Highlights from Peru

Here is my last email before leaving Peru.

February 5, 2005

until I am in Portland. We are in Arequipa right now, trying to avoid further water balloon and shaving cream assaults... it is carnival here right now, and we are easy targets. Well, my trip is drawing to a close.... only 5 more hours until I am on a plane, and about 24 hours until I am back in Portland. We just finished lunch at Govinda, our favorite vegetarian Hare Krishna chain restaurant in Peru. Before that, we treated ourselves to luxurious 1 hour massages (also at Govinda, go figure) for $8 each. Gotta love it. We are trying to figure out what to do with our last few hours and our last few Soles (Peruvian money).

Here are some highlights from my trip:

1. Peruvian taxi drivers
2. Surfing in Huanchaco
3. The Santa Catalina Convent in Arequipa
4. The food in Cusco!
5. Hostal Amaru in Cusco
6. Machu Picchu, obviously
7. Isla del Sol, in Lake Titicaca
8. The parades in Copacabana, Bolivia during the festival
9. The Floating Islands (Los Uros) made of reeds in Lake Titicaca
10. The fact that the most expensive hostel we stayed at in Bolivia cost us each $2.50

All in all, the trip was amazing. Our 3 days in Bolivia were so much fun; the town of Copacabana is pretty cute, and the Isla del Sol is absolutely breathtaking. We took a boat for 2 hours to get there, and it felt almost like we were in the middle of the ocean. We hiked along the ridge on the top of the island from one end to the other (it took less than 3 hours) and the views were some of the most beautiful I have ever seen. Blue-green clear water, lots of little islands, snow-capped mountains in the distance, and flowers everywhere. We stayed at a hostel with incredible views from its 2 decks (and from our room). The entire Isla del Sol experience, including hotel and dinner for two (freshly caught trout from the lake, dessert, bottle of wine) was about $20. The floating islands were pretty neat as well. They are a group of islands near Puno, Peru that people make from tortora reeds and stake into the ground so they don´t float away. The people who live there make their houses, boats, and just about everything else from the reeds. Pretty amazing.

Memories of Cusco. . .

Cusco, Peru is a gorgeous town with a rich history, and the jumping-off point for most treks along the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. One of the "New Seven Wonders of the World", Machu Picchu is an absolutely breathtaking testament to the innovative, industrious, and meticulous nature of the Inca people. If you haven't seen it, it should be on your short list of places to visit. I recommend SAS Travel; their guided 4-day trek was well-organized, affordable, and our guide Freddy was quite knowledgeable. Plus, the food cooked by our porters was some of the best I've ever eaten.

January 23, 3005

Hola! We made it safely to Cusco after a brief 45 minute plane ride from Arequipa. While we were exploring Cusco for the day, some Australian guys that we met in Arequipa were on a grueling 14 hour bus ride during which their driver got lost. Needless to say, we are extremely glad we opted to fly. Cusco is a beautiful city, and yesterday we lucked out with sun and got some beautiful pictures. We just checked the weather report and it looks like it will be pretty nice here until Wednesday, which just so happens to be the day we start our hike on the Inca Trail. Good thing I love hiking up thousands of stairs at 14,000 feet in the pouring rain. Awesome. We are staying at Hostal Amaru in Cusco that is seriously luxurious compared to anywhere else I´ve stayed so far on this trip. Last night we stayed at a different hostal, but after figuring out that the water didn´t work from 8 pm to 5 am, we decided to look around for other options. We have a sweet room at Amaru. The hotel has a few different deck areas with panoramic views of the city, beautiful flowers and cobblestone patios, and comfy chairs for reading. Our room has French doors and a skylight and our own bathroom with a shower (and hot water!!). Including breakfast, it is costing us each a whopping $12.50 a night. A splurge considering our hostel in Arequipa was $3 a night, but definitely worth it. Last night we ate dinner at this posh tapas bar with couches and absolutely delicious food. We also saw a free (pirated?) movie at a bar, "Million Dollar Baby." Anyway hope all is well, we are off to explore the city!

Flashback! Peru, 2005

Here begins a flashback to January, 2005, the start of my 5-week Peruvian adventure. I came across these emails I sent to friends and family from Peru and thought I'd share them to relive the experience. More to follow. . .

January 7, 2005
Hola! After a couple days in Lima we were reunited with Rob´s backpack around 2am on Thursday morning. What a relief! I´m sure Rob is glad not to have to buy a new wardrobe at Topy Top and to have his stuff back! After spending the morning surfboard shopping in various suburbs of Lima, Rob bought a board to use up at the coast. He didn´t get to try it out in Lima, but we did check out the beaches. There are some pretty swanky suburbs that are quite a contrast to the various cinderblock barrios. It has been interesting seeing the stark differences in wealth even within the same block. We have seen brand new oceanfront townhouses and shacks made out of cardboard and aluminum sheeting. Pretty wild. We have also had some interesting experiences while being driven around the streets of Lima in various taxis. I have learned a lot about traffic rules here. It seems that the lines dividing the road into lanes are mere suggestions which you can choose to ignore if it is more convenient. I have also learned that a 2 lane road is really wide enough for at least 3 cars going their maximum speed. And it appears that honking your horn is a form of communication not unlike a wave or nod; in Lima there is a constant beeping of horns just for the heck of it. But one highlight was definitely going the wrong way on a freeway off-ramp. Luckily, the drivers in Lima seem to expect this, so we entered the freeway unharmed. At times it has been quite exciting... let´s just say I´m glad I´m not behind the wheel... I think I would have a nervous breakdown.
Yesterday afternoon we left Lima for the mountain town of Huaraz. It was definitely the cushiest bus ride Rob or I had ever been on. We were on the 2nd floor of a double-decker bus, so we had a sweet view, and a waitress came around and served us lunch and drinks. If anyone is ever in Peru, I highly recommend the bus company Movil Tours.
Huaraz is a beautiful town. The mountain views are like a mini-Switzerland. It is crazy, though, the town is around 10,000 feet yet it never snows here. Our taxi driver said they don´t get snow until 5,000 meters. Today we walked around the town and went to a couple of markets. We tried to go on a hike but between the barking dogs chasing us and the altitude we decided better of it and headed back into town. Tomorrow we´re either going hiking or to the hot springs, depending on the weather. And then it´s on to Trujillo on the coast.