Ruins

After a 10 hour drive in the Dragoman truck, aka Amber, and nice stop at the Sillustani ruins, we arrived in Puno, Peru. Puno sits on the shores of Lake Titicaca. Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable lake in the world and straddles both Bolivia and Peru.

We were all up bright and early the morning after we arrived in Puno to catch a boat out to the famous Uros floating islands. We flew down the steep hills of Puno on bicycle taxis to the port and hopped on the boat.

The Uros islands were fascinating. The islands are built from compacted reeds and literally float around Lake Titicaca. Originally, the Uros people built the floating islands to escape persecution on the mainland by the Aymara and Inca. Now the islands are set up mostly for tourism. It cheapens the experience a bit, but we all had fun sipping beers and sodas at the floating pub, 40 meters above the lake bottom.

Before no time we were back on Amber and headed for the border...

Because I am the only American traveler on this trip, I was the only one in need of a Bolivian visa at the border and had the honor of shelling out US$135 for the privilege. I have to say, crossing the border at Kasani was the most bizarre and amusing border crossing I've had so far. Promptly after collecting my money, the immigration officer had three "very important" questions for me: 1) Are you married? 2) Do you have a boyfriend? and 3) Since your friends have left you here, you should just stay here with me, verdad?

Granted, this conversation was conducted entirely in Spanish so my interpretation might be a little off, but needless to say, I was pretty happy when our guide, Ivan, aka "Frenchy", showed up and escorted me back to the truck!

Once through the border, we arrived shortly in Copacabana. This Bolivian town would never be mistaken for the Brazilian beach of Copacabana, but we managed to have a ton of fun there anyway! The night we arrived, Carnaval was in full swing in Bolivia. Carnaval involves parades, traditional dress, tons of fireworks, streamers, confetti, etc. The kids throw water balloons and squirt water guns at anyone and everyone. Amber, the truck, has taken quite a few hits over the last few days and I've had a water balloon or two explode at my feet. People chase each other with spray foam canisters, even in the shops.

Our group decided to join in on the festivities. We bought supplies and mixed up our own bucket of "Bolivian mojitos"...I think they had Fanta, Sprite, Pisco, Vodka and coco leaves...hmmm. Whatever they had in them, by dinner we were all dancing on the chairs of the restaurant, singing along to bad 80s tunes, covered in spray foam!

Most of us made it on to the boat the next morning to hike across the Isla del Sol. It was a dreary, wet and cold morning when we boarded the boat, but by the time we reached the island, the sun was shining.

Isla del Sol is legendarily the place where the Inca civilization was born. The puma stone, or Titicaca, sits up on top of the ridge, along with a sacrifice table. After we arrived on the island, we climbed up to the Titicaca and then hiked our way across to the other side of the island. We passed through 3 villages on our route. I would definitely recommend spending a night in one of the villages. We didn't have time on this trip, but they looked so quaint I wanted to stay a couple of nights. I hated leaving, but around 5pm, we boarded the boat and headed back to Copacabana.

After another day of overlanding, we are now in the crazy Bolivian capital of La Paz, with the sounds of fireworks ringing through the city in honor of carnaval!

If you want to see more photos, try this link:

https://picasaweb.google.com/112457896511557975831/PunoCopacopanaUrosIslaDelSol?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCN6f0NDDgu6UwAE&feat=directlink


Ciao,
Kelly

Lima, Cusco and Machu Picchu

It is hard to believe that I arrived in Peru less than 10 days ago. So many things have happened and I have already had numerous adventures (as well as some minor misadventures)! I arrived in Lima after a pleasant 4 hour flight from Managua. Carmen, a friend from my days at CIRI, arranged for me to stay with her brother in Lima for my short 24 hour visit there. The Lima airport was crazy, but luckily, Carmen´s brother arranged for a car to pick me up and to take me to Miraflores, an upscale part of Lima and the location of his apartment. I had a great time at Larcomar and in Miraflores with Jose and his girlfriend before moving on to Cusco!

Cusco is over 11,000 feet and I certainly felt the altitude when I had to climb the long set of stairs to my hotel. The weather was also quite a contrast to Nicaragua and to Lima. It was freezing! I met up with a couple of the people joining Dragoman and toured the city a bit. The central plaza was impressive even in the pouring rain.

Dragoman is a British adventure type tour group. The group I am joining started in Lima and will travel ultimately to Rio de Janerio, Brazil. The group is made up of folks from Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Australia, France, Holland, Great Britian, Scotland, and Egypt, ranging in age from 19 to 62. I am also joined by one other American woman but she is leaving the group tomorrow so I will be the sole American on the tour. That is just fine with me. Everyone in the group is extremely well traveled and has amazing stories. I am really enjoying getting to know such interesting people. My Spanish skills are not really going to improve with this group, but my Norwegian is getting better!

I spent the next three days on a beautiful and challenging trek on ancient Incan trails and through tiny mountain communities near Cusco and Pisaq, reaching heights over 15,000 feet. It was exhilerating and, literally, breathtaking. I have to admit that at the tops of the passes chewing the coco leaves really helped (or at least lifted my spirits!). I can´t even begin to describe the beauty of the mountain passes and our camping sites, as well as the people that live and farm in the area. I wanted to spend weeks more on those trails...On Day 3 we arrived at a wonderful hot springs and soaked our sore bodies in the soothing water. The trip was over and we were all tired and wet, but happy as well.

Yesterday we arrived at Machu Picchu. It was a mindblowing day! It is currently the wet season in Peru and consequently also the low season for tourism. However, at Machu Picchu, there were plenty of tourists and considering I hadn´t seen any tourists in several days, it was a bit jarring, but both the train ride and the site itself were magical and well worth the hassle of some overcrowding.

Machu Picchu really is one of the 7 wonders of the world. I went on a three hour cultural tour that took us all over the site and then spent the rest of the day just wandering around and staring. Clouds and rain storms passed through quickly and alternated with blazing sun. It was simply a thrill to be there and I hated leaving.

Today we are all exploring more of Cusco and catching up on laundry. I can´t believe how dirty everything I own is! Tomorrow I am moving on to Puno, Peru.

If you are interested in seeing more photos, try this link:
https://picasaweb.google.com/112457896511557975831/February172012?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJHSjNOqp7eYCw&feat=directlink

Ciao,
Kelly

Sacapuntes!

Sacapuntes! It sounds like a great swear word, doesn´t it! It is really means pencil sharpener, but it was our favorite word to use in Nicaragua (or Nica as everyone says).





With our bandaged feet and 50 pound Rubbermaid "action packers," Meaghan and I boarded the Coastal Challenge bus after the race. Unlike the rest of the group going to San Jose, Meaghan and I headed for the Nicaraguan border armed only with our pidgeon Spanish skills. Luckily, Meaghan managed to convince the race director and race doctor to join us on our Nicaraguan journey. Neither spoke Spanish (we quickly found out), but we let them tag along nonetheless!





The border was crazy. Apparently, we arrived at the lunch hour and it was classic, long, hot and seemingly disorganized. After talking we a few gringos, we decided to do exactly what the guidebooks strongly discourage doing and decided to use one of the "expediters" trolling the area. Our race director, Timmy, took the lead and disappeared in a sea of people for what seemed forever. Eventually, he appeared with our stamped passports and we walked into Nicaragua!





We spent the next week or so with Meaghan´s cousin Bryce and his fiance Elisa at their surf camp in Playa Gigante. Karl, Anthony and Anthony`s friend Steve joined the group for a week of sun soaking, hammock swinging, and Tona and Flor de Cana drinking. The seas were flat and there was no surfing to be had, but we managed to entertain ourselves quite well in that easy going beach town.

After Meaghan and gang left, Karl and I set out to explore more of Nica. We first headed to the island of Ometepe to see the two volcanos, Conception and Madera.

We met up with a friend of Elisa´s in the port town of Moyogalpa. Moyogalpa was a busy, noisy place so we quickly moved on to the more tranquil Santa Domingo. We stayed at a great place on the lake, hiked to a waterfall one day and slogged up and down Volcan Madera the next day. It was a muddy, beastly hike, but our guide (you are required to hire one) was fantastic and entertained us the entire 8 hours.

Next, Karl and I headed to Granada. According to the locals, it is the oldest city in Central America, continuously inhabitated since 1524. We toured the area for a couple of days and then headed to Masaya where we shopped at the central market and toured the sulfer belching Volcan Masaya. You can drive right up to the active cratr, but have to park facing out "just in case."

Nicaragua is a wild and adventurous place that I hope to return to someday. The people were extremely friendly, it wasn´t overly touristy and although extremely poor, it is a very charmy spot.

Next up, Cusco and Machu Picchu!

Ciao,
Kelly

The Coastal Challenge

After clearing customs and stumbling around trying to figure out where to go next, I heard a voice say, "Looks like you're going our way." And so...I met Jen and Florencia. These two ladies from Miami adopted me for the next two days and provided me with invaluable advice about the days ahead on the route of the Coastal Challenge.

The Coastal Challenge is a 6 day running stage race through Costa Rica. The route changes every other year - one jungle route and a volcano route. This year's route was the volcano route, or "route of fire."

The first challenge of the Coastal Challenge came unexpectedly and even before the race started. Meaghan finally arrived from Alaska 4 hours before the race start. After a boxed breakfast of eggs, rice and beans from the local Denny's, we set off in the race bus at 4am. The bus driver negotiated 3 hours of winding roads to La Fortuna, home of the sacred volcano Arenal. On Day 1, we navigated over 15 miles and 5,000 feet of elevation. We ran through beautiful rainforests, ending at Rancho Margo, a self-sustaining farm and eco-lodge.

Days 2 and 3 were our longest traverses of back-to-back 22 mile runs and 4,500 to 5,000 of elevation. We were in tropical rainforests, eventually leading us to dry, dusty farm roads and high wind areas with windmill farms. Meaghan and I were so mesmorized by the windmills that we actually missed the first turn of the longest day of the race, adding an additional 2 miles to our overall distance.

Day 4 brought us to a more arid part of Costa Rica. After spending the night in a church yard, we ran along a hot, dry road for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, we entered into a beautiful canyon. At one point, the trail ended and we had to make a choice to either scale a wall or swim. It was a no-brainer for me. I jumped in immediately and starting swimming up-river. I assumed Meaghan was following me, but when I looked back she was clutching the side of the rock wall. For some reason, she was a little more hesitant to make the 10 foot plunge into the river. All ended well when, after some "coaxing," she jumped in and enjoyed the refreshing water. The day ended at an amazing waterfall.

At the end of both Days 5 and 6, we arrived at deserted beaches along the coast. Each day came with a price. The heat index was well over 100 degrees both days.

All in all, we ended up traversing 97 miles and coming in 2nd place in the Adventure division. We never would have made it through without the awesome volunteers and race staff, foot doctors for our blistered feet (Thanks Dougy) and all of our electrolyte replacements for these two cold-blooded Alaskans.