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Friday, July 23, 2010
Peru - this time, it is Amy
Peru was awesome - I think Machu Picchu beats Chichen Itza hands down. If you have your choice, pick Machu Picchu. For a few reasons:
1. The ruins themselves are more spectacular (in my opinion)
2. You can still climb on the ruins in Machu Picchu. In Chichen Itza, they are totally roped off.
3. The Andes. They are a sight to behold.
4. Cancun might as well be California. All gringos and Burger King. Peru is still Peru.
So, on to Choquequirao... I will give me rundown of the trip, mostly because I don't think there is much good information out there on the internet about it. I guess that is one of the curses of being one of the first people to a new place - you pave the (knowledge) trail.
So, first off, as Corbyn noted below, you CAN sleep in the Lima, Peru airport. I don't know that I recommend it, but it is possible. Again, it was bad information on the internet, but the research I did said it would cost about $30(US) to go anywhere from the airport - NOT TRUE! First of all, it isn't like the USA airports where you have miles of roads leading to the airport which is in a secluded place - you can actually walk out of the airport and across a little bridge and !voila! - you are in Lima. If you do want to take a taxi, you can get them for cheap - it was like $10 (USD) for a taxi ride to our hotel (once we returned from Cusco) - and our hotel was 40 minutes away. Just don't let your hotel arrange for the taxi for you and you should be golden.
If you DO, however, decide to sleep in the airport, its totally doable - just know you will be sleeping on a tile floor and it is both cold and hard. Zach, the lucky sucker, had his mat and sleeping bag and just busted them out. He slept well - the rest of us didn't sleep. Also, keep in mind that the Peruvians think the departure and arrival of flights is a major accomplishment. They will announce every one of them over the PA system - in Spanish, then repeated in English, and it is LOUD!
OK, so - what airline should you take from Lima to Cusco? I totally recommend Star Peru. This is going to be complicated to explain, but hopefully you get it: When we were returning from Cusco, we were on a 10:00 am flight on Star Peru. There was heavy fog in Cusco (not uncommon), so flights were delayed. At 10:00am, the 8:00am flight hadn't even departed yet and the plane we were supposed to be flying on back to Lima on hadn't left Lima for Cusco yet. Which meant our flight was at LEAST 2 hours away. (Please note that ALL airlines were in this same situation - ALL flights were delayed.) The Cusco airport has no exits once you go through security - the only way out of there is on a plane. We didn't want to hang out in the Cusco airport for 2+ hours - we wanted to go find a place to eat at least, so we asked the airport personell if we could leave the airport. They said the actual airplane had to let us out. So, Collyn went up to a Star Peru employee and said (in Spanish): "We want to leave." Apparently, the lady thought he meant on the earlier flight because she jumped right on her walkie talkie and started jabbering - within 3 minutes, we were boarding the earlier flight. In the US, this wouldn't have happened EVER and if it had, we'd have had to pay a $100 ticket change fee, a $100+ change of class fee (I am sure), and other random fees. No charges here - the lady just took care of us. So, we were all pretty sure our luggage wouldn't make it on to this flight (especially since Delta couldn't even get our luggage out of Atlanta correctly with NO changes) - however, from the window of the plane, we watched the Star Peru Airline employees scurry like ants sorting through baggage until they found ours and literally (yes, literally!) CHASE THE AIRPLANE to make sure the last bag made it on. VERY IMPRESSED. I don't think a Delta worker would have moved an extra 3 feet to ensure our bag got on the correct flight, let alone chase an airplane across the tarmac.
So, sorry - Choquequirao. Take 5 days and a MINIMUM to do this. Even if you are in incredible shape, you can't do it much quicker because it is a narrow trail along the side of the mountain and there are only a couple places to camp. You either do the whole thing in one day (Peruvians say they can do it in 19 straight hours of hiking (each way)) OR you take 2 days to hike in, 2 days to hike out. And Choquequirao is VERY spread out - you'll need at least a day to see much at all of it - probably 2 would be best.
As for the hike, if you are like me, you will underestimate the difficulty of the hike and overestimate your own fitness levels. You should know it is VERY difficult. The first 8 kilometers are fairly flat - slightly uphill and you will think, "This is way easier than I thought". Then, you'll crest the top of a ridge and look down and say, "There is NO WAY we drop all the way down to that river. NO WAY." Over the course of the next several hours, you will drop all the way down to that river. After that first 8 km, there is nothing flat. Pretty much switchbacks or rock stairs for the other 27km. And, just to be clear, it is 35kilometers in, 35 kilomters out. (I thought it was 35 kilomters round trip.)
Hire a mule to carry your pack - otherwise, you won't make it. There was only 2 people we met carrying their own gear - and they had spent the past 9 months backpacking around South America. So, if you backpack for a living, go ahead and carry it yourself. For the rest of us with day jobs, hire a mule. Even still, there will come a point (or several) on this trek where you'll want to throw the gear out and ride the mule yourself.
Bring a smaller backpack to carry your water for the day - and some snacks. You'll need a lot of water. You sweat a lot. The water filter was awesome.
The locals who are selling food along the way are life savors. Just know that there aren't many of them. There will also come a point on the trek when those mules start to look appetizing. OK, not really, but I was very hungry for something besides Kashi bars and beef jerky. The lady that made us rice, potatoes, and an egg for breakfast could be a gourmet chef. Quite possibly the best meal I've ever eaten.
So, I'll give a more day to day depiction of what happened later. It is Friday night and I've had a long week of meetings due to my absence while I was in Peru. I don't want to look at a computer anymore.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Peru 2010
This not Amy making this post. It is likely she will take a very long time to get around to it. Peru was very hard on her. So I will make the first. PhotoZac (El Chromo-23) and Col will also make posts, hopefully, to give their version of The Great Peruvian Expedition of 2010.
Here is a link to pictures. That way you don’t have to read this stuff.
http://cid-6a5cdeba2d55d4aa.photos.live.com/browse.aspx/Peru%202010
The dates, locations, elevations, and times I will place in a different post. That way, if you are interested in the actual travelling part, you can get facts and not just the opinions.
We arrived in Lima 7/9/2010 just before midnight. The first night we slept in the airport.
Once again, in my life, I was jealous of Zac and his sleeping arrangements. Even though people kept peeking around the corner, the tile was cold and hard. We weren’t the only ones sleeping there. They should charge like a hostel. The nice thing about that place is they announce EVERY single plane arriving and departing several times as if it were a major accomplishment. This happens all through the night, and not once during the day. It seems asi anyway.
Our luggage was lost and we wouldn’t see it for two more days. The Delta ticket clerk in SLC assured us it would get there not problem. We still rearranged our things just in case. The Lima Delta manager was helpful, after we had to get irritating. They did send the luggage to Cusco right after they received it. (It arrived exactly one day after us. No flights to Cusco until the following morning. = 2 days)
When we did get our gear, it was all soaking wet and starting to mold. Fine job Delta. The best part was, they didn’t actually lose it. The lady behind the luggage claim desk in Lima knew exactly where it was. WTH! (what the heck!) I know Mormons will read this.
7/10/10
The flight to Cusco gives you a peek at what the Andes are really like; however, you don’t really know until you hit the trail on foot.
We slept in Aguas Calientes. It is at the base of Machu Picchu. It takes several hours to get there from Cusco by private chauffer and tren (I’ll sprinkle a little Espanish for flavor).
En route to Ollantaytambo (the train starts here), the scenery is quite amazing. There are many HIGH elevation farms in this region. Here are some to the local ladies playing their own Copa.
Photo-bomb Juan. Enjoying la Copa. A local and her baby.
Notice in the pictures everyone is dressed for cool weather except for us. Thanks Delta!
Ollantaytambo is a smaller town a couple of hours outside of Cusco. We paid $60 for the ride in a private car. Travelling by bus is much cheaper, but also MUCH longer. It was worth it. We were already tired and we needed to make the train. The town also has ruins to visit. The admission includes access to other ruins in the region, but not Machu Picchu. Cost is 43 soles.
If you go by train, be sure to get the tickets in advance. They often sell out, as we saw with other people who wanted to get to Aguas Calientes but were told they would have to wait several days or hope someone didn’t show up. We paid approximately $90 round trip. It is spendy, but I bet it is one of the most scenic train rides in the world. Plus, they hand make these chocolates which are oh so tasty. One other train tip, I would spend the extra $10 and not get the bottom class seats. You sit facing other passengers. Let’s just say the distance makes it more than cozy. Lot’s of Euros and Japanese people on the train. Their personal space is much smaller than mine.
Aguas Calientes is a happening place with tons of hostels and restaurants. It is situated between mountains and almost has a claustrophobic feel.
We stayed in the in a hostel towards the top of the main street. I can’t remember the name. It cost $25/night for a room with two beds. We booked two rooms. They have hot water, showers in the room, storage for gear during the day, and breakfast in the morning. Not the cheapest place around, but a very economical choice for the amenities offered. There are real hotels around, for about $300/night. There are also cheaper hostels, but I didn’t want to share a room with El Chomo y El Tio.
7/11/2010
Machu Picchu is SPECTACULAR!!! Pictures in no way whatsoever do it justice. All I can say is, it needs to be seen to be truly appreciated.
The buses from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu start leaving at 5:20 a.m. If you want to see the sun come up from there, you should get your tickets the night before. We lined up for the buses around 4:30 a.m., and there were probably 100 people in front of us. I mention this because they only allow 400 people into Wayna Picchu each day. The 400 people are separated into two groups of 200 people each. You must be at the Wayna Picchu gate early. Wayna Picchu is the mountain in the background of the above picture. I opine it is worth the extra effort. The climb is somewhat treacherous (not kidding), and not everyone will be able to do. In fact, we saw many people turn around.
These are all from the Wayna Picchu trail. El Chromo-23 should be using two hands on the cable, but he didn’t think he needed it. However, you can see by his flexed forearm he was pretty worried about the camera.
Be sure to check out the other pictures of Machu Picchu from the link on top of this post. After a couple hours at Machu Picchu (you could spend a couple of days there easily, it is quite enormous), we caught the train back to Ollantaytambo.
Amy on the train. So, so tired.
From Ollantaytambo, we had our private chauffer pick us up and take us back to Cusco. This was arranged because there weren’t many returning taxis. Juan was there waiting and we were on our way. Spain won the World Cup. We missed it. The train doesn’t have TV. Juan, ever so helpful, dropped us off at his buddy’s hostel. Lucky for us, it worked out ok. It is the Buhos Inn on la Avenida del Sol (the main street). They were very nice there and helpful. It has hot water, TV’s, breakfast starting at 6:00 a.m., and a place to store gear. Plus, they gave us some mate de coca (pretty much cocaine tea, ok – not really). It is to help with the altitude sickness. Altitude sickness is a real thing and if you are from Idaho, Utah, or Washington D.C., you will experience it. But, it’s not that bad.
We arrived after 5:00 p.m., and the airport was closed. So, no new change of clothes. Collyn really stinks by this time because none of his gear made it. Amy and I both were able to carry-on our packs on the plane.
7/12/2010
We woke up around 6:00 a.m. to get to the airport to get our things. There are plenty of taxis around Cusco. You won’t have any problems finding one if you need it. We worked it out so he would take us to Cachora also to begin the Choquequirao trek. We paid 6 soles to get to the airport (should have paid only 5). We also arranged with the Buhos Inn to leave some of our things and just take our packs with us. We paid the driver 230 soles to take us to Cachora (we should have paid 200).
Great surprise at the airport. All of our gear was soaking wet. Needless to say, I have emailed Delta and am awaiting a response. I’ll post it also.
Cachora is about 4 hours from Cusco. In bus, I would imagine about a 5.5 hour ride. The road has many twists and turns and elevation changes. It is fun at first, then you can’t sleep and it isn’t so fun.
If you take a bus, you will need to catch another bus down to Cachora from the highway, or take a taxi. They are waiting by the side of the road at the bus stop. 5 soles for a bus ride down, 20-30 soles by taxi.
Upon arriving at the plaza, we were immediately approached by a woman with a baby offering arriero (porter with a mule) services. At first I thought we would take advantage of the offer and get started right away. It was already 11:00 a.m. and we hadn’t started the trek. The sun is strong in the higher altitudes. After watching her walk around the square and do nothing, we decided to find someone ourselves. This made her mad. I ended up telling her we couldn’t wait all day and we needed to get started. She then told us 20 minutes, he’ll be ready. Well, nothing happened. We got our own guy. We found out later she was waiting for another group to show up. If they didn’t, we could use the arriero who was ready. Glad we didn’t wait. We paid 25 soles for the mule and 25 soles for the arriero, and 5 soles for his food per day. The total came to 220 soles for the trek. You could get a guide, but not necessary in the least for this trek.
At the plaza, opposite the church, is the Mountain House. There you can arrange arrieros and rent equipment if you need. They have tents, sleeping pads, and sleeping bags. I would recommend you bring your own.
Our arriero’s name and contact information: Jose Monzon 01992112998 He is a quiet guy and his English isn’t great, but he is very honest and definitely took care of us. I would definitely recommend him. Of all the people we met and places we stayed, he is the absolute one thing I would recommend.
Mountain House contact information: Uriel Cusi Ortiz 083.983757687 or uriel_aventura@hotmail.com
Uriel is a funny guy and will help as much as he can. He takes care of one of the camps on the trail and is the alleged co-owner of the Mountain House. This is not the kind of place to arrange everything for you. They can definitely help and accommodate, but you should make sure things are in order yourself if you use them. Uriel does speak English fairly well.
Getting to the trail head is quite easy. Just head down the street and watch for the signs. There are only two, but they are hard to miss. Jose even brought an extra mule in case one of us couldn’t make the trek. The idea at first was to pack a few of the heavier items on the mule, and then carry the rest in the packs. Jose had a different idea – everything on the mules. At the beginning, I was feeling somewhat robbed. However, after less than an hour, Jose’s idea was the best. I only saw 3 people packing their equipment. The other groups we saw used arrieros and guides. Thomasa y Julian son los mulos de Jose. Zac es un mulo salvaje!
The first day includes a lot of downhill and then a pass of around 10k feet. We stayed at the Chiquisca camp (run by Uriel) the first night. Originally I wanted to stay at Playa Rosalinas (next camp 45 minutes farther), but the bichos (bugs) are quite horrible. It took us about 4 hours to get to Chiquisca. It was dark by the time we set up camp and got to bed. It does have simple showers and holes in the ground for latrines.
All the camps have nice flat, grassy areas.
PhotoZac decided to sleep outside the tent. Lucky for him, he made a new backpacker friend. I don’t know if they exchanged numbers, or just stories, or what. I just know an exchange of some type was made.
From Chiquisca. Jose, Julian, Thomasa en camino.
7/13/2010
This is the hardest day of the trek. You cross the bridge at Playa Rosalinas (approximately 5k feet) and then climb to over 10k feet in one day. It is quiet grueling, arduous, strenuous, you pick the adjective that relates the closest to suffering. We left camp at 6:00 a.m. and arrived at the next one in about 5 laborious hours.
Playa Rosalinas bridge. Trail looking back across the river.
For food, we packed Kashi bars and Cliff bars. They don’t require any preparation, are relatively light, and contain good protein and calories. We didn’t want to pack any cooking equipment because we were considering an arriero a luxury if we could get one. Lucky for us, there are places on this stretch of the trail which will prepare food for you. At Santa Rosa Alta (another camp), we bought a plate of rice, papas (potatoes), and eggs. It was one of the best meals of my ENTIRE life.
Food stop.
There are Peruvians who live along the trail. Even in places you wouldn’t expect. After talking to some of them, they say they have lived there for generations. They farm in the wet season, and help the tourists in the dry season.
Look close to see the trail.
The next camp was Marampatas. It is one of the most incredible places I have ever camped. They charged 2 soles to stay there. I think it is more of a courtesy to pay than anything.
Marampatas camp. The views are amazing.
After setting up camp and a good rest, we continued on to Choquequirao. It is an additional 2 hours from Marampata. They will tell you it is 45 minutes. However, that is to the entrance only. It costs 37 soles to enter.
37 soles per person, please.
Choquequirao is huge. We only had a couple of hours to explore, and it easily takes an entire day. The 5 day trek may be better for those who aren’t in decent shape or want time to see most of the ruins. I doubt you could see everything in one day even. It is much like Machu Picchu in that sense. To see everything requires much bajando, subiendo y sudando.
We saw several condors while there.
There is a campsite at the ruins of Choquequirao.
After several hours at the ruins, we headed back to camp, another two hours. We did make it back before dark. I should mention Tio Collyn was sick at Marampata and yacked. It should be gone by the time you get there.
We paid for some dinner while we were here. There is a family who lives at this campsite with several houses and a small venta. The food wasn’t the cheapest, but it was very tasty and they give generous portions. Some of the best we had while in Peru. They eat a lot of vegetables down there. In particular, the higher elevations always had some kind of lentil beans, corn, and potatoes at every meal.
It was pretty chilly and windy that night, so we tried to find a place to eat out of the weather. The other group at the campsite with us wouldn’t share the table. Interestingly enough, they were French. I was torn, I met another Frenchman on the trail who was a pretty cool guy. He made me think I had only met some French bad apples, but then this lady reaffirmed the stereotype. The best part was, there was plenty of room.
Anyway, we ended up with something better. Maybe that is why the French are the way they are. We always end up with something better.
That night was one of the better sleeps. It was cooler. However, they did have a bunch of stinking chickens to wake us early in the morning. The chickens liked the French tents the most. They walked between them and crowed. Served them right.
It was pitch black in the little hut, until they gave us a candle. It made the camera hard to focus.
Mate de coca to make you feel better.
7/14/2010
We started early to beat the sun. At least today was more down than up.
Houses of the family. French tents, chickens in the background.
Dew was heavy at this camp and the fly and tarp were pretty wet. We tried to get everything ready the night before, but this morning we were moving a little slower. Perhaps because the day before was brutal on the body. However, we made fast time on the way down. Especially, after Jose told us to pick it up. Jose was practically running down the mountain. At one point, I couldn’t separate the mules from PhotoZac. He had been inspired and was determined to keep up. FYI, you won’t be able to keep up with the Peruvians. Those guys can start 2 hours later and still beat you to the camps, even if they are carrying things and are wearing slippers or flip-flops.
We hit Chiquisca around 10:00 a.m. After that, there is a good climb, so we took a break for a couple of hours and dried out our gear from the morning dew. It was definitely nice to take a break, take a nap, and get some more water. Tio Collyn packed a water filter so we wouldn’t have to boil it. Although, I am not sure the water would even make you sick.
It was nice to cool off and sit in the shade. I even took a shower. We spent an hour just talking to Jose and Uriel. It was a good opportunity to get to know them and the area. We were usually pushing hard and out of breath. At the other camps, Jose spent most of his time talking to friends or relatives.
We arrived at the last camp just before 5:00 p.m. It was only an hour from Chiquisca, but we had made good time that day. The last camp’s (unknown name) owner was a relative of Jose. It isn’t the nicest place, but the bugs weren’t bad and you can see Chiquisca and Playa Rosalinas from this camp. It his higher than those two. Plus, it has the best view of the Apurimac river.
Views from the last camp.
There was a family at the last camp from Pennsylvania. They had made it to Playa Rosalinas the day before, but were on their way back out. This trail is not for everyone. 5-10% of the people we met on the trail didn’t make it or were on mules.
That night we slept without the tent to get an early start on the day and get back to Cachora.
7/15/2010
We were going to start early, but instead ending up leaving a little after 6:00 a.m. It would have been nice to leave earlier, but it worked out fine. It was about 4 hours to get back to Cachora. There were at least 2 other groups returning the same day we did, but we didn’t see them on the trail or in town. Although, we didn’t have much time in town. The bus was heading to the highway not long after we arrived.
Last mountain pass in the trail. Myself, PhotoZac, Thomasa, Julian, Collyn.
Choquequirao from the pass. You can see it in the background of the picture above with the sun hitting it.
We thought we had made it after arriving in Cachora, unfortunately it wasn’t the end of the journey. The bus to the highway cost 20 soles and lasted almost an hour, even though it was only a few kilometers. At the highway we waited for another bus for 15 minutes or so. Then we asked a taxi to take us to Cusco. I offered 200 soles (the last guy charged 230). He jumped right on it. Later, he told us he normally charges 180 soles for the trip. But, they drop you off at a bus stop in Cusco rather than taking you to your destination.
Bus stop on the highway.
The taxi had problems about 20 minutes into the drive. Lucky for us, the guy’s brother lived in the town where we broke down and took us the rest of the way. They ended up splitting the money. Plus, the brother had a van instead of a car, but the A/C didn’t work. You’ll never be too comfortable in Peru. The winding, twisting, turning four-hour jaunt was all that was left between us and a good rest.
It seems like we arrived at the Buhos Inn around 3 or 4 in the afternoon. They still had our gear and we stayed there another night. It was nice to shower with hot water.
Qizas I will make another post from the Peru trip. Maybe not.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Sunshine, here I come!
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
If you aren't of the Female gender, this post is not for you.
I was talking to a friend earlier today and UTI's (told you to stop reading) came up and it reminded me of my really awesome first UTI experience. Some people might consider this an overshare, but I think it is pretty funny. Now. At the time, it sucked.
So, I went to a conference in San Jose, CA. It was a 4 day conference - I flew out Sunday night and was flying back Thursday. I was traveling with my boss and 3 other guys. Sunday night at about midnight I woke up because I had to go to the bathroom worse than I'd ever needed to in my life. I didn't think I was going to make it to the bathroom, it was so bad. Made it - went back to bed. Didn't think much of it until about 3 minutes later when, once again, I had to go to the bathroom SOOOO bad. And you know how it goes... massive pressure, nothing really comes out. Having never had a UTI before, I was REALLY confused. I thought maybe things had built up so much that the pressure wouldn't release (don't ask me - I was confused and it was the middle of the night), so I should take a bath. Didn't relieve any pressure - big surprise. Anyway, I won't go into too many details, but I will say that once I observed the blood, I figured there was something more serious than just the intense need to urinate wrong with me, so I busted out the laptop and did a little research. First little gem of information: UTI's require antibiotics - they cannot be cured any other way. Second little gem of information: cranberry juice can relieve the symptons although they don't cure it. Third little gem: citrus and sugar make it worse.
So, here I am in downtown San Jose with absolutely no idea where I can go to get an Rx to cure me. Secondly, the rental car is in my bosses name (he's a man that at that point had been my boss for only a couple months. Last thing I want to do is share that I have a UTI and I need him to drive me to a doctor.)
So, I went down to the hotel bar (which luckily was still open) and asked if they had cranberry juice. The bartender asked what I wanted it mixed with and looked at me really weird when I said I wanted it plain. If he was a woman, he would have known. So, he gives me this small portion of cranberry juice in a really cool cocktail glass - I downed it and asked for another and he started looking at me like I was a crazy lady. But, at that point, I really didn't care - I just wanted to survive the next 4 days without anyone discovering my little secret.
And every restaurant we went to, I'd ask for cranberry juice as my beverage. And, FYI - the majority of restaurants don't have cranberry juice, but they will always offer orange juice instead. And look at you like your crazy when you say, "No thanks, I'll just have water." Cranberry juice or bust.
So, not too much more to say, other than that I probably spent half of each 1.5 hour conference session over the next 4 days in the bathroom. And the conference center had a little convenience store that I completely cleaned out of any drink that contained any mention of "cranberry", "cran", etc. Seriously - my laptop bag was full of the little 8 oz. bottles of fruit juice... I downed at least one every session. I am sure the guys I was with thought something weird was going on.. I was going through a cranberry phase or something.
Oh, and I forgot to mention that the conference registration booth was about 10 feet outside the entrance to the bathroom. I wonder how many times you can walk by before a stranger recognizes it is the same lady who keeps going into the bathroom? I bet I became a drinking game - take a swig every time that chick goes into the bathroom again. And I bet the registrars were all rolling drunk. :)
So, I realize this doesn't sound very funny when it is typed. Nor was it funny while I was suffering. But it sure seems funny to me looking back. And, the funniest thing is that I didn't want to tell Corbyn because it was so undignified and gross. I suffered in silence at the time. Now I throw out "UTI", "menstrual", etc. every once in a while just to see him squirm. :)