Two Weeks in Peru

Hi All. During our last episode our hero and heroine made their way to Peru.  In Cusco, the pair found a cheap hotel for $10 a night and did not much of anything for a few days... wandered streets, searched artisian markets for works of art (i.e., cheap touristy crap for friends and family) and took loads of pictures of locals (which generally cost $.30 a shot).

After several days the two decided to get on with it and make thier way to Machu Picchu.  Being savy travelers, they avoided the direct train from Cusco to Aguas Calientes ($57) and took local transport ($3) to the halfway point in an attempt to get the backpacker train ($12). Yeah. The backpacker train was sold out. Some thing money can´t buy. This wasn´t one of them. So out came Mastercard and for ($37, one way) they made it to Aguas Calientes.

Ok. Enough third person. It´s much too difficult. We went up Machu Picchu the next morning at 6:30 AM. The morning is mystical. Mist through the mountains and intertwined in the ruins.  The ruins are immense. We were there to see the mist burn off by mid-day and the sun drop behind the mountains.  The next morning we left Machu Picchu and headed for Lake Titicaca on the Bolivian boarder.

The Lake Titicaca episode will air later this month. For now, we are in Puerto Ayora, Ecuador in the Galapagos Islands where internet access is a bit pricey. We board a boat tomorrow for an 8 day cruise of the islands.

Hope everyone is well.

Cusco, Peru

Spanish classes concluded on 5 June. On 6 June we left Cuenca, Ecuador and headed to Peru. That´s where I am now. Cusco, Peru. (More specifically, an internet cafe where Eye of the Tiger is being played rather loudly by a band next door.)

We lacked a map of Peru, however, our keen sense of direction told us to head south. Here is a short summary of our journey:

CUENCA, Ecuador - LOJA, Ecuador (4 PM departure, 4 hrs)
If you blur your eyes, southern Ecuador looks a lot like Switzerland. At least the part that entails small homes nestled in spectacularly steep hills. That is where they eye blurring comes in. The poverty and ill repair of the roads was not very Swiss. Nor was the loud latin music played by the driver. Beutiful scenery and a window view of indigenous living.

LOJA, Ecuador - CHICLAYO, Peru (9 PM departure, 9.5 hours)´
If you read travel books, you´d expect the boarder crossing into Peru to be worthy of a Fear Factor episode. In fact, while creepy, it was not that bad. Throughout the drive in Ecuador officials arrived on the bus to check passports. No problem, however, I found it a little concerning that they boarded the bus armed and wearing ski masks from the chilly night air. The actual boarding crossing took place at 2 AM. We were aroused from sleep to exit the bus and obtain exit stamps. (A word of advice. That little yellow piece of paper they give you on the flight into Ecuador...you are supposed to keep that. Yeah. Don´t throw it away.) Next you have to cross a dimly lit bridge, over a river, toward the small building on the other side with the big Peruvian flag. Once in Peru, wake up the sleeping official to stamp your passport. (Another word of advice. Don´t leave your glasses on the bus. Or make sure you bring a boyfriend to fill out your paperwork). The bus arrived in Chiclayo around 7:30 AM. This is where we found out our connection left at 8:30 PM. While we had negotiated our ticket in Spanish, I am quite confident that the layover was supposed to be 2-4 hours...not 12. Now the story gets a little fuzzy. After presenting our position to a bus official he took us in a taxi to another bus terminal. A lot of Spanish was spoken and $10 exchanged hands. By 8:00 we were on our way to Lima via another bus company.

CHICLAYO, Peru - Lima, Peru (8 AM departure, 10 hours)
I did not expect the coast of Peru to look like Iraq. For 10 hours we saw nothing but barren landscape, dunes, and small dusty towns. That´s probably why the bus company played movies the entire ride. 10 hours probably sounds awful in a bus but it was quite nice. We brought snacks, we read, we watched movies, we tried to look South American as we were the only gringos on board.

LIMA, Peru
Yeah. One day here was enough.

Lima, Peru - Cusco, Peru (55 minute flight)
The flight was awesome. 55 mintues over the Andes. Cusco is touristy but very charming. It was warm and sunny upon our arrival. After a month in the Sierra the warmth was welcome. Tomorrow we will plan the remainder of our week.

Cajas National Park

Located about an hours drive outside Cuenca, Cajas National Park is at an elevation of 4500 meters. In comparison, Minneapolis is at 278 meters. At this elevation, altitude sickness may occur. While we didn´t experience signs of altitude sickness, hiking up hills was slow going as we had to stop frequently to catch our breath.

Checkout Photos at:
"Cajas National Park."

Ecuadorian Doctors

No international trip is complete without a medical emergency. What better way to understand to socio economic fabric that defines a country? What better way to spend a Monday evening than searching for a medical specialist after hours?

On Monday afternoon Rog and I were walking home from class. Our walk is along a busy street filled with pedestrians, traffic, and construction. Midway in our walk something got in my right eye. I tried to remove it but assumed I wasn´t successful as it remained irritated throughout the day. By 6 PM I felt as if I had a dagger in my eye. If that wasn´t a clue to futher problems the swelling and puss were a sure sign. Luckily, our host family knew an opthamologist. They called him up and he met us at his office after hours. He quickly cleaned out my eye and diagnosed an infection. Three prescriptions later we were out of there and on our way to the pharmacy.

It was actually a very nice experience. Our host parents were very helpful and understanding. The doctor did everything a US doctor would have done. And best yet, the cost was $20 for the visit and $16 for the prescriptions.

I think I´ll write to Lonely Planet and suggest that they place ´Medical Attention´ under the ´Things to Do´ section.

Father´s Day Cuy

While far from our fathers, this year Rog and I celebrated Father´s Day with a fine meal of cuy. For those of you unfamiliar with Ecuadorian cuisine, cuy is know to Americans as guinea pig. Yes, the fine furry friends we keep as pets are gutted, skewered, and roasted over an open flame. To frame the following story, keep in mind that I have an aversion to eating meat off the bone...

In celebration of Father´s Day Rog and I were invited by our host family to dine with our host father´s parent. The 12 of us drove outside town about 20 minutes. Rog and I never would have found this place on our own. I´d characterize the restaurant as a ´cuy hut´. The restaurant was quite barren with the exception of mismatched tables and bare light bulbs in the ceiling. The only food served...cuy. First our host father introduced us to a local drink. It was a shot of grain alcohol mixed with Sprite. Not bad. After about 3 I was prepared to receive my cuy. Cuy is served spread eagle on a plate of rice or potatoes. You either get the front halve containing the head and front claws or, if you´re lucky, you receive the back half with back claws. Thankfully, another family member swapped their back half for my front half. Cuy is a hands on experience as I gathered from Grandma´s Spanish. No knives or forks. Just jump in their and rip off a leg. I must say that, for me, I did a good job of cleaning my plate. That said, I left most of the Kentucky Fried skin on my plate. I became uncomfortable with everyone eyeballing my plate as I realized the skin is somewhat of a delicacy. I was relieved when my host mother Augustina finally asked if my cuy skin was up for grabs. Absolutely! 10 minutes later and their was nothing but bones.

Cuy tastes like no other meat I´ve had before. It definitely doesn´t taste like chicken. It´s actually not bad...but I must say inclusion of head and claws was a serious turn off to my future participation in cuy cook offs.

To view some pics on Ofoto:
"Dia del Padre in Cuenca."

Life in Ecuador

The first few weeks in Ecuador were relatively uneventful. Suffice to say I spent the first week getting acquanted with prescription meds I brought from the states. I'm feeling much more...consistent...these days.

We are staying with a host family in Cuenca, Ecuador. The family consists of our host mother (Augustina), host father (Oswaldo), 2 daughter (Marie Amelia - age 6, and Ana Paula - age 2), their housekeeper (Mada - age 17), and Cookie the dog. The house is very comfortable and the walk to school is a healthy 45 minutes by foot or 15 minutes by bus.

In school we have two teachers. We start grammar class with Marie Elena at 8:00 AM and continue with conversation class at 10:30 with Ceasar. We´re done with school by 12:30.

After school we head back to the house for lunch. Lunch is the main meal in Ecuador. Additionally it is considered culturally important as family time. Considering breakfast consist of a piece of bread and dinner is some rice and a small piece of meat we find it beneficial to make it back for lunch.

Now a word about safety in Ecuador. By American standards, their is none. Two examples follow. Last week the first mall opened in Cuenca. Our host family took us as Oswaldo oversees security at the Mall. In a car the size of a Ford Fiesta, we packed in 5 adults and 3 children. No seatbelts. Kids on our laps. We had it pretty good. Many people arrived in the back of pick up trucks. Second example. Last week was a 10 day celbration for Corpus Christi. The celebration is marked by a daily fireworks display. As the crowd gathers the Vaca Loca comes out. What is the Vaca Loca? The Vaca Loca is a cow structure the size of a large dog. It is outfitted with fireworks around the exterior and super sonic sparklers in the horns. Men hoist the Vaca Loca´s onto their shoulders and then run through the crowds spewing fireworks similar to roman-candle-johnny-jump up things. Once the Vaca Loca has tossed all the spinning balls of fire into the crowd the horns ignite. This is where the super sonic sparklers come in. The terror continues as sparks are pointed directly into the crowd. All this while the crowd laughs and screams with delight. Seriously insane. I nearly avoided coming away with a souveneir scar. A roman-candle-johnny-jumpup thing attacked the side of my pants. I came away with a bruised hand and hole the size of a quarter burnt into my pants. No third degree burn to write home about but my pants look pretty tough.

To view some pics on Ofoto:
"Life In Cuenca."

Travels 2004

This is the start of my first blog. To catch everyone up, this is what went down...Rog and I decided life had gotten a bit stale so we sold our suburban house and headed to S. America for two months. Upon our return to the States, we´ll fit what we can into the Jeepster and head for Seattle, WA. Sound like a plan. Here we go...