FRIENDS!

It was really great to be back in the US to visit friends and family. Scott went our separate ways for a couple of weeks to save time and I got to catch up with my peeps. Here I am in San Diego for a welcome back dinner - thanks guys!


I drove down to Louisiana to visit my Papa and other family and it was really great to see them all. It's a different world out there in the country and felt good to be in a place where people know how to relax. I had huge culture shock after the Latin America trip coming back to US cities where everyone is so busy and always seem stressed out. This was a good break from that.


I of course got to see Nancy and Jackie in Chattanooga and even played Rook with Nancy's mom one night. I love having game-playing families!


I also visited with Jennifer and her 4 cuties. Here you can see her with Toby and Casia. Look how much Casia is growing - she looks just like her mom!


I drove out to Charleston to see Tara and her new home. She is doing so much work with it - I was totally impressed! She took me on a little tour of Charleston and I just fell in love with it - old houses are incredible! You can see rainbow row here, which is the longest cluster of intact Georgian row houses in the US. The earliest structures here were built before 1680, but because of fire many had to be rebuilt. They were rebuilt in the 1700's and are a beautiful site to see.

More Book Reviews

The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger
When I first started reading this book, I knew that it was going to be a mindless read. But I couldn't put it down! I didn't learn anything about life or myself or the world around me reading this book, but I thoroughly enjoyed it to just read and escape from whatever was around me. I can't wait to see the movie that is coming out soon! Not recommended for males. Great, quick read for females.

Good Harbor by Anita Diamant
I had read Anita Diamante's 'The Red Tent' and really loved it, so decided to pick up this book along my travels. It was pretty good, but not near as good as 'The Red Tent'. It's also a woman only book and is a good book for middle-aged women or older women with families.

Night by Elie Wiesel
This is a very explicit book about the Holocaust. It won a Pulitzer Prize, so I expected a lot from reading the book. Scott has already reviewed this book on the blog site back in June, but I have since read it and wanted to add my thoughts. It is worth reading, but I did not think it was really much different from any of the other Holocaust books or movies that I have seen. I would recommend the book, but don't expect to see much else if you have done much reading on the Holocaust previously.

I, Rigoberta Menchu, an Indian Woman in Guatemala
This book was very interesting to me since I had just visited Guatemala. It is not well written, especially in English, but it has a wealth of information to learn about Guatemala and its past. The way that Rigoberta Menchu grew up and the things she experienced will be very interesting to anyone who likes to learn about different cultures. Don't expect a wonderful literary read, but do expect a great informational and emotional read.

The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh
This was a really though-provoking book to read. It is by a Buddhist Monk and gives you some very simple, but worthwhile things to think about in your daily life. For example, he tell you to not waste any moments of you life, but to be mindfull in every moment. Even when washing the dishes, you should concentrate on the fact that you are washing the dishes. Do not think about being finished with this activity or think about what you are going to do next, but concentrate on what you are doing in the present moment. Otherwise, you are wasting your moments by thinking of what you will be doing next. I have been able to put a lot of the practices in this book to work and feel that I have a much more peaceful life because of it.

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Scott has also already reviewed this book, but I wanted to add my thoughts here as well. This was a really excellent book. Especially if you have seen the movie Capote, this book is a good one to read to see the work that was created from the story told in the movie. It is a great read for all ages and sexes. I expected it to be more boring and difficult to read because Capote is so artsy, but it was quite interesting and easy to read. I definitely recommend this for just about anyone.

Dry by Augusten Burroughs
Augusten Burroughs is one of my new favorite authors. I had read his Running with Scissors and enjoyed it, but I enjoyed Dry even a lot more. His writing style is so fun to read and makes you laugh, but also feel emotionally involved in his book. This book is about his struggle with alcohol and getting over it. Whether you drink or not, this is a great read. I'm looking forward to reading more and more by this author.

Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
Scott will add more thoughts on this book, but I wanted to add that it is an interesting one to read. Whatever your profession, be it marketing, teaching, research, etc., this book can give you new ideas for how to get things done in work and in your life. It speaks of the factors that go into giving the turning point, or tipping point, for huge epidemics, be they sicknesses, social epidemics, marketing successes, etc. It's a short book and a fun and educational read.

Collapse by Jared Diamond
Scott will also give a better review of this one, but I am currently reading it and am really enjoying all of the information that I'm learning. The reading is a bit difficult because it deals with so much information, but I will know a lot more about the world around me by the time I am finished. The book deals with collapses of societies in the past and present and talks about the reasons, including social and environmental factors. I think everyone in the world should become more educated on these things so that we can learn to conserve our resources for a better future.

Hotels in Guatemala, Ecuador, and Peru

I never did give hotels review in any of the countries other than Costa Rica, so I thought I would add that on for anyone reading this and visiting similar places.

Guatemala
Guatemala City
Hotel Aeropuerto Guesthouse - we were arriving pretty late and did not think we could get to Antigua, so decided to stay a night in Guatemala City. It turns out, you can get a ride to Antigua from the airport at just about any hour, so it's not really necessary to stay in the city. This guesthouse was nice and quiet and was a good place to stay for a night. It's right by the airport, but make sure to get instructions from them on how to get the free transport because a taxi will be very expensive even though you will only go a few blocks.
Antigua
Posada Juma Ocag - we really liked this place. It is right in the center of everything you need in Antigua and is very secure. The rooms are nice and it is a great price. When we came back to Antigua, it was full, so you might want to make a reservation before going. They have the most beautiful blankets - handmade! We stayed at another place a couple of doors down from here when this one was full, but it was not very nice. Stick with this place.
Panajachel
I can't remember the place we stayed here, but this is a very loud city, so expect to hear a lot of noise. We didn't sleep at all. It was a place on one of the main streets and there was a party going on in the street every night. Try to find a place that is off one of the main streets if you stay here.
San Pedro
Hotel San Francisco - there are actually a few Hotel San Francisco's and they are all right next to each other and somehow compete with each other. They are all pretty much the same and are extremely cheap. The place isn't very nice, but it does have a nice view of the lake. If you are looking for something really really cheap, this would be an okay place to stop.
Families - staying with families is definitely what I recommend if you go to San Pedro. You learn so much more about the culture to do it this way.
Tikal
Tikal Inn - This was a very nice place - much nicer than the places we usually stay. However, this was included in a tour that we purchased. All of the 3 hotels right by the park are pretty similar, but we did really like the Tikal Inn.

Ecuador
Quito
Friends - we stayed with Scott's friend which was a really wonderful way to enjoy Quito. Thanks, Dan!
Cotopaxi
Tambopaxi - we stayed at this really nice lodge right on the Cotopaxi reserve. It was very isolated and had wonderful views. The horseback ride that we booked through this hotel wasn't the best because our guide was not very good, but this is a great place to go and relax. A lot of people stay here when they are trekking Cotopaxi as well. It's not overly cheap, but there's not much else up here and all of the meals are included.
Galapagos
Beluga - This was our boat and though we really enjoyed it, the boat was a bit older, so I'd probably recommend finding a newer one. See my Galapagos posts for more on the boat.
Amazon Jungle
Dracaena Tours and Lodge - this was a basic camp with mosquito nets laid around and mattresses inside. There were shared bathrooms and great food served. It was a nice place to stay and was not at all expensive. If you want to do the cheap route go here. You will be laying right next to the person in the net next to you because there is not a lot of space in between them all.
Baños
Hostal Plantas y Blanco (Hostal Plant and White) - we really liked this hostel. It was in a good location, had nice rooms, a great breakfast, a book exchange, game room, etc. Also, they have this great morning steam bath that will refresh you for the rest of the day.

Peru
Lima
Manhattan Hotel - This place was way too expensive for what they offered, which wasn't much. We didn't want to pay a high fee to go into town to stay because we had an early flight the next morning. I would recommend going into town if you have time at all because this place was not worth the cost.
Miraflores House Albergue - I HIGHLY recommend this place if you will be in Lima for any amount of time. This is a really nice place to stay and is not expensive at all. You can choose to have private rooms or not with private bathrooms or shared. The man that runs this place is the most friendly and helpful person that we met at a hotel in our travels. There is breakfast included, a movie room, free internet - definitely stay here if you will be in Lima.
Cusco
Qori Inti Hostel - This was a nice place that we got a good deal on through a tour guide who took us here. The cost of places in Cusco is more than many other cities, so expect that before you come. Also, if you go in peak season, try to make a reservation because many places will be full when you get here. We were happy with this place - the rooms were nice and it was quiet, but in a good location.
Lares Trek
SAS Travel - we did the Lares Trek with SAS Travel and absolutely loved it. Our guide was amazing, the food was better than most restaurants, and everything about the trip was just perfect. I think SAS may be more expensive than some other options on the Lares Trek, but we definitely recommend them.
Puno
Hotel Europa - This was a convenient and cheap place, but not extremely nice. Also, when we stored bags there, something leaked and got them all wet. The rooms were okay, but I don't highly recommend this place.
Arequipa
La Casa de Mi Abuela - This place was a little more expensive than we usually paid, but it was so nice that it made it really worth it. The rooms are incredibly nice, the service is great, the breakfast is wonderful, there is a nice pool, restaurant, etc. etc. etc. I would definitely recommend staying here unless you absolutely can't spend more money. Also, if you are looking for a high end hotel, this is a great place.
Huacachina
Casa de Arena II - We stayed here our first night and quickly left the next day. The room smelled, the sheets were not clean, the place was very loud, etc. Casa de Arena I looked a bit nicer, but we didn't try it out. There is a nice atmosphere here with hammocks and a restaurant/bar, but for the same price, you can get nicer rooms.
Hostel Rocha - Although the name may not sound great here, the hostel was a much nicer one. The rooms were much nicer and there was still a nice atmosphere here and a cool outside bar.

Back in the U.S.A!

We're now back home in the good 'ole USA! After a brief stay in Lima and then San Jose, Costa Rica, we got on a plane to head to Miami where the hurricane was. The plane landed fine, but they took way too long to get our luggage out, so we missed our flight. We finally got on another flight to Dallas and then another to San Diego and landed in San Diego after 3 attempts to land because of the low fog. But now we're home! Pretty soon we will be traveling again around the US to visit a few friends and family, but it is great to be home.

And now for the top 10 reasons we are happy to be back home:
10. We can carry on conversations with almost anyone we meet because they will speak the same language.
9. We no longer have to do currency conversions in our heads before making a purchase.
8. We no longer have to watch our pockets and bags with fear that someone might rob us.
7. Friends and family! We can pick up the phone and call anytime!
6. No more crappy hostels.
5. No more unpacking and repacking every day or so.
4. We don't have to be with each other 24/7.
3. We will have reliable hot showers every day.
2. Everywhere we go, local people will not see dollar signs on us.
1. We can throw toilet paper in the toilet instead of in the trash!

Ica and Huacachina

Our next stop was near the city of Ica to a little town called Huacachina. This is the place where you go sandboarding. Yep - you heard me right. Getting on a board and riding down huge sand dunes. Sounds just like snowboarding, right? Well yeah, sort of. But the boards aren't as good and the sand is a little rougher. But the boarding I didn't mind (of course I stayed on my stomach the whole time too, whereas Scott went down on his feet). I was howerver TERRIFIED of riding in the damn dune buggies. They were these huge things with 3 rows and Scott and I were in the back. The guy (that really evil looking on on the right) driving was insane. Everyone else in the buggy of course loved it. But not me. I was in full out panic mode. To the point where we had to yell at him to stop and let me out. Yep, I was the big dork that everyone else hated. The sand dunes were beautiful though and being out on them was cool - I woud have just preferred to walk along them. But enough of my panic mode - enjoy the pictures!


We also went to a couple of nearby wineries to try their wine and famous Pisco. Pisco is a liquor made from grapes that is made in this region. It tastes a little like a combination between vodka and tequila. A little too strong for my tastes! The drink that everyone has in Peru is the Pisco Sour, which is much more yummy. We learned about how they make their wines and the Pisco here and did some tastings. They showed us the grounds where they stomp on the grapes, but it wasn't the right season so we just had to use our imaginations. These barrels were all full of some of their spirits. We even got to pour a taste for ourselves using bamboo.

We stayed at a hostal in Huacachina that had the greatest assortment of birds living on their ground. Beautiful parrots that made lots of noises for us. These two were especially excited and came and jumped up on a chair right next to us. Enjoy the lovely and very loud songs.

Arequipa and Colca Canyon

We next went to the old city of Arequipa, which is a very different city compared to the rest of Peru. It is called the Ciudad Blanca (white city) because all of the white buildings made of a volcanic ash. They have even tried to gain their indepence from the country and have gone so far as to make their own passports. It is a beautiful city and seemed much more calm than Cusco or Lima. It is surrounded by beautiful volcanoes, the most obvious of which is Misti, shown here.


We took a Colca Canyon tour, but did not get to see the deepaest part of this canyon. The deepest part is over 3000 m in depth and it is the 2nd deepest canyon in the world. The first is actually pretty close to here, but is not as often visited. We actualy had a very bad tour and were not very happy wtih most. The transportation was very tight and uncomfortable, the hotel was not at all nice, our bus broke down on the 2nd day and we were not able to see all of our stops. Nonetheless, we did see some cool things. I would recommend going with Giardino tours if you are going to do this. It is more expensive, but we have only hear great things about that tour company. We rode in the bus for most of the day, but stopped at points to see lookouts. One point where we stopped was the highest elevation we have ever been, at 16,170 feet or 4,910 meters. I definitely felt a little dizzy and winded up there, but there were beautiful views of volcanoes all around. There were also the little rock statues that we had seen on the pass during our Lares Trek. Again, these are in reverence to the gods of the mountains. There was a little shopping from local vendors up there and Scott got the cutest picture of a little girl and a lamb.

That night, we went to a restaurant that had typical Peruvian music and dancing from this region. The dancing wasn't overly impressive, but the acting that they did during the dancing was very entertaining. This is all I got a video of though - enjoy!





The next day, we stopped in another small town where they had more dancers on the street performing. You can see the men are dressed very similary to the women. This is so they could spend time with the women, but in hiding. They were not allowed to talk to the women on the streets, so had to dress up. The men also have straps over their face to add to the hiding. There were also women with all sorts of animals that we could hold or get our pictures with. You can see Scott and and I with a hawk here.


The canyon itself was definitely the coolest thing. Unfortunately, you could not get a good picture to show the depth of what we saw. We only saw it at a bit over 1000 meters deep, but it gets much deeper in other parts. Although it is deeper than the Grand Canyon, I did not find it as impressive because it was not nearly as wide. Just my opinion, though. It was quite beautiful. The most exciting thing that we saw were condors flying around the canyon. We took tons of pictures, but they really cannot start to describe the beauty of these birds. Or the size! They can be up to 3 meters wide with their wingspan! I did not realize how large they really were until one flew right over a crowd of people. It was so much bigger than the people - amazing! They were really a site to see.

Lake Titicaca

Being in Peru, we could not miss the popular destination of Lake Titicaca. We have all heard about it since we were kids in school - the highest navigable lake in the world at 12,507 feet. Puno, the city that most people stay in before going out onto the lake is a gross city with not much culture or things to see. However, the lake was fun to see. We did a 2 day tour and rode a boat out to the islands. We stopped first at the Uros islands, or the floating islands. The islands are home to the Uros tribe, who are people that pre-date the Incan civilization. These islands are floating because they are actually man made. They are made out of totora, which is a sort of weed that grows in the lake. They use this plant for just about everything here. They eat it and they use it to build the islands, their boats and their homes. My big question here was why would a civilization want to build their own islands when there is plenty of land to use without having to do that. Apparently, they were being chased and needed to protect themselves, so they went out into the lake on boats. For a long time, they lived on their boats, which were made of this totora plant. Then they started building the islands. It´s a cool story and they were cool to see, but most of the kids go into town for school and then don't seem to come back. Because of this, I kind of wonder how much longer they'll be around. The people here speak their native language of Aymara.



We next went to the real island of Amantani. The people here speak a little Spanish, but even more Quechua. Each group was assigned to a family to take into their homes and feed us and give us a place to sleep for the night. Our family was nice enough, but we were always fed food in our room and not invited to eat with them. Other people did eat with their families, so this was a little weird. We were happy to have that place to stay, though and to see their culture. We walked up to a high point on the island to a Pachatata temple at 4200 meters above sea level. The island is divided out for land to the families and their lands are separated by rock walls. During the season when they gather the food, they will actually stay up here and sleep in these fields in a tiny room with a stone wall around them. They eat mostly carbs on this island, we discovered when every meal was potatoes, pasta or rice. The soups were wonderful, though. That night, the family brought us clothes to wear that are like the typical costumes of the locals (they wear these whenever they leave the house). It was fun to get to dress up in those clothes and go to a dance with typical music. The mother took us here and kept getting Scott and I to get up and dance with her. She was really cute.


The next day we went to Taquile island. Here, they also have their typical dress, but it has more meaning. On Amantani, they wear them more as decoration, but on Taquile, all of the colors have a different meaning. For example, if you are married or single, you would wear different colors (skirts for women). The men have hats that are different color depending on their status and they even point the tip to one side or another if they are single and seeing someone or not.

Macchu Picchu

Finally arriving at Macchu Picchu was very cool, but I think the trek to that point was really the best part. You see so many pictures of Macchu Picchu that the ruins really look the same when you finally arrive. However, the view of the mountains and valleys around cannot be described in photos. The views were absolutely amazing. The ruins were also nice to see because they are the most intact of Incan ruins. When the Spanish came, they did not ruin these temples and buildings like they did to so many others, but instead just took the jewels that were worth so much. I asked our guide why Macchu Picchu is considered such a spiritual place and he had many answers to go with that. One reason was because it is in such an amazing place as far as the land, scenery, difficulty to get there, etc. Another is because the city is still in such good shape. Most of the buildings have not had to have any work done to them. The Incas are an amazing people who only ruled for 100 years. However, they conquered all the way from Columbia down to Chile. They did not have a method of writing or other more advanced ways of living like the Mayans had, but their reign was so much shorter and they were able to conquer a much larger area. Macchu Picchu was a place for the higher class, mainly for theologians and intellectuals. Only about 300-500 people actually lived in this place, though it took many thousands of people to build it.


You can see the two main temples here. The first is the Temple of the Sun and the second is the Temple of the Condor. The Temple of the Sun was built very carefully so that on the days of the equinoxes, the sun shone into the windows to tell the people what the day was. There was also another place set up where water was placed in round divets and the sun shone into the water to tell them the date as well. It was really quite advanced.



We hiked up to Waynu Picchu, which is the peak that you see in that first picture. The views at the top of this were really quite incredible. Scott had much more guts than I did as far as jumping around on the rocks at the top. You can also see a great view of Macchu Picchu from up here. The pictures cannot even begin to describe the scenery up here, so if you really want to see it, you'll just have to go. We got a great group shot of us at the top, which really should be on the cover of an SAS brochure. Have you ever seen a happier, better looking group!? Go Pumas!

I also wanted to include a little here about some of the symbols of the Incas. There is jewelry all over with many of these symbols. The most popular was the Chakana, or Inca Cross shown here. It is the three-stepped cross symbolising the three tiers of Inca life (the lower world, this world and the higher world). We could see this cross in many of the Inca ruins that we saw, including at Macchu Picchu. The hole in the center represents Cusco, which is considered 'the navel of the Inca empire'. There are many other symbols as well, but we will stick with this one for now.

Getting closer to the group

As I've mentioned before, we really did have a great group. Somehow, we name ourselves the Pumas and the name stuck for the 4 days and still now! You can see our great sign at the dinner table when we finally arrived at a hostal.

But back to the trek.... on our 2nd night, Aldo stayed up with some of us in the dinner tent and told us Peruvian ghost stories. Many local people believe in these spirits that stay around on Earth and many people have even seen them. Most families have these things on top of their houses to ward away the bad spirits. I personally think that if lost soles are roaming around after they have died, then they are not bad spirits, but good. However, the locals think very differently. This is a house that we saw the next day with the topper to keep away the bad spirits. Almost every house had one - pretty incredible! We learned so much from Aldo!


We saw more great views and this day went mostly downhill, so it was a nice day to bond with our group. We found out that Brett works for Pixar and worked on the new movie Cars! His stories about Pixar were super exciting. We passed more amazing views, as you can see here and even more animals. We found one baby donkey that Aldo sat on and since I didn't catch a picture of him quick enough, Scott took one of me. The poor little thing just wanted to get away, I think, but it was really cute.


We stopped in a town, which was the first time we had seen other Gringos and other tourists since we had started the trek. It was a little weird, but nice to be able to get a beer. We then took the train up to Agua Calientes, which is the town you stay in before going to Macchu Picchu. We had a really fun train ride and Brett and Erica got some surprise pictures on their camera after they went to the bathroom. We all visited another hot springs, which was very relaxing after our trekking.

I finally tried my first Inca Cola, which was very yummy! It was like a combination of cream soda and bubble gum. Completely unhealthy, but also completely perfect!