The last couple of days in Salta were great - just relaxing and eating genius Argentinian ice cream (passion fruit, dulce de leche, banana split, chocolate flavour... Mmmmmhh!), and thanks to my generous mom we were able to go horseback riding on a so-called gaucho ranch 50 km south of Salta, which was really amazing. We were riding the real western-way with loose rains and the opposite way of what I am used to, riding dressage. The surroundings were absolutely breathtaking, mountains in the background and big fields with yellow flowers and eagles flying above us. Alex even got to gallop a bit, a quite amusing sight.
It was freezing cold when we got back in the evening, and we had a cup of tea at the ranch before returning to our hostel to leave again for dinner - we were going to a nice restaurant cause Alex needed his Argentinian steak.
Next day we headed towards Iguazu, yet another busride of 24 hours. However, this time we went in a very luxurious (and expensive, but the only one) Argentinian bus with great service and seats that you would think would be for very overweight people. The best bus ride so far!
Arriving in Puerto Iguazu, we checked into a nice, but a bit boring hostel and arranged our tour to the falls for the next day. Got up early and took a bus. Almost not worth it describing how incredible walking around the worlds biggest water fall was, check out the pictures instead - and not even those do it justice. You walk around in a constant drizzle because of the falls surrounding you. Spent the entire morning and some of the afternoon there, going crazy with my camera and getting wet before leaving.
Made the horrible decision of trying to get a cheaper bus ticket to Rio by crossing the border to Brazil and buy a ticket there in stead of on the Argentinian side. Took a bus to the border and had to get the stamp in our passport - and was the bus waiting? No no, gringos can wait an hour for the next bus.......
And so we did! Going to Foz do Iguazu to check out the prices of the bus tickets, only to find out that the stupid Brazilian buses are waaaayyyy more expensive than the luxurious Argentinian ones. Furthermore we just got sent back to the feeling of not being able to communicate in a country - finally just agreed to upgrade our Spanish competences from "un poco" to "mas o menos", and then we have to start all over in Portuguese.
So we had to go back - another half an hour waiting at the border and looking a loooooong time for an ATM in Puerto Iguazu before going back to the bus station to find out that all the Argentinian bus tickets were sold out, so we had to buy the Brazilian ones anyway.. Yay!
So now we have a couple of hours to kill on our hostel before going through the border once again, something we should be prepared to spend about 3 hours doing, before getting on our LAST bus to Rio.
Impossible to describe how much we are looking forward to a week in Rio doing absolutely nothing, except from maybe a football game or a tour to see the statue. We can hear the beaches calling out for us....
May 21, 2010
May 16, 2010
Towards civilization
We went from La Paz on a 10 hours busride to Uyuni thursday night - and seeing as most of Bolivias roads are dirt roads and that the country probably has the worst buses in Southamerica, we did not get a lot of sleep.
The only time it would have been nice to have arrived a bit later after a night on a bus, we arrived exactly on time - 5.30 in the morning, dark and freezing cold! We were lucky that the tour agencies opened early and we could get in their offices and warm up a bit while checking out tours to the salt flats. Agreed on a one day tour the same day, and went out to get some breakfast before heading off. Once again again again, I had problems with my stomach - it seems I am just not supposed to feel good for more than a couple of days a time, and it's driving me crazy. I must have taken a trillion pills since I was sick the first time in Southamerica.
Anyways, we drove out in a group of 8 including 4 retired columbians that were very fond of chitchatting with foreigners in spanish - so I got to practice a bit more, which was actually quite nice seeing as we don't really need to speek a lot of spanish when we're just on the road.
The salt flats were absolutely amazing. Ass soon as we stepped out of the car, we were almost blinded by the whiteness of the salt sorrounding us. We saw a hotel made of salt and had a lousy lunch before driving to "Isla de Pescado", an island in the middle of the salt with cactus all over. Took some cool pictures and went back to catch the next night bus, this time to the border.
That bus was the worst bus experience so far. We spend an hour waiting for them to carry the entire contents of a house on top of the bus - beds, chairs, tables... When we finally got in the bus, the seats could not go further than 10cm back, and all around us were local people smoking or getting drunk. After driving an hour or so, more local people got on the bus, and for the next 6 hours there was no room whatsoever for doing anything else than closing your eyes and hoping that we would get to the right place eventually. I woke up in the middle of the night and asked an english guy that was on the bus if he knew what time it was, and his answer was something like "No, but there's a baby sleeping next to you". And yes, there was a baby sleeping on the floor with its mother sitting next to it on the floor as well.
Arrived in the morning to cross the border to Argentina, which equals civilization - at least in Southamerican terms. We were to get a stamp in our passports at the migration office, but the woman there just decided to go out for breakfast, leaving like twenty people waiting for her to come back. After swearing in danish about the crappy bolivian system, and after Alex telling me off for breaking the mood, we got the stamp and crossed the border to get a bus to Salta, another 6 hours.
Crossing the border did lift my mood quite a bit - I was absolutely amazed by the fact that you could actually see nice houses and highways!!!! Woooooow, that was crazy.
Arriving in Salta, we checked in to a hostel and went for a walk to shop for cooking dinner. Walking in the first argentinian city made me so happy - real supermarkets, stores and just a nicer place in general.
Ended up going out with some people from the hostel, since Salta should be a really nice city when it comes to nightlife. We had a great night, and I think that right now Alex is sleeping to get better than he looked this morning. Not that I feel amazing - but it was nice to go out somewhere else than Tequila Bar in Urubamba!
We'll have a couple of more days in Salta before heading off to Iguazu Falls, our next stop and last stop before Rio. Time seems to be running out!
The only time it would have been nice to have arrived a bit later after a night on a bus, we arrived exactly on time - 5.30 in the morning, dark and freezing cold! We were lucky that the tour agencies opened early and we could get in their offices and warm up a bit while checking out tours to the salt flats. Agreed on a one day tour the same day, and went out to get some breakfast before heading off. Once again again again, I had problems with my stomach - it seems I am just not supposed to feel good for more than a couple of days a time, and it's driving me crazy. I must have taken a trillion pills since I was sick the first time in Southamerica.
Anyways, we drove out in a group of 8 including 4 retired columbians that were very fond of chitchatting with foreigners in spanish - so I got to practice a bit more, which was actually quite nice seeing as we don't really need to speek a lot of spanish when we're just on the road.
The salt flats were absolutely amazing. Ass soon as we stepped out of the car, we were almost blinded by the whiteness of the salt sorrounding us. We saw a hotel made of salt and had a lousy lunch before driving to "Isla de Pescado", an island in the middle of the salt with cactus all over. Took some cool pictures and went back to catch the next night bus, this time to the border.
That bus was the worst bus experience so far. We spend an hour waiting for them to carry the entire contents of a house on top of the bus - beds, chairs, tables... When we finally got in the bus, the seats could not go further than 10cm back, and all around us were local people smoking or getting drunk. After driving an hour or so, more local people got on the bus, and for the next 6 hours there was no room whatsoever for doing anything else than closing your eyes and hoping that we would get to the right place eventually. I woke up in the middle of the night and asked an english guy that was on the bus if he knew what time it was, and his answer was something like "No, but there's a baby sleeping next to you". And yes, there was a baby sleeping on the floor with its mother sitting next to it on the floor as well.
Arrived in the morning to cross the border to Argentina, which equals civilization - at least in Southamerican terms. We were to get a stamp in our passports at the migration office, but the woman there just decided to go out for breakfast, leaving like twenty people waiting for her to come back. After swearing in danish about the crappy bolivian system, and after Alex telling me off for breaking the mood, we got the stamp and crossed the border to get a bus to Salta, another 6 hours.
Crossing the border did lift my mood quite a bit - I was absolutely amazed by the fact that you could actually see nice houses and highways!!!! Woooooow, that was crazy.
Arriving in Salta, we checked in to a hostel and went for a walk to shop for cooking dinner. Walking in the first argentinian city made me so happy - real supermarkets, stores and just a nicer place in general.
Ended up going out with some people from the hostel, since Salta should be a really nice city when it comes to nightlife. We had a great night, and I think that right now Alex is sleeping to get better than he looked this morning. Not that I feel amazing - but it was nice to go out somewhere else than Tequila Bar in Urubamba!
We'll have a couple of more days in Salta before heading off to Iguazu Falls, our next stop and last stop before Rio. Time seems to be running out!
May 13, 2010
Bolivia
Spent our last day in Galapagos relaxing and going out for a last meal - including a huge ice cream, since it was our last night in the Galapagos...
We had a day in Guayaquil which we spent walking downtown on the Malecón, a nice road located by the river. Very non-touristy, which was nice after the european and american crowds of people we'd just left.
Arriving to Lima the day after, we found a busticket to Puno, as far west as we could possibly get. Went to McDonalds for lunch - I asked what they had without meat and ended up getting a Happy Meal - why not? So now I've got a Batman car in my bag, definitely going with me on long busrides... :p
Arriving to Puno after a rough 24 hours, we decided to wait for the next bus till sunday morning. Checked in at the Point and met two people who were travelling to La Paz the next day as well, so we went on the same bus. Arrived monday afternoon and went out for a look around the city before returning to the hostel to get a couple of beers. Alex went to bed quite early, being tired after yet another busride, but I ended up going out with some danes, a norwegian and a french guy. Went to an almost completely deserted club called "Mongo's", but since we were 5 scandinavians we managed to get things going a bit. Had quite a nice night, and luckily we didn't have any plans the day after, so I could get a long nights sleep.
Tuesday we went walking around town again, going to the witches market and relaxing a bit. At night we went out for dinner at "The Star of India", where Alex spent almost 3 hours and 4 liters of water and three times puking eating the hottest vindaloo in the world - he received a t-shirt for completing the dish that he now wears with pride!
Wednesday we went mountainbiking on Death Road, the worlds most dangerous road. Definitely an amazing experience, biking on the edge of a road, knowing that if you fall down you'll have about a thousand meters till you hit ground... The scariest part was driving back on the same road though - the fact that you're not in control of the car is way more uncomfortable than just biking downhill, when you can stay to the mountainside.
Today we went to try and get in to San Pedro prison, a place where the prisoners live with their families inside, controlling everything themselves. It was 400kr to get a tour though, so we decided not to go. In stead we ended up going to the coca museum, a really interesting place where you could find lots of information about the coca leaves and the use of them - so now we're experts on cocaleaves... Ended the visit by eating a coca chocolate cake - Alex made the weird choice of a gross coca cheese cake, have absolutely no idea why.
Tonight we have another 12 hour busride in front of us, going to Uyuni to see some apparently amazing salt flats. Hoping to get a cheap tour to fit our budget after having spent quite a lot of money doing Galapagos.
We had a day in Guayaquil which we spent walking downtown on the Malecón, a nice road located by the river. Very non-touristy, which was nice after the european and american crowds of people we'd just left.
Arriving to Lima the day after, we found a busticket to Puno, as far west as we could possibly get. Went to McDonalds for lunch - I asked what they had without meat and ended up getting a Happy Meal - why not? So now I've got a Batman car in my bag, definitely going with me on long busrides... :p
Arriving to Puno after a rough 24 hours, we decided to wait for the next bus till sunday morning. Checked in at the Point and met two people who were travelling to La Paz the next day as well, so we went on the same bus. Arrived monday afternoon and went out for a look around the city before returning to the hostel to get a couple of beers. Alex went to bed quite early, being tired after yet another busride, but I ended up going out with some danes, a norwegian and a french guy. Went to an almost completely deserted club called "Mongo's", but since we were 5 scandinavians we managed to get things going a bit. Had quite a nice night, and luckily we didn't have any plans the day after, so I could get a long nights sleep.
Tuesday we went walking around town again, going to the witches market and relaxing a bit. At night we went out for dinner at "The Star of India", where Alex spent almost 3 hours and 4 liters of water and three times puking eating the hottest vindaloo in the world - he received a t-shirt for completing the dish that he now wears with pride!
Wednesday we went mountainbiking on Death Road, the worlds most dangerous road. Definitely an amazing experience, biking on the edge of a road, knowing that if you fall down you'll have about a thousand meters till you hit ground... The scariest part was driving back on the same road though - the fact that you're not in control of the car is way more uncomfortable than just biking downhill, when you can stay to the mountainside.
Today we went to try and get in to San Pedro prison, a place where the prisoners live with their families inside, controlling everything themselves. It was 400kr to get a tour though, so we decided not to go. In stead we ended up going to the coca museum, a really interesting place where you could find lots of information about the coca leaves and the use of them - so now we're experts on cocaleaves... Ended the visit by eating a coca chocolate cake - Alex made the weird choice of a gross coca cheese cake, have absolutely no idea why.
Tonight we have another 12 hour busride in front of us, going to Uyuni to see some apparently amazing salt flats. Hoping to get a cheap tour to fit our budget after having spent quite a lot of money doing Galapagos.
May 6, 2010
Galapagos Islands
Just got back from our Galapagos Islands cruise. We were dinghied out to the yacht on the first day in the morning from Puerto Ayora, the only tourist town in the Galapagos, a yacht sufficiently big to have 16 guests living aboard along 10 in crew, more or less. I room was tiny, but neither we were expecting any wild luxuries so we found no reason to complain. Spent the first day in Puerto Ayora where we were sent back on land to the Charles Darwin Research Station, a non governmental volunteer organization working on preserving the animals on the islands. They have a specifically large array of giant tortoises on display, which was simply amazing. By far being one of my favourite animals out here, theyre truly huge. Weighing a good 250kg, they dont do much besides chew and grunt whenever life throws it a challenge. If I was ever to come back to life as an animal, this would be the one. Sit on my butt all day, sometimes in the pond, eat, chew, grunt, eat some more and look grumpy for the photo.
Back on board we had lunch and dinner, which despite being quite good, was a huge disappointment. We just came from the inka trail where the food, with no kitchen, was amazing every day and night. There really was nothing wrong with the service or food on board of the yacht, but after seeing your porters work their asses off for you like they did, it was hard to settle to just being taken care of on a yacht, as spoiled as we realise that makes us. Not meant as a criticism to the boat and its crew, but more as another compliment to the inka trail. Now we are back to sleeping on busses and cheap hostals, where our illusion of being so well taken care of everywhere we go will come crashing down.
Day two took us snorkling in the morning at Rabida island. The amazing range of islands out here is one of the most surprising elements. Within a kilometers distance, one island will have pure white beaches whereas the other will have blac
k volcanic rock/sand, and the next being completely barren and red, each offering a different kind of animal life. Rabida offered, as the only thing most places have in common, sea lions peacefully hunting and playing with you while you snorkel around. Of other things to see was the many differently coloured fish on the ocean floor, sea stars and sting rays. This being our first time in the water, we were fascinated by the variety of life. Im really just counting on AC to uload some of her many many pictures soon, including some underwater ones. The ones posted on here are just some that I found on google.
We continued on to Santiago island after that where we also spent the afternoon snorkeling and checking out the underwater life. The usual routine consisted of first snorkeling and the following it up by a small one hour hike on the island.
We visited Bartolome and Seymour islands the following day (yesterday). We again did a lot of snorkeling, and managed to see sea turtles, sea lions, marine iguanas, penguins, dolphins (though far out in the distance unfortunately) and sharks. Sharks would often come around the boat to circle around us, and despite supposedly being completely peaceful, jumping into the water and swimming around after seeing a 2 meter shark was a little frightening. Nevertheless, the only time we saw one of those huge sharks while snorkeling, it quietly circled around us, allowed us to get close and then quietly swam away. The funnest animal to swim around with was without a doubt the sea lions. The younger ones were often quite playful and swam around you, came all the way up to your hand and showed off their underwater abilities. For me, seeing the sea turtles was a huge experience. Theyre exceptionally beautiful animals and very rare in the rest of the world, although we easily saw 4-5 of them swimming around. Only saw a few penguins in the water, and because theyre so small and fast, its almost impossibly to take pictures of them or admire them properly. We usually managed to be in the water for about an hour at a time before it got too cold (the water was around 20 degrees, reaching its highest of 25-28 around february).
Our hikes on the islands also provided us with plenty of animal life. Land iguanas in their beautiful warm colours, marine iguanas swimming under the water and resting above it, the smaller but hugely coloured lava lizards. Blue footed boobie birds were also amusing, doing their mating dance by jumping from one foot to the other, their feet so blue they could just have stepped out of some bubblegum. Frigatebirds with their huge red neck pouches were also amazing, we saw some of those this morning. All in all, the week out here has definetly left its mark on me. The beauty of the islands speak for itself, and no other place in the world do you see such variety in scenery, and such different animal life living peacefully in co-existence. You keep having to remind yourself that you are not in the zoo. Unfortunately, our guide was very preoccupied with the deterioration of the islands and how introdued animal life and over fishing is ruining the islands, true as it is. It is a rapidly growing tourist destination, leaving its marks.
Alex
Back on board we had lunch and dinner, which despite being quite good, was a huge disappointment. We just came from the inka trail where the food, with no kitchen, was amazing every day and night. There really was nothing wrong with the service or food on board of the yacht, but after seeing your porters work their asses off for you like they did, it was hard to settle to just being taken care of on a yacht, as spoiled as we realise that makes us. Not meant as a criticism to the boat and its crew, but more as another compliment to the inka trail. Now we are back to sleeping on busses and cheap hostals, where our illusion of being so well taken care of everywhere we go will come crashing down.
Day two took us snorkling in the morning at Rabida island. The amazing range of islands out here is one of the most surprising elements. Within a kilometers distance, one island will have pure white beaches whereas the other will have blac
k volcanic rock/sand, and the next being completely barren and red, each offering a different kind of animal life. Rabida offered, as the only thing most places have in common, sea lions peacefully hunting and playing with you while you snorkel around. Of other things to see was the many differently coloured fish on the ocean floor, sea stars and sting rays. This being our first time in the water, we were fascinated by the variety of life. Im really just counting on AC to uload some of her many many pictures soon, including some underwater ones. The ones posted on here are just some that I found on google.We continued on to Santiago island after that where we also spent the afternoon snorkeling and checking out the underwater life. The usual routine consisted of first snorkeling and the following it up by a small one hour hike on the island.
We visited Bartolome and Seymour islands the following day (yesterday). We again did a lot of snorkeling, and managed to see sea turtles, sea lions, marine iguanas, penguins, dolphins (though far out in the distance unfortunately) and sharks. Sharks would often come around the boat to circle around us, and despite supposedly being completely peaceful, jumping into the water and swimming around after seeing a 2 meter shark was a little frightening. Nevertheless, the only time we saw one of those huge sharks while snorkeling, it quietly circled around us, allowed us to get close and then quietly swam away. The funnest animal to swim around with was without a doubt the sea lions. The younger ones were often quite playful and swam around you, came all the way up to your hand and showed off their underwater abilities. For me, seeing the sea turtles was a huge experience. Theyre exceptionally beautiful animals and very rare in the rest of the world, although we easily saw 4-5 of them swimming around. Only saw a few penguins in the water, and because theyre so small and fast, its almost impossibly to take pictures of them or admire them properly. We usually managed to be in the water for about an hour at a time before it got too cold (the water was around 20 degrees, reaching its highest of 25-28 around february).Our hikes on the islands also provided us with plenty of animal life. Land iguanas in their beautiful warm colours, marine iguanas swimming under the water and resting above it, the smaller but hugely coloured lava lizards. Blue footed boobie birds were also amusing, doing their mating dance by jumping from one foot to the other, their feet so blue they could just have stepped out of some bubblegum. Frigatebirds with their huge red neck pouches were also amazing, we saw some of those this morning. All in all, the week out here has definetly left its mark on me. The beauty of the islands speak for itself, and no other place in the world do you see such variety in scenery, and such different animal life living peacefully in co-existence. You keep having to remind yourself that you are not in the zoo. Unfortunately, our guide was very preoccupied with the deterioration of the islands and how introdued animal life and over fishing is ruining the islands, true as it is. It is a rapidly growing tourist destination, leaving its marks.
Alex
Apr 29, 2010
Inca Trail
Finally back after four amazing days in the Andes - we got picked up at 6am sunday morning and started our Inca Trail not long after. The first 4-5 hours was both up and down, and I found myself struggling with my breathing when we arrived at our lunch spot - figured out later that Becky's astma-thing worked quite well though.
Arriving at our lunch spot we were served a delicious meal of soup, stuffed avocados and rice and tea - we did not expect such a nice service, as the company hires porters that walk ahead of us and prepare tents and food for us - which I did not realize till we had our first stop.
Apparently we had 14 porters in total - a cook, an assistent and a head of porters. Our group was only of 10 people and 2 guides, so when I found out what these guides get paid according to what we paid to go on the trek, I immediately felt bad.
The first day we walked up 700 meters in total, including lots of ups and downs. When we arrived to our first campsite, we were introduced to our porters - from 21 to 60 years old, all carrying up to 28kg - absolutely crazy!
We had been struggling to get up the damn mountain with our maximum 10kg bags, and they were litterally running up the mountains almost not breaking a single sweat. Hard to believe!
We slept in tents in an altitude of 3700 meters - and damn, it was cold! I woke up in the morning feeling like ice, but in a good mood because of the amazing view we had over the valley. The second day we reached our highest spot, 4200 meters about two hours after waking up to pancakes and porridge. Slept in about the same altitude as the first night, not as cold though. The third day was not as tough, as we were mainly walking down - although that is damn hard as well when the mountain is crazily steep!
The third day we arrived at our campsite quite early, and I found time to take a nap - after getting up 5.30 the last three days, I was completely shattered. We had a great meal once again, and said goodbye to our porters that were leaving on the morning of the fourth day.
The fourth day was special - we got up at 3.30 am in order to be the first in line when the gate to the last hour of the Inca Trail opened at 5.30. By the time the gate opened, we had about 200 people behind us, all waiting desperately to get to the Sungate, a place from where you can see Machu Picchu. We started out almost running because our guide wanted our group to be the first to reach the Sungate - and so we did.
We spent a couple of hours in Machu Picchu, getting a tour round the ruins, absolutely amazing to learn so much about the Incas and their culture. Great, great experience - and, of course, we have lots of pictures (when haven't I...)!
We walked down to Aguas Calientes from where we were to take the train back at 9pm - which meant we had to kill about 8 hours in a tiny town. I chose to go with a girl from our group to check out the hot springs - and that turned out to be a great idea! It was soooo nice to relax in hot mineral water after four days without a proper shower.
So, now I have developed a hatred for steps and staircases - we were literally all walking like old men at the end of the Inca Trail, especially after climbing 53 steps of "Gringo Killers"!
Good thing we're going on a cruise soon - my legs would collapse at the sight of more than ten steps in a row now... At least for a couple of days :D
We were absolutely shattered when we finally got back to our house - Mary waiting for us with cake at 12.30 am. So nice!
Got up this morning to a mixed experience - we are SO excited about finally being assured that we are definitely going to Galapagos, but at the same time, we had to say goodbye to the Rainbow Centre.
The goodbye was so tough - the kids telling us that we have been great teachers and that they love us and they'll miss us and getting cards from them, was absolutely not something I could stand without crying. Alex got a bracelet and a necklace from Lizandra, one of the girls from the Rainbow House, and I got the nicest card from Marco (also a kid from the Rainbow House) that he had written all by himself.
For me, one of the hardest things was also saying goodbye to Becky and Mary. We've had such an amazing time together in the Volunteer House, so it was tough to realize the fact that we might not see them again in a very long time.
We went back and did some packing, went to Cusco and bought a ticket to Lima - an 18 hour busride, so we should be in Lima tomorrow midday if the Peruvian system doesn't fail us once again.
Arriving at our lunch spot we were served a delicious meal of soup, stuffed avocados and rice and tea - we did not expect such a nice service, as the company hires porters that walk ahead of us and prepare tents and food for us - which I did not realize till we had our first stop.
Apparently we had 14 porters in total - a cook, an assistent and a head of porters. Our group was only of 10 people and 2 guides, so when I found out what these guides get paid according to what we paid to go on the trek, I immediately felt bad.
The first day we walked up 700 meters in total, including lots of ups and downs. When we arrived to our first campsite, we were introduced to our porters - from 21 to 60 years old, all carrying up to 28kg - absolutely crazy!
We had been struggling to get up the damn mountain with our maximum 10kg bags, and they were litterally running up the mountains almost not breaking a single sweat. Hard to believe!
We slept in tents in an altitude of 3700 meters - and damn, it was cold! I woke up in the morning feeling like ice, but in a good mood because of the amazing view we had over the valley. The second day we reached our highest spot, 4200 meters about two hours after waking up to pancakes and porridge. Slept in about the same altitude as the first night, not as cold though. The third day was not as tough, as we were mainly walking down - although that is damn hard as well when the mountain is crazily steep!
The third day we arrived at our campsite quite early, and I found time to take a nap - after getting up 5.30 the last three days, I was completely shattered. We had a great meal once again, and said goodbye to our porters that were leaving on the morning of the fourth day.
The fourth day was special - we got up at 3.30 am in order to be the first in line when the gate to the last hour of the Inca Trail opened at 5.30. By the time the gate opened, we had about 200 people behind us, all waiting desperately to get to the Sungate, a place from where you can see Machu Picchu. We started out almost running because our guide wanted our group to be the first to reach the Sungate - and so we did.
We spent a couple of hours in Machu Picchu, getting a tour round the ruins, absolutely amazing to learn so much about the Incas and their culture. Great, great experience - and, of course, we have lots of pictures (when haven't I...)!
We walked down to Aguas Calientes from where we were to take the train back at 9pm - which meant we had to kill about 8 hours in a tiny town. I chose to go with a girl from our group to check out the hot springs - and that turned out to be a great idea! It was soooo nice to relax in hot mineral water after four days without a proper shower.
So, now I have developed a hatred for steps and staircases - we were literally all walking like old men at the end of the Inca Trail, especially after climbing 53 steps of "Gringo Killers"!
Good thing we're going on a cruise soon - my legs would collapse at the sight of more than ten steps in a row now... At least for a couple of days :D
We were absolutely shattered when we finally got back to our house - Mary waiting for us with cake at 12.30 am. So nice!
Got up this morning to a mixed experience - we are SO excited about finally being assured that we are definitely going to Galapagos, but at the same time, we had to say goodbye to the Rainbow Centre.
The goodbye was so tough - the kids telling us that we have been great teachers and that they love us and they'll miss us and getting cards from them, was absolutely not something I could stand without crying. Alex got a bracelet and a necklace from Lizandra, one of the girls from the Rainbow House, and I got the nicest card from Marco (also a kid from the Rainbow House) that he had written all by himself.
For me, one of the hardest things was also saying goodbye to Becky and Mary. We've had such an amazing time together in the Volunteer House, so it was tough to realize the fact that we might not see them again in a very long time.
We went back and did some packing, went to Cusco and bought a ticket to Lima - an 18 hour busride, so we should be in Lima tomorrow midday if the Peruvian system doesn't fail us once again.
Apr 24, 2010
Busy week
Finally have time to come down to a cafe after a super busy week at the rainbow center. Throughout the week we have been occupied with planning a fundraiser event that we have just finished with - a football tournament. Charging every team participating, we managed in the end to come up with 8 teams. We´ve been running around like madmen talking to locals, getting bakeries to make cakes etc. etc. It was a mild success in the end, and I suppose its more about raising awareness about special needs than the dough. Yesterday, friday, was spent with workshops at school because a travelling circus decided to pop by and give us a free showing. They were all firedancers at the Burning Man festival in San Francisco and so theyre fireshow was definetly memorable for us and kids alike. During the day they tought the kids acrobatics, juggling and other various typical circus feats. Friday also happened to be our last day at the rainbow center, so it was a fun way to end it all. Planning on coming back to say our goodbyes on thursday though, so AC has not had her intense crying session just yet.
Tomorrow morning we get picked up at 6 to start our 4 day inka trail. Essentially we hike about a marathon length on the inkas paths over the 3 days and end up in Machu Picchu on the last day. Getting back late wednesday night, having our goodbyes in school on thursday, and then its off to Galapagos. We will be going from Machu Picchu to Galapagos in a week, and AC still found the time to complain about not hitting town on wednesday night in Urubamba. To be fair, it would have been fun to say our goodbyes with this place, although I find myself unusually spoiled complaining about it. Essentially tonight will then be our very last night in Urubamba and we will therefore all be going out to a nice restaurant in a minute.
Thats all for now but will update on Machu Picchu and the trail once thats over.
Alex
Tomorrow morning we get picked up at 6 to start our 4 day inka trail. Essentially we hike about a marathon length on the inkas paths over the 3 days and end up in Machu Picchu on the last day. Getting back late wednesday night, having our goodbyes in school on thursday, and then its off to Galapagos. We will be going from Machu Picchu to Galapagos in a week, and AC still found the time to complain about not hitting town on wednesday night in Urubamba. To be fair, it would have been fun to say our goodbyes with this place, although I find myself unusually spoiled complaining about it. Essentially tonight will then be our very last night in Urubamba and we will therefore all be going out to a nice restaurant in a minute.
Thats all for now but will update on Machu Picchu and the trail once thats over.
Alex
Apr 17, 2010
Work work work woooork
The last couple of days we've been working quite a lot. Wednesday was a fun day though - it was Orange Day, so we were all dressed in orange and had orange food and played balloon dancing and a lot of other really fun games.
Thursday I worked with a really happy Fernando (18, autist). I did hand massage and ludotherapy with him, using instruments and toys, playing with teddy bears and making cow sounds. He was in a great mood, and it really makes you happy when this 18-year old autist runs around the centre laughing and clapping his hands - especially when you know that you're part of the reason why he's happy, since he absolutely loves ludotherapy.
In the second class I helped out with Funcional, the oldest group. They were supposed to pick things that they liked from Orange Day and draw them with orange colours. I helped Fernando do a puzzle (one of the things that my aunt and mom sent me by the way - thanks!), and kept and eye on the other kids while doing it. Javier, a boy with downs syndrome, came and gave me a big hug telling me that I am pretty, while I was sitting on a chair helping Fernando. Later, Kattya, 20, also downs syndrome, told me that she loved me and that she will miss me when I'm gone. I am never gonna be able to leave!
In the afternoon we made jewellery with the oldest kids - lovely! :D
Friday I worked in inicial with the smallest kids, as always focusing on my favourite, Benjamin. He was playing with some wax that he was really fascinated by, and that kept his concentration for more than 2 minutes - which is absolutely incredible!
In the second class I worked on the computer organizing photos from Orange Day, and Becky and I had to stay at the center till 3.30 before we could leave, starving. Good day though.
Today has been a very relaxing day - reading, going for a walk, having lunch at Misky Song'o... Tonight we're going out in Urubamba, a thing we haven't done for long - hopefully it'll be fun! :)
Thursday I worked with a really happy Fernando (18, autist). I did hand massage and ludotherapy with him, using instruments and toys, playing with teddy bears and making cow sounds. He was in a great mood, and it really makes you happy when this 18-year old autist runs around the centre laughing and clapping his hands - especially when you know that you're part of the reason why he's happy, since he absolutely loves ludotherapy.
In the second class I helped out with Funcional, the oldest group. They were supposed to pick things that they liked from Orange Day and draw them with orange colours. I helped Fernando do a puzzle (one of the things that my aunt and mom sent me by the way - thanks!), and kept and eye on the other kids while doing it. Javier, a boy with downs syndrome, came and gave me a big hug telling me that I am pretty, while I was sitting on a chair helping Fernando. Later, Kattya, 20, also downs syndrome, told me that she loved me and that she will miss me when I'm gone. I am never gonna be able to leave!
In the afternoon we made jewellery with the oldest kids - lovely! :D
Friday I worked in inicial with the smallest kids, as always focusing on my favourite, Benjamin. He was playing with some wax that he was really fascinated by, and that kept his concentration for more than 2 minutes - which is absolutely incredible!
In the second class I worked on the computer organizing photos from Orange Day, and Becky and I had to stay at the center till 3.30 before we could leave, starving. Good day though.
Today has been a very relaxing day - reading, going for a walk, having lunch at Misky Song'o... Tonight we're going out in Urubamba, a thing we haven't done for long - hopefully it'll be fun! :)
Apr 13, 2010
A lot of goodbyes...
Alex, my mom and I went to Fallen Angel wednesday night to show my mom the extraordinary restaurant - and it didn't let us down, as we had the best food ever combined with a glass of wine and a great dessert. Great goodbye-meal, as my mom was leaving on thursday morning.
We spent thursday in school doing workshop in the afternoon, Becky and I watching out for the Rainbow House kids in school because the substitute mother had something else to do. When we got back, we waited for Mary and her dad (that had been there since saturday) to get back from their trip to Machu Picchu, before we went to our favourite pizza plaze, Pizza Wasi, to have another goodbye-meal - for Andrea this time. She was leaving friday morning and seeing her say goodbye to all the kids was absolutely horrible - and it did not make me look forward to our last day!!!
After school we all went to Cusco to have our third goodbye-meal in a row - the last one leaving this week was Mary's dad, so we went out for dinner in Cusco and played some pool at Mushrooms, Mary's favourite going-out-place, and afterwards we went to have a lousy salsa lesson followed by a couple of hours discovering Cusco's nightlife yet another time.
The weekend was very relaxing - saturday we just chilled in the volunteer house, watching a couple of movies, and sunday we went for an amazing hike in the mountains - pictures are coming up!
I started monday measuring the weight and height of the oldest kids at the center in the first lesson - and got a chock to realize, when stepping on the weight myself, that I gained an annoying 4 kilos since I got here! Sooo, I just put myself on a two-day avocado diet starting today..
Yesterday Alex and I bought tickets from Lima to Guayaquil, May 1st - which means that we might be able to go to Galapagos! My dream is getting closer!
In the meantime, I am getting more and more sad, realizing that I had my second-last day in Chinchero today, we are going to the Rainbow House for the second-last time this afternoon, and that I will soon have to cry my eyes out because I'll be missing the center and all its people and animals like crazy once we're leaving....
We spent thursday in school doing workshop in the afternoon, Becky and I watching out for the Rainbow House kids in school because the substitute mother had something else to do. When we got back, we waited for Mary and her dad (that had been there since saturday) to get back from their trip to Machu Picchu, before we went to our favourite pizza plaze, Pizza Wasi, to have another goodbye-meal - for Andrea this time. She was leaving friday morning and seeing her say goodbye to all the kids was absolutely horrible - and it did not make me look forward to our last day!!!
After school we all went to Cusco to have our third goodbye-meal in a row - the last one leaving this week was Mary's dad, so we went out for dinner in Cusco and played some pool at Mushrooms, Mary's favourite going-out-place, and afterwards we went to have a lousy salsa lesson followed by a couple of hours discovering Cusco's nightlife yet another time.
The weekend was very relaxing - saturday we just chilled in the volunteer house, watching a couple of movies, and sunday we went for an amazing hike in the mountains - pictures are coming up!
I started monday measuring the weight and height of the oldest kids at the center in the first lesson - and got a chock to realize, when stepping on the weight myself, that I gained an annoying 4 kilos since I got here! Sooo, I just put myself on a two-day avocado diet starting today..
Yesterday Alex and I bought tickets from Lima to Guayaquil, May 1st - which means that we might be able to go to Galapagos! My dream is getting closer!
In the meantime, I am getting more and more sad, realizing that I had my second-last day in Chinchero today, we are going to the Rainbow House for the second-last time this afternoon, and that I will soon have to cry my eyes out because I'll be missing the center and all its people and animals like crazy once we're leaving....
Apr 8, 2010
After a great week in Ica, Nazca and Arequipa, it was back to work as usual. Its strange thinking we only have two weeks left at the center now and only 3 in peru. Trying to find a way to kill a weeks time in the end of april/beginning of may as AC is travelling to Galapagos. Planning on either staying in Cusco, Lima or La Paz. Anyone feel like coming out to visit either of these places???
Spent the day today doing what I do best, lying on the grass, occasionally telling some kid off, playing football and going to the park. I dont understand this school, I wish mine had been more like it. Morning started off with an hour and a half worth of baseball. Classes didnt seem more important apparently. Had a terrible day yesterday though, up in Chinchero. Started off with a girl tripping over my feet, faceplanting the pavement and breaking her nose. The next second, another girl ran into my legs, tripping over and hitting her head onto the ground, also bleeding alot. Not long after a third repeated the trick, and I looked in a bad situation when the teacher came running out with three loudly crying and bleeding kids lying next to me. What are the chances? Decided to stay clear of kids for the rest of the day, and today after this morning making another boy cry after accidentally tripping him over. I swear im usually good with kids.
Just a quick update this time, thanks for the comments. AND let me know if you wanna come visit during that week :-) Anyone is more than welcome, whether i know you or not.
Alex
Spent the day today doing what I do best, lying on the grass, occasionally telling some kid off, playing football and going to the park. I dont understand this school, I wish mine had been more like it. Morning started off with an hour and a half worth of baseball. Classes didnt seem more important apparently. Had a terrible day yesterday though, up in Chinchero. Started off with a girl tripping over my feet, faceplanting the pavement and breaking her nose. The next second, another girl ran into my legs, tripping over and hitting her head onto the ground, also bleeding alot. Not long after a third repeated the trick, and I looked in a bad situation when the teacher came running out with three loudly crying and bleeding kids lying next to me. What are the chances? Decided to stay clear of kids for the rest of the day, and today after this morning making another boy cry after accidentally tripping him over. I swear im usually good with kids.
Just a quick update this time, thanks for the comments. AND let me know if you wanna come visit during that week :-) Anyone is more than welcome, whether i know you or not.
Alex
Apr 4, 2010
Vacaciones
Once again, sorry for the lack of updates - we've had a very busy easter holiday.
My mom arrived sunday morning, and I sent her to Urubamba because all of the volunteers were going on a Sacred Valley tour. I'd just got out of the hospital, so I was a little tired - good thing we were sitting in a bus most of the tour. We went to Chinchero and saw the ruins there, and then Ollantayambo - more ruins (basically all there is....). Had lunch in Urubamba where my mom joined for the last part of the tour, and we went to Pisac to check out more ruins and pre-inca stuff - we also saw a full rainbow, it was so pretty.
Monday Alex, and I went to Cusco to show my mom around (=shopping and Jack's!), before we met up with the others to jump on a bus to Ica. When we arrived tuesday morning we decided to go sandboarding - and that was a very, very good decision! We went on sort of a tour with a sandbuggy driving around in the desert, and by driving I mean insane driving - it was completely like a roller coaster! The driver chose some places for us to do sandboarding, an absolutely incredible experience. Either you lie down on your stomach or you try standing on the board on the way down - so cool.
The area was called Huacachina, a place with an incredible oasis in the middle of the desert, and we went back there wednesday morning before we took another two hour bumpy ride on a bus to Nazca to go see the Nazca lines. On the way there, however, we saw the outlook tower we were supposed to go to, and decided not to go back as the tower was tiny and far away....
We spend the day in Nazca just chilling on Plaza the Armas, playing cards, shopping a bit and getting an amazing banana split - and in the evening we took a night bus to Arequipa, where we were going to have another three days.
Arequipa is a great city - you can go river rafting, horseback riding, climb a volcano, do the Colca Canyon trek and lots of other stuff - wish we'd had more time there! We ended up going mountain biking down the volcano el Misty on our first day, a tour of four hours on a bike mostly downhill, but also uphill a couple of times. It was absolutely great - and, I discovered a new talent of mine - spitting stones from oranges!
We decided to do the one day Colca Canyon tour on our second day - which involves getting up at two in the morning, yay! However, it was a great experience - we saw 7 condors and met about a hundred llamas, and Becky and I even got to have an eagle sitting on our arm. Went to some thermal baths in the canyon as well, before we headed towards Arequipa again. We were so lucky as to have a bus with no heating system, and being 5000m above sea level in a could, bumpy bus is not exactly the most comfortable experience. On our way back, we had not only one tire, but two tires deciding to give up on the tough mountain roads. Only having one extra, we all had to get out of the bus and wait for a looooong time before moving on in a bus with one flat tire, feeling a bit like a cartoon figure in a bus more bumpy than ever. But yeah, we're in Peru, so what could we expect?
Becky, Alex and I went to the Point hostel in Arequipa for the night. We wanted to go out, but ended up staying at the crowded hostel seeing as it was easter week and all bars and clubs apparently were closed. We did have a good night anyway, as the Point is always stuffed with other backpackers looking for a good time.
Saturday we spent walking around in Arequipa, seeing the monastery - an entire town inside Arequipa where the nuns are still living, almost completely isolated from the rest of the world. We also went to see the only real cinema of Peru, but had to leave disappointed because the movies were all in Spanish. We ended up going to the best restaurant ever for dinner - a place called Zig Zag that had a recommendation in the Lonely Planet. We had a lot of peruvian specialties, for instance we tried the alpaca meat and the trout, but really great.
Saturday was the last day of our tour as we're having school tomorrow. I was quite tired due to my lack of sleep the last couple of days, so the 10 hour bus ride from Arequipa to Cusco was a very short ride for me - I fell asleep even before we started driving from the busstaion, and besides waking up a couple of times because of the freezing temperature of the bus, I slept till we entered the bus station.
Today the Plaza in Cusco is filled with people due to Easter break, and there are parades all over, which is quite interesting. Tomorrow we'll go back to scool - and I can't wait to see the kids again!
My mom arrived sunday morning, and I sent her to Urubamba because all of the volunteers were going on a Sacred Valley tour. I'd just got out of the hospital, so I was a little tired - good thing we were sitting in a bus most of the tour. We went to Chinchero and saw the ruins there, and then Ollantayambo - more ruins (basically all there is....). Had lunch in Urubamba where my mom joined for the last part of the tour, and we went to Pisac to check out more ruins and pre-inca stuff - we also saw a full rainbow, it was so pretty.
Monday Alex, and I went to Cusco to show my mom around (=shopping and Jack's!), before we met up with the others to jump on a bus to Ica. When we arrived tuesday morning we decided to go sandboarding - and that was a very, very good decision! We went on sort of a tour with a sandbuggy driving around in the desert, and by driving I mean insane driving - it was completely like a roller coaster! The driver chose some places for us to do sandboarding, an absolutely incredible experience. Either you lie down on your stomach or you try standing on the board on the way down - so cool.
The area was called Huacachina, a place with an incredible oasis in the middle of the desert, and we went back there wednesday morning before we took another two hour bumpy ride on a bus to Nazca to go see the Nazca lines. On the way there, however, we saw the outlook tower we were supposed to go to, and decided not to go back as the tower was tiny and far away....
We spend the day in Nazca just chilling on Plaza the Armas, playing cards, shopping a bit and getting an amazing banana split - and in the evening we took a night bus to Arequipa, where we were going to have another three days.
Arequipa is a great city - you can go river rafting, horseback riding, climb a volcano, do the Colca Canyon trek and lots of other stuff - wish we'd had more time there! We ended up going mountain biking down the volcano el Misty on our first day, a tour of four hours on a bike mostly downhill, but also uphill a couple of times. It was absolutely great - and, I discovered a new talent of mine - spitting stones from oranges!
We decided to do the one day Colca Canyon tour on our second day - which involves getting up at two in the morning, yay! However, it was a great experience - we saw 7 condors and met about a hundred llamas, and Becky and I even got to have an eagle sitting on our arm. Went to some thermal baths in the canyon as well, before we headed towards Arequipa again. We were so lucky as to have a bus with no heating system, and being 5000m above sea level in a could, bumpy bus is not exactly the most comfortable experience. On our way back, we had not only one tire, but two tires deciding to give up on the tough mountain roads. Only having one extra, we all had to get out of the bus and wait for a looooong time before moving on in a bus with one flat tire, feeling a bit like a cartoon figure in a bus more bumpy than ever. But yeah, we're in Peru, so what could we expect?
Becky, Alex and I went to the Point hostel in Arequipa for the night. We wanted to go out, but ended up staying at the crowded hostel seeing as it was easter week and all bars and clubs apparently were closed. We did have a good night anyway, as the Point is always stuffed with other backpackers looking for a good time.
Saturday we spent walking around in Arequipa, seeing the monastery - an entire town inside Arequipa where the nuns are still living, almost completely isolated from the rest of the world. We also went to see the only real cinema of Peru, but had to leave disappointed because the movies were all in Spanish. We ended up going to the best restaurant ever for dinner - a place called Zig Zag that had a recommendation in the Lonely Planet. We had a lot of peruvian specialties, for instance we tried the alpaca meat and the trout, but really great.
Saturday was the last day of our tour as we're having school tomorrow. I was quite tired due to my lack of sleep the last couple of days, so the 10 hour bus ride from Arequipa to Cusco was a very short ride for me - I fell asleep even before we started driving from the busstaion, and besides waking up a couple of times because of the freezing temperature of the bus, I slept till we entered the bus station.
Today the Plaza in Cusco is filled with people due to Easter break, and there are parades all over, which is quite interesting. Tomorrow we'll go back to scool - and I can't wait to see the kids again!
Mar 27, 2010
Busy week
Sorry for the lack of updates, but with the CIS group being here, it has been quite a busy week. The day CIS got here, the areas water decided to call it quits and we were left without running water for 48 hours. With a new group of 20 CIS people in the building, the lack of toilets quickly became a problem and we had to stay away from the house as much as possible for our own sakes. These are just some of the conditions we have to just take with a pinch of salt and move on from. Also had the electricity die on us a few days ago, so its been a tough week to get through.
CIS has been working all week on building a house on the school grounds for Fernando and have gotten surprisingly far with an almost completed house standing as proof. None of them were picky and got straight down to work with mixing cement, carrying blocks and painting bits and pieces all over. Was very cool to see, and it was equally fun to show them around the school. The volunteers almost got a weeks break as the kids were more excited to see 15 blonde young kids walking around their school, not surprisingly. Unfortunately, a few of them were hit by salmonella and guardia, resulting in doctors visits and hospital visits too. As a matter of fact, every single volunteer, including myself, were hit with guardia (parasites). This being our cusco weekend, its a shame our medication says no drinking. AC has unfortunately, unlucky as she is, been hit with more than just the guardia and is now, again, hospitalized with a fun mix of salmonella, guardia and amoeba. She is doing well considering the circumstances, though and plans to leave already later today. She did however miss out on a Cusco city tour yesterday.
Found out just 2 days ago that next week there will be no school at all. Easter is massive down here, and celebrations go on for weeks. Either way, we plan to use the time to travel to Arequipa and Ica to see volcanoes and go sandsurfing, as well as the Nazca lines. Will come back and update more frequently,
Alex
CIS has been working all week on building a house on the school grounds for Fernando and have gotten surprisingly far with an almost completed house standing as proof. None of them were picky and got straight down to work with mixing cement, carrying blocks and painting bits and pieces all over. Was very cool to see, and it was equally fun to show them around the school. The volunteers almost got a weeks break as the kids were more excited to see 15 blonde young kids walking around their school, not surprisingly. Unfortunately, a few of them were hit by salmonella and guardia, resulting in doctors visits and hospital visits too. As a matter of fact, every single volunteer, including myself, were hit with guardia (parasites). This being our cusco weekend, its a shame our medication says no drinking. AC has unfortunately, unlucky as she is, been hit with more than just the guardia and is now, again, hospitalized with a fun mix of salmonella, guardia and amoeba. She is doing well considering the circumstances, though and plans to leave already later today. She did however miss out on a Cusco city tour yesterday.
Found out just 2 days ago that next week there will be no school at all. Easter is massive down here, and celebrations go on for weeks. Either way, we plan to use the time to travel to Arequipa and Ica to see volcanoes and go sandsurfing, as well as the Nazca lines. Will come back and update more frequently,
Alex
Mar 20, 2010
New volunteers, Rainbow House and Cusco night out
Wednesday we went to pick up a new volunteer, Andrea, in the airport. Went back and gave her the grand tour of Urubamba, and since it was Sct. Patricks day, Mary had decided to cook for all of us, and it was really great. It was also wednesday, night for going out in Urubamba, so of course we ended up at Tequila Bar.
Thursday there was no school, because there was a strike in town, so Alex and I went to help out Mel with some pictures for the Rainbow House. We went to the Rainbow House later as well, and helped the kids with their homework and watched some of Avatar in Spanish. Interesting...
Friday was spent preparing a song with the kids that they are supposed to be singing for the CIS people. After school we went to Cusco to go out. Checked in at the hotel and went to have dinner at Fallen Angel, the most amazing place in Cusco - the tables are bath tubs with fish covered by glass, and there are couches and puffs and funny light. Best place ever! The food was amazing as well.
Afterwards we went to a place called Mushrooms at Plaza de Armas, where we had a couple of drinks - we had been going out a bit early, so we decided to spice things up and make a race of who could finish a beer first. I won by far!
We went to have some salsa lessons after playing some pool, good fun. Then we decided to go barhopping for some free drinks - and I had the weirdest experience ever. I litterally had three people pulling my right arm and four pulling my left - all of them from different clubs, promising us two, three or four free drinks each if we just came to their club. So we did manage to get tipsy and have a great night out in Cusco without psending too much money.
We got up saturday morning to have breakfast at Jack's (of course!!!), and to head of to some markets. Alex and Mary went back to Urubamba after about half an hour of shopping, and Becky, Andrea and I stayed in Cusco to buy ourselves some gringo shirts...
The CIS people have arrived, and we'll be 8 people in the volunteer house and the students living next door, so it's going to be busy there!
Thursday there was no school, because there was a strike in town, so Alex and I went to help out Mel with some pictures for the Rainbow House. We went to the Rainbow House later as well, and helped the kids with their homework and watched some of Avatar in Spanish. Interesting...
Friday was spent preparing a song with the kids that they are supposed to be singing for the CIS people. After school we went to Cusco to go out. Checked in at the hotel and went to have dinner at Fallen Angel, the most amazing place in Cusco - the tables are bath tubs with fish covered by glass, and there are couches and puffs and funny light. Best place ever! The food was amazing as well.
Afterwards we went to a place called Mushrooms at Plaza de Armas, where we had a couple of drinks - we had been going out a bit early, so we decided to spice things up and make a race of who could finish a beer first. I won by far!
We went to have some salsa lessons after playing some pool, good fun. Then we decided to go barhopping for some free drinks - and I had the weirdest experience ever. I litterally had three people pulling my right arm and four pulling my left - all of them from different clubs, promising us two, three or four free drinks each if we just came to their club. So we did manage to get tipsy and have a great night out in Cusco without psending too much money.
We got up saturday morning to have breakfast at Jack's (of course!!!), and to head of to some markets. Alex and Mary went back to Urubamba after about half an hour of shopping, and Becky, Andrea and I stayed in Cusco to buy ourselves some gringo shirts...
The CIS people have arrived, and we'll be 8 people in the volunteer house and the students living next door, so it's going to be busy there!
Mar 16, 2010
Marco's birthday and Chinchero
Another update!
Marco's birthday yesterday went really well. After school, Alex and I went to buy him a present - a schoolbag, a cap and a volleyball. And, because we thought he ought to have a piece of his favourite cake, one of those as well. Ended up giving about 80kr in total.
We went to dance with the kids because Marco wanted to listen to his favourite song "te amo", so we played "stopdans" a couple of times. Good fun!
When we finished playing, it was time for some cake - the substitute mother had made a massive cake for all of us. We had to give Marco his presents first, though. His face turned into one massive smile when he saw the piece of cake we'd brought him, and was about to get up and thank all of us, when we told him we had more. Seeing the bag, he was almost smiling to much to be able to say "gracias profes", and was about to get up again when we told him to open the bag and wee what was inside - the volleyball and the cap. He thanked us all like a million times and wore the cap and the bag immediately. It was amazing to see how happy a 15-year old boy can get when having a 80kr birthday present - at home, he probably would have been asking where in the bag his iPod was...
This morning I went to Chinchero with Becky and Mary. Got there at 9 and waited an hour and a half before any kids showed up - apparently the kids couldn't get to school because of the rain, imagine how that would be at home... :D
Becky and Mary helped out with class, and I went with Iris and Miguel to Proyecta de Vida. We went to visit some families whose kids were at school. In Chinchero, the outreach project is about teaching the parents how to improve their lives and the lives of their children. They've been going to the houses before and told the parents to make their houses better, and if they improved, the would get some food from Kiya Survivors. The first house we visited was the house of a boy called Carlos, who lives alone with his mother and grandmother because his dad left them. They have no toilet and share a tiny room with a stove and two beds. However, the mother had made a great effort to improve the house, so she got some pasta, breakfast and milk, and she was so happy.
Afterwards we went to the house of Alex and Martin, two little boys attending the school in Chinchero. They have two sisters attending a regular school, and they all sleep in the same bed with their mother. Imagine 5 people in a bed for 1! Their dad left them for another woman long time ago, and so Alex, about 7 I'd think, is the man of the house, in charge of everything with the house and the bit of farming they have.
However, the mother was not home, probably because she had heard the car coming and left because she didn't want to talk to Iris since the house looked the same as last time they were there.
We went back to Chinchero, dropped Iris off and then I went back to Urubamba with Miguel. It's a 40 minute drive from Chinchero to Urubamba, and I thought it was going to be boring sitting in the car with the driver and PE teacher of the school, but I actually managed to have a bit of a conversation with him in Spanish. AND! I got to drive the van!!!!!! I drove from about ten minutes outside Urubamba on the small mountain roads that leads to the town, in a van with breaks that do not work properly and where it is almost impossible to change gears. It was so funny though, and when we got into Urubamba, Miguel spotted the police and told me to stop, 'cause I didn't have my license with me. Good thing I just managed to pull over and switch places with Miguel, wouldn't have liked to be caught by peruvian police...
Tomorrow a new volunteer is arriving, and we'll be 5 in the house. It'll be great! Alex is missing some male company though, so he¡s looking forward to the arrival of CIS.
Marco's birthday yesterday went really well. After school, Alex and I went to buy him a present - a schoolbag, a cap and a volleyball. And, because we thought he ought to have a piece of his favourite cake, one of those as well. Ended up giving about 80kr in total.
We went to dance with the kids because Marco wanted to listen to his favourite song "te amo", so we played "stopdans" a couple of times. Good fun!
When we finished playing, it was time for some cake - the substitute mother had made a massive cake for all of us. We had to give Marco his presents first, though. His face turned into one massive smile when he saw the piece of cake we'd brought him, and was about to get up and thank all of us, when we told him we had more. Seeing the bag, he was almost smiling to much to be able to say "gracias profes", and was about to get up again when we told him to open the bag and wee what was inside - the volleyball and the cap. He thanked us all like a million times and wore the cap and the bag immediately. It was amazing to see how happy a 15-year old boy can get when having a 80kr birthday present - at home, he probably would have been asking where in the bag his iPod was...
This morning I went to Chinchero with Becky and Mary. Got there at 9 and waited an hour and a half before any kids showed up - apparently the kids couldn't get to school because of the rain, imagine how that would be at home... :D
Becky and Mary helped out with class, and I went with Iris and Miguel to Proyecta de Vida. We went to visit some families whose kids were at school. In Chinchero, the outreach project is about teaching the parents how to improve their lives and the lives of their children. They've been going to the houses before and told the parents to make their houses better, and if they improved, the would get some food from Kiya Survivors. The first house we visited was the house of a boy called Carlos, who lives alone with his mother and grandmother because his dad left them. They have no toilet and share a tiny room with a stove and two beds. However, the mother had made a great effort to improve the house, so she got some pasta, breakfast and milk, and she was so happy.
Afterwards we went to the house of Alex and Martin, two little boys attending the school in Chinchero. They have two sisters attending a regular school, and they all sleep in the same bed with their mother. Imagine 5 people in a bed for 1! Their dad left them for another woman long time ago, and so Alex, about 7 I'd think, is the man of the house, in charge of everything with the house and the bit of farming they have.
However, the mother was not home, probably because she had heard the car coming and left because she didn't want to talk to Iris since the house looked the same as last time they were there.
We went back to Chinchero, dropped Iris off and then I went back to Urubamba with Miguel. It's a 40 minute drive from Chinchero to Urubamba, and I thought it was going to be boring sitting in the car with the driver and PE teacher of the school, but I actually managed to have a bit of a conversation with him in Spanish. AND! I got to drive the van!!!!!! I drove from about ten minutes outside Urubamba on the small mountain roads that leads to the town, in a van with breaks that do not work properly and where it is almost impossible to change gears. It was so funny though, and when we got into Urubamba, Miguel spotted the police and told me to stop, 'cause I didn't have my license with me. Good thing I just managed to pull over and switch places with Miguel, wouldn't have liked to be caught by peruvian police...
Tomorrow a new volunteer is arriving, and we'll be 5 in the house. It'll be great! Alex is missing some male company though, so he¡s looking forward to the arrival of CIS.
Mar 15, 2010
A little extra..
I know Alex just wrote here, but I feel like I have to tell you guys about friday and monday.
Friday, I went to Proyecta de Vida ("life project") with Iris, our social worker, Miguel, our driver, and Mary, another volunteer. We went to visit the families of some of the kids that are not attending school and ask them why they're not coming.
We first went to Javier's house, a 17-year old boy with downs syndrome. His parents couldn't really give us a reason for him not being in school, but apparently they had a lot of problems in the family - the dad, 68, having trouble with his hearing, and the mother, 64, having severe back problems. They had 9 kids, and 2 of them died. Having a kid with downs syndrome on top of it cannot be very pleasant. Iris told the parents to visit a clinic to get a hearing aid for the dad and some physiotherapi for the mother, but they seemed very sceptical. She also told them to get a health insurance and to give her a copy of it - very strict lady, she is!
Afterwards we drove to a nearby town called Ollantaytambo to visit Jose Alberto. His mother works in a restaurant and might let her go soon because of the lack of tourism in Ollantaytambo. His dad is currently in a hospital in Cusco because he's got cancer - another very sad case that really made me appreciate the life I live!
Today has been a very interesting day - I was sitting in Mel's office when a 16-year old girl comes in - apparently she was waiting for Eli to come talk to her. She starts crying and tells me that yesterday her mother hit her on her thigh and pulled her hair, and that she was in pain. It was quite strange not knowing what to do, seeing as I am not used to speak to 16-year old girls about their problems with their mothers in Spanish, but I think I managed to make her feel a bit better. Eli comes in, and I walk off to help with Inicial. After about 10 minutes though, Eli wanted me to come to the office again to take pictures of the girls bruises. She had two huge bruises on her thigh, and when Eli told her that we were taking photos of it to have proof, she told her not to talk to her mother, 'cause she would get mad at her and hit her again. She couldn't explain why her mother hit her either. Quite a different experience compared to what I'm used to!
I'll find out what the school's going to do about her mother... In the meantime, we'll go celebrate Marco's birthday at the Rainbow House.
Friday, I went to Proyecta de Vida ("life project") with Iris, our social worker, Miguel, our driver, and Mary, another volunteer. We went to visit the families of some of the kids that are not attending school and ask them why they're not coming.
We first went to Javier's house, a 17-year old boy with downs syndrome. His parents couldn't really give us a reason for him not being in school, but apparently they had a lot of problems in the family - the dad, 68, having trouble with his hearing, and the mother, 64, having severe back problems. They had 9 kids, and 2 of them died. Having a kid with downs syndrome on top of it cannot be very pleasant. Iris told the parents to visit a clinic to get a hearing aid for the dad and some physiotherapi for the mother, but they seemed very sceptical. She also told them to get a health insurance and to give her a copy of it - very strict lady, she is!
Afterwards we drove to a nearby town called Ollantaytambo to visit Jose Alberto. His mother works in a restaurant and might let her go soon because of the lack of tourism in Ollantaytambo. His dad is currently in a hospital in Cusco because he's got cancer - another very sad case that really made me appreciate the life I live!
Today has been a very interesting day - I was sitting in Mel's office when a 16-year old girl comes in - apparently she was waiting for Eli to come talk to her. She starts crying and tells me that yesterday her mother hit her on her thigh and pulled her hair, and that she was in pain. It was quite strange not knowing what to do, seeing as I am not used to speak to 16-year old girls about their problems with their mothers in Spanish, but I think I managed to make her feel a bit better. Eli comes in, and I walk off to help with Inicial. After about 10 minutes though, Eli wanted me to come to the office again to take pictures of the girls bruises. She had two huge bruises on her thigh, and when Eli told her that we were taking photos of it to have proof, she told her not to talk to her mother, 'cause she would get mad at her and hit her again. She couldn't explain why her mother hit her either. Quite a different experience compared to what I'm used to!
I'll find out what the school's going to do about her mother... In the meantime, we'll go celebrate Marco's birthday at the Rainbow House.
Back to work
This weekend we decided to stay home or at least in the near area. One of the teachers, Elizabeth, wanted to visit a student who lived in the valley somewhere and we all went together on mountain bikes. It was amazingly beautiful to bike around in the valley, and fun, but with the altitude and our bad shape in mind, it was also extremely hard. We biked the whole morning from 8 till 2 in the afternoon and took the bus home. Stopping the bus when its already on its route is harder than it sounds, and after finally finding one and strapping our bikes to the roof, we were squeezed into a bus with no room for more people. Without a doubt the most uncomfortable bus ride of my life. Saturday night we went out to town in Urubamba but returned relatively early (around 2). For my part, it was because I had decided on getting up at 6 to watch the formula one grandprix with a local restaurant owner, also the owner of the only satellite television in town. It all went very well until power in the city died an hour into it. It didn´t come back for another 3 hours, and so I had missed the ending to my race despite getting up so early. However, I did manage to convince the tv owner to let me come by more often for the rest of the season as well as to watch football games at my own leisure = easier than going to Cusco.
After finding out that FCK-Broendby were playing, I found an internet cafe and managed to watch it online. The girls had in the meantime taken the bus to the Pisac market, a town around 45 minutes away from here with a supposedly huge market on sundays. Well satisfied with the result of the game, I hit the hammock for a few hours and did absolutely nothing for the rest of the day.
Today is Marco´s, one of the boys of the rainbow house, birthday and we plan on heading over there after school. Tried to find him an atlas or globe as a present considering his overwhelming knowledge of geography. On one of our first days, he surprised us danes by claiming that Denmark was indeed one of the largest countries in the world considering we had greenland to take into account. How does a 14 year old peruvian boy know this? Since then he has rambled on about countries, civil wars and knows far more than any of us about the world we live in, in terms of geography.
Speaking on my own behalf, i´m really beginning to miss certain aspects of life back home despite having a good time out here. Friends, family, living in a big city with constant electricity and most importantly, food. Rugbroed, leverpostej, haribo, lakrids, vingummier... CIS, you know what to do if you have any left over room in your luggage ^^.
Alex
After finding out that FCK-Broendby were playing, I found an internet cafe and managed to watch it online. The girls had in the meantime taken the bus to the Pisac market, a town around 45 minutes away from here with a supposedly huge market on sundays. Well satisfied with the result of the game, I hit the hammock for a few hours and did absolutely nothing for the rest of the day.
Today is Marco´s, one of the boys of the rainbow house, birthday and we plan on heading over there after school. Tried to find him an atlas or globe as a present considering his overwhelming knowledge of geography. On one of our first days, he surprised us danes by claiming that Denmark was indeed one of the largest countries in the world considering we had greenland to take into account. How does a 14 year old peruvian boy know this? Since then he has rambled on about countries, civil wars and knows far more than any of us about the world we live in, in terms of geography.
Speaking on my own behalf, i´m really beginning to miss certain aspects of life back home despite having a good time out here. Friends, family, living in a big city with constant electricity and most importantly, food. Rugbroed, leverpostej, haribo, lakrids, vingummier... CIS, you know what to do if you have any left over room in your luggage ^^.
Alex
Mar 11, 2010
Kids, disease and new volunteers!
Getting back from Mancora meant having to change attitude significantly. The constant lying on the beach was traded in for a more regular day at school, which as bad as it sounds, is really something we were looking forward to. Seeing the kids again on the first day of school was great, and this time with even more kids we hadn´t met yet. Because summer school was more about the fun and games, regular school has allowed us to get more one on one time with the kids which is really the most enjoyable part of it all. AC was as usual paired up with Benjamin, a 5 year old with downs syndrome and weak chin muscles. Work with him usually consists of making him exercise his muscles by blowing up balloons or just attempting to make him talk. I was given a student named Robert, also with downs syndrome. He has a hard time socialising with the other kids, so my job was primarily to play games with him and make him feel more appreciated before returning to class with him. We´ve both been attending the regular classes as well, trying, and not always succeeding, to keep the kids under somewhat control. Went to rainbow house after school yesterday as well, was as always a pleasure to be there with the rainbow house kids who mostly don´t attend the regular school at the rainbow centre. One of their substitute moms decided to leave recently, and so we had to go also to see how the new "mom" was coping with having 6 kids run around.
We now have two more volunteers at the rainbow centre, both girls. CIS, I really look forward to your visit, especially for some male company. Nobody dares take the trip to cusco with me to watch football anymore, for example. Nevertheless, both new volunteers are very nice and sociable. Because we´ve been quite busy recently, the only chance we´ve had to really get to know them has been around the dinner table where it´s getting harder by the day to cook with no oven, forcing you to really be creative with the stove.
My day today was not the best i´ve ever had. Experienced a hurting stomach and some nausea last night, and at school this morning when my stomach wasn´t feeling the best, AC forced me into a collectivo to Cusco in order to see the doctor. She insisted on coming with me in case something happened on the way, but I felt bad for ruining her day at the school. Got to the doctor, took some tests and found out I have 4 different kinds of salmonella, one strong kind and the other 3 either on the way up or dying out. On top of that, some parasites as well. Already forgot the name of it, but it was much less serious and easily killed with some pills supposedly. I have had to buy a bag full of antibiotics which, probably for the good, means no drinking or unhealthy eating for the next 10 days. I feel perfectly fine today, making it quite frustrating, and unless I feel significantly worse in the next few days, I don´t have to drop by hospital. In denmark, salmonella is made out to be the worst thing since cancer, but down here it really isn´t as serious. They know how to deal with it, and it´s very common. There are no serious symptoms in my case at least.
Will be back to update soon,
Alex
We now have two more volunteers at the rainbow centre, both girls. CIS, I really look forward to your visit, especially for some male company. Nobody dares take the trip to cusco with me to watch football anymore, for example. Nevertheless, both new volunteers are very nice and sociable. Because we´ve been quite busy recently, the only chance we´ve had to really get to know them has been around the dinner table where it´s getting harder by the day to cook with no oven, forcing you to really be creative with the stove.
My day today was not the best i´ve ever had. Experienced a hurting stomach and some nausea last night, and at school this morning when my stomach wasn´t feeling the best, AC forced me into a collectivo to Cusco in order to see the doctor. She insisted on coming with me in case something happened on the way, but I felt bad for ruining her day at the school. Got to the doctor, took some tests and found out I have 4 different kinds of salmonella, one strong kind and the other 3 either on the way up or dying out. On top of that, some parasites as well. Already forgot the name of it, but it was much less serious and easily killed with some pills supposedly. I have had to buy a bag full of antibiotics which, probably for the good, means no drinking or unhealthy eating for the next 10 days. I feel perfectly fine today, making it quite frustrating, and unless I feel significantly worse in the next few days, I don´t have to drop by hospital. In denmark, salmonella is made out to be the worst thing since cancer, but down here it really isn´t as serious. They know how to deal with it, and it´s very common. There are no serious symptoms in my case at least.
Will be back to update soon,
Alex
Mar 9, 2010
Back from Mancora...
Thursday we went surfing almost the entire day, got up at like 5 am to get ready. When we got back we met some danes at the hostel (locos!) and went out for dinner with them and some canadian friends. Decided to buy a lot of rum and coca cola and get drunk, and so we did. Went to check out Mancoras nightlife, and it turned out to be pretty good! Got back way too late and we were both hungover in the morning. Scrambled eggs and a lot of shopping saved my day though.
Took the bus back to Lima and checked in at the Point in Lima. Turned out there was a lot going on there, so we went out in Barranco though we were tired after 18 hours on a bus. Went to a nice club, and Alex ended up singing karaoke in Spanish, as weird as it sounds...
None of us had any sleep since our flight was at 10 in the morning, so we went directly to the airport round 8. We were sitting in the airport leaning over our table eating a crappy McDonalds toast, but finding it to be quite funny anyway. Had the shortest flight ever - when we were boarding, Alex almost yelled "shutgun for the window seat", and we sat down in the plane and fell asleep immediately. We don't even remember taking off, just woke up when we hit the ground in Cusco. Went to Jacks to get a big fluffy pancake (it was GREAT!) and went back to Urubamba.
In Urubamba a new volunteer was waiting for us, Becky. Went to bed early... Woke up to go for the first day of regular school. A lot of kids were missing since it was the first day, but other than that it was great. When we got back another new volunteer had just arrived, Mary, and we went out for lunch with her, Eli, Manu, Becky and Mel. Went back for Spanish and are now planning to go home for some dinner...
Took the bus back to Lima and checked in at the Point in Lima. Turned out there was a lot going on there, so we went out in Barranco though we were tired after 18 hours on a bus. Went to a nice club, and Alex ended up singing karaoke in Spanish, as weird as it sounds...
None of us had any sleep since our flight was at 10 in the morning, so we went directly to the airport round 8. We were sitting in the airport leaning over our table eating a crappy McDonalds toast, but finding it to be quite funny anyway. Had the shortest flight ever - when we were boarding, Alex almost yelled "shutgun for the window seat", and we sat down in the plane and fell asleep immediately. We don't even remember taking off, just woke up when we hit the ground in Cusco. Went to Jacks to get a big fluffy pancake (it was GREAT!) and went back to Urubamba.
In Urubamba a new volunteer was waiting for us, Becky. Went to bed early... Woke up to go for the first day of regular school. A lot of kids were missing since it was the first day, but other than that it was great. When we got back another new volunteer had just arrived, Mary, and we went out for lunch with her, Eli, Manu, Becky and Mel. Went back for Spanish and are now planning to go home for some dinner...
Mar 4, 2010
More Mancora
Woke up at 8 this morning to go to the Mama Cocha center here in the area. Unfortunately, there were currently only 2 kids there as the rest are either attending regular school or on vacation. This meant that as much as we loved spending time with Jose Antonio in his wheel chair and Hector, we only spent about 4 hours there. I managed to check out the whole place again - it has changed massively since the last time I was there with CIS. A huge wall surrounds the main building, next door is now another classroom, swings, shaded areas, a physiotherapy room and a climbing castle. It was almost unrecognizable. However, the sign I helped put up two years ago was still there along with the drawings we painted inside the house. The danish flagged fish, the mischievous looking turtle etc. Don´t think either of the two kids remembered me specifically, but seemed happy to have company no matter who we were.
Managed to book us in for an intensive 10 hour surfing trip tomorrow with 7 hours of surfing included, along with 4 other hostel guests. Felt exhausted after the last 2 hours so this should be a good workout. Really looking forward to it.
We walked down the beach for todays sunset and found horses to ride, so saw the sunset riding on horses down the beach. Although not my preferred method of transport, and never will be, it was fun. AC has definetly missed horses back home and enjoyed it alot. The sunsets "up" here are really amazing, plenty of photos taken :-)
Alex
Managed to book us in for an intensive 10 hour surfing trip tomorrow with 7 hours of surfing included, along with 4 other hostel guests. Felt exhausted after the last 2 hours so this should be a good workout. Really looking forward to it.
We walked down the beach for todays sunset and found horses to ride, so saw the sunset riding on horses down the beach. Although not my preferred method of transport, and never will be, it was fun. AC has definetly missed horses back home and enjoyed it alot. The sunsets "up" here are really amazing, plenty of photos taken :-)
Alex
Mar 3, 2010
Mancora
We try to upload as many pictures as we can, but it takes a good computer to upload pictures down here, and its hard to find those around, sorry. Doing our best, and thanks for the interest :-)
Coming to the end of tuesday here in Mancora after a few relaxing days. Feels like we have been super active, and I wish I could say we have, but weve spent most of our time by the pool. and the beach. with a beer. with good food. in 35 degrees. Anyone say snow, cold, depressing weather in denmark? Yesterday we went to town and got a surflesson for a couple of hours. Managed to stand up on quite a few waves and overall very satisfied with myself for a first timer, and I think AC can say the same. However, the waves were at the least 2-3 metres tall, and when youre lying down on a surfboard and about to surf for the first time, its a little scary when your instructor just turns your board around and pushes you into the wave. The trick, as we quickly discovered, is simply just not looking back. Had a lot of fun, and planning on going back for some more hours both thursday and friday. Will be heading to Mama Cocha, the other Kiya centre here in the area, tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing how that has changed since the last time I was here.
The hostel were staying at is definetly meant for the younger crowd - loud music into the night and backpackers all around. Its definetly entertaining and you get to meet a lot of new people, but frustrating not to have anywhere to turn away to when you want just a minute of quiet and peace. Enjoying our days here without a doubt though, and despite looking forward to getting back to Urubamba already, I wish we could stay here for a few days extra with a few bucks extra in our wallets as well. Its not particularly expensive, but backpacking leaves you with a budget, unfortunately.
Coming to the end of tuesday here in Mancora after a few relaxing days. Feels like we have been super active, and I wish I could say we have, but weve spent most of our time by the pool. and the beach. with a beer. with good food. in 35 degrees. Anyone say snow, cold, depressing weather in denmark? Yesterday we went to town and got a surflesson for a couple of hours. Managed to stand up on quite a few waves and overall very satisfied with myself for a first timer, and I think AC can say the same. However, the waves were at the least 2-3 metres tall, and when youre lying down on a surfboard and about to surf for the first time, its a little scary when your instructor just turns your board around and pushes you into the wave. The trick, as we quickly discovered, is simply just not looking back. Had a lot of fun, and planning on going back for some more hours both thursday and friday. Will be heading to Mama Cocha, the other Kiya centre here in the area, tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing how that has changed since the last time I was here.
The hostel were staying at is definetly meant for the younger crowd - loud music into the night and backpackers all around. Its definetly entertaining and you get to meet a lot of new people, but frustrating not to have anywhere to turn away to when you want just a minute of quiet and peace. Enjoying our days here without a doubt though, and despite looking forward to getting back to Urubamba already, I wish we could stay here for a few days extra with a few bucks extra in our wallets as well. Its not particularly expensive, but backpacking leaves you with a budget, unfortunately.
Feb 28, 2010
Mancora!
I was looking so much forward to go to the centre wednesday, but I found myself vomiting in the morning and was dragged to a doctor by Melanie. Was told that I had to go to the gringo (=traveller) clinic in Cusco, and so I did. Annoyed that I was not feeling that bad anymore, I had to get drop with some electrolytes and some other things 'cause apparently I had gotten myself salmonella, amoeba and a third thing that I don't remember the name of.
In case any of you don't know, the needles they put into your hand are huuuuuuge! And they had to switch them five times 'cause they couldn't find a vein.... Yay!
After trying to talk the nurses into letting me out, I was finally allowed to leave friday morning. Alex had spend two days at the centre painting faces and angels wings for the play, so I was excited about finally getting out of the hospital and being able to see the play that was on friday, the last day of summerschool. Still missed it 'cause I felt bad though, so I had to go to the house.
Fortunately I felt good saturday morning when we got up to catch our flight from Cusco to Lima!
We got off the plane and went directly to the bus station to catch a bus for Mancora. The bus left at 4pm, and we had food and drinks served by a funny man walking around the bus like a flight attendant with a trolley and a nice suit, asking if we would prefer coffee or tea with sugar.... Obviously we were not able to stay away from laughing at the very friendly man a couple of times, as he was coming over with a tray covered by a green cloth, offering readings such as Madagascar (the movie, turned into a childrens book) and other not very tempting magazines.
The bus was nice though, and we arrived at Mancora at about 9am this morning. We went to see Alex, the coordinater of the Mama Cocha centre in Los Organos (near Mancora), and went back to our hostel, the Point Hostel in Mancora.
Apparently we've arrived at a perfect day, 'cause tonight there's a fullmoon party at our hostel. Looking forward to a week in a vacation paradise with opportunities of surfing, horseback riding and lots of other stuff!
In case any of you don't know, the needles they put into your hand are huuuuuuge! And they had to switch them five times 'cause they couldn't find a vein.... Yay!
After trying to talk the nurses into letting me out, I was finally allowed to leave friday morning. Alex had spend two days at the centre painting faces and angels wings for the play, so I was excited about finally getting out of the hospital and being able to see the play that was on friday, the last day of summerschool. Still missed it 'cause I felt bad though, so I had to go to the house.
Fortunately I felt good saturday morning when we got up to catch our flight from Cusco to Lima!
We got off the plane and went directly to the bus station to catch a bus for Mancora. The bus left at 4pm, and we had food and drinks served by a funny man walking around the bus like a flight attendant with a trolley and a nice suit, asking if we would prefer coffee or tea with sugar.... Obviously we were not able to stay away from laughing at the very friendly man a couple of times, as he was coming over with a tray covered by a green cloth, offering readings such as Madagascar (the movie, turned into a childrens book) and other not very tempting magazines.
The bus was nice though, and we arrived at Mancora at about 9am this morning. We went to see Alex, the coordinater of the Mama Cocha centre in Los Organos (near Mancora), and went back to our hostel, the Point Hostel in Mancora.
Apparently we've arrived at a perfect day, 'cause tonight there's a fullmoon party at our hostel. Looking forward to a week in a vacation paradise with opportunities of surfing, horseback riding and lots of other stuff!
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