(This is a new version of something that disappeared when I hit a wrong button and then couldn't reverse it. So if something is repeated, it is because of that.)
We are now in La Paz, Bolivia, and have been here for about five days or so. It is simply amazing, and I am sorry to keep using the same superlatives over and over again, but words like "amazing" are the words one really has to use if one is to be truthful.
We left Lima and took a bus to the Peruvian city of Arequipa. I liked it better than Lima because it is smaller, and easier to negotiate. The overnight bus was very comfortable, and I slept beautifully. We spent a couple days there, visiting museums and looking at the three giant volcanos that surround the city. It was a lot warmer than it was in Lima, and we enjoyed that. We toured several museums, all of which had mummies that were found in the surrounding volcano areas. One of them was not really a mummy, but rather a frozen body that is amazingly intact. It was a tiny bit creepy to see it, with the hair and skin and everything, but extremely interesting at the same time. She (it is the body of a young girl) is kept in a sort of see through refrigeration unit. The artifacts found with her included gold and silver, as well as beautifully woven textiles. We also toured a very large convent, in which lived nuns who were entirely cloistered from the day they entered the convent. It is related to Catherine of Siena, who was, as it turned out, the first nun who was also a doctor, although she never had any formal training. Part of the convent is still a cloistered residence for some nuns, and I figure most of them are elderly now. It was fascinating if for no other reason than for the incredible collection of religious art.
After Arequipa, we took another bus to Bolivia. This trip was more difficult because it was not a straight shot. We rode at night from about 11:00 pm until 5 am, at which time we stopped for a bit, and then had to check out of Peru and into Bolivia, then wait a bit, then got back on the bus and continued into Bolivia. This is at Lake Titicaca, by the way. We had to change buses there, and at one point had to get off the bus and on to a ferry to get across part of the lake. The bus then got on another ferry (after disgorging the passenger weight) and we all met up on the other side of this enormous lake. (We did not visit here, as we plan to do so on our way back.) The ferries were just large wooden barges, and I was really surprised that the one the bus went on was able to hold it. After that, we finally arrived in La Paz, where we easily got a taxi to the hotel. Unfortunately, I started getting sick as we left Peru, and just got sicker as we traveled on. Mike was sick for a day, but he got better fast. I am still sick, but not so much that it is slowing me down. I did spend my first whole day here in Bolivia in bed, feeling like crap. But that is all over now.
La Paz is truly a vertical city, and it has to be seen to be believed. I don't mean vertical like New York, with high rises everywhere, but rather geographically vertical. From every direction when you look up, you see crazy twisted streets going up and up and up every which way. I have been completely out of breath every time I walk any where. The people are friendly and many of the women (young and old) wear indigenous dress - these gorgeous full skirts with shawls and bowler hats. I have not figured out how the hats stay on, as they are worn perched on the top of the head at a rakish angle. No hatpins in sight.
On our first day when neither of us were too sick to enjoy it, we went to the main square. While we were sitting on the steps looking at our maps, we met two men who stopped to talk to us. They were sort of dirty and disheveled, but very pleasant and friendly. They told us they had just gotten out of prison. Then, before we could react to that, told us they were still actually in prison. If you are in prison here, they let you out for twelve hours a day. Then they have to go back. Both of them were in for cocaine problems, with one of them in for many years because he had a lot of it (2 kilos, he told us) so he is classified as a narcotraficante. The other guy was in for a shorter time because he only had a few grams. They were both Canadian. The short timer was waiting for some money to some via Western Union, upon the arrival of which he would apparently be able to buy his way out. No such luck for the other guy. Both of them were very polite and friendly, and did not ask for money or anything else. A very interesting encounter to say the least.
We have plans for the next couple of days. Tomorrow we are going to visit some ruins just outside of town, at a site that is way older than the Incas. And the next day we are going to take a crazy bike ride on what is called the World's Most Dangerous Road. We go down at least 3600 meters in about four hours. (That is more than 10,000 feet.) And a week from Monday, we are scheduled to begin a six day trip into the Amazon basin. We will bike down from the Andes mountains, then take a boat down a large river through the jungle. We will be camping for part of it. My main concern is keeping up with the group. There will be six of us, plus our guides. I am excited beyond words.
Anyway, that will be it for now. We are taking lots of pictures and I am really looking forward to sharing them here and on Facebook.
"Money can't buy happiness but at least you can go sulk in Aruba." (Seen on the wall at Oliver's Travels, a pub here in La Paz.)
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Friday, August 8, 2014
Winter in August
Yes, that's right. It is winter in August here in Lima, Peru. The sky here is white all day long, and it is chilly enough that I need a jacket and real shoes and socks. I have not dealt with that in a long time. But it is kind of fun. And the cool temperatures are easier to deal with when hiking or just walking around the city proper. One does not get all hot and sweaty.
Lima is HUGE. It reminds me of LA the way it is spread out. We are staying in the Miraflores area, which is like the La Jolla of Lima. I wanted to stay in the city center, but we were dissuaded and this is actually ok. The room is comfortable, and since we are only here for three days, it really doesn't matter. It is more expensive here than in Ecuador, but still affordable.
I like Peru. The people are friendly, and the food is to die for. We have not had even an average meal since getting here. I have eaten goat and I must tell everyone it is absolutely delicious. If you like lamb, you will love goat. I thought it would be stronger or gamier than lamb, but it has a milder flavor. I have no idea why it is not more popular in the US. I am going to miss it when I can't have it anymore. The ceviche here is also amazing, with some different twists to it. I love the stuff, so finding new varieties is a treat. They also serve something called lomo saltado, which I thought must have something to do with salted meat, but again, not so. Lomo saltado is sort of like stir fried beef and vegetables, served over rice. (By the way, they eat tons of rice down here. It is served at almost every meal.) It was wonderful - although I saw what I thought was a slice of red bell pepper and popped the whole thing in my mouth. It was not a bell - it was a really hot pepper. My mouth was on fire! I have never seen a pepper so big be so hot. Usually (at least in my obviously limited experience) the bigger the pepper the milder the taste. Mike loved it.
We are here in Peru because we are on our way to Bolivia. We spent a couple days in Guayaquil, Ecuador, then caught a bus out of Ecuador to a place called Chiclayo. It is not really a tourist spot, but there were a few interesting things to see, one of which was a section of the public market dedicated to herbalists, and to the supernatural. It is apparently not unusual for Peruvians of all walks of life to consult with curanderas or shamans. They sold all sorts of strange things, and one of my favorite parts of it was the scent - it smelled like herbs. Although I love those public markets, they usually do not smell very good. This was a real change. They sell this cactus called San Pedro cactus which is related to mescaline. I have not tried it. It is legal down here. The shamans use and administer it.
They have several archeological sites right here close by and we have been to see them. While in some ways not as impressive at first blush as Tikal or some of the big Maya sites, they are still incredible in that everything is so well preserved. The Lima area is the driest capital but for Cairo. They measure their rainfall here in millimeters per year, not inches. The structures are all built from adobe bricks, and everything buried within pretty well stays there intact unless and until it is uncovered. The pottery, metal work, and textiles are amazingly intact. The quality of the weaving was astounding. These are earlier cultures than the Inca, who did not come into their own until the 1400s, about one hundred years before the Spanish arrived. But what they accomplished in that short time is nothing short of miraculous. I could go on and on, and Mike took a ton of pictures that at some point I will include here. But right now they are still in the camera.
Tonight at nine pm we are catching a bus for a city here in Peru called Arequipa. We are stopping there primarily to break up the bus ride (it would be over 30 hours from here to La Paz) but it sounds like a great place in itself. We will spend a few days there, then head on. It takes a while to get from Ecuador to Bolivia unless one wants to fly, and it is pretty expensive, almost as expensive as it was to fly to the states from Ecuador. It seems as though flights within a country are reasonable, but as soon as a border is crossed it gets expensive. And since we spend way more than we had anticipated spending when we were in the US, we need to be a little more conservative with our money than we might usually be. So buses it is, and it is not really too bad. They have these buses called cama buses, which have seats that fold down flat so you can sleep. It makes for a nice overnight trip - they give you a little dinner (usually chicken and rice) and play movies. After a couple of hours, it is nice to curl up and go to sleep. Since it is nighttime, you can't see out the windows anyway, so it is perfect. Even in the semi-cama buses, which only fold down 160 degrees instead of 180 degrees, it is quite comfortable for sleeping. They give you blankets and pillows. The movies they play tend to be action movies, which are pretty easy to follow even when they are dubbed into Spanish. Sometimes we get lucky and they are also subtitled in English. We are talking about American movies made in English, dubbed into Spanish, after which English subtitles were added. But I have noticed one thing about watching movies in Spanish with English subtitles. I find it very distracting and I have a hard time concentrating on one or the other. I find myself listening to the Spanish and then trying to read the English. It is hard to explain. I never have that problem if the movies are in French or some other language, just Spanish. Interesting.
They have these dogs down here - special dogs, called Peruvian Hairless. They are bigger than the hairless dogs in Mexico, and have been here for thousands of years. They are sort of odd looking, but seem to have very outgoing personalities. They are considered sort of a national treasure here, and the people are very proud of them. I personally think they are wonderful and would not mind having one. But then again I love all dogs, even the funny looking ones.
So it is fun to be on the road. We have three backpacks - two big ones and a day pack. It is easy to carry all out stuff, and there is room for anything I might want to buy. I am trying to restrain myself until I get to Bolivia, or else I will spend all of my allotted turista money too early in the trip. It is hard, though. They sell beautiful things made from llama and alpaca wool, and it is just too bad I have no place to wear stuff like that. It is too warm all the places I go, and we have no intention of sailing to cold places. Call me a weather wimp, so be it.
All and all I am doing fine, as is Mike. I feel so lucky to be seeing all these amazing things and meeting wonderful people, both the local people and visitors from all over the world. We met two guys from Finland. There were two men at breakfast this morning who sounded like they were speaking Russian. There are lots of people from France and Germany. Everyone is friendly and there is a good sense of camaraderie among all the travelers, which makes for many interesting conversations.
So far we have not been in the high mountains, so I have yet to see what altitude does to me. I think the highest I have been for any length of time was about 10,000 feet, when I went skiing in the Tahoe area. I did not notice anything then, but we will be going much higher than that (La Paz, Bolivia is the highest capital in the world at about 3660 meters, which is just over 12,000 feet, I think) and all the guide books talk about the importance of taking it slow and acclimating before becoming too active. So we shall see. I plan to follow all the guidelines so I can enjoy things, and not get laid low by altitude sickness symptoms, like headaches. All I really remember that was different being higher up in Tahoe was finding myself getting winded a lot faster than at sea level. And I am no athlete, ask anyone that knows me. One good thing about the trip so far - I am losing the weight I put on while in the US. I can never move back there or I will be as big as a house before I know it.
On that note, I will end today's entry.
"Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow." (Anita Desai)
Lima is HUGE. It reminds me of LA the way it is spread out. We are staying in the Miraflores area, which is like the La Jolla of Lima. I wanted to stay in the city center, but we were dissuaded and this is actually ok. The room is comfortable, and since we are only here for three days, it really doesn't matter. It is more expensive here than in Ecuador, but still affordable.
I like Peru. The people are friendly, and the food is to die for. We have not had even an average meal since getting here. I have eaten goat and I must tell everyone it is absolutely delicious. If you like lamb, you will love goat. I thought it would be stronger or gamier than lamb, but it has a milder flavor. I have no idea why it is not more popular in the US. I am going to miss it when I can't have it anymore. The ceviche here is also amazing, with some different twists to it. I love the stuff, so finding new varieties is a treat. They also serve something called lomo saltado, which I thought must have something to do with salted meat, but again, not so. Lomo saltado is sort of like stir fried beef and vegetables, served over rice. (By the way, they eat tons of rice down here. It is served at almost every meal.) It was wonderful - although I saw what I thought was a slice of red bell pepper and popped the whole thing in my mouth. It was not a bell - it was a really hot pepper. My mouth was on fire! I have never seen a pepper so big be so hot. Usually (at least in my obviously limited experience) the bigger the pepper the milder the taste. Mike loved it.
We are here in Peru because we are on our way to Bolivia. We spent a couple days in Guayaquil, Ecuador, then caught a bus out of Ecuador to a place called Chiclayo. It is not really a tourist spot, but there were a few interesting things to see, one of which was a section of the public market dedicated to herbalists, and to the supernatural. It is apparently not unusual for Peruvians of all walks of life to consult with curanderas or shamans. They sold all sorts of strange things, and one of my favorite parts of it was the scent - it smelled like herbs. Although I love those public markets, they usually do not smell very good. This was a real change. They sell this cactus called San Pedro cactus which is related to mescaline. I have not tried it. It is legal down here. The shamans use and administer it.
They have several archeological sites right here close by and we have been to see them. While in some ways not as impressive at first blush as Tikal or some of the big Maya sites, they are still incredible in that everything is so well preserved. The Lima area is the driest capital but for Cairo. They measure their rainfall here in millimeters per year, not inches. The structures are all built from adobe bricks, and everything buried within pretty well stays there intact unless and until it is uncovered. The pottery, metal work, and textiles are amazingly intact. The quality of the weaving was astounding. These are earlier cultures than the Inca, who did not come into their own until the 1400s, about one hundred years before the Spanish arrived. But what they accomplished in that short time is nothing short of miraculous. I could go on and on, and Mike took a ton of pictures that at some point I will include here. But right now they are still in the camera.
Tonight at nine pm we are catching a bus for a city here in Peru called Arequipa. We are stopping there primarily to break up the bus ride (it would be over 30 hours from here to La Paz) but it sounds like a great place in itself. We will spend a few days there, then head on. It takes a while to get from Ecuador to Bolivia unless one wants to fly, and it is pretty expensive, almost as expensive as it was to fly to the states from Ecuador. It seems as though flights within a country are reasonable, but as soon as a border is crossed it gets expensive. And since we spend way more than we had anticipated spending when we were in the US, we need to be a little more conservative with our money than we might usually be. So buses it is, and it is not really too bad. They have these buses called cama buses, which have seats that fold down flat so you can sleep. It makes for a nice overnight trip - they give you a little dinner (usually chicken and rice) and play movies. After a couple of hours, it is nice to curl up and go to sleep. Since it is nighttime, you can't see out the windows anyway, so it is perfect. Even in the semi-cama buses, which only fold down 160 degrees instead of 180 degrees, it is quite comfortable for sleeping. They give you blankets and pillows. The movies they play tend to be action movies, which are pretty easy to follow even when they are dubbed into Spanish. Sometimes we get lucky and they are also subtitled in English. We are talking about American movies made in English, dubbed into Spanish, after which English subtitles were added. But I have noticed one thing about watching movies in Spanish with English subtitles. I find it very distracting and I have a hard time concentrating on one or the other. I find myself listening to the Spanish and then trying to read the English. It is hard to explain. I never have that problem if the movies are in French or some other language, just Spanish. Interesting.
They have these dogs down here - special dogs, called Peruvian Hairless. They are bigger than the hairless dogs in Mexico, and have been here for thousands of years. They are sort of odd looking, but seem to have very outgoing personalities. They are considered sort of a national treasure here, and the people are very proud of them. I personally think they are wonderful and would not mind having one. But then again I love all dogs, even the funny looking ones.
So it is fun to be on the road. We have three backpacks - two big ones and a day pack. It is easy to carry all out stuff, and there is room for anything I might want to buy. I am trying to restrain myself until I get to Bolivia, or else I will spend all of my allotted turista money too early in the trip. It is hard, though. They sell beautiful things made from llama and alpaca wool, and it is just too bad I have no place to wear stuff like that. It is too warm all the places I go, and we have no intention of sailing to cold places. Call me a weather wimp, so be it.
All and all I am doing fine, as is Mike. I feel so lucky to be seeing all these amazing things and meeting wonderful people, both the local people and visitors from all over the world. We met two guys from Finland. There were two men at breakfast this morning who sounded like they were speaking Russian. There are lots of people from France and Germany. Everyone is friendly and there is a good sense of camaraderie among all the travelers, which makes for many interesting conversations.
So far we have not been in the high mountains, so I have yet to see what altitude does to me. I think the highest I have been for any length of time was about 10,000 feet, when I went skiing in the Tahoe area. I did not notice anything then, but we will be going much higher than that (La Paz, Bolivia is the highest capital in the world at about 3660 meters, which is just over 12,000 feet, I think) and all the guide books talk about the importance of taking it slow and acclimating before becoming too active. So we shall see. I plan to follow all the guidelines so I can enjoy things, and not get laid low by altitude sickness symptoms, like headaches. All I really remember that was different being higher up in Tahoe was finding myself getting winded a lot faster than at sea level. And I am no athlete, ask anyone that knows me. One good thing about the trip so far - I am losing the weight I put on while in the US. I can never move back there or I will be as big as a house before I know it.
On that note, I will end today's entry.
"Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow." (Anita Desai)
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