Potosi

Potosi is the highest city in the world, and was quite beautiful!  The area was one the richest in all of the new world, and it shows.  While the mines have mostly dried up and the city is no where near its prime, there are still signs of its former wealth.

I spent the day walking around with a group of Germans I met in Sucre, which were nice enough.  They were nice enough, but kind of clicky and I was looking for how to get out of there.  We just walked around, saw an old church (which is on their 50 bill), and went to the colonial mint museum.

Nice day, not great.  Today I am in Uyuni booking a tour to see the salt flats, which are supposed to be incredible.  Uyuni is a waste of a city, but the gateway to the salt flats, so here I am.

Sucre

Sucre was surprisingly nice.  I really enjoyed walking around and just seeing the very pretty colonial town.  I ran into an Israeli, which I always like, and was able to see a lot of very nice places.  Unfortunately it  is a small town, so I will be heading off tomorrow.  It is nice, just not expansive, and I am in a time crunch waiting for Michael, so I better keep moving.

Sucre is helping salvage Bolivia´s image in my mind.

La Paz

La Paz was quite frankly boring.  I find it to have very little as far as tourist attractions and even less in regards to pretty places to walk or sit.  There is an aroma of human waste in the air, and garbage as far as the eye can see.  About the only redeeming factor was that it is fairly cheap, but then so are lots of places that also are enjoyable to be in.  I leave tonight for Sucre after 3 days of disappointment.  My lasting memory of this place will be a bunt out city with nothing to offer e3xcept the first installment of The Hobbit with subtitles in stead of being dubbed.

Copacabana

Copacabana was a crazy tourist little beach town.  The first day I got there was the 21st, which is a festival in South America.  So, there were bands on the street, and a lot of people out.  It was a nice atmosphere.  The next day I took a tour of the Island of the Sun and enjoyed the beauty of the lake.  I walked with two Swedes, and an Argentinian who didn´t speak English. I was not overly impressed with the holey sights of the island, but it was just a nice walk along the mountain range that cuts the island down the center.  When I got back I had dinner with Theo (the dutch guy from the Inca Trail), and then a drink.

Today I got to La Paz, and am a little tiered and sick of being at the altitude.  I will kind of take it easy, as there are very few must see sights here. I want to kind of just walk around and have a quiet Christmas

Crossing into Bolivia

I had way more issues than I would have ever wanted in my crossing into Bolivia.  I entered Peru on the American Passport, which is fine, the issue was that I wanted to enter Bolivia on the Israeli one to save myself $135 in visa fees associated with the American Passport. At first they wouldn't allow for me to change which passport I was traveling on.  So I argued with the guys for about an hour in Bolivia.  They sent me to the Peruvian office, and it was more of the same. I went back to Bolivia and they told me to hold on while they talk to Peru  (realize the two offices are about 500 meters from each other, so it was a pain to walk back and forth with all my stuff).  Peru finally told me to come back there, and then stamped me in and out with the Israeli passport simultaneously.  The told me they would do this in exchange for a bribe of $30, but I only had $28 on me (I had much more, but the rest were in big bills and I wasn't asking for change for my bribe), so they took it and I left Peru.  When I got back to Bolivia, they demanded a bribe as well, but I said that since I had all the proper paperwork from Peru there was no reason to pay them anything, because at this point I was legally correct in the eyes of the Bolivian government.  Well, they didn't like this, and thus gave me only a 15 day visa instead of the typical 90.  I suppose it's ok.  I don't want more than 15 days in their shitty country anyways, but it was one hell of a morning.

Inca Trail and Machupicchu

So, I wok up silly early on the 16th, and headed off with a group of 10 to the famous Inca Trail.  There was a group of 3 Australians, 4 Argentinians, another separate Australian guy, and a Dutchman with me.  We also ate with a Peruvian man who was on a separate trip, but shared our meals.

We headed off after a stop in a place to buy walking sticks, and some water.  The first day was pretty easy. We saw a few Inca ruins, and got a little walking under our belts.  The food was actually kind of bad, but I guess that is to be expected.  I was only a little disappointed because I was told that the food on the trip is quite good, and this turned out not to be.

The second day was Brutal.  It was straight up hill for hours, and the whole time against gusting winds and heavy rains.  It was like something out of a fantasy movie.  It wasn´t even pretty because it was so dark and cloudy from the rain.  We also had no lunch stop, as it was decided that we would push through until we get to camp at about 4PM.  Simply Brutal!

Finally the third day was nice, while it continued to rain, the path was much easier, and we were able to come across some more ruins.  The path got very pretty and we were really walking the original stones left by the Incas 500 years ago.  We got a lunch break, and the day in general was the most enjoyable to that point.  The only thing that was weird was this little appreciation ceremony we did for the porters, where we were then pressured into giving them a tip.

The fourth day was kind of nuts.  We wok up at 3:30, just so the porters could go home earlier, which kind of sucks.  we had to wait almost an hour for the path to even open.  I was a little sick, and used this time in the bathroom, but still would have preferred not to have been up that early.  We finally made it to the sun gate at about 8am, and it was so cloudy that you couldn´t see anything.  We walked down to the platform above the site and again could hardly see anything.  SO, we headed to the park entrance put our bags in storage, and headed straight for the cafe and our 15 soles hot dogs, which were gross, but it was 10 am and we were starving having had breakfast at 4.  After that the sun came out, which was a miracle in it´s own right, and we had a nice tour of the site.  Machupicchu is nice, but not really so much nicer than any other archaeological site in the world.  It is beautiful in where it is, but the city its self is just cool, not really cool.  Additionally, they kept raving about how good of engineers they were, but it is funny, because the Romans were 1,500 years earlier, and were better engineers, so why am I supposed to be impressed with the Incas.  I shouldn´t be too critical, it was very pretty, and I am glad to have gone.  

After we left Machupicchu we went to Agus Caliente (the town below the site), and had an expensive lunch and walked around this stupid tourist city for a while until we left in the evening.

I headed out today to Lake Titicaca and am going to cross into Bolivia in the morning.....

Cuzco

Simply put, Cuzco is incredible!!!!  It is this spectacular city with both Incan and Spanish colonial architecture.  Everything about it was so cool.  The little alleyways and all of the colonial buildings and streets are really just incredibly photogenic.  I spent the first day checking out the sites of the cities, which were super cool.  There were half Inca buildings and half Spanish all sort of built on top of each other.  There is also an incredible cathedral, that even after the thousands of other cathedrals this one stood out as an impressive one.  I then the next day went to the ruins that sound the city, and the following day went to Inca ruins even further from the city.  The tour was a bit bulky and annoying, but worth it to see some cool sites.  I spent today kind of just bumming around and making calls to some people via Skype.

I absolutely loved the city.  While I may have spent a little too much on food in Cuzco, I couldn´t have had a better time in the city.  It was absolutely stunning!  This is such a spectacular place I am renergized to continue traveling.

I leave tomorrow for the Inca Trail on the way to Machu Pichu.  I am super excited fr the trail.  I know it will be hard, but it is going to be one of the highlights of the trip.  

Arequipa

Arequipa is a nice city.  The plaza is one of the countries prettiest, and there is a nice feel to the whole town. 

Monday I got in, and kind of walked around.  I saw a museum which housed a mummy from the Inca empire that is in very good condition, and that was cool.  I then spent the rest of the day shopping for a bag to send to Jake for helping me.  I was incredibly tiered, as I did not sleep Sunday night on the bus from Lima.  I really hate night buses, but they are just so convenient, that it is hard not to do them.

Today I saw the Monastery of Saint Catalina, which was spectacular!!!!  I think besides Kuelap this was the most impressive single sight I have seen.  It was a giant city!  It housed hundreds of nuns in its day, and was clearly the crown jewel of the city during the Spanish rule.   No more needs to be said about this spectacular world gem.

I head off tonight on an overnight bus to Cuzco, which will be awful, but I am doing it anyways.  Cuzco should be good, so I am planning more time there than other stops.

Lima

I arrived in Lima and met with Adam in his hotel.  We got an incredible dinner, and had a nice walk.  The next day I went to the Israeli embassy to do some paperwork, and got terribly ill.  I spent the rest of the day puking and pooping liquid.  I even threw up on the floor and had to get the maid to clean it.

The following day we headed to another hostel, where we left our bags, and went to the center to tour the catacombs.  Again, nice but I have seen cooler.  The center was pretty, as was the rest of the city.  That night we had dinner at an american sports bar and watched some NBA.  It was pretty bad food, and Adam demanded to leave to get a better meal elsewhere.  So, we walked got him a meal and ended the evening by walking along the beach.

Then Saturday we went with some people from the hostel to an organic market, and hung out.  Then we went to lunch and spent much of the afternoon at the hostel with these people.  That night we we not to chabad to light the cancels for the first night of Hanuka, and had an incredibly overpriced meal at a sushi place.  It was good, bit Adam is bankrupting me.

We then hung out Sunday morning before he caught his flight home and I am now looking to board my bus to ariquipa.  Overall Lima was much nicer than expected!

Huanchaco

Soon leaving Kevin I headed to a small beach/surf town.  From there I didn't do too much.  I kind of just bummed around one day, and the next I went to see some ruins.  The temple of the moon was actually really cool, but nothing cooler than I have seen before.

The real thing was the people at the hostel.  It was one of the coolest places I have stayed.  It was filthy, and loud and uncomfortable, but the owner was so chill, and he had two south Africans running it for him in exchange for free accommodations.  There was also a huge amount of French people, so that was both cool, and weird.  Overall it was a cheap and unexciting place, but a well deserved rest.

I then headed to Lima to meet Adam.....

Chachapoyas Celendin and Cajamarca

Kevin and I had a nice time in all of these cities.  Although it became very obvious we were incredibly different people, as he constantly wanted to go out and pick up girls, and I preferred subdued evenings in quiet places.

The highlights of Chachapoyas were the waterfall (3rd highest in the world), and kuelap, which was a pretty Colombian city in tact with 500 houses and temple.  We also met some nice people including a Scottish guy I met in Iquitos, and an Israeli British man who I am certain I will run into again.  We also sat through an earthquake, which was bazaar.

In Celendin there was absolutely nothing, but Kevin heard it was an all white city and wanted to see.  It turned out not to be and was really just a waste of a day, but whatever.

Cajamarca was cool, but we didn't do much site seeing.  We went out late both nights.  The first night started at a bar filled with high school kids on a field trip and saw us ending in a Peruvian whore house, where I left pretty quickly as I didn't feel comfortable.  The next night we went out with a Peruvian man who had met Kevin previously.  He introduced us to some girls and we went out dancing.  I tried to make a move on some of them and was shot down, which in hind sight isn't surprising. 

The next day I got up early didn't say goodbye or leave my contact info and headed t Huanchaco.  I had a nice time with Kevin, but am not looking for more friends.  I'll stay here for a few days and head to live,a to hang with Adam for a few days.

Iquitos and the Jungle

I found Iquitos to be a rather boring city.  There is really very little there.  I wallked around a little, but mostly spent my time planning my Jungle trip and finding the right guide.  In the end I found a company that seemed decent enough, and whuile I payed way too much, I signed up to do 6 days and 5 nights in the jungle with him.

We headed out the next day and were off to their lodge in the jungle.  This is kind of their base camp, aand is exactly where all other companies have their base camps.  We spent one night there before goig to a giant lake the next night to fish and camp.  From there we spent 2 nights on a different river, just hiking and fishing and whatever.  Then the final nigh we were in the lodge again.  I had a good time, but it was kind of hard and probasbly too long.  I also kind of got beat up a little, but it was fun and worth while.

From the jungle I headed to Nodau to a boat that would take 3 days and have me in the main land.  It was pretty cool.  I think the fiood was better than I had thought, and I met some nice people.  There was an Argentinian couple and an American guy.  They were all plerasent enough.  There wasn´t much to report other than some cold nighs and reading.

After the boat I headed to Chachapoyas with the American guy, although I kind of wished he hadnt joined me.  He is much more of a partier than I am, and I am not diging his company too much.  Howebver, it is nice to have someone I suppose.

The ride to iquitos

I got in to Leticia (the amazon capitol of Colombia) around 7, and immediately got a ride to the Brazilian side of the boarder and then a boat to Peru.  The whole tiney town of Santa Rosa was shut down and I got a guy who drove me to the immigration office and then to a hostel who sold me tickets to the bat to Iquitos and a room.  I am fairly sure I got ripped off, not just because they were overcharging me, but mostly because I rented a room for $7.50 and it was by far the worst room I have ever stayed in.  The sheets were filthy and I could hear the TV in the reception and the guy snoring next door.  Luckiy , it didn't last long as I had to go to the boat at 2:30am. 

The boat was long and uncomfortable, but surprisingly pretty.  It was just the river, but there were villages along the way, and some nice scenery.  The boat provided two absolutely horrific meals, and before I could count down a quick and easy 12 uncomfortable hours, I was in port.

In Iquitos I gt a nicer place to wash off the awefullness of yesterday, and talked to a guy about a jungle trip in two days.  Hopefully, this guy is ligetamate, I am meeting with him and another American tommorow to look over things for a 5ish day trip.

Bogotá

I really enjoyed Bogota.  There was a giant pedestrian o my walkway that St reached the length of the city right through the middle.  Additionally, the museums were world class (the highlights being the gold and Botero ones).  There is also, like all Colombian cities, a lookout point which had some nice views of the city which laid in the valley below.   I met a few nice people, and enjoyed there company, but mostly walked around alone during the day, and grabbed dinner with them in the evening.  Oddly the city was quite dead towards the center at night.  There was one area where the rich are that had some night life, and I went with a few people only to be pressured into drinking more than I was t and spend way more than I wanted.  The last few nights I stayed in, but I need to better watch myself going forward.  I have spent a ton on bars/clubs, and I don't even like them.

I sit in the airport now waiting for my flight to the amazon, which is delayed for five hours.  I should arrive spend the night and head out via river to the latest Peruvian amazonian city.

Cartagena and the long road that followed

I arrived in Cartagena and really instantly loved the place.  It was clean and well maintained and overall very pretty.  I immediately met these Israelis in the hostel and found out quickly that my time in Cartagena will be even more drinking.  It was nice, and they helped me a little with my banking issues in Israel .

I headed on a not cruise to playa Blanca the second day and met some girls from new York, who were pleasant enough.  The tour kind of sucked and only afforded me a short time at the beach and may have just been a waste of money, but I'm OK with it.  After the tour I grabbed some dinner with an Israeli and began to drink with them along with a guy from Alaska and another from Slovenia.

I dedicated the next day to running errands around town, and ended up hurting myself pretty badly.  My foot got all cut up and pretty bad.  So, I called it a day rather early.  Later that night there was a huge party at the hostel which was an annoyance, but it was fine.

Following that I spent the next day trying to take it easy.  I met a nice Danish guy and we had lunch and a nice day.  I had a beer at night (now becoming kind of the standard) and went to bed.

That Friday I weak up really early and was going g to take the bus to Mompos, which is a small village half way between Cartagena and Bogotá.  As it turned out the bus was full or something, but they wouldn't sell me a seat.  So, on a split second decision I jumped on a direct 24 hour but to Bogotá.  It was cramped and boring, but the scenery was pleasant and the next morning I was finally in the capitol.

So far the capitol is nice, but I am looking forward to seeing more of the city.

Medellin

Medellin was a bit weird.  I met up with Adam's friend Liam, and we shared a hotel room.  This was my first grievance.  Who stays in a hotel?  Why is a hostel not good enough?  I spent $250 on this fucking thing!  We then proceeded to go to the nicest restaurants and out DRI king each night while taking dozens of cabs from place to place because Liam was soir from too much walking.

Despite paying way too much for my time, I did like the city.  It was clean and beautiful.  The transit system was very nice, and the chairlift over the city as a part of it was cool.  I thought the gringo area was nice, and we saw plenty of expats (especially on Sunday as we watched NFL n a bar).  I also really enjoyed when on Saturday night we went out in the local area of town.  It was obviously less done up, but it was genuine.  I even enjoyed myself despite having some guys try to fleece us into buying them drinks. 

My overall impression was incredibly positive, despite spending and drinking way too much.  I really am coming to like column a and appreciate its beauty in the cities, nature, and women!

Zona Cafetera (Salento and Manizales)

I finally left Adam's apartment, and headed to the small city of Salento.  It was about a 5 hour drive, and really breathtaking.  The whole region is so green, it looks like a cartoon.  When I arrived it was dark, and I just went to a hostel, which was recommended to me by a woman on the bus who spoke Hebrew, and had a small dinner.  I read a little, and fell asleep very early. 

The following day (Tuesday) I went to hike up the mountain along the Valle de Cocora.  In the truck there I met a very nice Israeli couple, and tagged along with them for the day.  The views were incredible, and the hike was enjoyable.  At one point we stopped at a hummingbird sanctuary, and watched dozens of the for a while.  After the hike I had dinner with them and went my separate way.  I called my parents and spoke to Mike for a while.  Mike and I finalized the plan for him to join me for the first few weeks of January in Argentina.  I then read a little and fell asleep.

Wednesday was kind of a wasted day.  I am meeting Adam's friend Liam in Medellin Thursday, and elected to just wonder around another city called Manizales with the extra day.  It was a less than impressive place.  The church, like all others, was cool, and there was a central square beneath it worth looking at.  Additionally, I saw all the local children in their Halloween costumes walking around the streets, which was different and kind of fun. Not too much to report, as the Lonely Planet stated it isn't a photo worthy city. 

Tomorrow I wake up very early to meet Liam, and will thus call it a night early as well.  I pray the dorms are quiet.

Cali (#2)

I returned to Cali to spend the weekend with Adam. We had a pleasant time, although his lifestyle and regal way of dining is a burden on my wallet. We went to some fancy restaurants and had some nice meals. Friday night especially, as my bus was late, Adam waited for me, and took me to one of the nicest places in the city for dinner. It was an excellent meal, but I really don't want to be paying $20 a dinner, and am trying to be more cautious with money. Additionally, we met up with his friends again. The Jewish girls are nice enough, and make for pleasant company. Adam is desperate to become more than friends with one of them, but she appears not to be interested, and it makes for kind of a strange dynamic. Due to his lack of friends, he can't just move on and stop hanging out with her, so he continues to be friends with the hopes of more. On Saturday we hung out with them in the afternoon a little, before going to the birthday party of Liam's (Adam's friend from York)girlfriend. It wasn't a bad party, but my limited level of spanish along with Adam's incessant hitting on the girls there made it less than a good time for me. After the part we grabbed an arepa on our way home. We got up early on Sunday to hike up one of the local hills (los tres cruses), and brought the girls along with one of their boyfriends along with us. Despite heading out several hours after we had planned due to their predictable tardiness, we had a nice time walking up the hill. One of the girls (not the one Adam is interested in) was really struggling despite it not being that strenuous, and we went incredibly slowly, but it allowed for us to take in the atmosphere and enjoy the vies. At the top we saw a bunch of men working out along with some fruit juice sellers. After the climb we went and got lunch at a vegan place we had been before, and then set to make dinner for Liam and his girlfriend. Adam is excited for some new cook ware and was anxious to test it out both last weekend and this. It was a nice evening, and I was even able to complete my fantasy draft while things cooked. This morning I wait for Liam to have lunch with me before I head off to the coffee region. I didn't feel too well in the morning, so it is just as well that I had a slow start of it. However, I am feeling better now, and am looking forward to getting on with my travels. I am a little nervous that I will be lonely and bored in the coming months, but seeing this part of the world is something I want to do, and I hope that as time passes I can meet some people and have a good time along the way.

Popayan/Silvia and St Augustin

I went to Popayan from Cali, and explored what was once the most important Spanish colonial city of the region. It was very nice, and well maintained. The buildings were all white, and there were many beautiful old churches around. I think the churches may get old after a while, but for now they are interesting. In the evening I met up with a Mexican girl and a guy from Barcelona. We went to a local pub, where we met three Colombian men, who were very pleased to meet us and were buying us drinks. The Colombians in general are some of the friendliest and most outgoing people I have ever met. These guys were no different. They were just happy to see us enjoy ourselves, and wanted to show us a good time in Colombia. The next day the three of us headed out to a very small town called Silvia, where the local indigenous group holds there weekly market. The market was actually quite lame, and was really just fruit vegetables and different tools. It was clearly not meant for tourists, but we had a nice enough time anyways. On the way back to Popayan we again met some locals who wanted to give us a ride. It was incredibly nice of them, and they drove us the 40 minutes back to Popayan and said goodbye. I don't think with my limited Spanish I could have arranged it, but these men were very nice and helped us out. The following day I headed to St Augustine. It is a little nothing town without even a paved road leading to it (The ride to and from was bumpy to say the least). When I first arrived I met a man who deals with tourism, who set me up with a hostel and got me signed up to go horseback riding the next day. Since I was there kind of late I didn't do too much that day, but prepared myself to tour the next via the horses. When I did get up the next morning and go horseback riding to see all of the different archeological ruins around the periphery of the city I quickly remembered why I don't go riding often. It HURTS! I know it is only because I don't know to ride, but I don't and it is painful to ride. The sites were cool. I thought that the ancient headstones of the important people were interesting, and it is cool to see what the society was like before the christians. I then headed to the archeological park, which was just a collection of a few dozen of these headstones/statues placed in a singles location for tourists to see. There were almost no other tourists there, but I think it is just the slow season, because they had the facilities to deal with quite a few people at once. Again, it was very cool, and good to see pre-Columbian society, but after a few the statues all start to look the same and I was done. I walked back to my hostel, had a meal and just sort of read the rest of the evening. As I headed back towards Cali to spend one last weekend with Adam I was reminded what most of the travel on this trip will be. It was an over crowded bus with no air conditioning going over a dirt road, and taking unusually long stops along the way. The ride, which was really quite close took me close to 12 hours because of all of this, but eventually I ended up back at Adam's apartment.

Cali (#1)

I arrived in Cali and was greeted by an exhausted Adam, and his friend Liam.  Adam immediately went to bed and I chatted with Liam a little until he went home and I fell asleep.  Luckily Adam had been working crazy hard in France for the past three weeks and was given Thursday and Friday off in return (he had just returned Wednesday evening).  I was excited to see the city with him, but instead we just sort of bumed around his apartment for four days.  We met some very nice girls that he knew and hung around them a little, however, they were very flaky, and were either late or no shows to all of our plans with them.  Friday we were to go to a shabbos dinner at someone's home, but they had a dog so as soon as we arrived, I left.  Adam and I had dinner in a Mexican restaurant, and after trying to stay awake went to bed.  Saturday was his birthday, and we made plans to have dinner with those girls and Liam, but the girls were over two hours late and kind of glib about it.  The food was fine, but their behavior was annoying.  Sunday we made brunch and kind of just did nothing again.  I was really looking forward to leaving Adam and exploring more.  He had little interest in doing that with me. 

Overall it was fine, just a lazy visit with an old friend.

it starts!

today is my final day in New York. I arrived a week ago after spending the past year in Israel working and getting my MBA.  I really loved my time there, and I was sad to go, but it is time for the next adventure to begin.  I fly out tomorrow to Cali Colombia, where my friend Adam lives.  From there I will set off to explore the continent.