Ecuador first impressions

I've felt for a while like I've been having a harder time connecting with people and their cultures here in various countries than I did when I was in SE Asia. Maybe its because people here are a little bit more reserved? Maybe its because there are more similarities between N America and S America. There are more things here that feel 'normal' than in SE Asia, so I don't notice them? Who knows. Either way, I decided that one of the things I wanted to do on my way up to Quito was to do a homestay in Saraguro, Ecuador. 

The most perfect mountains I've ever seen

I'd had multiple people tell me that if I only had one hike to do in Peru, I had to do it out of Huaraz. And I only had time to do a couple of days of hiking. So I booked it up to Huaraz. I arrived on a night bus, so I figured I'd spend a day sorting out my plans and leave the next morning. Laguna 69 (yes, thats what it's called pervs) is the classic day hike that everyone does, so I figured I would do that and find another day hike to do.

The view from the van on the way up

Capital city with a cat park!

For most of my life I've always said that I wanted to live in a city. That I can't imagine living in a smaller town, and I'm pretty sure I would go crazy. But traveling I consistently find that I am unimpressed with big cities, and I find myself falling in love with smaller towns. It's a variety of reasons. Safety. Walking (I prefer this SO much more to buses or taxis). Charm. Warmth of people. It seems to be a unanimous trait that people in big cities are in more of a rush. Practicality. Cities are big dirty and busy. Apparently I like that more for living than for visiting. Anyways, it's been rare that I visit a capital city of any country and fall particularly in love with it. Still, I always feel like the capitol city deserves a day or two. And after a day or two, I am usually ready to go.

Checkin' out the Incas

I left Arequipa so that I could meet up with a friend in Cuzco. I sent him a message that I was taking a bus that would take nine hours and arrive by 5pm. When it was 8pm, and I hadn't arrived at our hostel yet, I was starting to make people nervous. This, friends, is why you think twice before buying one of the cheapest tickets you could find. Even though they promised the trip would only take nine hours, the bus stopped to let on/off anyone. At anytime. So I watched people get on and off my bus while I sat in one place and practiced patience. So when I finally arrived I was starving and cranky (hangryyyyyyy). Nothing that a little food and friends can't fix.

Sexiest dogs in the world

Arequipa and Colca Canyon

After leaving Sucre, it took a full twenty four hours of traveling to get to Arequipa, the White City of Peru. At this point I'm getting a little tired of busses. I don't understand how South American's aren't bothered by how warm they are. No ventilation and they can fall asleep under a heavy blanket with a jacket on.

 I learned from the father of the woman running my hostel that it is called the White City not just because of it's Spanish colonial architecture, but because a couple generations ago it used to be an incredibly white city full of Europeans. It has since become a much more mixed city.

Colca Canyon: All the details--without a guide

I don't normally do this because the nitty gritty details aren't super exciting. They're not the most fun for me to write, and since most people reading this aren't using it to plan trips it just hasn't seemed helpful. There are tons of other blogs that do a much better job, usually. But for Colca Canyon there is very little information on hiking in this canyon by yourself. And it's an incredibly easy thing to do. The planning part. The hiking's awesome but got some hills. (Duh Laurel, its a huge canyon.)

Carnaval in Oruro

Although Carnaval is one weekend, its celebrated the end of January and you could still see kids throwing water balloons at the end of February. Carnaval is the main celebration right before the beginning of Lent. It's generally celebrated with costumes, masks and parades. Of course this is accompanied with tons of alcohol and other things that are generally given up during Lent. Two Thursdays before the official guys night out, and the Thursday before is the ladies night out. Men weren't allowed into several of the bigger bars until after midnight, and several of the bars had sexy male dancers.