3 Weeks of Intense Travelling (Bolivia/Peru)

---

---

*** NOTE: Sorry for the pictures, but I put only those that I already uploaded on facebook. I gave the USB key I had (with all my photos) to Zeljka (that got bak to Canada) before uploading my blog.




Lake Titicaca (March 8)

From La Paz, we took a local bus to Copacabana, which is the main Bolivian city on the Lake Titicaca. We had to take a ferry to cross a lake at one point. Actually, we were on a boat and our bus (and all our stuff) was on a separate ferryboat. The trip was really nice. At times, I felt like I was in Croatia. We spent one night in Copacabana (with a beautiful sunset) before taking a boat to the Isla del Sol. It is to be noted that Copacabana is a bit of a ‘’Hippie Town””.




Isla del Sol (March 9 & 10)

The boat ride to Isla del Sol was fun, but a bit intense with the waves. When we got there, we had to pay a 5 soles entrance fee (not a lot but they charge for everything in Bolivia). We had to climb a steep mountain with our backpacks to get to our hostel. This was very challenging (especially for Zeljka, to bad I don’t have THAT picture of her with me now). However, it was worth the hike. The view of the lake from out bedroom was beautiful, especially that it cost only 20 bolivianos per night per person (about $4 CAD). We spent two days on the island. The first day, we did a little hike around the Southern part of the island. We got by the water to tan a bit. I even went to swim in the water, which was freezing. After, we walked back toward the peak point of the island. On our way, we saw a restaurant serving amazing food! FUN STORY: In that restaurant, a group of 7-8 French people was also eating there. And, as usual, they were fighting, complaining, being loud and saying stupidities. At one point, one of the French guys said: ‘’J’espere que les deux las-bas ne parlent pas francais.’’ (I hope that the two siting there don’t speak French.) And then I said: ‘’Desole, on comprend tout ce que vous dites.’’ (Sorry, but we understand everything.) From that point, they didn’t say a word. When we were done eating, we walked to the lighthouse to see the sunset (beautiful) before going back to our hostel and have wine (and play the card game UNO).

The second day, we TRIED to go for a hike in the Northern part of the island. However ….. FUN STORY: We were initially planning to stay on the island one day, but we ended up being there 2 days. However, we didn’t plan our budget well, especially not for two nights there. Therefore, during our walk, a guy stopped us and said that we need to pays an entrance fee for the Northern part of the island, which was 15 bolivianos per person (about $3CAD). The sad thing is that if we would pay that, we wouldn’t have money to take the boat back to Copacabana. Therefore, I told the guy: ‘’Sorry, we don’t have money.’’ And he said: ‘’Imagine if I go to your country and walk around with no money.’’ (loll) Therefore, we had to go back. In the afternoon, we did a waIk in the Southern part of the island, to the Temple of the Sun. After that, we went to a restaurant for fish and spent our last few pennies before being broke.




Copacabana-Cuzco (March 11)

The day after, we took a boat to go back to Copacabana. We met a Canadian guy from Vancouver that was telling us a bit about his experience in South America, and especially the Galapagos (where I will be going in a couple of months). When we got to Copacabana, we went to a tourist agency to buy a bus ticket to Cuzco, Peru. We met this amazing girl from Belgium, Jessica, which ended up travelling with us a few days and being an amazing person. FUN FACT 1: In Bolivia, they always say a bus with WIFI and bathrooms. However, it is not always the case. The bus we took (more than 12 hours) had Wifi (but it didn’t work) and the bathroom didn’t work for the first few ours of our trip. FUN FACT 2: When we bought our ticket for Cuzco, we had about 8 hours to wait in Copacabana. We didn’t want to carry our backpacks with us. So we asked the agency if we can leave it in there. She said yes, but she wanted us to put the bags in a room. However, the room was full and we just left our back in front. When we got back to take our bags, there was nothing and the room was locked. I asked the girl if she saw our bags. Then, she just started to scream at us: I told you to leave them in the room. What were you thinking … (she was a bit crazy). But at the end, she put our bags in the room and locked it. OK girl, calm down!




Cuzco (March 12)

We arrived to Cuzco at 6 am. The Canadian guy that we met on the boat going to Copacabana gave us an address of a cheap hostel where we could sleep. We asked the taxi driver to bring us there, but we couldn’t find it. So, we just asked the taxi driver to bring us to the central plaza. He actually brought us to a hostel that was nice and cheap. That day in Cuzco wasn’t very interesting, as we were just walking around the city and booking our Machu Picchu tour. INTERESTING FACT: They have Scotiabank in Peru, and they are pretty big there!




Machu Picchu (March 13 & 14)

We started our Machu Picchu tour. We took a small van, with a group of Chileans that were way too loud. After 7 hours, we got to Hidroelectrica. From there, we had to walk for about 3 hours by the railway to get to Aguas Calientes, which is the starting point to get to the top of the Machu Picchu. When we got to Aguas Calientes, the first thing Jessica and I did was to buy beers! (What can you expect from a girl from Belgium!!) FUN FACT 1: That night, we took a video of how errant dogs in Peru just go after Peruvians, and are nice with tourists. I was so funny! (If one day you want to see the video, just ask me!) FUN FACT 2: The guide gave us our paper for the entry to Machu Picchu. Although we gave him our passport so they enter our information properly, everything was wrong. For example, on Jessica’s paper, it was written: MALE, from CANADA, 30 something years old, with the wrong passport number.

The day after, we were supposed to wake up at 4am to walk up to the top of the Machu Picchu. However, there was pouring rain all morning. So we decided to snooze and just take the bus at 9am that brings us directly there. Not the best way to do it but that’s what you have to do when it’s rainy season. When we got on the top, there were 1000s of tourists. Although the site itself is beautiful, I didn’t like the fact that it is just a touristy place where people go, take pictures and leave. After a few hours on the top, we walked down to Hidroelectrica to take a bus to go back. On the way back to Cuzco, Zeljka and I stopped in Ollantaytambo and Jessica in Cuzco. It was time to say bye to her, but we will definitely meet in Montreal or in Belgium one day.




Sacred Valley – Ollantaytambo, Chinchero and Pisac (March 15 & 16)

Our first stop in the Sacred Valley was Ollantaytambo. Our first morning there was amazing because we probably had the best breakfast in South America so far. Moreover, the coffee there was by far the best one I had in a few months. FUN FACT: In Peru and Bolivia, people never say ‘’no’’. In the restaurant, we asked for something (I don’t remember what) and the waiter said ‘’YES, YES’’. However, we then saw him running outside to go buy that in the store in front, and he did it a few times. NOTE: This happens often.

We did some sightseeing in that city (it was nice, but as Zeljka said: ‘’At this point, the rocks all look the same to me.’’) We also went to the Chocolate Museum, where we had the chance to taste and learn more about it. In the afternoon, we took a bus to Chinchero, which was our second stop in the Sacred Valley. The bus right was amazing as the views were beautiful.

The following morning, we were supposed to go to the ruins of Chinchero. However, on our way, we saw a store that was selling Alpaca clothes. Rather then going to the ruins, we spent a few 100s soles on Alpaca stuff. FUN STORY: The night before, we agreed with a taxi driver that he will pick us up at 12pm to drive us to our next destination. However, on our way to the store, we met a guy that offered the same for cheaper, so we just went with him, no saying anything to the other.

The taxi driver took us to Moray, an Inca archaeological site. After that, he drove us to Urubamba, where we took a bus to Pisac, our third and last destination of the Sacred Valley.

We arrived to Pisac in the late afternoon. FUN STORY: We asked a few people how to get to the ruins of Pisac and the answers were very diverse. One person said it takes 20 minutes walking, another 45 minutes by car. Moreover, one said a taxi will charge 20 Soles, another 80 Soles. In Peru, you need to get used to have so contradictory answers that you don’t know what to think!

So, we decided to take a taxi up there, and it took 20-30 minutes. Therefore, walking would not have been an option. We got to the site at 5:50pm and the taxi driver said he will pick up at 7:30pm. However, at 6:00pm, the security guard told us the site closes at 6:00pm, so we had to leave. We were the only ones up there, with another car going down. We asked him if we can jump in his car and if he can drive us, which he agreed. Down there, we looked for the house of the taxi driver in order to pay him for driving us up there. (I guess this is for good karma.) At night, we went to a delicious vegetarian restaurant. NOTE: Our bedroom was funny as there was no door between the bedroom and the bathroom. Good thing that Zeljka and I got to know each other pretty well by that time :p




Pisac-Cuzco-Arequipa (March 17)

In the morning, we had breakfast in the same vegetarian restaurant before taking a bus from Pisac to Cuzco. On our way back, we were wondering if our backpacks will still be in the office of the agency where we bought our tour, as we told the guy we will travel around the Sacred Valley or 2 days. However, it ended up being 4 days. Luckily, our bags were still there. We also went to a pizzeria where we ate one of the best pizzas ever! In the late afternoon, we took a night bus to Arequipa.




Arequipa (March 18)

In the early morning, we got to Arequipa. We took a taxi to the center in order to find accommodation and then it happened … The taxi stopped somewhere in the main square where there was busy traffic. I went out on the left side and Zeljka opened the right-side door. She only had time to open it a bit before a car hit the door. Thanks god nothing happened to Zeljka, but our taxi driver and the one from the other taxi where not happy. Then, our car was surrounded by the police. The taxi drivers wanted us to pay everything. However (my friend studying law will be proud of me), I started to bullshit saying that in every country, the law says that the taxi driver is responsible or any damage made to his car, by him or any passenger. Then, the police said to the taxi driver: ‘’Guys, you will each have to pay for you own car as those tourists are right, and know their rights.’’ What was also funny was Zeljka saying to the police: “I want someone that speaks English to translate everything. Moreover, how long do we have to wait here as I didn’t eat anything since last night!” lollll … Note: Being a tourist in South America is a good thing! Police is always protecting you!

The rest of the day we didn’t do much. We found a place to stay. After that, we were looking for some one-day or two-days tours to the famous Colca Canyon. However, they forecasted rain for the following days so we didn’t want to go there and get wet. Therefore, we decided to go on the other side, to a beach town called Camana. Also, I sent my first batch of postcards (over 15) to friends and family in Canada and Europe.




Camana (March 19 & 20)

In the morning, we took a 4-hours bus from Arequipa to Camana. We were definitely the only tourists in that city as it is a beach town for locals. We found accommodation 20 minutes from the center: hotel on the beach for 50 soles for both of us! At night, we first went to a nice restaurant that had Wifi. This was the worst decision ever as we didn’t say a word to each other for almost an hour. Then, we went out to a local bar in Camana. From outside, we thought it was full of people. However, when we got in, we realized there were only the two of us and four other people. I finally tried “Pisco Sour” (actually ‘’Maracuya Sour’’) and it was delicious. When the other people left (which means when we were alone), we asked the DJ to put some Serbian music (Tri Case & Slucajno). He ended up putting another song (I don’t remember which one) because he liked the girl in the video. After that, we took a cab (not really a taxi, but the small motorcycles that only have two places in the back) to our hotel. We were a bit “tipsy” and wanted to go for a midnight dip in the Pacific ocean. Zeljka asked the driver: “Do you want to join us?” The driver said ‘’no’’. He ended up waiting for us there the whole time as he was probably worried to see some drunk people go swim in the water. Later on, we got up in our room and made a pretty bad mess, as our whole room was full of sand!

The second day in Camana, we were on the beach, enjoying the sun. In the morning, we were looking for a place to get coffee, but this is almost impossible in Peru. We ended up drinking a cup of milk. It was a nice day on the beach, although it was a little bit windy. We even saw some “Cholitas” (traditionally dressed women) in the water. At night, we went back to the city center to have pizza. Again, we were in the restaurant with Wifi and ended up not talking to each other.




Camana-Ica (March 21)

In the morning, we had a little bit of time to go for a swim. We even had our waiter bringing us our breakfast to the beach. At 2pm, we had to take our bus for Ica. We decided to skip Nazca and the Nazca lines as many people we met told us it was not worth going there. The agency told us we should be in Ica by 9pm, but we actually got there at 2am. Yes, there was a landslide, but this doesn’t explain why the bus was 5 hours late. Also, when the bus stopped for the passengers to have lunch, a random guy came to talk to us. We tried to explain to him that Zeljka and I were only friends, but he didn’t get it. He was saying: “Friends during the day, but more at night.”

Although the view of the sea was amazing, the bus ride was so long and painful. We didn’t bring anything to eat, so our dinner ended up being a bag of popcorn.




Ica (March 22)

We woke up very late. We were walking in the city with our bag of dirty clothes, before realizing it was Sunday and that all the “Lavanderias” were closed. So, we carried our bag the whole day. For lunch, we went to eat seafood. I got this amazing dish called “Triple del Mar” which consists of 3 plates: Ceviche, Seafood Risotto and Fried Fish. After the lunch, we when to a shopping center where we actually felt like home. After that, we visited a local winery. At the end of the tour, we bought a bottle of wine and drank it there.

Huancachina (March 23)

In the morning, we took a taxi to go to Huancachina, which is an Oasis where tourists go mainly to do sandboarding. This town is actually only for tourists but I think it is worth visiting it. In the afternoon, we went for a tour in the sand dunes, doing sandboarding. It was amazing and I highly recommend it to everyone. At night, we ate curry at a restaurant that was close to our hostel. FUN STORY: We stayed at a party hostel. Therefore, we took our time to eat, take a shower and rest before drinking and having fun. However, when we got out (pretty early, like 11:30pm), other guests where going back to their room to sleep, and the owner asked us if it as ok to turn off the lights. What a fail ….




Huancachine-Paracas (March 24 & 25)

In the morning, we had breakfast at our hostel. And you know what??? We met the first Croatian of our trip (he lives in Australia). FUN STORY: This is a very fun and awkward story. When we were in La Paz almost three weeks ago, we saw a bag of clean laundry with a Croatian name on it. So Zeljka and I said let’s try to find this guy. However, we didn’t have time as we had to leave the hostel. Well, we met that guy 3 weeks later in another city. So creepy, but so funny!

After our breakfast, we took a taxi to Ica, and another one to Paracas. Paracas is supposed to be a nice beach town, but it is not really. After leaving our bags in the hostel, we wanted to go to the beach. However, it was dirty and full of birds. So we asked people there were we could find a nice beach and they said that we just need to walk a bit and that we will get to a nice beach. After walking for more than an hour, we ended up at the end of the peninsula and we couldn’t walk further. We got to a place where people were practicing Kitesurfing. I wanted to try it, but it was way too expensive, especially knowing that the first day I would mainly end up falling all the time. On our way back to the hostel, I tried my first Ice cream–Cola drink, which was not bad. At night, we went for a pizza, and a few pina coladas.

Our second day in Paracas, we asked a taxi driver to bring us to “Playa de la Mina” supposedly the best beach in Paracas, and TripAdvisors #1 attraction. Although it was expensive to get there, the place was beautiful. Nice beach and water, and not too many people. At night, we went back to the same place as the night before to have dinner. This time, I had lasagna for the first time in a few months. FUN FACT 1 & 2: A family sat beside up. The mother of the family wanted to order a pizza. The waiter was listing what they have but the women stopped him and said: “Escucha me! Quiero solo una pizza con queso, tomates y, come se llama …. jamon. Nada mas!” (It means: Listen to me. I just want a pizza with cheese, tomatoes and, how is it called …. ham. Nothing more.) The funny thing here was actually how she said it. The other think that was funny is that the waiter didn’t write pizza with cheese, tomatoes and ham in his notebook. He actually put: Pizza Americana without sausage and with cheese. This is just to show how Peruvians think ‘’straight’’. If it is not in the menu, it doesn’t exist. Btw, modifying the menu, or asking something else, is like playing with fire … loll!




Paracas-Lima (March 26)

To follow up on my story from the day before, we went to a restaurant to have breakfast. I asked the waiter to bring me the Americano, which is the traditional breakfast with eggs, ham, bread and jam. She said they don’t any bread left that goes with that menu. I said it’s not a problem, you can give me any other type of bread. Then, she said NO! Only that type goes with the menu. So I said, no problem, give me the menu without bread, and she said NO! as the menu only comes with bread. I ended up no having breakfast … only a jus!

In the afternoon, we took a bus to Lima. When we got there, we asked the taxi driver to bring us to a cheap hostel in a neighborhood called Miraflores. He brought us to a place where is was 60$ per night and left us there, saying it is the cheapest we will find. As we didn’t want to pay that much, we walked to the nearest Starbucks, as we knew there will be Wifi. The Starbucks was in one of the most beautiful shopping malls I ever saw. Using the Internet, we found a good and cheap hostel close to where we were. At night, we went for dinner and a walk in the “Parque del Amor”!




Lima (March 27)

Miraflores is a very nice area. We went for a walk to the beach and to the center of Lima. For lunch, we went to a vegetarian restaurant. In the afternoon, I went to buy a bag as Zeljka had to bring some of my stuff back home! FUNNY STORY: We stopped at a Starbucks on our way back. I took a black coffee, but it was disgusting as is it tasted like water. Zeljka took a cold tea and I think people here don’t know how to prepare it, as they put the tea bag in cold water …. Loll!

In the afternoon, we stopped at a supermarket to buy some food and drinks for the night. It was actually funny to do that as we spent so much money on food by then but, our last day together, we tried to save money. Moreover, the cheapest beer in the supermarket was a German beer, cheaper than local beer. So strange!

When we got back to the hostel, we met with this Austrian/Chilean guy and Canadian guy to go out. It was a crazy night that didn’t end up as we got back at 7:30am to out hostel and we didn’t sleep. Ask me for more information about that night as I can’t write about it here :p




Lima-Huancayo (March 28)

After out crazy night, it was time to pack my stuff, as we got back at 7:30am and my bus was at 1pm. The funny thing is that still that morning, I wasn’t sure if I was going to leave. There was a landslide that happened and the road was closed for a week. I called the bus agency and they said my bus will be the first one going this week (how lucky was I!) Therefore, it was time to say bye to Zeljka. See you in Canada in 3.5 months J

THE BUS RIDE: So, it was supposed to take 8 hours to go to Huancayo. They said it may take 1 or 2 hours more due to the landslide. Actually, it ended up being a 22-hours bus ride! I got to Huancayo at 11am the next day. It was crazy. We first drove to the place where the landslide happened. We waited there for 2 hours before going back all the way to Lima, as the driver did the maximum number of hours he can do in a day. So back in Lima, we waited for an hour before going into a new bus with a new driver. Then, we slowly got to Huancayo the next day ….





And here start my volunteering adventure in Huancayo, with a new host family …

---