Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Hola everyone! Welcome to our traveling tales, it has been a week since we took flight to South America and already we are losing track of the days. When your on the go,there is to much to be excited for to remember whether it's Monday or maybe Thursday. We have been entertained since we stepped foot in the airport. For having to go through the states we were quite lucky with little inquisitions, and when we arrived in the Niagra airport we literally had the place to ourselves! It was a short flight to Fort Lauderdale and a long 12 hour layover, in which we managed to get some sleep in the airport. It was a blessing in disguise that we had time on our side because little did we know that in order to enter Peru we also needed proof of leaving. One easy transaction and we had our departing tickets. Our flight to Lima, Peru was the best. Made friends with a nice family and Dwight, the flight attendant kept us laughing with his jokes and songs over the intercom. When we touched down in Lima he even played a song on the harmonica for us, called, lock the bathroom door-I don't wanna see that, blues! Going through customs was no big ordeal, turned out we didn't need proof of departing tickets.. Good thing we can cancel and now have a credit. It was 11:30pm when we jumped in the taxi that took us to our hostel in Miraflores. Lima is HUGE and driving is like being in a pac man game, if there is a open space there is a taxi squeezing his way in. Beep beep honk honk, step on it. We soon learned that the little Spanish we know wasn't going to get us far, and after almost getting out of the taxi because of the difficulty in communication, our taxi driver found a de tour around the construction and there we were at the front gate of our Hostel el Patio; it had been a while since we slept in a warm bed. We caught up on sleep, watched movies with Spanish subtitles, explored Miraflores, walked along the Malecon, took our first Spanish yoga class, and ate food that was familiar to back home. My favorite sights in miraflores were the dozen kitties hanging in the trees in Kennedy park, little ones learning how to rollerblade down a blocked off street and the walk along the Malicon overlooking steep cliffs and the deep blue sea. We didn't venture far from Miraflores, which Joshua says reminded him of Beverly Hills because of the security guards on segways and it's overall "safe-ness". It's where all the tourists stay and even had huge franchise restaurants like KFC and McDonalds. Our night bus to Arequipa was a 17 hour trip. We were thrilled to find out Cruz Del Sur is a luxury tour bus company .. Lazy boy bus seats, personal tv screen, blanket, pillow, and even a game of bingo! B - ocho! O- setenta y tres. We met our taxi driver at the bus station in Arequipa and he helped us find a nice place to stay for 3 nights. The price was 60 soles a night which is $23 and includes desayuno, breakfast. The coffee is simply the best! Arequipa is a charming colonial city in the shadow of three imposing volcanoes. Misti, chachani y pichu pichu. The cobble stone streets are clean and the central plaza is home to many many well fed pigeons. The 10 blocks surrounding the Plaza are almost entirely classic colonial buildings. Old cathedrals, theatres and jail houses transformed into museums and restaurants. We soon discovered that there are many forms of coco in Arequipa: tea, candy, leaves, and the one we were attracted to...massage! Our first inca massage experience was lovely, very relaxing and they use coco leaves, oil, and hot stones to wash away the tension. Both our masseuses were almost fully blind, and their sense of feel was impeccable. All the locals say the food in Arequipa is the best in Peru, so far that's true. We have no idea what we had at the palomino, but it was a traditional lunch for only 7 soles each,$ 2.50. A traditional menú del día, That's a soup with noodles and a bone of some animal? A main of rice and potato and chicken, muy picante. Then a little banana desert and a aguas frescas. For dinner we tried ceviche. So good, and so fresh. Raw fish marinated in lime juice, salt and raw onions. Our first pisco sour experience was with two locals that joined us in the bar. Pisco sour is, pisco (alcohol that taste like sugary tequila), lime juice and a raw egg in a blender then into a glass. I'll stick with whiskey! Our guests were fun, we enjoyed speaking Spanglish with them but then they got muy borracho (really drunk) and we booked it, doing the imma pee my pants dance all the way to the hostel. Yesterday we got up at 3 in the morning and boarded a bus to Colca canyon, the deepest canyon in the world! It began with a three hour drive around the north side of the three volcanoes and into the Colca valley and a town called Chivay. Of course we had to pay the extra tourista fee for being gringos...Away we went into town for a classic breakfast- Homemade bread with jam, I ate about 6 of them. All the Peruvians and Colombians were adding coco leaves to their tea to prepare for the increase in altitude, so we did the same. As we left Chivay and headed up the steep and shady gravel roads the 2 Peruvian girls beside us were just shovelling coco leaves into their mouths and swallowing them whole. Lol. The sights were beautiful. Our first encounter with the classic inca terraces were what you think of when you imagine Peru. The entire valley is lined with terraces, built to prevent erosion from rain fall and spring run off of glaciers at the top of the peaks. The glaciers no longer exist except on the highest of mountain tops. The terraces are still used today by the locals in valley, they plant potatoes, quinoa, Lima beans and corn. Up to Cruz del condor to spy some condors and take In the spectacular Andean mountain range. And of course try some local cuisine from a little old Peruvian food vendor at the site. Joshua bought his first alpaca sweater from the highest point of the trip, 4910 m above sea level. On the way down we made a few stops, there were always things to buy from the local people, had lunch, and took pictures with a alpaca named Monica. She was a very sweet alpacito. We were back to our hostel at 4:30pm and craving mexican food! Our Spanish must be improving because we successfully found a proper mexican restaurant that filled our bellies with quesadillas, taco salad, fajitas and coronas. A good nights sleep and off we go to Puno. We are healthy, happy, and feeling like children eating icecream for the first time, everything is new and different. Stay tuned with us 2 fishes for more far away kisses!
Next stop , Bolivia!! Copacabana and Isle Del Sol
Pictures will be posted when there is a good wifi connection... So far no luck uploading!
- comments
Jack Way to go,I really enjoyed reading, and try to keep the borracho relatively sober!, cheers, and HAPPY TRAVELS...Dad Xoxox
Hal so wonderful to hear how much fun you are having xo