Sarah Jean

I was in Arraial de Ajuda a few weeks ago. It´s a tourist town for sure, but the beaches are fun. Then I flew to Olinda, and Carnival has begun. Here are a few recent photos.... read more

...But it´s really about a backpack. Read on... So everyone said that Torres del Paine was one of the most spectacular sights in South America. It´s a national park with pink granite spires, lying at the foot of the Northern Patagonian Ice Field near the tip of the continent. There are two ways to see the park: the first and more popular way, by hiking the "W" route, and the other, longer, windier, avalanche-prone, and presently closed, back Circuit. Well if this was one of the best things to experience in SA, then I was going to go all the way, and hike the Circuit. The hotel owner had said that people had managed to complete it even though a massive avalanche had forced a closure near the pass; and if they could do it, so ... read more

After a couple days, I left Arica extremely sunburnt. Why do I always get it into my head not to wear any sunscreen at all?! This made the bus journey to Iquique rather uncomfortable. Iquique has a very nice beach, but there´s not much else to do there. One can see the colonial style buildings everywhere. Antofagasta and La Serena are just regular towns on the coast. I suppose this is a rather uninspired entry, but I was feeling quite uninspired during this period anyway. Chile is more modernized than Peru, and I find the accent to be extremely difficult to understand. Instead of random muts roaming the streets, there are huskies roaming the streets in every town. Instead of hordes of people selling candy and plastic bobbles, there are guys walking around selling bonzai trees ... read more

Arequipa is known as The White City, since many of the buildings were constructed using sillar, which is a white volcanic stone. They were holding regional elections when I arrived, which made the bus from Lima twice as crowded and twice as expensive. Voting is mandatory. They vote much like we do in the States, with simple ballots dropped into boxes at churches and schools. I found the climate warm and mild, and the people very down to earth. There are a few sights to see in Arequipa, one is the Santa Catalina Monastery and the other is a museum housing Juanita, the Ice Princess. She is a remarkably well-preserved mummy of a young girl sacrificed by the Incas around 500 years ago. Unfortunately you can´t photograph her; she is kept in a dark room under ... read more

Finally, after a couple weeks of hard work on the applications, I was able to make it out to sightsee a bit. Set high in the mountains, Cusco really is a beautiful place, and a bit cleaner than other areas of Peru. One site is Santo Domingo Monastery/Convent. It was built by the Dominicans on top of the Inca´s most important temple. Inside, there are walls clearly built by the Incas in a style evident throughout Cusco, with intricately carved stones snuggly fit together. But most of it is built in a Spanish style. San Pedro Market is populated mostly by men and women from Cusco doing their daily shopping. You can find almost anything there - fruits, vegetables, baskets, dressmakers, tourist items, shampoo, and raw meat. This is the market which almost made a vegetarian ... read more