The End: Cusco and Arequipa

I'm currently chilling in the airport in Lima, Peru killing time during a 10 hour layover before I finally head home. It's crazy to think that after 3 months and 5 countries, I'll be home in the USA tomorrow.

The end of my trip was solid. After saying goodbye to the guys I had been traveling with, I stayed in Cuzco for another 4 days, for the most part checking out more Incan ruins. The day after seeing Machu Picchu, I took a day to relax, strolling around the city and checking out a cathedral or two. The city of Cuzco is probably the most charming of the cities I visited in Peru. It has a handful of nice plazas and churches, sporting some pleasant colonial architecture. It also had a good nightlife. Saturday night I ended up at a bar/club called Mama Africa. I spent the next two days seeing all sorts of Incan ruins on a tour of sites near the city and throughout the "Sacred Valley." They were cool but it got old after a while, constantly riding around on a bus then hopping off to see similar looking ruins. My last day in Cusco was my favorite. I did a 4-wheeler ATV tour that ended up being just me with the guide. I basically got to drive around at 50 MPH on dirt roads in the shade of the Andes for 4 hours, avoiding herds of farm animals and stopping to see a couple of unique Incan sites, including a salt mine still in use. That night I took an overnight bus out to Arequipa.

Unfortunately some 24-stomach bug kicked in while I was on the bus, so after a miserable night, I was happy to be greeted at the bus station by my Davidson friend, Andrea, who is from Arequipa. Last year, she did a 1-year exchange at Davidson and I had gotten to know her at the Spanish table and other Spanish-related events. I was excited to spend the last part of my trip staying with her and her family in Arequipa. Unfortunately, I was still unable to stomach any food and spent about 22 of the next 24 hours in bed sleeping. Fortunately, I was completely fine the next day, even getting in my first solid workout in 4 weeks at her gym there.

 In addition to hanging out with Andrea and her friends and family, I did some more sightseeing. Walking around the city, I saw a couple more cathedrals and an enormous old convent called Santa Catalina. Andrea and I also did a bus city tour, which included stops at Alpaca World and cool viewpoints around the city, where you could appreciate the 3 enormous volcanoes right next to it. Only one is still active, but it hasn't erupted since the 15th century. If it does though, I'd say Arequipa is screwed. My last full day, I did a day trip to Colca Canyon. After leaving Arequipa at 3 AM, we spent the day driving to and through the canyon, stopping at various points, including one where we saw some condors (enormous birds) up close. We also stopped at some "hot springs," which were a complete bust. It was basically just a heated pool, less impressive even than my experience with Sarah at the springs in Mendoza. I got back from that adventure around 5:30 PM, and spent the rest of the evening hanging out with Andrea, going to the gym, and packing. This morning, I flew out of Arequipa to Lima, from which I will fly direct to Atlanta tonight.

Just because my trip has basically come to an end, it doesn't mean this incredible blog has quite yet. Once I get home, I'll write a quick summary post with some pictures from my all of my adventures (since I'll actually be able to upload them at home).

Bolivia, Machu Picchu, and a crazy encounter

After saying goodbye to my sister and an uneventful flight from Santiago, I arrived in La Paz, Bolivia. I stayed at a nice but very party-hard Irish hostel called the Wild Rover. I’m now actually at another Wild Rover in Cusco, Peru. La Paz is at around 13,300 feet (4,000 meters) of altitude, and I noticed immediately. I initially suffered a little from altitude sickness and just walking up three flights of stairs to my room put me out of breath. The first night I just chilled in the hostel and partied with a random Brazilian guy.

The next morning I was in the bar area eating some breakfast when I saw an American guy that looked really familiar. I initially assumed it was somebody that I had seen traveling in another hostel at some point, which wouldn´t have been a huge coincidence. He also looked at me with a strange sense of familiarity. I then realized that it was Chris Hartle, one of my future co-workers that I had met back in November, when Bain had us all down for the weekend in Atlanta. Running into each other in Bolivia was absolutely absurd. He had also been traveling in South America for a few months as well, and was heading with a couple of British guys, George and Gareth, in the same direction that I was planning to go. So I decided to join them for the next few days.

That day we did a little exploring of the city, which was fairly uneventful. La Paz is pretty cool, but noticeably poorer than other places I have visited thus far. Despite the lack of decoration in its houses, L a Paz has a certain charm because the city is actually in the mountains very high up. At a market we visited, I did buy a sweater and socks made of Alpaca, and with designs of Alpaca on them. They were really cheap and are already starting to fall apart, but they are good for staying warm, which is sometimes hard to do here, especially at night. When originally packing for this trip, I mistakenly assumed that because Bolivia and Peru were much closer to the equator than Argentina and Chile, that they would in fact be warmer. I was very wrong, due to the much higher altitude.

The next day, we went on an all-day bike tour in the Bolivian Andes outside of La Paz on “Death Road.” It was absolutely incredible. We started early in the morning really high up. With good mountain bikes, helmets, elbow and knee pads, and many layers of clothing, we began the journey, which was 64 KM and mostly downhill. The first part was paved, but the actual Death Rode was dirt. It is called so because so many people have died on it (Imagine that). It is a one lane road that people used to drive on both ways. Unfortunately, if you fall off the side, you tend to plummet to your death 1000 meters below. Now it’s basically just used by bikers. I made a point to maintain a comfortable speed and not fall off the side of the mountain and plunge to my death. In fact, I got a t-shirt commending my survival. By the end, we had descended to what was technically the Bolivian Amazon, and it was really hot, especially compared to the temperature at the top. We were rewarded with a cold beer and a few hours at a pool. It was one of the best days I’ve had while traveling.

The next morning, the four of us headed for Copacabana, a small Bolivian town on the shores of Lake Titicaca, the world’s largest high altitude lake. From there, we took a boat to Isla del Sol, where we stayed the night. We arrived at the shore and didn’t see much. Looking for our “hotel,” we realized that we had to climb up hundreds and hundreds of stairs with our enormous backpacks. Thanks especially to the altitude, the climb was incredibly exhausting. It was worth it though. The view was incredible from up top. I found the community of Isla del Sol to be fascinating. At this point, it seemed the island was totally dependent on tourism, but it was still very poor. Running water was scarce, because it had to be carried up the mountain all day in jugs on donkeys. We ate dinner at a “pizzeria,” which had dirt floors and only used electricity for the pizza oven. We ate by candlelight and the owner used a headlight to see what he was doing in the kitchen. It was a very pleasant experience though, especially watching the sun set over the lake and other mountainous islands.

The following morning, we took the boat back to Copacabana to catch a bus to Puno, Peru, which is on the opposite side of Lake Titicaca. In Puno, we did a quick tour of the floating islands, which are really hard to describe. Basically, the islands are made up some kind of grass that grows from the bottom of the lake and makes the islands appear to be floating. People have lived there for a very long time. They travel between the small islands on grass made boats, in one of which we got to ride. It was all really cool.

We returned to Puno to catch a solid Peruvian meal before getting on an overnight bus to Cusco. We arrived in Cusco and 5:00 AM and per usual, I barely slept. After randomly spending an hour and a half in the apartment of our tour guide, we took another bus, then a train for a combined three hours to arrive in Aguas Calientes, the small tourism town in the valley next to Machu Picchu. After another 30-minute bus ride, we arrived to the top where we entered and were sorted into a tour group to see Machu Picchu. It really was unbelievable to see the Incan city, still very in-tact up high up in the Andes. Unfortunately, I was really tired, it was very hot, and the place was slammed with tourists, so I don’t think I was able to fully appreciate it as much as it deserved to be appreciated. Even still, it was Inca-redible (Thanks George). After the park closed, we headed down to Aguas Calientes to kill a few hours before catching the train out. We ended up doing so by eating and all getting massages. It was completely random, but a great use of $20 USD for an hour. We then made the journey back to Cusco and, completely exhausted, crashed when we got to the hostel.

Today I said goodbye to the guys, as they headed off to Santiago. I’ll be hanging out in Cusco for a few days before heading to Arequipa, from which I will fly to Lima, then home. It’s hard to believe that I only have 10 days left to go.

Don't cry for me, Argentina! (I'm in Chile)

The pass to Chile eventually opened up but our original plans changed a bit. Instead of spending a few nights in Valparaiso, we went directly to Santiago from Mendoza. Traffic at the border was insane, since so many people had been waiting to cross, so what is normally a 5-hour bus ride ended up being 10. Fortunately, it was absolutely beautiful since most of the journey was through the Andes.

Santiago was really cool. We got really lucky too because the weather was great--sunny and hi 60s most of the time we were here. The first day Sarah and I did a guided walking tour of the city, which gave us a good feel for Chilean history as well as the city itself. We ended the day taking a furnicular up to a small hill/mountain called Cerro San Cristobal, which sported a large Virgin Mary statue at the top (cool but not as impressive as the giant Jesus in Rio). The next day, we retraced our steps from the previous day to visit a cathedral or two, a castle thing that used to be a fort back in the day, and a museum of pre-colombian history. We also got lunch at the famous Mercado Central. Chile has a lot more seafood, of which I am not a huge fan. There is good food here, but I definitely prefer Argentine cuisine. We had a very American evening, grabbing McDonald's before seeing the movie Captain America, which disappointed me a bit.

Friday, we made a day trip to Valparaiso and Viña del Mar, two cities on the coast about an hour and a half away. They were cool cities, but unfortunately we got sucked into a bit of a tourist trap. We decided to do a tour where they shuffled everyone on the bus around the two cities all day. We would get off and take pictures and never really had time to enjoy the cities. It was the easiest way to see both cities in the little time that we had. Including that tour, I have seen a ton of tourist Brazilians here, so I've gotten the chance to continue practicing my Portuguese. Unfortunately, it is noticeably worse than it was when I was in Brazil.

Today, Sarah and I went to visit a winery called Concha y Toro. We had a great tour and then after it did a tasting. We had a sommelier lead us in a tasting of four really good wines accompanied with cheeses and nuts and such. Afterward, I accompanied Sarah to the airport and returned to the hostel. I fly out to La, Paz tomorrow around noon.

What do we do when we fall off the horse?

My last few days in Buenos Aires were great. My sister arrived in BA last Sunday morning after an overnight flight from Honduras to Panama to BA. We spent all Sunday and Saturday seeing all of the touristy things that I had already seen last year when I was there. Sunday we first went to the Plaza de Mayo, where we saw the cathedral and Casa Rosada (Argentina’s White House). We then visited the market in San Telmo, before making our way to Recoleta for tea at the famous La Biela café. After that we visited the famous Recoleta cemetery, where all of the Buenos Aires elite have been buried in enormous and elaborate mausoleums, the most famous of which belongs to the beloved Evita Peron. Finally, we stopped be a really cool bookstore called El Ateneo that used to be a theater. Sunday night we had an incredible dinner at the best parilla en Buenos Aires, Cabaña Las Lilas, in the neighborhood of Puerto Madero.

Monday, we were at it again, making our way to El Caminito en La Boca before lunch at Buenos Aires’s most famous café, Café Tortoni. Monday night, my roommates and Sarah and I celebrated my despedida (going-away party) by hitting up a few bars and then a club in Palermo Soho.

Tuesday, we took a tour of the Teatro Colon, the city’s enormous and very Parisian opera house and did a really cool wine tasting that my roommates had given me as a birthday present. Tuesday night, we got dinner at a parilla with most of my roommates and Catherine. After dinner, I had to say goodbye to everyone before Sarah and I headed to the bus station to catch an overnight bus to Cordoba. It was really sad saying goodbye to everyone but I was excited to have Sarah there and to start traveling.

Despite being in a so-called “suite,” in which our seat reclined until flat, the bus-ride was absolutely miserable for me. I slept very little and by the time we arrived in Cordoba, I was not feeling very well. I initially thought it was because of the bus ride, but it turned out that I was really sick. Among other unpleasant symptoms, I was exhausted and uncontrollably cold, which was unfortunate because the heating in our hostel was really bad.

That day, we toured the city seeing some cool churches and a market. Cordoba was founded by the Jesuits and has a lot of interesting religious history. That evening, I still was really cold, staying in my bed fully clothed with a jacket on and two extra blankets just to stay warm. At that point I decided to call a doctor and for a mere $5, one came to the hostel, diagnosed me with some sort of bacterial infection and wrote me a prescription for an antibiotic (which cost another $8). At that point, I was really thankful that my Spanish was good enough to properly communicate with the doctor. Over the next few days I got better, though I was still very tired.

The next day, Sarah and I did a tour of a famous Jesuit university in Cordoba before making a day trip to Alta Gracia, a small town about an hour away. There we toured a disappointing Jesuit estancia and saw the house where Che Guevara grew up. They had turned it into a museum/shrine to the Che, who is a hero in Argentina. In fact, they use “Che” in spoken language like we say “Man” in English.

Since I was still struggling just to walk around, we decided that a 6-hour hike through Cordoba’s beautiful national park was not a great idea, so instead we decided to relax a little. We ended up wandering to a park in the city, which turned out to have a zoo. Somehow, we ended up spending a few hours checking out the animals. My favorite was definitely the hippos. It was kinda ridiculous. Later that day we went to the mall in Cordoba, where we ended up doing “Space Bowling,” which was again, ridiculous. That evening, we headed to the bus station for another fun overnight bus, this time to Mendoza.

After getting a solid hour of sleep, we arrived in Mendoza around 7:00 AM. Fortunately, our room at the hostel was open and they let us in. After a solid 5-hour “nap” we did a wine tour, where we visited two bodegas and an olive oil maker. The first bodega was actually one I had visited last year. It was large and somewhat industrial and the wines were really mediocre. The second bodega was a smaller family-run organic bodega, which I enjoyed a lot more.

The next day, we did an afternoon horseback ride tour through the Andes. That was the first time I had ridden a horse in a very long time, but it wasn’t too difficult. The ride was beautiful and a lot of fun until the very end. Following the gaucho leader, our horses started moving at a full gallop. At this point, my horse somehow managed to lose its footing, falling to the ground and throwing me off of it, and then somehow it managed to land on my leg. Fortunately, I was mostly fine, just a little banged up. So, I got back on, even though I’m not a gymnast (see Zoolander quotes).

Today, we were supposed to leave Mendoza and head for Valparaiso, Chile. Unfortunately, the passage through the mountains to Chile is currently closed due to snow, so we are temporarily stuck in Mendoza. Today, we made the trip to some Hot Springs, which were a huge disappointment. Most of what we saw in the brochure was dry and closed (maybe because it’s winter), so we spent a few hours in a few different pools, that were indoors. It was pretty boring. From what we’ve heard, the pass is still closed, so we might be stuck in Argentina longer. We’ll see what happens.

For an alternate account of the same stuff, check out my sister’s blog: http://slannerstravels.blogspot.com