Andrew's Southern Sojourn
In and around Peru
Lima, the sprawling capital city of Peru, will primarily serve as a jump-off spot for me as I begin my travels. Dirty and filled with many buses spewing diesel exhaust and perpetually tooting their horns, it is a loud urban centre filled with quite a diverse population, including quite an impressive China town. This time of year, the city is also covered in clouds for most of the day making it quite dreary.
Route taken and entries by Real Traveler AwayFromTheOffice
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1
Arriving and Settling In
Arriving about a half hour early, my introduction to Peru was shrouded in darkness. Massive and flat, the lights of Lima, visible o... Continue reading »
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2
Culture Day + How to Get Out of a Peruvian Traffic Jam
On my way to visit a couple of museums, I observed an amusing incident involving one of the public buses. As we were about to turn onto... Continue reading »
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3
A Night Paracus...dry, desolate...dead.
At Miraflores House I met a fellow Canadian - Simon Blackwood, a 26-year-old recent engineer graduate - heading my direction, so we... Continue reading »
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4
Ballistas Islands and Heading for Huacachina
At about 6am, I was awoken by a mild tremor. Evidently, there was a mild earthquake a few miles south of Lima...very nice.
Having... Continue reading »
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5
Desert Dunebuggying and Sandboarding
For 40 soles, we certainly got our money´s worth on this trip! Our driver was a complete maniac (a good thing in such conditions) and the san... Continue reading »
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6
A Night in Nazca
Settled into our swank digs (a third-storey ´penthouse suite´ with a great view), Simon and I strolled around the charming town of Nazca. We... Continue reading »
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7
Doing a Few Lines
After being out until 1am or so (having successfully lost our guests), we had a relatively early start (sans breakfast). We were driven to th... Continue reading »
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8
Centre of the World (of Tourism in Peru)
Took an overnight bus from Nasca to Cusco - literally meaning ´the navel, or centre of the world.'
It is also, undeniably, the epi... Continue reading »
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9
Sightseeing in and around Cusco
Today we enjoyed a city tour in and around Cusco with a rather unimpressive guide. It included urban locations such as the Convent of Cu... Continue reading »
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10
The Sacred Valley of the Incas
Unimpressed with the guide from the previous day, we joined the Polish couple of a day-long tour of the Sacred Valley...and what a day it was. ... Continue reading »
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11
Eating Guinnea Pig
After a bit of a late night, Simon, me and a new arrival at our Hostel took a local bus out of Cusco to taste a Peruvian delicacy. Nancy, a l... Continue reading »
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12
5 Days, 4 Nights to Machu Picchu
Got up at 4am for a 3 hour bus trip (filled with tourists and locals) to Mollepata. We unloaded the bus and hiked a few minutes to our breakf... Continue reading »
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13
Day 2 - 4600m above sea level
At breakfast we learned that the Argentinians, who arrived at camp the previous evening in a truck driven by a local, were not going to continue as... Continue reading »
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14
Riverside extortion and hot springs!
We began the day by crossing and extension bridge into more lush vegetation. The terrain for the morning was relatively steep and downhill.&n... Continue reading »
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15
Almost there...
BTW - it's election time in Peru (Nov.19th, I think) and as part of the democratic process in this country, just about every building is painted wi... Continue reading »
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16
Machu Picchu! (2400m)
Upon the adivce of Kike, we all took the bus up to MP. Thank goodness for him as we were some of the first to arrive when they opened the gat... Continue reading »
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17
Heading to Southern Peru
Up at 5:30am to get the bus to Arequipa. It was a very interesting trip through a variety of colourful towns and driving by fields of maize,... Continue reading »
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18
"Juanita" + Santa Catalina Monastery
After a good night´s sleep in my own (simple) room, I had a full day to explore Arequipa. After getting myself better oriented, my fir... Continue reading »
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19
Colca Canyon
At 8am I was picked up in a small bus and wisked out of Arequipa to enjoy a couple of days in the Colca Canyon, the world´s deepest canyon. O... Continue reading »
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20
Condor Spotting and Heading to Puno...
Today, we more fully explored the Colca Canyon (albeit mainly in the bus). We traveled through various towns along the way, including Yanque... Continue reading »
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21
Puno
I arrived at Puno about 3am and got a few hours of sleep at my 1/2 star hostel. Got up with the sun and snapped a few pictures before walki... Continue reading »
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22
LakeTiticaca
At 8am, I was up, hurting a bit, but prepared for the big day ahead.
Settling into our transportation, our group was treated to a pre-depart... Continue reading »
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23
Tequile Island
Woke to a beautiful morning with the moon still visible on the horizon. Took a pleasant boat ride from Amantani to Tequile, a relatively un... Continue reading »
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24
Bolivia-bound
Got up too early (lost my watch in Cusco and my only other clock - the time on my camera - is an hour fast), so I arrived at the bus station at 6:2... Continue reading »
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25
Witch´s Market
Ah Bolivia, the land of flamingo pink toilet paper...BTW - the common practice is NOT to throw your ´personal paper´into the bowel....interesting.&... Continue reading »
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26
Biking the World´s Most Dangerous Road
The started at 6am with a two-hour bus ride up to over 4200m. It was a bit chilly at the top, but we had a ceremonial nip of Puro (basically... Continue reading »
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27
Taking the Train to Tupiza
A long day began with a 10:30am bus to Oruro, a tiny town in the middle of Bolivia. The trip was rather uneventful and as we came upon my des... Continue reading »
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28
Horse Riding in the Desert
Through Tupiza Tours, I organized a brief 3-hour ride through the surrounding area. I would have loved to have ride a bit longer, but with my... Continue reading »
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29
More desert please...
Up at 6am to see the sun rise and light up the rusty red hills surrounding Tupiza. It really is quite a charming town, unspoiled, but on the... Continue reading »
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30
Geisers, Dali Desert and Hot Springs
Day 2 is a big one...LOTS to be seen and enjoyed. The morning started with 7am departure and a brief visit to the ruins of San Antonio, a tow... Continue reading »
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31
Laguana Colorada
The day began with the astonishing Laguan Colorado, a brilliant red due to algae pigments, chlorophylls and fine sediments in a rather sh... Continue reading »
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32
Salar de Uyuni!!
4:30am we were up to catch the sunrise on the Salar de Uyuni...literally?
The biggest salt pan in the world is breathtaking. Two to 20m... Continue reading »
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33
Mining in Potosi
Stayed at the Kaola Den, a fine hostel that also arranged our main activity for the day, a tour of the Cerro Rico Mine, the main purpose of my trip... Continue reading »
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34
The White City
Kicked out of Potosi shortly after the mine tour on a quick 3-hour bus trip...and I mean QUICK. The driver seem to be on some other stimulant... Continue reading »
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35
Flight to Santa Cruz
After picking up some local honey and a delicious Chorizo sandwich in the market, caught a micro (bus) to the airport for 1 Boliviano and hopped on... Continue reading »
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36
The Death Train
Up at 5:30am to buy my ticket...long line, so glad I got up when I did.
Observations: I find there to be a disproportionate number... Continue reading »
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37
The Pantanal
The Pantanal, about half the size of France, is one of the best places in the continent for observing wildlife. It is a vast alluvial pl... Continue reading »
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38
Piranha Fishing
In the morning we did a relatively interesting walking tour in the hot sun, observing various wildlife and trying to spot the very shy blue macaws.... Continue reading »
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39
Last (Half) Day in the Pantanal
During the morning, we went on another walking tour, this time through a variety of vegetation (open savanna-ish sorts of areas, jungle areas and thic... Continue reading » -
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Heading to the Foz (Falls, that is)
My tour of the Pantanal ended with a rather uncomfortable trip to the south end of the park, where I was going to wait for a bus to head to Bonito,... Continue reading »
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41
World's Largest Hydroelectric Dam + Iguazu
In the morning, I headed to Itaipu (literally ''the rock that sings''). Built in the Parana River on the frontier between Paraguay and Brazil... Continue reading »
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42
Heading to the (WET) Coast
After hanging around the bus/train station for a bit (I arrived at 6:00am from Iguazu), I took a trip on the Serra Verde Express, an old train... Continue reading »
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43
Ilha do Mel in a Day
Today I strolled around Ilha do Mel...literally. A little over 27 square kilometres, the island is not big (more than 81% of it is an ecologi... Continue reading »
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44
Heading to Rio
The rainy weather continued so the entire morning was spent indoors. With very little to do other than make some homemade Pisco Sours and pla... Continue reading »
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45
'Coping' in Copacabana
The bus descended into Rio through a series of mountains covered with banana trees, thick grasses and red paths knit into green hillsides.&nbs... Continue reading »
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46
Favelha Tour
Again, the weather was not cooperating. My mental image of Rio involved warm weather and beaches and rain was something that I had never cons... Continue reading »
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47
Exploring the City
Despite the looming dark clouds, I decided to do a self-directed walking tour of the city. I began my day with a bus ride from Copacabana to... Continue reading »
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48
Last day in Rio - SUNSHINE!
A brilliant day of sunshine (finally) meant a trip to the beach...Ipanema, of course. With a bodyboard I'd rented from the hostel tucked unde... Continue reading »
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49
Beautiful Buenos Aires
Having just arrived, I felt compelled to immerse myself in the culture as quickly as possible...it being Sunday it was a great opportunity for an e... Continue reading »
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50
TOUR-isterrifc
Continuing with my rapid self-inflicted cultural immersion, I signed up for a 3-hour bike tour of the city in the morning, followed by a bus t... Continue reading »
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51
Shopping + Hitting the Town
I began my day with a stroll around San Telmo, my neighborhood for the moment. It is a charming area full of furniture and antique shops, as... Continue reading »
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52
Mmm...meat!
With the mind to experience BA's various neighborhoods, I moved to a different hostel, one by the Obelisk in the Central District. Brand new... Continue reading »
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53
Recoleta Cemetery & Tango Dancing
I have always had a facination with cemeteries and Buenos Aires boasts one of the more interesting ones in the world. Located in the swanky n... Continue reading »
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54
Palermo + More Scrumptious Steak
Today involved more cultural immersion with a trip to the Evita museum. Set in a beautiful old building, the exhibit provided a decent overvi... Continue reading »
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55
Tigre, Tigre...tourist site
Taking advantage of a gorgeous day, I headed out to Tigre, a river delta area about an hour from BA. Ordinarily a place to relax and take it easy a... Continue reading »
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56
Horsing Around II
For the next three days, I had organized a number of activities through the hostel I'd stayed at in BA. Unfortunately, I was late for my overnig... Continue reading » -
57
Wine Country
Today, I had organized a wine tour in the afternoon, so with the morning available, I decided to also visit another winery, based upon the recommen... Continue reading »
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58
Rapelling & Hot Springs
Today was an early start as we headed out for a full day of adventure. In the morning we did some simple hiking in some rather arid mountains... Continue reading »
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59
Bye-bye BA
With almost a full day ahead of me, I spent half of it doing some final touring of the city and also lounging by the pool at the Hyatt. Durin... Continue reading »
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