4 Amigos in South America

As per usual, we arrived approximately 1 hour before our international flight. Maybe I am getting older, but I actually felt a slight panic. At 5AM, YVR seemed unusually busy. After a smooth security screening and customs, we were in less than 40 minutes with time to grab a Timmy's treat before boarding. English was already the second language at our stop over in SFO. Everything was done in Spanish and not all was repeated in English. Our flight landed in Lima shortly after midnight. We hired a taxi who didn't seem to be from Lima and didn't have a cell phone. After what seemed to be hours of driving around in circles, we checked into our hotel at 2AM in time for a 4 hour nap before our flight to Cuzco. When we finally arrived in Cuzco by midday, I was so tired that all I wanted to do was dive my head into a soft pillow. But I am a tough traveller, I can't waste a beautiful day. Not too mention, I was also too excited to start exploring a new city. Besides, a cup of cocoa tea will keep me fueled. On the way to Plaza de Armas, the city center square, cute little girls in traditional indigenous outfits holding baby sheep or llama were eager to approach us for a picture in exchange for one or two soles. This is very common. If you take a picture with them, expect to have to pay them. The Armas square were packed with tourists and locals for a Sunday stroll. Surrounding the square, stood the La Catedral and La Compania and countless cafes and restaurants with intricately carved wooden balcony. Even Macdonald's was subtly hidden under the stone arches. We decided to take it easy since we were still adjusting to the 3400m altitude. The slight incline would make my leg muscle ache and breathless. We ended up having lunch on a balcony and people watched for a few hours. The restaurant also had a terrace. on the way up there, we passed by the kitchen and caught our first glimpse of the Peruvian delicacy: Cuy! Aka the Guinea pig all nicely roasted and ready to be served. After lunch was more walking very slowly around the city. When we arrived at Plaza San Francisco, there was a parade of men, women and children carrying fresh flowers and pictures of some sort of saint. We naturally became very curious and started following the crowd. turned out it was a celebration of the virgin for the children. The crowd were heading towards the temple to lay flowers. However, when we saw it turn uphill, we quit the pursuit. We went back to the Plaza San Francisco to find locals hanging out playing carnival games and watching street performers. We even found a guy who had a strange sense for fashion: gold dress with balloons stuffed inside it as his boobs and butt. Later we found out they were candyman and the outfit made them stood out and helped to attract business. At this point, I was barely able to keep my eyes open, so we headed back to our hotel for a much needed 10 hour sleep. *******link to original post******* http://rubyroads.blogspot.com/2011/08/skipped-over-lima-straight-to-cusco-day.html

It was an early day for us. At 6AM we hopped into our pre arranged car and headed to the Poroy station that was approximately 20 minutes outside of Cuzco. No more than five minutes after we settled into our seats, we were on our way. I looked at my watch and noticed the train was almost 10 minutes ahead of the indicated departure time. Perhaps all the passengers were early. Our train was the Vistadome class which offered windowed roof for a full view of the mountain range. I must admit, Vancouver to Jasper train was much more scenic. However, my Ecuadorian travel friend reminded us that the difference was these mountain ranges were sacred and bared so much history and culture for the people that lives in these areas. She was absolutely right. Breakfast was included in the train ticket. I just loved the vibrant colours and the violet flower was a beautiful touch. The train made a short stop in Ollataytambo to pick up more people. Yesterday when our Sacred Valley tour reached this point, some people got off the tour and caught the train to Machu Picchu here. This would have been a very efficient way to go. If we had known, we could've saved at least half a day of traveling. 1.5 hours later, we rolled into town of Aguas Calientes, the hot water or hot springs in Spanish. This is the entrance town to Machu Picchu. All who came to seek the ancient ruins must pass through here. The first thing we did was buy the bus ticket to MP for tomorrow. The ticket was 15.50 USD return. The plan was to get on the first bus at 5:30 to see the sunrise. We had the rest of the afternoon to roam around this tiny tourist town which was full of restaurants, pizzerias and gift shops. So once again dinning seemed to be the best way to pass the time. But half way through lunch, the entire town lost power and it also started pouring rain. We over heard that the power was not coming back on until tomorrow afternoon! We were relieved that we brought our head lamps, but regret leaving our rain gear in Cuzco. But we were able to get colorful ponchos at one of the many shops. We had little to do and decided to buy a deck of cards. That kept us entertained and out of the rain until night fall. Then it was time to eat again! We had plan to dine a place called Tree House. It had great reviews in the guidebooks and online. However, in the dark, despite asking the locals (including a policeman), we couldn't find it. Disappointed, we settled for the generic touristico restaurant. One thing I did noted was that I see Chinese restaurants everywhere. Even in a small town like AC. However, I have yet to see one open for business. All of them were closed even during prime meal times. I found that Back at the hotel, we prayed for no rain tomorrow before settling in for the night. *******link to original post******* http://rubyroads.blogspot.com/2011/09/route-to-machu-picchu-day-4.html

We hit the road in the morning just before 8AM. 2 hour bumpy drive later we were at a view point to see an active volcano. The view point itself was formed by volcanic rocks of many different shapes. The second and third stops were two sulphur lagoons with pink flamingoes. I didn't know they even lived in such cold climates. We had lunch at second lagoon. We also stopped at an desert area that bordered Chile to look at a rabbit/kangaroo like animal called Viscacha. They were very cute with their long ears and whiskers and brush tails. Then it was a short stop at the Tree Rock which is a piece of volcanic rock that is in a shape of a tree. It is naturally formed by the strong wind. I also noticed the strong wind forms strange formation of snow/ice left over from the winter. Our day ended at the Laguna Colorada or the Red Lagoon. The lagoon is dark red due to the algae in the water which the flamingos also feast on them. It is part of the national park. There was a 150 bolivianos (27 USD) per person park fee. There were a lot more flamingos in this lagoon. There were nicely maintained toilet facilities at each major stops. But they can range from prices from 2 to 5 bolivianos (which was at the Red Lagoon). You get toilet paper with the price. *******link to original post******* http://rubyroads.blogspot.com/2011/09/salar-del-uyuni-day-2-day-13.html

It was our last day in La Paz. We had done pretty much all we had planned. Our flight to Quito wasn't until 5:15PM. We had hours to kill, but not enough to do anything significant. We found a roof top cafe on Ave. 16 de Julio, drank beverages, ate lunch and played cards. I had purchased the Marching Powder book on Kindle last night. We each took turns to read the book out loud to each other. It is a really gripping book and helped to pass the time for sure. Since we had a great experience with the minibus yesterday, we decided to take it to the airport. Big mistake! At 4 bolivianos (0.60 USD), it sure was much cheaper than a taxi. With our big packs, we made our way next to the San Francisco museum where all the minibuses seemed to gather. It was pure chaos. People and cars weaved in and out, hop on and off amongst traffic. We flagged one down. But we were signaled to get on a bit further up the street. We ran up to the minibus in a panic. The handler I called him, is the guy who gets the customers and collects the money. The handler grabbed our bags and hurled them on top of the minibus without strapping them down at all. We were very concerned that the bags would fall off, but he assured us it was no problem. We were shoved into the bus just as the police came over to tell the bus to move it along. We settled into our seats and I noticed I was missing a bag, a bag contained 7 chullo hats we bought a few hours ago as gifts for friends. I hate losing things even if it was 105 bolivianos (15 USD) worth of hats. I instantly regretted the decision to take minibus. There are just certain experiences I don't need to experience no matter how interesting or cheap it is. The ride itself was smooth and it only stopped two or three times. We were at the airport in 30 minutes with our luggage intact.We had to pay 25 USD airport tariff (for international flight) each. I enjoyed my time in Peru and Bolivia. But I am looking forward to some warm weather and ocean breeze. Tomorrow we will be in paradise and I am excited! *******link to original post******* http://rubyroads.blogspot.com/2011/09/waiting-for-galapagos-day-17.html

Breakfast was at 7:30 and by 8:30 we were ready to hit our first island of the day: Rabida. On the bright red beach was where we saw our first blue footed boobie. There were also many sea lions and marine iguanas sun bathing. Then we got to snorkel for the first time off of red beach. The water was pretty cold. But once you got over the initial shock, the water was pretty nice. We didn't see much. It was pretty boring with only a few tropical fish here and there. We came back to the boat around 11AM and were greeted with cold iced tea and little sausage snacks. I can really get use to this! After lunch we did some napping on the sun deck. Our second island of the day came around 2:30. Santiago island use to be inhabited by humans for the salt business. But the business went dry when it got competitive. The people left. There were a few abandon houses. When we walked around to the coast of the island we found a sea lion mother with her cub that couldn't have been more than a day old. The cub cried and struggled to find her mom's nipples to feed. We all watched in fascination for at least 30 minutes. Little did we know 30 meters away there were a nursery of 5 cubs. Mother sea lions often leave their cubs for a week to hunt for food. So during that time cubs have to stay back on shore and wait for mom to back to feed them. There is usually a male sea lion that is keeping a watchful eye on them and make sure they don't go to sea and get eaten by sharks. We came across more sea lions and even a dead one (the guide thinks he died of old age since it was a quite a large one). Snorkeling again off of black beach on Santiago island. This time we saw a bit more creatures including orange looking koi-like fish and a big sea turtle. We came back to the boat. Yes, more yummy snacks and cold drinks. The crew also turned on the "hot tub". Actually the water was just sea water and was heat up a bit the sun. But we still loved it and I asked myself again: why didn't we do the 8 day option? The day sets as we watch the chef setting our dessert crepe on fire with at least 3 kinds of alcohol and topped off with a scoop of chocolate ice cream. The day sets as we watch the chef setting our dessert crepe on fire with at least 3 kinds of alcohol and topped off with a scoop of chocolate ice cream. *******link to original post******* http://rubyroads.blogspot.com/2011/09/galapagos-day-2-day-19.html

We took our time getting up this morning since it was our very last day in South America. But these days dragging our feet meant we were ready and packed by 8:30. Mom of the family had already set out an elaborate breakfast of fresh fruit, bread, home made cheese, natural yogurt and cereal. We ate until we could nearly move. Dad had planned for us to visit the equator in the morning. The drive took about an hour in and out of the many valleys Quito had. Like most countries I have been to outside of north America, people drove wherever there was road space. Lane lines and sometimes traffic lights were just suggestions. We arrived at the equator. We thought it was just going to a monument. But it was a whole themed park, very loose theme though. There was a planetarium, insectarium, countless souvenir shops, cafes and restaurants. The entrance was 2 USD each. Ecuador started using US currency only a few years ago. Maybe because it was a Monday but the park was very quite, no more than 15 or 20 visitors including us. We took our standard tourist pictures of straddling the equator line. We also went up the monument to get a top view of the surrounding. This was 3 USD extra each. Inside the monument was a museum about Ecuador and its different indigents people. I was surprised to find out there were African slaves who ended up settling on the coast. The varies tribal people all looked different from each other. That was interesting to me considering Ecuador is not a very big country. Before leaving the park, we grabbed an ice cream made out of a fruit called Guayana. It tasted like a slightly sour coconut. It was really good especially it was a warm sunny morning. We had lunch at the house. We hung around the house and played with the dogs until it was time to leave for the airport. The reality had really set in that we were leaving. It had been a fantastic trip as per usual. I can't wait to plan my next adventure. *******link to original post******* http://rubyroads.blogspot.com/2011/09/last-day-of-trip-last-day-in-south.html