I know I have skipped some of the wonderful places we were in Bolivia, but short of going back and re-reading my earlier posts (which I can't stand to do, I hate to read my own writing almost as much as I hate the sound of my own voice) I don't remember what I have written about and what I have not. So instead, I will talk about Peru.
The food is better than in Bolivia, but that is because the tourist infrastructure is better. I have eaten some of the best curries I have ever had in places that seem to cater to English tourists. It is easier to get a "real" breakfast. The street vendors are a bit more assertive (some would say aggressive) than the street vendors in Bolivia. And things are a bit more expensive. But both places are wonderful, the people are very friendly, and since we are accustomed to the altitude now, we are having a great time.
I am getting sort of homesick for the boat, and do have some concerns about the fact that there is no one to water the batteries as often as we do it. I have expressed this concern to Mike, and he is not that worried about it, so I suppose I shouldn't be either, as he knows way more about this sort of thing than I do. That is my only real worry about the boat in our absence. There are no concerns about weather problems there while we are gone, as this part of Ecuador has extremely benign weather. No storms will come up and blow us off our anchorage. Rain will only give the boat a nice cleaning. The anchorage does have security. So I guess there is no real need for concern. I am considering asking a friend if he is willing to water the batteries, but again, Mike says it is not necessary yet.
I have no idea how long we will stay here in Peru - maybe for the rest of the month. Cuzco (Cusco? I see it both ways) is a great place to be. We stayed in a great hostel, and for one glorious day got to have their best room, which was way up top and had an amazing (sorry about that word again) view of the city. We only got it for one day because it was booked up for the other days we stayed there. When we get back, we will try and get it again. I suppose if we were willing to make reservations, we could have it without any problems, but Mike always says "If we make reservations we are tied down!" So that is that, we will see what happens when the time comes. We had heard that Cuzco was expensive, but there are lots and lots of reasonably priced hostels, and really, it is only expensive if you compare it with the rest of Peru. I haven't really noticed any great differences. I have decided that I like staying at hostels - they are friendlier and you get to meet other travelers (hostels tend to attract travelers rather than tourists, sorry for the reverse snobbism again) easier than you do in a regular hotel.
Speaking of other travelers, we have met so many wonderful new people while visiting here. Just the other day we met a couple from Australia, and had drinks, then dinner, and then they located us at our current dwelling here in Pisac and I had breakfast with them before we left. It was so much fun, and as an extra treat, they were close to our age. Most of our new friends are young enough to be our children, so it is a great treat not to be so much older for a change. We talked about everything, and I was really sorry to see them leave. We are still in touch with friends we met while adventuring in Bolivia, and two of them are planning to meet us in Ecuador and sail up to Panama. Although it is totally redundant to say, I am totally enjoying myself, and Mike is too. The only problem I have is trying to curb my buying. I have to keep reminding myself that there is limited wall space for art, no place for knick-knacks, and no real need for the GORGEOUS sweaters they sell here for incredible prices. I was able to buy one for myself because I somehow managed to lose my all purpose zip up the front sweatshirt, and then I could not resist a pullover as well. I shall just wear the hell out of them while I am here. I also got myself a moonstone pendent, some silver bracelets, and some new hoop earrings. But there is so much more I could buy were I not ruthless with myself. And I even have to be careful with presents, because we can only transport so much in our backpacks.
Here are some more pictures from the places we have been so far:
This is me and our guide hiking in ToroToro National Park near Cochabamba, Bolivia. We finally hiked all the way into a canyon, with over 800 steps. I was very proud of myself for getting back up in almost the same time it took to hike down. Uphill hiking is NOT my favorite thing to do.
These are dinosaur tracks. Although there were no dinosaur bones found in Bolivia there were lots of tracks found.
We went to a ladies wrestling match in La Paz. It was way better than any WWF action!
They did not mind pictures, and when I asked for one, this is what I got.
Now on to Peru - this is the main square in Cuzco (Plaza de las Armas). It is also known as Plaza of the Tears because the last Inca to strike out against the Spaniards was killed here.
The time has come to end this post - my internet connection is getting dicey and I have a horror of losing all my work. So I will continue to have a good time in Peru, and will endeavor to update this blog on a regular basis.
"Make your mistakes, take your chances, look silly, but keep on going. Don’t freeze up." (Thomas Wolfe)
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