Lima

On of the numerous plazas

 After another overnight bus from Huaraz, which is starting to become our second bed these days, we arrived in Lima. We had arranged a flight from Lima to Cusco, which left the next morning at 7am. We had been told on numerous occasions that Lima was dirty, dangerous, and all around awful. So we had no remorse only staying there a day.

We got to our hostel and got situated then headed out in the city to explore. Ok, maybe it is because we only stayed for a day, but Lima was great. It was the most modern city in South America we have visited so far and it was pretty clean as well. We were in the Miraflores area of Lima that is kind of touristy but nice. We walked to the board walk that was full of commercial shop and American exports like Toni Romas, that made us laugh. They only export the best of the states like, MacDonald’s, Burger king, KFC, and Pizza Hut. No wonder the world has all these ridiculous stereotypes of Americans.

After wondering around and stopping in a few shops we began our hunt for El Rincon del Bigote, a cevicheria that was recommended to us by a local we met in Huaraz. After literally an hour of walking back and fourth through the city, we managed to find the place. It was a tiny spot and we had to wait in line for a table, but it was well worth all of it. This is the best ceviche I have ever eaten. If you are in Lima this is a must. We had a scallop ceviche to start, the house specialty. It was perfect. We then had a mixed ceviche and a mixed chicharron, fried seafood. Everything was so fresh it just melted in your mouth, and all the flavors were perfectly balanced. I am planning another trip to Lima just to eat that ceviche again.

The church above the catacombs
This guy wants nothing to do with the incence vendor

When our delicious meal unfortunately came to an end we went to the main plaza’s in Lima and went to see the Catacombs. The catacombs were very extensive, but we only got to see a small portion. I was also a little shocked that the first archaeologists had rearranged the bones in large piles. All the skull were together, the femurs were together, and so forth. The guide said they had thought it made an impressive display for the tourists. Oh dear, it also destroyed all the historical integrity. I would have really enjoyed seeing how the catacombs were when they originated. It was a fun little tour none the less, and after we stumbled on a churros stall that had a line around the corner. We were astounded at the demand. Any churro commanding this much attention was worth a try. We waited in line for twenty minutes, and were not disappointed. For those of you not familiar with churros, they are fried dough covered in cinnamon and sugar. Delicious on there own, but these were filled with vanilla custard. Are you ready to make a trip to Lima yet?

The main plaza at night

We walked around the plazas a bit at night. They are stunning with the large balconies on the buildings, giant fountains, and all the lights. Speaking of fountains, we then went to see the magical fountains, a huge park full of some impressive fountains and some not so impressive. At night they light them with neon lights and they move to music. It was a lot of fun even though it was a bit cheesy.

Some of the not so cheesy fountains

We had a quick dinner then went to bed early since we had to be up at 5am. We were all disappointed that we had only given Lima a day.

Christina

The Summit

At the top

So after a month of trying to catch our Irish friend Michelle, we finally managed to meet in Huaraz, Peru. The town, nestled between two mountain ranges, is known for having some of the most beautiful treks in Peru. Although we did not think that we would be doing this much trekking when we started this trip we seem to seek it out in every country. Maybe we should have bought proper trekking shoes. I don’t think that my trail running shoes were meant to take this kind of a beating.



View on the way to Laguna 69

The first day was a relax and get our bearings day. That night we met Michelle and planned the days to come over a wonderful bowl of criolla soup and roasted chicken. She had already done the Laguna 69 trek and we were trying to talk her into doing a summit. Earlier that day we had stumbled into an office and they only had to mentioned it and we were sold. Neither of us had ever done a summit and what a perfect opportunity. So we decided to do the Lake 69 hike as an acclimation hike and we convinced Michelle that summiting a mountain was a great idea.

Small Laguna on the 69 Trekk




Waterfall on the Laguna 69 trekk

 So the next day we went on the lake 69 hike with a British girl named Mel. On the way up she gave us some great tips on India and Nepal. The trek was a deceivingly hard hike. It was just 6 hours but it was exhausting, by the time we got back we were drained. The laguna was beautiful and worth the effort. For all of its beauty the hike still killed us and we were worried about the summit the next day. We still had to go to the tour office and pick out our gear. When we got there we were laughing and having a good time until we found out that we would be carrying all of our gear. Then the mood took a devastating turn and we were all nervous about how we were going to make it up the mountain with 40 pounds of stuff on our backs. We had never done any trekking with full packs and now we were doing it at over 4500 meters. Michelle by the way was being overly positive during the entire event. We were not at all pleased. 

Us at Laguna 69, the bluest water I have ever seen

Another view of the Laguna and its little waterfall



Still positive right before the ascent to basecamp



 The next morning we got up at about 6 to pack up all of our stuff and get to the tour office at 8. When we got there we had to fill our bag with all of our gear and then head out on a two hour car ride. Michelle’s positive attitude changed when she picked up her pack. It was not nearly as light as she had expected. Then it was a grueling 4 hour trek with sections of rock climbing and bouldering all with a giant pack and energy draining heat. When we got to base camp we met a group of Israelis who were doing an ice climbing tour and we talked about our travels and they shared coffee with us. It was nice but once the sun set I could not get warm. No matter what I put on I just seemed to stay cold. It was a little troubling to the others who thought maybe I was not going to make it. After our three course dinner of avocado tuna sandwiches, chicken noodle soup, fried rice, and tea we went to bed. I could not get in my sleeping bag soon enough. The cold was wearing me down and we had to get up at one the next morning. I would not call what happened that night sleeping more like resting with moments of sleep. The altitude does not let you sleep much plus the ground was not the most comfortable thing I had ever slept on.

Michelle getting our tent set up while I take pictures... sneaky huh?

Michelle and our guide Phillipe getting the tent together

Dinner and tea at the basecamp kitchen

We were supposed to wake up at one in the morning to start the hike but we had woken up at twelve and decided to go back to sleep for an hour. Well we over slept and woke up at two. The guide was up and had not woken us up. We scrambled to get all our gear on and then had an amazing breakfast of this watery lumpy thing he called porridge. I though Michelle was going to vomit. Then we were off bouldering our way to the glacier. Once we got there we put on our crampons and got roped up. He was leading and I was next in line followed by Michelle and then Christina. He went to the ice wall and hacked at it with his axe and then started to climb so then I walk up and said, “do I have to do that” and tried to stick my axe in the ice but it just kind of bounced off. I started to climb anyway and it was quite fun until about 30 min in when every step felt like it was my last. All I could think about was just keep moving one foot after the other. I was walking slower than I thought possible and I still could not catch my breath. At one point I asked him how much longer and he said three hours. I tried not to sound like part of me died when I responded with an oh okay. Then when what I felt was a hour had passed I asked him how much longer and he said two and a half. I was shocked and he said that we were just walking really slow and I turned to the others and said “I can’t walk any faster.” Christina responded, “I can’t either” and then Michelle said the same. When we were about 90 meters from the top he said that we could not go any further because of crevases and that we would have to turn back. He said that we had made it to the north peak just not the south peak. I have no idea if there really is a north peak but I am not going to ask questions. The way down was ten times faster mainly because we went a different way than on the way up. This is because the way down is full of crevases that you can not see in the dark.

Us at the top

Sunrise from the top of Valanaracu

On the way back down... doesn't laura look chipper in the back

I guess I should also mention that on the way down the order is switched so it was Christina leading the way through the dangerous crevases. On several occasions she was standing between two crevases and Phillipe would say to the right… no I mean the left. As you stepped you would hear the ice cracking under your feet. It was a frightening sound. As if the ground beneath you would all of the sudden disappear. Another humorous event was when she walked up to a crevase about two feet wide and philipe asked do you think that you could jump over and she hesitantly said “yeah I think so.” Meanwhile Michelle behind her was thinking I don’t know what we are going to do when she jumps because I am not jumping. We learned that later, thankfully philipe decided to take a different path. The rest of the way down was uneventful and it was not until after we packed up our campsite that the trouble started.

The way up had been hellish and now we were doing it in the opposite direction with tried legs. Lets just say we all fell a few times and by the time we got to the bottom I could no longer move my legs. I do not know if I will ever do a summit again but it was definitely an experience I will never forget.

Also when we got back to the hostel Christina told Michelle that she could not believe that she said “I can” when we had both just commented that we could not move any faster. She had been thinking about this for the entire day seeing as we had gotten back to base camp at 8 am and it was now 7 pm. It was completely untrue that she had said that but it became a joke for the rest of the trip and we would randomly say “I can” in a high pitch girly voice. I think that Michelle only found it amusing the first time.

Just a funny picture of Laura with a llama I couldn't resist including

Laura

Thanks

Just wanted to say thanks to Sheila Carver and Jess Herkin for the generous donations. They bought our ticket to Mexico to visit our parents, sister and most important our niece Natalie Marie. Also thanks to everyone for reading and the comments.

Laura and Christina

Catching Up

Ok, ok, ok, I know it has been almost a month since our last post. We have been constantly on the move and in remote places without email so its been a bit hard to find the time. I know a month is hard to excuse though. So sorry to all of our followers and thanks again for keeping up with us. I am going to try and catch you up by giving an abridged version of most of last month in this post. We will also post some more detailed stories later. But for now here goes, the last month in one post.

After Cuenca we caught a bus and headed over to Puerto Lopez. A little beach town known for its whale watching and the Isla de la Plata, which is the most similar island to the Galapagos (Galapagos for poor people). We saw some amazing whales putting on an acrobatics show for the ladies (what a spectacular mating ritual). I think human men should try and do something equally as impressive. We also saw the famous blue footed boobies and some other interesting birds on Isla de la Plata. Back on the mainland we went to the dry forest and visited the sulfur baths at Aguas Blancas. They covered us with volcanic mud … good for the skin and all. I felt a bit silly and couldn’t help laughing at the thought of rich women paying ridiculous amounts of money to have this done to them in the States. After the baths we met a bunch of guys from Quito, who took us off roading in their truck through the dry forest and later bought us an amazing meal. They were a lot of fun. Oh, I almost forgot, we also camped at this amazing resort and used our hammocks. I love these things!

Our Hammocks

Riding back to our Hostel in a tuk tuk

Our volcanic spa treatments

Stopped off roading for a dance with a crazy Equadorian next to their truck

Hop scotch on the beach with the crazy man... note, laura does not see her flip flops again after this picture 

Fishing boats off the beach at Puerto Lopez

Fisherman coming in with their catch with many frigate birds trying to get an easy lunch

Puerto Lopez

Male Humpback showing off for the ladies

Masked something?? not sure what this bird's name is

Blue footed boobie

Then we were off to Loja and Vilcabamba. It would be our last stop in Ecuador before moving to Peru. Loja was a smaller, somewhat sleepy city. It had great food and friendly people. The yogurt in Ecuador is the best I have ever had. Its made with fresh fruit to order and served with tasty yuca bread. We couch surfed in Loja and we and our host took turns cooking for each other. We made them picadillo, one of our favorite Cuban dishes. Our host made us some typical Ecuadorian food that was really tasty. They made us repe, a traditional soup made from green bananas, potatoes, cheese and cilantro. They also made steak and rice and a salad. It was a great meal. After two days of exploring Loja we left for Vilcabamba. Vilcabamba is a great little town nestled in the mountains. We stayed at this amazing hostel called Ishcayluma. It was like a resort and only cost $15 a night. We spent 4 days there enjoying the hostel and the numerous mountain hikes in the area. We met a great French girl named Delphine and we spent those 4 days plus two more in Loja with her. Hopefully we can visit her in France.

Center of Loja with a Pilsener truck, the Beer of Ecuador

Street art in Loja

Laura riding a fake Llama

Me going down a slide at the city park in Loja. 

The night we cooked for our Couch Surfer and his friends

Hiking in Vilcabamba on the Izchyluma loop

Narrow Ridgline on the Izchyluma Loop

Our amazing Hostel, Izchyluma

Hitching a Ride back to Loja

After Loja and Vilcabamba we jumped on a 7am bus to Puira, Peru. It was an 8 hour bus ride with a border crossing in the middle. The boarder crossing was really easy and kind of a joke actually. We just got our passport stamped and walked across. Once in Piura a nice Peruvian man helped us find a bus to Trujillo. We were very happy for the help since the bus companies all have their own terminal and you have to go all over town from each one trying to find the right bus. After about three cab rides and 5 terminals we found a bus. It was an 11pm bus that arrived in Trujillo at 6am the next morning. We were couch surfing and our host canceled on us last minute. We luckily had a backup couch surfer and amazingly he not only answered his phone at 6:30am he also came straight away and picked us up and took us to his beach apartment in Huanchaco, just outside of Trujillo. We wandered around the town lazily and caught up on some well needed sleep. While we were there we were able to take some cooking classes with a little Peruvian lady. She took us to the market and showed us how to pick out all the ingredients for the two dishes we were going to prepare. Then we went back to her house and she taught us how to prepare and cook a classic Peruvian ceviche, a sudado de pescado and a drink made from purple corn called chicha morado. They both came out amazing and can’t wait to try making them on my own. Huanchaco as a whole was a strange little surf town full of strange people. We were ready to leave and head on our way to Huaraz.

Laura and David(our couch surfer) enjoying fresh juice from a plastic bag

Surfers on Huanchaco Beach

Native boats made out of straw, they still use them to fish

Hope this caught you up a bit. We will try and write more regularly from now on but I am not promising anything.

Cajas and the Cattle Truck

Cajas

After my day of rest I was feeling a bit better. I was now able to eat bread and tea so I was making some improvements. We took advantage of my improved condition and headed to Caja for the day. Cajas is a national park that we were told we had to visit. After an hour and a half bus ride we were at Cajas. We talked to the park rangers and they gave us a map and showed us the different routes we could hike through the park. We decided on a 5 hour hike that would take us through a good portion of the park but still get us back in time for the last bus back to town, which left at 6pm.
We headed out for the trail. We had bundled up with long johns, scarves, hats, and hoods up. There was a misty fog over everything. Not only did the fog keep you cold and damp, but it also impaired our vision. The rangers told us not to leave too late for the hike, because it was not uncommon for the fog to settle in really low and thick and for people to lose the trail and get lost and die. I thought that was a bit extreme but apparently it has happened quite a few times. Enough said … we headed out straight away.


Low Clouds over Cajas



The hike was beautiful. Around every turn was another amazing view. We saw rivers, cascades, lagoons, birds, foxes, llama, and lots of flowers. I could have easily spent a week hiking in Cajas, except for the cold. I’ll have to come back in the summer months. We crossed little streams, hopping from one slippery rock to the next and I was just bidding my time before I slipped in and got wet. It wasn’t the rivers that got me in the end it was the swamp. I would have taken the river over the swamp in a heartbeat. Unfortunately when we were there it had been raining and everything was very muddy. Most of the hike this had just meant a little mud on the trail, but we came to a low spot where the water had accumulated and it was a mess of deep black mud. We started picking our way through, going from fallen limb to rock and using the nearby branches for balance. I guess I got too confident and ended up misstepping almost at the end and dunked my foot, mid calf high, into the mud. At this point I was starting to feel pretty weak again and add to it a nasty muddy squishy foot. It made for a long rest of the hike. Luckily we were almost done by then.

Laura making a goofy pose

We arrived back at the main gate, Laura in the lead and me staggering in behind. I’m sure the park ranger was laughing inside. We had plenty of time to spare before the last bus. We got cleaned up a bit then headed for the bus stop at the top of the hill. We had half an hour before our bus. We sat and waited in the cold trying to shield ourselves from the wind in the little bus stop. Finally we see the bus rounding the corner and heading our way. We waved for the bus to stop, so happy to be finally out of the cold and on our way back to Cuenca. We were both shocked, however, when the bus went flying past us. Let me just remind you that this was the last bus into town until tomorrow. We both didn’t know what to say. We kept reassuring ourselves that there had to be another bus coming. At this point two women and a small boy walk up from the park. They sit next to us in the bus stop and begin to wait. This is a reassuring sign and we are now convinced that there will be another bus. We wait and wait and then a truck comes around the corner and the ladies get up and flag it down. They start heading to the front of the truck then ask us if we want to come as well. Dumbfounded we didn’t know what to do. We asked them if there would be any more busses and they said no. We then quickly accepted the ride, but the front of the truck was full. We were then lead to the back of the truck, which looked like could be housing livestock. We held our breath as the driver opened the back doors. What a relief when the back turned out to be empty. It had held livestock at some point though, evident because of the wood chips covering the floor and the poop everywhere.

Scary but pretty plant

We found a somewhat clean spot and got comfortable for the long ride. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity for a photo and I was just reaching into my bag to pull out my camera when the truck stopped. It was much too soon to be in Cuenca yet, and we heard a lot of voices. Then we hear the back doors opening. When we look out there is a crowd of about ten Ecuadorian men, who look just as shocked to see us as we are to see them. They proceed to get in and fill the back of the truck. Laura and I were a bit nervous at this point. I had all sorts of scenarios playing out in my head. They all huddled around and started talking to us. Turns out they were really nice guys. They were working on the construction of the highway. We talked for the rest of the ride sharing information about each other’s country and culture. It turned out to be a great little adventure… and we saved on the bus fare.

Christina

Lagoon overgrown with reeds