Tomorrow morning at 7:00, we'll embark on a boat trip to the nearby Ballestas Islands, also known as the Poor Man's Galapagos. They aren't as distant, as volcanic, or as isolated as the Galapagos, so it's not the same. Nevertheless, it should be fun and enlightening. Afterward, if Pat feels good, we'll pass through the Paracas National Park nearby and swim, fish, screw off, and enjoy the scenery. Apparently there are some remarkable examples of how the 2007 earthquake thrashed the countryside in the park since nobody has restored or changed them.
Besides this expedition, we've been socializing and laying low while Pat heals up. He had a nasty fever and headache that is still persistent. But it's clearing up pretty well due to his being Superman. The night life is pretty cool here. We've seen breakdancing teenagers, street artists, plazas filled with entertainment, faires, and general partying each night. I went clubbing last night with marginal success. The guys here are intimidated by me and the ladies stare at me like a prophet or something. Not the average gringo, I suppose. Tonight, it's hang-out night with the boys, maybe we'll play some cards and listen to Beethoven. We have to get up early in the morning, so it's early to bed without beer.
Lima awaits us after this, which will indubitably be a whole new adventure. The final hurrah, so to speak, until I leave on the 24th. I'm now almost counting the days on one hand! Weird. The conclusion of a 3-month vacation starts now. However, not yet. I'll write about the Ballestas tomorrow and hopefully fill up another album with photos of Pisco and the Poor Man's Galapagos.
Unabatedly,
Brad
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Pisco, Perú
Yesterday we were positively thrilled to be off the bus. It was pretty unpleasant, but as always we gutted it out and laughed it off. Pisco's already pretty intense. Andy almost got hit by a taxi RIGHT off the bus and we got swarmed by taxistas and street vendors. It's probably about 110 degrees here. We're definitely back in the Atacama region even though we're right on the ocean again. This city is... interesting. On August 15th of 2007, an 8.0 earthquake destroyed about 80% of the city and killed more than 500 people. The large city is now quite unpopulated and struggling to get back onto its feet. There's a substantially higher crime rate than before after the huge exodus of the locals out of Pisco and the new influx of tourists into it. We've been warned plenty to watch out for theives and scam artists. Don't worry, as always, we're three body builders in our prime, we travel in packs and we stay alert. A couple dudes have already tried to herd us into a "bar" that had no sign in it, so I aggressively told them to cram their theft where the sun shineth not.
However that's only a tiny slice of the whole picture. The town is full of old destroyed lots that used to be buildings. It's interesting to walk around. Also, there are cool little motorcycles that have been converted into taxis that motor around and produce a high-pitched rev. The plaza is charming and we're about 8 blocks from the ocean. It's hot all the time, so it's back to shorts and a tank top. The crooks on the bus from Cuzco to Pisco stole my sandals out of an outer backpack pocket, so it's boots all day from now on. Oh well, only 8 more days til I leave anyhow. We've met some GREAT people already. The artisanship here is by far the best I've seen anywhere. For some reason, the rent is cheaper than anywhere we've been before, but the food is about twice as expensive. Today, one of our missions is to find the cheap places to eat. Granted, the meals we have eaten are delicious and sizeable, but it's nice to have cheap options as well. This city has a good feel to it, so we'll likely stay a few days before moving up the coast to Lima. Eventually. It's only 290 km to Lima, which runs about $5 and three hours by bus. So we'll take our sweet time. There's a huge national park called Paracas that is fairly close, so we may go there and do some camping within this week.
Poor Pat got some kind of fever last night, so we're nursing him a little bit until he springs back to life. He's basically superhuman so we anticipate that it won't last very long. Plenty of water, some Ibuprofen, and he'll be back to kicking tail pretty soon. I need to be vigilant with the sunscreen as it's like an oven out here. I'm considerably whiter after my stay in Cuzco, since the sun rarely comes out there, so it's back to hiding in the shade until my skin acclimates once again.
As stories happen, I'll tell them. Also, I'll put a bunch of photos of Pisco up once I take them. It's got a unique look for sure. Ta ta for now. It's ciesta time, then off for another adventure. The nights here are long and warm, so it's best to stay out late.
Dignified,
Brad
However that's only a tiny slice of the whole picture. The town is full of old destroyed lots that used to be buildings. It's interesting to walk around. Also, there are cool little motorcycles that have been converted into taxis that motor around and produce a high-pitched rev. The plaza is charming and we're about 8 blocks from the ocean. It's hot all the time, so it's back to shorts and a tank top. The crooks on the bus from Cuzco to Pisco stole my sandals out of an outer backpack pocket, so it's boots all day from now on. Oh well, only 8 more days til I leave anyhow. We've met some GREAT people already. The artisanship here is by far the best I've seen anywhere. For some reason, the rent is cheaper than anywhere we've been before, but the food is about twice as expensive. Today, one of our missions is to find the cheap places to eat. Granted, the meals we have eaten are delicious and sizeable, but it's nice to have cheap options as well. This city has a good feel to it, so we'll likely stay a few days before moving up the coast to Lima. Eventually. It's only 290 km to Lima, which runs about $5 and three hours by bus. So we'll take our sweet time. There's a huge national park called Paracas that is fairly close, so we may go there and do some camping within this week.
Poor Pat got some kind of fever last night, so we're nursing him a little bit until he springs back to life. He's basically superhuman so we anticipate that it won't last very long. Plenty of water, some Ibuprofen, and he'll be back to kicking tail pretty soon. I need to be vigilant with the sunscreen as it's like an oven out here. I'm considerably whiter after my stay in Cuzco, since the sun rarely comes out there, so it's back to hiding in the shade until my skin acclimates once again.
As stories happen, I'll tell them. Also, I'll put a bunch of photos of Pisco up once I take them. It's got a unique look for sure. Ta ta for now. It's ciesta time, then off for another adventure. The nights here are long and warm, so it's best to stay out late.
Dignified,
Brad
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Links to all my Photos (for those of you who aren't on FaceBook)
I FINALLY figured out how to do this. For those of you who are seeing these photos for the first time, I both apologize for the extreme delay and hope you enjoy them.
Brazil
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2014872&id=1445169559&l=d2823b9013
Brazilian Carnaval and more
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2016257&id=1445169559&l=086fea3538
Morro de Sao Paulo
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2016258&id=1445169559&l=808102dc75
Chile and Perú
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2019021&id=1445169559&l=b468c26d42
Machu Picchu and more Perú
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2019503&id=1445169559&l=d486ad8ad0
Wrestling Match with Pat and Andy
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2019573&id=1445169559&l=5ec2bb90f5
Last days of Cuzco, plus Randomimity
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2019830&id=1445169559&l=ca1ee69bee
There ya go. Next time I do a big trip like this, I'll bring a higher quality camera for the distance shots. Thanks for bearing with me, folks. We're killing about another 3 hours before we hump our gear to the bus terminal and take the long one to the ocean. (dripping with sarcasm) I can't WAIT to sleep on the bus. Let's hope the movies aren't bootlegs, the sound isn't blaring and crackly, and the included meals are edible. Yippee Kiy Yay. Bye, Cuzco.
Con gusto,
Brad
Brazil
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2014872&id=1445169559&l=d2823b9013
Brazilian Carnaval and more
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2016257&id=1445169559&l=086fea3538
Morro de Sao Paulo
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2016258&id=1445169559&l=808102dc75
Chile and Perú
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2019021&id=1445169559&l=b468c26d42
Machu Picchu and more Perú
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2019503&id=1445169559&l=d486ad8ad0
Wrestling Match with Pat and Andy
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2019573&id=1445169559&l=5ec2bb90f5
Last days of Cuzco, plus Randomimity
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2019830&id=1445169559&l=ca1ee69bee
There ya go. Next time I do a big trip like this, I'll bring a higher quality camera for the distance shots. Thanks for bearing with me, folks. We're killing about another 3 hours before we hump our gear to the bus terminal and take the long one to the ocean. (dripping with sarcasm) I can't WAIT to sleep on the bus. Let's hope the movies aren't bootlegs, the sound isn't blaring and crackly, and the included meals are edible. Yippee Kiy Yay. Bye, Cuzco.
Con gusto,
Brad
Monday, April 13, 2009
Last day in Cuzco (for real this time)
It has been raining for about an hour STEADILY! While crossing the street with Andy to get some internet time before nightfall, I got dusted pretty well with muddy water by a passing taxi. Prick. Really though, all I can do about it is laugh it off. It's wet everywhere and it's basically unavoidable. Oh well, comfort is boring.
Today I got up early and went to the gym. EVERY single business was closed the last couple of days due to Easter. We even had trouble getting our meals without a lengthy walk. So today, I got my fix on exercise and said my final farewell to the cool owner of Vim's Gym, Cesar. With muscles burning, I bought some milk at our favorite botillería, or literally "bottle store," and gave a long English lesson to the sweet girl that works there. Rosa is studying to be a teacher and will graduate in two years, so we had a lesson on perfect modals and the shoulds/woulds/coulds/mays/mights and how they change between languages. The guys were just getting up, so we all went DIY on lunch today.
Pat felt like getting lost by himself downtown with his guitar, so Andy and I got some soup and some beer at a little dive restaurant near our current hostal and watched most of Jumanji in Spanish. The Village People (probably very few, or maybe none, of them are original Village People) will play a show here in Cuzco on the 18th, and the radio is flooded with advertisements for their concert. Wouldn't it be funny if they played the whole show without playing Macho Man or YMCA? I think so.
Happy belated Easter to everybody, too. Feliz Pascua. Yesterday, we took quite a long hike up a hill to the tall white statue of Jesus that overlooks Cuzco. It was tiresome, but we still had fun doing it and saw many fantastic views of the city below. I'll put photos on FaceBook as soon as possible. I FINALLY learned how to paste a public link to my pictures into the blog (now that I'm almost leaving the continent, sorry people), so y'all should be able to see all of them once I do that. We saw a killer little ancient labyrinth called Qenqo and met some cool folks from Barcelona that were terrified to touch the llamas grazing there. Even though a big male spat at me, a cute little baby llama liked me a lot and I helped the pretty young Barceleña overcome her fear of foreign animals.
Overall, we've loved Cuzco immensely. It is completely oriented around pedestrian traffic and has lovely scenery, polite and informative police officers, ample good smells and few bad smells, a cozy ancient atmosphere, great architecture, abnormal but normally pleasant weather, and good deals on food and lodging.
Tomorrow we'll check out of the hostal and kill time until our LONG overnight bus to Pisco. There won't be another post for a bit, but fear not. I won't forget y'all. Happy 50th, Aunt Clemencia!
Un mil de abrazos, Brad
Today I got up early and went to the gym. EVERY single business was closed the last couple of days due to Easter. We even had trouble getting our meals without a lengthy walk. So today, I got my fix on exercise and said my final farewell to the cool owner of Vim's Gym, Cesar. With muscles burning, I bought some milk at our favorite botillería, or literally "bottle store," and gave a long English lesson to the sweet girl that works there. Rosa is studying to be a teacher and will graduate in two years, so we had a lesson on perfect modals and the shoulds/woulds/coulds/mays/mights and how they change between languages. The guys were just getting up, so we all went DIY on lunch today.
Pat felt like getting lost by himself downtown with his guitar, so Andy and I got some soup and some beer at a little dive restaurant near our current hostal and watched most of Jumanji in Spanish. The Village People (probably very few, or maybe none, of them are original Village People) will play a show here in Cuzco on the 18th, and the radio is flooded with advertisements for their concert. Wouldn't it be funny if they played the whole show without playing Macho Man or YMCA? I think so.
Happy belated Easter to everybody, too. Feliz Pascua. Yesterday, we took quite a long hike up a hill to the tall white statue of Jesus that overlooks Cuzco. It was tiresome, but we still had fun doing it and saw many fantastic views of the city below. I'll put photos on FaceBook as soon as possible. I FINALLY learned how to paste a public link to my pictures into the blog (now that I'm almost leaving the continent, sorry people), so y'all should be able to see all of them once I do that. We saw a killer little ancient labyrinth called Qenqo and met some cool folks from Barcelona that were terrified to touch the llamas grazing there. Even though a big male spat at me, a cute little baby llama liked me a lot and I helped the pretty young Barceleña overcome her fear of foreign animals.
Overall, we've loved Cuzco immensely. It is completely oriented around pedestrian traffic and has lovely scenery, polite and informative police officers, ample good smells and few bad smells, a cozy ancient atmosphere, great architecture, abnormal but normally pleasant weather, and good deals on food and lodging.
Tomorrow we'll check out of the hostal and kill time until our LONG overnight bus to Pisco. There won't be another post for a bit, but fear not. I won't forget y'all. Happy 50th, Aunt Clemencia!
Un mil de abrazos, Brad
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