Puno / Lake Tititaca / Run in with the Bolivian 5-0

Wednesday night I left Cusco for Puno, the city on the Peruvian side of Lake Tititaca, via an seven hour overnight bus.  I developed a bit of a cold sleeping on the cold ground on our trek, popped some nyquil and slept like a baby.  I arrived Thursday morning at 5am, crawled into bed, and laid there until I could fall asleep two hours later.  My sleep patters are a bit crazy from the trek.  I have woken up quite early the last few days.  I swear some days I got more sleep when I was working. Maybe I am just getting older and need less sleep?  Eek!  

Thursday was a very relaxing day.  I wandered the markets here, bought a sweet hat for my jungle trek and just explored the city.  What was crazy is the amount of American hats!  I saw a Sparty hat, Chicago Bears and even a Chicago Transit Authority hat!!

After a bit of market wandering, it was lunch time.  I wandered into this random restaurant and ordered soup.  I wish I hadn't.  Here is what I had:

Yup, that is a pig foot.  Didn't realize it until the very end.  You can even see the tiny hairs on the right.  Locals were eating the actual foot, or I think.  Maybe this is the gringo serving.  

After realizing what I ate, I really wanted to get that taste out of my mouth, so it was a quest for diet coke.  After being in Peru, no more complaining about only Coke Zero in Brazil and not Diet Coke.  Peru mainly has regular Coke and I'd rather pass on that.  Maybe 1 in 10 stores has Coke Zero.  Mad props to Colombia for having Coke Light.  I'm very excited for my flight home to have a Diet Coke.  Sorry, sidetracked a bit.  Finally, I found one, saw the price was $1.50 soles (roughly $0.75).  I went to the counter to pay and the lady said $1.80.  I asked why was it $1.80 when it said $1.50 (in perfect Spanish I might add) and she just repeated $1.80.  I'm sorry, I don't mind paying a bit more for services and try to always tip well here, but I was just fed up and drew the line at that.  I wasn't pissed at the $0.15 difference, I was just tired of being taken advantage of.  I left the store, went to the market and there paid $1.80 for one.  Could not bring myself to buy it from that original lady.  

Thursday night also really sucked.  I decided to change my plans to have more time in Bolivia so I could adequately see the sights I want to see.  Argentina got axed.  Trying to book flights on websites with no English, slow Internet and Skype calls SUCKS.  It took three hours and I still have no flight confirmation that I can get from my last stop in Chile to my America bound flight in Santiago. I have no patience to do that now.  I treated myself to two hot alcoholic beverages, one made with pisco, Peruvian liquor made from grapes, and called it a night.  

Friday, it was up early and off for the reason I came to Puno, the floating islands!!  I took a bus to the lake and then a loooong (2.5 hours) boat ride to the floating island.  

The floating islands were a very amazing experience.  Everyone who lives there goes barefoot and you feel you will step through and fall through into the water.  I did reach into the water and it was freezing! What was sad was just how dirty their homes were.  The kids were just filthy and it was am insight into bad hygiene knowledge, poverty or both.  

They make the island out of some type of reeds that you can also eat.  It tastes like a blander version of a cucumber and apparently is good for your bones.  

One thing that was hilarious on this island was these two Peruvian women from Lima also taking the tour asked me to take a picture.  Naturally, I assumed of them with one of the floating island sights.  So I said, "Si," and reached for the camera.  They said no, "com tu" or "with you".  This is becoming more frequent.  I am becoming a tourist attraction.  If I were in Cusco, I could start charging and paying for part of my trip.  Hmmm...

Woman with the edible reeds

We were serenaded for a bit

I'm on a boat!!

The pro driving the boat (he wouldn't let me drive :-( )

Hanging with locals

Replica of islands

My new boat (it's even pink!!!)

After the first island, we took the boat to a bigger island.  On the way there, I met some Brazilian girls and had a chance to practice my Portuguese!

The bigger island, we had lunch, hiked a bit and headed home.  

The locals there wear different types of clothing representing marital status.

Overall, the tour was great.  I would highly recommend.

Today, Saturday, started off horrendous.  My travel partner lost our bus tickets and we didn't know the name of the company.  It was a mad dash to the bus stop to try and see if they could look up our reservation by our names (they couldn't).  We had to buy new ones and got our tickets as the bus was scheduled to leave.  Thankfully the bus was late.  Surprisingly, most buses here are on time, which goes against my stereotype of Latin America.  

It was just a very stressful morning as I was the one who had to explain everything in Spanish and rush in transit, which always makes me a bit shaky.  Buses make me nervous enough.  Whenever I am preparing to ride a bus, I always layer in my favorite clothes, wear two pair of socks, hide a debit and credit card in between each and hide my passport on my body.  I also make sure to have both my contacts/glasses on me in case we were robbed.  The first thing I do as well on a bus is look for a place to stash my passport in case of a robbery.  I am paranoid enough in transit, so being rushed and having no tickets was not fun. 

One thing this trip has done is made me realize that I can be more assertive than I thought and can be much more confident with speaking, even in a foreign language.  I also realized I hate leaving important details to other people.  

Anyway, we got on the bus and enjoyed a great 2.5 hour ride to the Peru-Bolivia border.  There, I had to get off the bus, go to the police station, show my immigration card, get that stamped, walk to the next office, then go to the Bolivian side, pay $135 usd (darn US reciprocity fees) and then get my passport stamped.  I have now been to 25 countries and my passport will be full after this trip.  

We then boarded back on the bus, road for about 40 minutes to Copacobanna (Bolivian side of the Lake), had an hour there to eat, take photos, and explore.  I bought some cute jewelry.  

After that, we again boarded the bus, rode for about an hour, then got off and boarded a boat.  Our bus also boarded a boat.  After that it was about 3 more hours to La Paz.  The scenery along the way was beautiful.  

We made it to La Paz, and I was the only one who had a clue where we were going, also frustrating.  I hate wandering with my life on my body and we were in a very busy neighborhood.  Thank you Spanish (Portuguese-Spanish really).  We made it, checked in and then I had to get cash and a towel as this hostel was out.  I hate when hostels have no towels.  Who wants to carry a bulky, sometimes damp towel when you travel?

Anyway, due to extenuating circumstances, I ended up going by myself.  I ended up getting a bit disoriented and some lovely Police officers escorted me to the bank and back to my hostel.  Seeing as my dad worked for Grand Rapids Police Department and GRPD is obviously my favorite police department, the La Paz police are second.  My little bro just graduated with a criminal justice degree, and is interviewing with police forces, so soon his will be in the top two as well, but the La Paz police are great as well.   

Well, tomorrow it is off for a biking excursion.  Adios! 

Macchu Piccu - Part 2

Monday, July 1st, 2013

9:15 p.m.

Right now I am in Aqua Calientes, the town of Macchu Piccu.  Today, like the rest of the days, we woke up at 5 a.m. and so now I am exhausted and ready for bed.  I figured I would update a bit first. 

Back to where I left off...

Once we made it to the top of the mountain, I was forced off the horse and continued to walk.  After about another hour or so, we made it to the lunch spot and say down to another great meal.  After lunch, it was more walking (5 more hours).  Now, this part might be TMI, but it was a huge deal on the trek, so I am sharing anyway.  Me being a city girl, I find it very hard to go to the bathroom on the trail.  The porta potties at Lollapalooza are bad enough.  Most of the people who charge you a sole (Peruvian currency - current exchange rate 2.75 soles for $1 usd) to use their bathroom, have bathrooms that consist of a hole in the ground.  In my opinion, this is just as bad as going outside since the smell in them is so awful.  Lets just say I have been quite skilled at making a toilet out of rocks.  Also, never again will I complain about the Hangee Uppe bathroom at 4am again. 

Anyway, the scenery for the first half of the second day was all mountains covered with snow and the second half was all jungle. It was absolutely beautiful.

I arrived at the campsite just as it was starting to get dark.  What is great about doing the trek with guides and porters, is when you arrive to the campsite, your tent is set up, your drinking water is boiled and dinner is being cooked.  Also, the porters carry most of your stuff (up to 17lbs of it).

One thing that really stood out to me that night was how beautiful the sky was.  I was able to see so many constellations and even make out the Milky Way!  It definitely made all the baby wipe showers and rock toilets worth it.  The second night was not nearly as cold, but we had something else to contend with - roosters!  FYI, roosters do not just crow at sunrise - it is more like they crow all night.  

Well, now it is 9:30.  I am exhausted and off to bed. Tomorrow we take the train back to Cuzco and I hope to finish this then.  Adios!

P.S. Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadians!  

Tuesday, July 2nd, 2013

1:15 p.m.

Right now I am sitting on the train back to Cuzco.  This morning was quite relaxing.  For starters, I didn't wake up until 5:45 - woo-hoo!!  I forced myself to stay in bed and play solitare on my phone.  FYI since I got to Peru, I am negative $5,906 playing Vegas style solitaire.  After a nice relaxing hostel breakfast of cereal, bread, jam, bananas, and coca tea, Brian and I headed to the hot springs (for what Aqua Calientes (hot water in English) is named for. The hot springs are natural hot pools made from volcanoes. The soaking felt great on my exhausted body and the two glasses of Sangria helped as well.

Back to the trek - 

The third day

After waking up, packing up, and another great breakfast we were off.  Day 3 we hiked 12 KM (about 6 hours).  For comparison, day 1 was 16.5 kms (8.5 hours) and day 2 was 18kms (9.5 hours).  

The day 3 hike was mainly through the jungle.  Again, it was beautiful.  Day 3 we were done by about 1-1:30.  We arrived at the campsite, which essentially was someone's backyard.  It also had a flushing toilet and hot (well warm) shower(!!!!)

The third day we had the option of going to the hot springs or playing soccer with the porters.  I knew we had hot springs on the last day, so I elected to play soccer.  Surprisingly, I didn't look too foolish. I was the only girl who played and managed to block a few shots.  Later, I learned in Peru girls don´t typically play soccer, they play volleyball, so I hope I wasn´t out of line by playing with the boys. 

I didn't pack running shoes so I played in my hiking boots, which was bad enough, but many of the porters played in crocs or sandals.  We also saw a few porters doing the trek in their sandals.  Crazy.  As a general observation, crocs are very big in Latin America as a whole.  I saw several Croc stores in Brazil. 

During the game I managed to knock over one of the porters trying to steal the ball, take a ball in the general direction of my uterus, and get a massive bump/bruise on my shin.  Playing soccer with the porters was a total blast and reminded me of how much I miss team sports. 

Once we were done soccer, it was hot shower time. Woo - hoo!  Somehow, I survived the lukewarm shower with only a washcloth to dry off with AND LIKED IT.  Everything is relative. 

Once I was clean, it was happy hour time.  Half of our group was at the hot springs and would miss the happy hour, so we invited the kids who lived at our campsite for cocoa and and snacks.  Once word got out, half the neighborhood kids came, but it was so fun and the kids were so cute.  It was also a great opportunity to practice my Spanish and some of the older kids had fun practicing their English.  I wrote earlier on facebook the going to airports is a great way to remind yourself to take your birth control, well, traveling to Peru is a great way to forget it.  The kids are that cute here.  After the kids left, we had dinner and stayed up talking with the guides about education and current political issues in Peru. It was a great night. 

Well, now on the train there is a dancing clown and a fashion show featuring alpaca clothing.  I'll finish the last two days soon!

Adios!

July 3, 2013
11:45 p.m.

Right now I am feeling a bit under the weather during my last day in Cuzco.  I am starting to get a bit burnt out from the traveling.  Today I am going to relax and catch up on my blogging.

The fourth day of the trek we had the option of sleeping in or going for a nice uphill trek.  3 of the 12 did the up hill trek.  I opted to sleep in.  I am so glad I decided to sleep in.  After another nice breakfast and packing up, one of the little four year olds from last night, Carlitos, came up to me and asked in Spanish if I wanted to play soccer with him.  How do you say know to that?  I was partially crazy as I was going to face 5 more hours of hiking later, but Peruvian kids are just that cute.  I think kids tend to be cuter when you do not know what they are saying.  Carlitos may have a future as a goalie as he liked to constantly pick up the ball with his hands.  We ran around for a half an hour and then it was time to leave.  

After soccer, we took a nice hour long van ride complete with the latest Peru remixes of American songs and then got out to hike.  It turned out we were to be hiking through a hydroelectric plant.  In no way would that work in the United States.  I am sure there is some safety law against it, but when in Peru!  We hiked for about an hour and a half, stopped for a lunch and continued the final trek to Aqua Calientes (the town of Macchu Piccu). The last hike was one of my favorites as it was along the railroad tracks and through the jungle. I was absolutely exhausted though and it was a huge struggle to even carry my backpack. I ended up carrying my backpack on my front instead, which wasn´t exactly more comfortable.  The thought of a warm shower got me through the last home stretch! 

It was such a great site to see the hotel at the very end.  This was nowhere near the nicest hotel I have stayed at, but there were decently warm showers and a bed to sleep in, so I was pretty darn excited.  After cleaning up, we all met for dinner and some wine.  It was a nice night before the big finale - Macchu Piccu in the am! 

The next day it was again up at 5am and off to the site.  We took a bus there and then finally we had arrived!!  It was absolutely rewarding that we hiked to get there.  Macchu Piccu itself was amazing, but I can honestly say the hike made it that much better.  I would almost say the hike was better than Macchu Piccu itself. 

At Macchu Piccu, our guides gave us a 3 hour tour, we got our passports stamped, and we headed back.  Once in Agua Calientes, I checked into the next hostel, Pirwa hostel (not bad, but musty moldy smell with no lockers) took a nap and just relaxed the rest of the day.  I deserved it.  The following day was the morning in the Hot Springs and then back to Cuzco.  Once back in Cuzco I treated myself to a nice 30 soles (around $11usd) 1-hour Inka Massage.  It felt so darn good, I may just treat myself to another one today. 

Today, being sick, I am getting a bit home sick.  That coupled with the fact, I just heard some girls at our hostel were on the same bus route we were (Lima to Cuzco), same bus company, were robbed of all of their possessions at gun point.  Not exactly what I wanted to hear.  Next up, tonight we are headed to Lake Tititaca, Peru, to see the floating islands for 2 days, then off to La Paz, Bolivia for a few days where we want to check out the jungle, the city and the Salt Flats.  After that, we will have a brief visit to Chile to see Valle de La Luna and then check out Santiago, Chile and finish up in Mendoza and Buenos Aires, Argentina.  I am quite excited to see all of these places, but a bit nervous at the same time.  As a precaution, I wear my passport, debit card and credit card and favorite clothes, but still.  The thought of getting robbed of everything is quite nerve-racking.  Additionally, apparently yesterday 100 people died in a bus crash in Peru.  The buses here are nice enough, but Peru is very mountainous and the roads tend to be very curvy.  I will be quite excited when all of these bus rides are over.  We have 5 more bus journeys and 2 more flights ideally.  Wish me luck!

On a happier note, yesterday I made a Skype call to my colorist and have an appointment for a highlight and a keratin treatment the day after I get back (the day I get back there would not be enough time, believe me I tried!).  I am so excited to look like a normal person again! 

Well, now I am going to relax and debate that nice message.  Adios amigos!  Next time you hear from me, I will hopefully have made it safe and sound to Puno. 

Macchu Piccu - part 1

So a lot of this blog is back dated as I just got back from a 5 day, 4 night adventure trek to Macchu Piccu.  Let's just say the trail is not equipped with wifi. Much of this blog entry was written on pen and paper the old fashioned way.  

Sunday, June 30, 2013

7am

Right now I am on day 4 of a 5 day trek to Macchu Picchu.  Today we got to sleep in!  Every other day it has been up at 5:30 to a steaming cup of coco tea from our 2 tour guides, Adolfo and Marcelino (and occasionally by a few rooster crows).  

The first day of the trek, we left our hostel at 4:50 am to meet our fellow trekkers (12 total in our group) in a small plaza for a 2.5 hour bus ride to the first check point.  We had breakfast and rode in the back of a pickup for a 40 minute ride to the start of the hike.

The first morning had several little hills followed by flat spots.  It wasn't too hard to hike, but was not easy either.  It was quite hot, so I ended up wearing my convertible pants as shorts.  The company we trekked with, Llama Path, gave us several breaks so it made the journey quite manageable.  After hiking for several hours, we stopped for lunch in a nice tent and enjoyed a three course meal, complete with swan napkins.  Major props to the food on this tour.  I have no idea how the staff did it in the middle of the trek. 

In terms of the staff, there are 12 trekkers, 4 horseman, 3 porters, 1 cook/porter, 12 horses, and 2 tour guides.  Quite a lot of people for 12 trekkers.

Anyway, after lunch we hiked about 4-5 more hours and made it to camp.  That first day I managed to be perfectly average, which meant I walked by myself for most of the journey, which was actually quite nice to have the silence.  

The first campsite was absolutely freezing.  I should note it was at the base of a freezing cold mountain.  There were also no showers or toilet with a seat.  I was quite surprised at how clean I could feel with a baby wipe "shower".  The bathroom was a different story.  

Once I managed to scrub a decent layer of dust off myself, it was happy hour time.  Normally, happy hour for me involves a Ketel One dirty martini with blue cheese olives.  Here, happy hour involves coca tea (yes the same coca that cocaine comes from), hot cocoa, popcorn, crackers and jam.  Since our first campsite was so cold, the warm drinks were quite welcome.  After happy hour, I wasn't feeling so great, so I took off for bed (this was around 6:30!). Going to bed at the base of a mountain involves a clean base layer, 2 pair of pants (leggings plus the same pants from earlier in the day), clean t-shirt, long sleeve top, a sweater made from alpaca, north face fleece, socks, hat and mittens.  I also was curled up in my sleeping bag with a blanket and still froze.

Above: campsite one

I managed to fall asleep rather quickly, but since I skipped dinner our guide was worried and came to check on me.  I assured him I would be fine in the am and he left.  I was so happy he cared, but really needed to sleep.  After he left, I went to use the seatless toilet. Apparently, someone else had used it, missed, and the entire thing was covered in shit.  I did not use the bathroom.  I fell back asleep and managed to wake up 3 times in the middle of the night due to the fact I was freezing.  My sleeping bag is only made for 15 degrees Celsius.  Plus, I didn't want to dirty more socks because I only bought four trek socks for a five day trek to save $15usd.  Dumb.  I also only bought one pair of convertible hiking pants to save $90 usd.  Also dumb, but slightly less so.  

We packed up our tent after enjoying the hot cocoa tea and went to a breakfast of bread, crepes, delicious porridge, fruit and more tea.  I will need a diet after this. 

The second day of the trek, especially the a.m. was the hardest.  I knew this in advance, but was not prepared. We were at a high elevation (6,271 meters), hiking the longest distance (18km), it was freezing, and was uphill.  I consider myself healthy and fit. I run, stay relatively active and eat right.  Even since leaving Brazil I have been drinking way less.  Going out all the time gets old fast.  Anyway, nothing could have prepares me for this.  I could barely take 20 steps before needing to stop. Me and a 280lb man were the weakest links.  After about an hour of this, the horseman relieved us of our day packs by having the horse carry them. This helped some, but I was just struggling on the hills.  I was then places on a lovely horse named Santiago to go up the mountain. 

On this trip I have realized I love riding horses, so aside from this being a bit embarrassing, it was a blast.  In fact, i was having so much fun, I convinced the guides and myself I needed it a bit longer than perhaps I really did.  The ride was also a bit scary as I was on a path about 1-2meters wide on a mountain side cliff.  

Well, time to go hike, more later!!

So that is what I have the energy to type now.  I will post more later.  Last night in Cuzco! 

Adios!

Land of Llamas!

Sorry it has been awhile.  Right now I am in Cuzco and tomorrow am heading on a 5 day, 4 night trek to see Macchu Piccu!  No Internet for a few days!!

So, after almost missing my flight from Medellin to Lima, and taking a 22 hour bus ride, I made it with my friend Brian and his friend, Sam, a Peru native, to Cuzco.  Lima was a short visit, but fun. We ate some ceviche and went to some salsa clubs.  The next day we strolled the boardwalk and then took the exciting bus to Cuzco. 

22 hours on a bus - first few hours - great scenery.  Next few hours, not so great.  But, for about $50 usd, worth it.

Cuzco has been beautiful.  The first full day here we strolled the city and wandered during the Sun God festival.  The second day we did horseback riding through the countryside.  So much fun - we stopped along the way and visited some great sites.  We also crawled though some ancient sacred tunnels. 

The next two days we did some wandering around the city, bought some Peruvian accessories, and toured some ancient churches.  

We just finished our trek orientation and now I am off to pack for the trek.  

Adios!

Off to Peru Tomorrow!!

So Monday started off as a great day.  I did this amazing walking tour of the city where I learned a lot about the history of Medellin and Colombia.  Apparently, around 10 or so years ago, this city was one of the most dangerous in the world.  Colombia has been divided for a long time between two political parties and then in came the drugs.  Yes, Medellin is the home of Pablo Escobar.  When he was around, it was very dangerous to walk around in many public areas of the city.  Now, crime rates are comparable to U.S. cities.

Here are some photos of the tour.  

Above: memorial

Above: Government building.  

Above: A famous artist in Medellin sculpted the bird on the left.  In the 90s, that bird exploded after someone left a backpack with explosives during a fair.  Around 20-30 people were killed, including several children.  The city wanted to take the original bird down.  The artist called furious, saying to take it down would be to forget the past.  Instead, a new bird was built beside the old bird to represent the future.  

Above: Plaza de la Luz (Plaza of the Light)

Above: View looking up to Plaza de la Luz.  

I had way more fun facts to share, but I have forgotten the details of them.  Why?  Well, first let me tell you how to have a great time in Colombia.  Try to go to the FedEx and mail clothes back to the US!  Used clothes I might add!  I wanted to ship all my warm weather things as I am going to colder climates and make room in my backpack.  The fed ex form had me specify what percentage of each item it was.  Ie: 1 skirt: 98% cotton, 2% nylon.  This took about 40 minutes.  Then, apparently you can't mail clothes back, so I had to classify all the items as "unsolicited gifts".  Sorry Mom and Dad, what you thought was perhaps some nice Colombian handicrafts was instead my beach wear.  

Anyway, I have been missing American food.  One item in particular, Gyros (so not totally American).  I saw what I thought was a nice Gyro place.  I ordered myself a Kebab, enjoyed a nice meal (it was delicious), watched a movie on Netflix and had an early night.  I woke up at around 3am with the worst stomach ache.  I will spare the details.  I spent all day Tuesday and Wednesday unable to move, missed my Bogota flight and am still in Medellin (today is Friday).  The last three days I have spent eating crackers, drinking powerade, and enjoying the fact my Netflix subscription works here.  

One thing I absolutely had to do here was get pants.  I only brought a few pants (well, had a few left after sending several home) and needed some decent jeans.  So today I absolutely had to force myself out of bed to go buy some.  Never has shopping been so miserable.  Tip: Zara is the one store you can go anywhere and no one will come talk to you.  One thing I don't understand is when you say " no hablo espanol" people still talk to you in Spanish.  I can get by with basics, but really I hate shopping when sick and really can't stand salespeople hovering over me.  I finally got out of there with some jeans and leggings.  Nice benefit of being sick: I finally fit into my skinny pant size again at Diesel after binging on caipirinhas in Brazil!  Yay!  

After that, I figured I would try to eat something beside crackers so I went to try to get some American comfort food.  Comfort food for me is my dads Mac n cheese.  My dad isn't here and after my experience with FedEx, I didn't want to go that route either.  Colombia has KFC.  That would have to do.  They do not have Mac n cheese!  What the heck.  They also do not have green beans or mashed potatoes or potato wedges.  You can have rice and beans with your chicken.  Vomit.  I left with nothing and later went to the grocery store and made macaroni with some pathetic excuse for cheese.  Yes, I'm bitter when I'm sick.  

Right now I am just chilling and trying to psych myself up for next week.  A week from yesterday I will be trekking up Macchu Piccu!  I am soo so excited, but honestly I did a few laps at the mall today and that almost killed me.  Tomorrow it is off to Lima where I meet a friend from college I haven't seen in about 6 years (who I travel with for the next month) then Cuzco for a sun festival, then up the mountain I go.  Apparently, you can rent a horse up the trek if you can't make it, but I do not want to be that girl!

Adios Amigos!  Wish me luck!!

Colombian Cowgirl

I have had an excellent first few days in Medellin.  The first day was exactly as planned - straight up relaxing.  The second day, a friend of a friend who is a tour guide of the city, arranged for a countryside horseback excursion.  

Now, when I agreed to go on this excursion (using my phone during the immigration line in Colombia), I being a bit sleep deprived, imagined 10 people trotting through the Colombian countryside, stopping for some delicious Colombian coffee, and riding back.  Sounded like a nice relaxing day, no?  Well, we did trot, but it turned out to be me and about 50 others around my age coupled with aquardente (Colombian national drink - tastes like Sambouca, Greek Ouzo, Turkish Raki, etc) being freely passed around.  Apparently, that is how you drink aquardente: straight up and passed among friends.  Below is a pic before the ride.  

The ride started out awesome.  Everyone kept passing me drinks of the Guaro (short name for the national drink) and it made me slightly less nervous about being on the ferocious beast (if you don't know the story of last time I was on a horse, it started with tequila and ended with me being bitten and needing a tetanus shot).  Anyway, this time along with drinks flowing freely, music was playing (people hooked up speakers to their horses), and everyone was so welcoming and wanted me to practice Spanish with them or they wanted to practice English with me.  About 30 minutes into the ride, it started pouring rain. Thankfully, I bought the sweet hat and was ready.  

The view during the trek was beautiful!

After a two hour ride there, we stopped at a bar, ate some snacks, drank some more and danced.  A new Colombian friend tried to teach me how to dance Reggae-ton (some sort of Colombian reggae - sounds weird but I loved it).  On the way back, I don't know if it was me or the aquardente, but me and my horse bonded much more and did a lot more trotting than on the way there.  I had a great time and definitely want to ride a horse again!

The next day I went to the cable car from some fellow hostelers.  The cable car promised us a great view of the entire city.  We took the subway from where we are located, Poblano, to the correct stop, which puts you at the base of the Barrio, which is similar to a slum/favela.  Basically, the poorer part of the city.  We connected to the cable car, which by the way apparently Rio is working on developing as an easier way for residents of the favelas to get to their homes (most favelas tend to be on mountains), and headed up.  One of the cable cars was sponsored by Citibank.  As an ex-financier, I found that interesting.  

As we headed up and admired the views, I observed the streets in these neighborhoods were much wider and it was much more open than the favelas in Rio.  I don't know if that was only a tiny part I saw, and I certainly don't feel comfortable comparing poverty levels, but it seemed "nicer" here than the favelas in Rio.  Perhaps that is attribute to Rio being a bigger city, but really I have no idea.  I would by no means call it nice though and still found it very sad.  Another thing I have found very sad throughout my travels here in South America is the amount of children working.  Kids were working at the horse farm, the street selling food, and other places.  It has made me feel very appreciative of my life.  

Once we got to the top of the cable car line, there was a beautiful national park where we rented bikes and strolled around.  

That night, we drank at the hostel and I met up with some old friends from college for a few drinks.  Look, Colombia has rum in a juice box!!

 

Today has been a very low key day.  I went out for lunch with some friends, ate a salad (not common at all, so much fried food/bread here) and now am working on planning some trip details.  I head to Bogota on Wednesday, and next week will be in Peru climbing Maccu Piccu.  From there, off to Bolivia and likely Argentina after.  But, a woman has a right to change her mind, so who knows!!

Adios Amigos!