We passed through Hamilton and reached our first destination, Taupo. Taupo rests on a massive inland lake in the Center of the North Island. It is a town that sees a lot adventure-travelers looking to skydive, bungee jump, and water-sport, but, being part of the volcanic plateau, also has its share of geothermal attractions which was our main purpose. We visited a thermal area deep into the outskirts of town called Orakei Koraki. It sits on private Maori Land and is stunning. You take a boat ride across a River to reach an area filled with hot springs, Sulphur pools, mud pits, silica terraces, and one of only two geothermal caves in the world. We felt like we were in the Lost World (minus the dinosaurs). Pictures hopefully to follow...

Orakei Koraki geothermal area

We ate lunch in Taupo and stocked up on protein bars, water, and "scroggin" (what Kiwis call trail-mix) in preparation for next day's main event: the Tongariro Alpine Crossing.

We touched down in Auckland yesterday. From the moment we stepped into the Air New Zealand terminal at LAX, we were reminded that we were heading on a middle-earth adventure. Everyone knows The Lord of the Rings trilogy and upcoming Hobbit movies were filmed here. What people may not know is how intrenched those movies are in the tourism industry here, at least from outside the borders of the country. Stepping up to the ticketing booth, the floor is painted with thick green Shire-grass and Hobbit feet. On the plane, the security announcement is delivered via a video starting a cast of a fake Aragorn, Legolas, orcs, elves, hobbits, and golems, and a very real Peter Jackson (ok, enough geeking out for now). Arriving in Auckland, the walls are lined with gorgeous photo-murals of fairy tale mountains, lakes, and forests - they are all real New Zealand, but the effect is that, with some imagination, you yourself feel like a Hobbit on the cusp of adventure (strong work, New Zealand tourism industry).

The funny thing is, when you step out of the airport and into the Auckland surroundings, it looks more like a quaint American suburb than anything else. Auckland, the largest and most cosmopolitan of the cities in New Zealand is far from the postcard middle-earth-inspiring setting. It is a nice, clean city, with some interesting features. Auckland sits atop a large Volcanic field that is "active", which basically means that in last 1000 years there has been some activity, but you wouldn't know it except for the countless number of hills. Auckland also lies on an isthmus of land that is surrounded by water on most sides. The climate and look of Auckland resemble San Francisco and the Pacific Northwest. It is mild in temperature, and at least on the day we arrived, overcast, rainy, and windy - they don't call it the "City of Sails" for nothing.

We arrived in the morning, having had a few hours of sleep on the plane (Vivi more than me - I was too busy watching the awesome selection of in flight TV/movies). We checked into our motel - it is on the outskirts of Auckland in a nice suburb, right next to the Eden Park Rugby Field (unfortunately no matches were being held). We strapped on our hiking boots and hit the city. We first walked to the top of Mt. Eden, one of the cities many "volcanic" peaks - I use quotes because it's not what you imagine a volcanic peak to look like - it is essentially a hill covered with grass and foliage, with a crater at the top. We stopped to get coffee along the way - coffee culture is apparently huge here and there are tons of these nice coffee shops everywhere. We then walked into the city center and to the wharf, stopping to have "Auckland's Best Fish and Chips" (according to the chalkboard outside the restaurant). We continued walking through the area of Ponsonby, a strip lined with interesting bars, restaurants, and hippie/hipster shops, and finally made it back to our motel, a round trip of around 8 miles for the day. For dinner we had Thai food - another thing we are starting to realize is that there seems to be know distinct New Zealand cuisine - which makes sense, as it is a relatively young island nation of largely European immigrants mixed with the native Maori and others.

Lima is a hectic, loud, and crazy city. It's also extremely diverse socioeconomically, I guess like most other giant cities. I started in the touristy historic district where there is lots of old colonial Spanish architecture (nothing in Lima pre-dates the Spanish - no Inca ruins here). I went to the catacombs of San Fransisco monastery which were pretty cool, got some delicious 3 course Peruvian lunch, and started to walk. About 6 hours later I had made it across the city to the ocean. Here I am in the ritzy Miraflores district, sitting at a trendy, brand new oceanside mall situated on a cliff overlooking the Pacific. The last hour or two of my walk had been through very nice sections of Lima. This is where most tourists stay, and where the Lima elite live. Before that, I passed through Barrio Chino, Lima's Chinatown (lots of Chinese people and restaurants in Lima) - which was crazy. I had continued on for a few hours through areas that were quite poverty stricken. Most of the vehicles in those areas where old, loud, smoggy buses packed to the brim. In Miraflores much more private cars (and also public bathrooms with toilet paper!). The change in atmosphere reminded me of walking from East Harlem into the Upper East Side of NYC (though even the ritzy Lima district doesn't really come close to the UES). Lima, in general, is completely different than the other cities I had been to in Peru - where the economy seemed to totally revolve around tourists. I walked pretty much the whole time without getting touted or hassled, which is pretty much unheard of in the other cities I was in.

Anyways, it was a great walk, and now I'm going to grab some food before grabbing a taxi back to the airport for the late night flight back to the U.S.

Overall, it was an exciting, if at times exhausting, great trip!!

¡Adios!

-Ben

written by  bhkann on August 18, 2010 from Lima, Peru
from the travel blog: Peru 2010
tagged Lima and Miraflores
Send a Compliment

---

comment on this...

This morning we hopped a taxi to the docks for our tour of the islands of Titicaca. As I mentioned before Titicaca is the highest navigable lake in the world, and largest in South America. It sits on the Peruvian/Bolivian border, though we will only be visiting the Peruvian side. It is also believed to be the sport where the Incas originated - specifcally on one island on the Bolivian side of the lake.

Our first stop was at these amazing man-made floating islands made solely out of reeds. The about 2,000 Uros people have lived on these islands for thousands of years and literally make everything out of reeds by hand - huts, boats, furniture, and like I said, even the islands themselves! It was a really crazy feeling walking around the squishy, forgiving reed - ground - it was kind of like a giant haystack. We walked around the islands and took a reed-boat to another. Martin opted for a half day tour to get on a nicer bus back to Arequipa.

On my own now, I'm continuing on to the island of Taquile which is another 2.5 hrs from the floating islands. There are two main indigenous cultures that inhabit this area of Peru - the Aymara and Quechua - each with different languages. These are pre-Inca cultures that have retained their traditions for thousands of years. Taquile is primarily a Quechua island, and about 6,000 people live there. They have their own sets of laws, and are isolated from the rest of Peru. The town square is situated at the top of the island as requires about a 25minute hike up, which is no fun at this altitude. The top of the island has fantastic views of the surrounding lake and mountain ranges in Bolivia. I decided to skip lunch (well I had no money) and ate a tangerine, banana, and Snickers I had brought along the way. I'm perched up on top of a cliff overlooking the lake now, and the view is spectacular. The lake is very peaceful and quiet. After this stop, we get back on the boat and head back to Puno.

Tomorrow morning I head back to Lima for one more day, and then it's back to the U.S.

written by  bhkann on August 17, 2010 from Puno, Peru
from the travel blog: Peru 2010
Send a Compliment

---

comment on this...

I haven't had enough time to upload pictures here, so instead have been putting them all in a Picasa album here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/BHKann/BKPeruSummer2010#

AND here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/BHKann/BK2010#

written by  bhkann on August 16, 2010 from Arequipa, Peru
from the travel blog: Peru 2010
Send a Compliment

---

comment on this...

We then walked around the main plaza and stopped for a drink by a cafe. We were sitting there enjoying ourselves when a few locals began hassling the waiter for a table, a few minutes passed and next thing we knew Martin's backpack was gone. Stolen right in front of us! I had read about this type of distraction theft but didn't think it would happen at noon in broad daylight. Luckily, Martin had all his important documents and wallet in his pockets so only lost some clothing and a few other things. Some crazy welcome for him to Peru though...

We checked into our hostel and then went out to explore the city again - this time extra careful with our belongings. We visited some markets, got lunch, and planned our excursion to Colca Canyon for the next day. Arequipa celebrates the day it was founded on August 15th every year - perfect timing for us. We hope to catch some of the festivities when we return to the city on the 15th - but we will tomorrow day and night in the canyon.

written by  bhkann on August 14, 2010 from Arequipa, Peru
from the travel blog: Peru 2010
tagged Peru and Arequipa
Send a Compliment

---

comment on this...

We then walked around the main plaza and stopped for a drink by a cafe. We were sitting there enjoying ourselves when a few locals began hassling the waiter for a table, a few minutes passed and next thing we knew Martin's backpack was gone. Stolen right in front of us! I had read about this type of distraction theft but didn't think it would happen at noon in broad daylight. Luckily, Martin had all his important documents and wallet in his pockets so only lost some clothing and a few other things. Some crazy welcome for him to Peru though...

We checked into our hostel and then went out to explore the city again - this time extra careful with our belongings. We visited some markets, got lunch, and planned our excursion to Colca Canyon for the next day. Arequipa celebrates the day it was founded on August 15th every year - perfect timing for us. We hope to catch some of the festivities when we return to the city on the 15th - but we will tomorrow day and night in the canyon.

written by  bhkann on August 14, 2010 from Arequipa, Peru
from the travel blog: Peru 2010
Send a Compliment

---

comment on this...

Machu Picchu is really breathtaking. One of those places that lives up to all the hype. It is easy to see why it is packed with tourists every day. There is such demand to see it, that the Peruvian government sets a limit of 2000 visitors each day - slots that are pretty much sold out throughout the year.

We woke up at 4am again, yay, and caught a bus that took us up to the Mountain on which MP sits. We walked up the rest of the way by dirt path and finally reached the top. The site itself is massive, but it is really its surroundings that make it so awe-inspiring and memorable. Cue the pictures...
Another nice thing about MP is that there is are relatively few guard rails or roped-off sections. You can kind of explore freely and there is no set path. We spent a little over 5 hours there and then headed back to Aguas Calientes to catch our train to Cuzco, and then night bus to Arequipa.

written by  bhkann on August 12, 2010 from Aguas Calientes, Peru
from the travel blog: Peru 2010
tagged Peru and MachuPicchu
Send a Compliment

---

comment on this...