Friday, April 29, 2005
30cents an hour
yep - that's how much internet costs here. it's great!
Robin and I are at an internet place a stones throw away from our hostel. we arrived in Cuzco yesterday by plane, and were immediately *attacked* by a bazillion people trying to get us to stay at their hostel. we followed one girl (actually, her counterpart in Lima accosted us first and had someone here with Robin's name written on a piece of paper) and checked out her place. it was definitely nice, but we ended up opting to wandering around the city a bit more and followed a recommendation from Lonely Planet. the place is called "Hostal Qorichaska" and the owner (?) is Sonja - a really nice lady with a motherly kinda nature about her. our room is very basic with two beds and a bathroom down the hall, but very clean and has a homely feel.
we spent yesterday taking it easy running errands like booking and paying for tours, including our Inca Trail tour with SAS (note: many people told us we could book the trail tour when we get to Cuzco, but I would advise doing this in advance. we just bumped into a fellow hosteler from Lima and he's having a heck of a time finding a tour that leaves within the next month - I think some of the rules regarding the trail have changed and require a bit more planning). the food here is awesome and incredibly cheap - imagine paying the equivalent of $3-5 for a days worth of good food and never at all being hungry. we've yet to try (...vegetarians may choose to skip what I'm about to say next...) guinea pig.
today, Robin and I took a tour of the Sacred Valley. Sacred because it seemed to be unaffected natural disasters, had rich soil that allowed them to grow food for the empire, is absolutely beautiful and was considered the naval of the world. the views into the valley are breathtaking and some of the villages are still being built ON old ruins (and there's really no reason for them not too. the Incas knew what they were doing and the roads and aqueduct system they built are still in fantastic shape). we were suppose to be on the "English Only" tour - in hopes of meeting fellow travelers - but ended on the English & Spanish tour anyway. we were a little disappointed at first - because eventhough we're picking up on the Spanish it's still difficult to have a conversation - but it worked out in the end and we met some great people from Spain and Brazil who knew some English, particularly the Brazilian guy, Fabio. everyone was raving about how great Bolivia was, particularly the cities/towns(?) of Uyuni and San Pedro. and we've been recommended time and again to bike "the most dangerous road in the world", so... lots in store! I can't believe it's only really day 3...
anyways, we should be off to bed soon. we need to be up EARLY (i.e. at 5am) to get ready and start our Inca Trail tour. soooooooo excited!
hasta luego :)
Robin and I are at an internet place a stones throw away from our hostel. we arrived in Cuzco yesterday by plane, and were immediately *attacked* by a bazillion people trying to get us to stay at their hostel. we followed one girl (actually, her counterpart in Lima accosted us first and had someone here with Robin's name written on a piece of paper) and checked out her place. it was definitely nice, but we ended up opting to wandering around the city a bit more and followed a recommendation from Lonely Planet. the place is called "Hostal Qorichaska" and the owner (?) is Sonja - a really nice lady with a motherly kinda nature about her. our room is very basic with two beds and a bathroom down the hall, but very clean and has a homely feel.
we spent yesterday taking it easy running errands like booking and paying for tours, including our Inca Trail tour with SAS (note: many people told us we could book the trail tour when we get to Cuzco, but I would advise doing this in advance. we just bumped into a fellow hosteler from Lima and he's having a heck of a time finding a tour that leaves within the next month - I think some of the rules regarding the trail have changed and require a bit more planning). the food here is awesome and incredibly cheap - imagine paying the equivalent of $3-5 for a days worth of good food and never at all being hungry. we've yet to try (...vegetarians may choose to skip what I'm about to say next...) guinea pig.
today, Robin and I took a tour of the Sacred Valley. Sacred because it seemed to be unaffected natural disasters, had rich soil that allowed them to grow food for the empire, is absolutely beautiful and was considered the naval of the world. the views into the valley are breathtaking and some of the villages are still being built ON old ruins (and there's really no reason for them not too. the Incas knew what they were doing and the roads and aqueduct system they built are still in fantastic shape). we were suppose to be on the "English Only" tour - in hopes of meeting fellow travelers - but ended on the English & Spanish tour anyway. we were a little disappointed at first - because eventhough we're picking up on the Spanish it's still difficult to have a conversation - but it worked out in the end and we met some great people from Spain and Brazil who knew some English, particularly the Brazilian guy, Fabio. everyone was raving about how great Bolivia was, particularly the cities/towns(?) of Uyuni and San Pedro. and we've been recommended time and again to bike "the most dangerous road in the world", so... lots in store! I can't believe it's only really day 3...
anyways, we should be off to bed soon. we need to be up EARLY (i.e. at 5am) to get ready and start our Inca Trail tour. soooooooo excited!
hasta luego :)
Thursday, April 28, 2005
There's an adventure at every turn.
Robin and I weren't able to fly to Cuzco until this morning, so we spent yesterday in Lima. Our hostel - The Point Hostel - was located in a suburb of Lima called Barranco, but we spent a better part of the afternon in Lima. We got into a taxi, bargained for what was considered a decent price - 8 soles (i.e. $2.50) - and found ourselves gripping the seats of the car and watching our lives flash before our eyes ...several times. The driving here is, to say the least, is crazy and much less organized than anything in N. America. In Lima, we walked around Chinatown - which incidentally didn't seem to have any Chinese people - and ended up in areas that would be considered "off the beaten path" by most travelers. We had a huge lunch at a restaurant that was literally a whole in the wall (not uncommon) and were glad to provide the locals with entertainment as we whipped out Spanish-English phrase books.
That evening we went to a football match between Peru and Argentina with the hostel. We were cheering for Peru, but they got their asses kicked ...badly. The score was 0-3 at half-time and remained that way until the end of the game. Too bad. =P It was fun to be among a huge cheering crowd and eating I'm-not-completely-sure-what's-in-this vendor food (travelers are advised not to - Oops, but we didn't get sick, so I assume it was ok...?)
What was great about the hostel we stayed at is it had it's own bar. So after the game we headed back there for some good drinking and good crack (no, not THAT kind of crack. It's an Irish expression for a good laugh or good time), and headed out to a local club for more partying when the neighbours complained we were being too loud - hehe ;)
Robin and I weren't able to fly to Cuzco until this morning, so we spent yesterday in Lima. Our hostel - The Point Hostel - was located in a suburb of Lima called Barranco, but we spent a better part of the afternon in Lima. We got into a taxi, bargained for what was considered a decent price - 8 soles (i.e. $2.50) - and found ourselves gripping the seats of the car and watching our lives flash before our eyes ...several times. The driving here is, to say the least, is crazy and much less organized than anything in N. America. In Lima, we walked around Chinatown - which incidentally didn't seem to have any Chinese people - and ended up in areas that would be considered "off the beaten path" by most travelers. We had a huge lunch at a restaurant that was literally a whole in the wall (not uncommon) and were glad to provide the locals with entertainment as we whipped out Spanish-English phrase books.
That evening we went to a football match between Peru and Argentina with the hostel. We were cheering for Peru, but they got their asses kicked ...badly. The score was 0-3 at half-time and remained that way until the end of the game. Too bad. =P It was fun to be among a huge cheering crowd and eating I'm-not-completely-sure-what's-in-this vendor food (travelers are advised not to - Oops, but we didn't get sick, so I assume it was ok...?)
What was great about the hostel we stayed at is it had it's own bar. So after the game we headed back there for some good drinking and good crack (no, not THAT kind of crack. It's an Irish expression for a good laugh or good time), and headed out to a local club for more partying when the neighbours complained we were being too loud - hehe ;)
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
6.5 hours 'til take off
gawwwwd - i should be sleeping! not creating another blog.
you can bet i'll be zonked on the plane. hopefully they won't ask too many hard questions at the gate =P
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you can bet i'll be zonked on the plane. hopefully they won't ask too many hard questions at the gate =P
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