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Published: December 26th 2007
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MotoTaxi
These little guys are everywhere in Ica ANNNNd super cheap! Alright so the past few days have been an adventure to say the least...
Ballestas Islands
So we went to the Ballestas Islands (only a short ride from Ica). The little coastal fishing town was in shambles from the recent earthquake but they were rebuilding pretty well. We took a FREEZING cold bus ride out to the islands. It was AMAZING (as usual...)! Tons of penguins, pelicans, bird I dont even know what to call em, and sea lions crowded the islands. The water was crystal clear which was really cool because we could see the sealions playing in the water! The rock formations (although COVERED in bird poo) were really cool too! All the tunnels and caves carved out by the water were just awesome. After we got our fill of wildlife we went back to shore and ate some chocolate and bananas (just a small part of our balanced diet), hung out for a bit while learning that Peru has musical xmas lights and they CAN NOT believe that we dont. We headed back to Ica for a Chifa lunch (Peruvian Chinese food, yes called Chifa) to catch our 16 hour bus ride to Cusco...
So
Ive been spoiled by the luxurious, clean, FLAT land rides by bus in Argentina... this ride was REDICULOUS. It started out alright aside from the smelly bathroom and my fear that they werent going to feed us (they ended up giving us more Chifa). It got a little better with the awsome mountain views but it quickly got much worse. Once Zach and I decided to go to sleep it was FREEZING cold at the high altitude and the bus had to make such sharp turns around the mountains that you slid out of your seat with every turn. Needless to say we didnt sleep much.
Cusco
So we got to Cusco and grbbed a cab to our hostel. We quickly felt the altitude hit us... The 15 stairs up to the hostel were pretty difficult. So we drank some coca tea and hoped for the best. We spent the next few days wondering around the city, Zach batteling altitude sickness and Chifa rejection. It´s a really cool city, but touristy as hell. All the roads are cobblestone and narrow (which means they all look same and we keep getting lost) and you usually have to walk up
flights of stairs to get anywhere. There are native Peruvian women everywhere carrying babies or food or stuff for sale on their backs in colorful scarfs. Everything is knitted from sheep or alpaca. Little kids want money from you to take their picture with a lamb or llama or just of them. I tried to take a picture of a few little girls from a distance but they caught me, hunted me down, and I paid them about 50 cents. We stayed our last few nights near the Plaza de las Armas, the center of the city. Although a happy city its sad to see all the indiginous living on the streets, waiting outside the churches for food, and barely making it (especially at christmas).
Zach and I finally got Peruvian food on Xmas eve... kabobs off the street. Beef with potato and wonderful spices that made your lips burn. Yum! We also bought a sausage sandwich but after one bite into the raw meat we through it away. The plaza was all decorated for christmas and they had a HUGE market on Xmaz Eve complete with a carnival and fireworks for sale (xmas is a firework holiday). Since
I was bummed about bein away from home Zach got me ¨Hen Laying Eggs¨! Ya know the chicken fireworks that squawk and lay fire eggs! We fit right in... haha
Christmas
So we wokr up at 5am on Xmas (I dont think Ive been up that early on Christmas since I was 8 and had to wait for my Dad to get up and drink coffee before I could open presents haha) to catch our train to Manchu Pichu. The ride was slow but nice. Parts of the ride were so steep that the train couldnt circle the mountain and had to zig zag up the side! Crazy! Along the way were tons of farms with pigs, cows, llams, sheep, and chicken running everywhere. It was really cool... One we got to the Sacred Valley the scenery became so BEAUTIFUL. The rivers and the mountains were just too cool.
So the ride came to end and Zach and I decided to save the 6 dollars on the bus ride up the mountain and walk. It was CRAZY. Yea we saw lots of great views and birds and bugs but it was HOT and hard. Seriously it was
Lines...
The lines are carved into the rock... its a mystery how they got there hundreds of steep stairs straight up a mountain! We saw 2 other pairs who were crazy enough to try it and a few of the kids who race the buses to the bottom of the mountain, get picked up by the bus, then ask for money from everyone on the bus.(Hey, at least we can say we did part of the Inca Trail haha). So we get to the top and find out we have to pay 3 sol (1 dollar) to check your bag because its not allowed in the ruins with food in it, no biggie. Then we approach the gate and find out you need a 20 dollar ticket... we didnt have that kind of cash and they was no ATM up there (even though there was a 29 dollar a meal restraunt and a bunch of crap for sale). So we had to take the bus back DOWN to th town, go to an ATM, and take the bus back up! So much for us saving money... So we finally got to see the famous ruins. Personally the mountains (and the llamas haha) were just as cool, if not cooler, than the ruins themselves. You could
see in some spots of the ruins where they had been repaired by park officials which kinda stole some of the magic, but it was super cool non the less. Soooo just when we think our xmas is looking up we get on the bus to head down (again) and about halfway to the bottom our bus hits another bus head-on! Jesus! So we had to wait and then switch buses. We fianlly made it to the bottom and Zach and I headed straight through the pouring rain to the nearest happy hour... oh what a day.
The train ride back was long and by this point those kabobs are kicking my ass (or my stomach rather). But I made it! We got back to the rain and cold but got to talk to our parents and take a hot shower. (Also everything was open... how weird for Christmas) So, overall Peruvian Christmas was interesting (and expensive) but totally worth it!
PS... We used Zachs camera on the islands and his is just too good for the Peru internet to handle so there are only a few pics of the cute wildlife... I know I
The man and his women
Male sea lions have many many women... this one is really proud of his know youre upset. hehe.
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