As quickly as it began the adventure is now coming to a close. It seems insane that we're already our way home, but we had a fantastic trip and I would not have traded it for anything.
Each week and place was so fantastically different and we have so many stories and new friends from every one. I will miss insane moto taxis and nights spent dancing at el cumplejo in Iquitos, crazy rubber boot treks through the amazon, the phenomenal wonder that is Machu Picchu, craziness in wonderful Cusco, and the ever expansive Lima. I've crossed off so many bucket list items on this trip and the list has only grown exponentially for new places and adventures to be had.
I've had a whirlwind three week introduction and I've officially been bitten by the travel bug. We felt so safe and at ease the entire time and we were blessed in so many ways along the ride. Could not have asked for anything more.
We're going home with lots of new friends, unforgettable memories, and a long list of places to visit next time we get to South America. Thanks so much again for all of the prayers and love that made our adventure possible.
So, until the next trip...iCiao!
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Checking into Pariwana we met James, our friend Eve from Cusco's friend from California. He helped us get settled in and then we were reunited with Eve. We all hung out and chilled celebrating the 4th and then a group of us ventured out to buy some groceries to BBQ some burgers. We had a great meal and spent the evening playing games with new and old friends at the hostel.
After a few hours we decided to go out downtown to try dancing, but on a Wednesday we had no luck and went to a place where we all hung out for a bit outside the hostel. We ended up running into our friend Alfredo
from Iquitos, such a small world. Lizzy was tired a little sooner then me and Chels so cabbed it back to Pariwana with one of our friends and Chels and I followed suit about an hour later.
We were really hungry when we got back and got directions from the people at the front desk to a sandwich place and two of the security guys walked with us to make sure we were safe. We messed up the directions and had to settle with getting instant cup of noodles from a gas station instead. It was a comic outing to say the least, but we enjoyed our makeshift meal and went to bed.
The next morning we all woke up, got ready, packed, stored our luggage, and grabbed Eve so that we could grab some food and watch the changing of the guards downtown. We made it just in the knick of time, but unfortunately the whole scene was overshadowed a bit by a woman who passed out in the street. The guards and paramedics acted quickly and were able to help her but it was quite eventful.
The four of us then walked across the square for a quick, cheap lunch at a cafe. We all got really excited after seeing a horse carriage in the square, learned it was only 4 soles and person, and had Juan the driver and Charlie the horse taking us for a spin around the square. We were quite pleased with our decision and enjoyed our moment to be majestic and touristy all at once.
After our wonderful ride with Charlie, we ran around taking silly tourist pictures and shopping around in some markets and stuff for more souviners before taking a taxi back to the hostel.
We spent the afternoon lounging and hanging out with our friends. In the evening we grabbed some sandwiches from a great place across the street from ten hostel. We ate them on a bench in the park that is filled with cats, (which Eve loved since she's all about the cats,) and then walked back to the hostel just in time to gather our things and take a cab to the water park.
Chels, Lizzy, Eve, and I enjoyed seeing all of the different fountains and taking lots of fun pictures. Once we'd finished up, we enjoyed some Anticuchos and took a taxi back to the hostel.
Sadly, we had just enough time to gather our bags, call a cab, and say goodbye to our friends before heading to the airport for the end of our trip.
After a few hours we decided to go out downtown to try dancing, but on a Wednesday we had no luck and went to a place where we all hung out for a bit outside the hostel. We ended up running into our friend Alfredo
from Iquitos, such a small world. Lizzy was tired a little sooner then me and Chels so cabbed it back to Pariwana with one of our friends and Chels and I followed suit about an hour later.
We were really hungry when we got back and got directions from the people at the front desk to a sandwich place and two of the security guys walked with us to make sure we were safe. We messed up the directions and had to settle with getting instant cup of noodles from a gas station instead. It was a comic outing to say the least, but we enjoyed our makeshift meal and went to bed.
The next morning we all woke up, got ready, packed, stored our luggage, and grabbed Eve so that we could grab some food and watch the changing of the guards downtown. We made it just in the knick of time, but unfortunately the whole scene was overshadowed a bit by a woman who passed out in the street. The guards and paramedics acted quickly and were able to help her but it was quite eventful.
The four of us then walked across the square for a quick, cheap lunch at a cafe. We all got really excited after seeing a horse carriage in the square, learned it was only 4 soles and person, and had Juan the driver and Charlie the horse taking us for a spin around the square. We were quite pleased with our decision and enjoyed our moment to be majestic and touristy all at once.
After our wonderful ride with Charlie, we ran around taking silly tourist pictures and shopping around in some markets and stuff for more souviners before taking a taxi back to the hostel.
We spent the afternoon lounging and hanging out with our friends. In the evening we grabbed some sandwiches from a great place across the street from ten hostel. We ate them on a bench in the park that is filled with cats, (which Eve loved since she's all about the cats,) and then walked back to the hostel just in time to gather our things and take a cab to the water park.
Chels, Lizzy, Eve, and I enjoyed seeing all of the different fountains and taking lots of fun pictures. Once we'd finished up, we enjoyed some Anticuchos and took a taxi back to the hostel.
Sadly, we had just enough time to gather our bags, call a cab, and say goodbye to our friends before heading to the airport for the end of our trip.
When we arrived in Lima our flight was delayed once again getting in but Chelsey's family friends Juan and Denise were waiting for us when we left baggage claim. They took us straight to a wonderful restaurant owned by a top 30 chef for a belated birthday celebration lunch for Chels. I still wasn't feeling well so food wasn't super appealing unfortunately, but I had some pork chops with apples honey and a side of mashed potatoes that were delicious. I ate as much as I could and we all appreciated such a treat from Juan and Denise.
We went back to their apartment and got the lay of the land, met their lovely dogs Larry and Lola, and settled in to chat and watch a movie. I went to bed pretty early hoping to feel a bit better since we wanted to go to the Museo de Oro (Gold Museum) the next day. I woke up nearly the next day still feeling under the weather but showered, got ready and laid low until we left. Since it was close we walked to the Museum and it was really interesting. There's everything from weapons to jewelry to textiles and it was amazing to take all of it in. The craziest is that the entire collection belongs to one man since it was so extensive.
After we finished walking through the museum, we took a taxi down to Laco Mar, a really cute outdoor shopping mall with lots of cute cafes overlooking the water. We enjoyed a nice lunch together and walked around a few of the stores before catching another cab back to Juan and Denise's. We were pretty tired and I was still under the weather so we spent a lazy evening watching movies once again and enjoying dinner that Denise was kind enough to prepare for us. I headed to bed once again hopeful that I would feel better for our bike ride the next day.
I awoke on our second morning finally having broken my fever and feeling well enough to take our bike tour of Lima thank goodness. We rode for a few hours along the water in Barrancas and enjoyed a nice lunch at a cute little green cafe along the way. After our ride we walked into Mira Flores to shop around in the Incan Market for some more souvenirs. It was about 6:30 when we hopped in a cab to get back to the apartment where Denise had cooked Peruvian for us for dinner. It was delicious, and I was happy to have my appetite back a bit after having been sick. We enjoyed another nice movie night and and went to bed excited for the 4th the next day.
We decided to head to the Pariwana Lima for our last couple days and night to see some of our friends from Cusco and celebrate the 4th. We said our goodbyes to Juan and Denise, thanked them for their marvelous hospitality, and cabbed it to Mira Flores for Pariwana.
We went back to their apartment and got the lay of the land, met their lovely dogs Larry and Lola, and settled in to chat and watch a movie. I went to bed pretty early hoping to feel a bit better since we wanted to go to the Museo de Oro (Gold Museum) the next day. I woke up nearly the next day still feeling under the weather but showered, got ready and laid low until we left. Since it was close we walked to the Museum and it was really interesting. There's everything from weapons to jewelry to textiles and it was amazing to take all of it in. The craziest is that the entire collection belongs to one man since it was so extensive.
After we finished walking through the museum, we took a taxi down to Laco Mar, a really cute outdoor shopping mall with lots of cute cafes overlooking the water. We enjoyed a nice lunch together and walked around a few of the stores before catching another cab back to Juan and Denise's. We were pretty tired and I was still under the weather so we spent a lazy evening watching movies once again and enjoying dinner that Denise was kind enough to prepare for us. I headed to bed once again hopeful that I would feel better for our bike ride the next day.
I awoke on our second morning finally having broken my fever and feeling well enough to take our bike tour of Lima thank goodness. We rode for a few hours along the water in Barrancas and enjoyed a nice lunch at a cute little green cafe along the way. After our ride we walked into Mira Flores to shop around in the Incan Market for some more souvenirs. It was about 6:30 when we hopped in a cab to get back to the apartment where Denise had cooked Peruvian for us for dinner. It was delicious, and I was happy to have my appetite back a bit after having been sick. We enjoyed another nice movie night and and went to bed excited for the 4th the next day.
We decided to head to the Pariwana Lima for our last couple days and night to see some of our friends from Cusco and celebrate the 4th. We said our goodbyes to Juan and Denise, thanked them for their marvelous hospitality, and cabbed it to Mira Flores for Pariwana.
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Cusco
After returning to Pariwana from our Machu Picchu adventures, we stayed in for the night catching up on some much needed sleep. Wednesday we woke up, had breakfast, and went to look around the city with a couple of Australian girls we had met at our hostel. We had a good time looking around the markets to see some souvenir options and such. After a couple hours of wandering we all got lunch together at a cute little cafe in downtown. We wanted to wander a bit more so Chels, Lizzy and I walked through some other parts of town. We stopped at a chocolate shop for some treats and then stumbled upon the best jewelry shop. The women running the store is the kindest, most wonderful person. She spoke very little English which gave Chels and I some good Spanish practice, and her store was full of beautiful handmade jewlery that she had done herself. She had American pop hits blasting through the stereo and started dancing a bit with us for her love of musica de moda. Not to mention, her prices were the most reasonable we´ve found anywhere, and we were stoked to support this lovely women. She individually packed all of our purchases in bags for safer travel because it´s her love, and hugged and kissed all of us call us her amors before we left the shop. We all wanted to adopt her into our families she´s so fantastic.
We wandered for a bit more around the city before heading back to the hostel. We grabbed a quick bite at the hostel and then hung out with some new friends that we'd made. There was a quiz night held for the activity that night and me, Chels, and three girls that we had met from Canada teamed up and ended up winning! We were pretty stoked and used our free beverage prize to make some more friends in the hostel. After waking Lizzy from her nap, we all geared up for our first night out dancing in Cusco. We had a great time living it up with all of our new friends and settled in to our new Cusco familia.
The next day we woke up to head to the Chocolate Museum. We first planned to wander and check it all out, but once we got there we talked to one of the guys who worked there and he encouraged us to sign up for the lall that lets you make chocolate from bean to the bar. We went back at 1:30 and started our class and lucky us the VIP treatment continued and we were able to take the class with no one but the three of us which was really fun. We learned a lot about the chocolate and got to make our own flavored candies. I also won the competition that our instructior had made for us and got some free cocoa tea which was awesome.
We went for some lunch after finishing our class and then returned to pick up our chocolate. The evening class had about 20 people in it so we were stoked at how spoiled we had been. We spent the night in hanging out with all of our friends and enjoying the performances of our hostel buddies and a bachelor party that was now staying at Pariwana. An entertaining night to say the least. Lizzy even convinced Chels and I to see a Ke$ha song with her at one point for a break in the Spanish ballads.
The next day we woke up and chilled reading and hanging with some of our friends before wandering out into the city. We wanted to check out some churches and stuff and our friend Nathan decided to take us up to a church on a hill over looking the city. The view was spectacular. We snapped some photos and hung out for a bit before wandering parts of Cusco that we hadn't explored yet and checking out new markets and churches and such. I was feeling a little tired so spent the rest of the afternoon reading and chilling until getting ready with Chels and Lizzy for our "splurge" dinner at this amazing restaurant called Fallen Angel. We'd heard really great things and had stopped by to chek it out and the decor and vibe were awesome. The meal didn't disappoint and we really enjoyed ourselves, I even got adventerous and tried alpaca and it was well worth it!
We got back to the hostel and met up with our friends hanging out for the evening before we all decided to go out dancing for the night. It was another great night at Mythology with our friends with fantastic music, and we all wandered back later to crash after another wonderful day.
On our last day in Cusco we went to the black market with our friend Jay to see if we could find some iPods or iPhones for Jay and Lizzy who had both lost technology since travelling. There was no luck at the market but it was definitely an experience to check out the culture that way. We wandered to the San Pedro market as well to see what else Cusco had to offer because we heard it was a must do. After wandering for a good part of the afternoon I wasn't feeling very well because (what I now know was an ear infection) was really starting to get to me and a fever setting in. I went back to the room and read and napped for most of the afternoon.
In the evening I wandered out to find Chelsey and Lizzy and found our friend Margaret who was also feeling a bit under the weather. We decided to stay in and watch a movie together so a small group of us enjoyed The Departed together. Feverish and exhausted I called it a night and went to bed while Lizzy and Chels enjoyed our last night in Cusco with our friends. The next morning we woke up, packed up, said our goodbyes, and headed to the airport. It was bittersweet since we had made such fantastic friends and really enjoyed our time there. Definitely will have to go back some day!
We wandered for a bit more around the city before heading back to the hostel. We grabbed a quick bite at the hostel and then hung out with some new friends that we'd made. There was a quiz night held for the activity that night and me, Chels, and three girls that we had met from Canada teamed up and ended up winning! We were pretty stoked and used our free beverage prize to make some more friends in the hostel. After waking Lizzy from her nap, we all geared up for our first night out dancing in Cusco. We had a great time living it up with all of our new friends and settled in to our new Cusco familia.
The next day we woke up to head to the Chocolate Museum. We first planned to wander and check it all out, but once we got there we talked to one of the guys who worked there and he encouraged us to sign up for the lall that lets you make chocolate from bean to the bar. We went back at 1:30 and started our class and lucky us the VIP treatment continued and we were able to take the class with no one but the three of us which was really fun. We learned a lot about the chocolate and got to make our own flavored candies. I also won the competition that our instructior had made for us and got some free cocoa tea which was awesome.
We went for some lunch after finishing our class and then returned to pick up our chocolate. The evening class had about 20 people in it so we were stoked at how spoiled we had been. We spent the night in hanging out with all of our friends and enjoying the performances of our hostel buddies and a bachelor party that was now staying at Pariwana. An entertaining night to say the least. Lizzy even convinced Chels and I to see a Ke$ha song with her at one point for a break in the Spanish ballads.
The next day we woke up and chilled reading and hanging with some of our friends before wandering out into the city. We wanted to check out some churches and stuff and our friend Nathan decided to take us up to a church on a hill over looking the city. The view was spectacular. We snapped some photos and hung out for a bit before wandering parts of Cusco that we hadn't explored yet and checking out new markets and churches and such. I was feeling a little tired so spent the rest of the afternoon reading and chilling until getting ready with Chels and Lizzy for our "splurge" dinner at this amazing restaurant called Fallen Angel. We'd heard really great things and had stopped by to chek it out and the decor and vibe were awesome. The meal didn't disappoint and we really enjoyed ourselves, I even got adventerous and tried alpaca and it was well worth it!
We got back to the hostel and met up with our friends hanging out for the evening before we all decided to go out dancing for the night. It was another great night at Mythology with our friends with fantastic music, and we all wandered back later to crash after another wonderful day.
On our last day in Cusco we went to the black market with our friend Jay to see if we could find some iPods or iPhones for Jay and Lizzy who had both lost technology since travelling. There was no luck at the market but it was definitely an experience to check out the culture that way. We wandered to the San Pedro market as well to see what else Cusco had to offer because we heard it was a must do. After wandering for a good part of the afternoon I wasn't feeling very well because (what I now know was an ear infection) was really starting to get to me and a fever setting in. I went back to the room and read and napped for most of the afternoon.
In the evening I wandered out to find Chelsey and Lizzy and found our friend Margaret who was also feeling a bit under the weather. We decided to stay in and watch a movie together so a small group of us enjoyed The Departed together. Feverish and exhausted I called it a night and went to bed while Lizzy and Chels enjoyed our last night in Cusco with our friends. The next morning we woke up, packed up, said our goodbyes, and headed to the airport. It was bittersweet since we had made such fantastic friends and really enjoyed our time there. Definitely will have to go back some day!
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Like a Boss
On Tuesday morning we woke up at 4am once again so that we could catch the bus to Machu Picchu at 5:30 in order to make it to our hike for Huyanapicchu at 7. Once we got into the park, we made our way towards the gate to Huyanapicchu, but not before stopping to hang out and have a photo op with some llamas. Chels and I like creatures, what can I say? We arrived at the gate at about 6:30 and we were just behind a couple of girls from Nebraska who were really nice. One had hiked it last year and gave us some ideas for what to expect. We signed into the log at 7 and started our trek.
We were told that it was a pretty intense hike and that it should take about 45 minutes to an hour. Our guide fom the day before dared us to beat his 45 minute record since we were young and in shape. It was intense with the altitude, but once we made it to the top we realized that we beasted it in just over 30 minutes. Needless to say we felt pretty accomplished. The view from the top is positively stunning. Huyanapicchu is situated so that you can see all of the ruins from the view, and since we were the first three at the top we had about 15-20 minutes to ourselves just to enjoy the view and take it all in. It was super majestic that morning because we were literally in a cloud and it made the whole experience super surreal.
After more people started to arrive at the peak and we had gotten all of the desired pictures, we decided to hike to the Grand Cavern at the bottom of the mountain since we had plenty of time to explore. Our legs were pretty tired after our long hike and the downhill was pretty rough on our joints but it was cool to be able to see the cavern once we finally made it down. I´m more and more impressed by these Incas the more I see let me tell you. We hung out at the bottom for awhile to recover a bit once we realized that it was a 90 minute hike back up the mountain to Machu Picchu. It was a rough go since our legs were quite jello-y at that point but we made it back to the main ruins in about 40 minutes. Our main motivation at that point was food since after three hours of intense hiking we did not have near enough in our systems.
After some seriously overpriced sandwiches, we headed back to the ruins to get some more pictures that we had wanted and just take it all in for a little longer. Around 1:00, we said our goodbyes to Machu Picchu and loaded the bus back to Aguas Calientes. We picked up our stuff from the hostel, went to a cafe to read and hang out for a bit, and then did some browsing in the markets before heading back to the train station for our return to Cusco.
After our 4 hour journey to Cusco, we arrived back at about 9pm and showered and got ready for bed after a couple of long, exhausting days. It was beyond worth it though. We all agreed that Huyanapicchu was the best hike we´ve ever done in our lives and don´t know when or where we could top it at this point. Overall, our two days at Machu Picchu were some of the most rewarding and fulfilling days we´ve ever experienced. I still can´t believe that we actually did it, so good thing there´s proof in pictures to affirm it for myself. We´re some lucky ladies to say the least.
We were told that it was a pretty intense hike and that it should take about 45 minutes to an hour. Our guide fom the day before dared us to beat his 45 minute record since we were young and in shape. It was intense with the altitude, but once we made it to the top we realized that we beasted it in just over 30 minutes. Needless to say we felt pretty accomplished. The view from the top is positively stunning. Huyanapicchu is situated so that you can see all of the ruins from the view, and since we were the first three at the top we had about 15-20 minutes to ourselves just to enjoy the view and take it all in. It was super majestic that morning because we were literally in a cloud and it made the whole experience super surreal.
After more people started to arrive at the peak and we had gotten all of the desired pictures, we decided to hike to the Grand Cavern at the bottom of the mountain since we had plenty of time to explore. Our legs were pretty tired after our long hike and the downhill was pretty rough on our joints but it was cool to be able to see the cavern once we finally made it down. I´m more and more impressed by these Incas the more I see let me tell you. We hung out at the bottom for awhile to recover a bit once we realized that it was a 90 minute hike back up the mountain to Machu Picchu. It was a rough go since our legs were quite jello-y at that point but we made it back to the main ruins in about 40 minutes. Our main motivation at that point was food since after three hours of intense hiking we did not have near enough in our systems.
After some seriously overpriced sandwiches, we headed back to the ruins to get some more pictures that we had wanted and just take it all in for a little longer. Around 1:00, we said our goodbyes to Machu Picchu and loaded the bus back to Aguas Calientes. We picked up our stuff from the hostel, went to a cafe to read and hang out for a bit, and then did some browsing in the markets before heading back to the train station for our return to Cusco.
After our 4 hour journey to Cusco, we arrived back at about 9pm and showered and got ready for bed after a couple of long, exhausting days. It was beyond worth it though. We all agreed that Huyanapicchu was the best hike we´ve ever done in our lives and don´t know when or where we could top it at this point. Overall, our two days at Machu Picchu were some of the most rewarding and fulfilling days we´ve ever experienced. I still can´t believe that we actually did it, so good thing there´s proof in pictures to affirm it for myself. We´re some lucky ladies to say the least.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Meant to Live
We awoke bright and early on Monday morning at 4am so that we could catch the first bus to Machu Picchu at 5.30. We were determined to see the sunrise and it felt like Christmas morning we were so excited so exhaustion wasn´t really a problem. We rode the but for about 30 minutes up the switchbacks and entered the park at about 6am. Lizzy started using her handheld camera to film our initial reactions and we were surprised that we were almost instantly at the ruins, we thought that there would be more of a hike.
We climbed a bit more to get the view from above to catch the sunrise, and awestruck doesn´t begin to describe it. As cliche as it sounds, words can´t really describe the scenery. Not only are the ruins spectacular, the landscape surrounding it is beyond incredible. It´s so serene, surreal, and there´s and overwhelming feeling of saftey sitting there trying to take it all in. After a hard year, I felt so blessed to be somewhere so beautiful. It was a humbling experience to say the least.
We hung out at the ruins for awhile and then Chels and I walked over to the Incan bridge to check it out. Our friends from Camiri Sandro and Betsey had told us about a really cool rock overlooking the cliffs there so we were excited for a photo-op and to see more of the mountains. After about another hour or so we headed back down to the entrance to meet our tour guide at 8.45. We were all excited to learn more about the history of the land and the amazing people who built all of this.
After a little confusion finding one another, we finally started our tour at about 9.00 and walked down through the ruins learning all about the architecture and history. Our guide was super enthusiastic and we really enjoyed hearing everything he had to teach us. The Incans were seriously impressive, that was definitely our take-away from our time with him. (Lucky us, we were the only three on our tour as well so we got to go at our own pace.)
Once we completed our tour, we walked over to the Sun Gate, which is part of the Incan trail and sits high above the ruins on one side on Montaña Machu Picchu. It was quite the climb, especially witht the altitude, but we had our coca leaves and considered it training for Huyana Picchu the next day. It was well worth it too since the view from the top is incredible. When we finished our hike, we headed back down and spent a couple more hours just enjoying the ruins and taking in the view, which I don´t think I could ever tire of. At about 2 or 3 pm, we were ready to hop on a bus after our long day to grab a good meal and rest up for our hike the next day.
It was dumping rain when we got back to Aguas Calientes, (so my new catch phrase became no Aguas Calientes, Aguas Frio! due to the pouring rain and freezing showers at our hostel, but anywho) so we were excited to go to a restaurant for a nice warm meal.We treated ourselves a bit and went to a really nice sit down place and enjoyed ourselves quite a bit. It was worth the splurge and totally necessary to refuel.
We braved the monsoon status rains for the walk back to our hostel and bundled up for a night in of reading and early sleep. We indulged in some Peruvian junk food from a conveniece store and hung out in our room until bed time at about 7.30. We´d been up since 4 and had the same wake up call the next morning for Huyana Picchu, so we relished in the sleep and were super excited to head back the next day for our big hike.
We climbed a bit more to get the view from above to catch the sunrise, and awestruck doesn´t begin to describe it. As cliche as it sounds, words can´t really describe the scenery. Not only are the ruins spectacular, the landscape surrounding it is beyond incredible. It´s so serene, surreal, and there´s and overwhelming feeling of saftey sitting there trying to take it all in. After a hard year, I felt so blessed to be somewhere so beautiful. It was a humbling experience to say the least.
We hung out at the ruins for awhile and then Chels and I walked over to the Incan bridge to check it out. Our friends from Camiri Sandro and Betsey had told us about a really cool rock overlooking the cliffs there so we were excited for a photo-op and to see more of the mountains. After about another hour or so we headed back down to the entrance to meet our tour guide at 8.45. We were all excited to learn more about the history of the land and the amazing people who built all of this.
After a little confusion finding one another, we finally started our tour at about 9.00 and walked down through the ruins learning all about the architecture and history. Our guide was super enthusiastic and we really enjoyed hearing everything he had to teach us. The Incans were seriously impressive, that was definitely our take-away from our time with him. (Lucky us, we were the only three on our tour as well so we got to go at our own pace.)
Once we completed our tour, we walked over to the Sun Gate, which is part of the Incan trail and sits high above the ruins on one side on Montaña Machu Picchu. It was quite the climb, especially witht the altitude, but we had our coca leaves and considered it training for Huyana Picchu the next day. It was well worth it too since the view from the top is incredible. When we finished our hike, we headed back down and spent a couple more hours just enjoying the ruins and taking in the view, which I don´t think I could ever tire of. At about 2 or 3 pm, we were ready to hop on a bus after our long day to grab a good meal and rest up for our hike the next day.
It was dumping rain when we got back to Aguas Calientes, (so my new catch phrase became no Aguas Calientes, Aguas Frio! due to the pouring rain and freezing showers at our hostel, but anywho) so we were excited to go to a restaurant for a nice warm meal.We treated ourselves a bit and went to a really nice sit down place and enjoyed ourselves quite a bit. It was worth the splurge and totally necessary to refuel.
We braved the monsoon status rains for the walk back to our hostel and bundled up for a night in of reading and early sleep. We indulged in some Peruvian junk food from a conveniece store and hung out in our room until bed time at about 7.30. We´d been up since 4 and had the same wake up call the next morning for Huyana Picchu, so we relished in the sleep and were super excited to head back the next day for our big hike.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Just Around the Riverbend
We arrived in Cusco a couple days ago to our hostel Pariwana. All of us were super stoked because the vibe and amenities and everything were fantastic. We were just using it as a stop over for the day but after our other adventures we'll go back for five.
We mostly had a low key night, went to a market with our new friend tourist Tom and had a dinner at the hostel before going to bed to prepare for our early morning.
We were picked up at 8:30 in the morning by Willy our guide for white water rafting. After about a 90 minute drive we made it to the Sacred River Valley where we were briefed for safety and wet-suited up. Rafting was so much fun, super chill floating when we weren't in the rapids and crazy but awesome in them. Willy our guide was super sarcastic and friendly too.
He let us jump off a bridge into the rapids which was freezing but amazing. He had other games for us along the way too including our "baptism" since is was our first time rafting which involved jumping out of the boat and floating down the rapids for the last bit. Again, freezing, but totally worth it.
After we had changed we had a lovely lunch with our guides who then dropped us off at our hostel in Ollantaytambo. It's a beautiful quaint little city with Incan ruins and cobblestone like streets. Our hostel Casa de Wow! is run by a precious couple named Winn & Wow, she's American and he's Peruvian.
We made a couple friends and had a nice dinner at a really great pizza place, then stopped by a local bar to try a pisco sour, which is super typical around here. After that we turned in for the night and woke early this morning for breakfast and exploring the town a bit.
We did a little shopping around the local market and had a lovely lunch at a local cafe that benefits children in the region. We also hiked some ruins right behind our hostel which was incredible. It's a little more difficult in the altitude but nothing too crazy; and it's totally worth it. It's so surreal to think about how long they have been there and where they placed them on the mountains without modern tools. And this was just a warm-up to Macchu Pichu!
We're now on a train headed to Aquas Calientes a small tourist town near Macchu Pichu, and then tomorrow we hike the ruins! Can't wait.
We mostly had a low key night, went to a market with our new friend tourist Tom and had a dinner at the hostel before going to bed to prepare for our early morning.
We were picked up at 8:30 in the morning by Willy our guide for white water rafting. After about a 90 minute drive we made it to the Sacred River Valley where we were briefed for safety and wet-suited up. Rafting was so much fun, super chill floating when we weren't in the rapids and crazy but awesome in them. Willy our guide was super sarcastic and friendly too.
He let us jump off a bridge into the rapids which was freezing but amazing. He had other games for us along the way too including our "baptism" since is was our first time rafting which involved jumping out of the boat and floating down the rapids for the last bit. Again, freezing, but totally worth it.
After we had changed we had a lovely lunch with our guides who then dropped us off at our hostel in Ollantaytambo. It's a beautiful quaint little city with Incan ruins and cobblestone like streets. Our hostel Casa de Wow! is run by a precious couple named Winn & Wow, she's American and he's Peruvian.
We made a couple friends and had a nice dinner at a really great pizza place, then stopped by a local bar to try a pisco sour, which is super typical around here. After that we turned in for the night and woke early this morning for breakfast and exploring the town a bit.
We did a little shopping around the local market and had a lovely lunch at a local cafe that benefits children in the region. We also hiked some ruins right behind our hostel which was incredible. It's a little more difficult in the altitude but nothing too crazy; and it's totally worth it. It's so surreal to think about how long they have been there and where they placed them on the mountains without modern tools. And this was just a warm-up to Macchu Pichu!
We're now on a train headed to Aquas Calientes a small tourist town near Macchu Pichu, and then tomorrow we hike the ruins! Can't wait.
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