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Crew at Salkantay Pass
Here we all are at 4600m!! Can you find me? May 16 / 20
Continuation of my Machu Picchu entry, just wanted to tell you about the cool people who were on my trek with me. I had a very fun group of people from around the world. No two groups were from the same place, and I was the only american. This had a double effect on the trek being very cool / not only was there amazing scenery, etc. etc., but I got to share and learn a lot from fellow travelers.
They say you get what you pay for on these treks, which is true, since I went the budget route, that basically means rice at every meal and bread for breakfast. But, the super/budget treks also attract a long term, budget traveler (and a couple students). If you book a more formal tour group, in advance before you get here or one of the places highlighted in the guide books, you pay about 4 times as much.
My two months/ish in SA was actually the second shortest of everyone! Here is a rundown:
1. A BF/GF from quebec. First canadians i've ever met that barely speak english! really nice, very young 23/24, one was a student, one a nurse. they were traveling for 18 days in peru.
2. A BF/GF from manchester, england. they've been traveling for 7 months, with about 6 weeks to go. they lived in australia working for a while in a restaurant (a waitress and a chef) and have made their way through chile, bolivia, etc., will fly up to mexico from lima and spend a month there! The girl has been traveling with just 3 pairs of socks the entire time, they've had 2 cameras stolen in SA!!
3. An Irish guy, and a Spanish guy. They have both been traveling overland from Mexico since the end of November. (they went to every single country in central america). They met on a boat trip from Panama to Columbia, and have been traveling together ever since. Two crazy guys, both who need to get "real jobs" once they go back home in a couple of months. The spanish guy had a tiny little backpack that he's had for 25 years. These are the guys I shared a tent with.
4. Three israeli guys who were an absolute riot. they've been traveling for 4 months, they met in argentina, have been to chile, bolivia, peru, and will continue north. very hilarious. at home, after the army, they were working at some sort of various outdoor jobs / milking cows, picking figs, etc. (For those of you familiar with the Irsrael ¨Kaboots¨this is where they were working). These guys are also super cheap. One guy spent $250 in a full month in Bolivia. (although bolivia is really cheap, so i´m not sure that this is a crazy low amount). they've warned me to watch what i eat there!
5. Our Peruvian guide! A 24-yr old from the Cusco area. You would think being a tour guide for foreigners would be a good job (he is educated, speaks english, spanish and quecha - the local language for the region where we trekked), which it is because of tips, but aside from tips our guide made 25 soles a day, which is just over $8. He told us 30 soles per day, $10, is a very good job in Peru. More typical is 20 soles a day, which our porter and cook made. You often hear about how little money people make in developing countries, but it´s still amazing to see it. We were on our way to the hot springs one night, and we passed a bunch of men, cutting concrete slabs off the side of a hill, which will be used for building houses, etc. Very intense physical labor. I asked my guide how much they make and he said 20 soles a day (just under $7), they work at least 8 hours a day, if not 10. It is really unbelievable to realize how little they get by on, how few possessions they have, to think what we have back home in america and how many material possessions we have, and what we REALLY could get by on....
A good part of travel is obviously about the places, culture and people you´re visiting, but i´ve also found that i really learn just as much about the world from other travelers I meet along the way. I´ve noted that one of these days I´ll outgrow the hostels, etc. but probably not until i´m at least 30 or married, the former of which is more likely at this rate! For now I still love it and it really is the best way to travel solo and meet other solo travelers.
Anyways, this crew made for many great and interesting conversations about people´s respective lives-experiences-cultures. For example, I´ve learned a lot about life in Israel, what it´s like when everyone has to join the army for 3 years and is on reserves until they are 40 (can you imagine if it was like that in the US?). And I´ve also been asked a lot of questions about the US. This group was also full of travel stories, so i picked up plenty of tips on bolivia...which is what my next post will be about.
Ciao!
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Bahar
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ok i think i laughed for about ten minutes when i read your comment about outgrowing hostels :oP i'm so proud of you. glad you're having fun and learning from other travelers. continue to be safe (i know i say that in every post) and have a great time in bolivia! love you! p.s. i can't tell if you guys are freezing or warm from the picture. some of you are completely bundled and others are wearing shorts!