May 15th
we arrived into cusco early at 8 am and made our way to the pariwana hostel in cusco. It is quite similar to the one in lima but a lot bigger. Because it was still early we couldnt check in yet so we decided to watch a movie, aka crash hard after a night with little sleep. Slept great and woke up and went to a awesome local market full of fresh harvests and best of all, live animals. There were the usual chickens, ducks, and rabbits but they also had cuy, which is guinea pig. Cuy is a very common meal in peru and people eat it like its not a big deal. After the market we went and did some shopping in another market that which had a really cool open air meat market. Having worked in a meat department, I found this really interesting while the girls did not really feel the same! We walked around the city for a while and discovered some great things there. Cusco is a beautiful city, with historic ruins and an amazing plaza. We came back to the hostel, ate, played cards and drank, and went out. Anya and Courtney were pretty tired so it was a guys night with sam and i. Had a really great time watching some live music and drinking lots of pisco sour´s.
May 16
Woke up and chilled out for the beginning part of the day but then hit the city. Walked all over and went into a lot of shops and restaurants. Still no cuy though, as it is about 20 dollars! We walked up this huge hill to go look at the ruins called ¨sexy woman´´. thats really not their name but it sure as hell sounds like it. We had to pay around 20 dollars to enter but a man came up to us and offered to get in cheap on horses through the back. Of course courtney and i wanted to because it was horses and it was cheaper. We took a 3 hour horse ride through some of the most beautiful country ever. Great horses although mine had a problem with eating other horses poop. Got off and looked at an old temple and then continued on to sexy woman. By the time we were there it got dark but the ruins were still amazing. 150 ton rocks made huge inkan walls which was part of a great city. Went back to the hostel, ate and drank, and went out together. One thing about cusco is that its quite touristy because of machu picchu. Therefore, being american makes for lots of attention and free drinks! Great time and after met this girl from pariwana and ended up talking culture until about 730 am. Great talk and really opened up my eyes to the world
May 17th
Woke up and chilled out for a while until we had to make our journey for the train to the city close to machu picchu. I was so scared because i feared we would miss the train because we were late after our bus gotted stopped by the cops. But we got to the station to find out that the time on our tickets were wrong by an hour. So we could all just chill and eat instead. We got on the train, full of backpackers, and played cards and chilled out. Got into Aguas Calientes around 10pm and went straight to buy tickets for the park. They cost around 20 dollars to enter machu picchu while the train cost 60 dollars round trip. Went to sleep right away becuase we would have to get up really early.
May 18th
Woke up at 4am to get our bus tickets to machu picchu. We had to get the counter by 430 so we could be the first ones to the park. We had planned to climb up the famous mountain wayana picchu, the mountain behind machu picchu. Everything worked out with our tickets and got to the park a little after 6. We entered and saw the ruins in the morning and made our trek up the mountain at 7. They only let up 400 people every day to climb it so thats why we had to get there early. We climbed the mountain, a really steep climb which took around an hour. Because the elevation is high, the climb was really difficult but completely worth it. Up on top of the mountain you could sit on rocks overlooking machu picchu and the high mountains. It was seriously the best view i have ever seen in my life! We hung out there and went down to see this great cave we had heard about. It was 45 minutes down to the cave, which was not very cool at all. Just a small cave with some ruins. We left the cave thinking we were close to machu picchu, but it turned out we had an hour uphill hike to get there. Being already exhausted from climbing the mountain, this hike was one of the hardest ever. The cave...not worth it haha. But we made it back up to machu picchu, chilled out for a while and then looked for a guide. Our guide Marcos was really knowledgeable about the site and everything about the culture that once was. I learned so very much about the site and was so happy we paid a little extra to learn about it. Machu Picchu is amazing. The views from it are the best in the world and the ruins are so well preserved, it is a must for all. We left the park around 230, exhausted and headed back for the city. We ate alpaca, which is a great lean meat and took a well deserved nap at the hostel. We got up around 8 to take our train back. The train ride was good, full of cards and reading. Got back into cusco at around 2am, when we found the first hostel and just passed out
May 19th
Woke up around 9 to get to the airport for our flight back to lima. Sam left earlier than us to go on a five day trip in Buenos Aires. Got into lima around 2pm, checked into pariwana there again, and chilled for a while. We ate and went shopping for our last things in south america and came back. From there we knew it was the end of our trip so we were all tired from all the traveling and lack of sleep. We watched a show called how i met your mother for around 5 hours. It was great just relaxing for a bit. We went to bed for some much deserved sleep.
May 20th
No alarm this morning so we slept in until 11. Got up and ate breakfast and read all after noon. Nothing much to write today, because thats pretty much what we did. It was great though. The girls left for their flight around 8pm. It is a strange feeling now to be all alone. But..I met some great people that night. I was sharing a room with a person from Israel, a guy from Brazil, and a couple from Argentina. We all talked for a while about culture and south america. Great conversations. Went to bed for he last time in south america.
May 21st
Slept in late and checked out and everything. Have been hanging out in Lima enjoying the culture and people watching in the park. Leave for my 10pm flight at 6pm and cant wait.
Leaving South America is going to be bitter sweet. I am so excited to be home with my family and friends but am going to miss it here in South America. I have learned so many things here and feel like I am a different person. I have learned to value those who are closest and to live in the moment. I have also learned so much about culture in general and maybe that america is not always the best that is out there. Its a whole big world out there, and its worth going out and seeing!
Hasta Luego, South America, its been real!
Friday, May 21, 2010
Friday, May 14, 2010
Peru!
May 8th
We left for the border of peru from cuenca early so we could cross during the day. We took a bus ar 10 that took 5 hours to get to the border town of huayquillas. Once we got there, we had to figure out how to actually get into another country. The city was crazy with hagglers and taxis and was annoying to get offered so many things. and we had all of our bags and money on us also. So we took a taxi to peru immigration and realized we never got an exit stamp from ecuador. So we left all the way across town and went and got the exit stamp and then all the way back to enter peru. A really long process, like 3 hours or so. From immigration we took a bus to the beach town of Mancora Peru. Of course right away our tire went flat so the trip there took 4 hours total. Got in around 8 pm and went to a beach hostel called angeles del mar. Not a very nice place but 5 dollars a night. Mancora is a great small beach town and is just being discovered for tourism. There are a number of tourists but everyone is around my age. We went out to the bars and took advantage of some happy hours but soon found out that peru will be expensive to be in. Nothing compares to the 70cents beers in venezuela! Got back to the hostal late and got really bit up by mosquitos. Long Day!
May 9th
Not much. Which was so perfect to hang out after a long day of travel. The beaches are warm and secluded and really beautiful. Drank beers and played cards for a long time and watched the sunset. Took some great naps on the beach. At night we bought a couple bottles of wine and chilled on the beach for the night. Also listened to some great live salsa in the plaza.
May 10th
another great day on the beach. A little too windy but got some great naps in nonetheless. More beers and cards. It seems that bringing a cribbage board was a great idea! We spent the day at the beach and caught a bus to Trujillo overnight at 10pm. The bus was a total of 9 hours. I popped a couple sleeping pills which was a great idea and slept the whole way!
May 11th
Got into Trujillo around 7am. Trujillo was just a day trip so we didnt have to bus all the way to lima in a day. Got a room in a hostal to put all of our stuff in for 9dollars in total. Trujillo is a bigger city of 750000 but still has a great smaller town feel. It has a really amazing plaza and historical district. I really liked the city better than cuenca which was supposed to be amazingly beautiful. Walked around and visited the supposed house of Simon Bolivar, the liberator of 4 south american countries. After we went to a really cool toy museum full of all kinds of old toys. After we visited a couple of amazing ruins. The first was called chan chan. It is the largest clay city in the world. It was something like 100 ad. Really well preserved and amazingly huge. Great courtyards and even a catacomb. After chan chan we went to another old temple where human sacrifices occured. Really well preserved and even older than chan chan. Came back and chilled and caught a bus for lima at 10pm. Took more pills and was out.
May 12th
Got into lima around 7am and checked into a hostal for 10dollars a night. We stayed in a neighborhood in lima called miraflores. It is a really nice safe neighborhod in lima. A little pricey to eat but really beautiful. We hopped on a bus to see the downtown. Lima is so huge at 7.8 million and the bus was long to the city center. We saw the main plaza and where the president lives. Really great historical center also in lima. Ah a side note. There is a soda down here that i absolutely love, Inka Kola. Its kinda like a cream soda but soo much better. We then went to a church called San Francisco. It is famous for is huge catacombs with thousands of bones. Really great but spooky tour. After we went to a spanish inquisition museum with real parts and pieces from the inquisition. After because it was our first night in lima we had to celebrate, so we all bought cigars and went to the casino. Lost some money on blackjack but really fun. After we went out to a more touristy part of town to go to a bar. Went to a bar called son de cuba. Had an amazing live salsa band and had some of the best dancers i have ever seen in my life. Great scene but really expensive.
May 13th
Decided to change hostal for a better scene and location. We changes to a hostal for backpackers called pariwana. Amazing hostal for the same price as the other place. Lots of great people, fooseball, cheap food, and just a great atmosphere. We hung at the hostal and played some cards. After anyas brother zach who lives in lima came to hang and go to the inka market with us. Saw some great stuff but am going to hold out for cuzco. After we came back and ate some great lasagna at the hostal for cheap. After we got ready and went to a party and then to a couple bars. Really fun night which included some drawings of us by an artist. At around 3 we went to get some street burgers which really hit the spot.
May 14th
Today was a pretty lazy day. Woke up late and chilled on the patio for a while. After we all got ready and went to a part of town called Borranco. Its the bohemian part of town where a lot of hippies and artists hang out. A really different part of town but amazingly chill. Went to the beach which was nice actually, to my suprise. After got some peruvian food in a nice fish platter and some sangria. Hung in borranco for a while but came back and played cards and fooseball. We are leaving to the airport to go to cuzco at 3am so we are just going to chill for the night
Until Next Time!
We left for the border of peru from cuenca early so we could cross during the day. We took a bus ar 10 that took 5 hours to get to the border town of huayquillas. Once we got there, we had to figure out how to actually get into another country. The city was crazy with hagglers and taxis and was annoying to get offered so many things. and we had all of our bags and money on us also. So we took a taxi to peru immigration and realized we never got an exit stamp from ecuador. So we left all the way across town and went and got the exit stamp and then all the way back to enter peru. A really long process, like 3 hours or so. From immigration we took a bus to the beach town of Mancora Peru. Of course right away our tire went flat so the trip there took 4 hours total. Got in around 8 pm and went to a beach hostel called angeles del mar. Not a very nice place but 5 dollars a night. Mancora is a great small beach town and is just being discovered for tourism. There are a number of tourists but everyone is around my age. We went out to the bars and took advantage of some happy hours but soon found out that peru will be expensive to be in. Nothing compares to the 70cents beers in venezuela! Got back to the hostal late and got really bit up by mosquitos. Long Day!
May 9th
Not much. Which was so perfect to hang out after a long day of travel. The beaches are warm and secluded and really beautiful. Drank beers and played cards for a long time and watched the sunset. Took some great naps on the beach. At night we bought a couple bottles of wine and chilled on the beach for the night. Also listened to some great live salsa in the plaza.
May 10th
another great day on the beach. A little too windy but got some great naps in nonetheless. More beers and cards. It seems that bringing a cribbage board was a great idea! We spent the day at the beach and caught a bus to Trujillo overnight at 10pm. The bus was a total of 9 hours. I popped a couple sleeping pills which was a great idea and slept the whole way!
May 11th
Got into Trujillo around 7am. Trujillo was just a day trip so we didnt have to bus all the way to lima in a day. Got a room in a hostal to put all of our stuff in for 9dollars in total. Trujillo is a bigger city of 750000 but still has a great smaller town feel. It has a really amazing plaza and historical district. I really liked the city better than cuenca which was supposed to be amazingly beautiful. Walked around and visited the supposed house of Simon Bolivar, the liberator of 4 south american countries. After we went to a really cool toy museum full of all kinds of old toys. After we visited a couple of amazing ruins. The first was called chan chan. It is the largest clay city in the world. It was something like 100 ad. Really well preserved and amazingly huge. Great courtyards and even a catacomb. After chan chan we went to another old temple where human sacrifices occured. Really well preserved and even older than chan chan. Came back and chilled and caught a bus for lima at 10pm. Took more pills and was out.
May 12th
Got into lima around 7am and checked into a hostal for 10dollars a night. We stayed in a neighborhood in lima called miraflores. It is a really nice safe neighborhod in lima. A little pricey to eat but really beautiful. We hopped on a bus to see the downtown. Lima is so huge at 7.8 million and the bus was long to the city center. We saw the main plaza and where the president lives. Really great historical center also in lima. Ah a side note. There is a soda down here that i absolutely love, Inka Kola. Its kinda like a cream soda but soo much better. We then went to a church called San Francisco. It is famous for is huge catacombs with thousands of bones. Really great but spooky tour. After we went to a spanish inquisition museum with real parts and pieces from the inquisition. After because it was our first night in lima we had to celebrate, so we all bought cigars and went to the casino. Lost some money on blackjack but really fun. After we went out to a more touristy part of town to go to a bar. Went to a bar called son de cuba. Had an amazing live salsa band and had some of the best dancers i have ever seen in my life. Great scene but really expensive.
May 13th
Decided to change hostal for a better scene and location. We changes to a hostal for backpackers called pariwana. Amazing hostal for the same price as the other place. Lots of great people, fooseball, cheap food, and just a great atmosphere. We hung at the hostal and played some cards. After anyas brother zach who lives in lima came to hang and go to the inka market with us. Saw some great stuff but am going to hold out for cuzco. After we came back and ate some great lasagna at the hostal for cheap. After we got ready and went to a party and then to a couple bars. Really fun night which included some drawings of us by an artist. At around 3 we went to get some street burgers which really hit the spot.
May 14th
Today was a pretty lazy day. Woke up late and chilled on the patio for a while. After we all got ready and went to a part of town called Borranco. Its the bohemian part of town where a lot of hippies and artists hang out. A really different part of town but amazingly chill. Went to the beach which was nice actually, to my suprise. After got some peruvian food in a nice fish platter and some sangria. Hung in borranco for a while but came back and played cards and fooseball. We are leaving to the airport to go to cuzco at 3am so we are just going to chill for the night
Until Next Time!
Friday, May 7, 2010
More equador!
Monday May 3rd
We got up pretty early in order to go explore downtown Quito. Alberto was nice enough to take all of our things into his office so we could leave from the downtown terminal. He also gave us a couple of taxi vouchers to get us around. We left his office and said goodbye and thanks for all he did. Alberto and his wife were so nice to us. They immediately made us a part of their family and worked around our schedules to help us out any way that they could. Anyways we hitched a cab to the historical part of Quito. Cabs around the city are pretty cheap at 2 bucks a pop. The historical part of Quito is amazing, partly due to the fact that is is protected so that no historical buildings get torn down. Therefore, all of the buildings look like from another time in history. We arrived at the main plaza which as all plazas in South America include the cathedral and the main government building. We were lucky enough to view a really great government music performance outside of the main building where the president lives. From there we toured three different churches, each spectacular. I have never seen that much gold before. There was this one church that I swear was almost completely gold on the inside. The reason for all of the gold is that there are so many churches in Quito and all were trying to draw people into them. Therefore by adding more gold they could attract more patrons. From the churches we headed up a big hill to where this giant vigin statue was. It was almost like the statue of liberty, walking up plenty of steps and arriving at the top rewarded a spectacular view of the city. I have come to realize that Quito is a city full of great views and that i really need to come back to see everything. From the statue we headed back down to go eat some of Ecuadors famous ceviche. Ceviche is seafood marinated in acidic things such as lime and lemon. We all shared, kalamari, conch, fish, and shrimp ceviche. From there we went to the Basilica National Voto of Quito. This church was so amazing and gothic looking, full with spires, stained glass, and bell towers which were all accessed by shacky ladders! From the basilica we headed to the bus terminal and took a 3 and a half hour trip to banos.
Tues May 4th.
We arrived into banos (yes just like the spanish word for toilet) a little after midnight. We grabbed the cheapest hostal called alcazar. For 5 bucks a person a night, it was a steal. Plus a very friendly grandfatherly man who gave us good advice! We slept and woke up and got some amazing breakfast. I had some pancakes loaded with fresh friut. From there we went and rented mountain bikes for 5 dollars a day. We went on a long journey starting at 11 and went on a very nice but rugged path to a city called puyo. Along the way we saw and got really close to two amazing waterfalls. After the second waterfall it started to rain really hard but we persisted on. Oh yes and also i jumped off a bridge along the way. A 45 meter bridge was all ready with equipment. Really amazing rush and completely safe. After about 2 hours of biking in the rain, my tire went flat. I was relieved because I was really soaked and cold, so we hopped a bus back and returned our bikes. So far it has been a little chilly in ecuador with rain every day. Anyways, we got back from the trip and took a much needed nap and shower and went to eat at this italian place with calzones 3 times the size of my hand! After we headed to a bar to get some huge beers and play cards and listen to 90s jams.
Wednesday May 5th.
Woke up to another awesome pancake breakfast at the same restaurant. We then headed to go ride horses at 10. Our horses were great, very calm but could really gain some ground. They did a good amount of cantering in the mountains which was really great! We were on them for around 4 hours and made a stop at the base of the volcano in banos. We did some hiking, found some volcanic rocks, and found a really neat spring that was full of great tasting carbonated water. We headed back and took a really long nap from lack of sleep and then went to the banos. The banos is a public hot springs which takes hot volcanic water to heat the pools. This water was just what we needed to soak our muscles. We were there for a couple of hours and then headed to a swiss bistro. I had an amazing steak while the others had pasta. After a big dinner, we were all tired so we headed back to the hostal to play some cribbage.
Thursday May 6th
The next morning we had our hearts set on jumping from another higher bridge. This time this one was 100 meters which is a pretty good ways down. Another amazing adrenaline rush and freefall. But i must say standing on the side of a bridge looking down is not something i would do everyday. After jumping, because obviously we didnt want to jump on a full stomach, we had a huge lunch. I had an amazingly huge double chicken sadwhich. From there we took an hour and a half bus ride to puyo to go check out some monkeys. The place we went was called paseo de los monos, a monkey reserve owned by two really friendly people. The reserve itself had 58 monkeys, a boa, and this crazy mix betweem an anteater,bear, and monkey. As soon as we walked in the man said put all valuables in your packs because they will steal them. Just as he told me a little monkey had jumped on my backpack, unzipped my zipper and stole my playing cards! These monkeys were so smart and would reach into your pockets to see if they could take anything to play with or eat. We played with the monkeys for 2 hours, full of monkeys on my head and monkey fights, and just seeing how smart those animals really are. The similarities they have to humans is just so crazy to see. We headed back on the bus, showered up, ate a whole chicken in a restaurant, and hopped on a 9pm bus to Cuenca.
I have never been so exhausted before. Banos was amazing in everyway, and everything a young person could want. Also as with all of ecuador so far, the city is very clean. A big change from venezuela, where trash and bottles litter the street. Ecuador even has a recycling system.
Friday May 7th
We headed for the city of Riobamba first, which was 2 hours away from banos. From there we had to catch a bus on the side of the road to Cuenca, another 5 hours away. Luckily I slept great, but eneded up being in Cuenca at 5am. We took a cab to the nearest hostal, which again was 5 dollars a person per night. I love the cheap lodging here, it really saves on cost. The name of our hostal is Hostal Majestic. The hostal is nice but the rooms are less than majestic. In the rooms there are two beds, thats it. Oh well, i dont plan on spending too much time there anyways. We re awoke at 9 so we could have a chance to explore the city. Cuenca is compared to old town Quito in charm and style. It is a beautiful city with colonial buildings and churches. We took a look at the cathedral and the main plaza. We also headed to the market where i had a milkshake of egg, papaya, carrot, tomato, rasberry, and alfalfa. Really good and good for my health! From there we headed down the scenic riverway and checked out an aboriginal museum full of all kinds of artifact. Then we went to have some good old Mexican food. Really hit the spot! From there we went to the huge and amazing bank museum full of everything ecuadorian history. This also included an amazing exhibit on shrunken heads! Well thats were I am now, but we are headed into Peru tomorrow to see where it takes us!
We got up pretty early in order to go explore downtown Quito. Alberto was nice enough to take all of our things into his office so we could leave from the downtown terminal. He also gave us a couple of taxi vouchers to get us around. We left his office and said goodbye and thanks for all he did. Alberto and his wife were so nice to us. They immediately made us a part of their family and worked around our schedules to help us out any way that they could. Anyways we hitched a cab to the historical part of Quito. Cabs around the city are pretty cheap at 2 bucks a pop. The historical part of Quito is amazing, partly due to the fact that is is protected so that no historical buildings get torn down. Therefore, all of the buildings look like from another time in history. We arrived at the main plaza which as all plazas in South America include the cathedral and the main government building. We were lucky enough to view a really great government music performance outside of the main building where the president lives. From there we toured three different churches, each spectacular. I have never seen that much gold before. There was this one church that I swear was almost completely gold on the inside. The reason for all of the gold is that there are so many churches in Quito and all were trying to draw people into them. Therefore by adding more gold they could attract more patrons. From the churches we headed up a big hill to where this giant vigin statue was. It was almost like the statue of liberty, walking up plenty of steps and arriving at the top rewarded a spectacular view of the city. I have come to realize that Quito is a city full of great views and that i really need to come back to see everything. From the statue we headed back down to go eat some of Ecuadors famous ceviche. Ceviche is seafood marinated in acidic things such as lime and lemon. We all shared, kalamari, conch, fish, and shrimp ceviche. From there we went to the Basilica National Voto of Quito. This church was so amazing and gothic looking, full with spires, stained glass, and bell towers which were all accessed by shacky ladders! From the basilica we headed to the bus terminal and took a 3 and a half hour trip to banos.
Tues May 4th.
We arrived into banos (yes just like the spanish word for toilet) a little after midnight. We grabbed the cheapest hostal called alcazar. For 5 bucks a person a night, it was a steal. Plus a very friendly grandfatherly man who gave us good advice! We slept and woke up and got some amazing breakfast. I had some pancakes loaded with fresh friut. From there we went and rented mountain bikes for 5 dollars a day. We went on a long journey starting at 11 and went on a very nice but rugged path to a city called puyo. Along the way we saw and got really close to two amazing waterfalls. After the second waterfall it started to rain really hard but we persisted on. Oh yes and also i jumped off a bridge along the way. A 45 meter bridge was all ready with equipment. Really amazing rush and completely safe. After about 2 hours of biking in the rain, my tire went flat. I was relieved because I was really soaked and cold, so we hopped a bus back and returned our bikes. So far it has been a little chilly in ecuador with rain every day. Anyways, we got back from the trip and took a much needed nap and shower and went to eat at this italian place with calzones 3 times the size of my hand! After we headed to a bar to get some huge beers and play cards and listen to 90s jams.
Wednesday May 5th.
Woke up to another awesome pancake breakfast at the same restaurant. We then headed to go ride horses at 10. Our horses were great, very calm but could really gain some ground. They did a good amount of cantering in the mountains which was really great! We were on them for around 4 hours and made a stop at the base of the volcano in banos. We did some hiking, found some volcanic rocks, and found a really neat spring that was full of great tasting carbonated water. We headed back and took a really long nap from lack of sleep and then went to the banos. The banos is a public hot springs which takes hot volcanic water to heat the pools. This water was just what we needed to soak our muscles. We were there for a couple of hours and then headed to a swiss bistro. I had an amazing steak while the others had pasta. After a big dinner, we were all tired so we headed back to the hostal to play some cribbage.
Thursday May 6th
The next morning we had our hearts set on jumping from another higher bridge. This time this one was 100 meters which is a pretty good ways down. Another amazing adrenaline rush and freefall. But i must say standing on the side of a bridge looking down is not something i would do everyday. After jumping, because obviously we didnt want to jump on a full stomach, we had a huge lunch. I had an amazingly huge double chicken sadwhich. From there we took an hour and a half bus ride to puyo to go check out some monkeys. The place we went was called paseo de los monos, a monkey reserve owned by two really friendly people. The reserve itself had 58 monkeys, a boa, and this crazy mix betweem an anteater,bear, and monkey. As soon as we walked in the man said put all valuables in your packs because they will steal them. Just as he told me a little monkey had jumped on my backpack, unzipped my zipper and stole my playing cards! These monkeys were so smart and would reach into your pockets to see if they could take anything to play with or eat. We played with the monkeys for 2 hours, full of monkeys on my head and monkey fights, and just seeing how smart those animals really are. The similarities they have to humans is just so crazy to see. We headed back on the bus, showered up, ate a whole chicken in a restaurant, and hopped on a 9pm bus to Cuenca.
I have never been so exhausted before. Banos was amazing in everyway, and everything a young person could want. Also as with all of ecuador so far, the city is very clean. A big change from venezuela, where trash and bottles litter the street. Ecuador even has a recycling system.
Friday May 7th
We headed for the city of Riobamba first, which was 2 hours away from banos. From there we had to catch a bus on the side of the road to Cuenca, another 5 hours away. Luckily I slept great, but eneded up being in Cuenca at 5am. We took a cab to the nearest hostal, which again was 5 dollars a person per night. I love the cheap lodging here, it really saves on cost. The name of our hostal is Hostal Majestic. The hostal is nice but the rooms are less than majestic. In the rooms there are two beds, thats it. Oh well, i dont plan on spending too much time there anyways. We re awoke at 9 so we could have a chance to explore the city. Cuenca is compared to old town Quito in charm and style. It is a beautiful city with colonial buildings and churches. We took a look at the cathedral and the main plaza. We also headed to the market where i had a milkshake of egg, papaya, carrot, tomato, rasberry, and alfalfa. Really good and good for my health! From there we headed down the scenic riverway and checked out an aboriginal museum full of all kinds of artifact. Then we went to have some good old Mexican food. Really hit the spot! From there we went to the huge and amazing bank museum full of everything ecuadorian history. This also included an amazing exhibit on shrunken heads! Well thats were I am now, but we are headed into Peru tomorrow to see where it takes us!
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Quito!
Well I am offically in Quito, Ecuador right now and it is wonderful. So different than venezuela already.
Friday April 30th
We started the day off taking a taxi at 7 am to the airport in el vigia which is about an hour away. Our flight to caracas was at 10am. Flight was short and easy. We reached caracas at 11am and went through customs which took a ridiculous amount of time because of the sheer amount of people there. But we got our exit stamps and paid our fees. Luckily, I ended up having an excess amount of money which is only valid in venezuela soo we feasted on some american pizza and burgers which i really missed. Our flight out of caracas to quito was at 530pm. The flight barely had anyone on it, probably like 50 out of 250 seats filled. This was great because i got a whole row to myself, free drinks, and extra food. We arrived in Quito at around 745pm. In the airport, customs were pretty much the easiest thing ever and took around 5 minutes total. From there were received by Sams family friend Alberto, who we would be staying with in Quito. He speaks pretty good english but likes us to practice our spanish with him. He is in charge of a company that does lighting for concerts like guns and roses. We arrive at his house in the suburbs on Quitio called Tumbalo. This is a really nice neighborhood on a private drive. The house is absolutely amazing! giant beds and awesome showers really hit the spot. He lives with his wife gina and 3 year old son Juan Diego. Such a nice family and give us advice about what to do. They feed us a great dinner and we talk about what our trip will entail. We are all so tired and hit the sack.
Saturday May 1st.
We got us early at 7am in order to go to the town of otavalo. Alberto fed us an awesome breakfast and took us to the bus station. From there we took a two hour bus ride to otavalo. The town itself is not much to look at but has one of the largest markets in Ecuador. It was so huge, i found myself lost a few times. Amazing handmade things there. actually got to watch the workers make everything. Bought a little too much for myself because everything is great and pretty cheap.(bought some wool socks, slippers, sweater, and a really cool tapestry.) Side note, Ecuador uses the american dollar which is convenient for everyone because you never have to change money. The country is cheap but not as cheap as venezuela because of the black market. The market in otavalo was great. Lots of tourists. I havent heard that much english in a long me. After some time in the market we decided to go to a volcano called Cuicocha. We went to this inactive volcano at the crater at the top. Took a cool boat trip around the lake in the crater. Afterwords we were treated to a hot alchoholic drink called candeleza which i thought tasted a lot like apple cider. After that we headed back on a 6pm bus back to Albertos house. We hung there and ate and then went out on the town. Sam and Courtney, who are dating, have friends that are currently studying in quito from minnesota. It just so happened that the night was when everyone came back from their internships of 6 weeks. Needless to say, everyone was so excited to see each other and drank all you can drink beer for an hour for 7 dollars. Downtown was great, so much more modern than merida. Lots of white people which is soo crazy to see. Went to a couple of bars and ended the night with some delicious mexican food.
Sunday May 2nd.
Started the night a little later because of the night before. We headed around 11am to mitad del mundo, whihc is the center of the world. This is the place around 45 minutes out of quito where the equator is. A must for any tourist in Quito. The park was cool and full of museums about everything Ecuador and the equator. Got to take our pictures on the equator line and everything. But...The site we went to is not actually the real ecuator. Something like 200 years ago, a discoverer made the monument in the wrong place. The actual site of the equator is around 300 meters away but everyone goes to the other because of the monument and the line of the equator. Pretty touristy but still really fun and cool. After that we went to the teleferico of Quito. Really nice facility. Actually nice to take one because meridas famous longest teleferico has been broken for 4 years. The teleferico brough us all the way up to 4000 meters which is really high. Amazing views of the city, because quito is really long and narrow because it is located in a valley. When we got to the top, we were literally in a cloud and we could feel the moisture. We walked around a bit, but not too long because the elevation makes it so much more difficuly. Came back down and some dinner downtown in a place called the coffee tree. Had a really good roast beef sandwhich and listened to live salsa music. After we decided to chill and smoke some hooka at a bar. We were all so tired from the past couple days that we went home, ate some amazing food, and talked about what are plans our for the next couple days. Tomorrow we are going to see the old town of quito, full of churches and plazas, and then head to the adventure capital of ecuador called banos.
Well that is all for now. Unfortunately no pictures yet, but will try soon!
Friday April 30th
We started the day off taking a taxi at 7 am to the airport in el vigia which is about an hour away. Our flight to caracas was at 10am. Flight was short and easy. We reached caracas at 11am and went through customs which took a ridiculous amount of time because of the sheer amount of people there. But we got our exit stamps and paid our fees. Luckily, I ended up having an excess amount of money which is only valid in venezuela soo we feasted on some american pizza and burgers which i really missed. Our flight out of caracas to quito was at 530pm. The flight barely had anyone on it, probably like 50 out of 250 seats filled. This was great because i got a whole row to myself, free drinks, and extra food. We arrived in Quito at around 745pm. In the airport, customs were pretty much the easiest thing ever and took around 5 minutes total. From there were received by Sams family friend Alberto, who we would be staying with in Quito. He speaks pretty good english but likes us to practice our spanish with him. He is in charge of a company that does lighting for concerts like guns and roses. We arrive at his house in the suburbs on Quitio called Tumbalo. This is a really nice neighborhood on a private drive. The house is absolutely amazing! giant beds and awesome showers really hit the spot. He lives with his wife gina and 3 year old son Juan Diego. Such a nice family and give us advice about what to do. They feed us a great dinner and we talk about what our trip will entail. We are all so tired and hit the sack.
Saturday May 1st.
We got us early at 7am in order to go to the town of otavalo. Alberto fed us an awesome breakfast and took us to the bus station. From there we took a two hour bus ride to otavalo. The town itself is not much to look at but has one of the largest markets in Ecuador. It was so huge, i found myself lost a few times. Amazing handmade things there. actually got to watch the workers make everything. Bought a little too much for myself because everything is great and pretty cheap.(bought some wool socks, slippers, sweater, and a really cool tapestry.) Side note, Ecuador uses the american dollar which is convenient for everyone because you never have to change money. The country is cheap but not as cheap as venezuela because of the black market. The market in otavalo was great. Lots of tourists. I havent heard that much english in a long me. After some time in the market we decided to go to a volcano called Cuicocha. We went to this inactive volcano at the crater at the top. Took a cool boat trip around the lake in the crater. Afterwords we were treated to a hot alchoholic drink called candeleza which i thought tasted a lot like apple cider. After that we headed back on a 6pm bus back to Albertos house. We hung there and ate and then went out on the town. Sam and Courtney, who are dating, have friends that are currently studying in quito from minnesota. It just so happened that the night was when everyone came back from their internships of 6 weeks. Needless to say, everyone was so excited to see each other and drank all you can drink beer for an hour for 7 dollars. Downtown was great, so much more modern than merida. Lots of white people which is soo crazy to see. Went to a couple of bars and ended the night with some delicious mexican food.
Sunday May 2nd.
Started the night a little later because of the night before. We headed around 11am to mitad del mundo, whihc is the center of the world. This is the place around 45 minutes out of quito where the equator is. A must for any tourist in Quito. The park was cool and full of museums about everything Ecuador and the equator. Got to take our pictures on the equator line and everything. But...The site we went to is not actually the real ecuator. Something like 200 years ago, a discoverer made the monument in the wrong place. The actual site of the equator is around 300 meters away but everyone goes to the other because of the monument and the line of the equator. Pretty touristy but still really fun and cool. After that we went to the teleferico of Quito. Really nice facility. Actually nice to take one because meridas famous longest teleferico has been broken for 4 years. The teleferico brough us all the way up to 4000 meters which is really high. Amazing views of the city, because quito is really long and narrow because it is located in a valley. When we got to the top, we were literally in a cloud and we could feel the moisture. We walked around a bit, but not too long because the elevation makes it so much more difficuly. Came back down and some dinner downtown in a place called the coffee tree. Had a really good roast beef sandwhich and listened to live salsa music. After we decided to chill and smoke some hooka at a bar. We were all so tired from the past couple days that we went home, ate some amazing food, and talked about what are plans our for the next couple days. Tomorrow we are going to see the old town of quito, full of churches and plazas, and then head to the adventure capital of ecuador called banos.
Well that is all for now. Unfortunately no pictures yet, but will try soon!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Last Venezuela Post
Well looks like I am out of here in less than two days. Papers are done and over, and looks like I am here to wait out my time, so I might as well reflect on my time here in Venezuela. Needless to say, this trip has been easily the most life changing thing i have ever done. From my own experience and from others experiences, all programs are the same way. Where else can you be thrown on your own and survive all on your own. I came into this trip not knowing anyone here and have come out with some amazing friendships. I have learned to be open to all people, throw away the stereotypes because they are just not worth it. Even if some people might get a little under your skin, its not worth getting into it or throwing them out to the curb. Also i have learned to use the time you have to your advantage. You may think you have so much time somewhere but it can go so fast, so take advantage to every minute you are given. Also, just because you afraid or unsure of something, as the famous nike logo says, just do it. There have countless things here where i have gone into them(canyoning, ziplining, moutain trek, or simply trying out a new bar) where i was aprehensive about, but turned out to be some of the greatest decisions i have made.
Another thing is to keep your integrity in tact. Mine has been tested here countless times and its the decisions you make in those types of situations where your integrity is truly measured. Stand up and take a stand if something is not right. One of the most important lessons i have learned is to not care if something is not right on plan. The Venezuelan method here is to usually never go with the plan. At first i couldnt take this. I am used to my ridiculously structured life in the states, and if something doesnt go to plan, i would get a little upset. After time here though, i learned that sometimes the best times where just winging somthing or just being spontaneous and figuring out something to do. Also, i mentioned this in an earlier post but, just dance. Who cares if you are bad or look like an idiot. Have fun and let loose.
Well, thats it from this country. But there will be more to come. The travel bug has made its way into me. I have already grow to love South America and will be back. But anyways, for the next three weeks I am headed to Ecuador and Peru. Will try to blog there if i can.
Another thing is to keep your integrity in tact. Mine has been tested here countless times and its the decisions you make in those types of situations where your integrity is truly measured. Stand up and take a stand if something is not right. One of the most important lessons i have learned is to not care if something is not right on plan. The Venezuelan method here is to usually never go with the plan. At first i couldnt take this. I am used to my ridiculously structured life in the states, and if something doesnt go to plan, i would get a little upset. After time here though, i learned that sometimes the best times where just winging somthing or just being spontaneous and figuring out something to do. Also, i mentioned this in an earlier post but, just dance. Who cares if you are bad or look like an idiot. Have fun and let loose.
Well, thats it from this country. But there will be more to come. The travel bug has made its way into me. I have already grow to love South America and will be back. But anyways, for the next three weeks I am headed to Ecuador and Peru. Will try to blog there if i can.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Canyoning Fun
Well this past weekend I went on a really cool adventure called canyoning. Its this special extreme kind of sport that can only occur in certain places of the world. We trekked up in the mountains and reached this river. From there we geared up in full wetsuits and helmets and traversed down this river. From there we reached spots where we had to jump in the water from cliffs and also a couple of spots where we slid down rocks and waterfalls to reach the next point in the river. Thankfully this trip came after about 2 straight weeks of rain, so that the river was really flowing well and fast. The coolest part about my canyoning trip was the big waterfalls. There were three waterfalls in total we made our way down. The first was probably around 60 feet tall in which you repelled down. The second was probably around 80 feet and that one consisted of fast roping down it. You pretty much had to move your hands as fast as you could to get down without being completely smothered in the gushing water. Needless to say my ropes got caught but made it to the side while they adjusted. The last one was the highlight of the trip. A 120 foot waterfall in which you had to repel down. You go over the edge having no idea what lies below but you just have to do it. It was so amazing and terrifying at the same time. Adrenaline just pumping. Honestly one of the coolest things i have done here so far. Unfortunately going through all of this water makes it a little hard to take pictures, but here is a picture from the waterfall in merida of someone else repelling down the giant waterfall.
Anyways, after the trip we headed back to merida and were treated pizza and pop. Really great day.
Classes are winding down here. In both of my classes all i have left is the final paper. Shouldnt be all that tough but i still need to put in a lot of work in order to pull off the grades. Sad to believe I have 9 days left here.
Anyways, after the trip we headed back to merida and were treated pizza and pop. Really great day.
Classes are winding down here. In both of my classes all i have left is the final paper. Shouldnt be all that tough but i still need to put in a lot of work in order to pull off the grades. Sad to believe I have 9 days left here.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Los Llanos and beyond! pt. 2
So we get back to Merida and go out to this really nice restaurant. We each had fish which was really great. For an excellent meal and beer it was less than 9 dollars! The next few days I showed my parents around the city so that they could get an idea of what my life is like here. We went to my favorite places to eat and hang out, and spent alot of time in the plazas. The plazas here are great, surrounded by vendors and a great place to people watch. Our posada just happened to be really close to the two main plazas in the city. The days went on as we caught up and ate alot! My parents had a venezuelan burger (complete with ham and chips and absolutely huge) and ate at the famous guiness book of world records ice cream shop (that being for having the most ice cream flavors in the world). Something very cool was that on Thursday and Friday we attended the passion of christ play right in my neighborhood. I later found out that these are popular for holy week but the one we attended is the most popular in the country. That is for good reason because the plaza was packed with people and the production quality of the play was excellent. Great costumes and actors! On friday my parents got to meet my host mom here and see what shes like. That was fun even though the language barrier makes everything a little more difficult.
I really got to practice my spanish while they were here. Being a constant translator can really improve your Spanish! My parents headed out Sunday afternoon. We went to the airport to find that their flight was canceled. They couldnt help them out because my parents had to catch a flight in caracas at 8 in the morning. So...I had to work quick and arrange a 10 hour cab ride to caracas. Not a very easy thing to do especially late at night. But, they made it there fine and all was good. I really enjoyed having my parents here. It was great to catch up and for them to see how i live here.
Anyways, I have only 3 weeks left in Venezuela. Really sad stuff. I am gonna miss it here so much but do look forward to being back in the US of A again. Next weekend we have a four days weekend so i might go to the beach or take some kind of trip. Oh yes, and the rainy season has oficially started here. It rains like 3 hours a day now.
Well thats all i have for now.
I really got to practice my spanish while they were here. Being a constant translator can really improve your Spanish! My parents headed out Sunday afternoon. We went to the airport to find that their flight was canceled. They couldnt help them out because my parents had to catch a flight in caracas at 8 in the morning. So...I had to work quick and arrange a 10 hour cab ride to caracas. Not a very easy thing to do especially late at night. But, they made it there fine and all was good. I really enjoyed having my parents here. It was great to catch up and for them to see how i live here.
Anyways, I have only 3 weeks left in Venezuela. Really sad stuff. I am gonna miss it here so much but do look forward to being back in the US of A again. Next weekend we have a four days weekend so i might go to the beach or take some kind of trip. Oh yes, and the rainy season has oficially started here. It rains like 3 hours a day now.
Well thats all i have for now.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
