The Devil's Bartender

Macchu Picchu Revisited

Macchu Picchu is still amazing.  I could sit there for days just thinking about it all and still be clueless but happy.  The picture just doesn't do it any justice.

Sharon and I got up at 6am and first hiked up to the Sun Gate(sorry Ed Velvet, didn't get the tip until after) to see the site from above in the morning sun.  Well, there wasn't any sun.  But the clouds and mist parted for the half hour we were up there so we got a great view before hiking back down in the mist.

We explored the site a bit more and then hiked up huayna picchu (the peak in the background).  Absolutely amazing.  We had to crawl through a couple of caves and slide down a rock face at the top to get to the other side of the peak where there are more ruins.  To build all of this on the ground would be impressive but at the top of a mountain 500 years ago?!?  It's inexplicable.  After seeing it all again I'm beginning to think that the idea of UFO intervention isn't as laughable as it was when i first heard it and laughed in the person's face. 

And since we snuck in (dumb luck) and did the whole thing ourselves we may have actually out-cheaped the Dutchman!!  I'll do another entry of the logistics for backpackers when i'm back in Toronto (one week!).

Now I Feel Like I'm Travelling

From the beautiful beach of Mancora to the good-byes in Chiclayo, back to Lima for one night and then onto Cusco and here- Ollantaytambo, a village in the Sacred Valley.  And now I finally feel like I'm backpacking again.

Ahhhhh.... Mancora!

After Sharon arrived we had dinner with Cesar and Mary and then got the hell out of Lima!  Chiclayo was hectic.  A fine meal out in Pimental and then a gig with the blues band in a cool little bar.  Considering that we hadn't practiced and had to play all night (4 hour set) we did pretty good. 

The next day was 'a day at the beach with Jose' in Pto. Eten where everybody comes back drunk and as pale as they were when they left.  Back in Chiclayo we went to the bus station where i was robbed and Jose almost got into a brawl with the driver.  So we had to go out for a beer after that to calm our nerves.  Sharon hit the hay at this stage and Jose and I hit the town for a sunday night pub crawl.  Probably one of our last.

And now Sharon and I are in Mancora and living it up.  Hotel on the beach overlooking the ocean and now that the Equadorians have gone back to Equador after the weekend the beach is clean and quiet and warm.  Went surfing today and managed to stay on the board for a whole 2 seconds!  Major accomplishment.  So we're going to relax here and work on our tans/ boogie boarding techniques for a couple of more days before heading back down south to Chiclayo.

Lima

It was a rough start to Lima- getting robbed, spending a few hours in the police station, followed by thieves in the downtown core until José waved a knife at them (with a big smile on his face), pools of blood filled vomit and drunken thug bouncers outside of the 'restaurant' José went to take a crap in.  He got harassed to pay after his business was finished (which of course, he didn't) and we high-tailed it outta there. All of this was in the first afternoon.  But now that i'm in Miraflores and laying low, I still don't like this city!

Cesar, a friend of José's, has put me up for the past few nights and this guy is a great guy.  He's a dentist and sleeps in the waiting room of his office, so i've been sleeping on the floor of the waiting room for the past couple of nights, and each day he goes out for a feast with either his girlfriend or other female friend and takes me along for the ride.  I've been eating like a king.  He also signed my passport photo for me so i owe this guy huge!  Once Sharon gets here we'll all have to hit the town courtesy of me.  And then of course get the hell out of Lima.