Memories from Machu Picchu

So guys - this is it! The last blog post of our trip. I'm actually in Kingston sitting in my bed typing this and even though its been amazing to be able to drink water from the tap, shower without being afraid of getting water in my mouth, ask for directions in english and eat fresh veggies and chocolate chip cookies I would trade it all to be back in South America for a couple more weeks!

First I'll update you on Steph. If you remember I left off last week just before we dropped Steph off at the airport for her to catch an emergency flight home after being bit by a dog. Apparently she got home safe and sound and has gotten the vaccinations she needed so all is well on her end! After saying goodbye to Steph, we spent the rest of the day getting ready to start the Salkantay trek the following morning at 4 am (they love the early wake up calls here in Peru) and our prep basically consisted of putting together massive bags of trail mix in case the food wasn't up to our standards!

From Cusco we took a bus about 2 hours away to the town of Mollepata where we ate breakfast, sorted our gear and began to walk. It was there that we were divided into groups and introduced to the other people in our trek. We had signed up with the French boys and that meant there were 5 other people on our trek that we didn't know but boy did we luck out! We had the most amazing group to walk with. Everyone was a speedy walker and they were all great fun to be around for the 5 days and 4 nights of trekking!

The first day of trekking was mostly uphill but not terribly steep except for moments where our guide thought it was a good idea to take "shortcuts" and abandon the switchbacks. At this point Allison really wasn't feeling well, having not eaten very much of anything for about 3 days she was pretty weak and was finding it frustrating to be struggling. After a good nights sleep at 3900 m in our deluxe down sleeping bags she was feeling better but still pretty weak. The second day was the hardest and longest as we climbed to 4700 m before descending to 2900m. She was a trooper though and after taking a horse up to the pass she managed to walk the rest of the way and as her appetite returned so did her strength!

The third day we had a 6 hour walk in the morning before taking a bus to Santa Theresa where we discovered the natural hot springs! We spent a LONG time in the baths soaking our soar muscles and scrubbing our dirty feet before heading back to the campsite for dins. Every afternoon we would also have snack time (our fave) where we would get hot chocolate and salty salty popcorn. It was amazing. The rest of the food was actually pretty great as well although all the boys on the trip would argue that the portion sizes were too small. That night the place we were camping at had a speaker system and out of the darkness music started to play and a dance floor was started. After hours of dancing and a LONG time limboing we tucked ourselves in for the night. Each morning we would be woken up by the guides standing outside of our tents shouting "Coca tea amigos!? Coca tea?!" but this morning was extra special as we got served warm freshly baked cake for breakfast! AMAZING! The last day of walking before reaching Aguas Calientes (the town underneath Machu Picchu) was long and hot as we had descended from the mountains and were now in jungle territory. The night we spent in Aguas Calientes we actually got to stay at a hostel which was amazing (as was the shower!).



The morning of Machu Picchu was a funny one. You get up at 4 in order to be waiting at a check point just outside of the city where they open the doors at 5 am and let the line up of people through. You hike up a gazilion stairs and the first 400 people to the actual of entrance of Machu Picchu get granted tickets to go up Wayna Picchu (the neighbouring mountain) as well. It was a sweaty sweaty walk in the darkness of the night but we held a steady pace and got our Wayna Picchu tickets! The morning was spent with our guide who walked us around and showed us most of the highlights. After he left we had a massive photo shoot and killed some more time before we were allowed to hike up to Wayna Picchu at 10 am. It was a STIFF climb and our legs were still sore from the morning climb but it was well worth it! The views were amazing from the top and we spent a lot of time lounging at the top. From there we headed down all the way to Aguas Calientes before having a late lunch and killing the afternoon playing cards at a cafe.

At 7 we took a train to Ollaytantambo before catching a bus to Cusco. It was a long mission home and everyone was pretty tired from the amazing day we had had BUT when we got back to our hostel (just after midnight) we mustered up the energy to spend one last day partying before our flight the next day. We danced the night away and on very little sleep met up with our entire group for breakfast the following morning. After a borderline teary goodbye - especially to the French boys who we had been travelling with on and off for almost a month we packed it in and headed for the airport. Leslie is staying in South America to take a spanish course in Mendoza but she was flying to Santiago, Chile first. She managed to get on the same flight from Cusco to Lima as Allison and I and then we all had about 9 hours to kill in the Lima airport before finally parting ways. It was so sad to say goodbye but we know she will have an excellent time in Argentina!!

And that folks is all she wrote. I know we would ALLLLLL recommend going to both Ecuador and Peru - they were AMAZING countries with SOOO much to see and do. Even though we spent a month in each country there were a lot of things we didn't have time to do our see but what we did manage to squeeze in was unbelievable! Thanks for reading our blog (and commenting - we love the comments) and I will send along Leslie's new blog address as soon as I have it!!

Love love love
HALS xoxoxxo

(Sort of Major) Crisis in Cusco

Hey Guys.

SO! I have some bad news to report and I might as well start with that and then tell you about the rest of our time in Cusco. Yesterday Allison wasn´t feeling well (another minor crisis in itself) so post breakfast Steph, Les and I went on a walk by ourselves. We were trying to head up above the city where there is a giant statue of Jesus but we didn´t really know where we were going so we were just wondering through some of less touristy streets in Cusco. As we were trudging up this hill a bunch of dogs started barking at us (which isn´t actually that unusual - there are tons of dogs every where and most are really docile). Unfortunately this time, unprovoked, a large white pitbull started chasing us and VERY unfortunately Steph got bit in the leg. We managed to scare the dog off by picking up rocks and trying to air kick at it and then run around the corner where we could inspect the damage. Needless to say we were all in a bit of shock and an examination of Steph´s calf showed two bite holes with blood trickling down her leg and some other scratches. NOT GOOD. The only thing we had was hand sanitizer so we washed it off and immediately went to an internet cafe where she was able to phone her insurance, confirm her coverage and head to an english speaking doctor. LUCKILY Steph had bit the bullet and got amazing insurance but unfortunately she hadn´t gotten the rabies vaccine which was what we were all worried about. After talking to the doctor and realizing the peruvian regime of postexposure vaccinations was one shot for the next 5 days (no Machu Picchu then) plus the fact that our vacation was over in one weeks time Steph has made the hard but totally reasonable decision to go home. She´s OK and in pretty good spirits but it was definitely one of the scarrier moments of any of our lives and I think going back to Canada is exactly what the doctor ordered!! Send your love her way OK?! She heads out on her mission home in an hour and then we leave for Machu Picchu tomorrow morning.

Other than that very scary and isolated incident we have really enjoyed Cusco! There is a LOT of good food with menus that actually say ¨we wash our vegetables with bottled water¨- the temptation for fresh veggies was too much for me and I caved and ate a couple of salads. We have spent a LOT of time just reading in the sun and shopping. Since this is the last stop we have loaded up on woven goodies and have filled our bags to the brim. The french boys have decided to hike the Salkantay trail with us to Machu Picchu and it will surely be a great trip. Both Allison and Leslie have been hit with another bout of TD but we are hoping the drugs will be fast acting and they will be just fine for the trek.

Since not much can top that first paragraph I´ll just end the post here. We are SOO sad to see Steph go but we all think that its the best solution. SIGH! Anyways keep her in your thoughts and she starts the long journey home!!

Lots of love!!!!

HALS! xoxoxo

Condors in the Canyon!

Hola Chicos!!

We´ve been busy the last few days so let me tell you about it! We got to Arequipa on an overnight bus from Ica (our last overnight trek...or so we thought) and stumbled sleepily to our hostel in the center of the city. It was a WONDERFUL place and the lady was so nice. She let us have breakfast and get into our rooms even though it was only 8 in the morning and well fed we felt MUCH better. Steph napped while the rest of us spent the morning reading and updating facebook pictures. In the afternoon we decided to brave our FIRST and ONLY museum of the trip! It was winner though. We visited Juanita the ice princess. A 500 year old incan mummy who was almost perfectly preserved on top of Ampato Volcano. She was as 14 girl sacrificed to the Incan Gods in the hope for better weather. The museum admission of 5 bucks included a 20 minute movie and then an english tour of the artifacts. It was all pretty cool and the frozen mummy body of the little girl was haunting but NEAT!

That night we went out for AMAZING turkish food! YUM! and headed back to the hostel to watch Miss Congeniality and call it an early night. After a major sleep we met up with the French boys to plan our next few days. We were going to go trekking in the Colca Canyon and after comparing prices it looked like going with a guide was a pretty good deal. After discussing details over lunch at a french cafe we booked our trip and then parted ways in order to prepare for our THREE AM pick up. YIKES.

After a measly amount of sleep we rolled into a balling mercedes mini bus and promptly fell back asleep until we reached the Cruz del Condor viewpoint at 8 am!!! For some unknown reason I was VERY excited about this stop and I was NOT disappointed. It is one of only two places in South America where you can reliably see condors everyday all day. Apparently they like the updraft created by the canyon walls and wind conditions and these majestic birds were everywhere! After a short stop there we headed to Cabanaconde, Peru which was the starting point for our trek. After a pretty mediocre lunch we headed down into the canyon dropping over 1 vertical kilometer and arrived in the tiny village of San Juan. Many games of Asshole and Eucre ensued and after dressing in EVERY layer of clothing we had brought on the trek we fell asleep in our little bungalow. The next morning we had a leisurely start as we headed along the canyon´s bottom to the Oasis Sangalle an idillic little village with AMAZING swimming pools and HOT HOT weather! Along the way we stopped at a little church and the cutest little museum (I guess I lied about Juanita the ice princess being the only museum stop off) where an local woman showed us how they make flour out of wheat and corn and how they make their remarkable tapestries and clothing. Our guide told us that the cost of the outfits worn by these locals is about 10000 soles or 3000 dollars. They are SOOOO intriquate and I wish I had a picture to show you but I don´t. ANYWAY after the museum it was just a short jaunt to the Oasis and we spent the rest of the day suntanning and swimming in the pool. AMAZING. We also got into a very competitive volleyball game against some of the peruvian guides and managed to squeak out a win!

The next morning it was another EARLY start. We woke up at 5 am and were hiking by 5:30 on the stiff and steep trail out of the canyon. We made good time though and it was nice to hike out of the sun. After making it to the top we walked another couple klicks to Cabanaconde were we ate breakfast and waited for our bus. On the way back to Arequipa we stopped at the hot springs in Chivay. It was a pretty neat place with 6 different pools each with different temperatures we stretched our aching muscles in the hot water! A long bus ride home got us to Arequipa at 6:30 where we split ways with the Frenchies and went back to the same Turkish restaurant for food and raced to the bus station to catch our overnight bus to Cusco. We had splurged for the business class section of the bus (a difference of 10 bucks) and were all excited for seats that reclined 160 degrees. It was pretty great but nothing beats sleeping in a bed! We were able to check in to our hostel at 6:30 in the morning (AMAZING) so we promptly took a nap and have just now got up to do some exploring and scope our the different options for our trek to Machu Piccu. We´ll let you know how it all goes soon!!!

sandboarding at sunset!

I think I may have finally figured out how to upload a picture along with the blog! Not much new to report - I really just wanted to see if I could add pics but I can tell you we had an amazing day yesterday sandboarding in Huachachina. I must say it was one of the coolest things I think I´ve ever done! We got about 5 rides in and after each run this maniac dune buggy would pick you up and take you to another slope. Our driver´s name was Jesus and although that was some what comforting his driving was still insane! We are still finding sand behind our ears etc. one shower and 12 hours later but it was well worth it! We´ve safely arrived in Arequipa and will let you know how it is in a few days!

lots of love! HALS

Lounging in Lima

And I´m back!!

Now to update you completely. We arrived from Huaraz at about 6 pm on a LONG and windy bus but successfully navigated to our hostel in Miraflores without too much of a hassle! That night we went out for a nice dinner at this tacky Mexican restaurant. It was lonely planet recommended but we were the ONLY ones in the joint. Sketchy but actually pretty tasty. The next morning we awoke too a perpetually cloudy Lima but we were all VERY impressed with how clean and modern Miraflores was. It was like a vacation from a vacation! There were Starbucks´, McDonalds and Chili´s all over the place! The morning of our second day we toured around and did some shopping, bought a latte at Starbucks and generally just enjoyed being back in the 21st century. At 5pm we met up with Matt and 5 other of my med school croonies who are volunteering in Lima for August! It was amazing to see all of them and Carolyn (who you may remember from Quito trivia lore) had organized a big dinner at the SWANKIEST restaurant! It was sooooooo nice and the food was amazing but all in all (drinks, apps and dessert included) cost about 25$ american dollars each. NOT BAD!

The following day Matt was able to get the day off so he spent it with us walking around Miraflores and shopping (much like the day before). We went to the movies in the afternoon and then hit up Chili´s for dinner. Again it was SO nice to just hang out and lounge as if we were back in Canada.

Yesterday was our last full day in Lima and we decided to break out of our shell and head to central Lima which we were all pretty impressed with in the end. We started at Plaza San Martin where there is a statue of a lady that was commissioned to have a crown of flames. Apparently in Spanish the word for flames is ¨llama¨ the same as the word for the animal and without verifying which llama they were asking for, the sculptors built her with a crown of llama animals instead. (I thought it was funny).

We toured the Plaza des Armas and walked along a nice pedestrian street before calling it a day and heading back to our beloved Miraflores. We again trolled the streets and killed some time eating amazing gelato and drinking Starbucks. ahaha Our french friends has arrived that morning so we met up with them in the evening and headed out for a delish dinner before coming back to the hostel for PISCO SOUR NIGHT. We all sampled the local drink which was actually pretty good despite the egg whites and called it a night.

We are off to Huachachina today to go sandboarding in the dessert and I think we are all pretty excited for that! I promise to update you again soon!

Lots of love!
HALS!

Happenings in Huaraz

Oh hey there!

Sorry its been so long since the last post but I promise to fill you in on our happenings! So we left off in Trujillo where we successfully navigted to Huaraz from. We took a night bus so arrived at about 9am in Huaraz but our hostess was ready and waiting for us at the station! Maruja took us back to her casa and fed us breakfast. After a quick power nap we were somewhat ready to go so we headed in to town to explore and try and plan out our next few days. Huaraz was almost completely destroyed in an earthquake in 1970 so it isnt the quaintest town but it lies beside the Cordillera Blancas so it has that going for it. We wandered into a cute restaurant called California Cafe that served up some delicious food and feeling refueled we headed to Galexia Tours to scope out our adventure options. We decided to go ice climbing the following day and then hit the Santa Cruz trail the day after for 3 days of trekking. Excited, we had a delish dinner and headed to bed early for our crack of dawn adventure the next day.

Ice climbing was pretty unreal. We were picked up from our hostel and drove for about 2 hours up a bumpy road until about 4500m. It was a 40 min walk from the car park to the edge of a glacier which is where we set up shop and climbed the midday way. I think I can speak for the whole group in saying the ice climbing was like rock climbing but more awkward and different in that you spend a lot less time looking for holds and a lot more time making your own with your ice axe. We all really liked it though and walked away feeling like little mountaineers. Unfortunately both Steph and I took a major turn for the worse that day. (I officially declare it the low point of my trip) and we quickly decided that trekking for 3 days was not going to be in the cards. Unfortuntely we had already paid for the trek and so we spent the drive home from climbing coming up with a strategy on how to break the bad news to Galaxia. Needless to say they were not impressed and we argued with them for quite a while before finally agreeing to half our money back and a day trek to Laguna 69. We left feeling a bit cheated and a bit relieved that we got anything back.

The next day we took a personal day and lounged around, read our books and added facebook pics. In the afternoon we headed into Huaraz to lounge some more and then we met up with our French friends from Vilcabamba for dinner! They were headed off to hike the Santa Cruz trek the following day and though jealous we agreed it just wasnt meant to be for us. SO! The next day we headed out to Laguna 69 instead! We drove to 3900m and then hiked about 3 hours to the lake at 4500m. AGAIN Steph and I took a turn for the worse and it was a hard slog upwards. We were with a couple of very nice Danish girls though and they kept our spirits high! I was feeling pretty good on the way down but poor Steph was still hurting and I know she was wishing for the hike to be over. Unfortunately for her though as we walked off the trail into the car park it became apparent that our driver had forgotten us. SIGH! 3 hours from home by car we started walking towards the highway. After another hour we managed to flag down 1 cab for the 7 of us and Allison, Les and I huddled in the trunk. At the next town we ended up splitting up in the two taxis for the rest of the journey which was more comfortable at least! We rolled into Huaraz 14 hours after leaving that morning exhausted and a little angry at Galaxia. HOWEVER! there is a silver lining! That night we went out for the GREATEST meal Ive had on the trip - a fruited indian curry and thus the day was saved!

The next day we were off to Lima and I will update you on that soooooon!!! Love and miss you guys!!

HALS

Trapped in Trujillo!

Hi!

Another blog post so soon I know! Lucky you guys! SO! I´ll just pick up from where I left off but I´m pretty confident I can catch you up allllll the way! So! From Vilcabamba came a major trek to Peru. We had to back track an hour to a town called Loja and then catch our first overnighter bus to Piura. The seats reclined quite a ways but unfortunately that left you with ZERO leg room. It was about the most cramped quarters I´ve ever had to travel in and I think I would choose leg room over recline anytime. Despite this hardship we managed to get a few hours of shut eye before unloading in Peru and heading back north to Mancora. 16 hours after departing Vilcabamba we made it!

Mancora is a tourist hotspot in Peru. Its only 1 street big but everything there caters towards us gringos. The hostel we stayed at was a Loki - a chain of party hostels in Peru. It had a great patio and pool area but the rooms left a LOT to be desired. We could see little ants crawling all over the beds so out came the sleep sheets for the first time in the trip! The windows of our room also opened directly into the bar which rages day and night! The first night there we were pretty much zombies (blame it on the overnight bus) so we managed to pass out despite the rager next door.

Our days in Mancora consisted mostly of lounging by the pool, walking on the beach, eating and drinking. Its a tough life really. The weather was amazing all four days we were there - about 30 degrees with not a single cloud and a slight breeze! Saturday there was a full moon party at a rival hostel so after going out for dinner with three lovely scottish girls and a crazy irish guy we predrank and headed to that. It was a big night out and hours and hours after dancing to nothing but electronica we headed home!

Sunday morning we made it out for a surf lesson which was really great. It was my first time back on a board since my summer in Tofino and it felt amazing to be back! The water was SOOO nice and warm and we all managed to stand up and ride some waves. I had a really interesting/awkward moment with my surf instructor when he asked my name. I said ¨Heather¨ and he said ¨Eder?¨, ¨close enough and you?¨ I say. ¨Eder¨, he replies. ¨No Im Heather your who?¨. ¨Eder!¨ Anyways after about 5 minutes of this we figured out that his name was Eder and my name was Heather and that they both sounded the same with a thick spanish accent. ahhhhh travelling!

Our last night in Mancora there was a pub quiz at the Loki! We teamed up with the scottish girls and prepared to dominate. We came close to having a perfect trivia streak in South America but were ousted by a couple of old trivia gurus. We were still proud of our silvers though!

Yesterday we left Mancora with the hope of making it to Huaraz by the next morning. It was going to be a marathon day - 9 hours to Trujillo and then 9 hours to Huaraz from there. Unfortunately for us the travel gods had other plans. It didn´t start out well at all. Steph and I had jumped in a tuk tuk to go to the bus station and we saw Allison and Leslie hail one right behind us. After about 5 minutes of waiting at the station and not seeing the other girls we knew something was wrong. 5 minutes later they showed up and it turns out that their tuk tuk had been involved in some kind of EXPLOSION! Allison´s bag was totally damaged. Her one belt strap was completely gone and her one backpack strap was flapping freely having nothing to clip on to. R.I.P Allison´s bag. (We did manage to rebuild a pseudostrap later in the day so thankfully she can still sport the two strap look. Her belt was beyond repair though). At the station we could only book our ticket as far as Trujillo and from there we were going to race to a different bus station and make the night bus an hour after arriving. Unlucky for us though it just happened to be Peruvian Independance day and Trujillo was wild. The streets were plugged with people and by the time we made it to the other bus station there were no more tickets for that night. We did run into our French friends though and will hopefully meet up with them when we make it to Huaraz!

We did manage to find a hostel room though and secure tickets to Huaraz for the following evening so it didn´t work out all that bad. Its giving us a chance to walk around Trujillo and catch up on some chores. We might sneak another movies in this afternoon (don´t judge) and then jump on our bus later this evening! Huaraz is in the middle of the cordillera mountain range and is a trekking meca! Were hoping after a few days of acclimatization to hop on the Santa Cruz trek.

PHEWPH! there you go - officially caught up on our whole vacay! We miss you guys lots and lots but will see most of you soon enough!

xxox HALS