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Published: December 2nd 2008
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Cusco
Church in the Plaza de Aramas. After some fun filled days in Huaccachina we took the overnight bus into Cusco. We found a quaint hostel and set out to explore the city. Cusco, for us, is one of those cities that really lets us appreciate traveling. Its easy to spend hours walking through the narrow, cobbled streets looking at the architecture of the old buildings and popping into stores to shop. The city is a contrast of tradition and modern. There are women walking the streets dressed in traditional garb, carrying a bushel of fresh veggies on their back and talking on their cell phones. As we walked around the very hilly city, breathing became more and more difficult due to the high altitude of Cusco. We took frequent breaks and sipped coffees and people watched from patios overlooking the central plaza. Along with the high altitude comes cold weather. Luckily, Cusco was a great place to buy really cheap Alpaca scarves and touques.
Along with being a great city to wander around, Cusco is also a starting point from which to visit Machu Picchu. Due to time and money restraints, and the lack of hiking enthusiasm in Megan, we choose to visit Machu Picchu in a
Machu Picchu
The frist glimpses. day trip. Up early to catch our bus to Ollayantambo where we caught the train to Aguas Caliente, the town at the base of Machu Picchu. We contemplated staying in Aguas Caliente for the night but the Lonely Planet description of it being the ugliest and most overpriced town kept us away. It turned out to be a nice town, set around a river and nestled in by huge green mountains so a night there would have been nice and broken up the long travel day. Nevertheless, we enjoyed Machu Picchu and found it truly amazing. The setting itself is really beautiful: surrounded in tree covered mountains, the sun just peaking through the clouds, and then you walk around the corner and the ruins are spread out below you offering a great first view. We wandered around for hours, marveling at how the ruins came to be and how preserved they were. It was a highlight of the trip and will not soon be forgotten.
Another overnight bus and we were into Copacabanna, Bolivia. I, Megan, have been to Bolivia about 4 years ago and was interested to see what had changed. Well, I didnt get a very good first
Machu Picchu
Meg overlooking Machu! impression. . . From the border we had to take a taxi with 2 other Canadians, that our travel agent had arranged and paid for. When we got into Copacabana the taxi driver tried to tell us that he hadnt been paid and that we needed to pay him. One of the Canadian girls spoke fluent Spanish and told him that we knew he had been paid and that we werent going to pay. After probably 10 minutes of arguing, we took his phone number and walked away, saying that we would call the travel agency to verify if we in fact did have to pay. Ryan set out to find a hostel and Megan stayed with the bags. The cab found me standing there and he had a cop in the car. There are lots of problems with fake cops in Bolivia, just trying to get money out of tourists. He started talking about having to take my passport, which a cop is never allowed to do, and telling me to get into the car with him. Luckily, a Bolivian woman that spoke English stopped and helped me. I guess she explaind to the cop that I was a
Machu Picchu
Us at Machu Picchu. tourist and he wasnt suppose to be dealing with me, only tourist police are suppose to talk to travellers. After about 15 minutes, the cop and the taxi left. I dont really know what the lady said but I didnt end up paying or going to jail so alls good. Copacabana would probably be a nice enough town to stay for a few days as it is situated right on Lake Titicaca, but the cop incident, the cold weather and the fact that there is no bank left us itching to get out. On to La Paz . . . we have been in La Paz for a couple days now. Like Cusco, it is very high so the altitude leaves you cold and breathless after walking just a few blocks up hill. The last time I was in La Paz I found it to be quite dirty but it has really improved and we have enjoyed walking around the city, shopping at the sidewalk stalls where things are incredibly cheap and you can buy anything from cosmetics to socks to fake brand name purses. The traffic here is crazy and they do not yield to pedestrians at all. You
Machu Picchu
Meg fooling around. have to constantly be aware of where you are walking and crossing the streets. Luckily, the main intersections hav a guy dressed in a Zebra costume to guide you through the traffic . . . strange.
Once again, we are on the move tomorrow. We head into Chile and hopefully back into the sun and warm weather. If we wanted cold, we would have stayed in Canada
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