Peru update

Peru and Galapagos Picture link

http://picasaweb.google.com/vaccaro.marc2424/MarcvaccaroPeruGalapagos?feat=directlink

Puno: just across the boarder from Bolivia, resting on the lake front of gigantic Titicaca, it was much more of a city than Copacabana on the Bolivian side. Filled with interesting restaurants attempting to be a bit more than they really are, it was fun to have a glass of wine here and get my bearing for my attack on the rest of Peru.

Arequipa: a great city with minimal tourist attractions with in which made it that much better for me. The hustle and bustle of real life was great to walk amongst; eating with locals in the market and shopping in every day supermarkets was fun to experience again. A mini taste or "real life" with out the work or course, but still filled with coffee in the morning and a beer at night. The stepping off point to experience Colca canyon, mnt biking, or rafting.

Colca Canyon: about 5 hours out side Arequipa by minivan through windy dirt roads, wrapping around mountains, down into valleys, past glacial capped peaks, and surrounded by farm land which literally clings to the mountain side, the 2nd deepest canyon in the world was a pretty impressive place to be for 3 days. Hiking wasn't so strenuous since our packs were light and the end of the day always promised a decent warm meal, but a 5am departure to beat the sun creeping over the ridge on day 3 wasn't exactly a breeze. 1300 meters in under 2hours was a good accent on day 3, and well worth the early rise due to the late morning clouds which cover the surrounding peaks. And enjoyable 3 days and the only rural experience I was privileged in, in both Peru and Ecuador.

Cusco: typically the starting point for the famous Inca trail, a 5 day hike up to macchu pichu or the hop on point for aguas caliente, the closest town to the historic Incan city. For me, cusco was just a great city to try some interesting restaurants, visit the local market, learn about "san pedros cactus," and take a trip down a current raging river. Since flooding has taken out all means of approaching macchu piccu, the river we rafted was moving a bit quicker than normal which made it all the more fun. With hopes to return to this city and country, I hopped on a 40hr (2 bus) trip north to the beaches with a 2hr layover in lima. A long journey but easily done when tiered, a bit under the weather and in need of rest.

Bus ride: the 2 day epic ride was long no doubt but took me through extremely impressive landscapes. From the high Andes, to winding rural hills, past farms, small homes, down canyons, into dryer desert landscapes, past sand dunes by the northern coast and up to mancora, A long ride but one ill look forward to in the future when I have time to break it up and really experience Peru.

Mancora: a touristy beach town with a small town vibe, good night life, great beach, good waves if your a surfer or just like the ocean. The seafood is fresh and there is not much to due but hang out and enjoy the sun.

Ecuador/Galapagos:

My experience in Ecuador is minimal and truly the Galapagos is really nothing like the rest of the country. The rural but beautiful coast line is a place I would like to return to, as well as the stunning peaks of the massive volcanoes which lay close to Quito. Cotopaxi being a peak I hope to summit some time in my life.

Galapagos: truly unlike any place I have ever been. Incomparable, and truly amazing, the cost was high and put a bad taste in my mouth, but it was something I was willing to swallow because it is an experience I have always wanted to have.

Staying on the main island of Santa Cruz was a good base for day trips, and my 60usd trip to Foloreana was THE highlight of my Galapagos trip. Swimming with 20+ sea lions was simply amazing, the water was shallow (less than 6ft deep), the waves were rolling over head and every now and then the occasional sea lion would get a bit to curious and a wave would push her right into you. Surrounded by these animals was an experience I won't forget, 30min disappeared way way to fast, simply amazing.

The tour continued onto the island where we got to visit a couple different species of land touruses which are kept together, they are as close to being in the wild as possible. Only a stone wall separates them from roaming freely, but gives them the freedom of wandering around a very very large area. I believe keeping them together just increases the chances of reproduction. Anyways, they were fantastic to see and a unique part of the trip.

The Boat Cruz, was not forgettable, but not overly special, I did how ever swim with some more sea lions (nothing like the first time), I swam along side some giant sea turtles, walked along side marine and sea iguanas, and got to see countless sea birds on my last day including the Galapagos famous blue footed booby.

I loved my trip but if ever returning would choose to possibly look at San Cristobal island, a much smaller island closer to Floriana (my favorite) and Espana island which I hear is ever so stunning, both only day trips away, thus saving some serious bucks on a 3 day cruse. Over all, a very unique and unforgettable experience.

Peru Email

Its very hard to speak on two countries I have spent so little time in. A total of 25 in both countries (18 of which were in Peru) I feel that I didn’t get a good enough sense of the people, culture, cuisine, or landscape to really allow my self to say I have experience either country to it’s fullest. It’s sad that I consider my self to be rushing, but the realization that I would not be able to visit Machu Picchu forced me to pick up my feet a bit higher and move a bit faster in hopes that some time in my life ill be able to return and visit these two countries properly.

What I did enjoy very briefly, and what I feel like I missed out on, was the slow way of life, the rural towns, the places a bit off the beaten track. Entering Peru through northern Bolivia I headed straight for the large city of Arequipa which I did enjoy, the hustle and bustle of every day life was quite nice to be immersed in, the food market was of course a highlight for me which couldn't have gotten any better once I discovered the crispy skin roasted pork served up with a home made vinegar based hot sauce. I got two portions, one to eat immediately and one to take with me on the bus that evening , I devoured the second one an hour later and clearly it never came close to making it to the journey. Although I enjoyed Arequipa I would have loved to do more trekking in the mountains.

A rural 3 day hike through colca canyon was my only real non city experience which I found to be quite stunning. Cusco and its delicious restaurant filled streets were next on my map and since Machu Picchu was closed (due to flooding) I was only their briefly. The beach town of Mancora which I lounged at for 3 days eating as much Peruvian style ceviche as possible was my last stop in this country and really left me wanting to see more, but I guess now was not the time.

Ecuador was a quick 7 days which started with a midnight boarder crossing, a 4:30am arrival in Guayaquil, a taxi to the airport, cup of coffee at 5:00am, I was on the stand bye line at 6:30am, got the go ahead to buy a ticket at 8:40am and was in the air to the Galapagos by 9:15am. Eating ceviche by 11am, and on a powdery white sand beach by 3:00pm.

I spent 5 and a half days in the Galapagos and to say it was a regrettable decision would be a lie. Expensive.... YES, forgettable.... NO. I had the privilege of spending 2 nights on the main island of Santa Cruz, and three evenings on a boat touring around from island to island. When having had the opportunity to do so much in the past several months, it has been hard to judge how special each experience has been because there has been so many and all have been special in their own ways. When thinking back to the Galapagos, the thing I will remember the most is that it is truly incomparable to anywhere else I have been, and there are not too many places I can say that about.

Leaving the Galapagos as quickly as I arrived, I was shuttled off my 3 day boat tour, bused to the airport and flew off the island to Quito all within an hour of walking through the island of Seymour filled with blue footed boobies, sea lions, and iguanas. Landing in Quito after the tranquility of the Galapagos was a bit rattling as everything in Ecuador is priced in USD, as they no longer have a national currency, and the reality of getting closer to home definitely set in with each dollar spent.