Inca Trail - January '10

Hiking the Inca Trail was unique in that most hikes I've been on have the goal of getting to the top. Well as you can see - Macchu Pichu isn't at the top.

So, no problem, right, well yes, but the actual Inca Trail that was built goes over 2 mountain passes to get to the actual site of Macchu Pichu. Compared to the altitude in the Rocky Mountains, the elevation wasn't the problem, the problem was that the Inca's had a one track mind... get over the top in the shortest distance possible... so, instead of the normal switchbacks that we are used to in the US, the path over the passes in Peru are literally straight up and down, as in stairs.

This does cut out some distance, but it made for a steep climb. At one point there are 2,000 stairs going down from the pass. I've been lucky in my life to have not had any knee problems (yes, I'm knocking on wood right now), so I was extra cautious with those steps. Damaging my knees to hike the Inca trail would not have been worth it.

I really did enjoy the 4 day hike. Laura and I signed up without knowing who else would be in our group and we ended up with a fantastic group.

add it up

Right before I left for Cusco a friend that is traveling through South America just happens to mention... "Hey, Cusco has really great tattooists."

I've been thinking about my next design for months. I knew where and what, just not exactly what. As soon as I decided on the design, and the size I sat down for the next four hours. I have some tattoos that have taken 12 hours to complete, but not all at once. I usually go for about 3 hours - max. What is another hour? Well, let me tell you that given the location - on my spine - and the extra hour - this was by far the most painful tattoo I've had. Three hours in I was fine, but it was that fourth hour that was a killer. Now that it's over, though, I love it.

My newest addition is the big one in the middle of my back. This is an Inca design of a condor. Condors represent protection. The Inca people had three animals that had major importance: the condor, the puma and the snake. Condors fly and therefore watch out over the earth and offer protection and a connection to the sky. The puma represents strength, and the snake intelligence.

Buenos Aires

One thing I learned from my month long trip was that I'm really, really not a city person. Don't get me wrong - I love architecture and I certainly love coffee shops and a good public transport system, but after a few weeks in southwestern Bolivia, the trip to the famous city of Buenos Aires was a bit more than I could handle.

First off you read over and over how amazing the city is. How it is the Paris of South America. Well, I've never been to Paris, so I'm not sure exactly what I had conjured up in my head, but the city was destined not to meet my expectations...

As the title of my blog implies, shit happens, however Laura and I got a big RUMITA when we arrived in Argentina to find out that we were traveling on the FIRST day of their reciprocity fee, which means that US, Canadian and Australian citizens have to pay a fee to enter Argentina, which is equivalent to the fee an Argentine citizen would have to pay to enter the said country. It's not that I'm adamantly opposed to such an idea, it's just that I didn't budget for an extra $131 in my trip...

So - Welcome to Argentina - now bend over and take it like a man...

We paid our fee and headed into the city...

We had decided to stay in Palmero - a "hip little shopping district". We made a reservation at a small hostel where free tango lessons were offered.

What we didn't know at the time was that really the only reason people stay at this hostel is because they are absolutely obsessed with tango. Lessons going on all day. Tango signs everywhere. The owner made sure to give us a "tango map" which pointed out all the places in the city where you could by tango garb. We met an elderly (maybe 60 year old) woman with her "partner" who looked - I don't know, 30 years younger than her... In actuality the place was a bit creepy. A bit over the top if you know what I mean. It's not like I was opposed to any type of lesson at all - well maybe I would have needed a few drinks first - but being in that place made me kind of a bit repulsed by the whole idea...

So needless to say - we didn't take a tango lesson. We did, however, use their map to find one of my favorite big city sites...

Yeah, yeah, I know what you are thinking - but let me tell you... people love chains for a HUGE reason... you KNOW what you are getting. Don't get me wrong, people that know me know that I love trying new things. I love going to the little cafe and just picking something out. I especially love trying new beer (more on that later), but sometimes you NEED the familiar! Now, this was a REAL Starbucks. But you know how in different countries the chain restaurants add a little localness to the menu, well the Argentines are famous for their delicious dulce de leche - which is a thick, dark, heavenly caramel. So I head into the Starbucks and what do I see? Yup, dulce de leche latte! Oh, lord, my two loves have combined. Caramel and coffee! It is a bit different than regular caramel. A bit thicker and maybe a tad sweeter.

As I said, I do love trying new beers. You got something new on tap? I'm gonna try it. I am partial to browns. Malty beer. So finding a cerveza negra was like a sign from god that I really, really don't belong in Santa Cruz where the only thing on the menu is a local lager...

So after catching up on a few missed items we headed out to do a little exploring. In the guide book I saw that the city has a Prison Museum in a little neighborhood south of the city where two of our school friends were staying. So we headed down...

Thankfully the museum entrance was free because it was truly ghetto. This is a pretty view of the courtyard of the old woman's correctional facility, but other than a nice sunny day... here is what we saw...

Luckily, right next door was a fantastic church, so the view was great. Also, don't let Laura kid you, she got some good laughs from this place...

After our fantastic museum visit we headed into San Telmo. The part of the city famous for people tangoing in the parks and cool little outdoor cafes and bars...

Now it's time to tell you about the HUGEST disappointment of our entire trip... We had made plans to specifically be in Buenos Aires for the big New Year celebration. The problem is... no one told us the time table for Argentines. Let me fill you in a bit... first of all, when it comes to dining - Argentines have a VERY different idea about dinner time than I do. I like to have my dinner around 6 and then maybe a little snack and be done eating for the night. I've made a habit out of not eating after a certain time. Now when I'm traveling or visiting other people I know that I have to adjust my schedule a bit, but seriously people... the Argentines START eating around 10 pm. I'm not exaggerating. Laura and I headed out for a nice meal around 8 and we show up at a place to open the door and find the entire staff around a table having their nightly staff meeting. They looked up at us and gave us the "are ya'll crazy" look. We wandered around for a bit before settling on a little Italian place where only a couple other people were eating. Sure enough - around 11 pm the place started to fill up!

So needless to say our timing is off! BUT, this couldn't possibly affect the New Year celebration, right? Midnight is midnight. So when December 31st arrived we get gussied up and hit the town - to find - NOTHING. And when I say nothing, I mean nothing! I honestly thought a nuclear bomb had gone off and we were the last surviving people in the world. I didn't see "I am Legend" but I was sure that I was Will Smith and now I'm stuck with the huge task of repopulating the world. There were 5 of us. Ready to let loose and dance the night away and there wasn't a single soul in sight.

We did manage to find a chinese restaurant and have a few beers and hence a few laughs, but by 1 am we were so disappointed that we headed back to our hostel. That was a story in of itself. I'm telling you that it was deserted. No cabs, nothing. I was sure I was going to have to sleep on a park bench. Maybe that would have been a good idea, because what we found out later is that Argentines have house parties til about 3 or 4 am and then head out on the town. There were other souls alive, but we wouldn't know that because we gave up and went back before they arose from their parties.

I mean - look at the streets! We are the ONLY people there!

Now, to share the best part of my trip to BA with you... The Recoleta Cemetery. I love visiting cemeteries from where ever I go. This one is awesome!

That's it for now... more on the Inca Trail, Cusco and the jungle later...

Southwestern Bolivia

The Andes are gorgeous. I love being in the mountains. I spent a lot of my month off exploring in the high altitude, cold air of the Andes. First in south west Bolivia.

Let me tell you... a place you want to see.

Not many people go there because it really is difficult to get to. The "roads" are all but non-existent, and I guess in some places there really aren't any roads, you just pick a direction and drive across the salt or the open rocky terrain of the high Andes.

We started by flying into La Paz from Santa Cruz. A short, one hour flight into the highest commercial airport in the world (at 4010 m = 13,150 feet).

View of La Paz from the Altiplano

Next we head to the bus terminal in La Paz and book an overnight bus to Uyuni. Have you ever been on an overnight bus? Maybe you have and it was all cushy, with nice reclining seats and clean fabric... well, not in Bolivia. The bus ride was, how do I say disgusting, ok it was disgusting. The nasty blankets on the seats, no chair reclines... needless to say, not a night of good rest.

We arrive in Uyuni the next morning and it's time to meet our guide (Cecilio) and get some breakfast before heading out. We really have no idea what is in store for us, so we just go with the flow. The Spanish speaking guide option was quite a bit cheaper for us, so we opted for that and now are wondering if we are going to get anything out of this trip... Our Spanish is better than nothing at this point, but as Laura's friend pointed out... the complexity of our sentence structure in on par with a four year old!

The bustling town of Uyuni

After breakfast we head out for our first stop of the tour... the salt flats. Salar de Uyuni. I just found out that Salvador Dali spent time in South America, and in SW Bolivia and some of his art is inspired by the salt flats...

Salt, salt, salt everywhere!

The perspective photos you get are really cool.

Apparently this painting was inspired by the salt flats in Bolivia.

As you drive further into the southern part of the country you enter volcano land. All of a sudden you are surrounded by craters, some dormant and some spewing out a bit of smoke...

Look at the top of the volcano - see how it's not pointy, but a crater? Cool, huh!

Heading deeper into the Andes, the environment becomes harsher and harsher. The altitude is now almost 5000 meters (over 16,000 feet) and the air so thin that breathing becomes a thoughtful task. The vegetation has disappeared and when you look around you see rock, rock and rock. Amazingly enough there are vicuna. A sort of antelope looking mammal that thrives on this high altitude environment. Eating tiny bits of plant life and enjoying the lack of predators.

Vicuna are just wandering around the desolate landscape. 

We're at 16,400 feet now. The sun is burning hot, the air thin and low and behold there is another organism that finds this environment bearable...

Yup, flamingos. Apparently there are three different species of flamingos that call the high Andes their home.

I'd never seen a flamingo take off and land before... 

The next thing we know, we find ourself in the crater of a volcano! We have driven for hours on the flat terrain and made our own roads. We've climbed a bit higher and now are at the top of the world.

The bubbling mudpots all so evident of geothermal activity.

This trip was amazing. I totally recommend getting your visa for Bolivia and heading into the wilderness...

Como?

I have a lot of blogging to do to catch up with all the traveling I´ve been doing over the past few weeks. I really should take a picture of the calendar I´ve created and you can see that even though I can be a space case that I do have some Type A genes from my dad (my sister got most of them).

I do have about 1000 pictures to share and each day am only adding more... right now I´m sitting in a little internet station in Cusco, Peru, where the cost of being online is cheaper by the minute than I pay in Santa Cruz for the month!

In the morning I head off to the Inca Trail and on the 4 day journey to Macchu Pichu. I´ve been a bit of a slug for the past few weeks so we´ll see how my legs handle the hike and altitude.

This break I´ve been at some of the highest altitude in my life (minus Kilimanjaro). I´ve got pictures from the Andes of Bolivia to show you... geysers, salt flats, llama, vicuna. The new year trip to Buenos Aires was a bit of a dud, but glad I went and checked it out. Now I´m adding to my collection of street dog photos and brainstorming ideas for an actual book.

Stay tuned for more information as I get a chance to write and upload pictures.