Highway 1 All the Way

So far, we are really enjoying Chile. I suppose that after traveling in third world countries for five months, the amenities in Chile are a welcome relief: well-stocked stores, abundance of good wine (yeah!), comfortable accommodations, well educated people, potable water and high speed internet.

We take a break from driving and spend three days at San Pedro de Atacama, which is in the high desert near salt flats. The town is small and very touristy, but has a laid-back feeling; the town is what I envision Sedona or Sante Fe would be like. The dusty, unpaved streets are lined with rustic adobe hotels, upscale restaurants, art galleries and tour agencies. I constantly smell burning incense, but never actually see any.

We take an organized tour to Laguna Cejar, a small salt water pond. We are led to believe that the water is “temperate’, but it is actually freezing. All of us manage to take a plunge – mine lasts all of 12 miserable seconds… We then visit a couple of perfectly round ponds caused by falling meteorites. The tour ends by watching the incredible sunset. The desert turns from brown to a range of pinks, purples and oranges – just stunning! We enjoy the changing scenery as we sip Pisco Sours, which taste like an a modified margarita – yum!

On two separate occasions, we go horseback riding: Paul and Quinn go together, then the next day, Quinn and I go (Connor is officially done with riding). We take a ride through the desert and small towns for two hours. Quinn’s horse is spunky and loves to run. He rides the horse far ahead, then needs to turn back to meet us. He gets twice as much riding as the rest of us. He handles the horse very well and even helps our guide take off the saddles and bridles after the ride. This kid is crazy about horses!

We have one week to drive through the desert and along the coast, then will go to Portillo to ski and snowboard. The weather changes drastically here – from the high 80s in the desert, to 60s at the coast and 30s and 40s at night. Kind of like California…

We finally made it to Chile, our original destination! Here is an update on the remainder of our trip. Patrick left on Monday, after spending 3 ½ weeks in Ecuador and Peru with us. Connor leaves from Santiago on August 22^nd so that he can start his freshman year of high school with his classmates. He will spend his last week of the trip snowboarding in Portillo, Chile with us. He will stay with our friends/neighbors, the Kellermans, until we return.

Quinn, Paul and I will return home on October 5^th. We will spend the last two months of the trip in Chile and Argentina, then either sell or ship the minivan. Our original plan was to reach Portillo, Chile, then drive home, resulting in a nine month trip. Our feeling now is that we absolutely do not want to drive all of the way home and deal with shipping our car from Columbia to Panama. We are starting to get tired of being on the road and think that we will be very ready to return in a couple months. Yet, we are excited about some upcoming new adventures: skilling/snowboarding, wine tasting and ranch stays.

Lots of good pictures this time: Machu Picchu, Lake Titicaca and Arequipa. Enjoy!

http://picasaweb.google.com/102902177234791651515/Week22Peru#

Southern Peru continues to intrigue us. We stay for a couple of days at a fun town, Puno, on Lake Titicaca, the highest navigatable lake in the world. We visit the floating islands of Uros. The islands, as well as the houses and boats, are made from the reeds growing in the lake.  Walking on the islands is disconcerting – very smushy and at one point, we feel like our feet will break through to the water. The locals are colorfully dressed in hand-embroidered jackets and skirts. The women wear bowler hats and braid their long hair, attaching large pompons to the end of their braids. I enjoy watching the pompoms bobbing around and almost buy myself a set, but figure that realistically, I will never braid my hair and wear pompoms…

The floating islands are very touristy and we figure that the locals make quite a lot of money by selling their handicrafts, food and rides on elaborate straw boats (referred to as Mercedes Benz). However the locals do a good job at explaining the history and life style, which seems to override the tourist element. We visit the island homes – a simple one room straw building with two mattresses on the floor for four people. Their kitchen is outside; we never figure out where the bathroom is. One house has solar panels and batteries to power a small TV and stereo “for the kids”.

The town of Puno is touristy – the tourism industry is well established and strong in Southern Peru. Yet the town has a nice balance of international and Peruvian tourists, and locals in both traditional dress and modern clothes. We stray from “gringo alley” to the local market. The girls giggle when they see Quinn and the ladies say, “Que lindo!” We see many variations of potatoes – some that don’t even look like potatoes. Quinn is eager to go on the swan boats on a pond near the lake, and he happily steers around the pond while I paddle. We see lots of interesting birds,  even ducks with blue bills. No gringos on the swan boats except for us…

After Lake Titicaca, we drive across the arid highlands to Arequipa. At 14,000 feet, we pass herds of llamas and vicunas, relatives of llamas and alpacas. Arequipa is a large city (1 million +) and surprisingly cosmopolitan. The city dates back to the 1500s and is filled with majestic, Spanish style buildings, as well as upscale shops, hotels and restaurants. We visit the Monasterio de Santa Catalina, a convent from the 1500s that was closed to the public until 1970. The convent is a city within a city – a maze of pedestrian alleys, houses, gardens and religious buildings, all brightly painted. The nuns had rather luxurious accommodations for the time: private sitting room, kitchen, bathroom and terrace. Most nuns even had servants. Seems like quite a nice lifestyle.

Patrick leaves tomorrow after 3 ½ wonderful weeks of travelling with us. Fortunately, he got to see some of the most amazing sites of the entire trip (Galapagos Islands, Machu Picchu and the floating islands on Lake Titicaca), but also the most unscenic part (Northern Peruvian desert). We will all miss him very much.

Machu Picchu is spectacular and even exceeds our expectations. The location perched high on the side of a mountain is truly incredible. We feel like we are on top of the world. The ruins are extensive and well-preserved. So much to explore! The royal palace, temple of the sun, sacred plaza, residential houses, aqueducts, terraced farmlands and endless passageways. Unfortunately, we can only spend a couple hours there since we need to catch the train back to Cusco, however, we could easily stay for two days.

The trip to and from Machu Picchu is intense: wake up at 6am, 20 minute taxi to the train station, 4 hours train ride to Aguas Caliente, 20 minute terror bus ride to Machu Picchu, then the reverse at the end of the day, finally returning to Cusco at 8:30pm. Fortunately, Machu Picchu is about 3,000 feet lower than Cusco, so it is much easier to walk through the ruins and climb the many staircases.

Many travelers complain about the crowds at Machu Picchu, and yes, the place it filled with tourists and the costs reflect tourist prices. However, I find that the cost is unimportant for visiting such an amazing place. And Machu Picchu is plenty spacious enough to accommodate all of the visitors. Several people “escape” the crowds by finding a quiet spot and having a picnic. Again, I wish that we have more time to just sit and enjoy the stunning site.

We spend our last day in Cusco resting, shopping and visiting the cathedral. The cathedral is actually three churches joined together, built in the 1500s and 1700s, and is the most ornate cathedral that we have seen on the whole trip. I especially like the painting of the Last Supper, which shows cuy (guinea pig) as the supper. Yum!

Cusco is a shopper’s paradise. Sweaters, ponchos, jackets, hats, scarves, gloves, blankets, slippers, stuffed animals, rugs, etc. all made from alpaca. The artisan market is colorful and jammed with goods. We have done little shopping thus far and buying authentic Peruvian items is a treat.

We leave for Lake Titicaca tomorrow to visit the floating islands. Titicaca is actually higher then Cusco so our visit may be brief so that we can get to a more comfortable altitude.

We finally transition from the boring desert to the spectacular scenery of the Andes. The drive from Nazca to Cusco is incredible – Patrick says that it is know as one of the top 10 drives in the world. We drive through the dry desert, arid highlands, fertile farmlands, rushing rivers and even snow-capped mountains. We pass herds of sheep, goats, horses, cows, pigs, donkeys, mules and hundreds and hundreds of alpacas. We even have to stop the car to wait for alpacas to cross the road- they are not the smartest animals and just stare at the car. The altitude change is intense – going from about 1,500 feet in Nazca to almost 10,000 feet in Cusco, and traversing mountain passes upwards of 13,000 feet. All of us suffer minor forms of altitude sickness: nausea, light-headedness, stomach aches, shortness of breath and headaches (2 day migraine for me…). After a couple days and chewing coco leaves, we are acclimated.

Cusco is a wonderful city – cobblestone streets, narrow pedestrian alleys, beautiful architecture, and grand plazas. Also many tourist agencies, souvenir shops, hotels and restaurants. The city is a mix of a charming old town, touristy places and modern local areas. We find Paddy´s Pub, the highest Irish pub in the world, and take Patrick there for a Guinness.

Machu Picchu tomorrow! We are well prepared with our sets of tickets (train, bus and admission) and food (sandwiches made by Chef Paul, coco leaves and candy, and lots of snacks and water). Fortunately, the weather is perfect: sunny, clear and in the 70s. Should be an amazing day!

Here are some pictures from our desert drive through Peru: Sullana, Huanchaco and Nazca:

http://picasaweb.google.com/102902177234791651515/Week21Peru#

After leaving Ecuador, we spend about one week driving through the desert in Peru. The scenery is drab and dreary – endless gray-brown sand dotted with dusty, busy cities. This is by far the least scenic part of the trip. Peru also seems to be the poorer than most countries that we have visited. We frequently pass shanty towns – villages filled with small shacks made of reeds, bamboo or cement. Even in large cities, most construction is not completed – rebar is exposed at the tops of buildings, windows are not added, top floors are not finished, or even only the walls of the bottom floor are partially built.

Mid-way through our “desert drive”, we come upon a fun spot, Huanchaco, a beach town on the Pacific. We almost feel like we are back in California! The weather is foggy in the morning and the sun comes out in the afternoon. The town is filled with surf schools and shops, funky bars and restaurants, and beach hotels, with names like “Las Brisas”, “My Friend”, and “Sol y Mar”. We watch novices learning how to surf, donned in wetsuits. Are we home?

Obviously not, as we are in the southern hemisphere… Besides street vendors selling local wares like alpaca sweaters and ponchos, the big difference is the reed boats used by local fisherman. The boats are handmade by tying reeds together and look like a big “J”. Local men use the boats to fish in the morning and also take tourists on rides for about $3. We refrain due to the cold air and water temperatures.

Our last day in the desert is spent in Nazca, famous for the Nazca lines, desert “paintings” with a mysterious origin. To see the lines, we board a 6 seater plane – 2 for the pilots and 4 for passengers (Paul stays on land because he hates flying). Within 30 minutes, we fly over about 14 line drawings – absolutely fascinating! My favorite is a monkey with a spiral tail. The flamingo is exceptionally large and elaborate. Unfortunately, with the glare from the plane’s window, the lines are difficult to photograph.  Quinn almost gets sick from the banking of the turns, but manages to survive the flight without getting ill.

We end our desert adventure with a trip to an ancient cemetery from 1200 AD with 14 exposed tombs. Lots of mummies, bones and skulls, and a bit gruesome and weird, yet very cool!

Now we head to the Andes to go to Cusco and Machu Picchu, and the cold! The drive from Nazca to Cusco will take two days and we will cross mountain passes of over 12,000 feet….

Here are pictures from our last days in Ecuador: Quito, Los Banos and Pasaje (near the border):

http://picasaweb.google.com/102902177234791651515/Week20Ecuador#

 Enjoy exquisite Ecuador!

We spend our final days in Ecuador in Los Banos, a small town famous for thermal baths and adventure sports. For our ¨adventure¨ day, we split up – Paul, Patrick and Connor go river rafting and Quinn and I go horseback riding and rappelling down waterfalls.

The ¨big boys¨ have a picturesque rafting trip through the mountains and into the jungle. They almost tip the raft when they run into rough, shallow water.

Quinn and I take a 2 hour horseback ride through the country. Our horses are named Popeye and Brutus, and they do not like each other. Each time my horse, Brutus, tries to pass, Popeye, Quinn´s horse, tries to bite. We go down a muddy path with the horses slip-sliding down. I am ready to walk, but our guide informs me that it is better to stay on the horse. We reach a remote bar and cafe by taking a chair attached to a zip-line across a deep ravine. Quinn thinks that all this is great; I fear it is sketchy. On our way back to town, Brutus decides that he does not want to move and all of us need to change horses (our guide takes stubborn Brutus). Quinn drops his jacket and our guide jumps off Brutus to get it. Meanwhile, Brutus starts running away. We go through town with our guide running after Brutus, Quinn trying to catch Brutus on his horse and I stay behind, tired of the crazy and temperamental beast. Too funny…

After replenishing ourselves with almuerzo tipico ($2.50 for soup, chicken, rice, beans, salad and drink – love the food prices in Ecuador!), we start our rappelling adventure. Donned in wetsuits, rain jackets and helmets, we attempt our first rappel. The waterfall is rushing and the rocks are slippery – quite challenging! Even fearless Quinn looks terrified as he rappels down in water rushing up to his waist. By the fourth waterfall rappel, we are ¨experts¨. The guide is impressed with Quinn – his eagerness, courage and helpfulness. A great day!

My main reason for visiting Los Banos is to go to the thermal baths and upon our departure day, we still have not gone. Paul and I decide to go early at 7am, before the kids wake-up, expecting a tranquil soak. However, the place is packed with people of all ages – kids swimming and splashing, adults chatting, old people being tended by their children. We retreat to the hot pool to soothe our aching muscles from the previous day´s activities and have a few moments to enjoy the bath and waterfall cascading from above.

Los Banos is a pleasant surprise – more beautiful, charming and adventure-oriented than I expected. A nice way to end our time in exquisite Ecuador.