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Milagro, Trujillo: No Miracles Here…
Blog: The Brink of Something Else - 12 February 2011
Milagro, Trujillo, Peru. In what I hope was not a deliberate act of irony, the barrio’s name means miracle. It’s hot and dusty and dry, and I’m reminded of my first trip outside of Lima, to discover to my surprise that much of Peru’s coastal region was featureless sandy desert. I’m with Leander, Helen and [...]
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Shooting Hoops At Two Miles High
Blog: AlpacaSuitcase - 12 February 2011
My son and daughter were breathing hard. I was breathing harder. Three-on-three pickup basketball is a good workout but if you are not used to playing at 11,000 feet, your lungs can feel like they are on fire. (more on Sunday morning pickup basketball here) The three of us were playing against three cusqueño men in their early 20’s and we led for the first 10 minutes but then the altitude started getting to us.
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Hiking the Inca Trail in Peru: A Quick Guide
Blog: WildJunket - 8 February 2011
It’s been almost a year since our six-month sojourn through South America – one of the most memorable epic journeys we’ve done so far.
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Reflections from Eight Months in the Field
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 8 February 2011
By Eric Burdullis, KF12, Cusco, Peru Last July, I sat in Kiva headquarters listening to speaker after speaker desperately trying to get a grasp on what life as a Kiva fellow would be like. Despite all my “international” experience, I don´t think anything could have prepared me for the adventure that was to come.
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Peruvian Fusion: Doña Pepa
Blog: AlpacaSuitcase - 6 February 2011
Doña PepaDuring our first few weeks in Cusco, my daughter took Spanish lessons at a school just off the Plaza de Armas.
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Is it ever too late to follow your dream?
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 4 February 2011
After my first week as a Kiva Fellow my short answer is no, and I guess the slightly longer answer, definitely not! That is what the clients of Microfinanzas PRISMA have shown me, especially Rosa of San Juan de Miraflores in Lima, Peru. Rosa is preparing the lunch she will serve to customers in the [...]
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Quilting Bee In The Andes
Blog: AlpacaSuitcase - 31 January 2011
Weaving Contest at CTTC in Chinchero (note the man in the background dipping into a tub of chicha)When I’d learned that my non-profit weaving cooperative was planning to host a weaving contest the f
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From Peru to Ecuador via the Macará border!
Blog: Viva Latin America! - 31 January 2011
After trying to do a fair amount of research on border crossings we found that little information existed about the Macará border crossing. Plenty of information exists about the Tumbes border crossing, in the far north west corner of Peru, but we didn’t want to travel in that direction. I think it is only a [...]
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The Pisac Piper
Blog: AlpacaSuitcase - 27 January 2011
The Pisac Piper (note the stone steps in the wall)We began our walk down through the terraced fortress ruins of Pisac and I thought I kept hearing the sounds of pipe music.
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I Must Go Down to the Sea Again…
Blog: Viva Latin America! - 26 January 2011
Knowing that Trujillo wasn’t a city to hang around in, on arrival from Ica (via Lima) we picked up a taxi and headed straight to the nearby coastal town of Huanchaco. We shared the taxi cost with another couple but the total came to 15Sols (US$5.40); it should cost you no more than this for [...]
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Escape From Huaraz
Blog: Never Ending Voyage - 25 January 2011
UPDATE: Unfortunately, our discussions with Universal have now fallen through. Something about “Focus Groups” and “Believability”. However, if you’re interested in picking up the film rights, or know someone who is, leave a comment. Based on actual events. Chapter 1: The Man Comes To Town. Who Is That Man? That Man Is Death.
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Ica… So Much Sand to Play With…
Blog: Viva Latin America! - 24 January 2011
The key bonus I can see for going on holiday around Ica and Nazca is that you will never have to worry about what to do on a rainy day. They get rain so rarely that good holidaying weather is a pretty safe bet whatever time of year you go to visit. We headed to [...]
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Moray: The Sacred Laboratory Of The Incas
Blog: AlpacaSuitcase - 21 January 2011
Moray Ruins in PeruNot far from the salt pans of Salinas (see The Salt Pans of Salinas, Peru) are a complex of th
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Nazca and the Lines – A Woozy, Dizzy Sight to Behold!
Blog: Viva Latin America! - 21 January 2011
After a two week Christmas break in South Africa it was time to get on the road again. After a brief stopover in Lima we caught the bus down to Nazca. Due to the immense difficulty in Peru of buying bus tickets, as each company has its own terminal, we decided to use one that [...]
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Machu Picchu – How to Get There
Blog: Viva Latin America! - 19 January 2011
Undoubtedly the reason that 99% of travellers visit Cusco is as a stop off toward Machu Picchu. If you haven’t already booked yourself onto an Inca Trail the fun is trying to work out how you are going to get to Aguas Calientes, the jumping-off town for getting to the famed site. There is a [...]
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Lonely Planet Blogsherpas: Toasting Around The Globe
Blog: Oranage Polka Dot - 18 January 2011
Welcome to the 18th blog carnival of the Lonely Planet bloggers from the Blogsherpa program. A few of us will discuss toasting customs we have experienced around the world. See Simi Travel hosted the previous carnival focusing on travel that...
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The Salt Pans Of Salinas, Peru
Blog: AlpacaSuitcase - 16 January 2011
Salinas Salt Pans (Sacred Valley in the background)We drove along a dusty road high above the Sacred Valley, on our way to visit Salinas, the intricately-terraced, salt pans which have produced hundreds of pounds of salt e
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11 months of travel, 4 minutes of video
Blog: Around The World On The Toilet - 16 January 2011
We’ve been back home for a while now, and are back into an everyday routine. Having both found employment, there are no immediate plans for another multi-month trip, but we do find ourselves constantly looking back on the last year with no regrets and memories which will surely last our lifetime. Its been an amazing [...]
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Volleyball In The Sacred Valley
Blog: AlpacaSuitcase - 13 January 2011
When I started my volunteer job in Cusco, Peru I was a bit tentative around the office. My Spanish was fairly good and I had the daily greetings down, but it wasn’t good enough to walk up to someone and “shoot the breeze” for any length of time.
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Early Morning Beauty – Cusco
Blog: Viva Latin America! - 12 January 2011
Arriving into Cusco at a bleary-eyed 05:30 ended up giving us the most favourable impression of the city. We headed straight for the Plaza de Armas in the hopes of wandering round and finding accommodation. The central square was a wonderful sight, bathed in the soft early light of day with a complementing lack of [...]
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Overrated Tourist Attractions
Blog: Never Ending Voyage - 11 January 2011
Films When I sat down one idle Saturday to watch Primer, I wasn’t expecting anything. I remember reading someone on Twitter going on about it, but I didn’t put much stock in his opinion cause, you know, Twitter.
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Machu Picchu Pictures
Blog: Two Backpackers - 10 January 2011
The Inca ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru is perhaps one of the most spectacular sites you can visit in South America. From the complexity of building the city on top of a mountain ridge surrounded by mountains, to the unbelievable story of how it remained intact and untouched for hundreds of years all contribute [...]
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“Feel Good” Travel
Blog: See Simi Travel Blog - 4 January 2011
With 2010 now behind us, we have five years left to meet the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals to end extreme poverty. In 2000, when the goals were set, 50% of the world’s population lived on only $1/day. A decade later, these people are surviving on $1.25. Although $0.25 may not seem like much, it does give hope. This is a huge undertaking, and it is encouraging that our leaders have come together to try to address this problem, together.
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Photo of the Week: Colourful Dress in the Andes
Blog: Never Ending Voyage - 2 January 2011
We spent three weeks in a remote rural area in the Andes above Huaraz, Peru. Every day we’d pass Quechua speaking women in their traditional colourful dress. Everyone had long plaits under tall, embroidered hats, wide bright skirts, woolly tights and colourful cardigans.
