When I arrived in La Paz I only had the hostel name (Loki). I asked about 10 taxi drivers, nobody seems to have an idea where it is ... strange, it's one of the most famous hostels. After a while the police approached me, since they saw a very concerned look on my face, and they knew where it was :) They stopped the cab and gave driver the directions. As a safety, they ask for the license and write down the plate number. The driver didn't have the license, and they told me to get out. I don't know what happened to him afterwards, they seem to have a very long discussion with him. Loki is huge, again, full of teenagers. Tried to get some food. I walked around for an hour, and couldn't find any food places, I guess I'm not in the food section of the town, and what I managed to find was closed, so came back to the hostel and had the food at the bar. The food is good there, but expensive. Had chicken pesto, yummiii :)) In the evening went to the bar for the "girls like guys, guys as girls" party. Everybody was dressed up, it was crazy. My head turned every time I saw some muscular legs on a girl ... oh wait, that's a guy. What a turn off it is to see feminized guys :S There was nobody to talk to, it was too loud, and too much smoke, and everybody was drunk. So I stayed there for half an hour and went to sleep. In the morning at the breakfast area got talking to one guy who studies to be a programmer. It was an interesting conversation, since he seemed to be so brainwashed by the university and it's standards, and had such an unreal expectations. "What do you mean there is no documentation????" um ... I worked in 7 places and none of them had any! "So you could choose the language to work with to make it more efficient, right?" .. No ... you work with the software that the company has. Anyway, it was funny.
That day just went to a bunch of museums. These museums are not about ancient cultures, so they were actually ok :) One painting interested me because it didn't make any sense to me. It looked like the artist just painted anything that came into his head. Other than that saw some carnival masks, and important events with miniature statues. Next day was a holiday, that's not good. It means everything in town will be closed and there would be nothing to do. Luckily I read a bit of the guidebook during lunch, and what do you know, in the ruins beside La Paz there would be a New Year celebration due to 21st of June, the winter solstice. Found an agency that provides transport, since the ceremony starts at sunrise, and need to get out of La Paz at 3am. And I don't want to walk around town looking for buses at 3am, so I'd much rather to pay more for convenience and safety. The hostel with the agency is located in a very artsy/touristic/market area, a much much better and more interesting area than where my hostel is. But they were booked. I walked around all the hostels in the area, but didn't like any. There is a witches market there. They sell a bunch of herbs and dolls and the most interesting is corpses of llamas. But that's only for middle class people. If they build a house or open a business, they buy the llama as a sacrifice, and burry it beside the place to be blessed. Rich people however are expected to sacrifice a whole live llama. In the evening got an email from Sarah and Murray, they're in the hostel beside me, so we had a dinner together. It's very cool to meet friends on the way!! Wake up time 2:40. I couldn't sleep a minute. First the noise from the bar until 12, and then just people running around drunk, opening/closing doors, leaving the lights on, fighting, playing guitar and just repeating the same chorus 10 times non stop, and howling :( In the car, couldn't sleep either. Got there at 5am. The line up to the gate was about 1km, and it was freezing. I wasn't that cold in a long long time. Some people were complaining that they would get hypothermia. When we got in, there were lots of fires, so I joined one. Put my feet over the fire, so I could finally feel them again. There were too many people, so we couldn't actually see what's going on. Even the president was there, got there in his helicopter. Most people got drunk, especially Irish tourists. Some local yelled at them, asking them what are they doing here. The point the the ceremony is to wait for the first rays of the sun which didn't really come out, there were too many clouds. When it finally did come up, everybody put their hands up to absorb the energy of the sun through the hands and to all the body. Everywhere you could hear "offerings plates plates plates, for fortune, health, happiness, job, plates plates". They would consist of fake money, candies, llama dolls, some plastic stuff. And in the middle of it all, there was a big fire where all of these plates would be thrown in to burn, thus giving back to the mother earth and make your wishes come true. There were musicians playing on some sort of fluits and drums, shamans with no teeth telling fortune on coca leaves, some weird dude almost with no cloths, no shoes (in this cold!!), and we was dressed like the Sipan king or something. With a big gold nose ring, gold bracelets, and a stick in this hand decorated with some toys and a rock on top. He started to read people, and I was sitting right beside him. It was very funny. He would feel the head, look and the hand and with a very sorry face and tone would say "oh you're sick... tsk tsk tsk, and no doctors can help you, oh poor you tsk tsk tsk ... AAAALLLEEEXXXX !!!! Give this lady my phone number, here is my business card, call me in La Paz we would heal you. Remove all the devils from your head, your soul and your house ... " :)) Some people would bring offering plates for him to approve. He would look at them and to most of them say that they have plastic in them, and mother earth doesn't appreciate it, so they should buy the plates that they sell.
Back in La Paz, they burned another big fire right on the street. Overall, La Paz is crazy, it's like a huge market where everything is sold, mostly by indigenous people. Nobody is really dressed nice, a bunch of people either don't have teeth or very bad teeth. They fix them in a very strange way too. I guess they don't have much money, so they only fix what needs to be fixed, so sometimes they would have a gold crown going on a circumference of the tooth, instead of a whole tooth, or have a gold spot in the middle of the tooth. Nobody is really walking around enjoying themselves, just the tourists, the locals hurry somewhere all the time.
Since I was tired and was still 2pm, decided to see another museum. Went to the coca museum, and what do you know, they give you a 50 page handout to read about it :S I wrote down some interesting stuff:
- Traces of coca leaves were found in mummies in Peru as early as 2500 BC
- 1200-1475 Incas extracted oils to treat brain tumors
- Used with doctors for disinfections and healing of bone fractures
- Coca is used to communicate between life and death; in marriages, to cure illnesses, to predict future; central symbol of all offerings
- When a couple unites, it must build 2 things, a house and a coca field.
- Coca condemned as diabolic and was forbidden by Spaniards, but later on reversed when observed to increase the output of indigenous people who were working in mines
- In the mines, the workers consumed equivalent to the price of 450 kg of gold. Spaniards limited coca, so it was valued more than gold.
- 1886 - Coca extract is used in Coca Cola (with cocaine in it)
- 1895 - production of cocaine (legal)
- 1950 - study - coca leads to mental retardation and is the cause of poverty in South America.
- Another study found that coca leaves are rich in nutrients like nuts.
- The indigenous people worked 48 continues hours without adequate breaks or any food, other than coca leaves to chew
- Coca was first held by Spaniards, then by corporations and illegal multi-billion cocaine industry. Bolivia has been blamed for western world's drug addiction problem.
- U.S. represents 5% of world population, yet consumes 50% of cocaine produced on the planet.
- Cocaine was considered to be one of the medical profession’s greatest discovery.
- Today there are 36 countries that can legally produce cocaine (presumably for medical use) US (Owned by Cola Cola) 500 Kg/year, Britain 365, Peru and Bolivia are not in the club.
- Sigmund Freud, the first known cocaine user - later developed nasal cancer.
Tomorrow going to death road!!! Yahooooooo !!!! :))))
It's 5 hours downhill from about 4700 - 1200 meters altitude. First 20 kms are on a highway. I was first from the group, it was nice and fast. The buses slowed us down. We would finally pass them, the guide would stop us for something, so all the work would go to waste :) Got to the death road. It's called the death road or the most dangerous road in the world, because it's just a vertical cliff without anything to stop the cars, so over 20 cars a year would go over. And since the tourist attraction was opened in 1990, also over 20 cyclists have died. That's the only road in Bolivia where you have to drive on the left side, which is the side of the cliff ! :S It was pretty scary going on a gravel sometimes not more than half a meter from the cliff. We were not supposed to look down, but sometimes I just couldn't help but glance there. There were no cars thank god. Passed a few waterfalls and crosses where people have died. On the way back, we returned on the same road in our van, that was much scarier than on the bike. The driver was going pretty fast for that road, and turning on the turns without beeping. If I were to do this road on the car first, I don't think I would've done it on the bike later.
In the evening went to look for eggs for breakfast, 2 hours later, no eggs. Even restaurants didn't have them.
I'M MOVING HOSTELS !!!! Finally !!! I can't stand something like Loki anymore.
Beside the hostel there are some people dressed like zebras controlling traffic. It was so funny. They're so enthusiastic, jumping between cars, doing different poses, all the time non stop :)
I finally slept !!! :))
In the morning the search for eggs continued. Go 2 blocks to west, 1 block north, 1 block south, 2 hours later I see nothing but eggs. Ok, now that I'm here, how do I go back? 2 blocks to the right, 2 blocks to the left ... ohhhh ... here we go! :) Found veggies, but everybody sells just 1 type of vegetables, so it was weird. 1 tomato, 1 avocado, 1 pepper, too many little bags ... I broke the eggs!! :S :)) In the evening went to Japanese restaurant, I had miso soup and chicken in teriyaki souce, ohhhh sooo goood !!! first time in 10 months!! :)) Also went with Sarah and Murray to Shutter Island movie. What a great movie !!
On the plaza there were a bunch of people doing readings for $1.5, where else would I get it for so cheap, so I got one. It was all good. He said that I have good fortune with everything and he sees nothing bad :)
Met some hippies in the restaurant, they were so drunk and so dirty and strange. One of them sat at my table and just stared at me, I was curious so started asking him questions. He said that they're always at that restaurant because everybody else and all the world discriminates against them ... I wonder why!
Sooo ... In La Paz there is as a guide book calls "the most buizzar tourist attractions" which is the San Pedro prison. Before anybody could visit it, but there has been some cocaine trafficking going on, and now it's illegal. You still can get in, but you have to pay 550 Bolivianos for it. 500 goes to security to let you in, and 50 for all the inmates to do with it what they want. There are 2 sections to the prison, and the one we've been to is the best, the richest with high profile criminals. For ex, there are 2 ex presidents in there. The inmates have to pay $500 to get in, pay or rent their cell, and pay to get out. One simple cell goes for $100/month, or you could buy it for $4000. They have to pay for everything except water and electricity. That includes food, and once a wall fell down, so they had to pay to restore it too. The first thing that I noticed once we got in is how happy they are. Their eyes are shining, and it just looks like they're very happy to be there. One of the inmates said that it feels like a youth hostel. And why won't they? They're allowed to have as many visitors as they can. Some actually live with their wives and kids in there. In total there are 10 kids who always live there, and they're allowed to have pets too. We were escorted through the prison to a "cell". We walked through a gym, church, library, ping pong table, pool table. For the tourists money now they're building a sauna, and just bought a flat screen tv for fifa world cup. When we got to the "cell", which btw closes from inside, it had a living room, cable tv, computer, nice king size bed we were offered a beer for 40, a joint for 35 and cocaine! Prisoners who know English lead the tours. Our prisoner was a 48 year old drug dealer from Germany. He told us that he's been dealing drugs for 30 years, and that was the first time when he wanted to transport it on a plane to Amsterdam, and in the first airport he was checked and caught with 8kg of cocaine. He said that he wanted to be a drug dealer since he was 14! Normally he made $10k/month, which doesn't look that much to me considering the risk. But as he said every job has a risk, if you're a builder you can break something, if you're a driver you can get into accident, and if you're a dealer you can go to prison. His family is pretty normal though, all his brothers and sisters are teachers, or owners of some big companies. Most of his clients he met while travelling, so he knew them personally before offering them to buy something, so it was pretty safe, he said. In prison they have a 2X1 rule. If you work or study 2 hours, you get 1 hour off of the sentence. So now he's faking some papers saying he's been working all this time, and expects to get out 2 yeas earlier. But they don't have to do anything, not work, not study, and if they work, they get time off plus money. The only thing they have to do is be at the courtyard at 7:30am for a check. The prison has guards only outside, the only reason they get in is to eat in a restaurant or to play football with the inmates. The inmates rule everything, if there is a problem with somebody, they can have meetings and vote them off to the other side (the bad side). Problems like causing damage to the property, harm to yourself or others, or if you talk to the guards about other prisoners. That way 1 of the ex cops was voted off, because he told the guards who sells cocaine, while he himself was using it. So he's thrown out, but now he paid to someone inside to cause problems to these people. If they do something bad, they're sent to some awful area, as he called it the little dark tunnel, where there are no windows, it's dirty, and some people from there tell you to give them money, or otherwise they'll stub you. They showed us some home made knives and screwdrivers. And if that doesn't kill you, they usually cover it with stuff, so if a cut won't kill you, the infection will ... although they have doctors 24 hours/day in there. They can have checks from the government, but they're well knows in advance, so by the time they get there, the prisoner hide everything, and it is never found. Once the authorities got in without a search warrant, and were kicked out. The other side of the prison is overcrowded, for more regular people, they are more violent in there, and hence everything is cheaper. So a lot of prisoners from the good side go there for shopping and some cocaine, since it's actually produced in there! When they tell the stories, they actually made us feel bad for them. Oh, that guy stubbed somebody because of some rumors and spent 3 months in isolation cell ... "ooooh poor him", and in other prison one guy was in his cell for half a year because he was afraid of going out "ooh no!! that must have been so hard!"
:)
pix at http://picasaweb.google.com/evadikushin501/LaPaz#
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Lake Titicaca
Went to the terminal and met there some girls from the hostel. I've looked at their ticket, and it cost 60 soles until Puno (7 hours), while mine was 40 until Copacabana (10 hours). They're so good in here ripping people off !
Copacabana is a village on the lake Titicaca on the border between Peru and Bolivia. That was the first time when I took my laptop with me in the bus, usually I put it in checked in luggage. So no wonder that I dropped my bag like 5 times during the night, so now it has a black spot on the screen ... oh wait (1 week later it's gone !! :))), I just noticed :) ).The village is very nice, with a beautiful view on the lake, touristic with lots of hostels, bars and restaurants. I didn't have a guidebook yet, so didn't really know where to go, but as usual there was a woman where the bus stopped offering a hostel with a free taxi ride to it. Turns out later, that's where everybody ended up. Spent the whole day trying to exchange my Peru guidebook for a Bolivia guidebook. Such a rip off. In other places till Bolivia, the exchange was for free. And here it's free only 2X1 or if 1X1 you have to pay extra, and forget about guidebooks, they're for sale for ridiculous prices. Finaly found a place that has a 2004 version of lonely planet, so I exchanged my Peru 2007 for it. It's ok, the attractions are the same, prices vary, and some hostels and restaurants don't exist anymore. I was actually surprised that some prices are cheaper than they were 6 years ago.Next day wanted to do a day tour of Isla del Sol (the sun island), then I read the guidebook and it says that 1 day is not enough it's just been there done that. Fine, I'll stay there overnight. Took a 1.5 hour boat there. It had an open upper part, got talking to everybody and me, 1 Brazilian girl and 1 Torontonian guy (Andrew) are going together. When we got off the boat, some ladies cut off our path and said that we need to pay 5 Bolivianos to go in (7 Bolivianos = $1). That looked shady, so I just bypassed them, and they didn't notice. Andrew was running away from them saying that he doesn't need a ticket :) Found a guy who owns a hostel and went with him half an hour up to the village. That was hard at this altitude, but I'm used to it already, so actually it wasn't that bad. The girl wanted to stay there 2 days, and Andrew 6 days. Got to the top. The room was nice with a view on the lake and the snow capped mountains. When we went for dinner, absolutely everything was closed, no people outside, no nothing, absolutely everything was deserted. Good thing I wasn't hungry, when we finally found a restaurant, it cost twice as much, and food was horrible. There was no electricity after 7, the only source of light were lit candles. There was nothing to do, so we went to sleep at 8. Woke up at 7 to do a hike up to the north where the ruins are, and get the boat back at 1:30. By that time both the girl and Andrew were ready to head back. There is nothing to do on this island, and it's cold !! The hike was nothing special, views that I've seen 100 times already. Good thing that the hike wasn't hard, it was plane, and I got bored of walking and of the scenery. To get to the north had to pay 15 Bolivianos to enter (it was never like that before where there is charge for everything!). We said that it's too expensive and don't want to pay that. At the end the guy took out some 5 Boliviano ticket, wrote down "student" on it, and charged us 10. Ruins were not interesting. Anyway, we barely made it to the 1:30 boat. Stopped at the south again for an hour, have no clue why. I wanted to go to the washroom when all the ladies attacked us again for an entrance fee. I told them it's ridiculous to pay to go 10 meters to the washroom, they were persistent and told me to go back on the boat. I should've just passed through, but I didn't feel like fighting anymore. Then I heard some guy brainwashing them saying that we tourists pay 100 dollars to get to Machupichu, so we have to pay here, otherwise do not let anybody through. What a jerk! And this is NOT Machupichu !! A new boat arrived, and all of them run to it, that was my opportunity to sneak to the washroom :)On the way back stopped at some "floating" islands. Since Peru side has actual floating islands, I guess Bolivia wanted to mimic them, and created some small, useless islands that have nothing on it. We all just yelled to the driver to keep on going. In Copacabana had pizza, I usually don't like it, but what a nice change to rice and french-fries!What's very interesting that's happening here is that beside a church there is a car blessing ceremony. The drivers come from all over the place, decorate the whole car as though it's a wedding, and splash it with beer and champagne. It's very funny. The whole front of the church is packed with stands that sell flowers, and candies, alcohol and other stuff that's required for the blessing :) There is also some celebration where they decorate toy cars and houses, as though the blessing would pass to the real thing.That afternoon went to La Paz on a completely local bus with some annoying woman who kept talking and talking. We had to pass the lake on a floating something. Everybody got out. I got out too, and had no idea where to go, so I just went back to the bus. Apparently the bus can't pass the lake with people cause it's too heavy, so people take another boat to cross (and have to pay for it) :)
p.s. some stupid things
Went to the store.
How much are the apples?
2 for 5 Bolivianos.
How much is 1 apple?
2 Bolivianos.
Ok, give me 1
:)
Went to buy a train ticket
A ticket to Machupichu please
Could you write your name on this piece of paper
Yana Sizonenko (I wrote the "i" in my last name as a vertical line)
Ok, Yana, (now she spells it), es, one, zed ...
:S
pix at http://picasaweb.google.com/evadikushin501/LakeTiticaca
Copacabana is a village on the lake Titicaca on the border between Peru and Bolivia. That was the first time when I took my laptop with me in the bus, usually I put it in checked in luggage. So no wonder that I dropped my bag like 5 times during the night, so now it has a black spot on the screen ... oh wait (1 week later it's gone !! :))), I just noticed :) ).The village is very nice, with a beautiful view on the lake, touristic with lots of hostels, bars and restaurants. I didn't have a guidebook yet, so didn't really know where to go, but as usual there was a woman where the bus stopped offering a hostel with a free taxi ride to it. Turns out later, that's where everybody ended up. Spent the whole day trying to exchange my Peru guidebook for a Bolivia guidebook. Such a rip off. In other places till Bolivia, the exchange was for free. And here it's free only 2X1 or if 1X1 you have to pay extra, and forget about guidebooks, they're for sale for ridiculous prices. Finaly found a place that has a 2004 version of lonely planet, so I exchanged my Peru 2007 for it. It's ok, the attractions are the same, prices vary, and some hostels and restaurants don't exist anymore. I was actually surprised that some prices are cheaper than they were 6 years ago.Next day wanted to do a day tour of Isla del Sol (the sun island), then I read the guidebook and it says that 1 day is not enough it's just been there done that. Fine, I'll stay there overnight. Took a 1.5 hour boat there. It had an open upper part, got talking to everybody and me, 1 Brazilian girl and 1 Torontonian guy (Andrew) are going together. When we got off the boat, some ladies cut off our path and said that we need to pay 5 Bolivianos to go in (7 Bolivianos = $1). That looked shady, so I just bypassed them, and they didn't notice. Andrew was running away from them saying that he doesn't need a ticket :) Found a guy who owns a hostel and went with him half an hour up to the village. That was hard at this altitude, but I'm used to it already, so actually it wasn't that bad. The girl wanted to stay there 2 days, and Andrew 6 days. Got to the top. The room was nice with a view on the lake and the snow capped mountains. When we went for dinner, absolutely everything was closed, no people outside, no nothing, absolutely everything was deserted. Good thing I wasn't hungry, when we finally found a restaurant, it cost twice as much, and food was horrible. There was no electricity after 7, the only source of light were lit candles. There was nothing to do, so we went to sleep at 8. Woke up at 7 to do a hike up to the north where the ruins are, and get the boat back at 1:30. By that time both the girl and Andrew were ready to head back. There is nothing to do on this island, and it's cold !! The hike was nothing special, views that I've seen 100 times already. Good thing that the hike wasn't hard, it was plane, and I got bored of walking and of the scenery. To get to the north had to pay 15 Bolivianos to enter (it was never like that before where there is charge for everything!). We said that it's too expensive and don't want to pay that. At the end the guy took out some 5 Boliviano ticket, wrote down "student" on it, and charged us 10. Ruins were not interesting. Anyway, we barely made it to the 1:30 boat. Stopped at the south again for an hour, have no clue why. I wanted to go to the washroom when all the ladies attacked us again for an entrance fee. I told them it's ridiculous to pay to go 10 meters to the washroom, they were persistent and told me to go back on the boat. I should've just passed through, but I didn't feel like fighting anymore. Then I heard some guy brainwashing them saying that we tourists pay 100 dollars to get to Machupichu, so we have to pay here, otherwise do not let anybody through. What a jerk! And this is NOT Machupichu !! A new boat arrived, and all of them run to it, that was my opportunity to sneak to the washroom :)On the way back stopped at some "floating" islands. Since Peru side has actual floating islands, I guess Bolivia wanted to mimic them, and created some small, useless islands that have nothing on it. We all just yelled to the driver to keep on going. In Copacabana had pizza, I usually don't like it, but what a nice change to rice and french-fries!What's very interesting that's happening here is that beside a church there is a car blessing ceremony. The drivers come from all over the place, decorate the whole car as though it's a wedding, and splash it with beer and champagne. It's very funny. The whole front of the church is packed with stands that sell flowers, and candies, alcohol and other stuff that's required for the blessing :) There is also some celebration where they decorate toy cars and houses, as though the blessing would pass to the real thing.That afternoon went to La Paz on a completely local bus with some annoying woman who kept talking and talking. We had to pass the lake on a floating something. Everybody got out. I got out too, and had no idea where to go, so I just went back to the bus. Apparently the bus can't pass the lake with people cause it's too heavy, so people take another boat to cross (and have to pay for it) :)
p.s. some stupid things
Went to the store.
How much are the apples?
2 for 5 Bolivianos.
How much is 1 apple?
2 Bolivianos.
Ok, give me 1
:)
Went to buy a train ticket
A ticket to Machupichu please
Could you write your name on this piece of paper
Yana Sizonenko (I wrote the "i" in my last name as a vertical line)
Ok, Yana, (now she spells it), es, one, zed ...
:S
pix at http://picasaweb.google.com/evadikushin501/LakeTiticaca
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Cusco
At 5:30 am arrived to Cusco. The taxi driver gave us a bad impression right away. First he said 3 soles, and when we got there, he said 8. At the end gave him 6. What a bustard. Every time I say to myself that I'll never do it again, but it still happens, although I am getting better at arguing, not that I enjoy it. The hostel is huge, it holds 206 people. Our dorm has 10 beds and costs 26 soles per night, which is expensive. But it's a really nice hostel. Extremely clean, very organized, big bar/breakfast area, every day activities like movies/poker/yoga/city tours, have nice hot showers, clean washrooms, nothing broken, and super nice beds with feather blankets ... the only thing is that it's noisy, and it's so big that it's hard to find somebody to talk to. I like smaller hostels better, but I still stayed here to get a new experience and to get out of my comfort zone. The hostel is full of teenagers which makes me a bit sad, there are only a few people my age or older :STried to sleep until 12, but it was impossible, so much noise. People getting in and out, some of them still pretty drunk from last night and were either crying or laughing, I couldn't distinguish. Got up to eat breakfast and took an hour long shower, finally! That was my first one since the Colca Canyon :) That day just stayed in the hostel in the sun. Read the guide book. Everything is so expensive ! This is the most touristic city with triple prices. For most of the ruins the entrance is only with a touristic ticket which is over $40! And there is some religious ticket for churches and stuff. I decided that I've seen too many ruins and churches, and not going to spend that much money on them. Walked around the city with Nikky whom I've been travelling with since Huacachina. Went to Inca museum which didn't require the touristic ticket. No more museums for me! It's like churches, you've seen one, you've seen them all :) Went to the market, bought some eggs for breakfast, and I dropped them :( too many bags and without handles :( Then went to eat. I ordered 1/8 chicken. The plate was HUGE !! It was like 1/2 a chicken. I had to ask for another plate, cause I couldn't handle all of it on one plate. Also had a fresh strawberry juice. I took half of the meal to go.It's freaking cold at night. So in the market bought hat, scarf and a sweater. Such a good quality, super cheap, and made 100% out of Alpaca wool (kind of llama). In the morning in the dorm everybody was gone! I didn't hear a thing. How did 10 people managed to get out without me waking up, I don't know ! Nikky did wake me up at night :) She came back completely drunk, for some reason, she was shoving her guitar between my bed and the wall; climbed to my bed, then walked around the room, and feel asleep on somebody else's bed :) Oh yeah ... and now she broke the eggs :)
SOMEBODY ATE MY CHICKEN IN THE FRIDGE !!! :S
In the evening met Yuna in the hostel. We did the Huaraz trek together. This was soooo exciting , and soo cool to see her again !!!
Later at night went to get a massage. This city is full of massages. There are by my count at least 30 of them all in the same area. That's all you hear when walk down the street, "do you want a massage, massage, massage". That was the worst massage ever ! Well ... it only cost 20 soles (~$7). They were talking all the time, didn't know the structure of the body, did 10 strokes on 1 side, 3 on the other, and rubbed my butt a lot :)) NO TIPS !!Few days later got another massage with recommendation ... much much better :)
Going rafting 3 days !! super exciting !!!!
36 people, 30 of whom are Israelis. hm ... I wonder how that's gonna be like. At first it was very strange, nobody to talk to. 4.5 hours ride till the river, I thought it won't be that much fun. When we were changing beside the river into the wet suits, some people started approaching. Were given 1 dry bag for 3 people, so I shared it with one couple from Denemark who didn't speak with me all the time. I think the girl might have been jealous :)In total 6 boats, 2 safety kayaks and a cargo boat began the ride.First day did only level 3 rapids, as a "preparation" for the next 2 days ... oh oh! Flipped the boat 2 times as a practice. First time somebody hit me with a peddle in the leg where I hit it rock climbing, huuuurrttss !!! and 2nd time with a peddle in the hand ... grrr !! Now if I ended up under the boat, I was swimming from it like crazy! like in some kind of a panic state (that's after being stuck under it for 15 seconds in Colombia). In the campsite got talking to more and more people. But it's still hard, the Israelis group together, and don't let anybody in. Good thing I know Hebrew, so I understood most of it, and practiced it too. But for ex 1 girl from UK was alone non Hebrew speaking in her boat, and good luck, nobody talked to her at all !! We were given 1 tent for 4 people. The tent is tiny. I looked into it, and no way I would be able to sleep in it stuck like a sardine. Found 3 guys from US. 2 of them are actually sleeping outside ... yiippiiiii .... I'm moving tents !! :)) Washroom is funny. We're all supposed to go into 1 place. They actually bring some toilet seat, and powder, so it won't stink. And way way before that, they put a paddle into the sand with a hamlet on it. If there is hamlet on the paddle, it's free, if it's on the ground, it's busy :) There are so many mosquitoes. I was heavily dressed with pants, thick socks and a coat, with repellent under the pants, and face. So I was ok. But some people either didn't care or I don't know what's wrong with them, they were RED !! EVERYWHERE !! Went to sleep after a tasty tea time and a dinner at 8 pm :)6 am wake up, but didn't get out until 8. people are so slow !!! The food is great in this place ! I think it's the best food I've ever had while travelling ! :)This day was great! So many rapids. They're short but dangerous. We had to walk around 3 times, because those sections are non runnable. This is the 3rd most run river in the world after Africa and Chili, and the most dangerous. There are many holes, many rocks, and a lot of places where the water runs under the rock, so if it takes you there, you get stuck and die. The rapids are very technical. Forward, stop, right back, inside, forward, high side left, attack !!! COOOOLL !!! In one rapid, one of the guides was standing on the rock and throwing the rope to the boat to switch it's direction, otherwise it will end up in rocks and get stuck in there.This day we flipped a boat on purpose on a level 3 rapid. There is a hole in the middle of the rapid (where the water turns into itself). All the other boats bypassed it, and we decided that we want to flip. One girl didn't want to, so she went on a cargo boat. This is considered to be safe, because there are no rocks, and a flat comes very shortly after the rapid, so you're swallowing water only for a few seconds :) INSIDE !!! the boat got stuck in one place, then we were getting out, and everybody thought that we passed it, but nope, it let go, and flipped :) Although it was a short rapid, it still feels like a long time in the water, when you don't know what's happening to you, and get a breath of air before something sucks you under.In the evening we were playing games on our campsite. 1 game where everybody stands in a circle with a paddle and depending on the number of whistles steps right left or around to catch the other paddle. 2: spin around 15 times and run to the water and around the peddle ... hm ... I was NOT running ! I ran until the water and slowly slowly went around it. A few guys did end up in the water :) 3: One guy does a plank, and a girl climbs on top of him (back to back) and tries to put a stick in the ground. The furthest one wins. 4: circle of guys and girls, run in opposite directions, and on the whistle supposed to find your partner, and the guy jumps on the girl at the back. The last one to find one's partner, or if the girl falls is out. In the last game there was a big plate with water, and a ball in it, and we were supposed to blow it to reach the other end. 1, 2, 3, SPLASH into everybody’s faces!!!! it wasn't really a game :))After the games more and more people and all the guides started talking to me ... wooowww !! too much attention !!Israelis smoke ALOT !!! At the end of the trip I asked why, and they told me that in the army if you smoke you get cigarette breaks, so everybody starts smoking :S They're also funny. In our boat, the guide would say a word, continue talking, and the Israelis would pick up on that word, and start singing a song completely ignoring the guide and whatever he's saying :) They sing a lot !!! :)) Most of the guides by now know quite a lot of Hebrew. It's so funny hearing them saying things ... "lama lo?", "kadima!!" ... :)) Not that they like them. Israelis are known to be very cheap and rude. So most of the guides fight for their passengers, to have non Israelis to get some tips and avoid confrontations.
The next morning, we did a wake up jump into the freezing water. I was supposed to make a step and jump, instead I made a step and slipped and fell, and hurt my thumb :( Couldn't feel it for a long while. But it's ok now.That day we tried to flip the boat twice in a hydraulic. Once we didn't have enough power to get to it, we tried 5 times with no luck, and once we made it. Everybody fell except me ... I guess I just didn't want to fall :)) And once we got stuck in a hydraulic ... that was unexpected! We were rowing and rowing very very hard, and the boat would just stay in one spot, then I felt it going backwards as it sucked us in, and all of my side of the boat fell out. But that was the best fall ever. After 2 seconds I was calmly breathing and floating down the river, while the other 2 guys were freaking out, I don't even know why. We swam to the shore and waited for the boat ... it's not coming !!! Where is the boat??? Oh here it is! Why did it take you so long guys?? Apparently the boat got stuck in the hydraulic, and the 3 people and the guide who remained there, were jumping from left to right to top to back for 3 minutes to stabilize it until the boat got in the right angle and spit them out :)At the end of the trip people were discussing how much tip to leave. Most Israelis agreed on 10 soles (=$3). I got frustrated! I told them that the guides risk their lives for our safety, they work non stop from 6am - 8pm, they're so nice, the cook just the best food, and they deserve more than that. I think they got it up to 15 soles :S
that's it folks :) as my facebook status said "it's ooooooveeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrr :((((((((((((((( "
Off to Machupichu. It's so expensive !!! To trek there is much cheaper, but I can't walk anymore. I heard that second day is 8 hours only up ... no no no noooooooo way i'm doing that. Even if it's not up, I need a break ! Instead I bought a train ticket. That's the way to go :) They do repairs to the train tracks right now. So I need to get by myself to a town 1.5 hours away, from there another bus 1 hour, and then a train another 1.5 hours. Got to the town of Aguas Calientes at 10 pm. On the train heard some English, and asked a girl if she has a hostel, she doesn't. Ok, here we go together for a search for a hostel. That was easy, you just got out of the train, and people attack you with "hostel, hostel ... ". Asked how much, the guy said 20. Give it to us for 15. ok. Alright. But when we got there, it turned up to be 20 again. Argued and argued, and got it down to 17. Couldn't fall asleep. There was noise and light, and around 12:30 we were sleeping, with a wake up at 3:20 :S There are only 400 tickets given daily for the mountain Waynapichu from which there is a view to Machupichu. And the office opens at 6am, so need to get there on time to get the tickets. Started the walk at 3:40. It was scary! We knew that we're going slow, so we started the walk before everybody else, and at that time there was nobody outside. Completely dark. What a perfect opportunity to get mugged or even worse!! Got to the gate in half an hour, and the guards assured us that it's safe to hike up. The girl who I was walking with (Maddy) stopped even more than I do, which was very unusual. She's 20 and seems fit. A bunch of people passed us, and I was getting scared that we won't be able to make it, and it was about the time for all the buses to start going up. But we made it up at 5:30 before the buses, and there was a huge lineup already. The gates opened up and we went in. There weren't too many people, so got a change to get pictures of the actual ruins and not the people, and with the llamas. Later on there were a lot of whistles when people tried to approach the llamas. The ruins were ok. I guess they're impressive. I'm just not a ruins kinds of girl. At 7 started the hike up to Wynapichu, another hour up (that's the mountain that's seen in the background of Machupichu pictures), oh, that's steep. The views were nice from above. On the top there were some caves through which we had to almost crawl through. Stayed on the top for 2 hours to enjoy the view, relax ... and what is there else to do anyways?? When we got down, laid on the grass and took a short nap. At the ruins met John, Matt, Holly (the US guys from rafting), and Nikky. They all did the trek together! :) On the way down I lost all of my energy. I thought I was going to faint. I don't remember the time when I felt so tired. I thought if I'd sit down, I won't get up anymore. When I did sit down though, I started shaking ... omg !! the train back is only at 9:45 at night, and with all the buses, I'd be back in Cusco at 2am. How am I going to make it??This town is full of crooks. Everybody tries to cheat the tourists. It's the worst that I've ever seen it. Had to fight so much that I think it already became a second nature. Everything here is double or triple the prices. Went to a restaurant that didn't charge service charge (only in Aguas Calintes), but charged tax !! Alright then. It's 10% tax. I look at the bill, the bill was 110, and 10% tax was 20. WAITRESS !!!! One girl didn't have cash, so she paid with MC. At the entrance they said it's ok, but when the time came to pay the bill. Oh, we don't accept cards ... here we go again! At the end machine had worked, but they charged her $5 to use it. When we got to the street, walked about, all the waiters, attack us to get in. Walked pass that restaurant again. look look at our menu. I just told the waiter "we don't like your restaurant, you have a bad service".At night took the train and the bus back. Everybody had an arranged transportation because of the tour. I found one bus, and asked how much it is, the driver said 20. How 20??? I took a combi here for 10, and you tell me 20?? ... Oh, the buses are much more secure than the combies... bullshit! It's the same, and the buses ALWASY cost less than combies. I turned around and went to look for a combi. Found one, he said 15 ... No, I'm not paying 15, I got here for 10. Ok 10. He only had 1 space left, so he took me. After driving for 20 minutes, we stopped. What happened? Oh strike! The farmers strike because of shortage of water. We drove around and around, trying to get to Cusco. Stopped and backed up 10 times. I was going crazy, so tired, not comfortable, and couldn't fall asleep. At the end, we tried all the routes, and stopped somewhere at 5 am because the driver said that there is just no way to cross. I slept for an hour, I got on the floor of the car, and put my head on the seat, that way I was a bit more comfortable. At 6, we got out of the car, and walked passed the cut trees and stones on the road. It was ok, only 20 minute walk until some town where the strike didn't happen. Another combi came. 15 soles to get to town (it's like 20 minute drive) ... screw you! I'm not going! It amazed me how all the Peruvian got in, and thanked so much the driver. Me and 2 other people started walking. At the end the combi stopped. Somebody figured out some group discount, and when we got to Cusco, we didn't even pay! Strange. I was back at the hostel at 7:30 in the morning feeling like a zombie. Cusco looked very different at that time. There are no tourists on the streets, only locals hurrying to work. Slept until 2, but that didn't help much. Later on I heard from the US guys that they came back to Cusco only at 5:30pm after 25 km walk!! In the evening I knew that all the guides from rafting came back, so went to a night club. Night clubs are the best in here! One in particular has salsa which very very good dancers. I haven't danced that much and that good since Toronto, and then they put just the best music (well, at least for me). So I couldn't stop dancing!! OMG! I just love that song!! :)) Danced till 4, I think it's time to go to sleep :)
Figures, next day I got sick.
While booking a ticket to Bolivia in the terminal, ran into the guys with whom I did ice climbing in Huaraz
p.s. links to some songs that I like
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHgnebZ_jYo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmu-TNp1UNw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mbjj1CmnF6Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCmleGX12dA
pix at http://picasaweb.google.com/evadikushin501/Cusco#
SOMEBODY ATE MY CHICKEN IN THE FRIDGE !!! :S
In the evening met Yuna in the hostel. We did the Huaraz trek together. This was soooo exciting , and soo cool to see her again !!!
Later at night went to get a massage. This city is full of massages. There are by my count at least 30 of them all in the same area. That's all you hear when walk down the street, "do you want a massage, massage, massage". That was the worst massage ever ! Well ... it only cost 20 soles (~$7). They were talking all the time, didn't know the structure of the body, did 10 strokes on 1 side, 3 on the other, and rubbed my butt a lot :)) NO TIPS !!Few days later got another massage with recommendation ... much much better :)
Going rafting 3 days !! super exciting !!!!
36 people, 30 of whom are Israelis. hm ... I wonder how that's gonna be like. At first it was very strange, nobody to talk to. 4.5 hours ride till the river, I thought it won't be that much fun. When we were changing beside the river into the wet suits, some people started approaching. Were given 1 dry bag for 3 people, so I shared it with one couple from Denemark who didn't speak with me all the time. I think the girl might have been jealous :)In total 6 boats, 2 safety kayaks and a cargo boat began the ride.First day did only level 3 rapids, as a "preparation" for the next 2 days ... oh oh! Flipped the boat 2 times as a practice. First time somebody hit me with a peddle in the leg where I hit it rock climbing, huuuurrttss !!! and 2nd time with a peddle in the hand ... grrr !! Now if I ended up under the boat, I was swimming from it like crazy! like in some kind of a panic state (that's after being stuck under it for 15 seconds in Colombia). In the campsite got talking to more and more people. But it's still hard, the Israelis group together, and don't let anybody in. Good thing I know Hebrew, so I understood most of it, and practiced it too. But for ex 1 girl from UK was alone non Hebrew speaking in her boat, and good luck, nobody talked to her at all !! We were given 1 tent for 4 people. The tent is tiny. I looked into it, and no way I would be able to sleep in it stuck like a sardine. Found 3 guys from US. 2 of them are actually sleeping outside ... yiippiiiii .... I'm moving tents !! :)) Washroom is funny. We're all supposed to go into 1 place. They actually bring some toilet seat, and powder, so it won't stink. And way way before that, they put a paddle into the sand with a hamlet on it. If there is hamlet on the paddle, it's free, if it's on the ground, it's busy :) There are so many mosquitoes. I was heavily dressed with pants, thick socks and a coat, with repellent under the pants, and face. So I was ok. But some people either didn't care or I don't know what's wrong with them, they were RED !! EVERYWHERE !! Went to sleep after a tasty tea time and a dinner at 8 pm :)6 am wake up, but didn't get out until 8. people are so slow !!! The food is great in this place ! I think it's the best food I've ever had while travelling ! :)This day was great! So many rapids. They're short but dangerous. We had to walk around 3 times, because those sections are non runnable. This is the 3rd most run river in the world after Africa and Chili, and the most dangerous. There are many holes, many rocks, and a lot of places where the water runs under the rock, so if it takes you there, you get stuck and die. The rapids are very technical. Forward, stop, right back, inside, forward, high side left, attack !!! COOOOLL !!! In one rapid, one of the guides was standing on the rock and throwing the rope to the boat to switch it's direction, otherwise it will end up in rocks and get stuck in there.This day we flipped a boat on purpose on a level 3 rapid. There is a hole in the middle of the rapid (where the water turns into itself). All the other boats bypassed it, and we decided that we want to flip. One girl didn't want to, so she went on a cargo boat. This is considered to be safe, because there are no rocks, and a flat comes very shortly after the rapid, so you're swallowing water only for a few seconds :) INSIDE !!! the boat got stuck in one place, then we were getting out, and everybody thought that we passed it, but nope, it let go, and flipped :) Although it was a short rapid, it still feels like a long time in the water, when you don't know what's happening to you, and get a breath of air before something sucks you under.In the evening we were playing games on our campsite. 1 game where everybody stands in a circle with a paddle and depending on the number of whistles steps right left or around to catch the other paddle. 2: spin around 15 times and run to the water and around the peddle ... hm ... I was NOT running ! I ran until the water and slowly slowly went around it. A few guys did end up in the water :) 3: One guy does a plank, and a girl climbs on top of him (back to back) and tries to put a stick in the ground. The furthest one wins. 4: circle of guys and girls, run in opposite directions, and on the whistle supposed to find your partner, and the guy jumps on the girl at the back. The last one to find one's partner, or if the girl falls is out. In the last game there was a big plate with water, and a ball in it, and we were supposed to blow it to reach the other end. 1, 2, 3, SPLASH into everybody’s faces!!!! it wasn't really a game :))After the games more and more people and all the guides started talking to me ... wooowww !! too much attention !!Israelis smoke ALOT !!! At the end of the trip I asked why, and they told me that in the army if you smoke you get cigarette breaks, so everybody starts smoking :S They're also funny. In our boat, the guide would say a word, continue talking, and the Israelis would pick up on that word, and start singing a song completely ignoring the guide and whatever he's saying :) They sing a lot !!! :)) Most of the guides by now know quite a lot of Hebrew. It's so funny hearing them saying things ... "lama lo?", "kadima!!" ... :)) Not that they like them. Israelis are known to be very cheap and rude. So most of the guides fight for their passengers, to have non Israelis to get some tips and avoid confrontations.
The next morning, we did a wake up jump into the freezing water. I was supposed to make a step and jump, instead I made a step and slipped and fell, and hurt my thumb :( Couldn't feel it for a long while. But it's ok now.That day we tried to flip the boat twice in a hydraulic. Once we didn't have enough power to get to it, we tried 5 times with no luck, and once we made it. Everybody fell except me ... I guess I just didn't want to fall :)) And once we got stuck in a hydraulic ... that was unexpected! We were rowing and rowing very very hard, and the boat would just stay in one spot, then I felt it going backwards as it sucked us in, and all of my side of the boat fell out. But that was the best fall ever. After 2 seconds I was calmly breathing and floating down the river, while the other 2 guys were freaking out, I don't even know why. We swam to the shore and waited for the boat ... it's not coming !!! Where is the boat??? Oh here it is! Why did it take you so long guys?? Apparently the boat got stuck in the hydraulic, and the 3 people and the guide who remained there, were jumping from left to right to top to back for 3 minutes to stabilize it until the boat got in the right angle and spit them out :)At the end of the trip people were discussing how much tip to leave. Most Israelis agreed on 10 soles (=$3). I got frustrated! I told them that the guides risk their lives for our safety, they work non stop from 6am - 8pm, they're so nice, the cook just the best food, and they deserve more than that. I think they got it up to 15 soles :S
that's it folks :) as my facebook status said "it's ooooooveeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrr :((((((((((((((( "
Off to Machupichu. It's so expensive !!! To trek there is much cheaper, but I can't walk anymore. I heard that second day is 8 hours only up ... no no no noooooooo way i'm doing that. Even if it's not up, I need a break ! Instead I bought a train ticket. That's the way to go :) They do repairs to the train tracks right now. So I need to get by myself to a town 1.5 hours away, from there another bus 1 hour, and then a train another 1.5 hours. Got to the town of Aguas Calientes at 10 pm. On the train heard some English, and asked a girl if she has a hostel, she doesn't. Ok, here we go together for a search for a hostel. That was easy, you just got out of the train, and people attack you with "hostel, hostel ... ". Asked how much, the guy said 20. Give it to us for 15. ok. Alright. But when we got there, it turned up to be 20 again. Argued and argued, and got it down to 17. Couldn't fall asleep. There was noise and light, and around 12:30 we were sleeping, with a wake up at 3:20 :S There are only 400 tickets given daily for the mountain Waynapichu from which there is a view to Machupichu. And the office opens at 6am, so need to get there on time to get the tickets. Started the walk at 3:40. It was scary! We knew that we're going slow, so we started the walk before everybody else, and at that time there was nobody outside. Completely dark. What a perfect opportunity to get mugged or even worse!! Got to the gate in half an hour, and the guards assured us that it's safe to hike up. The girl who I was walking with (Maddy) stopped even more than I do, which was very unusual. She's 20 and seems fit. A bunch of people passed us, and I was getting scared that we won't be able to make it, and it was about the time for all the buses to start going up. But we made it up at 5:30 before the buses, and there was a huge lineup already. The gates opened up and we went in. There weren't too many people, so got a change to get pictures of the actual ruins and not the people, and with the llamas. Later on there were a lot of whistles when people tried to approach the llamas. The ruins were ok. I guess they're impressive. I'm just not a ruins kinds of girl. At 7 started the hike up to Wynapichu, another hour up (that's the mountain that's seen in the background of Machupichu pictures), oh, that's steep. The views were nice from above. On the top there were some caves through which we had to almost crawl through. Stayed on the top for 2 hours to enjoy the view, relax ... and what is there else to do anyways?? When we got down, laid on the grass and took a short nap. At the ruins met John, Matt, Holly (the US guys from rafting), and Nikky. They all did the trek together! :) On the way down I lost all of my energy. I thought I was going to faint. I don't remember the time when I felt so tired. I thought if I'd sit down, I won't get up anymore. When I did sit down though, I started shaking ... omg !! the train back is only at 9:45 at night, and with all the buses, I'd be back in Cusco at 2am. How am I going to make it??This town is full of crooks. Everybody tries to cheat the tourists. It's the worst that I've ever seen it. Had to fight so much that I think it already became a second nature. Everything here is double or triple the prices. Went to a restaurant that didn't charge service charge (only in Aguas Calintes), but charged tax !! Alright then. It's 10% tax. I look at the bill, the bill was 110, and 10% tax was 20. WAITRESS !!!! One girl didn't have cash, so she paid with MC. At the entrance they said it's ok, but when the time came to pay the bill. Oh, we don't accept cards ... here we go again! At the end machine had worked, but they charged her $5 to use it. When we got to the street, walked about, all the waiters, attack us to get in. Walked pass that restaurant again. look look at our menu. I just told the waiter "we don't like your restaurant, you have a bad service".At night took the train and the bus back. Everybody had an arranged transportation because of the tour. I found one bus, and asked how much it is, the driver said 20. How 20??? I took a combi here for 10, and you tell me 20?? ... Oh, the buses are much more secure than the combies... bullshit! It's the same, and the buses ALWASY cost less than combies. I turned around and went to look for a combi. Found one, he said 15 ... No, I'm not paying 15, I got here for 10. Ok 10. He only had 1 space left, so he took me. After driving for 20 minutes, we stopped. What happened? Oh strike! The farmers strike because of shortage of water. We drove around and around, trying to get to Cusco. Stopped and backed up 10 times. I was going crazy, so tired, not comfortable, and couldn't fall asleep. At the end, we tried all the routes, and stopped somewhere at 5 am because the driver said that there is just no way to cross. I slept for an hour, I got on the floor of the car, and put my head on the seat, that way I was a bit more comfortable. At 6, we got out of the car, and walked passed the cut trees and stones on the road. It was ok, only 20 minute walk until some town where the strike didn't happen. Another combi came. 15 soles to get to town (it's like 20 minute drive) ... screw you! I'm not going! It amazed me how all the Peruvian got in, and thanked so much the driver. Me and 2 other people started walking. At the end the combi stopped. Somebody figured out some group discount, and when we got to Cusco, we didn't even pay! Strange. I was back at the hostel at 7:30 in the morning feeling like a zombie. Cusco looked very different at that time. There are no tourists on the streets, only locals hurrying to work. Slept until 2, but that didn't help much. Later on I heard from the US guys that they came back to Cusco only at 5:30pm after 25 km walk!! In the evening I knew that all the guides from rafting came back, so went to a night club. Night clubs are the best in here! One in particular has salsa which very very good dancers. I haven't danced that much and that good since Toronto, and then they put just the best music (well, at least for me). So I couldn't stop dancing!! OMG! I just love that song!! :)) Danced till 4, I think it's time to go to sleep :)
Figures, next day I got sick.
While booking a ticket to Bolivia in the terminal, ran into the guys with whom I did ice climbing in Huaraz
p.s. links to some songs that I like
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHgnebZ_jYo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmu-TNp1UNw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mbjj1CmnF6Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCmleGX12dA
pix at http://picasaweb.google.com/evadikushin501/Cusco#
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Colca Canyon
Since the bus office was closed in the evening, we had to make sure that we get to the terminal early, since it's the only bus, otherwise it would be too late. Got up at 4:40, to be at the terminal EARLY. The office was still closed, but stood in line until 6 am, and got 6 tickets. 1 guy from Montreal just started travelling, and hasn't been anywhere else before, so he got excited about everything, whistling on every view. OMG guys, you have to see the view on this side ... yeah, yeah ... I've seen it hundred times already :) There were 3 guys from Holland. 2 without any character at all and 1 didn't even talk. It took us 6 hours to get there. It was snowing, so some of the way was all covered in snow, very pretty. Passed a lot of terraces, but not sure if they're still in use or not. They're from Inca time, but now just have a lot of weeds on them. The guide book says that there are lots of people trying to sell fake tickets, to be careful, and to buy them only at the entrance. One town before that, there was a first control where one girl was trying to sell us tickets. 12 tourists were arguing with her, nobody wanted to buy them, she almost cried. But she was extremely patient, in her place I would punch somebody out :)
Started the hike at 12:30. It was easy, since it was all down, but long again. Made a lot of stops to take pictures, by the end my knees hurt. Met a 15 year old boy on the way who offered us accommodations. Went to his place, which is surrounded by nice views, lots of trees, smells really good everywhere. There were almost no people nowhere, only 40 familys left, everybody else left to the city. It's a difficult life over there. 1 guy told us that sometimes there is nothing to eat. The father of the son went to town at 1 am with donkeys, returned at 6 pm with only 10 bags of cement, cooked dinner, and left at 1 am again.
The bed at the hostel was 5 soles each (~$1.7), beer 10 soles, dinner 8 soles. We slept in a super nice round hut with beds around it, with 3 wool blankets. Had a nice vegetable soup with alpaca (kind of llama), vegetarian second dish (they don't have any animals living there), and for breakfast had pancakes.There are some ruins, but I didn't want to go. Instead me and one guy went straight to the oasis, the others did a 4 hour detour. The guy from Montreal wanted to stay longer, so he left us in the morning. Although I'm not really sure what else is there to see.
We got lost on the way, there are no signs at all, and no people to ask, so that cost us 40 minutes. One indigenous lady helped us find the way. Went 1 hour up in the hot sun. Got to 2 villages, all empty. Found cactus fruits. I climbed a wall and all my fingers were in little thorns, which took forever to take out, and could feel them for a long time. And at the end, they were all rotten :( Finally got to oasis. This guy wanted to check all the hostels out, was very annoying. We were tired, and they're the same anyway. Stayed at the last hostel. 8 soles for bed and dinner. Swam in the swimming pool, very refreshing. There was a group from colca trek who was camping!!! I didn't even want to talk to them, how stupid do you have to be to pay so much !!! Had dinner with candles, asparagus soup, with pasta and tomatoes and a nice citron tea, and went to sleep after dinner at 7:30. Wake up time 2:40 am :S Hiked up for 4.5 hours. At first not difficult, although very slow. I listened to music to keep myself occupied. Made a lot of stops on the way. Last hour was hard. We had to walk faster to catch the bus to see the condors. 1 Dutch guy was pushing me from behind. I got exhausted, the top was never reachable!! :S Finally made it to Cabanaconda, and guess what? There is no bus at 8, only at 9, means that we walked too fast and we miss the condors!! Ate breakfast, ate so much. We kept asking for more and more food. Nobody talked, super tired, legs didn't move. Took a completely packed bus at 9. I crashed out, and I never sleep on day buses. At 10 got to the condors. There were 5 of them, some really close, but I expected them to be bigger. We were lucky, they shouldn't have been there at this time. Tried to take pictures, but couldn't see in the camera nothing. Just shot random shots. Have a lot of clear blue shots of absolutely nothing :) Caught a bus to Arequpia. Lots of space, but couldn't fall asleep. Passed fields with hundreds of alpacas. And this time all the show had melted, so it wasn't that pretty on the way back. In the terminal, got a ticket for 25 soles to Cusco the same night at 8pm. Went to the hostel to relax and had a last dinner with everybody at some expensive sandwich place. At the terminal we were told to keep our stuff on us all the time, and not to talk to anybody ! :S But the bus was just as nice as the expensive buses (which are for 80 soles). We couldn't fall asleep at all :( too many turns, and cold, and nowhere to put the legs.
Arrived in Cusco at 5:30 am.
pix at http://picasaweb.google.com/evadikushin501/ColcaCanyon#
Started the hike at 12:30. It was easy, since it was all down, but long again. Made a lot of stops to take pictures, by the end my knees hurt. Met a 15 year old boy on the way who offered us accommodations. Went to his place, which is surrounded by nice views, lots of trees, smells really good everywhere. There were almost no people nowhere, only 40 familys left, everybody else left to the city. It's a difficult life over there. 1 guy told us that sometimes there is nothing to eat. The father of the son went to town at 1 am with donkeys, returned at 6 pm with only 10 bags of cement, cooked dinner, and left at 1 am again.
The bed at the hostel was 5 soles each (~$1.7), beer 10 soles, dinner 8 soles. We slept in a super nice round hut with beds around it, with 3 wool blankets. Had a nice vegetable soup with alpaca (kind of llama), vegetarian second dish (they don't have any animals living there), and for breakfast had pancakes.There are some ruins, but I didn't want to go. Instead me and one guy went straight to the oasis, the others did a 4 hour detour. The guy from Montreal wanted to stay longer, so he left us in the morning. Although I'm not really sure what else is there to see.
We got lost on the way, there are no signs at all, and no people to ask, so that cost us 40 minutes. One indigenous lady helped us find the way. Went 1 hour up in the hot sun. Got to 2 villages, all empty. Found cactus fruits. I climbed a wall and all my fingers were in little thorns, which took forever to take out, and could feel them for a long time. And at the end, they were all rotten :( Finally got to oasis. This guy wanted to check all the hostels out, was very annoying. We were tired, and they're the same anyway. Stayed at the last hostel. 8 soles for bed and dinner. Swam in the swimming pool, very refreshing. There was a group from colca trek who was camping!!! I didn't even want to talk to them, how stupid do you have to be to pay so much !!! Had dinner with candles, asparagus soup, with pasta and tomatoes and a nice citron tea, and went to sleep after dinner at 7:30. Wake up time 2:40 am :S Hiked up for 4.5 hours. At first not difficult, although very slow. I listened to music to keep myself occupied. Made a lot of stops on the way. Last hour was hard. We had to walk faster to catch the bus to see the condors. 1 Dutch guy was pushing me from behind. I got exhausted, the top was never reachable!! :S Finally made it to Cabanaconda, and guess what? There is no bus at 8, only at 9, means that we walked too fast and we miss the condors!! Ate breakfast, ate so much. We kept asking for more and more food. Nobody talked, super tired, legs didn't move. Took a completely packed bus at 9. I crashed out, and I never sleep on day buses. At 10 got to the condors. There were 5 of them, some really close, but I expected them to be bigger. We were lucky, they shouldn't have been there at this time. Tried to take pictures, but couldn't see in the camera nothing. Just shot random shots. Have a lot of clear blue shots of absolutely nothing :) Caught a bus to Arequpia. Lots of space, but couldn't fall asleep. Passed fields with hundreds of alpacas. And this time all the show had melted, so it wasn't that pretty on the way back. In the terminal, got a ticket for 25 soles to Cusco the same night at 8pm. Went to the hostel to relax and had a last dinner with everybody at some expensive sandwich place. At the terminal we were told to keep our stuff on us all the time, and not to talk to anybody ! :S But the bus was just as nice as the expensive buses (which are for 80 soles). We couldn't fall asleep at all :( too many turns, and cold, and nowhere to put the legs.
Arrived in Cusco at 5:30 am.
pix at http://picasaweb.google.com/evadikushin501/ColcaCanyon#
Friday, June 4, 2010
Ica, Nazca & Arequipa
Took a mototaxi to a 200 population town of Huacachina. It's a nice resort town full of gringos, nice lake in the middle surrounded by sand dunes. Slept in the afternoon, and in the evening took a winery "tour". The tours in my hostel didn't go every day, they needed to fill up a group. And while walking on a street I bumped into one agency who had a tour in the evening. So I signed up, got there, and the other couple didn't show up. So it was just me in some taxi driving somewhere in the night ... it was a bit spooky. Visited a museum, full of mummies and antiques. It was the coolest museum ever, because everything was so close, and you could touch it all :) Also tried wine and pisco. The guide said that because we went to the museum we have to order some drinks, but I didn't want to drink at all. He was really pushy, but I kept saying no. At the end he bought a litter of wine, and I just drank like quarter of a glass if not less. He tried to come up with some drinking games, but that didn't work either :) We danced for a bit, and drove back.
I slept 12 hours again :))
Next day took a buggie tour around sand dunes. I was expecting more after hearing super fun stories, but it was ok. Sand EVERYWHERE!! There were only a few dunes on which we went up and down, most of it was straight. We stopped at some dunes to do sand boarding. I stood up on most of them and slided down on a belly with huge speed on the last dune which was the biggest one. I really waxed the whole board twice not missing a spot :) At the end there was an earthquake, but didn't feel anything :( I just checked the internet, the earthquake was magnitude 6.1 in central Peru.
Slept 12 hours AGAIN !! :))
In the morning took a taxi back to Ica with 5 "teenagers". Turns out they go to Nazca too. We went straight to the airport and took a half an hour flight for $50. These lines were discovered less than a 100 years ago. People could see the lines all the time, but didn't know that they make any shapes. Somebody as always discovered them by accident by flying over that area. The reason why Nazca people made these lines are still unknown. Always a bunch of speculations like: the lines lead to water; it was a religious area for celebrations; they honored the gods. They also think that Nazca must have had air balloons because otherwise why would they draw something that cannot be seem from the land?
The flight was ok, nothing special. We all thought that the lines would be bigger, but they were tiny from the air. And since the plane has two sides with people sitting on it, the pilot would always turn first left then right on every figure, so basically all of us got sick :) In the town of Nazca there is nothing to do, so we just had a coffee, and sat in one restaurant all the evening until it was time for the night bus to Arequipa. We took the most expansive and luxurious bus "cruz del sur". There was not even one local on it. The whole 2 floor bus was filled with tourists, I've never seen it anywhere travelling before !! The bus didn't fill my expectations, it didn't have any blankets, and the dinner wasn't nice. The cheaper (half as cheap) companies offered much better service!
In Arequipa, all went to the same hostel. Everybody in the group is really cool, very different than the first impression. They're smart and considerate and know a lot of history, politics, current events. We ended up spending a few days together, and it was really nice! But just by looking at them I wouldn't even want to spend five minutes with them ... lesson learned: never judge a book by its cover!
That day didn't want to do anything crazy, so just went to a frozen mummy museum. Super cool! She was sacrificed because of the volcanic eruptions over 500 years ago. The people thought that the gods are angry at them and had to make sacrifices. This "mummy" is in the best shape out of all the "mummies". It's not really a mummy, just frozen body which was at a -25 degree Celsius all these years, so it got preserved very well. The girl was given a lot of chica, and struck in the head with some sharp object. Overall they found 8 or so mummies on these mountains.
In the city found the best coffee place, so we had a nice coffee and cake, lots of times :)
Also went to a monastery. Way too expensive and not fun. The nuns live without any comfort, all in the dark in tiny little rooms. Anyway, nothing really to write about.
The souvenir stores are sooo nice !! Very colorful, super good quality, and a huge variety. I think these are the best souvenirs I've ever seen in my life!
Next day wanted to go to suburbs, but had to find more people for the Colca canyon trek. Found an agency that does it for 90 soles for 3 days (~$30), while most companies charged between 120 - 200 and one company advertized in the lonely planet guidebook charged 690 !! For exactly the same thing !!! I'm gonna write them something about it ! And so many people went with this company, just because it's in the guidebook! At the end, we didn't find anybody. Some couple even run away from me :) Anywho ... we decided to do it alone. It's a popular trek with easy paths, so everything should be alright! 6 of us are going. 2 girls and 4 guys. 1 girl and guy from the previous group, 1 guy who we met at the hostel, and 2 guys who we met on the street while bugging people to go with us :)
At night we all got waken up by an earthquake. It lasted for 20 seconds, dogs started barking, it felt pretty strong, but not that high on the scale. Can't imagine magnitude 8!!!
pix at http://picasaweb.google.com/evadikushin501/IcaNazcaAndArequipa#
I slept 12 hours again :))
Next day took a buggie tour around sand dunes. I was expecting more after hearing super fun stories, but it was ok. Sand EVERYWHERE!! There were only a few dunes on which we went up and down, most of it was straight. We stopped at some dunes to do sand boarding. I stood up on most of them and slided down on a belly with huge speed on the last dune which was the biggest one. I really waxed the whole board twice not missing a spot :) At the end there was an earthquake, but didn't feel anything :( I just checked the internet, the earthquake was magnitude 6.1 in central Peru.
Slept 12 hours AGAIN !! :))
In the morning took a taxi back to Ica with 5 "teenagers". Turns out they go to Nazca too. We went straight to the airport and took a half an hour flight for $50. These lines were discovered less than a 100 years ago. People could see the lines all the time, but didn't know that they make any shapes. Somebody as always discovered them by accident by flying over that area. The reason why Nazca people made these lines are still unknown. Always a bunch of speculations like: the lines lead to water; it was a religious area for celebrations; they honored the gods. They also think that Nazca must have had air balloons because otherwise why would they draw something that cannot be seem from the land?
The flight was ok, nothing special. We all thought that the lines would be bigger, but they were tiny from the air. And since the plane has two sides with people sitting on it, the pilot would always turn first left then right on every figure, so basically all of us got sick :) In the town of Nazca there is nothing to do, so we just had a coffee, and sat in one restaurant all the evening until it was time for the night bus to Arequipa. We took the most expansive and luxurious bus "cruz del sur". There was not even one local on it. The whole 2 floor bus was filled with tourists, I've never seen it anywhere travelling before !! The bus didn't fill my expectations, it didn't have any blankets, and the dinner wasn't nice. The cheaper (half as cheap) companies offered much better service!
In Arequipa, all went to the same hostel. Everybody in the group is really cool, very different than the first impression. They're smart and considerate and know a lot of history, politics, current events. We ended up spending a few days together, and it was really nice! But just by looking at them I wouldn't even want to spend five minutes with them ... lesson learned: never judge a book by its cover!
That day didn't want to do anything crazy, so just went to a frozen mummy museum. Super cool! She was sacrificed because of the volcanic eruptions over 500 years ago. The people thought that the gods are angry at them and had to make sacrifices. This "mummy" is in the best shape out of all the "mummies". It's not really a mummy, just frozen body which was at a -25 degree Celsius all these years, so it got preserved very well. The girl was given a lot of chica, and struck in the head with some sharp object. Overall they found 8 or so mummies on these mountains.
In the city found the best coffee place, so we had a nice coffee and cake, lots of times :)
Also went to a monastery. Way too expensive and not fun. The nuns live without any comfort, all in the dark in tiny little rooms. Anyway, nothing really to write about.
The souvenir stores are sooo nice !! Very colorful, super good quality, and a huge variety. I think these are the best souvenirs I've ever seen in my life!
Next day wanted to go to suburbs, but had to find more people for the Colca canyon trek. Found an agency that does it for 90 soles for 3 days (~$30), while most companies charged between 120 - 200 and one company advertized in the lonely planet guidebook charged 690 !! For exactly the same thing !!! I'm gonna write them something about it ! And so many people went with this company, just because it's in the guidebook! At the end, we didn't find anybody. Some couple even run away from me :) Anywho ... we decided to do it alone. It's a popular trek with easy paths, so everything should be alright! 6 of us are going. 2 girls and 4 guys. 1 girl and guy from the previous group, 1 guy who we met at the hostel, and 2 guys who we met on the street while bugging people to go with us :)
At night we all got waken up by an earthquake. It lasted for 20 seconds, dogs started barking, it felt pretty strong, but not that high on the scale. Can't imagine magnitude 8!!!
pix at http://picasaweb.google.com/evadikushin501/IcaNazcaAndArequipa#
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