We're Home ... Here are Some Videos from the Trip

With the approach of Thanksgiving later this week, it's appropriate for us to express our gratitude for our many wonderful experiences in the mystical and spiritual world of the high Andes.

There were so many highlights, they're too numerous to share on a blog. But a few video highlights from throughout the trip are below.

Some standouts:

• The people. There was Lynda at the Corazon Cafe in Ollantatambo who lent us her computer to post our blog when ours went on the fritz. Pepe and Yolanda in Arequipa opened their home to us, fed us, made us homemade pisco sours, showed us their city and countryside and let us wash our clothes. Elaria on Amantani island gave us a room, cooked for us and made sure we didn't get lost in the dark on her island.
• The hikes. The best were the climb to to the top of Hyana Picchu (the mountain at Machu Picchu) and the north-to-south trek on Isla del Sol. But there also were spectacular hikes on Amantani and Taquile islands and in the Colcha Canyon. And the urban hikes in La Paz and Lima.
• The landscape. Machu Picchu should be on everyone's to-do list. But there also are many other jawdropping sites in the Sacred Valley, like the Moray agricultural terraces and the Salinas salt mine. And Lake Titicaca is so vast that you can't see the other side at times, but you can see the high Andes rising from the distance. And those peaks were everywhere we looked throughout our trip.
• The big cities of Lima and La Paz. The colonial architecture, the warm people, the great food, and just plain strolling the historical sites, neighborhoods and local markets.

Until next year ...

Machu Picchu: It should be on everyone's to-do list.

These are some local schoolkids in Aguas Caliente having a good time on the main square. Their enthusiasm was contagious.

This is Daniel. He gave us a private audience at the Throne of the Princess at the ruins of Pisac.

This band, at the tiny town of San Pablo, Bolivia, could give The Boss a run for his money. It took no breaks for at least 45 minutes and kept on going in the blazing sun. Bolivian Navy men and traditional women danced in the square.

This is the changing of the guard at the national palace in Lima. Listen to the cathedral bells in the background.

And finally, this was the scene at the cathedral after the changing of the guard.

La Paz: An Assault on the Senses (In a Good Way)

Again, another long post ... but the payoff is the photos at the bottom.

After leaving the paradise that is Isla del Sol, we ferried back to Copacabana and caught the early afternoon bus to La Paz, where we were overwhelmed by the noises (including firecrackers and bottle rockets), the Saturday crowds, traffic, diesel fumes, high-mountain heat, honking horns and paper-thin spaces between vehicles both large and small.

But first, a little about the bus ride. There was a delay of about 45 minutes where we had to get off the bus, take a ferry across a small channel, wait for the ferry to be barged over, then hop on again.

While waiting, a local band was blaring its music from the town square, while local women danced with what seemed like the entire Bolivian navy. This band could give The Boss to shame a run for his money: It never took a break the entire time we were there, belting out high-energy tunes in the blazing hot sun. A very enjoyable respite.

Then, on the outskirts of La Paz, it seemed the entire town was out for a festival and parade that seemed to stretch for three miles: bright, shiny local garb, lots of bands, traditional dancing, and plenty of traffic.

Just as we thought the traffic was so thick it could only be the big city of La Paz, we descended into a huge valley carpeted with brick and tile, plus several skyscrapers. At the bottom of the valley, after snaking through the narrow, crowded streets, we were let out a half-block from our hotel in the city center.

We quickly dropped our bags and set out for the teeming few blocks to the black magic market, where you can buy everything from llama fetuses to voodoo dolls. Pretty interesting stuff. And in case you're wondering, no, we did not buy anything.

La Paz is a great strolling city, as long as you have the lungs to handle the 12,000-foot altitude.

At 5:45 the next morning, we caught a taxi to the airport for the two-hour flight back to Lima, where we had a one-day layover before our red-eye back to Los Angeles.

We spent the day seeing the sights we didn't see on the first day of our journey.

What a blast. We joined a procession in honor of St. Francis Solano and watched the elaborate changing of the guard at the presidential palace that included mounted musician-soldiers in a highly choreagraphed presentation.

We ate at the famous El Cordano bar, where we had an amazing avocado stuffed with mashed potatoes and shrimp, and a plate of delicious calarmari. It was great to be on the ocean again for fresh seafood.

Then it was to the San Francisco church, famous for its catacombs lined with thousands of skeleton bones. Interesting -- yet macabre -- at the same time.

We ended our trip with  taxi ride the Barranco neighborhood, where we ate some of the most delicious food we've ever had: a whitefish with an artichoke puree, paired with a wonderful tempranillo/malbec blend from Argentina.

And the lemon merangue pie was simply the best; its merangue was served on the side, and the filling was torched, cream brulee-style.

To top it off, we toasted the close of another wonderful trip with a glass of cava from Spain.

Here are some pix from the past couple days:

That's our bus being barged across a narrow channel at San Pablo, on Lake Titicaca. Not sure why they don't just build a bridge, but we were delighted by the music and dancing at the town square overlooking the lake.  

 Here's the band at the other side of the channel. It never took a break and was hard charging the entire time we were there ... almost as much energy as a Springsteen concert. Note the traditional women dancing with navy officers. Good times.

 From the roof of our hotel in the highest capital in the world.

A typical street scene in La Paz. Note the overhead electrical lines; kiosk merchants simply tap into them. Surprising that we don't hear of more electrical mishaps.

The La Paz cathedral at dusk.

From our hotel roof; central La Paz is surrounded by the lights of the rest of the city. 

 

Now we're back in Lima. This is just a small part of the elaborate and entertaining changing of the presidential palace guard.

 Kind of eerie, we know. It's part of the catacombs under the San Francisco church. The bones are estimated to represent about 20,000 who died before the local cemetary was established.

The Lima cathedral. 

The stained-glass ceiling at the Gran Bolivar hotel, where we stopped for an espresso and water break. 

Isla del Sol is Breathtaking (Literally)

Warning to the reader: This post is little long. But we think you'll be rewarded with story and the photos at the bottom.

Like most of our experiences on this trip, it's difficult to find the right words to describe the splendor and richness of the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca.

But first, a little about how this part of our trip almost didn't happen, and the lesson we learned.

We left Puno, which is on the Peru side of Lake Titicaca, bound by bus for Copacabana, on the Bolivian side. Which means there's a border between the two, which means we should have known about what was in store for us.

Our guide book said we'd need 100 U.S. dollars each to get a visa for Bolivia. But our hotel in Puno said they did away with visas for Americans. Knowing how our ATM card is approved for use all over the world, we opted for the card over the cash.

Bad decision.

It turns out that neither our guide book nor our hotel was right: We needed 135 U.S. each. When we told the bus captain we didn't have the cash, he told us there's no ATM at the border crossing. It turns out that wasn't correct, either.

So here's how it went down at the border: Karen and the bus captain's assistant got off the bus about a mile before the actual crossing. They then made their way several blocks to the town square's only ATM, which rejected her withdrawal request twice. Someone inside the bank suggested she try doing two smaller withdrawals instead of one big one.

It worked, but she now had the equivalent of $270 in Peruvian soles, not U.S. dollars. And now she needed to catch up with Brad, who was snaking his way through two Peru offices with Karen's passport and paperwork in hand. Amazingly, the bus captain was able to convince the very stern officers to check Karen out of the country even though she wasn't there in person.

Meanwhile, Karen and the captain's assistant jumped in a motorized three-wheeled "cab," made their way to the crossing, and into a money exchange office, which turned the soles into dollars.

When we reunited, we were both okayed to exit Peru, and we had to run to the Bolivian immigration office, fill out our paperwork and fork over our $270 for our visas.

The lesson: Don't trust the guide books or hotel personnel. Do your own research and rely on official web sites.

So we got to Copacabana (definitely "not" the hottest place north of Havana) with enough time to buy boat tickets to Isla del Sol, hit the ATM for Bolivian currency, stroll the town's square and church, and get a bottle of Argentina malbec for the island.

The boat ride (we sat on the boat's roof with about 15 others from all over the world) to Isla del Sol is one of anticipation, as it is the Inkas'  birthplace of the sun. Despite the centuries, it still retains its mystical attraction.

We landed at Yumani, on the island's south side, and our packs were loaded onto two donkeys to make the mile-long trek to our lodge. The trail starts with about 300 steep steps straight up the mountain. At about 13,000 feet, we were instantly winded.

Once we got to our lodge, we weren't sure if we were winded from the elevation or the breathtaking sight before our eyes: vast, deep-blue Lake Titicaca with the snow-capped, high-Andean peaks seemingly rising from its shores.

We checked in, grabbed the camera, and made our way straight up the mountain (no switchbacks) for sunset shots of both the lake and the Andean mountains.

At the lodge's dinner, we were joined at our table by a Salvadoran couple who used to live in Los Angeles, and an Argentine couple. The Salvadorans became the table's official interpreters, and we enjoyed big laughs about our travels and our lives (the Argentine couple -- married for 47 years -- made no bones about the Viagra that was in store for them that night, even showing us his purple pills).

At 8 the next morning, we were met by Edwin, our 21-year-old guide, who took us for one of our favorite hikes ever, four hours from the southern to the northern tips of the island, with those breathtaking sights around every turn.

At the northern-most point of the island, we had our picnic lunch on a deserted beach, and Brad took a dip in the bracing-cold water.

We caught a boat back to Yumani, made the same breathtaking climb to our lodge as yesterday, and settled into the lodge's "lobby," overlooking the lake with the wine from Copacabana, some cheese from the Puno marketplace, and a bowl of potato chips from the lodge manager.

We leave this paradise tomorrow morning, ferrying back to Copcabana in time to catch the afternoon bus to La Paz, where we'll have only one night before catching a flight back to Lima.

Here are some pics from the past couple of days. As usual, they don't do the sights justice.

 When we arrived at Isla del Sol, our luggage was loaded on donkeys for the mile-long walk straight up the mountain to our lodge.

This is from our lodge.

 That's the Cordillera Real, the Bolivian Andes that seemingly rise from the lake.

 

We don't know what they're called, but they are some of the most unique flowers we've ever seen.

Near the start of our hike on Isla del Sol. That's Edwin on the left, our guide.

We were the only ones on this beach.

Brad added Lake Titicaca to his list of polar bear swims. Others are Iceland, the Irish Sea and Sicily.

The perfect spot for a picnic.

A typical sight on the island.

 Our room, overlooking the lake and the Cordillera Real.

While waiting for our ferry back to the mainland, the locals asked for a hand in relaunching another ferry that had just been refurbished. That's Brad, second from the left.

Wow. Just Plain Wow.

After overnighting in Puno, we made our way to the port, where we started our overnight trip to some of the islands of Lake Titicaca: Uros, Amantani and Taquile isalnds.

Staying in the home of an Amantani islander, Elaria, was a humbling experience: dirt-floored kitchen, tiny wood stove, no running water, but a very big heart.

Our hostess was Quechua, and Spanish was her second language. Since Spanish is, like, our sixth language, communication was basic, simple sentences. It's amazing, though, how much we could communicate in our different tongues.

Elaria fed us lunch, dinner and breakfast, gave us local garb so we could join the community dance at the "discotheque," and essentially showed us what it's like to live in this remote part of the world. We brought rice, sugar, noodles and a fresh pineapple from Puno to give to her. She was delighted with the pineapple, cradling it and saying "muy rica."

This morning, our boat took us to Taquile Island, where we walked about a mile and a half across the island, stopping in the main square for lunch and stopping every few hundred feet to marvel at the views.

We returned this afternoon to Puno, bought bus tickets for tomorrow morning to Copacabana, Bolivia, went to dinner on the main plaza (and had the best "view seats" in the city), and settled into our comfy hotel, the Casona Colon.

Copacabana isn't Barry Manilow's Copa. It's the jumping off point to visit Isla del Sol and Isla de la Luna on the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca. We're not sure what to expect in terms of wi-fi access, so it may be a couple more days until we're able to post again.

Until we are able to log on again, here are some pix from the past couple of days.

This woman invited us into her home on the "floating islands" of Uros on Lake Titicaca. The islands are ingeniously bundled reeds that support entire communities. Interesting that they have solar panels that enable TV, radio and Internet.

Karen loves being around water. Here, she's on her way to Amantani Island, where we''ll be staying with a local islander.

 

 Here's our Amantani hostess, Elaria, fixing us lunch of fried cheese, quinoa soup and potatoes.

This is the view from our room at Elaria's.

This was our mud-bricked home for the night. 

The local Amantani women (and a son), both knitting and gossiping.

Sunset from the Pachamama temple at the top of Amantani Island, with the Cordillera Oriente in the distance.

Still at the Pachamama Temple, just looking a different direction.

Elaria dressed us in local garb and lead us by flashlight on the trails to the local community center, or what they call their "discotheque." No, convertible pants and hiking boots are NOT part of the local garb.

Taquile Island has lots of these arches all over. But this one was the most interesting. That's Amantani in the distance.

 From the top of Taquile Island.

Back in Puno, this was the view from our alcove table at dinner.

 

An Awesome Journey to Lake Titicaca

So the other day, we're eating lunch in Chivay, in the Colcha Canyon, and a woman noticed that Brad was wearing a Big Sur Marathon shirt, and she said she ran it several years ago. We struck up conversation, and lo and behold, she lives in Thousand Oaks.

Amazing that you can be on the Edge of Nowhere and run into people from your own city.

Anyway, this morning we were up early and traveled deep into the Colcha Canyon (said to be twice the depth of the Grand Canyon), home of massive condors. This picture doesn't truly capture the majesty of the condor. As they swept in front of us, their size was simply amazing.

At lunch, we joined our new Thousand Oaks friends, Lucinda and Scott, for lunch on the main square of Chivay, and enjoyed great conversation, good food, and decent bottle of Peruvian wine.

After lingering a little too long over lunch, we had to rush to catch a new minivan bound for Puno, on Lake Titicaca. It was a 6-hour drive through the mountains, and we're now ensconced in our hotel at about 13,000 feet.

Since we arrived after dark, all we've seen are the twinkling lights of the city, but we're excited to see it in all its glory during the coming days.

On Tuesday, we are heading to a couple of islands, and will stay the night with a local family on one of them. Since there's no electricity or running water where we're going, we highly doubt they have wi-fi out there, so it may be a couple of days until we can post again.


Until then, here are a couple of photos from the day.

Yes, flamingos in the high Andes.

 

What do you call a cross between a llama and an alpaca. A llamaca?

Leaving the Colcha Canyon.

The Highest We've Ever Been

Today we both got higher than ever before ... 16,100 feet. It was on the way from Arequipa to the Colcha Canyon.

The rock marks 4,910 meters, or 16,100 feet.

Once in Colcha Canyon, we went for a hike from the town of Yanque ... here's it's main plaza:

 

And here's our group while on the hike:

 

Here's one of the local scenes along the hike:

And here's another one:

And finally, this is us, celebrating our 17th anniversary with a bottle of Cuzqueno beer ... who says we don't know how to live it up?

Finding New Friends in Stunning Places

After an overnight bus ride from Cusco, we arrived early in the morning on Saturday in Arequipa, and were met by our new friends, Pepe y Yolanda, the grandparents of a family friend in Charlotte, North Carolina.

They showered us with attention, drove us into the surrounding countryside, took us back their home for lunch, then took us back again to the historic city center, where we took in the sites and enjoyed a wonderful dinner overlooking the Plaza de Armas and the cathedral ... with fireworks in the background. And then they fixed us homemade pisco sours and gave us a warm bed for the evening.

It´s these kinds of special bonds that are forged while traveling that make it such a wonderful experience.

As we write this, we are rushing on Sunday morning to meet our guide for a two day excursion to the Colcha Canyon, and then on to Puno and Lake Titicaca. We´re not sure what kind of Internet access we´ll have for the next several days, so you may not hear from us. Just know we´re having a blast.

A couple pix from the past couple days...

Our wonderful Arequipa hosts, Pepe y Yolanda.

This is the Cuzco plaza, on our way to get our bags and catch our bus to Arequipa.

And on the Sixth Day, We Rested

After yesterday's hike-a-mania, we were content today to take it easy.

We did a 6 a.m. soak in the local thermal pools about a 10-minute walk out of town,  and we followed it up with dual massages in town, then a delicious lunch at a vegetarian restaurant.

After a quick run through the crafts market, caught the 3:30 train for Cusco, where we enjoyed a half-bottle of Peruvian cabernet It's not as bad as it sounds.

We arrived in the dark in Cusco, taxied to our hotel, and then walked to the main square, which has two cathedrals on it. 

Even Superlatives Aren't Enough for Machu Picchu

Neither words nor photos can possibly do Machu Picchu justice.

Seeing it, and feeling its energy, literally brings tears to your eyes.

But since we took more than 400 photos, we'll try to share a little bit of the experience.

The morning fog gives a mystical feel.

We had no idea we'd meet the Dolly Llama on this trip.

 In the afternoon, the fog lifted, revealing even more magnificence.

We climbed that mountain. Took three hours. We get our knee replacements when we get home.

We got to the site at 6:15 a.m. and got shooed out at 5 p.m. Our smiles at the end of the day say it all.

Anybody know a guide book publisher who needs a good pic?