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It seems like we have been on vacation for way longer than 11 days! That might sound like a bad thing, but we’ve just done so much in a short period of time. Right now we are sitting on the top floor of a super plush Cruz del Sur bus on the way back to Lima. There is some silly movie playing and the bus steward is offering us Inca Kola and Coca Cola. We are pretty much sitting in recliners and watching TV. But outside the window is either ocean or one tiny little super poor village after another.
Peru has been very odd that way. The contrast between city and village and have and have not is huge. Don’t get me wrong; this country is amazing. The sense of pride the people have here is incredible. The little kids we’ve seen practically run to school (and some on horribly treacherous roads!) And, they’re all in perfect little uniforms too! As if kids are that happy to go to school in Canada, let alone take care of their things as well!
It definitely gets you thinking about what to appreciate.
So in no particular order:
1. Safe, clean water (hot or cold) right out of a tap. There were people carrying water jugs in Cusco. Cusco is a huge city.
2. Bob Barker. There is something to be said for spaying and neutering pets. Cusco was FULL of dogs. Dogs barking all night. Dogs everywhere. Dogs dogs and more dogs.
3. The ability to flush toilet paper. Putting toilet paper in the garbage can beside the toilet is just weird.
4. Food Safe & Refrigeration. I am sure we are anal in Canada, but I can’t get over eggs and meat just being out in the air. Seriously there were eggs on display in the super market register lane yesterday. Like sitting out with the gum and chocolate bars.
5. Building codes and inspectors. Mike Holmes would explode here. There is a tax loop hole here that basically makes you tax exempt if you DON’T finish your house. Nothing is finished on the outside. Imagine all the homes in your neighborhood without siding or stucko or gyprock.
Things that are over rated. (Again in no particular order.)
1. Walk signs. Just cross when there is space. Cars will stop?!?
2. Wet floor signs and orange caution cones. People should be more aware of their surroundings. Here if there is a bump on the side walk there isn’t a watch your step sign, and you can bet that if you fell and hurt yourself you’d get laughed at rather than legally compensated.
3. Pennies. The have ’em here but don’t use them. My change at the supermarket was .08 today and they gave me .10. Yay for rounding!
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Yesterday was pretty rough, (but not as bad as today.) It was our first day in Cusco and seemed like it was going to be a good weather day. Oh no…it turned to torrential down pour, and then it turned to hail. Bad weather makes for a tough time taking photos and walking around. And, that makes Jon crabby!!
Today we ended up at the Pisac Ruins and wandered around forever. And then the place closed and there were no people to follow around. And then we were lost in some ancient Incan maze of ruins that all look the same. That makes Jill crabby! Jon says it was like a multi-player level gone bad. Long story short a taxi driver saved us from a 15km hike down a treacherous road that was half blocked with an old mudslide.
More on the taxi driver later, Amigos!
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On the first day in Arequipa we were met at the airport by our taxi driver. He was the cutest dude and he only spoke Spanish. ps: The car had working seat belts which none of the other taxis have had so far. He put on the radio to some typical South American music and we were off. It was straight out of the movies!
Since then we have taken a few other taxis. I would like to tell you that we have driven 100kmh in a maximum 45 zone, passed on double solids, or while going over speed bumps and railway tracks. Nearly hit a dude driving a bike cart, and couldn’t even count the number of pedestrians or dogs that have been narrowly missed. It appears the most important part of the car, truck, moto-taxi, bus etc is the HORN!
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For altitude sickness we have to take a pill called Diamox. I remember reading the side effects and thinking one was a little odd. Apparently it changes the flavour of carbonated beverages. And not in a good way. Coke takes like rancid tonic water. So nasty! Inca Cola doesn’t have any mystical Diamox killing powers either, but we still had to try it.
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We have made it to the airport in Lima. We have 2 more hours to wait until we board the final flight of the day to Arequipa. On Friday the 21st night we left for Vancouver at 10pm. It is now 12:20am BC time on the 23rd. I am one tired gal.
I was security screened in Vancouver 100% and had to be wanded and put through the new xray machine. Then in LA, I got the red light and had to be screened again. THEN when we got to customs in Lima I got the red light again! Seriously, you wait in line to press a button. If you get the red light you get searched. If you get the green light you go on your merry way. I must look sketchy today. I suppose that is what 30+ hours in transit will do to someone.
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Hey everyone…So, the updates have been written, but most of the places we’ve been staying don’t support my phone for doing ANYTHING! We’re having a lot of fun. Today we were out on Lake Titicaca and visited the floating Uros islands and the island of Taquile. There was quite a climb to the top of the island, and 550 stone steps back to to the port to meet the boat. The little kids are super cute. They crack me up with their little faces when they say “Buenos Dias”. Everyone here is trying to sell something or make money from something. We are basically being 2 soles to death. It is like living in a Walmart and being 2 dollared to death. So bizarre.
We’re doing well. Super tired, but everything has worked out so far. Will update again when the internet isn’t painfully slow.
I’m not a traveler who can picture where I’m going to be or what I’m going to do until I see it on paper. There’s gotta be a daily itinerary or a play by play and a map to get sorted out. We’re gonna cover a lot of the North, West and South of Peru. That’s lots of country to see in not too many days, but we’ll get it done. The previous post was done basically from memory, which the only reason I know is because Jon has told me the plans about a hundred times over the past year….not kidding!
I still had to ask where we were going in Mexico–apparently Teotihuacan is not the same a Chichen Itza. Good thing he likes me!
It almost doesn’t seem real yet because Jon’s been the one doing all the research and planning for this trip. I can’t even picture the complete itinerary, but he could tell you times and numbers for all the flights and busses we’ve got to take.
We’re pretty organized this time around as we’ve already got the bulk of our travel supplies. We’ve gone to get the appropriate vaccines and pills, and now just have to wait. (ps: my arm hurt like a mofo for more than 2 weeks after the travel shots!)So here’s the major attractions that I can remember from the plans we’ve got:
We fly from Vancouver to Lima and then to Arequipa. Then there is a tour of Colca Canyon, which thanks to Wikipedia I now know Colca Canyon is twice as deep as the Grand Canyon, but not as vertical. This is where we hope to ease into the altitude while we see the Andean Condor. Nothing like jumping to 3300m right away. (FYI: We live at 377m, and people start feeling altitude sickness above 2400m)After Colca Canyon, we’re off to Puno and Lake Titicaca. At 3800m,
Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable lake in the world. It looks bloody cold, yet all warnings say wear loads of sun screen to prevent sun burn. Apparently high altitude = no sun protection from the atmosphere. I suppose I should add sunscreen to the list of stuff we still need.From Puno we’re flying to Cusco. Cusco looks amazing. I’m looking forward to just wandering around and taking tons of pictures and checking out all the beautiful buildings. Cusco is at 3310m altitude. Let’s just hope we’re acclimatized by now and not feeling like death.
The next obvious place to visit from Cusco is Machu Picchu. You can’t really go to Peru and not visit Machu Picchu. That’d be like going to Paris and skipping the Louvre or the Eiffel Tower. After all the turmoil Peru has been going through from horrific mudslides this winter, I’m relieved that we’re able to get to Machu Picchu at all. We’re not doing the 4-day Inca Trail trek as we only have 16 days for the entire trip. Once we’ve finished our tour of Machu Picchu and Cusco, we fly back to Lima for 2 more crazy days packed full of plans. They’re going to be insane, but we’re going to try to visit Islas Ballestas and the next day Chan Chan. (Bonus: Cusco, Machu Picchu and Chan Chan are 3 more UNESCO World Heritage Site to cross off my list!)
The tour of Islas Ballestas will take us along the coast on a boat. Hopefully we’ll see all sorts of birds (penguins, pelicans, flamingos) and dolphins, sea lions etc. Most of the travel books warn that it is stinky and that we’ll probably get pooped on.
From Islas Ballestas it is back to Lima for a flight to Trujillo which is adjacent to Chan Chan. I’ve read a bit about Chan Chan, and it seems like it’ll be worth the visit.We had a choice of flying the Nazca Lines or visiting Chan Chan. It was a tough decision, but ultimately, I didn’t really want to fly over Nazca and feel like vomiting for the entire flight. (Almost every review, blog, article about the flying the Nazca lines includes vomiting.)
So that’s a little recap of the Peruvian leg of the journey. We’ll have 2 days in Mexico City visiting Teotihuacan. And then home.
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