It's Thursday at 6:42 pm and we're sitting at the Lex Luthor Hostel in Lima. We left Cusco today at noon and arrived here in Lima at 1:30. Since we have a 12 hour layover, we decided to take a taxi to this hostel to relax instead of spending the endless time in the airport. My biggest concern is taking a taxi back to the airport so late at night (our flight home is at 1:30 am) because of the horrible stories we've heard of taxi drivers and what they do to tourists. Josh went onto Trip Advisor and found a reputable taxi company and hired a driver to pick us up at the airport and take us back tonight. On our drive here, we asked him what has happened to the taxi services here to have such a bad reputation and he explained: Random men will steal cars, place a 'taxi' sign on top of the car, seek out tourists and charge them a cheap price to get where they want to go and then take them to a place where they have a group of others waiting. They then demand money, cameras, passports, anything of value and sometimes beat them to get what they want and leave the tourists stranded. The man we hired, Ronado, was very nice and spoke great English which made me feel better. He has MANY good reviews from other travelers so I trust him to get us back to the airport.
Tonight we plan to watch the Thursday night NFL game at the Corner Sportsbar and then get to the airport to start our flights home. We fly through the night and arrive in Mexico City tomorrow morning. After a 3 hour layover, we fly to Chicago. Josh and I are so excited to get home. These 3 1/2 months have gone by so fast, we've seen so much but we both feel ready to be home. We're ready to be back in the routine of our jobs and in the company of family and friends. This has been a great experience learning about ourselves and each other. We've definitely grown from being gone so long. Thank you to everyone who kept in touch and shared their comments on here and through emails. We look forward to seeing everyone soon!
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Machu Picchu day 4 pictures
The final day of the hike started out at 4am and with heavy fog. Everyone was a little concerned that we wouldn't be able to see Machu Picchu once we arrived. All that went through my mind was 'we hiked this far, we better be able to see it' but again, there's nothing we could do about the weather. The hike was short, steep in the beginning but leveled off towards the end. At one point we were able to catch a glimpse of Machu Picchu through the fog but it quickly disappeared. Finally after 2 hours, we arrived. Still not being able to see the ruins, we sat through a short history lesson by our guide of the ruins. I got caught nodding off to sleep which I think Bryan took as me not being interested. Really I was just exhausted. We took a 2 hour tour through the ruins and finally had time to wander around by ourselves. And by this time, the fog had risen enough that we were able to see the ruins in entire. Some of these pictures are from our 2 hour tour and the others from our free time walking around. The last picture is of a woman in their traditional wear from Aguas Calientes where we took the train back to Cusco.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Machu Picchu day 3 pictures
Day 3 was another difficult day of hiking not only the steep mountains to climb up and down but it was also the longest hike of 15 kilometers (about 10 miles). Again we got to see many beautiful views along the way which kept us inspired to keep going. We also had a great group to hike with. There were four of us not including our guide who was also great. Jeff and Tasha were a couple from California we met in Cusco before we left for our trek. We found out they were the other people in our group we'd be hiking with. They have the same personalities and hiking abilities as us which made it much more enjoyable. Here you can see some of the sites we saw on day 3. The first picture is of our lunch cooking. Again, you have to imagine the porters carrying everything on their backs to make this happen. The tent we're sitting in is our lunch tent which Bryan (our guide called the VIP tent for some reason). I'm going to post more pictures of Day 4, Machu Picchu but we've been sitting in Mc Donald's for over 3 hours now and need to get out! Those will have to come later. Sorry...
Machu Picchu day 2 pictures
Onto day 2, this was the hardest day of the hike. We climbed over 6 kilometers uphill to reach the summit of 13,000 feet. As you can see in the first picture, I am still amazed with the porters and what they hauled on their backs. This one is of two men carrying chairs and tents. The other pictures are of Josh and I at the summit and a couple more along the way there.
Machu Picchu day 1 pictures
These are some of the better pictures from day one even though we took many. The first one is of our group (Jeff and Tasha were the others we got to hike with for the 4 days, great people) right before we started the hike.
Cusco Pictures
Here are some Cusco pictures. Most of them were taken from our hike up to Saqsaywaman where we had great views looking down onto Cusco. The others are from walking around the city.
Cusco and Machu Picchu
Today we're sitting in Mc Donald's wasting time on the internet. We have only 2 days left and we will be home. The past week has been extremely eventful for us. We arrived in Cusco on the 8th in order to acclimated for our hike to Machu Picchu. During those 2 days we spent time walking around the city and seeing Saqsaywaman an Inca site just north of the city. After being given wrong directions there, we ended up on this trail through the woods and onto someone's property. Suddenly we were surrounded by puppies and a bigger dog that did not want us there. I have never been so scared of a dog in my life! This dog barked, growled and lunged at us the entire way back down the trail until it's house was out of site. He finally backed off and went home. After that I had no desire to even see the Inca site but we found it and it was worth it. We had the best views of Cusco from up there.
On the 10th (the first day of our trek) the bus came to pick us up and we drove the 2 hours to the beginning of the hike. Along the way it started raining and by the time we arrived, it was a down pour. The first day was an easy hike, mostly flat ground. It also stopped raining within the first hour which made it much easier to take pictures. The views were great and what stood out the most was the porters and how strong and fast they worked. By the time we made it to our lunch site, the tents were set up and food waiting for us. And the same goes for the campsite, when we arrived, our tents were set up with mats laid out for us. And the views were unbelievable with a mountain glacier in the distance.
Day 2 was probably the most tough day of hiking. It was all uphill for the first 6 hours until we reached the summit at 13,000 feet. Right after we reached the summit and took our pictures, it started raining which made the hike down a little slippery but it soon quit and again the views were great. We saw waterfalls, flowers and mountain views good enough for postcards. Finally at our campsite we tried to warm up but with being at such a high altitude made it a little difficult. It was a poor night of sleep and an early morning.
Day 3 was another difficult day, the longest distance and many steep climbs up and down. This was the first day we had no rain until we got to the campsite but again it only last a short period. Once at the campsite, we had access to hot showers, a lodge that sold cold water and beer and time to meet our porters and cook. Josh and I sat down with the two others in our group and celebrated another day accomplished with a beer. We had dinner and went to bed exhausted. This was by far the worst night of sleep with a man 2 tents down that snored so loud Josh could hear him over his Ipod. He couldn't take it anymore, he got up and yelled at the guy to roll over. After that, a few others at the campsite made comments of "thank you" and "it's about time". We finally got a solid 4 hours of sleep until they woke us up at 4am to start our final day to Machu Picchu.
Day 4, our last day started early like I just said. We were on the trail by 5am and made it through the final check point by 5:30. The day started out very foggy which was a little worrisome for seeing Machu Picchu. But by the time we arrived, the fog was starting to rise. We took our 2 hour tour and then had time to hike around by ourselves. We climbed back up to the top and got the best views of the entire Inca city of Machu Picchu. It was unbelievable. I hope our pictures do it justice but I have a feeling you have to see it in person to really appreciate it. We took as many pictures as we could but everyone was exhausted from 4 days of intense hiking and poor sleep many of the nights that we soon left and headed to Aguas Calientes to take the train back to Cusco.
Now that we're back here, we spent yesterday doing a day tour to the Sacred Valley but after seeing Machu Picchu, nothing really impressed us anymore. I felt the sickest I've felt this entire trip, probably from the altitude that I didn't eat dinner and slept 12 hours last night. Today we're just going to spend time catching up on the internet and get ready for our journey home tomorrow.
On the 10th (the first day of our trek) the bus came to pick us up and we drove the 2 hours to the beginning of the hike. Along the way it started raining and by the time we arrived, it was a down pour. The first day was an easy hike, mostly flat ground. It also stopped raining within the first hour which made it much easier to take pictures. The views were great and what stood out the most was the porters and how strong and fast they worked. By the time we made it to our lunch site, the tents were set up and food waiting for us. And the same goes for the campsite, when we arrived, our tents were set up with mats laid out for us. And the views were unbelievable with a mountain glacier in the distance.
Day 2 was probably the most tough day of hiking. It was all uphill for the first 6 hours until we reached the summit at 13,000 feet. Right after we reached the summit and took our pictures, it started raining which made the hike down a little slippery but it soon quit and again the views were great. We saw waterfalls, flowers and mountain views good enough for postcards. Finally at our campsite we tried to warm up but with being at such a high altitude made it a little difficult. It was a poor night of sleep and an early morning.
Day 3 was another difficult day, the longest distance and many steep climbs up and down. This was the first day we had no rain until we got to the campsite but again it only last a short period. Once at the campsite, we had access to hot showers, a lodge that sold cold water and beer and time to meet our porters and cook. Josh and I sat down with the two others in our group and celebrated another day accomplished with a beer. We had dinner and went to bed exhausted. This was by far the worst night of sleep with a man 2 tents down that snored so loud Josh could hear him over his Ipod. He couldn't take it anymore, he got up and yelled at the guy to roll over. After that, a few others at the campsite made comments of "thank you" and "it's about time". We finally got a solid 4 hours of sleep until they woke us up at 4am to start our final day to Machu Picchu.
Day 4, our last day started early like I just said. We were on the trail by 5am and made it through the final check point by 5:30. The day started out very foggy which was a little worrisome for seeing Machu Picchu. But by the time we arrived, the fog was starting to rise. We took our 2 hour tour and then had time to hike around by ourselves. We climbed back up to the top and got the best views of the entire Inca city of Machu Picchu. It was unbelievable. I hope our pictures do it justice but I have a feeling you have to see it in person to really appreciate it. We took as many pictures as we could but everyone was exhausted from 4 days of intense hiking and poor sleep many of the nights that we soon left and headed to Aguas Calientes to take the train back to Cusco.
Now that we're back here, we spent yesterday doing a day tour to the Sacred Valley but after seeing Machu Picchu, nothing really impressed us anymore. I felt the sickest I've felt this entire trip, probably from the altitude that I didn't eat dinner and slept 12 hours last night. Today we're just going to spend time catching up on the internet and get ready for our journey home tomorrow.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Lima, Peru
After 2 long, exhausting flights from San Francisco and El Salvador, we arrived in Lima, Peru yesterday. We got a taxi and arrived at our hostel, the Bluehouse Backpackers Hostel. Knowing we would be arriving on very little sleep, I had made reservations for a private room at this place 2 weeks ago. Getting there we find that everyone speaks very little English. But we do figure out is that they don't have a private room for us until the next night. They take us to a dorm room with 6 beds. The room is honestly the most disgusting room we've come across yet. It smelt of mold, the floor was covered in mold stains, the beds had clearly not been changed in quite some time and there was no lock for the door. I was so pissed at this place, mainly because of the reviews I had read. Everyone claimed it was "the best." I told Josh I refused to stay here, it was unacceptable. Maybe it was the lack of sleep but I had no patience for this. We left to find another room and came across the Lex Luthor's House which was 10 times better.
Seeing that it was Sunday and Josh was feeling deprived of NFL, we found the Corner Sportsbar to watch some football. It was full of other American's and quickly we felt at home. There we tv's on every wall and every game was playing, it was hard to focus on just one game. But because we were both so tired, we left early to take a nap. Later we found ourselves back at the bar to watch the Vikings play. Tonight we're dedicating the night to Packer football, another thing Josh has mentioned many times today. He's so excited!
Tomorrow we fly to Cusco and have our orientation meeting for the Machu Picchu trek. We're both pretty excited for this. It's the start of something new but also the finish to our entire travels. I can't believe we only have 11 days left and we're home. It's gone by so fast.
Seeing that it was Sunday and Josh was feeling deprived of NFL, we found the Corner Sportsbar to watch some football. It was full of other American's and quickly we felt at home. There we tv's on every wall and every game was playing, it was hard to focus on just one game. But because we were both so tired, we left early to take a nap. Later we found ourselves back at the bar to watch the Vikings play. Tonight we're dedicating the night to Packer football, another thing Josh has mentioned many times today. He's so excited!
Tomorrow we fly to Cusco and have our orientation meeting for the Machu Picchu trek. We're both pretty excited for this. It's the start of something new but also the finish to our entire travels. I can't believe we only have 11 days left and we're home. It's gone by so fast.
Unexpected San Francisco pictures
The craziest thing happened to us when we arrived to San Francisco. We had left Manila at 10:30pm on Friday night, traveled through the night and arrived in San Francisco on what we thought was Saturday evening. We knew we had a 6 hour layover so we called home and got some dinner. During that time, after talking to numerous people, we realized it was still Friday and our flight wasn't until the next night. Still completely confused as to how we went "back in time", we rented a car and got a room at the Travelodge. It was kind of ironic, as our plane was landing in SF, I told Josh how much I'd like to see the city with him sometime and now was our chance. We quickly made plans for the next day and set out after breakfast. We got to see the Golden Gate Bridge, the Redwoods, the ocean along Hwy 1 and have a beer down at Fisherman's Warf all in one day. And we still had plenty of time to return our car and sit in the airport waiting for our 12:25am flight to Lima. Here are some pictures we took in San Francisco.
Friday, December 4, 2009
a surprise
Josh is the best! He just walked down to the 7 eleven to get some water and came back with a Lipton ice tea and even better, a Reese's Peanutbutter cup for me! I've been missing a snack like this for a LONG time now!
Manila, Philippines
I can't believe we're here in the Philippines and only scheduled one day to see what we could. We flew into Manila yesterday at 1:30 pm. After hearing all the horror stories of kidnappings, and killings I was a little nervous to arrive. But we couldn't have asked for a smooth arrival. The taxi knew right where to take us and 45 minutes later we were at our hotel. We spent quite a bit more money than usual to be in a safe area and nice hotel but it's been worth every penny. We're staying at the Malayan Plaza and were greeted at our taxi by the bellhop and his luggage cart, something we haven't encountered once yet. We checked in and were told our room was on the 36th floor. Once in the elevator, the floors stopped at 35 but our bellhop knew exactly what button to push. It was the LP button meaning Lower Penthouse. Josh and I just looked at each other and panicked! I knew what I had paid for the room when booking it and knew it shouldn't be a "penthouse" room! All we could do was laugh as wait to see what we were in for. Besides the great view, our room ended up being nothing too spectacular which was a relief in terms of finances. It's definitely one of the nicest rooms we've had so far though, including a kitchenette and shower door (something we haven't seen in quite some time!).
We walked across the road and did a little shopping at the SM Mega Mall. Not quite as big as the Mall of America, but close. Josh had left my swimming suit hanging out to dry at one of our hotels in Vietnam so I was on a mission to buy a new one. We spent some time in the pool here and then got ready for dinner. Manila is by far the most Americanized city we've been in yet, besides Europe. And the selection of restaurants is unbelievable! We settled for Texas Roadhouse which ended up being pretty close to the chain back home We were in heaven eating our BBQ bacon cheeseburgers with ranch dressing! And it was real US beef, even better!
I guess we can't really say what the Philippines is all about but from what we've witnessed so far, I'd definitely come back. The people here are so nice, we've never been called 'sir' and 'mam' so much in our lives. And I think the reputation the country has here is the same as many big cities back home. Even Milwaukee and Chicago have pockets to avoid just like here. So now we only have a few hours left and we're going to spend it eating dinner, probably at the Texas Roadhouse one last time! And then we fly to San Francisco. We have to prepare ourselves for this journey. Many layovers and changing of time zones will definitely test our attitudes by the time we reach Lima, Peru on Sunday afternoon. But there's a lot ahead of us to look forward to yet.
We walked across the road and did a little shopping at the SM Mega Mall. Not quite as big as the Mall of America, but close. Josh had left my swimming suit hanging out to dry at one of our hotels in Vietnam so I was on a mission to buy a new one. We spent some time in the pool here and then got ready for dinner. Manila is by far the most Americanized city we've been in yet, besides Europe. And the selection of restaurants is unbelievable! We settled for Texas Roadhouse which ended up being pretty close to the chain back home We were in heaven eating our BBQ bacon cheeseburgers with ranch dressing! And it was real US beef, even better!
I guess we can't really say what the Philippines is all about but from what we've witnessed so far, I'd definitely come back. The people here are so nice, we've never been called 'sir' and 'mam' so much in our lives. And I think the reputation the country has here is the same as many big cities back home. Even Milwaukee and Chicago have pockets to avoid just like here. So now we only have a few hours left and we're going to spend it eating dinner, probably at the Texas Roadhouse one last time! And then we fly to San Francisco. We have to prepare ourselves for this journey. Many layovers and changing of time zones will definitely test our attitudes by the time we reach Lima, Peru on Sunday afternoon. But there's a lot ahead of us to look forward to yet.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
leaving Vietnam
Today is officially our last day here in Vietnam. I think Josh and I are both feeling ready to leave. Of course there are things that we missed but we also got to see so much in the last 3 weeks, I feel satisfied. Today we went on a day tour to the Cu Chi Tunnels. It was a 2 hour drive to get there with a stop at a facility where many victims of Agent Orange worked. I was shocked at the pieces of artwork they produced, especially with the deformities and disabilities these people are living with. Many of the pieces were made with tiny pieces of egg shell (some burned to change colors) that they glues down on a board to form a design. Another piece, using the same technique was using small pieces of mother of pearl (the pearlized inside of a clam shell). Again, they were beautiful. It really inspired Josh and I to purchase something once we got back into the big city. We'll now have to see if we can find them! After the workshop, we made it to the tunnels. After a tour through the jungle and seeing many of the original booby traps and ventilation holes for the tunnels, we got to actually go into one and crawl 100 meters through. Out of 15 people, only 5 of us (including Josh and I) made it through the entire system. As we entered, we had to bend over completely to fit. And as we made our ways further in, we had to get onto our hands and then hands and knees. I can't imaging being claustrophobic! Oh, one more highlight was that Josh bought a round of bullets to shoot an AK57. I took the responsibility of filming it all. It was SO loud!
Along our travels in Vietnam we've met many other travels like ourselves. One couple from Ireland and England we've been traveling with for the past week. Another couple from California we met today our our tour and the 6 of us have decided to meet up for dinner. It's really nice being in the company of other people our age and sharing stories of all our travels.
Tomorrow we fly out to Manila, Philippines where we'll stay one day and then fly to San Francisco/ Peru the following. It'll be a few long days spent in airports and recovering from the huge time change. Our next big and final stop is going to in Cusco to hike Machu Picchu. We'll definitely have more pictures to post by that point.
Along our travels in Vietnam we've met many other travels like ourselves. One couple from Ireland and England we've been traveling with for the past week. Another couple from California we met today our our tour and the 6 of us have decided to meet up for dinner. It's really nice being in the company of other people our age and sharing stories of all our travels.
Tomorrow we fly out to Manila, Philippines where we'll stay one day and then fly to San Francisco/ Peru the following. It'll be a few long days spent in airports and recovering from the huge time change. Our next big and final stop is going to in Cusco to hike Machu Picchu. We'll definitely have more pictures to post by that point.
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