On Sunday we journeyed by way of rickety old bus to the market at Pisaq. We found some wonderful hats wich featured Llamas and even experimented with some local cuisine...Coy, or in English, Guinnea Pig. I had a pet gp growing up, so while the experience was a little traumatic, it was rather tasty! The cute, fury, still living pets next to the giant wood burning stove almost kept us from enjoying the meal though.
Monday we traveled by car through the Sacred Valley to Ollaytatambo, where we caught a train to Machu (Old) Picchu (Mountain). Which brings us to our experience today (Tuesday) which was quite incredible. We expected this knowing it was one of the 7 marvels of the modern world, but pictures don't quite do the experience justice. After waking up before the sun, we spent about 6 hours wandering the ancient ruins. We did a little evesdropping on some of the guides (we didn't know how to hire one), but mostly just trekked on our own path. After a day of heavy rain yesterday, the weather was perfect and even a little too warm at times. We probably took 200 pictures, so we might remember it. Back to Cusco tonight for Halloween tomorrow.
Tony
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Saturday, October 27, 2007
I'm going to eat Guinea Pig...
There's something about a lack of oxygen that makes me feel right at home... hmmm.
Either the Incas were really patient or really really fit...because man, they love stairs. It's possible that they foresaw that millions of white people would come visit and undoubtedly be relatively out of shape, and that this would be some big joke that they could laugh about from their spot in the afterlife.
Luckily, Tony and I are in pretty good shape, but my heart hasn't pounded SO HARD in quite a while.
We got to Peru on the 23rd (? I think...I spent all day thinking it was Monday and wondering why none of the kids went to school here). We spent 3 nights in Lima in the Miraflores neighborhood, which was great! Visited a museum, ate great (really cheap) food, etc. Lima is a regular city and doesn't require quite the athletic endurance that Cusco does, which is where we are now!
I LOVE CUSCO.
Cusco is what I pictured when I imagined South America as a whole. It is quite a bit more indigenous and rural than anywhere we have been thus far, which is a welcome change. The architecture is great, I love the cobblestone streets and the small size of the town.
We are staying in a great hostel called Piccola Locanda. Aside from the 80 stairs (they're those stairs that are made for tall people and are really 1.5 stairs...) that it takes to get to the front door from all directions, it is AWESOME. The staff is great, the rooms are beautiful and it is super reasonable in price. BUT the best part is that part of the proceeds from our stay go to 2 local children's organizations. We are going to try to visit the organizations to learn more about what they do and say hi to the kids.
We are staying here for a week, minus one day before Halloween to go to Macchu Pichu...which I am beyond excited for.
Tomorrow we are taking the bus to the Sunday market at Pisac. Out of the MILLIONS of hats we've passed by i am still waiting for the right one to jump out at me...which lucky mud flap beanie will be mine??? I'll find out tomorrow.
xoxo
Brandee
Either the Incas were really patient or really really fit...because man, they love stairs. It's possible that they foresaw that millions of white people would come visit and undoubtedly be relatively out of shape, and that this would be some big joke that they could laugh about from their spot in the afterlife.
Luckily, Tony and I are in pretty good shape, but my heart hasn't pounded SO HARD in quite a while.
We got to Peru on the 23rd (? I think...I spent all day thinking it was Monday and wondering why none of the kids went to school here). We spent 3 nights in Lima in the Miraflores neighborhood, which was great! Visited a museum, ate great (really cheap) food, etc. Lima is a regular city and doesn't require quite the athletic endurance that Cusco does, which is where we are now!
I LOVE CUSCO.
Cusco is what I pictured when I imagined South America as a whole. It is quite a bit more indigenous and rural than anywhere we have been thus far, which is a welcome change. The architecture is great, I love the cobblestone streets and the small size of the town.
We are staying in a great hostel called Piccola Locanda. Aside from the 80 stairs (they're those stairs that are made for tall people and are really 1.5 stairs...) that it takes to get to the front door from all directions, it is AWESOME. The staff is great, the rooms are beautiful and it is super reasonable in price. BUT the best part is that part of the proceeds from our stay go to 2 local children's organizations. We are going to try to visit the organizations to learn more about what they do and say hi to the kids.
We are staying here for a week, minus one day before Halloween to go to Macchu Pichu...which I am beyond excited for.
Tomorrow we are taking the bus to the Sunday market at Pisac. Out of the MILLIONS of hats we've passed by i am still waiting for the right one to jump out at me...which lucky mud flap beanie will be mine??? I'll find out tomorrow.
xoxo
Brandee
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Brazil:1, Denver: 0
I heard you got snow, Denver.
I spent all day at Copacabana beach.
All day.
Sun, sand, ocean, swim suits, lounge chairs, beer, coconuts, picnic, relaxation.
Just trying to make you jealous.
We also got tan.
Okay, sorry, I´ll stop. We´re going to have rain for the rest of the trip, don´t worry.
Brazil has been decent! We went to Corcovado (the famous giant Jesus Christ statue with an amazing view) which was spectacular, we ate crepes, explored Rio and the metro system and have caught up on a lot of US news on the tv in our apartment (I was losing touch with reality in a big way)...
One more day and we´re off to Sao Paulo before going to Peru...I´m ridiculously excited for Peru!
Hope you´re all well...much love!
Brandee
I spent all day at Copacabana beach.
All day.
Sun, sand, ocean, swim suits, lounge chairs, beer, coconuts, picnic, relaxation.
Just trying to make you jealous.
We also got tan.
Okay, sorry, I´ll stop. We´re going to have rain for the rest of the trip, don´t worry.
Brazil has been decent! We went to Corcovado (the famous giant Jesus Christ statue with an amazing view) which was spectacular, we ate crepes, explored Rio and the metro system and have caught up on a lot of US news on the tv in our apartment (I was losing touch with reality in a big way)...
One more day and we´re off to Sao Paulo before going to Peru...I´m ridiculously excited for Peru!
Hope you´re all well...much love!
Brandee
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
the girl from ipanemaaaaa somethinnnng something...
Well...the computers in Latin America are slower than...something really slow. So the updates have been few and far between. Don´t worry. I´ve gotten your emails about it... disculpe, loved ones.
Chile was pretty freakin´awesome for the most part. Highlights were our first hostel in the Bellavista Neighborhood, eating sushi, hanging out with Tony´s friend Stacey from CU, eating completoes (the king of all hot dogs), Cerro San Cristobal, drinking pisco sours and piscolas, urban exploring and visiting the Concha Y Toro vineyard and winery.
The last thing was particularly awesome and we took some great pictures!
In all, Chile is a clean, pulsating city with a great public transportation system.
Aside from an awkward 2nd hostel that was more like a private homestay (where the language barrier was so great we played charades to talk), Chile was great. Cold, but great.
We´re in Brazil now with half naked people as far as the eye can see. Spring Break 07 baby! Just kidding. I´m extremely happy to be able to wear shorts, tank tops and swim suits--all of which I brought an abundance of. Our flight from Sao Paulo (layover) was 3 hours late so we didn´t actually get to our vacation apartment until 3am, but we did get there--by the grace of God--and that is what is important. Our apartment is 1.5 blocks from Copacabana beach! Sticking your head out the window provides a perfect view of sun and surf.
There is plenty to do in Brazil and actually quite a lot of English. Portuguese is the language of choice here and its making us feel like spanish is our first language! I´m excited to try to have conversations in Portuguese by the end of the week.
It is supposed to get rainy for a couple days so the wind has been pretty intense. That didn´t stop us from laying out on the beach and drinking from coconuts! It was all we ever wanted to do, really...
I´m following strict orders from...everyone...not to bring anything to the beach. I brought a plastic water bottle today and some kid jacked it...(Tony got it back but I then didn´t want it anymore. Kid germs. Ew).
Bring nothing to the beach. Not even water.
Chile was pretty freakin´awesome for the most part. Highlights were our first hostel in the Bellavista Neighborhood, eating sushi, hanging out with Tony´s friend Stacey from CU, eating completoes (the king of all hot dogs), Cerro San Cristobal, drinking pisco sours and piscolas, urban exploring and visiting the Concha Y Toro vineyard and winery.
The last thing was particularly awesome and we took some great pictures!
In all, Chile is a clean, pulsating city with a great public transportation system.
Aside from an awkward 2nd hostel that was more like a private homestay (where the language barrier was so great we played charades to talk), Chile was great. Cold, but great.
We´re in Brazil now with half naked people as far as the eye can see. Spring Break 07 baby! Just kidding. I´m extremely happy to be able to wear shorts, tank tops and swim suits--all of which I brought an abundance of. Our flight from Sao Paulo (layover) was 3 hours late so we didn´t actually get to our vacation apartment until 3am, but we did get there--by the grace of God--and that is what is important. Our apartment is 1.5 blocks from Copacabana beach! Sticking your head out the window provides a perfect view of sun and surf.
There is plenty to do in Brazil and actually quite a lot of English. Portuguese is the language of choice here and its making us feel like spanish is our first language! I´m excited to try to have conversations in Portuguese by the end of the week.
It is supposed to get rainy for a couple days so the wind has been pretty intense. That didn´t stop us from laying out on the beach and drinking from coconuts! It was all we ever wanted to do, really...
I´m following strict orders from...everyone...not to bring anything to the beach. I brought a plastic water bottle today and some kid jacked it...(Tony got it back but I then didn´t want it anymore. Kid germs. Ew).
Bring nothing to the beach. Not even water.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Chile con Carne
It´s great to be out of Argentina, we just weren´t with it. We arrived in beautiful Santiago Chile yesterday and the enormous mountains and blue sky made us feel right at home. our hostel is in a very cool neighborhood close to the downtown area. Lots of great bars and restaurants around and again we´re finding really good prices. Santiago is densely populated, but it´s still pretty clean. People stay out really late here as well. Dinner starts around 9 and bars get going around 12-1, which means happy hour untill 11, which is amazing. We´ll be in town for a few days, then closer to the hills for a few. Should be good.
Tony
Tony
Friday, October 5, 2007
Hola!
After a 24 hour flight delay and a 12 hour flight, we made it safely to Buenos Aires. The first stop in the 7 week Latin America portion of our trip. Muy emocionante!
I think since leaving New Zealand Tony and I have gotten somewhere between 10 and 12 hours of sleep total. I had booked a hostel for us in the Boca area of Buenos Aires. Boca is fine, it is by an old, culturally rich neighborhood called San Telmo, but the hostel was no bueno. I won´t get into details, it really could have been worse, but it was bad enough that we didn´t hesitate to cut our week long reservation there very short. There is a giant convention in Buenos Aires this weekend and we were told that literally every single hotel and most hostels were booked solid. Sooooooomehow we managed to find a nice place to stay last night in a guesthouse and upon looking for a phone up the street, found a really nice hostel with a lot of character and open rooms for the remainder of our time here. It´s a little more expensive than the first place (which was about $8 each) at about $14usd each but is worth the extra few bucks. We´re staying in San Telmo and I really like this area. Lively enough, great food, lots of live music and art.
I can´t wait to see some Tango! Tango tango tango! Tony won´t learn Tango with me...if someone could kindly remind him that Tango is the dance of love (right?) and that he should probably learn it...I´d appreciate it. K thanks.
Anyway, I have to admit, Buenos Aires is dirty. Really dirty. A thick layer of smog hangs low over the city. You can see it in the street lights, feel it in your lungs and I swear I saw Tony´s breath in it yesterday. It´s gross.
Coming from 300 days of sunhsine a year in colorful Colorado, the air quality and trash everywhere depressed us for a day or so.
But Buenos Aires is really growing on me. It has a lot to offer and I can´t wait to explore more. Dinner here is at about 11pm and we have yet to have a bad meal. The food is unreal. Ordering it, however has been another challenge. I have faith that my spanish will come back to me, but as of right now I feel like I´m two and can´t communicate what I need. It´s as easy as asking for a cajero automatico (ATM) and a cajeta automatico (which would be a fudge dispenser....which someone should invent). My ability to communicate at the present moment would make every spanish teacher I´ve had since 7th grade cry. A lot.
The people here, so far, are really beautiful and nice (read: understanding) so it hasn´t been too bad (plus we tip like Americans so they like us...) and Tony and I have a realllllllly good sense of humor. If not, I´d probably cry.
It´s raining (of course) so I´m going to try my best to get pictures up somewhere today...
Hope all is well!
Much love,
Brandee
I think since leaving New Zealand Tony and I have gotten somewhere between 10 and 12 hours of sleep total. I had booked a hostel for us in the Boca area of Buenos Aires. Boca is fine, it is by an old, culturally rich neighborhood called San Telmo, but the hostel was no bueno. I won´t get into details, it really could have been worse, but it was bad enough that we didn´t hesitate to cut our week long reservation there very short. There is a giant convention in Buenos Aires this weekend and we were told that literally every single hotel and most hostels were booked solid. Sooooooomehow we managed to find a nice place to stay last night in a guesthouse and upon looking for a phone up the street, found a really nice hostel with a lot of character and open rooms for the remainder of our time here. It´s a little more expensive than the first place (which was about $8 each) at about $14usd each but is worth the extra few bucks. We´re staying in San Telmo and I really like this area. Lively enough, great food, lots of live music and art.
I can´t wait to see some Tango! Tango tango tango! Tony won´t learn Tango with me...if someone could kindly remind him that Tango is the dance of love (right?) and that he should probably learn it...I´d appreciate it. K thanks.
Anyway, I have to admit, Buenos Aires is dirty. Really dirty. A thick layer of smog hangs low over the city. You can see it in the street lights, feel it in your lungs and I swear I saw Tony´s breath in it yesterday. It´s gross.
Coming from 300 days of sunhsine a year in colorful Colorado, the air quality and trash everywhere depressed us for a day or so.
But Buenos Aires is really growing on me. It has a lot to offer and I can´t wait to explore more. Dinner here is at about 11pm and we have yet to have a bad meal. The food is unreal. Ordering it, however has been another challenge. I have faith that my spanish will come back to me, but as of right now I feel like I´m two and can´t communicate what I need. It´s as easy as asking for a cajero automatico (ATM) and a cajeta automatico (which would be a fudge dispenser....which someone should invent). My ability to communicate at the present moment would make every spanish teacher I´ve had since 7th grade cry. A lot.
The people here, so far, are really beautiful and nice (read: understanding) so it hasn´t been too bad (plus we tip like Americans so they like us...) and Tony and I have a realllllllly good sense of humor. If not, I´d probably cry.
It´s raining (of course) so I´m going to try my best to get pictures up somewhere today...
Hope all is well!
Much love,
Brandee
Monday, October 1, 2007
Roll with the punches
The airport in Auckland has free internet--which almost makes up for how expensive everything else is!
Our flight to Buenos Aires tonight got cancelled and rebooked for tomorrow. Kind of a bummer because Buenos Aires was one of the places I was looking forward to most, but you've gotta roll with the punches.
New Zealand has been good...we spent a few nights in a fishing town in the bay of islands called Paihia. The people were really great and it was a relaxing break from the madness of Auckland. We were able to go onaboat and spend some time with playful dolphins while touring the bay of islands--this was definitely a highlight.
Anyway, hopefully next time I write I'll be in Buenos Aires....but I'm blogging in an airport and that's weird.
Hope everyone is well!
Brandee
Our flight to Buenos Aires tonight got cancelled and rebooked for tomorrow. Kind of a bummer because Buenos Aires was one of the places I was looking forward to most, but you've gotta roll with the punches.
New Zealand has been good...we spent a few nights in a fishing town in the bay of islands called Paihia. The people were really great and it was a relaxing break from the madness of Auckland. We were able to go onaboat and spend some time with playful dolphins while touring the bay of islands--this was definitely a highlight.
Anyway, hopefully next time I write I'll be in Buenos Aires....but I'm blogging in an airport and that's weird.
Hope everyone is well!
Brandee
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