The last few days in Peru

A pic from Lima

Greetings everyone! I didn't want to leave anyone hanging about our trip! It makes me very sad to say that both Jenny and I are back in the states (even more sad to say we are in different states!). The last entry left off when we were just about to leave for a bus to Lima. We made the 8 hour bus journey with no problem (other than the ridiculous selection of movies played on the bus- one being Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1629440/ , it's so bad it's worth clicking the link). Let me just say that Lima is HUGE. It couldn't be anymore different than most all other towns we saw in Peru. Let me just preface this by saying that we were in Miraflores which is the touristy and safe area of Lima- ok done prefacing. First off, it's very metropolitan. We hardly saw any old Peruvian women or men walking around with their traditional hats or brightly colored clothes- we may have well have been walking around Chicago. There were restaurants, shops, coffee bars (including Starbucks) everywhere. I didn't see any open air markets where people were peddling half pigs or chicken feet, which I always found entertaining- Jenny not so much. Lima was a good stepping stone for coming back to the states. It would have been full blown culture shock coming straight from Huaraz back to the USA. Anywho, we found a hostel no problem and spent the last two nights in Peru there. We spent one night going to a water fountain laser light show. It sounds goofy, and is seemingly out of place, but Lima has a huge park where there are a bunch of water fountains all lit up. There is also a laser show where the fountains are synced up to music- it was actually awesome. After the show we met up with a friend from high school who has been living in Peru for over two years now. We went to this super fancy bar, which was known for having the best Pisco sour in the country. Wasn't I going to the bathroom in a shallow hole a few days before? haha. Anyways, we had a few drinks and caught up on things that we have been up to the last few years. It was a really great way to end our trip. The next day we headed to the airport for our flights out. Jenny's flight was approx 12 hours before mine so I got intimate with the Lima international airport- so much so that I got kicked out of a restaurant because I was there so long- apparently a cup of coffee buys you about 3 hours in a peruvian restaurant. As it turns out, both Jenny and I made it home just fine.

I already miss Peru, but it is always nice to be home. Here are a few things I will miss the most:

1. Getting your adrenaline rush of the day from a taxi ride. It's true. It seems every taxi ride was like gambling your life with the jackpot prize being the arrival at your destination- alive. It seemed that every driver has a little Mario Andretti in them- trying to out drive everyone else in a never ending race. Stop signs were merely a suggestion, seatbelts almost NEVER worked, the painted lines on the road seemed to me to be decorative, and we were usually in this TINY cars driving alongside huge trucks. I would say the national adventure sport of Peru is driving. We survived. I am not even going to talk about the gravel mountain roads with drop offs of thousands of feet, hairpin turns and no guardrails. Mom doesn't need to know about those! Driving in the US just seems boring now. I will miss those crazy peruvian drivers!

2. The Markets. It's hard to fully understand the markets down there without experiencing them. Think hundreds of vendors yelling at you as you pass trying to sell you everything from keychains to guinea pigs. You could find ANYTHING there! There were avocados three or four times the size of the kind you find in the US, there are rows of ladies selling every sort of cheese, and bread of every shape, size, and smell. In Cusco, Jenny and I would usually buy lunch for both of us for about 3 dollars and have leftovers. Markets are a much more fun and exciting way to shop- I have a feeling I am going to feel bored next time I'm in a grocery store (I might have to haggle cereal prices to spice things up).

3. The landscape. It's hard to describe the landscape because it is so varied and diverse, but they have everything from mountains, to jungle, to beach, and everything in between. We spent the majority of our time on our trip in the mountains. I was awestruck at the mountains outside Hauraz. Those mountains simply dwarf the hills of the lower 48. These mountains make getting around Peru much more difficult, which in my mind makes you feel that much better when you actually get to your destination (add some Peruvian drivers into the mix and you are REALLY happy when you make it there). I would say the trip down to Peru would be worth it just to see those mountains in the National Park outside Hauraz. I believe the pics from this blog justify this point.

This are three of countless points I could make about the things I will miss about Peru. I am sad to say that this is the last blog entry of the trip! Peru is a truly incredible place and if you are looking for somewhere to travel next look into Peru (and know that there are a million different things to see other than Machu Picchu). I hope you have all enjoyed reading about our adventure in the southern hemisphere and if anyone has any questions or want to know anything about Peru don't hesitate to email me- mac.fraley@gmail.com

Cheers and hasta la vista!

One of the fountains

Another fountain

Me and Jenny at the fountain park

Me and Kelly in Lima

Santa Cruz Trek

Hola amigos! We have successfully completed the Santa Cruz trek! It was a 4 day trek which covered 36 miles, passing through the Huayhuash National Park, which is home to the tallest mountains in Peru- many over 20,000 feet high. At the highest point of the trek we were at 15,583 feet above sea level, which is over 1,000 feet higher than the tallest peak in the lower 48 states- there was a definite lack of oxygen up there. I am getting ahead of myself though- I shall start from the beginning. We started with a 3.5 hour ride from Huaraz to the little town of Vaqueria. I must say that it was the most terrifying road I have ever been on. There was switchback after switchback on a ridiculously bumpy road that dropped off straight down several thousand feet. Sorry Mom! I couldn´t help but think how much you would not approve me being on that road. At any rate, we survived the journey to the Vaqueria and started our trek. The first day was realitively easy so everyone on the trek got to know each other. We were 2 of 5 trekkers on this trip- two of the others were a young couple from Israel, and the other was a lady from northern England. All very nice people. We made it to the first camp and I decided to get sick from the altitude for a few hours. Let me tell you altitude sickness sucks- think being REALLY hungover without the fun of booze. A few ibuprofens from my favorite pharmacist, some cocoa tea, and a few hours later I was cured (thank goodness)! It rained hard that night so we all went to bed early. The next day we had to ascend over Punta Union Pass which tops out at 15,583feet- we all celebrated (in the snow and sleet) with pictures and lunch at the top of the pass looking over glacial lakes and the surrounding peaks. After a brief celebration we headed down to the next camp which sat right in the middle of this immense valley with mountain peaks covered in glaciers. The weather was poor so we couldn´t really see all of the peaks. The camp sat at just under 14,000 feet so it was a COLD night (after that night I have decided it´s time for a new sleepingbag). We awoke to perfectly clear skies and excellent views of the surrounding peaks- many of the pics on this post are from that morning. One peak is the mountain in the Paramount Pictures logo! After breakfast and a lots of shots on the camera we headed of to see a glacial lake that was below Alpamayo (which is continually ranked as the most beautiful mountain in the world). Sadly, the clouds moved in as we approached the lake and Alpamayo, but we still got a few shots of it from afar. We hung out at the lake for a bit and headed to the 3rd camp (which was really really far away). We spent the last night next to a creek on in a huge canyon with walls thousands of feet high- unfortunately the pics don´t do it justice (but everyone knows that). The last day was a quick walk out to the tiny town of Cashapampa followed by yet another death ride, followed at last by a shower and a nice meal out on the town with all the fellow trekkers. Jenny wanted me to say that she is feeling 100% again and didn´t get sick at all on this trek! I suppose it was my turn for that :-). Anywho, we are headed to Lima today by bus to spend our last two nights in Peru before heading back to the states. As promised, I put up a crap load of pics because I have been slacking on that. Normally, I would add a caption to all the pics, but it´s getting late and we need to pack for this bus journey. I hope you all enjoy the pics and if anyone wants to know about the pics just comment on the blog and I´ll get on that! Alright, gotta run. Enjoy!

Alpamayo in the center



Camp on day 2

The paramount pictures mountain

A friendly cow along the trail

The group at the end of the trek!

A few extra days in huanchaco

Hello and sorry for yet another long delay in trip updates. I am attempting to write this from jenny's iPhone so it's gonna be a short one. At the end of the last entry we were scheduled to arrive to haidas but as it would turn out Jenny got the stomach bug from hell and we ended up staying in Trujillo for like 4 extra days. We found this awesome hostel though that cost us about $5 each a night- one block from the ocean. The owner of the hostel even drove us to the doctor's office- so nice! Anyways, we finally made it to huaraz and we are headed out on a 4 day trek. It's called the Santa Cruz trek and we will be walking past 20,000+ ft tall mountains. Needless to say we are excited. That's what is going on and that's about all I can handle from this iPhone so I gotta go! Sorry about the lack of pics again- there is sure be plenty of good shots in the next one! Adios!

Trujillo and Huanchaco

Hello! I apologize for the lack of updates in the last few days. I have not been able to update because it was 27 hours in buses or bus terminals from Arequipa to Trujillo, then our hotel didn't have internets there in Trujillo, and it has been hard to find here in Huanchaco. Anyways, so the last time I updated we were in Arequipa and just about to head to Trujillo. Like I said it was just over a day of travel on a bus from Arequipa to Trujillo, but it really wasn't bad at all. We booked the first class section of the bus and it was totally comfortable. It cost us each about 70 dollars to get from one end of the country to the other- so awesome. We made it to Trujillo and spent the day walking around town and getting a feel for it. We did a tour which took us to Chan Chan, ruins of pre-Incan people. Jenny <3's ruins. We toured one of the 11 or so ruins. The one we visited was about 600 meters long and 400 meters wide and it was considered one of the small ones, although it's hard to believe they get bigger. Sadly, rains are ruining the ruins (pun!) and many of the walls are wasting away.

After the ruins we got dropped off in Huanchaco, which is 20 minutes north of Trujillo. Huanchaco is a little surf town that is right on the Pacific. It is the total opposite of high tourist season here so the town seems really sleepy and quiet. I can imagine this place at peak season is hopping with activity. We were lucky enough to score a sweet deal on a penthouse suite on the pacific ocean! Living large! We went out to dinner and had some beers with some locals and travelers alike that night and called it early. We spent the next day getting a surf lesson. Jenny KILLED it out there- total natural. I got up onto the surf board the first time, but struggled a little bit after that- just means I have to spend more time surfing! I was amazed at how much work surfing is- I mean, it just looks like surfers paddled a little bit, stand up, and you know, surf. Not the case. We were WORKED after like 2 hours out there. We were planning on surfing today, but we are both dealing with a stomach bug so hopefully tomorrow we can get back out there. I am running out of time on the internets here I'll put these pics up and that will be that! We are headed to Huarez tomorrow which is a big hub for mountaineers and trekkers. We are hoping to get on a trek in the Cordellia Blanca range which has some of the high peaks in the Andes mountains- some over 22,000 feet! Crazy! I gotta go, enjoy!
Damn, well the internet is slow here and I have like 2 minutes left on the computer so I don't think these pics are gonna be able to get posted until next time. Lo siento!

Arequipa

Arequipa- The White City

Hola amigos! As I said in the last entry, Jenny and I are in Arequipa, Peru. See: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=arequipa+peru+map&hl=es&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x91424a487785b9b3:0xa3c4a612b9942036,Arequipa&gl=pe&ei=AHZrTtvGONHn-gaDn_zPBA&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CA8Q8gEwAA

Plaza de Armas in Arequipa

The volcanoes off in the distance behind the Plaza de Armas

Building on the Plaza at night

This is probably the nicest town we have seen so far in Peru. The town´s buildings and streets are in really good shape and there seems to be a different, more friendly feel to the people here (not to say that the other towns didn´t have friendly people). There are also huge mountains just outside town here and most of them are active volcanoes! We heard that Arequipa feels a little tremor (as in earthquake) a few times a week! Craziness! Anyways, we spent our time at Casablanca, which is about a block off the Plaza de Armas- which is the main hub of activity in pretty much all Peruvian towns. We had an awesome hotel room and have really enjoyed our stay here. We spent yesterday walking around, shopping a bit, afternoon coffee (ofcourse), and getting our bus tickets in order. We are slated to head to Trujillo with a layover stop in Lima. Trujillo is north of Lima and on the coast. From what we have heard it is the main spot for surfing and there is a beach kind of attitude to the town. Needless to say, I am very excited to see it. The bus ride is going to be 24 hours, which will test anyone´s ability to sit, but we are going through the night which hopefully means we can sleep a little bit. Hopefully Jenny brought some sort of drug that helps you sleep- the joys of dating a pharmacy student! haha. Anyways, I must be going- we are doing a city tour today before we head out at 6:30 tonight. Bien Viaje y hasta luego!

The view from our hotel room with the Plaza in the background

Our sweet hotel room in Arequipa! It was HUGE!

Looking good, Jenny

Lake Titicaca and Puno

Lake Titicaca!

Greetings faithful readers! I am sorry that I have not updated in a few days. It has been a few crazy packed days and I have not had time to get to a computer- despite my lack of computer time, my camera has been taking lots of pictures. I believe I left off just about to leave Cusco headed for Puno. We made our bus and traveled through the night to get to Puno at 5:30 in the morning. We didn´t have a place to stay so we asked a cabbie to drive us to a hostel. We arrived, at the cabbies choice of hostel, checked in and promptly passed out. I am still having a hard time believing the deals in this country- we checked in at 5:30AM and checked out the following night at 6PM and we were charged 35 soles (US equivalent of about 12 dollars) for our stay. I mean, we weren´t staying at the Ritz Carlton, but we had our own room and hot water. Amazingness. Anyways, after sleeping a bit we went to the docks to try to get on a boat to tour some islands, but all of them had left earlier in the day so we walked a ways over to the Yavari. This is a ship docked on lake Titicaca and was actually carried over the Andes mountains by men and mule way back in the day. I won´t bore you with details, go here if you are interested in the ship´s history: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yavari_(ship) We did a quick tour of the boat then headed back into town.

The Yaravi

Anyways, we (more so me) were feeling the effects of riding a bus all night and not sleeping so we called it early and went back to the hostel to catch up on sleep. The next day we jumped on a boat tour that went to a few islands on Lake Titicaca. The first stop was on Uros Islands. These islands are not made of land- they are actually floating pieces of reeds and reed beds that the Uros people made. Yes, these people live on islands that they made. Insane. We got to tour two of the islands and I can assure you they are floating. These people live completely off reed´s and what the lake offers. Unfortunately, tourism seems to be changing the ways these people live. I think they don´t live as traditional as they used to 100 years ago, but alas they still live in reed houses on islands they built. Pretty incredible. If you want to learn more there´s a little more reading here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Titicaca#Uros

Uros



The reed floor of the island

The next stop was the island of Taquile. This was a 2.5 hour boat ride out from Uros. We had lots of time to meet the other people on the tour and take in views of the lake. Once we arrived at Taquile we watched (and even particpated) in a traditional dance of the people who have inhabitated the island for 100´s of years. I got to dance with a really old lady who was about 2 feet shorter than me. After that, we all had a trout lunch, which was amazing, then headed back to the boat. Taquile was really great because it is just a bunch of people living on the island- there are no resorts, no clubs, nothing like that. The only thing that seemed to have popped up due to tourism was 2 restaurants, other than that it was a bunch of farms and houses. I really enjoyed Taquile and would definitely recommend checking it out if you are ever down in this area.

On Taquile

Taquile

The top floor of the boat

After the trip we raced back to the hostel, grabbed our packs, and got to the bus station. We drove through the night to Arequipa and that is where I am updating from. Alright, that about does it for the last few days. Look for another post from Arequipa here. Adois!

Me and Jenny on our way back to Puno from Titicaca

Last day in Cusco

¡Hola hola! Today is our last day in Cusco! We are biding our time at the hostel until we catch the 10:30PM bus to Puno! It´s an 8 hour ride so that puts us in at 5:30AM, which leaves us the whole day to explore. Puno is home to Lake Titicaca, which sits at about 12,000feet above sea level. I am guessing the lake is cold. I just wanted to post a few pics I took while in Cusco. Enjoy the pics and look for another blog entry soon! Hasta luego!

Here is a pic from Moray- which is just a few miles outside of Cusco. I wrote about these ruins a few entries ago, but I didn´t put any pics up. This was the farming laboratory for the Incas.

Beers on the Plaza de Armas in Cusco.




One of the cathedrals at night on the Plaza de Armas.

Off the beaten path in Cusco.

Back from the Choquequirao trek

Hola amigos! After two taxis, 8 hours on buses, 40 miles, 4 vertical miles, 5 days, 4 nights, a bunch of bug bites, and 4 sore feet we have arrived back in Cusco from our trek to Choquequirao. Since I have been trying to update this thing everyday I will do my best to give you an idea what we did on a day to day basis. To give you an idea of situation out there, we were with 3 other hikers and 5 (yes 5) guides, cooks, and mule guys. We had mules that carried most of our stuff and a cook for all of our meals. So there were 10 of us all together and 5 mules. Anywho, here´s the breakdown of the trip.





Day 1
We left at 5:20AM to catch a bus to the city of Cachora, Peru. The town consists of one road in the absolute middle of nowhere. Jenny and I were a little skeptical riding the bus- seeing as though it brokedown half way through and the ride was 2 hours longer than our guide told us it would be. Nevertheless, we made it to Cachora. Here´s a link to a google map of the place: http://maps.google.es/maps?q=cachora+peru&hl=es&ll=-13.597939,-72.542725&spn=2.76014,3.510132&sll=40.396764,-3.713379&sspn=8.648031,14.040527&vpsrc=6&z=8
After lunch was served we headed out and marched for the next 5 or 6 hours to family´s shack more or less in an immense canyon. After hours of traveling we were spent. We had dinner and passed out at about 8pm. Highlight of the day: when the bus broke down I was standing outside the bus and an old Peruvian lady squatted 4 feet from me (in plain view of everyone on the bus) and peed. Got back up and cut in front of me to get back on the bus. It was hilarious.

Me and Jenny on the hike in

Day 2
Unfortunately, Jenny got sick that night and day two was the hardest- having to travel down a few thousand feet to the Apurimac river and then about a vertical mile up to the next campsite. Jenny, proving that she is an absolute trooper, busted out the 6 hours of hiking straight up to make it to our destination. This was definitely the best campsite. We were on the side of the canyon wall where flat spots were more or less carved into the earth. There were about 4 families living here. It´s hard to describe, but these families have no electricity, no communication with the outside world, no roads (mules are the only means of transportation other than your own feet), basically no money, and from my point of view they seemed really happy. These families allow the guides to cook meals in a shack made of mud bricks and bamboo, and sell water to people hiking. Their chickens, dogs, and cows roam around the area without fences and the only toilet is a hole in the ground. It was AWESOME seeing how different life is for these people and how little they can live on in an extremely remote, rugged landscape. Makes you wonder if you really need that new big flat screen. Anyways, we made it to the camp and relaxed the rest of the day. Jenny felt better after a long nap and we had a nice dinner with everyone by candlelight (because of the lack of electricity). Highlight of the day: having the afternoon off before dinner to relax after that rough hike straight up from the river.

Day 3

We made the trek to Choquequirao and checked out all the ruins. They estimate that only 30% of the ruins have been uncovered and that these ruins are much larger than those at Machu Picchu. I was completely blown away at the number of terraces there were built into the side of the mountain. These terraces were used for farming on vertical canyon walls. The pictures don´t show it well, but the walls that these terraces are on are more or less straight up and down. This ancient civilization lived and farmed (and propspered) in a vertical landscape. Simply unreal. I forgot to mention that all the terraces were equiped with irrigation, and the ruins had lots of fountains. These people were geniuses.... and then the Spanish came. Again, bad job Spain. Anyways, we hiked around and saw all there was to see then headed back to camp at the same spot again that night. We enjoyed some cards, lots of tea, and a very nice dinner as we watched the sunset over the Andes. Highlight of the day: We saw a mosquito flying around us at the ruins which I thought was a hummingbird. Yes, a mosquito the size of a small bird- I don´t need to see that ever again.

Me and Jenny in front of the ruins

The group with our two guides!

Jenny with the Apurimac River in the background

Ruins at Choquequirao

Day 4

We started our trek back to Cachora. We spent the whole day going back down to the river, then back up to our last campsite. Long day which made for a great last dinner with everyone. Highlight of the day: the people we were treking with cut down some natural sugar cane and brought it back for us to taste- natural candy. So good.

View from the last campsite

Day 5
Finished up the last few miles of the hike and scored a ride back to Cusco with people we met on the trail! No bus for us! WOOO!!! Despite the strange, often worrisome, driving habits of the driver we all made it back to Cusco and finally a SHOWER! After cleaning up and resting, Jenny and I went out with our guide and a few of his friends to the local bars. Really really fun. Glad to be back in civilization. Highlight of the day: our guide caught a guinea pig on the trail and brought it back to Cusco. It was a present for his Mom, who was going to fatten it up and eat it ofcourse. If only I had a pic of that guinea pig and our guide!

Well, that is breakdown of our adventure in the Andes Mountains. The experience was certainly eye opening for more reasons than I will be able to explain here. The first, which I mentioned above, was how families survive and live happily with next to nothing out in the middle of nowhere. The kids laughed, the parents smiled, and everyone seemed to work hard. They all had a small plot of land for crops, a bunch of chickens, and no electricity and everything seemed to be just fine. The next thing that really blew me away was that all the Pervians on the trip had a profound respect for Pachamama (Mother Earth) and had a deep knowledge of it´s plants and animals. For example, when Jenny was sick that 2nd day they gave her tea which relieved her symptoms almost immediately. They didn´t open up any tea packets, they walked over to some shrubs, cut some leaves off and boiled them. They explained a dozen or more different uses for varying greenery around the hills as we walked through the canyon. One would relieve joint pains, another was good for your teeth, others relieved stomach issues. Simply amazing. I don´t know many Americans who can go walking through the woods and point out plants that will cure their upset stomach. Anyways, those are only a few of many things I took away from this trip. It was an great experience and I very grateful for having spent 5 days in that canyon with all the people who were on the trip.

Back in Cusco for a day or two!

Last day with the pharmacy group

Hola amigos! Jenny and I are currently at a hostel called Mama Semaña in Cusco. I stayed here the night before the group got here, which paid off because it is cheaper and nicer than the hotel we stayed at while the group was here. Props to Zoe for directing me here. We said our goodbyes this morning to the group as the left for the airport and ultimately the United States. They showered us with gifts ranging from shampoo, extra water, and even a pair of portable speakers- Thanks Frank! Jenny and I took advantage of the last free breakfast from the hotel and then found our way to the hostel. We have been looking into a 4 day hike which goes to Incan ruins that are bigger and more remote than Machu Picchu. After looking into the details we decided to take the plunge! We set out tomorrow on a 4 day 3 night trek to the Choquequirao ruins WOOOOO!! Don´t worry Mom, we have a guide and are going through a service (we even get a horse to carry most of our stuff- major bonus). It is a holiday here in Cusco, so many of the shops are closed and there are some celebrations going on. We heard fireworks at 7:00 this morning, which had us REALLY confused until we found out about the holiday. After we signed up for the trip we walked around a bit, had some afternoon coffee, and now we are simply relaxing until dinner tonight- rough life. Unfortunately, there won´t be any blog posts for the next four days (forgot to ask if there is wifi on the trail- haha kidding), so hopefully some of these pics will suffice for the time being! Hasta luego amigos!
The pics are from the last few days- The one is of the salt farm we went to, the other is of me, Jenny, Luke, and Rachel (whose name is pronounced Ragel in Peruvian) at the Incan farm experiments in Moray, and last is of the group walking up a long road in Cusco. Enjoy!