Ollantaytambo - April 2012

The starting point for the 4 day trek to Machu Picchu!! But before we got there, we made a couple of stop-offs. First for lunch, at a really nice house of a very rich family who were kind enough to open there doors to us. There house was so awesome, it even had a tree growing inside that they had built the house around! So cool! The backyard was so much fun to explore, there was a parrot, kittens, horses, llamas & bunny rabbits.

On our way out, we found some kids playing in the street who we gave stick on tattoos, balloons & polaroids to, they were so chuffed with the polaroids which made me feel slightly better for having dragged the camera all around the world, glad it was making some kids happy. We then went to try some local chicha (which I do not like, at all, so sat out of), see how honey and local pottery is made.

Once we actually reached Ollantaytambo we were so delighted at the tiny town. It was adorable, and one of the things that really added to the oh-so-cute nature of the town was a stream of water which ran through it, which streets were built around, and which popped up from underground when you least expected it. When we reached our hotel, the stream ran right past our front door, and to quote Rory “Oh! There’s a little girl peeing in it!” but let me tell you, she was more than just “peeing” and was promptly shooed away by the hotel staff. Maybe not so cute after all.

We took the evening as a last ditch effort to train for the 4 day hike we were about to embark on. Rory, Callum, Natalie, Brett, Gary, Max, Richard & I hiked up to some ruins, where we watched the sun set on the last day before our massive journey to one of the 7 wonders of the world. Slightly nervous, totally excited. I do not know how I got any sleep that night. (perhaps iit was the knowledge it would be my last sleep in a proper bed for some time).

Cusco (and the Sacred Valley)

I was so ill on the way to Cusco, and for the couple of nights we were there, that I did not take a single photograph.Cusco was really cool, despite being ill-zilla. I really like the narrow stone-paved streets, the gringo-run cafe’s and pubs, and the general vibe of tourists on their way to Machu Picchu.
I bought a pair of leggings, a t-shirt & some highly fashion conscience (NOT!) zip off hikers trousers. For the inka trail, obvs.
I came up with an easy way to remember how to spell Machu Picchu as well, by the way. Feel free to refer to this for all of your spelling needs (actually, just for your Machu Picchu spelling needs). The group ofen forgot how many ‘c’s were where. So I am proud to announce to you “one in the Machu, two in the Picchu”. Never forget that.
On our way out of Cusco, we drove through the Sacred Valley where we stopped to see some local women making hand-woven crafts from alpaca wool. I bought myself a purse, and my parents a table runner. Natalie bought a totally amazing sugar bowl for her parents, I was mucho jealous. I forgot to beat her up and steal it, and she’s in Canada now… maybe I still have time…

Colca Canyon (Chivay)

We travelled from Arequipa to the Colca Canyon by private bus, making a couple of really awesome stops along the way. We went Llama/Alpaca/Vicuna spotting, and I am proud to announce I can officially tell all 3 apart.

It was a pretty dangerous drive, the road was covered in black ice, and our van wasn’t exactly the fanciest. We actually came across a guy who’d driven his vehicle off the road and was proper stuck, although luckily not hurt at all.

At the very top off the moutain we stopped for some photos. We were 4,800m above sea level, and it was snowing. I built a stack of wishing stones - a tradition I continue - my wish has yet to come true though. More stacks, perhaps?

We stayed in a tiny little town called Chivay, in the Colca Canyon. It was raining, so we went to the local hot pools to keep warm, and that night we went out for dinner and a show which included a live Andean band, pan pipe etc, and some dancers. I got to dance with them which was both crude and a highlight. Next morning we set out across the valley to watch the early morning ‘Flight of the Condors’ (not to be confused with comedy band, Flight of the Conchords, but equally as amusing). It was pretty magnificent watching the giant birds coasting along on the streams of early morning air, and at one point they even flew direcly above our heads - huge vulturous beasts! Brett prooved expert condor spotter. The canyon itself is truely breathtaking. I cannot even describe it, look at my photos.

Arequipa

Arequipa is a pretty wee Colonial town at the foot of El Misti (the volcano, not the Pokemon character). The city just oozes Spanish Colonial charm, and is well known for housing a mummy of a 12 year old girl known as ’Juanita’ or ‘Ice Maiden’ who was killed as an offering to the Inca gods sometime between 1450 and 1480, and found in he Colca Canyon in 1995. HOWEVER… she was undergoing “restoration” when we were there, and unfortuntely we didn’t get the meet her. We went on a walking tour with Manny, who showed us the local markets where we bought some coca leaves to chew on for the Inka Trail (and being in altitude in general).
I bought a very 90’s blossom-esque hat, and did very little else in Arequipa.

OH! Except casually eat deep fried guinea pig! Totally disguisting, I know… but when in Peru. It tasted chewy and bland and was somewhere in between white chicken-like meat and something a little redder. Not something I’ll be going back for seconds for, and certainly not worth breaking my vegetarianism over.

Lima - March 2012

The capaital of Peru was exactly what I expected, a big city. When travelling I’m not the biggest fan of the cities, and tend to enjoy the smaller towns more. Lima was no exception. We arrived by bus in the evening and went to an average restaurant for dinner. The following morning Rory and I ventured solo to the markets where I picked up a new charm for my bracelet. It’s hard to explain, but is typical Peruvian and has a peice of green stone set in it.

One of the highlights of Lima was the cat park. That’s right folks, cat park. Park filled with cats. It’s so filled with cats there are literally signs in the park telling jerks not to dump their cats in the park. I wanted to take a picture holding as many cats as I could, but the one above is the best I did. Life regret.

We took a stroll down the waterfront as well, lots of tourist places renting surfboards, not alot of surf.

That evening we met up with most of the others (Richard, Natalie, Brett, Callum…) and took off to the fountain park thingee with light show. The light show was spectacular! Much better than I was expecting even. Then we fooled around in the fountains for a bit and went back into town. Another drinking session with our brand new tour leader, Manny, which we smartly cut short… there is rumour of the others getting in at 5am with stories as long as their arms. My story is that of sweet slumber and a freshed faced morning. Lima could easily have been left out for me, but not to fear, we’re off to some smaller towns very soon.

Pisco & Ballestas Islands - March 2012

The beauty of travelling with a tour group (Intrepid) is that you can just sit back, relax, and let awesome things happen all around you while barely lifting a finger. No organisation, no booking buses, hostels, reading guide books, struggling with language barriers, hell I barelly even know where we’re headed half the time! Plus, Intrepid already know the best things to do, especially when it comes to breaking up long bus trips. That’s what Pisco & The Ballestas Islands were I think, a good way to break up a loooooong trip to Nazca.

Pisco is (arguably) where the alcoholic beverage, Pisco, was created. The first pic above is of the cocktail “Pisco sour” and often comes free before meals, or maybe that was just another Intrepid perk. Either way, it tastes pretty good. We didn’t do anything in Pisco, except sleep, but the following day we went on a scenic boat tour of the Ballestas Islands in Paracas National Reserve.

Apparantly referred to as the ‘Galapagos of Peru’ the islands are a haven for wildlife, and we were lucky enough to get to see pelicans, red-footed boobies, sea lions and penguins.

 It was a really special trip, and just one of those times I have to pinch myself to beleive what I’m doing, and where I am. I just asked Rory what else I could possible say about the Islands and he replied “Teaming with life” haha a regular David Attenborough….

Nazca

On our way from Pisco to Nazca we made a couple of stop-offs. First to a winery to see how Pisco is made, and get slightly tipsy for our second stop-of which just so happened to be… SANDBOARDING!!!

We took Dune buggies to the site, and they seriously felt like rollercoasters. Up and down some of the largest sand dunes in the world at some amazing speeds. My favourite part is when the buggies drag themselves to the peak of a dune that is so high it eliminates all of horizon, then clumsily tosses itself over the edge, down gradients of sand you have to see to believe. I pretty much laughed and screamed the entire way.

The sandboarding itself was equally as fun and terrifyingly awesome. It’s really hard to tell how steep the sand dunes are when you’re surrounded by sand with no shadows, and no earth as far as the eye can see. Lying on the top of a dune (on a snowboard) and hurling yourself face forward, down, is so much more fun than I had imagined, and I was left wanting more. Unfortunately we had places to be, Nazca.

Nazca was kind of boring actually. Rory and I opted out of the plan ride to see the lines themselves, and mainly just bummed around trying to get cash out all day. The worst part was, we all went to the Planetarium (which I expected to enjoy!) and got bored to sleep by repeatition of information “the lines point to water/ sunrises/ line centres..” “the lines depict anthropomorphical figures..” Blah blah blah. Take me back to the dunes. For serious.

Huanchaco, Peru - March 2012

Two archaelogical site visits, Huaca del Sol y Luna & Chan Chan. The pics are of Huaca del Luna, however the following quote is from our tour guide, Janet, at Chan Chan. “Something interesting!”

Mancora, Peru - March 2012

Across the border, and into PERU!!! Mancora filled everyones blood with warmth an excitement. Beach, booze, babes and boards. We took one very messy night out (for which I am purposefully neglecting the photos of) and one super-fun-amazing-spastic fishing / snorkeling trip for which I am much more eager to share. We set out on a tiny ‘speed-boat’ (pffft!) with Max, Natalie and Callum - team sanity as I would now like to refer to them as, as that is what they provided me. We saw frigate-birds and boobies and sea turtles, and not to brag, but I totes caught the first fish…. not to brag.

 Oh, and I even braved my fear of murky waters and went snorkeling.

We made cerveche (raw fish deliciousness) out of our fishies on the boat and devoured every last little morsel, team sanity even let Callum eat some, despite his lack of fish catching. Although, to be fair to Call, he did hook plenty of fish, all of whom were keen on a dine ‘n’ dash situation, and none of whom made it to the surface.

Cuenca Ecuador - March 2012

A pretty wee city of inland Ecuador divided by a large river, I would not call Cuenca a ‘must-do’ but I’m certainly glad we did! We arrived at our hostel where we had a balcony which adjoined with Max & Garys room, as well as a charming neon blue sign reading ‘HOSTEL’ and an Ecuadorian flag out our window, one more intrusive than the other. We took a visit to the Panama Hat Factory (which as we discovered, is where original Panama Hats were made and shipped via the Panama canal - thus their name) and Rory bought a grey banded hat which the group decided made him look like Pete Dougherty. The following day Rory, Brett, Richard, Priya & I took an excursion to Cajas National Park for some more altitude training for Machu Picchu. Much to our disapointment we did not run into any elusive Spectacled Bears, however we were lucky enough to spot some Andean Condors. Cajas was a really beautiful walk and a much needed confidence booster after that wretched virgin hike. A bus then taxi ride later we wound up in Chordeleg, a silver mining town where I FINALLY bought a braclet for these charms I’ve been picking up along the way. Successful day all round, plus we are headed for some warmer climate…..(!)

Banos - Ecuador. March 2012

I had absolutely no predetermined ideas of Banos, no clue what to expect. To say I was pleasantly surprised would be an understatement. When we first got there Rory, Callum and I rode in the back of a ute to the hotel, which set us on a high I wouldn’t snap out of until the infamous walk to the virgin. Banos is in a valley, surrounded by hills, waterfalls and volcanoes. Whilst Rory did some Machu Picchu training up a volcano, I went with Andrea, Natalie and Priya for a manicure and massage. Worst manicure ever. Andreas birthday was on the second day, and we started it off with a horse ride into the mountains. I now realise I hate horses, and riding on their stupid horse backs. Horse jerks. Gary (a first time rider) was riding the stallion, and I had his mortal enemy. They fought all the way to the top, with a couple of really terrifying bucks and bites. I’m writing this more than one month later, and I still have a decent sized scar on my leg reminding me of my hatred of horses.

 The afternoon was much more pleasant. White water rafting. It was my first time rafting and we were only on grade 3+ rapids, but I had so much fun, I really surprised myself. Riding on the front of the raft was awesome, and I am really keen to get on some better/bigger rapids at some point.

I’m not going to go into that evening, except to say there was Mexican food, shots called “Bob Marleys” and lots of games of pool. I wasn’t feeling well so didn’t drink much, but I can’t say as much for the others. The following day was a training session for me and Rory, and was a massive wake-up for me with the altitude and my abilities. We decided to part from the group for a day and take a hike up the 692ish steps to the virgin who overlooks the town. 20 odd steps from the top I had a panic attack and felt really let down by my abilities as well as surprised by the effects of the altitude. I didn’t feel good about reaching the top, only more scared than ever by the 4 day hike on the Inka Trail, which was fast approaching. We spent the evening relaxing in the hot springs, to calm more than just my muscles.

I bought another charm for my travel bracelet on the last day, a little Ecuadrian man in a poncho, he’s rader than he sounds. Banos taught me alot about myself, and I can confidently say; I hate horses, I love rapids, I need to pace myself, and most of all, I’m not as much as a princess as I thought I was. Travelling (even the bad parts) is beginning to suit me - still holding onto my hair straighteners though!

The Amazon Jungle - Ecuador March 2012

We took a local bus from Tena to our Jungle Lodge where we stayed 2 nights. The bus dropped us off in the middle of a paved road, surrounded by lucious green plants, and trees. I assumed we must be transferring to another, to take us to a more remote area… but no, that was it! I was surprised that the road was paved, and there was public transport which took us to our lodge. However, as we discovered when trying to get back to Tena, public transport down this road was few and far between. Our lodge was so amazing. The room we were given overlooked the Napo River (see pic 1). The room itself was built of rustic wood and flax, and came complete with family of bats in the roof! HIGHLIGHT! No sooner had we dumped our gear, we set off to see some Jungle. We visited a local Quichua family who showed us how they pan for gold, blow pipe their prey, and make the local drink “Chica” out of yuca. I wasn’t an expert blow-piper but Rory managed to get the dart in the wooden parrot - win! On our way back to the lodge we stopped for a game of soccer. I opted to be cheerleader. No idea who won, but the prize was a 3litre bottle of coke. 3 litres. 

Day 2 was nothing short of AMAZING. We set of on a canoe/boat thing up the Napo 10 mins or so, then trekked about an hour through the secondry forest. The trek itself was so wet, we were thoroughly saturated. We saw termites (which to our disgust were used as insepct repellent by the local guide), millipedes, poisonous plants, ancient trees, and flowers brighter
than I’ve ever seen before. Our destination was a breathtaking waterfall - ‘La Cascada de Latas’. We had to join forces for a river crossing (see pics) to get there, and once we had it was definitly the coolest place I’ve ever been. Hands down. We sat behind the waterfall, being pelted by it’s heavy drops in fits of laughter. So much fun. Then we got to tube back to the lodge, I’d never done anything like that before but I enjoyed it so much more than I thought I would. Waterfall and tubing; best part of the trip so far. The afternoon was spent at a butterfly farm, and we even got the privledge of seeing a tarantula (or at least, his legs poking out from his nest on a pole - that counts, right?). The lodge had no electricity, but was lit by kerosene lamps. It was perfect, if a little less remote than we’d expected. Oh, how could I forget the jungle cat… Kristopherson, as I named him. The cutest little kitten ever, and the little gang of monkeys who saw us off in the morning.

So excited for what was yet to come…

Quito - March 2012

We flew to Quito from Madrid via Columbia, and arrived with illnesses coming out my nose, and sleep deprivation oozing from my eyes. The hostal we stayed at for the first couple of night was..ok. Nothing spesh. We spent the first couple of days walking round, we walked to the old city and back (we stayed in the Mariscal district) where I bought another charm to add to my still not yet existent bracelet, a tiny little hair comb, and the second day we walked to the Botanical Gardens and back.

Quito struck me as a very big city with not a whole lot going for it. Trucks and buses driving around emiting leaded petrol fumes directly into my lungs and pores, and extremely crowded with (short) people. We managed to find a good coffee spot though, and made ourselves at home eating all the fresh fruits our bodies could handle, after the preserved foods of Spain we were craving fresh fruit like crazy. The third day we were meeting up with the group, and were delighted with the mixture of Aussies, Brits & one token Canadian. Such a great group of people. We ventured out to Otavalo the next day with the crew, as it was a Saturday which meant market day! I love markets. I bought a llama jumper. Obvs. Then we missioned to the Ecuator line and spent waaaay too long taking ridiculous photographs of each other doing tacky tourist poses at the ecuator. Totes funnest. The food in Ecuador has proven most delicious, especially the rice and vegie plates, and the fresh fruits (and juices). The hostal we stayed at once with the group was so adorable! The pics above are of our room, it was so cute, but totally made for the vertically challenged. Sunday was rise and shine and off to the jungle…

Quote

“I think you can have anything that you want. Find someone who has a life that you want and figure out how they got it. Read books. Figure out what you’re passionate about. Pick your role models wisely. Find out what they did and do it.”

—	Lana Del Rey

Madrid (again) Feb-March 2012

I’m so far behind this blog, currently sitting in my hotel room in Banos (Ecuador) waiting for 9am to roll around so I can go horse riding into the mountains, then white water rafting in the afternoon. Something tells me this delay is going to be a theme. We are so busy, all of the time, there’s very little time in South America for updates. Unlike Madrid. When we arrived back from Barcelona Rory and I had a week of Spanish language lessons to attend. We also booked a homestay which provedinterestingto say the least. Sunday night we arrived at the homestay to realise the the lady we were staying with (Maria, but we will call her crazy lady) knew no english, and at this point we knew no Spanish. We attempted to banish ourselves to our rooms, to no avail. She would sniff us out wherever we were and attempt conversation. This got frustrating. Monday morning rolled round and we were off to school! We arrived at the school only to realise that the rest of the class began their lessons a week prior to us, and therefore were already having Spanish conversations with the teacher and each other. D’oh! We were lagging well behind on that first day. I literally cried for not knowing what our homework was. Monday = worst. It got better though and I now feel confident enough to understand Spanish, and speak some words. It was successful in that Rory and I know more Spanish than anyone else we’re hanging out with in Ecuador. (a bunch of Aussies, Brits and a Canadian - lovely crew!) Although we jumped at the chance to go back to staying with Fredy, Eddy & Rasti. That couch bed has never been so tempting. The weekend was spent exploring Segovia with Sam, Noemi, Helena, Fredy, Chica, and the kiddies. We visited the Roman Aquaduct and froze our butts off. The pictures above are of the last night we spent in Spain, Rory made spicy fish stew for everyone and we made starters for Africa! Red wine, and a sneaky pinch of Jamon made for the perfect last night in Madrid. We had such a fantastic time, I can’t wait to go back!!! (maybe in summer next time though)