Ellen in Peru!!

So this was my bright idea to get on the Ellen Degeneres show: take some laminated pictures of Ellen's face with me and hold them up to my body at various places around Peru. Unfortunately I printed off the pictures a bit on the small side, but they are still pretty funny! And if anyone is good with photoshop, maybe I can do a better job just cutting and pasting her head over mine! Anyways, here are some of the Ellen pics:





The funniest thing was the picture with the llama. I asked a Chinese girl to take my picture and warned her that she may laugh as I was going to hold up a mask. She and her two friends giggled through taking the picture, and then she asked if she could borrow the Ellen-face to take a picture with!!! So funny!! I'm guessing she knows who Ellen is...

-Meo

Here and there...

Cock-of-the-Rock, Peru's national bird.


Monkey!


Cat zip-lining.


Meo rapelling down from the canopy.


The lodge we stayed at on the Madre de Dios river.


Cliff jumping!


Cat taking the plunge.


On a tiny wooden raft in a mud puddle!


Me driving the raft.

Hey, we haven´t posted in awhile, so we should update our whereabouts, etc. After doing Machupicchu on July 14 we headed out the next day to the jungle. We did a 4 day, 3 night tour to Manu reserve. It was so humid and sticky in the jungle, but we had decent accomodations. We did whitewater rafting, a zip-line, and nature walks. Yesterday morning we flew from Cusco to Lima, then spent the day shopping and getting manicure, pedicures to kill time. We bussed overnight to Trujillo, then took a taxi to Huanchaco, a little surf town a few minutes away. We are staying across the street from the ocean and have been out surfing yesterday and today. The sun actually came out today and we went to Chan Chan, the ruins of a Chimu city. They are quite amazing, especially because of the decorations on the walls and the sheer size of the city. I would post pictures, but they take so long to upload, so it´s not going to happen for awhile. Tomorrow we are planning to surf one last time, then head to Trujillo to see the ruins of the Temple of the Sun and Temple of the Moon. We fly back to Lima tomorrow night, then the day after that we start our journey home! Yay! Talk to you all soon!

- C

Machupicchu... just a few

Wow, it's no wonder this was voted one of the new 7 wonders of the world. It was absolutely incredible. It took my breath away, literally and figuratively (lots of steps and hiking!). It was a gorgeous, hot day when we were there, and even though it was crawling with other tourists I was still able to enjoy myself immensely. I hiked out to Intipunku, the Sungate, whish was a good 1.5 hours there and back. Also hiked a shorter trail to the Inka Bridge, a stone structure with a large gap built against the face of a cliff. It acted as a drawbridge, because if the wooden planks were taken away there is no way to cross it. We wandered around sans guide, which was fine because we didn't want to get stuck in a huge Japanese army of tourists. There's not much more to say, I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves!


Wayna Picchu in the background.


The Inca Bridge.


Llama.


The main square.


Terraces.




Watch Tower.


Royal enclosures.



Me and Machu Picchu!!!


Terraces, clouds.

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Postcard perfect.


Cat and some llamas.


View from Itipunku, the Sungate.




- M

More Pictures

Lake Titicaca and the Floating Islands

Yesterday we took a half-day trip out to the "Floating Islands" on Lake Titicaca. The islands are actually man-made of reeds. The Uros people stack the reeds in alternating directions until it is thick enough and then build huts from reeds on top of the island. The top layer of reeds must be replaced once every month to combat the decay of reeds underneath. The tiny islands are anchored down at the corners with stones and they actually pull up the anchors and let the islands shift sometimes. It was really neat, kinda felt like walking on piles of loose hay. We also got to take a ride in a boat made of reeds and learned something about the Uros people's culture and life on the islands. Of course, they tried to sell us souvenirs too. You can't escape it here- the little old ladies pop out of nowhere and follow you around until you buy an alpaca toque or sweater or some freaky Incan looking statue.
In the afternoon we did another trip, this time out to some ruins of Incan tombs. It was interesting seeing how they built their altars and burial towers according to their beliefs at the time. Later that night we took a bus from Puno to Cusco, arriving this morning at around 6am. The bus was FREEZING and smelly and cramped as usual. We didn't get much sleep and haven't for the past three nights or so. It's starting to take its toll. Miriam is getting a cold and I have a stuffy nose and a fever today. It may be partly due to the altitude change, which should go away in a day or two.
Today we scouted out possible Machu Pichu and jungle tours, then did a 4 hour horseback riding tour of some ruins outside of the city. It was disappointing as our "horseman" was about 12 yrs old and didn't give us directions (probably because he didn't speak English, in fact, almost nobody here does). My horse also had a bit of an attitude and tried to buck me off within the first 5 minutes, but eventually he settled. The boy would point and say to walk 15 minutes in that direction. So we would, then wonder what we were supposed to see! There were clumps of rock here and there at the edge of a farmer's field, which we supposed were the ruins. Who knows... We booked a tour to Sacred Valley for all of tomorrow, where we will see more ruins, tourist markets, and a small town with colonial buildings. Hopefully we can sleep on the bus... ta ta for now.

ps- If you read the blog, feel free to comment! It is always nice to hear from the outside world.

Colca Canyon Trek

We spent the last 3 days and 2 nights trekking through the Colca Canyon. It´s wider and deeper than the Grand Canyon, actually one of the deepest in the world. We hiked down on the first day, passing through ancient Incan villages, then stayed in a tiny hostel near the bottom. On the second day we hiked further down, to the Oasis at the bottom. From the top of the canyon looking down, it really is an oasis. It´s lush and green with waterfalls, pools, and palm trees. We hung out by the pool and drank cerveza until the sun went behind the mountain (at 3pm!). We stayed the second night in a little tiki hut at the oasis and got up at 3am this morning to make the long, steep climb to the top with flashlights. We have amazing photos from the canyon, will post later when we have time. On either side of the canyon, there were terraces and tiny farms. Every so often on the trail we passed locals with pack mules, bringing supplies down to the villages or oasis at the bottom. They still live such a simple, traditional life, with little technology (though we were informed that they just got cellular service last week!). Will write more later, off to catch an overnight bus from Arequipa to Puno. Planning to see Lake Titicaca tomorrow!

Balcony of City Hall, Miraflores, Lima
Huaca Puclana (ancient adobe mound), Lima
Park di Amor, Lima
Plaza de Mayor, Lima
Franciscan Monastery, Lima

Wine and Pisco tasting: Vista Allegre Bodega, Ica
Crazy three-wheeled taxi´s with handlebars, Ica

Sandboarding, Huaccachina

The sand dunes, Huaccachina

Resort town, Huaccachina

Crazy taxi ride, Ica

Marco... POLLO!!

So we spent almost all day waiting for news about our baggage while Ricardo called Air Canada and Taca several times. Eventually he told us to go to the TACA office, where a representative finally helped us locate our bags. She said they´re in Lima and we could go pick them up at the airport. Woo hoo!! Thank God. We just got back to the hostel and the airline phoned to say they would send the bags to our hostel, so we are waiting- should be here in an hour. Just incase anyone reads this (mom & dad), our bags are found and we should be on our way to Pisco and Ica by bus this evening. Sandboarding, etc. planned for tomorrow ;)

Still no bags...

False alarm. Last night we waited up until midnight and when our bags still hadn't arrived, we just went to bed and hoped they would be here in the morning. No such luck. When the guy from our hostel phoned the airport for us, he said they didn't even know where our bags were! They could be in Toronto, El Salvador, or Costa Rica!!! Hopefully they figure it out soon! I'm wearing my new Peruvian soccer jersey but we both only have shorts and it isn't that warm here. It is winter and many locals have winter jackets on! Ha!

So today we visited Old Lima and saw the changing of the guards at the Royal Palace before visiting an old monestary that has catecombs underneath it. We had some churros for lunch and I bought 3 bananas for 0.50 soles, or about 16 cents! We went throught the museum of the Spanish Inquisition, but museums here don't have any English signs and it was hard to hear or understand our tour guide. Besides, there wasn't much history only displays of the various torture methods. We also visited the National Bank Museum which had a varied collection of paintings, art, money, and archeological pieces. Again, no English, so I walked through rather quickly! We tried to find another museum with artifacts from native tribes but got lost several times and nobody here can speak English so we gave up. We had supper at a fast food place called Bembos, but both of us got something completely different than what we thought we had ordered, and unfortunately neither was any good. So to McDonald's we went! We had a crazy taxi ride back to our hostel in rush hour, so it took well over an hour.

Downtown Lima is very busy (as is the rest of the city) and reeks of exhaust fumes. The traffic here is crazy; when there is one driving lane there will be two cars side by side and this is perfectly normal. Changing lanes is an experience of its own, as I often felt like we were going to crash into the car beside us! Pedestrians are equally crazy; they run out on red lights and weave in between moving lanes of traffic. You have to learn to just go or you will wait forever! Cars do not yield to pedestrians or to each other. Oh, and there is constant honking, even though it does no good!

Tonight we went to a market place as Catherine wanted to look at the silver jewellry (and I don't mind checking out the toques)! We've done way more shopping at this point than I would have expected, but I also thought we would be on our way to Nazca today. I really hope our bags show up tomorrow because there isn't anything left worth seeing in Lima, and the more time we waste here the less we can do of what we planned! Well, that is all that is going on here, if you're taking the time to read this then please send an e-mail; it is so nice to hear from home even though we just left!

Meo

Day 2

So we found out today that our luggage was left in Costa Rica and should be arriving late tonight. Yippy! That means we will likely move on to Nazca tomorrow by bus and not waste more time in Lima. Today we walked around the suburb of Miraflores with Nikki, an American girl from our hostel, shopping for local art and alpaca sweaters, toques, etc. Peru has beautiful textiles. The streets are dirty, it smells, and alot of buildings are really run down. We saw a few sites and headed for the ocean, then to an outdoor shopping centre built into the side of a cliff overlooking the Pacific. That's about it, just waiting at the hostel for our backpacks to arrive now and watching Spanish movies with subtitles. Ta ta for now!
-C

We have arrived but our luggage hasn´t!

So we made it to Lima tonight around 8pm (7pm back home), however our baggage is MIA. We`re crossing our fingers that it will appear tomorrow, but who knows? What a long day! Left Sunday night around 1am, stopped in Toronto, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and then Peru. With all those transfers, the odds of our luggage actually following us were not good! We're at Kusillus Backpackers Hostel in Miraflores, Lima for 2 nights (or more, depending if our luggage makes an appearance). After checking in, the first thing we did was run to the supermarket to buy some necessities. Naturally, after travelling for almost 24 hrs, we were feeling like grease balls. The airport staff was less than helpful, mostly because of their lack of English! Taxi tried to rip us off even before we left the airport, but we found one at a decent price and sped across the city. As well as the crazy driving, weaving in and out of traffic and such, we also got stopped at a Police checkstop. There were so many police on the street with guns and SWAT outfits for no apparent reason! None that we could see, anyway. Well that's about it so far... Miriam will advise you all on the beginning of our trip... it all started last night in Edmonton...

We were rushing around doing last minute packing when I asked Catherine if she would cut my hair. For those of you who don´t know, I haven't had a haircut in 2 years so I was a little nervous. I had a few pictures taken before the chop, then the whole thing was recorded on my new camera, complete with my shrieks and Catherine's evil laughter. I was shocked at how light my head felt, but surprisingly it doesn't look half bad! I'll have to post the pictures and video when we get home, it's worth a few laughs.

Here are the hair cut pics, before and after:








As per request, I must give a shout-out to Jacob for recording the hair cutting episode, not to mention driving us to the airport. Thank you!