Well today marks the beginning of our 5th week in El Peru.  Seems crazy that we've been here for nearly a month.  Nevertheless, it's good to be in Cusco.

Yesterday, we got a bit of an early start to head into the historical center of Cusco and find a hostel that is closer and cheaper than the one we were staying out.  We made reservations for the Wild Rover Hostel for tonight, but had to spend last night in Hospedaje Oasis again.

Afterwards, we walked around the Plaza de Armas, the central square surrounded by restaurants, bars, shops, pushy vendors, and a grand cathedral.  We were in search of a mystical tamale lady that our friend Daniel told us about, but our search was unfortunately in vain.  We decided to walk up a hill to some near by Inca ruins called Saqsayhuaman, but after learning that the entrance fee would be $30 we opted to get some cheap food instead.  We found a nice looking home restaurant that only really had one tiny table on the back deck.  Fortunately, we were the only customers there and it had an amazing view of the entire city.  We enjoyed our $2 meals with a nice tall beer and allowed ourselves a moment of relaxation.  After paying, we walked back down the hill and went to the San Pedro market.  There you can find anything you could ever need: clothes, food, veggies, fruit, meat, herbs, spices, the list goes on.  We also encountered Cuy (Roasted Guinea Pig) for the first time on the street.  For those of you that don't know, they roast the poor creatures whole, teeth, hair and all.  In fact, you can practically see the expression on its face.  At the market I picked up some delicious Peruvian chocolate and some local bee pollen as well.

Afterwards, we walked back to our hotel to take a quick rest, then decided to hike up one of the nearby hills that had a giant statue of an Inca built on top.  The walk up was short, yet steep, and it was at this point that we started feeling the affects of the altitude (Cusco sits at 11,000 feet).  As we climbed higher up the stairs, the lack of oxygen in the air made us feel lightheaded and made our lungs burn.  We took a long rest once we got to the top we took a long rest and talked about how we'd like to paraglide off the top of a mountain and soar over the city.

Later we hiked back down and got a nice bowl of Caldo de Gallina, a caldron of chicken noodle soup with an entire drumstick and hard boiled egg floating inside.  We went back to the hostel to rest a bit more and get ready to go out to the clubs.  The clubs here are alright, not as happening as Lima far better than Ayacucho.  We ended up meeting a lot of international people, like the drunk irishman trying to practice his Spanish, or the woman from Australia, or the guy from New York.  The club atmosphere was way too hot for us, so we decided to head outside.  Once outside, we met a large group of young Columbians that were traveling throughout Peru as well.  They were some really cool dudes and we got to speak our Spanish with them, talk about the world, and have a beatboxing/rapping session.  We hung out until about 3 A.M., then decided to head back to the hostel.  On the way back, we met an Argentinean who had lost a friend, and later an off-duty tourist police man from Cusco.  Everyone we have met here so far has been very friendly!

Today we switched hostels to the the Wild Rover, got some food at the San Pedro market.  Now were just going to relax a bit, try and get our laundry done, and possibly hit up the 7a Rock Climbing School here.

Rebecca Garcia comes tomorrow at 7 AM, we so psyched!!!

¡Chao1 

Saturday, June 28th, 2014

Thoughts on Ayacucho

Wednesday, June 25th, was our first full day in the city of Ayacucho.  We got there the previous night after a 9-hour scenic bus ride through the mountains.  Ayacucho itself is about 2,750 meters above sea level, and has grown very big in the past decade or so with a population of around 300,000.  This might be due to the decline of the El Sendero Luminoso (The Shining Path), a Maoist guerilla insurgence group that began their revolution in Ayacucho in 1980.  They were around for almost 20 years, and effectively isolated Ayacucho from the rest of Peru and the world.  They were also responsible for about half of the deaths and dissapearances during the armed conflict in Peru lasting from 1980-2000.  The isolation wreaked havoc on Ayacucho's economy, but after the disappearance of El Sendero Luminoso, their economy has been growing steadily.  It's pretty neat that we were able to travel through somewhere were no one would have even thought of going 20 years ago.  Perhaps in the future all "forbidden cities" will become open to all.

First thing we did when we arrived was to find a cheap hostel.  Conveniently, all the hostels here advertise their prices on the signs, and most don’t cost more than 20 soles (7 dollars) per person.  We got an all right room for 30 soles a night, with our own private bathroom.  Then, we walked around a bit and found a Chifa, a Peruvian Chinese food restaurant, and got some delicious yet cheap food.  Then we hit an Internet café, watched a movie in our room, and fell asleep.

We awoke Wednesday morning, and made our way down to the Plaza de Armas, or the main square in the city center.  We walked around for a while, soaking in the atmosphere of our most recent destination.  We noticed that Ayacucho is a lot calmer than Lima and the people move around at a slower pace, which we honestly appreciate after spending 3 weeks in the big city.  It also seems more historical and cultural than the sprawling modernity of Lima.  For one, there are many old buildings and churches.  In fact there are 33 colonial churches, one for each year of Jesus' life, including one constructed in 1540! There are also more people here that are dressed in the traditional clothing, usually the elderly farmer type.  The people here are very friendly, although I don’t believe they see many tourists coming through so we’re a bit of an oddity. 

After asking around, we figured out were we could get some good, cheap breakfast.  Then we found a librería and bought 3 books by Gabriel García Márquez: Cien Años de Soledad, El Coronel no tiene quien le escriba, and his autobiography Vivir para Contarla.  We are excitied to get some reading done en Español.  Next, we found a traditional looking woman selling coca leaves as well as stevia, so we decided to pick some up to try it out.  Chewing on the coca leaves gives one a nice alertness, and the stevia tastes like pure sugar.  We walked around some more and encountered some elementary school girls who wanted to interview us Gringos, and take our pictures of course.  Then we came upon a bootlegged movie store and picked up Elysium and Divergent, which we watched that night rather than the crap they put on the television (Although the bootleg quality was pretty bad).  We picked up some maracuya flavored shaved ice and walked back to the Plaza de Armas.  

We were sitting and enjoying our treats when a man selling sunglasses walked up to us.  We quickly declined his offer, but instead of leaving he struck up a conversation with us.  He began by guessing where we were from: First Germany, then France, Canada, then finally the U.S.  He proceeded with the usual questions, like where we were traveling from, how long we were staying, where we were going, what we planned on doing, etc.  He even tried speaking a little English, and asked us to correct his pronunciation.  Then he said that Simon reminded him of Val Kilmer, to which we all laughed about.  After talking with this guy for a while, we learned that his name was Antonio and that he had lived in Cuzco for five years where he met many tourists.  He seemed to have an interest in world politics, and asked us our opinions on big questions such as the conflict in Ukraine or the U.S. detainees in Guantanamo Bay.  We talked for about 45 minutes, than he asked for a picture of “Val Kilmer” and of the both of us.  He showed us a good restaurant to eat at, and even told us that he would take us to a place tomorrow where there may be some potential rock climbing.  It just goes to show, you’ll never know what opportunities you’ll come across once you open up to people.

We spent Thursday and Friday just relaxing.  Honestly, there wasn't much to see or do in Ayacucho, but we were happy for the downtime.  We never got around to climbing with Antonio, but we did buy some sunglasses from him.

Friday night, we boarded our 18 hour bus ride to Cusco after a nice Chifa meal.  The ride was a bit long for our liking, but at least we got to sleep through half of it.  The whole journey was on these insane mountain roads, switching back and forth like a snake winding it's way upwards.  Then we'd head back down into a valley, then along a river, then back up into a mountain, until finally we crossed the Urubamba river and up into the sacred valley of the old Inca capital.  We are very happy to be here, and are spending our day relaxing in a hostel (so much nicer than the one in Ayacucho) and exploring a bit.  We have a very exciting month ahead of us, so check back soon for some more exciting updates!

Chao!

Tuesday, June 24th, 2013

Dear friends and family, this is a brief update to let you all know what´s going on with us.  We left Lima this morning at around 9 in the morning, and took a 9 hour bus ride to Ayacucho, a mipoint between Lima and Cuzco.  We will be here til friday night, then we take a 16 hour bus ride to Cuzco!  Our internet access will be limited for the next few days, but well try to keep in contact at least once a day.

¡Gracias a todos y Chao!

Saturday June 21st, 2014, The Winter Solstice (or Summer Solstice if you're South of the equator like us)

Yesterday, like I mentioned in yesterday's post, Simon and I went out on our grand adventure of the week.  I'll start from where I left off..

After packing our essentials, Simon and I embarked on our journey to Canchacalla, but first Simon had to get his last shot.  He chose to get it in the left cheek this time, to save his right one from the compounded soreness of 3 consecutive shots.  Then we hit up the local supermarket and bought all the food and water we needed for the night and the following day.  Our transportation consisted of a taxi ride to Lima Central, then a two hour long bus ride through thick traffic to Chosica.  Once in Chosica, we had to find a cab that would take us up into the mountains to the remote village of Canchacalla.  We split a fare with with 4 other passengers and we were on our way.  The road to Chosica, once we got of  the Carraterra Central, became a precarious one-lane dirt path that wound its way up through the switchbacks.  Whenever we came head first at a vehicle going the opposite direction, either us or them would have to back up into a small pull off to let the other one through.  As the sun began to set and darkness settled in the valley, more often than not I feared that the driver might accidentally take us tumbling off the cliff.  Luckily, that never happened.  Our stop was the last in a long string of tiny pueblos located further and further back into the mountains.  Along the way, we picked up a 7th passenger, a small woman dressed in traditional clothing, and she and her large bags of produce were put into the hatchback of the cab.  After about an hour of this, we finally reached our destination:  Canchacalla, a small village of about 30 or so tin-roofed houses built into a terrace on the side of a mountain.

We exited our coach, payed our fair, and began to walk a ways more down the road past the village.  We crosses a bridge that went over the raging river that cut its way through the valley, and decided to set up camp for our first time in Peru.  We put up our tent, made our sleeping arrangements, lit a small fire, and ate our gourmet meal of salami and cheese sandwiches with apples and granadillas.  We talked a bit about home and how we missed our friends and families, but also how lucky we felt to be living our lives in such an amazing place on such a fantastic adventure.  We concluded our night by gazing up at the stars.  It was our first night in Peru that we had a clear sky due to Lima's fogginess, and the view was amazing.  With no light pollution to spoil our view, we were able to see a dazzling quantity of brilliant objects in the sky, including the Milky Way!  Satisfied with our day, we decided to retire early and get a surprisingly excellent night's sleep for our big upcoming day.

We woke up today with the sun, at about 7.  We quickly packed down our tent and gear, and began our hike up to the summit of a mountain where the rock lay.  I have to mention the the view in the day light was startling.  We were able to look down into the valley from where we had came, out upon the various mountain peaks of the Andes that finally led into the Pacific Ocean.  It's always a great experience coming to a place during the night, and waking up to see you surrounding for what it truly is.  We began our hike at around 7:45, making our way up and up on extremely thin trails.  I'm not sure whether it was it was the altitude or the strenuous nature of the approach, but my stomach was not able to handle it.  About a quarter of the way up I told Simon I needed a break, and then promptly regurgitated all the contents of my breakfast (which at the time was only water).  After taking a moment to relax and catch my breathe, we continued onwards.  We came to a point where the trail flattened out and ran along the aqueducts that were built into the side of the mountain carrying water from the glacial springs down the villages and farms below.  We followed it for a ways, a hundred foot drop on our other side, until we came to its source: a cascading waterfall spewing from a whole in the mountain side.  Afterwards, the trail began to thin out even more and the going became extra sketchy.

Somewhere along the way we must have taken a wrong turn, because after walking many miles and several hundred vertical feet we realized we were getting no closer to our destination.  In fact, we seemed to be walking further and further into the heart of the valley.  We soon had an important decision to make: Continue and try to scramble/bushwhack up the mountain to our climbing destination and be completely exhausted by the time we get there, turn back and head down the sketchy path we came up, or go a little further and descend through a nearby farmstead.  We chose the ladder because the other two seemed like to much effort with two high of a risk of getting hurt/dying.  We made our way down to the farm and encountered a young girl who was kind enough to lead through the maze of barbed wire and crops, and to the road that would take us back to the village of Canchacalla.

We made it there after another several miles of walking, only to learn that the village is so small it neither had a restaurant nor a bus service to take us back to Chosica.  We ended up walking another two mile down to the next closest village.  At this point, we were both very exhausted from all the walking with our large packs full of heavy gear, but we kept in mind that the people who lived their did that sort of thing on a daily basis.  We finally reached a spot were we could get a good meal of fish, rice, and salad.  For dessert, we split a giant chirimoya that was as big as one of our heads. watch the world cup game between Argentina and Iran, and wait for a taxi.  We didn't have to wait long.  The ride back to Chosica went smoothly, relatively speaking, and we had no trouble getting back into Lima, and then into Surco.  We are glad to be home from our adventure, and we just enjoyed a meal of some hamburgers while we put our clothes through the wash.  There was a bit of disappointment for not being able to climb yet again, but not nearly as much as our previous mission.  All in all, we made it to where we wanted to go, had a good night camping, and got a very strenuous work out from all the hiking we did.  Perhaps we bit off more than we could chew or perhaps we were poorly informed, but it was a good experience nonetheless.

Tomorrow we plan on going to see a friend named Csaba Rojas play baseball for his first time on the Peruvian team, and then hang out with him afterwards.  Our days in Lima are drawing to a close as we prepare to embark on our journey to Cuzco to meet up with Rebecca and have some real adventures in the Sierra!  Hope all my readers our doing well, and know that I think about you a lot!

Miss y'all, Chao!

P.S. if any of you out there want some Skype time with me and Simon, shoot me a request!  My user is Jamilhendrix, and it would be best to do so before Tuesday, when we head out to Cuzco.  If you are unable to before then, some other time may work as long as we have some solid internet connection.

Friday June 20th, 2014

Most of you followers may know this already thanks to the miracle of Facebook, but as of yesterday I have turned in all my assignments for high school!  I got some really good grades on them too.  It does feel a bit weird now not having to feel any responsibility hovering over my head or lurking in the back of my mind, but the strangeness is coupled by an overwhelming feeling of good.  Trying to get through high school was nothing short of a struggle.  I don't mean that the work was difficult or anything, it's just that I lacked the proper motivation to go through with it (as many kids my age do).  I transferred out of public school towards the end of my Junior year and switched to online classes.  Taking classes online has been a strange experience, and one that requires much self-discipline.  I don't think that I would ever return to online classes in the future, but it did allow me to do some really cool things:  I got to take a semester abroad last Fall and study Arabic in Morocco, which was an amazing and unforgettable experience.  I got to learn the value of keeping one's word and following through with promises made, although it did take a bit of pushing and prodding on my parents part.  I also got to meet with a very cool guy, Ramsay Harik, over the course of the past 6 months.  He's been a mentor of sorts to me, and also a good friend in general.  All these things said and done, I'm glad to have it in the past now, but I believe the lessons learned (and not just the homework assignment) will benefit me for my entire life.

Last night, in honor of my graduation, Simon and I partied and went dancing at the discotecas.  We checked out Club Help in Barranco, a club open exclusively on Thursdays, and were able to get in with out having to pay (possibly because of our Gringo status).  We had a grand old time with lots of dancing and a few drinks (I love the fact that I don't get carded here).

Simon's health has been on the up and up.  On Wednesday, Berenixe finally convinced Simon to go to the doctor because his cough sounded like death.  The doctor, after taking one look at his mouth, immediately diagnosed Simon with a bacterial infection and promptly gave him a shot straight into the right butt-cheek.  Simon got another shot in the same spot yesterday, and will be going to get one today at 2:00 P.M.  The antibiotics seem to be working their magic, and I hope to see him make a full recovery in no time.

Today we plan on going to Canchacalla, I cool outdoor climbing spot spot about an hour or two inland of Lima.  Were going to camp out there and return tomorrow.  We'll let you know how it went once we get back, until then, Chao!

June 16th, 2014

Well we've been in Lima for a total of two weeks now, and it is safe to say that we are both sick of it (or sick in it in Simon's case).  Don't get me wrong, we both very much appreciate having a good family to live with, and the city has its interests, but it is any wonder that the boys wish to flee their city surroundings and find adventures in the mountains?  So far, we've hit just about everything on our check list:

-We've reconnected with Simon's god family
-Gone out clubbing a couple of time
-Met some cool people
-Improved our spanish
-Cooked our meals every day
-Gone climbing indoors, and discovered some climbing outdoors
-Gone to the beach
-Gotten to know the city better

Now only have a few more things we really wish to do here before we head out

-Go to the fish market (to make sushi!)
-Finish my classwork
-Go to Lima's city center (possibly)
-Find more climbing (possibly)
-Go see our friend, Csaba Rojas, play in his baseball game (This Sunday)

After doing these things, we plan on making our way South to Cuzco.  The direct bus ride takes a total of 22 hours, if you're lucky.  We both think this sounds a bit hellish, so we will try to split up the journey a bit and take our time.  So the first day we may travel to Pisco, a coastal city in the South, and stay there for the night.  From there, we will head into the mountains to Ayacucho, a nice city we could stay at for one-two day(s).  Then from there, we make the final trek to Cuzco, the fabled capital city of the ancient Incan empire.  Once we get there, we'll have a few days to get acclimated and learn our way around, then our bff Rebecca will come to meet us there July 1st!


Sidenote:  We tried mailing post cards for the first time today.  We discovered a small post office by the local Wong (Peruvian version of Wal-Mart ).  In this office, there was barely enough room for the desk, the two ladies behind it, and the both of us.  We also used their entire stamp inventory on 4 postcards and were told to come back tomorrow, when they have more stamps.  For those of you expecting postcards, just be patient, they'll find their way to you in a couple weeks, with a bit of luck.

Ok that's all for now, Chao!

Friday June 13th, 2014

Those that know me know I'm pretty tall.  I mean I don't like to brag about it or anything, but it's a fact.  At 6'4" tall, I am by no means some giant freak of nature.  However, sometimes when traveling in Central or South America one does get the feeling.  I'm not saying that Peruvians are overly short either, but I'm definitely the tallest person I've seen here so far.  Being tall in a country where the infrastructure has been designed for a population whose height average is significantly less that of our own comes with its challenges (and advantages).  For one, getting on those tiny buses that transport far more people than recommended, called combis, means either having to fold in half and sit or lay on the ground.  Also, the  quarter-stuffed Oreos here are bit disappointing to say the least.  Yet, despite my struggles I still manage to get by, and have shown my usefulness time and time again to reach items on the top shelf.

Today we went on a route scouting mission down to Playa Herra Dura, a local surfing beach to the South of us in the district of Chorrillos, Lima.  After having a bus drop us off at the coast we walked down Camino de la Araña, which was a beautiful seaside drive along the Pacific coast.  Along the way we met fishermen, an ice cream vendor, bird enthusiasts, and a lot of surfers.  We gained some beautiful views of the waves crashing into rock, cutting wedges and arches into the cliff.  Then we heard the beautiful clattering sounds of stones being drawn back be the receding wave, slowly pulverizing each other into sand.  As we passed under a large statue of Jesus Christ a top a large hill, we finally caught glimpse of the Playa Herra Dura and the several hundred foot sea cliffs looming above.  We were at first very excited to come across such a find, but after a bit of inspecting it slowly became clear that these cliffs were Choss City.  By that I mean that the quality of the rock was very low due to its tendency to crumble and break under any stress.  We also noted that had we found any workable lines to ascend, the top-out looked hellish and there weren't any decent spots to rappel; that means leaving gear behind and neither of us were willing to make that sacrifice, or sacrifice our safety for the first chossy ascent on some random sea cliffs.  Despite our disappointment, we both resolved that we had achieved what we came to do, which was to scout the area and determine whether or not there are climbable routes.  We also got in a good hike during the process.  On the way home we picked up some curry powder and chorizo from a super market, and a whole coconut from a vendor on the street. Now we are ready to make some delicious curry!