Alright, so I just realized that it's almost been a month since my last update! Well soooo much has happened during that time! So where to start? hmmmm....
So I headed off to Cusco in the mountains of Peru, an ancient Inca empire city. Cusco is such a great city, with awesome sights, architecture (Inca vs Spanish), restaurants, ruins, and of course, nightlife! I was there for around 10 days, during which I got the chance to really experience Cusco! I got to visit amazing ancient ruins, and the most amazing of them all...the ancient Inca city on top of a mountain...Machu Picchu! Truly, unbelievable what the Quechua people were able to build without even knowing the wheel! lol I ended up taking the train to Aguas Calientes, instead of doing the Inca trail trek (there were sooo many reasons for this...money, gear, laziness etc.). But ya, it was still extraordinary nonetheless! Oh and while I was in Cusco, I got altitude sickness. I was in bed for only a couple days, which wasn't too bad, seeing how it can be quite dangerous. But, I survived and lived up the city!
After Cusco, I made my way to Arequipa, the ''white city of the south''. They call it that because of all the white stonework of most of the buildings. It's a pretty nice city, with the most beautiful Plaza de Armas I have seen so far in South America. From Arequipa, I did a 2 day tour of the Colca Canyon and Valley. It was pretty sweet, and I got to see some cool stuff. BUT, it was kinda one of those 'japanese style' tours, where you stop constantly to take pictures of everything...from llamas, to trees, to swamps, to hills, to basically really anything. The best part though, was getting to see the Condors...these huge beautiful birds! They were really cool and worth the two hour wait! I was just happy to see them because they usually stay in this time of the year!
Then I said Adios Peru and HOLA BOLIVIA!!! I bussed it to Copacabana, a small town on the shores of the beautiful Lake Titicaca (one of S.A.'s most highest and navigable lakes!). It's huge! I guess it's like Bolivia's ocean, seeing how they lost their coastline to Chile way back in the day. lol I had such a great time at Lake Titicaca, I ended up meeting some amazing people and we did a great hike on the Isla del Sol (Island of the Sun). The hike wasn't hard, but the flippin' altitude really got to us. We were constantly out of breath! haha
After that, we made our way to CRAZY La Paz, the capital city of Bolivia! And when I say crazy, I mean in every sense...from the crazy population of close to 2 million in this amazingly crazy mountain valley, to its crazy altitude of over 3,600 metres above sea-level, to its congested streets and markets to its crazy gap between rich and poor, to EVERYTHING! haha
First crazy thing I did in La Paz was when I went and visited the infamous San Pedro prison! Alright, so basically this prison became extremely popular when the book 'Marching Powder' came out. It's the story about Thomas McFadden, a small-time English drug smuggler who was arrested in Bolivia and thrown inside the notorious San Pedro prison. I never read the book, but it seems quite interesting. So for a small price, one can visit this prison, with a guide and bodyguards...who turn out to be prisoners themselves! I didn't ask what they were in for because I was too scared! lol
Anyways, so this prison ain't no ordinary prison! Everything about it was bizarre...from how we got approached by a guy asking us if we wanted to visit the jail, to the coked-out South African woman who brought us into a little room and gave us the 'low-down' of how this jail tour works....to our crazy Argentinean guide who explained to us how he's forced to give these tours against his will. Basically, it was one of the weirdest, craziest, uncomfortable places I've been in! But what makes this prison so special is how it's actually a mini-city within a prison. Women and children live in little apartments with their prisoner husbands and dads. And people own restaurants and stores, and there's even a sauna! It was just sooo weird, but so cool!
I also did the bike ride down the 'World's most dangerous road'! And yes, it was dangerous! It was rainy and foggy, and it was sometimes difficult to see the road. I came close to going off some crazy cliffs, but I luckily survived! There are actually quite a few people (especially travelers) who have died going off the edge!
Soo, my original plan was to stay in La Paz until New Year's, during which I would study Spanish and do volunteer work. I was excited to settle down somewhere’s after months of constant travelling, so I figured La Paz would be the place! But, to my surprise, I ended up getting really bored and sick of the city. My Spanish lessons were going well, but as for my volunteer program, really not so. I tried really hard to volunteer in this orphanage...I got the hostel to contact them and set-up a meeting...but the stupid coordinator never showed up! Then I got the manager to give them my email add so they could contact me with the details (which they never did)! and then finally, I tried contacting them via email and to this date, they still haven't contacted me! I even wanted to go in person to the orphanage, but the hostel told me not to because they ‘wouldn't let me in’...or something weird like that! So basically, I got soo frustrated with the whole situation that it really put me off of La Paz! I was quite unhappy there, so I recently decided to leave!
So....I decided that I'm gonna try to get my butt to Buenos Aires, Argentina for New Year's EVE!!! I got soo much terrain to cover in a very short time. So I'm in Uyuni right now, the small gateway town to the Bolivia's amazing salt-flats. I'm going on a three day tour of them tomorrow, and it ends in Chile! From there, I will take a bus to Salta in northern Argentina, where I will hopefully spend Christmas. Then I'm gonna get myself to Buenos Aires (dubbed the 'Paris of South America') and I can't wait! I think I'm more of an Argentina guy, than an Andean one! haha
So yupyup, that's my 'little' resume of the last month and the weeks to come!
I wish you all a Feliz Navidad and a Happy New Year!
Take care and happy holidays to you all!
I miss you guys tons!
Ciao!!!!
So I headed off to Cusco in the mountains of Peru, an ancient Inca empire city. Cusco is such a great city, with awesome sights, architecture (Inca vs Spanish), restaurants, ruins, and of course, nightlife! I was there for around 10 days, during which I got the chance to really experience Cusco! I got to visit amazing ancient ruins, and the most amazing of them all...the ancient Inca city on top of a mountain...Machu Picchu! Truly, unbelievable what the Quechua people were able to build without even knowing the wheel! lol I ended up taking the train to Aguas Calientes, instead of doing the Inca trail trek (there were sooo many reasons for this...money, gear, laziness etc.). But ya, it was still extraordinary nonetheless! Oh and while I was in Cusco, I got altitude sickness. I was in bed for only a couple days, which wasn't too bad, seeing how it can be quite dangerous. But, I survived and lived up the city!
After Cusco, I made my way to Arequipa, the ''white city of the south''. They call it that because of all the white stonework of most of the buildings. It's a pretty nice city, with the most beautiful Plaza de Armas I have seen so far in South America. From Arequipa, I did a 2 day tour of the Colca Canyon and Valley. It was pretty sweet, and I got to see some cool stuff. BUT, it was kinda one of those 'japanese style' tours, where you stop constantly to take pictures of everything...from llamas, to trees, to swamps, to hills, to basically really anything. The best part though, was getting to see the Condors...these huge beautiful birds! They were really cool and worth the two hour wait! I was just happy to see them because they usually stay in this time of the year!
Then I said Adios Peru and HOLA BOLIVIA!!! I bussed it to Copacabana, a small town on the shores of the beautiful Lake Titicaca (one of S.A.'s most highest and navigable lakes!). It's huge! I guess it's like Bolivia's ocean, seeing how they lost their coastline to Chile way back in the day. lol I had such a great time at Lake Titicaca, I ended up meeting some amazing people and we did a great hike on the Isla del Sol (Island of the Sun). The hike wasn't hard, but the flippin' altitude really got to us. We were constantly out of breath! haha
After that, we made our way to CRAZY La Paz, the capital city of Bolivia! And when I say crazy, I mean in every sense...from the crazy population of close to 2 million in this amazingly crazy mountain valley, to its crazy altitude of over 3,600 metres above sea-level, to its congested streets and markets to its crazy gap between rich and poor, to EVERYTHING! haha
First crazy thing I did in La Paz was when I went and visited the infamous San Pedro prison! Alright, so basically this prison became extremely popular when the book 'Marching Powder' came out. It's the story about Thomas McFadden, a small-time English drug smuggler who was arrested in Bolivia and thrown inside the notorious San Pedro prison. I never read the book, but it seems quite interesting. So for a small price, one can visit this prison, with a guide and bodyguards...who turn out to be prisoners themselves! I didn't ask what they were in for because I was too scared! lol
Anyways, so this prison ain't no ordinary prison! Everything about it was bizarre...from how we got approached by a guy asking us if we wanted to visit the jail, to the coked-out South African woman who brought us into a little room and gave us the 'low-down' of how this jail tour works....to our crazy Argentinean guide who explained to us how he's forced to give these tours against his will. Basically, it was one of the weirdest, craziest, uncomfortable places I've been in! But what makes this prison so special is how it's actually a mini-city within a prison. Women and children live in little apartments with their prisoner husbands and dads. And people own restaurants and stores, and there's even a sauna! It was just sooo weird, but so cool!
I also did the bike ride down the 'World's most dangerous road'! And yes, it was dangerous! It was rainy and foggy, and it was sometimes difficult to see the road. I came close to going off some crazy cliffs, but I luckily survived! There are actually quite a few people (especially travelers) who have died going off the edge!
Soo, my original plan was to stay in La Paz until New Year's, during which I would study Spanish and do volunteer work. I was excited to settle down somewhere’s after months of constant travelling, so I figured La Paz would be the place! But, to my surprise, I ended up getting really bored and sick of the city. My Spanish lessons were going well, but as for my volunteer program, really not so. I tried really hard to volunteer in this orphanage...I got the hostel to contact them and set-up a meeting...but the stupid coordinator never showed up! Then I got the manager to give them my email add so they could contact me with the details (which they never did)! and then finally, I tried contacting them via email and to this date, they still haven't contacted me! I even wanted to go in person to the orphanage, but the hostel told me not to because they ‘wouldn't let me in’...or something weird like that! So basically, I got soo frustrated with the whole situation that it really put me off of La Paz! I was quite unhappy there, so I recently decided to leave!
So....I decided that I'm gonna try to get my butt to Buenos Aires, Argentina for New Year's EVE!!! I got soo much terrain to cover in a very short time. So I'm in Uyuni right now, the small gateway town to the Bolivia's amazing salt-flats. I'm going on a three day tour of them tomorrow, and it ends in Chile! From there, I will take a bus to Salta in northern Argentina, where I will hopefully spend Christmas. Then I'm gonna get myself to Buenos Aires (dubbed the 'Paris of South America') and I can't wait! I think I'm more of an Argentina guy, than an Andean one! haha
So yupyup, that's my 'little' resume of the last month and the weeks to come!
I wish you all a Feliz Navidad and a Happy New Year!
Take care and happy holidays to you all!
I miss you guys tons!
Ciao!!!!
