Hot springs, Chivey, Perú

As mentioned earlier we have visited the small town of Chivey, located at the base of the Colca Canyon, one of the world’s deepest Canyons at 3191 meters.  Wanting to acclimatize to the elevation before diving right in we decided to spend a quiet day in Chivey. 

Chivey`s main attraction is it`s natural hot springs and we decided we would rent bikes and make the trip out for a relaxing soak.  It took us quite a bit of time to find a place that rented bikes amongst the llama`s, sheep, construction and mangy dogs but we eventually found a place and were on our way.  The three kilometer ride was easy enough with some slight up hill and downhill to even in out but with the thin air by the time we reached the springs you`d think we had just finished the tour de France.  Despite our best efforts, which involved pills and drinking tea made from coca leaves we were exhausted. 

With all the confusion in the morning and the tiring ride we didn`t keep the time in mind and arrived at the springs in the blistering afternoon sun and neither of us had any desire to plunge into a bath of hot water.  So we caught our breath and headed back to town.   After biking around town a few hours it started to cool off quite a bit and we kept thinking of the hot springs.  We were torn, as the hot water would feel great in the later afternoon but we did not want to bike the 3 km there and back.  We came up with a marvelous idea; we ditched the bikes and hired a cab (well more a glorified motorbike with training wheel) who took us out to the springs.  We soaked for a couple hours before heading back to Chivey.  We ended out night at a small planetarium learning about the southern hemispheres night sky. 

Chivay, Peru

We are currently staying in the small mountian town of Chivay, population 4600, elevation 3700m, internet access almost non-existant.  We will be hiking in this canyon for the next 3-4 days and will post our adventures after we have returned to the land of fast internet!

Arequipa, Peru

We have spent the last three days in the city of Arequipa.  Our next journey will take use hiking in a remote canyon so we have chosen to stay in the city until our stomachs are back to 100% before making the trek.  Arequipa is the second largest city in Peru.  Unlike Lima, where we were glad to leave, Arequipa has a friendlier feel with locals socializing in the square till late at night and beautiful surroundings including snow capped volcanos. 

One of the advantages of being in a big city is that our protesting stomachs have been treated to some familiar foods.  I never thought in a million years that I would be relieved, not to mention excited to see a Pizza Hut or Starbucks in my travels.  We are still learning the food in Preu and the menu’s are a guessing game. We often know not what we have ordered and pray the waiter does not bring out the local dish of fried whole guinea pig.  A hot pizza from Pizza Hut, followed by a green tea from Starbucks was extremely satisfying and the most we’ve been able to eat in a while. We do look forward, however, to getting back to the ever fun menu guessing game.   

As a social worker and believer in global human rights I was thrilled to find that Arequipa`s sqare is taking part in the global Occupy Wall-Street movement.  Protest banners are strung along the square voicing concerns about everything from local hunger to copper mining to what we persieved a seeminly less pressing issues such as the participation inHalloween damming our souls.  Either way the square is a buzz and I’m enjoying it.

We predict we will be here another day to make sure we’re acclimatized and ready to go. The city is full of museums , monistaries and walks to fill our time.  The other day we were on a walk in a local neighbourhood heading towards a view point when we passed a local who looked up at us and laughed. When I turned back to see what the little man found so funny he laughed again and shook his head saying `King Kong!, King Kong!`.  Oddly Colin and I took comfort in this, I mean if you were a thug looking for a quick  robbery on some tourists, would you pick the two that reminded you of King Kong? I think not ;)   

R

Nasca & Pan American Highway

Following the fun we had in the Sand Dunes, we took a quick 2 hour bus south to Nasca. As Renee mentioned below, we spent our first day there lounging around our room near the washrooms. We escaped in the evening to the local Planetarium to learn about the ``Nasca Lines``.  There are 500 square km covered with hundreds of animals and lines carved into the rocky desert. Starting over 2000 years ago, the locals began  scatching these lines as a possible way to communicate with gods. These people worked on it for 800 years!!! Talk about commitment (Or maybe they were bored? Not Sure).

 Approx 300 m long monkey

From Nasca we made a 9 hour bus ride south down the Pan American Highway to Arequipa. In Southern Peru it goes like this…Ocean – Andes Mountains. No flat spot for a road, so they carved a road in the side of the mountains hanging 1000`s of feet above the ocean below.

Apparently they went over budget on the road, so there was`t enough money for guard rails.  We were relieved to successfully arrive at our destination.

COLIN

Where have all the toilette seats gone

If you look hard enough you can find some pretty tasty cheap eats here in Peru.  Unfortunately, these meals can come with a free gift in the form of a bug giving you a belly ache like no other.  Colin and I received such a critter and have spent the last two days visiting the toilettes of Peru rather than it`s sites.  We were or our way back from the pharmacy with a potent antibiotic to nip these little guys in the butt when we came across a market and understood why we might have gotten sick as the mounds of raw meat (red and poultry) lay unrefrigerated in the backing sun.  We`re on the up and hope to be hiking and trekking in no time!

Note the lack of toilette seat in the photo above, pretty much the norm here which leaves me wondering, where have they all gone?!

Isla Ballestas, Perú

This morning we embarked on a tour of the Isla Ballestas, often refered to as the ´poor man´s galapagose´ we figured it was right up our alley.  We woke up bright and early and a mini-bus zig-zagged through cities and the dunes to the town of Paracas where we were herded like cattle onto open boats that jetted us off to the islands out in the Pacific.  

The islands are mainly bare rock and we were quickly met by the stench of bird excrement.  We saw people up on the rocks and soon found out that the same excrement that was making our noses turn was worth a penny or two as it was sold as organic fertilizer.  The fruitful dung goes for $70 US per 20 kilo and Colin and I were lucky enough to be ornamented with it from above later on in the trip. 

The Island was full of many different types of birds and we saw our first Penguins!  Sea lions lazed on the rocks and our tour guide explained that all the females are currently pregnant and that they need to sleep all day to help their babies grow.   We floated under rock tunnels and bridges and despite it being a little on the cold side we had a great time!

R

Funny Feeling

In a Peruvian Cafe:

Renee: I feel kind of funny

Colin: Me too

Renee: I don´t know what it is but it´s making me a bit uncomfortable

Colin: I know, right.  I think...it might be...relaxation

Renee: wow, I think your right...wierd!

Haucachina and Ica

Upon arrival in Peru we figured it would be easy to see all of Peru, however we have quickly realized with Mountains in the way, and some poor road conditions, we could move quicker hitching a ride on the back of a Llama. Therefore we have decided to focus on the southern half of Peru.

First stop is Haucachina which is a tiny little lake in the middle of the desert. Not sure how it got here, but none the less it is nice. We went on a dune buggy ride far into the dunes flying off of sand dunes at 80 km/hr. Renee was screaming excitedly, while I quietly enjoyed (that’s what I was trying to portray on the outside). DAM SCARY SHIT. Also attemtped the sandboarding (Snowboarding on Sand). Great rush!

Peruvian Winery

Today we went on a 4 hour wine tour. I guess the goal in Peru is to get the visitors stumbling drunk in hopes they buy bottles of wine at the end. Didn´t work. Enough wine for one day. Great tour, three very interesting vineyards and an awesome tourguide William who cranked Brian Adams for us - thinking we loved that shit because we´re Canadian.

Climbed a dune at sunset, 45 minutes up, 45 seconds down…you know how hard it is to climb sand?!?!?

Signing off,

COLIN

Lima

Our first stop, Lima!  This city has played host to us for two days while we have attempted to make a game plan for the upcoming weeks.  Our taxi ride from the airport to the more affluent neighbourhoods demonstrated how vast this city is as we noticed the building improve in appearance and the cars had fewer dings.

We are currently sharing a dorm room with our bunk mate, Leonardo.  He is a strange boy who stays in the room all day and leaves only between the hours of 11pm and 4 am to party.  We have decided that either he needs all day to nurse his hangover from the night before or he is a vampire.     

Despite the creepy roommate the hostel we are staying at is quiet nice and located in a fun part of town just blocks away from the central park which is filled with music and locals dancing the night away. 

Lima’s coast line is mainly cliffs with just a narrow strip of beach full of surfers and there are Inca ruins throughout the city.

While Lima has treated us well we are excited to leave the noise and smell of car exhaust and start our adventure moving South down the coast.  Our only complaint so far is that we were not forewarned of the wild vicious wild life prowling around central park...meow!

Up, up and away!

Up, up and away we go! After quitting our jobs, trading in our car, giving away all our furniture, getting our travel shots, getting our teeth fixed (thanks Tony!), changing our addresses, saying goodbye to family and friends, eating way too much turkey, buying a plane ticket and packing up what was left of our worldly possessions, we are finally on our way!

Our trip in a nutshell is as follows: start in South America, then off to New Zealand, hop into South East Asia and then hit up Europe before heading home.  We booked a one way ticket to Lima, Peru and that's about where our planning ends.  Our lives have been a buzz of excitement the last few weeks getting all our ducks in a row but now we have nothing left to worry about except boarding the right plane.

We will post pictures and update the blog as computer access allows. Check on us whenever you please!!!