So the last couple of days we have just been wanderng around Cusco. It is a beautiful city and Im glad we planned for so much time here. We got here around 9 and we were exhausted from Huayna Picchu so we had dinner and basically went to sleep. We are staying at Pariwana Hostel agan and it s fantastic. From the security lockers to the food and nightlife we are pleased with our decsion.
Our second day we met two Austrailian girls and we wandered the markets and priced out items we want to buy before we leave. Most of the vendors have the same items and it is all about bartering for the best price. Then we went and had lunch at a cafe that one of our guides recommended. We split ways with Margaret and Hannah and kept exploring. We stumbled across the most fantastic jewlery store which was run by the cutest lady ever. We spent a lot of time there shopping, dancing to her music, and talkng with her: he gave us big hugs when we left and honestly her product was priced the best we had seen yet. To say the least we loved her.
Aftermore wandering we went to dinner and came back to our hostel. We grabbed a few drinks at our hostel bar and met up with three Canadian girls we had met earlier. Lizzy went to take a nap because she didnt think she would make it the whole night if she didnt. Lauren, the three girls, and myself settled into a tablefor Trivia night. We had a blast and ended up winning!!! Our prize was a bottle of vodka and a liter of sprite, we called it hostel table service. None of us wanted to drink that much so we shared it with the bar and made some new friends hah. Lizzy woke up and we ended up going dancing with a bunch of people from our hostel and some of the staff. We had such a great night and met some amazing people.
Yesterday we went to the chocolate museum and took a class on how to make chocolate from the bean to the bar. It was so interesting and once again we had VIP treatment of it just being the three of us. Im not sure if I have mentioned that yet or not but every one of our tours has just been the three of us which is super nice. Our workshop instructor was so funny and we had a blast. In the end we got to make our own flavors of chocolate with everything from dried mint to crystalized oranges.
We came back to our hostel and just relaxed and hung out with a few of the people we had met the night before. It was kareokee night in the bar and there is a group of guys here celebrating a bachelor party and the whole even become hysterical. Quite a few spanish ballads and Lizzy convinced Lauren and I to sing Kesha. After a lot of people went out but we weren´t feeling up to it. We stayed at the hostel and hung out with our staff friends and had ukelele jackl johnson jam sessions and just talked.
Today is our shopping and church going day. We are going to see all the major buildings here and then make our final purchases. Later tonight we are going to a restaurant that has been recommened several times called fallen angel. We went to just check it out the other day and it is crazy. Like bathtubs with glass over them as tables and couches shaped like giant hearts. We are pretty excited to try the food.
Friday, June 29, 2012
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Two Amazing Days at Machu Picchu
So we woke up at 4 am morning of the 25th to head to Machu Picchu. We had breakfast at our hostel at 4:30 and left for the bus at 5. Our goal was to make it up there for the sunrise and we made it on the first bus that left. Once we got there we had to wait a few minutes till the ticket lines opened.
Once they did we were in! You walk down a path and start to see a few ruins. Since our goal that morning was to see the sunrise we started hiking even higher. Finally we came pretty close to the top of the side we were on and turned down another path. The view of the citadel was breathtakingly stunning. Never in my life have I seen something so amazing.
We just sat for quite awhile taking it in and we were in the first top ten people up there so it was nice and quite. Very different from mid afternoon we would later learn. It was freezing but we spent a good amount of time wandering and taking pictures. Sadly the sunrise was blocked by a bit of cloud cover but it was still beautiful to watch it creep over adjacent mountains.
We had some issues meeting up with our guide partly because he was calling what we thought was eddy and for only 2. Who knew that was supposed to be Chelsey Reddy for 3... After we figured it out we started on the most enthusiastic tour of the ruins and the citadel. We learned so much about the Incas and Machu Picchu, and honestly it is crazy the skill it took to build that place.
After our tour we hiked to the sun gate which is where the traditional Incan trail meets with Machu Picchu and explored the Incan bridge which wasn't a bridge at all but a tiny ledge on a cliff. You couldn't get to close but we took pictures.
Then we just layed around and absorbed our environment for an hour or so until all the crowds got to be too much. Not to mention it was going 3 and we had been up since 4. We were starving after our day because we hadn't wanted to stop at all even for food. It started pouring rain as we pulled into Auguas Calientes which was not caliente it was actually very cold. We ran to a restaurant we had been recommended and had a great dinner.
That night we were so tired and we were laughing at everything while just laying in bed reading. Lizzy and Lauren went on a junk food run and we spent the remainder of our night sampling peruvian cookies and eating doritos. Our night lasted only till about eight.
This morning we woke up at 4 again and did the same routine except this times when we got to Machu Picchu we stayed on the lower level. We killed some time playing with the alpacas that roam the city and attempted some photos. Then we got in line for Huayna Picchu. We were only behind two girls from Nebraska and got to talk with them till the trail opened at 7. So background on Huayna Picchu. It is the large green mountain you see in all the typical Machu pictures, it supposedly takes an hour, and is completely vertical in most sections.
Long story short and quite a few coca leaves later (you chew coca leave to help with the altitude) we were the first three people to the very top this morning and we did it in 30 minutes. Not to brag or anything :)
The views were stunning and there were residual clouds around from the rain the night before. We sat there for awhile till anybody else showed up and just really took in. We got some awesome pictures as well! Then we continued the hike around the mountain to a cavern on the bottom. It was pretty sweet and you could tell it was used for religious ceremonies. The problem we didn't think about was that we hadn't only hiked down Huayna Picchu to get there but we hiked far past the level of Machu Picchu. This invloved for uphill trekking and after this morning we our legs we dead. Some how we made it back and finished the entire route! We felt so accomplished.
We had lunch and spent some time just sitting at the ruins. Then we hopped on the bus back to Auguas Calientes, got our bags from our hostel, bought food for the train, sat in a cafe, and window shopped the markets. Now we are sitting on the train to take us back to Cusco and we are staying at Pariwana hostel again. Its a long ride and hopefully its not as shakey as last time.
Once they did we were in! You walk down a path and start to see a few ruins. Since our goal that morning was to see the sunrise we started hiking even higher. Finally we came pretty close to the top of the side we were on and turned down another path. The view of the citadel was breathtakingly stunning. Never in my life have I seen something so amazing.
We just sat for quite awhile taking it in and we were in the first top ten people up there so it was nice and quite. Very different from mid afternoon we would later learn. It was freezing but we spent a good amount of time wandering and taking pictures. Sadly the sunrise was blocked by a bit of cloud cover but it was still beautiful to watch it creep over adjacent mountains.
We had some issues meeting up with our guide partly because he was calling what we thought was eddy and for only 2. Who knew that was supposed to be Chelsey Reddy for 3... After we figured it out we started on the most enthusiastic tour of the ruins and the citadel. We learned so much about the Incas and Machu Picchu, and honestly it is crazy the skill it took to build that place.
After our tour we hiked to the sun gate which is where the traditional Incan trail meets with Machu Picchu and explored the Incan bridge which wasn't a bridge at all but a tiny ledge on a cliff. You couldn't get to close but we took pictures.
Then we just layed around and absorbed our environment for an hour or so until all the crowds got to be too much. Not to mention it was going 3 and we had been up since 4. We were starving after our day because we hadn't wanted to stop at all even for food. It started pouring rain as we pulled into Auguas Calientes which was not caliente it was actually very cold. We ran to a restaurant we had been recommended and had a great dinner.
That night we were so tired and we were laughing at everything while just laying in bed reading. Lizzy and Lauren went on a junk food run and we spent the remainder of our night sampling peruvian cookies and eating doritos. Our night lasted only till about eight.
This morning we woke up at 4 again and did the same routine except this times when we got to Machu Picchu we stayed on the lower level. We killed some time playing with the alpacas that roam the city and attempted some photos. Then we got in line for Huayna Picchu. We were only behind two girls from Nebraska and got to talk with them till the trail opened at 7. So background on Huayna Picchu. It is the large green mountain you see in all the typical Machu pictures, it supposedly takes an hour, and is completely vertical in most sections.
Long story short and quite a few coca leaves later (you chew coca leave to help with the altitude) we were the first three people to the very top this morning and we did it in 30 minutes. Not to brag or anything :)
The views were stunning and there were residual clouds around from the rain the night before. We sat there for awhile till anybody else showed up and just really took in. We got some awesome pictures as well! Then we continued the hike around the mountain to a cavern on the bottom. It was pretty sweet and you could tell it was used for religious ceremonies. The problem we didn't think about was that we hadn't only hiked down Huayna Picchu to get there but we hiked far past the level of Machu Picchu. This invloved for uphill trekking and after this morning we our legs we dead. Some how we made it back and finished the entire route! We felt so accomplished.
We had lunch and spent some time just sitting at the ruins. Then we hopped on the bus back to Auguas Calientes, got our bags from our hostel, bought food for the train, sat in a cafe, and window shopped the markets. Now we are sitting on the train to take us back to Cusco and we are staying at Pariwana hostel again. Its a long ride and hopefully its not as shakey as last time.
Monday, June 25, 2012
River Rafting and Ollytantambo
So we spent a night in Cusco before we left on our Machu Picchu
excursions and we got to see where we would be staying when we got back
to Cusco. Our hostel is fantastic and we are going to have so much fun
there. This week in Cusco it is their sun festival and there were
parades and people everywhere. After wandering around for a bit we
grabbed a seat on a patio that over looked the main square. It was the
perfect spot to watch the festivities. We had to get up early the next
morning so we spent the remainder of the day resting, meeting people in
our hostel, watching soccer, and catching up on our wi fi use.
The next morning we were picked up at 8:30 from our guide Willy for our white water rafting excursion. We ended up being the only people going which was awesome. We got to know our guides on the ride in and got to see the beautiful scenery around us. We arrived at the first compound where we got all the gear ready and we wet suited up. Our outfits were hysterical; we had on wet suits, wind breaker esque one sized fits all jacket, and then the most rotund life jacket I have ever seen. To top it all off we has beautiful blue helmets. Willy gave us the run down of the commands after we had gotten in the raft and gave us time to practice and then we were off. It was a really great first rafting experience and mixed relaxing rafting with more challenging rapids. It made all of us want to go again back home. Willy had us play several games which included jumping off a bridge, almost a rodeo type game where we stood on the back of the raft as it was spinning, and he made us body surf a rapid since it was all of our first time. He called it our rafting baptism. Did I mention this water was freezing. After we were done we stopped at the second compound where we changed back into normal clothes and had lunch. Lunch was provided by a woman in the local community and was delicious. We had a pumpkin soup, a stuffed chicken with mashed potato dish, and for dessert there was a crepe filled with dulce de leche and top with a tart berry.
After rafting our guides drove us to our hostel in the sacred valley city of Ollytantambo. It was super cute and is built on the ruins of an Incan city and you can still see snippets of it. Our hostel was called casa de Wow after the name of the man who owns it Wow. He is married to Winn (I know how precious are their names) who came to Ollytantambo from Ashville NC when she was 45 and never left. They are so cute in the fact that they fell in love with out speaking the same language.
We got settled in and our neighbor a girl named Emma from Montana came on by. She is on a trip with her parents and was relived to hear english and have others to chat with. We decided to go wander the town and Emma came with us we perused the markets and got some really great items especially our alpaca gloves with alpacas on them we had an interesting time bartering prices down but got the hang of it in the end.
After that we went back to the hostel and wrapped ourselves in alpaca blankets, beacause it gets really cold here at night, and talked. We met another woman staying our hostel names Felicia who is doing a short term study abroad. Then I was able to skype with Matt for a bit because the computer had a camera. I was a happy girl.
After computer time the five of us went and had pizza and pisco sours. Pisco is a traditional alcohol down here which I was told resembles a clear lighter brandy. A pisco sour has pisco, lime, egg whites, and bitters and resembles a margarita. After dinner we went to a bar that features pisco infusions and had fun trying different combos. I had one that had spicy peppers, mint, and honey in it.
This morning we hiked Picayluna which is a ruin that over looks the city. It was a good test for hiking in the altitude. We felt so our of shape because your heart rate increases exponentially in the high altitude. Tomorrow should be interesting with all the hiking. The view from the ruins was fantastic and we had a little yellow lab follow us, more lauren, the entire way. She named him mountain goat nugget.
After that we had lunch and hoped on our train that brought us to Auguas Calientes which is a town at the base of Machu Picchu. It is stunning here and there is a waterfall that runs through the whole city. We are heading to bed early tonight because we are waking up at 4 tomorrow to have breakfast and catch one of the first buses up to the ruins. Our goal is to watch the sunset. I'm pretty excited for tomorrow, its the focal point of our trip.
The next morning we were picked up at 8:30 from our guide Willy for our white water rafting excursion. We ended up being the only people going which was awesome. We got to know our guides on the ride in and got to see the beautiful scenery around us. We arrived at the first compound where we got all the gear ready and we wet suited up. Our outfits were hysterical; we had on wet suits, wind breaker esque one sized fits all jacket, and then the most rotund life jacket I have ever seen. To top it all off we has beautiful blue helmets. Willy gave us the run down of the commands after we had gotten in the raft and gave us time to practice and then we were off. It was a really great first rafting experience and mixed relaxing rafting with more challenging rapids. It made all of us want to go again back home. Willy had us play several games which included jumping off a bridge, almost a rodeo type game where we stood on the back of the raft as it was spinning, and he made us body surf a rapid since it was all of our first time. He called it our rafting baptism. Did I mention this water was freezing. After we were done we stopped at the second compound where we changed back into normal clothes and had lunch. Lunch was provided by a woman in the local community and was delicious. We had a pumpkin soup, a stuffed chicken with mashed potato dish, and for dessert there was a crepe filled with dulce de leche and top with a tart berry.
After rafting our guides drove us to our hostel in the sacred valley city of Ollytantambo. It was super cute and is built on the ruins of an Incan city and you can still see snippets of it. Our hostel was called casa de Wow after the name of the man who owns it Wow. He is married to Winn (I know how precious are their names) who came to Ollytantambo from Ashville NC when she was 45 and never left. They are so cute in the fact that they fell in love with out speaking the same language.
We got settled in and our neighbor a girl named Emma from Montana came on by. She is on a trip with her parents and was relived to hear english and have others to chat with. We decided to go wander the town and Emma came with us we perused the markets and got some really great items especially our alpaca gloves with alpacas on them
we had an interesting time bartering prices down but got the hang of it in the end. After that we went back to the hostel and wrapped ourselves in alpaca blankets, beacause it gets really cold here at night, and talked. We met another woman staying our hostel names Felicia who is doing a short term study abroad. Then I was able to skype with Matt for a bit because the computer had a camera. I was a happy girl.
After computer time the five of us went and had pizza and pisco sours. Pisco is a traditional alcohol down here which I was told resembles a clear lighter brandy. A pisco sour has pisco, lime, egg whites, and bitters and resembles a margarita. After dinner we went to a bar that features pisco infusions and had fun trying different combos. I had one that had spicy peppers, mint, and honey in it.
This morning we hiked Picayluna which is a ruin that over looks the city. It was a good test for hiking in the altitude. We felt so our of shape because your heart rate increases exponentially in the high altitude. Tomorrow should be interesting with all the hiking. The view from the ruins was fantastic and we had a little yellow lab follow us, more lauren, the entire way. She named him mountain goat nugget.
After that we had lunch and hoped on our train that brought us to Auguas Calientes which is a town at the base of Machu Picchu. It is stunning here and there is a waterfall that runs through the whole city. We are heading to bed early tonight because we are waking up at 4 tomorrow to have breakfast and catch one of the first buses up to the ruins. Our goal is to watch the sunset. I'm pretty excited for tomorrow, its the focal point of our trip.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Hey I Heard You Were a Wild One
So our third day began early around 5:30 so we could go look for pink dolphins again and see some birds. While it was great we were all so tired to throughly enjoy it. After breakfast we went on a long excursion into the primary jungle. We had to take a boat down another smaller river and then hiked into the wild. We parked our boat at a friend of sergios and got to feed their chickens and ducks. They had one type of chicken that look like a balding baby turkey, it was cute in a really ugly way. Then we started into the jungle. It was crazy in there we treked through swamp, rubbed termites on our skin as bug repellent, use berries as war paint, saw wild monkeys, and learned about plants in the rainforest. It was awesome.
So before I write the next part you need to know that my goal of the amazon was to see a sloth, which we saw at the monkey reserve, but I wanted to see one up close. On our way back to our lodge we walked the typical route through town. Suddenly Lauren looks to our right and goes "is that a sloth?!". Sure enough there were two sloths in the window of a womans house and she let us hold them!!! I was beyond estatic you will see when we post the pictures. Ahh it was perfect. Mike and Harry were leaving today and it was sad to say bye to them. We spent almost 6 days with them, we loved our Germans.
That evening after they left we took a boat across the Amazon to a small village. We got to play volleyball and soccer with the kids there which was a lot of fun, they were adorable. The only bad thing is about this time I started getting a really bad headache which I associated with my doxycyline malaria pills and my over exposure to the sun. Doxy makes you super sun sensitive. After that I just felt really sick, barely ate any dinner, and went to bed early. I am writing this from the Iquitos aiport the next day and I feel somewhat better. Basically I am ready to be out of the Amazonian sun. There was no relief there. You were hot during the day and hot at night. This morning we went to a different part of the primary Amazon jungle. This was your typical rainforest with huge trees and vines everywhere. We went and saw the biggest tree in the area and it lived up to its name. We also found a vine we could swing on and became Janes of the jungle.
All in all our trip to the Amazon was perfect we did everything we could have imagined and met some amazing people. Besides the sickness and the bug bites =) We are leaving our Amazonian Venice and we head back to lima tonight and are staying in our stop over hostel before flying to cusco on the 22nd. Machu Picchu here we come!
So before I write the next part you need to know that my goal of the amazon was to see a sloth, which we saw at the monkey reserve, but I wanted to see one up close. On our way back to our lodge we walked the typical route through town. Suddenly Lauren looks to our right and goes "is that a sloth?!". Sure enough there were two sloths in the window of a womans house and she let us hold them!!! I was beyond estatic you will see when we post the pictures. Ahh it was perfect. Mike and Harry were leaving today and it was sad to say bye to them. We spent almost 6 days with them, we loved our Germans.
That evening after they left we took a boat across the Amazon to a small village. We got to play volleyball and soccer with the kids there which was a lot of fun, they were adorable. The only bad thing is about this time I started getting a really bad headache which I associated with my doxycyline malaria pills and my over exposure to the sun. Doxy makes you super sun sensitive. After that I just felt really sick, barely ate any dinner, and went to bed early. I am writing this from the Iquitos aiport the next day and I feel somewhat better. Basically I am ready to be out of the Amazonian sun. There was no relief there. You were hot during the day and hot at night. This morning we went to a different part of the primary Amazon jungle. This was your typical rainforest with huge trees and vines everywhere. We went and saw the biggest tree in the area and it lived up to its name. We also found a vine we could swing on and became Janes of the jungle.
All in all our trip to the Amazon was perfect we did everything we could have imagined and met some amazing people. Besides the sickness and the bug bites =) We are leaving our Amazonian Venice and we head back to lima tonight and are staying in our stop over hostel before flying to cusco on the 22nd. Machu Picchu here we come!
My 22nd birthday in the Jungle
So last night we had delicious fried chicken for dinner with the same accompaniments. Then we went on a 4 hour night hike to look for taranculas and anacondas. The stars were beyond stunning and the walk felt night as the temperature cooled. We found several large spiders and made our way into the primary jungle which was fascinating. I has a lot of trouble sleeping because I haven't mentioned it yet but I have a ton of bug bites. It started pouring down rain very early this morning and we woke up to the same weather. Breakfast consisted of the universal breakfast food, eggs, and I just enjoyed bread and tea. This place honestly feels like a wellness retreat we are adventuring eating great food and getting lots of rest.
After breakfast went took a little boat down the ucayli river and met the Yagua people. While I felt it was bit wrong they were happy to share their culture with us. We danced with them, learned how to use a blow gun, and purchased handicrafts. They gave me a pair of anaconda bone and piranha earring for my birthday and I think they are great! The boat ride there and back felt like pocahontas and Lizzy, Lauren, and I would sing just around the river bend occasionally. It also reminded me of the jungle ride at disneyland. We had lunch of chicken curry with potatoes then we went and fished piranha. Mostly people caught sardines but I caught a baby piranha and threw him back. Then we found a spot in the river with low current and swam for a bit. It was fun to watch the guys do flips off the boat. Then we went on the search for and saw pink freshwater dolphins. That evening after dinner Sergio our guide told me that we needed to stay after dinner for awhile.
We didn't know why they started moving the tables but when they pulled out a cake box I realized it was for my birthday. It was so sweet of them, they had asked for me to write my name down earlier that day and it was for the writing on the cake. It turns out they ordered it in the morning from a bakery in Iquitos and had of the boats drive it the hour and a half into the jungle. It read "happy birthday Thelsey Reddy". One small typo :) but honestly it was so nice of them. They sang me happy birthday in English and Spanish and the owner of the lodge brought out a few beers and poured a round for everyone to cheers with. All of the guests gave me hugs and said a few nice things. We were all pretty exhausted after the long day but one of the girls insisted I have a birthday dance. We all danced for a bit and then some people started heading to bed. Honestly it was the nicest thing and it made my 22nd birthday unforgettable.
After breakfast went took a little boat down the ucayli river and met the Yagua people. While I felt it was bit wrong they were happy to share their culture with us. We danced with them, learned how to use a blow gun, and purchased handicrafts. They gave me a pair of anaconda bone and piranha earring for my birthday and I think they are great! The boat ride there and back felt like pocahontas and Lizzy, Lauren, and I would sing just around the river bend occasionally. It also reminded me of the jungle ride at disneyland. We had lunch of chicken curry with potatoes then we went and fished piranha. Mostly people caught sardines but I caught a baby piranha and threw him back. Then we found a spot in the river with low current and swam for a bit. It was fun to watch the guys do flips off the boat. Then we went on the search for and saw pink freshwater dolphins. That evening after dinner Sergio our guide told me that we needed to stay after dinner for awhile.
We didn't know why they started moving the tables but when they pulled out a cake box I realized it was for my birthday. It was so sweet of them, they had asked for me to write my name down earlier that day and it was for the writing on the cake. It turns out they ordered it in the morning from a bakery in Iquitos and had of the boats drive it the hour and a half into the jungle. It read "happy birthday Thelsey Reddy". One small typo :)
but honestly it was so nice of them. They sang me happy birthday in English and Spanish and the owner of the lodge brought out a few beers and poured a round for everyone to cheers with. All of the guests gave me hugs and said a few nice things. We were all pretty exhausted after the long day but one of the girls insisted I have a birthday dance. We all danced for a bit and then some people started heading to bed. Honestly it was the nicest thing and it made my 22nd birthday unforgettable.
Into the Amazon
So we made it safely to our base camp in the amazon. It was really pretty here but so hot! We got off the boat and were welcomed with a grapefruit lemonade type drink and got the run down of the place.
Lizzy, Lauren, and I had our own triple room with a private bathroom and it is surprisingly clean for being in the jungle and there were towel creations on our beds! After we got settled we were set up with a pair of rubber boots and went off on a little trek to talk about medicinal plants in the area. We found a grapefruit tree, learned about the palm trees and the edible portions of them, scrapped bark off of trees, and found these spikey red pods that contain smaller red pods which produce dye. Lauren and I had a great time finger painting designs on eachother and our German friends despite staining our fingers.
Then we had lunch which was amazing. Everyting here is very authentic and we had river dorado fish, rice, yucca, and this assortment of citrus coated vegetables that included the stringy insides of one of the palms we learned about. It was so delicious similar to thin strands of artichoke and hearts of palm. They also had beets coated in grapefruit juice and yes I ate them matt!
After lunch we went to a sanctuary close by and played with some animals. This included several type of monkeys, parrots, turtles, an anaconda, and there was a sloth hanging in a tree!!! Ahh so perfect. Then we walked for a long time to watch the sunset and now we are waiting for dinner.
Lizzy, Lauren, and I had our own triple room with a private bathroom and it is surprisingly clean for being in the jungle and there were towel creations on our beds! After we got settled we were set up with a pair of rubber boots and went off on a little trek to talk about medicinal plants in the area. We found a grapefruit tree, learned about the palm trees and the edible portions of them, scrapped bark off of trees, and found these spikey red pods that contain smaller red pods which produce dye. Lauren and I had a great time finger painting designs on eachother and our German friends despite staining our fingers.
Then we had lunch which was amazing. Everyting here is very authentic and we had river dorado fish, rice, yucca, and this assortment of citrus coated vegetables that included the stringy insides of one of the palms we learned about. It was so delicious similar to thin strands of artichoke and hearts of palm. They also had beets coated in grapefruit juice and yes I ate them matt!
After lunch we went to a sanctuary close by and played with some animals. This included several type of monkeys, parrots, turtles, an anaconda, and there was a sloth hanging in a tree!!! Ahh so perfect. Then we walked for a long time to watch the sunset and now we are waiting for dinner.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Iquitos and Caimiri floating hostel
So to start off our hostel in Iquitos is absolutely amazing, as you can see from my Facebook picture. It is dirty and outdoors and very local. At night it becomes a bar and attracts the locals. We were picked up from the airport by Lissandro, a guy from Argentina who is working at Caimiri after he came here as a traveller. He is very nice and speaks decent English so it was super helpful. He has been helping me with my Spanish which isnt doing so bad here. I'm understanding quite a bit but when I comes to speaking it can go bad.
When we arrived we met Marcel the hostel owner and checked into our room. The weather here is very hot and very humid so different from Washington, and it took some getting used to. The bugs aren't so bad here on the outskirts of the Amazon but we have seen our fair share of enlarged cockroaches and beetles.
We started getting to know everyone here and established a motley crew of people. We're quite the eclectic international bunch. The three of us are representing America, Sandro and Betsey a Peruvian brother and sister who are now from Miami, Matt the Aussie and his friend Fernando from Colombia, and two Germans Harry and Mike. We spent a good amount of time at Caimiri before going out splitting bottles of red wine with locals, our hostel owner, and our new friends
Fernando knew of a few good places to go out so we went to an outdoor concert venue and danced to a Peruvian boy band. We split a cooler of beers and when we wanted to dance we would form a circle around our cooler on the dance floor. I guess this is totally normal and we were not the only ones enjoying constantly cold cervesas.
We went to a salsa club for late night dancing and just all had a blast together. We got back to the hostel at like 4:30 and waited up for the sunrise. I made it just for the beginning before I had to go to sleep but really enjoyed the late night conversations. Lizzy and Lo made it up for the whole thing and got some amazing photographs.
We spent today laying in hammocks, reading, and hanging out with our group. We went out for a really great lunch today and loved the air conditioning the restaurant provided. Lauren had Papas a la Huancaina, I had Lomo Saltado, and Lizzy had fish with cream sauce. All were traditional Peruvian dishes and I can't wait to try more.
We are heading back to the same outdoor area again tonight because it is supposed to be a better night. I'm excited, since last night was unbelievable. It's nice that we found a little group, we feel a lot safer and connected. Iquitos is great but a little sketchy at times.
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