Argentina Part I - North and Northwestern Patagonia (Lake District)

Salta camping with Peter the Dutchmen and Gaston the artesano

Random Salta face in the tiles

The wandering weirdos and their large tent house in Salta campground. Peter's RV in the background

Córdoba in the nighttime

Janet and us gorging on all an asado and salads (with wine) in Córdoba

La Flor in BA

Rose Bowl in BA...Roger in the background

The Four Horsemen on New Years Eve in BA

A taste of the La Boca neighborhood in BA

At Bomba del Tiempo drumcircle in BA

Salta, Argentina
Getting There and Away:
From southern Bolivia there are two ways to make the hop into La Argentina: grab a bus from the wild west town of Tupiza across an oft-travelled border crossing (By the way Tupiza, Bolivia is famed for being the last place Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid stopped before their exploits finally caught up with them - on a sidenote these guys are worshipped down here, they seem to have a sizable cult following, and there is annual festival honoring them in Tupiza); or take the windy mountian-into-jungle plunge from Bolivian viticultural capital Tarija across the border jump near Aguas Blancas. If the second route is selected, you are in for a treat (assuming you have a blue passport): while 300 eager Bolivians wait in 100 degree baking sun for the chance that they might be allowed in one poor soul at a time, you will be ushered through the same door they go through, apologizing profusely for making them move and watch you receiving vastly preferrential treatment, and barely even checked for credentials. You will not mind, however, as your bus to the border is woefully late, and you have 15 minutes to run frantically across customs and proceed through immigration AND make it 5 km down the road to the town where your next bus departs. As long-distance busses usually leave late to accomodate for such things, you hurry to make it close to the ETD. This is a sweaty and irritating process, and will fully test your patience for both yourself and your travel partner. Once you arrive to the town type thing and find your bus departure location, you realize Argentina is an hour later and the ticket booker in Bolivia did not tell you the departure time was in Bolivian time! This is worth a good laugh as you attempt to dry yourself off and clean up a bit. And then you find that you have to transfer one more time. Oh the wonders of South American public transport.

Places to Stay:
Once you overcome some palpable culture shock you have myriad hostels to choose from, all twice as expensive as Bolivia and most likely not as nice. If you are prepared, opt for the municipal campground, a quick 15 minute bus ride from city center where you have first rate facilities for $3 US per person. Plus the campground is outfitted with an immaculate pool the size of a decent lake, and shower stations spaced sporadically along the perimeter to stave off the heat and humidity (which are borderline unbearable when not in a swim suit and wetted). If you are unlucky, the pool will be closed until about a week after you are there, robbing you of some very desirable floating time. If you are lucky, you will have an awesome 60 something Dutch man named Peter as your neighbor who will allow you to use the fridge in his home-on-wheels, and share just about everything else with you in exchange for good conversation and the sole stipulation that you never say the words "thank you" to him under any circumstances, or in any language. He will be a hugely memorable figure in your trip full of meeting interesting people, and you will wish him the best as he continues his nomadic lifestyle to the Chilean coast where he will set up shop for a while. Adios Peter, vaya con Dios!

Also here you will meet interesting Irish/Welsh travellers who may stumble over to your tent at 12 midnight in a very intoxicated manner. Worth a hearty laugh in the morning.

Places to Eat:
Campsite cookouts are always recommended as the grills available are in good form. Don't forget the steak - its Argentina and that's what they eat! The chorizo is also killer and the grilled veggies accompany perfectly.

In town, Christmas dinner will consist of pizza, empanadas, and salad at a very nice restaurant with good and reasonably priced vino tinto. By the way, this could be ANY restaurant in Argentina...along with steak and other grilled cow and pig parts, this is just what they like.

Pluses:
The urban walking is fantastic, with bright lights everywhere and a good bus system. The people watching is highly seperior to Bolivia as there are tall and short, fat and skinny, brown and white, blond and dark haired people (in summary there is waaaaay more diversity) thus making for a very interesting transition. The shopping is good and the street food is above average. The hiking around town is on par with the natral landscape, which is an insane mixture of jungle canopies and tree lined hillsides.

Minuses:
Hot. Humid. Sun baked. And hot. And also reeeal humid. Without a swimming pool, this is one miserable place in terms of the weather.

Córdoba, Argentina
Getting There and Away:
From Salta hop on a bus South. The prices may shock you at first, as Argentinian bus rides are 3 times costlier than Bolivian or Peruvian. Apparently they have better double decker busses (or at least think they do).

Places to Stay:
Hostel Tango, a home-style dorm-only place with excellent security, good service and breakfast, a nice patio and cable TV in a common room with bean bag chairs. Watching random American movies late night Friday night hoops on ESPN is a must after 4 days camping in humid, pool-less Salta. The only downside is that there have been bedbug sightings. AT last visit, one bed was playing host to nearly 100 bugs, little red beetle looking things that emulate the best of vampires. You may have to pack up your things and move to the neighboring room (and hope none have relocated into your backpack) so that the exterminator can come through with his smelly hazardous fumes. If you are lucky the bugs will not follow you and you will sleep peacefully. Management will be very helpful in resolving the issue and being proactive, but will adamantly demand that they come from Chile. So go the relations between South America's southern-most neighbors.

Places to Eat:
Mediterranean food! If you are ever craving an ethnic meal, its after spending three months in Blandfoodville (AKA Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia), and it will not disappoint. The Lebanese really know where its at.
Parillas: Argentinians are all about grilling meets and eating them with fries and a carafe of accompanying red. Delicious and different, but a little bit can go a long way. Try the innards (gizzard, tripe, kidneys) just to say you did.
If it's homemade food that wets your whistle, hostel quesadillas with fresh and family recipe pico de gallo and guacamole are a hit.

Pluses:
Great walking city, with fun pedestrian streets and excellent shopping. Loads of cool old churches and brick museums to gawk at. The hostel, bed bugs aside, is very refreshing and you will make friends from Santa Rosa and Toronto (and be best friends for three days, and possibly never see them again except on facebook for the rest of your life).

Minuses:
It is still wicked hot and humid. And bedbugs really suck if you get bit. Just ask Arlen from Toronto, and thank God that you are travelling with a meticulous mattress-checker.

Buenos Aires, Argentina (All Coming Soon!)
Getting There and Away:
From

Places to Stay:
Home

Places to Eat:
After

Pluses:
This

Minuses:
After

San Carlos de Bariloche (and Llao Llao), Argentina
Getting There and Away:
From

Places to Stay:
Hostel

Places to Eat:
Hostel

Pluses:
The

Minuses:
After

San Martín de los Andes, Argentina
Getting There and Away:
From

Places to Stay:
Home

Places to Eat:
After

Pluses:
This

Minuses:
After

El Bolsón, Argentina
Getting There and Away:
From

Places to Stay:
Hostel

Places to Eat:
Hostel

Pluses:
The

Minuses:
After

Part 6 Continued: Pictures from Peru (Backwards in Time)

Machu Picchu

MP From on high (view from Wayna Picchu).
I believe this is the residential sector, intermingled with the industrial (who am I kidding, look how beatiful this place is!).

An Incan Princesa

He shoots he Scores! And the crowd jumps for joy!

Unbelievable

Ollantaytambo

Pisaq

Cusco and Saqsaywaman

Lima

Paracas (Islas Ballestas)

Lots of sea lions (lobos del mar)

Yes these are real penguins!

Huacachina

Colca Canyon

Arequipa

Part 6: Peru

Arequipa, Peru
Getting There and Away:
From Copacabana take a bus back accross the Peruvian border. Make sure that your visa is multiple entry, otherwise you could find yourself blackballed from ever entering Bolivia again (in the near future). Once over the border into the uglier, peruvian lakefront town of Puno, board a bus (after finding out that the travel agency ripped you off for a whole 5 dollars on your so called ¨direct¨ bus which still makes you deboard, get your luggage and get on another bus) for the remaining 7 hour journey to Arequipa. The city, second in size to Lima, is huge. After being on the bus for so long the lights and billboard annoucing your arrival quickly reveal themselves to be quite premature as 45 minutes later you still have not pulled into the station.

Places to Stay:
Home Sweet Home:
This hostel has it all. Dorms, singles, doubles, free internet, breakfast, a tv etc. In walking distance of all Arequipa´s white walled colonial building glory. The cable package here is truly amazing. For the die hard Trail Blazer fan a sign can be made requesting TV priviledges and the candle can be burned late into the night as you cheer on your hometown team and tear up as downtown Portland pans quickly accross the screen. 5 large beers may be 1 too many...

Places to Eat:
After the lakeside fare of trout, trout and more trout the food in Arequipa is a welcome change.

Tacos y Tequila: has large psuedo mexican plates for about 3 dollars a piece.

Turkos 1 and 2: have the standard kebab and falafel fare.

Texas Cafe: As touristy as it gets but Oregon Chai, free long distance phone calls to landlines, and free internet are a welcome change. Dont try the pastries, they look good but are not worth it.
The market: has mountians of fruits, veggies, empanadas, cheese (good luck finding anything resembling cheddar) and sweets that go on for days.

Luccianos: is a bakery dream. Pastries of all kinds, borrachitos (a dense chocolate truffle thing), cakes, sandwiches, heavenly smells.... you could spend days trying everything.

Typical food that is must try status includes: Papa relleña, a fried potato exterior with meat and veggies packed inside, Rocoto relleña, a big hot pepper stuffed with ground meat, veggies and topped with bechemel sauce, and fresh popped oil salty popcorn off the street.

Pluses:
This city is tryly remarkable. The buildings are white and sparkle in the sun, the pace is laid back and non abrasive, the volcanoes and mountains surround you from all sides and the streets are perfect for meandering around.

Minuses:
After a couple of days of vegging out there is not much else to do. Also after the Salteña frenzy that was Bolivia the empanadas here are a let down.

Colca Canyon, Peru
Getting There and Away:
From Arequipa catch a bus to Cabanaconde. There are pluses and minuses involved with taking a local bus, the benefit being that you do not get charged the phony tourist tax to enter the canyon. The bad part is that the bus becomes so packed that breathing is difficult and the 7 hour bus ride can be very unpleasant as the man in the isle is forces to box your head in with his breastbone.

Once in Cabanaconde the only way into the canyon is down, down, down. This hike is not for the faint of heart, or the out of shape. 2 hours of straight down treking and the corresponding 3 hours of steep ascent will leave you gasping for breath, cursing the gods, and crying tears (seriously) of pain and joy throughout.

Places to Stay:
Hostel Pachamama:
A simple, clean room to crash the night before you head out on the hike of hell.

The Oasis:
An aptly named paradise in the heart of the canyon. These natural pools, palm trees, grass and thatched huts spring up from nowhere. A nice place to recharge your batteries after the grueling walk down.

Places to Eat:
Hostel Pachamama: You can try and eat here for dinner but the Dueña of the place seems a little spaced out. 15 minutes after placing a menu in front of you she still does not reaapear and your stomach drives you out into the cold looking for another place to indulge. The breakfast is included in your room and is suprisingly hot and served quickly.

The French Hostel: We do not know the name but everyone will know what you are talking about. The owner is friendly, full of good info about the hike, will hook you up with a good and free campsite at the bottom of the canyon, and somehow has evolved to cater mostly to the French tourist. The food here is good, and if you make friends a free plate or 2 might make its way to your table.

Out of your backpack:
PB and J... for days...

In the Oasis:
Down here at the bottom of the 2nd deepest canyon in the world anything tastes good. The set meals at most of the sites are cheap and filling.

Pluses:
The views are phenomenal. Truly a ridiculous place to stop and take time to trun full circle. The feeling of accomplshment at the top of the trail out of the canyon is unmatched (although you might be too tired to realize it at the time).

Minuses:
The trail in and out, as mentioned above, is so hard it will make you reconsider ever taking a superfluous step again. In addition the 4 days afterwards when getting out of bed is a struggle and walking down stairs seems like a death sentence do not lend themselves to repeat visits.

Ica/Huachachina, Peru
Getting There and Away:
From Arequipa take a bus to Ica, a transportation hub that has too many moto taxis. At approximately 8 hours this is a perfect ride to do overnight. From Ica a taxi should be about 1 US dollar to the sand dunes and lagoon of Huchachina.

Places to Stay:

Find the Hostel that lets you camp in their backyard...5 soles a night per campsight, with cool Peruvian and Canadian neighbors. The campground is at the foot of the dunes, and is a perfect jumping off point for climbing them once the hot sun begins its descent into the desert.

Places to Eat:

If you'e fully equipped with a compstove, then use that to concoct lovely hot plate dinners such as Mexican ground beef and bean dip with guacamole, or spicy spaghetti with lots of local hot peppers. Lunch menus are also affordable and delicious, and can be found all around the laguna. The pizza is good at the end of the lake, but you may be starting a sickness where you feel like your insides are dying, in which case one of you is stuck eating the whole thing!

Pluses:

Clamboring up the dunes, panther style, is a nightly treat. The views from the top are breathtaking and the heat on your sore limbs buried in the cooled-off sand is to die for. The lagoon is swimmable, but I wouldn't give it any more credit than that. Watching the sandboarders, as well as riding the boards down on your belly, is way too much fun. Everything about this little town that is so far from ordinary is lovable.

Minuses:

The sand is so hot during the day that if you touch it, you spontaneously combust. Also, the lagoon is super cool due to its status as an ACTUAL oasis, but it is a bit smelly and very dirty with both turbidity and trash.

Pisco/ Paracas, Peru
Getting There and Away:

Multiple buses daily make the short and popular trip from Ica to Pisco. As Pisco is in a major rebuilding process following devastating earthquakes in the last two years, and most travellers stay there just to volunteer in the rebuilding effort, the recommended course of action is to hop in a colective taxi to the panamerican highway (cruce de Pisco), then a combi bus south to the national reserve entrance and the town of Paracas.

Places to Stay:

There are a few upscale hostels and hotels, and there are the travellers budget variety. Hotel Ballestas will lend you a double bed with cable TV for 15$ a night. This is an extremely short walk from the waterfront, where everything is, and they will even give you towels! If you want a 10 sol discount on your room, book your Islas tour through the hotel front desk.

Places to Eat:

It seems like there are a hundred cheap tent-style eateries in town, and the value is far and away better than the traditional trveller restaurants on the waterfront. Big ceviche platters for only 15 soles!

Pluses:

When you are going on a tour that starts at 8AM, it is better to be at the point of departure overnight than in Pisco and have to make the 45 minute drive in the morning. Plus, its nice and quiet and you can catch up on sleep during the day and attempt to kick the stomach problems you are dealing with.

The Tour: Boats fitting about 15 people depart for the much-hyped Islas Ballestas in the morning. You are told ahead of time that it last 2 hours, including the 30 mins each way to the islands, and that it will all be watching from the boat. therefore, you don't get your hopes up. However, when you get island side you are in awe of countless different types of birds (including penguins!) and sea lions dwarfing the San Francisco wharfs. On your way back you may even see little dolphin fins sticking up out of the water! Unfortunately your camera cannot focus in time to capture the fins in their full effect.

Minuses:

Small town that completely revolves around the tours to the park and the islands, without a ton to do otherwise, and you may want to vomit in your crammed combi bus on the way. Its the Peruvian coast, and it smells like fish!

Lima, Peru
Getting There and Away:

Head North on the Panamericana for a bit and you'll find yourself in a place that might confuse you for Lima proper. Instead you are in no mans land, but a 20 minute taxi ride from Plaza de Armas (S/10). Every city in Peru has a central Plaza (or two), and they all have one called Plaza de Armas. This one is stunning with three churches, the President's mansion, countless security guards and traffic control women who have a propensity for waving and blowing whistles.

Places to Stay:

Two options on Jr. Azangaro: Hostal España, and Hotel Europa. One has dorms for 14 soles each where large frenchmen snore loudly through the night, and come in talking about cigarettes at the crack of midnight. The other has a double bed in our own room with a shared bathroom for 13 soles each. The numbers add up. You do the math. We moved to Europes finest after one days.

Places to Eat:

Across from Plaza San Francisco (which houses 500 year old bones and 400 year old books) lie multiple Menu spots where you can get succulent ceviche paired with chicken sauteed with loads of veggies, with a little salad and a lot of white rice on the side, or pan seared trucha plated with lighlty cooked vegetables, white rice on the side (comes standard with every meal you ever get).

Churros around the corner are delicious, hot, and tempting. Stuffed with warm banana, they are all the rage anytime of day.

China Town: complete dimsum for two comes out to under $10. Humbau, shumay, and shrimp balls, topped with sweet pork bread for dessert. Egg rolls on the street could keep you satisfied for weeks.

Jimmy's (with a soft J): The pastry king of Sudamerica! Hooks it up with fresh apple pies, empanadas, and all other baked delights to satisfy your morning inkling for sweets.

Pluses:

This city is incredible to walk around in, from the olfactory delights of Chinatown, to the bustling plazas that light up neon at night and seem to always occupy demonstrations of some sort, to a dazzling waterfront that sits on high, and even Starbucks!

Minuses:

There is no bus terminal, which is annoying when you want to buy tickets and you have to walk all over town. But that is just nitpicky. Seriously, Lima is a must visit on any travellers agenda to Peru.

Cuzco, Peru
Getting There and Away:

Buses going to Cusco are a dime a dozen. The route is well travelled and very scenic...not a bad trip to choose to do during the day. During the time of research, the direct road to Cusco from Lima was closed due to a particular town not allowing passage through. Therefore it is possible that your 17 hour ride turns into a 26 hour ride. Not fun.

Places to Stay:

Immaculately located Hostal Caceres will put you up extremely economically (in an extremely un-economical part of town) on the third floor, overlooking a main artery leaving the central Plaza de Armas. The saggy double beds are a welcome sight after you spend over a day on a bus, even if it is "semi-cama". The hostal is equipped with a laundry service, which may mistakenly give you someone´s clean socks, and forget to give you a dress you had washed until multiple hours later. The hostal also has an internet "cafe", which makes for convenient all-around services. They will also store your essential belongings in a safe, and keep your auxiliary things for indeterminable amounts of time while you travel "light" into the sacred valley.

Places to Eat:

Tupana Wasi: An amazing, "I'd come back here" (and we did) Mexican restaurant with 15 Sol ($5) full course meals including chips with guac to start, a little pisco sour, a glass of lemonade, a soup or delicious avocado salad, and an entree of either succulent beef and vegetable filled fajitas, enchiladas, quesadillas, or even typical dishes of the region. Mexican food is a rarity down here, and this place does it right.

El Buen Pastor: The bakery you just can't stay away from! Awesome chocolate doughnuts, fudge borrachitos (little chocolate balls that are to die for), ham and cheese croissants or pizzas, and countless apple or berry options to wet your whistle. Coupled with the fact that there always seem to be 10 people working there, it makes for a lovely dining experience.

The Real McCoy: This english restaurant is always bustling with internationals, as their daily food and drink speacials attract even those who are not interested in an English breakfast. The cafe, with its comfy bean bag chairs and couches, is a great place to lounge while waiting for your bus, and you may see your friends there randomly, creating three separate occasions where you say goodbye and give the parting hugs.

Pluses:

You come through here to go visit El Valle Sagrado and Machu Picchu. What more excuse do you need. Also there is good shopping for artesanal wares, but don't forget to bargain. You can get about half off the starting price consistently if you are near the center of town. Off the main strip the prices are much more reasonable, but still inflated.

PS a real plus is when a family friend has an affordable apartment (albeit not in the center of the City, but only a 20 minute walk in) that is magically available for you and the couple you are travelling with during your stay in Cusco. An even added bonus is when the dates you are there are over Thanksgiving, and you have a fully supplied, spacious kitchen in which to cook Holiday delights! Roasted turkey (that may or may not have been a chicken, but don't tell anyone), sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, gravy, makeshift cranberry sauce that was actually boiled down south american cherries, broccoli, and viiiiiiiino!

Minuses:

"Massage, massage, massage!!!!!" While these are welcome words (especially when the cost is about $10 per hour) the first few times, or possibly if you are really sore, they beign to wear you thin shortly thereafter. Travellers cannot peruse this cute and quaint town without seemingly endless acostment by any of the three following peddlers: people giving you flyers for their spa, people asking you to look at the menu they are holding and insisting you come into their restaurant no matter the time of day or if you don't seem in the slight bit interested, and people selling you whatever it is they are holding.

Editors' Note: The Sacred Valley town of Pisaq is not to be missed. The most spectacularly constructed and continous set of ruins aside from Machu Pichhu are a 5 kilometer hike from town up a steep hill and then along a breathtaking ridge overlooking a thousand years of history. Pisaq is located in between Cusco and Urubamba and the methods of transport are in busses from Cusco that leave every 15 minutes.

Oyallantatambo, Peru
Getting There and Away:

From Cuzco, take a local bus direct to Urubamba. The 2 hour ride should cost you about .70 cents. In Urubamba you can either pack it in clown style in a colectivo van (most economical, and that is the only superlative to bestow on this method of travel aside from most vomit inducing) or have a taxi take you the 25 minutes (warning: prices and participation may vary...the price seems to jump by factors of 2 at times). Once in Ollantaytambo one is blessed with spectacular ruins on either side of the little village. One side costs 130 soles to enter (free with boleto turistico that you buy in Cusco for 130 soles), and the other is free. In the middle is a fertile valley where the Incans of old built underground flumes and other conveyance methods to bring water from the hills into the village and to the farming terraces on the cliffs surrounding the ruins. While farming and other native practices are still prevalent, Ollanta (pronounced Oyanta) is mostly used as the starting point for trains travelling through the sacred valley to Aguas Calientes. One interesting tidbit is that this little travellers hub is believed to be one of the oldest populated areas on earth. Genial!

Places to Stay:
There are a number of budget opportunities here, but one of the best is located along the river on the walk towards the train station. Listening to the river rush by in its constrained, man-made channel is reminiscent of summers sleeping peacefully on the banks of the Deschutes River. Plus there are two adorable puppies running and wagging around the riverbank patio who are sure to steal your heart for the duration of your stay. The owners will kindly store the majority of your belongings while you make the trip into Machu Picchu.

Places to Eat:

Everything here is overpriced except for a couple options that serve inexpensive menus del dia. There is a lovely little English-run joint called Hearts Cafe that created a non-profit in the same name which donates 100% of their profits to helping women in villages throughout the sacred valley. They contribute through sexual and hygiene education, food assistance, and raising awareness of the plight of the indigenous women and their children. Plus they make great chocolate chip cookies!

Pluses:

This quiet town has some of the most astounding ruins aside from Pisaq and MP, as well as crashing rivers colliding to a T along the highway running through the Sacred Valley, otherwise known as "El camino del Inca" (but not the actual Inca Road because that's in the mountains). For travellers who cannot afford to pay for the big ticket train to MP from Cusco, this is the place to start your trip to Aguas Calientes (1.5 hours away in train, 7 hours away in bus...needless to say, they do not take the same route). Also the walk from Hidroelectrica (5 km from Aguas Calientes along the train tracks) is beatiful, especially as the sun goes down. However it is strongly suggested that you wear pants or use bug spray on your legs, because the sand flies will get you good. This suggestion is not to be taken lightly.

Minuses:

The train to Aguas Calientes is slightly expensive (tourists have no choice, right?) and the alternative is death defying. If you are not thinking the train os for you on the way, you will change your mind for the way back. The alternative route takes you up through the mountains, above the clouds in seemingly endless cloud forests, along roads that frequently recive erosion from above to the point of no passage, involves taking three legs in three different types of transportation, and takes 6-7 hours. On the way your bus will break down (the same bus where they overcharge you because you are white, and even though all the pasengers on the bus think this is unfair the fare collector still wont budge, except for one passenger who tells you that this bus is not for tourists and that's what the train is for), after which you are forced to take a colectivo bus that your original bus driver says he will pay for, and then doesn't. On the final leg your colectivo bus will fail to start after the driver has pulled over to the side of a 200 foot cliff, where you are forced to get out and push the bus in order to jump start it while it is running down the hill on the side of said cliff!

Aguas Calientes / Machu Picchu:

Getting There and Away:

The two possible methods of travel to Aguas Calientes are explained above, including the shortfalls/perils of each. Getting to MP, ironically, has dual options as well. One costs 7$ for a 20 minute bus ride. The other is an hour walk, straight uphill, that costs nothing. Once the numbers are crunched it becomes clear which method is to be chosen (and only one of them involves getting some much-needed exercise). The suggested time of departure from the shwanky basecamp that is Aguas Calientes at 4:30 AM, getting you to MP at 5:30 and before that first bus arrives full of excited visitors. The other suggestion is to wear the jersey of your favorite pro sports team of all time in order to attempt to get on the jumbotroninside the arena (cross your fingers with me now...). Once you have arrived at the front gates you wait patiently for your turn, during which time the attendants will ask you which time slot you wish to enter the grounds of Wayna Picchu.

Inside the Gates:

Experiencing the wonder that is Machu Picchu is beyond explanation. In short, a city was built on the top of a mountain by chipping off rock from the mountain top itself (the quarry is the mountain top!) and carving it into perfectly shaped boulders that fit together immaculately, with farming terraces thrown intermittently throughout the city. There are also multiple temples, ingenious waterways funneling springs from the neighboring mountain, sundials that are believed to have been used for a seasonal calendar, and large grassy areas that must have served as meeting places and mingling areas. The builders were the Incas, the place defined by its remote location in the Sacred Valley on top of a mountain due to their worship of the sun god, and the reason is unknown. There is no written history, and it only existed in myth until 1911 when an American historian/adventure trekker, with a local indigenous boy as a guide, stumbled across the overgrown site while looking for a different site. Speculation as to the impetus for building the architectural masterpiece is that the empire know they were on the brink of destruction by Spanish colonialism and they wanted to build a masterpiece that would stand the test of time. We hope they are right, although scientists believe that the the entire site is slipping down the mountain at a rate of 1 cm per month due to heavy foot traffic. But the funny thing is that they will not let you go barefoot!!! The site could collapse due to the weight of the thousands of daily visitors, but they mandate that you wear shoes! Only in Peru...

The grounds are covered with lawnmowers (also known as Alpacas), iguanas, red blooming flowers, and chinchillas hide away in the cracks! If you are lucky you will go on the first day in over two weeks when they have seen sustained sunshine and no rain (but only if you are super cool...). One more time, the sand flies are not to be underestimated...you either wear bug spray or your legs will look like you have chicken pox for the next two weeks.

After exploring the counless stones and feeling like you have experienced the most regal of Incan daily life, you head up the vertical steps that are the path to Wayna Picchu. This journey takes about an hour up, and 25 minutes down. At the top you see more ruins that were to appease the sun deity , and feel as though you are on top of the world. Although they limit the number of people who make the climb daily, at the top you are with a hundred other brave souls who are all moving too quickly. Long story short, mild panic attacks have been known to strike travelling males who have a slight fear of heights. Its not so much the heights as it is the unrestrained heights, as there is not a single rail or kick plate at the top (although they have deeply embedded cables and steel to assist with the climb up...how the Incas did it without that i will never know), and one wrong step and you're a goner. This climb is not for the faint of heart. At the top you have a spectacular view of the Valley and a view over the top of the whole MP site...simply amazing.

In the afternoon one starts to feel the effects of a 4 AM wakeup call coupled with endless exploring, hiking, and climbing. Time to head down and relax in the natural hot spring pools that Aguas Calientes has to offer. And a beer. or three. Then you take the train back to Ollantaytambo, because you are not as poor as you pretend to be and you have learned your lesson.

At the risk of sounding a bit cliché, a trip to Peru is merited by the experience of Machu Picchu alone. DO IT!

Part 5: Bolivia...

Cochabamba (proper), Bolivia

Getting There and Away:
Once your two week volunteer program finishes, don´t rush out of town, stay put for a little bit.

Places to Stay:
The Resedencial Familiar has saggy but firm beds, in rooms that may have far too many beds in them for your party (of two). The female staff are the nicest people you have ever met, and the male staff give you looks that border on hatred, and pretend that they are running a locutorio when you ask to use the phone for a local call. Water is hot, reception will open the door at 5 AM when you first arrive, and packages can be accepted by the front desk and held for you without charge (should you leave a bag consisting of your lonely planet book, peanut butter, and a jar of jelly with your volunteer coordinator. Losing the lonely planet "bible" is not recommended...). If you want to upgrade, the Hotel Renata might give you a room with a kitchenette...a perfect place to concoct the fruit salad you are longing for.

Places to Eat:
The so-called "Gastronomy capital of Bolivia" has no shortage of good eats. El Prado is filled with American, Bolivian, and Argentinian restaurants that are a little more spendy, but tasty (and the ice cream for dessert is always large and outstanding). One restaurant in particular on this glitzy street, Dumbo, has an excellent outdoor front patio where many proud Bolivians will gather to watch their national squad suit up, and beat 2 to 0, for a World Cup qualifier against Brazil in La Paz (you will be extremely upset that your volunteer program does not start 1 day later!).

Salon de Te: Cheap but delicious pastries and yuca filled goodies accompany amazing fresh fruit shakes, all for a 2 or 3 dollar breakfast that goes perfectly against the grain.

Eli's Pizza: American style, Bolivian input.

Salteñerias: These little juice'filled delights are a Bolivia specialty. They prepare a saucy mixture full of cooked meats, onions, carrots, potatoes, sometimes peas, and typically a kalamata olive and a quail egg, and they insert it into a magical empanada like shell, which they then bake until warm and slightly crispy on the outside. Not to be missed, unless you are prone to addiction!

Pluses:
Whats not to like? The weather is always warm and sunny, there are loads of markets and interesting walking destinations, there always seems to be a rally going on, the food and lodging is cheap, the people are nice...its the essence of Bolivia.

Minuses:
Public transportation is messy and there are a hundred cabbies for every person that is looking for a cab. Therefore, it is recommended that either you memorize the number and company for the cab you are in, or be 100% sure that you have not left your money purse in the cab (with your atm card in it) when you get out. If not, you will run after the cab with a bum heel in sandals, screaming and waving, only to stop because you wont catch him, check your pockets again, and realize you actually have what you thought you lost. Good times.

La Paz, Bolivia

Getting There and Away:
Hop on the 9, transfer to the 6, and finish off by going north on the L...ok fine, just go to the bus station and buy a ticket to the capital. Get a double decker bus to ensure you wont be kept up all night by the lack of a bus cama and someone playing music on their phone (not to mention something resembling climate control).

Places to Stay:
Hostel Milenio has cheap private rooms, a TV with the most uncomfortable couch on the planet, and offers breakfast in-house (not in bed, that would be too perfect). The travel agent at the desk is nice and the book exchange will do in a pinch, although the titles are overwhelmingly in German.

Places to Eat:
Salteñas for days! There is also a pizza stand where slices of "chorizo-jalapeño" go for 1$, but actually are chorizo-locotó. Even better.

Pluses:
Tied with Quito, the most amazingly beautiful city at night. Looking up from the bottom of the "bowl" (the whole city is sunken into a depression with house-laden hills and mountains on all sides), you see various greens and yellows and reds (what do you know, the color of the Bolivian flag), and could stare at it for hours if you werent at 12,000 feet and freezing! Easy to walk around, with destinations on the other side of town actually only about 10 minutes off.

Minuses:
Getting to those destinations means invariably travelling uphill. Good exercise, but leaves you short of breath and exacerbating foot injuries. Construction on the central avenue will leave you finiding altenrative routes to restaurants you have read are yummy.

Copacabana (Lake Titicaca), Bolivia

Getting There and Away:

Everyday, a bus leaves from the cemetary in La Paz at 3 PM to the beautiful city of Copacabana on Lake Titicaca. If you dont know where the cemetary is, go to the bus station, and get your ticket! This trip involves any or all of the following: a short bus that they will pack twice as high with car seats (the kind you take out of a van for more cargo room), annoying Americans behind you that think they have to talk every waking moment, a ferry ride that you have to disembark for (weight restrictions?), and spine-tingling cliff side driving.

Places to Stay:
When you get there, 10 different people will solicit you for their hotel. Go with a young man who looks like he is about 10 but could be 30, or submit to him after he follows you to your first 2 disappointing locations, to his uncles establishment about a block from the water on the central street. Hotel Paris will charge you 10$ total for a double bed, a single bed, a nice and clean in-room bathroom, a balcony that sort of permits a lakeside view, and cable TV. Warning: the shower water-heating element is attached at the head, which for some reason means that there is a ridiculously strong electrical current running through the pipe penetrating the wall. If you want to adjust the location of the pipe, think twice: either do it wearing thick leather gloves, or dont do it at all! Hotel Paris has a resident bunny infestation, which, aside from a koala bear infestation, may be the cutest infestation ever.

Places to Eat:

Every restaurant in this little town has everything. Do not go here if you are expecting specialties, and do not be fooled by the "mexican food" sign outside one of them. The menus are extremely multinational and multicultural, which doesnt mean they serve bad food, it just means that they have very eclectic tastes.

Pluses:
Isla del Sol is freakin amazing. Take the ferry and walk from one end to the other. Eat overlooking the ridiculously azul water and get down and dirty with some alpacas before you reembark (passing floating islands) to Copa.

The sunsets over the water are so alluring you will find yourself structuring your days and nights around sipping a $2.50 bottle of red out of plastic cups on the pier between the hours of 5 and 7.

Minuses:
The water looks amazingly inviting but it is FREEZING. Swimming is only advised after a good 45 minute walk around the lake as the green algae off shore in Copa looks and smells slightly suspicious.

Part 4: Peru (for a minute)

Mancora, Peru

Getting there and away:
From Cuenca, Ecuador take the 10:40 bus to the border, it takes a while and the bus will randomly let you out on the side of the road and dump your bags next to you. Through some quick conversing with a man wearing a walkie talkie you will figure out that you are supposed to wait, under the tent with the street vendors hawking fruit salad and otter pops, for another bus, ETA undertermined. Eventually people will start telling you, in what some might identify as a raised tone of voice, that your bus is coming and that you better be ready. The bus over the border, and to Mancora, will swoop onto the side of the road and will give you just enough time to load your bags and jump on board before it begins its rapid southbound journey once again. This bus will be packed but do not fret, you will only have to stand up (and hold on for dear life) for about an hour before people begin deboarding allowing you the opportunity to sit, at first randomly squeezed against a Peruvian tourist, and then finally to stretch out luxuriously as you become the only people on the bus.

Places to stay:

When the one campground in town (that you were eyeing from the get-go) is full up, don´t fret, more adventures are in front of you.

Hospedaje de los Angeles:
When the bicycle taxi man then offers to take you to the cheapest place in town, even though it is dark and you are tired and hungry, use your previous experience and your promise of ¨never again¨ and refrain from taking him up on his offer. Otherwise you will wind up in a smelly, dirty, mosquito infested room with a bathroom that has not been cleaned in years (although cable TV is available). The bed is a worn, holey mattress on a concrete slab, the windows don´t shut and the neighbors might as well be in the room with you. The mosquito net has holes and will drape on your face the whole night, but hey, its located "en la playa".

Hospedaje Desperado:

This place is the cat´s meow. The young female dueña (Mariela) will let you store your bags in her closet until the room you so desperately need opens up during midday. The place is small, 3 rooms, clean, and low and behold, even cheaper than the dump you stayed in before. Your own room, bathroom, and no mosquito net required... all for under 5 bucks a night. AHHH. If Spanish speaking has got you down Mariela´s older buisness and life partner, Hans is a breath of fresh air. He lived 18 years in the Bronx (hence the english speaking abilities), plays internet poker non-stop, and might even ask you for help around the house in return for a couple beers and a home-cooked spaghetti meal (Mariela has an Italian specialty). One of the biggest pluses of this laid back and friendly place is the couple´s 7 month old daughter, Daiax. Full of belly laughs and kicking feet, always a source of entertainment.

Places to Eat:
The line of 4 ceviche resturants on the way to the beach:

For $1.25 you can get a fresh squeezed juice, a plate of fresh ceviche and a platter of rice, meat, potatoes, salad etc. Good food (although the set meals tend to get old fast), super cheap.

The sandwich place which is randomly open, and thus far unnamed, that is next door to the Desperado:

AMAZING!!!!! Huge, delicious, ridiculous sandwiches and pretty freaking good smoothies as well. The only downside is the fact that as of this posting it was only observed to be open once and the storefront was otherwise completely void of any identifying marks making those who consumed food there previously feel as though they may have made it all up...

The Asian restaurant at the southern end of town:

Fried wontons (with vegetables cooked in special sauce)! Spring Rolls! Beer! This restaurant is always full and the scent from the street is intoxicating. You will want to come back over and over again, but your poor wallet will think better of it.

Pluses:
This place flat out rocks. There are thousands of feet of undisturbed beach which provide the perfect vantage to watch the surfers slide in and out of the break along "La Punta" all day long. Days turn into dusk while staring in awe at a maze of kite-surfers catch air and magically not colliding with each other or their kite-less counterparts. Year round sun shines down on stretches of beach where the water is calm a mere 10 meters offshore, but still provides top-notch body-surfing as the waves break onto the sand. The local cuisine is diverse and topped-off by daily boatloads of fish. People come here and never leave.

Minuses:
In the afternoon the wind can pick up, making swimming a little less inticing. Aside from that, the nearby "thermal baths" will leave you wanting more than the 40 square foot mud pool has to offer. Also, moto-taxis are not ashamed to honk at you to solicit fare. Your patience will be tested as you are honked at from every direction, all day long.

Cochabamba, Bolivia

Getting there and away:
From Mancora, take a bus to Lima. Spend the night in a hostel in the center of the city (GI problems have been known to arise at this point, taking you to the bathroom every half hour). From Lima, take a bus to La Paz (for information on border crossing into Bolivia, see the section entitled Americans Crossing the Bolivian Frontier). From La Paz, take an overnight bus to Cochabamba. If you mistakenly book with the cheap company because they are the first ones you talk to (there are probably 30 different outfits that run the route), bring a blanket or two. Without climate control, travelling up to 15,000 feet in elevation, sitting next to a door that seems to open every 20 minutes, things can get a bit nipply.

Water for People Bolivia: Monitoreo

The recommended course of action as soon as you arrive in Cochabamba is to engage in a two week assignment through Water for People´s World Water Corps. The assignment will lead you to places you would never otherwise have seen, introduce you to people you will never forget, and provide a welcome boost to your spanish speaking frecuency, knowledge base, and comfort level.

More info to follow...