be) working in reception. Steve works realy hard every night, whereas I have done only a bit of actual reception work and plenty of shopping (for the hostel though, not me...).
Carolina is a Peruvian girl the same age as us who is working here as well. She and I had the awesome job of planning a tropical party a couple of days ago for the hostel to celebrate the re-opening of their hot tub (it wasnt actually warm at all on the night but the party was still good).
Steve here now. We half wrote this a week or soago and forgot about it. So ill update you all in a sec..
cya
How's everyone going?? I do want to know, but obviously i wont find out for a while, so here is what we have been doing.
We left Cusco the night after our Machu Picchu trail, because it was our only chance to make it through the road blocks surrounding Cusco. Even though we left early our bus was still forced to stop outside the city of Arequipa when we arrived the next morning and we had to walk for around an hour to get past all of the road blocks so we could jump in the back of a ute and get a lift into the actual city.
The first thing we did when we arrived was find a hostel which we could work at so we could stay for free. We rocked up at The Point hostel and were welcomed immiediately so we decided to stay. Steve is working in the bar every night and I am (supposed to be) working in reception. Steve works realy hard every night, whereas I have done only a bit of actual reception work and plenty of shopping (for the hostel though, not me...).
Carolina is a Peruvian girl the same age as us who is working here as well. She and I had the awesome job of planning a tropical party a couple of days ago for the hostel to celebrate the re-opening of their hot tub (it wasnt actually warm at all on the night but the party was still good).
Steve here now. We half wrote this a week or soago and forgot about it. So ill update you all in a sec..
cya
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
We Survived the Inca Trail!
Hola Amigos,
Steve and I got back to Cusco last night after finishing 4 days of the extremely tiring, but extremely rewarding Inca Trail.
On the 3rd we were picked up at an hour we hadnt experienced for a very long time and took the tour bus to a town where we ate breakfast and mettwo Australian girls on the trip with us, Sophie and Katherine.
On the bus we met our 2 guides, Freddie and Amateo. Freddie tured out to be the best possible guide we could have asked for. He was half Quechuan (which is the actual Incan culture and language) and he was really passionate about the culture and knew a lot about the Inca. Amateo was the assistant guide whose english was not quite as good as Freddies but he made up for by being hilarious.
Apart from Sophie and Katherine there was 11 other people in our group - 5 californian girls, 2 teachers from the US, another Aussie couple and 2 older guys from NZ (who eventually put many of us to shame).
The first day of the trek wasnt too bad, we saw the first of many Incan terraces and learnt about Inca time (when Freddie says it is 15 more minutes it means it is really 30) and Inca flat (the rest of the trail is flat until the campsite, means that there is steps up and down and flat in between them at some point).
Our first meal was one of the most surprising things that happened on our trip. When we sat down we were given an entre of avocado salad, followed by 3 more courses. No one in our group could believe their luck. I am not kidding when I say that apart from some outstanding meals every now and again, the food we ate on this trek was the best we have had in the entire 3 months we have been in South America, easily the best in Peru. Later on we met the cook, Jesus, who was an adorably shy Peruvian and I think most of us were ready to take him home with us by the end.
At the end of the first day we arrived at our camp where the 22 porters had already set up our tents and started getting ready for dinner. These guys are amazing. Every day they left after our group and arrived hours in advance to set up our campsite. While most of us were puffing up steps they would run past, making us feel very stupid when we arrived at the campsite hours later and they would applaude our efforts. But if you are thinking that it sounds like a terrible job where they are treated like slaves, you are getting the wrong idea. The job of a porter is one of the most sought after jobs in Peru, especially for the company that we travelled with who provide the porters with propper backpacks, sleepingbags and mattereses. Many of the porters for the other comapnies are just carrying their loads in sacks. The other good thing is that the weight they are allowed to carry has been limited to 25kg now, wheras they used to carry around 60kg!
Plus they were the nicest group of guys, always so friendly and ready to help you if you needed it. They did an amazing job even though the youngest was only 18 and the oldest was 65.
The second day was so much harder than the first, we spent 5 hours climbing extremely steep steps to reach Dead Womans Pass which is at an altitude of 4200m. Once at the top we made an offering to PachaMama (mother earth) so that she would help us on our trip and give us good weather. Then we made the painful 2hour walk downhill to our campsite.
The third day was my personal favourite. We all woke up a bit hesitant after the second day but it was a really beautiful walk where we moved from the mountain highlands into the amazon in only a few hours. The scenery was amazing and the walk itself was a lot easier which we were all very grateful for. In the afternoon we saw quite a few Incan ruins which were really interesting. Some of them were houses and others were temples. Freddie talked to us about how the Incas chose where to build things based on the sun and the acoustics of the mountains which was really interesting. The last part of the 3rd day was a walk down 2000 steps before we reached our last campsite. We said goodbye to all of the porters and thanked Jesus (the cook) one last time and went to bed early.
The last day we woke up much longer than the others because we wanted to be one of the first groups to get to Machu Picchu. In the end we were all on time and managed to be the second group on the trail. We started walking at 5:30am with the aim of seeing the sunrise from the Sun Gate. Our group half jogged the 7km to the Sun Gate where we got our first glimpse of Machu Picchu city. Thankfully it was a beautiful day with almost no clouds. I was especially pleased because Freddie had told us the day before that if it was a cloudy day we would have to sacrifice the youngest female in our group to please Pacha Mama (that would be me).
We made it down to Machu Picchu by 7am but unfortunately there were already people inside the side and taking photots all around it. This is because lazy people come on the train the day before, stay in the nearby town of Aguas Callientes overnight and then get up early and CATCH A BUS to Machu Picchu. We passed heaps of these people while we were walking down and got some funny looks since none of us had showered in 4 days and we were all red and puffed. One of them had the foolish idea of asking where we had come from and got some interesting remarks back from all of us since we all hated them on principle already.
The city of Machu Picchu was absolutely beautiful. Freddie gave us a tour of some of the most important parts and then we spent a few more hours looking around on our own (or resting and observing the view...). When we got hungry we took a bus into Aguas Callientes where we all ate together for the last time and then went and swam in the hot springs.
At 6pm we took a traina nd then a bus back to Cusco. Steve and I quickly grabbed some takeaway and rtan back to our hostel with the aim of crawling into bed and watching some trashy TV only to be told we had no reservation (even though we had stayed there for 5 nights and left our luggage there while we were away). Eventually they arranged with another hostel for us to stay in a wayyyy nicer room so alls well that ends well.
Today my claves arecomplaining a little everytime i wlak up or down stairs but Steve is feeling fine. We are spending one more night in Cusco and then we are going to Arequipa where we have 2 offers from hostels to volunteer for 2 weeks. We are not sure which one we will be heaidng to but we will let you know. We are hoping by getting accomodation for free for awhile we will be able to save some money. As usual donations are always welcome :)
Lots of love from both of us
xx
Steve and I got back to Cusco last night after finishing 4 days of the extremely tiring, but extremely rewarding Inca Trail.
On the 3rd we were picked up at an hour we hadnt experienced for a very long time and took the tour bus to a town where we ate breakfast and mettwo Australian girls on the trip with us, Sophie and Katherine.
On the bus we met our 2 guides, Freddie and Amateo. Freddie tured out to be the best possible guide we could have asked for. He was half Quechuan (which is the actual Incan culture and language) and he was really passionate about the culture and knew a lot about the Inca. Amateo was the assistant guide whose english was not quite as good as Freddies but he made up for by being hilarious.
Apart from Sophie and Katherine there was 11 other people in our group - 5 californian girls, 2 teachers from the US, another Aussie couple and 2 older guys from NZ (who eventually put many of us to shame).
The first day of the trek wasnt too bad, we saw the first of many Incan terraces and learnt about Inca time (when Freddie says it is 15 more minutes it means it is really 30) and Inca flat (the rest of the trail is flat until the campsite, means that there is steps up and down and flat in between them at some point).
Our first meal was one of the most surprising things that happened on our trip. When we sat down we were given an entre of avocado salad, followed by 3 more courses. No one in our group could believe their luck. I am not kidding when I say that apart from some outstanding meals every now and again, the food we ate on this trek was the best we have had in the entire 3 months we have been in South America, easily the best in Peru. Later on we met the cook, Jesus, who was an adorably shy Peruvian and I think most of us were ready to take him home with us by the end.
At the end of the first day we arrived at our camp where the 22 porters had already set up our tents and started getting ready for dinner. These guys are amazing. Every day they left after our group and arrived hours in advance to set up our campsite. While most of us were puffing up steps they would run past, making us feel very stupid when we arrived at the campsite hours later and they would applaude our efforts. But if you are thinking that it sounds like a terrible job where they are treated like slaves, you are getting the wrong idea. The job of a porter is one of the most sought after jobs in Peru, especially for the company that we travelled with who provide the porters with propper backpacks, sleepingbags and mattereses. Many of the porters for the other comapnies are just carrying their loads in sacks. The other good thing is that the weight they are allowed to carry has been limited to 25kg now, wheras they used to carry around 60kg!
Plus they were the nicest group of guys, always so friendly and ready to help you if you needed it. They did an amazing job even though the youngest was only 18 and the oldest was 65.
The second day was so much harder than the first, we spent 5 hours climbing extremely steep steps to reach Dead Womans Pass which is at an altitude of 4200m. Once at the top we made an offering to PachaMama (mother earth) so that she would help us on our trip and give us good weather. Then we made the painful 2hour walk downhill to our campsite.
The third day was my personal favourite. We all woke up a bit hesitant after the second day but it was a really beautiful walk where we moved from the mountain highlands into the amazon in only a few hours. The scenery was amazing and the walk itself was a lot easier which we were all very grateful for. In the afternoon we saw quite a few Incan ruins which were really interesting. Some of them were houses and others were temples. Freddie talked to us about how the Incas chose where to build things based on the sun and the acoustics of the mountains which was really interesting. The last part of the 3rd day was a walk down 2000 steps before we reached our last campsite. We said goodbye to all of the porters and thanked Jesus (the cook) one last time and went to bed early.
The last day we woke up much longer than the others because we wanted to be one of the first groups to get to Machu Picchu. In the end we were all on time and managed to be the second group on the trail. We started walking at 5:30am with the aim of seeing the sunrise from the Sun Gate. Our group half jogged the 7km to the Sun Gate where we got our first glimpse of Machu Picchu city. Thankfully it was a beautiful day with almost no clouds. I was especially pleased because Freddie had told us the day before that if it was a cloudy day we would have to sacrifice the youngest female in our group to please Pacha Mama (that would be me).
We made it down to Machu Picchu by 7am but unfortunately there were already people inside the side and taking photots all around it. This is because lazy people come on the train the day before, stay in the nearby town of Aguas Callientes overnight and then get up early and CATCH A BUS to Machu Picchu. We passed heaps of these people while we were walking down and got some funny looks since none of us had showered in 4 days and we were all red and puffed. One of them had the foolish idea of asking where we had come from and got some interesting remarks back from all of us since we all hated them on principle already.
The city of Machu Picchu was absolutely beautiful. Freddie gave us a tour of some of the most important parts and then we spent a few more hours looking around on our own (or resting and observing the view...). When we got hungry we took a bus into Aguas Callientes where we all ate together for the last time and then went and swam in the hot springs.
At 6pm we took a traina nd then a bus back to Cusco. Steve and I quickly grabbed some takeaway and rtan back to our hostel with the aim of crawling into bed and watching some trashy TV only to be told we had no reservation (even though we had stayed there for 5 nights and left our luggage there while we were away). Eventually they arranged with another hostel for us to stay in a wayyyy nicer room so alls well that ends well.
Today my claves arecomplaining a little everytime i wlak up or down stairs but Steve is feeling fine. We are spending one more night in Cusco and then we are going to Arequipa where we have 2 offers from hostels to volunteer for 2 weeks. We are not sure which one we will be heaidng to but we will let you know. We are hoping by getting accomodation for free for awhile we will be able to save some money. As usual donations are always welcome :)
Lots of love from both of us
xx
Machu Pichu & Cusco
Photos:
Cami and i just chilling at Machu Pichu for Sunrise.
Machu Pichu, with a cloud climbing over the back there. We were so lucky with the weather, not a cloud in the sky (except for that little cool one)
Our two expert guides, Freddie (left) and Amateo (right)
Us at the top of Dead Womans peak (4200m). We climbed like 1200m that day. What fun!
Our group on the first day at the beggining of the trail.
Before the inka trail. We took a day trip to the ruins surrounding Cusco. Euegene (far left) and cami and i on our faithful steeds near Q´enqo.
The trail approaching Dead Womans Peak. It is steeper than it looks. Plus we came from the second valley down that you can see.
Cami and Kathrine at MP.
Cami has the story.
CYA
Cami and i just chilling at Machu Pichu for Sunrise.
Machu Pichu, with a cloud climbing over the back there. We were so lucky with the weather, not a cloud in the sky (except for that little cool one)
Our two expert guides, Freddie (left) and Amateo (right)
Us at the top of Dead Womans peak (4200m). We climbed like 1200m that day. What fun!
Our group on the first day at the beggining of the trail.
Before the inka trail. We took a day trip to the ruins surrounding Cusco. Euegene (far left) and cami and i on our faithful steeds near Q´enqo.
The trail approaching Dead Womans Peak. It is steeper than it looks. Plus we came from the second valley down that you can see.
Cami and Kathrine at MP.
Cami has the story.
CYA
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Hello from cusco
Hey guys, we finally made it to Cusco!
We ended up having no problems getting here, thanks to the fact that Peruvians dont seem to like striking on the weekend. So the road into Cusoc was opened up just for two days and we got a bus here straight away. A really nice bus too might I add, especially compared to what we had gotten used to in Bolivia (it actually had a toilet!!).
Cusco is a really beautiful city, the buildings are all lovely and there is a gorgeous main plaza which has two huge churches on it. There is a fairly massive downside to it all though - there are sooooo many tourists it is risiculous. And not just backpacker tourists - the kind we have become used to who wear the same shirt for 3 days and kind of smell a bit funny - tourist tourists. The kind with sunglasses with names on the side, who had enough room in their bag to pack heels, a couple of dresses and have enough money to stay somewhere that costs about the same per night as steve and I brought away with us in the first place.
Not that these people arent perfectly nice but it is definitely a massive shock after Bolivia.
The first day we arrived we mostly just wanderd around and marvelled at the prices of things. The second day we managed to meet up with Eugene, one of the people we met on our Uyuni trek and who we hung out with in La Paz (i dont know if steve has mentioned him before i loading a new page to check would take too long). We spontaneously decided to take a horseback riding tour of some Incan ruins which turned out to be great. Steve was in pain for a little while but i think he secretly loved it. Our guide was really good, he only spoke Spanish but between the 3 of us we emanaged ot get everything he was saying.
One of the things we went to see was a huge temple that the Incas built to worship the sun and use for other religious purposes. Eventually they also had to use it as a fort when the Spanish came. I cant spell the name but essentially it sounded like "sexy woman" with a funny accent.
That was 3 days ago now. Yesterday we went and looked at the Incan Museum which Eugene and Steve didnt like that much but I thought it wasnt too bad. Museums are great ways to practice spanish since they rarely have english explanations.
Today Eugene left early for his Machu Picchu trek so Steve and I decided to go check out some hot springs because steve has been wanting to seem some for the last 3 months just about. It was an interesting trip out, squashed in the back of a taxi with about 9 people (i am talking a 5 seater car here) and when we arrived the pools werent exactly what we had in mind. Im not entirely convinced they were hot springs for a start, i think they were just communal baths, but they werent too bad ad it was nice to have a bath instead of a lukewarm shower for a change.
Not sure what our plans are for the next few days but we our setting off to Machu Picchu in 2 days so our next post will probably be after that with some great pictures as well hopefully. Cusco is a bit exxy for our tastes so we are thinking of heading off straight away when we get back ond going back South to Arequipa (if the road isnt closed).
Love Cami (and steve in spirit even though he isnt here right now)
We ended up having no problems getting here, thanks to the fact that Peruvians dont seem to like striking on the weekend. So the road into Cusoc was opened up just for two days and we got a bus here straight away. A really nice bus too might I add, especially compared to what we had gotten used to in Bolivia (it actually had a toilet!!).
Cusco is a really beautiful city, the buildings are all lovely and there is a gorgeous main plaza which has two huge churches on it. There is a fairly massive downside to it all though - there are sooooo many tourists it is risiculous. And not just backpacker tourists - the kind we have become used to who wear the same shirt for 3 days and kind of smell a bit funny - tourist tourists. The kind with sunglasses with names on the side, who had enough room in their bag to pack heels, a couple of dresses and have enough money to stay somewhere that costs about the same per night as steve and I brought away with us in the first place.
Not that these people arent perfectly nice but it is definitely a massive shock after Bolivia.
The first day we arrived we mostly just wanderd around and marvelled at the prices of things. The second day we managed to meet up with Eugene, one of the people we met on our Uyuni trek and who we hung out with in La Paz (i dont know if steve has mentioned him before i loading a new page to check would take too long). We spontaneously decided to take a horseback riding tour of some Incan ruins which turned out to be great. Steve was in pain for a little while but i think he secretly loved it. Our guide was really good, he only spoke Spanish but between the 3 of us we emanaged ot get everything he was saying.
One of the things we went to see was a huge temple that the Incas built to worship the sun and use for other religious purposes. Eventually they also had to use it as a fort when the Spanish came. I cant spell the name but essentially it sounded like "sexy woman" with a funny accent.
That was 3 days ago now. Yesterday we went and looked at the Incan Museum which Eugene and Steve didnt like that much but I thought it wasnt too bad. Museums are great ways to practice spanish since they rarely have english explanations.
Today Eugene left early for his Machu Picchu trek so Steve and I decided to go check out some hot springs because steve has been wanting to seem some for the last 3 months just about. It was an interesting trip out, squashed in the back of a taxi with about 9 people (i am talking a 5 seater car here) and when we arrived the pools werent exactly what we had in mind. Im not entirely convinced they were hot springs for a start, i think they were just communal baths, but they werent too bad ad it was nice to have a bath instead of a lukewarm shower for a change.
Not sure what our plans are for the next few days but we our setting off to Machu Picchu in 2 days so our next post will probably be after that with some great pictures as well hopefully. Cusco is a bit exxy for our tastes so we are thinking of heading off straight away when we get back ond going back South to Arequipa (if the road isnt closed).
Love Cami (and steve in spirit even though he isnt here right now)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)