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Published: October 2nd 2006
So after 2 weeks at Amazoonico, carrying ridiculously heavy buckets of food and fruit on my back and being dirtier than you can imagine, i headed to Vilcabamba, Ecuador, on my way south to Peru. I had planned to spend one night in Vilcabamba and then move on. 3 days later, i was still there. Not like i even liked Vilcabamba much. nothing much there. But, can we say SPA? dear god, the hostal had a SAUNA!, jacuzzi, steam room, pool, hammocks and a cute manager who walked around topless- bonus! . And the best yet, there was a massuese down the road who charged $8 for a massage!!!!!! I realized there is a huge difference between vaccationing and backpacking-traveling, the first being relaxing, the 2nd being anything but. I also realized in 3 months of traveling, i had hardly relaxed. So i blissed out for 3 days, discovered the art of hammocking (yes it is a verb), and had 2 massages, a facial, and a salt scrub for $30!! On the night i was going to leave, i heard there was a sweat lodge ceremony with a shaman. Always wanting to check it out, i stuck around. Turns out it
was just a game of "lets see how many people we can stuff into a dark dome tent and suck out the air". Fun? Notsomuch
Heading onto Peru, i caught the night bus with an English girl i had met at my hostal, and having heard terrible stories of the Tumbes border, we chose to cross at Pirua, which was wonderfully effortless at 3 am. BUT, when we arrived at 6 am on a Sunday in Piura, sans Peruvian soles, we made the mistake of changing dollars with a street changer who cheated us out of $20 each by giving us fake money. Not a great start to Peru. Not enamored with Piura, we caught the next bus to Chiclayo, then Trujillo, then Huanchaco Beach. 5 buses and 20 hours later, we finally arrived at a tranquil place and hung out on the beach for 2 days, exploring the local fish! It was nice to see the coast after 3 months. We sat and watching the local fishermen go out in reed boats and come back in with a load of crab. Nice and tranquil.
Parting with Emma, I moved onward to Huarez, where a beautiful, snow capped
Vilcabamba, Ecuador
R and R at the poolview greeted me. I spent 5 days doing exhausting trekking tours which lasted 14-15 hours each day, scrambling around at 12,000- 15,000 ft. I did a day tour to a Glacier and 2 attempts at Lake 69. On the first attempt, 4 of us went with a driver, sans guide. Halfway through the trip, a lizard crawled out of one of the guys pants and then into my hair, we almost ran over a pig on the way back, one of the guys got sick at the top of the mountain, and after all that, we didnt even find the lake! The second attempt was successful, taking a guide along and using camionetas, (translation; small cars or minivans where you stuff as many people as could possibly fit into the car, and then add 3 more, plus animals and -or equipment- see pic) The lake was beautiful, but i was gasping for air and didnt think i was going to make it. That is one of the easy hikes. Most tourists do the 4 day Santa Cruz hike, but my body clearly said, "nope, not doin it- we dont do 15,000 ft!".
Note to travelers; I cant recommend
Vilcabamba, Ecuador
now THIS is vacation! Caroline Lodging hostal enough. I was staying at Churup and felt very unwelcome. I called Teo, at Caroline, and he picked me up in his personal car (he also drives guests to the bus station), treated me to breakfast, including freshly made home-made strawberry jam, even tho it was way past breakfast, and treated me like family. The first night i wandered in and they were all sitting around the dining room table playing a game of jenga with the guests. Anita, his wife, called me over, got me a chair and handed me a pisco sour. (the one who knocked down the tower had to drink a rum shot). Great vibe! Breakfast is included, the showers are great, and again, they treat guests like family- at Ten soles per night. thats roughly $3, half the price of Churup!
Huarez was a place i could easily get stuck in for another week, feeling so at home, and finding an honest to god veggie restaurant with a nice waitress who i ended up chatting with in Spanish. Huaraz was a city that came alive at night, with a cool vibe and a zillion parades. But After 5 days, frustrated at
my lack of ability and exhausted from trekking, i headed onto Lima.
After hearing countless horror stories about Lima and nothing good about it, i was pleasantly surprised. the coastal fog cleared, and i ran into a fellow traveler who i had met in Huaraz- a guy from Spain. We ended up hiring a taxi to take us all around Lima, in his beat up old car, held together by clear tape (i am not kidding- lol). We had an absolutely wonderful day, taking pics of the colonial architecture and discovering the gem of Miraflores- all in Spanish, mind you. (yay, my Spanish is improving by leaps and bounds). Oh my god, i felt like i was home, with the beautiful coast and properly constructed buildings, condo rows and string after string of chain restaurants from the US. And then it happened, a miracle. After 3 months of being without one of the things i miss most (behind only hot showers and my son), there it was- a STARBUCKS!!!! Dear god, I wanted to hug the sign!!! i know i should protest it on all accounts, but dammit, i love Starbucks, and back home i could easily succumb to
one everyday. And here i thought i would have to go months and months without it. i had them stop the car immediatly where in 2 minutes flat i was reunited with my love, the mocha frappuchino. And the heavens opened up and angels sang. It tasted just like home.
Back at my hostal, 2 unbelievably sweet resident cats found my lap and curled up (both of them) and went to sleep in a purry heap of cat. I could spent every second of the rest of my life just like that. Hot shower, kitty purr and mocha frappuchino- my 3 favorite things in life all in one day. Its been a great day.
Enjoy the pics. I am headed to Pisco tomorrow to enjoy the coast and then onto Arequipa.
Hugs to all my loyal fans. And, dad, i included some pics of me, per your request even tho i am the least photogenic person alive. See, i am really here!
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Terry
non-member comment
Temp Changes
The temperature flucuations must be huge -- do you have all the warm and cool weather clothes with you? Is it like the cool/hot water therapy for your body? The spa vacation is definitely much more my type. I enjoyed the pics of you. However, I'm not crazy about the mountain views -- just looking at them is not fun for me! The couple of pics of Lima were not very impressive. Is it a pretty city? Take care. Love Mom