South for the Summer

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Cusco

Cusco, Peru

I arrived in Cusco at 6am on a Saturday morning. It was cold, I was exhausted, and couldn’t check-in to my hostel until 1pm that afternoon. So, I chilled in the TV room of my hostel, and ended up falling asleep in a pile full of pillows. I woke up about an hour later to a lively, sunny atmosphere, full of young people talking, playing ping pong, and lounging in bean bags in the courtyard. As it was only nine o’clock, I headed to my tour group’s office to pay for the rest of my trek, which was to start on Monday, and headed out to explore the city by foot, and most importantly, find some food.

First impressions: totally full of tourists, great food, colonial architecture, lots of colors, and really nice people. The colors are really attributed to the hundreds of different kinds of arts and crafts you can buy here. You walk into the local market, and its overwhelming how much stuff there is to choose from. Everything is made of wool or warm woven materials: blankets, scarves, hats, mittens, ponchos, bags, purses, socks, bracelets….and everything comes in all kinds of beautiful colors and patterns. I’m pretty much obsessed. I bought an awesome blanket (great for overnight bus rides), socks, hats, and earings.

I ended up eating at a restaurant called Jack’s café. It was recommended to me by friend Meaghan, and totally lived up to its reputation. Went there twice during my stay in Cusco. I’ll let the food pictures speak for themselves, but in short, a great place with fresh, homemade soups, salads, sandwhiches, breakfasts, juices, smoothies and desserts. The food reminded me of an organic, grassroots CA restaurant, and I’m pretty sure they made their own homemade bread, ‘nough said!

My hostel, Pariwana, was fun. I think total, there were about 100 people staying in it. I stayed in a 12-person dorm room. Every bed had it’s own down comforter, and the beds were abnormally large. The breakfast wasn’t that awesome (just bread and jam), but the hostel had its own bar, and was super resourceful and helpful when it came to doing treks or exploring Cusco.

Lunch at Jack's

Plaza de Armas

Market-meat section

???!!!-E.coli?

All kinds of different colored maiz being sold at the market

the main square of my hostel-Pariwana

Bar/Restaurant/Club at my hostel

Cathedral overlooking some Incan ruins in the middle of the city. There were lots more ruins in the city itself, but all were protected with walls-so you couldn't just walk in.

Viva Peru!

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Arequipa

Arequipa, Peru

I got up at 4 am and took a taxi to the Lima airport, and arrived in Arequipa at 8am. My first impression was that we landed in a sand desert. There was no vegetation, only dirt and rock. Although barren, the scenery was really pretty just as the sun was coming up over the three mountain ranges that encircle the city: Chachani, El Misti, and Picchu Picchu. All three are snow capped.

The weather in Arequipa was really interesting. Super warm during the day, and when in the sunlight. But in the shade and at night it was particularly cold. I learned this the hard way when on my first day in Arequipa, I took a bus tour of the city from 2pm – 6pm. I had reserved a seat on the second floor of the bus that was open air. It was great during the afternoon, but as soon as the sun started to fall so did the temperature: rapidly. The tour was awesome though, and thanks to the open air top, I got to see a lot. Arequipa is a really interesting city, that is not at all what it seems at first glance. Along the river that runs through the city is lush vegetation where a lot of crops are grown. Check out the pics, it almost looks like the San Joaquin valley in CA.

Before going on the tour I also visited the infamous Santa Catalina convent. Its huge, and kind of expensive to get in, but totally worth it. Its beautiful and you can get a free guided tour from an actual person in the language of your choice. I tagged along with a group of Frenchies.

The next day, I went out to lunch with Celia and her daughter at a typical Arequipeño style restaurant called “Tipika.” I ordered Chupe de Camaron, which is a typical dish from Arequipa, and it was delicious. Celia and her daughter Natalie both ordered a cut of meat that was the back of the pig, skin and all. It was a HUGE piece of meat. This day also happened to be Peru’s independence day, and they had just elected a new president, so everyone was off of work. That night I went out to celebrate Peru’s independence day with two of my Mexican friends that I had met in Colombia while in San Gil. Had an awesome time, but the atmosphere was a bit quiet around town., which was kind of unexpected.

The next day I took an overnight, 10 hour bus to Cusco. The company I went with was called Cromotex. The overnight buses in South America offer two seat options: “semi-cama,” and “cama ejecutivo.” In the first option, which is what I reserved, the seat reclines to about 45° from vertical and your feet are supported. Dinner, and beverages were included, nothing special, but the ride was comfortable and I managed to get some sleep. Apparently cama ejecutivo is where its really at: fully reclinable seats, and gourmet dinners with wine on some better carriers.

The plane I took to Arequipa. Early morning view of the volcanoes

Plaza de Armas

Plaza de Armas cathedral to the left.

Convento de Santa Catalina

Convento de S.C.

View from the highest point of the convent

The tour bus I took that afternoon

View from the top of the bus

View of El Misti from El Mirador Yanahuara

El Mirador de Yanahuara

Valle del Chili, agricultural region in Arequipa. Arequipa even produces its own special type of papaya.

A guanaca at the llama farm....he ended up spitting at this tourist guy who was trying to take his picture. Pretty funny, but sucked for the guy. I guess no one had warned them about the animal's sensitivity to attention.

View from the bus

View from the bus...starting to get really cold, but the view was worth it.

View from the bus.

A grain mill we visited on the tour. Beautiful.

Monday, August 22, 2011

LIMA

Lima, Peru

I arrived in Lima on Saturday around 5pm, and was greeted by a taxi driver holding a sign with my name on it. The woman I was staying with, Giovanna, sent him to pick me up. My first views of Lima were at dusk, and I was ecstatic to see the Pacific Ocean again! We drove along the cost for a little bit, and I have to say it reminded me of the northern CA coastline a bit. It was overcast, and there were surfers in wetsuits in the water.

My first night in Lima Giovanna took me out to a restaurant called Mangoes in the famous posh mall called Larcomar. The mall is right on the edge of the cliff overlooking the ocean. I can only imagine that its an awesome place to hang out in the summer time.

Quick note about the weather: right now it is winter, and the city is covered in a blanket of clouds. I read in my guidebook that this is typical for this time of year, and that the sun doesn’t break through the cloud cover until summer arrives. Its not super cold, definitely not as cold as it gets in CA during the winter, but I have been breaking out my pea coat (which I only used once when I was in Bogotá).

My first meal in Peru was a raw seafood fest: we ordered an appetizer that came with two types of ceviche (spelled cebiche here), octopus, and two other Peruvian fish apetezers that I cant remember the name of right now. I also had a pisco sour to wash it all down.

That night we went to a friend of Giovanna’s house for a surprise birthday party, and afterwards we went out dancing at one of the big casinos in Miraflores. Unfortunately, I was exhausted (having gone to my “fiesta de despedida,” going away party, in Bogotá, the night before), so we ended up going home a little early (3 am). Apparently, its typical for the clubs here to stay open till 5 am or later.

The next day I went and explored downtown Lima, El Centro. I walked around the plaza de Armas, the plaza San Martin, and went on a bus tour of the Cerro San Cristobal. The bus tour was pretty cool. We drove through one of the largest favelas in Lima, and I, being the only white girl on the bus, was sitting in the front seat, with huge windows for all to see. Go figure. I did get great views though of the favela and all the buidlings we passed on the ride.

Unfortunately, I’ve been having some huge internet connection issues, and so my third day in Lima I went to the gym with Giovanna, and then spent the afternoon trying to fix my computer. I then gave up and headed to an internet café to get things done. I did manage to have lunch in Miraflores though: ceviche, and french onion soup. Lima has had a greater variety of food, with a cheaper price tag than Colombia.

My last day in Lima, I spent the first half in Miraflores, and the second half in Barranco. I loved both Miraflores and Barranco. Both are really nice neighborhoods with high rises facing the ocean. I took the 45 minute walk along the boardwalk from Miraflores to Barranco. On the way I got beautiful ocean views, and saw paragliders. My walk ended at the Puente de los suspiros, the bridge of sighs, in Barranco. It was an overall georgeous day, with views.

A few notes about Lima that are different from Bogotá:

Colder weather.
The ocean! It keeps air cleaner by blowing away pollution, and reminds me of SF.
Inka Cola: it’s the national Peruvian rival to Coca-Cola. Its yellow, and its delicious!
Ceviche, ceviche, ceviche, among tons of other fish dishes. I was in heaven!
KFC, Chili’s, Starbucks. All chains here.
There’s a huge Japanese and Chinese population here. Hence, there are Sushi restaurants, and a type of Chinese-Peruvian fusion cuisine called “Chifa.” (haven’t tried it yet, but hopefully soon).