My Ticket to Chaos

Home Sweet Home

2006-12-20T14:09:00.000-06:00

Home safe and sound after a day of flying. Our last day in Peru was spent in Lima. We had taken an overnight bus ride from Trujillo in first class (we splurged and spent $19 each). I slept for the entire ride but was awoken with a loud bang and a jolt. We had been rear ended by a garbage truck. 20 minutes later and three runs trips to the bus bathroom, a second bus came to the rescue. True, it was already full of people and we had to sit on laps but we got there safe and sound. We dropped our bags in a hostal and walked around all day, shopping last minute for gifts and souvenirs. We ate like pigs, choking down chocolate cake and McDonald's, ice cream and fruit juices. We caught a cab at midnight and headed for the airport. Derek and I flew out on the same plane at 2:25 am, while Josh stayed in the airport for another 8 hours until his flight into Chile departed. When I got home, I unpacked, showered, made some phone calls and hit the sack. It felt amazing to crawl into my bed and fall asleep to silence. Actually, I found it hard to fall asleep right away because of the silence, but eventually I was out like a light.
I think 6 weeks was just enough time in South America for me. I was starting to get pretty sick and tired of being tired and sick. Hopefully a few days of normal food and water will clean me out and bring me back to proper health. I'll tell you one thing, if you want to learn to appreciate what you have, leave it behind and put yourself in a situation that completely removes you from the familiar.

Merry Christmas everyone!

A Day at the Beach

2006-12-16T08:02:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we spent 50 soles each (approx. $25) to take a day trip with a local surfer to Chicama. This beach reportedly has the longest left breaking wave in the world. You can ride it on a board for 20 minutes straight or something crazy. We arrived and it was beautiful. The beach was huge and sandy, and best of all empty. The sun was shining bright. It was the first time we have seen the sun since our day trip to Chiclayo. We left our bags in the taxi so our hired driver could watch them all day for us then headed down the beach. We ended up walking about half an hour to this small, secluded and well sheltered beach. Here we spent the day surfing, boogie boarding, and tanning. There were albatrosses everywhere and lizards all over the rocks on the beach. Not a soul was there but us. We had a few accidents in which the girl who came with us, as well as Josh, crashed into some rocks while attempting to surf and fight the current. Everyone is fine and survived with no injury... Josh's board got the brunt of the damage. We had left our sunscreen and hats at the car, as well as cameras, so we all ended up burning to crisp. I can't quite walk today as it hurts too much to put pressure on my thighs. We ended the day with a big party at a local pub. It was a great day...besides the skin cancer, and worth every sole. Today is a day of recovery. We will need to make a trip into Trujillo to withdraw some money as I am out yet again. Curses.

Am I Having Fun?

2006-12-14T17:58:00.000-06:00

The answer is...sometimes. The annoyances of the country and its culture are quickly starting to grade on me. Every day at 5:30 am a guy rides around the block honking his bicycle horn NON-STOP. He honks it all day to advertise his bread for sale. I haven't been sleeping well because of it...well, him and the guy who rides his fruit cart bike around the block all morning yelling out the names of EVERY SINGLE FRUIT in his cart using a megaphone. We have been in surf towns now for the last 9 days or so and since I'm not very keen on surfing I find it difficult to enjoy myself as much as the others. Why not take off and do something else you ask? Well, not knowing the language causes its own problems, but I am also uncomfortable with the constant hooting and hollering and staring that comes with being a single white girl on the street. I have also run out of money. So while the weather is great and I'm still counting my blessings for being in this amazing country, there are times I am not having fun. I'm trying to make the best of it, but knowing that there are only a few more days before I'm back in my comfy, quiet bedroom and flushing poopy toilet paper down the toilet instead of smelling it for 4 days in the bathroom garbage can makes it difficult to stay in the proper headspace.

I also miss the inland. There is no real culture here on the coast besides the typical surf culture, which isn't exactly my scene so it's hard for me to fit in. There are no old ladies carrying children on their backs, or llamas walking around the streets. I miss that stuff.

With all this said, don't worry about me. I'm making the best of it and enjoying as much as I can. Home in 5 days!

Have I got a story for you

2006-12-13T21:25:00.000-06:00

So here's my story about the biggest waste of time and money on this entire trip.

Tired of the scenery in the small beach town of Huanchaco, we decided to head off to Chiclayo this morning. Chiclayo is a larger, more modern city where we had hoped to find some more surfing. We caught the 3 hour bus this morning at about 7:30 for $4.00. When we arrives, we set off in search of a hostal. We found one for about $18 each a night. We dumped our gear, roamed the city's downtown shopping core, and caught a minibus out to the beach. Here, we found an adorable little town with an even sweeter hostal. Unfortunately there was no place to rent boards, although you could ask someone to borrow theirs for the day. Back onto the minibus and into the city. We then found me a bikini and made the decision to return to Huanchaco this evening and continue to surf where we had been for the past 3 days. Onto the bus again for $5, after supper at a Chinese restaurant called Chifa Jackie Chan, with a huge picture of Jackie above the door. So now we are back in Huanchaco, same hostal as before ready to surf again. What a waste of money and time.

Surf the Wave

2006-12-12T08:26:00.000-06:00

8 hours on an overnight bus got us to Huanchaco (Trujillo). We arrived early in the morning and found a place to stay. It only took a few hours before the surfboards and wetsuits were rented. Into the ocean they went. I choose not to go because I am a wimp. The water beats me up way too much and I tend to get scared when I'm being tossed about helplessly for 30 seconds in the crashing waves. Instead, I sit on the beach and take pictures. Laddy-da. We then indulged in some ceviche, which is raw fich that has been marinated in lemon juice and spices until it is 'cooked'. Delicious really. So the last couple days have been surfing (I started body boarding) and eating. Nothing too exciting or different. We head out tomorrow morning to Chiclayo, another beach town for...you guessed it, more surfing.

So It's Been a While...

2006-12-08T06:49:00.000-06:00

We caught the 8 hour bus ride back to Lima from Huaraz where we climbed for 5 days and met some great people and contacts. I took no pictures for this entire stretch of trip...nothing you haven't seen before (eg. mountains with snow). On the bus ride we played Bingo and I won. Yay! We arrived in Lima, grabbed a cab to some random bus stop off the side of the highway and jumped on a minibus to Punta Hermosa where we would be dropped off on a dark, lonely corner in the middle of a dead town at night. Some man walked by and took us to our hostal, a place known as 'Pico Alto International Surf Camp'. We arrived to find a couple of staff members and one other man who was staying there, an older gentlemen from California. Turns out the owner, Oscar, had died the day before. He had suffered a heart attack while surfing. So we've showed up in the middle of a 'transition' period where nobody is quite sure what is happening. The next morning we meet the rest of the staff/surf guides and head out that afternoon for a lesson or two in surfing. Basically, since my guide did not speak English and visa versa, the lesson consisted of ¨here is how you lie on the board, here is how you get up. Let's go.¨ Umm, okay. So off I went into the big sea. It hurt paddling out there to those giant waves, and when I got there I started feeling motion sick. My guide pushed me in front of a fews waves, but after about 3 tries I needed to throw up. I gave up quickly and paddled back in after getting tossed about in the waves for 10 minutes. I guess surfing isn't for me. I'm quite happy just to watch and take pictures. So we will stay here for another day or two then move on up the coast to warmer waters and more sun. The gang here is great, and the meals are marvelous, but I want to see some different beach.

Huaraz

2006-12-01T19:22:00.000-06:00

We caught a plane to Lima and bought our bus tickets to Huaraz the minute we arrived, around 6 pm. We had three hours to kill, and were told by the security guard to spend it across the street at METRO. Basically, it was a giant Walmart surrounded by carnival rides and dance competitions. We walked around, sat in the food court, and watched some chick in tight, white pants lead a group of people on the street through dance moves. I also had McDonalds fries for the first time. I have never seen a McDonalds before in this country. They were gloriously familiar. We caught our bus and had an 8 hour overnight busride to Huaraz. I slept for most of it but when I woke up in Huaraz, I immediately had to run to the bathroom and throw up from motion sickness. Note to self...do not book seats on the top floor of the giant bus. I we spent the first few hours shopping for a hostel before taking one simply out of exhaustion form looking. We soon regretted it and later found a new place with a kitchen. I am happy for $7.50 a night. We spent the rest of the day shopping for groceries in the market to make our meals from scratch. Josh collected a bunch of climbing information and entered in a bouldering competition for tomorrow. Something to do I suppose!

Strange things I have seen in the last few days...

1. An old man laying in a produce cart on the sidewalk, covered in a blanket. I think his wife drags him into town each morning to keep her company while she sells her potatoes.

2. A bum with no hands begging for money, and no hat to put change in. Where do I put the money sir? Where?

3. METRO...a Walmart combined with Klondike days.

4. New car celebrations. In Copa, whenever somebone bought a new car they would park it in the town square, cover it with gladiolas, have it blessed, spray beer on it and set off fireworks in front of it on the ground. Then everyone sits in the car and gets drunk. Hey, congratulations on your new baby Toyota.

5. An old lady with a Llama waiting to get pictures taken. Okay, that is not wierd, in fact I see it everywhere. The wierd part was the giant stuffed lion on her right side.

6. Women selling raw meat on street corners, spread out on tarps.

Picture time.

2006-11-30T09:18:00.000-06:00

Old man washing his feet outside a store in the dessert.

Bolivian woman in the traditional clothing.

Salt hotel in the Uyuni Salt Flats of Bolivia.

Weeeee. Me at the salt flats where I got my nasty sunburn.

A typical street in Puno, Peru. These are the tricycle taxis we took everywhere for less than .15 cents a ride.

Flamingos in a lake at 4600 meters above seal level. Crazy!

St. Catalina Monastery in Arequipa. Beautiful architecture and design. It was a small city within the city. Too bad you had to be a nun to live there. Apparently it is still used by 30 sisters.

Creepy statue in monastery.

24 Years and Counting

2006-11-28T07:56:00.000-06:00

Well, it was my 24th birthday yesterday. Thank you to everyone who emailed me a birthday wish, they really did make my day...as most of it was spent on a bus.

We left Copacabana at 6 am yesterday morning. It is a great town, basically hippieville and the locals are all so friendly. Nobody tries to push anything on you. We endured some extremely scary thunderstorms in the evening as well, which made it even more magical. We spent the day just walking along the beach and climbing nearby hills...not to mention a two hour, mid-afternoon nap! Anyways, it all came to an end yesterday.

Taxi to the border, packed with people in the back of the wagon - less than .50 cents
Minibus into the border town to catch a bigger bus - .20 cents
Tricycle taxi to Puno bus stop - .33 cents
2 hour local bus to Puno - $1.50
Lunch in Puno, tweezers, q-tips, and internet for an hour - $15.00
Tricycle taxi to bus station - $1.00
7 hour bus to Arequipa - $5.00
Taxi to hotel - $1.00
Fancy hotel for my birthday night (aka comfortable bed) - $36

I love this country! I am actually saving money by travelling here! Although, I already miss Bolivia and the cheapness of everything. We have a few days in Arequipa before we fly back to Lima and head North to Huarez. We will try to take in some of the local attractions here in Peru's 2nd largest city.

Salt Flats and Sunburns

2006-11-25T06:40:00.000-06:00

Our 3 day trip to the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia was...interesting to say the least. We arrived in Uyuni by train late in the evening and went to the first hostal that was presented to us at the train station. The air in the desert is so dry that you end up losing one nostril,then both and having to resort to mouth breathing all night. I do not sleep well when resorting to mouth breathing. Without much sleep, we headed out to a few tour companies to try to get on a three day tour leaving that morning. After talking with a few companies, we booked last minute (literally, we booked at 9:15 and they left at 10:30) for a three day tour of the salt flats. We packed our bags and paid the $60 each. The Land Cruiser arrived late, and by the time they had found enough people to fill our tour it was about 11:45. We then set off to pick up our cook and her 2 year old son who sat shotgun with me for the entire three days. First stop was the train graveyard, a mile stretch ot deserted railway cars. Then we set off across the dusty desert - 10 people bouncing around in the four by four inhaling more dust than I ever possibly could have inhaled in a lifetime on a farm. Soon we were driving across the salt flats. 2000 square kilometers of white salt against blue sky, as far as the eye could see. We jumped out and took some pictures. The sun was so bright and hot, I decided to just wear a tank top for the 10 minutes we were outside of the vehicle. This is how I recieved my 2nd degree sunburns all over my body and face. Yay. We drove on to some more salt flats and 5 hours of driving later, arrived at the salt hotel. This entire hotel was made from salt - from the floors to the walls to the beds. Candlelight was our main source of light for the evening and it felt like we were in medieval times. We took a short walk to some mummies burried in the hills and went to bed.

Day two was more driving to a series of small lakes filled with flamingos. It was quite a strange site to see, hundreds of pink flamingos dotting the barron landscape. Quite a boring day really! We stayed at a small hostal/town on a lake that was red and pink and green with various algae. We walked the shore to kill time and hit the sack at 8 pm as we had to get up at 4 am the next day to catch the sunrise.

4:00 came too soon. We had shared a room with our entire group and all of us were mouth breathing and some were snoring. At one point I got up to go to the washroom and took with me a headlamp to light the way. As I squatted in the stall (the toilets usually do not have seats) the headlamp fell and batteries scattered everywhere. It took me 5 minutes to feel around in the dark on the dirty bathroom floor for them. I found only two of the three and gave up. It took me another 10 minutes to find my way back to the room and into bed without a light. Half an hour later the banging on the doors began. We got up and dressed in about 10 minutes and loaded up the vehicle. It was, at this time, approximately 15 degrees below. We piled in and drove for an hour to some geysers and boiling mud. From there we went to some natural hot springs and watched the sunrise through the steam. We spent the rest of the day driving back home to Uyuni.

While we saw some cool things, the tour was not all that great (in my opinion). The food was crap, our driver could not stand to be behind another vehicle and would often put our lives in danger just to stay in the lead. He also rushed us at every stop so we would not fall behind. At one point he hit Josh in the head cause he was not translating the instructions to everyone. It was alot of driving, alot of sun, and alot of mouth breathing. Funny how none of the tours we have gone on offer any sort of safety talks, insurance wavers, or saftey gear (besides the mountain biking). They just do not care. Half of the vehicles o not even have seatbelts!

We caught the 11-hour bus overnight back to La Paz. Here we will do some last minute shopping and then it is off to Copacobanna, Arequipa, and Huarez.

Pictures of the Pampas and Jungle

2006-11-20T15:51:00.000-06:00

Me and a friendly parrot at a restaurant.

The paradise bird, or stinky turkey (you can´t eat the meat).

A Heron of sorts.

An alligator.

Some monkeys.

Pampas and Jungle

2006-11-19T18:19:00.000-06:00

I am so incredibly hot. As I type this the sweat drips down my lower back and into my crack, down my chest, as well as off my fingertips. I have just spent the last four days in the jungle and pampas near Rurrenabaque, Bolivia. It began with a gruelling 3 hour drive in a beat up old land cruiser down the dustiest road you could ever imagine. There were times when a vehicle passed us and we had to pull off for 5 minutes to wait for the dust to clear. The guys in the back were so covered in dust they could barely breathe. The sweat was dripping off us and the dust would cling, creating a mud bath for each and every one of us. We arrived at a river where we loaded onto our small boat with our guide Renee, and three lovely young folks from Switzerland. Off we went down the mud coloured river in 32 degree weather, with nothing but hats to shade us from the sun. Along the way we saw evey animal you could possibly imagine seeing in the jungle: monkeys, alligators, turtles, hundreds of birds, and dolphins. We got to our lodge and jumped into our mosquito netted beds to escape the wrath of the little blood suckers. We sweat for a good hour then ate. We then went to watch the sunset over the pampas. That night we went on a night tour on the boat. In the pitch black, surrounded by the constant humm of insects, frogs and birds we took our flashlights and went in search of alligators. Not only did we find alligators but trees aglow with fireflies, bats of different sizes flying right over our heads, and the most interesting insects.

The following day we went on an anaconda hunt. Sounds fun doesn´t it? Unfortunately, it involved trekking through waste high sloughs for 4 hours that were so thick with mosquitos that, at times, you couldn´t tell what coulour the person´s shirt was in front of you. We were eaten alive in 30 above weather, soaking wet with stinky slough water. About 3 hours in we all decided to call it quits, with out having found a snake. As we turned to head back our guide hollered from afar that he had a cobra. We ran over to find him hanging on to it by the tail as its head was hidden in an old tree. It took three men and about 10 minutes to pull it out of the tree. When they finally managed it, we took a few pictures and left. I think they killed it though, as it wasn´t moving when they released it. Another one bites the dust for the tourist industry. Later that afternoon, we endurred an amazing midday thunderstorm and followed that with some fishing and a sunset.

The last day in the pampas was truly amazing. We drove the boat to a remote lagoon adn swam with four dolphins. Naturally, I was the first to jump into the water. What an experience...swimming in 4 meter deep, murky water filled with bugs and snakes and alligators. To be honest, all you could think about was the dolphins. On our way out of the pampas our driver stopped at a house in town adn told us to wait for him to switch vewhicles. There we sat, two Canadians and three Sweds, on a bench in the blazing sun in front of some guys old farm house. We nearly sweat to death. Then some guy saddled up his horse and I took it for a quick ride. After an hour and a half of waiting it turned out there was no vehicle switch, so we headed back home on the dusty ass road for 3 hours. Today we hit the actual jungle, consisting of a 3 hour boat ride, a two hour jungle walk where we learned about some cool trees, and a 2 hour boat ride back. Was it a waste of $40? I don´t think so. But it rained so there weren´t as many bugs and it was much cooler. All in all, the jungle and pampas rocked. I recommend it to everyone!

Pampas and Jungle

2006-11-19T16:56:00.000-06:00

Pictures from the World´s Most Dangerous Road

2006-11-15T09:26:00.000-06:00

A stretch of the road.

Our group on the road.

Passing a truck. These gigantic trucks and busses pass on 4 meter wide sections of the road. In the rainy season some parts of the road are eroded 3 times a week adn need to be repaired. We would often pull over for vehicles to pass.

The black monkey was the one I cuddled with, the other one attacked me and drew blood. Little bastard.

We are flying into the jungle today on a military airline. Wheee! We will be spending 3 days on the pampas to see the monkey and alligators, then one day in the jungle for the trees and insects. We will then fly back to La Paz to catch an overnight bus to Uyuni for a Salt Flat tour.

World's Most Dangerous Road

2006-11-13T08:54:00.000-06:00

Dangerous shmangerous. Okay, maybe if you're driving a van or a truck or a bus. But on a mountain bike with amazing shocks, it's just a great time. So there may have been a few times when I scared myself on a muddy corner or I clipped the cliff edge, but for the most part it was easy and a gerat rush. We started at the top and rode downhill for 20 km on pavement. That was when you could take in the views and not concentrate on the road. Then we hit the dangerous, muddy, gravel covered, 3 meter wide road. I went from 12th place to thrid place for most of the ride. Once I got used to the bike it was awesome, stopping every ten minutes or so to take in the views. I saw tons of amazing birds adn the mountains are breathtaking. Bolivia is a beautiful place. We ended the ride at a small resort where they housed abandonned animals, like spider monkeys and parrots. One of the older monkeys caught my eye, so I sat down beside her adn she came over to me and rested her head on my lap to sleep. I cuddled with her for a good half hour before a smaller monkey jumped on me and started to bite me everywhere. I was in heaven there I tell you, heaven. We then went to Coroico and found a great hostel for about ¤8 a night each with a pool, sauna, bar, and patio off our room. It overlooked the Bolivian mountains and the crazy road we came in on. The birds are amazing and flocks of parakeets are a common site. We head back to La Paz today on a bus...only way out is the world's most dangerous road. Scary, to say the least. We plan to hit the jungle next for a few days.

From our balcony.

Update from Bolivia...the Poorest Country in South America

2006-11-11T16:29:00.000-06:00

We caught the 6 hour bus ride to Puno, Peru (thank God for Immodium) where we found a cheap hotel, about 5 dollars american. We walked the dirty, stinky town and had a lovely supper of pizza. The next morning we boarded the boat to the floating islands on Lake Titicaca, the world´s highest navigable lake. We met several people on the boat and became good friends with an aussie, a kiwi (www.getjealous.com/la), an american, and two girls from Vancouver. We arrived on the islands, which are made of reeds from the lake and float on the water, in the morning then headed off to Amanti Island. Here, we were introduced to our host families and were taken to our homestay´s for the evening. 17 year old Vanessa and her mother cooked us a traditional meal in the small, clay hut kitchen where we were kept company by 6 guinea pigs. It was a basic meal of soup, rice, potatoes and fried cheese. The food here is always very heavy and starchy, but the soups are to die for. After lunch we explored the island on foot and watched the sunset. Then came supper, followed by a dance in the hall. We were all dressed in the traditional clothing, many layers of skirts and tops, and danced the night away. Well, we actually only danced about 4 dances as they were about 10 minutes long and boring as hell. We slept well in the simple clay brick house and woke the next morning to a lovely breakfast of pancakes. We got back onto the boat and visited another island nearby, called Tequille. It was all very beautiful and interesting to see how the local Quechwa people live, some never seeing a city or town. Our group of new friends met for dinner in Puno and splurged on a 25 soles meal (about 9 dollars). The manager gave us free wine and dessert. Woohoo!

This morning we all caught the bus to The Copacobana, then transfered to a bus headed for La Paz, Bolivia. We were lucky enough to be accompanied by three very loud, drunk, and obnoxious Irish folks who used the "f" word as though it was a common noun. We will return to Copacobana on our way back through Peru. It´s a lovely little hippie town on the shores of Lake Titicaca. So 6 hours later, here we are in La Paz. After finding an adorable hotel that will run us a whopping 10 USD a night, we all met again for cervezas and dinner. Tomorrow, we shall all live the adventure of mountain biking down the world´s most dangerous road. Though we have heard tales of Bolivia being a sketchy country, we have heard even more stories of it´s beauty and kind people. I´m loving it so far. We are surrounded by Lake Titicaca and a beautiful, snow covered mountain range. I will try to post again soon, pending my survival of tomorrow´s expedition.
We are currently in La Paz, Bolivia.

Pictures will come at a later date.

Some random pictures

2006-11-07T10:11:00.000-06:00

Unfortunately, my camera doesn´t download pics as quickly, but here are some that were taken by others.

Machu Poochu

2006-11-07T09:50:00.000-06:00

Alas, the inevitable has happened...traveller´s diarrhea. We had just finished the 5 hour hike through the cloud forest in the Andes, arriving in Machu Picchu by 5 pm. We were rained on for 50% of the hike and when we arrived at the Sun gate (lookout onto Machu) it was too cloudy to see anything. We decided to start hiking down to the bus station when all of a sudden the clouds cleared and there it was, a magnificant sight. We took a ton of pictures as the sun set slowly on Machu and there wasn´t a single soul on the ruins. Pictures of Machu with no people is indeed a rarity. There is so much history and incredible stories about the Incas, we learned a ton on our tour.

Anyhoo, back to the diarrhea...
We arrive in the small town at the base of the mountain and get into our lovely hostel...the nicest we´ve had yet by far! Then, as we are enjoying a lovely supper, I begin to develop a cramp so bad I think I might explode. I run to the bathroom and do just that. We rush home and I continue the routine of sleeping half an hour then waking to run to the bathroom. Our guide, Washington, grabbed me some immodium which allowed me to make it through the day at Machu Picchu. But 3 days later and I still have it. Gross. I do feel much lighter though, and it isn´t in any way painful, just an inconvenience. Other than that, the only health problems I am experiencing now are horrible black fly bites. See below.

Tomorrow morning we board the 7 hour bus to Pino and then on to Lake Titicaca where we will see the floating islands and get to stay with a local family on one of the main islands there. I think we are then on to a 3 day hike, just us. Then hopefully, if everything works to our advantage (time and weather wise) we will go to a puma reserve in the jungle in Bolivia and try to volunteer there for about 4 or 5 days doing odd tasks. I am so excited to get to Bolivia as everyone we have talked to who has been says it is the best place to be, and ridiculously cheap as well. Being stuck in Cusco for a week is grinding on my nerves.

Here

2006-11-01T16:43:00.000-06:00

After a very long airplane ride I arrived in Lima, only to have to waste 6 hours in the airport until my flight for Cusco came at 6 am. I did so by recovering from my mild motion sickness with some McDonald´s and then sleeping along a wall in a hallway like a bum. There where others doing it too, don´t worry...mom. It was then off to Cusco where we found a hostel. The one recommended to us by a friend was basically party central for backpackers. We decided that since we hadn´t slept for a good 25 hours, we should probably find a quiet little hostel and spend the extra money (about $15 a night). We slept for 4 hours, then hit the town for supper. It´s a beautiful little city with gorgeous old buildings and streets, speckled with cute little old ladies dressed in full traditional clothing...usually carrying a baby on their backs. There are dogs everywhere, and even more people asking you to buy something. Highly annoying. We found a restaurant and ate some ´surprise food´ as I do not speak Spanish and had no idea what I was ordering. Turns out it was trout and rice. After we ate, we decided to walk around some more and enjoy the evenings events in the town square...it WAS Halloween afterall. Hoards of children roamed the streets yelling ´Halloween, halloween´ and following you around with little buckets. There were Batmans and cats, fairies and more locals asking you to buy things. We headed back to bed and slept in the next morning.

And now it is today...November 1st. In the hopes of finding a bus to take us to some ruins outside of the city, we set off into town map in hand. We ended up bumping into a young Spanish couple on their hooneymoon looking to do the same thing. We lucked out and found a taxi for super cheap. Instead of taking us 8 km up the road to the ruins, where we would hike back from, he ended up taking us 32 km to the next town, Pisaq. This turned out to be way better as there were some amazing ruins and we got to go an a fairly strenuous hike. It was interesting to see the history of this place. We were also joined on the trail by an older local woman who was hiking to the top with her daughter on her back. She was selling bracelets, so we had to buy one. That´s earning a living! It was probably 25 degrees out and she was fully dressed in traditional clothing, with a 2 year old strapped to her back. We hiked around the ruins with Michela and Alberta (the Italians) then headed back on the bus, where we met another couple who were from Austria. At least they spoke English! I tell ya, being the only one here that doesn´t know a lick of spanish, it´s frustrating talking to people. Yet somehow, with the small amount of Spanish we did know, we were able to carry on great conversations with the Italians, who spoke little Spanish and no english. The Austrians let us in on a great hostel so we will be moving there tonight. Tomorrow we will hike up to the original ruins we had planned to see adn spend the day there.

I have not yet been sick, besides the odd headache from the altitude here in Cusco...3700 meters or so. It´s hard to breathe after only walking up a small set of stairs and the hike today literally took the breath out of me. It hurt my lungs. But I´m not complaining, not yet! And nobody has tried to rob me or pick pocket me...I probably just jinxed it though by writing that. I will try to post some pictures on my flickr site. No guarantees it will work. Hope to post again soon.

A Watched Kettle Never Boils

2006-10-25T14:33:00.000-05:00

Well neither does a much anticipated trip...arrive that is. Okay, so that didn't make any sense. What I mean to say is as the trip approaches, the longer the wait seems. Days are longer and hours drag on. I just want to go already. I am finding it extremely difficult to focus on everyday tasks. Once Friday comes and I'm done work, I'll only have to wait for the weekend to pass. I'm considering heading out to the farm to pass the time, it seems to go by much quicker out there. I've run out of money to live on as well, spending every last penny on things to bring. If only I had another $100 to buy some damn shoes. Oh well, 5 year-old sneakers it is...I'm sure the local Peruvians won't judge me too much!

P.S. - This is what the alphabet would look like if it were missing 'Q' and 'R'.

P.P.S. - My good friend David moved to Australia today. I wish him good luck.

(Everyone's doing it, what are you waiting for?!)

Thank the Lord for TV

2006-10-19T10:03:00.000-05:00

Everyday, when I have the time, I turn on the tube to the Outdoor Life Netwrok, in hopes that a travel show will be visiting Peru. Unfortunately, this has not yet happened. Until yesterday, when I clicked the power button on the bottom right-hand corner of the television (I've lost my remote) revealing a group of people racing full speeds on mountain bikes down a muddy road in the jungle. Well I knew right away that it was the World's Most Dangerous Road.

My original plan was to take this tour and challenge myself a little. However, after watching a ten minute special on it I have been greatly deterred. Despite the road tour, everything else in Bolivia looked manageable. Except for a few small things:

- If you don't have a 4x4 vehicle, it is extremely difficult to manoeuvre through the country
- They are mass producers of cocaine and you do not want to be caught wandering through a coca farm
- Everybody wants. If asked to take a picture with a local, decline as they will ask for money afterwards.
- The country is ridden with bad food and disease, including Malaria, Yellow Fever, Typhoid and Team Hep. Thank goodness for vaccinations.

So the question you're asking now is, am I regretting it yet? No. Not yet anyways!