Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)

The hostel we had found was awesome, and really close to the beach, but boy, did we pay for it.  Apparently, there was a music festival that week, Rock in Rio, which is the world`s largest rock concert (?); I dunno, that`s just what someone mentioned.  So, hostel prices were pretty outrageous across the board.  By that time, Jared was feeling a bit better, at least able to eat a bit, so we headed out to a close place, and grabbed some good old-fashioned, unfried, steak, hallelujah!  I met some fellow hostelers, and picked their brains on Rio activities, which mostly consisted of Rock in Rio for a lot.  After a few introductions, I called in a night, and was elated with the knowledge that I would not have to drive for a least a few days!
The next morning, we woke up, and got a good, all-you-can-eat breakfast spread at the hostel.  After not too long, I put my new Cartagena bathing suits bottoms on, and headed to the beach!  Ug, I apologize for all the exclamation points, I just really liked Rio...and want to make sure you understand that.  Anyway, down to the beach I went.  Jared stayed back for a bit as his stomach was acting up, but joined not long after I arrived.  The beach was packed;  I also saw the largest woman`s butt cheeks, just hanging out, for the whole world to see...she was really large.  So that was basically my introduction to the world of swim wear in Rio.  The men were in surprisingly large swim suits...I mean, not like in the USA, but also definitely not those little Speedos people used to sport.  I think the most memorable swimsuit, besides the one I couldn`t see on the first woman I told you about, was the teenie weenie nude, string bikini, thong, on the super old, super tan woman walking along.  It reminded me of the old, leather-skinned woman from the movie Something About Mary.  The water was surprisingly chilly, and the undercurrent was very strong, so I mostly just basked in the sun, trying to get back that Central America glow I had earlier, which did not really happen, but that`s beside the point.  We spent an hour or two lounging, before heading back to the hostel.  We showered up, and walked around our area a bit, getting a better feel for what Barry Manilow was talking about.  That evening we attempted to walk down the beach to a park and small hilltop before sunset, but we left a bit late, and right as we started, Jared`s stomach started hurting again, so we decided to hold off until the next day, as we probably wouldn´t even be able to reach the park before sunfall.  The rest of the night, we were mostly just lazy, hanging out at the hostel.  We promised that the next day, we would be productive tourists....
Each day started way earlier than I wanted.  I hoped for a nice 10 am leisurely wake up, but instead, would unwantedly wake up at 7 am.  Despite trying to shut me eyes as tightly as possible, once you`re up in a dorm room of a hostel, it`s nearly impossible to fall back asleep.  So up we got, everyday, between 7-8 am.  The all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet, with more than just bread and jam, definitely helped to ease the blow.  I had some quick errands to run for Australia, so I set out to the post office, while Jared set up our tourist activities.  Upon my return, we packed our sunblock and glasses and headed out to the bus station to go to Cristo Redentor, or Christ the Redeemer;  one of the Man-Made Wonders of the World!  An easy ride later, we hopped off right in front of the park; couldn`t have been easier.  A small train takes passengers up to the summit every 30 minutes, and then you can walk/take an elevator up the the statue.  Views of the city are pretty amazing, and as with many monuments, the statue is a lot bigger than it looks!  After a bit of photos and plaque reading, we got back on the train to head back down.  We went back to the hostel, and this time took the bus over to the park to try to catch the sunset again.  Alas, we were too late, and the sun started to set before we could reach the park...again.  Also, we were insanely hungry, as we hadn`t eaten since breakfast!  So instead, we headed for a restaurant in the Ipanema area.  We split some pretty awesome beef stroganoff, and after gorging ourselves walked for a bit, before rain started picking up and we bused back to the hostel for the night.
The next morning, we had to be ready a bit early as I really wanted to go on a free walking tour of the city.  We attempted one in La Paz, but no one ever showed up, but I was pumped for the Rio tour.  I really like to know certain back stories and history behind areas, instead of just taking pictures of pretty buildings.  We got on the train, which we were told would take about 10 minutes to reach our destination, and 30 minute later ran off, in the hopes that we had not missed the tour, which was supposed to have left 4 minutes after we got off the train.  We ran around looking for someone that looked like they might be a tour guide, and low-and-behold, just as we were about to give up, Jared spotted the group.  The was a serious, no-fooling-around tour group,  probably about 40-50 people.  The tour was led by a young history student, who had actually started this company herself.  She split the tour into 2 groups, as there were too many to pill in front of certain buildings and other stops on the tour.  She took us to the historic district, taught us a bit about the finding and establishment of Brazil; the palace, legislative buildings, theater house, old, famous restaurants, etc.  I was so happy that we found the tour in the end, and the guide was great.  She also took us to a Havaiana store, where we got a 10% discount, and a restaurant where we got a dicount, and a free large caipirinha!  Again, great tour experience.  We finished up at the Escanderia Seleron, and independently we up to Santa Teresa, and a park with a great view of the city; we also walked to the Cathedral, which is pretty oddly, or uniquely, I guess, shaped.  By the time, we made it back to the hostel, we were pooped.  What was supposed to be about a 2 hour tour turned into us being out and about from 10:30 am to about 5:30 at night.  On our way back to the hostel, we were discussing how much we enjoyed the city, and made the last night decision to stay an extra day in Rio, instead of driving a bit north to check out a colonial town. Beach in Rio vs. UNESCO World Heritage Site...no-brainer! haha. I was pretty pumped because A) I had been given another oppotunity to go out! and B) there was a soccer game the next day at the Brazilian stadium, where I imagine a huge chunk of World Cup games will take place next year, Estadio Macarana, and C) the beach. So, after our tour, I hung out with some fellow hostelers, showered up, and beautified (as best as possible without my arsenal of beauty products), and prepared to party like a Rio-star! Jared was not as siked as me, but willing to go, until...about 10 minutes before we were supposed to leave. But no mind, he could be a party pooper if he wanted, I was not about to let him keep me from going a second night in a row, and low-and-behold, I stand my ground, and he caved! haha We headed out on foot, with about 10 other hostelers, and arrived at another hostel with, apparently, a pretty rocking bar downstairs. Jared left not long after we arrived, but I stayed out with the others, til the wee hours of the night, and had a great time!

The next morning, I was up surprisingly early, and shockingly hangover-free. As we were allowed one more day in Rio, we were going to take advantage of the beach. We suited up, and headed down. That day was a bit overcast, so there were not nearly as many people as before, but I was not about to allow a bit of clouds and the threat of rain to keep me from catching a few rays! After maybe an hour or so, we set out to a ticket vendor to buy our soccer tickets for that night, and another Brazilian good samaritan helped us out by guiding us in our section choice (a huge decision in the end), and almost buying the tickets (we would pay, he would be the registrant) for us when we thought neither of us had brought our ID`s, which apparently you need to buy a ticket; Jared had his in the end, but it`s still a great example of Brazilian kindheartedness. After my to-do was done, we headed out for Jared`s; he wanted to go to a Jiu Jutsu gym he had read about, so after a short bus ride, and a bit of confusion trying to locate it, we walked into a super stinky gym with men rolling around on mats, in crazy wrestling positions...not a bad place for a girl to hang out! We watched their practice for a bit, and then made our way back to the hostel. We relaxed for a bit, before making the easy subway trip over to the stadium. This place has obviously been vamped up for the World Cup. It was the most beautiful stadium I think I ever seen! The outside had changing color shows, and a running track, the entrances are easy to navigate, and every few feet there is an attendant waiting to help. They must use every game as a World Cup practice run. The field was beautiful, and our section was packed; at first, it was pretty empty, and we thought maybe Rock in Rio had stolen all of the soccer patron, but we were just more zealous, and nervous, and showed up earlier than the stadium savy veterans. As the game began, we were so happy to be sitting on our side, as our section was packed with rowdy fans, and the other section was almost completely barren of afficionados. I kind of felt bad for them, and normally would have started rooting for them as the under dog team, but I also feared being discovered in a dark ally the next day by the police if I made the slightest facial expression implying anything but complete blood-thirsty contempt and disdain for the other club team. In the end, they actually ended up winning by 2-0 goals, so I was happy, but to see the awesome fan reactions throughout was great! That night, we went back to the hostel, and I felt much better about our timing and leaving the city the next day.

Heading Due East (Bolivia to Brazil)

We woke up lazily our last day in La Paz, because A) we wanted the free breakfast, B) we knew we had a ton of driving over the next few days, and C) we had to wait for our laundry. Since the protests were that day, we ended up not being able to pick up our laundry until after 10 am. We packed the car, and said one final goodbye to La Paz, the only city we had left and returned to so many times. However, La Paz never ceases to be a thorn in one´s side, and despite the fact that there was little car traffic to deal with that morning (from the protests), there were protesters throwing rocks and debris into the road. We were able to make it out with no car damage, and starting our long drive. The first day was easy, nothing of note, except the jamming Backstreet Boys marathon we had during the drive. We also discovered outright a fact that we had suspected throughout our stay in Bolivia: despite the amount of tourism there, the governemnt was not that friendly toward foreign presence (which we actually discovered later, through an article on CNN.com, that Bolivia is the #1 most unfriendly country for travelers [google it]).. A bit after leaving La Paz, we routinely stopped for gas, noting that since arriving in the country, we had not needed to fill up yet. The first gas station we arrived at informed us that they could not fill our tank due to our foreign license plate...along with the second and third gas stations. Things were becoming worrisome, but someone mentioned that we might be able to buy gas from a mechanic shop. We found a small, run-down shop, and were able to fill up using our spare gas container from the trunk. We filled up by hand, one liter at a time, taking ages, but we were secure for the time being, and continued on our way. A few hours before we arrived in our first resting town, Jared mentioned that he had started to feel under the weather, sore throat, nausea, aching body etc. By the time we arrived in Cochabamba, he was a mess. I ran around looking for a place for us to stay, while he rested, and when we settled ourselves into a hostel, he basically remained in the fetal position for the rest of the evening.
 The next morning, he was not during any better, so I took over driving. We drove from about 7 am I think, until the sun went down, and stopped in a super small town, maybe namme San Juan...memory escapes me at this point.  The only thing of notes in the town, was the presence of serious white people.  Apparently, there was some sort of amish community that had settles in Bolivia ages ago...who knew?  So, yea, it was a bit weird to see tons of little baby towheads running around.  Although, they stared at us more than the locals!  I had dinner sola, as Jared was barely feeling well enough to hold up his head, and went right back to the hostel for a early night`s sleep.
 The next morning, again early wake up and drive.  We arrived at the border of Brazil around lunch, ate cheaply, as we assumed prices would skyrocket the second we stepped over the border, and got in line for the usual back-and-forth at customs. Shockingly, the most arduous part of the process was the Bolivian customs office; normally countries make leaving easy, and it´s entering that takes up all the time. On the contrary, it seemed Bolivia was going to have us sit around for 2 hours for their customs officers to eat. The Brazilian side, however, was easy; a short line for immigration, and when we went over to customs, they told us we didn´t need any paperwork to bring in the car!! At least I think they said that...despite attempting to learn Portuguese from a Lonley Planet travel book, my language skills were not up to the task at that point. Somewhat, confounded, we hopped in the car without confirming with the Brazilian government that we had a car through any type of paperwork (the first time since leaving the US), and set out for more driving. I was sure we would get stopped at the first check point, and sent back to the border...or jail, but we did not, so we kept going.  Our first pit stop for the night in Brazil, was Campo Grande.  I was pretty siked to start using some of the Brazilian Portuguese I had been practicing, and had spent the whole day in the car reading signs and hoping I was pronouncing everything correctly, which I wasn`t, but I tried my damndest!  Campo Grande was a nice and big city, but did lack cheaper hostels, so we had to stay at a hotel.  One of the first things we did was run to the ATM, and wouldn't you know it, Jared's card got rejected, not once, not twice, but several times, at different locations.  Luckily, from the 3 debit cards I left the US with, I was down to one Chase, so we wouldn't be compltetely screwed, but I did get a pretty hefty international ATM withdrawal fee, so cash was only to be used if absolutely necessary.  Thankfully, our hotel took card...thankfully we were in Brazil, because pretty much everything took card.  I don't remember anything in Bolivia taking card, including paying for our flight to the Madidi National Forest.  Anyway, we grabbed dinner at McDonald's, because Jared wanted to see if it did in fact taste different down there, like I had claimed.  Now, A) I said it tasted different in Uruguay, I had no idea what Brazilian McDonald's tasted like, and B) I haven't a Mikkie D's burger in years.  At this point, I have no idea what a US McDonald's burger tastes like, BUT the burger we had at the Brazilian McDonald's was awesome!  And crazy overpriced.  Well, maybe not overpriced, as it was most likely real meat, and really only overpriced because I'm so used to US McDonald's prices, this was about $10.  Anyway, point is...yes, Brazilian McDonald's has GOT to be better than US McDonalds!  After our experiment ended with us successfully full, we walked back to the hostel for the night.
The next day, we planned on driving from sun-up until soun-down (again), to reach Sao Paolo, but ended a few hours pre-mature when Jared announced the he desperately needed a bed, and couldn`t be in the car anymore.  Luckily, we were at a gas station right outside of a really nice town called Bauru.  I attempted to chat a bit with the gas station attendants, who were so nice, and helped me with all my Portuguese questions!  They then tried to give me directions into town, for us to stay at a hotel, and when a new car came up, this amazing pregnant woman, said we could just follow her into town, and she would show us.  As of this point, we had already had very brief, but lovely encounters with Brazilians, but this one took the cake.  She started driving us into town, and then stopped a few miles in, came running back to our car, belly swinging around in her hands, to ask what kind of price range we wanted!!  Then, when we told her what we were looking for (cheap), she said, "oh geez, well that`s behind us", and I tried to listen as closely as possibly as she gave Portuguese directions, and then said "but don`t worry, you can just follow me".  So this amazing woman, literally turned her car around and drove us to a new place in the other direction!!  Seriously...nicest people ever!  Unfortunately, even the cheap hotel was a bit out of our price range, but the hotel attendant directed us to a different location, that, even though it was still a bit more than we wanted to pay, would suffice, as Jared was having a rough time.  As he turned our room into his quarantine cell, I stayed away as much as possible, grabbed dinner, walked around, and attempted to communicate with a pharmacist what Jared`s symptoms were, she gave me some pills, who knows what they were for, and I doled them out to Jared in hopes that they would help in some way.  When I did plant myself in our room for the night, the hallway came alive.  We heard men yelling and banging, it sounded like some highschool trip fight was breaking out.  Luckily, they calmed down (or more accurately, left), and we were able to get some sleep.
 The next morning, we went to breakfast at the hotel dinning area, and discovered the rowdy "highschool" kids, were in fact, middle aged men, which really just made me fall in love with the Brazilian people even more!  We got into the car, and were determined to make it to Rio de Janeiro that day...or ELSE!!!  Well, "or else" nothing really, we would just have to sleep in some highway town again, but I was dying to be done driving; 5 days of 12 hours driving stints, I was done!  The only real thing of note during that drive was getting stopped by 2 police officers, who I knew were gonna give me a ticket, beacuse I had passed them earlier on the highway, not knowing they were cops.  Instead, they were rally just curious about our drive and our trip; even invited us in for coffee or water!  Seriously liking Brazil at this point; I think also because Bolivia had been such a drag on us.  Anyway, finally getting closer to Rio, we ran into a bit of traffic as the sun went down, but I was not stopping!  We had perfectly functioning headlights, and I was making it to the land of samba, beaches, thongs, and caipirinhas or somebody was gonna get it!!!  ...and let`s be honest, it would probably be Jared, just for proximity reasons.  Well after dark, we pulled into lovely Rio, and with great modern roads and lights (!!), we easily managaed our way to Copacabana, and our hostel.
Copa, Copacabana.  The hottest place south of Havana!  Not joking, I had that song stuck in my head the entire time we were in Rio.

PLANNING MACHU PICCHU

PLANNING MACHU PICCHU was difficult with the small amount of time we had available in Cusco thus access to viable information leading up to the trip to Machu Picchu to make a decision.  When you arrive in Cusco, you will see tour offices on every street by the handful and it is daunting when searching for the right trip.  We only had an afternoon to plan this trip so we got stuck going with the first tour office we went into, so after, I made a list of all the prices and talked to some other travelers to compare.  In total, we spent 250 USD for a one day, two night trip to Machu Picchu covering transportation and rooms.  Other travelers with different tour offices seemed to pay similar prices, but here is the break down for your knowledge...

   Train tickets from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes were 55 USD and 70 USD through Inca Rail.  Peru Rail exists as a competitor but only offer similar pricing.
    Bus tickets from Aguas Calientes up to Machu Picchu cost 18.50 USD for a round trip, so if you want to cut corners with cost, you could easily walk it.
    Machu Picchu and Mountana entrance ticket itself cost 50.50 for the day.

This totals out at 194 USD, so the rest was spent on our room in Aguas Calientes, transportation to Ollantaytambo and back and the rest, their profits.  Profits seem to be negligible so getting a tour office to make these plans for you seems reasonable, but again if you want to make things slightly cheaper, you can definitely make these plans on your own to attempt to do so.  Other than the option I have made available here, there are other options to get to Machu Picchu i.e. multipe day hiking treks.  I only spoke to one person regarding such and he quoted me 250 USD as well, but these prices vary greatly and can get expensive to do the Inca Trail and other hikes.

Amazon Jungle Trekking (Bolivia)

At 4 am, we wretched ourselves out of bed to head to the airport. If we had more time, we would´ve taken the cheaper bus option, but the drive was avout 30 hours each way, and we couldn´t afford that on our time constraints. We hopped in a cab, in the pitch black, and about 5 minutes into the drive, remembered we had forgotten our tickets! Luckily, we had left with enough time to swing back around, and pick up the tickets without a worry. When we got to the airport, security was a breeze even though it was crowded; no belts removed or shoes taken off! We sat in silence, trying to wake up, until our flight was called, and we boarded onto a teenie plane. The flight was short, less than an hour, and, all bundled up from La Paz, we stepped into the jungle climate of Rurrenabaque. We found a guide waiting for us, and hopped in a van for the center of town, and our travel agency there. After stripping off a few layers, we made for a quick breakfast, and met our guide for the next few days, Ivan. Someone mentioned leaving our big packs at the agency office during our trek, so we quickly packed small bags with the essentials for living in the jungle the next few days...which for Jared, did not include any clothing, a decision he later regretted. We walked over to a river, and hopped on a boat to cross, and receive our park entrance tickets. After signing the dotted line, we got back in the boat with about 7 other travelers, and headed up the Rio Beni, into the deeper Madidi National Park. After about 45 minutes, driving up the river, we stopped at a small bank, and all got out to visit a small indigenous village. I´m not sure if you´d even really call it a village. It was one large family, and its extensions, but they did have about 40-50 hectars (I actually have no idea how much that is) of land that they cultivated; mainly cane, but also some fruits, and a few other items to sustain themselves. We learned about the way of live their people had created ages before the government came in, proclaiming their land a National Reserve, and mandating rations for the villages. We walked around the plot a bit, and made sugar water from grinding cane stalks through a large series of wheels. We then got to try the finished product, which, as you would suspect, was really too sweet to drink alone, but add a little lime juice, and it was delicious!! The families main income was trading the cane drink, and honey made from cane, in the main town, Rurrenabaque. After thanking our host, we got back in the boat, and headed farther up the river. After maybe another 45 minutes, we pulled into a area clearly designated as this tour groups main camp/cabin location. Once we made our way up a series of staircases, we came into the main area of the complex, which was so nice! They had a large eating pavilion, and the cabins we so cute. I was actually surprised by our accomodations, as I expected us to be roughing it at night. On the contrary, our rooms we nice and the staff was attentive. After a bit of a rest and snack...might I add, the amount of food we had a lunch was awesome, we met back up with the group and Ivan, and set out for an afternoon hike. Another boat ride up the river, and we got out and walked through the brush. The jungle is pretty much what you would expect...lots of trees ;) We walked for about 2 hours, and came across a pack of wild boar (which stink!) and monkeys. Our guide showed us alot of the different type of flora, including, my favorite, a garlic tree! When he cut into the branch, it smelled just like garlic! He said people used it to ward off the animals...not sure if it would entice or deter them from eating someone. He also told us how the current President wants to build a highway through the jungle, and displace, obviously the wild life, as well as the people that have made that area their home. Bad President! On the walk back, I´m not drawing any conclusions...but I could´ve SWORN that I heard a "purr"; not really a growl I wouldn´t say, but definitely not a house kitten purr either. After that, we watched our backs a bit more. When the hike was done, we headed back to our cabin area via the boat. That night, we washed up, ate dinner, and headed to bed. The next morning was to be our big jungle adventure day. We had a good breakfast, packed our things up, and started our 5-6 hour hike. The hike was much like the day before; Ivan explained certain local customs, and we saw a few monkeys and boar from afar. A bit after midday, we arrived at our new camping ground, which was much more of what I had originally imagined for our accomodations...very bare. The guides set up a row of sleeping nets and pads, we all ate lunch, and went down to the Rio Beni for a quick dip to cool off after our hike. The swim was wonderfully refreshing, but the current was so strong that we could really just lie close to the bank until the sand flies started eating us alive. After our rest, we put our hiking gear back on, and went out again to a lookout point. We were hoping to see a gorgeous sunset, but unfortunately, we were not facing the right way. We did however, see a massive amount of beautiful wild parrots. At dusk, the parrots fly in from all over the park to this area; they were really quite stunning...and made a pretty obnoxious sound. I was thinking of how well the voice of Iogo from the movie Aladdin was cast...not completely randomly, we had watched Aladdin recently. As the sun went down, we headed back to our camp sight. Unfortunately, the light went out entirely as we were descending the steep and muddy hill; I twisted my hip a bit (a repercussion from my fall on the Death Road bike trip), so that was not my favorite part. Back at camp, dinner was ready, and we were starving! We scarfed down the food, trying, unsuccessfully to swat away the INSANE amount of mosquitoes (jungle mosquitoes are NOT like normal mosquitoes; they will bite you right through your 99% Deet and clothing), and then everyone got ready for one last hike of the day. My hip was not doing so well, so I opted out. The purpose of the hike was see some tarantulas, as they apparently come out mostly at night; unfortunately, they were unsuccesful, and came back about 40 minutes later. That night, we all piled into our row of sleeping bags and nets, and got a pretty crappy night of sleep, unsurprisingly. The next morning, headed out at 6:30 am, to try to watch the parrots as the set out for the day. We caught a glimspe of several, but the night before gave us a much better vantage point. After a good breakfast, which we shoveled down as quickly as they could get new plates on the table, we headed back to the Rio Beni to finish up the last of our jungle adventure...and boy was this the adventure (reminiscent of our sailing adevnture). Our guides built a raft for us from scratch, a bit or rope and some tree trunks, and we all piled on for a ~2 hour ride down river back to Rurrenabaque. Everything started out nicely, the day was warm and sunny, and the water was nice and cool through the trunks. When we turned a bend in the river, we saw the sky ominously turn dark. The wind picked up so aggressively, that through the sand and dust blowing in our eyes, we could tell that we were, in fact, being blown up river, making the guides work hard to get us down river with the current. Then the rain picked up, pelting us, and forcing us passengers back into the river due to the frigid tempteratures, but "don´t touch the bottom...piranhas and sting rays"...great. The guides, despite being freezing and working tirelessly to keep our little raft afloat, kept singing praises to the rain, saying the land was desperate for it. Finally, a boat came for us, and we all climbed in, clutching our bodies to keep warm. We made a pit stop at the camp area from the first night for lunch, and headed back down the river...in a boat with a motor. We landed back in town and found ourselves a nice hostel to park for the night. We were pretty gross, dirty, sandy, sweaty, and nappy. We hopped right in the shower, and I slept from 3 pm to 8 am the next morning!! Not kidding! Jared walked around town a bit, before getting a long sleep himself. The next morning, we woke up, had breakfast, and lounged for a bit, before headed back to the airport and La Paz. The first thing we did back in La Paz, was head straight to the laundromat! Thankfully, the receptionist at our hostel mentioned to me that the next day was a bit of a holiday, as there waas a huge protest happening citywide, and many things, including embassies, might not be open. I quickly called the Brazilian embassy to check, and they said they would also be closed, but if we ran over then, we could pick up our visas, which we discovered later had actually been ready for a full week at that point; but no mind, we ran to a cab, and booked it over to the embassy to pick up our shiny visas! That night, we slept early again, and prepped ourselves for the long sets of driving to come for RIO!!

31 August 13
DAY 115

Just finished our 2 week adventure through Peru, beginning on the Northern border with Ecuador and following the coast past Lima cutting in around Nazca following the Eastern road to Cusco and Lake Titicaca finally the Bolivian border.  During this time, we successfully crossed the Andes in the Cavalier, which most laughed at and I now proudly boast of, as well as nearly hitting 10,000 miles traveled on the car.

Northern coastal Peru is a desert of clay, rocks and dirt, traveling south with deserted beaches on your right and mountains of rock of different shades of brown on your left.  It reminded me of Afghanistan minus the pristine ocean nearly untouched my tourism.  As of now, there is only Mancora and Lobitos that are tourist destinations, with much of the rest only inhabited by fishing communitites.  The difference in landscape between Southern Ecuador and Northern Peru is in complete contrast.  Long fields of banana trees fill Southern Ecuador along the Pan-Americn and before that spralling shades of green tumbling over mountains.  Once across the border, this quickly changed to the dirt and rock i have already described.

We visited the surfing communities of Mancora, Lobitos and further south to the area of Trujillo with a beach just north of the city that was suppossed to claim the crown for the longest left break in the world.  Lobitos sported the most difficult entry point, leading us for a few hours well into night across cliffs and down roads of sand leaving the car almost immovable in several places and the girls scared at the sight of every car and every face, expecting the worse.  I began to plan for the worse being in such a deserted location with our armed robbery fresh in my head.  All was well and unfortunately for me, the surfing conditions were horrible, the waves mostly being flat and the weather cold and foggy.  We had little time to wait, so sadly my dream to surf in Peru will need to wait until one of the next adventures.

Lima is a massive city that took us well over an hour to navigate to our hostal.  Lima lies next to the ocean with a gigantic cliff between much of the city and the sandy beaches offering amazing views of the landscapes unique to the city.  Another gem the city offers, is the final resting place of Fransisco Pizarro the conquering conquistador of the Incas and the founder of the city.  Interesting enough, inside the Lima Cathedral, the body that was exhumed and on display as Pizarro since 1892 was discovered to not be the man when his actual body was found within the church's foundations in 1977.

After Lima, we cut into the mainland stopping next at Nazca to see the ancient Nasca Lines (400-650 AD) etched into the desert floor.  From our elevated observation point along the highway, we were able to see the Hands and the Tree.  Even missing most of the other ancient drawings, I was able to see the ability and imagination of these Nasca people through their astrological work.  Some experts claim these lines were created to help determine the seasons while others espouse a more radical theory involving ancient aliens, but their is little concrete evidence so conjectures abound.

About 30 minutes outside Nazca along the road to Cuzco, is the largest sand dune in the world at a height larger than 2000 meters.  We decided this was going to be our first sandboarding experience and it took over 3 hours to walk across rock and sand to this monstrous peak before boarding down the bottom below.  We took a few practice tries to get our bearings before going down the last 800 meter drop to test our new skills.

Cuzco, the ancient capital of the Incas and the stopping point for all visiting Machu Picchu, is layed with cobblestone streets and colorful plazas in its Centro Historico.  While we were there, the weather was dry and cool durig the day but became freezing at night, warranting all the layers in my inventory.  It was here that I tried Cuy or Guinea Pig for the first time and must say that it tasted a lot like chicken.  It was also here that we began to see coca products more abundantly (brownies, tea, candy, chocolate, etc).

Very quickly we ventured to Machu Picchu via Aguas Caliente, the premier tourist location for myself, as well as, most tourists in Latin America.  The ruins and the landscape did not dissapoint.  The beauty of this ancient city surrounded by mountains of dark green on all sides with even the city perched upon a natural plateau that quickly descended to river valleys below is uncanny.  This trip to Machu Picchu was the longest we spent admiring any ruins in Latin America by an enormous amount, 7 hours compared to a distant second at Tikal, Guatemala with 3 and a half hours.

The last town we visited on our route to Bolivia landed us on Lake Titicaca in a town called Puno, where we tied up our Bolivian visas and visited the Islas de Uros on the lake, a group of artificial floating islands made of reeds harvested by the Uru people from nearby.  It was an interesting feeling when first jumping off the boat onto the soft reflexive reed island.  A nice crunch sound accompanied every step.  We found outfrom the local people that they in fact add another layer of reeds weekly to stay above the water because the bottom continually dissolves from the water.  Also, each island has large wooden posts drilled into the lake bed attached to their island; as well as, ropes attaching island to island so the "floating" islands in fact stay stationary.

Salar de Uyuni (Bolivia)

The next morning, Monday, we woke up, ate, and headed right to the Brazilian embassy.  This visa process took much longer than Bolivias, and we ended up dedicating close to 4 hours all together.  We had hoped the process would be done Friday, but unfortunately, they told us we couldn't pick up our visas until the next wednesday.  We headed back to the hostel to figure out activities, and decided on the salt flats.  We booked our 3 day trip, to leave that night for Uyuni, and bought bus tickets, as the drive was long and the road mostly dirt and gravel.  We packed our bags, and after a few hours rest, went to the bus terminal.  We are apparently either naive or untrained for overnight bus trips, because we had no idea that the trip would be so cold.  I think Jared saw the thermostat at -15 celcius at one point.  Thank God A) they provided warm blankets (that should have been out first clue) and B) for Advil PM (thank you Nicole Jafar!).  We got a stunted sleep with the chill and bumpy roads, but enough to survive.  We arrived in Uyuni at 7am, and walked around a bit looking for a tour agency.  We easily found one, and booked our next three days.  After a good breakfast and crappy coffee, we met with our group, and packed up our 4x4 car to head out.  There was one guide and six tourists, all four besides Jared and me traveling solo. Our first stop of the day was a train grave yard, full of rusted old cabooses.  We climbed around and through the old trains, me constantly thankful for the scientific technology behind the tetanus shot, before piling back into the car.  After a bit more driving, we arrived to the salt flats, the world's largest.  Apparently, an unknown number of years ago (our guide was not super informative), there had been a huge salt lake that evaporated leaving these salt flats.  The big thing is apparently to take perspective photos,  so we hopped on the band wagon, and attempted some not-so-original shots.  It was a bit fun, and a bit silly, but not quite as fruitful as we had hoped looking back at the shots.  After a bit, we headed for the Isla de Pescado, which isn't even actually the original Isla de Padcado (which is a bit farther into the salt flats, and actually in the shape of a fish), but was (again for some unknown reason) coined that years ago.  The island is full of huge cacti, and allows from some great views from the top of its small summit point.  We ate lunch and started off on another drive.  We were pleasantly surprised with the food at this point, and just kept having flashbacks of our Panama-Colombia boat trip disaster.  By the late afternoon, we arrived at our hostel, made completely of salt.  We had a nice small pre-dinner snack of tea and cookies, before our main meal came out, again a pleasant surprise of veggie soup and veggies/french fries/sausage stir fry.  We were pretty exhausted after not having slept much the night before and fell into bed. The next morning, we woke up, ate breakfast, and loaded up the car.  The day consisted of a lot of driving, with about 5 photo op points.  We first went to a series of lagoons with lots of flamingos, which apparently I am enamored by, as evidence by the ridiculous amount of photos I took of them.  The last lagoon was quite impressive, Laguna Colorada, which turns red due to its high algae content.  After about 30 minutes of photos, we got back in for more driving.  Our second to last stop was a set of geysers spewing out sulfuric steam.  We took a few photos, but the temperature was dropping as we climbed higher, and the stench was pretty toxic.  Just before sunset, we arrived at our last stop, a thermal bath.  I had been trying to squeeze in a thermal bath, but every one we went to was at a hotel or hostel and was constructed to look like a swimming pool, effectively taking all the charm out of the thermal bath allure...I can go to a heated pool anytime.  This bath, however, did not disappoint.  Set in the middle of nothing, right next to a lagoon, it looked much more "authentic" and charming.  Despite that the temperature was frigid, we put on our bathing suits, followed by our warming layers and braved the weather.  The first few steps actually hurt it was so warm, but once out bodies got used to the heat, it was glorious!  Getting out was our worry.  We had prepped well though, and were able to quickly dry off and bundle up well.  When we walked back to the hostel, hot tea and cookies awaited us.  It was perfect timing!  Dinner followed, and our guide pulled through and somehow got us a bottle of wine!  The accommodations at the hostel were "basic", but the bathroom was horrendous.  Sleep was a bit more difficult for everyone that night, potentially due to our snoring roommate.  The next morning, Jared, myself, and another girl from our group woke up at sunrise and headed back out to the thermal bath, for an absolutely beautiful sunrise over the mountains and lagoon submerged in hot thermal water, really a great moment.  At about 7 am, we headed back into the hostel for breakfast, packed up, had a near-death experience while breathing in the bathroom, and headed back out on the "road".  I should mention, that I use the word "road" loosely.  We were basically driving in the desert, with no actual road or signs.  There was no possible way Jared and I would have been able to do this solo.  The last day of the trip, we went to one more lagoon, which unfortunately was not all that impressive as the algae was also suppose to change the color of the water, but had not yet that day.  We finished off at the Chilean border to drop off three of our passengers and headed back to Uyuni.  We arrived at about 4:30 pm, had dinner, and prepped our warm clothes for the overnight bus back.  We had been told we would have heat, but were not willing to put our faith in that.  Once on the bus, bundled, and benadryl-ed up, we started lulling off to sleep, when the heat kicked in...big time.  I was shedding layers like they were on fire.  Until...the heat turned off, and in a Benadryl-induced-coma, I tried to find all my clothes and re-layer up.  The night's sleep was not as good as the first bus.  We arrived back in La Paz at about 7:30 am, and made out way back to the hostel.  We still had several days before our visas would come in, and even though lounging is wonderful, we felt like we should make the most of our time here, as we will be so short on time for the rest of the trip.   We arranged to go on an Amazon jungle trek for the next day (tomorrow).  The rest of the day, I took a much-needed nap, Jared took a much needed shower, and we lounged.  Jared splurged on awesome laundry, while I opted for sink laundry, let's hope it dries by tomorrow.  We walked around for dinner, had our free beers at the hostel (oh right, I don't think I mentioned that the hostel in La Paz is a micro brewery and they serve a free beer every night).  We are pooped, and have to wake up at 4 am for our flight to the north, so I am out!

The Death Road...Appropriately Titled (Bolivia)

The next morning proved to be a bit more stressful than we had hoped.  We woke up relaxed, ate breakfast, and headed for the border, which was insane.  Most people have a pretty easy time at the Peruvian/Bolivian border, but that day, there was some massive festival, so we found ourselves stuck in a long line of buses waiting as we inched our way closer.  When we finally arrived at the actual border, the process was easy and regular, lines, copies and more copies and we proceeded on our way.  After getting a bit turned around on the road, we found the highway toward La Paz and spent the next few hours driving through no-man's-land.  As we approached the city, traffic became a bit worse and towns seemed to become grungier.  The were piles of trash chest high lining both sides of the highway, and fake people strung up on light posts warning against stealing...cryptic.  When we got within the city of La Paz, the drive got worse.  Jared had been driving all day, and the city traffic and chaos got to him, so we switched.   We have driven through countless Latin American cities at this point, but La Paz takes the cake for biggest shit show.  There are literally no freaking rules here, pedestrians are out of their minds, and the small buses stop in the middle of the road to allow people on and off.  There is no driving courtesy, people drive through red lights; it was impossible, and after the short hour and a half getting in, I was fuming.  We first made our way to the Brazilian embassy in hopes of getting our paperwork in and being able to enjoy Bolivia while it was being processed. Shouldn't take more than 4-5 days right?  Unfortunately, by the time we arrived, due to the crap-hole that is driving in La Paz, we were too late and the office had closed for the weekend, as it was Friday.  A bit dejected, we headed in search of our hostel, which we found relatively easily.   We unpacked, and attempted to find a few activities to distract ourselves until Monday.  We spent the day browsing options, and relaxing.  The next day, we leisurely woke up and got our money's worth of the all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast at our hostel, Adventure Brew Hostel.  We walked around town a bit, attempted to join a free walking tour, which didn't end up happening, and looked for some tour agencies.  We decided to attempt the World's Most Dangerous Road, Ruta de la Muerte, translation: Route of Death.   The next morning, we woke early (missing out free breakfast) and met up with our tour group.  We wore warming layers as the morning was quite cold, and the bike ride started at a glacier.  After an hour and a half bus ride to the glacier, we prepped with our safety gear, a helmet, jacket and pants, and received our bike and instructions.  The first half hour or so of biking was down a steep, active road, which was scary enough, as there was no designated bike area, so we were biking on an active highway.  There were four boys, including Jared, who flew down, one girl who went at a snails pace, and two guides, one in the front, one in the back, and me, trying, unsuccessfully, to keep up with the boys, and guide-less.  When we finally made it to the Death Road, it was a dirt and gravel road, barely one lane in width;  I literally have no idea how this was supposed to be a two lane road.   We started down, again divided in three groups as the boys went too fast and the other girl went too slow.  The ride was pretty awesome.  We road through waterfalls, and had some amazing views, which you could only enjoy when you stopped, as the road was too treacherous to take in the sights.  Jared conquered the road like a champion speed demon...me less so.  At one point, my bike was acting funny and kept switching gears, so I was basically peddling without actually moving.  I couldn't see the front group at all, got off my bike to see if I could fix it or wait for the other girl and guide, but when neither of them showed up, and let's be honest, I know nothing about bikes and was not about to be able to fix anything, I got back on and tried to stuntedly make my way to the next check point.  At this point, I was insanely tired from peddling and not getting anywhere, and my butt was about to fall off.  I basically passed the guys, going at a snails pace, before I finally heard my name called.  Note to all riding a bike, do not stand and peddle and then attempt to hit the brakes before sitting down.  I heard my name, grabbed the braked before sitting, and flew over my handle bars, Hollywood style.  I did perform a pretty good tuck-and-roll, and didn't hurt anything, but lay on the ground trying to catch my breath before the guide and Jared came over reminding me this was an active road, and helped me up.   I told the guide my bike was broken, but when he rode it, of course, it performed just fine.  It wasn't until I attempted to get back in the bike for the next stint of riding that my chain actually broke...slamming my already wounded nether-region into the bike bar below the seat...lovely.  I was able to change bikes, for a much nicer one, and continued down.  Again I was left solo on the ride, until I took a turn too fast, hit a series of rocks, and unable to regain my balance, flew again off my bike into the mountain, and my bike flew into me.  That second fall was bad.  I slammed my head and hip into the rocks and just lay there a few minutes trying to recoop before the second guide found me.  I stood up to get back on my bike, and fainted for a second only.  After another minute, I got back on the bike, and took the other girls place as the slowest rider.  My head, hip and knee were throbbing, but the ride was short, as we were almost at the bottom, thankfully.   The day ended with some pain killer I've never heard of, a few beers, crummy lunch, and a nice dip in a river at the bottom of the road. The ride back to La Paz was long, made longer by my stupid hip, but when we got back, I limped straight into bed for the sweet relief of sleep

Lake Titicaca (Peru)

Much had happened since my last post.  After Machu Picchu, we woke up for out drive to Puno and Lake Titicaca, but not before having a hearty breakfast with Yvette, our friend from our boat ride to Colombia, who had just arrived in Cuzco.  After breakfast, we packed up the car and headed on our way.  We got to Puno a bit after dark, found our hostel easily, had the cheapest dinner thus far (2.5 soles or 0.89 cents) and got in bed early.  The next morning, we had our free breakfast at the hostel, and made our way to the Bolivian embassy for visas.  After some running around for copies and money, we left the office to return a few hours later, and picked up our visas!  We were bound for Bolivia, but not before a quick tour of Lake Titicaca.  We walked down to the port, and hopped on a boat bound for the islands of Uros.  After a short boat trip, we jumped onto an island of soft reeds.  Uros is a collection of small islands made completely of floating reeds.  The ground has to be replenished with new reeds every week; a community effort, where everyone will work together lifting the small wooden homes up to restock the reeds below them.  The people's income comes primarily from trading fish for goods and tourist contributions.  The official language is Quechua, but the people usually speak everything from English to Mandarin.  The homes are small and meager, but the people were willing to invite us in and explain their way of life.  The island we visited was named Sumatica.  Despite the fact that the islands seemed pretty touristy, with huge welcoming signs on each one, it was still interesting to realize that people have actually lived this way for centuries.  After our tour, we got to ride on one of the traditional reed vessels, called Totoras, to another island, which was specifically to suck money out of tourists.  There was a small restaurant and an "artisanal", aka gift, shop.  We basically waited around for our boat to arrive to go back to Puno, while kids ran around spending money on somewhat ridiculous items that could be bought anywhere, and overpriced food.  When we returned to Puno, we walked around a bit, grabbed another cheap dinner and some yummy Pisco sours (finally! I was not leaving Peru without a proper Pisco sour), and bought snacks for our next few driving days.  We prepped for our drive, and headed to bed.