Oh, the Places We'll Go

One of the most popular side-trips to do out of Arequipa, Peru is a hike in the Colca Canyon. Many tour operators run 2 or 3 day trips to the area and we did a bit of detective work to determine what we wanted to do and if we wanted to do it ourselves or go with a group. We opted to do it independently and decided upon a 3 day/2 night excursion.

Though we would normally take a local bus to our starting off point, a national election had made bus travel super busy as many people had to return to their home towns to vote locally. So wonderfully, Ted was able to bum us a ride to our starting point with a tour operator that was leaving on a guided trip.

After a fairly sleepy first day in a very small access town, Cabanaconde, we headed down into the canyon. Colca Canyon is advertised as being twice as deep as Arizona’s Grand Canyon and though it is certainly the case, the canyon itself is actual not nearly as grand. The canyon is beautiful but it rather than wide, it is long and skinny. As you would imagine, the first day of walking was all downhill. There are a handful of little towns at the bottom so when we reached the river around lunchtime, we were happy to be met by a young boy that was hoping we’d be customers for lunch at his home. We happily agreed and were treated to quite a delicious midday meal in a tiny little place that also provided overnight accomodation for weary hikers.

After lunch we hiked some rolling hills and just when the heat of the day and the miles of hiking were starting to tire us out, we caught a glimpse of our final destination: the Oasis. We had heard a lot about the Oasis but nothing quite prepares you for the shock of green vegetation and the sparking blue swimming pools seen from above that contrast with the brown hills and desert cactus that we’d been hiking through all day. From above, the oasis is just that. A beautiful, welcoming respite that marks the end of a long day and place to relax and cool off. I couldn’t get there fast enough!

The accomodations were basic to say the least, but we got to take a dip in a pool and were fed a big heaping plate of pasta so no one was complaining.

The hike out the next day started early to avoid the direct sunlight on the pretty demanding hike up. However, after quite a few hikes under our belt already we made it up and out of there without too much trouble. Little did we know that it would be the bumpy, long bus ride back to Arequipa that would prove to be an equally challenging experience for our sore muscles!

The Andean countries of South America (Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia on our itinerary) offer a brilliant lunch concept. Almuerzos, or simply “lunch” in English, are set menu meals, where patrons simply order the meal of the day. It nearly always starts with a huge bowl of sopa (soup), followed by a segundo (second plate) of meat or fish, and finished off with a desert. Best part – these large meals cost anywhere from US$1-3!

Of course, there are some variations. Some restaurants offer a choice between 2 or 3 different segundos (perhaps chicken vs beef vs pasta), others will include a small additional entrada (appetizer) and a glass of juice. Sometimes the restaurant will also offer a la carte items as well, but these are never as cheap as the set menu. But some restaurants are open only for lunch, and only offer one option. There is something delicious to be said for buying in bulk, preparing a massive amount of one meal, and offering a smokin deal.

Following our time with family in Lima, Ted and I made our way to Arequipa, Peru. Arequipa is known as the “white city” as the main plaza and many of the buildings in the city center are built with a spectacular white brick made of volcanic rock (the city is surrounded by amazing volcanoes). The city is quite beautiful and walkable and we enjoyed our time there immensely just wandering around, eating at delicious restaurants and watching the sunset from the rooftop deck of our hostel. Upon arriving, we couldn’t help but feel like Arequipa, Peru was the equivalent of Cuenca, Ecuador. Both cities have beautiful architecture, proud local residents and are clean and beautiful.

When we were in Arequipa, it was several days before a nationwide election. Though the President was not up for re-election, the mayorial equivalent in all the regions was and as it is MANDATORY to vote in Peru, the political parties go all out to get votes. We were told that Arequipa is a particularly politically-active city and we couldn’t help but agree.

While there we were treated to quite an elaborate parade that stopped traffic for blocks and blocks. There were fancy dancers in both traditional and far from traditional dress; there were local school bands playing and marching; there were cars decorated and thumping music; there were people dressed up in animal costumes; there were old and young, dancing and walking, smiling and laughing. All of this was randomly interspersed with fireworks (beginning at 6 am outside of our hostel window!!!) and announcements from a megaphone. It was entertaining and overwhelming and impossible to ignore. All the staff from the shops and restaurants along the streets came out to the curb to watch both because they were interested (I assume) and because it was impossible to continue to working with the amount of the noise this parade produced. Ted and I were staying in a hostel on the street and these photos were taken from our window.

Another thing we found interesting about the election is that alcohol sales are banned for roughly 36 hours before the voting. In this case, the election was on a Sunday and as of Friday evening, the grocery stores and restaurants were required to stop selling booze. Though we were unable to buy wine from the grocery store, we were sold a beer at a restaurant as it was obvious to the owners that we were not Peruvian nor would we be voting on Sunday!

After all the build up and fanfare, we happened to be in the middle of the wilderness on the actual voting day so we can only assume that the election went off without a hitch. When we returned back to Arequipa after our trip, it appeared the election was a thing of the past and everything was back to normal.

Generally speaking, the countries we’ve visited so far have been very tranquil and safe places. Not once have we felt threatened or in danger in Ecuador, Peru, or Bolivia. But twice now, we have been the unintended victims of peaceful protests, preventing us from accessing our planned activities.

The first, and more significant issue we encountered occurred throughout the south of Peru. We were in Cusco at the time, and had just returned from our Salkantay trek to Machu Picchu. During the 3 days we were set to be in Cusco, we had arranged AWR product testing biking, rafting, and hiking in the Sacred Valley. We got to do the mountain biking, but after that, transportation in all of southern Peru was halted due to these protests, apparently tied to water rights. During these protests, road blocks are put up and no traffic is allowed to pass. Any cars caught on the road during these protests are in danger of being stoned (the only violent aspect to this civil disobedience, and stoning rarely happens because everyone knows not to drive). In addition to the roadblocks, protesters walk the street, chanting their calls to action, while police in riot gear stand idly unless something breaks out (but never does).

Such protests have come to be quite regular in Peru, happening roughly 15 times per year! So regular, that certain tour operators put roadblock bribes into their operating budget. For us, it was a bummer to miss out on the rafting and hiking days, but it allowed for some very tranquil days exploring downtown Cusco with no automobile traffic.

Our second encounter with roadblocks occurred in northern Bolivia. We were excited to do one of Bolivia’s most famous tourist activities – mountain bike down the “World’s Most Dangerous Road” (the road is no longer that dangerous, as nearly all vehicle traffic now takes the new road to Coroico, leaving the road pretty open to bikers). Well, it turns out that a lot of the country’s coca is grown near Coroico, and the coca farmers were a bit angry at the government for some new regulations put on their production (coca is both legally and illegally produced in Bolivia). As a result, they blocked the roads to their town, and thus our access to the bike trail.

All in all, we’ve been very lucky in our travels to date, with no major interruptions, detours, or delays due to uncontrollable circumstances, so I’m not complaining. When traveling in the Andes, you never know what roads might wash out, what bus might break down, and what roads are impassible. So far, our patience hasn’t been fully tested….yet.

There is a lot going on in Cusco. It is the most visited city in Peru – and for good reason. Anyone who visits Machu Picchu travels through Cusco on their way to the ruins – whether they take the train, hike the Inca Trail or do an alternative route like we did. Beyond the draw of Machu Picchu, the city has a lot going for itself – it’s beautiful, there is a lot of history there (being as it was the capital of the Inca empire shortly before it’s demise), there are tons of great restaurants and beautiful hotels, and it serves as an access point to the Sacred Valley which is an awesome spot to do just about anything outside including hiking, horseback riding, rafting, mountain biking, etc.

As part of our trip and activity research for Adventures Within Reach, we had the opportunity to do some mountain biking in area and we were not disappointed.  The group consisted of Ted and me, as well as another couple from Canada. We had a lead guide in front and an assistant guide who brought up the rear. Both Ted and the other gentleman from Canada had some mountain biking experience under their belts so they were able to fly down the hills with the lead guide.  Myself and the other woman were not quite as experienced and appreciated having the assistant guide back with us going our pace.

The Sacred Valley is a wide open valley used heavily for farming but also surrounded by 20,000+ foot mountains. The scenery is spectacular. Just before lunch we had the opportunity to visit the ruins of Moray which anthropologists believe were constructed as an experimental farming technique that dates back to Incan or possibly pre-Incan times.

After a delicious lunch the mountain bike trail changed from mostly flat and rolling hills to being essentially a straight downhill ride. It was at this point that our guide informed us that we would be riding on one of the most popular downhill racing routes in the South America and that he in fact competed in the race! It was a fun ride, for sure, but as it maneuvered around tight corners and over slippery gravel patches near the edges of a cliff, I found myself relying more and more heavily on my brakes.

On the way down we stopped another time at the Maras Salt Pans. People from the town of Maras still use the the pans and literally mine for salt. The water that comes out of the mountain is naturally high in sodium and as it evaporates in the shallow pans, salt forms. Every few days they gather the salt and allow more water to fill the pans. It’s quite a sight, actually! We were told that some of the salt is used for human consumption and some is used for animals.

After the final stop, we cruised down a bit more before celebrating with a beer at the bottom. It was quite a day and we were able to strongly recommend Amazonas Explorer’s mountain biking day-trip to Adventures Within Reach for their future clients! We looked forward to doing a rafting trip and hiking trip with Amazonas Explorer as well, however, our plans were unfortunately canceled due to a nationwide strike that was brewing…

Remember your first furry little pet, that cute guinea pig?

In Peru and Ecuador, they double as a delicacy, a food for special occasions.  We gave them a try – not much meat on them, kinda fatty, not all that great.  But the locals sure do love them!

Our next trip research assignment for Adventures Within Reach took us to the jungle. We flew from Lima to Iquitos, Peru which is the largest city in the world that can not be accessed by road! There are over 500,000 people in this place and you can only get there by boat (on the Amazon) or by flying. Immediately after we landed we were sweating. This place is hot! I mean, damn hot! Not only is the temperature high (in the 90s), but the humidity was the main challenge as we had gotten used to the dryness of being at altitude.

Taking our transport into the city, I kept getting the feeling we were near the beach – everyone is driving around on mopeds and wearing skirts. The bars are advertising tropical drinks and the weather is hot and sunny. However, though there is no beach nearby, there is plenty of water, and that water is the Amazon River.

We took a boat for over two hours up river before transferring to a smaller boat and continuing up a tributary for another half hour before reaching Muyana Lodge. Muyana is perched on stilts in the middle of the rain forest, hours away from anything. We were visiting towards the end of the dry season so the water level was quite low, but during the wet season the river comes up all the way to the stilts and rooms are essentially islands connected by the boardwalk pathway.

Both our room and the main lodge/eating area were entirely screened in, which did a fantastic job of preventing bugs from finding their way to us. Though overall the Muyana Lodge was quite nice, the fact that it is in the middle of nowhere means that electricity is a luxury. There is no electricity in the rooms (they provide you with a couple oil lamps each evening) and there is limited electricity in the eating area, depending on the time of day. No electricity means no air-conditioning (which we obviously weren’t expecting), but it also means no ceiling fans or any kind of relief from the heat. We would have paid good money for a breeze could such a thing be purchased!

Once we kinda adjusted to sweating all the time, we were happily distracted by our guide Moises (pronounced Moses) who was born and raised in the jungle. Our activities included:

• A boat trip up the river looking for birds (herons and macaws) and wildlife (several kinds of monkeys and a sloth!), that culminated in a beautiful jungle sunset.
• A hike through the rainforest with Moises who was amazingly adept at making a variety of bird and animal sounds as well as pointing out incredibly scary insects hiding in tree trunks, underground, etc.
• Fishing for piranhas and other fish. I caught nothing but Ted snagged a couple piranhas and we then ate them for dinner!
• A nighttime boat excursion where a different guide literally got out of the boat and caught a caimen (an alligator-type creature) with his bare hands!
• Seeing pink-bellied dolphins and swimming in the Amazon!

I was pretty unsure about swimming in the Amazon after fishing for piranhas only the day before, however, after nearly 3 straight days of being uncomfortably hot, I couldn’t help but see any other alternative. Our guide led the way followed by Ted and another woman in our group. We all lived to tell about it and it certainly was worth the dip!

Ted and I loved our time in the jungle. It was an incredibly unique experience that we are happy to have had. That being said, we have decided that we are NOT jungle people and if it wasn’t for those cold-water only showers that we utilized at least three times a day, we might not have made it out without melting first!

We had a lot of opportunities to conduct trip research in Peru (best job ever!) for our good friends at Adventures Within Reach. The reason there were so many trips to check-out was because our time there coincided with the largest travel industry gathering in Latin America called TravelMart. Buyers and sellers of trips from all over the world, gathered in Lima and to incentivize the buyers (i.e. tour operators in North America, such as Adventures Within Reach), sellers (i.e. Mountain Lodges of Peru) offered low to no cost opportunities for people to go on their trips (known as “familiarization” or FAM trips in industry lingo). We were happy to be those people!

And another wonderful benefit of the TravelMart being in Lima when we were there meant that we were delivered another cute laptop computer just like the one we had stolen from us in Ecuador! A huge thank you to Mark Lewis in Boulder for doing the on-the-ground shopping to replace our belongings, and an equally big thank you to Barbara and Robin at Adventures Within Reach for schlepping our items all the way from Colorado to Peru. We can’t thank you guys enough!

One of our favorite days of the trip so far was a Saturday outing to Cieneguilla with Ryan, Anglela and the fam. Cieneguilla is not far outside the city limits of Lima and feels a world away. Less than and hour drive from Ryan and Angela’s home, it is a popular spot for those wishing to escape the hustle and bustle of the city. Where Lima is normally smoggy and overcast, in Cieneguilla you can breathe clean air and see the blue sky. We went to cool spot called La Mesa de Piedra that is part restaurant, part park, part entertainment. We played around outside – swinging, playing lacrosse, soccer, and frisbee, rock climbing, and trying to catch minnows – and built up an appetite before sitting down for lunch.  There is only outdoor seating and the place was huge!  There were dozens of other families doing the exact same thing, and there was a lively band playing along with traditional dancers throughout several of the numbers.  It was quite an experience and very entertaining!

For our lunch, Ryan and Angela ordered us a traditional Peruvian dish that combines several different types of meat (chicken, pork, beef) with a variety of vegetables (corn, beans, potatoes) in a big clay pot where it is then cooked underground.  It comes out about a half-hour later and is enough to feed a pretty big group!  It felt like we ate for hours and when we finally checked our watches, it was indeed late into the afternoon.

When we got back to Lima, we had some down time before the kiddies went to bed.  Ryan and Angela arranged for a babysitter to come over just after the kid’s bedtime and then the adults went out to dinner!  Peru is currently experiencing a food revolution and there is no shortage of amazing restaurants throughout the city.  Ryan and Angela picked a seafood spot that had come highly recommended to them but that they hadn’t yet visited.  We were spoiled rotten by the deliciousness of the meal and had a great time hanging out with Ryan and Angela.

Though Ted and I would have happily over-stayed our welcome, we recognized that we needed to give Ryan and Angela their house back and carry on with our journey.  Our hope is that we live in a cool place someday that the Smedes would like to visit so that we can return the generosity and hospitality!

Our next adventure took us to Lima, Peru. Lima is a giant, sprawling city with over 9 million people. And though we had not heard the most fantastic reviews of the place, we were actually looking forward to our visit. Ted’s cousin, Ryan, lives in Lima with his beautiful wife Angela and their three kids Gabe (8), Toby (5) and Eliana (4). Ryan is the Country Director of an international non-profit organization, Food for the Hungry, and he and his family have lived overseas for a majority of the last ten years. Their other posts include La Paz, Bolivia (where Gabe was born) and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (where Toby was born). The kids go to an international school, and Ted and I got a kick out of their impressive, beautifully-accented Spanish (as well as when they corrected the grammer and accents of the adults!).

Ryan fought the notoriously horrendous Lima traffic to pick us up at the airport and take us to their home. Though Lima is most certainly a big city, Ryan and Angela have found themselves a great spot that is an oasis from the noise and traffic.

It was such a treat to have the opportunity to visit with family. Ted’s dad and Ryan’s mom are brother and sister, and Ted and I hadn’t seen Ryan and Angela since our wedding in May 2006. It was blast to have the youngsters around to entertain us with their stories, share their colored pencils with us, paint our fingernails, jump on the trampoline with us, correct our inadequate Spanish, and teach us a few dance moves.

A huge thank you to all the Smedes!