We have made it home, but we just wanted to make our last update about the time we had in the amazon (just in case we have not talked to you).
Day 1 - We flew from Bogota to Leticia. After we arrived we got into some taxies and drove to Tabatinga, Brazil. After lunch we had a very interesting taxi ride. It can best be described as a 4x4 adventure. The road was very muddy. Our taxi was the only one not to get stuck. We arrived at a native camp/housing area called Monilla Mena. We were able to meet the leader of the camp, he told us all about the area (via a translator). After dinner we retired to our beds. There is not much to do in the evening and the mosquitos were everywhere. We were even warned not to walk around barefoot at night because of the many creatures that might be about. The place we stayed was a very large two-story room. It had 2 bathrooms (boys and girls). The first floor was for people who wanted to sleep in hammocs. We elected to sleep on the floor upstairs. Everyone had their own mosquito net that surrounded their bed.
Day 2 - We woke up early for our first hike through the amazon jungle. Our first obsticle was a small stream we had to get across (there was a small canoe). We crossed many questionable bridges, some our guides created on the spot using their macheties. It was a good thing we were told to purchase some rubber boots that cam up to about mid-calf. Later on during our hike we were hit with a nice rain storm. It was interesting how you could hear the roar of the rain a few minutes before we actually felt any rain drops. We got completely soaked during the rain. We only had our rain jackets (no rain pants) so our rubber boots filled with water. We were sloshing in our shoes long after the rain stopped. Later that evening, back at camp, we were shown how they create their bags and baskets. They even had us try. They would use a palm frond. They told us that it would take about 3 hours to to "strip" all of the palms off of one single frond. We were able to make some bracelets for ourselves, with the help of the locals.
Day 3 - After breakfast, we packed up back in our taxies for another 4x4 trip back to Leticia. It was really amusing watching the taxi drivers push each other out of the bigger mud puddles. In Leticia is where we boarded a river boat to travel up the Amazon river. We were heading to a national park called Amacayacu. On our way there we stopped at a place called monkey island. This is where we were able to feed bananas to little spider monkeys. They seemed to be very hungry as we arrived. The monkeys would jump onto us and eat right out of our hands. It was really quite fun. Our trip to Amacayacu took about 4 hours. When we arrived at the national park, we were welcomed with a short talk about everything in the park and some facts about the amazon river (the second longest river in the world). Then we were treated to a short hike where we were able to see a 500 year old Seiba tree. This tree reminded me of the trees in Jurasic park where they found the Raptor eggs. It was reallly big. The park had really nice beds and even hot water for the showers.
Day 4 - We left to go on another jungle hike at 8am. We had lunch in a village called San Martin. They have no types of motorized vehicles in the village. After lunch we hopped on a boat that took us back to camp. Later in the afternoon we went to another village down river to do a little shopping. After a wonderful dinner at Amacayacu, we went on a night canoe ride. These canoes were only big enough for four people and they rode very low to the water. This was our chance to see some caimans (similar to a crocodile) and other wildlife. We searched with our flashlights in the dark, but we did not spot any. But, there were soooo many sounds in the jungle at night. The amazing view of the stars only added to the experience.
Day 5 - This was probably our best day in the Amazon. We woke up at 4:30am to go on a canopy trip today. This is where we get to rope climb up to the top of the tree canopy and look at all of the amazon jungle from a birds perspective. This was a total blast, the views were incredible. The tree canopy was about 200-250ft high and the climb was tougher than I thought. Coming down was even more fun. Then we went on another boat ride to view the giant lilly pads. They are about 5-6ft. in diameter and can hold a small child afloat. Later in the afternoon we were treated to a lagoon in which we were able to go for a swim. They told us that it was safe to swim in this lagoon. It was only inhabited by dolphins (the pink river dolphin). No dolphin ever came over to us, we were only able to view them from a distance, I guess they are a little shy. fter our swim, we went to where the river with the lagoon and the amazon river meet. There we were able to see many river dolphins. We then went to a city called Puerto Nareno where we spent our last night in the amazon. At night the town even had a little soccer game, Jeanne and I watched for a little while.
Day 6 - We woke up and packed for our trip back to Bogota. During our boat ride back to Leticia we went to the other side of the Amazon river (this happened to be Peru) for one last shopping trip. This place had an anaconda skin for sale, we were tempted but not sure if we could get it through customs so we passed.
We arrived home on December 23rd around 9pm. Just in time for the holidays. We had a wonderful time and we hope you enjoyed reading our blog.
Thanks, Rick and Jeanne
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Shopping in Bogota
We arrived safely from Cartagena to some of the worst traffic I have even been in. This was worse than 580 after an accident. It turns out that during the holidays a few nights a month they close down a lot of the streets so pedestrians and bikers can have the run of the city. We eventually made it to Ricardo's parent’s house and were invited to dinner at his grandmothers. This was en enjoyable time and we met a lot of the family.
Yesterday we went to a crafters fair. This had crafts from all over Colombia and even a little from Peru. We didn't really get much but it was still fun to see all the native items. It also rained for a bit and oh my did it come down. This didn't last long but it sure dropped enough water to leave large puddles between the buildings.
We had some time in the afternoon so we just walked around and stumbled on a bowling alley. Rick won, by a lot, but it was still fun.
We spent a nice evening with dinner and walking around and then off to bed. Today we are going to do a little geoaching today and then we have a party tonight.
We leave tomorrow for our trip in the Amazon and not sure how much time we will have to make an update between now and when we get back to Livermore.
Hope all is well and the holiday shopping and festivities are going well.
See everyone soon
Jeanne and Rick
Yesterday we went to a crafters fair. This had crafts from all over Colombia and even a little from Peru. We didn't really get much but it was still fun to see all the native items. It also rained for a bit and oh my did it come down. This didn't last long but it sure dropped enough water to leave large puddles between the buildings.
We had some time in the afternoon so we just walked around and stumbled on a bowling alley. Rick won, by a lot, but it was still fun.
We spent a nice evening with dinner and walking around and then off to bed. Today we are going to do a little geoaching today and then we have a party tonight.
We leave tomorrow for our trip in the Amazon and not sure how much time we will have to make an update between now and when we get back to Livermore.
Hope all is well and the holiday shopping and festivities are going well.
See everyone soon
Jeanne and Rick
Shopping in Bogota
We arrived safely from Cartagena to some of the worst traffic I have even been in. This was worse than 580 after an accident. It turns out that during the holidays a few nights a month they close down a lot of the streets so pedestrians and bikers can have the run of the city. We eventually made it to Ricardo's parent’s house and were invited to dinner at his grandmothers. This was en enjoyable time and we met a lot of the family.
Yesterday we went to a crafters fair. This had crafts from all over Colombia and even a little from Peru. We didn't really get much but it was still fun to see all the native items. It also rained for a bit and oh my did it come down. This didn't last long but it sure dropped enough water to leave large puddles between the buildings.
We had some time in the afternoon so we just walked around and stumbled on a bowling alley. Rick won, by a lot, but it was still fun.
We spent a nice evening with dinner and walking around and then off to bed. Today we are going to do a little geoaching today and then we have a party tonight.
We leave tomorrow for our trip in the Amazon and not sure how much time we will have to make an update between now and when we get back to Livermore.
Hope all is well and the holiday shopping and festivities are going well.
See everyone soon
Jeanne and Rick
Yesterday we went to a crafters fair. This had crafts from all over Colombia and even a little from Peru. We didn't really get much but it was still fun to see all the native items. It also rained for a bit and oh my did it come down. This didn't last long but it sure dropped enough water to leave large puddles between the buildings.
We had some time in the afternoon so we just walked around and stumbled on a bowling alley. Rick won, by a lot, but it was still fun.
We spent a nice evening with dinner and walking around and then off to bed. Today we are going to do a little geoaching today and then we have a party tonight.
We leave tomorrow for our trip in the Amazon and not sure how much time we will have to make an update between now and when we get back to Livermore.
Hope all is well and the holiday shopping and festivities are going well.
See everyone soon
Jeanne and Rick
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Leaving Cartagena
We just checked out of our room in Cartagena and have fully enjoyed our stay here.
The kayak trip that we mentioned earlier was supposed to be about a 2.5 hour trip that we managed to finish in just over an hour. Guess it’s a lot faster when there are only 2 people on the trip and we don’t tend to take many breaks. We spent most of the time paddling through mangrove trees. They formed a really nice tunnel that we rowed through and caught glimpses of crabs and fish. The mangrove are able to survive in the salt water so all the roots grow from the branches of the trees, those are what created our tunnel.
We when out of the Chivas bus that night and this was very interesting. The Chiva is a really old bus with rows of seats and no doors. They are painted with every color of the rainbow, very bright and festive. We were lucky enough to get close to some people that spoke English and this made the trip much more interesting. After about an hour of driving around and filling the bus up they started passing the drinks back. This consisted of each row getting a bucket of ice, a couple bottles of coke (Pepsi) and a bottle of rum. We then took a driving tour of the city while the band in the back of the bus played funky music.
On Wednesday we went out to on of the many islands that are around Cartagena. The island that we chose was Pirate Island I believe. Here we went on a snorkel trip and saw lots of neat fish and coral. Nothing much bigger than your basic tropical 18 inch fish but still fun. The lunch they served on the island most people would have loved. It was a full fish (head and tail) that was BBQ. Rick and I were lucky enough to be warned about the food before and were able to order chicken. We also missed out since one guest brought a large supply of fresh lobster but since neither of us eat seafood we passed on that. We spent a very relaxing afternoon hanging out in the little sand that was there and enjoying the amazing view of the ocean.
Unfortunately today is our last day here. We catch our flight at 5pm to return to Bogotá. Thank you Ricardo and Angela for making our stay here possible and very enjoyable.
Now we are off to Crepes and Waffles to have some amazing ice cream. YUMMY!!!
Rick and Jeanne
The kayak trip that we mentioned earlier was supposed to be about a 2.5 hour trip that we managed to finish in just over an hour. Guess it’s a lot faster when there are only 2 people on the trip and we don’t tend to take many breaks. We spent most of the time paddling through mangrove trees. They formed a really nice tunnel that we rowed through and caught glimpses of crabs and fish. The mangrove are able to survive in the salt water so all the roots grow from the branches of the trees, those are what created our tunnel.
We when out of the Chivas bus that night and this was very interesting. The Chiva is a really old bus with rows of seats and no doors. They are painted with every color of the rainbow, very bright and festive. We were lucky enough to get close to some people that spoke English and this made the trip much more interesting. After about an hour of driving around and filling the bus up they started passing the drinks back. This consisted of each row getting a bucket of ice, a couple bottles of coke (Pepsi) and a bottle of rum. We then took a driving tour of the city while the band in the back of the bus played funky music.
On Wednesday we went out to on of the many islands that are around Cartagena. The island that we chose was Pirate Island I believe. Here we went on a snorkel trip and saw lots of neat fish and coral. Nothing much bigger than your basic tropical 18 inch fish but still fun. The lunch they served on the island most people would have loved. It was a full fish (head and tail) that was BBQ. Rick and I were lucky enough to be warned about the food before and were able to order chicken. We also missed out since one guest brought a large supply of fresh lobster but since neither of us eat seafood we passed on that. We spent a very relaxing afternoon hanging out in the little sand that was there and enjoying the amazing view of the ocean.
Unfortunately today is our last day here. We catch our flight at 5pm to return to Bogotá. Thank you Ricardo and Angela for making our stay here possible and very enjoyable.
Now we are off to Crepes and Waffles to have some amazing ice cream. YUMMY!!!
Rick and Jeanne
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Colombia update
We have now been in Colombia for a few days and haven` t done much of an update so here it is.
Our first full day in Bogotá we went on a city tour. We had a personal guide who took us to a few different places throughout the city. The first place we went was an agricultural preserve area. The preserve consisted of 120 families who acquired some land in the south of Bogotá. They all have individual farms where they do organic farming and they have also set aside a large plot of land to keep the native plants from being wiped out. We hiked through this area and had a great view of the city from the top of the hill that we climbed. We were both amazed at how large Bogotá was.
From here we went back into the heart of the city and went to the Gold Museum. This museum is much smaller than your average museum but it only contained gold that was found from the natives of Colombia. The gold work was incredibly detailed and still in great shape. There was very fine detail in each piece, and the difference from region to region was amazing. They even had pieces from the “kings” dress attire. It was truly awe inspiring. After the gold museum we walked around down town through the main square where they had all the Christmas decorations up. The main decoration this year was a HUGE ice castle. It wasn’t really ice but still neat to see some piece of home.
We spent the night at the Radisson hotel courtesy of Ricardo’s grandmother. This was our first night in a nice hotel and it was so relaxing. The pool was closed for a wedding reception so we went out exploring and found a local mall. It was basically a typical mall but we were able to find an outdoor ice cream vendor and got some of the best tasting ice cream we have had in a long time. It tasted like it had been home made, yummy.
Our second day in Bogotá we traveled North of the city to a very famous and religious lagoon. The lagoon is at about 3000 to 3500 meters high ( about 10,000 feet) so its not your typical lagoon. It is surrounded by natural vegetation, and tall trees even at the high elevation. The lagoon is famous because the legend has it that the natives used to make sacrifices of gold and emeralds in the lake for prosperity. Many people tried to get the gold out of the lake, one even went as far as trying to draining the lake. But most or all went bankrupt from trying.
After the lagoon we went to the Salt Cathedral. This cathedral is 180 meters under ground in a salt mine. There are 3 chapels in the cathedral and with chairs it will seat 3000 people for mass. They even still have mass here every Sunday. As you walk down into the main chapel you will pass the stations of the cross. These are all carved in or out of the salt depending on what it was to depict. It was truly an amazing work of art. We did get some pictures but considering we were under ground and had minimal light to work with its hard to get the full impact of the Cathedral.
After the cathedral we went to Angela and Ricardo’s house for a BBQ. WOW, they have an incredible place in the country just outside the city. Angela and Ricardo have been the best in helping with our trip. They set up the tour guide, our hotel, and even took us over to a friends house with them and translated the conversation. We felt very included and very grateful for all they have done for us. Thank you Ricardo and Angela for everything.
We are currently starting our second day in Cartagena. We are staying at another first class hotel courtesy of Ricardo’s grandmother. The hotel is located in the old part of the city that is surrounded by a fortress wall. Many of the old cannons are still in place and sticking out through the wall.
We spent yesterday on another city tour where we were taking to an old monastery that was built I think in the 1600`s. It was on top of the highest hill in the area and gave a great view of the city as the sun was going down. We also went by the largest fort in the area, actually I believe it is the largest fort in South America. It was a fort that was created to defend the city against pirates of the Caribbean. It is an interesting place because it actually faces inland. The reason for this is the reefs are so shallow that the pirates had to come from the bay. No pirate ever captured the fort.
Today we plan to go on a kayak trip and this evening we are going on the Chivas (party bus). This will take us on a tour of the city’s hot night spots. Hopefully we will be up in time tomorrow for our boat trip out to some island where we will spend the day swimming in the Caribbean.
We will try to get another update soon
Jeanne and Rick
Our first full day in Bogotá we went on a city tour. We had a personal guide who took us to a few different places throughout the city. The first place we went was an agricultural preserve area. The preserve consisted of 120 families who acquired some land in the south of Bogotá. They all have individual farms where they do organic farming and they have also set aside a large plot of land to keep the native plants from being wiped out. We hiked through this area and had a great view of the city from the top of the hill that we climbed. We were both amazed at how large Bogotá was.
From here we went back into the heart of the city and went to the Gold Museum. This museum is much smaller than your average museum but it only contained gold that was found from the natives of Colombia. The gold work was incredibly detailed and still in great shape. There was very fine detail in each piece, and the difference from region to region was amazing. They even had pieces from the “kings” dress attire. It was truly awe inspiring. After the gold museum we walked around down town through the main square where they had all the Christmas decorations up. The main decoration this year was a HUGE ice castle. It wasn’t really ice but still neat to see some piece of home.
We spent the night at the Radisson hotel courtesy of Ricardo’s grandmother. This was our first night in a nice hotel and it was so relaxing. The pool was closed for a wedding reception so we went out exploring and found a local mall. It was basically a typical mall but we were able to find an outdoor ice cream vendor and got some of the best tasting ice cream we have had in a long time. It tasted like it had been home made, yummy.
Our second day in Bogotá we traveled North of the city to a very famous and religious lagoon. The lagoon is at about 3000 to 3500 meters high ( about 10,000 feet) so its not your typical lagoon. It is surrounded by natural vegetation, and tall trees even at the high elevation. The lagoon is famous because the legend has it that the natives used to make sacrifices of gold and emeralds in the lake for prosperity. Many people tried to get the gold out of the lake, one even went as far as trying to draining the lake. But most or all went bankrupt from trying.
After the lagoon we went to the Salt Cathedral. This cathedral is 180 meters under ground in a salt mine. There are 3 chapels in the cathedral and with chairs it will seat 3000 people for mass. They even still have mass here every Sunday. As you walk down into the main chapel you will pass the stations of the cross. These are all carved in or out of the salt depending on what it was to depict. It was truly an amazing work of art. We did get some pictures but considering we were under ground and had minimal light to work with its hard to get the full impact of the Cathedral.
After the cathedral we went to Angela and Ricardo’s house for a BBQ. WOW, they have an incredible place in the country just outside the city. Angela and Ricardo have been the best in helping with our trip. They set up the tour guide, our hotel, and even took us over to a friends house with them and translated the conversation. We felt very included and very grateful for all they have done for us. Thank you Ricardo and Angela for everything.
We are currently starting our second day in Cartagena. We are staying at another first class hotel courtesy of Ricardo’s grandmother. The hotel is located in the old part of the city that is surrounded by a fortress wall. Many of the old cannons are still in place and sticking out through the wall.
We spent yesterday on another city tour where we were taking to an old monastery that was built I think in the 1600`s. It was on top of the highest hill in the area and gave a great view of the city as the sun was going down. We also went by the largest fort in the area, actually I believe it is the largest fort in South America. It was a fort that was created to defend the city against pirates of the Caribbean. It is an interesting place because it actually faces inland. The reason for this is the reefs are so shallow that the pirates had to come from the bay. No pirate ever captured the fort.
Today we plan to go on a kayak trip and this evening we are going on the Chivas (party bus). This will take us on a tour of the city’s hot night spots. Hopefully we will be up in time tomorrow for our boat trip out to some island where we will spend the day swimming in the Caribbean.
We will try to get another update soon
Jeanne and Rick
Friday, December 8, 2006
Arrived in Colombia
We arrived in Bogota today to meet with Angela and Ricardo. It sure was nice to see familiar faces. After getting up at 5am this morning we were able to get to the airport and catch out flight with no real problems. A few small glitches we had were:
1 - The lady at the airport didn't give us back our itinerary
2 - Rick tried to bring a knife onto the plain and got arrested in Cusco. Okay just kidding, but it was the knife I got for one of my birthdays, can't remember what one it was but it was a while ago. To make it up to me he did buy me a necklace at the airport so I can't really complain.
The flight was uneventful and we were able to meet Ricardo and Angela just outside the airport so that was all smooth. We met Ricardo's parents and had a great meal at an amazing restaurant. It was called Crepes and Waffles. Rick and I both ended up getting the curry chicken that was amazing. Probably the best meal we have had since our trip started. To finish off the meal we had the most amazing ice creams. Mine was raspberry sorbet with vanilla ice cream and blackberry sauce, YUMMY. Rick had a hot chocolate ice cream. This was very similar to the ice cream he gets when we go to my mom's house for dinner. It tasted just like home made chocolate sauce.
Tomorrow we are heading out on a city tour of Bogota, we leave for Cartegena (sp?) on Monday. We are really looking forward to hanging out at the beach and relaxing in the hot sun and blue ocean.
Will update when we can, so far things are going well.
Take care
Jeanne and Rick
1 - The lady at the airport didn't give us back our itinerary
2 - Rick tried to bring a knife onto the plain and got arrested in Cusco. Okay just kidding, but it was the knife I got for one of my birthdays, can't remember what one it was but it was a while ago. To make it up to me he did buy me a necklace at the airport so I can't really complain.
The flight was uneventful and we were able to meet Ricardo and Angela just outside the airport so that was all smooth. We met Ricardo's parents and had a great meal at an amazing restaurant. It was called Crepes and Waffles. Rick and I both ended up getting the curry chicken that was amazing. Probably the best meal we have had since our trip started. To finish off the meal we had the most amazing ice creams. Mine was raspberry sorbet with vanilla ice cream and blackberry sauce, YUMMY. Rick had a hot chocolate ice cream. This was very similar to the ice cream he gets when we go to my mom's house for dinner. It tasted just like home made chocolate sauce.
Tomorrow we are heading out on a city tour of Bogota, we leave for Cartegena (sp?) on Monday. We are really looking forward to hanging out at the beach and relaxing in the hot sun and blue ocean.
Will update when we can, so far things are going well.
Take care
Jeanne and Rick
Thursday, December 7, 2006
Wannapicchu
Today we decided to get up early and try to make it to the top of Wannapicchu (The ruin that over-looks MachuPicchu). We arrived at Machupicchu at 8am and headed up the trail. What a climb it was, we were exhausted at the top. But the view was well worth the trip. At least when it wasn´t blocked by the clouds. After a few minutes at the top, we decided to find the geocache. This was also the same way we were going to see the Temple of the Moon. We found the cache without any problems, so we headed off to the Temple of the Moon. This trail was interesting, it wound around the mountain through the rain forest. We even had to go down a couple of ladders. The temple was located in a cave, well actually, it was under a BIG rock. It took us almost an hour to reach the temple and now we had to head back to Machupicchu. This was almost all uphill, ugh. We had some great views on our way back. The jungle was really neat. We arrived at Aquas Callientas around 12:30 and had some yummy chicken noodle soup for lunch. We head back to Cusco on the 3:30pm train. Then tomorrow we are off to Colombia where we will see Ricardo and Angela. We will update from there.
Rick and Jeanne
Rick and Jeanne
Wednesday, December 6, 2006
Inka Trail
We arrived today in Aquas Calientas (¨Hot Water¨) after 4 days on the Inka Trail.
Day 1
We got picked up from our hotel at 9am by our guide Lucho. Lucho was great, he speaks great english and is very nice. We had to pick up a few more things from the office so we had to go by the main square. While there we were able to watch a parade of all the police and rescue personel. Kind of neet, I guess its something they do every Sunday but its a different organization every week.
We were then off to pick up our porters in Outumbo (sp? will update when we actaully know how to spell it). Our porters are local Kechuen people who Mayuc (the group we booked our trip through) always uses. By the time we picked everything and everyone up we were off to kilometer 82. By the time we got there it was time for lunch. We had our first experience with the food that we were going to be in store for during our trip. First we had soup, then a vegie and chicken stir fry thing. Was actaully kind of good considering the suroundings, a dirt parking lot in the middle of no where. Once we finished our lunch we started on our first day of hiking. After about 20 minutes of walking Jeanne really had to use the bathroom and was practically running up the hills and along the trail. Because we were going at such a good pace we made it to our scheduled camp site around 2pm. Our guide then decided to go a little further. We ended up camping in a little medow area right next to a small river or large stream. There was even a donkey grazing as we got into camp. He really could care less that we were there, he just went on eating away. We got into camp early and had such a good pace going we arrived at the same time as our porters did. This meant that dinner was still a few hours away so we just relaxed and enjoyed our surroundings. While we were waiting for dinner our porters set up a litttle camp table complete with table cloth, flowers, place settings and hot water for tea, coffee or coco. We enjoyed our hot drink while waiting for dinner( this table was set like this for each meal we had, breakfast, lunch and dinner). For dinner we again had soup, something yummy for dinner and then a bannana custard for dessert.
Day 2
We awoke to our porter at our tent door with hot tea and warm water to wash with (we got this treatmeant every morning). We had omlets for breakfast and hit the trail about 8:10 am. We were camped a little before all the other groups but by the time we reached where they had been there was no sign of them. Since we went a little further the first day our guide decided that we would make the first big pass of the trail today. We ended up having lunch in the locaton that we were supposed to camp and figured our guide was correct. The first big pass that we had took us up almost 3,000ft to a total of just under 14,000ft. The trail was long and gruling with a lot of steps along the way. Once we reached the top we were able to hang out with the lamas and enjoy the view. The bad part about going up 3,000 ft was that we had to go down about 2,000 to our camp site. The way down was a whole lot more stairs. Not sure what was worse, the way up or all those steps on the way down. We got to camp around 4:00pm, again not long after our porters. Since we were hiking so fast, we passed about 1/2 the other groups on trail. As it turns out we ended up staying in the same location as everyone else. This wasn´t really that bad becuase we were a little ways away from them. For dinner we had soup, beef stew over rice and strawberry jello for dessert. Not bad considering this is our second night on the trail and no electricity. Once we finished dinner we hit the sack around 8 and listened to the rain most of the night. This was really the only rain we ran into on our whole trip. There was a lot of misty clouds that we walked through but nothing that bad.
Day 3
Woke up to after a cold night to hot tea and warm wash water. We had oatmeal for breakfast, that was really yummy and hit the trail around 8:40. Since we were in the same camp as everyone else we were easily able to tell we were the LAST ones to leave camp. When we finally got out of our tents we could already see people hiking up the second pass. This pass was much steaper but not quite as high. By the time we reached the top of the pass and started down the other side we had managed to pass just about everyone else on the trail. From the time we summited the pass it was all steep stairs down to about 9,000 ft. This was a very long day, we didn´t make it to lunch until around 12:30 and were ready for a break. The location where we ate our lunch was again supposed to be our camping location of the day. Given the fact that we reached it at 12:30 our guide had us eat lunch and continue on to the next large camping area. As we were on our way to lunch our guide told us to go ahead because he had to get some stamps on our tickets (check point). This meant we were hiking for about 1 1/2 hours on our own. We were starting to wonder where lunch was since it was so cloudy we couldn´t see where we were going most of the time. We knew we weren´t lost since the trail is well marked considering its all paved with stones. It got to a point where we just heard some voices and followed those to our lunch area. We left lunch to continue our downhill approach to our next final camping area. We were the first hikers to arrive at the camping area and since we were officially supposed to be there we had a little difficulty finding our cook and porters. We decided since it was still early, around 3:30, and we were the first ones in, that we would take a cold shower. This was a little colder than we bargined for and ended up just rinsing off as fast as possible. The doors didn´t have locks on them so we held them for each other and while Rick was in the shower he was yelling when he got into the water and I was sitting outside laughing since I had just gotten out. Not much of a view in the evening becuase we were still in the clouds so we just ate our dinner and went to bed. Dinner tonight was soup, pasta, vanilla pudding and hot drink.
Day 4
We got up a little bit earlier today, 7:00 instead of 7:15am. We were met with apple pancakes and hot drink. Before we left camp we were formally introduced to all our porters, 5 of them, and our cook, Sergio. Each of the porters dressed in their traditional dress and gave us their name and age. We were then off to the Sun Gate and then onto our final destination of Machu Picchu. Todays hike was only around 1 1/2 hours. It was mostly what they call Inka flat, this means mostly flat with some rolling hills a few steps until we reached the base of the Sun Gate. The trip to the sun gate was the stepest we had encountered yet, but it only took about 20 minutes to get to the top. It had been clear all morning so we figured it would be clear when we got to the Sun Gate but we were wrong. We got to the top and as we peered off the other side we were supposed to be able to see the entire city of Machu Picchu. Instead we saw a great wall of white. We hung out here for a few minutes with the hope that the coulds would disperse enough that we could see the city below. We were not dissapointed. After just a short time the clouds cleared and we were awed by the view.
Machu Picchu
From the Sun Gate it was another 20 minutes or so until we reached the actual city. As we walked the clouds cleared even more and we ended up taking a lot of pictures as we went. We will create a photo album to post once we get home. Our guide took us on a tour of the city and gave us a small history lesson of the area. The city has been restored to about 70% to 80% of what it had been and it was absolutly amazing. There are aqueducts that run through the city that even today still have water in them, the architecture is just amazing. They have massive stones that are fit together so well that even today a piece of paper woudn´t fit in the cracks. The city even has its own lamas that roam around. Our guide mentioned that they are the most famous lamas in the world. Their pictures span the globe.
Tomorrow we plan to go back to the city and hike to Hyanapicchu (pronounced Wanapicchu). This hike should only take us about 45 minutes to get to the top of the mountain but its going to be the hardest and steepest that we have had yet. Considering how sore and tired my legs are, its going to take all I´ve got to make it to the top. Of course Rick feels great so there is no getting out of it. There also happens to be a geochace at the top so there is no talking him out of it.
Just kidding, we came all this way, I don´t care how tired I/we are we are going to make it up the mountain.
We are off to rest up for tomorrow, We will make another update we reach Cusco, before we leave for the airport to head to Colombia.
Good Night
Jeanne and Rick
Day 1
We got picked up from our hotel at 9am by our guide Lucho. Lucho was great, he speaks great english and is very nice. We had to pick up a few more things from the office so we had to go by the main square. While there we were able to watch a parade of all the police and rescue personel. Kind of neet, I guess its something they do every Sunday but its a different organization every week.
We were then off to pick up our porters in Outumbo (sp? will update when we actaully know how to spell it). Our porters are local Kechuen people who Mayuc (the group we booked our trip through) always uses. By the time we picked everything and everyone up we were off to kilometer 82. By the time we got there it was time for lunch. We had our first experience with the food that we were going to be in store for during our trip. First we had soup, then a vegie and chicken stir fry thing. Was actaully kind of good considering the suroundings, a dirt parking lot in the middle of no where. Once we finished our lunch we started on our first day of hiking. After about 20 minutes of walking Jeanne really had to use the bathroom and was practically running up the hills and along the trail. Because we were going at such a good pace we made it to our scheduled camp site around 2pm. Our guide then decided to go a little further. We ended up camping in a little medow area right next to a small river or large stream. There was even a donkey grazing as we got into camp. He really could care less that we were there, he just went on eating away. We got into camp early and had such a good pace going we arrived at the same time as our porters did. This meant that dinner was still a few hours away so we just relaxed and enjoyed our surroundings. While we were waiting for dinner our porters set up a litttle camp table complete with table cloth, flowers, place settings and hot water for tea, coffee or coco. We enjoyed our hot drink while waiting for dinner( this table was set like this for each meal we had, breakfast, lunch and dinner). For dinner we again had soup, something yummy for dinner and then a bannana custard for dessert.
Day 2
We awoke to our porter at our tent door with hot tea and warm water to wash with (we got this treatmeant every morning). We had omlets for breakfast and hit the trail about 8:10 am. We were camped a little before all the other groups but by the time we reached where they had been there was no sign of them. Since we went a little further the first day our guide decided that we would make the first big pass of the trail today. We ended up having lunch in the locaton that we were supposed to camp and figured our guide was correct. The first big pass that we had took us up almost 3,000ft to a total of just under 14,000ft. The trail was long and gruling with a lot of steps along the way. Once we reached the top we were able to hang out with the lamas and enjoy the view. The bad part about going up 3,000 ft was that we had to go down about 2,000 to our camp site. The way down was a whole lot more stairs. Not sure what was worse, the way up or all those steps on the way down. We got to camp around 4:00pm, again not long after our porters. Since we were hiking so fast, we passed about 1/2 the other groups on trail. As it turns out we ended up staying in the same location as everyone else. This wasn´t really that bad becuase we were a little ways away from them. For dinner we had soup, beef stew over rice and strawberry jello for dessert. Not bad considering this is our second night on the trail and no electricity. Once we finished dinner we hit the sack around 8 and listened to the rain most of the night. This was really the only rain we ran into on our whole trip. There was a lot of misty clouds that we walked through but nothing that bad.
Day 3
Woke up to after a cold night to hot tea and warm wash water. We had oatmeal for breakfast, that was really yummy and hit the trail around 8:40. Since we were in the same camp as everyone else we were easily able to tell we were the LAST ones to leave camp. When we finally got out of our tents we could already see people hiking up the second pass. This pass was much steaper but not quite as high. By the time we reached the top of the pass and started down the other side we had managed to pass just about everyone else on the trail. From the time we summited the pass it was all steep stairs down to about 9,000 ft. This was a very long day, we didn´t make it to lunch until around 12:30 and were ready for a break. The location where we ate our lunch was again supposed to be our camping location of the day. Given the fact that we reached it at 12:30 our guide had us eat lunch and continue on to the next large camping area. As we were on our way to lunch our guide told us to go ahead because he had to get some stamps on our tickets (check point). This meant we were hiking for about 1 1/2 hours on our own. We were starting to wonder where lunch was since it was so cloudy we couldn´t see where we were going most of the time. We knew we weren´t lost since the trail is well marked considering its all paved with stones. It got to a point where we just heard some voices and followed those to our lunch area. We left lunch to continue our downhill approach to our next final camping area. We were the first hikers to arrive at the camping area and since we were officially supposed to be there we had a little difficulty finding our cook and porters. We decided since it was still early, around 3:30, and we were the first ones in, that we would take a cold shower. This was a little colder than we bargined for and ended up just rinsing off as fast as possible. The doors didn´t have locks on them so we held them for each other and while Rick was in the shower he was yelling when he got into the water and I was sitting outside laughing since I had just gotten out. Not much of a view in the evening becuase we were still in the clouds so we just ate our dinner and went to bed. Dinner tonight was soup, pasta, vanilla pudding and hot drink.
Day 4
We got up a little bit earlier today, 7:00 instead of 7:15am. We were met with apple pancakes and hot drink. Before we left camp we were formally introduced to all our porters, 5 of them, and our cook, Sergio. Each of the porters dressed in their traditional dress and gave us their name and age. We were then off to the Sun Gate and then onto our final destination of Machu Picchu. Todays hike was only around 1 1/2 hours. It was mostly what they call Inka flat, this means mostly flat with some rolling hills a few steps until we reached the base of the Sun Gate. The trip to the sun gate was the stepest we had encountered yet, but it only took about 20 minutes to get to the top. It had been clear all morning so we figured it would be clear when we got to the Sun Gate but we were wrong. We got to the top and as we peered off the other side we were supposed to be able to see the entire city of Machu Picchu. Instead we saw a great wall of white. We hung out here for a few minutes with the hope that the coulds would disperse enough that we could see the city below. We were not dissapointed. After just a short time the clouds cleared and we were awed by the view.
Machu Picchu
From the Sun Gate it was another 20 minutes or so until we reached the actual city. As we walked the clouds cleared even more and we ended up taking a lot of pictures as we went. We will create a photo album to post once we get home. Our guide took us on a tour of the city and gave us a small history lesson of the area. The city has been restored to about 70% to 80% of what it had been and it was absolutly amazing. There are aqueducts that run through the city that even today still have water in them, the architecture is just amazing. They have massive stones that are fit together so well that even today a piece of paper woudn´t fit in the cracks. The city even has its own lamas that roam around. Our guide mentioned that they are the most famous lamas in the world. Their pictures span the globe.
Tomorrow we plan to go back to the city and hike to Hyanapicchu (pronounced Wanapicchu). This hike should only take us about 45 minutes to get to the top of the mountain but its going to be the hardest and steepest that we have had yet. Considering how sore and tired my legs are, its going to take all I´ve got to make it to the top. Of course Rick feels great so there is no getting out of it. There also happens to be a geochace at the top so there is no talking him out of it.
Just kidding, we came all this way, I don´t care how tired I/we are we are going to make it up the mountain.
We are off to rest up for tomorrow, We will make another update we reach Cusco, before we leave for the airport to head to Colombia.
Good Night
Jeanne and Rick
Saturday, December 2, 2006
City Tour
Today was our last full day in Cusco before we leave for our 5 day trip on the Inca Trail. We did some relaxing this morning before we went on our city tour.
The city tour took us to the large church in the main square. Very impressive but they wouldn´t let us take pictures inside so you will have to just get by with our descriptions. It was very large, I think they said they could have mass for 500 people 5 times a day and that is only in the main part of the church. The church is built in the shape of a cross, so that only includes the center part of the church. The alter is a huge, very spanish influenced gilded structure. I would guess it was about 100 feet tall about about 40 feet wide. A little much for us but still very impressive. There were over 400 painting in the church. The reason for so many paitings was they were used as a teaching tool since none of the natives could read the bible.
We then went to Saqsaywaman (¨Sexy Woman¨). This is a huge Inca ruin not far from the center of town. We saw some of the largest building rocks used in this ruin, weighing about 600 metric tons. Lets just say they were HUGE. This was the largest of the ruins close to Cusco and the largest of our tour today.
We went to a few other smaller ruins but basically just stopped long enough for people to snap a few pictures and walk around a bit.
This evening we met with our guide, got all the info we needed for our trek and are about to go pack. We will be leaving at 9 am and we will be gone for 5 days. We will have one more night in Cusco before we catch our plain to Colombia.
Until we return from our trek, enjoy
Rick and Jeanne
PS - I even got Rick to do a little shopping with me today :-)
The city tour took us to the large church in the main square. Very impressive but they wouldn´t let us take pictures inside so you will have to just get by with our descriptions. It was very large, I think they said they could have mass for 500 people 5 times a day and that is only in the main part of the church. The church is built in the shape of a cross, so that only includes the center part of the church. The alter is a huge, very spanish influenced gilded structure. I would guess it was about 100 feet tall about about 40 feet wide. A little much for us but still very impressive. There were over 400 painting in the church. The reason for so many paitings was they were used as a teaching tool since none of the natives could read the bible.
We then went to Saqsaywaman (¨Sexy Woman¨). This is a huge Inca ruin not far from the center of town. We saw some of the largest building rocks used in this ruin, weighing about 600 metric tons. Lets just say they were HUGE. This was the largest of the ruins close to Cusco and the largest of our tour today.
We went to a few other smaller ruins but basically just stopped long enough for people to snap a few pictures and walk around a bit.
This evening we met with our guide, got all the info we needed for our trek and are about to go pack. We will be leaving at 9 am and we will be gone for 5 days. We will have one more night in Cusco before we catch our plain to Colombia.
Until we return from our trek, enjoy
Rick and Jeanne
PS - I even got Rick to do a little shopping with me today :-)
Friday, December 1, 2006
Slight Change in Plans
Tuesday night after we were in bed for the evening we got a phone call letting us know that the river we wanted to raft was to high and unraftable/unsafe, this was the Apurimac River.
This was probably a good thing in a way because Rick ended up rather sick on Wednesday. So we spent the morning trying to figure out what we were doing and also a lot of relaxing (for Rick). We decided to do a 2 day rafting trip down the Urubamba River. But we still had an extra day to play around with. After a relaxing morning we hired a private taxi to take us to Pisac, some Inca ruins at 12500 feet. Here we hiked around a bit, Rick got a geocache and we were able to explore without all the tourists that seem to be everywhere. Our taxi ride was 60 sole, which is equivalent to about $18. Given the fact that the ride itself was 45 minutes each way and our driver waited for us, we decided to give him a little tip and he was very greatful. This hike just about whiped Rick out, I believe he was suffering from sevear dehydration at this point. So we decided to have a light dinner of chicken soup and go to bed.
By Thursday morning Rick was feeling a little better and we went forward with our rafting trip. We were both very glad that we did. The first day we got out to the river camp that Mayuc, our guide company, owns. From here we split into a few different groups. Most people were going up river to raft the 3-4 class rapids. Our group since we were doing the 2 day trip started from camp and went down river to the 2-3 class rapids. This was a very easy day and probably a good thing since we were FREEZING. The water was cold but it was the cloudy weather and wind that really got us. They did provide us with wetsuits and splash jackets but the splash jackets had seen better days so they weren´t all that waterproof.
When we got back to camp they had a nice hot sauna waiting for us with hot tea and a nice hot lunch of soup and chicken with veggies. After lunch most of the people went back to Cusco, and it was only Rick and I with another American named Matt. Matt had been spending a semester studying in Argentina and was doing a little traveling before he went home. He was a great companion, very nice, outgoing and fluent in spanish. The fluent in spanish really came in handy when we took a walk to the local village and were able to visit a school having a little talet show. I think after we walked in we were the talet show instead of the performers. The kids were very cute and wanted their pictures taken so they could see themselves on the digital cameras. This reminded me a lot of the kids that we met in Thailand and we had a lot of fun showing them their photos.
Once we returned back to camp we were able to relax a bit more before dinner started. Just before we were about to sit down to eat a huge rain/lightnight/hail storm hit. The temperature really dropped and the wind was whipping through camp. Thank goodness we had a building to eat in, similar to a main lodge and our tents were under a canopy. By the time we were ready to hit the sack the rain and wind had lightened up and we were plenty warm in our tents.
When we got up this morning the sun was shinning bright and everything was very peaceful in our little camp. We had a few hours to just hang out this morning and Rick spent much of it in the hammock enjoing the view of the river and mountains that were around us. It was amazing and a great place to take a break from our travels.
Rafting today was AMAZING. Due to the rain the night before the water level had risen about 18 inches. This made the rappids today much faster and much more fun. We had our same group from the day before with our guide Jaun Carlos and one other peson, John from Canada. We hit some great rappids today and had a blast. I think the best part was the weather, it was actaully hot for a little while.
They were taking videos and pictures through a lot of the bigger rappids and we will head down to a local disco tech at 11pm tonight to view them. Things don´t really get hoppin in this town until late, I just hope us old farts can stay up late enough to make it there for the party.
All in all its been a great few days. We have had a lot more fun than we were expecting and that is always a plus. Lets just hope neither one of us gets sick again, especially now that Rick is almost back to 100%.
By the way forgive the spelling, this is Jeanne typing and if you know me you know I can´t spell worth a darn and then is when things a in english.
We are off to dinner, hope everyone is doing well and catch you at the next update.
Good Night
This was probably a good thing in a way because Rick ended up rather sick on Wednesday. So we spent the morning trying to figure out what we were doing and also a lot of relaxing (for Rick). We decided to do a 2 day rafting trip down the Urubamba River. But we still had an extra day to play around with. After a relaxing morning we hired a private taxi to take us to Pisac, some Inca ruins at 12500 feet. Here we hiked around a bit, Rick got a geocache and we were able to explore without all the tourists that seem to be everywhere. Our taxi ride was 60 sole, which is equivalent to about $18. Given the fact that the ride itself was 45 minutes each way and our driver waited for us, we decided to give him a little tip and he was very greatful. This hike just about whiped Rick out, I believe he was suffering from sevear dehydration at this point. So we decided to have a light dinner of chicken soup and go to bed.
By Thursday morning Rick was feeling a little better and we went forward with our rafting trip. We were both very glad that we did. The first day we got out to the river camp that Mayuc, our guide company, owns. From here we split into a few different groups. Most people were going up river to raft the 3-4 class rapids. Our group since we were doing the 2 day trip started from camp and went down river to the 2-3 class rapids. This was a very easy day and probably a good thing since we were FREEZING. The water was cold but it was the cloudy weather and wind that really got us. They did provide us with wetsuits and splash jackets but the splash jackets had seen better days so they weren´t all that waterproof.
When we got back to camp they had a nice hot sauna waiting for us with hot tea and a nice hot lunch of soup and chicken with veggies. After lunch most of the people went back to Cusco, and it was only Rick and I with another American named Matt. Matt had been spending a semester studying in Argentina and was doing a little traveling before he went home. He was a great companion, very nice, outgoing and fluent in spanish. The fluent in spanish really came in handy when we took a walk to the local village and were able to visit a school having a little talet show. I think after we walked in we were the talet show instead of the performers. The kids were very cute and wanted their pictures taken so they could see themselves on the digital cameras. This reminded me a lot of the kids that we met in Thailand and we had a lot of fun showing them their photos.
Once we returned back to camp we were able to relax a bit more before dinner started. Just before we were about to sit down to eat a huge rain/lightnight/hail storm hit. The temperature really dropped and the wind was whipping through camp. Thank goodness we had a building to eat in, similar to a main lodge and our tents were under a canopy. By the time we were ready to hit the sack the rain and wind had lightened up and we were plenty warm in our tents.
When we got up this morning the sun was shinning bright and everything was very peaceful in our little camp. We had a few hours to just hang out this morning and Rick spent much of it in the hammock enjoing the view of the river and mountains that were around us. It was amazing and a great place to take a break from our travels.
Rafting today was AMAZING. Due to the rain the night before the water level had risen about 18 inches. This made the rappids today much faster and much more fun. We had our same group from the day before with our guide Jaun Carlos and one other peson, John from Canada. We hit some great rappids today and had a blast. I think the best part was the weather, it was actaully hot for a little while.
They were taking videos and pictures through a lot of the bigger rappids and we will head down to a local disco tech at 11pm tonight to view them. Things don´t really get hoppin in this town until late, I just hope us old farts can stay up late enough to make it there for the party.
All in all its been a great few days. We have had a lot more fun than we were expecting and that is always a plus. Lets just hope neither one of us gets sick again, especially now that Rick is almost back to 100%.
By the way forgive the spelling, this is Jeanne typing and if you know me you know I can´t spell worth a darn and then is when things a in english.
We are off to dinner, hope everyone is doing well and catch you at the next update.
Good Night
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