Lake Titicaca

Well, as I am writing this, I am actially back in Quito, Ecuador but I wanted to blog some of the interesting things we saw at Lake Titicaca in Puno, Peru. After arriving in Puno, we stayed the night at a nice hostel called La Manzana. From there, we booked a two day trek to the Lake and visited 3 islands, plus 2 handmade floating islands. These are made by the local people by using floating reeds and adding more and more until the island is several feet thick and able to support dozens of people. We had a good time talking with the local folks and exploring the islands. That night we stayed with a local family who fed us food that was basically unidentifiable. I think my bowl had a pair of eyes in it, but I tried not to focus to much on that. The next day we took a boat ride to two more islands, and hiked to the top of the island of Uros, and got to see a nice sunset over the lake. There were even more Inca ruins here as well. After our two days in Puno, I headed back to Cusco for a little rest, then it was off to Lima again for two days, then finally a 40 hour bus back to Guayaquil and eventually Quito. Time for a siesta!

Machu Piccu

Well, finally I made it back from four days of mountain biking and hiking through the Inca trail and up to the famous ruins of Machu Piccu. Although the actual trip was amazing, it did not come without a few bumps and bruises along the way. The first day started with our guide picking us up at the hostel at 7:30 in the morning to take us on a 3 hour bus ride to the beginning of the trail where we would continue on with mountain bikes for the next 5 hours. The bike ride was amazing and a little on the dangerous side as well. There were a total of 15 people in our trek, and 3 of us took some pretty bad spills along the way, including me. With only about 20 minutes left of the bike ride, I hit a bad spot in the road and flew over the top of my handle bars at about 20 mph. Fortunately, I had a helmet or I might of had a craked coconut. However, my arm and leg took some pretty bad scrapes and bruises, which would make the subsequent 3 days a little daunting walking to the ruins. We slept that night in a small little village, and had a nice home cooked meal. The following day we woke up at 6:00am to start our foot hike. This would be a total of 8 hours walking through the rain forrest jungle, up and down hills that pushed us all to the limit. Along the way, we saw some amazing views and animals that made it all worth it...at least most of it. My little problem with heights was also tested along the way when we had to walk about a half mile along the edge of one of the mountains on a very thin trail..one wrong step and... Finally, we arrived at our destination for that night, which was a small town where we had a nice dinner, and spent the night dancing at a local club that was filled mostly with locals of all ages. The funniest thing that night was the fact that our tour guide got more than a little drunk, and had to lead us through more jungle hiking the next day on 4 hours of sleep and a whopping hangover. Somehow, he managed to do it, and got us to our next destination on the third day, which was the town of Aguas Caliente. Here we had another good meal, and explored the town a bit before heading to bed early to prepare for the fourth day where we had to wake up at 4:00 in the morning to begin our short hike to Machu Piccu. When we arrived at Machu Piccu, it was about 6:00 am, and I had more blisters on my feet than I was able to count, but I tried to just grin and bear it for one more day. Soon we began our tour of an amazing culture that mysteriously vanished before it´s time. First, we walked with our guide for about 3 hours, and got some great information on the history of the Incan Empire and the stories behind the ruins. After that, we were free to roam the ruins for a few hours and get some great photos. I was amazed at how much we were able to see and learn from the various temples and altars that were still in great condition, and they really gave you a glimpse of what it must have been like to walk among the Quetchuan people and Inca kings from so many years ago. Next, it´s off to Puno on Lake Titicaca for a few days of fun and sun. I´ll keep you posted once I get back. Don´t forget, you can check out my photos on Facebook, and I will also be posting to Flickr once I get back to Quito. Caio´

Tattoo Me

So, I am really trying to keep up with this blog thing, but geez, it´s so hard with hardly any time to spare...ok, that´s just my excuse. Anyway, as you can probably tell from the title, I just got a new tattoo here in Quito. I´m telling you, there is something in the air here. I came here such a good boy(yeah, right), and now I have fallin´into the world of tattoos and piercings. I am leaving for Lima, Peru in 5 days and in just enough time for my tats to heal, so I can properly show them off..lol. There is a tremendous artist here, the one who did my new one, who has agreed to do some add-on work to enhance one of my other tattoos from earlier on. So, maybe when I return from Bolivia, I will take him up on it. I sure will miss Quito, when I have to come back to the U.S., but if everything goes well with my visa, I will be returning to Ecuador for work in September 2009. So, that´s about it. See ya again soon :)

Music Nights

There isn´t a whole to update since the last blog entry, just finishing up three more weeks here in Quito, then it´s off to Peru and Bolivia for a month before returning back to Ecuador to tour the country for a month. As of now, the current plan is to head back to the U.S. around the first of April, where I have to wait until my permanent work visa is approved around September, then it´s back to Ecuador where I will be working here for a year to two years on the coast in a city called Canoa. In some ways I hate to even have to leave here to head back to the U.S. because the restaurant is doing well, and it´s a lot of fun here. We just started having music nights up on the terrace here at the hotel, and every night is a different theme. Sundays are 80´s night, and everyone hadf a great time eating , drinking, and listening to music from the past. But, after I leave in April, they have to close the restaurant, until I return in September, because they don´t have anyone to take it over. Anyway, it will still be nice to visit family and friends back home for a bit, but Ecuador and the people and culture here sure grow on you. Caio´for now!