So where did I leave off? Righto...Machu Picchu. From Machu Picchu I went to, respectively:
The bus ride to Pisco was okay, other than the fact that it was cramped and the movies sucked. We arrived in Pisco around 9 and made our way to our hostel. Now if you know about Pisco, there was quite a major earthquake that occurred in 2007, and you can tell. I feel very sad for the town, at its height, I am sure it was beautiful. The aftermath of the earthquake still lays thick in the air of this sleepy little town. It's not just that most of the town still lies in shamble, with rubble and broken buildings on every corner, but you can feel it from the people. I didn't know about the earthquake before I went (because I am an ignoramus like that) but I couldn't help but feel that something was up. I feel for the lives lost and I hope that everything works out for Pisco.
Digressing from that, Kevin and I arrived at our hostal which was recommended from the Lonely Planet, but I would personally like to remove that recommendation. Sleeping in that bed felt like sleepy in a cushy bowl...your middle sunken in, and your head and feet raised. It made my back in a happy state the next morning (note the sarcasm). The next morning we made our way to the Ballestas Islands and the Paracas National Park Reserve, which was pretty amazing. I was able to see penguins, sealions, boobies (that's what they're called), storks and some other birds that I don't remember at the island, and then told that the first people to work there were Chinese people and that apparently a lot of us committed suicide because we couldn't deal with the smell or the work (damn son). After the island we took some lunch and made our way to the Park Reserve. The only way I can really describe the park reserve is just...stretches and stretches of quiet and almost eerie mounds and flats of sand. The thing I love about Peru is just how different the landscape is, in a country that is maybe as large as 2 Canadian provinces. Here is a country where you have the coast, the desert, the mountains and the jungle - and every different landscape has such a different culture and feeling as well (I personally am more of a fan of the coastal lifestyle, it's much more laid back than the sierra). We saw some beautiful coastal scenes and a museum (which was boring) and basically enjoyed driving through the desert scenery. (my photos of the island have not been uploaded yet. Picasa is super slow!!)
The next day we went to Nazca, boarded a Cessna (yes the small planes that crash often) to see the Nazca lines. Even though the plane ride was expensive, it plane ride itself is an experience (for some...a bad experience as we witnessed somebody's breakfast on the pavement on our way to the plane). I almost lost my own breakfast myself the first time the pilot turned the plane to the side...I guess no amount of riding rides at the amusement park will prepare you for that! The lines were cool to see, but in a way I was more interested in the desert scenery once again. It was pretty see everything from a bird's eye point of view.
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| From Nazca |
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| From Nazca |
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| From Nazca |
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| From Nazca |
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| From Nazca |
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| From Nazca |
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| From Nazca |
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| From Nazca |
The bus ride back from Nazca was pretty shit. We took a taxi back to Pisco and from there a taxi ride to the bus station for Ica. I really use the word bus station loosely...it was more like a canopy tent, like this
kind of in the middle of nowhere at the side of a highway. Once we boarded the bus we had to change buses at Ica back to Pisco...both bus rides were unbearably hot, even with the window open and the bus going at 500 billion mph. Not to mention there was no bathroom on the bus, but luckily neither of us had a sudden attack of diarrhea or something.
The following week went by like it usually does without a problem and by the next weekend, we were boarding an overnight bus to Huaraz, which is in the sierra. Once again, I saw my life flash before my eyes about a billion times as the double decker bus dashed through the narrow, and unpaved roads, turning way too sharply and not braking quite as often as it should have. That is bus rides for you in Peru as it is. Huaraz is an interesting town, aesthetically it is not as nice as other places in the sierra, like Cusco or Ollantaytambo, but I found the people much nicer, but the dogs a lot more terrifying (as in they will chase you). We made our way to Chavin as well as a lagoon in the mountains. The lagoon was pretty disappointing, but I guess growing up in Alberta with access to the Rocky Mountains, I have seen some pretty spectacular mountain scenery. Chavin was disappointing until we managed to get under the ruins, in the catacombs (is that what you call them)? It was eerie and the superstitious part of me had me kept thinking that the place was haunted and that something was going to pop out and scare the crap out of me, but luckily...none of that did happen. The scariest part of the whole Chavin trip was more the bus driver, who would try to miss every pothole in the road, but in the process of doing swerve and careen a little too close to comfort to the edge of the cliff. I was pretty angry actually that the bus driver was driving with such recklessness, considering that in his hands were the lives of about 10 other people, even when it started raining on our way back to Huaraz, he kept driving like this. But, we managed to make it alive.
The next day we took a private taxi to Canon del Pato, where I proceeded to walk on a narrow path, and at some points clambering over rocks in my flip flops...overlooking a drop of at least 200 meters. But it was a cool experience, the canyon is pretty narrow in terms of a canyon and completely unregulated. It's not like the Grand Canyon in the states where there are so many other tourists, and its all roped off...here you are literally walking through the tunnels of the canyon (where I was told there were many bats) and then to the edge overlooking the cliff, and into the river that rushes down below. The formation of the rock almost looks like it's something out of a movie set, but the sounds of the water and the feel of the sandy floor on your feet tell you otherwise. My heart was pounding in my chest the entire time we were in the canyon as I worried that my clumsiness would lead me to certain death. Afterwards we visited the remains of the town of Yungay. Like Pisco, it was an eerie feeling. Yungay, in the 70s, was buried under a landslide after an earthquake occurred and nearly the entire town was killed. The government has declared that nothing be excavated and that the entire site be declared a national cemetery. I couldn't help but feel a little tug at my heart when I was standing there, over what used to be a thriving town. I guess it's very different hearing about a tragedy on TV and then being at the place where it had happened. Seems to touch you on a more personal level, even though I know that I have not experienced tragedy like that (and I hope not to ever also).
After Yungay we made our way back to Huaraz. The one thing I never get used to in Peru in smaller cities, on Sundays almost everything closes early and you would be hard pressed to find any place to find dinner. After some aimless wandering we happened upon a random restaurant with a "real French chef" (as was their advertisement on the door haha). I had some delicious gnocchi and Inka Cola (which I will really miss when I leave! I never drink pop, but I have fallen in love with Inka Cola). When we returned to the hostal to pick up our bag, we sat and played cards for a bit to kill time since everything in the town was closed...then it started to rain. Hard. When the time came to make our way to the bus station, we couldn't get through to call a cab, and then couldn't find one on the streets so we walked our way to the bus station, arriving wet and cold. So...we had to sit a 8 or 9 hour so bus ride, smelling like wet dog since also neither of us had been able to take a proper shower since a) when I tried to take one, the water turned freezing cold and b) the next morning we woke up late and didn't have time to shower). By the time we arrived in Lima I am sure the combination of both of our body odour was enough to make somebody gag.
The same Tuesday, Kevin left at the ungodly hour of 4am in the morning. I continued my week at work, prepared my final presentation for Students Without Borders and boarded a bus to Trujillo Friday afternoon. I spent 9 hours on the bus with waves of stomach pain, which I attribute to the sketchy "arroz con pollo" or possibly the papa rellena that the bus company fed to us. I would spend the rest of the weekend with cramps and going to the bathroom quite often, enough to make it start to "hurt to wipe" (as I am sure everybody wants to know that hahaha). Trujillo is a nice city, and has the same laidback coastal feel as Lima, but not quite as much as the chaos that is present in Lima. Simon and I did our final presentations, which I feel like I bombed but everybody else said I did okay. I literally read right off the paper I had prepared, because I just don't trust myself to speak Spanish that well off the top of my head.
Afterwards we went to Huanchaco and enjoyed the beach scenery for a bit. I am still pretty underwhelmed with beaches in Peru. I mean, it was still nice but nothing like stretches of white sand, clear blue skies and warm clean water. I enjoyed some ceviche, which was probably a bad idea as its raw fish when i have stomach problems already. Simon's friend, Leon came the same Saturday night. Poor guy was on the bus for about 30 hours because of a landslide up north...so far I have been lucky and haven't really encountered things like this, lets hope that my luck keeps with me. The Sunday we made our way to Chan-Chan, but by then the three of us were just so tired, me still sick, that we just...couldn't really appreciate it. I mean, the ruins were still very neat and it was very cool to be standing in a site that existed centuries ago...but I guess when you're tired it's hard to pay attention.
The bus ride back to Lima was shite as I can't fall asleep on overnight buses, and it was coupled by the fact that I was still getting stomach cramps every half hour. I was pretty worried that I would have an attack at some point during the night and have to use the toilet on the bus which is to be used "solamente por urinar". Screw that, if my stomach is killing me it's killing me. I am not going to ask the bus-driver to make a coordinated bus stop when I have to go now!
Oi vay. Anyway...I have the hugest headache as I write this. I think I will go make a cup of tea and down a couple of midols...since those are the only painkillers I have right now. But they work for headaches just as well as for uterus aches! Entonces, me voy mis amigos! Te hablo el siguente vece!
Buenos noches,
Renee
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