So, as the title points out, there is no way for me to write about everything in the past 2.5 months, so here is a little story.
On the second day of my white water kayaking course based out of Tena, Ecuador (in the Jungle), after learning how to do the Eskimo Roll (remaining in the kayak while flipping upside down, the flipping yourself back up, without getting out of the boat), we (me and my instructor) arrived in a village called Misahuallì. Kayaking down the Napo River, we reached the small jungle village just in time for lunch. Sitting on the main plaza, eating lunch, a monkey ran by the table. Having known there were monkeys throughout town, it wasn´t a huge shocker, but still it was a monkey. The monkeys, Monos Capuchinos (Capuchino Monkey), live in the trees that are located in the main park. They are used to humans; and when you get close enough, it is you that needs to get used to them. When you think little monkeys, you probably think Abu (from Aladin) or some other thief monkey, well that is exactly what they are. I brought some cookies out to the little guys, and within seconds I hade a good 2 or 3 monkeys climbing on me, grabbing the cookies, smashing them, and eating them up. It was crazy. I brought my camera out, putting the wrist strap tight, and got a few good shots. They climbed on my head, shoulders, arms, everywhere imaginable. They opened my zipper pocket, without help, and reached inside to see if I had anymore goodies. It was amazing. They were so inteligent, it was like I had a bunch of hairy 4 year olds climbing all over me. The connection between monkeys and humans is amazing, I could have spent all day sitting there playing with the monkeys, but I went back to the river to practice my roll and other tricks. Not a bad day, if you ask me. The sun was out, the river was warm, monkeys and kids playing on the shore, fishermen throwing out their nets to catch their next meal, I was in Ecuador, that was for sure.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
Mom Time (Mendoza, Argentina, Santiago, Valparaiso, Viña del Mar, San Pedro de Atacama, Iquique (Chile), Arequipa, Puno, Cusco, and Lima (Peru)
Hey Everyone,
So, since my last blog, a lot has happened. I have been in three countries. Argentina, Chile, and Peru. On December 16th my Mom arrived in Mendoza, Argentina. She arrived safe and sound, and I arrived at the Airport, late. Maybe I amalgamated with Argentine culture of tardiness a little. We enjoyed the heat in Mendoza, not doing an awful lot other than taking advantage of San Martin park, the same park I spent so many days in a month or so before. There, my mom enjoyed her first Argentine meat, empanadas, and accents. We spent some time with my friend Federico, the guy I did rock climbing with before. After a few days, we headed off to Santiago, Chile on a night bus. With our early arrival to Santiago, we got to spend the whole day in Santiago, climbing the intercity ¨mountain,¨ going to the Art Museum, and just walking around. We left that afternoon, knowing that we wanted to spend more time in neighboring city Valparaiso. With rolling hills, diversly colored houses, and ¨elevators¨ that travel up the hillsides, Valparaiso is a unique city that all should see. (A cheesy sentence, but true) In Valparaiso, we stayed at a notable hostel called Patiperro hostel in Cerro Alegre that came with a fresh breakfast of a grilled cheese sandwhich, egg, fruit, fresh juice, and real coffee (which is rare for a hostel). We spent the days mostly walking around the city, looking at architecture, the water, and colors. We stopped by the house of writer Pablo Neruda, took a quick boat tour of the harbor, and mom did some hostel socializing with Australians. We met up with friends from Mendoza, Argentinians, who were actually staying at the same hostel. Kiki and Julian, a couple, one of which worked at the hostel we stayed at in Mendoza. On our last day, we went to the beach of Viña del Mar with them and I got my first taste of the ocean on my whole trip.
Moving on to San Pedro de Atacama, we took a 24 hour bus ride overnight, and arrived to a hot, dry, desert land in the middle of the night. We realized all there was to do was find a tour agency becuase that was the only way to get to the amazing surrounding in the Atacama desert. Our first tour was to the salt lakes and flats. The lakes were so salty that we floated on the water. Well almost, our upper bodies were out of the water, and we could have easily have read laying on our backs. We then went to a salt flat, and watched the sunset. The next tour was the geisers. We traveled up to 4321 meters in altitude for an early morning look at the spouting geisers. After a quick swim in a natural thermal bath, we headed back to town. The last and final tour (too many tours) we went to Valle de la luna (Moon Valley) where the land looks as if you are on the moon. We walked around the crazy formations in the afternoon and watched the sunset, (quite romantic with the mom), and headed back for Christmas Eve. After a fancy Christmas Eve dinner, we had a relaxing night in the hostel. Christmas day came around, and so did the heat. It was for sure the hotest Christmas of my life. We spent the day calling family, relaxing in the sun, and reading books while drinking tea, so pretty much the best day possible. We left that night for Iquique on an overnight bus.
We got to Iquique early morning like 5, went to a hostel, slept on the couch in the lobby area, and woke up ready for the day at 9am. We left for the beach, rented an umbrella, and I got totally burnt. My mom got burnt too. The wind was strong, so we just didn´t feel the sun beating down on us, even with the umbrella. Uncomfortably burn´t we left the next day on a bus for Arica, Chile, then crossing the boarder to Tacna, Peru. We left straight for Arequipa after arriving in Tacna, and arrived in time to find a hostel and, a Peruvian favorite, (no jokes), $1.50 chinese stir fried rice (enough for two). Our next day in Arequipa we spent walking around, enjoying the sites including the Cathedral, numerous Churches, and the amazing Santa Catolina Monestary. The ancient monestary was a closed of home to nuns for hundreds of years until it was finally open to the public not to long ago. We also happend to eat four or five times that day, small meals, but plenty. There happend to be a good amount of veggie food there. We found a tour agency to go to the Colca Canyon, (which is almost impossible to go to without a tour), and got ready for our departure at 3 am the next morning.
The Colca Canyon tour was probably the best decision of my mom and I´s trip together. It was beautful, a good work out, and not overrun with tourists like ourselves. The first day we spent time at the famous Condor lookout, after seeing a few of the gigantic birds, we headed to the small town Cabonaconde, wher we started the descent into the deepest (well second by 100 meters) canyon in the world. We descended for around 4 hours arriving at a small town in the valley. A grassy oasis, the town was gorgeous, and really fortunately sleepy. We spent the night in our little cabin, and got ready for next day´s hike. Our group consisted of two girls from Lima, Peru, Frida and Medalit, a woman from Canada/Russia, and our guide. On our second day we hiked three hours and arrived at the ¨Oasis.¨ Truely gorgeous, the oasis was a green spot stuck in the granite valley. At our little resort (made out of mud cabins) there was a pool that used one gigantic boulder as one of its side. (hard to explain, but there are photos, I think) After spending the day in the pool, playing volleyball, and knocking oranges out of the tree, we had dinner, and hit the sack. The next morning we made the climb out of the valley, starting at 5 am. The climb was restless, steep, and a good bit of exercise. Mom kicked some younger people´s asses with the climb, and I was impressed (Mom, when you read this, don´t take it seriously, haha). After a good 3-4 hours, we reached the top, headed to town once again, ate, ect. On the way back to town we stopped at some thermal pools with hot water that ran down from the volcanos. That night was New Years Eve, so we met with our group and another hiking group for dinner, consisting of Peruvians, Canadians, Argentinians, Dutch, Australian, and US (us). After a nice dinner we went to the Plaza de Armas (every town has one pretty much), and saw the chaos of thousands of people lighting fireworks in a small area. I even even got ahold of a bottle rocket or two.
The next day we headed out early for Puno, where the famous, and largest in south america, lake Titicaca is located. We found a tour that went to the floating islands, the islands of Amananti and Taquile. We spent some time on the floating islands, which are actually floating with the help of layers and layers of a certain type of grass. We then went to Amantani, where we were paired up with a family, who fed us and housed us. We spent some time with them, took a hike up to the highest point on the island, and ate dinner. Later that night there was a party for the tourists (which was pretty cheesy) where we all had to dress up in their clothes. A local band played indigenous music (which was the best part) and everyone danced. Mom looked hilarious. We left for Taquile in the morning and spent a chunk of time walking around, admiring the vastness of the lake. It seemed as if we were on one of the San Juan islands because it was so vast. We also got a peek at Bolivia, which I sadly won´t be visiting, probably.
After Puno, we headed to Cusco. The famous city that is close to Machu Picchu. After touring the city, ect, ect, ect, I figured out how to get to MP without a tour. After a good journey we arrived at Aguas Calientes, (the town just bellow MP), spent the night, and got up at 4:30 am to wait in line with every other tourist in the world. Despite the expected toursty shops, lines, ect, we finally reached MP. Once we got the first peek at some of the structures, it seemed like we were in a dream. I didn´t fully comprehend the greatness until after I left. The grass, the carved stone, architecture, and everything was amazing. Its unexplainable, so I will spare you. I got over the steep prices, exploitive government control, loud tourists, long lines, (which was hard), and enjoyed a good 4, 5 hours in MP. We spent another 2 days in Cusco, where mom insisted (yes mom you insisted) on flying to Lima. (the bus ride is only like 25 hours, haha)
This is too long, sorry.
Mom spent the night in Lima, and we toured the city the next. After visiting the center, touring around Miraflores (the nice neighborhood), we found me a hostel and mom left at around 10 pm to catch her flight home. I was sad to see her go, but I am ready for the second half of my trip.
More to come later. I hope all is well. Sorry about the spelling mistakes.
Oliver
So, since my last blog, a lot has happened. I have been in three countries. Argentina, Chile, and Peru. On December 16th my Mom arrived in Mendoza, Argentina. She arrived safe and sound, and I arrived at the Airport, late. Maybe I amalgamated with Argentine culture of tardiness a little. We enjoyed the heat in Mendoza, not doing an awful lot other than taking advantage of San Martin park, the same park I spent so many days in a month or so before. There, my mom enjoyed her first Argentine meat, empanadas, and accents. We spent some time with my friend Federico, the guy I did rock climbing with before. After a few days, we headed off to Santiago, Chile on a night bus. With our early arrival to Santiago, we got to spend the whole day in Santiago, climbing the intercity ¨mountain,¨ going to the Art Museum, and just walking around. We left that afternoon, knowing that we wanted to spend more time in neighboring city Valparaiso. With rolling hills, diversly colored houses, and ¨elevators¨ that travel up the hillsides, Valparaiso is a unique city that all should see. (A cheesy sentence, but true) In Valparaiso, we stayed at a notable hostel called Patiperro hostel in Cerro Alegre that came with a fresh breakfast of a grilled cheese sandwhich, egg, fruit, fresh juice, and real coffee (which is rare for a hostel). We spent the days mostly walking around the city, looking at architecture, the water, and colors. We stopped by the house of writer Pablo Neruda, took a quick boat tour of the harbor, and mom did some hostel socializing with Australians. We met up with friends from Mendoza, Argentinians, who were actually staying at the same hostel. Kiki and Julian, a couple, one of which worked at the hostel we stayed at in Mendoza. On our last day, we went to the beach of Viña del Mar with them and I got my first taste of the ocean on my whole trip.
Moving on to San Pedro de Atacama, we took a 24 hour bus ride overnight, and arrived to a hot, dry, desert land in the middle of the night. We realized all there was to do was find a tour agency becuase that was the only way to get to the amazing surrounding in the Atacama desert. Our first tour was to the salt lakes and flats. The lakes were so salty that we floated on the water. Well almost, our upper bodies were out of the water, and we could have easily have read laying on our backs. We then went to a salt flat, and watched the sunset. The next tour was the geisers. We traveled up to 4321 meters in altitude for an early morning look at the spouting geisers. After a quick swim in a natural thermal bath, we headed back to town. The last and final tour (too many tours) we went to Valle de la luna (Moon Valley) where the land looks as if you are on the moon. We walked around the crazy formations in the afternoon and watched the sunset, (quite romantic with the mom), and headed back for Christmas Eve. After a fancy Christmas Eve dinner, we had a relaxing night in the hostel. Christmas day came around, and so did the heat. It was for sure the hotest Christmas of my life. We spent the day calling family, relaxing in the sun, and reading books while drinking tea, so pretty much the best day possible. We left that night for Iquique on an overnight bus.
We got to Iquique early morning like 5, went to a hostel, slept on the couch in the lobby area, and woke up ready for the day at 9am. We left for the beach, rented an umbrella, and I got totally burnt. My mom got burnt too. The wind was strong, so we just didn´t feel the sun beating down on us, even with the umbrella. Uncomfortably burn´t we left the next day on a bus for Arica, Chile, then crossing the boarder to Tacna, Peru. We left straight for Arequipa after arriving in Tacna, and arrived in time to find a hostel and, a Peruvian favorite, (no jokes), $1.50 chinese stir fried rice (enough for two). Our next day in Arequipa we spent walking around, enjoying the sites including the Cathedral, numerous Churches, and the amazing Santa Catolina Monestary. The ancient monestary was a closed of home to nuns for hundreds of years until it was finally open to the public not to long ago. We also happend to eat four or five times that day, small meals, but plenty. There happend to be a good amount of veggie food there. We found a tour agency to go to the Colca Canyon, (which is almost impossible to go to without a tour), and got ready for our departure at 3 am the next morning.
The Colca Canyon tour was probably the best decision of my mom and I´s trip together. It was beautful, a good work out, and not overrun with tourists like ourselves. The first day we spent time at the famous Condor lookout, after seeing a few of the gigantic birds, we headed to the small town Cabonaconde, wher we started the descent into the deepest (well second by 100 meters) canyon in the world. We descended for around 4 hours arriving at a small town in the valley. A grassy oasis, the town was gorgeous, and really fortunately sleepy. We spent the night in our little cabin, and got ready for next day´s hike. Our group consisted of two girls from Lima, Peru, Frida and Medalit, a woman from Canada/Russia, and our guide. On our second day we hiked three hours and arrived at the ¨Oasis.¨ Truely gorgeous, the oasis was a green spot stuck in the granite valley. At our little resort (made out of mud cabins) there was a pool that used one gigantic boulder as one of its side. (hard to explain, but there are photos, I think) After spending the day in the pool, playing volleyball, and knocking oranges out of the tree, we had dinner, and hit the sack. The next morning we made the climb out of the valley, starting at 5 am. The climb was restless, steep, and a good bit of exercise. Mom kicked some younger people´s asses with the climb, and I was impressed (Mom, when you read this, don´t take it seriously, haha). After a good 3-4 hours, we reached the top, headed to town once again, ate, ect. On the way back to town we stopped at some thermal pools with hot water that ran down from the volcanos. That night was New Years Eve, so we met with our group and another hiking group for dinner, consisting of Peruvians, Canadians, Argentinians, Dutch, Australian, and US (us). After a nice dinner we went to the Plaza de Armas (every town has one pretty much), and saw the chaos of thousands of people lighting fireworks in a small area. I even even got ahold of a bottle rocket or two.
The next day we headed out early for Puno, where the famous, and largest in south america, lake Titicaca is located. We found a tour that went to the floating islands, the islands of Amananti and Taquile. We spent some time on the floating islands, which are actually floating with the help of layers and layers of a certain type of grass. We then went to Amantani, where we were paired up with a family, who fed us and housed us. We spent some time with them, took a hike up to the highest point on the island, and ate dinner. Later that night there was a party for the tourists (which was pretty cheesy) where we all had to dress up in their clothes. A local band played indigenous music (which was the best part) and everyone danced. Mom looked hilarious. We left for Taquile in the morning and spent a chunk of time walking around, admiring the vastness of the lake. It seemed as if we were on one of the San Juan islands because it was so vast. We also got a peek at Bolivia, which I sadly won´t be visiting, probably.
After Puno, we headed to Cusco. The famous city that is close to Machu Picchu. After touring the city, ect, ect, ect, I figured out how to get to MP without a tour. After a good journey we arrived at Aguas Calientes, (the town just bellow MP), spent the night, and got up at 4:30 am to wait in line with every other tourist in the world. Despite the expected toursty shops, lines, ect, we finally reached MP. Once we got the first peek at some of the structures, it seemed like we were in a dream. I didn´t fully comprehend the greatness until after I left. The grass, the carved stone, architecture, and everything was amazing. Its unexplainable, so I will spare you. I got over the steep prices, exploitive government control, loud tourists, long lines, (which was hard), and enjoyed a good 4, 5 hours in MP. We spent another 2 days in Cusco, where mom insisted (yes mom you insisted) on flying to Lima. (the bus ride is only like 25 hours, haha)
This is too long, sorry.
Mom spent the night in Lima, and we toured the city the next. After visiting the center, touring around Miraflores (the nice neighborhood), we found me a hostel and mom left at around 10 pm to catch her flight home. I was sad to see her go, but I am ready for the second half of my trip.
More to come later. I hope all is well. Sorry about the spelling mistakes.
Oliver
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