TravelStream™ news feed for member paislyqueen on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/paislyqueen en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Thu, 07 Dec 2006 16:47:18 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paislyqueen/adventure/1165527060/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paislyqueen/adventure/1165527060/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paislyqueen/adventure/1165527060/tpod.html Thu, 07 Dec 2006 16:47:18 -0500 Adventures of the roving fupa

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Quito, Ecuador

wow.  i didn´t realize how long it had been since i postedanything.  let´s see... went to baños, LOVE THE POOLS.  hotnatural thermal waters truly are magical.  that trip a horse triedto scrape me off on a rock wall.  the scab finally fell off last week.  the next weekend went to the jungle.  that waspretty cool.  had a monkey on my head, which i suppose is betterthan a monkey on my back...  got robbed last weekend on my way tochunchi,  only the wallet thank god but it had my super coolecuadorian i.d. in it so i think i´m gonna get another one just forposterity.  and i suppose it´s about time something like thathappened.  at least they didnt´get the phone or the camera. and yeah.  now just trying like a madwoman to finish up my papersfor next week.  THE LAST WEEK OF MY BACHELOR ATE CAREER!! this means i have to really be an adult and get a real jobnow...maybe.  for all else, i´ll let the pictures do the talking.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paislyqueen/adventure/1162661520/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paislyqueen/adventure/1162661520/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paislyqueen/adventure/1162661520/tpod.html Mon, 06 Nov 2006 12:38:55 -0500 Adventures of the roving fupa

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Cuenca, Ecuador

so, wednesday night we busted it back to quito to do a load of laundry and sleep in a bed, then caught the night bus out to cuenca for the independance celebration there. three days of crazy partying with crazy cool people. yep. that´s all i have to say about that. not looking foreward to classes tomorrow...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paislyqueen/adventure/1161964680/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paislyqueen/adventure/1161964680/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paislyqueen/adventure/1161964680/tpod.html Mon, 06 Nov 2006 12:32:33 -0500 Adventures of the roving fupa

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Cali, Colombia

so, we had a little break from classes and decided to check out Colombia. and no, i did not get robbed, raped, pillaged, held at gunpoint, see any guerillas or do coke. so you can all breath again now. what i did do was have a KICKASS experience for the all too brief time that i had. ended up traveling with a chick from classes. that was cool. busted out of quito Thursday afternoon and made it to the border at midnight; which, contrary to lonely planet, is NOT open 24 hrs. so we stayed in tulcan and crossed the next morning. since we had that little delay we decided to spend the afternoon in pasto, two hours from the border. cute, cute, cute little town. and the colombians are truly some of the friendliest people i have met in my time abroad. it is really cool. so to kill time until the night bus to cali walked around, ate cuy (probably not a repeat experience, but hey, gotta try it) and played sapo and drank aguardientes with some of the local good ole boys. quite fun. caught the bus at eleven and woke up in cali. this is truly a beautiful city. trees and parks and fantastic buildings. spend the day checking out the city and went out that night. danced and danced and danced until almost six a.m. it was impossible to take a minute to catch our breath there were so many invitations to dance. but really cool. and the people in cali can DANCE. like nothing i´ve seen before. all of them it seems. the next day headed down to popayan. this is one of the most romantic cities i have seen. all whitewashed and colonial with cobbled streets and arched stone bridges. and the hostel was in this really cool old mansion with an open courtyard in the middle and the rooms surrounding it. all hardwood and tile. and cheap. between the great weather, beautiful cities, beautiful and friendly people, it is really easy to forget that there is real danger there.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paislyqueen/adventure/1161725520/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paislyqueen/adventure/1161725520/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paislyqueen/adventure/1161725520/tpod.html Tue, 24 Oct 2006 17:49:54 -0400 Adventures of the roving fupa

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Chunchi, Ecuador

so, busted out of quito FINALLY after my intense round of mid-terms. headed down to chunchi, and ingapirca. friday went to another rodeo, this was cool, got there just as they were building the corral on the soccer field. as soon as one section was up, it was filled with people going for the best seat. it was a really good time. saturday was consumed with a cookout with what turned out to be all of the local political big wigs. got to hang out with the mayors´wife. played volley ball, ate and drank beer. and was able to get some photos from other people to supplement my feeble supply from other adventures. gotta say, this was one of the best weekends i have had here so far.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paislyqueen/adventure/1161023340/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paislyqueen/adventure/1161023340/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paislyqueen/adventure/1161023340/tpod.html Mon, 16 Oct 2006 14:56:23 -0400 Adventures of the roving fupa

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Guayaquil, Ecuador

so... last weekend (not this past, but the one before) had a really good time traveling around some. i did get invited back to the farm and had spent friday night there. since it was a holiday weekend we decided to ´vamos a vuelta´ translates to road trip saturday and sunday. this was super cool. took the backroads down from the mountains to the coastal region through all of the little towns and got to hear their stories as well. also saw some of the biggest chickens in my life, and the fearless goose who would not move out of the middle of the road, but did honk back at us. went through bucay and pallatanga, the people in the coastal region are incredibly nice and helpful. spent the night in a cute little cabana and progressed to the fairs in guayaquil the next day. i attended my first livestock fair and rodeo. sitting in bamboo bleachers swilling beer and watching people fall off of horses. sort of reminded me of home... later that afternoon went to the fair of durán, the largest trade fair in ecuador. and it was HUGE. and fortunatly the bus ride home on monday was uneventfull, i did not take the sucre line. this past weekend, up to my eyeballs in homework as i have three exams and a presentation, all tomorrow!!! wish me luck.oh yeah! felt my first earthquake yesterday. there is something fundamentally disturbing about feeling the ground move.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paislyqueen/adventure/1159910400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paislyqueen/adventure/1159910400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paislyqueen/adventure/1159910400/tpod.html Tue, 03 Oct 2006 17:54:29 -0400 Adventures of the roving fupa

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Quito, Ecuador

o.k, o.k. i know that i´ve been really bad the past month about posting photos and updates, so here goes. arrived in quito at midnight the night before my first day of orientation with a nasty case of the travelers best friend. which, by the way, was no fun during the ten hour bus ride from cuenca. none at all. but quito is nice enough. the university is quite possible one of the most well done that i have ever seen and i am enjoying my classes. been doing a bit of traveling. the first weekend i went to ´mitad del mundo´ in other words, the equator. and yes i did have fun jumping from one hempishpere to the other. noone would take my photo so i shot my feel on either side. it was rather funny. the next weekend i ended up going to montanita, a really cool little hippy beach down by guayaquil in the south. that was great fun. eight hours from cuenca in a bus designed for twelve, but somehow we managed to fit eighteen plus luggage. we were really cozy. but the full moon beach party was alot of fun. the next week ended up going to otavalo for the famous handicrafts market. i´m sure that a good portion was made by hand, i am just amazed that so many people can produce so many items of exactly the same model and quality... let´s see... hung out in quito the next weekend with some friends and had a good time. the salsa lessons are definitly coming in handy for the local hot spots. last weekend was really cool. went to catch the train for the nariz del diablo in riobamba. p.s. don´t go for the five dollar rooms- trust me it´s better to pay a little more... a five hour ride south through some of the most beautiful country i have ever seen, on the roof. in each of the villiages the kids would all come pouring out of the woodwork to catch the candy that the tourists threw. it was quite the kodak moment. after the train caught a bus down to a small town where a friend of mine works and spent the next three nights hanging out on the dairy farm that his uncle owns. this was truly amazing. i heard nothing but birds, the music of the neighbors (good music, not what i would hear from MY neighbors) and the occasional donkey. i firmly believe that this is a magical place, and hope to be invited back. it´s worth the seven hour bus ride, including the tire that exploded half-way back yesterday...so that´s all for now, but more to come later.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paislyqueen/adventure/1156624980/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paislyqueen/adventure/1156624980/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paislyqueen/adventure/1156624980/tpod.html Mon, 28 Aug 2006 16:57:49 -0400 Adventures of the roving fupa

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Cuenca, Ecuador

well. quite the welcome to ecuador. rolled into cuenca after about fifteen hours in a bus from trujillo. right off the bat met some really cool people and hung out with them in the mountains all weekend. a giant three day house party in the country. sort of reminded me of the high school house parties when the parents were out of town. i am finding that ecuadorians are some of the nicest, warmest and most welcoming people that i have encountered to date. another thing that i notice, and maybe it was just this group of people, but there was no mine and yours. everything was communal and it was just expected to be that way. it is truly amazing, almost reminds me of the caribbean in that aspect. so, needless to say, i am very much looking forward to the semester here. sorry that there aren´t more photos, i was too busy having a good time. next entry, quito!!!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paislyqueen/adventure/1156366380/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paislyqueen/adventure/1156366380/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paislyqueen/adventure/1156366380/tpod.html Wed, 23 Aug 2006 17:15:14 -0400 Adventures of the roving fupa

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Trujillo, Peru

so, hopped the overnight bus from lima last night and got in about seven this morning. quite the haul. and another one to look foreward to tonight. also encountered the first person who ´couldn´t understand my spanish´ at the wonderful hour of seven thirty while trying to get my mandatory a.m. coffee. fun. but i did get a chance to get out to the chimu ruins - impressive, although i´ll not be able to make it to the moche. sad, but they close early and i just don´t have the time or the energy. went to the museum instead. and trying to figure out how to kill the next six hours before my bus leaves. i must say, i am looking foreward to getting into ecuador tomorrow. can´t wait to see what that is like...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paislyqueen/adventure/1156193040/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paislyqueen/adventure/1156193040/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paislyqueen/adventure/1156193040/tpod.html Wed, 23 Aug 2006 17:10:31 -0400 Adventures of the roving fupa

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Cusco, Peru

well. had three full days in cusco, and while i did not get around to trying the guinea pig, i had an overall good time. spent the first day just wandering around, didn´t feel so hot, but i think it was due to the pollution. very thick in the streets. but other than that, it is a beautiful city. whitewashed buildings on inca foundations, wooden balconies over the streets. like something from a postcard or a fairy tale. saw several museums and landmarks. the next day had to wake up at the hellish hour of 4:45 tp catch the train for the four hour ride to machu pichu. that was INCREDIBLE. even with the swarms of tourists you can still feel the tranquility of the place. the energy is truly amazing. i understand why the inca built their sacred site there. you can´t help but feel clean and energized. truly one of the high points of my life. the next day was devoted to a horseback tour of some of the other local ruins around the city and then tuesday flew out to lima. could have done without that experience if i had had the time. not one of the higher points of my life, but i have discovered that, for some reason, peruvian cops seem to like me. go figure.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paislyqueen/adventure/1155858120/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paislyqueen/adventure/1155858120/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paislyqueen/adventure/1155858120/tpod.html Thu, 17 Aug 2006 20:04:02 -0400 Adventures of the roving fupa

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Puno, Peru

so. finally made it to peru. and that is a story in and of itself. bought the ticket in arica. the fellow said to be there at 7. what he didn´t say was that i had to be in tacna peru by seven, with the hour time difference in the not so fortunate direction. oh yeah, and i have to take an hour and a half taxi to tacna through customs. needless to say i missed the bus. but did have an interesting taxi ride with a fellow that was smuggling rice, of all things, into peru and smelled suspiciously like old baked chicken. really, i can´t make this up. so needless to say, i missed the bus (something i will never ever do again!) but, there was a very nice young fellow at the counter who threw me into a taxi and went with me to catch the bus at the police check a half an hour up the road. also set me up with lodging and transport from the bus station at six a.m. when i arrived. and for any of you planning to travel the peruvian altiplano by night bus THEY DON´T HAVE HEAT. so, check into a nice, if cold, hotel with my own room for a very decent price. clean and the people are fantastically nice. roamed the city, was accosted by begging children, rather disturbing, and saw the floating islands, which were super cool. met with antonio, the travel MAN who has completely hooked up my trip to cuzco, machu pichu and a flight to lima since i am running out of time. also booked my trip to isla taquile today. a full day trip, but worth it. really pretty little place with pre-inca terracing. an anthropologists wet dream. complete with crafts, sheep and llama. anyway, headed out tomorrow for cuzco with another ruin tour along the way...by the way, i´m on the shores of lake titicaca
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