Colca Canyon, Peru

We set off to do a 3 day hike down about and up Colca Canyon. The canyon is thought to be the second deepest Canyon in the world, the deepest being nearby.

We woke at 2:30 a.m that morning to catch an early bus. After 5 hours on the bus we got off at Cruz del Condor, a viewing location for the majestic bird. The spot was touristy. Women selling trinkets and overpriced drinks decorated the site, while the condors were few. We spotted only a single condor from a far distance., it could have been mistaken for a crow.

From Cruz del Condor we began our hike, walking down a dirt road to the final condor look-out point. From here we got a closer view of the condor's beauty. We searched for the trail that would lead us to the small town of Tepay, but do to the lack of trail markings we somehow missed the trail and continued on to the spot that we were initally planning on ending, the town of Cabanaconde. That intial walk was 14km. We ate lunch with a German couple in Cabanaconde then decided to head down the 1000 meters to the bottom of the canyon. The hike down was long and taxing. The trail is dry and dusty, it rarely rains in this region. We took 3 or 4 hours to get down and both of us had shaky legs for the last bit. Downhill's are always a bit scary for me, especially while trekking on the edge over loose rocks.

Finally we reached the first town at the bottom, called the Oasis. The oasis was a surprising patch of green within the arid canyon. A few palm trees along with a couple different straw-hut sleeping options populated the canyon floor. Each of the hostel companies also had a appetizing blue pool to offer. We asked for our reserved hut and quickly found out that it was just the basics. A straw hut, dusty dirt floor, raised bed, no electricity, but quite a few fines growing in.
As Josh likes to say, "they spared no expenses."

Even though the temperature was cool and dropping changed into our swimsuits, well boxer shorts for Josh and hopped in the pool. The pool was cold and the bottom slimy, but we were glad to wash some dust off. We quickly dried and dressed, then bought a beer to share in reward. We debated going further through the canyon the next day, but chose against it over that beer. Everything that is brought down into the canyon is done so on the back of a mule. Prices are high, the dust is thick and the spiders in that hut and lack of hygiene in the entire area is less than pleasant. (I much prefer camping in a tent and peeing in the woods than sleeping in a bed with dirty sheets and using an equally yucky toilet.)

That night I had a terrible throbbing migraine, probably dehydration. We missed our 2 am ipod alarms, finally pulled out of bed at around 9. I inquired about our promised free breakfast after we packed up. We got the coffee we were craving and then a richly fried something, a bit heavy for the hike we had ahead.

We ascended the canyon in remarkable time for us (me!) considering the long hike we did the previous day and that we were doing it during the hottest moments of the day. We made it up 1000 meters in 4 hours, only passed by caravans of donkeys.

Once atop we found a nice hotel on the first street we walked down. We spend the night in Cabanaconda, needing a shower and a rest before the 6 hour ride back to Arequipa. We found a little place for lunch, which unfortunately for Josh turned out to be raw chicken. While the cook was preparing our food her baby started to cry. She handed her daughter over to us while she cooked to keep her tears astray, that redeemed her lack of cooking abilities in my eyes!

Pueblo Paron

Because we were unable to do the Santa Cruz trek, we thought we´d trek to Laguna de Paron. The town of Pueblo Paron consists of a tiny church, maybe 4 buildings and a cement soccer field. By taxi it took us about 45minutes of switchbacks up the mountain to reach the pueblo.

Our two Lonely Planet Guide´s, one for trekking and the other deticated to Peru had differing estimates of the time the hike would take. One estimated 4 hours, the other 6. Before departing, Josh asked the taxi driver what time the final collectivo headed down the mountain for Caraz. He gave us an answer of 2:30, over the rest of the day we heard a variety of answers, but none later than 2:30. Thus we knew that if we didn´t want to spend Christmas Eve on the cement soccer field, we better be back to Paron by that time.

We hiked up, and up. Nature is gorgeous in this area of Peru. Lush green mountains, topped with sheer rock and snowy peaks. Eucalyptus trees grow throughout the valley offering a fresh, invigorating scent. White water rushed furiously along side of the trail. The air is pure, untainted by the few cars that travel all the way to the Laguna.

After a little over 3 hours of hiking up, we decided it was best to turn around in hopes of catching the collectivo back to Caraz. I feel bad, knowing that Josh wanted to see the Laguna even more than I, wishing I wasn´t so slow, holding him back. Anyhow, we conquered the downhill with speed and made it to Pueblo Paron at a little past noon. We lay in the grass aside the road hoping for the 1pm colective that a hiker had assured us would come. At 1:40 we started to consider walking down from that point. At 2 the collectivo in all it´s glory arrived.

The collectivo- an elongated Aerostar van with semi functioning slide-door and essential rack on top. We were the first 2 in the van, foolishly thinking we would be the only customers for the downhill. After every hairpin turn or before a group of riders would pile in, each with their 40lb sack of vegetables to load atop. Before we made it half-way down the mountain we had 23 people packed into this 14 passenger van. Soon enough we had 25 passengers inside, 5 on the roof. Let there be no question that this was not a conversion van or even a standard width van by U.S. standards. Nor do the people dress lightly for the ride. Each woman sports pants, atleast one large petticoat followed by a few select skirts, shirts, sweaters and of course a nice wide-brimmed decorative hat, not to forget they each sling a blanket holding something the size of a goat over their back.

A gal we met while hiking in Venezuela said that the best part of Peru is ¨the dress of the Andean women.¨ In my mind, she was just about right. The most amazing thing of Peru is the Andean Women. In every aspect they are lovely. Always with a smile they greet, always courteous. Their dress is bright, conservatively sweet and captivating. And their stregnth is hard to believe. Ladies older than my grandmothers lugging huge crates of chickens, gourds, children 3/4 thier own size. Windburnt cheeks and calloused hands do not keep these ladies from smiling, and I hope happiness.

Caraz

Currently we are in Caraz, a smaller town 1.5 hours from Huaraz with easy access to the Cordillera Blanca mountains. Our plan from this town was to do the Santa Cruz trek over 4 days. We bought a good map and have a detailed description of the hike, and felt comfortable doing it without a guide. We hit the local market bought 10 oranges, bananas for breakfast, loaf of bread, jam, pasta, sauce, tuna fish, oatmeal, gas for the stove, matches and enough water to get going. We packed our bags with the necesities-tent, stove, 2 sets of clothes, cold weather and rain proof gear, headlamps, sleeping bags, mats. Everything was ready to go. Then Josh asked ¨Where are my shoes¨ ........
¨oh no, ahh...I saw them under the bed at the last hotel in Cajamarca. I thought about saying something, but it was early in the morning, before nine and we didn´t have to leave until that night at 9...I thought you surely would have looked when you packed. ugg.¨

Thus we did not do the Santa Cruz Trek. The next day we headed to Huaraz and bought Josh his 3rd pair of shoes for the trip.

Josh's works...

Please Check out Josh's blog, as he gives a much more thorough (and less negative) account of our journeys. Also his picture website is great!

http://blogs.bootsnall.com/wyewurk
http://drinkinginflipflops.shutterfly.com

Road to Cajamarca

Josh wanted to travel from Chachapoyas to Cajamarca for the lovely mountain views. For me the twisty dirt roads up and down the Andeas are a motion-sick girls worst nightmare. I´ve become hooked on Dramamine, it takes care of the nasea splendidly as well as puts me to sleep for the entirety of most rides. Honestly, I don´t mind sleeping through the bus rides, they´re quite monotonous otherwise. Anyhow, for part of this ride I was awake.

First off, the bus drivers race down these mountains like a bat outa hell. Second, of course all the roads are dirt and are extremely uneaven. Third, the road is only wide enough for one car and Peru has never seen a gaurdrail. We fortunately got to sit in the front seat, and see all of the action. It was indeed a fortunate seat as the lady in the back vomitted all through the trip.

The ride was terrifying, flying around mountain edges, the driver laying on the horn...hoping to God that we didn´t smash into another car and tumble over the 100ft cliff. There were a couple close calls, when another car appeared around a corner and our driver (seemingly unexperienced) slammed on his breaks vearing toward the edge, with less than a 2 foot buffer from the canyon below. I wished I were sleeping, or atleast had some ativan.

We got to stop at one point at one of the moutain towns, no more than 2 mudbrick buildings and a few tents selling fruits. I used the toilet here and was pleasantly surprised that it was infact an actual toilet, no seat of course and they did charge a fee. Even so, this was a grand improvement over the last roadside toilet, which consisted of a green shack thick with flys and a hole to urinate in or around.

In the end the bus made it safely to Cajamarca and we found a tiny hotel room with a reasonable rate to stay in. We had some wonderful pizza that evening...but I must say I prefer mozzerella to the white cheese of South America when it comes to pizza.

Chachapoyas, almost Kuelap

After a long night bus ride we made it to a town called Chachapoyas (people of the clouds.) I was expecting a lovely town amid the mountains, Chacha wasn't quite that. The point of coming to this town was to see Kuelap, said to be one of the most impressive ruins 2nd only to Macchu Picchu. Obviously this leg of the journey is lead by Joshua, as my interest in rocks and ruins has rapidly depreciated the more I see them. (Incan's are rocking in their graves...I'm sorry, I've tried).

Right after the bus ride and a little breakfast, Josh took off to see some graves. I passed seeing the opportunity for a nap on a bed instead of a bus seat. Fortunately he's very generous in picture taking, so even I never missed a beat. Later that night we got a local dinner and went to bed for an early morning rise to see Kuelap.

Shortly after checking into a less expensive hotel room (the rank smell and clogged sink weren't worth the big bucks) we headed down to where the mini combi buses were supposedly located to get a ride toward the ruins. Either we missed the early combi, or they weren't running that day, after waiting on a corner for some time a guy offered to take us in a taxi. We waited around another 20minutes or so until the taxi was full then headed off to Tingo.

We were dropped off in Tingo, a town consisting of 2 building made of mud bricks. We bought some peanuts from a man vending out of his house and asked directions for the trail toward Kuelap. We were given some confusing instructions that changed according to who you asked. Finally we asked a police officer, he pointed and mumbled something, then mentioned that the guys across the road with the cement truck were headed up to the next town, Maria. The officer walked over to the two young guys running the truck and asked if we could hitch a ride. The guys said that the two of them were up front, and there wasn't room. The officer asked if we could ride on top of the truck or in the back. (Something you would hide from police at home). Sure enough there was room on top of the sacks of cement. The ride took about 3 hours uphill. Shaded by a tarp and atop nice soft bags and a dirty cushion that the boys through down for me, I fell asleep to the chug chugging of the cement truck.

Finally to the town of Maria, after a 3 hour taxi ride and similarly lengthed cement truck commute, we only had a 10km hike uphill to go. All to see rocks with my dear husband, uggh I wanted to scream. The walk was long and as we kept on, we noticed that there weren't too many passing cars. We saw one van crammed full of tourists on their way down, and one equally packed on their way up. We started to think that the prospects of getting home from this tiny town were looking slim. We hadn't seen a car in the town, nothing but a couple scraggly horses. Finally at the top we found a van that Josh begged to take us back when they were leaving. Unfortunately, the van's passengers were heading down from the ruins at about that time. We chose to forgo seeing the ruins of Kuelap that we had traveled all this way to see, in order to secure a ride back.

Huanchaco

On the coast north of Trujillo lies a small fishing village and summer time surfers playground of a town called Huanchaco. Josh and I stayed in a fantastic hostel, Naylamp. The room and bedding were clean, towels and soap were provided and wi-fi reached our room! We were on the second floor and had a lovely ocean view along with cable TV! Not only was the room a class above the hostels we had been staying in in Lima and Cusco, but the price was much lower.

Beyond the hostel walls, the beach was quite nice itself. The sand is a color of gray and the water a pleasant blue. It's no carribean, but hearing about the snowstorms that all of my family and friends are enduring, we have to room to complain! The first day we soaked up the sun. The next couple days we visited the local market and ate some fresh ceviche and watched some good cable tv, as the sun chose not to show it's face.

One thing that makes Huanchaco unique is the reed boat that are still made and used by the local fishermen. A picture of them is shown here.

Lima bean

Over the past few months of travel Josh and I have come to the conclusion that big city's are not for us. The little city's/towns are much sweeter. Between the pollution of Bogota, the potential crime in Quito, the craze of Cusco...we'd just rather spend our time on the beach, or in a laid back town. Even so, for a big city Lima isn't that bad.

Gloria, a dairy production company had a display of various cows all over the city. For me, those were a little more interesting than the usual statues we feel obligated to photograph. The cow featured here was found in the artsy park overlooking the ocean called Parque de Amor.

Lima is a great place for food lovers. It's nice to get away from the standard rice, fish and bean meal...you can find anything to quench your appetite in this capital city.

Family Arrives

Josh's parents, being the courageous adventure seeking people that they are flew down to Peru to meet us for a short vacation. They flew into Peru on Thanksgiving, but we started our trek toward Macchu Picchu the Friday after, we planned to meet up at the ruins. Fortunately we found them right at the gate, as planned. How great it was to see family, after 3 months it was so exciting and strange to see familiar faces in such an un-familiar place.

We spent that early morning venturing around Macchu Picchu and sharing travel experiences. I came down with the stomach bug that Josh had had the day before and had to make a break for it out of the ruins early. I rested while they enjoyed each others company around Aguas Callientes. They ate at a lovely French restarant called India Feliz. Gloria wasn't feeling up to eating that night either, so the next day we enjoyed a lovely lunch there as well.

We spent the next two days trotting about Cusco. We visited an old Incan fortress sitting on the mountainside above the city called Saqsaywayman. Gloria and I shopped for Christmas Presents while Josh and David played cribbage over Peruvian Beers. We ate at some lovely places. The picture above was taken at an upscale place titled Chi-Cha. And of course every time we walked down the street we were flooded by vendors, and I think we all began to lose patience.

Josh's parents are serious travelers, when they vacation they squeeze in all the sights in a limited amount of time. The day they left Cusco they flew down to Puno to see lake Titicaca, then somehow made it back to Lima and to Nazca in the same amount of time that Josh and I simply traveled to Nazca.

In Nazca we met up again, shared a late night drink when they got in and said goodnight till' morning when we would fly over the Nazca Lines. The next morning for breakfast Josh and I shared a bag full of fruit, bought off the street for about a dollar. Then we caught a cab to the hotel where Gloria and David were staying. From there we were picked up by their arranged transport van and headed to the Nazca airport. The Nazca Lines are various shapes made in the desert sand by moving dark sand away from light colored sand, is my understanding. They were created before the Incan Empire. We hopped into a tiny 5 seat airplane to view the lines. Our pilot was very courteous in making sure that everyone was able to see every etch in the sand. He whipped the plane from side to side, one wing strait up to the sky the other diving toward the sand. I was fortunate enough to sit beside the captain in the front seat. If I did not look at the design in the sand (do to extreme nausea) , he would be sure to tap me until I saw every last image. With the exception of Iron Man David we all left the plane sicker than dogs...whatever that phrase means.

After a lunch back at the hotel and a long bus ride back to Lima, we had to say some sad 'see you later's' to the parents. They had to get back, get ready for Christmas and of course have a big-mac. We'll miss you guys, but are so glad you were able to come down and share some of Peru with us!

Inca Trail

We hiked the Inca Trail to Macchu Picchu with Llama Path on a 4 day 3 night trip. This hike was the most luxury hike I probably will ever take part in. For the 13 hikers there were 19 porters and a cook along with a guide and an assistant guide. We would not have saved money by taking our own tent, so the porters carried a llama path tent and set it up for us. By the time we arrived to our campsite the tent was ready to go each evening. Also warm water, soap and individual hand towels were provided before every meal to clean up with. They served us hot tea in the morning inside of our tents. Literally they carried a kitchen table and chairs that they set up for each meal for us to eat from. Dinner and lunch were always 3 coarse meals- a professionally done appetizer, followed by a mouth watering soup, topped off with more food than would feed an army sized entree. We were pampered, and it was nice!
The Inca trail is very busy, thus urinating or otherwise outside of the ´peruvian´squat toilets is prohibited. This made for one of the big negatives for the trail. These peruvian toilets are porcelin bowls flush with the baño floor. Usually they don´t flush and most often the room didn´t have a trash can. You can´t put toilet paper in the toilet so dirty toilet paper would pile up in the corner...gross. As you can imagine the squat pots got pretty nasty. Girls don´t have aim, lot´s of people get diahrea and the smell is enough to blind you.
The hike was challenging due to the elevation changes, however the trail was not too tough comparing it to our last hike in Venezuela. The second day we had to reach our highest elevations and unfortunately Joshua came down with a stomach bug. He couldn´t eat and could barely keep down water, but somehow he pushed through and made it to camp. Well done Josh!
The fourth morning we awoke before the sunrise, ate a very rich cake for breakast-not a good choice llama path, then scrambled to get our bags ready to head to Macchu Picchu. The previos night we had camped on a somewhat narrow ledge, all of the tents in a line. After going to the bathroom I was heading back toward my bag and I fell off the 10foot ledge. Physically I only had a few bruises and scrapes but emotionally I was quite hurt. After the fall I stood up and appologized to the porters as I had landed on a bag of trash. I asked for a towel to wipe off and no one could help me. I just stood there appologizing and Josh yelled, ¨Get up here¨ I was pissed and hurt! Why didn´t any one care that I had fallen 10 feet onto my back on a pile of trash?! Josh and Llama path definetely got a talking to for their seemingly uncaring reactions!
I carried my bad attitude along with a bruised wrist and but the final 3 hours to Macchu Picchu. The old Incan city was impressive. I have a hard time getting excited about rocks, even if they are so nicely cut and placed, but it was still nice to see. We started on a tour with our guide and left at about 10am to meet Josh´s parents.
Sometime in that early morning I was starting to feel a little sick. About midday I had to separate from Josh and his parents and head toward the exit. Uggh, here I got trapped in this huge maze of rocks. Frustrated, overheated and sick to the stomach I got sick over a pile of rocks, hidden by another pile. I made it to the bathroom before I got sick again.
The twisty-turny bus ride down to Aquas Callientes didn´t help my uneasy stomach, I spent the rest of the day in the hotel room, while Josh and his parents explored Aquas.

Cusco

I'm sorry that this update has taken so long...I've been hesitant to write it because I feel only negative things toward Cusco, but am perplexed when looking back at our lovely pictures and I just can't understand how I couldn't like the city...here it is:

Cusco, Peru is a beautiful city, full of Incan architecture and beautiful Spanish cathedrals as well. Plaza de Armas is tended very carefully full of lush green grass and lovely flowers. Narrow cobblestone streets take you to numerous restraunts and shops. Whatever you need, you can probably buy in in Cusco.

The thing that made it miserable for me was the constantly badgering touts. From sun up till' into the night they try their hardest to sell you anything they can. They are relentless! Once told 'no', they continue on with 'why not my friend' and offer varios other things you have no interest in. They sell everything from massages, manicures, 'maybe alpaca' hats, scarves and whatever else you might not want. The vending never ends. We had to sneak into the hostal at times to escape the noise and hoards of people.

You might be reading this thinking how coarse and mean of me to think these things. Peruvians overall are very poor, this is their only way of making money. It's true have become hardened to these unfortunate circumstances. But I challenge you to spend a week amidst the chaos and not feel similarly!

Needless to say the town is beautiful, but a horrible tourist trap. And you can buy all of the authentic 'baby' alpaca clothing you want, and then the 'maybe' alpaca stuff for much less.

Fat kid

I forgot to mention a vital detail that occured in Loja, Ecuador: A few blocks from the bus station in Quito, maybe 15 minutes after take off the bus pulled over to pick up large blue barrels covered with a blanket and rope of mystery substance destined for Loja. We were too lucky to find out that this mystery substance was indeed pounds and pounds of Lard. How did we find out you ask? Well, upon arrival at 6am in Loja after yet another restless ride on the night bus my formerly green pack now had a thick white frosted shell.

Josh and I would sometimes joke that my bag always ended up looking like a fat kid after I pack it. For some reason I can never get those bulges in line. Now the pack looks and smells the part.

Loja-Piura-Lima

Bus. Bus. Bus.
From Quito we caught a supposedly 12-14 hour bus ride that actually took 16 hours to Loja, Ecuador. The city is known for it´s musicians, so we thought we´d check it out. We popped into a nice cheap hotel, only 10$ a night and slept until after 1 in the afternoon. Josh of course didn´t want to miss out on seeing any sights, so we walked up and down the town to catch every park and church within the city limits. Heaven forbid a statue go bye without it´s picture on our camera! We also checked out the Loja Zoo and reluctantly were unable to free any of the thristy sad looking inmates. One half hairless Andean Speckled bear still tears at my heart. We heard no musicians, but Josh claims some guys were carrying guitars.

1pm the next day we caught the border-crossing bus to Piura, Peru. Another longer than expected bus, but tolerably 8 or 9 hours. From Piura we found a helpful taxi driver that took us to a bus terminal that had night buses to Lima.

Peru´s bus system is a bit more difficult to use as there is not a central terminal, thus you have to buz up and down little streets and down allies to find the bus you want. Fortunately we´ve had some helpful taxi drivers direct us in the right direction, sure they expect a little extra money but they deserve it for the help.

At half past 10 pm the bus left from Piura to Lima. This was to be a 16hour bus, so we grabbed a quick chicken and rice dinner from a local street vendor before hopping on the bus. The bus was long and cramped. The seats in this one were NOT made for tall or (I like to say big-boned) persons. Anyway at about 9 am they stopped for breakfast in a big wharehouse on the side of the road in what seemed to be a barren desert. We were looking for a nice cup of coffee and something small for breakfast. Unfortunately this hot spot didn´t have coffee today, only chicken soup and a full course chicken dinner if that´s what you´re hungry for at 9am. We went with the chicken soup and 2 bottles of water. Low and behold I was the lucky girl of the day getting 3 chicken feet in my soup. Three! Moral of the story- when there isn´t coffee don´t bother ordering breakfast.

Finally we arrived in Lima at about 2pm yesterday, another helpful taxi driver carted us to 3 different bus terminals where we finally found a bus that would take us to Cuzco the next day. Some of the other companies are not currently running buses because the Peruvian people between Lima and Cuzco have shut down the road as a way to protest the government.

This morning the receptionist at our hotel alerted us that our bus company had called and our bus to Cuzco was cancelled...sure enough the road that the other buses wouldn´t sell us a ticket to, was in fact closed down today. However, we are taking a bus yet this afternoon to Ariquipe, 16 hours from Lima and another 14 hours from Cuzco. It will be a longer route around, but hopefully it will get us there. We are signed up to hike the Inca Trail on the 27th of this month, we need to pay the rest of the deposit by the 25th. Also taking some time in Cuzco is essential to help us get acclimated. Hopefully we´ll be there in a day or two...I guess we´ll see.

Quito

We didn't have much Ecuador, but hope to come back someday. There is some good hiking that we'd like to do and of course it would be quite wonderful to visit the Galapagos Islands. Josh and I are planning to venture back someday, so keeping this in mind we were able to push through, heading south to Peru.

We seemed to agree that Quito was a bit nicer of a city than Bogota in our opinion. Perhaps it was simply that they used a trolly system running on electricity, cutting down on exhaust fumes.

There were also quite a few more travelers which was kind of fun. At the same time, each traveler had a story to instill fear in us about the surrounding city. Everyone said that Quito was incredibly unsafe with stories of gunshots and robberies occuring daily. We never felt unsafe but the stories that we were told over diner everynight stuck in my mind and hindered me from being able to relax and fully enjoy the city. Hopefully next time in Quito I won´t feel so limited by fear.

Chocolate cake and a Coctail

We spent an extra day in Salento as it was my birthday and we found some good looking chocolate cake at Jesus's Cafe the day before. The sky´s downpoured rain that afternoon, so it was good that we weren't awaiting a bus on the streetside anyway. The cake was lovely, they also had a tasty strawberry daquiri that went very well with it.

Dusty, Josh´s good buddy ended up showing up to Salento the night before my birthday. He gave me a small clutch with a pattern on it made by the Kuna indians. That was another nice surpise to end a good day.

After a final cup of coffee at Jesus´s Cafe we headed to the bus station in Armenia. We arrived at the bus station later than we had hoped, the curvy ride...causing quite a bit of nasea took longer than expected. There was only 1 seat available for the bus that we were hoping to catch to the border town between Colombia and Ecuador. Thus we went with the next best option and bought a ticket to Pasto, a town 2 hours or so north of the border. The time was 6pm, We waited 8 or 9 hours for the bus to Pasto to arrive, which sadly happened to be running 3 hours late...uggh.

Eventually we caught the bus to Pasto, followed by a mini bus another couple hours to Ipiales, then finally a taxi across the border. Another taxi took us to the next most immediate town in Ecuador where we literally ran onto a moving bus bound for Quito. We arrived in Quito after midnight and thankfully caught an honest cab driver who took us safely to The Secret Garden Hostel for a reasonable fee. We made it into bed and crashed.

Salento, Colombia

Thank heavens! A fresh breath of air in Salento. Fed up with the pollution and noise of Bogota, Salento was an oasis in our travels.

In every direction lush green hills span as far as the eye can see. Coffee plants and banana trees pepper the hills. The air is fresh and refreshing to the body and sole. The elevation is high, climbing the hills take your breath away like I said, everywhere you go there is another hill. You need the coffee just to get you through a day around town.

The second day we took a hike to see the Wax Palms in the Valle de Cocora a short jeep ride away from the town of Salento. The jeep ride itself, should not be underestimated. Josh and I were apparantly not pushy enough so ended up standing on the back of the jeep hanging on for our lives! Up and down hills on dirt road the jeep drove, my arms ached and a few blisters popped up on my hands by the time we arrived at the valley. The hike took about 5 hours consisting of many river crossings and quite a lot of climbing, not to mention lots of mud. But like every hike, even though I curse it in the beginning it's quite gratifying to finish. The cloud forest around the palms was quite beautiful as well. We were able to hike with a French guy and a German couple. It was a good day. Best of all, we got a seat for the jeep ride back.

Bogota still.

After 6 days, Bogota had lost it's thrill for me. The weather was still pleasant and cool, but the combination of a gray overcast sky and smoggy air had started to wear on me. The city is big, lots of traffic, lots of exhaust, lots of noise.

After a long day of traversing the town my eyes would burn from the air, contacts were a bad idea amid air thick with pollution. Also, the hostel had started to lose it's cool at this point as well. The guests seemed to be staying up later, being noisier and smoking more. Josh and I found ourselves waking up after little sleep in a smoke filled room, sometimes the frosted flakes weren't even out...It was time to leave.

From here we head south to coffee county.

Bogota

We made it into Bogota, Colombia after dark. Cranky Crock, the hostel we were hoping to stay in was booked, but graciously the receptionist directed us to another small hostel around the block. We were expecting the place to be a dump, but were pleasantly surprised and ended up staying in that location for a week. They had free breakfast and a clean bathroom, no reason to leave!

The first night in after finding a spot to sleep we hit up a lovely Italian restaurant in the old town district, just a couple blocks from our hostel. The eatery had a glowing fireplace in the corner and interesting elves painted on the walls...it seemed fitting for Halloween Night. We enjoyed some fancy pasta plates and shortly after headed back to the hostel for some sleep.

To comment on Halloween in Colombia, surprisingly enough it is quite celebrated there. The city was filled with little one dressed as the usual princesses, farm animals, what have you...hand in hand with their parents parading around in search of treats.

Leticia

After getting off of the River Boat up the Amazon we got a taxi to Leticia, Colombia. This is a small town in the Amazon Basin that a lot of jungle trip take off from. We spent only one night here and
caught a flight to Bogota the next day.

We stayed in Mahatu Jungle Hostel, in an upstairs cabana similar to the cabanas that we stayed in during our honeymoon in Nicaragua. The stay was cheap and the owner friendly.

Staying in Leticia only one night, we didn't expect to see jungle wildlife. However we were pleasantly surprised to see some jungle animals that had turned into city inhabitants. Huge flocks of parrots lived in the city trees. You could here them from blocks away, there bright green color was quite beautiful as well. Also there was a small rodent that scurried about the hostel yard, called a Black Agouti (Dasyprocta fuliginosa) a smaller version of the capybara. He was cool to see!

The day in Leticia was hot and humid but the night was quite pleasant in the cabana. In the morning I found keeping cookies in my bag proved to be a horrible idea. Ants infested my daybag, books, journal. I couldn't get rid of them all, some flew to Bogota with us. The worst part is that these hungry ants ate right through some of my undergarments, leaving a string-cheese look. I truly did find ants in my underpants at lunch that day!

Up the Amazon

We bought a ticket to take a large river boat up the Amazon river for 6.5 days from Manaus to Tabatinga. The boat was very large, it could fit up to 400 people if I remember correctly. The river being the main highway in the amazon was used for transportation of most of their goods. On the lower level of the boat was anything you could want- massive amounts of soda and beer, mattresses, plastic chairs even a pickup truck. At times the boat would stop for 5 or 6 hours to unload what seemed to be an infinite amount of supplies.

Riding this large boat up the center of such a wide river didn't prove to be the jungle experience that you expect when you hear 'amazon'. However, we did sleep in hammocks every night and shower with river water. On a couple of lucky occasions we saw river dolphins, some of which were pink!

There wasn't a lot more happening on the boat besides the occasional stop and unload. We ate the same rice, beans, spagetti and meat for every meal. I got pretty sick for 2 days, which wasn't made any easier with the frequently disgustingly dirty bathrooms. Other than that I was able to read a lot and lay in a hammock.

Manaus, Brazil

After the Roriama trek we took a day to start recovering then catched a taxi to cross the border to Brazil. We ended up taking a taxi all the way to the next town in Brazil, Boa Vista because it was cheaper and faster than a bus. Gas in Venezuela is subsidised by the government, something like 1 cent for a liter! This is truly a terrible thing because it encourages lots of driving of monsterous gas hogs, old U.S. cars...unnecessary pollution.

From Boa Vista we eventually caught a night bus to Manaus, Brazil. Got ourselves into an Australian run Hostel and set out to get boat tickets for Tabatinga. We were able to choose between leaving on the boat either the next day or 5 days away. Feeling the thick heat of the city on our backs helped us quickly decide to leave the next day. The town did look interesting enough to stay a few days, but the heat was oppressive.

We purchased our boat tickets, then hammocks and ropes without much hassle. We picked up some snacks from the grocery store and some fruit from the street vendors. We were hoping to take an avocato, but they are as big as 3 at home, and without refridgeration we knew it would go to waste.

The following morning after a fitful nights sleep in the sticky heat we walked the half mile to the boat docks. taking a small boat to the deeper water where our large boat was parked we hopped on and found a decent location for our 3 hammocks. Behind our hammocks we tied our bags together. We smiled at the portuguese speaking neighbors and settled into our hammocks and wait for take off.

Roraima

After finishing Angel Falls we hopped on a night bus headed south to Santa Elena, Venezuela. The bus ride stunk horribly of urine. It was nothing short of naseating. I went to the bathroom at one point and understood the smell in a new way, I'll spare you the details.

Once arriving in Santa Elena we got a room and headed to the Brazilian Consulate to get our Brazilian Visa (another thing we probably should have done before we left) At the Consulate they did a fairly impressive job of instilling fear in us of the local police. They said the police would hassle us and take our money if we didn't carry our passports with us at all times. One woman also encouraged us not to take the Amazon, as lots of foreigners get killed there all of the time. We ignored her advice completely.

After that was taken care of we arranged a hiking trip. Around this area there are unique table-like mountains called Tepuy or Tepui's. They have isolated ecosystems with a large variety of carnivorous plants. National park laws only allow people to hike with a guide up these mountains so we arranged a standard 6 day trek with Kamadac, a tour company with good prices across from our hostel.

After a good nights rest the next day we set off to hike Roraima.
DAY 1. Not bad, 12km from the town of Para Tepui to Rio Tek. The bugs here were the real enemy's. The people call these tiny man eaters puri puri's. They have no respect for bug spray so to fend them off you have to where long pants and shirts in the sweltering heat.
DAY 2. A little harder. More uphill this day, 10km or so hiking to the base of the Tepui. Bugs weren't so bad, tired nervous for day 3.
DAY 3. HARD. A very steep hike up the side of the tepui. Thick jungle, loose rocks, aching thighs and gluteus. I wasn't sure that I could make it, by divine miracle I did.
DAY 4. okay. We trekked around the top of the Tepui to take a closer look and the ecosystem up here. We saw tiny black frogs, crystals and tiny carnivorous plants. The top of the tepui was not as lush as I was expecting, it looked like what I expect the moon to look like. Uneven black granite in every direction. Honestly this day I just wanted to stay in the tent and sleep and am annoyed we had to walk around to see the 2 plants, frog and crystal we didn't have to walk that far to see.
DAY 5. HARDEST This day we trekked all of the way down from the top of the tepui to the spot we camped our first night. The downhill was scary and so tough on the legs. I was terrified that we would slide down the side of the Tepui the entire day, the rocks were loose and wet from the rain. My legs would not stop shaking and hurt more than I can ever remember. My ankles were swollen and painful. I took as much Ibuprofen and Excedrin as medically safe...some how we made it with only a few scrapes and 2 swollen ankles.
DAY 6. Lasting Pain. finished of with a 12 km hike to the beginning. A wonderfully rewarding feeling to be done, but good heavens did I hurt...and I hurt for 2 weeks after.

end lesson-get in better shape...but you can do anything you put your mind to.

Angel Falls

From Cuidad Bolivar, Venezuela we were able to arrange a tour to Angel Falls. The tour lasted 3 days. We arrived at the airport early and left our big bags with the tour company. The plane we took into Canaima national park was the tiniest plane I have ever seen, 5 passengers and the pilot. I sat in the front seat next to the pilot. Somehow before takeoff Josh's seatbelt got locked out the little door. We prayed and said our last i love you's just incase. An air vent was next my ear letting the air in so the plane was very loud, but otherthan that we had a fairly smooth ride. Exhillarating.

When we arrived at the drop off point in cainaima we were quicky ushered toward the river boats to head toward the falls. The boats looked like long thin dug out logs with a regular speed boat motor attached. We were told that since it is no longer the rainy season the river would be very low and points and we would need to jump off and push. To see the falls we had to travel upriver for 5 hours! After that trip we did not soon forget how hard those wooden benches were. Anyway the river was low in spots and there were rapids that would have to classify about 3 or so. The guides started shouted at the men to jump out and push when we got stuck. On one terrifying occasion the guys jumped out and not a secound later Dusty lost his footing and slipped. One of the ladies and the end of the boat caught his shirt and was trying to help but actually ended up nearly drowning him by holding him down. He broke away from her unhelpful help and floated downstream. He was able to stop in a calmer pool a little ways down. We picked him up with greatest casualty being the loss of his favorite Tigers Cap.

Eventually we made it to the camping sight for the night, across the river from the falls. Angel Falls was impressive, not having the ammount of water that it does in the rainy season it's tale was a mist before it hit the pool at the bottom. We slept in hammocks beneath necessary mosquito nets. Sleep was sound but too short, the next morning the guide woke us up at 4 am to start hiking to a viewpoint closer to the falls. The hike was shockingly strenuous. The jungle around the falls is very thick and the path toward the falls was a tangle of roots. After 3 hours we made it to a closer viewpoint. The view was impressive, but I would recommend hiking boots.

After ariving back our slave driving guide hurried us through breakfast then ushered us back to the boats. This time the ride was much more enjoyable, except for our bruised butt cheeks. Going downstream it took maybe 3 hours, the rest of the day our slave driver disappeared and i relaxed my blistered feet in a hammock at the basecamp near some other impressive waterfalls.

Day 3 we checked out these glorious waterfalls near our basecamp. We walked right under some and on the top of the ridge where they fell from, wet and slippery at times the loud crashing of the falls was worth the short hike. A quick plane ride back, and that ties up the Angel Falls adventure.

Excitement for the Falls!

We have some big adventures planned here in the very near future. Tomorrow we´re taking a plane to Canima and the following day a boat & hike combination to Angel Falls, the worlds highest waterfall! We get to camp directly across from the falls that night!
The downside is the jungle mosquitos are terrible. I´ve seen 3 people today so far point and stare at my legs full of chickenpox like marks from these blasted bugs. I feel like a lepar walking around here, not immune to these bugs like the natives. Hopefully we´ll all end up malaria free and with great memories...it will well be worth enduring a little time as the venezuelan eyesore;)

Beach

Josh and I split from Dusty for a couple days as he wanted to go to Caracas and we wanted to hit another beach before heading down the Angel Falls. We headed to Puerta La Cruz and then took a 45min. bus to a small fishing town called Santa Fe. We stayed in a Posada directly on the beach overlooking a small bay part of Mochima National Park. Despite the plethora of trash strewn about the beach and decorating the water the landscape was breathtaking. The water ranged from light aqua blue to a deep emerald green. Mountains covered in desert grass and cacti arose from the edges of the water. Pelicans flooded the beaches, somewhat like seaguls but more magical to a Midwesterner!

On the third day we took a boat trip to a smaller island that we had heard was more tranquil and beautiful than the beach we were staying on. On the boat trip over we encountered schools of dolphins! So many of them altogether, jumping in that crescent moon shape that I remeber flipper doing. It was beautiful and amazing, quite a suprise!
Before arriving to the island we snorkeled of the side of a different mountain-island. The coral was beautiful, colors of blue, purples, pinks, reds and shades of white. We then ran into a school of minnows, they were making a wall and the other wall was a school of larger fish. I felt like Ariel, the little mermade, or nemo. The larger fish would lunge toward the minnows, then hundreds of minnows would simultaneously turn away. We were right in the middle of the action. Perhaps the minnows were using us as a shield. Eitherway it was quite amazing, I felt like I was filming for the Discovery Channel- the life of fish series.
Once arriving at the Island beach we quickly decided that it was indeed the most beautiful beach we´ve been to. Crystal clear water, soft white sand, mountains jutting out of the water on either side of the beach...gorgeous.
We took a sunset tour on the boat back to our posada and again saw schools of dolphins circling up sardines for dinner! I am such a lucky girl!

Pictures!

Coro, Venezuela

Taganga, Colombia Totuma, Colombia Market, Colombia

Tayrona Nat´l Park, Colombia

Playa Blanca, Colombia

Week 3...a new outlook 9-28

This morning Josh and Dusty left on a short hiking trip until tomorrow evening. Thus I am on my own in Merida for the first time since we´ve begun this adventure. It feels great to be pushed into being courageous. I´ve walked about town, purchased 4 different cups of coffee at different times. The coffee comes in 1-3 oz cups(plastic shot glasses) almost always with sugar and often with milk. Fed up with fried food for a while, I bought a few healthy groceries. I also enrolled in a week of Spanish lessons, it will be 18 hours starting at 4pm today and ending Friday. Hopefully I´ll learn some basics to be a bit less dependant upon Josh, and feel more comfortable.

When I was walking around town this morning I realized that I am having a very nice time. Being more courageous and trying out my meager Spanish skills has helped tremendously. Being my own leader is something I need to do more often. For the past 3 weeks I´ve been following Josh around like a lost puppy. Today stepping out and chosing what to do on my own felt amazing. I guess Josh and I will have to try to share the lead of this adventure a bit more.

Well, off to la classe de espanol.
hasta luego

Tayrona, Colombia's most popular national park

Just got back from Tayrona National Park. The first day into the park was quite a hike, they took our rum at the entry also and gave us a phony reciept and said we would be able to redeem the liquor upon our departure...3 days later they had no idea what we were talking about. Back to the hike in, SO HARD...It kicked my butt and I wasn't quite about it, sorry Josh and Dusty.

Tyrona is very much jungle and then beautiful beach. Exotic plants, flowers, lizards and crabs, very different than we see in Michigan. We ended up staying in what looks like a sweet tree house high up on a rocky ledge overlooking the sea. (pictures coming soon) We slept in hammocks very close to each other and near other travelers. After a goodnights sleep I was able to enjoy the awesome beach, we had a lovely day and ended up staying 2 more nights.

The 2nd night we went through the most horrible and awesome thunder storm I've experienced. Being the highest point on the beach I was terrified of the wooden house being struck by lightening and starting on fire. Josh and Dusty and the British travelers up there were just loving the storm though, and I was a bit...but fear and homesickness were overpowering the excitement of the storm for me. Long story short, the storm settled at 1 am or so and we were able to fall sleep in our wet hammocks and semi wet clothes shortly thereafter.

Thank goodness we got our yellow fever shots, I am covered in mosquito bite welts the size of nickles, almost quarters. Besides that my mood is better, I will keep on with this crazy traveling.

Attack of the Flying Ants

Two nights ago when I mentioned that I was eaten by bugs at night I was not mistaken. Last night at about 2 am I woke up just fed up with the bug bites. I rifled through my pack to pull out the silk sleeping bag liner that I thought would serve as a layer between me and the bed bugs. After a little while of that and still more creepy crawlies I pulled out the head lamp to see what was getting me. Flying Ants were jumping all over the sheets and pillow, floor, ceiling and walls. Sleeping beauty, Josh finally woke up from his slumber to help squash some of the ants. We probably killed over 200, it´s 3 am. All I can think about is how I will tolerate being back in the states working without josh. I tell him I am not cut out for this jungle life like him, showing him all the bites I have up and down my arms and legs...he has not a single bite to show.
The ants were attracted to the light, like all other bugs. (we´re not really sure if they are ants, but they do fly and they look sort of like ants). Our hostel has open windows with bars over them and openings in the cement at the ceiling. None of the places here use actual windows unless they have air condition, which apparently is rare. Anyway, a light has been left on all night right outside of one of these opening in the cement near the ceiling of our room. That is where we believe the bugs entered. So tonight we´ll put up the mosquito net again, like Josh ended up doing in the middle of last night and we´ll ask if they could shut off that light outside our windows as well. Hopefully less bug bites tonight.
I´m still thinking about getting a flight back to the US though, these sweaty days, dirty bathrooms, bug filled nights, frequent diarrhea and stomach pain leaves something fierce to be desired...

taganga

We've moved to taganga, a beach town that is about a 5 hour bus ride from cartagena. The temperature is more pleasant here, it seems a bit cooler with the ocean breeze. It's still much too hot to sleep with a sheet on and i haven't stopped sweating yet.

We're staying in the Bayview Hostel. the owner is, to my knowlege colombian, but speakes english and writes much of the hostel information in english, catering to tourists....i don't mind at this point...the more english the merrier. The hostel is brightly painted, cleaner and more open than the others we've stayed in. I do like it better, although i still feel like bed bugs were eating me last night.

There must be a donkey just past the wall. it smells like manure and made lots of he-hawing noises throughout the night and morning. Again, i don't mind this, the more animals the merrier. Speaking of animals, we've been fortunate to run across some beautiful, low flee dogs. At the beach over the weekend there was a momma beagle with three adorable beagle puppies. What a delight! Yesterday when Josh and Dusty were checking out dive shops we got to meet a beautiful Weimaraner, a sweet young German Shepard and another dog similar looking to a Ridgeback I think. It's nice to see dogs that are taken care of down here, i feel free to play with them unlike some o the flee covered stray dogs.

I miss home, but am having a decent time. I will be much happier when we get to the mountains. I am sick of being so sweaty and even more being covered with bug bites.

Arrival in Catagena

Just got into Cartagena a couple hours ago. We got to a hostel, 15$ a night including fan, with some nice Spanish Colonial style tiled floors. We´re happy with it, we´ll see if we´re able to sleep in the heat with the fan tonight. It´s 95 F, but doesn´t feel quite that bad.

It´s great to be here. I was so nervous, but this is similar to nicaragua and mexico, places I´ve experienced and enjoyed before. I love the feel- the street food, the fresh fruit, the old buildings, the heat...it´s so different from home which makes it so fun.

Well, Josh and I just checked in to call home since that is taken care, time to continue seeing the city.

Detroit to Cartagena

Oh boy, here we go. I'm nervous and can not really explain why.

We're staying at our friend's Derek and Jen's house in Westland, 20 minutes from the airport. Despite their futon being more comfy than the airmattress that we've endured for 3 weeks I just can not sleep.

Yesterday was a sad day, saying goodbyes. My friends and family will be greatly missed as well as our sweet dog. I hope I am able to adjust to the change well.

I guess I'm nervous that I'm not quite sure what to expect. Will I feel lonely? Will I be able to relax and enjoy myself? Will I feel lost? Will I feel safe?

Hopefully it will be so fun, liberating and relaxing that I will have no choice but to love traveling.

Crossing finger, and saying prayers!

A few favorite pictures, no particular order

Honeymoon in Nicaragua

Joshua reading to Tristan at Christmas time
Gloria & I ...so happy to be her daughter-in-law
Tembo shying away from some kisses

Today I broke the news of leaving to my boss. Just under eight weeks away from our flight date, it was heavy on my mind. She wasn't excited to hear the news in the least, but she was kind and honest. When I told her how I felt badly for leaving, she encouraged me not to; Instead to enjoy the adventure. She then told me about how her daughter had visited Peru a while back and went to these floating islands. Turning to her computer she pulled up Google and found some pictures of these man made islands in lake Titicaca. If it were not for the nervousness I had going into the conversation I would have laughed quite loud at the strange situation. Gotta love DVP.

This is an online journal to share with friends and family about my life now shared with my loving husband Joshua and princess dog, Tembo. Our adventure has just begun!