This will be brief.
We ended up spending 4 days instead of 2 in Cuzco due to the transportation system being on strike. It really sucked for one day, then God sent us some Chilean friends at the hostel to hang out with and play Power Uno with, which was fantastic. Wednesday we visited some more ruins and then rode horses, watched a weird native dance show, then got our things ready to leave. The bus from Cuzco to Puno was delayed for 2 hours because 18 of the seats had been sold twice, first to Peruvians then to foreigners, and the Peruvians were the ones who weren´t being let on. They were outside the bus yelling, hitting the doors, pointing fingers, and waving their tickets in the air for nearly two hours, and the person whose fault it was was nowhere to be found. So the foreigners on the bus griped about the Peruvians, the Peruvians griped about the foreigners, and eventually it was resolved and we all made it to Puno, albeit 2 hours late.
Puno and Lake Titicaca are very very cold, due to the high altitude and the fact that the water keeps things chilly. We killed some time at a hotel in Puno before departing at 9am in our tour boat for the famous floating islands. It was weird to be in a tour, since we are so used to doing everything on our own, trying to be the least touristy tourists possible. But in this case we had to be tourists, we had to listen to our guide give overly-animated explanations of everything, take pictures from our cushy seats in the boat. And it was good. The floating islands were really cool, very interesting. Amazing to think that people live on islands made of reeds, that their daily life happens there. From there we went to Amantaní, a non-floating island where we spent that night. We stayed with host families because there are no hotels on this island. I can´t really write in much detail about all we did there due to time limitations... but it was awesome and weird and cold and delicious.
The next day we boated over to the island Taquile, which was also beautiful and slightly less exciting, mostly because we were tired from traveling. Made it back to Puno that afternoon, and had a lovely evening of doing very little. That included me going to bed at 9pm.
**side note -- some sheep just walked past the window outside, bleeting and baah-ing vehemently.**
Today we´re going to Copacabana (which is on the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca), hopefully to hang out on Isla del Sol and Isla de la Luna, and we´ll spend the night there. Sunday afternoon back to Puno, kill time there, then overnight bus to Tacna. In the afternoon we take a taxi from Tacna to Arica, and at 7:40 fly from Arica to Santiago, then hopefully catch the last bus from Santiago to Valparaiso. Then FINALLY, we´ll be in Chile, in Francisco´s house, snuggled up with Maria Paz, eating empanadas de manzana. Yessssssssssssssssss.....
We´re ready to be back.. tired from traveling, but doing all we can to enjoy every minute of this part of the trip. Today in Bolivia and Peru. 2 days to Chile. 7 days to Texas.
Jul 25, 2009
Jul 20, 2009
bah
just a short update...
we´re leaving Cuzco today, thank God. It´s touristville and wearing me out. I feel like everything is a ploy to rip me off and charge me too much for something because my skin is white. We bought "tourist passes" that are supposed to get us into all the cool sites, but they it only includes a few, most of which are too far away or not worth seeing. We did use the pass to see some ruins and one (lame) muesum... Hopefully today we´re going to hike to some other ruins on top of a mountain. It´s beautiful here, but i don´t like this overwhelming feeling of touristy-ness. To be honest, I´m homesick for Chile. I think we both are. I want to be in Maria Paz´s house, making Pisco Sour, watching movies, laughing at everything and at nothing. We actually tried to see if we could move our flight to Santiago up to 3 or 4 days earlier, but we can´t. So we´re pushing through, hanging on to hope that God has a plan for this... there´s a reason we´re here for 7 more days... Not sure what it is yet. But I´m glad we´re getting out of Cuzco.
Tonight we´ll take an overnight bus to Puno, and after arriving at 6am we´ll take a boat to visit 3 of the famous floating islands on Lake Titicaca, spending the night on the third one with a family in their house, where they will cook us "typical" dinner and breakfast, and we´ll get to hang out at some kind of festival or celebration or dance party or something. I think it will be sweet. We went ahead and planned this all out with a tourist agency, so we dont have to think about making plans for the next couple of days, they´re already done and paid for. ($50 usd for the 9 hour bus to puno, the boat rides to all islands, lunch, dinner, breakfast, and the boat ride back to the mainland the next day. ) From there we´ll chill around Lake Titicaca for a while, or maybe head over to La Paz. Not sure. Please pray for our plans... that our homesickness won´t blind us to what´s in store for this week.
That´s all for now. I´m going to try to find some ice cream to make me feel better.
we´re leaving Cuzco today, thank God. It´s touristville and wearing me out. I feel like everything is a ploy to rip me off and charge me too much for something because my skin is white. We bought "tourist passes" that are supposed to get us into all the cool sites, but they it only includes a few, most of which are too far away or not worth seeing. We did use the pass to see some ruins and one (lame) muesum... Hopefully today we´re going to hike to some other ruins on top of a mountain. It´s beautiful here, but i don´t like this overwhelming feeling of touristy-ness. To be honest, I´m homesick for Chile. I think we both are. I want to be in Maria Paz´s house, making Pisco Sour, watching movies, laughing at everything and at nothing. We actually tried to see if we could move our flight to Santiago up to 3 or 4 days earlier, but we can´t. So we´re pushing through, hanging on to hope that God has a plan for this... there´s a reason we´re here for 7 more days... Not sure what it is yet. But I´m glad we´re getting out of Cuzco.
Tonight we´ll take an overnight bus to Puno, and after arriving at 6am we´ll take a boat to visit 3 of the famous floating islands on Lake Titicaca, spending the night on the third one with a family in their house, where they will cook us "typical" dinner and breakfast, and we´ll get to hang out at some kind of festival or celebration or dance party or something. I think it will be sweet. We went ahead and planned this all out with a tourist agency, so we dont have to think about making plans for the next couple of days, they´re already done and paid for. ($50 usd for the 9 hour bus to puno, the boat rides to all islands, lunch, dinner, breakfast, and the boat ride back to the mainland the next day. ) From there we´ll chill around Lake Titicaca for a while, or maybe head over to La Paz. Not sure. Please pray for our plans... that our homesickness won´t blind us to what´s in store for this week.
That´s all for now. I´m going to try to find some ice cream to make me feel better.
Jul 18, 2009
Cuzco, Peru
Cabana was amazing, restorative, and requires way more thought and care in writing about it than i have time or patience for right now. But just know it was perfect in every way.
Friday afternoon we had bought tickets for the 3 o´clock combi to Puquio, but didn´t get around to leaving until about 40 minutes later because that time was spent trying to get everyone to fit, but mostly arguing about whose fault it was that we were trying to fit 22 instead of the customary 18 passengers in the 15-passenger van. Finally some sort of agreement was reached, and we took off, myself plastered against the window by a dozing old man and Molly sitting precariously on half of her butt in the front of the bus. Then along the way we picked up one more old man from the side of the road. The trip was long, and there was no chance of changing positions, but the scenery was more than enough to distract me from all of that. we dipped in and out of valley after valley, passing ancient chacras and roaming llamas with colorful tags hanging from curious ears. We arrived in Puquio after dark, with very little certainty that we would find a bus to Cuzco, but full of hope. The lady at the bus station told me the first 4 were all full, and all that was left were the cama style tickets (bed) that cost 130 soles (about $43). This is outrageously expensive for Peru, and I didn´t like her attitude, so we headed out hoping that there might be other options. Around the corner, on the less pretty side of the street, was the bus terminal that peruvians leave from. They had tickets for 40 soles each (about $13), which was much better. just as we were about to pay, the electricity went out and stayed out until after we left. But Peruvians are always ready, and pulled out their little candles to light up everything form the bus terminal desk to the chicha vendors on the street to the restaurant down the street where we got some bread and cheese and tea.
As soon as we started loading onto the bus we knew it would be a different kind of adventure -- people were crowding the entrance, pushing and shoving to get to the door, to sell tea or bread to the passengers, to try to sell tickets, to try to get on for cheap... then as we found our way to our seats we were pushed and shoved from side to side, overwhelmed by the smell of urine. A man came walking down the aisle after a little while looking for excuses to kick or talk down to the people on the bus, whether for carrying alcohol on with them, for smelling like llamas, or other things that i didnt understand. After an unfortunate incident with the bathroom on board, we took our sleepy pills, hugged our valuables close, and eventually fell asleep between the snakey curves of the mountainous roads. i woke around 5, just in time to watch the sunrise over the andes outside the window, which was beautiful. we started descending into Cuzco around 7, and it was nothing like what i expected. not that i´m really sure what it is i was expecting... I think the only image i had of Cuzco was from the Motorcycle Diaries when that little boy is taking them on a tour if the city, telling the stories behiind the massive rocks laid so perfectly by the Inkas hundreds of years ago. i´m not sure what to make of Cuzco yet... it´s beautiful in a very unique way, and we´ve so far only been in the touristy section. Our hotel is about $7 each a night, which is a little more than I wanted to pay, but the hostel owner is incredibly sweet, as are her two dogs and cat that wander around the patio making friends with the guests. We´ve been wanding around a bit, looking for places less touristy that wont completely rip us off... You can rest assured that anything catered to gringos (clean, tidy, prices nicely marked, lots of space, no garbage on the floor) will charge you double for anything -- food, stuff....
Sooo... not really sure what we´re doing here. Not going to do Machu Picchu this trip for several reasons (but that just means i´ll have to come back some day) and we´re trying to travel really cheaply... which is hard to do here. Hopefully some camping in the Sacred Valley is in our future, and visits to other ruins that are closer by and cheaper. Then maybe on to Lake Titicaca, although I´ve heard its freakishly cold there.
Thats about it... spent too much time interneting already. Ready to go explore some more. Love to all, keep your comments coming.
Friday afternoon we had bought tickets for the 3 o´clock combi to Puquio, but didn´t get around to leaving until about 40 minutes later because that time was spent trying to get everyone to fit, but mostly arguing about whose fault it was that we were trying to fit 22 instead of the customary 18 passengers in the 15-passenger van. Finally some sort of agreement was reached, and we took off, myself plastered against the window by a dozing old man and Molly sitting precariously on half of her butt in the front of the bus. Then along the way we picked up one more old man from the side of the road. The trip was long, and there was no chance of changing positions, but the scenery was more than enough to distract me from all of that. we dipped in and out of valley after valley, passing ancient chacras and roaming llamas with colorful tags hanging from curious ears. We arrived in Puquio after dark, with very little certainty that we would find a bus to Cuzco, but full of hope. The lady at the bus station told me the first 4 were all full, and all that was left were the cama style tickets (bed) that cost 130 soles (about $43). This is outrageously expensive for Peru, and I didn´t like her attitude, so we headed out hoping that there might be other options. Around the corner, on the less pretty side of the street, was the bus terminal that peruvians leave from. They had tickets for 40 soles each (about $13), which was much better. just as we were about to pay, the electricity went out and stayed out until after we left. But Peruvians are always ready, and pulled out their little candles to light up everything form the bus terminal desk to the chicha vendors on the street to the restaurant down the street where we got some bread and cheese and tea.
As soon as we started loading onto the bus we knew it would be a different kind of adventure -- people were crowding the entrance, pushing and shoving to get to the door, to sell tea or bread to the passengers, to try to sell tickets, to try to get on for cheap... then as we found our way to our seats we were pushed and shoved from side to side, overwhelmed by the smell of urine. A man came walking down the aisle after a little while looking for excuses to kick or talk down to the people on the bus, whether for carrying alcohol on with them, for smelling like llamas, or other things that i didnt understand. After an unfortunate incident with the bathroom on board, we took our sleepy pills, hugged our valuables close, and eventually fell asleep between the snakey curves of the mountainous roads. i woke around 5, just in time to watch the sunrise over the andes outside the window, which was beautiful. we started descending into Cuzco around 7, and it was nothing like what i expected. not that i´m really sure what it is i was expecting... I think the only image i had of Cuzco was from the Motorcycle Diaries when that little boy is taking them on a tour if the city, telling the stories behiind the massive rocks laid so perfectly by the Inkas hundreds of years ago. i´m not sure what to make of Cuzco yet... it´s beautiful in a very unique way, and we´ve so far only been in the touristy section. Our hotel is about $7 each a night, which is a little more than I wanted to pay, but the hostel owner is incredibly sweet, as are her two dogs and cat that wander around the patio making friends with the guests. We´ve been wanding around a bit, looking for places less touristy that wont completely rip us off... You can rest assured that anything catered to gringos (clean, tidy, prices nicely marked, lots of space, no garbage on the floor) will charge you double for anything -- food, stuff....
Sooo... not really sure what we´re doing here. Not going to do Machu Picchu this trip for several reasons (but that just means i´ll have to come back some day) and we´re trying to travel really cheaply... which is hard to do here. Hopefully some camping in the Sacred Valley is in our future, and visits to other ruins that are closer by and cheaper. Then maybe on to Lake Titicaca, although I´ve heard its freakishly cold there.
Thats about it... spent too much time interneting already. Ready to go explore some more. Love to all, keep your comments coming.
Jul 15, 2009
Jul 11, 2009
in this episode: octopus, R2D2, and shady bus ticket deals
My first blog from Peru.
I left Santiago on a plane yesterday morning and arrived 3 short hours later in Arica, the northernmost city in Chile. It was amazing, like out of a dream. The tan sand and the pale blue sky approach each other towards the infinity of the horizon, only distrubed by the black rocks of the coast to one side. I expected R2D2 to come out from behind a rock at any moment. We took a taxi from there to cross the border, the driver was very helpful in telling us what to do and what not to do. Crossing the border was kind of a joke -- we filled out some paper, put our backpacks through a scanner (although i´m quite certain they didnt even look at the scren as they went through) then went on our way. In the place where we changed our chilean pesos to peruvian soles I felt all the warnings i´ve heard about how dangerous Peru is for the past month whirling through my mind, magnified by dozens of pairs of eyes focused on my gringa-ness. i just knew that at any minute i would be pickpocketed or assaulted or something. but none of these things happened. When we went to buy the bus tickets, the man standing outside the office said he could cut us a deal, and not quite sure what we were agreeing to we got the tickets. we got them for 30 soles less than we had thought, which he reminded us to thank him for with a propina (tip) later. only slightly shady. so we went exploring and to find food in the centro, stopping at a small restaurant recommended by our taxi driver. we ordered something whose name we didnt recognize, hoping for our taste buds to be welcomed to the typical flavors of Peru. Turns out we ordered some kind of seafood soup with octopus. The waiter asked if that´s really what we wanted, and in the spirit of adventures we shrugged our shoulders and said "sure". much to our delight, it was delicious, and we had a good laugh at the ridiculousness of us eating octopus in Peru. The waiter was eager to answer our questions about Peru, explaining the statues and fountains out in the plaza, even throwing in a bit of Peruvian history.
Back at the bus station we had bit of a scare when we thought Molly had lost her wallet (complete with all her money, credit cards, and bus ticket), but we realized after much cursing and almost-tears that it was, in fact, wedged between her butt and backpack. See molly´s blog for a more detailed description. http://blogitademollita.blogspot.com
the 13 hour bus ride was not bad at all, except that my ears have still not popped and the adjustment to pressure is causing them to hurt. but no tummy problems, the octopus went down well. we have been blessed already with several people who are looking out for us... The taxi driver, the guy sitting in front of us on the bus who we chatted with, the lady behind us on the bus who loaned us her sweater to use as a blanket as we slept, and the woman in Nasca who helped get us to the centro and point us in the direction of a hostel. God is looking after us, and my stomach is filled with butterflies and re-remembering this sensation Chile was the unknown, when we didn´t know what "alfajores" were, or couldnt understand the chliean accent. Now several people here have asked if we ourselves are Chilean. I´m loving this country, and am excited to get to know it more. AAAAAND i´m excited that tomorrow we´re going to see KIM!!!! it will be a sweet reunion.
so, for now we´re going in search of some food and adventure, then resting up before another day of travel tomorrow.
please comment to let me know we´re not traveling alone!!! i love bringing you guys along with me everywhere i go.
much much love,
catie
I left Santiago on a plane yesterday morning and arrived 3 short hours later in Arica, the northernmost city in Chile. It was amazing, like out of a dream. The tan sand and the pale blue sky approach each other towards the infinity of the horizon, only distrubed by the black rocks of the coast to one side. I expected R2D2 to come out from behind a rock at any moment. We took a taxi from there to cross the border, the driver was very helpful in telling us what to do and what not to do. Crossing the border was kind of a joke -- we filled out some paper, put our backpacks through a scanner (although i´m quite certain they didnt even look at the scren as they went through) then went on our way. In the place where we changed our chilean pesos to peruvian soles I felt all the warnings i´ve heard about how dangerous Peru is for the past month whirling through my mind, magnified by dozens of pairs of eyes focused on my gringa-ness. i just knew that at any minute i would be pickpocketed or assaulted or something. but none of these things happened. When we went to buy the bus tickets, the man standing outside the office said he could cut us a deal, and not quite sure what we were agreeing to we got the tickets. we got them for 30 soles less than we had thought, which he reminded us to thank him for with a propina (tip) later. only slightly shady. so we went exploring and to find food in the centro, stopping at a small restaurant recommended by our taxi driver. we ordered something whose name we didnt recognize, hoping for our taste buds to be welcomed to the typical flavors of Peru. Turns out we ordered some kind of seafood soup with octopus. The waiter asked if that´s really what we wanted, and in the spirit of adventures we shrugged our shoulders and said "sure". much to our delight, it was delicious, and we had a good laugh at the ridiculousness of us eating octopus in Peru. The waiter was eager to answer our questions about Peru, explaining the statues and fountains out in the plaza, even throwing in a bit of Peruvian history.
Back at the bus station we had bit of a scare when we thought Molly had lost her wallet (complete with all her money, credit cards, and bus ticket), but we realized after much cursing and almost-tears that it was, in fact, wedged between her butt and backpack. See molly´s blog for a more detailed description. http://blogitademollita.blogspot.com
the 13 hour bus ride was not bad at all, except that my ears have still not popped and the adjustment to pressure is causing them to hurt. but no tummy problems, the octopus went down well. we have been blessed already with several people who are looking out for us... The taxi driver, the guy sitting in front of us on the bus who we chatted with, the lady behind us on the bus who loaned us her sweater to use as a blanket as we slept, and the woman in Nasca who helped get us to the centro and point us in the direction of a hostel. God is looking after us, and my stomach is filled with butterflies and re-remembering this sensation Chile was the unknown, when we didn´t know what "alfajores" were, or couldnt understand the chliean accent. Now several people here have asked if we ourselves are Chilean. I´m loving this country, and am excited to get to know it more. AAAAAND i´m excited that tomorrow we´re going to see KIM!!!! it will be a sweet reunion.
so, for now we´re going in search of some food and adventure, then resting up before another day of travel tomorrow.
please comment to let me know we´re not traveling alone!!! i love bringing you guys along with me everywhere i go.
much much love,
catie
Jul 9, 2009
on the road again, and in the air
the churning stomach, the scattered brain, the sleepless nights. it's travel time again.
no matter how much i travel, each time my departure is preceeded by an interlude of anxiousness that takes various forms. this week has flown by, filled with final preparations and the first of a large collection of goodbyes. molly's family arrived last saturday, so our preliminary goodbyes have been accompanied by a whirwind of hello's for them. Francisco was in town all last week up until tuesday, so we were cramming in as much Fancy Francy time as we could -- going out for coffee, cooking, sleeping over to watch movies all night. molly and i have truly become members of his family, and i couldn't be happier to count myself as a sister and daughter to these wonderful people. it really is an amazingly wonderful thing to have all the families i have -- my parents, my host mom here in chile, francisco's family, molly's family, maya's family, and the list goes on. i am truly very loved. **contented sigh**
yesterday i went to a nearby beach town to meet up with a couple of the men-in-tights friends for the day to say our final goodbyes. We played with star fish and other curious sea creatures in the tide pools until the grand finale played by the sun in its glorious descent into the ocean. We walked along the rocky beach, steered by the beating winds, until the last hue of orange faded into a deep navy abyss. by the time the stars were filling the sky we had walked to the next town down the road, and laid on the edge of a cliff by the ocean to look at the stars, sharing stories about the imaginary games we used to play as little kids. it was perfect and relaxing and for a few hours my anxiousness subsided into peaceful bliss. we ate pie and talked about everything -- but mostly about God and about Love -- until the wee hours of the night, and I felt as if I were hanging out with old friends rather than with two guys I had only spent time with 5 or 6 times and all in the past couple of months.
so here's the plan, or at least, the vague idea we have as to what we might be doing for the next 3 weeks.
*Friday - fly from Santiago to Arica (the northernmost city in Chile) and take a taxi from there to Tacna, the border city on the Peru side. Then hopefully find a bus to Nazca.
* hang out in Nazca for a day or two or however long seems right
*take some combis and busses and who knows what else through the mountains until we arrive in Cabana with KIMMELA!!!!
*hang out, laugh a lot, love life, love Kim.
*mozy on over in the direction of Cuzco
*maybe go to Lake Titicaca?
*maybe go to La Paz?
*keep on loving life
*make it back to Arica on July 27, fly from there back to Santiago
*hang out in Valpo with MariaPaz for a couple of days, have a despedida with all our friends
*july 30 our plane leaves Santiago in the night, arrive in Dallas early the next morning, July 31.
*hug my family.
*eat mexican food.
i'll be in nac for a week or so, then austin, maybe dallas, maybe nac again... who knows. i'm all chilean when it comes to making plans, it would seem.
and there you have it: a very scattered and only minorly interesting last blog before I leave Chile and head into Peru. Keep us in your prayers for traveling safety, protection from bichos, that we would be attentive to what God's itinerary is for us, and for new adventures. i will have much more limited access to all modes of communication, but it is so refreshing when traveling to read messages from home when i do get a chance to do so. so please, comment away.
no matter how much i travel, each time my departure is preceeded by an interlude of anxiousness that takes various forms. this week has flown by, filled with final preparations and the first of a large collection of goodbyes. molly's family arrived last saturday, so our preliminary goodbyes have been accompanied by a whirwind of hello's for them. Francisco was in town all last week up until tuesday, so we were cramming in as much Fancy Francy time as we could -- going out for coffee, cooking, sleeping over to watch movies all night. molly and i have truly become members of his family, and i couldn't be happier to count myself as a sister and daughter to these wonderful people. it really is an amazingly wonderful thing to have all the families i have -- my parents, my host mom here in chile, francisco's family, molly's family, maya's family, and the list goes on. i am truly very loved. **contented sigh**
yesterday i went to a nearby beach town to meet up with a couple of the men-in-tights friends for the day to say our final goodbyes. We played with star fish and other curious sea creatures in the tide pools until the grand finale played by the sun in its glorious descent into the ocean. We walked along the rocky beach, steered by the beating winds, until the last hue of orange faded into a deep navy abyss. by the time the stars were filling the sky we had walked to the next town down the road, and laid on the edge of a cliff by the ocean to look at the stars, sharing stories about the imaginary games we used to play as little kids. it was perfect and relaxing and for a few hours my anxiousness subsided into peaceful bliss. we ate pie and talked about everything -- but mostly about God and about Love -- until the wee hours of the night, and I felt as if I were hanging out with old friends rather than with two guys I had only spent time with 5 or 6 times and all in the past couple of months.
so here's the plan, or at least, the vague idea we have as to what we might be doing for the next 3 weeks.
*Friday - fly from Santiago to Arica (the northernmost city in Chile) and take a taxi from there to Tacna, the border city on the Peru side. Then hopefully find a bus to Nazca.
* hang out in Nazca for a day or two or however long seems right
*take some combis and busses and who knows what else through the mountains until we arrive in Cabana with KIMMELA!!!!
*hang out, laugh a lot, love life, love Kim.
*mozy on over in the direction of Cuzco
*maybe go to Lake Titicaca?
*maybe go to La Paz?
*keep on loving life
*make it back to Arica on July 27, fly from there back to Santiago
*hang out in Valpo with MariaPaz for a couple of days, have a despedida with all our friends
*july 30 our plane leaves Santiago in the night, arrive in Dallas early the next morning, July 31.
*hug my family.
*eat mexican food.
i'll be in nac for a week or so, then austin, maybe dallas, maybe nac again... who knows. i'm all chilean when it comes to making plans, it would seem.
and there you have it: a very scattered and only minorly interesting last blog before I leave Chile and head into Peru. Keep us in your prayers for traveling safety, protection from bichos, that we would be attentive to what God's itinerary is for us, and for new adventures. i will have much more limited access to all modes of communication, but it is so refreshing when traveling to read messages from home when i do get a chance to do so. so please, comment away.
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