Scenes From Another Planet

San Pedro de Atacama is a small town in the middle of the desert that has developed into northern Chile's tourism center due to its proximity to a number of natural attractions.  Despite its isolated and desolate location, hordes of Chileans and foreigners alike come here to spend a lot of money (San Pedro is easily the most expensive place we have been so far, even much more so than Lima).  Magge and I arrived in town not expecting too much, and left with some of our best memories yet.

Happy Birthday, Kiersten

Happy 14th to my little sister.  We had to wake up at 3:45am and brave sub-freezing temperatures to get these pictures.  Our hardship is her birthday gift.

These say "Happy Birthday" in Aymara (I think).  Aymara isn't as widely spoken in Chile as it is in Peru, but we have already done one birthday sign in Spanish.

Northern Chile: Not Like Southern Peru

Crossing the border from Tacna, Peru to Arica, Chile, we could definitely sense that we were in a different country.  While the language and the desert landscape remained the same, the Chilean side is less chaotic, has nicer cars and fewer taxis, is cleaner and seems less likely to try to rip us off.  Then it happened: for the first time in nearly three months, we got ripped off.

Peru Wrap-Up

Facts and Figures
Length of Stay:  Two months
Miles Traveled:  2,115 (2,865 since landing in Quito)
Cities and Towns Visited:  Piura, Trujillo, Yungay, Lima, Pisco, Huacahina, Arequipa, Cuzco, Ollantaytambo, Aguas Calientes, Puno, Isla Amantaní, Tacna
Intercity Buses Taken:  8
Times Jeff Ate Alpaca:  3
Times Magge Ate Pizza:  Lost count

Rankings and thoughts in the full post.

Lake Titicaca (We can't say it with a straight face either)

Disclaimer: As I sit here in Puno writing this post, one of Peru's at least once-weekly parades is occurring outside. One thing Jeff and I have learned during our time in this country is that Peruvians love a parade - the louder, the better. So, as irreparable damage is being done to my hearing, I will try my best to concentrate and get this post done.

Left: The ridiculous parade going on outside right now

Chile Itinerary

We've been in Peru for exactly two months as of today, and leave for Tacna, on the Chilean border, tonight.  Our schedule for Chile is more flexible than what we had for Ecuador and Peru, but here is what it looks like right now:

• January 26-27:  Iquique.  After taking a ten hour bus ride from Puno to Tacna, then a train across the border to Arica, then another bus, we will take a few days in relax in this beach city.  I missed out on parasailing in Lima, but may try again here, as it is supposedly a good spot.
• January 28-February 1:  San Pedro de Atacama.  A popular backpacker town in the Atacama desert that is close to hot springs, salt flats, geysers and mountains.
• February 2-5:  Copiapó.  Using this city as a base to venture into the seldom-visited Nevado Tres Cruces National Park.
• February 6-9:  La Serena.  This city has the reputation of being the prettiest city in Chile, architecturally.  It's also close to Pisco distilleries and obvservatories that take advantage of some of the clearest skies on the planet.
• February 10-20:  The Lakes District.  A region full of mountains and (you guessed it) lakes.  There are plenty of outdoor activities here, including the chance to climb a volcano.
• February 21-24:  Chiloé.  In relatively culturally homogenous Chile, the island of Chiloé is supposedly unique.  It is also famous for its oysters, which neither Magge nor I like.
• February 25-March 1:  Santiago and Middle Chile.  We're meeting Marcia and Lee (Magge's mother and stepfather) in Santiago, and will spend some time in the surrounding area and visiting Rachel (Magge's stepsister) in the coastal city of Viña del Mar.
• March 2-7:  Easter Island.  We'll continue with Marcia and Lee to this isolated island before saying goodbye to South America.
• Wild card:  Patagonia.  Due to the immense length of Chile and the cost of flying, we are not currently planning on visiting Patagonia.  However, we are keeping our eye on flight prices, and if we're able to find a deal, we'll accelerate the schedule (likely skipping Copiapó and La Serena).

Incan Ruins

Cuzco is a tourist attraction in its own right, but the primary reason for its popularity is that it is very useful as a base to explore many Incan ruins, especially Machu Picchu, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Magge and I took four days towards the end of our time in Cuzco to explore six different sites.  (Picture to the right is of some storage houses on Pinkuylluna, by the town of Ollantaytambo).

The City I Want to Love, But Don't

Cuzo is the most visually attractive city we have visited so far.  Its mix of Incan and colonial Spanish heritages have created a unique architectural style, helping the city land on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list, and the background of lush green Andean mountains certainly do not detract from its allure.  There are ornate churches built on massive Incan wall foundations, narrow cobblestone streets leading up to the hills, and a number of nicely landscaped plazas surrounded by well-preserved buildings that are hundreds of years old. (Unfortunately, due to our camera problems, I only have pictures of Cuzco taken from a hill and nothing from ground level).  It sounds like the kind of city I would love, and I expected to love it, ranking it #2 in my pre-trip city list.

Why We're Travelling

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

- Mark Twain

Colca Canyon Trek

Last Friday, Jeff and I embarked on a three-day trip to the Colca Canyon.  It was a rigorous journey, but well worth it.  While the canyon was a treat in itself, one of our companions, unwittingly, provided us with a great deal of entertainment as well.  Jeff has already written a post profiling our friend, Highlander (There can be only one!), so I will keep my refernces to him at a minimum.  The following post is a glimpse of our time on the trail. (Please note that I am very sorry there are no photos. It looks as though we may have lost thousands of pictures because one of our memory cards got messed up.  The picture to the right is from Wikipedia).

Colca Canyon Preview: There Can Be Only One

Magge has a lengthy post coming in the next day or two on our trek into Colca Canyon. To whet your appetite, I will introduce a key character in our weekend's travels.

Parental guidance advisory: The following post contains adult language and a reference to drug use.

The Santa Catalina Monastery Is Not Boring

We were not really sure what to expect of Arequipa before we arrived. Our guidebook says that it is an attractive and exciting city, but it also says that things in Peru cost half as much as they actually do and that the water in Huanchaco in December is warm enough for swimming. After we arrived from depressing Pisco, we found out the book is actually right this time. The city is flanked with snowcapped mountains and volcanoes and is full of colonial buildings built with local white volcanic rock. The highlight of the historical center, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the Santa Catalina Monastery.

You're probably wondering how interesting a monastery can be. I'm with you. Magge and I went to a monastery in Quito (also called Santa Catalina), and I was bored out of my mind. However, this monastery was one of the most interesting sites we've seen so far. It covers an entire block (20,000 square meters) and is surrounded by high walls, making it look like a fortress from the outside, but is colorful and intimate on the inside. Built in 1580, nearly no outsiders saw the interior until the mayor of Arequipa forced the monastery to modernize and open to the public in 1970. Magge and I spent two hours wandering around and probably set a new record for pictures taken in a two hour span.  Some more of these pictures are in the full post.

New Year's in Pisco

In an attempt to speed up our travels south, Jeff and I decided to spend our New Year´s in Pisco. We figured the namesake of such a tasty beverage would be a good place to ring in the new year. Perhaps we should have done a bit more research. The town was hit hard by an earthquake in 2007, though in many respects it looked as though the earthquake could have occurred yesterday.

I Still Have Sand in My Ears, Three Days Later

Huacachina, a desert oasis 5km from the city of Ica, is a strange little place.  It used to be an upscale resort, which is still evident from the one nice hotel still standing, but is now a town where foreigners come to sandboard and party and Peruvians come to sandboard and swim in a lagoon that smells worse than New Jersey.  Given our immense success surfing, Magge and I wanted to try our hands at sandboarding, so we stopped in Huacachina for two days on our way from Pisco to Arequipa.

Happy Birthday, Joshie!

Just wanted to wish my favorite big bobo a happy 31st birthday! (Sheesh, you're old)

Guilty Pleasures in Lima

Originally, the plan was to skip Lima if at all possible.  Magge had not been impressed with the city on her previous visit to Peru, and the travel descriptions are not too riveting.  However, we realized that the distance we wanted to cover was too great without breaking it up somewhere, so we decided to concede a few days there.  I booked a hostel in Miraflores, which is a quiet, upscale district outside of central Lima.  From my previous experiences in South America, "upscale" often means that the stray dogs have all four of their legs and it's safe to walk around until 10pm, instead of just until sunset, so my expectations for Miraflores were not all that high.  By the time we left, though, I was wishing we had stayed a little longer.