For all you avid blog readers, let me fill you in a bit. M recovered and is now 100%, like she never lost her gall at all. So we decided it was really time to leave Ecuador. We hopped on a flight from Guayaquil to Lima, Peru and said goodbye to our first country. And to our neighbors with another tearful goodbye. Lima was a pretty crazy place. Kind of like Quito, but bigger, badder, and dirtier. So after one day, we left. But not before seeing Juno in the theaters, again. Rather than sitting through a 24 hour bus ride headed toward Cusco, we took the slow route down the coast before heading inland. Pisco was our first stop. There was a 7.9 earthquake in Pisco about a year and half ago that destroyed most of the town, little did we know. So needless to say, Pisco was not a very happening place. But we did have the chance to check out Isla Bellistas, another ¨Poor Man´s Galapagos¨as they say. We had some great wildlife sightings including penguins and sea lions. The rest of the day was spent touring Paracas Peninsula which is a coastal desert. Check out the pictures. We then headed inland towards Ayacucho, a small ¨city¨right smack in the center of Peru. M and I were possibly the only foreigners there making it a really authentic experience. Ayacucho was a sleepy, laid back city with plenty of artists. And purses. Um yes, that is actually a purse. Or is it a dead animal? Good question.
M and I got the special tour of a carpet weaving gallery. We learned about the indigenous way of carpet weaving from wrapping the alpaca wool to making natural dyes. The whole process takes about 25 days. Pretty crazy. Speaking of indigenous, man can they party! Seriously, M and I were in shock when we heard thumping and stomping and screaming above us for half the night in our hotel last night. We took an overnight bus to Anduhuaylas, our next stop en route to Cusco and did not sleep a wink. May I suggest not taking the route we took if you ever travel from Lima to Cusco. The road was pretty scary and damn bumpy. We were exhausted last night and annoyed with the party above us. We walked upstairs to see what on earth was going on and we walked right into a happening indigenous party. Don´t let the outfits, babies, llamas, and impossible loads on their backs fool you, they are party animals! We did get to catch up on some sleep on the 10 hour bus ride to Cusco today, where we are now. We´ll be here for about a week as we await our guests! Yes, Ateka, Danielle, and Darryl bought spur of the moment tickets to Peru and will be here in a few days. We can´t even control our excitement. Well maybe M can a little better than I can. But wow, we really can´t wait! Will update with stories and adventures from Cusco and Machu Picchu as they come. Until then, Happy Hanukkah, Christmas, New Year!
For all you avid blog readers, let me fill you in a bit. M recovered and is now 100%, like she never lost her gall at all. So we decided it was really time to leave Ecuador. We hopped on a flight from Guayaquil to Lima, Peru and said goodbye to our first country. And to our neighbors with another tearful goodbye. Lima was a pretty crazy place. Kind of like Quito, but bigger, badder, and dirtier. So after one day, we left. But not before seeing Juno in the theaters, again. Rather than sitting through a 24 hour bus ride headed toward Cusco, we took the slow route down the coast before heading inland. Pisco was our first stop. There was a 7.9 earthquake in Pisco about a year and half ago that destroyed most of the town, little did we know. So needless to say, Pisco was not a very happening place. But we did have the chance to check out Isla Bellistas, another ¨Poor Man´s Galapagos¨as they say. We had some great wildlife sightings including penguins and sea lions. The rest of the day was spent touring Paracas Peninsula which is a coastal desert. Check out the pictures. We then headed inland towards Ayacucho, a small ¨city¨right smack in the center of Peru. M and I were possibly the only foreigners there making it a really authentic experience. Ayacucho was a sleepy, laid back city with plenty of artists. And purses. Um yes, that is actually a purse. Or is it a dead animal? Good question.
M and I got the special tour of a carpet weaving gallery. We learned about the indigenous way of carpet weaving from wrapping the alpaca wool to making natural dyes. The whole process takes about 25 days. Pretty crazy. Speaking of indigenous, man can they party! Seriously, M and I were in shock when we heard thumping and stomping and screaming above us for half the night in our hotel last night. We took an overnight bus to Anduhuaylas, our next stop en route to Cusco and did not sleep a wink. May I suggest not taking the route we took if you ever travel from Lima to Cusco. The road was pretty scary and damn bumpy. We were exhausted last night and annoyed with the party above us. We walked upstairs to see what on earth was going on and we walked right into a happening indigenous party. Don´t let the outfits, babies, llamas, and impossible loads on their backs fool you, they are party animals! We did get to catch up on some sleep on the 10 hour bus ride to Cusco today, where we are now. We´ll be here for about a week as we await our guests! Yes, Ateka, Danielle, and Darryl bought spur of the moment tickets to Peru and will be here in a few days. We can´t even control our excitement. Well maybe M can a little better than I can. But wow, we really can´t wait! Will update with stories and adventures from Cusco and Machu Picchu as they come. Until then, Happy Hanukkah, Christmas, New Year!
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment