Machu Picchu & Lima

So just to let everybody know - we went to Machu Picchu. We enjoyed it very much, although it was everything we had heard... beautiful, breathtaking setting, and VERY touristy. Although we used a travel agency to arrange our trip, it nonetheless involved a great deal of stress and uncertainty. First we did not have any tickets until a random taxi arrived outside our hostel at 6:30am, and then we boarded a bus, which was an hour and a half to the train station, then we waited for 4 hours at the train station, before our train went to Aguas Caliente, the city just below machu picchu.

We had no idea where we staying, but luckily our travel agency had someone sent to walk us from the train station to the hotel. We had to wait at the hotel until after 8:00 when our guide showed up to explain what was happening the next morning, when we were to visit Machu Picchu. Our guide was also supposed to have our train tickets back (without which we would be completely stranded and miss our flight back to Lima). Our guide showed up, only a half hour late.

He did not have our train tickets, but he told us the name of a restaurant where we were supposed to pick up our train tickets the next day. He didn´t know when our train left, and so we had to anticipate either leaving Aguas Caliente at 2 or 6 pm the next day, and all morning we would be at Machu Picchu.

So we went to get in line for the bus to Machu Picchu just before 5:00 am. We were told we would be in the first bus guaranteed. However, there was already a long line ahead of us when we got there. We got on the 4th or 5th bus up to the site, which is a 20 minute bus ride up 1km vertical. The switchbacks are incredible.

We walked around Machu Picchu, got the (incredible & classic) photos, and we got our ticket to climb Wayna Picchu, the steep mountain seen directly behind the classic pictures of Machu Picchu. Our tickets allowed up to climb the mountain between 10 & 11 am. So we then walked around more, and eventually went to meet our tour group, when our guide would tell us again where to pick up our tickets, and what time we were leaving that afternoon.

We then found out that our train was leaving at 2:26, and our tickets were in fact back in Aguas Caliente, at a small pizza place. So we had to leave our tour group prematurely so we could climb Wayna Picchu. It was another long line just to start climbing the mountain, and we were told it was a 45 min. to 1.5 hour climb to the summit. By the time we got started climbing the mountain, after waiting in line almost an hour, it was 11:15, and we had to be back on a bus to Aguas Caliente before 1:00, because we still had to find the restaurant which (hopefully) had our train tickets.

So we climbed to the summit in less than half an hour. It was lung busting. Emily and I were tearing up the trail. We had a brief (less than 10 minutes) at the summit, looking down on Machu Picchu, before we had to race back down the trail. Once we tore down the track we made it back onto a bus to Aguas Caliente, where we found the restaurant relatively quickly after I asked a police officer for directions to the restaurant. (& I hate asking for directions).

It ended up okay, we got our train and subsequent bus tickets back to Cusco, but we were pretty nervous about it because a lot of people get ripped off when using such tourist agencies. I would say that most of the people we talked to got ripped off in some way, but we made it through successfully.

Once back in Cusco, we had one night before we caught a flight to Lima (yesterday). We are now in Lima, and I have to say that this city is the most different of any we have visited thus far. We were warned much about how dangerous La Paz is, however Lima is most definitely much more dangerous than La Paz. On the way from the airport to the tourist barrio we are staying in (Miraflores), I saw a vicious fistfight between two guys that spilled out of a bus and onto the street just in front of us.

Once we arrived, we were hassled by this big guy who acted as our tour guide, helped us a get beds at a disgusting hostel, and then followed us around and essentially extorted us out of money in exchange for his help (which until the end he insisted he was doing out of the goodness of his heart). Thankfully, tonight we are in a much more pleasant hostel.

After that unpleasant experience, we disliked Lima even more, however, the city does totally redeem itself with the amazingly fresh sushi & sashimi. We have enjoyed the fresh fish very much, and today while we were en route from the oceanside to a tasty sushi restaurant, we were interrupted by a gigantic anti-government demonstration. There were thousands upon thousands of protesters, and hundreds of riot police. We have already witnessed a few protests thus far, and seen many riot police, but none as big as this. We managed to get onto the other side of the march when there was a tiny space to run through the protesters, and we got to the restaurant, where we heard the march continuing throughout our lunch.

Lima is most certainly a very exciting city, however it is quite evidently the most dangerous we have visited thus far. We have one more day of delicious sashimi and the exciting unpredictability of South America before we return. We are both very excited to get back, but we are very sad to leave the continent as well. (I keep telling Emily she will miss it more once she gets back). In her defense, she loves it down here, but does miss the family, friends, & comforts of home (as do i). When I get home, I will be posting more photos, as I have not been able to do so for quite some time. I ought to get to bed now, although we tried to stay up late tonight so we would have a long sleep in the morning, as we are anticipating minimal sleep on the airplane tomorrow.

Nosotros estamos en Bolivia

To start things off, we had a long trip to Cochabamba, Bolivia. We woke up at 4am in BC and flew from Vancouver to Toronto, then flew from Toronto to Lima. Once we arrived in Lima, we bought plane tickets to fly from Lima, Peru to La Paz, Bolivia. Since the tickets cost us nearly $500 each, we decided to wait 22 hours in the airport instead of taking a $30 taxi just to go to a hotel. So we slept on the floor, like many others, and we ate at some of the restaurants in the airport. One restaurant was selling traditional Andean food, so I got some Anticuchos, skewers of grilled cow heart served with a mustard style sauce. They were delicious, and the meat was extremely tender.

Just after midnight we flew out to La Paz, and arrived there at 3:30 in the morning. From the airport we took a taxi to down to the bus terminal. La Paz is at over 12 000 feet elevation, and the airport is at one of the highest areas in the city. So we were feeling the effects of the altitude and sleep deprivation when we arrived at the bus terminal. The taxi ride was incredible, you could see out over the entire city (which is pretty much entirely mountainous) and although we were expecting it, the poverty was surprising. As we rode to the terminal we saw wild dogs barking and running all over the place, but other than that the city was silent. At the bus terminal, we were freezing, as it was approximately 2 or 3 three degrees.

To warm us up and to cope with the altitude, we bought some coca tea from a man who was selling it out of jugs as he wandered around the terminal. Coca tea is the best cure for combatting altitude sickness, so we had a few cups. It gives a nice kick, although I must stress that the coca plant (which is used by most people here) is completely different from the drug cocaine. Cocaine is subject to numerous toxic chemical processes, and while the plant offers relief from altitude sickness, hunger, and sleepiness, it is entirely safe and natural (also legal).

Emily was quite surprised by the bus terminal and the country as a whole when we arrived, but she is enjoying it very much now. We took an 8 hour bus ride to Cochabamba, which was absolutely incredible, as the latter part of the trip wound through immense desert mountains. However, we were getting quite grumpy and felt disgusting from the long trip, so arriving at our hotel was a relief.

The Waiting Game

Right now, Emily and I are waiting in the Lima airport in Peru. We´ve been here since very early this morning, and it has been a loooong wait. We were going to take the bus from Lima to La Paz, and then Cochabamba, Bolivia, but after our two plane rides (Vancouver to Toronto, Toronto to Lima) we didn´t feel like riding two buses for a total of almost 40 hours.

So we bought one way tickets to La Paz for $440 a pop. The price is ridiculous for a 1 hour 40 minute plane ride, but it saves us almost two days of busing, and our sanity (says Emily). Once we arrive in La Paz at 3:30 in the morning we will either buy bus tickets to Cochabamba at the airport or we`ll wait a couple hours and take a short taxi ride to the bus terminal. The bus to Cochabamba is about 8 hours, and is supposed to be breathtaking, as we descend from high altitude La Paz, and drive down through the Andes.

We´re both really tired, although Emily falls asleep almost every time we sit down. So she has gotten quite a bit more sleep than me. The airport has been SO exciting, we have slept in various areas, and have sore backs to prove it. The food has been alright (better than we expected, I suppose) and today I ate grilled skewers of cow hearts. Emily tried some too, before I told her what they were. The beef was extremely tender and delicious, and I will definitely be eating more of them.

We have to get going now, as we have to go through security for our flight. I will write about BC when I get more time, and most certainly post some great pictures. We have been having a great time so far, but at this point we are really getting excited about showers and comfortable beds. Sleep is for the weak.