The Latest!

When our tour finished we were dropped off in San Pedro De Atacama, in Chile... we passed the border with no problems at all! We spent the day in San Pedro, which was small and very touristy. We had delicious fresh juice, went to an archeological museum and enjoyed some shopping.

At 8PM we got on a night bus to Arica, Chile-- about an 8 hour trip. We got in at 5:30AM and thankfully the hostal let us in so we went straight to bed. The night bus was miserable and we were very tired. In the afternoon we went to the main center of town, walked by the ocean, and enjoyed a Sunday market. The architecture was colonial and amazing. Later in the afternoon we grabbed our bathing suits and borrowed boogie boards from the hostal and went to the beach. It was absolutely beautiful and very refreshing! Arica was a great city. We definitely noticed the difference from Peru and Bolivia.

The next morning we explored Arica a little more and then headed to the border of Peru (again no issues) and made it to Tacna around 3PM where we waited for our night bus to Nasca. We had a first class bus this time and it was much easier to sleep.

In Nasca we went on an awesome tour to 2 different lookouts to see the Nasca lines and also the Cahuachi pyramids. We also went to a small pottery museum where we learned about the methods the Nasca people used thousand of years ago (that they still use today)! Seeing the lines was amazing and the pyramids were very unique and interesting. There are only 3 pyramids that are uncovered, and there are 24 kilometers of land filled with pyramids that are still covered by sand. Overall, the Nasca city wasn't very exciting, but the history was incredible! What a great day! :)

We departed for Ica early this morning! 

Highlights of the Tour

Our 3 day tour to the Salt Flats and Atacama desert was phenomenal! We had an amazing adventure and saw so many interesting sites. Our guide was great and we also had some pretty cool people in our group. 

Here are the highlights:
- The train cemetery-- seeing and climbing on old rusted trains from the 1940s that were used to transport silver
- The salt factory where we learnt all about the way the salt is processed
- The salt flats themselves which are the largest in the world stretching over 10,000 square kilometers-- we took a lot of silly photos and drove to the very middle of them! The feeling was surreal as we were in the middle of nowhere and for miles and miles all you could see was white flatness.
- The fish island (on the salt flats), that is home to hundreds of giant cacti, humming birds and rabbit like rodents. We hiked to the top and could see a 360° view of the flats.
- Sleeping in a hostal made of salt bricks and in a bed made of salt.
- Lagoons-- we went to several lagoons over the three days, and each one was unique. They are home to 3 species of wild flamingos which were spectacular to see. One lagoon turns red during the day because of the large amounts of plankton being stirred up because of the wind. Another turns green because it contains 70% arsenic. Overall the lagoons were very neat, and beautiful!
- Seeing vicunas and andean foxes
- We saw many volcanoes along the way, some active and some dormant which were quite cool!
- Driving through the desert was amazing, very rustic and a new experience to be in the middle of absolute nowhere. 
- On the second night we stayed at a tiny hostal that was right by some hot springs, so after dinner we walked to them and sat in the relaxing warmth while enjoying the stars (which were stunning).
- Going into the crater of a semi-active volcano and seeing the geysers and steam jets-- possibly the weirdest and most unique part of the trip.

Salt Flats Tour

Sucre

We had a slightly panicked journey to the airport in La Paz-- we couldn't find a taxi anywhere and thought we'd miss our flight. But, nonetheless we arrived in Sucre around 12:30 after our flight was delayed about 30 minutes.

First we checked in at our hostal, and then we began our exploration of the city. We had a delicious lunch at a vegetarian restaurant and then hiked up to "La Recoleta" which gave us a fantastic view of the whole city. Then we went to a costume museum which displayed intricate Victorian outfits in a colonial house-- it was very interesting. Next we walked down a few unique streets, enjoyed the main plaza and had ice cream! We also visited "La Casa de Libertad" which was a museum with a variety of displays from contemporary art to swords to flags. We also explored a massive market that had anything you could possibly want. Sucre is a beautiful city and we wish we could have stayed longer!

This morning we got on a bus to Uyuni, unfortunately it left late. About 3 hours into the ride, we were further delayed because the driver got lost for about 2 hours (which was very frustrating). So we arrived in Uyuni around 7:30 pm after about 9 hours on the bus.

Tomorrow we begin our 3 day salt flats tour, there probably won't be internet so I will post again when we arrive in Chile!

La Paz!

Lake Titicaca and a Cactus

Off to Bolivia

On Friday after the rest of the family left, Erica and I hung around Puno until it was time to catch our bus to Copacabana (city right near the border in Bolivia). We crossed the border with no issues at all,  it was quite easy! We enjoyed the evening in Copacabana and a beautiful sunset over Lake Titicaca.

On Saturday we took a boat to the Island of the Sun, about two hours away. We started on the north side of the island and hiked about 10km to the south side. It was absolutely stunning.  There were Inkan ruins along the way and the views were incredible. (See photo)

On Sunday we caught a 10 am bus to La Paz, the biggest city in Bolivia! We wandered around for a few hours after we arrived and had an early night. 

Today we went to the Museum of Contemporary Art, the San Francisco Museum and church, Calle Jaen, a few markets and the Ethnographic and Folklore Museum. A few museums we wanted to see were closed because it's a Monday, so that was a bit disappointing. It as great to wander the streets and do some shopping though. For dinner we went to a delicious Indian restaurant.

Tomorrow we fly to Sucre! 

Adventures With the Fam- Week 2

After our Machu Picchu adventure we left Cusco early the next morning and went on the "4m Express" bus to Yanque (near the Colca Canyon-- which is deeper than the Grand Canyon). The bus was about 9 hours long and we only stopped a few times to make use of "Inka toilets". The last 4 hours of the trip was on gravel road which was bumpy and not very fun--but, driving straight through the Andes mountains was phenomenal. We arrived in Yanque and had a relaxing evening!

The next day we hired a taxi to drive us to the Colca Canyon National Park and the Condor Lookout. We went for a beautiful hike along the canyon and saw 3 condors at the look out. The valley was spectacular with terraces dating back to before the Inkan empire. On the way back we made a few stops in small villages and went to a cool cathedral,  drank cactus juice and enjoyed the views. We spent the afternoon in Chavay and relaxed in the hammocks at our hotel in the evening!

The next morning we went horseback riding through the valley-- it was so much fun. My horse was named Francesco! In the afternoon we caught our 5 hour bus to Arequipa. We spent the next day in Arequipa visiting many museums and cathedrals.  A highlight was the Santa Catalina Monastery,  stunning architecture and amazing history. We also saw the famous "Juanita" frozen Inkan mummy-- one of the most well preserved in the world. 

Next we headed to Puno, on the famous Lake Titicaca! We enjoyed a tour to the Uros floating islands and Taquile. The boat rides were fun and the lake was absolutely massive-- so beautiful. We enjoyed our last evening together as a family with a delicious pizza dinner! 

Adventures With the Fam- Week 1

So the last two weeks have been spent with my whole family-- we have travelled all over southern Peru fairly quickly to see the major sites! It's been pretty busy and hectic but also really fun!

The first few days were spent in the Sacred Valley (near cusco) visiting the Inkan and Pre-Inkan ruins in Pisaq,  Ollyantaytambo, Moras and Moray. Our hotel was right on the Urabamba river with an amazing view of the mountains! Some highlights were the Pisaq market and the Salt Mines (possibly the strangest place I've ever been)-- also travelling in between sites was beautiful, especially when we hired a driver for an afternoon who took us on a wild but amazing alternate "short cut" route to the ruins.

Then we headed to Cusco (my home base), where I acted as a tour guide for my family-- we went to the major museums,  el malino, the Pachachuteq statue, my favorite restaurants, the San Pedro market, Saqsayhuaman and Christo Blanco. Early in the morning on November 4th we departed for the Inka trail tour to Machu Picchu. After a train ride and a bus ride we arrived at the start of our 15 km trek on the inka trail. Wow-- what a hike! The trail consisted primarily of stairs and up hill slopes, but we made it to Winu Wayna (ruins along the way) for our lunch break and managed to survive! The whole hike was absolutely gorgeous-- right in the jungle and near the river-- great views! We made it to the Sun Gate around 3 pm and could clearly see Machu Picchu in the distance. After our arrival we hiked down to Aguas Calientes, had dinner and went to bed!  The next day we had a tour around the Machu Picchu ruins and unfortunately I was very sick (food poisoning) so I went back to the hotel early. In the evening we left Aguas Calientes and went on a 3 hour train back to Cusco.

That was our first week as a family!

(See photos below)

In the Mighty Jungle

After arriving in Puerto Maldonado, I took a two hour boat ride down the Madre de Dios river to the Inka Terra Reserve-- right in the heart of the amazon.

Here are some highlights/experiences from my week:
-On the first night I slept in a rustic tree house with a few others and Noe (the head biologist of the site)-- there was a major storm in the middle of the night and the tree swayed and it was kind of scary but amazing
-Night trekking to see nocturnal creatures
-Observing tarantula nests
-Working really hard to plant palm trees
-Canoeing through a jungle lagoon and seeing a caiman
-Walking on a boardwalk through the wetlands to see snakes
-Eating fruit straight from the trees (mangoes, star fruit, passion fruit, grapefruit)
-It was extremely hot and humid, I was drenched in sweat 99% of the time
-The canopy walks built especially to view birds above the trees
-Cruising down the Madre de Dios river in small boats (one night we went at sunset and it was gorgeous)
-Piranha fishing (didn't catch any unfortunately)
-Hiking through the jungle for hours
-Playing jungle volleyball with all the biologists
-Getting up at 5am to see birds
-The stars were phenomenal at night
-The music of the jungle (it was never quiet-- beautiful sounds)

It was a pretty amazing week! I loved the jungle and I'm so thankful I got to visit it despite my hospital adventure. The nature was stunning and I saw so many animals. (Photos to come)

Hello again!

It has been awhile since I have posted and that is partially because I've been busy but also because I haven't had steady internet!  A post about the jungle will be coming soon. My family has arrived and we are currently enjoying lunch in Surcani :) more to come!