Ok so, yes, I realize I have been extremely slow in updating this last entry, but I've had some technical difficulties that have been absorbing a lot of my time and energy. But more about that later.......
So the last few days in Cusco were really nice, out with friends a lot before I had to leave, went to some really cool local places with really good music. And then I flew from Cusco to Lima to Quito on Tuesday morning, with a bit of a delay which meant for a bit of stress in the Lima airport trying to manage my connecting flight, but everything ended up working out. Got to Quito and since I hadn't been able to get reservations at my first choice hostel, tried another one on a whim that ended up being pretty cool, called the Secret Garden which was a lot like Loki the hostel I had just left. I might have stayed there longer to connect with other backpackers and meet some other people, but it costs $9 a day with the taxes here, as compared to $6 at the place I am now, which is a nicer place, but not as many people around and the staff are a little grumpy, but nevertheless I have managed to meet some fun travellers. I'm in a 4 person room but so far there has been one night with all beds full, a couple with one other person and the rest of the time I have had the place to myself, so that's kind of nice. Plus the owners have a strangely temperamental dog called Shakira, which I think is hilarious.
So anyway, arrived on Tuesday and did some exploring around the old town, although I still have yet to go all the way up the basilica for the panoramic city picture, cheesy but necessary. I was sitting on the steps at the plaza San Fransisco, when some shoe shine kids came to talk to me, apparently undeterred by the fact that I was wearing flip flops and as such, had no real need for their services. But anyway, we were chatting for a while, and when my phone rang they were all pumped and asked if I would let them play games on it for a while, which I did until the battery started dying. Weird how street kids in Ecuador possess innate knowledge of how to play pool on cell phones. Found a nearby toy store and bought some candy and a soccer ball as an early birthday present for Ricardo, the little boy that I sponsor, and headed to bed early so I could enjoy the day with him.
Through Compassion, I had arranged to hire a van to drive us around for the day. Besides the driver, there was a representative from the main office in Ecuador as well as Ricardo's tutor from the project in Esmeraldas and then Ricardo and his mother. They all picked me up at my hostel in the morning and then we made our way out of the city to the zoo, which was almost an hour away. For those of you who don't know, Ricardo lives in Esmeraldas, Ecuador, which is 6 hours away from Quito by bus, a tropical city right on the coast famous for its large afro-ecuadorian population. He's seven years old (eight in a couple of weeks) and neither he nor his mom had been to the capital before. And he was also really excited by the present, because apparently that's what he had asked for for his birthday and it was his first soccer ball ever. So that was kind of cool. At first especially, he was really quiet and shy, but I think he was mostly just overwhelmed by the whole situation, all the traffic and huge city, plus meeting me etc. I was able to talk with him and his mom a bit, but the dialect that they speak is quite difficult for me to understand, so I was glad that the rep from Compassion was there because he did a lot of translation when necessary, which was really helpful.
Anyway, at the zoo there was quite a bit to see there, although the cages were pretty small which was kind of depressing, but the staff seemed to really try hard and treat the animals well so that made me feel a bit better about the whole thing. Ricardo was enthralled with the monkeys and kept trying to get me to take his picture with them, but wouldn't turn around to look at the camera because he was so fascinated by them.
But after the zoo, we stopped at a nearby place for lunch, where when we were waiting for our food to come, I kept hearing bird noises and so I looked around until I saw a bird cage, but it was empty. Strange, but I didn't really think much of it until I saw two parrots scurrying around beneath people's feet at the next table. And then Ricardo started crawling around on the floor chasing them, which was pretty funny. I tried to get some pictures, but I'm not sure how well they turned out, but the whole thing was pretty comical.
And then we went to the teleferriqo, which is this fairly new cable car that goes up the mountain for a great view over the city, but by the time we got there it was really cloudy and rainy, so we wouldn't have been able to see anything. Instead, right at the same place there is a small amusement park and arcade, so we played some games and did a little rollercoaster, etc., which he seemed equally happy with. But by then it was about 5 and they still had to take the bus back home so we said our goodbyes and his mom and I had a little moment which was kind of neat.
And then Thursday I was pretty overtired so I didn't do a whole lot, although there is a park near my hostel kind of up on a hill where you can take some nice pictures over the city so I hung around there a little bit. Went out at night with some people that I met here and then Friday did some exploring in the new town, la Mariscal district or Gringolandia, depending on who you ask. Went to a museum, although a lot of their rooms were closed off because of some technical difficulties or something, so I might go back this week and see if they'll honour my ticket to see the rest. Had a really interesting $1 dinner consisting of some really good vegetables and rice, questionable boiled chicken and decidedly less than tasty tamale, but it was entertaining nonetheless. There was a whole family serving just our table, me and 4 english and australian guys and the grandma kept coming over and touching the boys' hair and telling them they were beautiful. Hilarious.
And then Saturday, one of those guys and I got up early to catch the bus to this famous market in Otavalo, a town about 2 hours away from Quito. They have a large artisan market everyday, but on Saturdays they have 3 or 4 different rings and all the streets in the centre are pretty much filled with vendors. The sheer size of the place was unbelievable, with everykind of jewellery, alpaca product, bag, food, animal etc you can think of. There were even quite a few people selling bags of these large white and brown spotted beetles that I'm a little unsure of what they were for, but was hesitant to ask. Later in the day we saw someone frying some and then eating them. Barf. Unfortunately though, it was at this point that I realized that my bank card wouldn't work in the atm, and neither would any of my credit cards. So I didn't get to buy as much as I would have liked, since I only had about 30 dollars with me.
Got back to Quito that day and then on Sunday we went to the equator monument at Mitad del Mundo (the centre of the world), which is about 45 minutes away from my hostel by bus, outside the city. The place is horribly cheesy and had this whole compound of eerily disney-esque shops and restaurants surrounding it, but we took our pictures regardless. But actually, the huge monument is located at the place where the guy originally placed the line about a hundred years ago, and it's close but not completely accurate. So once you go back outside the compound, you can go a few hundred metres up the road and there's this dirt laneway you follow to a completely different little museum setup at the actual gps of 0'0'0, so then we got a really interesting guided tour there and a second picture in front of the sign.
Went out for some delicious Cantonese for dinner and then watched a really bizarre movie, but all in all a good weekend.
Oh and then this morning, spent a good portion of my emergency cash on a phone call to the Royal Bank only to first be disconnected and then told that according to them my account and card are perfectly fine. Extremely frustrating. But then I just started walking up and down the streets trying my card in every atm until eventually I found one that worked, so hopefully as long as I keep using that same one while I'm here it will be alright. Still, I think I'm going to have to keep a bit more money in my lock box at the hostel than I did in Peru if the atms are going to that unreliable. But for the moment, problem solved so that's good, I don't have to start busking on the street or anything to pay for my food.
Otherwise, Quito is nice, so far I still miss Cusco because of the friends I made there, plus the fact that Quito just gives me the sense of a big city, and not much else. There definitely is poverty, but there is also a lot of skyscrapers and mercedes and mcdonalds on every corner, which isn't really my style. So currently I'm on the computer at the South American Explorers office, and this afternoon I hope to look over their volunteer listings and see if there's anything available for short term opportunties. If there's something promising, I wouldn't mind sticking around until next week because Dec 1-6 is the city's main independence celebration, with bullfights and futbol games and lots of parties. Otherwise, I might leave in the next couple days and head on down to the central highlands and possibly arrange a jungle tour from there or to isla de la plata (poor man's galapagos). There's a bunch of people at my hostel who have just gotten back from the real Galapagos, and I've been tempted to just splurge and do it, it's such a once in a lifetime thing and I'm in Ecuador, possibly for the only time, but I think the cost (at least 1300-1500 total for a reliable tour, the flights and park entry) is just more than I can afford, especially this early in my travels. So unfortunately I don't think that Galapagos is in the cards, sorry Andrew :(
But either way, I have until December 12ish to spend in Ecuador and then I have made plans to meet up with a dutch girl, Irene, who I met through my spanish school in Cusco. We're looking to meet in Mancora, a chill little surf town on the northern coast of Peru and then stay there until Boxing day, learning how to surf, relaxing on the beach etc., which should be really fun. Also at that time there is a big surf competition so the town should be pretty busy with tourists and competitors etc. And then after Christmas, we're looking to head down the west coast of Peru, stop at a few towns and then spend a couple days in Lima, then onto Pisco (the town that was hit hardest by the earthquake this past summer) then the desert, Arequipa, and then Lake titicaca on our way into Bolivia, likely around mid January. I'm thinking that probably around then we will split up, because I have more intention of getting to Rio for Carnaval than she does, and I think she has some other things in mind for what she wants to do. But either way, it might be nice to have someone around to travel with for a while.
Ok, well I think that's it for now, I'm off to delve into these volunteer listings which are massive, but hope you are all well and thanks for reading these obscenely long entries!!
xo sarah
Monday, November 26, 2007
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Last weekend in Cusco *tear*
So this is officially my last few days in Cusco, and as predicted, I´m getting pretty sad to leave. I´ve met a lot of really fun people here, travellers and locals, and there´s something really relaxed and chill about being here, but there´s always something to do if you want to.
For example, this past week has been crazy. I´ve been doing my spanish classes in the mornings, and while it´s only been 2 weeks of part time lessons, I really think that it has helped a lot. I mean, at the very least I have learned how to conjugate all regular and mostly all irregular verbs in the present, 3 different types of the futuro proximo, as well as the present progressive, pasado perfecto, pasado imperfecto and pasado indefinido. Which probably means nothing to most of you, but i feel like that´s quite the accomplishment for a gringo girl in 2 weeks of lessons, hahaha.
And then in the afternoons, starting sometimes right after my class, I´ve been helping some guys also from the Amauta Spanish School with their volunteering placement, which is an after school program for street kids or kids in a really poor neighbourhood. Like most of them, even if they have a house, don´t have running water or indoor plumbing or enough food to eat. They´re so cute though, and so much fun to hang out with. The project Colibri is a 2 room building, again with no running water, which makes snacktime and any sort of cleanup REALLY interesting, let me tell you. But the whole place is pretty sparse and depressing, so the guys (Steve is from Ireland and Neils is from Holland) had the idea of painting some murals and cartoon characters and stuff on the walls to brighten up the place. Which I know is an unlikely situation for my skills to come in handy, but I´ll have all of you know that my artistic skills have apparently been lying latent, waiting for just such a situation. Apparently I´m really good at drawing disney characters on walls, copying the design off of dvd covers. I was pretty nervous about it, but apparently this has been my calling all along. I´ll try and take some pictures on Monday as proof, cause i know most of you are shaking your heads in disbelief right now but it´s true.
So anyway, Tuesday it took us most of the early afternoon before most of the kids came just to clean the wall, which was filthy, and again it´s hard to facilitate cleanup without running water of any kind. And then the kids arrive around 4 and then we basically play with them, take them to the park, help with homework, get them a snack and then the centre closes around 8. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we´ve been drawing the pictures on the walls, outlining them in black markers and putting paint by number numbers on so that next week sometime I think the guys have got it set up with plastic ponchos and stuff so that the kids can all help fill in the mural with colour. I´m sad that I can´t stay longer to work there more, and see the place all finished, but the guys have promised to email me some pictures.
But a little bit about the kids: one of my favourites (yes i know you´re not supposed to have them, but whatever)is a little boy about 5 years old named Jose who always comes running up to me yelling "amiga!!" and asked me on friday if i´d be his girlfriend. To try to persuademe he built me a lego house which he then filled with 16 lego dogs. I was a little swayed, i have to say. hahhaha. And then there is Margota, who loves to braid my hair, and by braid of course I mean tie in irremovable knots. Roberto Carlos (great name eh?) is 4 and so cute, and probably my largest fan of my artwork, as he stands behind me when I´m drawing something with these huge eyes and gets so excited when he recognizes the dog from the lady and the tramp, or the squirrel from ice age etc., and starts jumping up and down. soooo cute. and also encouraging, as the mere fact that i can draw anything recognizable makes me practically want to scream and jump up and down, it´s that exciting. He has a brother named Franco who looks younger but is actually 5 and I think he has some sort of disabilities, or else is just a really slow talker,because he´s tiny and pretty much the only thing he can say that is recognizable is "besame", so he goes around to all the little girls asking them for kisses. And he´s so charming he pretty much always gets them, hahaha. But in total there are usually around 30 kids or more who show up, and they´re all so adorable, and really appreciative of you spending time with them.
Otherwise, I´ve been doing a lot of dancing, going out with friends from the school, and from here, and basically been having a great time. My plane ticket to quito is for this coming tuesday morning, ánd then I am meeting with Ricardo, my Compassion sponsor kid all day Wednesday, which I am also superpumped about. So I´ll be sure to let you know how the flight and the visit was soon!!
Xo,
Sarah
For example, this past week has been crazy. I´ve been doing my spanish classes in the mornings, and while it´s only been 2 weeks of part time lessons, I really think that it has helped a lot. I mean, at the very least I have learned how to conjugate all regular and mostly all irregular verbs in the present, 3 different types of the futuro proximo, as well as the present progressive, pasado perfecto, pasado imperfecto and pasado indefinido. Which probably means nothing to most of you, but i feel like that´s quite the accomplishment for a gringo girl in 2 weeks of lessons, hahaha.
And then in the afternoons, starting sometimes right after my class, I´ve been helping some guys also from the Amauta Spanish School with their volunteering placement, which is an after school program for street kids or kids in a really poor neighbourhood. Like most of them, even if they have a house, don´t have running water or indoor plumbing or enough food to eat. They´re so cute though, and so much fun to hang out with. The project Colibri is a 2 room building, again with no running water, which makes snacktime and any sort of cleanup REALLY interesting, let me tell you. But the whole place is pretty sparse and depressing, so the guys (Steve is from Ireland and Neils is from Holland) had the idea of painting some murals and cartoon characters and stuff on the walls to brighten up the place. Which I know is an unlikely situation for my skills to come in handy, but I´ll have all of you know that my artistic skills have apparently been lying latent, waiting for just such a situation. Apparently I´m really good at drawing disney characters on walls, copying the design off of dvd covers. I was pretty nervous about it, but apparently this has been my calling all along. I´ll try and take some pictures on Monday as proof, cause i know most of you are shaking your heads in disbelief right now but it´s true.
So anyway, Tuesday it took us most of the early afternoon before most of the kids came just to clean the wall, which was filthy, and again it´s hard to facilitate cleanup without running water of any kind. And then the kids arrive around 4 and then we basically play with them, take them to the park, help with homework, get them a snack and then the centre closes around 8. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we´ve been drawing the pictures on the walls, outlining them in black markers and putting paint by number numbers on so that next week sometime I think the guys have got it set up with plastic ponchos and stuff so that the kids can all help fill in the mural with colour. I´m sad that I can´t stay longer to work there more, and see the place all finished, but the guys have promised to email me some pictures.
But a little bit about the kids: one of my favourites (yes i know you´re not supposed to have them, but whatever)is a little boy about 5 years old named Jose who always comes running up to me yelling "amiga!!" and asked me on friday if i´d be his girlfriend. To try to persuademe he built me a lego house which he then filled with 16 lego dogs. I was a little swayed, i have to say. hahhaha. And then there is Margota, who loves to braid my hair, and by braid of course I mean tie in irremovable knots. Roberto Carlos (great name eh?) is 4 and so cute, and probably my largest fan of my artwork, as he stands behind me when I´m drawing something with these huge eyes and gets so excited when he recognizes the dog from the lady and the tramp, or the squirrel from ice age etc., and starts jumping up and down. soooo cute. and also encouraging, as the mere fact that i can draw anything recognizable makes me practically want to scream and jump up and down, it´s that exciting. He has a brother named Franco who looks younger but is actually 5 and I think he has some sort of disabilities, or else is just a really slow talker,because he´s tiny and pretty much the only thing he can say that is recognizable is "besame", so he goes around to all the little girls asking them for kisses. And he´s so charming he pretty much always gets them, hahaha. But in total there are usually around 30 kids or more who show up, and they´re all so adorable, and really appreciative of you spending time with them.
Otherwise, I´ve been doing a lot of dancing, going out with friends from the school, and from here, and basically been having a great time. My plane ticket to quito is for this coming tuesday morning, ánd then I am meeting with Ricardo, my Compassion sponsor kid all day Wednesday, which I am also superpumped about. So I´ll be sure to let you know how the flight and the visit was soon!!
Xo,
Sarah
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Two+ weeks down......
So I realized today that I´ve already been here in Cusco for more than two weeks which is weird, but at the same time I definitely am starting to feel comfortable here, and am going to be kind of sad when i have to leave next weekend.
This week has been really busy, with spanish classes, which are going well, although I´m not sure how much I can feasibly learn of a language in 2 weeks of part time classes. Plus, I also did some volunteering through the school at a hospital for kids with physical and mental disabilities, most of whom have been abandoned by their families because they can´t possibly care for them, and it´s seen as degeneration and shameful to have a child with any sort of "abnormalities". So that was really good, cause most of the kids are so cute and just begging for attention as there´s hardly any staff there, or at least there wasn´t at times when I was there. But unfortunately, I´m pretty sure that as a result of playing with them, I managed to get some icky eye infection which made for a pretty disgusting show on thursday and friday, and didn´t help the cold-ear infection-sinus trifecta i was already battling. But anyway, started some cipro treatment, which has seemed to quickly start clearing all of that up, so hopefully i´ll be healthier now for a while.
Went out on Wednesday and Thursday nights dancing, first with people from the Spanish school (who are strangely 98% all Dutch) and then with people from Loki, the hostal I´m staying at, which is an awesome place to meet people, although the turnover is kind of overwhelming, and the only good part is that other people are just as likely to forget your name too so you start to not feel bad when you have no idea what people are called anymore.
Last night even though I was supposed to hang out with some people I met at the hostal, I went to bed early and actually slept for about 14 hours, which I think also helped with my many ailments, cause today I woke up totally refreshed, (and only needing a handful of kleenex instead of a box) which is a nice break.
Today though, I went out for lunch at a really good all day breakfast place and then went to read a book I had brought at Plaza San Blas, which is a little bit away from the downtown and usually a better place to be able to sit in peace without being hounded by people trying to sell postcards and finger puppets to gullible tourists. Strangely a) there was some sort of market going on there, so there were tons of prospective entrepreneurs there and b) I opened up my novel, which was Margaret Atwood´s The Edible Woman, (that I can´t remember where I got it from) to find on the title page a handwritten note that said "for Sarah -best, Margaret Atwood". How bizarre is that? I was going to hand it in to a book exchange soon so I could get something new to read, but I might end up keeping it just because that´s such a weird coincidence, almost like magic.
Ok well that´s pretty much it for now- things are kind of in a routine here, so nothing all that exciting to report, but I´m off to see a reggae band (which sort of reminds me of newworldson for those of you who know what i´m talking about). Hope all is well with all of you!!
xo Sarah
This week has been really busy, with spanish classes, which are going well, although I´m not sure how much I can feasibly learn of a language in 2 weeks of part time classes. Plus, I also did some volunteering through the school at a hospital for kids with physical and mental disabilities, most of whom have been abandoned by their families because they can´t possibly care for them, and it´s seen as degeneration and shameful to have a child with any sort of "abnormalities". So that was really good, cause most of the kids are so cute and just begging for attention as there´s hardly any staff there, or at least there wasn´t at times when I was there. But unfortunately, I´m pretty sure that as a result of playing with them, I managed to get some icky eye infection which made for a pretty disgusting show on thursday and friday, and didn´t help the cold-ear infection-sinus trifecta i was already battling. But anyway, started some cipro treatment, which has seemed to quickly start clearing all of that up, so hopefully i´ll be healthier now for a while.
Went out on Wednesday and Thursday nights dancing, first with people from the Spanish school (who are strangely 98% all Dutch) and then with people from Loki, the hostal I´m staying at, which is an awesome place to meet people, although the turnover is kind of overwhelming, and the only good part is that other people are just as likely to forget your name too so you start to not feel bad when you have no idea what people are called anymore.
Last night even though I was supposed to hang out with some people I met at the hostal, I went to bed early and actually slept for about 14 hours, which I think also helped with my many ailments, cause today I woke up totally refreshed, (and only needing a handful of kleenex instead of a box) which is a nice break.
Today though, I went out for lunch at a really good all day breakfast place and then went to read a book I had brought at Plaza San Blas, which is a little bit away from the downtown and usually a better place to be able to sit in peace without being hounded by people trying to sell postcards and finger puppets to gullible tourists. Strangely a) there was some sort of market going on there, so there were tons of prospective entrepreneurs there and b) I opened up my novel, which was Margaret Atwood´s The Edible Woman, (that I can´t remember where I got it from) to find on the title page a handwritten note that said "for Sarah -best, Margaret Atwood". How bizarre is that? I was going to hand it in to a book exchange soon so I could get something new to read, but I might end up keeping it just because that´s such a weird coincidence, almost like magic.
Ok well that´s pretty much it for now- things are kind of in a routine here, so nothing all that exciting to report, but I´m off to see a reggae band (which sort of reminds me of newworldson for those of you who know what i´m talking about). Hope all is well with all of you!!
xo Sarah
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Inca Trail contd
Ok, so the second day, finally crawled to the top of that first pass (after there had already been a false pass which was EXTREMELY cruel) and then there were probably literally 1000 steps down to the campsite for that day. My ears were popping like crazy, because I managed to do that section in like 40 minutes. But then we were done for the day at like 1:30 in the afternoon, which was nice. Had a big nap, tea time, and a great sunset in the mountains. Then the next morning we got up early again and started on the second pass, which wasn{t so bad, and when you got to the top of it, there were these hazy lagoons which were pretty neat looking. And then on the way down from there, there were several ruins, one of which was quite large and pretty spectacular. It had a single staircase up to it, and was surrounded on three sides by steep cliffs. I forget what it{s exact name was in Quechua, but it was known as the {inaccessible town{ in English. And then from there we had to keep descending to where we had lunch, back in cloud forest areas, and then start ascending up to get to the third pass. This was the longest day of walking, with more than 15 km of trail to get through, although it was probably the most beautiful, with waterfalls, caves carved into the mountain, etc. We were all pretty tired by the time we got to our campsite at Winay Wayna, but our guide made us drop all our stuff and continue on a little bit further past the campsite to get a tour of his favourite ruins. And it was pretty neat' we got there just as the sun was starting to go down, and there were rows upon rows of agricultural terraces and baths. After it started to get really dark though, we headed back to the campsite, which was the largest one yet, with a restaurant and actual bathrooms on site, which i definitely took advantage of and paid the 5 soles for a hot shower. Which probably didn{t do much considering we still had more gross sweaty hiking the next day, but it definitely made me feel better in the short term, so i figure it was worth it.
That last day we got up at quarter to four to make sure that we would be the first ones in line for the final checkpoint, which didn{t even open until 5:30,n it opened it was a mad sprint to try to reach Intipunku, the SunGate of Machu Picchu as the first group. We almost did it, but a few crazy Norwegian guys from a group behind us overtook us so we weren{t the first ones there after all, despite hiking faster than i imagined possible for at least an hour. One of the guys was trying to pass us, and Angie, one of the Australian girls was trying to stop him by weaving back and forth, so he sort of joke tackled her to get past. Which then made her wheel around and whack him so hard with her walking stick that I practically heard bones crack. Just to give you an idea of how intense this race was. But like i said, it didn{t really matter because by the time we got to the sun gate, expecting the postcard view, we arrived to find a) that we weren{t the first ones there, and b) all you could see was cloud. Literally, not even the outline of a mountain was visible. Kind of disappointing.
So we stayed there a few more minutes, recovering and hoping that the fog would start to lift, which it slowly was, and then we carried on for the last 20 minutes or so of walking from there to Machu Picchu itself. Which was probably the most leisurely and easy section of the whole entire trail. Which of course meant that I managed to sprain my ankle. Literally 10 minutes before we got to Machu Picchu. I was sooo disappointed, because even though it didn{t seem to be too bad of a sprain, I wasn{t sure if I{d be able to climb Huayna Picchu, the mountain overlooking the ruins, which was sort of what I{d been looking forward to the whole time. Anyway, we got our team picture taken again, got a tour of the main parts of the ruins, and then at the last second I decided to risk it and forewent the last half of the tour in favour of the climb. Apparently it should only take like 45 minutes, but it definitely took me just about an hour to get up there, hobbling along, especially since the stairs are so steep that you have to cling to this railing and stop every two seconds for people coming back down. But you go up all these stairs, and then get to the ruins part near the top of the mountain, where it really gets steep, and then you continue on, have to shimmy nearly on your stomach sort of diagonally upwards through this gross little cave thing, climb up a ladder and then suddenly you{re on top of the mountain. I don{t know what I was expecting exactly, but I guess I hadn{t really thought that it would literally be some boulders up there, and you{re literally perched on the peak of the mountain. Absolutely spectacular, with Machu Picchu and Intipunku visible below you, and mountains in every direction you can see. It really did feel like I was suspended in midair, because you can{t see any of the stairs or mountain below you. But I didn{t linger too long up there, because it was already so crowded with people all jostling for the best picture spot that I thought I may be shoved off into oblivion, especially with a crippled foot.
So we started back down, looked at a few of the buildings that are up there, and then I went back down to explore Machu Picchu a bit more. Although by that time I was so exhausted and dehydrated that I wanted to get over to the exit and get something to eat, but somehow got lost slash stuck in the maze of buildings for about half an hour. I could see where I wanted to get to, but every time I thought I had it figured out, there was another dead end or a tomb or something. I know I should have been still marvelling at all of the stonework and detail, which was amazing, but at that point I was just getting really annoyed. But anyway, finally got it figured out, and actually I think it{s good that I didn{t get to completely look at everything I wanted to there, just because it preserves some of the mystery and awe, you know?
So then we had to take a bus down to meet up with the rest of our trek group at a restaurant in the town of Aguas Caliente, which is at the bottom of the mountain, had a little goodbye ceremony and then we were off to the train, which took an unbelievably long 5 hours to get back into Cusco. Had a good chat with one of the British couples, Sam and EJ on the train though, and also had a funny little moment with an older man whose wife was sleeping, and this huge moth kept flying around her open mouth. At first he was trying to shoo it away, and then just sort of shrugged his shoulders and gave up, at which point he realized that I was watching him and laughing, and then we took turns pretending to herd the moth back and forth to each other, and laughing hysterically when it landed on sleeping people nearby. We never even said anything to each other, but it was a very amusing diversion in what was pretty much otherwise a really long and boring train ride.
Basically fell dead asleep for 12 hours or so, only to wake up Sunday morning to realize that the cold I had been harbouring during the trek had now decided to kidnap my voice completely. Seriously couldn{t say a single word. Which sucked because I had already used up all of my Halls and didn{t have hardly any bottled water left, which made for a very interesting and mimed visit to the store (the pharmacies here keep all the products behind the counter, so you have to ask specifically for the things you want- that was fun). But I did manage to get some necessities and went back to bed for a few hours, and the voice started to come back a little bit at a time, though it{s still nowhere near normal.
Started spanish school at Amauta yesterday, as well as switched hostels into somewhere with more people around, which hopefully will provide some entertainment. The showers were almost painfully hot though, which is an unusual improvement over the last place at least. The first 2 hours of spanish class with the first teacher were pretty rough, as it felt like I was being tested on all sorts of things that I hadn{t been taught yet and was just expected to know. And she wasn{t very patient. But then the second girl was much more helpful, and it was more of a lesson and practice, which seemed manageable and will likely be useful I{m sure. We also had a nice welcome dinner for all the new students which was free, but not really that good of food. Among other things, there was this pasta served that was supposed to have spinach on it, but basically was rubbery spaghetti with green goo. mmmmm
Anyway, now I{m in an internet cafe across the street from my new hostel waiting for my trek pictures to try to upload, which is painfully slow as usual, and also waiting for my laundry to get done (supposed to be finished at lunchtime) which hopefully is true, otherwise I{ll be wearing these pyjama pants to school for lack of other clothing options. Weird.- suddenly it{s like i{m back at university again :)
Ok well I think that{s all for today- at least some of my pictures should be up on snapfish today, although my camera battery might not live long enough for them all to get up there, so some of the machu picchu ones might get up tomorrow or the next day. Hope things are well with all of you- keep the emails coming, they definitely provide some much needed entertainment and keep me feeling up to date on things back home.
Love always,
sarah
That last day we got up at quarter to four to make sure that we would be the first ones in line for the final checkpoint, which didn{t even open until 5:30,n it opened it was a mad sprint to try to reach Intipunku, the SunGate of Machu Picchu as the first group. We almost did it, but a few crazy Norwegian guys from a group behind us overtook us so we weren{t the first ones there after all, despite hiking faster than i imagined possible for at least an hour. One of the guys was trying to pass us, and Angie, one of the Australian girls was trying to stop him by weaving back and forth, so he sort of joke tackled her to get past. Which then made her wheel around and whack him so hard with her walking stick that I practically heard bones crack. Just to give you an idea of how intense this race was. But like i said, it didn{t really matter because by the time we got to the sun gate, expecting the postcard view, we arrived to find a) that we weren{t the first ones there, and b) all you could see was cloud. Literally, not even the outline of a mountain was visible. Kind of disappointing.
So we stayed there a few more minutes, recovering and hoping that the fog would start to lift, which it slowly was, and then we carried on for the last 20 minutes or so of walking from there to Machu Picchu itself. Which was probably the most leisurely and easy section of the whole entire trail. Which of course meant that I managed to sprain my ankle. Literally 10 minutes before we got to Machu Picchu. I was sooo disappointed, because even though it didn{t seem to be too bad of a sprain, I wasn{t sure if I{d be able to climb Huayna Picchu, the mountain overlooking the ruins, which was sort of what I{d been looking forward to the whole time. Anyway, we got our team picture taken again, got a tour of the main parts of the ruins, and then at the last second I decided to risk it and forewent the last half of the tour in favour of the climb. Apparently it should only take like 45 minutes, but it definitely took me just about an hour to get up there, hobbling along, especially since the stairs are so steep that you have to cling to this railing and stop every two seconds for people coming back down. But you go up all these stairs, and then get to the ruins part near the top of the mountain, where it really gets steep, and then you continue on, have to shimmy nearly on your stomach sort of diagonally upwards through this gross little cave thing, climb up a ladder and then suddenly you{re on top of the mountain. I don{t know what I was expecting exactly, but I guess I hadn{t really thought that it would literally be some boulders up there, and you{re literally perched on the peak of the mountain. Absolutely spectacular, with Machu Picchu and Intipunku visible below you, and mountains in every direction you can see. It really did feel like I was suspended in midair, because you can{t see any of the stairs or mountain below you. But I didn{t linger too long up there, because it was already so crowded with people all jostling for the best picture spot that I thought I may be shoved off into oblivion, especially with a crippled foot.
So we started back down, looked at a few of the buildings that are up there, and then I went back down to explore Machu Picchu a bit more. Although by that time I was so exhausted and dehydrated that I wanted to get over to the exit and get something to eat, but somehow got lost slash stuck in the maze of buildings for about half an hour. I could see where I wanted to get to, but every time I thought I had it figured out, there was another dead end or a tomb or something. I know I should have been still marvelling at all of the stonework and detail, which was amazing, but at that point I was just getting really annoyed. But anyway, finally got it figured out, and actually I think it{s good that I didn{t get to completely look at everything I wanted to there, just because it preserves some of the mystery and awe, you know?
So then we had to take a bus down to meet up with the rest of our trek group at a restaurant in the town of Aguas Caliente, which is at the bottom of the mountain, had a little goodbye ceremony and then we were off to the train, which took an unbelievably long 5 hours to get back into Cusco. Had a good chat with one of the British couples, Sam and EJ on the train though, and also had a funny little moment with an older man whose wife was sleeping, and this huge moth kept flying around her open mouth. At first he was trying to shoo it away, and then just sort of shrugged his shoulders and gave up, at which point he realized that I was watching him and laughing, and then we took turns pretending to herd the moth back and forth to each other, and laughing hysterically when it landed on sleeping people nearby. We never even said anything to each other, but it was a very amusing diversion in what was pretty much otherwise a really long and boring train ride.
Basically fell dead asleep for 12 hours or so, only to wake up Sunday morning to realize that the cold I had been harbouring during the trek had now decided to kidnap my voice completely. Seriously couldn{t say a single word. Which sucked because I had already used up all of my Halls and didn{t have hardly any bottled water left, which made for a very interesting and mimed visit to the store (the pharmacies here keep all the products behind the counter, so you have to ask specifically for the things you want- that was fun). But I did manage to get some necessities and went back to bed for a few hours, and the voice started to come back a little bit at a time, though it{s still nowhere near normal.
Started spanish school at Amauta yesterday, as well as switched hostels into somewhere with more people around, which hopefully will provide some entertainment. The showers were almost painfully hot though, which is an unusual improvement over the last place at least. The first 2 hours of spanish class with the first teacher were pretty rough, as it felt like I was being tested on all sorts of things that I hadn{t been taught yet and was just expected to know. And she wasn{t very patient. But then the second girl was much more helpful, and it was more of a lesson and practice, which seemed manageable and will likely be useful I{m sure. We also had a nice welcome dinner for all the new students which was free, but not really that good of food. Among other things, there was this pasta served that was supposed to have spinach on it, but basically was rubbery spaghetti with green goo. mmmmm
Anyway, now I{m in an internet cafe across the street from my new hostel waiting for my trek pictures to try to upload, which is painfully slow as usual, and also waiting for my laundry to get done (supposed to be finished at lunchtime) which hopefully is true, otherwise I{ll be wearing these pyjama pants to school for lack of other clothing options. Weird.- suddenly it{s like i{m back at university again :)
Ok well I think that{s all for today- at least some of my pictures should be up on snapfish today, although my camera battery might not live long enough for them all to get up there, so some of the machu picchu ones might get up tomorrow or the next day. Hope things are well with all of you- keep the emails coming, they definitely provide some much needed entertainment and keep me feeling up to date on things back home.
Love always,
sarah
Monday, November 5, 2007
Back from trekking
I can't believe it's over already, but the four day Inca Trail Trek ended on Saturday night. Absolutely exhausting, and challenging to within an inch of my life, but holy crap, so worth it.
So much to describe, but I'll try to give the short version now because I'm on a common computer that wont' let me upload pictures right now. And I have spanish class that starts soon so I don't have time to investigate.
Got picked up disgustingly early on the Wednesdsay morning at my hostel, and we took a bus partway there, stopped for breakfast in Ollantaytambo, a small village in the Sacred Valley. On the way to the Inca Trail checkpoint our bus got a flat tire so we had to stop to get it changed, and then found out a few miles down the road that the guy who changed it did it wrong, so the axle broke or something and then we were on the side of the road waiting for a different bus to come get us. But we got there eventually, with an eventful start to the day, so all was good. In total, there were 16 trekkers, 2 guides, a cook, and 21 porters with my tour, which sounds like a lot, but we were definitely well fed and taken care of, with all the equipment and everything that got brought with us. All the exercise plus some really good food managed to give me my appetite back so that's comforting, although living expenses tend to increase dramatically when you have to factor in meals, ahahaha.
The first day after checking in and showing our passports, the hiking was pretty easy, or at least mild. We got to the campsite right before it started to get dark, which is pretty early at like 5thirtyish here. And it rained that whole first night pretty hard, so much so that i had dreams about them coming to relocate us further along the trail because our tents were washing away down the river. No such luck though. And then the second day we got woken up in our tents at 5am with some coca tea in bed, then breakfast and the start of the hardest day of hiking. The first few hours weren't so bad, as we were travelling through some really cool cloud forests, with beautiful orchids everywhere, hanging mosses and ferns, waterfalls, etc. But then at the breaktime we sort of hit the treeline on the mountain and from there to the top it was a huge struggle. The steps were really steep, and for those last few hours of climbing, my hands and feet had gone completely numb, from the altitude i guess, which made it a bit more difficult. Myself and this other girl, Isabelle, from Quebec, were the last ones to manage to get up to the top of that first pass and let me tell you, there were many times when i seriously was considering living the remainder of my days on the side of that mountain.
Ok, this is nowhere near the end of the story, but i'm getting told to get off the computer now for some reason, so i'll have to continue this later on, but just know that it was an amazing time, and i'm back in Cusco safe and sound, with much to report, verbally and pictorially, soon!
xo sarah
So much to describe, but I'll try to give the short version now because I'm on a common computer that wont' let me upload pictures right now. And I have spanish class that starts soon so I don't have time to investigate.
Got picked up disgustingly early on the Wednesdsay morning at my hostel, and we took a bus partway there, stopped for breakfast in Ollantaytambo, a small village in the Sacred Valley. On the way to the Inca Trail checkpoint our bus got a flat tire so we had to stop to get it changed, and then found out a few miles down the road that the guy who changed it did it wrong, so the axle broke or something and then we were on the side of the road waiting for a different bus to come get us. But we got there eventually, with an eventful start to the day, so all was good. In total, there were 16 trekkers, 2 guides, a cook, and 21 porters with my tour, which sounds like a lot, but we were definitely well fed and taken care of, with all the equipment and everything that got brought with us. All the exercise plus some really good food managed to give me my appetite back so that's comforting, although living expenses tend to increase dramatically when you have to factor in meals, ahahaha.
The first day after checking in and showing our passports, the hiking was pretty easy, or at least mild. We got to the campsite right before it started to get dark, which is pretty early at like 5thirtyish here. And it rained that whole first night pretty hard, so much so that i had dreams about them coming to relocate us further along the trail because our tents were washing away down the river. No such luck though. And then the second day we got woken up in our tents at 5am with some coca tea in bed, then breakfast and the start of the hardest day of hiking. The first few hours weren't so bad, as we were travelling through some really cool cloud forests, with beautiful orchids everywhere, hanging mosses and ferns, waterfalls, etc. But then at the breaktime we sort of hit the treeline on the mountain and from there to the top it was a huge struggle. The steps were really steep, and for those last few hours of climbing, my hands and feet had gone completely numb, from the altitude i guess, which made it a bit more difficult. Myself and this other girl, Isabelle, from Quebec, were the last ones to manage to get up to the top of that first pass and let me tell you, there were many times when i seriously was considering living the remainder of my days on the side of that mountain.
Ok, this is nowhere near the end of the story, but i'm getting told to get off the computer now for some reason, so i'll have to continue this later on, but just know that it was an amazing time, and i'm back in Cusco safe and sound, with much to report, verbally and pictorially, soon!
xo sarah
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