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Published: September 29th 2009
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Ok, so I know it has been a while. But look! Pictures! And more will come later.
After leaving La Paz, we headed to Lake Titicaca where we spent a night in Copacabana and then took a boat to Isla del Sol, a small island on this huge lake. We found a hostel for five dollars (I think) with the best view of the trip. Spent a really relaxing day walking around the island and doing not much of anything...a very welcome change in pace after La Paz. The next day we chartered our own boat along with a couple we had met the previous night...again ridiculously cheap...to the other side of the island to check out some ruins. We all felt like royalty while sipping on beers on the sundeck!
The next stop was Cuzco, Peru where we promptly found Activities Peru, the raft guide company that had been widely recommended to us. The next day we were on our way to the Apurimac River. The scariest part of the whole trip was the drive down the canyon to the put in...hairpin after hairpin. The first day we did some safety training and a few class III rapids. Matt
Rafting Apurimac
This rapid was not commercially raftable so the guides took the boats down while we portaged and I were the only people on the trip who had ever been rafting before which made me a little uncomfortable but ended up working out just fine. The next few days the rapids built themselves up and the final few rapids were class V. There were some very technical rapids and also some big chutes with BIG water. We also got to surf a few big waves where we ended up flipping and swimming...something you could never find on a commercial trip in the states! We both decided it was one of the highlights of our trip. The food was excellent, camping on the sand under the southern hemisphere stars and the guides telling ghost stories (real ones) about the river just added to the amazing rapids and beautiful canyon!
Next we made our way to Machu Picchu where we followed the hordes of tourists, old and young, rich and poor through the amazing Incan ruins. It is a truly amazing place and really blows the mind as well as the pocketbook of the budget traveler. Despite the fact that it is sickeningly crawling with tourists, it is a place worth seeing with your own eyes! And soon
because they may shut it down to tourists and build a viewing platform because of the impact it takes everyday.
From Cuzco we took the 24 hour bus ride to Lima which is on the coast of Peru. For those interested in visiting this area I would suggest shelling out the extra dough and taking the short flight between the two cities...it is really a dreadful bus trip. We only spent one night in Lima where we bought salad ingredients from the nicest grocery store I have seen in four months and indulged with jalapeños, feta, onions, lettuce, peppers, real salad dressing, ciabatta bread...heavenly!
Another long, 19 hour bus ride took us to the surf town of Mancora in Northern Peru. This town has some sort of weather phenomenon where it is always sunny and beautiful. We got a little bamboo cabin with a lobby filled with hammocks, palm trees and sand. Here we surfed, read, played guitar and RELAXED for a whole week. The scene turned quite strange when we went out for our last night in town. There seems to be some sort of turf war over gringos and we felt like we were in some
Rafting Apurimac
These bites were so painful I could not walk for a while...took weeks to go away. sort of custody battle between locals. Needless to say we had a wonderful time but were ready to get out of there when we did.
Next we stopped in Guyaquil, Ecuador after the most difficult border crossing yet. We were searched at least 5 times, one of which turned up some illegal boxes that the bus driver was trying to sneak across the border. The spare bus driver had to take over while the culprit was lead away with 6 or 7 large, quite heavy boxes of some sort of contraband. They don´t even seem to care about gringo backpacks and we just stood aside as they searched everything else.
After one night in Guyaquil we made our way to Quito where Matt´s plane was awaiting him...and he eagerly awaiting it! He took off today and I am feeling quite homesick all of a sudden...kind of regretting my decision to extend my trip for seven weeks. But I know this feeling quite well and so I know that it is a fleeting one. I will head back to the coast where I started the trip and try to get a "job" at the Surf Shak in Canoa doing
Machu Picchu
Yup...in all it´s majesty! what I do best, waiting tables! Ha! But at least it will give me a chance to get a little better at surfing while giving me a roof over my head and a break from bus rides. After all, from Puerto Varas, Chile (the furthest south we were) to Quito, Ecuador (the furthest North we travelled) Matt and I have spent 137 hours sitting next to each other on buses of various qualities and comfort levels. And that does not include side trips, only from destination to destination. I can see why he was so happy to get on that plane today!!!
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mom
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ouch
Hey Matt, how does the re-entry feel? Any Montana snow yet? Malia What on earth are the bites on your foot? Looks like elephantitis (joking). The rest of your life looks wonderful - excluding the bus rides. The bites are a reminder that little things pack a big wallop. Protect the breaks in your skin... you don't want to get a blood infection. I know I know.. " mom quit worrying. " Well big Puff Daddy in your palm isn't looking too worried so why should I eh. He looks kind of angry though. I love you you know. mom