(Oct 21, 2012)
Hello and sorry for the lack of updates! Here's what we've been up to.
After Puerto Lopez, we made a beeline for Cuenca where we decided to stop for a week and get some work done. Robin needed to work on her grad school applications (UBC and U of Toronto) and I needed to start applying for some scholarships (about time).
Cuenca is a beautiful colonial town in the south of Ecuador but honestly we didn't see much of it. Robin and I explored Cuenca until we found a hostel to our liking and then holed up to get work down.
However, while we were in Cuenca, we met a lovely elderly gentleman named Jim. Jim was retired but was having trouble subsisting on social security in the states so he had ventured to Ecuador to see if he could do some research on the cost of living in Ecuador. Jim was a very genial fellow and we had some great conversations with him that thankfully broke up our work-filled days.
We left Cuenca on Thursday night on a night bus that took us across the border and into Peru! The night bus proved uneventful but it's quite a switch to be in Peru now. We were out of travel-mode after being in stasis for a week so we're having trouble adjusting to a new country, new currency and different customs. It's a learning experience though!
One of the most noticeable differences between Ecuador and Peru so far has been the landscape. We spent most of our time in Ecuador in the mountains which have been lush, green and varied. The north of Peru, on the other hand, is a flat, desolate desert. The desert isn't without its own beauty but it's a very different beauty from rolling green hills and majestic, icy peaks.
We spent our first two days in Peru in Chiclayo where we've been learning about the Sipan civilization that like to inter their rulers upside down with their heads cut off. They also seemed to sacrifice and bury the ruler's young female cousins in small holes surrounding the main burial chamber. Quite an odd civilization and not really one I'd like to be a royal in!
We have roughly 2 months left until I fly back to Canada so here's our rough plan: We'll spend two weeks traveling along the northwest of Peru, crossing through the mountains to Cusco where we're pass into Bolivia near Lake Titicaca. We'll spend two weeks in Bolivia mainly in La Paz and on the Salt Flats before heading down into Chile. We'll see a bit of Chile (roughly two weeks) before curving back around north and into the south of Peru. We'll meander up through the south of Peru to Lima where I fly home on December 18th. Two months seems a lot shorter when it's described that way hey?
Hello and sorry for the lack of updates! Here's what we've been up to.
After Puerto Lopez, we made a beeline for Cuenca where we decided to stop for a week and get some work done. Robin needed to work on her grad school applications (UBC and U of Toronto) and I needed to start applying for some scholarships (about time).
Cuenca is a beautiful colonial town in the south of Ecuador but honestly we didn't see much of it. Robin and I explored Cuenca until we found a hostel to our liking and then holed up to get work down.
However, while we were in Cuenca, we met a lovely elderly gentleman named Jim. Jim was retired but was having trouble subsisting on social security in the states so he had ventured to Ecuador to see if he could do some research on the cost of living in Ecuador. Jim was a very genial fellow and we had some great conversations with him that thankfully broke up our work-filled days.
We left Cuenca on Thursday night on a night bus that took us across the border and into Peru! The night bus proved uneventful but it's quite a switch to be in Peru now. We were out of travel-mode after being in stasis for a week so we're having trouble adjusting to a new country, new currency and different customs. It's a learning experience though!
One of the most noticeable differences between Ecuador and Peru so far has been the landscape. We spent most of our time in Ecuador in the mountains which have been lush, green and varied. The north of Peru, on the other hand, is a flat, desolate desert. The desert isn't without its own beauty but it's a very different beauty from rolling green hills and majestic, icy peaks.
We spent our first two days in Peru in Chiclayo where we've been learning about the Sipan civilization that like to inter their rulers upside down with their heads cut off. They also seemed to sacrifice and bury the ruler's young female cousins in small holes surrounding the main burial chamber. Quite an odd civilization and not really one I'd like to be a royal in!
We have roughly 2 months left until I fly back to Canada so here's our rough plan: We'll spend two weeks traveling along the northwest of Peru, crossing through the mountains to Cusco where we're pass into Bolivia near Lake Titicaca. We'll spend two weeks in Bolivia mainly in La Paz and on the Salt Flats before heading down into Chile. We'll see a bit of Chile (roughly two weeks) before curving back around north and into the south of Peru. We'll meander up through the south of Peru to Lima where I fly home on December 18th. Two months seems a lot shorter when it's described that way hey?
Upside down? Oh my...not getting out from that underworld!
ReplyDeleteUpside down with lots of love from Tante Heloise
ReplyDelete