Saturday, September 18, 2010

bolivia - la paz

Well, we made it through our first border crossing to Bolivia.  Our bus driver dropped us off to get our passports stamped,
we had to be checked by the police and apply for visas (which is a more involved process for Americans than citizens of other countries) before getting back on the bus.  Since we knew it would take longer for us we were a little concerned the bus driver wouldn´t wait for us, but he did.  It was a crowded and hectic process, but we made it through just fine.

Our destination was La Paz, about five hours from Puno.  The city looks a bit like a flat bowl, with all the activity in the middle and residential areas all up the sides.  La Paz is Bolivia´s largest city, with a high altitude similar to Puno´s.  Bolivia´s culture seems to be comparable to Peru´s but I like the vibe here better - it seems a little friendlier.  The prices here are even cheaper than Peru, and we found a couple restaurants where our meals were each about $3 (U.S.) which included soup, salad, entrees and dessert.  One of those places also had a bakery and the meal was one of the best I´ve had on this trip!

Our hostel in La Paz was pretty nice and included large breakfasts every morning.  Located on "Gringo Alley" there are several overpriced restaurants and lots of shops.  Just a block away is the "witches market" where women sell herbal cures, fertility dolls, llama fetuses (yuck) and other strange and unidentifiable objects to foreigners passing by.  We also visited the "Coca Museum", a small but very informative center focused on a quite controversial leaf.

The coca leaf is an integral part of the Peruvian and Bolivian (and likely many other groups) history, spirituality and way of life.  It is used as a greeting in some cultures, for healing, for ceremonies and general health.  It has been used for thousands of years, long before it was taken by foreigners (and corrupted by) for what we as Americans may be more familiar with: cocaine.  The leaf is broken down and mixed with other pharmaceutical components to create the addictive drug.  It was interesting to learn that although the U.S. is 5% of the total population of the world, we consist of 50% of total cocaine users.  It is also interesting to learn that Coca Cola originally contained cocaine, up until the early 20th century.  Today, coca leaves are still used in the Coca Cola recipe for flavor, but without the cocaine component.

Coca leaves and products are legal in Peru and Bolivia and supposed to help with altitude sickness.  Most commonly, they are used in tea or candy form, but the leaves themselves can be chewed to reap the healthful benefits.  I have used all three forms since arriving in the mountains to help ease my nauseousness and overall digestion, and it does help!  The leaves also help increase oxygen intake which helps when you´re huffing and puffing up and down the mountainside.  What they don´t do is create any sort of "high" or addiction, it is similar to drinking herbal tea or experiencing the soothing effects of mint.  So don´t worry, I haven´t become a drug addict!

While in La Paz, we walked around the city, saw the main pigeon-covered plaza, ate at a Burger King (Guy´s request), attempted to look into San Pedro prison (where prisoners, and sometimes their families, live...its said that the prisoners are "in charge" here...don´t know if I buy it), were loudly offered cocaine on the street, and watched American movies on cable.  My favorite part of La Paz were the random and hilarious traffic conductor/crossing guards dressed like zebras throughout the city!  They were so cute and funny, and really helped the pedestrian population, considering the traffic (like Peru) is insane here!



After a 7 hour bus ride, we are currently in the city of Cochabamba, where we are staying two nights before heading to the town of Villa Tunari, where we will be working for two weeks at an animal rehabilitation center.  Cochabama is a lot bigger than I thought it would be, but is very non-tourist-y, and a nice change of pace for a few days.  We´re not sure what kind of internet access there will be, so don´t panic if there are no updates for a little while!

all things peru

Well, its hard to believe that we´ve already spent a month overseas, and moving on from Peru to Bolivia.  I have enjoyed taking in all that is Peru, and feel like we´ve seen quite a bit of what the country has to offer!  Some observations I´ve had about the place are as follows, and I certainly don´t claim to be an expert...just some of the things I´ve noticed passing through...

*  There are stray dogs everywhere.  But they´re not beggars, mean or aggressive.  Generally, they look a lot happier than "leashed" dogs to me!

*  Every city has a "Plaza de Armas" the main center square where people hang out and enjoy treats.

*  Streets are filled with taxis/collectivos (small crammed buses)/tuk tuks/buses - there are very few "owned" vehicles on the streets, and public transport is heavily used.

*  In the cities the smell of exhaust fills the air.  Also the smells of the toilet fill the air (probably due to the stray dogs and the fact that public restrooms cost money to use).

*  Items sold on the street:  snacks like chips (Pringles are big), soda, ice cream, gelatin, empanadas, sandwiches, sweaters, knicknacks, and boys offering to polish your shoes.

*  What´s to eat?  Most restaurants serve lots of pizza, hamburgers, "samiches" (sandwiches consisting of chicken, "meat," cheese, or yes, my favorite - hot dogs...all of which sit unrefrigerated for hours), Chifa (Chinese food) and fried chicken and fries.  They more typical or classic Peruvian food includes a large bowl of soup, lots of rice and potatoes, a small salad of cucumbers & tomatoes, and chicken or beef (usually pounded really thin and not of the best quality).  Seviche is the country´s "dish" which is uncooked seafood marinated in lime juice.  Lomo saltado is another popular dish, which is rice, fries, tomatoes, and pieces of beef all in a tomato sauce.  Lots of tea, Inca Cola (the bubblegum flavored pop original to Peru), and Pisco Sours (what tastes like a mix between a margarita and lemon drop martini) and drank here.

*  Most stores and restaurants are small and in frequent number.  Not many "superstores" here.  Its hard to go even a few feet without being offered something to eat, drink or buy!  You definitely won´t go hungry.  People will bring the food to you!  We also found it interesting that different types of stores were grouped together on one street.  You want a mattress?  Go to the street with 10 different mattress stores right in a row!

*  Peru has quite a variety of landscapes, and we didn´t even see them all: desert, mountains, oceanside, rainforest, plains...

*  As in many countries, there is a large economic gap, more apparent in some places than others.  Poor street beggars that can´t walk to the business man in a suit and tie.

*  Bathrooms.  As I mentioned above, public restrooms cost money to use.  It is imperative to carry toilet paper and sanitizer (and sometimes a flashlight) into the bathroom because toilet paper, soap and sometimes electricity are hard to come by.

*  Speaking of bathrooms, many (if not most) showers are powered by electricity.  It is important not to touch the apparatus so you don´t get shocked (I never did).  It is a delicate balanace to get hot water...by letting it trickle it gets warmer, but if you turn the pressure up too high the water might get cold.

*  Altitude can be brutal, the Andes can cause "soroche", or altitude sickness which causes stomach upset, headaches, breathlessness or general awful feeling.  If you´ve read my blog at all, you know this has been a close "friend" of mine.

*  Many local people depend on tourism for their livelihood; many have humble jobs of selling snacks and goods.  Before coming here I felt a bit guilty about that.  Now I just feel like we have helped contribute to stimulating their local economy in a positive way.

So that´s about it.  Now that we´ve been on the road for a month, I have begun to feel the pangs of homesickness, and felt a little travel weary at times.  I´ve had a blast doing "touristy" things, and also felt a little burnt-out by them.  One of the things that has been most difficult for me has been seeing the poor/homeless population as we´ve been doing our traveling.  I feel very conflicted about spending money for a nice dinner and then passing by a man who can´t even walk his feet are so gnarled.  When confronted by those asking for money everyday, what is to be done?  It certainly brings very strong feelings to the surface everytime I have these encounters, and struggle with what to think, what to do with these feelings.  I guess its something to keep pondering about, because I know this is just the beginning of so many more of these encounters to come...

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

peru - puno and lake titicaca

Final stop in Peru: the city of Puno and Lake Titicaca.  There is not much significant to mention about Puno except that its the gateway to Lake Titicaca - the world´s largest high-altitude lake.  Here we booked a 2 day tour to visit the islands in the lake, spending a night with a local family.

Starting early in the a.m., we boarded our little boat of 20 some people and headed out on the beautiful blue waters.  Our first stop was to the Uros floating islands.  When we pulled up to one of these man-made creations, it seemed like something made up for a movie set, not a place people actually lived!  the islands were created centuries ago by native people hoping to escape the Incas, and are basically giant floating rafts (that go very deep) constructed out of reeds.  The homes, storage spaces, boats...pretty much everything was made from these same reeds.  The people were all dressed very colorfully and were very welcoming to us tourists, even though it must be tiring having strangers on your island all the time.  It seemed like such a happy place, although living there must be quite challenging!




After a morning at the floating islands, we boated further out to Taquile, where we would be spending the rest of the day and night.  Shortly after our arrival to the island, a handful of local people came to meet us and pairs of us were matched with families we would be staying with.  We were taught a few words and phrases in the Quechua language to be able to communicate with our family, but quickly discovered they were just as comfortable speaking in Spanish to us.  We had our own room at the family´s house, and it appeared that they all shared a common room for their sleeping quarters.  There was a separate small building where the kitchen was, with a large fireplace, dirt floor, and a table with a few boards surrounding it to sit on.  We had our own outhouse, which we found out was much nicer than the one the family used.  There was one spigot outside with running water, and a few lines of electricity to allow a few light bulbs throughout the property.  Our room had a gorgeous view of the lake and herds of sheep bleating outside our window.  We were "warned" that our meals would be basic, but I thought they were a welcome relief from all of the fried and meat heavy menus I was used to having to pick through.  Lots of veggies, potatoes and grains, and nothing fried!  My stomach finally felt settled after days of not!

After our late lunch, the mother of the family, Billma (we think that was her name) brought us to a meeting place in town, walking uphill for what seemed an eternity!  Here we connected with our guide and other group members to go for a walk to the top of the island.  Tito, our guide (not the one from the Jackson´s) talked to us about customs, etc, and how it is tradition for couples to live together for 3 years, and if they don´t separate, they get married forever, and only on certain days of certain years.  This tradition started ages ago, and the two peaks we could walk to were Pachatata (male) and Pachamama (female) - which symbolized the prior story.  we went up Pachatata, where we saw the temple up top.  Legend is that you are to walk around it 3 times counter-clockwise while making a wish.  We figured...what the heck.  It also provided a beautiful view of the lake and the island.

When we got back to our meeting place it was dark, and boy was it ever dark!  Barely any electricity on an island means a whole lot of black!  We connected with one of the daughters from our family and she walked us back home, quite unphased by the darkness.  After our dinner, the same daughter returned to our room with an armload of clothes, ready to dress us for the dance.  She put a prettily embroidered shirt, petticoat and skirt on me, and cinched it till I could barely breathe!  Then a brightly colored sash and head covering completed the traditional outfit.  It looked pretty funny with my pants underneath and my hiking boots, but it was so chilly outside I didn´t care.  Guy was presented with a large poncho and a knitted wool hat with llamas across it.

We went with Billma to the "dance hall" where a dozen or so others from our group were, as well as a few locals and musicians.  Billma showed us both the few simple steps to dance as a pair, and we also danced as a group.  I´m sure the dance gets a little old for those who host tourists, but we had a good time.  We were ready to go after a handful of songs, and so was Billma. 

After a frigid night, we woke up with the sun and had a pancake breakfast, while last night´s dinner was being reheated for the family´s breakfast.  It was very obvious during our short stay that guests had a way higher quality of living than the local families.  We bid farewell and thanked our lovely hostess, then got into the boat for a short ride to our final stop, the island of Amantani.  Here, we did some more walking (uphill, of course), saw some beautiful scenery, and learned about this island´s unique customs.  Tito explained it as "communism that works."  Everyone works together and sells their items in a few stores, rather than on the streets (like we´ve seen everywhere else), then split the profits.  On Taquile, they had donkeys or horses to haul things uphill, but on AmantaniPuno.


We left the country of Peru early this morning and are now spending our first day in Bolivia.  Looking forward to what this country has in store for us!

Saturday, September 11, 2010

peru - arequipa and colca canyon

From Machu Picchu we headed back to Ollytantambo, taking a 9 hour bus ride to our next destination - Arequipa.  I was very nervous about the trip given my last awful bus experience to Cusco.  With my Dramanine in hand for motion sickness, I happily drugged myself to sleep and had no problems...until I woke up freezing to death in the very early morning.  It´s funny, it never occurred to me to ask if there would be heat on the bus, I just thought it was a given!  The other women next to us were all bundled up in extra blankets they had brought with them, along with sweaters and scarves.  Guy only had on a short sleeve shirt, I had luckily grabbed my hat, and we grabbed a few extra tiny fleece blankets from the empty seats around us.  As we waited for the sun to rise, I laid with my blanket over my head, but was still shivering and looked at Guy who smiled as he showed me that he could see his breath.  I finally climbed into his seat (with him in it) to try and warm up!  I´m sure the other people in the bus thought we were crazy gringos.  When we arrived in Arequipa, the sun was up and we warmed up quickly.

Arequipa is a city quite unlike most of Peru in that its quite modern and "cosmopolitan" compared to most of the country.  There were times it felt like we were in Southern California!  The Plaza de Armes is gorgeous with a large fountain surrounded by beautiful white sillar stone buildings.  There are many upscale stores and cafes, and you can tell there is more money flowing around in this city than the others we´ve been to.  Although there are snack carts, there are fewer people selling in general on the street, and few people approach you to buy whatever it is they are selling.  The attitude is completely different...almost snobby if you ask me, and most people are dressed quite nicely, making me feel like a grungy backpacker!  In the couple of days we were there, we laid pretty low and booked a 2 day tour to Colca Canyon, which is nearly twice the size of our Grand Canyon. 

I wasn´t feeling well when we were picked up at 8 am  by our tour bus the next day, but decided to move forward anyways.  Our tour guide, David, was so cute I just wanted to put him in my pocket.  He explained everything twice...once in Spanish and then again in English.  He always began by saying "ok friends" and repeated that phrase throughout his explanations to us.  We saw lot of beautiful countryside, and stopped in a few small towns with eager locals, waiting to sell their wares of take pictures with us or dance for us (all for a price, of course!).  We also saw vicuñas, which look like a cross between a deer and a llama.  We stopped for some coca tea, which I desperately needed since we were quickly approaching an altitude of 4,850 meters.  We reached the town of Chivay, where we stopped for lunch and then were to spend some time resting in our hotels.  At this time I could barely eat rice and felt terrible, so we skipped the hot springs and continued to rest through the afternoon.



I continued to stay in bed and Guy went to the dinner/music and dance "show."  At this point I didn´t know if I´d be able to continue the tour the next day.  But when 5 am came, I was feeling well enough to go (although at this point Guy informed me that he had been up the night before, sick!)  Despite our nasty feelings, we headed west to the Colca Canyon, with stops at a few viewpoints, as well as a church and The Mirador Cruz Del Condor.  Here, we were able to view the canyon, as well as a dozen or so condors, swooping through the air.  The canyon was quite stunning, although in my opinion, the Grand Canyon is much more impressive!  The condor viewing was quite spectacular, though, and we spend a good chunk of time trying to capture them on camera.  We both weren´t feeling good, but tried to keep a sense of humor and make the best of our situation.  Its always a bit nerve wracking being on a bus with no bathroom when you don´t know when you´ll need one!


We saw lots of animals on our drive back: llamas, alpacas, sheep, cows, pigs, donkeys and horses, which of course instantly cheered me up!  We stopped at the highest point on the way back, Pata Pampa, where we were able to view several (5?) volcanoes, as well as what looked like a little village of stone pile "offerings."  The native people stack rocks at this high point as a way of giving thanks to the mountain for all it provides.  I decided to build one as a way of making peace with the mountains, since they have been causing me so much strife! (altitude sickness)  Although I think the sickness Guy and I were having originated from something we ate, going up and down through the mountains definitely adds to the not so good feelings!  The bus ride got a bit long at the end on our way back to Arequipa, but I was just so thankful that we both were able to make it through the day (and the bus ride).  We were originally considering doing a trek or rafting in the canyon, and although those wouldn´ve been great experiences, I thank God we didn´t do those, because of our health!  Traveling can sure be a blast, but it can also be exhausting...

Saturday, September 4, 2010

peru - machu picchu

Wednesday we left Cusco, bidding farewell to my favorite hostel thus far, with its beautiful bathroom, cozy common area and adjoining pizza place.  We hopped in a small bus to take a 2 hour ride to Ollantaytambo, the city we would take our brief train ride to Machu Picchu.  Its a cute, small, mountain town swarming with tourists all with the same destination in mind: Machu Picchu.  Here we did a little exploring, noticed rising prices, stayed in a lovely hostel and ate at a charming cafe called "Heart Cafe" (http://www.heartscafe.org/) where incredibly delicious food is served and 100% of the proceeds go to projects benefitting mostly women and children of the Machu Picchu region. 

We left Thursday by train toward the Machu Picchu Pueblo.  We heard the train ride was almost as fantasic as walking the Inca Trail.  I´m sure trekking the 4-day path is a more spectacular experience, but the views we had on our 2 hours bus ride were quite stunning of beautiful mountains and the rolling Urubama River.  When we arrived at the Pueblo, we were supposed to be greeted by someone from our hostel to take us back, but there was no one to be found.  We wandered through the streets looking for our temporary home and discovered how insane this small city is.  Every square inch is covered with restaurants and shops, with waiters coming at you from every angle trying to entice you in.  It was quite overwhelming!  We were able to locate our place (with some help) and turned out to be a bit of a dump.  Everything in the Pueblo is incredibly overpriced, so we opted to stay at lower budget accomodations...in a 5-bed dorm room.  We were pleased to discover that no one else was in our room, and walked around looking for the "cheapest" meal (which wasn´t).  We headed to bed early since we were planning on geting up at 4:30 the next morning to get to Machu Picchu before the rush.  Sometime in the night the overhead light went on and two people loudly rustled through their things for what seemed an eternity.  Once I finally fell asleep, the light went on a second time.  So much for a good first time dorm sleeping situation!  When 4:30 rolled around (far too soon), I wanted to blast the light and make tons of noise in retaliation but of course didn´t make a peep.

We grabbed our food supplies for the day and headed into the dark to our buses.  There were already lines forming at 5:00 to leave on the first buses at 5:30.  After our brief ride, we pulled into Machu Picchu at 6:00, just as the sun was rising.  When we entered the gates, we immediately signed up to climb Huayna Picchu, the famous peak seen in many photos taken of Machu Picchu.  Only 400 people are allowed to climb it each day, and slots get filled quickly!  As we rounded the corner to get our first glimpse of MP, it was overwhelming.  The sun was just coming over the mountains and a misty fog rising.  It had been raining over the past three days and our day in MP turned out to be completely sunny!  We briefly looked at the ruins but would come back to revisit as we knew we had to get to our mountain climb first. 

We read in our guidebook that Huayna Picchu was an "easy climb for anyone with reasonable energy."  Ha.  As we set out on the climb, it started out fairly easy, but we realized there were more and more stairs as we go further up.  We climbed hundreds of stairs, sometimes steep, slippery and overlooking huge dropoffs.  At times I thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest or my lungs explode.  Guy was really nice to me the whole time, stopping when I needed to stop, encouraging me along, carrying all of our stuff and helping me where I needed help.  I felt bad for several women I saw whose companions were not exactly treating them so kindly.


The views were unlike any I´ve ever experienced, when I had the courage to look (and I´m not usually afraid of heights!).  Everytime I thought we were steps from the top, I realized there was another flight of stairs, a cave to climb through...until finally, we reached the peak!  It was quite exhilerating because we had worked so hard to get there, and also because the drop was so gigantic it was a bit dizzying! 

We enjoyed our victory for a short time before starting our downhill climb.  We thought the hard part was over!  The way the stairs were situated made it appear as though we were right on the edge of the mountain heading right over a cliff!  But once we got over the initial 10 minutes, it was pretty smooth sailing.  We were quite spent after our climb and stopped for lunch before checking out the ruins.  Although we didn´t have a guide to explain everything, we were still able to appreciate the incredible structures, stonework, and amazing views.  We saw some darling llamas, an old bridge, rows of terraces, temples, and a lizard on the path that made Guy jump 3 feet off the ground!  We had planned on taking a one hour walk back to town, but I was so tired after 8 hours we took the bus back.


That night we had planned on visiting the one other attraction of the Machu Picchu Pueblo...the hot springs.  It sounded so wonderful after a day of climbing and trekking.  They were minutes from our hostel, and when we arrived they looked a little less than desirable, but figured we´d give it a try.  They were packed with tourists and we ended up chatting for awhile with a very nice Australian couple who´ve also been traveling for awhile.  We laughed as other tourists arrived at the hot springs with disappointed faces as they saw the "exotic" condition of the baths.  Oh well, my muscles are thanking me for the warm bath today, even if the place seemed a little gross at the time!

Well the Lost City of the Incas really was as spectacular as we imagined it to be, and a once in a lifetime experience!