South American a travel blog by Shawn04 Andean Women Plaza de Armas erin and i have arrived. it was a long journey from minneapolis to cusco but we are here and loving the city. Cusco is very much a tourist city. There are people and kids on every street trying to sell anything you can imagine. The cobble stone streets are amazing but the street signs and the names given on maps for those streets do not match. Very confusing. We have sampled some traditional Peruvian food and it is great. Alpacas are good for more than nice wool. Conversing with everyone is very difficult, apparently my broken spanish is not how everyone talks here. We leave for the 4 day hike to Machu Picchu tomorrow. Wish us luck. view all 26 photos for this trip

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Arrival in Cusco Cusco, Peru Cusco is amazing. It is much smaller then you would think but that makes it all the better. Once we figure out the maze of cobble stone streets we will really see what it has to offer. written by  Shawn04 on January 3, 2007 from Cusco, Peru from the travel blog: South American Send a Compliment 7 comments...

Inca Trail Machupicchu, Peru The start of the Inka Trail It is time for me to change the order of my life´s to do list, since the number one slot has finally been obtained "Machu Picchu". The hike was more than I could have hoped for, it was very challenging, rained everyday, but the views and the experience was unbelievable. The entire trip on paper is 4 days of hiking and 3 nights sleeping in tents along the way, but it was much more than that. Erin and I were picked up at our hostel very early in the morning of January 5. We were driven 3 hours to the starting gate, given some last minute instructions, and met our group. Our group consisted of 3 guides, 17 porters (the guys who carry all the food, run by us on the trail carring 100lbs backs, and make us amazing meals), and 16 tourists. In our group we had quite the mix, there were some Koreans, Swiss, Argentinians, Peruvians, and us Americans. The first day was an easy hike, winding through the valleys and seeing some of the local villages. Our first campsite was located overlooking one of the villages surrounded by mountains. We spent the night getting to know everyone in the group, singing our country songs, and trying to tell jokes. The second day is the hardest day of the trail, this is the day we reach the highest point of the trail, nearly 14,000 ft. THis was quite the challenge for us from flat land as the steps and the altitude really take hold. Many people take the option on this day to have the porters carry your bag, but Erin and I decided to carry our stuff, not the best decision at times but well worth it. We took many breaks, drank plenty of water, and happy to say we survived much better than others. This second campsite was amazing. It is located just down the hill from the summit, surrounded by waterfalls and snow capped mountains. We woke up in the moring to a rainbow, unbelievable. The summit day 2 The third day is a mixture of smaller climbs and a final descent, in which you drop down 3,000 ft at the very end. This campsite was located at a campground in which everyone meets in the large building, has dinner with all the other groups, celebrates making it to this point. I did not sleep to well this night knowing that just on the other side of the mountain is Machu Picchu. To get to the Sun Gate, the first sight of Machu Picchu, before it is crawling with those lazy people we take the train up to it you need to arrive there 7 am. Erin and I awoke at 4, ate our last meal with our group and set off. Walking as fast as our tired legs could take us we hurried to the Sun Gate and looked over the peak to Machu Picchu. This was supose to be the best moment of my life, but as luck would have it, nothing but fog. First site to see Machu Picchu No stunning view. We waited and hoped for a while, then decided to continue to walk down to the ruins. As we walked the clouds started to clear, and slowly the beauty of Machu Picchu was exposed. IT was everything I hoped it would be and 1,000 time more. I don´t know if it was the elevation, the anticipation of the 3 day hike, or the fact I was so tired but those ruins just seemed to glow. Machu Picchu We spent the rest of the day touring the ruins and learning about what exactly was Machu Picchu. They still do not have all of the answers but they believe that it was some sort of University for the Inca people. Many of the building were constructed to study the stars and the seasons. IT was also a religous place in which many people gathered to hear the news proclaimed by the Inca Priest and the Inca himself. Very fascinating. The entire trip was more than I could have imagined at the onset. The trail is still in great shape, the views of the mountains and valleys along the way take your breath away, and Machu Picchu is more amazing than any picture gives it credit. Erin handled the difficult hike like a champ, most girls on the trail only carried a jacket and a water bottle, and smiled until the very end. Even though my legs were tired, I would not have done it differently. What a trip. We made it!! written by  Shawn04 on January 9, 2007 from Machupicchu, Peru from the travel blog: South American Send a Compliment 6 comments...

Pit stop in Lima Lima, Peru We had a quick stop in Lima on January 10th. Erin and I took a flight from Cusco to Lima to pick up my sister Jaime from the airport. Our hostel was located south of Lima about 15 minutes. Lima is very large compared to Cusco. Jaime did not arrive in Lima until 11:00 pm so Erin and I caught a cab to the center of Lima. In most cities in Peru the central plaza is called the Plaza de Armas, it gets confusing when you are in a city the size of Lima, because even the suburbs have a Plaza de Armas. Plaza de Armas in Lima There were so many people walking around the square that we could not even find a safe place to walk without running into someone. We had a good meal, ate some icecream and went to the airport to pick up Jaime. She arrived in good spirits. written by  Shawn04 on January 10, 2007 from Lima, Peru from the travel blog: South American Send a Compliment 4 comments...

Pisco, only for the wildlife Pisco, Peru Erin, Jaime, and myself caught an early bus down the southern coast to Pisco. The entire coast of Peru is primarily a desert, nothing to see but chicken farms and sand. The view did not get much better once we arrived in Pisco. THe city is very poor and dirty. Our hostel was very nice, it had a pool which made it nice because it is not safe for "gringos" to go on the beach. We spent the first day laying by the pool and then walking down to the plaza for dinner. One of the few good things about Pisco is that it has some great sea food, their ceviche (raw fish in lemon/lime juice is amazing). Wildlife in Pisco Our main reason for visiting Pisco was for the wildlife. Off the coast of Pisco are the Islas Ballestas, also known as the "the poor mans Galapagoes". We took a chartered boat out to these islands which are crawling with birds, penguins, sea lions, and a bunch of other exotic animals. Sea Lions in Pisco Ballestas means "caverns" and every island has caverns and other washed out areas beneath. To bad the sea was kind of rough otherwise we would have been able to take the boat into some of them. The only down fall of the day was that Erin got sick. By the time we got her back to the Hostel all she wanted was to lay down. To bad she had to miss out on another great sea food dinner. written by  Shawn04 on January 11, 2007 from Pisco, Peru from the travel blog: South American Send a Compliment 3 comments...

Cusco, Peru written by  Shawn04 on January 14, 2007 from Cusco, Peru from the travel blog: South American Send a Compliment

Sacred Valley Tour Pisac, Peru Located just outside of Cusco is the Sacred Valley, a beautiful valley that has been producing corn, potatoes, and many other foods for the Inca people and now the residents of Cusco and Peru. The majority of the people are poor farmers that make a living cultivating the land by hand and selling what they can grow and make at the local markets. Our group, 5 tourists, a guide, and our taxi driver all piled into a single taxi, which has a legal occupancy of 4 people (Good thing the cops will look the other way if you speak their language $). Our first destination was the little village of Chinchero. This was a really small town that had some nice rustic Inca ruins, however the most impressive part of the town was the Catholic church that sits on top of the ruins. This church was painted from head to toe, and the people were packed in giving offerings and praise. On Sunday´s all the locals walk to the local markets, some walk the majority of the day just to get to the market in time to exchange some of the goods they have for things they need. This market was quite small, but it fit in nicely to the city. Our next stop were the Salt Terreces, located above the city of Urubamba. These terreces capture and dry the water that comes out of a spring in the mountain that is very high in salt content. The most amazing part of these terreces is the fact that the spring that feeds all of these terreces is small enough to take a step over, and the people have been harvesting salt here since the time of the Inca´s. After the hike through the terreces we found ourselves in the city of Urubamba, ate an amazingly huge local meal, then started off to our next location, Ollantaytambo. This cobble stone city is amazing. Almost the entire city is located on the very foundation that the Inca´s laid down. Ollantaytambo On top of the hill overlooking the town is an old temple and even the house were the Inca would stay still had running water into it. Very amazing! We made our way through Ollantaytambo very quickly because we were in a hurry to get to the last destination, Pisac. On Sunday´s Pisac has the largest market in the area as well as some amazing ruins. Our driver drove like crazy to reach there before the sun went down, dodging cows, cars, dogs, and people. Even though he drove like a mad man, we got to Pisac at 6 pm. The same time the market closes and 15 minutes before the sun sets. We drove up to the ruins but were able to see about 10 feet in front of us. I was quite dissapointed that we did not make it to Pisac in time, but it is hard to complain about something like that when the rest of the day was perfect. written by  Shawn04 on January 25, 2007 from Pisac, Peru from the travel blog: South American Send a Compliment 3 comments...

Rafting on the Urubamba Cusco, Peru River Runners On saturday Heidi, Leticia (my house mates), Dante (a teacher at the school) and I spent the day rafting the Urubamba river. There are several options, but we decided to do the one day trip. We met our group at 9:30 am in the main plaza in Cusco and took the bus 1 1/2 hours to the base camp. After some simple instructions we were off. It did not take much time for us to be in the thick of the rapids. I guess we were not the most skilled group, but our raft flipped in the first tough stretch of the river ( i guess we needed some more time to practice). Everyone was fine and I actually enjoyed it, grabbing onto those that did not swim well, and grabbing paddles that were going by. The rest of the float went well and we all arrived back at base camp in one piece. They fed us a great meal, put us on a bus, and said goodbye. Despite the first rapids our team did well. written by  Shawn04 on January 30, 2007 from Cusco, Peru from the travel blog: South American Send a Compliment 2 comments...

Sacsayhuaman Cusco, Peru Located on a hill overlooking the city of Cusco are a string of ruins. The first is Sacsayhuaman Sacsayhuaman which was the originall fortress of the city. During the Inca´s time the city of Cusco was layed out like the body of a puma with the fortress of Sacsayhuaman as the head. The site is pretty incredible, some of the rocks way as much as 300 tons. The next ruin on the road was Qenko. THis is a large rock that the Inca´s carved into stairs and chairs for the nobels to sit. They are not sure exactly the purpose of this site, but one theory is that of ritual offerings. Next, and quite a bit away is Puca Pucara. To get to this site you need to walk a couple of miles on the road. If you have ever driven in Peru or South America, you know that it is not the best place to be caught walking. However, the only problem I had was a car pulled over and a little kid spraid me with silly string. The site of Puca Pucara itself is not that amazing, but it sits over the valley with an amazing view to have lunch. The last stop was Tambo Machay. This is a very small site, but still has a running fountain that is feed by a mountain spring. I made the entire trip with another student at the school from named Virginie. She was good company during the route. written by  Shawn04 on January 30, 2007 from Cusco, Peru from the travel blog: South American Send a Compliment 1 comment...

My life in Cusco Cusco, Peru El Peru Being that this is my last full weekend in Cusco I thought I would share some details of my daily life. Cusco is an amazing city, it is quite small which makes it easy to walk every place, and it is alive with history. Most days I get up at about 7 am. and review my spanish homework prior to my class at 9am. I take 4 hours of spanish classes every day at the Machu Picchu spanish school. It is a small school but the teachers are amazing and they are very helpful. After the class I return back to my house and eat a Peruvian style meal before hitting the books. My house in Peru In the afternoon I have the pleasure of volunteering in an afternoon program for children who live and work on the street. These kids spend the entire day selling postcards and begging for money so this is a place were they can let loose for a couple of hours and just be kids. Working with the kids. Normally, I play soccer with some of the boys, draw some pictures, and attempt to read stories in Spanish. The kids get a kick out of when I read with them because I don´t alway pronounce things correctly and they like to correct me. I am not helping the kids with their English which was my initial plan, however I am helping provide these kids with a place were they can enjoy being young, if only for a couple of hours, and that is very rewarding. My little buddy!! After work with the kids I usually take the long way home and just get lost in the cobble stone streets. I really enjoy living here and am sad that I will be leaving in a couple of days, but then the excitement for my other portion of the trip is taking hold. Look out Brazil! written by  Shawn04 on February 3, 2007 from Cusco, Peru from the travel blog: South American Send a Compliment 6 comments...

Vacation with the Family Camana, Peru After my classes and volunteering position in Cusco were ending my host family, along with my house mates, and I went to the beach. I am usually not much of a beach person but I was excited to see how a Peruvian family takes a vacation. We jumped onto a bus from Cusco to Arequipa at 8 pm. The bus ride takes about 10 hours and I was unable to sleep at all during the night. We were in Arequipa just long enough to catch breakfast before taking another bus 3 hours south to the beach. The coast of Peru is incredibly dry and this beach was no exception. We arrived at our hostel at around noon, threw on our suits and headed across the road to the ocean. The beach was full of people and you could rent chairs and umbrellas for cheap. The water was pretty cold but with the hot sun it felt great. The entire day consisted of reading my book, ordering seafood from the local resturants, and just hanging out. In the evening we hung around and just socialized. A very relaxing trip. On Sunday we all caught the bus back to Arequipa. In Arequipa we parted ways, I was heading to Puno and Lake Titikaka and the rest of the family was returning to Cusco. My bus ride was long, I had to sit next to an old guy who did not speak spanish and who had gas, but I made it. My arrival in Puno was also interesting but I will comment on that in my next blog. written by  Shawn04 on February 14, 2007 from Camana, Peru from the travel blog: South American Send a Compliment 5 comments...

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