Off The Deep End

At 8 AM we left our hostel in Cusco to begin our journey back to the United States. We would fly from Cusco to Lima, kill the better part of 12 hours in Lima then return to the airport to fly to Miami, then to Raleigh.

On our last day in Cusco we had planned to go mountain biking with our friend Luis. We decided to rent the bikes after meeting him in the square. This turned out to be a good idea, because Luis soon appeared limping badly. We rushed to his side asking him what the matter was. He explained that he had started coming down with an illness and went to the pharmacist to get an injection. This turned out to be a "mal injecion" and had hurt him so badly that he could barely walk. I suspect the pharmacist hit a bone with the needle causing a bad bone bruise.

Outside of Cusco there are numerous Incan sites that hardly anyone visits. Luis told us that Machu Picchu attracts most of the tourists and therefore most of the government funding for access and development. In the afternoon after visiting the pre Incan ruins we drove far up into the mountains to Tipon which is the site of the Water Temple.

Our second to last night in Cusco we headed out to a touristy meal and folk dance exposition at The Inka Wall. This place was just down the street from our hostel and featured a huge buffet dinner and dancing exemplifying the cultures of Peru. All the eras were represented from the Incan styles to Spanish and European styles. Even the pseudo futuristic space bugs versus the ice princess made an appearance complete with Yeti monster.

We had talked about renting some motorcycles and heading off into the hills, but when it came time for action it turned out that I was the only one who had even driven a motorcycle. After much discussion we settled on a guided trip on four wheelers. We apparently requested two automatics and one Blaster, a manual transmission. The trip was all arranged for the next day and we set off into the sunset.

Watch as we zoom and rush through the hills above Cusco. Deftly maneuvering our bikes through twisting trails, racing the deadly flats and plowing through crippling mud. Finally we go airborne on the sick jumps on the trail.

Randomly we were informed of a soccer game by a cab driver. We had gone out to the airport to change out outbound tickets and were on our way back to our hostel. The cab driver was talking to Adrial so fast that none of us could piece a single coherent word together. After about five minutes of jabbering at us Adrial finally figured out there was a futbol game that after noon at the local stadium. We called up our friend Luis and he said he was already planning on going with his son Rumi and his girlfriend. He agreed to meet us at our hostel before the game.

The day after we got back from our Machu Picchu trip Jammie woke up with a bad fever. Fearing the worst we called our new friend Luis to find out where we should go. He recommended the Pardo Clinic, a small private clinic that had English speaking doctors. Adrial and I got Jammie to the clinic and Luis met us there. We ended up with a German doctor name Hanna Menke who encouraged us through the process of waiting for lab results.

We took off on a four day and three night adventure to Machu Picchu. We set off from Cusco and drove up to the top of a high mountain pass. From there we spent the whole first day biking down 25 miles of distance and 7,000 feet of elevation. The second day we hiked all day to a hot spring. The third day we climbed around 2,500 feet up to a ridge line for our first glimpse of Mach Picchu before descending to the valley below. That afternoon we finished with a 45 minute train ride to Aguas Caliente at the base of Machu Picchu.

We spent three days in Cusco before our trip to Machu Picchu. Not knowing what to expect we were wide open to the possibilities of the area. Our cab driver into town from the airport, Percy, recommended a hostel and even came inside with us to discuss possible adventures. We all agreed that the horse riding in the mountains sounded like a great idea for our second day and arranged to meet Percy at 2 PM. We spent our first afternoon exploring the area around our hostel, the Plaza and some of the small shops and restaurants in the neighborhood.

We spent three days in Lima. I am not a huge fans of giant cities, but we ended up having a great time there. Jammie and I arrived the day before Adrial and we were all leaving together for Cusco on the 5th so we had to make the most of our short time.

One of the features of Arequipa is the Monastery of Santa Catolina. A huge sprawling complex with a four hundred year history. Originally founded by a wealthy widow and populated by privileged daughters of well to do European families. The families of these girls would pay a huge dowry to the monastery to take their daughters. The inhabitants lived a life of luxury behind their high walls. They had servants, feasts parties and fine clothes.

The city of Arequipa in southern Peru is like no where else in the country. The down town area has been dedicated a UNESCO World Heritage site for its many historic buildings, churches and monuments. Beyond the architecture the culture and cuisine of this city stand out. The people are proud and political and the heated coffee shop debates are matched with a spicy vibrant cuisine. In fact the people of Arequipa have gone so far as to design their own flag and passports to set them apart from the rest of Peru.

The Salt Flats of the Atacama lend themselves to sweeping panorama photos. These are a few of the composite panoramas that we took during sunset.
Enjoy!

We shopped around town for a tour out to the salt flats and found one that would take us to two different lagunas or pools and then to the large expanse of salt for sunset. Heading out of town on the highway in a large van our guide pointed out natural and cultural features of the area. He explained the how cultural changes were leading the younger generation to abandon the farming life style of their parents in favor of moving to bigger cities.

San Pedro de Atacama is located on the north end of the Salar de Atacama, the large salt flat in the Atacama desert in northern Chile. This small mud brick town has become a tourist stop because of its proximity to the Salar and its various features, thousands of year old native ruins, and the simple fact that it is one of the only oasis for hundreds of miles in any direction.

We returned to Santiago on our way north from Pucon to the Atacama after parting ways with Ben. We planned to stay for one to two days, oh were we in for a surprise! We hopped on a bus in Pucon early on Monday morning; we were scheduled to arrive in Santiago at 6:30 and our CouchSurfing host had left us meeting instructions in my email. Our bus was slow or something because we didn't arrive until after 8 PM and quickly sought out the closest internet cafe to check for instructions from Daniel.

Our second day at Kila-Leufu we hopped a bus a few km down the road and then hitch-hiked up to Termas San Luis. One of the many hot springs in the area that feature restaurants and full spa treatment. We opted just for the pool and a light lunch.
The water was very nice, not very hot though, more like a warm bath than a true hot spring. It was quite relaxing to hang out in the water all day, drink some wine we smuggled in and enjoy some local fish at the restaurant.

Kila-Leufu is the most amazing place. This Mapuche (local indigenous peoples) farm also operates as a guest house. The woman who runs the place, Irma, is the consummate host and made us feel right at home despite the fact that she spoke no English. The farm is located about 30 Km east of Pucon in a lush river valley with views of three different volcanoes including Lanin and Villarica. There is hiking, fishing, biking, horse riding and more offered in the area.

Leaving Junin our bus took us up over the Andes to Chile though a mountain pass under the Vulcan Lanin. This impressing volcano is over 3,000 meters tall with a permanent cap of snow and ice. The road gradually climbs into the mountains the landscape changing from steppes to the Aracaria forests common in this region. After passing into Chile the road plunges thousands of meters down into temperate jungles and placid farming valleys on the way to Pucon. There are more views of volcanoes and leading up to Vulcan Villarica which actually smokes!