Time for Bed

Thursday, August 25
Our time in Columbia ended up totaling 10 hours. Since it's always best to try to make the best of every situation, we ended up purchasing a bottle of Crown Royal from the Duty Free shop (the only place besides the banos that we had access to in the tiny airport). Then, we made friends. One young couple from England were traveling "stand by" and were out of money, another guy was in Bolivia checking on his quinoa (keen-wa) business, while another was down there visiting relatives and heading back home to Miami. One lady pretended to be interested in us because she wanted a pour from our bottle.

Finally landing in Miami at 3 a.m. ET Friday morning we learned that we had a 7:30 a.m. flight to Chicago. An American rep gave us a voucher for a local hotel and told us that we could catch a bus "out front" to get there. Okay, let's think about this ... By now it's 3:15 a.m., we still have to go through customs, claim our luggage, catch a bus, check in, sleep???, wake up at 5 a.m., catch a bus back to the airport ........

You get the point. So we decided to find a bench and crash for a little bit. It just seemed a whole lot easier. To back up just a second, when we were at  baggage claim, we saw the couple from England. Since they were flying stand by, they didn't qualify for a hotel voucher. So, we gave them ours along with our $12 dinner vouchers (again, what was American thinking? Dinner? At 6 a.m.?) We did keep our $7 breakfast vouchers and enjoyed a Startbucks Chia Tea Latte upon our 9:30 a.m. arrival to O'Hare.

We were elated when Anthony and Tucker came to pick us up. Not only was I excited to see them, but more importantly at that particular moment, I could already feel my pillow beneath my head. No more sore neck from foreign pillows. Yeah! Real sleep. Double Yeah!!

Bottom line ... we have no regrets on what we did or didn't do and see, nor did we feel our time there was too short or too long. Great places, great people, great adventure!

While I'm still absorbing this trip, I'm sure my adventuous spirit will start formulating ideas for the next trek. So until then, thanks for being part of our journey. Joanne & Stacy

Aeropuerto Barranquilla

So, we're sitting in an airport in the middle of Columbia because one of the engines on our plane went out. We we're in the air for about four hours with about two and a half hours to go. We've already been here for about three hours and the word is that they are flying a plane in from Miami to "rescue" us. Should be out of here in a couple hours. Definitely missing our connection to Chicago but ... it could be worse.

We had an awesome time in Cochabamba with Martha. She is the BEST hostess. Such a beautiful person. We saw some local sites, did a little shopping, learned a few new card games and relaxed in her gorgeous home. Since I was having problems with the altitude (mainly headaches and nose bleeds) she decided that we should not go back to La Paz. This decision was coupled with the fact that she wanted us to spend a day in Santa Cruz, a beautiful city about a 35 minute flight away, but that wasn't on our itinerary. Changing flights without medical necessity would cost money so, she made a call and got her pediatrician friend to get me an appointment with his cardiologist friend (because it's all about who you know) and the change to our flights began. The process however took an entire day between going to the doctor, going to the medical college to purchase the official document paper, going back to the doctor to have the paper filled out and signed, going to a street-side photo copy store to make copies of the official paper, then going to the Aero Sur and American Airlines offices to prove medical necessity for flight changes without fees. My blood pressure was 140 over 88 at the morning doctors appointment which is extremely high for me, but I'm sure by the end of the day it climbed even higher. All-in-all it was worth the effort because our time in Santa Cruz was great.

Tonchi, Martha's nephew, owns a restaurant/day resort about six miles outside the city limits of Santa Cruz that is absolutely awesome. By trade, Tonchi is a master landscaper and the six-acre property might just be his crowning glory. It has a small lake filled with at least a thousand Koi, a series of swimming pools, an aquarium with fish from the Amazon, a go cart track with manually-operated go carts, a playground with hand-crafted concrete animals that served as slides, teeter-tauters, etc. Check it out at www.bellabolivia.com/la-riconada.HTML. At the bottom of the website article, you'll see that Tonchi grew a world-record-sized Victoria water lily. Fascinating!

Until the next blog ... Take care.

Leaving La Paz

This is our 2nd and last day in La Paz. We are now sitting in the lobby of the hotel waiting for our driver to pick us up for the aeropuerto. We took it easy today by sleeping in, getting massages and eating lunch. We´re finally getting a chance to add some photos to the blog.

Tonight we´ll be in Cochabamba to visit and stay with our friend Martha until next Wednesday. In case she doesn´t have a computer or WiFi, we are writing what might be our last blog.

Thanks for taking an interest in our adventure!

More to come!

Tiwanaku and Puma Punku: Seeing Still Isn't Believing

Today we toured the ancient ruins of Tiwanaku and Puma Punku. Not Incan, but instead, built by the Aymara people ... so they think. There's a pyramid, temples and statues like the ones at Easter Island. They even have some stones that have a magnetic power. They make your compass lose its ability to point in the right direction. (Since I jet so happened to have mine, we tested to be sure.) Archeologists can't really explain how it was built, leaving much to theory. Some say aliens built it, while others think aliens taught the Aymara how to cut perfect 90 degree angles, etc. and, haul 40 ton stones over 80 kilometers to the build site. Don't say the word aliens to the Bolivians however, or they take offense. I was hoping that by seeing it first hand I would come up with a theory of my own. Nope, I'm just as puzzled as everyone else. The fact is that both the Peruvians and Bolivians are excellent craftsmen and have a work ethic second to none. But still, it makes you wonder.

Upon returning to our "lovely" hotel in the heart of La Paz, a city with 1.5 million people, a protest took place. There must have been 1,000 men marching in unison and chanting down the street right below our window. They we're carrying banners, shooting blanks into the air and eventually started a fire on the stairs of a nearby building. I'm guessing it was a government building. The Policia were present and thankfully, it didn't get out of hand. I think this type of thing is fairly commonplace. Can't wait to go to our final destination tomorrow, Cochabamba.

Final Day In Cuzco

Tuesday

Our stay at the Hotel Monesterio was fantastic! So this is the way rich people live ... with nothing less than first-class service and lavish comfort. I know I'm jumping ahead now, but we arrived in La Paz, Bolivia today and the Hotel Presidente and are now back to earth and beyond. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, I'm in a third-world country. More on that later.

So yesterday we took a fairly lame "city tour" of Cuzco. Our tour guide was nice enough, but not very educated on the sites and he tried to make jokes throughout the six hour excursion. Key words, tried to make jokes. We did see a 15th century cathedral, some ruins as well as a few Inca ritual spots. We were with 16 others including June from New York. She looked like Barbra Streisand and had altitude sickness. It was her first day in Peru and that can totally happen. Stacy and I were fortunate on that matter until today. I've had a headache all day and am now slightly dizzy since arriving to La Paz which sits at 12,500 feet. More coca tea. Yeah. We've been drinking it every day as well as chewing the leaves. It's very medicinal :)

Today, Wednesday, was a travel day to get to Bolivia. We came prepared with all the published visa requirements in order to enter the country, but when all was said and done, it was a matter of filling out a simple form and paying $135 US per person. Go figure!

We decided we aren't leaving our hotel unless it's with our private guide from the travel company. Yes, it's that scary. We leave here Friday night and it won't be soon enough. The hotel is straight out of the late 60's. Our bathroom fixtures are Harvest Gold and I'm sure the curtains, also gold, have never been updated either. It's rated #14 out of 62 of all hotels in La Paz so I'd hate to see numbers 15 through 62.

Time for bed (that looks clean enough) as we have a 5 am wake up call.

Aguas Calientas and Machu Picchu

Sunday

What an amazing day!

Our journey began at 6 am when we departed Cuzco for the town of Aguas Calientas, which sits at the base of Machu Picchu. Our three and a half hour train ride winded through the Andean countryside and led to spectacular views of the Urumbamba River and giant pitons carved from the glacial ice age.
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Oops I fell asleep.It's now 12:45 pm on Monday.

So, yesterday we ascended to Machu Picchu via "the bus" that navigates a very narrow gravel road with 12 switchbacks (hairpin turns). I blogged about it earlier and included a photo. I thought it was going to be awful, but it really wasn't. My pre-ride jitters we're largely unjustified. Meeting us at the entrance of the Incan city as our guide Wilma (W pronounced like Ve). She has been climbing Machu Picchu since she was 11 years old and is now 45 (I had to ask). Among the dozens of guides itching for business, I am sure she was the BEST! We didn't choose her, but instead she was contracted through our travel company. She stood only 150 centimeters (4'9") tall, but then, there are very few Peruvians over 5'6". While she is a native of Peru, her English was nearly impeccable except for the word 'and' which she pronounced 'ana' and a few other mis-pronounciations. It was very cute. Her wealth of information was impressive and we learned volumes about the Father mountain--Machu Picchu. Every step you take in the ancient Inca city is pre-meditated. When climbing steep inclines, she would stop periodically and just say "we stop now." Again, very cute.

Monday

So today, we decided to get to Machu Picchu early to watch the sun rise over the mountain ... very spiritual! We then walked a part of the Inca trail to get to the Intipunku (Sungate), which is 300 meters higher than the Inca city of Machu Picchu. It took about an hour and a half of climbing on a somewhat precarious trail to reach the "summit." Both of us are enjoying the feeling of accomplishment.

The town of Aguas Calientas, literally meaning hot water, sits on the banks of the Urubamba River. The river is not navagible due to the thousands of giant boulders laying in its bed. Besides having hot springs, the town is the pass through for all visitors to Machu Picchu. It's cute as a button with its many restaurants and cobblestone streets and, I wish I could have spent more time there.

Upon leaving Aguas Calientas, we learned that our hotel back in Cuzco was oversold. For Pete's sake, we we're only gone one night. The good news is that they walked us to the finest hotel in Cuzco with rooms starting at $650 per night. It was built in the 16th century as a monestary and is actually called Hotel Monasterio. Google it. It still has a chapel here and we heard that the nuns sing every morning. We feel very special here.

Until later, adios and buenos noches.

Bienvenido a Cuzco!

First and foremost, thank God Stacy was a four year Spanish honor student!

We left home yesterday afternoon (Friday). Each of our three flights were delayed. Chicago to Miami ... Miami to Lima ... Lima to Cuzco, but we made it here around 9 am this morning. Unfortunately our luggage did not. When checking in at O'Hare, they told us luggage would go all the way through to Cuzco. That was not true however. Apparently we were supposed to pick up our luggage in Lima baggage claim and recheck it through Customs. We received VERY little help from the airline or the hotel consierge about this and now found out that it will show up tomorrow. Unfortunately (I know I already used that word) we are leaving for Machu Picchu at 5:50 tomorrow morning and not returning to this hotel until Monday. So, I guess all that's the bad news.

The good news is that we managed to laugh alot today. What else can you do. We were prepared for an adventure and are getting just that. After checking in, we took a good cat nap :) Then it was off to explore the city. Went to the Museo Planta and learned all about the coca plant (cocaine) and other "medicinal" plants, bought shoes for Stacy (who was traveling in flip flops), made our own chocolate starting with the raw beans to the end product in a 2 hour Workshop, had pizza and Cervesa with Megan from California (who we met at chocolate class) bought alpaca socks and toothbrushes. How much more can you pack in one day. More to come!

Aliens

I don't think it was Aliens vs. Cowboys necessarily, but I can't dismiss the idea that aliens had something to do with the building of Machu Picchu, the Nazca lines, Easter Island, Stonehenge, etc., etc. I hope that by getting a first-hand visual, I will get some clarity. Chances are however, I will be more bewildered than ever and be no closer to the answer to these mysteries than anyone else in the world. Even so, I'm getting anxious about seeing them.

22 Days and Counting

I've been SO busy that I haven't given the trip much thought, but for some reason I just counted the number of days until departure--22--August 12.

Lake Titicaca--the worlds highest navigable lake that is also home to floating islands of the Uros people.

So, after all the hoopla of rescheduling, a co-worker who was in Peru during the "civil unrest" said it wasn't much of a big deal and didn't put a damper on anything they were doing. Just a little delay at the border. I guess we could have gone after all. Oh well ... I'm much more at ease about going now anyway. Hope all my shots are still good!

More to come.

Cancel or rebook? ... that was the question

So, when the American citizens living in Bolivia receive a letter from the Bolivian goverenment saying "Do NOT go to Peru right now and especially Cuzco" then it's probably wise to heed the warning. Or when the Consulate General of Peru tells my friend who lives in Bolivia, "tell your friends not to come now" again, I get the point.

So, two days before our departure, we noodle our options.

1) Cancel the trip now and rebook at a later date ... incur a $412 rebooking fee
2) Cancel the trip altogether ... lose $4,095
3) Cancel the trip and apply it to a different trip ... incur a $2,200 penalty -- We were seriously considering going to the Galapagos Islands, but then found out there was no availablity this week.

The travel agent claims that the #3 penalty is VERY generous, but it is more than half of what we paid for Pete's sake (not counting airfare).

So after two days of deliberating, we decided to try again when the election is over in Peru and the goverenment is "more stable." I use that term lightly!

More to come.

In the meantime, Stacy, Kaley and I are driving (15 hours) to Destin, Florida this week for some R&R. We'll make it a down and dirty cheap vacation and hopefully have a ball!

Bump in the Road

Civil unrest ... Not the words you want to hear six days prior to leaving on what was supposed to be your adventure of a lifetime. Hopefully this latest news will just be a bump in the road. Basically we have to avoid Puno, Peru. Well basically the roads are all closed in and out of Puno as well as the border crossing into Bolivia. We're counting on our travel agent to fix everything tomorrow (three days before departure). Thank goodness I purchased the travel insurance. If she can't fix it, then hello Spain!

12 Days to Departure

I'm getting a bit anxious about the trip. This won't be like going to Kansas Toto.

I'm completely freaked out about the road to Machu Picchu. Check it out. I hate heights!!! Heights with scary edges ... only a thousand times worse. UGH!!! This one and only (gravel) road is "the means to the [spectacular] end" and I don't mean that literally. I guess I will just have to suck it up. Easy to say now, but when the day actually comes, I will have issues.

Wish us luck and pray that the bus driver is on his A-game that day.

Counting the days until our departure for our South American Adventure

Get ready Peru & Bolivia ... the Mueller girls are preparing for our trip below the equator.

This week, Stacy and I will see our doctors and get the perscription for the Maleria vaccine. Next week starts our shots for Yellow Fever, Hep A & B, and Typhoid. Already purchased our water filtration bottles, but still need to get chlorine tablets to kill anything else that may linger in the water supplies of Peru and Bolivia. Registered the trip with the State Department and am reading up on remedies for altitute sickness. Don't you wish you were coming with us too. :)

The benefit of all this preparation will be a 14 day immersion into the Peruvian and Bolivian cultures.