Kicker Rock, San Cristobal, Las Greitas

Please never let me leave

I was on a 2 day tour and decided to stay with the host family. This quaint welcoming little place was called Casa Becerro Puebla. It was owned and run by Marco and Theresa Becerro. They were the warmest host family i could hope for. They were efficient, kind, patient and fun. i eventually went from calling them "Madre & Padre" to just "Ma and Pa"It was so awesome. I had my own "bedroom" with a wonderful breakfast. Breakfast was served every morning at 7 when Ma (lol) would go to her unbelievable garden and pick fresh fruit for her starter salad ( guavas, apples, bananas, watermelon, and something else i forget the name of) Their casa was very close to the beaches and I literally walked to sunbathe and swim in various locations with the freshly bred sea lion colonies and giant sea turtles for 3 extra days. 

     Ryan eventually joined me after I did some post tour recon. The second day I went to Kicker Rock and swam the channel. The wet suit snorkelling began with a massive majestic sea turtle against the deep blue ocean floor. As the sun rays shone down between the jutting rock formation, I saw one. A shark. I was exhilarated . One shark emerged. So slick he was with his light grey exterior. Then there were 10! Then there were 30 !  It was truly one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen in my life. They feed on sea lions in the morning , and choose not to eat till they are hungry much later in the evening. There were 2 kinds. White tipped sharks and black tipped Galapagos sharks i believe. These are endemic to the Galápagos Islands. 

       After a truly amazing day snorkelling near massive rocks, my tour went to the most beautiful beach in San Cristobal hands down. It was a white sand beach that stretched across a beautiful cove . It was nestled between huge lava formed cliffs. There were even more colonies of sea lions. Many mothers feeding their pups. Then I walked by an awkward site of a mother feeding a pup almost larger than her.  Had to cock my eyebrow and be like ; geez buddy , you can actually fish for yourself now lmao you really gotta start thinking about leaving the nest. There were only scheduled groups of tourists to this boat access only, piece of paradise. The colonies were much more comfortable with their surroundings. And therefore much quirkier. It was at this point my iPod still worked and I played my ' track of the trip '............

........ - Tritonal, Still With Me - it reminds me of those that i loved I have lost and those my loved ones have lost and the beauty that surrounds me. At this beach, after this day, I cried happy tears to this song as i sipped on Caña. Like utter joyful and free exhilaration . When we had to leave, it was far too soon. I was left in tranquil state of awe . I returned back to the Casa Becerro Puebla where I was welcomed by ma and pa warmly once again. When Ryan arrived we went to a bay called "Cerro Tijeretas" this absolutely beautiful secret gem to snorkel where we got a private tour from my previous guide . It was unreal. Ryan saw his first sea turtle swimming gracefully and fearlessly. I was pleasantly approached by a very playful friendly sea lions with my friend Katy from Perth.  They danced around me in unison. the way they swim in 360 degree effortless freedom almost mad me cry again. The absolute freedom of their movement is mesmorizing. The younger ones stay to the side of their mothers and mimic the exact movement. Spins and everything. The one swam at top speed directly towards my face and stopped a half foot in front , and swam directly under me and through my legs while the other two criss crossed in front of me and spun simultaneously around me from left to right almost in figure 8's. Is that picturable? . After Ryan's first turtle one of them kissed  me underwater right up to my snorkel mask. I closed my eyes! (Lmao this was only because I figured it thought I got too close to the baby and it was coming to bite my face off) it then spun around my floating weightless body several times before doing acrobats away. It was completely uninhibited and if anything playing with me and giving me love too. In this location it a must to climb to the look out points and Frigate Bird Hill and go off the beaten path. it is hands down the best sunset i have ever seen in my life!!!! Just clear skies! And the glistening Pacific Ocean with colours that painted themselves in motion. I sat at the most jutting edge of the lookout point and stared down a very huge cliff I paid 0 attention to. The sun was complete zen. I am IN LOVE WITH THE GALAPAGOS!!!!! I never wanna leave. 

      The sea lions literally took over the town of Puerto Maquerizo Moreno at night. It was a sight to see. They crowded the pier and parks. They used the playground slides, they passed out on benches, and yelled all night. Haha it was a ridiculous sight to see. Lemme tell you. On Isabela island one was even laying on a backyard couch!. I am literally expecting one to be the boat captain or the tour guide next hahahah wowwww.  P.s. F the way certain locals treat them. There should be MUCH MUCH more awareness made towards this horrific situation.  Argh , but nonetheless I love them all and the gifts that their natural states brought to my world. 

       After leaving San Cristobal  I returned to Santa Cruz. Spent a few days here while we tried to book some tours. Everything was booked. So we decided to make our own day trips for free to Tortuga Bay again. And then Las Greitas. This is a grotto of a mix of fresh and salt water. It is a deep canyon shaped solid volcanic rock swimming hole. With huge cliffs to dive from! I mean jump, or flip or whatever. We swam around beneath the huge closed in walls and  watched the gutsy local boys do tricks . I decided to cliff dive so Ryan could film me with them. I swam to their water point of entry  to their high perch . It was then I realized what I was about to do. It was a almost straight up rock climb of small crevices you had to really grip with your wet hands. I had to watch a young local boy do it first so I knew where to hold and step. It was disturbingly slippery. After half way up I looked down to see my progress. Mistake. I got the no feeling, but was already almost there. I forgot that these were like 13-16yr old local boys! I am a 155 lb 30 yr old foreign woman! Lmao I am definitely not in the shape they were in. But I prevailed, and got to the top with a sweating grin of relief. I jumped with joy. So happy that Ryan filmed. But wait,....he actually didn't,......sooooo I had to go through this process again. The thrill of free climbing is amazing. As long as you have a safe way down. Because that is the sketchy part really. Water grotto was the best way I can think of. Lol really. 

      After this we went to our rooftop massive space in Hostal Lirios Del Mar. Beautiful rain poured down on us as we looked over the ocean bay of Puerto Ayora and the mountains in the jungle on the other side. I love these moments. So much. The rain is so cleansing. To the earth and many souls as well. Even if they don't know it ;). 

       The next morning we took a water taxi to Isabela island. The drive was IN-SANE. Just wow. We rode the top, just as planned. The Captain was the shit!!! He was not only pleasant, but a 25 yr vet of the rough seas. The seas were incredibly intense. The sky was red that morning . Very red.  And ya know what they say about that. Well it's true! The swells were huge. I had to hold on for dear life once again as to not completely fly off of the top of the  speedboat. Only this time I finally had Ryan with me ! Making it much more fun and just an experience to remember. Feeling absolute pity for the poor souls who were down below (which was everyone but us). But not those onnthe outer back. those inside the cabin. The captain let Ryan and I steer the boat for pictures sake. And not only this. At one point the captain gave me a quick tap on the back and gestured towards his chair. Then he waved goodbye and crept down the ladder to the bottom deck!!!! I was like wtf?! Omg! So I jumped in the captains chair and steered the thrashing speedboat of like at least 20 passengers through the Pacific towards Isabela island! Steering through giant swells of sometimes 5 metres high! Jesus Christ. In the rainy weather and the aggressive water and my exaggerated imagination it was the 'Perfect Storm'  lmao all we could think was ; "what must the passengers below in the  deck think while the captain uses the baño, and chats with the boat skipper?!"  As they thrash over and over in nausea? Hahaha that no one is driving the boat at all? Because I am 100% positive they were definitely NOT thinking that I was the only one driving it. But fml that was definitely the case. Loving life I am.  Wow . We arrived in Isabela with happy grateful hearts. Rattled and excited for more. 

       

Galapagos Intro

Oh and I forgot to mention that at the last unmentionable hostel the shower electrocuted you when you touched the extremities, and the walls were literally being broken down around us! We came back to a pile of rubble up to our shins, directly pressed onto our door. Of concrete! Lmao the dustpan was clearly not doing the job . ;). Thank God we had plans to move on. .......

.....on a MUCH more positive note........I also forgot to mention the funny t-shirts we encountered at the Macchu Picchu base town of Aguas Caliente. One was Cuys and Roses. Cuy means Guinea Pig in Spanish. (Some , ummmm interesting and totally disturbing menu pictures is all I will say on that topic)it was a shirt with the Guns and Roses logo with Guinea Pigs playing in an 80's rock band. Amazing! And the second was the Peruvian Crooks and Castles gangster wear. It was called Criminales and Casa's . Haha beyond amaaaazing!

After a couple days at Santa Cruz, Galapagos. I decided to go on a 2 day tour to San Cristobal. The taxi's are mediocre priced. Reasonable I guess compared to COMPLETELY unreasonable  things that have been encountered. Hah the iPod is barely functioning on a skipped beat that switches songs everytime you get psyched for one. Maybe every couple seconds ,....maximum a minute. Better than no music. It heals the soul I find, even in sped up mood changes,.....( no comment ) lol the speedboat can vary. I rode the top to and from San Cristobal. The way there from Santa Cruz was about 2 1/2 hours. And was VERY bumpy. Luckily I was at the pier at 6:15 and had no time for breakfast. This gave me the up and up drastically. On top of the fact that I rode the top of the boat with the Captain. :) I just fumbled into this luxury by fluke, and it gave me insight into the only way to not get sick and get the absolute most out of your water taxi through the Pacific Galapagos inner islands. But beware. Depending on the specific boat, there may be no top at all, or there may be a rickety one which is 'life jacket recommended'. I could compare it to a popcorn kernal on a roller coaster. My muscles were very pulled from all angles just focussing on not flying off the boat or fracturing my tailbone on the crash landing from top of the  swell/s. And to be honest,....it was amazing!!! Much better than the extreme dune buggying. Wouldn't have had it any other way. No time for your mind and body to focus on being sick. Lol some swells are terrifying. Sometimes you think the boat is gonna tip over. But the thrill of the top of the speedboat is better than being nauseated with a large group of strangers, for 3 hours anyday. 

We  passed Isla Santa Fe on the way . I thought there may be hope for a rest or lunch or a anything but perma-thrashing. There was not . Lol but beautiful nonetheless . When we arrived in San Cristobal the sun was shining. The weather was sweet. And we went straight to a Sea lion refuge. The tour began with La Loberia. An amazing beach filled with breeding marine iguanas to start. They were trying to gain territory and mates, so I saw quite the fight happen between alpha males. They nod their heads as a sign of territorial, mating showmanship. They are much more colourful on San Cristobal. It's weird because the blood all over the rocks from the losing competitor was bright bright red. Like paint. Or graffiti. I am not sure if it has to do with the chemical element of the temperature of a reptiles blood in the warm air or what, but it was something to see. From there we continued on to where the sea lions breed in colonies. There is approximately one male for 30 females. So to see him doing his rounds at certain times is not only threatening but also amazing. You can't get suuuuper close to him out of fear of the unknown, but the mothers and grown pups are much less territorial. Aaaaand did I mention the babieszzzz?????!!!!  Paaahhhhh OH- MY-GOD are they ever cuuuute. It's almost too intense how cute they are. Juuuust so overwhelming. They look into your eyes with their big beautiful eyes. Like clumsy baby puppies with fins!  They play and bark and crawl over each other and swim with sea turtles. Wow . Just wow. You just want to hold them and cuddle them , but Ma's and Pa clearly wouldn't like that. So you keep the distance for safety. (Shhhhhh I pet ones little insanely adorable head, he was breathtaking,....not the Seinfeld kind)   . I got to swim with them and giant sea turtles too. Finalllyyyyyy. 

It was unreaaalllll. I was in awe all day. Especially when we went to the next beach. Where the sea lion pups were in a big cuddle puddle. Yeah, I just used that term.  It was Playa Punta Carola. Which is just up the path behind the wall from Playa Mann. 

The Journey Continues

From Montanita we went to Guayaquil to catch our flight to the Galapagos. We were the last to board,......[ collar pull,....who knew pssshhhtttt ] .  We flew into Baltra airport Galapagos where I snuck a pic or 2 before my Ipad camera stopped working completely. Dbl Yaaarrrrgh. We ended up staying at a place I will not even give the satisfaction of even web advertising whatsoever. The brother of the owner [who we thought was a random guy off the streets at the time] attempted to take my money first of all. NO BUENO. But luckily I am a  TDot chic and he was tracked down by the morning and dealt with so we got a free stay out of his stealings. We got stuck there for an extra night due to the sneakily early checkout time. We  continued to have colonies of ants, giant beetles. and mice. Ants and beetles and mice !!! OH MY!

But success instilled once again as the beauty of the Galapagos slowly melted away the negative Montanita trap of sorrow. Our first full day in Santa Cruz, we woke up early. Here we encountered our first grumpy morning sea lions at the pier. Haha They did not want us there, the Iguanas were cool though. wink wink. We walked to Tortuga Bay which was awesome. There are 2 beaches here. The first was the surfer beach. We hung out with marine Iguanas. That is something to see. These marine Iguanas are endemic to the Galapagos. They are only found here. To see an Iguana squiggle through the water is so pleasing for some reason. Probably because it is totally new. We hung with them for a bit while collecting volcanic rocks. And these little flocks of birds were checking us out like crazy. Its amazing how close they come. We continued our walk to the second beach which is the swimmers beach. Its crazy how it goes from big waves where talented young proteges carve artwork into the rushing water swells, to barely a movement on the other side of the sea turtle nesting dunes. We chilled here with the birds and the Iguanas for the day. Here we played hangman in the sand and swam with Iguanas in the hot sun while staring up at a volcano in the distant rainforest. Let me tell you ,......ya don´t do that everyday!!! The food here is amaaaazing. wow. Very expensive though. The whole damn place is. obviously. The next day we saw our very first Giant Tortoises at the Charles Darwin Research Center. They were absolutely incredible! Dinosaurs ! HUGE !!! moving sooooooo slow. haha And a breeding ground for all of the little baby tortugas. So cute. wow. Success once again.

success followwed by unsuccess

It has been awhile since my last post. I made a successful transfer on the amazing bus which I built up in my head to be sketchy. It was not at all. Like I mentioned earlier, Cruz Del Sur is a palace. The bus was quite alright indeed. A 32 hour adventure of life experience. The border agents were actually quite pleasant, and I did indeed hop out at Mancora and spitshine myself a hole to peek through. We arrived in Guayaquil at about 11;30 PM. Haha Unfortunately upon arrival not one single ank machine worked for us at allllll. A slight panic incurred. After much frustration and diligence at the mall we arrived at, we finallllllyy got a machine to work.
We continued onto Montanita with a great couple. Shout out to Curt and Dana! lol They attempted to help to transfer my pictures to my Ipad with an amazing device that my old, beaten Ipad would not accept. Yaaarrrrrrgh. Unsuccess. On top of that, in Montanita,.........alas,...........wait for it,............my brand new amazing camera and the memory card of our whole trip was stolen. Right from under my nose. Damn Caipirinha´s !!!! I lost almost all documentation of the most amazing experience of my life. So it is now up to my memory to recap these times and experiences through words and thoughts. Montanita is this awesome surfer town. Small, crime ridden, but so cool and beautiful. The most amazing sunsets I have ever seen. Wish I coulda shown them. Also wish I was techier so I had known some online way to back them up without all of this heartbreak occurring. I guess it was meant to be. Waahhhh. After meeting a bunch of cool people, we couldn´t wait to get the hell outta there. The times were too good if ya get my drift. The camera situation soured me deeply. On top of the fact that the only 2 bank machines in the entire town were a nightmare. For us and everyone else. If only they realized that in order to keep people in your town, and keep them spending money, you actually have to put money inside the actual machines . lmao And maintaining them wouldn´t hurt either. This enables them to actually read magnetic strips. The only way to get money was a $30US cab to the next town where you crossed your fingers and hoped . I stayed at Hostel Esperanto in Montanita which had a hammock on the 4th floor which looked over the ocean. I stayed there just for you mom. I felt the breeze and had an afternoon nap while thinking of you. That I liked. But the maid took a $20US off of my nightstand. lol that I didn´t like. At Ryans hostel there were a few hammocks. So we had bumper banana hammock wars. It was awesooooome. We had some good times there for sure.

Whoops

Finally figured a fuzzy way to share some memories and now there's too much by accident , sheez

Update: The fuzzy photos have been removed, care of the best sister ever, and now the blog is ready for some fresh and clear material.....coming soon

I won MonoPeru !

On the move again

After spending 3 days at the Red Psycho Llama in Lima, I am happy to be back on the road again. New day = new adventure. On the sketch bus, which i took a vip ticket on, making it much less sketchy. But I saved a tonne by deciding to take a 30 + hour bus instead of a short plane ride. It is currently 5:48 in the am. I have been on the bus since 2:45 pm yesterday. Lol I couldn't sleep . Like at all.  So I have been awaiting the sunrise. Only to find out the amount of dirt accumulated on the window for the past 15 hours has blocked the view I have been desperately looking forward to. And I mean desperatelyyyyy lmao w/e half way there and that's good enough of a triumph for me. :)  I believe Mancora is our last stop before the Tumbes, border in to Ecuador. I should reach Guayaquil this evening sometime. Then to Montanita from there. Yaaayyyyyyy. Beach town for a few days.  Ugh damn dirty window. I wanna hop out at Mancora and do a quick spit shine peek hole for entertainments sake. Lol  

Adventure continued

Macchu n more

Newest post

Aguas Calinte was absolutely one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. It's extremely overpriced obviously. It's a tourist trap. Not only did we get ripped off entering the town by train only, train is the only way out. Which was even MOoORE expensive.  Go figure. We got ripped off one after the other at the many beckoning restaurants and their staff. We preferred to eat at Amaru because our 3rd floor table looked over the town square, triangle, circle, whatever it was. Lol  the food was way overpriced, but at least we knew what we were getting here. The staff was cool too. Note ,........don't be fooled by the restaurants offering the free Pisco sours. They are either hit or miss for the food. Most of the time they were a miss. Ryan's dbl  burger was weird scraps of poorly cooked mystery meat. Needless to say I loaded his system with Oil of Oregano after this meal. But when made correctly, I could live off these. They are So good. It's actually the egg yolk that makes them unbelievable. But on the other hand the markets here were extremely barter-able. I deeply regret not getting an El Paca rug/blanket here. They are so cozy and soft. It's an instinct when approached by marketers to avoid eye contact after awhile. You miss the stuff ya really would've wanted. I am trying to avoid souvenirs and extra baggage at all costs. But this I would've gladly carried.

Regardless of the touristy atmosphere, this beautiful place leads you to one of the most sacred places in the world. MACCHU PICCHU. The night before we had way too much fun. We had to be up at 4 am to make the 5 am sunrise bus. Ryan went to bed. I could NOt sleep. So I ate snacks and organized my insane backpack and slept for 20 minutes so I was not too tired to move. Macchu Picchu was one of the main things that drew me to Peru, was not missing a spec of it. 

The sleeplessness melted away with each meter that we climbed the windy dirt road to the top. As soon as it came into view from the rising sun my heart and soul was beaming, and it didn't stop till well after we got down to the bottom of the mountains again that evening. MACCHU PICCHU IS UN-FUCKING BELIEVABLE!!!!!!  It is the most magical place one could ever even imagine. To start, the clouds shroud the valley and the peaks in the very early morning hours, and slink into different places at different times as the sun rises. ( it is evident is so many ways, in this sacred town, why the people of the sun worshipped this burning ball of life) . The more the sun heats the mountains, the quicker you can see the clouds rising and dispersing. Due to the height of the ruins, and the fact that it is built above the rushing Urubamba River below, they re-create themselves and disappear throughout the day. Only adding to the magic. 

We started our day with the upper ruins, and wanted to run and jump and fly off all of the endless, abruptly ending mile high terraces. We decided to have our breakfast at a corner nook where we could eat privately and enjoy the mile++++ drop below. And accept where we were, without the high traffic crowd which were about to hoard. After this we trekked to the Puente Inca. ( ancient Incan Bridge) . It was jaw dropping and truly surreal. It was such a small walking space and such a straight drop it gave us the tingly, high up, no feeling so many times. But we continued to creep onto these jutting edges for pics sake. FOR PIIIICS SAKE! Lol  the drop was IN-TESE ! Loved it. Suddenly my fear of heights was uninhibited due to the energy still pulsating through this sacred place. And imagining it functioning in history,.....fearlessly. . This was truly God's country. Not only geographically, but definitely spiritually enhanced. The Inca's were superior builders. Their energy runs through every perfectly cut and placed stone in this sacred city. 

From every scary ledge, to giant chill rocks, to small chill rocks, to protruding side ( stairs of death style) stones protruding on already existing walls, to huts and viewpoints, and most places containing all of these in one; we knew we would have to travel far and wide to find anything that would ever compare to this again...... On top of this, the El Paca's roam the terraces as workers. It's truly an unbelievable sight. Hahaha. They have names and numbers and act as lawn mowers to the ancient terraces. And have roped off work areas. What a great job!! Imagine your favourite food grew from the ground, all over your jobsite, and your reward was to eat it , just to keep the place clean for the touring people from all over the world. Who paparazzi'd  you like a celebrity while doing it. Lmao amaziiiiing. The faces they make are ridiculous. So conceited . Like mini-sheep-camels chewing peanut butter. Still lmao. ...... I eventually kept saying " the name is Paca, Albert Paca. But you can all me Al" . Eventually it became - Al - Paca - Chino -. Which I said was an Italian actor. Ryan said it was a specialty, Andean coffee. Lol either way it's amazingly funny. 

After a lovely break , and meeting an amazingly funny couple at the even more over priced cafe, we continued to the Sun Gate hike. This was gradual and pant evoking.  On top of the altitude. The hike was MORE than worth it. After 45  minutes-ish, we climbed to the very top of the highest slippery rock that we could. Looking down on the other satisfied tourists ( only with a much more satisfied look on our faces) , and just absorbed what seemed to be the top of the world...... (Inhaaaaaale,......exhaaaaaallleeeeee) . From here we climbed into a cave which continued higher to a cliff. We found a path where we brought the Chauchilla Pre-Incan Nazca bones and unwrapped them. We lit the white candle, and I said my appreciation prayer to the lost souls, and sun gods. We set the bones free and left them here. I poured some vino tinto as an offering, peered the private cliff, and were on our way back down the Sun Gate's descent. This was in need of a celebratory Pisco sour break ;-P . 

We met another funny couple in view of Dinosaur mountain at the cafe. ( personally ask me of why we named the mountain this lol ) after the break we went to the actual Macchu Picchu city ruins. The endless, perfect architecture was breathtaking ( not Seinfeld baby breathtaking lmao, like actually !) Nooks and crannies and cliffs , oh my ! The stone placement at that altitude is mind baffling. Just the absolute wonder and mystery makes the entire sight a mindfuck.  Salut to the bravery and efficiency of the short lived Incan people. This truly is a masterpiece that will live in in their honour for the rest of our time on this earth...... When I got to the top for the first time I almost cried happy tears ,......okay who am I kidding. I for sure did. Lol ;)  this was something everyone's bucket list needs and deserves.  This day will forever live in my mind , heart and soul. Thank you to the god's for the eye opening experience of a lifetime. 

We took the Expedition train straight back to Cuzco. What a beautiful ride through the Sacred Valley. Only this time? In the dayliiiigt. Yaaayyyy. The trigger happy Cess got on the case again. The amazing crew from Albequerque, New Mexico we met from the  Ollantaytambo ruins was seated around us. They were so cool. So many Breaking Bad jokes, ...oooobviouslyyyy. I sat across from this girl named Shi-Ing from China. She was a Buddhist . From Beijing. Her named translated to Crystal....( the Breaking Bad jokes continued....lmao obvi) She actually gave Crystal gifts to other spiritual people! Bradley from Albequerque got a Smiling Buddha and a quartz(crystal). She dug through her superiorily  woven bag and pulled out what I feel to be my totem signature. A pink cat crystal!!!! I always knew,...but WOW!!!!! What an on point unconscious prediction. I am still in shock. Bradley confirmed I needed no shaman. This was my totem. :):):):) 

We took a a collectivo back to Cuzco. We stayed at the Pirwa Backpackers Farmiliar once again. It was just as convenient as the first time. We returned to the Muse that night. Unfortunately Ryan got pickpocketed for his new IPhone 5.  Sadly the nicest , touchiest, people are the riskiest. We still love the Muse and met amazing people there, but kept the guard up. I knew better than to have open pockets, but who thinks they will slip into your pants?!!! Needless to say this is Ryan were talking about and he doesn't care, nor will the loss of material possessions ever  affect his well being or happiness in an adventure such as this. Admirable I must say. Just like all of the struggling people who co-inhabitat this earth ( rather than the Western world we are so accustomed to) .  

After leaving Cuzco , we took a plane to Lima once again. The flight was filled with Andean mountain tops which seemed to almost touch the plane at points . We are currently in Lima. We searched for a cheap bargain, but I finally had had enough of the ' unsanitary ness ' And stayed at the Red Psycho Llama hostel. After much language barriers, helpful staff at the Lion Hostel helped us to find private romms elsehwere. This place is the tits!!!  Rooftop terrace, matrimonial is what I got, to myself .  Amazing. Ryan got the rooftop Terrace 4 person room. With no one checking in !  They have a massive Tila Tequila tv/DVD / cushion board game  area! I want this in my house. The cushion pad, the terrace. Everything!  Here we will remain until our 30 hour Cruz Del Sur VIP bus thru the Northern coastline to Tumbes , and eventually Guayaquil to Ecuador. Wish me protection and never ending protected white light thoughts while I travel the sketchiest bus trip ever taken for me personally. Lol love for all. C

Sacred Valley

After leaving Hotel Sol, we went straight to Aguas Caliente where we are now. We arrived last night. Nothing will compare to that hotel room again. Just nothing. It was my splurge once night. So back to hostel life it is. We are staying atvAngie's hostel in Aguas Caliente after arriving in the backpackers train last night. (Expedition)  it was dark, so we didn't see the Sacred Mountains till the morning. The wait was well worth it. My window opens to a MASSIVE mountain face. Like just massive all around you. Nestled inside of God's country while they watch over you. Silently and majestically . Tomorrow is Macchu Picchu!!!!! Omg omg omg. We have to be up at 3:30 am to successfully catch the sunrise and the 5 am bus. Insane. I cannot wait . I am just honoured to be here and I thank the universe for leading me in this direction. I feel free. And it is beautiful in so many ways. From the land , to the people, to the mystery, to the spiritual guidance. This is by far one of the  most amazing journeys one can take. This whole planet is. It's much bigger than what surrounds us. There is so much more than our cars, homes, jobs, city, town, and stress factors. Life is out there, it's grabbing by the balls and just living it that makes the difference. Talk after Macchu Picchu. What whaaaattt! 

Googenbloggen

Wellllll helloooooo my beloved missed faithful followers. We took the bus from Arequipa to Puno. It was absolutely beautiful. Buses are the way to go around here by far. So much to see with eyes open wide.

Puno was a bit of hunt for service. Cheap service. I miss the Nazca Inn days where Mickey was waiting for us with our names, and our whole travel package ready at a discount. Puno was unsafe feeling, and felt like Gringo Alley was the only safe place at night. It was awesome though. The best part about Lake Titicaca was the bus ride into it. According to the word of other travellers, the floating islands were a sham. That there is no possible way that these people live there. Lol . They work hard at making it look like they work hard. The children are made to look like their cooking all day. Taquile Island is said to be beautiful though. We missed the very slow moving boat tour. We ended up going to bed because we spent the night rain dancing on the rooftop invoking lightning in a massive storm. So effing worth it. Alex confirmed the travellers feedback. Thank god because I was so disappointed in myself until i heard that. Lol When we tried to leave , the front door guy locked us in and demanded more money. Lmao we had a bus to catch, and the lady"mujer" at the front desk. She said we were good. Word of advice, always get people to give you a signed receipt. Lesson learned. There weren't easily findable volunteer options in this town ;) .

From Puno we continued on to Cusco. Here we stayed at the Pirwa Backpackers Farmiliar. The people were friendly, accommodating, and the price was great! The place was clean and convenient and I recommend it to anyone. 25 soles per person. We stayed here for the morning bus arrival sleep. Plus 2 nights sleep. I'll just say it right now. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE CUSCO !!! It is so amazing. There is crime sure, but just be smart and the beautiful people here will jump right out to you . We had lunch at Paddy's Pub. Shopped some market. And got a flyer for The Muse Bar. Our favourite female band from Spain ( that we saw and loved in Huacachina ) happened to be playing! It was amazing. The coziest place where we drank Pisco sours and listened to the band. All the tables had crayons and blank paper. So you could colour while you interacted with the band playing . This is one of my favourite nights. This is the second place I jumped on the mic. Such good feedback. Wow. I gave the girls who played the picture I drew. And we danced all night. I had a dance off. It was amazing!!! Ryan, Alex and I had the time of our lives that night. Memorable forever. The DJ was absolutely amazing. Peruvian bass dubbed me up yo. Lol if anyone gets that hahah. AMAZING. Big up the Muse fo life . We had a great dinner the next night and the following day ate from an amazing French Crepe nook. Then we got a nice scarf for the bones to be carried in and a white candle to burn for them.

From Cusco we took a collectivo(10soles) best deal so far. A distraught man tried to pull the bus over with a giant shank. Haha in a very bad area. It was menacing let me tell you. But all the driver had to do was accelerate and leave the man in the rear view,......lol but still. Menacing none the less. We arrived in Ollantaytambo the night of the 24th. ( Oilytaytambo ...ppaaaahhhhhh ) this was the one of the ' must stay ' hostel nights. The Hotel Sol is un-be-lievable!!! We had a terrace over the Urabamba river. Looking straight at the ruins! It was so so so nice I never wanted to leave. To river ran so loud. And the mountains were giant gods jutting from every direction!!! The beauty of the descent intothe sacred  Valley is once again....Indescribable in words. We free climbed the ruins with no harnesses to its most jutting points. Only after when we came down did we realize that we were definitely not allowed on the 'danger parts' of the mountain ruin face. After this this they attempted to lead us down a blocked path. Lol needless to say we declined this option using the language barrier and zipped down the ruin to the bottom as quick as we could as not to pay some sort of under the table fine.

New ting a Gwan lol

 Aw Caroline. Don't be sad. Being spiritually and mentally free is a wonderful thing. I and everyone deserves that . I have passed through Nazca. We stayed with Alfredo's brother Mickey. He was waiting there for us , package in hand lmao. He was so amazing. Gotta love the cartel links. They ALWAYS know what's going on. Haha which is surprisingly comforting when your struggling. His place was comfortable and homely. He had a family and a dog who had a puppy who I fell in love with.  He was so small, clumsy and cute. Here we met 2  girls named Lisa and Martina who were amazing. Our new Port Credit friend we Met in Huacachina was waiting in the cab already! I was in udder shock. He has been the third amigo ever since.

In Nazca, we were honoured with the true experience of seeing pre Incan tombs that were 1100 years old. Their chambers were excavated at an archaeological dig site called Chauchilla. They were buried with their families and their offering to the gods and afterlife survival and they had looooong dreads and some were buried with babies. There were SOOOOO many bones scattered over as far as he eye can see., amongst mineral rich mountains. Yes tonnes of gold under them. Arturo our amazing tour guide let us take 1100 year old human bones with us!! So now I am carefully carrying around a human skull piece and a femur. Ryan has a baby's scull and adult armbone.  Originally i had intended for them to come home with us and have the best souvenirs you can ever imagine. Their story's would live on through us. Their journey would be a part of our journey. And they would never die. Only be a legend till the end of my time, and my next generation ( very loosely said while wiping sweat off my brow)  But upon much thought and pondering options i cannot predict, i would feel absolutely rotten from the core and universally cursed if those bones were to ever be stuck at a border crossing with customs. The Ecuadorian, then Galapagos ( strictest ), El Salvadorian, or Canadian (who would be the chillest ) most likely) so I have made a final decision to take them on our journey and leave them at Macchu Picchu . I will have a prayer for them before I offer them to the gods; as close to heaven as they ever could've even imagined to go. It is there I will set them free and their story will live on in my mind ( and this blog haha) knowing they weren't left at some awful government run power junkie border crossing with agents that could give a fuck about the universal balance of spituality and karma.  After doing this we went to an Ancient pottery making seminar. I loved it! Ryan and Alex were like "um cooooollll, yeeeaaahhhh, mmmmmhmmmm ( eye roll) " . The techniques were so amazing and natural I held a shiny in tact bowl that was 2000 years old. Andre was great. Then guess what me n Ryan did in a private Cessna?! Yeah I said it! Cessss- naaaaa.  The Nazca Lines !!!!!! ( so many inside jokes about those with all the other travellers as you can imagine ;) ;)  ) The alien precision of these amazingly large masterpieces was unreal. The view of the desert mountains and vast landscape from the little plane was incredible. Permanent smile. Bucket list= check.  The pilots dip and spin as to see them better. We hit an air pocket and smashed our heads during a left down spin. All I could do was laugh so hard and hold my stomach which was in my throat. AMAZINGGG !!! It was sad to say goodbye to Mickey's hostel house of Nazcarinha ( pitcher : one 26er of Nazca rum, freshly squeezed passion fruit , crunchy gooey seeds and all, freshly squeezed Nazca farmed limes ) happy hours of good energy and drunken laughs. But on to Arequipa we went.

This was a 10 hour bus ride down the Peruvian southern coast. Let me tell you there is no other coastline quite like this in the world. It was so so diverse. And so beautiful I coulln't sit still. So trigger happy on the cam. As all of these landscapes I pass through are not even explainable through words or even pictures. They are SO HUgE and SO VAsT I feel like I am in God's country. The BC feeling times a million . This bus ride was 11 hours. But Cruz Del Sur is a palace compared to any bus line I have ever been on, If I wasn't so security conscious, it would be perfect lol.  We stayed at Le Foyer hostel when we arrived at 1am. We tried to get into the Wild Rover where our other friends were, but they were full! The 4 of us were like stray dogs at the door with all our stuff , peering through security to the fun we could hear. " like please sir , all we ask is a small corner, just one drink por favor" he was like "ummmm no " lol after experiencing the 'party hostel' for the 2 next days we were happy to be back at Le Foyer after the Colca Canyon. They treat you like the drunken kids that filter through that place daily. I am an adult, and demand respect and freedom to make my own decisions dammit . Lmao but from here we went to the Colca Canyon . It was so beautiful I cannot describe it in words. We opted out of the 2 day trek because I got hit the worst case of altitude sickness ever. That shit is NO JOkE. Haha so sadly enough we had to opt out of the trek and do a tour instead . But by fluke we spent the night in Chivay. A stepping stone into the Canyon. There are little to no tourists here. At all. They were in traditional Peruvian attire, working their asses off. A true farm hamlet nestled in the canyon. It's as deep as the Grand Canyon but not as wide or red layered with shale obvi. We got to experience the town, the people, the extraordinary children who had not been tainted by knowledge of what the Americans did to these people, the people who were aware of this and glared at us, and the people just like us who were just existing peacefully. Knowing deeper that people are not their colour or racial history. We ate at a wood burning fireplace  restaurant, where the best food we had so far was. I tried El Paca! I feel guilty, but i don't regret it. I had to get down with the customs of the people hosting us. here we saw an enchanting flute band and authentic dancing that displayed the deeply dark, and sinister past of the Chivay people. It was soooo eerie and cool. This fluke was just what I needed. No-one gets to do that. A market full of traditionally dressed farm women and men. Weighing coca leaves for tea ( which helps the altitude at which they live in most of this country)  the Canyon was INSANE! Again no words of the size and majestic beauty. The terraces are still in use and farmed on. They are endless. Plateaued across , miles upon miles, of untouched peaks and river. It is here we witnessed the rare endangered Andean condor. With a wingspan of like 3 metres. Give or take depending on the age.  I even got 2 on film . Soaring high in their kingdom of heaven. Guarding giant nests on mountain tops. Searching for rodents to feed their young. Wow! Just wow! An honour.  We had the best ceviche you could even imagine in Arequipa before leaving obviously...Wow 

I am currently on the bus to Puno and Lake Titicaca. The drive was once again spectacular. Not even sure if I will even hop a plane till I switch countries now. It truly is all the rage guys. And ya know I know whaddup. ;-P  so trust when I say this is no greyhound . Tonight we will stay in Puno to tour the Lake tmrw and witness the people who live on the Bolivian border on islands completely made of floating reeds. The huts, the tools, the boats, the furniture, all reeds! Cuh-razyyy. I love you all so much and Caroline thanks for the info genius did not even tell me, but found a way to bitch about. Pffftttt. Ur the only person who commented so far. So keep it up. I was so happy to see someone commented and cared lmao. Love you xoxoxoxo talk soon. peace . Love n happiness to all. 

*** dogs as crews like homeward bound***

Finally got somewhere safe to iPad .

Uunnnnnhhkayyy. So i have had Internet troubles as Chandi told you. And pulling this thing out is ris-kaayyyyy. Lol I have passed through Lima, and went to Paracas. A beach town on the West coast.  There I cruised the Ballestas Islands and went to Paracas National Reserva Park.mthe beauty of this country and all of it's hidden gems are truly shockingly beautiful. Saw a sea lion ripping a giant bird apart while all of his bitches yelled really loud. Lmao it was amazing . Nature at its rawest. Can't wait to get to the Galapagos and swim with some Snoop Lions. Hahaha

I then travelled straight to Huacachina in the province of Ica. It's a desert Oasis. Holy effing beautiful !!! You are able to volunteer pretty much anywhere you stay. But this doesn't always occur. Because everyone needs their space, and the volunteer dorms are for 8-10 ppl. We stayed at Hostel Soler in Paracas. Thanks to our friend Alfredo. Kokopelli hostel is where it's at though. Right on the beach and always jammin. I got onstage and performed a freestyle reggae rap with them. It brought the house down. Haha (tootin the ol horn) . The Oasis is where I extreme dunebuggy'd and sand boarded. Jesus H Christ!!! ( no idea what the h stands for) I have done some very terrifying things in my lifetime. No deets. Walked around the cn tower on a see through 5 foot platform. And this day was by far the scariest day of my entire life!!! I will never be right again. I thought 100% I was dead at least 100 times. Sheeeeer terrrrooorrrr. I was a laughing stock. Picture the Leviathan at Canada's Wonderland x like 7 and add a psychotic driver and broken seatbelts and a completely open loose vehicle . Hahah I pretty much cried. These dunes were incredible!!!! Like the size of the Rocky Mountains . And endless desert with sand you could sleep in its so soft and Kushy. Needless to say this was Ryan's favourite day. The Oasis was SOoooo beautiful. That's when it clicked where I actually was.

I am currently in Nazca and awaiting 2 tours to Chauchilla cemetery, Incan Gold extraction, Pottery making, and the Nazca lines!!!!! Thanks to Mickey, Alfredo's brother. I am scared of the thought of this plane, lol but I can survive anything after the sandboarding/ dunebuggy trip. Juuuuuustttt a day of ABSoLuTe TErRoRRRR. I will check in again soon. Lots of love all y'all. And yes I am fine. More than fine. .... I am FReE. And that is a feeling that is bringing tears to my eyes as we speak. Xoxo

Where is she?

This is Chand again on Cess' blog...
I saw a comment from her but am wondering where she is now because we haven't heard from her.
In her last email she was frustrated with the internet and likely her browser was all in Spanish making it difficult to navigate and operate on the web!
Cess if you're reading this, write, let us know whats up/you're ok!
So you said in your blog comment that you were in Lima so I'm going to put up a photo of Lima for this post :)

The Beginning of a New Chapter

This is the first of many blog posts to come that will share the exciting adventures of Cecille as she travels (this is her sister Chandal writing this and setting this up for her).

We welcome all friends and family to come here when they want to stay up to date with Ceci's most recent international adventures.

Here on her new blog she will share photos and maybe even videos if we're lucky of her most recent adventure thats about to begin to Peru followed by Ecuador (not Costa Rica haha).

Ceci we are wishing you safe and happy travels and looking forward to visiting your blog often :)
Lots of Love and Light to Protect you!