May 2012
1 post
Quito
I realize that I haven’t posted much about Quito. In all of the height of excitement around the Galapagos I failed to write about Quito itself. Cody and I stayed in Quito for a substantial amount of time too! About five days before the Galapagos and a whole 6 days after the Galapagos.
Much of our time before the Galapagos trip however was planning and organizing our trip. The day before the...
April 2012
17 posts
Las Islas Galapagos
Las Islas Galapagos
Day 1 April 17th 2012
We arrived in Galapagos on Baltra Island Airport, paid our $100 entrance fee and had our bags checked for fruit. It was really interesting because before landing, the flight attendants opened all of the overhead compartments and sprayed inside each one with some arosol product. They explained that it was to ensure that no bugs or animals would be...
Northern Peru and border crossing!
Northern Peru was challenging for us. Our uneasiness about attention began in Trujillo and really escalated in Chiclayo. Everywhere we went, eyes were on us, men were calling out to us, and people exchanged comments about us. Even when we were in taxis, the attention was constant. It makes sense seeing that we were what seemed like the only travelers in the area, but it really wore us out. Our...
The video game...
Having a great time figuring it all out in Trujillo. I feel like I’m the character in a video game trying to make it to the next viewpoint successfully. There are annoying characters who cat call us and make us wish we could hide and blend in and then there are helpful characters who tell us where to go at every checkpoint. They know where we want to go without asking because we are gringas...
We are finally out of the city of Lima! Cody and I left two days ago by bus and arrived in Trujillo 8 hours later. The bus ride was pretty typical. We were up on the second floor again right in the front two seats. Just as we had feared, the bus played violent action movies dubbed over in Spanish for the entirety of the trip with no option of volume control. Cody is easily distracted by tv screens...
March 2012
26 posts
The Amazon Jungle!
My dad, Cody, Kaitlin and I left Cuzco for Puerto Malonado after saying our goodbyes to Nancy. The flight was only 35 minutes long. The moment we got off the plane, we felt wet. The air was humid and hot. It was quite a change from Cuzco. Every breath we took at that altitude dehydrated us whereas here, we breathed in water.
We were promptly met by our tour group, Eco Amazonia. We hopped on the...
Machu Picchu y Wayana Picchu
Where to even start!? We arrived by train to Aguas Calientes, which is a small town plopped at the base of several jungle mountain peaks. As we got closer and closer to Aguas Calientes from Ollantatambo, the landscape became more and more jungle like. There were several points where we could see the Inca trail along the cliffside beside the roaring river. One of the most beautiful train rides.
...
More ruins!
Tambomachay, Pukapukara, Saqsayhuaman are three ruins that the five of us visited about 5 miles outside of Cuzco. The Spaniards had destroyed most these ruins and relocated the stonework in Cuzco. It’s really difficult to imagine how expansive these ruins were before the Spaniards arrived. Of the three, Saqsayhuaman was most impressive. Apparently, tourists are known for pronouncing it...
Highlights of Cuzco
Cuzco is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever traveled to. There is this postcard I found that sums it up perfectly. The image is this arched passageway just off the Plaza de Armas. In the image, there is a balance between cultures and times. In the distance you can see men and woman dressed in jeans and jackets going about their normal days activities. In the foreground though, there is a...
Pisaq ruins and famous open market!
What an incredible day! The girls and I woke up around seven an were out of the hotel by 8:15. Off to Pisaq we went! We caught a bus from town, paying about 75cents for our 45 minute drive up into the Sacred Valley! How beautiful! The road curved though the tall mountains along rivers and small pueblos. At one bus stop a Peruvian woman sat in traditional clothing weaving a tapestry. One strand at...
Lima!
Lima!
We arrived in Lima on Sunday the 12th from Arequipa. The trip should have taken only 14 hours, getting us to Lima around 7am but due to flooding along the coast, our bus stopped for 4 hours in the middle of the night along the coast. We arrived in Lima around noon and took a taxi to the house provided by the school.
Cody and I took another week long course in Lima. It was the same school...
Muchas gracias a Elva
Wow! So I am feeling sooo sooo great right now. I know I may have sounded down in my last post, expressing feelings of frustrations with the gringo who gives power to the stereotype but I have to say that I think I was right… When you put yourself in situations that may be challenging but try your best, good things come to you.
Cody and I set off this evening for dinner supplies. On our...
What does it mean to be a gringa? Arequipa and...
I actually have a computer at the hostel to type up a blog so hopefully there will be fewer typos. I´ve been writing all of my blogs thus far on my itouch. It likes to ¨correct¨ my spelling but really what it does it replace words with other ones. So apologies…
Cody and I arrived in Peru almost a week ago. After seven weeks of traveling, I think we are tired. We watched three movies...
El Mercado Central, Arequipa
I have been in Peru for about 48 hours now and am struck by how beautiful it is here. Cody and I visited el mercado central today and absolutely fell in love with it. The moment we walked into the markets building, I knew that this is exactly what I was hoping to find while in South America. The building was large and open, organized by sections. An entire side of the market was devoted to jugos...
Goodbye Chile, Hello Peru
Immediately after crossing into Peru, we could tell that we were in a different country. Seeing the differences in housing, roads, and dress, it was evident that Chile is far more westernized and wealthy. Our 7 hour bus ride that would have costed us about $25 dollars in Chile costed us about $7-8 in Peru. The taxi that we took to the hostel was about 35 cents a person compared to $4-8 that it...
Adventures in the desert!
San Pedro de Atacama
We traveled through Santiago to reach San Pedro de Atacama. We have been flying Sky Airlines, which is an independent airline company that Martha Herrera recommended to me. It has fewer flights but is generally less expensive than the more prominent airlines.
We stayed with our friend Jane who we met at the school in Santiago for the night. It was sooo good to see her and...
February 2012
16 posts
