Cusco, Peru

(m) After a flight from Lima we landed at our highest destination yet, Cusco, at 10,800 feet. This former capital of the Incan Empire, is nestled in the Andes Mountains and has an interesting mixture of Incan and Spanish architecture. 300k inhabitants live here and it is a well traveled tourist destination serving as the airport and bus gateway for anyone interested in visiting Machu Picchu.

Plaza de Armas, my favorite thus far, is surrounded by two stone churches, restaurants, and shops. Linger too long and someone will definitely try to sell you postcards, candy, or an alpaca sweater.

A sea of terra cotta roofes climb up from the plaza into the surrounding hillsides.

Coming from sea level in Lima we were advised to take it easy the first day and allow time to acclimate before rushing out to the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu. Besides taking Diamox prescribed in the US to ease altitude sickness, we also drank Mate de Coca which is made from the same coca leaves that cocaine is chemically derived from.

My first cup of Coca Tea, after burning my lip, did indeed help my headache.
Not to worry (Mom and Dad), the analogy we heard is that mate de coca is to cocaine as poppy seed bagels are to opium. In fact, Pope John Paul II himself enjoyed a cup on his visit to Peru. Coca leaves have been drank and chewed for thousands of years serving as a pain killer as well as a hunger and fatigue suppressant. After the Spanish conquered the area in the 1500s, they originally banned the consumption of coca due to religious reasons however quickly realized their local labor pool for mining and other activities worked much more effectively (and with less food) with coca leaves and reversed the decision. The United States has tried to eradicate coca plantations in Peru and many local politicians voice frustration over what they consider our blind policy and lack of consideration for their coca leaf tradition.

Being one week from Easter we read of a religious ceremony that evening which we decided to check out. By dark we had made it to middle of the plaza and became insanely squished in by what we felt must have been every inhabitant in Cusco. After a chilly one hour wait a precession including a hand carried float with Jesus on top, lite by red lights, lumbered up the main street towards the church. Just before entering, several of the local police and fire trucks turned on their sirens for a couple of minutes which was followed by a roar from the clapping and cheering crowd. The church doors slowly opened allowing the Jesus float to stroll into the church.

Shortly after, the crowd began to clear the square and we found ourselves caught in a river of people which quickly began pushing and leaning into our backs and pressing us into the people in front of us. Teenagers were gitty with the borderline chaos and we fought to keep our cool having no idea this followed the ceremony. Some small children and their parents were noticeable distraught as we neared the main bottleneck leaving the square so after considerable effort we heaved ourselves onto the nearby sidewalk to watch the river of people flow by for 20 minutes before proceeding back to our hotel happy to be "home".

Trin eating one of the many complimentary bread and jam breakfasts we've consumed each morning in South America ever since leaving the much more satisfying ones at Veronica's in Xela.

A random one foot deep plus hole in the sidewalk Trin inadvertently fell into as we explored the city. A bruise would linger for a couple of weeks. Note this is only a reenactment of the actual event earlier in the day.

Lima, Peru

(see map) mike: We visited Lima on our way to the ultimate Peruvian destination, Machu Picchu. We spent two and a half days in the large metropolis. Eight million, roughly one third of the country's population lives in the capital city. It is divided into 50 neighborhoods many of which are called Joven Pueblos (young towns) populated by people migrating from the countryside. These areas are built without planning on the outskirts and often lack electricity and running water. We stayed in a fashionable neighborhood called Miraflores. The owner of our hostel, Angelo, greeted us with a brief lesson in Peruvian history and outlined an agenda for our time in Lima. Then we were on our way.

Our first stop was lunch. While in Lima we ate ceviche daily. It was so... good. Corn nuts are served as a pre-meal snack. The corn nuts are made fresh at the restaurant and they are a thousand times better than the ones in the bag at home. We also tried chicha morada, a drink made from black corn. It is a sweet bright purple drink that is suppose to aid digestion. Corn plays a big part in Peruvian food both on the coast and in the highlands.

Then we walked out to the cliffs over looking the Pacific Ocean which are lined with parks and restaurant. One of the parks is called Lovers Park and true to its name, there were many young couples sitting along the mosaic walls.

Brave tourist can paraglide on the thermals rising off of the cliffs. There were people of all skill levels trying their luck the afternoon we were there.

The next day we visited the central district. The first stop was the Convento de San Francisco where we toured the church and the catacombs below. The catacombs were claustrophobic and a little creepy. All of the bones have been neatly arranged in different formations.

Next we walked to the Plaza del Armes to watch the changing of the guards. It was a long elaborate presentation which they do everyday. It drew a large crowd of both foreign tourists and Peruvians.

It seemed like nearly every car in Lima is a taxi. Apparently, because of the high unemployment and underemployment many people become taxi drivers. Despite the high gas prices in Peru (some of highest in the world) taxi rides are very cheap. Supply and demand.

Next, we had lunch at a restaurant run by a French order of nuns. The food was excellent and the nuns were so genuinely nice. While there we noticed that everyone around us was using the Lonely Planet Peru book. That was how we all found the same out of the way restaurant inside the nunnery. This happens all the time, Lonely Planet Syndrome.

After lunch we happen upon a Palm Sunday procession with a band, incense and the whole deal. It was the first procession I had seen outside of the movies. Thirty two men strained under the heavy load and would take breaks between each song.

While in Lima we also visited a pre-Incan ruin. We're not including pictures because we have many pictures of ruins to come. At the Natural History Museum we tried to get up to speed on the ancient cultures: both Inca and pre-Inca.

Last stop was the beach which you can see was very crowded. Sadly, it was also very dirty and polluted though it does not seem to deter the locals.

Fitz Roy in Glacier Park, Argentina

(see map) - trin: This sign was posted in several places on the bus between El Calafate and El Chalten. Backpackers' feet don't exactly smell like roses...

The Fitz Roy section of the Los Glaciares National Park was our next destination. This park is pretty cool and it is free. El Chalten is the town in the park. Most of the major attractions can be reached by doing day hikes from the town. We opted for backpacking two nights and stayed in town before and after the hike.

El Chalten is a little like the wild west. It is remote but it is being built up right in front of your eyes. While we were there, they were putting in the sidewalks on the main road.

Shopping for food supplies was a challenge. We visited both markets and a bakery. We ate a lot of pasta and bread. On the final night we threw everything that was left into the pot and ended up with Salami Soup. It was actually pretty good.

Mount Fitz Roy was pretty spectacular. The first day we hiked to Campamento Poincenot at the base of the mountain. The hike was leisurely and the mountain was visible for a large part of the hike.

After we set up camp we hiked further up to Laguna de los Tres and got a close up view of Mount Fitz Roy. I am afraid the pictures don't convey the grand scale.

The following day we hiked to Campamento do Agostini with hopes of viewing Cerro Torre. But, the weather gods had a different idea. The peak didn't emerged from the clouds.

That night we had high winds. But, my wind paranoia finally paid off and our tightly secured tent held strong.

The following day we waited for Cerro Torre to emerge and the rain to let up but neither happened. So, we packed up camp and hiked out in the rain. You can see I was happy to reach the town.

The following day we took an early bus back to El Calafate. Along the way, we had an amazing sunrise.

Then we had to say goodbye to Patagonia. It was an amazing trip and I would like to think we'll be back someday.

Technorati Tags:patagonia, patagonia travel, el chalten, fitz roy, trekking patagonia

El Calafate, Chile

(t) After finishing the challenging Torres del Paine trek we headed back to Argentina overland. We were surprised by the heavy security at the border crossing. We arrived early in the morning and had to wait at the padlocked gate until the immigration office opened. We were told Chile and Argentina are pretty friendly neighbors.

El Calafate is the major gateway to Southern Patagonia and the town has set itself up for tourism. We did two excursions while we were there. The first was a four wheel drive tour over a large cattle ranch. We climbed a very large hill. At the top we could see Torres del Paine on one side and Fitz Roy on the other. Unfortunately, we forgot the camera.

The second excursion was to the Puerto Moreno Glacier on Lago Argentina. The glacier is part of the Southern Patagonia Ice Field, which is huge. It is the world's third largest reserve of fresh water. The part we saw is only a small finger of the Ice Field.

The glacier pushes up against a large hill and divides the lake. Eventually, the water level rises on the smaller side of the lake and the pressure breaks the glacier. It is suppose to happen about every four years. We saw a few breaks over the course of the day but nothing on that scale.

Part of the excursion was hiking on the glacier. The little ant-like-dots on the ice is another group of trekkers.

We were fitted with crampons and given some basic instructions and off we went. There were many pools of water on the ice. We filled our water bottles with actual glacier water.

A guide demonstrating ice climbing.

The Argentinean flag on the boat ride back from the glacier trek.

We had great weather in El Calafate. On our last morning, we took advantage of the sunshine and wrote some long overdue postcards. At the outdoor cafe, they were playing Jack Johnson. We always appreciate the little pieces of home when they come our way.

Torres del Paine, Chile

(m) The cruise disembarked in Punta Arenas (Chile) where we jumped on the first bus to Puerto Natales and checked into Hostal Las Carretas. This mellow port town serves as the gateway to Torres del Paine (Towers of Paine) National Park.

Torres del Paine is a three hour bus ride from Natales on a well maintained dirt road. The park is extremely popular, particularly in January and February, and arguably has the best trekking in South America. At the base of the eastern side of the Andes, Torres has an abundance of glaciers, lakes, rivers and breathtaking peaks which were indeed quite amazing. In addition, what makes Torres unique is the availability of “refugios” (basically rustic hotels) spread conveniently across the trek so, if desired, you can hike for five days and each night have a hotel room, hot shower, and prepared hot meal, what luxury! We planned to camp but would still end up enjoying a beer and one hot shower (well, Trin´s was cold) at these establishments along the way. Most trekkers opt for either the 8-10 full trek or the “W” which is an abbreviated 4-6 day version hitting most of the highlights the park has to offer. The W refers to the outline the trail makes on a map and is what we selected as our plan.

We spent the afternoon shopping for our rations. There is no dehydrated food available down here so creativity is key to come up with a palatable menu that is both nourishing and not too heavy. Thankfully Trin does a GREAT job at it.

We were amazed at how cheap our three course dinner with wine was, just $20, or so we thought. Our guide book (2004) mentioned 1 dollar was worth 700 Chilean pesos. Eventually we discovered with our weak greenback you will get just 450 Chilean pesos hence our supplies and dinner were nearly double what we anticipated though thankfully still inexpensive by American standards.

Day 1: 6am bus ride to Torres.One hour catamaran ride across Lake Pehoe to Pehoe campground.Hike up to Grey campground with some great views of Grey Lake and Glacier Grey.

The catamaran was packed with trekkers all with the same agenda as us, the W.

A view of Cerro Paine Grande from the catamaran.

Our first siting of Grey Lake, Glacier Grey, some vibrantly blue icebergs. Our destination is the far right corner of the lake.

Day 2: Backtrack the same way passed Pehoe campground on to Italiano campground. Our longest day, roughly 11 miles. Rainy and windy initially, Trin not happy. We have now completed an L. While in the tent, we can hear the sound of ice falling off of Frances Glacier high above us.

Cuerno Principal with Lake Stokenburg in the foreground

Day 3: A bit tired, we decide to diverge from the standard agenda and do the relatively short yet steep hike up to Britanico campground through Frances Valley and set up camp. Most people day hike up and back, without packs, and continue on to Los Cuernos campground. Windy, minimal rain, very cold. Day hiked from camp up to the mirador (view point) to take in the valley below and the surrounding towers and glaciers.

Trin cooking dinner in the wind/rain shelter at Britanico.

Day 4: The weather is great, hot and no wind!! Trek back down the valley is fantastic with 360 degree views, our favorite thus far. Pass Italiano and continue on to Los Cuernos. Shower, drink some beer, and play cards in the warm refugio.

Morning sun reflecting on what we coined "the sharkfin"

A shot back down the valley we came up the previous day.

Trin crossing the suspension bridge near Italiano looking back up Frances Valley and Glacier.

Trin washing peanut butter (which we ate every day) off of her hands in Lake Nordenskjold.


I went for a quick COLD dip in Lake Nordenskjold. Two unfortunate hikers saw me in my undies. It has been about 10 weeks since my last haircut, 4 weeks longer than ever before!

Cuerno Principal.


Trin refilling our water bottle. No water purification required in Torres or Fitz Roy!

Day 5: Low on money, food, and energy we shorten our W to a U with a long tail and hike out to catch the bus back to Puerto Natales.

Technorati Tags:torres del paine, patagonia, travel patagonia, trek patagonia