As expected, the third day was not as interesting as the first two, but it did have a few moments of note. We started off by taking a bus to the trail head, rather than walking. This was rather frustrating to some in our group, because it was not listed as part of the itinerary, and cost extra. Some people had been traveling for a while, and were really tired of the creeping cost nature of the region by this time. I have to admit, even though our walk along the train tracks between Santa Teresa and Aguas was not more [View Full Entry]

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So we start our trek to Machu Piccu! Off like a herd of arthritic sea tortoises on land for the first time, I think we managed to depart only 45 minutes behind schedule. Justin and I mentioned that our guide had not come to get us, and the hostel's response was 'oh, he is just 40 minutes later than he said he would be here? He could still be on time!' Whatever. However, Americo did arrive, and brought the 22 liter backpack as promised. I did not have the ideal size for this trip, so our guide said he would bring [View Full Entry]

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6am comes so early when you are tired. Somehow, I pulled off the unthinkable: sleeping poorly after going to bed at 8:30pm. Luckily, I didn't fair so poorly as one of my 3 roommates. The Aussie must have had to run to the john 20 times throughout the night. He was more regular than Big Ben. Still, group travel is group travel, and we all got ourselves up and about in order to make it to the pharmacie to load up on substances before our 22 km trek up parts of the old Inca trail. I had come down with severe [View Full Entry]

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4:30 am: depart for the hike up to Maccu Piccu. There was some sense of urgency in Justin's pace. Pete, Justin Sheila and I made great time heading over to the trial head in order to beat the other parties for tickets to Wyna Piccu. They give out 400 a day to head up and look down on Maccu Piccu. If you walk up the mountain, you can not only beat the first bus that leaves at 5:30, but you can save the $7 each way. Each tour group that does the jungle tour back door to Piccu does the exact [View Full Entry]

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After arriving by bus at around midnight, Justin and I were pretty ready to head out to the closest lodging and plant ourselves into bed. Before hand, I was game for walking from the bus terminal to the guesthouse, but he wanted to take a taxi. Justin won, mainly because a taxi was only $3. We ended up at Loki in Cusco. I think this was because we didn't have the address for the place we would rather have stayed at. Oh well. We ended up in a decently quiet room at loki, till 5am. Loki Cusco is a renowned party [View Full Entry]

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When buying our tickets for Isla del sole, we were told that it was $3 to visit the island, or $4 to visit the island and see the floating villages. Ok, I thought it would make sense to visit the floating village for $1. Turns out, it costs $6 to visit the island, and there is no floating village. The Inca ruins are a categorical joke, the island is literally a tourist 'trap'. And then it turns out that when we were done trekking the island, none of the restaurants were open. In short, the experience was so pathetic that I [View Full Entry]

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Justin and I arrived by around noon. First thing we saw was a donkey running up the street dragging a rope behind it. First impression: a whole lot more touristy than La Paz. But because La Paz is the 'big city', Cocacabana is a whole lot cheaper as well, for lodging. Meal prices were more expensive, but the food was better. Walking around, the 'touristy broken record sound' was very present. Repetitive touts for "Tickets La Paz, Puno, Isle del sole" become part of the the background before you knew it. I just assumed my Asia trip 'I don't hear you, [View Full Entry]

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After 4 flights, 2 long haul segments, I think it is hard to find anyplace that looks that appealing at 2am. Justin and I did get in ontime, did meet each other at the Lima airport as planned, and did have the taxi driver waiting for us as our lodging had promised. On the downside, my bag didn't make it, and LAN airlines couldn't have cared less. And, Justin had to pay a whopping $135 for his visa (my Hungarian passport got me a stamp for free). $135 for a visa, when looking at purchasing power parity, is just insane. Our [View Full Entry]

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When I first arrived in Brasov, I was on my way to Moldova and it was early in the morning and snowy. I was in search of Autogara 2 (Bus station 2). Given the amount of tourist traffic that this city gets, I would not have expected that it was that difficult to get directions to this bus station. Granted, I don't speak Romanian, but really, "Autogara Doi?" shouldn't elicit a 'deer in the headlights' response from a couple dozen locals at the main station. I asked the information clerk at the train station about a bus to Chisinau, and she [View Full Entry]

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As I pulled up to Moldovan passport control, my fellow passengers (a 75/25 mix of Moldovans and Romanians) were in hour 7 of having the giggles. I am sure I have never been on a bus that laughed that hard. The girl behind me spoke very good English, and gave very honest opinions on my travels. "We have been talking: we have decided that it would have been better if you had traveled with a tour group." They deemed a trip to Moldova far too exotic for a solo traveler. I shared a little about my solo trip to Asia, and [View Full Entry]

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