Yummy Cuy!

Guinea Pig meat in Peru.

We killed two at a homestay- can't remember if I blogged about that evening- will need to review this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea_pig

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andean_cuisine

Llama Meat Vs Alpaca Meat

Llama meat is awesome!

I prefer this over Alpaca.

Very yummy!

Zones To Live Your Life

Words of Wisdom:

Comfort Zone.

Stretch Zone.

Panic Zone.

Never live your life in your comfort zone.

You should always be in the stretch zone.

Some people are living their lives in the panic zone.

They know who they are.

And so do others who sometimes have to bail them out!

FOMO

Fear Of Missing Out.

This will always get you into trouble!

Xrated Mugs

Extreme Fun Pub.

Uyuni.

Pete's ceramic mug was shaped like a girls bottom- wearing a skirt.

You lift the skirt and there is a vagina you drink from.

Rad's ceramic mug was shaped like a boys bottom- with a big penis.

You drink directly from the penis.

The smart thing about both these mugs is that there was cream sprayed on the drinking holes!!

Very creative and naughty!!

Everyone had a good laugh.

Dusty Bolivia

Six hour bus ride from Uyuni to Potosi on a local bus.

Very dusty.

One stop only at some hell hole of a building.

No toilets........just the bushes.

It all smelled like a toilet.

Good thing it was only a 15 minute stop.

New Tour Buddies

Gecko's.

Freddy is our Guide.

Lucy is my roommate. Medical Student. Aussie. Early 20's.
Pete & Rad....mid 20's couple from London.
Mike.....late 20's....London.
Roger & Oliver....mid 20's....Aussie's.

Great group!

Salt and More Salt

Uyani Salt Desert.

12,000 square kilometres.

Strike a pose!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salar_de_Uyuni

Small Country

Bolivia sure is a small country!

I keep running into people I know.

It's not unusual to hear people yelling BELLA on the street.

They tell me they can't miss me due to my hair.

It's my own personal sign.

One Thousand and Sixty Six Steps

I just remembered climbing 533 ateps at one of the Islands on Lake Titicaca looking for a bag of Dorito's.

One way.

No luck.

Back to the boat....another 533 steps.

All on a stiff right knee.

Yummy Vino

Conchay Toro.

Frontera.

Chile.

Sauvignon Blanc.

35 Bolivian Soles.

$5.00 USD....750 ml bottle!

I Love South America.

Aymara Language

Titikaka Lake:

1. Good morning................Sumauro
2. Hello................Camisaraki
3. What is your name?....Cuna Sutima
4. My name is.......Sutija
5. Let's go.......Sarjanani
6. Beautiful.......Sumitawua
7. Cold...............Taya
8. Hot...............Juntitua
9. Good bye.............Sarjawa
10. Thank you...........Yuspagara

CaCa Not Caca

Lake Titicaca excursion and homestay.

Floating Uros Island.

Homestay in Llachon community.

Copenhagen......OOPS....I Mean Copacabana

Stop over before heading to La Paz.

Our first stop in Bolivia.

Llama's and More Llama's

Dead one's.

Fetises everywhere.

Witches Market in La Paz Bolivia.

You need to bury one under your house for good luck.

There were also a few other creepy things at the market.

Potions for everything.

Cool place to visit!

La Paz Rocks!

Wow! This city is great!

Loads of shopping and cheap.

Loads of restaurants and bars.

We all got here on Wednesday and it's been go go go since!

Anita has been partying up a storm.

All the single girls have hooked up.

Mongo's is the place to be.

Club 35/36 is the place to not be. Free cocaine to the gringo's. Club moves location every few months so it won't get busted.

La Paz ROCKS!

Bye Bye Johanna

How cute was Jo?

Such a great tour leader.....very excited about her first trip all the way from her home land to Bolivia!

Everyone loved her.

She also turned into quite the tourist with her camera and all her purchases.

Cute little Johanna!

Bye Bye Old Boys

It was very sad today at lunch saying good bye to everyone.

We've had a few good bye sessions....but this one was the real thing.

Everyone is now with their new groups.

My new group met up last night and also went for dinner two nights in a row already.

More on the new group once I catch up on other posts.

Killer Massage

La Paz.

Negotiated for 50 Bolivian Soles.

Loads of interuptions.

Trainee also in the room practicing on me.

I had to yell out FINITO...NO MORE.

Lesson: Never negotiate a price for a massage.

Not In The Mood

For blogging.

I have a lot to catch up on.

Will try to do better.

Nathian

Always walking around with a drink of some kind or food.

Always commenting with the following:

'That's how I roll.....'
'No word of a lie.......'
'That's what I'm talking about.....'
'Want to write that down on your hand......' (always said after our debrief...to record the time we needed to get up in the morning)

Aquas Calientes

This is a small little town that the train takes you to from Ollantaytambo(2 hours).

You then take a 25 minute bus ride to get to Machu Picchu. All trekkers other than the folks on the Inca Trail MUST take the bus to the entrance of Machu Picchu.

Aquas Calientes is full of tourists.

Very expensive place with loads of restaurants, bars,hotels, massage spots, shopping spots and the hot springs.

The Lares trekkers from our group met up with our Intrepid Leader and took the train in the night before us going to Machu Picchu. The reason we stayed overnight is so that we could take the first bus up to Machu Picchu (5 am).

I decided to not take this bus as you had to be up at 4 am to line up for it.....folks on this bus wanted to get their tickets stamped so they could climb Huayna Picchu mountain in Machu Picchu. The first 400 people are allowed to do this (they allow this split between 7 to 8 am time period or 10 to 11 am time period).

To be continued...........

Xrays In Peru

Here I am being very careful on the Lares Trek to Machu Picchu and then what do I do???

Fall while running to catch up with the group IN Machu Picchu!

Yup....Thursday October 7th.....aprx 8:30 am.

Lovely.

My knees were killing me....in particular the right one.

The day after in Cuzco, I decided to go to one of the clinics and see a Doctor and get an xray.

70 Soles to see the Doctor. 60 Soles for an Xray.

All is good. Just badly bruised and I'm on anti-inflammatory pills.

I took pictures of the Xray machine, the Doctor and me and the Doctor outside of the Clinic.

I'm pretty sure this is the first time this has ever happened at that Clinic!

The Doctor spoke no English and he gave a thumbs up in the picture I took of him.

I love Peru!

Peru Buses

Today we boarded a two tier bus from Cusco to Puno (6 hour trip).

Very nice bus!

Clean and with an emergency bathroom on the top floor.

Emergency means 'pee pee' only.

If you need to do anything else, you must inform your tour leader who will then tell the bus driver and a stop must be made.

Such an organized environment!

Love it.

Colorful Bathrooms

I've enjoyed the colors of red, green, and purple toilets and sinks in my hotel rooms so far (no bathtubs just showers where I've stayed at).

I get excited when I see a plain white set like back home.

Somehow this seems a bit more normal to me.

Brightly colored toilet and sinks remind me of the 70's.

OR...........a bad porno show.

Avocado & Tomatoe Sandwiches

Super Yummy!

Cocoa Shop

Who would of ever guessed you could buy the following:

- cocoa candy
- cocoa toffee
- cocoa tea (in bag or leaves)
- cocoa ice cream
- cocoa brownies

All for the sake of altitude sickness!

Got to love that.

Night Buses Suck Big Time

Last nights bus ride was really boring and dull.

Hardly anyone slept.

We were on the bus around 8:30 pm. They showed us a film- Bride Wars- in English...which fortuntely killed some time.

We were also feed a little snack and then lights out.

We arrived in Cuzco at 6:30 am.

Nathian's decription of the bus ride......."I've never experienced Chinese torture- but I would imagine it to be the same as this night bus ride".

Video Taping

We've been video taped every time we get on a night bus.

Smile.

Crazy!

Cuzco So Far

Got in around 7 am.

Checked into the Hostal Buena Vista then headed off for breakfast on my own at Jack's Cafe Bar. I did not want to wait for everyone and then decide where to go.

Came back to the Hostal at 8:30ish am and had a nice long nap.

The group then went for a walking tour around 11 am. at a Cocoa Shop. Sampled all kinds of chocolate and then had the best cocoa tea so far! I also sampled the cocoa brownie- not bad.

After all this I hung out with Anita and Alex. First stop was the Bagel Cafe and shopping around the markets with Anita.

Around 3:30 pm decided to go for a massage. 20 soles for 1 hr 10 minutes. Inka massage. Very relaxing!

In half an hour we meet for our debrief on the Machu Picchu piece of the trip.

Busy day in Cusco!

Which by the way is a great city so far.

My Pick- Lares Trail

I had the choice of Inca Trail or Lares Trail.

I picked Lares for three reasons:

1. It gives you more of the village/locals experience.
2. Supposed to be less crowded while walking.
3. Not as many steps as the Inca Trail

I´ll find out in a few days if I made the right choice!

Most of the group is doing the Inca Trail.

Anita, Sam and I are the only ones doing Lares.

Trekking off the beaten path and still visiting Machu Picchu has always been tricky, but the Lares Valley trek offers this rare combination to travelers looking for an authentic Peruvian experience.

Hiking between rugged alpine peaks, passing cobalt-blue glacial lakes and pausing to watch alpacas graze in open mountain meadows, all without another tourist in sight. This is the way most people envision their trek to Machu Picchu.

Views of the snow-capped Veronica, Chicon, Pitusiray and Sawasiry peaks keep us company most of the way. You will encounter locals carrying out ancient traditions, such as herding llamas, planting potatoes and weaving in the fields as they have for centuries amidst beautiful Andean surroundings. You will be camping near villages where you have the chance to chat and barter for woven goods with locals. This trek also boasts the lovely Lares hot-springs for soaking your weary muscles and Inca ruins, including the impressive Ollantaytambo fortress.

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu (Quechua: Machu Pikchu) – "Old Mountain", is a pre-Columbian Inca site located 2,430 metres (7,970 ft) above sea level.

It is situated on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, which is 80 kilometres (50 mi) northwest of Cuzco and through which the Urubamba River flows.

Most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was built as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti (1438–1472). Often referred to as "The Lost City of the Incas", it is perhaps the most familiar icon of the Inca World.

The Incas started building the estate around AD 1400 but it was abandoned as an official site for the Inca rulers a century later at the time of the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. Although known locally, it was unknown to the outside world before being brought to international attention in 1911 by the American historian Hiram Bingham. Since then, Machu Picchu has become an important tourist attraction and, since it was not found and plundered by the Spanish after they conquered the Incas, it is important as a cultural site.

Machu Picchu was declared a Peruvian Historical Sanctuary in 1981 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.[2] In 2007, Machu Picchu was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in a worldwide Internet poll.

Machu Picchu was built in the classical Inca style, with polished dry-stone walls. Its primary buildings are the Intihuatana, the Temple of the Sun, and the Room of the Three Windows. These are located in what is known by archaeologists as the Sacred District of Machu Picchu.

Four Thousand Nine Hundred Meters

4,900 meters above sea level.

Chivay and Colca Canyon.

A few people suffered altitude sickness.

It sure does get hard to walk up steps at that level.

Mount Kilimanjaro: 5,882 meters
Machu Picchu: 2,430 meters

Calgary: 1,083 meters

Chivay Rocks!

We had one of our best nights at a local families home for dinner in Chivay!

Mother (35), Father, Daughter (14) and son (10) all entertained us while we helped prepare our dinner for the night.

We killed 2 guinea pigs.....slice throat...hold guinea pig upside down while blood drains....... put in boiling water to remove all the fur.....slit it in half and give the guts to the cat that is patiently waiting by your feet...then cut up in small pieces and fry.

We peeled and chopped potatoes and other vegetables for our soup.

We even had to cut up the alpaca meat so it could be fried.

The trout was easy...simply throw in the frying pan.

The family even had us wear their tradional clothes and dance to their music.

All this experience for 15 soles!!

Fantastic!

(Oh...alpaca meat...very chewy. Guinea pig meat.....not sure yet- as there really wasn´t a lot of meat on the bones!)

Number One Canyon

Colca Canyon is a canyon of the Colca River in southern Peru.

It is located about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of Arequipa.

It is more than twice as deep as the Grand Canyon in the United States at 4,160 m.

However, the canyon's walls are not as vertical as those of the Grand Canyon.

The Colca Valley is a colorful Andean valley with towns founded in Spanish Colonial times and formerly inhabited by the Collaguas and the Cabanas.

The local people still maintain ancestral traditions and continue to cultivate the pre-Inca stepped terraces.

Condors And More Condors

As the sun's first rays slant into the depths of Colca Canyon in southern Peru, Andean condors begin to ascend, riding morning thermals on outstretched wings as they scour the landscape for a meal of carrion.

A gaggle of tourists crowd the Cruz del Condor, or Condor Cross, canyon overlook, hoping to snap a keepsake image of the majestic bird.

"In the area around the Condor Cross there is a well-known permanent group," said Maurico de Romaña, an area hotelier and president of the conservation organization PRODENA-Arequipa. "On some occasions, when there is food, I have succeeded in observing 24 condors together."

The species is listed by the World Conservation Union as "vulnerable." One of the world's largest flying birds, the condor soars on ten-foot (three-meter) wingspans and can weigh up to 33 pounds (15 kilograms).


When the Spanish conquistadors arrived in South America in the 16th century, the giant vulture (Vultur gryphus) was a common sight. The bird flourished throughout its range from the northern tip of Venezuela down the spine of the Andes to the southern tip of Tierra del Fuego in Argentina.

But centuries of habitat loss, dwindling food supplies, human persecution, and the impact of the pesticide DDT on the bird's reproductive success have restricted once-robust populations of the bird to remote sections of the high Andes in Peru, Chile, and Argentina, according to conservationists.

Today, one of the best places to see the Andean condor is the semi-arid Colca Canyon, a marvel twice as deep as the Grand Canyon located about 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of Arequipa, Peru's second largest city.

Fruit Plates

Yummy!

Hugh bowls........cost between 5 to 8 soles.

They come with yogurt and honey.

Super yummy!!!

Dancing The Night Away

Last night in Arequina we all sat around at the Hotel having a drink and some munchies.

This was the first night I´ve had any white wine here. Peruvian wine. Not chilled.

Of course this lead to a night of partying.

Anita is very ill today.

I behaved and got home around 1:30 am.

A few of the folks were hungry and although pizza sounded great,they didn´t serve small pizza´s and I knew I would eat the whole thing- so I went home.

I´m so in need of losing weight.

We are eating far too good here!