Chewing it; not snorting it

Day 10: Currently in Cusco, Peru. Elevation 3,080m. Starting 5 day trek to Machu Picchu tomorrow. Doing an alternative trek called Salkantay that sounds pretty awesome. Also, it has really good reviews. We booked through our hostel (Hatun Tumi) for $250pp including everything except tip. We will be trekking from our current elevation to a height of over 4,000m. AHH climbing in altitude!!!! Feeling more or less ok but uh... you know.. issues with the bathroom. Eden has had a horrible bout of food poisoning. The rest of us are just hoping for the best. Immodium has become an absolute necessity.

Finally! I have successfully uploaded some photos!


Day 6: On the bus from Cuenca to Huaquillas. Angry & cold & cool scenery. Sums it up.


Day 6: In Tumbes, Peru after crossing the border (ugh) in Huaquillas. On a rickshaw. See Bill in mirror.


Day 6: Eden´s fake Peruvian money acquired in Huaquillas, Ecuador. Which is real? Which is fake?


Day 7: Day 7 blended into Day 8 by being on a 22 hour bus ride. In contrast to our route in Ecuador, northern Peru is just one big desert / or one big beach since it goes to the ocean. The photo is taken from the double decker bus. I sat in the very front which was nice for its panoramic views. However, it was way hotter in the front even with the a/c. For future rides, I think I´ll stick to the back of the bus.


Day 7: Another shot of the giant beach that is northern Peru, in panorama. First time I´ve seen 2 lanes on a cross-country road. Taken from the bus, again.


Day 7: Finally arrive in Lima. Photo taken a couple of blocks from our hostel up on the cliffs of Miraflores.


Day 8: In Lima, Peru at a restaurant in the Barranco area. I had a seafood soup with tons of sea urchin. Expand photo for sea urchin detail. We think this is also the meal that got Eden sick. :( Ceviche is good but comes with risk.


Day 9: Morning of day 10 we leave via plane for Cusco/Cuzco, Peru where we will embark on some serious trekking. View from the plane as it descends to land in the mountains. There are some serious crevaces seen here.


Day 9: Bill and I check out the local Cusco marketplace while Eden recovers in bed. We also pick up some COCA LEAVES!!!


Hah. 1 sole for a small bag of the stuff. Wonder how much cocaine that has... HMM. Anyway, coca leaves up here are a remedy for just about everything. I chew some for altitude sickness and bring it back to Eden for her stomach. Taste like tea leaves or any other herbs, really. Apparently it makes excellent tea.


Day 10: We went to bed really, really early on the 10th to get rest and also for Eden´s sake as she was bed-ridden. As such, we also wake up really, really early. Bill and I took a walk from our hostel to the Plaza de Armas that is still fairly empty at this early hour. We also stop for breakfast at Victor Victoria. Note: great & cheap bfast foods in Cusco! Check it out if you´re here.

Last update before leaving tomorrow morning (4:30am) for 5 days (4 of which will be shower free--ugh).

Day 10, continued: After breakfast we find Eden feeling better back at the hostel. Together, we visit some local shops, have a delicious and strong cappucino, and tour a couple of the cathedrals in the Plaza de Armas. One is a jesuit church and the other a catholic cathedral. No photos were allowed inside, regretfully... but they are both huge and beautiful.


The Catholic cathedral.

Eden and myself... view of the Plaza de Armas and Cusco from the top of the Jesuit church.

Flowers in the marketplace.

Local women with their llamas... and cellphones? After taking this photo, they proceeded to chase after me for moolah.

So... tomorrow morning, off to Machu Picchu. Then after that, we have had a little change of plans. Due to Bolivia´s newly enstated visa requirements for US citizens, Eden will not be able to enter Bolivia with any guarantee. Instead of trying to get in, we´ve decided to reroute our original itinerary as I definitely don´t want to cross the border into Bolivia and stay in La Paz alone--lots of horror stories there. The downside to this, no extreme bike ride down the world´s former most dangerous road in the world. 38miles (or km?) downhill from one of the highest points to the Amazon basin, outside of La Paz, Bolivia (the world´s highest capital city).

New itinerary: Instead of heading from Cusco to Arequipa to Puno and into Bolivia up by Lake Titicaca as originally planned, we will now go from Cusco straight to Arequipa (skipping Lake Titicaca all together b/c it sucks from the Peruvian side, apparently), and then we will head to Chile from Arequipa. From there, we will separate in San Pedro. I will head north into Bolivia (I am Canadian and can enter Bolivia without much ado) with the safety of a tour group to visit the Bolivian salt flats.

Eden will continue south either to Santiago, Chile or straight to Beunos Aires, Argentina. After the salt flats, I´ll be in Uyuni, Bolivia and then head to Tupiza, Bolivia and spend some time pretending to be Butch Cassidy riding horses in the landscape remniscent of Monument Valley, AZ, I am told. Lastly, I will somehow get to Beunos Aires without committing suicide on the multi-day bus ride. Perhaps I´ll just suck it in and take a flight from Salta, Argentina to BA. We shall see...

TRAVEL TIPS:

- ¨Backpacking¨ is kind of a misnomer. Eden, with her rolling backpack-style bag, has been very successful while Bill and I moan under the weights of our extremely heavy backpacks. For the most part, you leave your ¨backpack¨ at the hostel and take a daypack on treks and whatnot. The only time you need your full backpack is when transferring from city to city, hostel to hostel... and the roads are paved.

- San Luis water is preferrable over Cielo water here in Peru. Cielo tastes like Evian, which I hate. San Luis is good ol non-mineral, purified water, a la Dasani (sweet, sweet Dasani). Also, it´s a Coca Cola company.

- Bring a daypack (small backpack). You will need it for your Inca Trek and likely for many other multi-day tours and activities.