gotthebug?

La La La Paz

Mar 062011

The next morning I headed back to Copacabana to catch the bus to La Paz and met Nirmal at the station aswell. We were both heading in the same direction so we decided to join forces for a bit. At one point during our bus ride to La Paz we were all told to leave the bus, having no clue as to why. We then noticed the bus needed to be transported across river & we had to get a ferry across. This was the main short cut to La Paz. It was a bit chaotic with all the other buses in port & not to mention the water balloon kids trying to hit all the unsuspecting tourist as they walked by. It was Carnival time in Bolivia.

Upon our arrival to La Paz we had a breath taking view of this vast city in the valley below. Approx 11K ft (3500m) above sea level. The second most striking thing was this metallic statue of Che Guevera riding an eagle as we entered the city.

It was carnival time in La Paz. All the shops were closed. Everyone was out in the streets drinking, dancing and loud music was pumping from cheap amps all over the city streets. Shops were celebrating by creating a flora circles in the stores then spraying beer all over it for good luck. It was a sight to take in especially all the indigenous women dancing and pissing in the streets.
There has been a resurgence of the indigenous culture in Bolivia, hence you see majority of the people dressed traditionally especially the women. Also passed by several witch markets where you can buy llama fetuses for prosperity, to toad talismans, owl feathers and stone amulets.

The next day we met up with a couple of cool people we met at dinner. Lenore from NZ and the Bird Man Martin Berg from Switz. We spent the day sightseeing & planned to meet up for a drink later that night.

The are tons of vintage cars still on the road in Peru and Bolivia.

What was suppose to be a couple beers turned into a few beers followed by this very cheap Boca Rica rum & coke. Let just say it did the trick. We mucked it up with a few of the weird locals. We were the only non locals there so we ended up getting alot of attention.

We ended our night at the local food stand in the center of town to get a steak sandwich with your assortment of veggies to add on ( lettuce, onion or tomato) & a fried egg on top to boot. These cheap sandwiches are amazing at any time of the day. I could easily eat two of them with a side a greasy fries. As we are eating our food in our drunken stupor, one guy approaches us out of now where and warns us that there are ‘pick pocketers’ around here & too be careful. He then begins to demonstrate what these ‘pick pocketeres’ do as he quickly walks upto Martin and myself and feels our pockets with a quick and swift motion. He then proceeds to unzip his lower vent zipper which he thought was a pocket. It took a few seconds to realize that this guy who was so kindly warning us of the ‘pick pocketers” was the actual pick pocketer. Not long after that the guy was gone. In the end we had nothing stolen but had a good laugh and a lesson learned. “Never drink cheap rum!”.

better times on the island of the sun...

2. Bolivia, Travels 1 Response »

Mar 052011

(contd from colca canyon…) On the way back to Arequipa the tour stopped by the hot spring pools in Chivay which was needed after a 21km hike, just what the Dr ordered. At the springs i bumped into North again and spoke briefly about leaving for Puno on the overnight bus then cross into Bolivia that night. Night buses are excellent way to travel and majority of them have full & half sleeper chairs. You don’t have waste a whole day traveling & you save on hostal fee for the night. The plan was to get a bus ticket as soon as i reached back to Arequipa at 7pm. I had literally no time to rest before catching the bus at 11:30pm. All my rest would come on the bus. Once on the bus i came to realize North had the seat right next to me (what a coincidence!). After talking for a bit about the “Mormon business model for survival” we started to hear animal noises coming from the seats behind us. In my fatigued state having been up since 5am and hiked 21km in the past two days, I wasn’t sure if i was hearing a chicken, a puppy or both. Once i tried to recline my seat, it was then that i realized there was a big box on the Peruvians lap behind me. This big bloody box with a chicken in it impeding my chair from reclining back. North had a puppy behind him and was able to recline. Too tired to deal with it i fell asleep upright (crappy bus ride #1). Arrived in Puno bus station at 6am to a pack of agents selling trips into Bolivia. During this time in the station my ipod touch fell out of my cargo pants pocket ( was not stolen). I was quite pissed because i was using the touch to read my pdf guide books. Oh well easy come, easy go. I bought my ticket for Copacabana, Bolivia which is right on Lake Titicaca. North & the girls headed for La Paz. Lake Titicaca is a lake located on the border of Peru and Bolivia. It sits 3,811 m (12,500 ft) above sea level, making it the highest lake in the world. The Bolivian side is known to have better scenery than Peru. After going through border control and paying my $135 visa (ouch!) I finally arrived at Copacabana by midday.

I bought my boat ticket and cruised to Isla Del Sol where i planned to stay the night. Once i arrive to the island I realized I had to climb uphill hill again to reach the village up top. This time it was a steep row of steps followed by steep paths. Having just done Colca Canyon the day prior my body was tired and sore. It had to be done but this time with my heavy backpack. I could have found a place to sleep there but that would have costed three times more.

After sometime i was able to find room with an amazing view of the lake. I took a rest and shower then decided to go look for dinner. Walking the paths of Isla del Sol I crossed paths with an american guy with news of an excellent restaurant on the other side of the hill with views of the sunset. This climb was even higher up from my room. Once at the top we had t cross through a woody eucalyptus forrest and came out the other side of the hill with breath taking view of the sunset over the lake. There was a small quaint house with wood tables & chair scattered across its lawn overlooking this amazing view. My mood instantly changed and I felt energized from my surroundings. All the drama in the previous 24 hours was now a memory of a distant past.

I ordered the local hot tea and got acquainted with couple from USA and Nirmal from UK. Together we watched this amazing sunset. I requested a menu from the chef but he stated there wasn’t a menu but he could verbally tell me what he had. From his broken english heard him say trucha ( trout ) which was all i needed to hear, my day has gotten even better. Trucha from the lake is suppose to be amazing and a must have if your here. The dinner was absolutely amazing!! (cant find the pix) If you ever find your self on Isla del Sol, you must stop by Las Velas for one of the most memorable meals you will have while watching the sunset. The owner/chef came out to chat with us for some small talk and we got to thank him for an excellent meal.

In the Colca Canyon

1. Peru, Travels No Responses »

Mar 042011

The next day i left the group in Cuzco and headed down to Arequipa “the white city” nickname gotten from the colonial era. Arequipa is Peru’s second largest city which lies in the Andes mountains, at an altitude of 2,335 meters (7,661 feet). In the horizon you can see snow capped volcano El Misti. (not pictured,believe me its there)

By this time my body was still tired and sore from the previous two days in Machu Picchu and the 19 hour bus ride so i basically took it easy the next couple days in Arequipa. While walking the around i bumped into Coleen, Nessa & North (from PSF) on some side streets in Arequipa. This encounter will become one of many i had with them on this trip. One thing about traveling “on the beaten path” you tend to run into the same people in different places in different cities. These common encounters may seem really random but they are not at all. Buses, trains, stations, hostels, cafes, tours and on the streets are the usual places these occurrences happen. North and I spent the rest of the afternoon visiting the Santa Catalina Monastery that begun back in 1579.

March 4th 4am I set off on a 2day 1nt tour/hike of Colca Canyon.
Colca Canyon is located in southern Peru and is the second deepest canyon in the world, It is more than twice as deep as the Grand Canyon in the United States, the canyon’s walls are not as vertical as those of the Grand Canyon. It was a 6hr drive from Arequipa to the Canyon.

(we crossed this town in the canyon)

It was a bright and sunny morning and the hike down was long and tough (9am). One would think that hiking downhill would be easy but it really puts a lot of strain on your feet & knees. Once we reached the river below (12 noon some 3000 plus meters below) we had to climb back up to the village on the other side where we had lunch and a little rest.

Our journey continued where we had to reach base camp which was still several hours away. On the trek we had to go down through another ridge only to climb up the other side. We passed two small villages that we saw from the top of the canyon. Hard to imagine life down in the canyon where community of people are living. There were schools, churches, town plaza, little individual markets and homes scattered across. By late afternoon the rain & wind had settled in and the trails had become muddy & slippery. My pace began to really slow down as the elements worsened. We crossed several bridges & had many steep inclines & declines along the way. The trek really appeared to be never ending as darkness was starting to approach. Sunset in the Canyon is earlier than it is at the surface. We arrived at base camp after dark exhausted, wet & dehydrated after a 14km hike from the top. My clothes were completely wet and i wasn’t sure what i would be wearing the next day. I had to spend the rest of the night freezing in my shorts as I left my clothes to dry in this cold damp climate. The bed i had to sleep in was as hard a rock but surprising warm with a thick wool blanket covering it up. It was a 5am wake up call in the darkness for our 7km hike up the canyon. Body aching from the previous day, so i popped two Tylenols hoping it would provide some relief. It was cold and wet yet all my clothes were dry! The climb up was going to be short but steep. I found myself again completely gassed after 10 minutes of climbing again. Watching the sunrise in the canyon was quite amazing and welcoming to have some heat. Along the way i had to shed most of my clothing as the sun and my body temperature rose. I do have to thank the Cliff Bar i packed from home as it really helped me get some energy on the way up. As i struggled to climb the path up, mules passed me at blazing speeds with heavy loads on its back, i should have hired one. I reached the top of the canyon at 9am where breakfast was had. This simple breakfast of eggs with toast, jam & coca tea was probably one of the most satisfying breakfasts I have had.

21km in two days!
unfortunately this pic was taken before i started

Vertigo in Macch Picchu

1. Peru, Travels 2 Responses »

Mar 012011

The next morning we woke up at 3am to perfect weather and the sounds of the roaring rapids for our 8KM hike up hill to the Machu Picchu ruins. We must have been blessed cause the was no rain. All ready to go we headed down to the park gates by 4am to only realize the gates open at 5am (doh!) . The climb up was exhausting as the altitude was getting to me! Halfway up I had to switch from the path of steep stairs to the winding dirt road all the way to the entrance.

I finally made it to the top at 6:15am. Was last in my group to make it but I beat the Japanese tourists to the gates so I consider it a success. In addition I got the limited 10am gate stamp for Wayna Picchu.

Once inside the gates the view was breathe taking

Spread across the hill tops are labyrinth type sections & steep terraces (8k above sea level). It was quite surreal being up in the clouds in this once city of the Incas.

I roamed around the terraces stopping every so often to taken the scenary.
Soon the time came for the 10am Wayna Picchu climb. Macchu Picchu city sits between Wayna Picchu hill & Machu Picchu Hill. As i entered Wayna Picchu gates I saw Ankur come down from his climb and the first thing he says to me is “this climb is quite hairy!” My only reaction was “oh shite”.

From GotTheBug?

Wayna Picchu sits another 1100 ft above the Macchu Picchu. I set off on the path with my somewhat heavy day pack cause the hostel would not hold our bags at the last minute. The first 15min was a piece of cake, couple dimps and climbs on some well created steps. After that the climb got treacherous. The path leading up to Wayna Picchu became really steep and narrow hugging the edge of the cliff as it made its way up to the top. There is only one path up & down so there is always a constant traffic of people heading in either direction. One slip would definitely take out a few people and a possible plunge over. I think it took me over an 1.5-2 hours to finally make it to the top. The view from up top was breath taking. All the other tourist down at Macchu Picchu looked like ants. The terraces and connecting stairs were even more steeper than on Macchu Picchu. I had a constant feeling of vertigo for almost the entire duration up on wayna Picchu. The climb itself was one of the most physical & mentally challenging thing i have done.

The crazy part was i still had to do the climb back down. Thankfully I was the last group to go up so there wasn’t another group of people heading up. At this point my body was exhausted from both the morning hike & the climb up to Wanya Picchu. I just made sure each step & grip I took was firm. My muscle was starting to cramp up at this point but luckily it was towards the bottom of Wayna Picchu. It was now 2pm, the rains had come and I am completely spent. I told David i will be at the front gate eating and getting water as I had run out. I paid for an over priced egg sandwich & bottled water but it was much needed. I could barley walk at this point with out pain. I took the first bus back to Aguas Calientes and headed to the juice lady to have a Govinda smoothie. We all met up back in AC for dinner and waited for our train ride back. I wish my story could have ended but the our car ride back from Ollantaytambo to Cuzco was dreadful. After being up all day & exhausted it was now 12:30am and we still had a ride back to Cuzco. What was suppose to be a van was now rickety car.
After 2 minutes we realized we were in for a longest crappy car ride of our lives. This car could barely get over 5km in speed since alot of the journey was uphill. In addition the brakes seemed like crap ( thankfully max speed was 5km) and the windshield wipers didn’t work on the constant fogging glass. After about 3 hours we finally made it back to Cuzco. We were too tired at this point to complain but just happy enough nothing went wrong during our two and a half day trip.

Coca Tea in Cuzco

1. Peru, Travels 1 Response »

Feb 272011

Feb 25th I arrived in Cuzco via overnight bus that crossed over the Andes from Pisco via Ica . It was dark for majority of the journey so all i could see was other vehicle headlights throughout the mountain peaks & valleys. Once day break hit I could tell we were nearing Cuzco by the increased development. The roads to Cuzco are known to have issues during the rainy season. Landslides, boulders and flooding are some of the issues that can force road closures. Thankfully none of these factors impeded our bus. I did see a local bus that had already been run off the road heading in the opposite direction downhill. Reality really set in after seeing that off run bus and the dangers involved with mountain travel especially during the rainy season.

The arrival into Cuzco was quite amazing as we descended into the valley where the the city resides. Sprawling sea of buildings scattered across. It is quite a site after a long journey.Some local Peruvians outside of Cuzco seem to call this town “gringo town”. This may not be entirely true but it has become overrun with tourism. The city can be expensive but there are deals to be found if you look hard enough (uphill from the plaza de armas). Besides being the gateway city to Machu Picchu, Sacred Valley & adventure sports this city has alot to offer. We checked into the highly rated Parawana hostel in Central Cuzco. Amazing showers, free wifi & free coca tea. I quickly took to the coca tea as they say it helps you get acclimated to the altitude. I could definitely feel the altitude as i tried to climb the stairs very quickly only to be grasping for air at the top. Also during my walking tour of Cuzco streets and to see Sacsaywamán hill I found myself completely gassed for 5-10 minutes.

Spent two nights in Cuzco & then took off by bus/train to Aguas Calientes ( tiny base town for machu picchu). By this time our group had become four, Ankur from Cali & David from Hamburg. We arrived early in the morning of the 27th to rainy weather. The plan was to go MP on the 28th morning & take the late train back to Cuzco. The month of Feb is rainy season in Cuzco so they close the Inca trail for maintenance. The Inca trail is a 2-4 day hike through the Sacred Valley to Machu Picchu. There are alternative trails that can be done but its rainy season & its no fun to be hiking in that kind of weather for a few days.

Aguas Calientes is a about as touristy as a town can get. Shops, restaurants & hotels are located all over the place. The closer you are to the town square the more expensive things are. Take a little stroll up hill from the center & you’ll find the price dramatically drop 50%. I find that to be the key everywhere for deals “Go uphill”.

We bought our tickets to MP and then spent the afternoon hiking along the railroad tracks along the river. The river was flowing fierosiously & i can see where the city got its name from. I heard that the river had over flown a few years back & the tiny city was damaged really bad. We finished the day with a smoothie called the “Govinda” which was made up of over ten ingredients from the juice :lady in the local market. She is located upstairs in the Aguas Calientes local market. The stair case to her section in the market is a little hidden away but her stall is worth the visit.

Highlights: Cuzco, Aguas Calientes, Hiking, Govinda smoothie
Lows: Gasping for air

With Pisco Sin Frontreas

1. Peru, Travels 3 Responses »

Feb 242011

I left Lima and headed south for Pisco on Feb 9th to go volunteer with an organization called Pisco Sin Fronteras (PSF) I felt that since i was taking all this time for myself, it would be only right to give some of my time to a good cause. I heard about this organization through my friend KK who came to PSF with the Burners without Borders org to help out with the 2007 8.0 earthquake. PSF has been helping the community & earthquake victims since.

My 3.5 hour bus ride Pisco comes with drama. At one of the many bus stops along the way I got off the bus to use the restroom really quickly. Based on the previous stop I felt I had time to make it. While in the restroom I cursed myself as I heard the bus pulling away. I quickly had to run about 50 ft to the pulling away bus while banging on the window for the bus to stop. I wish all the drama had ended there. These buses stop frequently at small towns in addition impromptu stops for people flagging the buses down. At no time are the bus stops being announced along the way. By this time the sun had set and the movie playing in the bus at the time was “Prince of Persia” dubbed in spanish. Well i happened to get caught up in the movie climax and had lost all attention to the frequent stops. At some point the conductor came to the back of the bus and noticed i was still on the bus. He told me Pisco was the other way, approx 4KM. I just about shat myself. The bus ends up pulling over at the next town to drop me off on the side of the road. This little town was really small and dark. At this point I wasn’t sure what i was going to do. It took a few minutes for my instincts to kick in having just been dumped on the side of the road in the middle of no where. I was able to flag down a another bus heading in the opposite direction.

While in PSF I quickly began to feel at home. I met so many great people from all over the world coming to PSF to make a difference in peoples lives while having a great time. Everyone there worked hard & played hard. At the time there were approx 90 voluntarios at PSF which is a pretty high number. One of the seemingly daunting tasks is trying to cook for 90 people, at least it seemed so. My roomate crew decided to cook breakfast one morning. Another time fellow indian friend Devjeet and I decided we would cook indian food one night for dinner. Our four man crew pulled off on incredible dinner! We got tons of compliments all night.

On the weekends some type of excursion is arranged. I got to go beach camping in Paracass National Park. Slept in my sleeping bag on the sand and swam in the cold ocean in the morning. Another side trip I did was a visit the Isla Ballestas ( poor mans Galapagos ).

The projects I participated varied from construction of wood module walls to demolition and playing with kids.
Everyone had a great stories to tell from their projects and how they felt they made a difference. There were many moments of gratification, one in particular that stood out for me. We helped a elder woman move her house made of bambo poles & tarp to another location because the local government was going to build a road on her previous location. To see the happiness in her face as we rebuilt a better version of her home from what she had before was really heart felt. Its moments like that make my two weeks spent in PSF feel it wasn’t enough. I could have easily stayed another month. Unfortunately I had to continue on with my journey as time was ticking. Devjeet & I are pretty much on the same timetable for south america so we both headed out to Cuzco to see Machu Picchu.

Highlights: PSF, PSF voluntarios, The School House crew, School House BBQ, Indian Food, Beach Camping, Fabiolas Cakes

Lows: Mosquitos, Sun Burn, Heat, Rob´s Binge, Morning Noise ( roosters, dogs, cats, car horn, music, kids), Witnessed a mugging.

At last Lima

1. Peru, Pre Trip, Travels 1 Response »

Feb 082011

Well my trip was delayed one week because I had fallen sick. Probably from all of the “going away” festivities. Spirit Air changed my flight one week with out charge which is unbelievable. The one week had almost gone by and I still wasn’t 100% but I still decided to leave. My backup plan was to see a Dr once is Lima if needed. It was really my only option because my health insurance had expired & filing a claim with my travel insurance would be quite bothersome.

I arrived in Lima Feb 5th Friday night and took a taxi to Marco house, my Couchsurfer host. To my surprise he was having a little gathering of friends at his place & I also found out that I was his 100th CS guest. Its great to have active CS hosts that enjoys each guest as his first.

My time spent is Lima was great. Bustling city with 9 million people.
Lima is very diverse and somewhat cosmopolitan. Has elements of being very modern, hip & traditional. One thing I noticed is that its not free of American franchising. Spent time walking around Miraflores, Barranco, Surco & City Center with Marco. During one of the walks in Miraflores I crossed paths with many gringos wearing football jerseys of the Steelers & Packers. The Superbowl was on Feb 6th so we decided to have a little party & cook some curry chicken and watch the game.

I cant forget to mention the local eats I had. The Famous Monster sangwhich in Barranco.
The ceviche con chicharon and the local Chifa ( chinese food cooked in wok). There are Chifa’s all over peru and they are quite good and cheap too. Marco my host cooked a local dish in a wok called “XXX” . which was quite tasty.

Unfortunately my time in Lima was quite tame because I was still ill. From the moment the plane took off I knew I would definitely have to see a Dr . My Dr visit went well, I was diagnosed with sinusitis & a ear infection. The total cost for the Dr visit & meds was $50 J . No partying for me in Lima L except for the occasional pisco sours that Marco made ( absoulte bliss).

Highlights: marco, marco’s pisco sours, m

wanderlust?

Pre Trip, Travels 1 Response »

Jan 122011

Everyday on my way home from work i pass by Miami Intl Airport with my friend Frank (who i carpool with ).
While sitting in traffic en route its hard not to notice all the 747′s parked at the gates and wonder where its impending journey ends. What i do know is that the same planes are there everyday at the same time. Many international carriers all recognizable from their logos. One day on our drive home i said to Frank “i will be on the British Airways flight one day”. At that time i really didnt know why or when but as time went on it became clear. Once i committed to the trip, this plane i saw everyday ended up being the one that will take me out east on my journey.

Flight Number: BA0208
From: Miami
To: Heathrow (London)
12 May 2011 20:40

Hello world!

Travels 1 Response »

Jan 102011

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declare
v_line varchar2(40);
begin
v_line := ‘Hello World!’;
dbms_output.put_line (v_line);
end;
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Just a little reminder of where i came from

La La La Paz

better times on the island of the sun...

In the Colca Canyon

Vertigo in Macch Picchu

Coca Tea in Cuzco

With Pisco Sin Frontreas

At last Lima

wanderlust?

Hello world!

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