Peru Adventuring

[pwc]

After much debating and pondering, and then talking with my doctor, I'm heading to Peru. I was actually able to get tickets through Alaska Air with miles (only 35,000 to South America, wahoo!). Two hops and I'm there on Tuesday. I'm a bit excited.

After talking with my doctor about various South American locations he visited, he convinced me to hit Peru first. It wasn't a prescription, just his advice. I'll be spending most of my time there in a mix of jungle exploration near the Bolivian border and then I'm hoping to tag along on a 5 day trek to Machu Pichu up the Inca Trail. I might be a bit late for that, but it's worth the try (only 500 trekkers are allowed in each day). The other main activity I want to experience is some rafting. I've been jonesing for some white water since Nepal and what better place than the Amazon??!

I'll be carrying my Spot Satellite Messenger if you'd like to follow along. It sends current positions to a satellite that can be accessed from a webpage on Google Maps. The map can be accessed here and will have data starting Tuesday probably. Updates via SPOT will be available on Twitter as well. I also plan on blogging as I go, with updates posted here, but don't always know where I'll have internet access. But it'll be more 'real-time' than the Nepal trek (which will be finished on the blog and this site when I return). So be sure to subscribe to the blog here via email or RSS/ATOM feed, if you aren't subscribed already.

The pack list is changing a bit to add in a warm layer for the trek in the mountains (passes of up to 13,000') but there isn't much time, as I leave tomorrow.

I've never been south of 17 degrees north so this will be a new world for me. I am keeping my expectations in check and trying, in vain, to not plan too much like I normally do and just let things unfold as they will. And now I must get to more packing!

 

[Connie]

Wow, sounds like an awesome trip!

 

[C Red]

It does sound like a great trip. I hope it goes well and I will check out the blog.

 

[XXXpedition]

i love the first pic already ;-)

 

[pwc]

Thanks all. I leave for the airport in an hour and I hope I'm packed. Sucker is heavy.
And admitedly that first photo is not mine but I didn't know how to add the caption right. It's from flickr and comes with a Creative Commons license. I'm sure I'll have plenty of my own upon return and hope to post some as the trip progresses. Like of Miami airport and stuff.

 

[Desertdude]

If you get to Cusco stop in to - Hotel Andenes al Cielo my friends and owners Tony and Monica should still be there as they close up for the year.

 

[Lost Canadian]

From Nepal to Peru, how sweet! Have a few Cusquena darks for me.

 

[pwc]

Pasquale, I'll be hitting Cusco and will look them up. It's always good to have a reference as I had no accommodations for Cusco yet. I appreciate it!

And I think I will possibly have a beer or two. That's one thing I enjoy about travel, sampling local brews and wine.

 

[pwc]

Monday November 17th, 2008 - 12:13pm

Something here smells. It’s followed me since I left home. I’m in SeaTac International Airport on my way to Peru, arriving tomorrow. But the smell will probably follow me there. I’m learning the smell is me.

It seems the shirt I wore on my last trip and that may, or may not, have been washed sparingly while on the trail in Nepal, hasn’t given up that wonderful trail aroma. The wonderful trail aroma seems a lot more poignant here in the airport where people are wearing perfume and going on business trips.

Well, give it a day and I’m sure I won’t notice. But for now if you happen to be around me, I’m sorry if I offend.

Other than that, SeaTac has been making some big improvements for the better.

Read More On The Blog

 

[pwc]

Day 2

I’m here in Lima all safe and sound. Sitting on a rooftop terrace as horns blare, dogs complain about passersby and kids scamper on the street below. It’s a big city that’s for sure. $18 gets you from the airport to the city center. Another 20 minute walk gets you to the real center of town.

I’ve learned some things today. I’ve learned my laptop can in fact bounce and survive. I’ve learned I still don’t sleep well on airplanes. I’ve learned all the warnings in books are good, while at the same time, my comfort level increases when I get out amongst the masses. And I’ve learned that I really like Peru, a place that only held a passing fancy in my past. yes, I used the word ‘fancy’, sorry if that offends you.

I first caught site of the country before the sun was fully up. Read more on the Carey Adventures blog!

 

[pwc]

Why Travel So Far?

“Peru? Why do you want to go to Peru?”

As the sun is setting two hours after take off from Seattle and the clouds painted a quick procession of yellow then pink, red, orange and finally purple, this question from a number of family and friends floats through my mind. The sun is setting on my first day of travel but it is far from over. We’re more than three hours from touch down in Miami and then, after an hour and a half on the ground, it’s another five hours and thirty minutes to Lima, Peru. I’ve got a lot of miles in front and some behind, but the question in my mind right now is, “Why so far?”

I mean, there are many, many places within the US and neighboring Canada.... Read more on The Carey Adventures' blog!

 

[pwc]

Tom Jones is crooning, “It’s not usual to be loved by you” in the main house at Inkaterra as I write. It’s been a day. A day I’ve enjoyed.

I had a bit of fear going to bed the night before as I can barely hear my watch alarm and needed to catch an 8:35 flight. Which meant getting up around 6am. I replaced fear with a constant mantra of, “I will wake up in time, I will wake up in time.” And it worked. Too well. I woke up a LOT in the night. My over literal brain took its instructions way too literally. But in the end I made my flight thanks to that brain. Or possibly the pillows which had as much give as Hoover Dam.

When they tell you on LAN Airlines to make two copies of your boarding pass, take the advice. You do need two as you pay an exit tax at the airport ($37US for international and $6.05US for domestic, cash only). And security is super sensitive to tweezers, confiscating both pairs in my bags (and I didn’t even KNOW I had two pair). The flight to Cusco was interesting near the end as the plane, buffeted by morning winds and tall hills all around, banks down a slim valley in the Andes to find what at first seems like a hidden runway.

 

[pwc]

Making Mistakes To Find My Way

I felt uneasy the moment I got in the cab. And I should have listened to that feeling, or felt it more, or something. I knew something wasn’t going right. Not like I was in eminent danger, but that things weren’t as I wished them to be.

I caught the cab just off the street my hostel was located and the language barrier should have been a sign. At first he couldn’t understand me and then I couldn’t understand him. This was actually normal as my ability to speak Spanish is slim. And there were other people in the station wagon. And he was turning left when I came from the right. Yes, bells. But for some reason they weren’t loud enough or I wasn’t listening. Either way it’s my fault, let’s make that clear.

When I thought he understood me I got in. There were three other Peruvians in the car and it was tight. We headed out past the Sheraton I used as a landmark the day before and where I had planned to grab a cab. I should have stuck with that plan, or maybe not. We turned onto one of the main highways and as the sun couldn’t be seen from behind the low clouds, I wasn’t sure which direction we were heading. North? Maybe. Could have been Southeast for all I knew.

Read more on The Carey Adventures' blog!

 

[pwc]

Peru Adventuring - High Up In The Trees, Low Down With The Monkeys

It's my first full day at Inkaterra, starting early around 5:45am (they trick you by saying they'll wake you at 6am, only to come by 15 minutes early.....history must have taught them well ). Breakfast is a full buffet with all kinds of identifiable and "¿Cómo se llama etso?" ("What is this called?")types of food. It's yummy and filling and plenty of it.

This morning takes us up river with our guide Yuri for a 5 minute ride to the Inkaterra canopy tour. It's me, Susie, Brent and Becky. We also find out this day that we stay with the same guide the whole length of our time at the lodge. Which means, with Brent and Becky leaving in a day and with Susie leaving in two, I guess I'll be Yuri's only client. I have mixed feelings about this as I enjoy both being with a small group (5 total is great) and individual attention is good too. So I guess either way will work and I'll just play it by ear.

After an introduction we head to the first tower raising 28 meters (92 feet) above the ground for a view of the jungle canopy layer known as the emergent trees. The jungle generally has four layers; the forest floor, understory, canopy and emergent trees at the top. The view from the top is cool and yet, hot and reminds me to slather on extra sunblock and then bug spray as I hope some day someone will make a good combo product of those two.

 

[pwc]

I'm going offline possibly until the end of the trip. Tomorrow is the start of the trek and I'll have the SPOT device on in tracking mode. I also have updates coming out Monday-Wednesday on my blog, along with a week long Photo of the Day series focusing just on Peruvian Wildlife.

I'll post up here more when I return!