sherburne527's TravelStream™ — Recent TravelPod.com entries TravelStream™ news feed for member sherburne527 on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/sherburne527 en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Wed, 07 Nov 2007 14:52:19 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com Back in the Heartland — Iowa City, Iowa, United States http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sherburne527/peruecuador2007/1194465000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sherburne527/peruecuador2007/1194465000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sherburne527/peruecuador2007/1194465000/tpod.html Wed, 07 Nov 2007 14:52:19 -0500 In the footsteps of Incas, in the wake of Darwin. Macchu Piccu, the Amazon and the Galapagos.
Iowa City, Iowa, United States

We're back! We have had the time of our lives and the pictures to prove it. We've missed our friends and family and are looking forward to seeing you all.

I'm sending a link to our pictures via email, so check your inbox!

Love to all,
Liz and Andrew
]]> Quito is anything but quaint — Quito, Ecuador http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sherburne527/peruecuador2007/1193353320/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sherburne527/peruecuador2007/1193353320/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sherburne527/peruecuador2007/1193353320/tpod.html Wed, 07 Nov 2007 14:50:20 -0500 In the footsteps of Incas, in the wake of Darwin. Macchu Piccu, the Amazon and the Galapagos.
Quito, Ecuador

After a great Galapagos experience we finally ended up in the capital city of Ecuador, Quito, which is home to 2 million Ecuadorians and seemingly just as many gringos. This city is very modern, with hardly any crumbling adobe half-built buildings like in Peru. It also boasts two mass transit systems, film festivals, hip restaurants and bustling nightlife. Our first day we visited the TeleferiQo, an amusement park combined with a gondola ride that takes you up to 4200 m near the summit of Volcan Pichincha. Afterwards we visited the museum of the famous ecuadorian painter, Oswaldo Guayasamin. He is known for his paintings of expressive hands and faces which depict the suffering of many south americans at the hands of colonialism and dictators. He also collected pre-colombian artifacts and colonial religious art, and these are displayed in galleries next to the majority of his paintings. The next day we went to a huge museum dedicated to pre-incan cultures that included a salon housing amazing gold artifacts. We hadn't really been to any museums at this point, but this one was top notch. Some of the ceramic artifacts found were bottles designed to look like animals. When filled, the bottles make the sound the animal would make. The highlight of Quito was attending a soccer game. Both teams were from Quito, but we happened to sit in the winning team's section. You cannot believe what you can buy in the stands. We both ended up with team jerseys (dri fit and embroidered for $5) and monsterous beers that only cost $1.50. Later that afternoon we toured the city's many elaborate gold-encrusted churches and finished the day with a wonderful meal at a spanish tapas restaurant.
]]> Huacachina, the desert oasis — Huacachina, Peru http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sherburne527/peruecuador2007/1192475460/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sherburne527/peruecuador2007/1192475460/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sherburne527/peruecuador2007/1192475460/tpod.html Mon, 22 Oct 2007 13:02:36 -0400 In the footsteps of Incas, in the wake of Darwin. Macchu Piccu, the Amazon and the Galapagos.
Huacachina, Peru

After sweating it out in the jungle, we took a bus 4 hours south of Lima along the coast of Peru to the desert oasis of Huacachina. Quite literally a small lake in the middle of a vast stretch of sand dunes, the small village is about 5 km from the bustling town of Ica, which is famous for its Pisco (a type of brandy). We spent the afternoon of our first day lounging by the pool drinking local cusqueña beer. A few hours before sunset, we buckled in for a dune buggy ride into the desert with a group of about 20 people. The highlight of the trip was sandboarding- basically strapping a snowboard to your feet and hurltling down the sand dunes. We´ve never snowboarded before, let alone sandborded, but by our 3rd run we weren´t toppling over every 10 feet and were actually staying up the entire run. The rest of the group was great fun- perhaps the first really social types we´ve met on this entire trip. We befriended a Swedish couple and the next afternoon took a tour of local wineries and a chocolate factory in Ica with them. After two days of rest and relaxation, we headed up to Lima again, where we took in the Peru v Chile soccer game (if only we could have scored tickets!) in a local restaurant.
]]> Galapagos! — Puerto Ayora, Ecuador http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sherburne527/peruecuador2007/1192990740/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sherburne527/peruecuador2007/1192990740/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sherburne527/peruecuador2007/1192990740/tpod.html Sun, 21 Oct 2007 15:08:01 -0400 In the footsteps of Incas, in the wake of Darwin. Macchu Piccu, the Amazon and the Galapagos.
Puerto Ayora, Ecuador

We touched down in Baltra, one of the dozen volcanic islands that make up the Galapagos archipelago. From our plane, we took a water taxi and a bus to the main port of Puerto Ayora. After some bargaining for a last-minute boat deal, we boarded our cruise ship two days after we landed.

Our 16 person motor yacht had passengers from Germany, UK, Canada, Switzerland, New Zealand, Holland and Spain. We were afraid of being on a boat with 14 aging American retirees, but our boat was quite the opposite, and even the older folks were fun and interesting. In fact, we were the only Americans (a recurring theme on this trip, since the rest of the
civilized world gets 4-6 weeks vacation a year and most Americans only
2 or 3).

We picked a 4 day cruise with 6 landings (and 4 snorkel trips). Each island here has its own species, so the islands are quite the lesson in evolution and survival of the fittest. The animals have also lived for millions of years without natural predators and little competition for food, which is what makes the Galapagos famous. The sea lions are happy too play with snorkelers, the tortoises will pose for a photo, the blue-footed boobies and frigate birds don't mind you being a foot from their nests and the marine iguanas are happy to share the beach with you. In fact, there aren't a ton of different species here, but what species are here are so numerous and unafraid it's quite amazing. The snorkeling has also been great, with sharks, rays, sea turtles, snakes, eels and tons of tropical fish swimming off the shore of every island.

Back on board, we managed to (barely) fend off sea sickness, get in a little sun and have a few beers with our fellow passengers. Four days were enough on the sea, and now we're headed to the island of Isabella for a horseback ride to the top of tone of the islands 6 volcanoes, last active in 2005!
]]> The gleaming Malecon — Guayaquil, Ecuador http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sherburne527/peruecuador2007/1192476660/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sherburne527/peruecuador2007/1192476660/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sherburne527/peruecuador2007/1192476660/tpod.html Sun, 21 Oct 2007 15:03:41 -0400 In the footsteps of Incas, in the wake of Darwin. Macchu Piccu, the Amazon and the Galapagos.
Guayaquil, Ecuador

We´ve spent the past two days in Guayaquil, the largest city in Ecuador. The city is warm and humid, filled with parks and monuments, plazas and churches, department stores and hotels. Quite coismopolitan really. Yesterday, we walked along the Malecon, a riverside boardwalk which the city has spent millions of dollars renovating. The Malecon stretches for miles, paved with bricks and encompassing historic landmarks, a mall, restuarants, a musuem, an IMAX theater, etc. Combined with the bustling downtown area, Guayaquil seems far more like a modern American city than anywhere else we´ve been. At the northern most point of the boardwalk, a hill is capped by a lighthouse and the city´s first chapel. Once surrounded by slums, the city has since redeveloped the dilapidated houses and dusty streets into a picturesque walkway lined with ice cream shops and restaurants all the way up to the top. Still, if you look off to the sides fo the walkway, you can see the neighboring slums- we are hoping that the city is planning on eventually fixing up these areas too! At the top is a small naval musem, which has badly translated signs along side the original Spanish. Make sure you check out the accompanying picture!
]]> Into the Jungle! — Puerto Maldonado, Peru http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sherburne527/peruecuador2007/1191685740/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sherburne527/peruecuador2007/1191685740/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sherburne527/peruecuador2007/1191685740/tpod.html Fri, 12 Oct 2007 12:36:23 -0400 In the footsteps of Incas, in the wake of Darwin. Macchu Piccu, the Amazon and the Galapagos.
Puerto Maldonado, Peru

After a week or so of climbing up the endless stairs of the Incan ruins, we left Cusco and Machu Picchu for the Amazon. We took a 28 minute flight to the town of Puerto Maldonado (it would have been a 15 hour bus ride down from the Andes and along dusty roads through the jungle) and drove down to the banks of the Rio Tambopata at the border of the Tambopata Amazon Jungle Reserve. From here we took a boat along the river about 1.5 hours to reach our ecotourism lodge, the Explorer's Inn. The work this lodge has done is responsible for getting the Tambopata area designated as a protected reserve. There are more species of birds, butterflies and rare mammals packed into this small area than anywhere else in the world. The first night we were there we did a night hike through the jungle and saw grotesquely large insects that gave me nightmares later! The next moring we arose at 4 AM and hiked 3 miles to a small oxbow lake where we observed giant otters (over 2 m long!) and other bird life. Later that day a group of people from the area showed up with supplies for the lodge and after unpacking began a pick-up soccer game on the grounds. Of course, Andrew and I had to join in. Nothing like playing soccer in the Amazon! Our clothes were soaked through, but we had a great time, and the men were impressed that a woman could play soccer, as they never had seen a woman play before! That night we went out on the boat and found several species of Cayman and even the strange Capibarra, the largest rodent in the world, about 80 pounds! Early the next morning we took a boat 3 hours down the river to a spot in the reserve where there is quite a bit of clay mixed into the river bank cliffs. Here hundreds of parrots and macaws come to obtain essential nutrients for their diet. When we arrived, approximately 25 scarlet, blue and yellow and red and green macaws were enjoying a late afternoon snack of clay. We ended up camping about 100 m up river in perhaps the most elaborate campsite ever created. Not only did we have a nice tent, but we also dined by candlelight in a separete screened-in tent. The cook had a full kitchen set up under tarps, and they even brought a commode and created a pit toilet enclosed by tarps! My bravest moment came when we bathed in the river late that night- although they assured us it was safe, I kept envisioning caymans and pirhanas attacking me. Thus my bath lasted approximately 30 seconds! The next morning we went back to the clay lick and there were over 200 parrots of all types crowded along the cliff. As we watched, the macaws moved in and being bigger birds, scared all the parrots off in a swarm of squaking and chaos. Eventually the macaws took their place on the clay lick. We headed back to the lodge after lunch. That night we went on another night hike where we saw night monkeys, a poison dart frog and a coral snake almost a meter long! I nearly peed my pants with fear and later dreamt that Andrew and our guide left me in the middle of the jungle at night without a flashlight! Our sighting of the snake was particularly rare, and all rare sightings go up on a board at the lodge, so we are a part of history for the mean time. We got up early the next morning and flew back to Lima, covered in bug bites but in awe of all that we had seen! We plan to go to Ica, just south of Lima on the coast, on thursday. We are having the time of our lives, but are dead tired from getting up at 4 AM all the time. Outside of Ica is a desert oasis where we plan to sleep in for the first time. Hope all is well at home! Love to all.
]]> Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley — Machu Picchu, Peru http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sherburne527/peruecuador2007/1191513120/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sherburne527/peruecuador2007/1191513120/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sherburne527/peruecuador2007/1191513120/tpod.html Fri, 05 Oct 2007 08:42:38 -0400 In the footsteps of Incas, in the wake of Darwin. Macchu Piccu, the Amazon and the Galapagos.
Machu Picchu, Peru

Hola Amigos! We have been on a whirlwind tour of the sacred valley and Machu Picchu and are back in Cusco. We are baffled that we have only been in Peru for so little time, because it seems that we have done so much! On Tuesday we set off on a tour bus to visit various Incan ruins in the sacred valley. Our first stop was Pisac, an area for agricultural research that housed a religious center. Second we stopped at Ollataytambo, an Incan town and one of the last strongholds against Pizzaro´s army. From here we took the train to Aguas Calientes, a boom town at the base of the ruins of Machu Picchu. We got up at 4:30 AM to catch one of the first buses up the winding road to Machu Picchu and beat the crowds by a few hours. The views were spectacular, although there are wildfires in the area that created a kind of fog that somewhat obscured views of the surrounding mountains. We had a guide for the first 2 hours who was excellent and gave us a great tour and interesting insight into Incan culture. After the tour, we decided to climb Wayna Picchu, a mountain directly north of the ruins. They only allow 400 people to climb the mountain each day, and when we arrived at the gate at 9 AM we were numbers 402 and 403. Luckily they decided to let 100 to 200 more people in. The climb was incredibly challenging; the entire route consisted of stone steps. I´m sure some person has counted the steps, but there have to be thousands. At the pinnacle there is a beautiful ruin that is relatively intact. Beyond Wayna Picchu is a challenging hike down to the little visited Temple of the Moon and the Grand Caverna. Since we were unable to book a spot on the Inca Trail, we decided that this would be a fun hike to undertake. The trek was absolutely gorgeous, winding down the side of the mountain amidst wild flowers and swirling butterflies. We came to Machu Picchu knowing that we would be surrounded by tourists, but on this trail we saw next to no one. It was great- we felt a bit like Hiram Bingham must have felt. We finally reached the Temple after an hour of hiking and took refuge in the cool cavern lined with perfect Incan stonework. All in all we spent about 10 hours at Machu Picchu, exploring the towering temples and wandering in and out of niches and caves. Pictures really cannot do it justice- it truly is one of the most spectacular places we have ever been. Regardless, we have posted some pictures for your enjoyment. Hasta luego!
]]> Cusco is cold! — Cusco, Peru http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sherburne527/peruecuador2007/1191167220/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sherburne527/peruecuador2007/1191167220/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sherburne527/peruecuador2007/1191167220/tpod.html Mon, 01 Oct 2007 01:16:48 -0400 In the footsteps of Incas, in the wake of Darwin. Macchu Piccu, the Amazon and the Galapagos.
Cusco, Peru

We weren´t sure we´d make it to Cusco as planned after an airplane mixup (somehow we´d booked our flight for October!) but we are here and are slowly adjusting to the high altitude while taking in the beautiful city sites. Cusco was once an incan settlement but was eventually colonized by Pizarro, the famous spanish general. True to its spanish heritage, there are iglesias on every corner and colonial-style buildings everywhere we turn. The city is centered around the Plaza de Armas, a beautiful place full of activity and good people watching. Our first item of business upon arrival was to purchase llama wool hats, as it is incredibly cold here! yes, it is colder than Iowa, and probably Minnesota too.

We spent today exploring the cobblestone streets and ended up in the Mercado Central for a lunch of local Andean cheese, bread and fruit. Thus far we have been able to try many local peruvian dishes, including mata with coca leaves (tea), ceviche, lomo saltado (a kind of beef stir fry), grilled alpaca, and the famous cuy al horno-- fire roasted guinea pig! We have been practicing our spanish but tonight we went for a drink at a local bar and found an american tending bar. He gave us the low down on bargaining (we paid too much for our hats), tipping, and other local customs. Tomorrow we plan to hike to Sacsayhuayman ruins and the day after we will embark on a tour of the sacred valley ending in Macchu Piccu. We have posted some pics of Cusco and will certainly post more after we return from the Sacred Valley. Hasta luego!
]]> estamos en Lima! — Lima, Peru http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sherburne527/peruecuador2007/1191042120/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sherburne527/peruecuador2007/1191042120/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sherburne527/peruecuador2007/1191042120/tpod.html Sat, 29 Sep 2007 01:26:28 -0400 In the footsteps of Incas, in the wake of Darwin. Macchu Piccu, the Amazon and the Galapagos.
Lima, Peru

Estamos aqui! (we`re here!) not much to report yet, but thought we`d send an update to let everyone know we made it to Lima and are safe and sound at our hostel. We are staying in a district called Miraflores, which is a nice area catered towards tourists. Our taxi driver said it is the district that never sleeps! Sure enough, there is a racous party happening on the roof of our hostel, and we are currently enjoying a beer at the rooftop bar. Tomorrow we fly to Cusco and will make arrangments to explore the sacred valley and machu piccu. We will send more updates soon!
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