Sira & Brian's Travel Log
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February 25, 2003
From Puerto Natales, Chile
Hola!
We hope this email finds you "super-bien" as the Latins say. We are now in the far south of Chile and wanted to say "hi". After digging out of the 30 inches of snow in NYC, our flight almost left on time--one of very few that left on President´s Day. We had to drive ourselves to the airport in a 4x4 after all the car services refused to drive us there. Thanks to Sira´s sister, Meg, for getting us there!
Chile is an amazing country. 80 degrees, friendly, open people, and a super
clean city, Santiago, welcomed us. We ended up spending our four days there
searching high and low for a compass calibrated for the southern hemisphere.
After hitting almost every mountain gear store, we secured "the last
one in the city"--classic supply & demand. We saw much of the city
and really look forward to returning there.
We just traveled
five days by train-bus-plane-bus to Puerto Natales, considered the "gateway
to Patagonia." One of the towns we stopped in along the way, Puerto
Montt, reminded us a lot of Maine. It is a large fishing port but also "vacationland"
for many Chileans who are now on summer break. We added some smoked Salmon
to our packs for this week. We leave tomorrow a.m. for the Torres
del Paine National Park, in southern Patagonia, to hike for 10 days.
From the looks of it, we´ll be joined by several Swiss, French, German,
Chilean, and Australians, but very few folks from the States seem to be
around.
We´ll be
in touch in the coming weeks. Please let us know if you´re feeling
"spammed" by us, as we certainly don´t want to over-burden
your in-box!
Con carino, Sira y Brian
Home Argentina Bolivia Chile Ecuador Peru
March 18, 2003
From Coyhaique, Chile
Hello,
Thanks for all your emails, it's
been great getting news from friends and family back home!
We are doing quite well after
a month of traveling. In the past few weeks we have seen some very beautiful
country around Patagonia. Our first trek took us through Torres
del Paine in Chile. What an adventure! It began with our first river
crossing late in the first day after 6 hours of hiking. The rickety bridge
went half way across and we then had to wade through 35 degree water while
fighting a strong wind that nearly blew us into the lake. After another
hour of hiking we had our first of many experiences setting up our tent
in the Patagonian wind - gusts up to 60 mph. After many windy nights we
have much faith in our little tent. On the second day of our 10 day hike
around the Circuit the rains began and continued for most of our hike. Despite
being drenched this was the best hike of our lives. We both were most impressed
by the Grey glacier which is arm of the southern Patagonia ice fields that
stretch for almost 300 miles. We spent much of our 3rd day of hiking along
the glacier zig zagging in and out of ravines and up and down the mountainside
that runs right down into the glacier. Day 4 brought us to Paso John Garner
which is the highest point of the circuit. With all the rains, the steep
ascent was very difficult slipping through the mud. We spent about 9 hours
covering terrain that typically takes 5 hours. In the last hour of this
epic day we had to negotiate a mud bog that sucked us in a few times above
our knees. Day 5 was a well deserved rest day with a day hike around the
Perros Glacier. We celebrated Sira's birthday on day 7 with a very cool
couple our age from Vail Colorado. We played cards, ate a chocolate bar
and saw the Southern Cross for the first time. We spent the 9th and last
day in the park in our tent for almost 24 hours due to all the rain. We
managed to catch one of the last buses out of the park before a flood closed
the road for several days. The road out of the park was under 4 feet of
water but the van driver didn't even seem phased. We thought we would float
down the river, for sure.
A few days later we arrived in
El Chalten, Argentina for another hike in Fitz
Roy. There were varying levels of enthusiasm for another 5 days of backpacking
but any doubts were soon forgotten when we woke to the sun and blue sky
on our first day. The hiking here was easy after our initiation in Torres.
We camped at the base of Fitz Roy for two nights and then camped two more
nights at a glacier lake. We thought the mountain peaks here were more spectacular
than in Torres (maybe because we could see them?) An interesting aspect
of this hike was that we spent much of the time with 4 Israelis in their
early 20s recently out of the army where all men must serve a mandatory
3 years. They were wise beyond their years with some very interesting stories
and perspectives. It was fascinating talking with them and realizing how
much they've lived in their short lives.
After El Chalten we headed north. This involved a 14 hour bus ride on a dirt road through the pampas... An amazingly desolate place with one stretch of road without a turn for 3 hours. It was hard to believe that our bus driver stayed awake, but some how the 14 hours of tango music kept them going (and nearly drove us mad). As if the ride wasn't dramatic enough, we then crossed the second largest lake in South America by ferry. The three hour ride was the best amusement ride for $3 that we will ever have. The winds had been blowing all day and the lake seemed to be boiling with 6 foot waves going in every direction. The ferry slammed through the waves and into the wind the whole time. Even the captain seemed to be sweating a bit as the ferry shook with every wave. It was an incredible ride for us and probably even more so for the cattle in the 18 wheeler truck.
We are in Patagonia for a few more weeks and are looking forward to some horseback riding with the gauchos. We'll keep you posted.
Con carino,
Sira & Brian
Home Argentina Bolivia Chile Ecuador Peru
April 7, 2003
From Santiago, Chile
Hi!
We are at the end of our Patagonian
adventures and in the last 3 weeks we have come to truly love the people
and country of Chile. Our adventures have taken us off the beaten path and
we now have some understanding of life here. Hopefully, you received our
last email RE: Patagonia II, from Coyhaique, in central Patagonia, where
we wrote to you about our search for horseback riding. We struck gold through
a contact we made in Santiago 6 weeks ago who gave us directions for contacting
a Chilean family in Cochrane about 8 hours south.
We arrived in Cochrane and went
to Luis Soto´s
family home to organize the riding trip. As he permanently lives in
the mountains maintaining the family land--raising sheep and horses, Luis´s
two sons (twins, aged 14) organized our trip from town. The only communication
with Luis is by the local short-wave radio, three times a day from the municipal
office. Francisco radioed his father from the town office the following
morning and we were told to take a bus an hour into the mountains and Luis
would be waiting with our horses for the 4 hour ride to his land. We were
the only gringos on the bus. Luis' brother, Juan, was also on the bus as
well as three other locals heading back to their land.
We waited about an hour in Paillacar (Luis’ sister, Crimelda’s cabin and land) with Crimelda, her son Ramon, Juan, and the bus driver Marcello and experienced our first mate's (tea leaves which you drink from a small wooden gourde using a silver straw, the bowl is passed around and each person has a complete bowl and then it is returned to the one person in charge of filling with hot water). Crimelda taught us the proper etiquette. The house was typical of the Patagonian gaucho, 1 room around a wood cook stove. After mates, and when Luis arrived, we ate lamb stew that Crimelda prepared while we waited. The lamb bone came from a box in the cupboard, no refrigeration. We also had sopapillas (dough, fried in animal fat) she made previously.
After 4 hours of riding we crossed the Rio Tranquilo in the valley where
Luis' cabin sits. A stunning backdrop of mountains and glaciers. Sira pointed
out that this would be a national park in the US. We had our second meal
of lamb stew - this time prepared by Luis with potatoes and carrots.
We camped next to their 2 room cabin for 5 days. From there we explored
the campo, the approximately 1000 acres of land he maintains in the valley
of the Rio Tranquilo. One day we visited with Luis´ brother Juan who
lives about 15 minutes away. Juan manages the family’s cattle herd
that wanders throughout the valley and at times off into Argentina causing
Juan to spend two days bringing them back. On a beautiful, sunny day we
hiked to the D'Agostini (a famous Italian climber who climbed in the 40's
and 50's all over Patagonia) base camp - about 3 hours one way to the base
of San Lorenzo, a mountain on the Chile-Argentina border. At 12,000 ft,
San Lorenzo is higher than many of the mountains in southern Patagonia and
is famous among Patagonian climbers. After a day in the San Lorenzo valley,
in which we didn’t see any other hikers or climbers, we returned to
Luis’ for an asado (a typical Patagonian dinner of lamb roasted over
an open fire) with Luis and his three friends.
Our time with the Soto family was very special and we hope to return to
see them again some day soon. The experience in San Lorenzo brought us close
to a Chilean family which was different than our other more tourist-like
experiences up to that point. Our closeness with the people continued to
develop as we made our way back north. There was a day where we traveled
a couple hundred miles where there were no buses, so we hitchhiked which
is common among people in this region. Our multiple
rides included a dump truck, an escort car for another fleet of dump
trucks (which unfortunately broke down in a precarious section of road and
was towed by a bulldozer for a while) and a family on vacation that drove
us that last 100 miles all the way to our hostal. On a visit to the fern
and bamboo enveloped hot springs in Puyuguapi,
we hired a boat (no key to the engine room, so Brian dismantled the door
hinges to get at the engine gas, with his Swiss army knife) and soaked in
the thermals with the captain, Caesar, and his friend, Rafael.
After traveling northward over a week’s time and about 1000 km of
dirt roads, we arrived on the Island
of Chiloe where we have spent the last week. Chiloe is a 30-minute ferry
ride off the main land. The economy is based almost entirely on salmon and
mussel farming. We spent 4 days in the town of Chonchi at a nice inn and
on the first night, per the owner’s recommendations, we picked blackberries
and dug our own mussels for dinner. We spent a day hitchhiking around a
smaller island off the coast, exploring the local culture with two Australians.
One ride from a director of one of the fish farms led to a private boat
tour of a mussel farm—one ‘crop’ takes 14-months to grow,
the mussels grow on two-foot strings dangling from 300-yards of rope suspended
by bouys. This farm had about 20 rows of mussels getting ready for a July
harvest.
Tomorrow we overnight train back to Santiago for 3 days and will make plans
for the next leg of the journey north into Bolivia and Peru.
We hope you are still with us after this very lengthy description of the
previous weeks. Thanks again for all your email! It’s great to get
all the news from our family and friends. We’ve tried to reply as
much as we can along the way, based on Internet access. Hasta la proxima!
Abrazos,
Sira & Brian
Home Argentina Bolivia Chile Ecuador Peru
May 28, 2003
From Sorata, Bolivia
Hola!
Somehow, seven weeks have slipped
by in our travels so we have much to tell.
After our first month and a half
of travels, we decided that it would be a good idea to take a break from
the trail and for Brian to study Spanish. We found a good school in central
Argentina in the city of Cordoba, the second largest city in Argentina (1.5m).
At first only a week of school was planned but Brian was having so much
fun studying Spanish 8 hours a day that we ended up spending three weeks
there with Sira enjoying the culture and sites. It was an excellent school
and Brian convinced Sira to also take a week of classes.
Through the school we arranged a home stay with a family where we stayed and shared our meals with them. We got to know Mimi and her son Juan Pablo (age 24) pretty well. Juan Pablo is a sports reporter and he took us to our first South American soccer game. It was a semi-pro league in a stadium of about 40,000 – very lively! We were also there during their presidential elections (18 candidates ran) so they helped us understand the political landscape – to the extent that it can be done. There is much cynicism in Argentina stemming from the devaluation of their currency in 2001. This essentially left everyone 1/3 as wealthy as they were prior to devaluation. The lack of hope was expressed during the elections with people tearing up their ballots and putting them into the ballot box rather than actually voting. After 4 weeks in Argentina the gloom was beginning to affect us and we were happy to get back to our travels. Oh, although we thought we would attempt to learn the tango, we decided to leave it to the experts…
From Cordoba, we headed into northern Chile where we spent a week in the
desert town of San Pedro
de Atacama. The town is small Spanish colonial village with almost all
the buildings made of adobe--including the pubs and restaurants. We went
hiking about 10 miles to some Incan ruins that are pretty desolate and rarely
visited. We didn't see anyone all day and the ruins still include many artifacts
such as pottery and arrowheads. The only truck we saw all day was the one
that fortunately picked us up at dark because we were getting lost. Another
day, we rented bikes and rode out into the desert to a place called Valle
de la Luna. It is filled with sand dunes (we climbed one that was about
200 feet high) and rock formations that give it the appearance of the moon's
surface. We also visited some other ruins that are from a village built
3000 years ago. The climate in the desert preserves things pretty well -
it only rains 4 days per year – so the history of past cultures is
well preserved. One of Chile’s finest museums is in San Pedro with
over 300,000 artifacts (including some of the oldest mummies in the world)
documenting the history of the people of this region of SA from 10,000 years
ago. The combination of the desert and the mountains is very beautiful.
The climate was perfect too because it is now the fall so the days were
about 75 with perfectly blue skies.
From San Pedro we signed up for our first organized tour and headed to the Salar de Uyuni. We were dreading an organized trip after traveling on our own for two months but it ended up being terrific. This is really the only way to see the southern region of Bolivia. These roads are some of the roughest roads in the South America, but the driver, Felipe, was excellent and we never had any problems with the car--a Toyota Land Cruiser. On the first day we spent much of the day driving above 14,000 feet and the highest point was 16,400 feet (thankfully, our altitude sickness pills were working). The scenery was beautiful and we saw many lakes of different colors--depending on the surrounding mineral deposits (copper, borax, salt, etc) and stopped at some of the highest geysers in the world. There really isn't much growing at that elevation but the vast plains and the peaks of old volcanoes were very colorful. The wildlife is mostly grazing llamas, alpacas and flamingoes (3 species) in the lagunas. When we got to the village where we were staying on the first night, we were at 13,000 feet and played soccer with some kids who wanted us to play in exchange for pens and pencils. It was very hard to breathe after running around and the 6 year olds ran circles around us! The villages don't have running water and they use generators for 3 hours per night. The people live mostly as farmers raising llamas and sheep. On the second day we explored some Incan ruins and old cave paintings and then went to a red rock canyon that reminded us a lot of the southwestern US. On the second night we stayed in a hotel owned by the tour company that was built six months ago so the accommodations were very nice. It is on the edge of the world's largest salt desert – Salar de Uyuni. The salt is 3 meters deep in the middle and is at 12,000 feet in elevation. On the third day we drove across it (45 miles) to an island in the middle that has giant cacti growing on a small mountain that you can hike up. It was a spectacular place with 360 degree views of the salt desert with snowy mountain peaks on the horizon. We took plenty of photos and look forward to sharing them. The tour ended in Uyuni where we spent a day and decided to head straight to La Paz.
La Paz is the highest capital in the world at about 11,500 feet. There are
about 2.3 million people and it is a mix of modern day life and many, many
indigenous people who travel there from all over the country to sell their
crafts, vegetables or meat. It is very lively and somewhat chaotic. We were
actually unsure if we would visit La Paz at all. In March some demonstrations
erupted into riots and 12 tourists were killed in a hotel. However, by mid-April
the State Dept lifted its travel warning. We had also heard stories from
other travelers of robberies and tourist scams. Obviously, we were a bit
nervous arriving and this was heightened by stepping off the bus and literally
into a parade of demonstrators demanding more funding for universities.
It was then that we learned the difference between the sound of gun shots
and bottle rockets. Fortunately we experienced no troubles and after getting
to our hotel felt pretty safe our remaining days in the city.
While in the city we went to several museums - at the colonial history museum
we were interviewed by CNN. We told them we were telling all our friends
and family to come to Bolivia. We will be on a show in June (on Wednesdays)
called 'Destino' which is on CNN-Espanol. We also went to the Coca Museum
which has the complete history of the coca leaf. They have found traces
in mummy tombs that date back 4,500 years but the first westerner to use
cocaine was Sigmund Freud in the 19th century. It is quite an interesting
contrast the way the indigenous cultures use the coca leaves as part of
every day life compared to the problems the rest of the world has with cocaine.
When the indigenous people chew the leaves, it helps them acclimate to the
high altitudes of the Andes and also increases work stamina and reduces
hunger. Chewing the leaves releases three alkaloids one of which is the
derivative of cocaine. Obviously, there is much resistance to the western
world’s attempts to eradicate the coca leaf which is an important
part of the indigenous culture and has nothing to do with illicit drug use.
On our third day in La Paz we went trekking with a guide in the Andes outside
the city. It was about a three hour car ride, half on dirt roads to a small
town called Tuni - maybe 50 people - at about 14,500 ft. From there we hiked
three hours up to the base of Mt.
Condorini (it looks like a condor). We hiked up about 1,000 ft to 15,500.
We were definitely feeling the effects of the altitude. Meanwhile, our guide
Victor (in his running shoes) had to wait for us on the steeper sections.
It was a beautiful day and we took some great photos of the mountains. Along
the way we saw many people tending to their sheep and llama herds. If you
want to take pictures of them you have to ask and usually pay them a few
Bolivianos (about 50 cents). The young children ask for candy hoping you've
brought some up from the city because they hardly ever get any sweets.
From La Paz we signed up for what promised to be a great adventure –
mountain biking down the world’s most dangerous road. In 40 miles
the road drops from it’s highest point at 14,500 feet down to the
sub-tropic region at 3,500 feet. It is a winding one lane dirt road with
cliffs that drop off over the side 1,500 feet in spots. The road is cut
into the side of cliffs and waterfalls wash down over it in some sections.
It is actually safer to ride a bike than to go in a car. The ride takes
about 6 hours and went smoothly except for one delay. Sadly, the previous
day, a truck with 12 people went over one of the 1,500 foot drops and the
road was closed so they could bring up the remains. When we arrived at this
point there were about 100 people watching the operation and it became a
bit sticky when we tried to pass by in our fluorescent adventure tour group
vests. We ended up helping pull up the last body and then our guide paid
the police officer who “let” us go by. Our stomachs went through
a few revolutions that day! At the end of the road is a beautiful tropical
town of Coroico. The hotel we stayed in overlooked the valley and the clouds
drifted in and out while we watched from our deck where we “unwound”
for a couple days.
Unfortunately, from Coroico we did have to go back up the road to get back
to La Paz. Fortunately, uphill traffic has the right of way and the inside
lane. It was probably the scariest hour and half of our lives. Of course
the drivers are experienced driving up and down the road but you certainly
put your life in their hands! In La Paz we transferred to a bus headed for
Sorata – about 4 hours north of the city and at the north end of the
central Andes range in Bolivia, the Cordillera Real.
In Sorata our plans were to hike the Illampu
Circuit, a seven day hike around the third highest peak in Bolivia and
a popular trek. The guiding company we used advised against the circuit
since the fifth day involves hiking into another province that is less friendly
to tourists. The farmers have decided that it is profitable to rob trekkers
at gun point. We had heard rumors of this and didn’t feel any need
to take the risk. Our revised trek lasted six days. The first two days followed
the circuit and took us through the small pueblos of Lanitaka and Ancoma.
Here we saw how the rural villages subsist at the high altitudes. At about
13,000 feet, they raise llamas and sheep, and also grow potatoes. We did
run into a small problem in Ancoma when the local guide association decided
that they were entitled to work for us since we camped above their pueblo.
They insisted on us using their mule for the day. We obviously didn’t
need their services but somehow we were still obligated to pay them. While
it was only $4.50 and we know this is the reality here, it was frustrating
to experience how “business” is done in Bolivia. Our guide,
Elias, and our mule, Chico, easily climbed over the mountain terrain while
we were gasping and stumbling at 15,000 feet over the passes between the
valleys. The highlight of the trek was on the fifth day when we hiked 5
hours to the Illampu base camp at 16,700 feet. We ate lunch at the base
of the glaciers and gazed at the surrounding peaks of 21,000 feet. It was
a perfect blue sky and the mesmerizing views made it hard to leave after
only an hour but it was necessary to get back down the rocky trail before
dark.
We still have about a week left in Bolivia but so far it has been nothing
less than thrilling! It is a beautiful country with a rich Andean culture
that we love experiencing. The vast majority of Bolivian people work very,
very hard to make a living as farmers. While it is the poorest country in
SA and among the poorest in the world, the indigenous culture has a depth
and richness that is beyond measure.
Well, another long email from us -- Please keep writing to us and staying
in touch. We love hearing from you!
Hasta luego,
Sira & Brian
Home Argentina Bolivia Chile Ecuador Peru
July 11, 2003
From Cuenca, Ecuador
Hola!
We just arrived in Ecuador yesterday after 5 weeks in Peru and thought it
would be a good time to say hello and update you on our travels. We also
have managed to get a few pictures on the web which many of you have been
asking for.
Similar to Bolivia we were nervous with anticipation of possible problems
in Peru. Before leaving Bolivia we heard about a 30 day state of emergency
in Peru related to wide spread strikes and protests - most importantly the
tourist buses that were being pummeled by rocks thrown by striking teachers.
There was also the Shining Path terrorist group who might kidnap us and
the "impending" flood about to destroy the city of Huaraz as soon
as a gigantic glacier comes crashing down to worry about. Needless to say,
none of these problems amounted to anything and we survived Peru. We did
experience a small problem at the border as we tried to leave with an expired
tourist visa but that was resolved with a few dollars.
Peru is the heartland of the Inca empire which ruled an area from Ecuador
to northern Chile for a brief period from 1350 to 1535 until conquered by
the Spaniards. As in Bolivia, we tried to follow an overland path of the
Inca trail - the route is of course through all the major attractions and
is better known as the "Gringo Trail".
One of the major Incan sites is on the Island
of the Sun on Lake Titicaca which is between the border of Bolivia and
Peru - the highest navigable lake in the world at nearly 12,000 feet. (The
island is actually in Bolivia). It has an intense blue-green color and the
lack of all but a few boats on such a large lake is a bit mystical. Rather
than taking the ferry boats that run regularly we hiked to a point nearer
the island and hired a local man to row us out. After we were about half
way across though, he made Brian row complaining about an old injury related
to a bus crash. Arriving on the island we spent 3 days hiking from one end
to the other and exploring the tiny villages and sandy beaches. No cars
of electricity on the island give it a very primitive feel. The Island of
the Sun is believed to be the birth place of the Incan empire and includes
sacred ceremonial sites which were the first major sites we saw on our trip.
From Lake Titicaca we headed to Arequipa, a large city of about 3 million
and the second largest in Peru. We actually spent most of our time outside
the city hiking in the Colca
Canyon, one of the deepest canyons in the world. However, one of the
highlights of the city is a museum dedicated to the preservation of Incan
mummies. The Incas believed their gods lived on the mountains and they regularly
made sacrifices there in hopes of good weather and crops. Climbing to heights
of over 19,000 feet in nothing more than sandals, the Incas were truly some
of the first mountain climbers. Once they reached the summit, they typically
offered a sacrifice of a young girl between the age of 12-14. The girl was
identified at birth and prepared for the occasion her entire life. Upon
sacrifice they would bury the girl in a basket in fetal position along with
additional offerings of pottery and gold. Given the cold climate the mummies
were well-preserved and the burial sites offer some of the best archaeological
sites as they were never raided by the Spaniards. The museum we visited
includes "Juanita" one of the best preserved Incan mummies as
well as 8 other mummies.
Cusco, the capital city of the Incas, was our next destination and we spent
nearly 2 weeks exploring the surrounding area which includes many ruins
aside from Machu Picchu.
The city itself contains an interesting mix of Incan ruins which the Spaniards
built on top of. One of the cathedrals actually has a hitching post of the
sun inside the church. We also were there during the Corpus Christi festival
in which Catholic saints are paraded in the streets with dancers in Incan
ceremonial costume. Right outside the city is the impressive site of Sacsuhuama,
the site of the last battle between the Incas and Spaniards. Here is where
some of the most impressive stonework of the Incas is seen. Without the
benefit of the wheel or steel, the Incas were able to shape and assemble
large rock fortresses that included stones of nearly 120 tons (about 10
ft x 10 ft). The stones are beautifully polished and fit together seamlessly
without mortar. How they did this remains a mystery as the Incas had no
system of writing and their history is unchronicled.
One of the highlights of our time in Peru was our trek to Machu Picchu -
the last city of the Incas after they retreated from Cusco to the Sacred
Valley. The trek has become quite popular in the last few years and now
over 70,000 people travel the Inca trail every year. With so many people,
the law now prevents people from hiking without a registered tour agency.
Our tour group included 14 others including 2 close friends - Tina and Mike
- from DC who we planned to meet in Cusco when we heard they were coming
down. The tour was different from our other trekking experiences with a
"few" more amenities. For our group of 16 people there were 21
porters carrying our mess tent, kitchen and food. We were lucky and had
Kenny as our guide. In addition to having the reputation of being one of
the best guides on the Inca trail he was hysterical and had the group laughing
most of the time. The 26 mile trek over 4 days took us over high mountain
passes and through the jungle. The most exciting section of the trail winds
around a mountain ridge through a cloud forest. This section of trail includes
retaining walls of up to 30 feet supporting the trail on cliff sides. The
Incas also built a tunnel on this section rather than going around a precarious
section of rocks. By day 4, the experience of hiking the trail gives you
a good feel for the pilgrimage that many Incas took to the sacred site.
We rose at 4am to see the sun rise over Machu Picchu after an hour and a
half trek on our last day. Nestled on a narrow ridge between two mountains
the ruins are really stunning when first viewed from the Sun Gate about
a 45 minute walk from the site. Inside the ruins which are very well preserved,
we spent the day exploring the buildings and sacred ceremonial sites.
While the Incas disappeared long ago, much of their tradition and lifestyle
still can be seen in everyday life around Peru. Chicha, a beer made from
corn, which the Incas drank as part of ceremonial rituals and celebration,
is still around today. Brian tried to order some in a restaurant one day
and the owner wouldn't serve it because he said we would get very sick from
drinking it. Alejandro explained that the water used to make the beer isn't
always clean and that the fermentation process is sometimes started by spitting
in the beer. In the Sacred Valley, the area between Cusco and Machu Picchu,
the area is dominated by stone huts with thatched roofs with farmers that
work the terraced hillsides, the same farming system for literally a thousand
years. Most surprisingly is the way in which the storekeepers close their
shops for the noon time siesta by placing nothing more than a stick in front
of the door. This was also surprising to Spaniards when they arrived. They
couldn't believe the Incas left their gold completely unattended. Of course
in Incan times, potatoes, which were heavily guarded, were more valuable
than gold.
After our 2 weeks in Cusco we found that we were pretty tired and needed
a few days of rest and actually found Lima to be relaxing in the Miraflores
section.
From Lima we headed to Huaraz, the trekking capital of South America. The
Cordillera Blanca and Cordillera Huayhuash are the highest ranges outside
the Himalayas and is a popular destination for trekkers and climbers. If
you have read John Krakauer's book Into Thin Air, Joe Simpson's Touching
the Void, which describes his unbelievable survival after a fall while making
a first ascent up the west face of Mt Siula in the Huayhuash, is a must.
After a morning of contemplating our many options for our planned trek we
opted for a 9 day circuit around the Cordillera
Huayhuash. This was the best experience of the last 5 months and we
have put the pictures and a brief description on our web site.
We are now spending the next month in Ecuador learning to surf and visiting
where Sira lived 14 years ago. Many of you have asked if we are still planning
to go to Santiago after our traveling is up. This is still the plan and
we fly back on 8/10 and are looking forward to the next chapter in our travels.
Thanks again for writing us and keeping in touch! We hope you are having
a great summer!
Con carino,
Sira & Brian
Home Argentina Bolivia Chile Ecuador Peru
August 18, 2003
From Santiago, Chile
Hi,
Thanks for all your emails again, as always it's great getting news from
home. Believe it or not this is our final email on our trip through South
America!
For 14 years it has been a dream of Sira’s to return to Ecuador to
reunite with old friends and to show Brian the city of Quito where she studied
for a year. We spent an exciting month seeing the wide range that Ecuador
has to offer culturally and geographically and connecting with new friends
and old.
In contrast to the dry desert that makes up the northwestern half of Peru,
the beautiful lushness of Ecuador welcomed us as soon as we crossed the
border. A country rich in agriculture, the hills of Ecuador are covered
with a patchwork of fields in every imaginable shade of green. Traveling
north from the Peruvian border we first stopped in the colonial city of
Cuenca a great city to spend several days relaxing and soaking up the rich
culture after our marathon bus ride from Huaraz. Voted the best city to
visit in Latin America, Cuenca certainly lives up to its reputation.
From Cuenca we headed west to the port city of Guayaquil, the largest city
in Ecuador. We were able to connect with the family of the woman who came
to Maine in 2002 for her infant son’s open heart surgery at Maine
Medical Center. Sira was volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House at the
time and was one of Yessinia’s Spanish translators. Over the four
months Yessinia and Keneth were in Maine, we developed a close friendship
with them. It was great to see Keneth in excellent health and to meet the
rest of the family.
North of Guayaquil is the "routa del sol," or route of the sun,
stretching all the way to the Colombian border are hundreds of miles of
sandy beaches. We headed to the famous surfing town of Montanita where international
surfing competitions are regularly held. While not quite ready to compete
ourselves, we enjoyed a week on the beach and took surfing lessons. After
drinking, inhaling and soaking up gallons of sea water, we both managed
a little hang 10 (about 10 seconds cumulative between the two of us in two
days). Back out of the water, we visited Puerto Lopez for a day trip to
Isla de la Plata.
The national park includes many of the bird and wildlife species found on
Galapagos such the blue footed booby, frigates and sea lions. Along the
way we also spotted eight great blue whales which migrate to the island
every winter.
The highlight of our time in Ecuador was our time in Quito
where we reunited with some of Sira’s closest friends. During her
year in Quito, in 1989, Sira lived in the private home of a woman who rents
rooms to students. Sira became quite close to Pepita, but over the years
hadn’t been able to reach her. It was a nice surprise to arrive in
Quito and find that Pepita, 89 years old, is in great health. She had us
over almost daily for our week in Quito and we spent hours catching up with
her and the family of her granddaughter, Muriel, who had Sira in her wedding.
Pepita was also able to connect us with another great friend of Sira’s,
Rosita, who we flew back to Guayaquil to visit for a couple days.
The final adventure of our travels was an expedition
into the Amazon basin where we visited an indigenous village which was
contacted by the 'modern' world in the past 40 years. We have put some photos
up on our web page to share this amazing experience.
It’s hard to believe, but our exciting travels have ended. We returned
to Santiago, Chile on August 11 after nearly 6 months of being on the road.
It is hard to summarize such an experience in a meaningful way, but to say
the least, it was an incredible journey and an eye-opening experience to
spend time with so many people from South America and other travelers from
around the world.
While we won’t be traveling much right now (and we have to start working
again), it will still be an adventure living abroad and seeing South America
from this perspective. We found a furnished apartment in downtown Santiago,
have settled in and are now looking for work. You can reach us at:
Conde de Flandes 860, Dpto. 14
Providencia, Santiago, Chile
Tel: (56 2) 334 69 89
Of course we are always excited to have visitors, it’s not as far
away as you think and it is an amazing country. The welcome mat is always
out!
We really appreciated you taking an interest in sharing this experience
with us! Please keep in touch, e-mail is now our main life-line and we’d
love to hear from you.
Hasta pronto,
Sira & Brian
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