At the top of the world

I used to think that I was relatively fit. Yesterday started off with a relatively simple idea - to explore the Incan ruins surrounding the city of Cusco. A 2 km hike to the first site seemed very do-able, but little did we know it would be an entirely uphill climb, starting at a city with an elevation of 3300 m.

Saqsaywaman (prounounced 'sexy woman') turned out to be a pretty cool place. Cucsco is laid out in the shape of a puma, with Saqsaywaman at the head. It was built in the 1400s, but only a fifth of the original structure remains today due to the Spaniard invasion a century later. The site was designed to protect the city from earthquakes and volcanic activity, a mission that they successfully accomplished since the structure is still standing today. Huge black limestone blocks are arranged in three tiered layers in a jagged formation. These were transported from a nearby quarry by rolling logs underneath, a huge undertaking that took 5-10 years each. The biggest blocks are at the bottom layer, some weighing over 300 tonnes, and each block fits together seamlessly with the next. Within the block structures are tunnels and intricate carvings of alpacas, guinea pigs, snakes and pumas, all which are important in Incan mythology.

We set off for the next ruin, Q'uenqo (which means labyrinth) when we encountered another traveller, a british guy named Michael... or should I say Legolas! This guy was a seasoned hiker, travel guide, and probably had elfish origins. After scrambling around the Q'uenqo ruins, we decided to accompany him to Pukupukara and Tambomachay, two other archaeological sites that were supposed to be closeby. This is probably the worst decision I have made in recent memory. We decided to take the scenic route, meaning following the supposed path in our friend's guidebook. It turned out to be an entirely uphill hike, and while Meghan and I struggled slowly along, Legolas led the way in front of us, leaping from rock to rock and surveying the path ahead. Each step for me was sheer agony, and the air kept getting thinner. We were surrounded by the gorgeous scenery of the surrounding Andean mountains, but all I could think about was whether the tightness in my chest meant an impending heart attack.

Michael, our guide


After what seemed like hours, I asked how much longer, and our adopted guide consulted his guidebook and said he wasn't too sure ; the map didn't look very detailed. I looked at the map, and - no joke - it looked like a drawing of Middle Earth. There were x's and dotted lines and pictures of horses. We were doomed. The sunny skies turned cloudy, and many, many times I contemplated not going on. You know what stopped me? Shame. I couldn't have a British guy think that Canadians quit when the going gets tough, especially after he assumed we were Americans. Also, setting off back to town by myself would have lead to me tumbling downhill to my death.

So, as the sun was setting, we finally reached Tambomachay. I can't really remember what it looks like though because I blacked out from exhaustion. The only thing that I'll exert myself doing today is eating overpriced Honeynut Cornflakes.

-V

The Day after Yesterday

Have you ever had a day that started off terribly and you just knew it was going to get from bad to worse? It finally happened to me, the eternal optimist. After the Galapagos, we decided it would be a fine idea to save cash and bus the 1200 km from Guayaquil to Lima. We had to make a stopover in the town of Piura, and getting there was horrendous, including forcing everyone out of the bus in the middle of the night, not once but twice, to declare our border crossing to the Ecuadorian and Peruvian authorities.

At 5 in the morning, we were herded out of the bus when we reached Piura. I groggily looked around and saw that we were trapped in some type of horribly dank and filthy holding cell. I heard a clanging noise and saw that a 5 m high iron-barred gate had slammed shut, locking us in. And then I realized that the worst had happened - we were being rounded up to become prisoners at a Peruvian forced labour camp. Or, almost as bad, we were stranded in a subpar bus terminal in South America. I looked for the exit, and then a guard approached me and said ´No señorita, it´s too dangerous to go out.´ He also informed me that the next bus to Lima wasn´t leaving until 3pm. Dear god! 10 hours trapped in this hellhole!

Eventually we learned that there were other bus terminals in town, and took a taxi to Flores, which wasn`t so bad because it had windows and MTV. We stood around awkwardly with our huge packs, pondering our next move. I guess the security guard there took pity on us because he suggested that we sit down and rest, and explained that we could leave our bags behind if we wanted to walk around town. Wander around a possibly dangerous unknown city with basic Spanish or sit and wait for hours? The choice was clear.

So we set off along the dusty, deserted streets of Piura in search of something to do. It started raining, of course. Eventually we came across a bustling family restaurant that smelled delecious, so we sat down for what turned out to be a satisfying breakfast. When it doubt, eat where the locals eat. Then we walked around and found a tourist information booth where they actually spoke English! A guide explained how to get around town and what sights to see. We went to the Museo del Vicus, which displays Incan artifacts. Little did we know that we would be the most interesting exhibits there...

In the museum, I sat down to study the city map. Then I heard giggling and a schoolgirl came up to and asked ´Español?` I told her I was Canadian and she went back to friends. Within seconds she came back and brought ten others who surrounded me and started asking me questions. I looked around, terrified... what did they want? My money? My bags? Meghan came back from the washroom and they pressed in around us, asking our names, why we were here, where were we from? We realized that they were kids on a school trip, just curious about these two huge Canadians visiting their town. Even the teacher emerged and shook our hands, asking if we like Piura. The girls produced notebooks - apparently they all wanted our email addresses? We signed them like celebrities giving autographs. Someone said they wanted to take pictures with them, so we posed with the entire class multiple times. Then it was time for them to leave and they all kissed and hugged us goodbye.

As the day unfolded, we managed to book flights to Cusco and back, found a decent pharmacy to buy anti-explosive-diarrhea pills and exchanged money for Peruvian nuevo sols. Our greatest find was the local shopping mall. It turns out it isn´t so hard to get your bearings and kill a day in a small town in South America. The weather turned out to be pretty terrific, too.

Conquered: Peru border crossing. Next stop: the jungle.

Eternally optimistic,
V

More Galapagos

Vanessa forgot some important Galapagos details. I don´t have time to write a full post, but here´s the point-form version.

• swimming with sea lions
• being tourists and pretending to sleep on a beach with sea lions
  
• swimming with sharks. Yes, sharks
• swimming with sea turtles
• convincing the crew to take us on a pirate mission to the National Geographic cruise ship to get ice cream from them
• living in the smallest room ever together and not killing each other
• eating constantly... as per usual

-Meghan

Galapa-happy-gos!

This is our last night of a whirlwind tour of the Galapagos Islands, and each day has been more incredible than the next. The crew, passengers and ship are more amazing than I ever could have hoped for. How Carlos the cook could have whipped up a delicious farewell cake for us during heavy sea swells is beyond me. In the past week we´ve travelled to six different islands, and my favourite expedition was to Seymour Island.

As soon as we stepped ashore, we were surrounded by shrieks, screeches and cries of frigates, terns and blue-footed boobies. Do you know what those sounds are? Baby-making. It´s mating season here. Blue-footed boobies are very distinctive animals, not just because of their name, but due to their curious nature and signature aqua-blue webbed feet. Like most other animals in the Galapagos, they have never known predators and show no fear of humans. I felt a bit pervy about it, but our guide Alphonso was adamant that we see the booby mating ritual upclose. It goes a little something like this:

Act I
The male booby circles the sky in search of his ideal mate. Spotting one from afar, he lands... and the show begins. In his efforts to impress the female, he fluffs his wings and walks around proudly with his chest thrust out, emitting trumpeting calls. It´s kind of like being at CIF.

Act II
After several minutes of this, the female appears vaguely interested and somewhat responds to the ritual so far. Efforts to attract the female intensifies as the male presents her with a series of gifts ranging from small sticks, grasses and then graduating to bigger sticks.

Act III
While the female peruses through her inventory of presents, the male feigns disinterest and walks away. This time the female follows. The mating ritually becomes an apparent success, and the male finally closes the deal. The pair will remain together for the rest of the mating season.

I think it´s a nice story... I´d like to turn it into a movie, possibly narrated by Morgan Freeman.

Epilogue
Weeks, later, 2-3 eggs hatch in their ground-level nest. Soon one of the hatchlings will emerge as the strongest, and will eliminate their siblings, as the parents only have the resources to raise one offspring. If this happened to humans, my sister Victoria would definitely win out. She was the biggest newborn.

Tomorrow we leave for the coastal city of Guayaquil, and then we´ll make our way to Cusco, Peru. We´ve opted to take the scenic 30-hr bus route instead of flying so we´ll hopefully cross the border in one piece.

-V