Blogs from South America - page 5656

Bus: Puno to Cuzco (http://www.perucuzco.com/imexsotours/transport.htm) Hotel: Libertador Hotel (Cuzco, Peru) $162 We left the hotel at 7 AM for the 6 hr bus ride to Cuzco. The train had been the preferred transportation on this route before the paved road was completed a few years ago. There are several buses that run the route, we took the non-tourist bus that goes straight through without stopping. The VCR broke halfway through Troy. When we arrived in Cuzco, the Sonesta hotel was not available, so we decided to splurge for one night at the Libertador hotel. The location is right across from the Qoricancha, the former Incan temple of the Sun, a few blocks away from the Plaza del Armas. Very nice hotel inside, the beds were very comfortable, and they had the heat cranked up in the ... read more

25.12.04 Die letzten Stunden waren angesagt auf den Osterinseln. Rachel ging kurz ein Bild malen, ich wollte noch das Museum besuchen, welches jedoch geschlossen war. Dann wurde es auch schon Zeit, zum Hotel zurueck zu kehren. Ich kaufte mir noch kurz eine CD mit der einheimischen Musik und rannte fast zurueck ins Hotel. Zum Glueck ist der Flughafen nicht weit entfernt und wir kamen doch noch rechtzeitig an. Zum Abschied erhielten wir vom Hotel eine Muschelkette, ein schoenes Andenken, falls es ueberlebt. Den Flughafen in Santiago kannten wir nun langsam, somit liessen wir uns nicht wieder uebers Ohr hauen :-). 26.12.04 Fact ist, dass ich seit heute alleine reisen werde, die Details muss ich wohl kaum schreiben... Frueh morgens nahm ich den Bus nach Mendoza in Argentinien. Das erste Mal so wirklich alleine unterwegs. Das hat ... read more

Flight: Arequipa to Juliaca, LanPeru 131 (320) Hotel: Sonesta Posada del Inca Lake Titicaca (Puno, Peru) $65 We had all mornining free before our afternoon flight to Puno. We decided to visit the Santa Catalina convent in Arequipa; this was totally closed off to outsiders until the late 1970's! It's a truly magical place, very photogenic with red, white, and blue colored walls, and flowers and citrus trees everywhere. Different parts of the convent are designed to look like regions in Spain. Take lots and lots of film or memory cards with you! Afterwards, we decided to visit the Juanita mummy that was discovered on the top of a nearby mountain a few years ago. She is only on display for parts of the year, and today was the last day that she would be on ... read more

Bus: Arequipa to Chivay Hotel: Pozo del Cielo, Colca Canyon (Chivay, Peru) The Colca Canyon is one of the deepest canyons in the world; over 3000m from the peaks to the valley floor below. Until recently it was thought to be the deepest, but that title now belongs to another nearby canyon. The main town of Chivay was a 5+ hr bus ride from Arequipa over a 14,000 ft pass, only partially paved. We stopped at a store on the edge of Arequipa to buy coca leaves; the locals chew these with lye to help stave off the effects of altitude sickness. We definitely started feeling the effects of altitude here, I ended up with a splitting headache. The coca leaves didn't help at all; in fact I've never tasted anything quite so nasty in my ... read more

Hotel: Sonesta Posada del Inca (Arequipa, Peru) $41 The bus finally arrived into Arequipa around noon. Arequipa is known as the White City due to the use of a local volcanic rock, called sillar, in many of the buildings. It was a gorgeous day when we arrived, but El Misti, the local volcano, lived up to its name. The Sonesta Posada del Inca Hotel occupied a great location right on the Plaza del Armas. We had a room overlooking the plaza, which turned out to be very quiet. The hotel recommended the Tradición Arequipeña restaurant for lunch, about a 10 minute taxi ride away. The restaurant is set among beautiful gardens, but it was deserted when we arrived. It soon started filling up as there was live music set to begin at 2 PM. I was ... read more