my mom and dad arrived on a Saturday at around 9am. i opted to meet them at their hotel since they had a ridiculously early arrival. it was SO GOOD to see a familiar face. i mean sure Alice has been here this entire time and i at one point saw Aaron Goodman but no one from my burlington home or anything. it was excellent. i love them. they were exhausted but wanted to walk around so we went to my departamento and i showed them where i live. after that, they were hungry so we walked down the street to Domino and had our first typical Chilean meal which consisted of Completo Italianos and Completo Dinamicas. they marveled at the amount of avocado on their respective dogs and i simply said it was only the beginning. after a hearty and filling meal my parents (as they typically do), took naps. both because the meal was filling and that they'd just flown a good 18 or so hours. so we took that short break for a while.
later in the day before the sun went down we took the metro to Quinta Normal and i showed them all around the park. we even saw parts of the park that i had never seen before. they were still pretty beat but i think they enjoyed seeing all the museos and little kids in that area. after that it was a very short walk to Peluqueria Francesa (the barbershop converted into a restaurant) and had dinner there. dad and i got some sandwiches with black olives, palta, tomato, and i think turkey? my mom got an ensalada and a crepe filled with crab meat (per my recommendation). while eating we talked about toilet paper in the wastebasket and other Chilean quirks. once we finished we walked home. on the way back to my depto we saw a man juggling sticks of fire in the street. earlier in the day we saw another guy juggling cleavers. welcome to chile, guys. for dessert we went to Bravissimo and my parents had helados there. my mom tried a manjar flavored one and loved it. glad they got to see the ice cream store because it's a huge part of my existence in Chile. they passed out very shortly after arriving back at their hotel. i went back to my depto and did the same.
the next day was our first big giant day of Chile. we got up early and i met them at the hotel. they were now fully rested which was good because this day was going to be a full fledged day of walking. we began by taking the metro to La Vega. basically because i needed food and wanted to show them the giganticly awesome market there. while there, i bought green peppers, red peppers, carrots, cereal, pasta, apples and oranges. typical day at La Vega and a totally successful trip. it clocked in at just under an hour so i took this opportunity to show them Bio Bio. this is the market that's like La Vega except instead of food, it just has stuff. since it was only open on saturday and sunday i felt like i had to take this opportunity. while there we bought some clothes for Chelsea which, i gotta say, are pretty bad ass. also, they're from Chile so now she's got a good story to go with it. we also glanced at some furniture and laughed at how Bio Bio has the most random shit ever like blender parts, spider man coloring books and guns (all within about 10 feet of each other).
after Bio Bio, we were very close to Palacio Cousino so i decided to show them that place. we took a really quick tour of the richest house in Chile and, as i suspected, my parents absolutely loved it. if you think I take a lot of pictures when i travel, you should see theirs! at least double. but yeah. they loved it. once we finished that tour it was getting close to lunch time so we went to an empanada stand that was very close to Palacio Cousino and my parents had their first empanadas. we all went with napolitana style ones and we all got postres afterward. so delicious. it was also a beautiful day. did i mention how lucky we were with weather? the only thing that was kind of weird was that a homeless guy threw a cup of coffee at a car while we were eating. he didn't bother us but he looked crazy. at any rate, once we were done eating we continued our journey.
we were very close to this awesome walkway that led back into central Santiago (we were in the southern part). we passed many fountains and spotted a lot of typical beautiful graffiti in Santiago. i chose this particular walkway because it led to La Moneda. my parents were pleasantly surprised to learn that Chile's president is a woman. they took many pictures of the yard in front of and behind the building. we took a quick trip to the Bano in the Museo attached to La Moneda and went on our way. i led them down Paseo Ahumado to Plaza De Armas. luckily, the giant amazing church was open so we went inside and looked around in there a little bit. grandiose catholic stuff. y'know. typical church with amazing artwork. i knew my mom would like it because of her catholic past. she did. after Plaza De Armas we took a quick walk to Bellas Artes. since the entry to this museo is free on sundays, we took a tour. it wasn't anything new for me but my parents loved the artwork and sculptures there. there was a cool multi-media presentation of the universe there.after our afternoon tour of Santiago's sites, we decided to try to get up Cerro San Cristobal to watch the sunset. we hopped in a cab to get to Bellavista. cabs are such an insane concept to me in this city. mainly because they cost an arm and a leg and i'm all about saving money here. but my parents didn't mind and they could use the break from walking. i felt bad because i felt like i was marching them through this city without breaks. but in the end, they did see a lot so overall i'm happy about it. in bellavista we recharged our batteries by getting some coffee. at this point, Alice called my cell phone and invited us over to her place for once. we graciously ditched the San Cristobal idea (it was cloudy any ways), bought some bread and headed over to Alice's. she made us some palta and we spread it on bread. it was delicious. she told us all about her trip to Cajon De Maipo which i'm not going to elaborate about here but let me just say that it was not so excellent. after once, we decided to try and hit up the Peruvian place on Manuel Montt but unfortunately it was closed. probably because it was a Sunday (duh, Josh). so we changed our mind and decided to go to Tiramisu for dinner. we tried taking a bus but it brought us to a really out-of-the-way area so we took a cab again (2 cabs in one day!! i would NEVER think of doing that!). they, of course, loved Tiramisu, as i do. except it took us forever to get a table and we ended up waiting at the bar for like 15 to 20 minutes. otherwise it was great. once we were done with that meal, it was bed time for us all. not bad for only day 2 eh? :)
the next day was understandably more relaxed. my mom wanted to buy me new pants and shoes that day so we made that our goal for the morning. after realizing that Paris (Chile's version of Target) was closed, we went to Castano and had coffee to recharge batteries. they were shocked to learn that virtually all coffee in Chile is instant, even though on the menu it says "tradicional". once Paris opened, we were a little unsuccessful in finding shoes but we bought some pants. the pair of shoes we did find we weren't sure about, so we decided to look elsewhere. it was then that my dad's foot started hurting so we browsed through 5 or 6 pharmacies to find something that would help. after a lot of charades and probably horrible Spanish, my dad found a bandage to wrap around his foot. while he applied this bandage, my mom and i went back into Paris and simply purchased the shoes that we were going to buy earlier. they're not bad. they get the job done and they're good for hiking. after that, we hopped a bus to the grocery store to buy some food for me. while on the bus, a guy got on and played guitar while another one sang. i see this type of stuff every day but it was really awesome that my parents got to see it. in Lider, i bought WAY more food than i needed (including a shitload of chocolate). my dad took a picture of the supermarket and got yelled at by the security guard to put his camera away. he almost got it taken from him! so yeah. FYI: don't ever take photos in Lider.once everything was all set, it was lunch time. so we decided to get some sushi :). we ended up going to a place called Too Much Japanese. I've been there before but i don't think i've written about it here. this place has gotten me converted. i now love sushi. i think it was the minute i had sushi with avocado and sushi with cream cheese that i was sold. i've been told that place is "nothing like sushi in the united states" so it figures. but still. at any rate, we got a delicious platter of about 20 rolls of sushi for us all to share. it was absolutely delicious.
our secondary goal for the day was to explore Santa Lucia. i knew this was an "all afternoon" adventure so we headed that way pronto. Santa Lucia was beautiful as always (another amazing weather day). we ventured allll the way to the top of Santa Lucia at the red castle where you get a nice panoramic view of the city. after the hike down we took a taxi (again) to get to Bellavista (again) to see Cerro San Cristobal (again). as we walked down Pio Nono, i showed them the various clubs in the area that i've been to including "Jammin" and "Amnesia". the latter of the two included a mandatory "i forget what happened at that club" joke. at the end of Pio Nono, the funicular took us to the to of Cerro San Cristobal (no way we were climbing that thing). we walked a lot of stairs and had a Mote de... something. i forget the name. it had like nuts and pears and iced tea in it. oh well. it was gross anyways. once we reached the top we got the trademark beautiful view of Santiago as the sun was setting. my parents took approximately 764756374522432932719327529756 pictures up here. once the sun had beautifully set, we reversed directions back to the bottom of the hill and took a cab (!) back to my departamento. it was rush hour so it took a bit longer than expected but we made it.
Alice met up with the three of us and my new room mate Erica joined us for a dinner that i cooked. while cooking, my mom hemmed my pants because apparently they don't make pants anywhere that have the correct length to match the width. we sat down to eat a colorful assortment of food for dinner that included ground beef, cheese, tortillas, red peppers, green peppers, carrots, sour cream, mediana salsa (which is a rarity in Lider grocery stores, by the way) and to end it all, a DELICIOUS ice cream cake that i bought from Lider to try for the first time ever as our dessert. so good. definitely buying it in the future. after that totally successful dinner, we went our separate ways and got some sleep to prepare for the arduous journey of day 4...
the next morning we got up super early to catch the metro to Estacion Central to catch the bus to Vina Del Mar. they got to experience the heart of rush hour in Santiago. we didn't even have room for the three of us to get on the first train so we waited for the second one and shoved our way in. we gasped for air as we pressed against the glass doors. i'm so glad my parents got to experience this as it is what i deal with every monday and wednesday morning. once at Estacion Central, we hopped on a bus and we were on our way to Vina Del Mar!.... until our bus broke down. Condor is usually a really great bus line but not today apparently. fortunately, another bus met up with us in about 15 minutes and we were on our way again. this time we actually made it to Vina Del Mar. we walked through the busy town and down the beach. we ended up seeing some sand sculptures of Homer Simpson and my mom found a rock for my aunt louie. we also got some awesome honey roasted nuts to munch on as we walked. once our hour-and-a-half walking tour of the city and coast of Vina Del mar was done, we hopped on a bus to get to Valparaiso. of course, the one time i use this bus, there is road work and it takes forever to get through. what is it with my luck with vehicles for this trip?
at any rate, we eventually made it to Valpo and walked through the town seeing many shops and markets until we found Jota Cruz, the birthplace of the now legendary Chilean food, the Chorrillana. this was where we ate lunch. we also ran into Alice's friend Marissa and her family while we were there so that was cool. after the filling, delicious greasefest that is the Chorrillana, we opted to walk off what we just ate. this involved taking ANOTHER funicular up to the top of the hill in Valparaiso. we saw a view of the coast, many colorful houses and artistic tile work that is typical of this city. they walked down the stairs and hidden passageways until we reached the bottom once again. exploring this area, we found a fun little park to sit in and observe many people out and about. the sun was beginning to set, so we took this as our cue to head back to Santiago.after a short bus ride, we got off at Pajaritos (which is apparently NOT closed) and took the metro from there allllll the way down Linea 2 to get back to Manuel Montt for attempt #2 at getting to this Peruvian place. fortunately it WAS open! Alice met up with us there and we ate hearty and delicious food in preparation of my mom, my dad and my journey to Peru the next day. it was a delicious farewell dinner for Chile. after under 4 days, i felt completely satisfied with everything i had shown my family.
the next morning i had arranged for a private car to bring us to the airport (vastly cheaper than a cab). we had to get up at 4am to catch a 7am flight to Lima, Peru. from Lima, we transferred to another flight that brought us to Cusco. we ended up actually arriving in Cusco in the afternoon. from this point on in the trip, Condor Travel basically severely held our hand transporting us from one place to another and telling us EXACTLY what we needed to and could do. because of the dramatic altitude change and the lack of sleep, we were all feeling a bit off so we made it a casual evening. we went out for dinner at this place right next to our hotel. they had pizza and i opted for that because the golden rule with my stomach is that if it's upset, it requires simple things. however, since we were in Peru, i decided to spice up my pizza a bit by putting Alpaca meat on it. i've had it before in San Pedro but it was absolutely delicious on pizza. after this we went to bed (at like 7pm) and i was OUT like a light. i didn't wake up until like 8am the next morning. my parents were not so lucky. they had trouble sleeping and it took them a while to get used to the insane altitude of the city.
the next day in Peru was spent doing some sightseeing in Cusco. in the morning we got driven to a llama farm and got to feed llama, alpaca and vicuna. the domestic animals in Peru are basically infinite. we saw so many llama, donkeys and cows. the farm was really fun but it was only stop one for the morning. we got driven to an Incan market about an hour from Cusco and i bought an incredibly fly jacket there. i also bought some necklaces for alice. my dad bought some instruments and my mom bought gifts for virtually everyone in the universe. it was fun there because i got to barter with the people selling things in Spanish. i spoke so much Spanish while my folks visited. it was awesome to impress them with my knowledge and fluency of the language. on our way to the market we stopped at a point that overlooked a small village near a river in the Sacred Valley. i think this is personally notable since the village itself resembles the village from Princess Mononoke that Ashitaka met the Japanese munk in. but at any rate, back to the trip.a funny thing happened with our lunch. we had to catch a van that was leaving a little after 1pm. it was currently 12:15 so we thought we could "grab a quick lunch" somewhere and be on our way. we found a place, sat down and ordered food. we waited and waited until about 1pm and then just said "hey can we get this to go and get the check?". they gave me a look when i said this because it is hilariously uncommon in South America to a) order things "to go" and b) ask for the check very shortly after you receive your food, let alone before it even arrives. so we grabbed our to gos, paid for the food and headed back to the hotel lobby (our meeting point) only to realize that my parents forgot to set their watches back an hour and that it was actually noon. so we had a picnic in the hotel lobby with our food. the staff was actually really friendly and brought us utensils.
our bus arrived at 1:10pm and we began our afternoon tour of Cusco. this began with a short ride to THEIR plaza de armas (not as cool as Chile's. sorry) and the church there (which was actually pretty cool). the church had a FREAKING GIGANTIC decorated thing at the head of the hall. it was especially notable because it was decorated in gold. the sculpture itself had to be worth a small fortune. after the church, we went to (and i'm definitely spelling this wrong but the pronunciation is correct) "Sexywoman". this was a small area of ruins near Cusco that included a mumification chamber (totally sweet) as well as some amazing marvels in Incan architecture. very cool area.that evening we ordered from the same restaurant as the night before and they offered to bring our food to the room when it was ready due to the proximity of this restaurant to our hotel (roughly 20 feet from the entrance). i watched a documentry on the making of X-Men Origins: Wolverine and had (legit) the same thing i ordered the night before: alpaca pizza (it's really good! i'm telling you!). we crashed shortly after that and woke up super early for the next leg of our journey which waaaaaaaaaaaaas...
MACHU PICCHU
we got up mega early (5:15) and a van drove us through this beautiful part of the sacred valley to a town called Ollyantambo. along the way we saw many small towns in Peru that included people getting ready to start the day and domesticated wildlife galore. a particularly notable thing i saw was a little girl standing outside brushing her teeth next to a pipe coming from the ground spewing out water. once we arrived to the train station it was only a short wait and then we got on what seemed like a millionaire's train. the insides all had individual seats that were awesomely comfortable chairs that could have belonged in any dining room of mr. burns's mansion. on the train we met a dutch couple on their honeymoon. they were planning on walking the Inca trail which is a 2-5 day hike through the Incan ruins and mountains of Peru leading to Machu Picchu. not for us! we'll take the train ALL THE WAY there, thanks. while on the train we also head pan flute music (present virtually everywhere in Peru) that covered modern rock songs (these covers are also present everywhere in Peru). it was a beautiful train ride that showed an awesome progression from desert plains near Cusco to heavily vegetated areas near Machu Picchu.
our train stopped in Aguas Callientes (yes. this town is legit called "hot water"). this is a HUGE tourist area as it is at the foot of the mountain that Machu Picchu is on. once there, we purchased ridiculous looking hats for protection from the sun. we also applied layers of sunscreen and Deet (bug protection). piece of advice if you ever go to Machu Picchu, these things are an ABSOLUTE MUST. i mean, we had a good amount of both on so we didn't get sunburned. but the bugs... oh god the bugs... i mean... it's technically the gateway to the amazon so... well.. just bring something to protect you from the bugs. you will be glad you did. we checked into our hotel and wasted no time, hopping on a bus that would take us to the top of the mountain to see the ruins (30 minute bus ride). after we met up with our tour guide, we headed into the park.
guys... Machu Picchu is, without a doubt, one of the COOLEST places i have ever been to. there are ruins that are a marvel of architecture placed at the top of a mountain. there is a lot of wildlife. there is a lot of vegetation. there are breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains. and one of the coolest parts? everything in this village is a complete mystery and left to interpretation. despite this, our tour guide showed us around and offered the best "theories" for each of the sculptures and rooms in the areas. this was cool, but if you really know me, you will know that one of my passions is exploring new areas. and sitting there in that tour being carted around this beautiful place made me feel like Roscoe on a leash when he sees a dozen hamsters doing jumping jacks just out of his reach. i had to explore. unfortunately, we did not have time to do this on this day. that's not o say it wasn't a good day! i saw a lot of cool stuff! but i needed more. and i would soon get it. after our guided tour, we sat down to an amazingly plentiful and totally delicious buffet at the hotel next to the ruins. ot was here that i tried Inca Cola for the first time ever. it's a drink found everywhere in Peru and in some places in South America that tastes a lot like Cream Soda. it was my new addiction and i had it with almost every meal after that.
that night, my mom and dad went to the touristy markets of Aguas Callientes and bought more gifts for virtually everyone in the known universe. after that, my dad and i decided to sample the hot springs in town. we figured it had to be cool since the town was called "Aguas Callientes". once we bought our tickets we walked for about 15 minutes until we got to a pool area that was tiled and separated from the actual river. the water was a little warm but not ridiculously hot or anything. while there, my dad and i met some other travelers there and we discussed the other parts of South America. overall, those hot springs were sub par. nowhere near as awesome as the ones in San Pedro. but still, it was a cool experience. after that we all went to a crazy restaurant and got insane amounts of food. my dad ordered Guinea Pig and we all sampled it. the thing looked hilarious. like Wile E. Coyote after being blown up by some failed attempt at catching the roadrunner with ACME dynamite. during that meal we also had Sopa De Palta and a stuffed Palta appetizer thing (might as well embrace it if you're in South America). i had an hamburguesa that had barely any meat on it and a lot of peppers. still good though. i forget what my mom had. the guinea pig overall was good, but nothing spectacular. the skin was the weirdest part. it tasted strange. oh well. now i can say i've had it. for dessert my dad and i had a Banana Split (it was a "Banana Spit" on the menu). at the end of this meal, my parents didn't have enough cash for the meal so they had to walk to an ATM that was like a quarter mile away and leave me at the restaurant as payment in case they didn't return.
the hotel we stayed at (and probably most of the hotels/hostels in the surrounding area) asked us to keep our windows closed at night so the bugs wouldn't get in. this would have been fine except it was ridiculously hot and there were no fans or air conditioners in our room. we had a rough night of sleeping but somehow made it through. woohoo!
the next morning we got up VERY early (4:30) to catch the bus to the top of Machu Picchu to watch the sun rise as we begin day 2 in this park. the line for the bus was very long and it was raining. when we finally made it to the top it was too cloudy to see the sun. but you know what? WHO CARES! WE WERE IN MACHU PICCHU! and also, the clouds gradually lifted as the day progressed so it was cool to see the mountains around the area being peeled of their cloudy prison. today was the day i had wanted. i explored explored explored explored explored those ruins. i found a LOT of cool stuff. every once in a while i would turn a corner and see a 3,000 foot drop. it was awesome. also while up in this park, i saw llamas, lizards, hummingbirds and chinchillas. all of them so cute. the llamas stayed in a green area to feed mostly but at one point they decided to take a walk. they went into the ruins and were walking among the many tourists there. i followed them for a while and recorded a movie. it was so great.
i met up with my folks at around 9:30 to regroup and see if we needed more time to explore. my answer was basically "um, absolutely". so we departed again and i explored solo once more. this time, however i was feeling a little braver than before and followed a trail that led off from the park to an Incan bridge. now, let me clarify something here. this trail was DANGEROUS AS HELL. it was on the side of a mountain. the trail was about as wide as my dining room table. one side was the wall of a mountain and the other? cliff. legit. i have insane pictures to prove i did it. at one point, the path was so narrow that there was a rope on the mountain wall to help you along so you could regain some balance and not fall off the cliff. this was terrifying but really satisfying. i truly conquered my fear of heights that day. once i arrived back at Machu Picchu, i was at the top of this hill that was their "observatory" and i could see it all. i felt this was a perfect finale to my stay here so i went to meet up with my parents.
we decided to have lunch at a restaurant near AC's Plaza De Armas (pretty cool but still not as cool as Chile's :). we got a pizza with garlic, black olives and i think choriso on it. the real awesome part about this meal though was our drinks. we got this juice that is very common in Peru called "Chicha Morada". if you ever go to Peru, this drink is an absolute must. it's a purple juice that looks like kool aid but is actually very good for your heart. it's made from purple corn and something else that i can't remember. and it's absolutely delicious. have it. seriously.
the train ride back was a lot different than the train ride there. first of all, our carriage looked a lot more like a train. leather seats connected to the floor. plastic walls. the coolest part of this train was that it was called the "Vista Dome". it sounded like we were about to throw down with Hulk Hogan. at any rate, we sat with this guy named Edgar with this tour group called Metropolitan Tours. all throughout the train ride we got a nice little tour of the things that we were passing on the way back to Cusco courtesy of this guy. he also told us a lot about his Ketch-wan heritage. he speaks Ketch-Wan, English and Spanish but if he ever meets anyone that's Spanish, he tells them that he only speaks Ketch-Wan and English in an effort to force them to speak Ketch-Wan and "bring back" his language. i think that's bad ass. also during this train ride, we got treated to a fashion show. this included one dude dressed in Incan clothing dancing madly and lots of people walking down the aisle dressed in various alpaca wool while techno blared in the speakers. this was kind of cool but didn't really feel authentic. more touristy. still ok though.
once we got back to Cusco we quickly learned that my dad had lost his phone (which was really nice like an iphone) on the train and my mom had almost lost her wallet. ah well. can't keep track of everything. there are worse things to lose. like people. we took the advice of one of our tour guides and went to a place in Cusco for dinner called "Chicha". while there we of course ordered Chicha Moradas. i of course ordered Inca Cola after that. for dinner that night i had something that i THINK is called "Ocopa". it's described as the "Queen of Peruvian Sauces". it was definitely unlike any sauce i've ever had before. kind of tasty but not really my thing.
the next morning we got up early again to catch our bus/flight back to Lima. we arrived in Lima at around lunch time. we checked into my parents' hotel and then went and got some seafood that Edgar recommended we try in Lima. now, i'm not a huge fan of seafood but i heard that they had chicken there so we went any ways. once we arrived the first thing the waitress said to us was "no chicken and no fries today". despite this, i wanted to tough it out for my folks that wanted to try the seafood here. i ended up getting fried shrimp and fried potatoes (they don't have fries but they have fried potatoes?) that came complete with a seashell full of mayonnaise. it was DELICIOUS. my parents got something called serv iche which is raw fish soaked in lime juice. definitely not for me but they seemed to enjoy it.
after lunch we decided to explore Lima and found a very cool area near the beach that was like an outdoor shopping area. Lima is a lot like if Santiago and Vina Del Mar had a baby that spoke Spanish in a way that was actually intelligible. We saw a lot of people paragliding by the beach and it reminded me of my trip to Mendoza. we even saw one guy paragliding with a giant cow statue in his harness the silhouette of this against the sun is hilarious because it looks like a cow is paragliding. we had some postres at a restaurant next to the ocean. my dad and i had tres leches cake. my mom had a gigantic thing that i think was literally translated as "crazy chocolate". it's a beautiful place that overlooked the beach. after a small detour back to the hotel to regroup and relax, we were off again to that same area to have dinner at the same place we had eaten dessert (reverse reverse). i had a club sandwich, my mom had prawn and my dad had... i forget. i of course enjoyed some Inca Cola. possibly the last i would have on this trip.
that night at 8pm we had to meet at the hotel because a cab was picking me up to go back to the airport and catch a flight from Lima to Buenos Aires to Santiago. i said my goodbyes to my parents and i was off. i have so much fun with them and can't wait to see them again in 3 months. it was also cool for them to not only see a piece of my life in Chile but to share that unforgettable experience in Machu Picchu. They are great.
my journey back to Santiago was eventful enough to write about here. the cab ride was a 45 minute conversation entirely in Spanish with my cab driver. he told me he drives a cab at night but works a number crunching job in an office all day. he has no desire to go to the United States but would love to visit Jamaica. it was really nice to have a conversation in Spanish with someone that didn't talk like the micro machines man on cocaine. upon my arrival to the airport, i went straight to the counter to check the one bag i had. now... let me explain something. my flight on my ticket that i printed out said "11:30pm". when i got to the airport it was like 9:00 so i figure "sweet. i have plenty of time". i get my ticket and it says my flight is at 9:30. CRAP! i magically got through customs and security by 9:20 and sprinted to my gate on the other side of the airport only to realize that a different plane was there. i checked the TV screens and it said MY flight was arriving at a gate on the OTHER side of the airport at 9:30. awesome. i then sprinted to this gate only to realize that it was behind these locked and alarmed glass doors. WTF??? i was like "there's no way i'm getting on this flight". so i explained my situation to a security guard there and he was like "oh yeah. that must have been a mistake. your flight is arriving at 11:30". really? whatever. i ended up running into a woman from Switzerland and Austrailian teacher that had just done the Inca trail so we swapped stories and that was fun. my plane finally arrived and i flew to Buenos Aires. you know, for a country where the dollar is supposed to convert really well, shit is expensive in their airport. even with USD currency. oh well. caught my second flight and then arrived back in Santiago.
when i got back to my departamento, i realized that this trip to Peru and time with my family reminded me that Santiago really is my home. even though it's only for 3 more months, i'm looking forward to the remainging time i have here seeing the south of Chile, seeing Prodigy live in 2 weeks, and potentially revisiting Vina, Valpo and Mendoza. plus everything in between. i had fun and it was a ncie vacation but i'm ready for whatever's ahead in this home stretch. vamos vamos vamos.
we got up mega early (5:15) and a van drove us through this beautiful part of the sacred valley to a town called Ollyantambo. along the way we saw many small towns in Peru that included people getting ready to start the day and domesticated wildlife galore. a particularly notable thing i saw was a little girl standing outside brushing her teeth next to a pipe coming from the ground spewing out water. once we arrived to the train station it was only a short wait and then we got on what seemed like a millionaire's train. the insides all had individual seats that were awesomely comfortable chairs that could have belonged in any dining room of mr. burns's mansion. on the train we met a dutch couple on their honeymoon. they were planning on walking the Inca trail which is a 2-5 day hike through the Incan ruins and mountains of Peru leading to Machu Picchu. not for us! we'll take the train ALL THE WAY there, thanks. while on the train we also head pan flute music (present virtually everywhere in Peru) that covered modern rock songs (these covers are also present everywhere in Peru). it was a beautiful train ride that showed an awesome progression from desert plains near Cusco to heavily vegetated areas near Machu Picchu.our train stopped in Aguas Callientes (yes. this town is legit called "hot water"). this is a HUGE tourist area as it is at the foot of the mountain that Machu Picchu is on. once there, we purchased ridiculous looking hats for protection from the sun. we also applied layers of sunscreen and Deet (bug protection). piece of advice if you ever go to Machu Picchu, these things are an ABSOLUTE MUST. i mean, we had a good amount of both on so we didn't get sunburned. but the bugs... oh god the bugs... i mean... it's technically the gateway to the amazon so... well.. just bring something to protect you from the bugs. you will be glad you did. we checked into our hotel and wasted no time, hopping on a bus that would take us to the top of the mountain to see the ruins (30 minute bus ride). after we met up with our tour guide, we headed into the park.
guys... Machu Picchu is, without a doubt, one of the COOLEST places i have ever been to. there are ruins that are a marvel of architecture placed at the top of a mountain. there is a lot of wildlife. there is a lot of vegetation. there are breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains. and one of the coolest parts? everything in this village is a complete mystery and left to interpretation. despite this, our tour guide showed us around and offered the best "theories" for each of the sculptures and rooms in the areas. this was cool, but if you really know me, you will know that one of my passions is exploring new areas. and sitting there in that tour being carted around this beautiful place made me feel like Roscoe on a leash when he sees a dozen hamsters doing jumping jacks just out of his reach. i had to explore. unfortunately, we did not have time to do this on this day. that's not o say it wasn't a good day! i saw a lot of cool stuff! but i needed more. and i would soon get it. after our guided tour, we sat down to an amazingly plentiful and totally delicious buffet at the hotel next to the ruins. ot was here that i tried Inca Cola for the first time ever. it's a drink found everywhere in Peru and in some places in South America that tastes a lot like Cream Soda. it was my new addiction and i had it with almost every meal after that.
that night, my mom and dad went to the touristy markets of Aguas Callientes and bought more gifts for virtually everyone in the known universe. after that, my dad and i decided to sample the hot springs in town. we figured it had to be cool since the town was called "Aguas Callientes". once we bought our tickets we walked for about 15 minutes until we got to a pool area that was tiled and separated from the actual river. the water was a little warm but not ridiculously hot or anything. while there, my dad and i met some other travelers there and we discussed the other parts of South America. overall, those hot springs were sub par. nowhere near as awesome as the ones in San Pedro. but still, it was a cool experience. after that we all went to a crazy restaurant and got insane amounts of food. my dad ordered Guinea Pig and we all sampled it. the thing looked hilarious. like Wile E. Coyote after being blown up by some failed attempt at catching the roadrunner with ACME dynamite. during that meal we also had Sopa De Palta and a stuffed Palta appetizer thing (might as well embrace it if you're in South America). i had an hamburguesa that had barely any meat on it and a lot of peppers. still good though. i forget what my mom had. the guinea pig overall was good, but nothing spectacular. the skin was the weirdest part. it tasted strange. oh well. now i can say i've had it. for dessert my dad and i had a Banana Split (it was a "Banana Spit" on the menu). at the end of this meal, my parents didn't have enough cash for the meal so they had to walk to an ATM that was like a quarter mile away and leave me at the restaurant as payment in case they didn't return.the hotel we stayed at (and probably most of the hotels/hostels in the surrounding area) asked us to keep our windows closed at night so the bugs wouldn't get in. this would have been fine except it was ridiculously hot and there were no fans or air conditioners in our room. we had a rough night of sleeping but somehow made it through. woohoo!
the next morning we got up VERY early (4:30) to catch the bus to the top of Machu Picchu to watch the sun rise as we begin day 2 in this park. the line for the bus was very long and it was raining. when we finally made it to the top it was too cloudy to see the sun. but you know what? WHO CARES! WE WERE IN MACHU PICCHU! and also, the clouds gradually lifted as the day progressed so it was cool to see the mountains around the area being peeled of their cloudy prison. today was the day i had wanted. i explored explored explored explored explored those ruins. i found a LOT of cool stuff. every once in a while i would turn a corner and see a 3,000 foot drop. it was awesome. also while up in this park, i saw llamas, lizards, hummingbirds and chinchillas. all of them so cute. the llamas stayed in a green area to feed mostly but at one point they decided to take a walk. they went into the ruins and were walking among the many tourists there. i followed them for a while and recorded a movie. it was so great.
i met up with my folks at around 9:30 to regroup and see if we needed more time to explore. my answer was basically "um, absolutely". so we departed again and i explored solo once more. this time, however i was feeling a little braver than before and followed a trail that led off from the park to an Incan bridge. now, let me clarify something here. this trail was DANGEROUS AS HELL. it was on the side of a mountain. the trail was about as wide as my dining room table. one side was the wall of a mountain and the other? cliff. legit. i have insane pictures to prove i did it. at one point, the path was so narrow that there was a rope on the mountain wall to help you along so you could regain some balance and not fall off the cliff. this was terrifying but really satisfying. i truly conquered my fear of heights that day. once i arrived back at Machu Picchu, i was at the top of this hill that was their "observatory" and i could see it all. i felt this was a perfect finale to my stay here so i went to meet up with my parents.
we decided to have lunch at a restaurant near AC's Plaza De Armas (pretty cool but still not as cool as Chile's :). we got a pizza with garlic, black olives and i think choriso on it. the real awesome part about this meal though was our drinks. we got this juice that is very common in Peru called "Chicha Morada". if you ever go to Peru, this drink is an absolute must. it's a purple juice that looks like kool aid but is actually very good for your heart. it's made from purple corn and something else that i can't remember. and it's absolutely delicious. have it. seriously.
the train ride back was a lot different than the train ride there. first of all, our carriage looked a lot more like a train. leather seats connected to the floor. plastic walls. the coolest part of this train was that it was called the "Vista Dome". it sounded like we were about to throw down with Hulk Hogan. at any rate, we sat with this guy named Edgar with this tour group called Metropolitan Tours. all throughout the train ride we got a nice little tour of the things that we were passing on the way back to Cusco courtesy of this guy. he also told us a lot about his Ketch-wan heritage. he speaks Ketch-Wan, English and Spanish but if he ever meets anyone that's Spanish, he tells them that he only speaks Ketch-Wan and English in an effort to force them to speak Ketch-Wan and "bring back" his language. i think that's bad ass. also during this train ride, we got treated to a fashion show. this included one dude dressed in Incan clothing dancing madly and lots of people walking down the aisle dressed in various alpaca wool while techno blared in the speakers. this was kind of cool but didn't really feel authentic. more touristy. still ok though.once we got back to Cusco we quickly learned that my dad had lost his phone (which was really nice like an iphone) on the train and my mom had almost lost her wallet. ah well. can't keep track of everything. there are worse things to lose. like people. we took the advice of one of our tour guides and went to a place in Cusco for dinner called "Chicha". while there we of course ordered Chicha Moradas. i of course ordered Inca Cola after that. for dinner that night i had something that i THINK is called "Ocopa". it's described as the "Queen of Peruvian Sauces". it was definitely unlike any sauce i've ever had before. kind of tasty but not really my thing.
the next morning we got up early again to catch our bus/flight back to Lima. we arrived in Lima at around lunch time. we checked into my parents' hotel and then went and got some seafood that Edgar recommended we try in Lima. now, i'm not a huge fan of seafood but i heard that they had chicken there so we went any ways. once we arrived the first thing the waitress said to us was "no chicken and no fries today". despite this, i wanted to tough it out for my folks that wanted to try the seafood here. i ended up getting fried shrimp and fried potatoes (they don't have fries but they have fried potatoes?) that came complete with a seashell full of mayonnaise. it was DELICIOUS. my parents got something called serv iche which is raw fish soaked in lime juice. definitely not for me but they seemed to enjoy it.
after lunch we decided to explore Lima and found a very cool area near the beach that was like an outdoor shopping area. Lima is a lot like if Santiago and Vina Del Mar had a baby that spoke Spanish in a way that was actually intelligible. We saw a lot of people paragliding by the beach and it reminded me of my trip to Mendoza. we even saw one guy paragliding with a giant cow statue in his harness the silhouette of this against the sun is hilarious because it looks like a cow is paragliding. we had some postres at a restaurant next to the ocean. my dad and i had tres leches cake. my mom had a gigantic thing that i think was literally translated as "crazy chocolate". it's a beautiful place that overlooked the beach. after a small detour back to the hotel to regroup and relax, we were off again to that same area to have dinner at the same place we had eaten dessert (reverse reverse). i had a club sandwich, my mom had prawn and my dad had... i forget. i of course enjoyed some Inca Cola. possibly the last i would have on this trip.that night at 8pm we had to meet at the hotel because a cab was picking me up to go back to the airport and catch a flight from Lima to Buenos Aires to Santiago. i said my goodbyes to my parents and i was off. i have so much fun with them and can't wait to see them again in 3 months. it was also cool for them to not only see a piece of my life in Chile but to share that unforgettable experience in Machu Picchu. They are great.
my journey back to Santiago was eventful enough to write about here. the cab ride was a 45 minute conversation entirely in Spanish with my cab driver. he told me he drives a cab at night but works a number crunching job in an office all day. he has no desire to go to the United States but would love to visit Jamaica. it was really nice to have a conversation in Spanish with someone that didn't talk like the micro machines man on cocaine. upon my arrival to the airport, i went straight to the counter to check the one bag i had. now... let me explain something. my flight on my ticket that i printed out said "11:30pm". when i got to the airport it was like 9:00 so i figure "sweet. i have plenty of time". i get my ticket and it says my flight is at 9:30. CRAP! i magically got through customs and security by 9:20 and sprinted to my gate on the other side of the airport only to realize that a different plane was there. i checked the TV screens and it said MY flight was arriving at a gate on the OTHER side of the airport at 9:30. awesome. i then sprinted to this gate only to realize that it was behind these locked and alarmed glass doors. WTF??? i was like "there's no way i'm getting on this flight". so i explained my situation to a security guard there and he was like "oh yeah. that must have been a mistake. your flight is arriving at 11:30". really? whatever. i ended up running into a woman from Switzerland and Austrailian teacher that had just done the Inca trail so we swapped stories and that was fun. my plane finally arrived and i flew to Buenos Aires. you know, for a country where the dollar is supposed to convert really well, shit is expensive in their airport. even with USD currency. oh well. caught my second flight and then arrived back in Santiago.
when i got back to my departamento, i realized that this trip to Peru and time with my family reminded me that Santiago really is my home. even though it's only for 3 more months, i'm looking forward to the remainging time i have here seeing the south of Chile, seeing Prodigy live in 2 weeks, and potentially revisiting Vina, Valpo and Mendoza. plus everything in between. i had fun and it was a ncie vacation but i'm ready for whatever's ahead in this home stretch. vamos vamos vamos.
and until next time, readers... chau :)
Awesome job! Thanks for documenting our time together. Can't wait to see you again in January. And I can't wait to hear about your adventures of the next three months! Love you!
ReplyDeleteWOW! What a great recap!!! It sounds like you had the trip of a lifetime -- the pictures are great too! I'm so happy for you Josh and I love you sooooooo very much! Lou
ReplyDeleteOh and I almost threw up when I saw and read about guinea pig for dinner, especially the skin part...blechhhh
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