Arequipa

When that nightmarish bus was finally over, we shared a taxi to the very busy center, found a place to stay called El Caminante Class, and we went to a restaurant for lunch/dinner at like 9pm that was in my Lonely Planet guidebook called Istanbul that was supposed to be well known for its falafel and I was looking for redemption since the awful one I had in Uyuni. It wasn’t as bad as the last one I’d had, but honestly I was not impressed, not even close to Mad Greek Deli at home. The next day for lunch I found a place just down the street a few steps that was much cheaper and much better! I’d recommend El Turko over Istanbul any day. The other place that my guidebook raves about is a crepe shop called Crepisimo, known for having over 100 toppings/flavors to choose from. It was a perfect choice for some dessert. Tyler chose one similar to an apple pie and mine was blueberries and sweet cream. They were both massive and delicious! 

Tyler got sick during the night again, I have no idea what keeps doing this to him but I wish I could give it a firm talking to and tell it to hit the road! He needed an easy day the next day, I did some walking around but would come back every so often to check on him. We decided a double decker bus tour would be okay so we booked one for the early afternoon. Our hotel/hostel was really helpful and got us the longer 4 hour tour for the price of the 2 hour. It was a nice way to see the city. Part way through it started raining and thankfully the tour guide made room for us on the dry bottom level. 

We saw some wonderful viewpoints that offered great views of Arequipa, the natural surroundings, and the Rio Chili.

Rio Chili coming down the middle

A top viewpoint of Arequipa

At an old corn mill

His right hand is said to bring great fortune if you touch it

 We toured the mansion that once belonged to the mayor of Arequipa; they told us it was put so far out of town because they had a son who was insane. They then told us that this son died at the age of 12, I couldn’t help but think to myself, how in the world did they know this child was ‘insane’ when he was still a child? Anyway, the home had been mostly destroyed by two earthquakes that had occurred but it had been fixed and refurbished since then.

Kitchen Mansion

 Some of the more interesting points to me were a painting of a pope that when you walk past it it seems as though his feet and eyes follow you. Very strange.

 The other was a massive filter with no hole in the bottom.

 This filter was in the kitchen and made of volcanic stone, it could filter one liter of water in about 10 hours just through its porous surface.

We saw some llamas and alpacas and the very rare vicuñas too! Llamas and alpacas are sheered once a year and they can collect 3 kilos of fur from one. A vicuna can only be sheered once every three years and for only half a kilo, they have the most prized fur and the guide said that a single scarf could cost $1,000. 

vikuna

I also tried queso helado (cheese ice cream), not actually made of cheese but similar in look and color! Tasted sweet and yummy!

Looks like cheese, tastes like ice cream!

We ate dinner at Crepisimo, I had one with cheese and avocado and Tyler had a mango one. They were good yet again but not as good as the previous night. 

The busses to the Colca Canyon only leave at 3AM and Tyler was still just not feeling well enough for that ride yet.

 Luckily, he woke up the next morning feeling pretty well so we opted for a couple hour rafting trip at 11am. We had a good time! It wasn’t as intense as they’d made it seem, considering it was an intermediate level trip, but it was still a fun time, I got Tyler to swim at the end too even in cold water!

Before our adventure!

We did some tourist shopping and booked our bus ticket for the next day, Tyler was ready! (we thought) After dinner where Tyler ate his first guinea pig, we went back to our hostel where they informed us that there had been numerous earthquakes at the canyon and nobody could hike in. I was so bummed, I'd really looked forward to it. Most companies weren't even making the drive there but she was able to find us one that would. So at 3am we were up and out of Arequipa. 

A little breather in Copacabana

Instead of going straight back into Peru like we’d planned, we decided to stop for a day or two in the lovely Copacabana.

Our bus ferrying across the lake

 It’s a lake side town, the lake being the beautiful Lake Titicaca. I was here once before, three and a half years prior when I was in Bolivia for a mission’s trip, I was based mainly in La Paz but we ventured to Copacabana for our “vacation”. Anyhow, we found a place to stay on the lake front called Hotel Mirador, big room with a crazy good view and we stayed two nights, spent about $15 for those two nights. We were proud of ourselves!

The outside of Hotel Mirador

View out our window

 Tyler wasn’t feeling all too well again but we went to eat at a little food stall down by the water. They’re known for their rainbow trout consumption here so I decided to try ‘trucha chicharron’ and Tyler had something with meat and rice like he does. Mine turned out to be pieces of trout not battered but fried, it was a little too salty but was accompanied by some tomatoes and lettuce and lime that helped tone it down.

The next few hours we spent walking around getting acquainted with the little town and walking up the massive hill on the one side that offers exceptional views of the little city and the blue world of water beyond.

 Later we searched for the right company to go to the Isla Del Sol and Isla De La Luna with, I think most of them were connected which just made it confusing but we did choose one eventually and after dinner and a bit more walking we got Tyler to sleep so he’d hopefully feel better in the morning. 

He did! And our breakfast was included and finally someone gave us fruit instead of just bread and jam! We were very happy eating our bananas and watermelon J After some confusion because the lady we booked with told us the wrong boat to go to, we made it on and took off, it was a long long ride, I slept. First we visited the ruins on Isla De La Luna, the island of the moon; I remembered these ruins and was so excited for Tyler to see them because even though there isn’t much to them, they’re fantastic. We rushed up to see the ruins before everyone on our boat so we could experience it without the extra people and then we went and walked along the water till it was time to go.

Gotta love that view! The one behind him too ;)

The Isla Del Sol, or island of the sun, is much bigger than its counterpart and we spent our allotted time here walking. We followed a path that wound around the island, we didn’t even make it halfway but we got to see a lot of beauty on the island; lots of animals, especially donkeys and llamas, tons of plots of land with dozens of different crops being grown, and a constant view of all that dazzling blue water. Even though it was warm, we were high enough and far away enough that the air tasted fresh and clear. 

Tyler having a conversation with a donkey

When we’d nearly made it back to the boat we realized we were both hungry and very dehydrated. We hadn’t brought enough water for the day and the ride back was miserable, I felt really awful. Tyler hurried off the boat and met me at our room with a bottle of Gatorade and we spent a little time re-hydrating our bodies.

 We did a little walking to buy bus tickets for the next day, and then found some food in a fun restaurant by the water playing all oldies loud with their music videos, I mean like Queen, AC DC, Kiss, etc. It was entertaining! We even got an appetizer we were so hungry, they had nachos! And they were delicious. I had an undercooked cannoli and Tyler had spaghetti with trout. I really wanted some hot chocolate but decided I’d pass, thought maybe I’d grab some in the morning before our bus. 

 Next morning when we came down for breakfast there was more bread, jam, bananas, watermelon, and a bowl of hot chocolate powder. I don’t know how they read my mind but man was I grateful they did! The next bus that took us out of Copacabana at 9 AM was one of the most awful bus rides thus far; well it didn’t start out that way I suppose. First we had a short bus ride and an uneventful border crossing, then a couple hour drive to Puno, then we got on another bus. A bus with a thing for Rambo, yes Rambo, that guy who runs around and kills people. The bus played four of those movies consecutively, in Spanish, loud. It was impossible to sleep through and really hard to keep your eyes off of even though it wasn’t interesting at all. We couldn’t wait for the ride to be over.. 

Needless to say, I don't think I can ever watch Rambo again, no offense to Sylvester Stallone but those movies are so repetitive! So happy it is over. They say all things must come to an end and sometimes it's a sad end, like leaving the beautiful sunny Copacabana, but sometimes it's a happy end, like the end of a Rambo saga. If all things must come to an end, I suppose we should do our best to enjoy them while they're here. :)

Back to Peru!

The World's Largest Salt Flats

      Puno was our next stop after Puerto Maldonado. We made it in the morning and like usual did a little searching for a hostel. The minibus that dropped us off left us close to the bus terminal and since we were mostly just passing through Puno, we chose a hostel close by. After putting on sunscreen and shorts we went for a walk down by the Lake Titicaca. This lake is massive, part of it is Peruvian and part is Bolivian, and by far one of the most beautiful I’ve yet to see. Many treasure hunters have come to this lake because there’s a tale that when the Spaniards came chasing after the Incas, they took their precious stones and metals and took them on boats over Lake Titicaca but they never reached where they were heading and all the treasure is said to be lost in the bottom of the lake.

 

Anyways, we got on a little boat headed for Uros the floating Islands. There are near 100 of them and they were very touristy but interesting to see how they live. The floor seemed to be of reeds and it felt like walking on floating hay, they made their homes of the same. We stayed for a while and wandered, but only a small bit because otherwise we’d be in the water. Each floating island was not very big so you’d have to swim or boat to the next one over. I can’t imagine that kind of restriction to movement, I need space to run! 

The islands were interesting, they let us go on two of them, but they weren’t REALLY interesting. Just good to see and the ticket only cost us like $5 so I’d say it was worth it.

Back in town we walked into the center to find some dinner, we were pleased to find a big celebration of music and dance in the Plaza De Armas. It was beautiful! They were all dressed very traditionally and they looked like they were having a great time. (Well, by the end the women were looking very tired.) We chose a restaurant off the square and had a tasty ‘revitalizing’ juice but my pesto spaghetti was terrible! I can’t understand why they like to add so much extra salt but it really sucks. They do it to most foods and my pasta was terrible because of all the salt. I felt like I needed to wash it off. Tyler got alpaca and mashed potatoes and amazingly enough it seemed like they switched the salt for sugar and they were the sweetest mashed potatoes we’d ever had. We left slightly disappointed but sometimes that’s just the way it goes.

Dancing in the Plaza de Armas

Our yummy juice!

Next morning we were on a bus to Bolivia. Fun fact: Pretty much the only people who have to pay for a visa into Bolivia is Americans. So after stamping out of Peru and walking across the border, waiting in a long line, we were then informed that we needed to pay 360 Bolivianos. As we’d just arrived in the country we hadn’t gotten any Bolivianos yet so we had to walk back across the border to Peru, exchange all the soles we had left into Bolivianos and then walk back to immigration in Bolivia, got our visa and were directed to another woman who told us she also needed a photocopy of 3 specific pages in our passport. So outside the immigration office we went into a little shop, got our photocopies, gave them to the woman in immigration and finally got back on the bus with a carton of apple juice to soothe us after all that hectic confusion.

When we got to La Paz we immediately booked a bus to Uyuni. We had a few hours to spare so we wandered around the city a bit. 

Some yummy corn nuts!

Around 7am I think, we got to Uyuni. We then walked all over town looking for some kind of lodging with a vacancy. Right when we started to think we’d have to sleep in our tent in the middle of the road, a small but clean hostel made itself known and we quickly agreed. We purchased bread from the market and jam from a little shop and ate our breakfast on a park bench. The entire town of Uyuni is dedicated to selling you a trip to the salt flats and it is incredibly hard to choose the right tour. Travelers all over the streets were going from one tour company to the next comparing deals and hoping the cheaper one didn’t come with its own intoxicated driver.

We wanted a little more than the one day salt flat tour but we weren’t willing to pay for 3 nights either. Finally a gold toothed woman on the sidewalk asked us what we were looking for and told us she had the perfect thing at her tour company Wara Altiplano. We checked it out and considering it was 2 days and 1 night, we agreed. The rest of the day we spent at the Train Cemetery where trains that used to carry silver from the mines to other parts of South America had come to rest. It was quite a beautiful and eerie place.  

The Lonely Planet recommended a place called MinutemanPizza, saying it was by far the best in town and being the pizza lovers that we are, we decided to check it out that evening. It’s inside the Tonito Hotel and is run by a guy originally from Boston, he was incredibly friendly and helpful. We ended up with a pizza that was half spicy llama for guess who, and pesto primavera for the veggie over here. Our pizza included two delicious salads and I treated myself to a glass of red wine and Tyler had a local beer.

The pizza was delicious, we had longed for something to taste so good and we ate every bite! I enjoy walking after eating just to help my food digest so we went for a little meander around town and found ourselves in the midst of a Carnevale celebration. It seemed like a parade at first, but a strange one because instead of the people coming down the street tossing candy, they were wearing ponchos and being sprayed by the bystanders with foam and water. Everyone was having a fantastic time, including those covered in foam. They came in groups, each with their own little band and they danced along as they went. I got in on the action when I got sprayed in the neck and hair with some foam! After watching for a while we went back to the hostel to get some rest.

After some confusion we were headed out for our days activities, a quick stop at the train cemetery again, then off to a salt hotel, some lunch, all pretty uninteresting things.

Tyler and his salty llama

Tyler taking on Godzilla

Biggest. Chocolate. Bar. Ever.

 But when we reached the salt flats, oh man. The entire sky was reflected on the earth; all the beautiful blue and the gray white glowing clouds above us and below. It was glorious. Mesmerizing. I had to look between my legs too and see the world upside down which just made everything seem more surreal. It was also pretty funny to watch someone at a distance walk, because you could see their reflection perfectly and their feet connect to their other feet in their reflection with every step. I don’t know how to do this place justice through words, they  just don’t seem to be enough, hopefully my photos will help to paint a picture for you.

We stayed out on the salty sand till our feet were beyond raw, until the world was raw and the sun chose to set. It graced us with glimmering oranges and reds that flew from the sky and relay themselves at our feet. It was such a warming sight to see.

We couldn’t help but go back to Minuteman for dinner again; we barely made it in time! But we did get our pizza, different flavors this time, and more salad. Sadly, Tyler got sick that night and was sick all night and barely made it in the morning. 

Our last day in Uyuni, they took us to a little town that wasn’t much to see, it was still very much a run-down mining town. The thing of interest was an ex-president of Bolivia’s house, about fifteen feet from the house there was a wall with a door, and the door looked like any other but opened into the mine. We were told it was for the president’s escape when there were riots and protests. We drove through beautiful countryside and later arrived at the hot springs which were to be the main highlight of the day. They were hot. The hottest water I’d ever been in. Ouch. Especially with those feet I told you were destroyed, it burned! We sat on the little steps and eased our way in literally one step at a time until we were fully immersed (minus our heads).

That evening we got on the bus headed back for La Paz.

HOT springs

That smile looks a little painful!

Next stop, a last minute decision to spend a little time in Copacabana before heading back to Peru. Lots of love to all <3