The Nederlanders

Everyone on the Titicaca tour got on well, but we really had fun spending time and talking with a couple from the Netherlands. They had been traveling from Liima on their way to Cuzco and we were on our way to Lima coming from Cuzco. So, we told each other about our travels so far and our plans for travel over the next couple of weeks. Turned out they were going to Bolivia and is sounded super awesome, so we got excited to look into doing the same. We decided to travel together, but to first go and do research at our respective hotels, then meet for drinks and dinner. Turns out we did not have enough time to squeeze in Bolivia and the largest salt plains in the world, but we did have the best dinner of the trip. It was like hanging out with old freinds.


Pics: Inge smiling on the boat; Mark and Inge working with the kids at the Amantani school.

Mas Titicaca

On the second day, we cruised on over to the smaller island of Taquile, for another hike and lunch. We were on a tour with a group of three other couples and had lunch together at the top of the island. At the restaurant, the table was set up last supper style, so everyone had a beyond spectacular panoramic view of such natural beauty it almost made me choke...or maybe it was the spicy salsa and coca tea. On the way back to Puno I asked the guid if it was safe to swim and if we could stop the boat in the middle of the lake. Yes, yes, and hell yes I jumped into Lake Titicaca, joined by a brave cohort from Chicago/Russia. Oh, and yes, it was cold!!

Amantani

The second part of the day, we traveled to the middle of the lake to the island Amantani. No running water, no toilets (to speak of), and no electricity. We were glad we remembered the flashlight, because this was where we spent the night with an island host family. Non-comfort aside, or more likely thanks to it, this was one experience we will gladly not forget. We climbed over 1000 ft from the lake to the peak of the island, where we stood at about 14,000 ft above sea level. Definitely more of a workout for the lungs than the quads, but worth it for the extraordinary sunset view. Our island host mother was super nice and we did our best to converse in Spanish at meal times while she cooked and served us in her clay hut kitchen swarming with flies and flickering with candlelight.

Islas de Uros de Titicaca de Puno de Peru de...

Our next stop was the city of Puno on the Lake Titikaka. Puno was not too much different from Cuzco, Ollantay, or Aguas outside of location and size; The same restaurants and the same souveniers. However, the Titikaka tour we took was as unique as they come. We started out early in the morning on a boat to the "floating islands" of Uros. These Islands are not named in a figurative nature as I had originally believed; they are actually floating. The quick of it is: the local plentiful reed that grows like a weed in the lake has a root base that, upon decomposition, produces a gas that makes the roots and surrounding soil super bouyant. They take blocks of these root systems, tie them together, lay the reeds themselves on top, and periodically put down new layers of reed. The end result, an honest to goodness floating island with a ground of reeds soft to the step but dry as desert--mostly. The place was exploited by tourism, but they seemed happy enough to have radio and television working on solar powered batteries. Everything was made of this reed, they even ate it. They do not have toilets.

Loki

Our hostel reservations got mixed up again in Cuzco, but this time they gave us a room that belonged in a four-star hotel. You would not believe this room...and in a hostel. King sized bed, two sinks in front of a ginormous mirror in the bathroom, removable shower head with the hottest water, and the view, oh wow, the view. Posting Pics, but again, will not due justice to the real thing. The hostel was called Loki and I can recommend it for services and price, but we will most likely be staying at The Point--Loki's biggest rival hostel--for the next three cities, if alll goes well.

This Little Piggy Had Queso

Pigs in a blanket, sort of: un sol (apx 37 cents). Sketchy street food, but awesome!

Cuzco

Cuzco, as you can imagine, is like most tourist cities. Souveniers, ho(s)tels, restaurants, souveniers, churches, and more souveniers. We ventured out, but not too far. We went to the big local market; about three blocks away we were trying to figure out what on earth could smell so bad. We figured it wasn't pee or poo in the streets or alleys and we didn't see any dead dogs around. When we finally got into the market we almost choked! The first thing we saw were piles and mounds and globs of raw meats for sale in the warm daylight. We practically ran...no, we did run. Which is why there are no pictures for your vomitting--I mean viewing--pleasure, sorry. It was a really cool experience though, to stretch our legs and get out of the tourist race and see some of the city. We've talked to people who had stayed and are staying in Cuzco for weeks. I recommend a couple of days, though there is much to do and see outside of the city.

Our last night there, we going to bed and heard some wicked loud music. We thought it must be comig from the hostel bar, as we had to wear earplugs to hang out there the night before. But it turned out that is was coming from the Plaza de Armas (main square). There was a big concert going on, and we had a pretty sweet view of the thing. So, again, I will do no justice but post the pic anyway.

The Germans

We met a girl from Germany while we were waiting in line, and chatted her up for an hour while we waited for the busses. Her boyfriend was actually hiking straight up the mountain and meeting her at the top. We hopped on seperate busses and, as with most encounters of that kind, figured we'd said goodbye for the first and last time simultaneously. Turns out that assumption was wrong. We met up with them later in the ruins under some shelter waiting out a really heavy downpour and then again in Ollantay at the train station, all of us looking for a collectivo (shared taxi). They are on a one-full-year trip around the world and were half way through, having finished most of the Eastern hemisphere, and were now taking on the Americas. We ended up sharing a two hour collectivo to Cuzco and may meet up with them in Seattle as their world tour has them in the area in September. Small small world.

The pic is of a horse we saw while in the taxi together. No pic of our actual friends the "Germans," but a memory shared nonetheless.

Machu Picchu

I'm posting some pictures of Machu Picchu. But, as anyone who's ever been there or has taken pictures of anything beautiful knows, they will do no justice. We woke up at 4:30am in an attempt to be one of the first 200 people up the mountain, yeah right. People must have been lined up at one in the morning, based on the number there at 5am. It rained on us all day, and though we complained a bit and thought it would be nice to see Machu Picchu bathed in sunlight, I think we caught a glimpse of it at its most majestic, nestled into a mountain side/top wrapped in a blanket of mist and clouds.

Aguas Calientes

In Aguas Calientes--the small town with access to Machu Picchu--we had reservations for two beds in a four-bed shared room at the Pirwa Hostel. They failed to meet us and the train station as they had promised, and I believe it was because of that they gave us our own two-bed room with private bathroom with hot water showers for the reservation price. We were super psyched at first, but reality set in when we realized that the bathroom had no ventilation and had not been cleaned in weeks or months. The room smelled like a hockey locker room and the bathroom walls had so much mold on them I thought it would come alive and eat us in our sleep. Pirwa: not recommended.

Side note: If you are out to eat in Peru and you get a bill with tax listed, DO NOT PAY! It is a "tourist tax" and is just an attempt take you for a few bucks. We learned the hard way.

But not to be down, it was an awesome piece of the trip. And the pedestrian only cobble street city was cool to stroll around in while waiting to see Machu Picchu or waiting for the train out.

Pics: View from our hostel room window; Pickle on the bridge from Aguas to the train station; Main Street, Aguas Calientes.

Take the first train to Aguas Calientes-ville

The train ride from Ollantay to Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu) was beautiful. The tracks traveled along a gushing river that was winding it's way though the Andes. From the train, the mountains were beyond majestic. I would look up at an impossibly tall mountain with an immediately sheer cliff face and a peak just barely melting into a cloud. Then look beyond, and see a second mountain stretching through the cloud, with a practically forever far away peak resting above and beyond the highest clouds (remember, we're looking up from a 10,000 ft vantage point).

Ollantaytambo

Did I mention that Ollantay had breathtaking views?

Ollantaytambo

Ollantaytambo (Ollantay), Sacred Valley, Peru: amazingly cool ruins, breathtaking views, and a great prelude to Machu Picchu. Ollanty was a very small, dusty town filled with a hundred restaurants and shops serving and selling the exact same thing as one another. One could spend days deciding were to eat breakfast if one were the indecisive type. Thankfully we are not so indecisive, we had decided where to eat breakfast by dinner time. We stayed in the first hostel we looked at--the cheapest one of course--of the one's we researched online. It was super cheap with no frills at all, but had beds and hot water. Hot water, yeah, if you know how to use it. the water is heated by coils in the shower head, and like silly Americans, we turned the water on full blast and frowned when we found they were all out of hot water. Whoops!! Half way through the coldest--I'm talking 31 degrees cold--shower ever, the maintenance guy yelled in to us that he could fix it (granted that conversation took about five minutes through the door while I stood there naked trying to speak Quechua-Spanish). Pickle and I finally crammed into the little toilet room next to the shower and the guy came in, turned down the water pressure, and eureka, we had the best hottest lowest-pressure drizzle shower ever. Silly Americans!!

Funkie Flight

The third leg in our 4-flight, 48-hour trek from Durango, CO to Cuzco, Peru. We were in row 30, the last set of seats on the plane. Thankfully, we did not have any children behind us to kick the backs of our seats the whole way. However, the toilets were directly behind us, and I'm not sure if it was the food in Mexico City or the in-flight snack, but there was a line for those toilets at least three people deep for the entire 6 hour flight. The beer and tequila were coming from the galley behind the toilets and at one point the back of the plane was transformed into a nightclub. A big group-line waiting for liquor and toilet, and swaying and bopping so much from all of the turbulence it looked as though they were line dancing.

LAX

If you are ever in LAX with a very long overnight layover and NOT in the Tom Brad[le]y Int'l Terminal (TBIT-pronounced"tee-bit"), go there. We were unable to check in for our 7am flight to Mexico City last night and the service rep recommended we sleep on the floor by the baggage claim for maximum comfort. But after a little exploring, we found the "teebit" with cushy sleeping banquets and, although we didn't see any celebrities, we did sleep with Julia Roberts.

Pizza Chef

I don't have a photo, but I had to mention how much it meant to me to get to have lunch at the Chef with Nikki, my Mom, and my Dad.

Durango

During our week and a half in Durango, it seemed like we did everything but go down the river: we ate at favorite local joints, saw softball games, ate at favorite local joints, took a hike, got old west photos, ate at favorite local joints... But our original intention was to float the Animas River everyday, strange how that happens. We had an awesome time regardless, and the trip ended up being about seeing old friends and family, which I'll take over the river any day.

The whole time there, the only pictures I took were at the wedding, but I shot about 300 pics that day. I will spare you the bulk and show only a couple of my favorites. We'll be posting most of them on facebook if anyone is interested seeing them.

Burlington

Again, we let the camera take a nap in Burlington, but had a great time seeing ol Ba, Nicky, Kate, Trav, Liam, and Finn. And whadayaknow, Brian-o showed up. That was pretty cool, pretty cool indeed. And I've gotta give big props to the camper. Oh, and the fish-n-chips at Ri Ra(s), I recommend 'em!!

Windsor

All in all, I would not say that we had a stinky visit back in New England. However, it was a bit pungent at times;-)

Gorgeous!!

Need I say more?!

Boston

So we docked in Boston, had one last Brokmeyer meal together (those were all very fun), and made our way up to Windsor. Regrettably, we left the camera in the purse in Beantown, but snapped a few picks of Elvis in Chelsea when we went back for Bob's wicked awesome short stage productions the following week.

Cruisin'

Every night was a party, and every night our cabin boy made us a new towel animal. These are a few notable nights and towels.