Peru: Machu, the Amazon and Beyond

Once the Brazilian adventure was done it was off on a two week tour of Peru. I was doing Peru as Solo travel and had the dream of seeing both Machu Picchu and the Amazon on the same trip. I was able to find a tour company who offered a two week tour from Cusco that would take you to both sites with some quad biking and white water rafting in between! It was the perfect set up and I couldn’t be happier with the decision.

At the end of the Brazil trip I caught a bit of a cold so I was arriving in Peru a little under the weather. I thought the cold was bad…until I was hit with splitting headaches from the altitude. Cusco is located at about 3,400 meters above sea level. And evidently I was not prepared for what this meant. The first adventure of the trip was a hike that would lead to Machu Picchu. It was the Lares Trek and would be 4 days and 3 nights of hiking and camping. The night before I was feeling pretty rough and having my doubts.

When I woke up for the trek I was thinking about pushing it back. Was not feeling my best and hiking/camping was going to be tough especially when we would be reaching a summit at 4,500 meters!!! In the end I pushed through and got on the trial. I was joined by three Aussies, Blake, Mitch, and Ben, who were all the same age as me and ended up being great travel companions. When we got on the trail it wasn’t difficult terrain but even after a few steps you felt like you needed a break. We hiked 3 hours the first day before setting up camp. The second day was the killer. It was only about 6 hours of hiking but this day we reached the 4,500 meter summit and the group was in pain. As we walked through it was hard not to be amazed by the scenery. We were the only ones out there walking through remote villages with tribes wearing colorful clothing. We were passing groups of Alpacas and Llamas roaming the mountainside. And feeling the fresh air across as faces as we were gasping for more oxygen. Once we made it to our camp for the night we decided to go down about 1,000 meters to a lower camp site on a local bus to get away from the altitude…it was a great decision all around. 

 

After our second camping night we started to make our way to Machu Picchu. We took a train to Machu Picchu town to spend the night before waking up to catch sunrise at one of the World Wonders. When we got up to make our way to Machu we were shocked at how many tourists there were. Even at 5am there were hundreds waiting in line for buses to get to the site. Once we were there the site’s massive size drowned out some of the crowds and we were awestruck. Truly a city in the sky. Our guide Frank, who was legendary, gave us the full tour before we were able to explore on our own. I will say that Machu did not disappoint, not one bit. It was even better than advertised and once I was back in Cusco it was time for part two of the trip…the Amazon!

My portal to the Amazon was through Porto Maldonado. I took a 10 hour overnight bus from Cusco to get there and spent 4 days and 3 nights in the jungle. To get to my lodge I actually took a one hour boat ride on the Amazon River where we pulled off on a bank and had to walk across planks of wood in the mud to get to our huts. The resort was full of little bungalows, a communal eating area for all meals, and even had a pet monkey and macaw on site! While I was there we had different activities each day that included jungle walks, a trip to a nature lake, searching for caimans (Amazon crocodiles), finding tarantulas, bird watching, and more. The wildlife was amazing and it was refreshing to see how undeveloped the whole area was. You definitely felt like you were away from everything and it lived up to its reputation. 

 

This trip was the longest solo trip that I have ever done and there are definitely highs and lows that come with that. It is liberating to be able to do whatever you want, wander around, and constantly meet new people. But when traveling you don’t realize just how much down time there is. This is usually filled with small conversation, card games, sharing a meal, etc. But when you are traveling alone sometimes you just want to share the experience with someone. Particularly being part of tour groups and staying in hostels you aren’t hard pressed to find people to spend time with but by the end of the two weeks I was ready to get back to Doha for some familiar faces and places.

I could go on and on about both Peru and Brazil but this offers a good snapshot. My time in Doha has been short…about 48 hours…as tonight I head to Ireland to see the one and the only William Nestor. I will be joined once again by Kevin but Brandon is flying out from the US as well!!! Can’t wait to get there and have everyone together. I will post photos from all the trips post-Ireland. Until then!!! Ramadan Kareem and Eid Mubarak!!!

 

Need Tickets?! World Cup 2014

The World Cup only happens every four years. It is a time where the whole world puts everything on hold to celebrate the great sport of football (yes I will refer to it as football…) on the global stage. Attending a World Cup has been a dream of mine for years now, and what better place to see one than in the football-crazed nation of Brazil?! When looking at summer travel for this year the dates lined up perfectly for a full on South America adventure. The first stop was Rio de Janeiro.

On the trip I ended up in Rio twice. The first stop was quite short but I was able to meet up with a buddy from JMU, Shawn McEvoy, and his friend Lara who lived in Brazil and was a great host. We were able to tour around some of the main sites while we were together. We were also able to catch a US match and Brazil match at the “Fan Fest” which was basically a giant TV on Copacabana Beach with 25,000 screaming fans. It was the next best thing to being at the match. We also got up to Sugar Loaf Mountain for some incredible views of the city. Time was short because my friend Kevin and some of his buddies were waiting for me up in Recife for us to see the US play their final group match against German.

This is where the story gets sad for a moment. June 26 is a day that will live in infamy. US v. Germany. The match we were all waiting for. It would determine if the US would advance. Germany was looking like a serious contender. And we had tickets in hand (well two out of the four). The

match was at 1pm but we were an hour south of the stadium. So we were on the road by 8am to get to the US tailgate early to score two tickets and start the party. Only problem? Rain. Lots of. Well rain and lack of drainage systems. The road to the stadium was flooded. We are talking waist high water not once, not twice, but 6 separate areas. We had a Chevy Cobalt rental which miraculously was able to drive through these rivers time and time again. The issue was traffic. After over 4 hours in traffic we had no shot of making it to the game. With tickets in hand we made the executive decision to bail out and watch at a local bar. Such a frustrating day from start to finish but I guess it wasn’t meant to be. In the end I didn’t get to actually see any of the World Cup matches which I am actually ok with. More on that later.

After Recife, Kevin’s friends Rob and Eric went back to the States. Kevin went to Vittoria to see family, where I would meet him a few days later. I spent the next three days in a town called Olinda right next to Vittoria. It was my redemption for June 26. Olinda is an old colorful cobblestone

colonial town. It was incredible to walk the streets and get lost with different churches, historic sites, art galleries, and street vendors. I had an incredible time there and had the opposite experience from Fan Fest as I watched matches on plastic chairs at local corner bars. Equally as fun as the 25,000 mob at CopaCabana.

In Vittoria Kevin has quite the family contingent. We stayed with his Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin in their beautiful home and were more than taken care of. Three elaborate meals a day. Being carted around to different family members. And able to relax from the hectic travels we had up to that point. Communication was a bit challenging as our Portuguese was severely limited and his Aunt and Uncle had limited English. Luckily Kevin’s cousin translated for us most of the time and we were able to joke, tell stories, and have a great time.

The last Brazil stop was back in Rio with Kevin this time. The highlight was absolutely the 4^th of July. Not only was it Denise Witt’s Birthday (and America too I guess…) but it was the quarter finals and there was a match in Rio. Kevin and I arrived early at the stadiums wearing USA jerseys, flags, and top hats. All with the accessory sign that said simply “Need Tickets”. To say the least it was a seller’s market. Tickets were going for about $1,000 USD for one. We spent all morning trying to get

tickets and were able to get one for $250!!! In the process we had dozens of people come to take pictures with the silly Americans celebrating our countries independence day. One ticket wasn’t good enough because it was two or nothing. So as the start time approached we decided to flip our ticket and call it a day. We ended up selling it for $500 and basically getting paid for our morning! Not a bad day at all but this was my last official chance to see a World Cup game. I am hoping to get to another World Cup in the future and next time? I will have tickets in hand for sure.

Kevin flew out from Brazil the following morning back to Doha but my adventure would continue. Next it was off to Peru for Maccu Picchu and the Amazon Rainforest. But I will leave those stories for the next posting.