Chile via Dusty Trails

Today is Sunday and currently I am camped out on a sofa located within a hostel called The Aji (formerly known as Chillie) Backpackers. The reason for "camping" is because I am trying to hoard the lone television within the establishment in an attempt to watch the 49ers make Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens look like a failed lamp salesman in the Superbowl which should start in about 40 minutes. Hopefully the game will end with a championship for San Francisco!

As of two days ago I have officially entered Chile after a very extended tour of the traveler friendly Peru. I was very close to maxing out my 90 day visa in a country that coasts excellent food, a deeply rooted culture, and a diverse crowd of very welcoming people. Chile was beginning to appear more like a mirage than an actual destination and to have finally arrived here feels refreshingly exciting.

After visiting Chiclayo in Northern Peru I stopped off for a second stint in Trujillo to visit friends and enjoy a Marinera international dance completion. The Marinera, not the delicious pasta sauce, is one of numerous traditional dances that can be found along the coasts of Peru. It was very interesting and after two days a very strenuous journey to Chile took flight...via bus. To enter the country one must first arrive in Tacna, which is the border city located in Peru. After a 30 hour bus trip through Lima and Nazca I spent two nights in Tacna and a friend showed me a great railroad museum and some of the beautiful squares that pepper the surprisingly laid back desert city.

On Friday Chilean soil was at last crossed but the celebration was short lived because immediately an additional bus was boarded in the dusty Arica with Santiago set as its destination. This was arguably the most time consuming and mind numbing ride of my life. In its entirety the arrival into Santiago, the capital of Chile, lasted 32 hours with very few stops for food or restrooms. The bus itself was spacious and well ventilated but the girl sitting next to me was sharing a seat with her very young son who couldn't have been more than 4 years old. After about 15 hours it was evident that the boy was hungry or tired and he decided to let the entire group of other passengers know this by proceeding to cry like a newborn Alpaca until we finally cruised into the Santiago terminal. To make matters worse the bus company only boasted a selection of three movies and opted to play them on repeat for the duration of the trip. After watching Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson throw the game winning touchdown pass in Disney's "The Gameplan" for the third time I strongly considered jumping out of the window in the middle of the Chilean desert.

Patience paid off because Santiago is a wonderful place to visit. The city is deceivingly large with modern architecture, litter free streets, magnificent urban wall art, wide selections of cafes, beautifully displayed monuments, and plenty of outdoor options for people to enjoy a relaxed afternoon. The only tradeoff with all of this is that prices for nearly everything are comparable to the United States but despite the cost hike this place is sure to provide visitors with a pleasant experience.

The hostel I'm staying in is located in the Providence District which is within walking distance to a wide variety of attractions. Today was filled with a long walk through the neighborhoods Bellavista, taking a tour through the former house of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, and a great deal of decompressing after the strenuous previous two days.

The tentative plan for now is to stay in Santiago to recuperate for a few days then head west to the coast in order to see Viña Del Mar which is the sister city of my hometown. I hope everyone is doing well and thank you very much for taking your time to read this blog! You look delightful ;)

Family Matters

Today is Thursday and currently I am taking in some afternoon air at the house of my friend Kristie which is located in Chiclayo, Peru. This is the place of residence for her family which also consists of her parents, sister, and grandmother. I arrived here last Friday and plan on absorbing the atmose of Chiclayo until this forthcoming weekend.

The previous blog post was written in Trujillo and three days were spent within its charming colonial style boundaries. The beauty of Trujillo was a complete surprise and I arrived to the city bus terminal very early in the morning without any accommodation reserved. Only a few minutes of research about this place was undertaken beforehand and by complete luck a local taxi at the bus station recommended a hostel that ended up being one of my all time favorites of this trip. El Mochilero is a cheap, centrally located gem of a place to stay which offers great coffee and a heavily chilled out environment. This discovery was the first of many great experiences in Trujillo and for that I am truly thankful. The Plaza De Armas is stunningly clean, bright, and full of life. At night break dancers form circles and casual pedestrians roll through wide avenues lit in dim yellow hues. The food is great and there is access to some wonderful ruins such as the Chan Chan and Huaca Del Luna y Sol. Only fifteen minutes away is Huanchaco, a laid back beach town that provides seagoers with spenty of sun, fine sand, and relaxing ocean swells. After doing some exploring I was able to partake in a few language exchanges with some really cool locals. In the end this place ended up being one of my favorite cities to explore in Peru.

After the three day detour I hopped a four hour bus ride last friday to Chiclayo to visit my friend Kristie and her family. The ride to this destination was part of a promise I made two months ago and the trip up the coast went without problems. Chiclayo is a coastal city in Northern Peru and is situated between Trujillo and the beach haven of Piura. After spending exactly a week here a few striking characteristics have definitely set this place apart from anywhere else I have been in this trip. Currently the city, which is considerably hot, dry, dusty, and surprisingly loud, is under massive road reconstruction and it seems that for every person walking down the sidewalk there is at least one motorcycle taxi honking for their attention. A sea of vehicles swarm its narrow streets like ants attacking candy and moving from place to place at times has felt like a game of Frogger. It's the first time in a great while where the traffic congestion and frequently looming hum of passing vehicles has left me quite uncomfortable at times. Also despite it's normal appearance I have been warned multiple times that this place is a little dangerous and that constant caution is recommended. These descriptions seem like major reasons not to see this place but despite some of its tradeoffs Chiclayo offers the best food, access to some of the most culturally rich traditions, and houses some of the kindest people that I have ever encountered. The Ceviche, Arroz con Pato (duck), Cabrito (baby goat), Chaufa (Chinese infusions), and various Asados which can be found on nearly every street corner make this place a gastronomic Mecca. My friend Kristie has been a wonderful host and has done her best to expose me to the various cultural offerings of her city and for that I am truly fortunate and thankful.

In addition to food Chiclayo is in very close proximity to numerous pre Inka museums, ruins, and various historical sites. On Saturday we took a collectivo taxi to Lambayeque, a neighboring town, which supposedly was the first place officially liberated from the Spanish empire in Peru. On Sunday Kristie's sister and I went to El Museo Tumbas Reales De Sipan which houses a collection of artifacts taken from a Moche (one of the first Peruvian civilizations dating back thousands of years) temple. Also time has been shared around Pimental Beach, El Museo de Sican, and seeing inverted pyramids at Tucume. A great deal of time has been spent with the family of Kristie who all have been very welcoming and have shed a great deal of light on Peruvian home life, food culture, and family dynamics. Overall this experience in Chiclayo has been extremely rewarding and it is an absolute goal to return here in the future and to hopefully be as hospitable to guests in my future home as her family has been with me.

I apologize for the very wordy blog update but a lot of events have taken place since last week. On Sunday morning I will loop back south to Trujillo to commence a series of substantially lengthy bus rides to Chile and finally Argentina (and maybe Bolivia or maybe just buy a sandwich). More updates will be on the way soon and thank you for reading this blog! Have a great day and take care.

Northbound Recovery

Today is Tuesday and currently I am taking in some fresh air at a backpackers called El Mochilero located in Trujillo, a coastal city that sits about ten hours north of the Peruvian capital of Lima. I arrived here a little over an hour ago via a very spacious Oltura bus that left from Lima. The bus was booked extremely last minute and Jorge who worked at my previous hostel will be indebted forever thanks to his help. The plan is stay to here for a few days to see a few ruins such as the Chan Chan then spend some time on the beach in Huanchaco which is a small surfing village that borders the city about twenty minutes away.

A few changes have been made to the trip itinerary since the last blog post and the culprit behind it was a pretty bad case of the flu that sprang up in Puno. Seeing either the northern deserts of Chile or the other side of Lake Titicaca in Bolivia were the two original options outside of Puno but after a few days of heavy recuperation watching dramatic Spanish soap operas time has become severely limited. On January 18th, three days from now, I'll be staying with the family of my friend in Chiclayo and therefore had to head fairly quickly north through Peru.

After recovering in Puno I hopped a bus last Friday to Arequipa and instead of stopping then proceeded to hop another bus directly to Lima. The trip was about 22 hours and during this time the altitude dropped from 12500 feet down to 500 feet. This rapid change was a little too sudden and upon arrival in Lima there was heavy pressure in my head and absolutely no hearing from my left ear for two days.

Despite being half deaf and semi sick the time in Lima was very nice. Saturday night consisted of watching the 49ers win a playoff game at The Corner Bar with a 56 year old Californian named Ken and Sunday was filled with renting a bicycle for a ride through The Miraflores District then seeing a light show at Parque De La Reserva Circuito Magico De Agua. This basically is a really big water park that consists of a series of really big fountains, a must see if you are in Lima! Thankfully yesterday the left side of my head became adjusted to the change of climate then a friend named Melody from Couch Surfing and I met to do a language exchange and walk around the city. Overall Lima was a great experience and now I'll be in the North coast for the rest of the month.

I hope everyone is doing really well and more updates are soon to follow! Take care.

Puno'd

Today is Wednesday and currently I am watching "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air" in Spanish at the Puma Backpackers located in northern Puno. I arrived here three days ago after spending a little over five weeks in Cusco and after saying farewell to some really great people. The hostel is essentially a house converted into an extended living accommodation and the owners, Enrique and Frita, have been really hospitable.

Puno is a very relaxed town filled with pizzerias, motorcycle taxis, and generally warm people, that sits along Lake Titicaca and is very close to the Bolivian border. Before arriving here I was playing with the options of hopping into Bolivia to see La Paz for a few days or trekking deep south into Chile to see San Pedro de Atacama. Both ideas have been officially left on the back burner because I have contracted the Flu and have been forced to stay here in Puno until things get better. The worst of it has definitely passed and thanks to whatsapp my Mom helped me find proper medication. Being stuck here isn't too bad because the hostel is completely vacant minus me which is perfect for recovering and there is a really nice TV so life is good!

Hopefully tomorrow things will be even better and now the plan is to go to southern Peru to Tacna because there are two Couch Surfing contacts there, head up along the coast to Lima for the weekend, maybe stop for a day in Trujillo, then be in Chiclayo by the 18th of January. There are some really good friends in Chiclayo who made arrangements for me to visit! This is all for now and a dubbed Will Smith is still pretty funny. Take care and I hope everyone is having a great day.

The Journey Continues

Today is Sunday and currently I am relaxing at a cafe called Kushka...Fe located alongside one of the corners of Cusco that is most frequented by travelers. Despite being a little pricy this Lima, owned eatery boasts one of the best atmospheres in the city. It has been quite some time since updating this travel blog and once again I am very sorry, the past few weeks have been consumed with hostel work and living like a semi Peruvian citizen. After working full-time as a quasi receptionist in a Spanish speaking hostel and getting to know one of the most beautiful cities in South America, a chapter in the trip is about to be completed. Within twenty-four hours the stable environment of living in one location for an extended period of time will become a memory and the backpack that has been placed in storage will regain familiarity like a once forgotten friend.

Tomorrow morning I will hop on a bus to Puno which is a laid-back town located on the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca. After spending a day or so around the world's tallest lake, the trail will be sporadic and accommodation will be based on which people on Couch Surfing have available space. The tentative goal is to cross into Chile after a night in border city of Tacna, spend some time in the dessert of Atacama at Valle Del Luna then either dip south towards Santiago or come back up to Peru. During the end of January I made arrangements I visit some close friends in Chiclayo which is a beach city located in the very far north of Peru. To put it shortly there are is a two or three week gap of time between now and Chiclayo which gives me some flexibly to see some new places but not enough time to wander too far away. As soon as more wrinkles become ironed out this blog will be the first to know!

Today is an emotional day in the former Inka city because it is difficult saying goodbye to familiarity, to some very amazing people, and to embrace the unknown. Describing the past few weeks in Cusco is a very hard task because the experience here has been arguably the greatest in my life. The countless travelers and fascinating locals that I have crossed paths with during my tenure as a staff member at Pirwa Colonial Backpackers is one of the best gifts that life in the colonial city has brought. Hundreds of people from all walks of life, each with there own interesting story and characteristics, has shed light on how beautiful this world is and how lucky I have been to be on this journey. Leaving the city will be very bittersweet because in my heart it is undoubtably time to ramble, to get lost, to struggle, and to experience new things. On the contrary there are countless memories soaked into this place's foundation, from the rainy dim lit side streets to the creaky wooden dance floors that are easier to find than a proper store to buy face wash.

Every individual memory of Cusco brings a tear to my eye and lights a fire inside my soul. I unfortunately can't even begin to describe what has happened the last few weeks because writing them down doesn't give justice to how thankful I am to have experienced this city. More information about future plans will be posted soon but until then thank you to everyone who has been in Cusco since the day I arrived. We might have been here together for weeks, simply made eye contact on a bustling street corner, or we might have only shared a two minute conversation. What ever the situation you will forever be remembered and hold a very special place in my heart. Except Nick and Carlton, you guys are just a couple of jerks :) just kidding but seriously I want my dollar back.

El Cusqueño

Today is Saturday and currently I am sitting in a vegetarian restaurant called El Encuentro below the San Blas neighborhoods of Cusco. For some reason this city has an abundant veggie scene and this specific restaurant has one of the best lunch menus in town. For the equivalent of about $3 a person receives soup, an unlimited salad bar and a usually pretty interesting main course with a side beverage of tea. Sorry to go on about food but currently I am starving haha and this place is very addicting even for people who enjoy meat.

A fairly decent amount of time has passed by since the previous post in this blog and for that I apologize. It's been close to two weeks since writing and each day has been filled with learning more about Peruvian culture while wandering the colonial streets of Cusco. I have been working about 35 hours a week as a receptionist for the Pirwa Colonial Backpackers and this has been one of the most rewarding experiences of the trip. Being in an entirely Peruvian operated establishment I am the token Caucasian working within the hostel's confines and through time have been given the exclusive duties of luggage storage, checkouts, laundry paperwork, and being a quasi events coordinator. Working here has been hard yet fun at the same time because none of the other employees know how to speak English and the learning curve has been sharp at times. After two weeks my Spanish has improved substantially and sometimes there will be entire days without saying a word of English. The people who work here are hilarious and it's been fun learning about how locals interact with one another.

Life in Cusco will continue until about January 3rd because December is a really busy month for Pirwa. Christmas is coming and the place is buzzing with decorations and preparations for a hopefully a big New Years Party is under way. The original plan was to reach Argentina before the end of the year but leaving the hostel before then would put the place in a unfavorable situation and so an agreement was made to stay until things slow down. This isn't too bad because Cusco knows how to have a good time and it will be an opportunity to improve speaking the native language.

Besides working behind the counter of Pirwa life outside of the hostel has consisted of exploring new food places and historical sites of the city by day then dancing with friends to the sounds of Reggaeton and Latin pop music by night. Some really good clubs in Cusco consist of Mama Africa, Mythology, and Temple with each having their own unique atmosphere. Cafes like Kushka...Fe, Muse, and The Laggard help give this place a bohemian feel without escaping its traditional roots. Cusco overall is a pretty expensive city for Peruvian standards especially if you stick around the main plazas but there are some hidden gem restaurants that offer a lot of food at very low prices. One place is called Lions and it has best deal I've seen anywhere. Walking an extra blog away from the touristy part of the city can easily save you half the price in some situations.

Last week some friends and I went at saw a Red Hot Chili Peppers cover band at a dive bar called 7 Angelitos and last night our hostel successfully initiated a ping pong tournament that ended with dancing at the club Temple. Yesterday was also filled with a hike to Saqsaywaman, an Inka ruin that sits above the city and is literally pronounced as "Sexy Woman".Being an employee of Pirwa has been interesting because other backpackers come to you for questions about trekking tours or places to find a cheap lunch and it has been fun showing new friends where some of the cool places in Cusco are located.

More updates will be on the way but until then I hope you are doing well and have a great rest of your day! Happy Holidays, stay in school, and don't ever ever try Alpaca breast milk...haha just kidding but seriously..

Machu Piccu and Cusco Corners

Today is Monday and for the past week I have been living in or around the former Inca capital city of colonial-style Cusco. Since arriving on an strenuous overnight bus from the deserts Nazca, a great deal of changes to the trip itinerary have taken place.

The original game plan was to relax at the low key Pirwa Colonial Backpackers which is located along La Plaza De San Francisco, tucked within the heart of the cities' historical district, for a few days then hiking Machu Piccu. After booking a two day tour of the Inca ruins a friend from the hostel who was working as a receptionist got fired. Having already been interested in possibly searching for a hostel gig either in Cusco or Buenos Aires, an impulse decision prompted me to ask to take his place. Within minutes I was now a member of the Pirwa Backpackers and now I am going to be working alongside an entirely Peruvian hostel staff for the next few weeks.

After landing the job I took a collectivo bus the next morning en route to Agua Caliente, the base village that sits below Machu Piccu. After a foggy cliff-ridden six hour ride and a two hour hike a small group of other travelers and myself arrived in Agua Caliente, ate a nice dinner, then woke up the next morning at 4:30am to summit the mountain. The hike was intense with massive vertical gains and took almost two hours. Machu Piccu is as beautiful as its reputation and the trek was the most rewarding experience of this entire trip by far. The views felt very alien and I feel extraordinarily lucky to have been there. By the way, thank you everyone for the birthday wishes it really means a lot!

Since hiking the Piccu life in Cusco has revolved around working as a reception assistant in a primarily Spanish speaking hostel and exploring the cities cobbled streets, cafes, food, and never resting night life. Some really good friends have been in town and we have dabbled in the dancing scene a few times which has been a great experience. Cusco has showcased some great music and everyday there are opportunities to vibe to great sounding DJs or live bands. Also some very cool couchsurfing friends have been made since arriving and it has helped me gain a better understanding of the Cusco culture. I will be here for a few more weeks then heading straight to Argentina to try some meat...
I hope everyone is doing well and have a great day!