Greetings from La Paz, Bolivia! Well, we successfully made it through Peru. After spending a few days in Cusco, checking out some of the local ruins, markets, and yummy food, we made the trek to the infamous Machu Picchu. To try and save money, we took the "back" way instead of taking the outrageously priced train directly from Cusco. This day long journey entailed taking several tiny vans along perilous twists and turns on dirt roads through part of the Andes (I, Kaitlyn, almost got sick several times and we both spent the majority of the day clinging to our seats praying we would not go over the edge), several stops at tiny towns in the middle of nowhere, seriously, and then a two and a half hour walk along train tracks to the town of Aguas Calientes. From here we spent the night and the next morning Alex climbed up the mountain to Machu Picchu and I (thankfully) took the bus as my legs were like jello.
We arrived before the park opened (Alex was number 30 in line and I was number 295) and immediately joined a small group to take a tour. Nothing can really prepare you for your first view of Machu Picchu. It was literally breathtaking. Not to mention that we were literally on top of the world as we were surrounded by the beautiful Andes mountains. The tour was very enlightening as it helped us understand the significance of what we were actually seeing. The Incas were truly ingenious, and we spent most of the day ooohing and ahhhing. After the tour, Alex made the trek up Wayna Picchu to get another look at the Inca city. We spent the rest of the day enjoying the site and avoiding the large tour groups from all over the world. However, we were lucky as this was the low season and there weren't nearly as many tourists as there could have been (around 4000 per day!). The next day, I made my way back to Cusco partially by train and partially by bus (my stomach could not handle another trip on those roads) while Alex risked his life once more and traveled back the way we came.
We left Cusco on an overnight bus to go to Copacabana, Bolivia on the edge of Lake Titicaca. Little did we know that only US citizens need to pay for a visa to enter the country and that it costs 135 big ones per person! This is the same it costs a Bolivian to enter the US, so I guess that's politics. After frantically running around to secure the visa we were able to enter the country. Needless to say, there are not many American tourists here. We spent a day and a night exploring Copacabana and then took a boat to the tiny island of Isla del Sol (Sun Island) where the Incas believed the sun was born. The island was incredibly beautiful but freezing at night. After two days exploring and enjoying the island we made our way back to Copacabana for one more night and then set out for La Paz.
Currently we planning to stay in the capital for a few days and then make our way to Sucre, Potosi, Uyuni, Tupiza, and then crossing over into Salta, Argentina. We have 25 more days of trekking left and will be sure to update in a few days! See you all soon :)
Monday, November 23, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Pictures from the Trip
Just chillin with my crew next to an Incan wall
Central Cusco
Beautiful Barranco...and wife
Pisco Sours...delicious!
Kaitlyn warned me not to leave my socks on the floor...
The crypt...creepy
The coast, at the edge of Miraflores and Barranco, Lima40 Days in South America
After over two years of roughing it in Nicaragua serving in the Peace Corps, we decided what we really needed was another 40 days roughing it while backpacking through South America. Now there was certainly rational in this decision. At the moment we have: the free time, the Spanish, the knowledge of how to get around a developing country, and even a little bit of money afforded to us by the US government at the end of our PC service. So with those justifications to get us over our yearning to return immediately to the United States, we went directly from Nicaragua onto our southern journey.
First we visited Costa Rica, simply because the flight to South America was much cheaper. In actuality we would never truly want to visit the land of the Ticos...Nica for life! (For those of you who don't know, the relationship between the people of Nicaragua (Nicas) and Costa Rica (Ticos), is slightly strained. Our visit was more of a passing through, since we only took a bus directly from Managua to the capital of San Jose. At the least we can say that yes, Costa Rica has done a much better job of preserving their natural surroundings compared to Nicaragua. Much less trash, many more trees. We spent one night in San Jose and visited the Jade Museum, which as great.
After a short stop in Miami (again, cheaper to fly indirectly), we arrived a cloudy and cool city of Lima, Perú on the 7th of November. Simply put Lima impressed us. Very modern, clean, and bustling. We spent three nights in the Miraflores neighborhood, very cosmopolitan and great food of all flavors (there are great, cheap restaurants EVERYWHERE). We also visited all the atractions in the city's center, the bohemian neighborhood (Barranco) along the coast, and a archaeological site which was a huge pyramid only two blocks from our hotel.
We made a valiant attempt to sleep in the Lima airport the night before our 5:45 AM flight to Cusco, but alas to no avail. We dropped down over the snow-capped Andes and landed in "Imperial City of the Incas" totally exhausted. We were only to become more so as we took the wrong bus, which dropped us off a good 10, steep, cobbled blocks from our hostel. A combination of sleep deprivation and altitude can be brutal. Luckily for us the hostel's prices were more expensive than listed on the Internet so I, Alex, was relegated to sprinting around town to find the best deal. At last we found a $10 steal and crashed. First impression of Cusco, well it just can't really disappoint.
First we visited Costa Rica, simply because the flight to South America was much cheaper. In actuality we would never truly want to visit the land of the Ticos...Nica for life! (For those of you who don't know, the relationship between the people of Nicaragua (Nicas) and Costa Rica (Ticos), is slightly strained. Our visit was more of a passing through, since we only took a bus directly from Managua to the capital of San Jose. At the least we can say that yes, Costa Rica has done a much better job of preserving their natural surroundings compared to Nicaragua. Much less trash, many more trees. We spent one night in San Jose and visited the Jade Museum, which as great.
After a short stop in Miami (again, cheaper to fly indirectly), we arrived a cloudy and cool city of Lima, Perú on the 7th of November. Simply put Lima impressed us. Very modern, clean, and bustling. We spent three nights in the Miraflores neighborhood, very cosmopolitan and great food of all flavors (there are great, cheap restaurants EVERYWHERE). We also visited all the atractions in the city's center, the bohemian neighborhood (Barranco) along the coast, and a archaeological site which was a huge pyramid only two blocks from our hotel.
We made a valiant attempt to sleep in the Lima airport the night before our 5:45 AM flight to Cusco, but alas to no avail. We dropped down over the snow-capped Andes and landed in "Imperial City of the Incas" totally exhausted. We were only to become more so as we took the wrong bus, which dropped us off a good 10, steep, cobbled blocks from our hostel. A combination of sleep deprivation and altitude can be brutal. Luckily for us the hostel's prices were more expensive than listed on the Internet so I, Alex, was relegated to sprinting around town to find the best deal. At last we found a $10 steal and crashed. First impression of Cusco, well it just can't really disappoint.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Service Completed
On the 6th of November, 27 months of service ended. Last week we spent saying a great many goodbyes, to students and teachers, to neighbors, to coworkers, to friends and even dogs. Overall it has been an overwhelming, happy, sad, and exhausting few weeks. Of course the full signficance has not yet set in, we still seem to think in the back of our minds that we will soon be returning to our community, house, and friends of these past two years. Even though we were ready and excited to leave, we still felt a strange sense of dread crossing the border out of Nicaragua the other day, leaving a world that has become so familiar for one unknown. I guess that fact reveals that we truly achieved what we set out to accomplish, integrating into a world that at first was completely foreign.
We leave feeling satisfied, in our work and our relationships. We received many thanks and heartfelt goodbyes, and of course made many promises to return soon. Our last night we spent together with our entire group, now to a diminished 11 volunteers, marveling at how far we've come and how close we became as friends. One of the unforseen regrets of leaving is the dispersal of our group across the US upon our return.
The two of us now head out on a 40 day tour of South America. After enduring strong urges to cancel our flight to Peru and head home instead, we made it to San Jose, Costa Rica for our one-night stay. Of course the we had to fight an even stronger urge to fly home while waiting for our connecting flight in Miami. At last, we made it to Lima and as we hoped we would, got into the traveling mode.
We leave feeling satisfied, in our work and our relationships. We received many thanks and heartfelt goodbyes, and of course made many promises to return soon. Our last night we spent together with our entire group, now to a diminished 11 volunteers, marveling at how far we've come and how close we became as friends. One of the unforseen regrets of leaving is the dispersal of our group across the US upon our return.
The two of us now head out on a 40 day tour of South America. After enduring strong urges to cancel our flight to Peru and head home instead, we made it to San Jose, Costa Rica for our one-night stay. Of course the we had to fight an even stronger urge to fly home while waiting for our connecting flight in Miami. At last, we made it to Lima and as we hoped we would, got into the traveling mode.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Busy, busy, busy!
Sorry to all for being extremely irregular with our blog posts. These last few months have been really busy with closing out our PC service. To summarize quickly all the picture from the last post...Kaitlyn and I went on a trip to the island of Ometepe, which is a large island formed by two volcanoes in the middle of Lake Nicaragua. It was a great time and we were glad we finally made it to this very popular, yet very tranquilo destination. We also attended the wedding of our of our fellow PC volunteers, which was also a great time as are all the gatherings that bring our group of Nica 45 Env. Ed. volunteers together. The two of us are also in the process of saying goodbye to the teachers and students that we've been working with for two years. The good-bye parties include a treasure hunt and piñata with the students. These have been the saddest good-byes, there is no explaining with words the look of sadness on a kid's face when they realize that they might never see you again.
As of late we have been stressed with planning our second annual HIV/AIDS fair, which went off just last Friday. We put a whole lot of work into the fair this year and it truly paid off.
The fair was much bigger and received much more support and participation than last year. There were sports, music, and dancing competitions. Over 150 HIV tests were administered. We had a band play a concert at night. The community, including the mayor, was very pleased and excited to continue the fair in the following year.
As of today we have exactly 10 days left in Nagarote. It took a while for the fact that we were leaving to sink-in since we have been so busy. There is a strong mix of excitement and sadness in our leaving. We have a 40 day trip to South America, returning to family and friends, going to grad school, and finding a job (hopefully) to look forward to. Yet we are leaving a people, language, and way of life that have become our own for the last two years. Although so much of what we have gained will go with us, it is strange to think that much of what we have learned in the last two years will cease to apply the moment we step on the plane.
As of late we have been stressed with planning our second annual HIV/AIDS fair, which went off just last Friday. We put a whole lot of work into the fair this year and it truly paid off.
The fair was much bigger and received much more support and participation than last year. There were sports, music, and dancing competitions. Over 150 HIV tests were administered. We had a band play a concert at night. The community, including the mayor, was very pleased and excited to continue the fair in the following year.
As of today we have exactly 10 days left in Nagarote. It took a while for the fact that we were leaving to sink-in since we have been so busy. There is a strong mix of excitement and sadness in our leaving. We have a 40 day trip to South America, returning to family and friends, going to grad school, and finding a job (hopefully) to look forward to. Yet we are leaving a people, language, and way of life that have become our own for the last two years. Although so much of what we have gained will go with us, it is strange to think that much of what we have learned in the last two years will cease to apply the moment we step on the plane.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Weddings, Trips, Trees, and much more...
Fun at the wedding.
On the ferry to the island of Ometepe, which can be seen in the background.
Parrots...evil parrots...
Maderas volcano on the island of Ometepe.
Evening swimming at Charco Verde on the island of Ometepe.
Monkeys at Charco Verde.
Independence Day parade on Ometepe.
Independence Day parade at the foot of Conception Volcano on Ometepe.
Drawing water from the well on the beach in Salinas Grande.
Getting ready for the pinata.
Giving instructions before the scavenger hunt.
Tree delivery day at school.
Tree delivery day, giving a mango tree to one of my teachers.
Drawing their own island, containing all the natural resources
they would need to survive.
Home-made seed beds.
One of my teachers, now taking the reins and leading a class activity.
Kevin, enjoying the new books.
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