We are on our way to our third country! Bolivia!
First stop: Copacabana, Bolivia
We had to get up early yet again to catch a bus to Copacabana. About 2 and 1/2 hours in we hit the border of Peru and Bolivia. We had to run around through a number of buildings to go through declaration of goods and immigration. Us luckly U.S. Citizens get to pay a hefty entry fee for the visa since we charge Bolivians the same thing to enter into our country. Once that was taken care of, we jumped back on the bus and into Copacabana.
Copacabana is a sleepy beach town apparently. It is scenic, nestled between two hills at 3900 meters or close to 13000 feet. We were confused as to why it was slow since it´s supposed to be high season right now. It was actually kind of nice to have a small town be so sleepy because we took it easy and we weren´t bothered very much. After all the organized tours in Cuzco, Machu Picchu and Puno, we decided to take it easy and leisurely spend our time as we wished. So the first day we walked along the lakefront, had some ice cream and then climb a short mountain that overlooks the city. At the top of the mountain was an incredible view of the lake and the entire town of Copacabana. For dinner we found a great traditional Bolivian restaurant--Jon had a whole grilled trout that was stuffed with ham, tomato and onions.
The next day, we decided to go to Chani, a small side town only 4km away from Copacabana. The road to Chani is flat, so we wanted to rent bikes, which would give Ching Jen lots of good practice (since the first time she road a bike was a year ago). However, the bike rental shops were closed, and thus we walked to Chani. The walk to Chani was pretty boring and dusty, but once there, we found a small bay with a beach. We took our shoes off and hung out on the beach for several hours, playing games and eating our boxed lunch. We had the beach to ourselves the whole time which was great and made it relaxing. For dinner we both had trout; Ching Jen had coconut curry with hers and Jon had another stuffed trout. Tomorrow we head to La Paz.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Puno
The morning after the trek we woke up before dawn to meet our bus to Puno. It was easier, although more expensive to get on the tourist bus and sleep all day. The bus made a few stops including an old 16th century church that is considered the ¨Sistine Chapel¨of the Americas.
Every surface was painted and sculpted. It was funny though because it was a mish mash of iconography; Incan stones and symbols, Islamic stars because of the spanish moorish influence, arabic tiles, italian tiles, paintings of saints peter and paul and Jesuit teachings.
Another stop was at Raqchi, an Incan site that has a huge 3 story structure that served as some sort of temple. There were large 10 foot in diameter columns and a complex of monastery buildings and round granaries. Otherwise the trip was nondescript. As we descened from Cuzco to Puno, the landscape changed from more rugged dry mountains to the harsh sunbleached highland plain. Puno is a Peruvian city on the north shore of Lake Titicaca, one of the highest lakes in the world. The elevation of Puno is around 12,500 feet. It was very cold with the chill off the lake. Our first day in Puno we went on the typical island tour. It was fun. We ran into some travellers we met on our trek and bus rides. The first stop was to the floating islands of Uros. The ¨native¨ people, who are very adjusted to tourism and commercialism, still live on islands made out of about 2 meters of reeds. Their houses and everything is made out of the reeds. Although it was touristy, this was neat to see. The second stop in the day was to Isla Taquille. This was less cool. We basically climbed up to the top, had lunch and walked down. The views though were pretty. The water is so clear and blue. It was like being out on the mediterranean except that the sun is blistering at this altitude.
Every surface was painted and sculpted. It was funny though because it was a mish mash of iconography; Incan stones and symbols, Islamic stars because of the spanish moorish influence, arabic tiles, italian tiles, paintings of saints peter and paul and Jesuit teachings.
Another stop was at Raqchi, an Incan site that has a huge 3 story structure that served as some sort of temple. There were large 10 foot in diameter columns and a complex of monastery buildings and round granaries. Otherwise the trip was nondescript. As we descened from Cuzco to Puno, the landscape changed from more rugged dry mountains to the harsh sunbleached highland plain. Puno is a Peruvian city on the north shore of Lake Titicaca, one of the highest lakes in the world. The elevation of Puno is around 12,500 feet. It was very cold with the chill off the lake. Our first day in Puno we went on the typical island tour. It was fun. We ran into some travellers we met on our trek and bus rides. The first stop was to the floating islands of Uros. The ¨native¨ people, who are very adjusted to tourism and commercialism, still live on islands made out of about 2 meters of reeds. Their houses and everything is made out of the reeds. Although it was touristy, this was neat to see. The second stop in the day was to Isla Taquille. This was less cool. We basically climbed up to the top, had lunch and walked down. The views though were pretty. The water is so clear and blue. It was like being out on the mediterranean except that the sun is blistering at this altitude.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Machu Picchu
Well, we made it!!
The trek and Machu Picchu was amazing. The trek portion was challenging, we covered three mountain peaks over 4000m high, walked around numerous clear blue green lakes and saw the front and back of the snow capped mountain, Victoria. We had 12 people on our trek, a great mix of international participants which made for great company. Along with us, we had two guides, and a staff of 5 who carried our sleeping bags and clothes (on horses) on our route as well as set up our tents and make fabulous meals. Both of us handled the altitude okay and just took the trek slow and steady. The scenary was breathtaking, but it was surprising how dry it was. It was like tundra vegetation and thankfully always sunny. On the first day, we immediately hit a steep climb within the first hour and it was a test of our fitness and breathing capacity. We were told that chewing coco leaves helps to expand one´s breathing capacity, but neither Jon nor I tried it. Many of our fellow participants said it didn´t really help anyway. Our guide Freddy, said that the Quechau people worshiped the snow because it is a form of water which provides for their survival and is a form of fertility.
We were all so well fed on this trip, the cooks somehow whipped up four our five dishes each meal, ranging from chicken with peanut sauce, breaded fish, numerous salads (included a beet salad), pancakes, porriage, beef with tomatoes and onions and french fries (tradionally called lomo saltado), stuffed bell pepper, stuffed chicken, fried rice, and a different kind of soup each day. We had a spicy pasta soup, pumpkin, celery, corn, asparagus, and quinoa soup. At one point, they baked a cake! Our camping grounds were very civilized too, we had tents set up when we got to our campsite and an outhouse. For Ching Jen´s first camping trip, she was spoiled (but happy). On the first day, we passed a 4000m peak and walked 14km. The second day was harder, where we had to hike 20km and pass two 4000+m mountains. Also, along the way we met many local people, many of them children. As a gift, we gave them pencils and modeling clay. Both nights were cold, but we managed with -8 degree C sleeping bags. On the second night, we had a special dinner. The staff created their version of an imu and cooked lamb and guinea pig. First, they built an igloo of stones, heat them up with a fire in it and then put in the lamb and guinea pig on pot covers in the oven. Next they made the stone igloo collapse into itself, covering the meat with rocks. Then cardboard, straw, tarp and dirt covered the entire thing. It cooked for 50 min before we could eat. The lamb was good, but the guinea pig was a bit rubbery and there wasn´t a lot of meat.
The next morning all we had left to walk was a three hour journey downhill. Once downhill, we took a train ride from ollantytambo to aguas calientes, a super touristy town at the base of machu picchu. Along the way in the train we passed a number of inca ruins in the sacred valley. Once we reached aguas calientes we stripped off our dirty clothes and dashed through the town to the famous hot springs which were not hot and did not have us springing for joy. They did manage to clean us off somewhat. We had an early dinner and hit the sack. At 3 am we got up to be in line to go to machu picchu and be able to hike wayna picchu, the super scenic mountain that overlooks machu picchu. Only 400 tickets are available each day to go up wayna picchu, machu picchu has no restrictions and sees about 2000 tourists a day. Luckily we got tickets 367 and 368. They'll need to adjust there system as only a year ago the line didn't start for another hour. Now people camp out over night for this once in a lifetime dream destination. And it was incredible. The entire site is so much larger and more dramatic than we imagined from the countless photos and videos we've seen. At 7 we had a 2 hour tour discussing the numerous theories about the site and the incas. Then we got to explore on our own. We had so much fun wandering in and out of the ruins. Constantly we were reminded of the panoramas. The near mountains are like lush thimbles rising out of the river valley. Then in the distance we could see snow capped Andean peaks glinting in the rising sun. The terraces, which may have been used for experimental agriculture, cascade down the mountain in the east and west directions. Hundreds of rectangular structures, densely packed, and probably the former locations of workshops and storerooms are interspersed with larger religious and political structures. All of them are made of very precise stone constructions. It is difficult to explain the incredible experience of getting to visit this place. At 10am we waited in another line to check in for the hike up wayna picchu. The hike was pretty strenuous since the day was hot and our bodies were tired from 3 days of high altitude trekking and lack of sleep. But the views were completely worth it. From the top it was possible to see machu picchu's condor plan shape. The rest of the afternoon we wandered the site some more before our bodies said enough and we returned to Aguas Calientes. We had a final meal with our group and guide. Then we all boarded a 5 pm train back to Cuzco. In Cuzco we said final goodbyes to everyone and returned to our hotel to pack and organize for our bus that was leaving for Puno, Peru in only 5 hours.
The trek and Machu Picchu was amazing. The trek portion was challenging, we covered three mountain peaks over 4000m high, walked around numerous clear blue green lakes and saw the front and back of the snow capped mountain, Victoria. We had 12 people on our trek, a great mix of international participants which made for great company. Along with us, we had two guides, and a staff of 5 who carried our sleeping bags and clothes (on horses) on our route as well as set up our tents and make fabulous meals. Both of us handled the altitude okay and just took the trek slow and steady. The scenary was breathtaking, but it was surprising how dry it was. It was like tundra vegetation and thankfully always sunny. On the first day, we immediately hit a steep climb within the first hour and it was a test of our fitness and breathing capacity. We were told that chewing coco leaves helps to expand one´s breathing capacity, but neither Jon nor I tried it. Many of our fellow participants said it didn´t really help anyway. Our guide Freddy, said that the Quechau people worshiped the snow because it is a form of water which provides for their survival and is a form of fertility.
We were all so well fed on this trip, the cooks somehow whipped up four our five dishes each meal, ranging from chicken with peanut sauce, breaded fish, numerous salads (included a beet salad), pancakes, porriage, beef with tomatoes and onions and french fries (tradionally called lomo saltado), stuffed bell pepper, stuffed chicken, fried rice, and a different kind of soup each day. We had a spicy pasta soup, pumpkin, celery, corn, asparagus, and quinoa soup. At one point, they baked a cake! Our camping grounds were very civilized too, we had tents set up when we got to our campsite and an outhouse. For Ching Jen´s first camping trip, she was spoiled (but happy). On the first day, we passed a 4000m peak and walked 14km. The second day was harder, where we had to hike 20km and pass two 4000+m mountains. Also, along the way we met many local people, many of them children. As a gift, we gave them pencils and modeling clay. Both nights were cold, but we managed with -8 degree C sleeping bags. On the second night, we had a special dinner. The staff created their version of an imu and cooked lamb and guinea pig. First, they built an igloo of stones, heat them up with a fire in it and then put in the lamb and guinea pig on pot covers in the oven. Next they made the stone igloo collapse into itself, covering the meat with rocks. Then cardboard, straw, tarp and dirt covered the entire thing. It cooked for 50 min before we could eat. The lamb was good, but the guinea pig was a bit rubbery and there wasn´t a lot of meat.
The next morning all we had left to walk was a three hour journey downhill. Once downhill, we took a train ride from ollantytambo to aguas calientes, a super touristy town at the base of machu picchu. Along the way in the train we passed a number of inca ruins in the sacred valley. Once we reached aguas calientes we stripped off our dirty clothes and dashed through the town to the famous hot springs which were not hot and did not have us springing for joy. They did manage to clean us off somewhat. We had an early dinner and hit the sack. At 3 am we got up to be in line to go to machu picchu and be able to hike wayna picchu, the super scenic mountain that overlooks machu picchu. Only 400 tickets are available each day to go up wayna picchu, machu picchu has no restrictions and sees about 2000 tourists a day. Luckily we got tickets 367 and 368. They'll need to adjust there system as only a year ago the line didn't start for another hour. Now people camp out over night for this once in a lifetime dream destination. And it was incredible. The entire site is so much larger and more dramatic than we imagined from the countless photos and videos we've seen. At 7 we had a 2 hour tour discussing the numerous theories about the site and the incas. Then we got to explore on our own. We had so much fun wandering in and out of the ruins. Constantly we were reminded of the panoramas. The near mountains are like lush thimbles rising out of the river valley. Then in the distance we could see snow capped Andean peaks glinting in the rising sun. The terraces, which may have been used for experimental agriculture, cascade down the mountain in the east and west directions. Hundreds of rectangular structures, densely packed, and probably the former locations of workshops and storerooms are interspersed with larger religious and political structures. All of them are made of very precise stone constructions. It is difficult to explain the incredible experience of getting to visit this place. At 10am we waited in another line to check in for the hike up wayna picchu. The hike was pretty strenuous since the day was hot and our bodies were tired from 3 days of high altitude trekking and lack of sleep. But the views were completely worth it. From the top it was possible to see machu picchu's condor plan shape. The rest of the afternoon we wandered the site some more before our bodies said enough and we returned to Aguas Calientes. We had a final meal with our group and guide. Then we all boarded a 5 pm train back to Cuzco. In Cuzco we said final goodbyes to everyone and returned to our hotel to pack and organize for our bus that was leaving for Puno, Peru in only 5 hours.
Cuzco
We got to Cuzco Saturday. Cuzco is an amazing place. Yes it is touristy, but the drama of the landscape, colonial architecture, baroque and gothic churches and locals milling about is very cool. Looking up and down every street is so neat because the city is very hilly and therefore you can see far into the distance or at a perfectly framed cityscape. We spent the first afternoon and evening just walking and wandering. We caught sunset looking out over the city and the surrounding mountains. For dinner we found a really wonderful local restaurant up on the hillside and ate alpaca and beef dishes. On our first full day we woke up and wandered the Sunday market. There were clothes, household goods, jewelry, fruit, vegetable, meat and random knickknacky vendors. It's funny before Cuzco people came up to Ching Jen and inquired, china? Here they ask koreano? Japon?
> After the market we wandered the city some more. We found the stone with 12 corners. The inca architecture, especially their stone cutting, stone carving and wood car ing is incredible. How they fit and measure the stones, which are heavy, into perfectly straight allignments without a mortar is amazing. For lunch we continued our streak of peruvian food and had a local poultry soup with once frozen potatos, meaning potatos that are harvested in winter and papa rellena, stuffed potatoes with beef and vegetables. In the afternoon we went on a your of the city and nearby archaeological sites. The first stop was the cathedral at the plaza de armas. The plaza is by far one of the most amazing scenes I've ever seen. The cathedral and other churches are beautiful. The plaza at the center has a fountain and lots of flowers. The other surrounding buildings have exquisitely restored, ornately carved balconies. Inside the cathedral there is so much gold and silver! Everything was gold and silver. The Spanish who built the churches built them on Quechua religious sites and inca palaces. The Spanish took the gold and silver from those sites as well as the stones and used it for their buildings. There were a lot of instances of local cultural touches in the cathedral sculpture and paintings like a last supper mural with guinea pig at the center. After the cathedral we walked down a narrow street with original inca walls on both sides. Sadly earlier this year, while a store was underconstruction, hidden under scaffolding, a developer removed an entire section of the wall fir storefront. The government has no authority over this type of action- guess the developer has influence. Our next stop was qoricancha, an inca temple that is located within a church. Again the Spanish built their church on the land of inca significance as a way of impearializing the Quechua. It wasn't until a strong earthquake made the plaster walls fall off that it was revealed that an inca temple was at the foundation of the church. From here we went to saqsaywaman a site above Cuzco. It's a massive monument of a three tiered wall. The stones that were used to built it are over 100 tons and again somehow fit together with complete precision. It's a mystery. Small bits of stone can crumble from the touch of a finger yet somehow the transported these heavy stones, lifted the up to 4 stories high and put them in place without breaking or smashing. Qenqo was the next site. This is a huge rock where the Quechua carved a cave. It's not clear what it was used for but inside there is a slit of light that falls on an altar, tracking the summer solstice. The last site was tambochaya a natural spring where the Quechua built a fountain for bathing and an irrigation system for the valley. The tour concluded with a stop at an alpaca garment factory/store. The wool certainly is soft.
On our last day we took it easy. We stayed in Cuzco and soaked up some sun. After breakfast we went to the Museum of the Incas. It was a grand overview of the history of Cuzco from pre-Inca period and well after the Spanish conquest of Cuzco. In the courtyard, there were three ladies in traditional dress weaving. Ching Jen´s mom would have loved to watch them weave their colorful and intricate cloths. Afterwards, we went to a small plaza with three fountains overlooking the cathedral where Jon sketched and Ching Jen wrote in her journal. The plaza is next to an elementary school and when they got out at lunch time, some of the young boys watched Jon draw. We found a great local place for lunch, where we got a set menu of soup and an entree (Jon had white beans, steak, egg and rice; Ching
Jen had rice and chicken with onions and tomatoes). We ended the day with
some more time in another park just writing. At night we went for a briefing for our Machu Picchu trek, we are told we will reach a height of 4000m and cover 46km of ground. It will be challenging, but we are excited.
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> After the market we wandered the city some more. We found the stone with 12 corners. The inca architecture, especially their stone cutting, stone carving and wood car ing is incredible. How they fit and measure the stones, which are heavy, into perfectly straight allignments without a mortar is amazing. For lunch we continued our streak of peruvian food and had a local poultry soup with once frozen potatos, meaning potatos that are harvested in winter and papa rellena, stuffed potatoes with beef and vegetables. In the afternoon we went on a your of the city and nearby archaeological sites. The first stop was the cathedral at the plaza de armas. The plaza is by far one of the most amazing scenes I've ever seen. The cathedral and other churches are beautiful. The plaza at the center has a fountain and lots of flowers. The other surrounding buildings have exquisitely restored, ornately carved balconies. Inside the cathedral there is so much gold and silver! Everything was gold and silver. The Spanish who built the churches built them on Quechua religious sites and inca palaces. The Spanish took the gold and silver from those sites as well as the stones and used it for their buildings. There were a lot of instances of local cultural touches in the cathedral sculpture and paintings like a last supper mural with guinea pig at the center. After the cathedral we walked down a narrow street with original inca walls on both sides. Sadly earlier this year, while a store was underconstruction, hidden under scaffolding, a developer removed an entire section of the wall fir storefront. The government has no authority over this type of action- guess the developer has influence. Our next stop was qoricancha, an inca temple that is located within a church. Again the Spanish built their church on the land of inca significance as a way of impearializing the Quechua. It wasn't until a strong earthquake made the plaster walls fall off that it was revealed that an inca temple was at the foundation of the church. From here we went to saqsaywaman a site above Cuzco. It's a massive monument of a three tiered wall. The stones that were used to built it are over 100 tons and again somehow fit together with complete precision. It's a mystery. Small bits of stone can crumble from the touch of a finger yet somehow the transported these heavy stones, lifted the up to 4 stories high and put them in place without breaking or smashing. Qenqo was the next site. This is a huge rock where the Quechua carved a cave. It's not clear what it was used for but inside there is a slit of light that falls on an altar, tracking the summer solstice. The last site was tambochaya a natural spring where the Quechua built a fountain for bathing and an irrigation system for the valley. The tour concluded with a stop at an alpaca garment factory/store. The wool certainly is soft.
On our last day we took it easy. We stayed in Cuzco and soaked up some sun. After breakfast we went to the Museum of the Incas. It was a grand overview of the history of Cuzco from pre-Inca period and well after the Spanish conquest of Cuzco. In the courtyard, there were three ladies in traditional dress weaving. Ching Jen´s mom would have loved to watch them weave their colorful and intricate cloths. Afterwards, we went to a small plaza with three fountains overlooking the cathedral where Jon sketched and Ching Jen wrote in her journal. The plaza is next to an elementary school and when they got out at lunch time, some of the young boys watched Jon draw. We found a great local place for lunch, where we got a set menu of soup and an entree (Jon had white beans, steak, egg and rice; Ching
Jen had rice and chicken with onions and tomatoes). We ended the day with
some more time in another park just writing. At night we went for a briefing for our Machu Picchu trek, we are told we will reach a height of 4000m and cover 46km of ground. It will be challenging, but we are excited.
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Saturday, August 14, 2010
Mirachifa!
The moment we got to our hostel we headed out to find dinner. Since Peru has a large population of Chinese (most seem to be 4th or more generation), we went to find a Chinese restaurant. At the suggestion of a family friend we went to Wa Lok, which was convenienly above a casino,and ordered one of Ching Jen's favorite dishes: lightly battered fish with cream corn. She was very happy indeed.
The next morning we went to downtown Lima and saw two beautiful churches. One dated back to the 1500 and gave a tour of the catacombs. Literally bones and skulls were piled up; Jon thought they were awesome and Ching Jen thought it was a little creepy. We both thought downtown was great with the mix of historic buildings amongst the current ones. For lunch we found a great Peruvian restaurant that all the businessmen went to. One of the plaza in downtown has a statute representing the Mother of Patriotism. When it was being sculpted a ring of fire was to be her crown, however the person requesting the crown of fire forgot the double meaning of the Spanish word for fire and instead the statute has a small llama animal squatting on her head.
Near dusk we went to a large shopping center located at the edge of the cliff that overlooks the ocean. We were comforted by the sound of the ocean that reminded us of home. We found a place for drinks were Jon had a pisco sour-a classic drink of Lima while staring out into the ocean.
Day two in Lima took us to the top of a Huaca in the middle of the city. It was very cool. The huaca, a 1500 year old step pyramid is constructed out of handmade adobe brick. The top is a flat top and actually the overall construction is not predetermined. With each period of human and object sacrifice the Lima culture people added additional layers and the dimension of the pyramid grew in both height and diameter. The adobe bricks laid vertically in trapezoidal sections to withstand earthquakes. It's an active archaeological site and there were super lucky architects drawing the location and features of each individual brick. The Arcadian goats were calling to me.
After this we went on a quest for ceviche form lunch, but we don't know what was with our luck. Each restaurant we found qnd had recommendations for was closed. Hawaii has delicious ceviche and sashimi and poke, but no ceviche in Lima we felt like we might be missing out. Eventually we found and it was actually only okay. In the afternoon we took a cab out to the history museum. We've become pretty adept at haggling for a cab and price. For dinner we splurged again, when in Lima! The food here is a fusion of Spanish, african, indigenous and Asian flavors.
The next morning we went to downtown Lima and saw two beautiful churches. One dated back to the 1500 and gave a tour of the catacombs. Literally bones and skulls were piled up; Jon thought they were awesome and Ching Jen thought it was a little creepy. We both thought downtown was great with the mix of historic buildings amongst the current ones. For lunch we found a great Peruvian restaurant that all the businessmen went to. One of the plaza in downtown has a statute representing the Mother of Patriotism. When it was being sculpted a ring of fire was to be her crown, however the person requesting the crown of fire forgot the double meaning of the Spanish word for fire and instead the statute has a small llama animal squatting on her head.
Near dusk we went to a large shopping center located at the edge of the cliff that overlooks the ocean. We were comforted by the sound of the ocean that reminded us of home. We found a place for drinks were Jon had a pisco sour-a classic drink of Lima while staring out into the ocean.
Day two in Lima took us to the top of a Huaca in the middle of the city. It was very cool. The huaca, a 1500 year old step pyramid is constructed out of handmade adobe brick. The top is a flat top and actually the overall construction is not predetermined. With each period of human and object sacrifice the Lima culture people added additional layers and the dimension of the pyramid grew in both height and diameter. The adobe bricks laid vertically in trapezoidal sections to withstand earthquakes. It's an active archaeological site and there were super lucky architects drawing the location and features of each individual brick. The Arcadian goats were calling to me.
After this we went on a quest for ceviche form lunch, but we don't know what was with our luck. Each restaurant we found qnd had recommendations for was closed. Hawaii has delicious ceviche and sashimi and poke, but no ceviche in Lima we felt like we might be missing out. Eventually we found and it was actually only okay. In the afternoon we took a cab out to the history museum. We've become pretty adept at haggling for a cab and price. For dinner we splurged again, when in Lima! The food here is a fusion of Spanish, african, indigenous and Asian flavors.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Bogota! Bogota!
We got to Bogota on Saturday just as the presidential elections were concluding. The combination of our flight delay and some friends we met in Cartagena that we were joining up with for dinner meant that are plans for dinner at a famous Colombian steakhouse and dance ranchero were foiled. Instead we arrived in Bogota and went out to find a late dinner and check out the festive scene. The neighborhood of "la t" is super nice, fancy, full of bars, clubs and restaurants - it was pulsing. Our first day in Bogota we took the wonderfully designed bus rapid transit (wish Hawaii had this) to the central business district to try and ride an elevator up the tallest building but sadly it was closed for repairs. Therefore we wandered the streets, which was very pleasant since it was car free Sunday! Everyone was out on bikes and rollerblades and running. We went to the gold museum and saw the treasure of el dorado. We walked around la candelaria, which is the old colonial part and went to the plaza bolivar at the center of the city. The plaza and many buildings throughout the city were decorated with Colombian flags and colors because of the election. For dinner we made it to the famous steakhouse, their other venue. Dinner was huge! And we got serenaded, if that is the right word, by a small marching band while paper hearts and butterflies fell from the sky over our heads.
The next morning we went up Monserrat, 10000 feet in elevation. Bogota is an incredible city. It spread north, west, and south from the slopes of an eastern mountain ridge. It was just so beautiful just like the photo in chapter 3 or 4 in my Dime UNO! Textbook. For the ride up we went in the train at a 60+ degree slope. On the way down we rode the funicular dangling out 2000 feet above la candelaria. We loved it.
From Monserrat we headed down back to La Candelaria for some traditional food. The day before we had found a sweets shop that also served lunch so we went back. Ching Jen had a dish called ajiaco, a thick soup with potatoes, chicken, avocado,capers and corn- it's one of my favorite meals so far! After lunch we went to the Museo Botero, which featured his works (many from the late 90's) and many other famous artists like Picasso, Miro, Klimt, Giacometti,and Degas. Botero's paintings were great-his perspective of everything fat made it fun. His painting of the Mona Lisa is a favorite.
The next day we took a bus to Zipaquira, a small town about an hour away from Bogota. It's famous for a salt mine in which a cathedral was built into it. 14 enclaves were built down a winding pathways, each one depicting a station of the cross. Then we were lead further into the mine where we entered the actual cathedral. We were standing amongst columns 25 meters tall! Because it is dark in the mines, the crossses were often lit, making for pretty photo opportunities. The salt mine was formed when the ocean receded and left the salt, and then the tetonic plates shifted so that the Andean mountains formed over the salt, and then the salt rose towards the top of the different sediments because of pressures underground. Their is more excavation of the mine going on, they plan on digging another level in the mine and turning the excavated salt into revenue. Needless to say, it was neat to see!
The next morning we went up Monserrat, 10000 feet in elevation. Bogota is an incredible city. It spread north, west, and south from the slopes of an eastern mountain ridge. It was just so beautiful just like the photo in chapter 3 or 4 in my Dime UNO! Textbook. For the ride up we went in the train at a 60+ degree slope. On the way down we rode the funicular dangling out 2000 feet above la candelaria. We loved it.
From Monserrat we headed down back to La Candelaria for some traditional food. The day before we had found a sweets shop that also served lunch so we went back. Ching Jen had a dish called ajiaco, a thick soup with potatoes, chicken, avocado,capers and corn- it's one of my favorite meals so far! After lunch we went to the Museo Botero, which featured his works (many from the late 90's) and many other famous artists like Picasso, Miro, Klimt, Giacometti,and Degas. Botero's paintings were great-his perspective of everything fat made it fun. His painting of the Mona Lisa is a favorite.
The next day we took a bus to Zipaquira, a small town about an hour away from Bogota. It's famous for a salt mine in which a cathedral was built into it. 14 enclaves were built down a winding pathways, each one depicting a station of the cross. Then we were lead further into the mine where we entered the actual cathedral. We were standing amongst columns 25 meters tall! Because it is dark in the mines, the crossses were often lit, making for pretty photo opportunities. The salt mine was formed when the ocean receded and left the salt, and then the tetonic plates shifted so that the Andean mountains formed over the salt, and then the salt rose towards the top of the different sediments because of pressures underground. Their is more excavation of the mine going on, they plan on digging another level in the mine and turning the excavated salt into revenue. Needless to say, it was neat to see!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
MUD
Ching Jen and I totally got stuck in the mud. A big 15m high ant hill of mud, bubbling volcano mud, natural muddy hot spring mud, really really grey sloppy mud. It was very cool. Outside of Cartagena there is an actual volcano that burps out mud. It is now of course a tourist destination and you literally go into the crater, which is kept at a 15' to 20´diameter. The mud that bubbles up the skim each day so that the volcano stays at it´s current dimensions. I´m not sure where they take the mud nor how long they have been doing this. The volcano is situated next to a lake so after soaking up the mud (feet don´t hit the bottom, you kind of just float, like in pudding) we then walked down to the river where you wash off. After this trip the tour took us to a beach village where we hung out for a couple hours and had a lunch of grilled whole fish, it was so tasty! We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging around the old city, when it rained again. We ducked into the Gold Museum, out of the rain, but it rained through sunset, so no Cafe del Mar, a drink on the walls looking out at the Caribbean.
The day before we went to the fort San Felipe. It is huge, big and very cool with many tunnels mazing around in the foundation. The day was super hot. From the fort though there were beautiful panoramas of the city. After this we headed to walk around the old city, but we sort of didnt make it there. It poured! It rained buckets and we got trapped under a bank building with the locals who were kicking a rat around into the flooded street. It was actually kind of fun. Ching Jen felt sorry for the cute cute rat. I think she misses the subways in New York. We eventually did make it to wander the old city and the walls, but it was too rainy, cloudy and wet everywhere to watch the sunset.
We´ve met some great travels, a total of 2 couples moving to australia in the next 6 months, go figure, and another bunch of australians. All on multi month travels around South America. They love their 5 and 6 week annual vacations or the ability to leave their jobs and easily find a new one with all the benefits.
Yeah, the Australians pity us Americans in this situation! The Australians didn´t have high recommendations for Playa Blanca (a famous ¨beautiful¨ white sand beach), they felt that there was too much trash and too many interruptions by men selling all sorts of goods. So we took that into consideration and decided not to go as we have been told that the beach would not compare to any in Hawaii anyway. So we decided today to set out on foot and walk out into Bocagrande, a pennisula with beaches on one side and high rises on the other. We walked the entire length with a break in the middle watching fishermen pull in an enormous net, however, we didn´t see a lot of fish caught! Today was also the day of fruit juices! All together we have had mango, passion fruit, pineapple and ¨zapote¨ (an eggplant shaped fruit). They were all tasty and much needed in this hot weather. For dinner tonight we had crepes and ice cream. We also made it to Cafe del Mar tonight at the perfect timing. The sun set just as we sat down and we were right up against the wall. Tomorrow is our last day in Cartagena, not set on what we´ll do exactly, but likely another trip to Bocagrande beach and more wandering in the walled city.
The day before we went to the fort San Felipe. It is huge, big and very cool with many tunnels mazing around in the foundation. The day was super hot. From the fort though there were beautiful panoramas of the city. After this we headed to walk around the old city, but we sort of didnt make it there. It poured! It rained buckets and we got trapped under a bank building with the locals who were kicking a rat around into the flooded street. It was actually kind of fun. Ching Jen felt sorry for the cute cute rat. I think she misses the subways in New York. We eventually did make it to wander the old city and the walls, but it was too rainy, cloudy and wet everywhere to watch the sunset.
We´ve met some great travels, a total of 2 couples moving to australia in the next 6 months, go figure, and another bunch of australians. All on multi month travels around South America. They love their 5 and 6 week annual vacations or the ability to leave their jobs and easily find a new one with all the benefits.
Yeah, the Australians pity us Americans in this situation! The Australians didn´t have high recommendations for Playa Blanca (a famous ¨beautiful¨ white sand beach), they felt that there was too much trash and too many interruptions by men selling all sorts of goods. So we took that into consideration and decided not to go as we have been told that the beach would not compare to any in Hawaii anyway. So we decided today to set out on foot and walk out into Bocagrande, a pennisula with beaches on one side and high rises on the other. We walked the entire length with a break in the middle watching fishermen pull in an enormous net, however, we didn´t see a lot of fish caught! Today was also the day of fruit juices! All together we have had mango, passion fruit, pineapple and ¨zapote¨ (an eggplant shaped fruit). They were all tasty and much needed in this hot weather. For dinner tonight we had crepes and ice cream. We also made it to Cafe del Mar tonight at the perfect timing. The sun set just as we sat down and we were right up against the wall. Tomorrow is our last day in Cartagena, not set on what we´ll do exactly, but likely another trip to Bocagrande beach and more wandering in the walled city.
Monday, August 2, 2010
We´re Here!
Today we arrived in Cartagena, Colombia! It was a very humid day and there was a lot of sweating involved while wandering the old city. The main attraction in Cartagena is the walled city with narrow streets and colorful colonial houses. Today was pretty low key, we just walked around and went to the ¨Museum of Modern Art¨ of Cartagena. We found a great place for dinner and we are already back at the hotel to get a good night´s rest.
Oh yeah, the flights down were great, but with two layovers and overnight flights we didnt get much rest. Luckily, arriving in Cartagena before noon we were able to check into the hotel, trading up for air conditioning! A short walk out to explore led us to Las Bovedas and the San Diego neighborhood. Later the museum was a good escape from the heat and humidity. We siesta(ed) for a couple hours before hitting dinner at a traditional seafood restaurant. It is a beautiful historic city, straight from a 17th century painting. Bougainvilla and flowering pots extend out over the sidewalks. Tomorrow with some rest we will storm the fort and meander the streets, soaking in the sun, the sea and the wide variety of fruit beverages!
Oh yeah, the flights down were great, but with two layovers and overnight flights we didnt get much rest. Luckily, arriving in Cartagena before noon we were able to check into the hotel, trading up for air conditioning! A short walk out to explore led us to Las Bovedas and the San Diego neighborhood. Later the museum was a good escape from the heat and humidity. We siesta(ed) for a couple hours before hitting dinner at a traditional seafood restaurant. It is a beautiful historic city, straight from a 17th century painting. Bougainvilla and flowering pots extend out over the sidewalks. Tomorrow with some rest we will storm the fort and meander the streets, soaking in the sun, the sea and the wide variety of fruit beverages!
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