I leave tomorrow night....yes that would be Monday... To begin a journey that will put me in NC very early thursday morning. I don't know if there is a way for you to mentally prepare for a journey like this. The itinerary is as follows:
Bus - depart máncora: 5:15 pm monday
Arrive lima : 12:30 pm Tuesday
Plane - depart lima : 9:56 pm tuesday
Arrive Quito, Ecuador : 12:21 am Wednesday
Depart Quito : 6:20 am Wednesday
Arrive bógota, colombia: 7:50 am Wednesday
Depart bogota: 10:20 am Wednesday
Arrive Miami, Florida : 3:00 pm wednesday
Car: depart Miami - 4:30/5:00 pm Wednesday (more or less)
Arrive winston-Salem, nc : 6:00 am thursday
At this point, this travel itinerary just seems a tad ridiculous. Can I get some ambian please? :)
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Viviendo con hombres....blehh......Qué horrible
So I have been in máncora for a few days now and it's quite lovely. I'm staying at a Loki hostel which is a south American hostel chain. In retrospect, it would probably not be my first choice. But at the time, I didn't have too much info on the hostels here and a lot of them seemed like little shanty style, which I was done with. Plus it was 9 am and I had just finished a, like, 17 hour bus ride....so I was disoriented to say the least and in desperate need of a place to out my bag down and get a cup of coffee. The girl that I had met in Lima had stayed at a Loki before and had kind of convinced me of it already. Then when I stumbled upon it, I was totally down. It's a tad more expensive than what I was used to paying (36 soles/person for a small dorm versus 20-30soles per person for a private room) but they are right on the beach, have a pool, wi-fi, a bar, and offer breakfast. Plus the beds are quite comfy. Plus from what I had read the nicer hostels in máncora were going to be similarly priced. So there I was: Loki hostel for my last stay in Perú.
So they put me in a small dorm (4 people and a private bath) with 3 other guys. The one dude was sleeping the entire day that I arrived (rough night I suppose) and the other 2 checked out shortly after my arrival. I have no issue staying with guys. Granted I don't feel comfortable sleeping in my underwear but I don't typically get to do that when I'm staying in a dorm anyhow. That night I didn't see dude #1 at all and the other 2 beds stayed open. The next morning 2 more boys arrived. They are (and I could be wrong of their nationality) Matt from Australia and Tim I think from the uk. Tim however had been traveling so much that I kind of lost track of where he started. That iS one thing I have noticed. I have met a ton of europeans and a lot of them have been hopping around for at least 6 months if not longer. Mist be nice. I'm not quite sure how any if them can afford it but power to them. Though the one girl I spoke with did say that after she graduated she had planned this and moved back home to live with her parents and work to save. Which makes a lot of sense. Plus the pound and euro are so strong here (sîan said it was like 4.7 soles to the pound! It's only 2.7 to the dollar :( ) that I suppose they can travel a tad easier. I wish I got paid in £.
But yes, so they are all nice enough. Tim did some teaching in cusco so we had some good convos about teaching and American politics ( he thinks plain is quite the idiot!). However they are gross!!! They leave food all over the place, hair in the sink from shaving, I think there was pee on the floor near the toilet the other morning, and I'm pretty sure I woke up to one of them jacking off this morning. Ugh boys. And if that's not enough you wake up (and I'm usually the first up) they have the luck to just sleep in their boxers, but boxers don't alwAys provide a ton of privacy and because it's the beach we just have a sheet on our beds which you don't really use because it's so flipping warm....so yea I've seen a bit more than I'd care to in that regard. At this rate, I'll never want to live with another boy again!!
Other than that the hostel is fine. Though noisy as hell. It's kind of like throwing yourself into a giant Real World/frat party extravaganza. I think I prefer the mellow little hostels with fewer accomodations. But I guess you live and learn!
So they put me in a small dorm (4 people and a private bath) with 3 other guys. The one dude was sleeping the entire day that I arrived (rough night I suppose) and the other 2 checked out shortly after my arrival. I have no issue staying with guys. Granted I don't feel comfortable sleeping in my underwear but I don't typically get to do that when I'm staying in a dorm anyhow. That night I didn't see dude #1 at all and the other 2 beds stayed open. The next morning 2 more boys arrived. They are (and I could be wrong of their nationality) Matt from Australia and Tim I think from the uk. Tim however had been traveling so much that I kind of lost track of where he started. That iS one thing I have noticed. I have met a ton of europeans and a lot of them have been hopping around for at least 6 months if not longer. Mist be nice. I'm not quite sure how any if them can afford it but power to them. Though the one girl I spoke with did say that after she graduated she had planned this and moved back home to live with her parents and work to save. Which makes a lot of sense. Plus the pound and euro are so strong here (sîan said it was like 4.7 soles to the pound! It's only 2.7 to the dollar :( ) that I suppose they can travel a tad easier. I wish I got paid in £.
But yes, so they are all nice enough. Tim did some teaching in cusco so we had some good convos about teaching and American politics ( he thinks plain is quite the idiot!). However they are gross!!! They leave food all over the place, hair in the sink from shaving, I think there was pee on the floor near the toilet the other morning, and I'm pretty sure I woke up to one of them jacking off this morning. Ugh boys. And if that's not enough you wake up (and I'm usually the first up) they have the luck to just sleep in their boxers, but boxers don't alwAys provide a ton of privacy and because it's the beach we just have a sheet on our beds which you don't really use because it's so flipping warm....so yea I've seen a bit more than I'd care to in that regard. At this rate, I'll never want to live with another boy again!!
Other than that the hostel is fine. Though noisy as hell. It's kind of like throwing yourself into a giant Real World/frat party extravaganza. I think I prefer the mellow little hostels with fewer accomodations. But I guess you live and learn!
Saturday, July 16, 2011
La salida de meggy: ¡Ay! Qué triste :(
So Megs left this evening and I have to say it's a pretty sad feeling. Though quite invigorating at the same time. I loved getting a cab for her though. We were just outside of laurens host family's apartment where she had left stuff. We get a cab for her pretty quickly. She explains where she needs to go and asks how much. 40 soles. Ummm 30? Megs asks. The cab driver winces and says 35. I look at her like ok that's doable. Shed been joking that she would have to find a cab for 30 b/c that is all she had. But I thought when she mentioned that to the guy she was honestly just joking. Oh no. She hadn't been. She looked at me and says "you have 5 soles because I only have 30." I laugh and look in my wallet hoping that I do. ¡Claro! And hand her the 5 soles. Oh Megs. She looks at me and says I was just going to keep flagging down cabs till I found one for 30. I love my hermanita and was sad as the cab drove off.
When we got in today from our uneventful ride from paracas, I waited in line at the bus station to get the first ticket to Máncora. 3:30 tomorrow the lady tells me, after I have waited in lime for 30 minutes. Seriously??! Well looks like I'm staying the night in Lima which is fine. I was just hoping to catch a night bus immediately. But the bus, even though it leaves in the afternoon, won't arrive in máncora until 9 Thursday morning. So I suppose that's the best I'm gonna get.
We hail a cab to take us to parque Kennedy, which is close enough to lauren's apartment. The driver looks at me: 10 soles. I am shocked sometimes at how brazen I am. I laugh slightly in his face and shake my head no. Last time we took a cab it was only 6. He starts to point to a sign that explains how much cab fares should be. Look parque Kennedy 10 soles. I, on a whim, make up a story about how I have lived in miraflores and taken cabs to and from. It has been 6-8 soles in the past but never more than 8. There are 2 cab drivers hovering and the original looks at me like I'm crazy but the other After a few seconds is like ok ok whatever. Come on. That's what I thought!!
After we get in the cab ready to roll Megs turns to me and asks if I'd seen the guys that were sitting and watching us. I had but had been too involved in negotiating to pay attention to what they were saying. She hadn't caught it all but apparently they were commenting on the gringa giving the cab drivers a hard time. :) what can I say...I'm a brazen one at times.
So now I'm here at some common backpacker hostel. It's kind of loud but filled with travelers which is pretty cool. I spoke with the girl who is in the bunk below And turns out she's is heading to mancera tomorrow also. So I think were going to share a cab over. So looks like this hostel will work out.
I also picked up another book for my journey. I dont remember the title but it's about an autistic man who is highly affected by the death of a neighbors dog. It sounds really good and I'm quite excited to have it for the last leg of my journey.
Oh the last leg of my journey. It sounds so sad. Though I'm happy to have it ending with some solo time on a beach up north. It will be warm and chill, which is what i think I need. And in all honesty I'm a liitle excited to come back to sanity. More than anything I'll be happy to feel clean again. To take a shower in warm water on a consistent basis and wash my clothes. Ahhh the luxuries of a non-nomad. Its the little things that you miss the most.
When we got in today from our uneventful ride from paracas, I waited in line at the bus station to get the first ticket to Máncora. 3:30 tomorrow the lady tells me, after I have waited in lime for 30 minutes. Seriously??! Well looks like I'm staying the night in Lima which is fine. I was just hoping to catch a night bus immediately. But the bus, even though it leaves in the afternoon, won't arrive in máncora until 9 Thursday morning. So I suppose that's the best I'm gonna get.
We hail a cab to take us to parque Kennedy, which is close enough to lauren's apartment. The driver looks at me: 10 soles. I am shocked sometimes at how brazen I am. I laugh slightly in his face and shake my head no. Last time we took a cab it was only 6. He starts to point to a sign that explains how much cab fares should be. Look parque Kennedy 10 soles. I, on a whim, make up a story about how I have lived in miraflores and taken cabs to and from. It has been 6-8 soles in the past but never more than 8. There are 2 cab drivers hovering and the original looks at me like I'm crazy but the other After a few seconds is like ok ok whatever. Come on. That's what I thought!!
After we get in the cab ready to roll Megs turns to me and asks if I'd seen the guys that were sitting and watching us. I had but had been too involved in negotiating to pay attention to what they were saying. She hadn't caught it all but apparently they were commenting on the gringa giving the cab drivers a hard time. :) what can I say...I'm a brazen one at times.
So now I'm here at some common backpacker hostel. It's kind of loud but filled with travelers which is pretty cool. I spoke with the girl who is in the bunk below And turns out she's is heading to mancera tomorrow also. So I think were going to share a cab over. So looks like this hostel will work out.
I also picked up another book for my journey. I dont remember the title but it's about an autistic man who is highly affected by the death of a neighbors dog. It sounds really good and I'm quite excited to have it for the last leg of my journey.
Oh the last leg of my journey. It sounds so sad. Though I'm happy to have it ending with some solo time on a beach up north. It will be warm and chill, which is what i think I need. And in all honesty I'm a liitle excited to come back to sanity. More than anything I'll be happy to feel clean again. To take a shower in warm water on a consistent basis and wash my clothes. Ahhh the luxuries of a non-nomad. Its the little things that you miss the most.
¡Vimos pingüinos! ¡Y ... Sea lions! (no se cómo se llama en español). Fue mejor que un zoológico
The next morning, oswaldo picked us up as planned. He was quite punctual which was rather Amusing seeing as we are still in Peru. Peruvians are funny like that. They will have no sense of time at all and then suddenly be punctual about certain things starting. But I suppose in that regard they are kind of catering towards the tourist population and I suppose we do expect them to be on time for things like that. We told him that we would not be camping again and he offered to store our bags at his office. Awesome. We were kind of hoping he would do that. The peruvians we have come across are very helpful like that. For example yesterday when we went to get groceries the park ranger guy offered to keep our bags there so we wouldn't have to lug them around. And no dad they aren't out to rob us; I think that they just see a lot of backpackers and are happy to help when they can.
Now I will say we payed oswaldo for a "tour" and then got in line with a ton of other folks and paid our entrance to the island. I think that we probably could have just gotten in line on our own and bought those entrance tickets. But whatever. We did what everyone does. They go somewhere and pay about 30soles for a tour and then all end up at the dock. And who knows ... Maybe we wouldn't have been able to roll up to the dock solo. And that would have sucked. But anyone going in the future, I would just try rolling up to the blue dock in paracas and see if anyone notices :)
I was slightly disappointed by the tour but I think that's how I am with tours. I feel like if I'm paying for a tour I want it to wow me. Not just feel like I could have read a book and then gone to see on my own and gotten the same effect. Now don't get me wrong, the islands were beautiful. They did not disappoint me. Just the tour was a slight let down. Plus you get on this speed boat filled with about 30 other tourists who are standing and pointing and taking photos...I'm just not a big fan of the tourist style of things.
The islands were a bird haven. I have never seen so many birds in one location in my life. It was amazing. Now the smell of all the guano these birds produce, not so amazing. The best part was seeing the penguins, just hanging out, in their own home. Now I know everyone loves zoos because you get to see all of these animals that you typically don't get to see, but personally, even though I love the animals, zoos make me a little sad. Those animals should be chilling where they want to be, not captured and thrown into some large cage in the middle of a big US city. Now the endangered ones, slightly different story...but so obviously you can imagine how nice it was for me to be able to enjoy seeing these animals sans cage. There were also sea lions!! They were just hanging out on rocks as if they were saying "what's up guys? Having a good day. Oh you're going to take a picture? Here let me turn to my good side". It was awesome. I think the best part of the boat ride/tour was the ride back. I kept seeing the sea lions swimming in the ocean. The funniest was when you saw them floating on their backs like otters would. Killer I tell you. Killer.
When we had been camping we bumped into a couple of French girls who were walking around. Very nice folks. But they had told us about a very economical hostel that they were staying at, the maku house. 10 soles. Night per person. So me and Megs definitely were going to check it out. When oswaldo met up up with us again we explained to him where we were going and he graciously walked us over. It was literally across the street. He spoke with the woman in charge and got us settled into our room. Oh oswaldo: such a nice and helpful dude. The hostel was hysterical, ran in your typical Latin American style. There's a guy working on a boat in front; they live behind the communal kitchen; and there 2 year old lumenica is running the show, along with her younger sister, though she's confined to her walker which can't leave the kitchen. But they were extremely nice, no hot water but it wasn't quite freezing, and it's 10 soles; that is like $3 a person....can't really complain for that price.
Our time in paracas seemed like it dragged on forever. There is nothing there. Though we did stumble upon this really cool woodcarver artisan. He was super nice and made everything by hand. And he had a story for every piece he made. I bought his awesome metal cuff with a large spider line drawing etched into it and he told me this whole tale of he significance of he spider. Now you have to admit, that kind of guy is worth spending you're money on. I have tried to make it a point only to buy handcrafts from those that I actually see making them. It's kind of tough. A lot of the stands are just your typical tourist crap. Paracas was what Meg and I liked to call the wings of Peru. :) but not our guy. He was pretty awesome.
Now I will say we payed oswaldo for a "tour" and then got in line with a ton of other folks and paid our entrance to the island. I think that we probably could have just gotten in line on our own and bought those entrance tickets. But whatever. We did what everyone does. They go somewhere and pay about 30soles for a tour and then all end up at the dock. And who knows ... Maybe we wouldn't have been able to roll up to the dock solo. And that would have sucked. But anyone going in the future, I would just try rolling up to the blue dock in paracas and see if anyone notices :)
I was slightly disappointed by the tour but I think that's how I am with tours. I feel like if I'm paying for a tour I want it to wow me. Not just feel like I could have read a book and then gone to see on my own and gotten the same effect. Now don't get me wrong, the islands were beautiful. They did not disappoint me. Just the tour was a slight let down. Plus you get on this speed boat filled with about 30 other tourists who are standing and pointing and taking photos...I'm just not a big fan of the tourist style of things.
The islands were a bird haven. I have never seen so many birds in one location in my life. It was amazing. Now the smell of all the guano these birds produce, not so amazing. The best part was seeing the penguins, just hanging out, in their own home. Now I know everyone loves zoos because you get to see all of these animals that you typically don't get to see, but personally, even though I love the animals, zoos make me a little sad. Those animals should be chilling where they want to be, not captured and thrown into some large cage in the middle of a big US city. Now the endangered ones, slightly different story...but so obviously you can imagine how nice it was for me to be able to enjoy seeing these animals sans cage. There were also sea lions!! They were just hanging out on rocks as if they were saying "what's up guys? Having a good day. Oh you're going to take a picture? Here let me turn to my good side". It was awesome. I think the best part of the boat ride/tour was the ride back. I kept seeing the sea lions swimming in the ocean. The funniest was when you saw them floating on their backs like otters would. Killer I tell you. Killer.
When we had been camping we bumped into a couple of French girls who were walking around. Very nice folks. But they had told us about a very economical hostel that they were staying at, the maku house. 10 soles. Night per person. So me and Megs definitely were going to check it out. When oswaldo met up up with us again we explained to him where we were going and he graciously walked us over. It was literally across the street. He spoke with the woman in charge and got us settled into our room. Oh oswaldo: such a nice and helpful dude. The hostel was hysterical, ran in your typical Latin American style. There's a guy working on a boat in front; they live behind the communal kitchen; and there 2 year old lumenica is running the show, along with her younger sister, though she's confined to her walker which can't leave the kitchen. But they were extremely nice, no hot water but it wasn't quite freezing, and it's 10 soles; that is like $3 a person....can't really complain for that price.
Our time in paracas seemed like it dragged on forever. There is nothing there. Though we did stumble upon this really cool woodcarver artisan. He was super nice and made everything by hand. And he had a story for every piece he made. I bought his awesome metal cuff with a large spider line drawing etched into it and he told me this whole tale of he significance of he spider. Now you have to admit, that kind of guy is worth spending you're money on. I have tried to make it a point only to buy handcrafts from those that I actually see making them. It's kind of tough. A lot of the stands are just your typical tourist crap. Paracas was what Meg and I liked to call the wings of Peru. :) but not our guy. He was pretty awesome.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Acampando en la reserva: una reserva sin alguien
After our dune buggy adventure our new friend returned to Lima, while we got tickets to continue on the paracas. Paracas is a beach town with a natural reserve to the south and the ballestas islands not far from it's coast. When we arrived we realized that's it. There's nothing else. We had planned on going to the reserve Sunday afternoon, camping that night, going on the island tour Monday morning, returning to the reserve Monday night to camp, and then departing to Lima. After arrival our plans definitely changed.
So we get into paracas and first thing, buy departure tickets. No reason to wait and we are already at the station. Plus depending on the time that the bus leaves will affect our days. We have to catch the bus in the morning ( we were hoping for a very early afternoon like 1...oh well) at 11 on Tuesday. So now it has been settled. We have to do the islands tour on Monday morning. They don't get back until sometime after 10 and that would possibly make the bus ride a little rush...besides....what else are we gonna do. So tickets purchased, off we walk towards the reserve. We figure we will walk to town, grab a bite to eat (Ceviche!!!), grab some food for camp, and then walk to the reserve. Were nearing town and decide to stop into a tourist info booth to ask about the reserve and possibly grab a map. Oh and ask about an ATM. We have mentioned camping to a few people and had gotten mixed info. "oh it's beautiful and safe" "it's very dangerous" " the beat place to camp is right in town, not on the reserva" " no one camps on the reserva" but both of our books said it was a great experience and that it was secure. So the woman at the booth said she wasn't sure but she didn't think camping was allowed. And she didn't have a map we could take but we just stayed on this road to get there but it was very far like 3km....wait that's not even 2 miles .... Oh well be fine. No sense in paying for a cab. She points us towards an ATM as well. We walk through town and after some questionable food decide to go the ATM and then just walk to the reserve to find out what's going on. We didn't want to buy a bunch of food and then get all the way down there to find out that we can't camp.
The first ATM building is closed, so we inquire about another. They point us further down the road to hotel paracas. Off we go. We walk down this side road for a bit, and we come across this barricaded white stone structure: hotel paracas. What the?? Where's the ATM?? So I walk inside the gate and head towards the three guards in front of the front door. All I have to say is disculpa and the one younger guard says in perfect English ATM? Awesome. It is that obvious we are so not guests. He leads us to there "business center" outfitted with computers, fax and copy machines, and free coffee. Oh and an ATM machine in the corner. Meg and I both use it and are just finishing up when the guy comes back in as if he was making sure we weren't helping ourselves to the coffee :) which I did consider. We thank him and leave. On our way out we stop at the other guards box and make sure we are going the right way. Oh yea just stay on this road for about another 3km and you'll see it. Wait .... 3km?? I swear weve already walked one or two ... Peruvians And their lack of sense of time and distance.
So after what seems like forever we arrive at the backside of the guard station. The guys comes out and we talk to him for a bit. He says it's totally straight to camp and that there is a safe spot about 10km in. Seriously??! I'm so not walking that. We ask about cabs coming in and out. He offers to call us one that can take us back to town for food and then will take us to the beach. Thus we meet oswaldo.
Oswaldo was awesome. And hysterical just like every other Peruvian we have met. He takes us to a little hut of a shop to grab groceries. We go in and are trying to hurry because we don't want to make home wait too long. We pay and rush out to find the car empty. We look around. Oh there's oswaldo in the store watching the soccer game. When he notices us he jumps up and rushes back. Guess he didnt expect or probably want us to hurry. We ask him if there's a way for us to buy tickets to do the island tour in the morning. "Claro. I also arrange those tours." Peruvians and their multi tasking ways. Love it. He takes us over to his office to buy tickets. He also tells us he'll come by the campsite in the am to pick us up. Fabulous. Transportation did wind up being a little costly, but he was awesome....and in Peru, costly is like $10 a person. So we were set. We were ready to go to a desolate beach and camp.
Oswaldo drove us back to the beach so we could camp. We enter the reserve and the guard post is pretty much the last thing you see. Then it is just sand, some water, and maybe a boat or 2 for miles. He drives us down to where we should camp, near another guard house and asks if we want to stop now or drive on to lagunillas. Lagunillas is supposed to be a little port of a town on the reserve where theres a few restaurants. Well I guess my head is still not Peru ready, b ecause when reading about it, it sounds like this little tourist escape. A spot that tourists frequent to eat and hang. Ummmm no. That is far from it. There are literally 3-4 little seafood shacks that obviously are there to feed the fisherman and cab drivers. Not a spot where you'd find a tourist anywhere. So after originally departing in lagunillas and saying goodbye to oswaldo we begin our trek back towards our campsite. We thought about maybe hanging there for a second but people kept wanting to helps us with our bags and were asking if we were camping. It was odd. So we just left.
Setting up camp was a little interesting to say the least. There are super crazy winds in the afternoon so that probably says enough on it's own. To further that I couldn't get the stakes to hold in the sand at all. Not something I had considered when we originally talked about camping on the beach. Luckily 1. My tent is freestanding and 2. There were lots of rocks of different sizes laying around.
Even though we could have just set up the tents with one of our packs inside if it and it would have been fine, we wanted the fly for insulation. The sun was up and I was already getting cold; there was no telling what it would be like at 2 am. So we placed the tent over and kept it down via rocks. The pictures are hysterical. But it worked.
That night neither of us slept well. The beach was deserted. So we shouldn't have heard anything, but thats the creepy thing about deserted areas: if you do hear something, you're just that more freaked out. The ocean and wind were bad enough, but then I heard cars quite a bit which made me uneasy seeing as the reserve was supposed to close down and be totally secure by 7 pm. Plus we saw some flashlight, which were probably just the fisherman down the way, but still, nome of this amounted to a ton of sleep. When we both got up the next morning we had already made the decision without saying a word to each other that we would be staying in a hostel that night.
~la gringuita
So we get into paracas and first thing, buy departure tickets. No reason to wait and we are already at the station. Plus depending on the time that the bus leaves will affect our days. We have to catch the bus in the morning ( we were hoping for a very early afternoon like 1...oh well) at 11 on Tuesday. So now it has been settled. We have to do the islands tour on Monday morning. They don't get back until sometime after 10 and that would possibly make the bus ride a little rush...besides....what else are we gonna do. So tickets purchased, off we walk towards the reserve. We figure we will walk to town, grab a bite to eat (Ceviche!!!), grab some food for camp, and then walk to the reserve. Were nearing town and decide to stop into a tourist info booth to ask about the reserve and possibly grab a map. Oh and ask about an ATM. We have mentioned camping to a few people and had gotten mixed info. "oh it's beautiful and safe" "it's very dangerous" " the beat place to camp is right in town, not on the reserva" " no one camps on the reserva" but both of our books said it was a great experience and that it was secure. So the woman at the booth said she wasn't sure but she didn't think camping was allowed. And she didn't have a map we could take but we just stayed on this road to get there but it was very far like 3km....wait that's not even 2 miles .... Oh well be fine. No sense in paying for a cab. She points us towards an ATM as well. We walk through town and after some questionable food decide to go the ATM and then just walk to the reserve to find out what's going on. We didn't want to buy a bunch of food and then get all the way down there to find out that we can't camp.
The first ATM building is closed, so we inquire about another. They point us further down the road to hotel paracas. Off we go. We walk down this side road for a bit, and we come across this barricaded white stone structure: hotel paracas. What the?? Where's the ATM?? So I walk inside the gate and head towards the three guards in front of the front door. All I have to say is disculpa and the one younger guard says in perfect English ATM? Awesome. It is that obvious we are so not guests. He leads us to there "business center" outfitted with computers, fax and copy machines, and free coffee. Oh and an ATM machine in the corner. Meg and I both use it and are just finishing up when the guy comes back in as if he was making sure we weren't helping ourselves to the coffee :) which I did consider. We thank him and leave. On our way out we stop at the other guards box and make sure we are going the right way. Oh yea just stay on this road for about another 3km and you'll see it. Wait .... 3km?? I swear weve already walked one or two ... Peruvians And their lack of sense of time and distance.
So after what seems like forever we arrive at the backside of the guard station. The guys comes out and we talk to him for a bit. He says it's totally straight to camp and that there is a safe spot about 10km in. Seriously??! I'm so not walking that. We ask about cabs coming in and out. He offers to call us one that can take us back to town for food and then will take us to the beach. Thus we meet oswaldo.
Oswaldo was awesome. And hysterical just like every other Peruvian we have met. He takes us to a little hut of a shop to grab groceries. We go in and are trying to hurry because we don't want to make home wait too long. We pay and rush out to find the car empty. We look around. Oh there's oswaldo in the store watching the soccer game. When he notices us he jumps up and rushes back. Guess he didnt expect or probably want us to hurry. We ask him if there's a way for us to buy tickets to do the island tour in the morning. "Claro. I also arrange those tours." Peruvians and their multi tasking ways. Love it. He takes us over to his office to buy tickets. He also tells us he'll come by the campsite in the am to pick us up. Fabulous. Transportation did wind up being a little costly, but he was awesome....and in Peru, costly is like $10 a person. So we were set. We were ready to go to a desolate beach and camp.
Oswaldo drove us back to the beach so we could camp. We enter the reserve and the guard post is pretty much the last thing you see. Then it is just sand, some water, and maybe a boat or 2 for miles. He drives us down to where we should camp, near another guard house and asks if we want to stop now or drive on to lagunillas. Lagunillas is supposed to be a little port of a town on the reserve where theres a few restaurants. Well I guess my head is still not Peru ready, b ecause when reading about it, it sounds like this little tourist escape. A spot that tourists frequent to eat and hang. Ummmm no. That is far from it. There are literally 3-4 little seafood shacks that obviously are there to feed the fisherman and cab drivers. Not a spot where you'd find a tourist anywhere. So after originally departing in lagunillas and saying goodbye to oswaldo we begin our trek back towards our campsite. We thought about maybe hanging there for a second but people kept wanting to helps us with our bags and were asking if we were camping. It was odd. So we just left.
Setting up camp was a little interesting to say the least. There are super crazy winds in the afternoon so that probably says enough on it's own. To further that I couldn't get the stakes to hold in the sand at all. Not something I had considered when we originally talked about camping on the beach. Luckily 1. My tent is freestanding and 2. There were lots of rocks of different sizes laying around.
Even though we could have just set up the tents with one of our packs inside if it and it would have been fine, we wanted the fly for insulation. The sun was up and I was already getting cold; there was no telling what it would be like at 2 am. So we placed the tent over and kept it down via rocks. The pictures are hysterical. But it worked.
That night neither of us slept well. The beach was deserted. So we shouldn't have heard anything, but thats the creepy thing about deserted areas: if you do hear something, you're just that more freaked out. The ocean and wind were bad enough, but then I heard cars quite a bit which made me uneasy seeing as the reserve was supposed to close down and be totally secure by 7 pm. Plus we saw some flashlight, which were probably just the fisherman down the way, but still, nome of this amounted to a ton of sleep. When we both got up the next morning we had already made the decision without saying a word to each other that we would be staying in a hostel that night.
~la gringuita
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Dune buggies: more fun than a roller coaster / Sandboarding: way harder than snowboarding
So the following morning in huacachina, Megs and I decided to go for the buggy tour. It was kind of expensive for us, but it was something that everyone had been telling me I had to do. Plus I had been looking into trying my hand at sandboarding. And unless I wanted to walk up these dunes, which when you see the photos you will understand why I did not, the only option was the buggy.
What cracked me up was our hostel dudes lax attitude towards arrival and departure at his hostel. it was great. After breakfast we left to return to the room to pack up our things. Check out was at noon, so we were going to need to have our things out and stored before the buggy ride ... Or so we thought. We come out of the room with our packs on our backs and the guy is shouting at us. "the buggy's waiting. Get in the buggy." plus mind you he is speaking in English but with a very strong accent, so every time he says buggy it actually sounds like boogy, which makes me chuckle. So anyhow we lug our packs explaining we just want to check out and he responds with "no no you don't need to check out. I just want you to pay me and get in the buggy. Keep the room. You come back and shower, feel clean. Just get in the buggy". Ok so it doesn't sound that funny on paper but really it was quite hysterical.
So in the buggy you have our driver smiley and his tío, 2french girls and this other dude who was rather quiet the whole time. Smiley was an absolute trip. In buggies you are supposed to have a harness seatbelt, almost like a kid has on his cArseat And it's very important you wear them because otherwise you may fly out. Oh but not smiley. Oh no he's a professional. So were going over these insane dunes and he would floor it before a very steep one and then just laugh at us as we laughed and screamed. Apparently his uncle kept telling him that he was going to fast. :) it kind of reminded me of a roller coaster but I'm not a huge fAn of roller coasters and I think I have realized why. In a buggy you are bouncing all over the place at high speeds ready to fly out of your seat but you're grounded and there is someone there comtrolling it. Its like I gunk that a rolercoaster is going to lose sense of the rail and fly off. But yes if you ever are in the ica area, most definitely do the buggies.
Sandboarding although fun was quite difficult. Originally we just went on our stomachs which was like sledding. Then I tried swapping to feet. At first it seemed like snowboarding, but sand has a different consistency than snow and it adds an interesting twist. Sand is soft but heavy. So if you try to carve at all the board will dig in slightly but he weight of the sand will slow it down and pretty much stop it. Plus we were really just riding on waxed pieces of plywood with Velcro for straps, so that didn't help either. I went down a couple of times, and then wiped out...hard. My neck had whiplash soreness for days after popping back so hard. I got up and tried again but was still a bit woozy and fell on my face again, not as Badly as before but still not in an exactly graceful manner. At this point I was done. likely it was our last run. I got back in the buggy, bounced back to the lagoon, and found sand in everything for days.
What cracked me up was our hostel dudes lax attitude towards arrival and departure at his hostel. it was great. After breakfast we left to return to the room to pack up our things. Check out was at noon, so we were going to need to have our things out and stored before the buggy ride ... Or so we thought. We come out of the room with our packs on our backs and the guy is shouting at us. "the buggy's waiting. Get in the buggy." plus mind you he is speaking in English but with a very strong accent, so every time he says buggy it actually sounds like boogy, which makes me chuckle. So anyhow we lug our packs explaining we just want to check out and he responds with "no no you don't need to check out. I just want you to pay me and get in the buggy. Keep the room. You come back and shower, feel clean. Just get in the buggy". Ok so it doesn't sound that funny on paper but really it was quite hysterical.
So in the buggy you have our driver smiley and his tío, 2french girls and this other dude who was rather quiet the whole time. Smiley was an absolute trip. In buggies you are supposed to have a harness seatbelt, almost like a kid has on his cArseat And it's very important you wear them because otherwise you may fly out. Oh but not smiley. Oh no he's a professional. So were going over these insane dunes and he would floor it before a very steep one and then just laugh at us as we laughed and screamed. Apparently his uncle kept telling him that he was going to fast. :) it kind of reminded me of a roller coaster but I'm not a huge fAn of roller coasters and I think I have realized why. In a buggy you are bouncing all over the place at high speeds ready to fly out of your seat but you're grounded and there is someone there comtrolling it. Its like I gunk that a rolercoaster is going to lose sense of the rail and fly off. But yes if you ever are in the ica area, most definitely do the buggies.
Sandboarding although fun was quite difficult. Originally we just went on our stomachs which was like sledding. Then I tried swapping to feet. At first it seemed like snowboarding, but sand has a different consistency than snow and it adds an interesting twist. Sand is soft but heavy. So if you try to carve at all the board will dig in slightly but he weight of the sand will slow it down and pretty much stop it. Plus we were really just riding on waxed pieces of plywood with Velcro for straps, so that didn't help either. I went down a couple of times, and then wiped out...hard. My neck had whiplash soreness for days after popping back so hard. I got up and tried again but was still a bit woozy and fell on my face again, not as Badly as before but still not in an exactly graceful manner. At this point I was done. likely it was our last run. I got back in the buggy, bounced back to the lagoon, and found sand in everything for days.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Berto y las bodegas: la aventura sigue
So after checking in at the hostel in huacachina, we spent the morning with Sian getting coffee, wandering around and getting to know each other. The director at the hostel offered both vineyard and buggy/sandboarding tours so we were all kind of debating that. Upon inquiry we learned that the bodega tours can be done whenever and usually take around 4 hours. The buggys were set times and run 3 times a day. We decided to start off with the vineyard tour and then move to the buggies after. So we pay the guy and tell him well be back about 1:30. When we arrive back there was berto our fearless wine tour dude ready to roll. Oh berto...I really do wish I had a video of you. Words just don't give you the same effect.
1st let's start by saying that I think berto was actually meant to be paparazzi or has had a life long dream of this. Everywhere we went he wanted to take photos of us. He would even throw us into candids. It was a riot. None of us could keep from laughing. So the first bodega we went to was "el museo". It was this smAller style bodega with just a bunch of random shit. There were telephones and random weird instruments. It was like walking through an antique sore that just happened to make wine. All of perus wines are also VERY VERY sweet. He kept wanting to give us more tastes at this place and we all just kept thinking that it was too sweet to drink a bunch of. Apparently, according to the guy at the second bodega, the wine is sweet due to all of the sun. He grapes become almost overly ripe and produce a ton of natural sugar. Now if we had gone to one of the machine produced bodegas, we would have found what I consider more standard style wines. But these were the artisans. They didn't take any shortcuts. At the second bodega, a guy who worked there gave us the tour. He showed us the old setup where they still mash the grapes with their feet (sAnitized of course and while drinking something similar to red bull b/c it's done at night). And where it is filtered and how pisco (perus version of tequila) is separated. After the tour we went though the tasting and here they also make chocolates and jams with their grapes. That was my favorite part. Their chocolates were to die for. We ended at a 3rd bodega where we only tasted a few and left. Though I couldn't bring myself to buy any of the wines, I did buy a couple of bottles of pisco. Well have to try making some pisco sours when I return :)
1st let's start by saying that I think berto was actually meant to be paparazzi or has had a life long dream of this. Everywhere we went he wanted to take photos of us. He would even throw us into candids. It was a riot. None of us could keep from laughing. So the first bodega we went to was "el museo". It was this smAller style bodega with just a bunch of random shit. There were telephones and random weird instruments. It was like walking through an antique sore that just happened to make wine. All of perus wines are also VERY VERY sweet. He kept wanting to give us more tastes at this place and we all just kept thinking that it was too sweet to drink a bunch of. Apparently, according to the guy at the second bodega, the wine is sweet due to all of the sun. He grapes become almost overly ripe and produce a ton of natural sugar. Now if we had gone to one of the machine produced bodegas, we would have found what I consider more standard style wines. But these were the artisans. They didn't take any shortcuts. At the second bodega, a guy who worked there gave us the tour. He showed us the old setup where they still mash the grapes with their feet (sAnitized of course and while drinking something similar to red bull b/c it's done at night). And where it is filtered and how pisco (perus version of tequila) is separated. After the tour we went though the tasting and here they also make chocolates and jams with their grapes. That was my favorite part. Their chocolates were to die for. We ended at a 3rd bodega where we only tasted a few and left. Though I couldn't bring myself to buy any of the wines, I did buy a couple of bottles of pisco. Well have to try making some pisco sours when I return :)
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