Day 109: Arequipa, Peru

Since Lin is feeling well enough to travel today we planned to hop on a night bus to Cusco tonight. Unfortunately, all bus travel in and out of Cusco has been suspended for 2 days due to large scale protests there. No one knows when buses will be allowed in because that depends on the protesters and whether things turn violent.

Mountains from on top of our hostel

Anyway, we are stuck in Arequipa yet another night. In order to deal with such a terrible position, the only way we could possibly cope was, of course, to go to the movies! ”Slumdog Millionaire” is one of the greatest movies of all time. Honest, sad, and funny, reflecting all too real conditions and trials for the people of India, it was heart rending and reminded us of all the things we normally take for granted.

Day 108: Arequipa, Peru

Lin woke up sweating, feeling like there was an angry house cat clawing it`s way out of her stomach. Ugh…Now she was struggling to stay warm. Could it have been the food from last night? Or was it the water in a grungy looking white bucket we saw being carried into the restaurant in Copacabana from whence her hot chocolate had sprung? Maybe it was just the reputedly horrid water in Peru. The flu even? Whatever it was, Lin was absolutely sure she was dying and couldn`t have welcomed it more. Read the rest of this entry »

Day 107: Arequipa, Peru

She had just finished a tiny plate of salad, had only been in the restaurant for ten minutes, tops. All of a sudden she snatches her jacket and purses and dramatically flounces up to the counter in a blur of varied shades of purple (you know, one of those people who likes to wear one color at a time so everything matches, even eyeshadow?). The poor waiter could do nothing against the unwarranted, spitting anger of this monochromatic woman. Read the rest of this entry »

Day 106: Arequipa, Peru

Saben`s camera (Canon G9 if anyone would like a recommendation on a camera NOT to buy)–our only one now!– has decided to die. Apparently all the luck of our llamas was used to save Lin from being shanked on Palm Sunday. Very unfortunate because we`re heading to Machu Picchu in a few days AND because today is Good Friday and massive amounts of people are parading through the streets singing depressing songs, wearing nice clothes, and carrying a varity of strange items such as a glass box with a wax statue of Jesus and a wooden noise maker box to let everyone know what was coming. We missed some really interesting photo opportunities as we witnessed how people begin to celebrate Easter. The streets were dark except for the “holy flames“ of candles held as they processed in the reenactment of Jesus` funeral. Hundreds (if not over 1000) of people lined the square. An astonishing procession that we are sorry to have not been able to share with you but very pleased to have witnessed ourselves.

Day 105: Arequipa, Peru

Saben looked at Lin with a face both disgusted and utterly freaked out. The bus driver must have been hungry because he stopped 3 times in one hour for a “break.“ At these stops, the aisles would flood with people, 3 bodies deep at any given second, each one vying for a sale. The bus smelled like a corncob covered in fruit and rubbing alcohol, body odor, bad breath and something else entirely indescribable mixed between human and food smells. Tragic really. Read the rest of this entry »

Day 104: Puno, Peru

Well, we couldn`t help it but we had to unceremoniously exit Bolivia without even saying goodbye. Simple but frustrating reason: no working ATM in Copacabana! We underestimated our time and costs here and, being left with only enough money for either one more night or a bus ticket to another town with an ATM, we decided we had to leave.

Before we left we had just enough time to see the massive church that dominates the square in Copacabana.

Massive Church in Copacabana

And to climb the ridiculous hill that rises above the city. It provides an amazing view of the town but its primary purpose is as a worship site for the Christians, Natives and the strange Bolivian mix of both. While we were there we were able to quietly watch a ceremony being given by an older man. He was in traditional native clothes burning a clay animal sacrifice and incense at the foot of a statue of Jesus. It doesn’t get more Bolivia than that. Read the rest of this entry »

We LOVED (most parts of) Bolivia. It is most definitely one of our favorite countries we have ever been to. The countryside is astoundingly beautiful, the people are generally nice and helpful, they speak Spanish and not Portuguese, everything is dirt cheap, and the Bolivian traditional dress is stunningly colorful and intricate. Read the rest of this entry »

Day 103: Copacabana, Bolivia

Let`s just get something straight here: a piece of bread is most certainly NOT breakfast, no matter how many flavors of marmelade you serve with it. So imagine our delight when we stumbled upon a little hole in the wall place  you can`t really call a cafe and can`t really call a snack stand that serves salteñas! And what, you might ask, is a salteña?

saltena

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Day 102: La Paz, Bolivia

After getting over the initial anger and feeling stupid for having gotten robbed while I was right there, Lin could really see how laughable the robbery was although she has to buy a new purse and wallet now. But, on a brighter note, if she keeps getting robbed like this, there won`t be anything left in her backpack!! Everywhere we go we always get asked how we can travel for so long and have such small backpacks. Well, the truth is, we get robbed and that pretty much lightens the load!

Random La Paz photo

Today we failed to catch the last bus to Copacabana, Bolivia so we are stuck in La Paz one more wretched night. Maybe tomorrow things will go more according to plan?

Day 101: La Paz, Bolivia

Our story begins on Palm Sunday, it`s backdrop La Paz, Bolivia. We had awoken early eager to see the city with fresh eyes after a night`s rest. Breakfast was awful as expected.

We headed down to Saint Francis` Cathedral to see how the Palm Sunday festivities were lining up. It was awash with merchants selling everything from palm rings and crosses to chocolate easter eggs. A line had already formed at the entrance of the church as the priest was beginning his latin sermon. Read the rest of this entry »