Reset search
Around the World: Honeymoon
  • Kaitlyn Hawley

Around the World: Honeymoon

A 353-day adventure by Kaitlyn Read more
+7
FollowInsightsCalendarShareShareBucket list
Newest first
  • Kaitlyn HawleyAround the World: HoneymoonTraveler

    Inca Trail Day 1

    October 20, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Km 82-Patallaqta
    10.66 km
    327m elevation gain

    Today we started the Inca Trail!

    We were woken up by a porter who brought us tea and coffee to our glamping hut. We had our last showers for the next few days and then went to breakfast. We had some fruit salad with granola and yogurt as well as some eggy fried bread. After not sleeping well due to a funny tummy, I took it easy at breakfast knowing we'd be hiking until lunchtime.

    We left the site and headed back for the bridge we crossed over yesterday. We crossed the river and headed up some steps on the other side. I was confused because all of the other hikers were starting the trail on the other side. Jhon explained that they prefer this side because it is less busy, fewer people and fewer motorbikes. It definitely made for a more peaceful and personal day.

    Throughout the walk, the river was always on our left. It was so nice to hear the river all day. We also got some pretty beautiful views with the river, mountains, and Incan sites along the way. At one point we were walking along the train tracks, which was a cool picture with the mountains and river. Jhon stuck a .50 Soles on the track just before the train went by and it flattened it like a penny press. A pretty cool and unique souvenir to mark the day.

    We walked past a few sets of Incan ruins that we wouldn't have gotten to see if we'd started the trek on the other side like the other companies. We saw some houses, buildings, terraces, and what is believed to be a big water storage area. It looked like a giant Incan swimming pool! I also loved all of the different plants and flowers growing all around.

    The sun was shining the entire day, which was both good and bad. Good because no rain, not so good because it was so hot with not many sections of shade. One section with shade after we crossed back over the river to the other side, was a small eucalyptus forest. It smelled so nice in there and the shade was lovely. The forest was right before Patallaqta where our campsite was for the night.

    When we emerged from the forest, it opened up to some small farms and houses and the Patallaqta ruins on our right. They were pretty cool from the ground, but when we explored them after lunch, even better. The walking today was pretty easy and didn't have too much elevation and no steep bits, only some gradual incline. It only gets harder from here 🙃.

    Lunch was surprisingly elaborate for camping! There were stuffed peppers, corn on the cob, quinoa fritters, tomato and cucumber, and we had a lovely corn soup to start. I was super impressed! And after not eating much at breakfast, starving and ate more than I probably should have with a dodgy stomach.

    After lunch we chilled out for a bit and tried out our solar panels to charge things. It was so cool! We also went and explored the Patallaqta ruins. The more we walked amongst them, the bigger they seemed to get! There were extensive terraces for farming as well as a water channel to support irrigation. There were a variety of buildings and houses, some for one family, some for multiple families and others for allowing up to 100 builders or soldiers to sleep in one place. Jhon also pointed out some areas where the Incas planned to expand the site to support the growing population, but the Spanish invasion kind of got in the way of that one.

    When we finished exploring, Allan headed back the way we came in the trail to some terraces we saw earlier on and I went back to the campsite and had some tea and toasted corn. I really love that stuff! After about an hour, the bugs were out in full force, so I took refuge in our tent and read for a bit before Allan for back and needed some help with his glacial water cold plunge after his longer than expected walk.

    We had dinner of steak and potatoes, but again, vegetable soup to start and we also had a dessert of warm pear is syrup. They feed us very well! Hopefully my body will be able to hold on to it all 🙈. We went back to our tent after dinner to settle in. I'm looking forward to using my new sleeping bag and sleeping pad, but not so much all the bugs.... Stay tuned for how the sleeping goes.    Read more

  • Kaitlyn HawleyAround the World: HoneymoonTraveler

    Inca Trail Day 2

    October 21, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    Patallaqta-Llulluchapampa
    9.67 km
    1127 elevation gain

    Today was HARD.

    I knew going into today that it would be more difficult than yesterday. We were mostly flat yesterday. But today was nearly 10 km of straight up, either little up, or big up.

    The first half of the walk was dusty and a gradual ascent. The only Incan ruins we saw today were in the valley at the very start of our walk. I was feeling pretty good the first half and we were making really good time. We did the first 5k in about an hour and a half. Boy did this lull me into a false sense of security.

    We stopped at a couple outposts along the way to rest and we're playing leap frog with our porters. Once we got to Wayllabamba, that's when things started to get rough. The ascent for steeper and there were some big steps intermittently on the path. It was on this path that John pointed out the Dead Woman's Pass that we will go through tomorrow. It looks very high...

    After a wee while of going up, we stopped at a small campsite where we were originally going to stop for lunch before continuing on to the final campsite, but because we were making good time we stopped for a longer rest and some snacks. The porters also stopped for a rest before continuing on ahead of us to begin getting camp ready. I was feeling tired now, but felt ok after the rest.

    We continued on with the last leg of the journey and holy shit was it tough. It was a couple kilometers of just big up. Just stairs and stairs and stairs. Luckily this part of the walk was in the forest, so we were shaded, but I was still sweating buckets and mildly panicking I wouldn't make it to the campsite. I had to stop frequently and each time I gave myself small goals to try and reach before I stopped, going from tree to tree or big rock to big rock. The forest was really nice with a stream running through it next to the path. There were also pockets of good views of the mountains and some fuchsias dangling from trees. Unfortunately I didn't appreciate the beauty as much as I would on a flat walk. The stairs and big up just seemed to go on forever relentlessly. But after just over an hour, we reached our campsite. I was spent. Jhon said it was the quickest he's made it up to the campsite, which is surprising because I felt like I was going incredibly slow.

    We admired the mountain view and then got to take off our sweaty socks and shoes. The wind up here at 3,780m is chilly, especially with a soaked t-shirt, so I also changed out of that. We had some lunch and one of the porters made a little bear out of oranges and radish to go with the rice; it was so cute. After lunch we got some downtime and had a nice nap before tea.

    Tomorrow is our early wake-up at 4am. Tomorrow Jhon says it is the hardest and longest day. We go up to Dead Woman's Pass at 4,200m, the highest point on the Inca Trail before going down a bit and back up again. Tomorrow is also a 14km to walk...one step at a time I guess 😭.    Read more

  • Kaitlyn HawleyAround the World: HoneymoonTraveler

    Inca Trail Day 3

    October 22, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    Llulluchapampa-Phuyupatamarka
    12.9 km
    986 elevation gain

    Today was described to us as the longest and toughest day. It certainly was a long day, but I think yesterday was harder if I'm being honest. Today was a lot of up and down, up and down. Not little up and down though, BIG up and down, like up 420m and down 650m to go back up 365m to go back down about 250m.

    The day started with a wake-up at 4:30 before we started walking around 6:00. It had been raining for a couple of hours, and still was when we had to pack which made things a bit trickier. Luckily, after breakfast it started to lighten up and by the time we were walking, it had pretty much stopped raining. It was a steep climb up to Dead Woman's Pass at around 4,200m, the highest point on the Inca Trail. It was rough, but not as hard as the steep climb at the end of yesterday. It was also very cloudy in the valley so we couldn't see very much except for the dead woman at the top of the mountain that was our goal. We got there in just over an hour which was quicker than I expected to be honest. It was still pretty cloudy impacting the view, but we still got some nice pictures to go with our sense of accomplishment.

    After the pass, it was time to go down for a while. Going down is so much harder than going up in some respects, and it also tends to take longer which is annoying. The steps and path down for about 650m were big in some parts, but even a nice gradual path required caution because the stones were wet from the rain earlier. We were pretty bored of going down by the time we reached the bottom, and made me frustrated to go all that way up and then down, to only have to go up a steep part again. The good news though, was that we were always moving forward closer to the destination.

    This part of the trail going back up was in the forest for the most part. There was a lot of greenery and Jhon pointed out different orchids every now and again. I also spotted a few hummingbirds and we saw a tree turkey (which actually looks more like a nicer pigeon). Once we began to reach the top of this ascent, the forest opened up to tall brown grasses. Towards the top there were a couple of ruins with some spectacular views of the mountains we'd gone up and down all day. There were also some small ponds dotted around. We saw some ducks and spotted a deer eating near the edge of one.

    Once we reached the top of this pass, it was time to head back down AGAIN. Towards the bottom of this big down section, there was the 'inaccessible ruins' so named because of the narrow, steep steps to reach them. I was feeling pretty tired, so Allan ran up and had a bit of an explore. After his exploration, it was another 20 minutes until we stopped for lunch where our porters were waiting. Due to the long nature of the day, we stopped for lunch prior to reaching the campsite. During lunch, lots of laughs and poking fun at me was had (those potatoes were very good, it is a good chef here). We had some time to take our shoes off and switch our socks over to clean, dry ones before resuming our journey to our campsite a few kilometers away. The path now was little up and down so we could go a bit faster.

    We reached our campsite much quicker than expected and it was a busy one. It was also high in the clouds, so you couldn't see much. At one point though we did manage to spot Aguas Calientes down below, the town where we will be sleeping tomorrow night after finishing the Inca Trail.

    It's another early wake-up tomorrow, so we went to bed early hoping for some rest to conquer the last of the trail.    Read more

  • Kaitlyn HawleyAround the World: HoneymoonTraveler

    Inca Trail Day 4 & Machu Picchu Day 1

    October 23, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Today is our last day walking the Inca Trail. I'm both so glad it's over, but also can't believe how far we've come. Day 1 seems like so long ago!

    Today was going to be difficult due to the big down sections we had to conquer. But first, breakfast 🥞. We had pancakes today and an astonishing cake that the chef made in a pot. It was soft and warm and very delicious. I was pretty impressed! I think Allan ate half that cake all on his own. Before we started walking, we took turns taking a picture with the polaroid with each of the porters (to help the small tip we gave).

    Then it was time to begin the long climb down. Jhon said a young girl counted the steps at one point to around 2,000. Not sure how accurate that is as I didn't count, but we were going down the stairs for a really long time, both big stairs and smaller stairs. Once the stairs stopped, it was Ricky path downhill that still could be a bit tricky to walk on (I think I fell at least twice even with a walking pole). It was still very cloudy as we were walking through the forest on the trail, but it was expected to clear up later.

    Along the way we saw some random spatterings of Incan ruins, but we made a bigger stop at Intipata and nearby Wiñay Wayna. The ruins here were massive with countless terraces and some small dwellings. After our exploring, we were going up and down mostly along a path now with far fewer stairs. I was absolutely exhausted by now though and had to try extra hard to keep my eyes on the prize and remind myself to just keep moving forward. Jhon told us we'd know when we were close because there is a set of about 50 steps shortly before the Sun Gate. Luckily I had my pole to help me up those and the steps to the gate afterwards. Allan used his hands a bit, even he was tired!

    Finally we reached the Sun Gate and got our first glimpse of Machu Picchu in the distance. I was so glad to have made it. We had the whole place to ourselves which was great. Machu Picchu and the mountains around it were pretty big, bigger than I imagined. We stopped just after the Sun Gate and had some of the boxed lunch (sandwiches) that the chef had prepared for us for lunch.

    I was devastated to learn that we still had almost 2k more to walk in order to get to Machu Picchu, downhill. We began the walk, all the while getting closer to the destination. Once we arrived at Manchu Picchu, we entered part of the Circuit 1 section where you can get some good panoramic views of the buildings and mountains. We kept walking around the outside edges of Machu Picchu to the exit, it was a lot of stairs down again (the Incas really love their fucking stairs). When we got to the exit, we stored the big backpack to go back in and do Circuit 3 which is actually walking around some of the main buildings. Despite being absolutely shattered, it would be useful to do the tour with a guide, so in again we went.

    Circuit 3 was most of the middle buildings including the Sun Temple. The Sun Temple has two windows that correspond to the respective solstices when the sun shines directly on them. The Incas have a lot of little things like this throughout their sites, but this one with its curved walls is impressive. A lot of the buildings are half beautiful architecture with perfectly carved stones, and half rustic because they had to go faster to complete the buildings when war with the Spaniards started. It's pretty interesting to see once you notice it. The Incas also made good use of bedrock, carving blocks to match existing bedrock wherever they built. After about an hour of up and down stairs in the middle section of Machu Picchu, we got the bus down the 8km of switchbacks to Aguas Calientes, bidding farewell to Jhon.

    We spent some time in our hostel airing the gear out and, unfortunately, having cold showers. It was better than no shower after sweating on the trail for the last 4 days. Then, it was time to find some food and a celebration beer. On our way to the restaurant we stopped in at a little hotel that had spa services and booked a massage for after dinner. My legs and shoulders killed, so hopefully the massage would help. We went to Chulos and shared a couple of alpaca dishes and each had a beer. The food was pretty good, and alpaca tastes similar to other red meats. The beers were ok, but after finishing the Inca Trail I definitely needed something!

    We stopped back at Otto's Spa for our Inca combo massage. The massage included, swedish massage, pressure point and hot rocks. I'd never had hot rocks so it was interesting to experience. Despite some parts being really sore, it did feel good after the initial few rubs. I'm glad I didn't feel sore like this until the end of the Inca Trail, but I was so hopeful that I would be ok after feeling fine the whole way until now!

    We walked back to the hostel, and by then, there was nothing left to do except for sleep, which I did with pleasure. Unfortunately the hostel has an early check out time, which means we will have to be up and out before 9.    Read more

  • Kaitlyn HawleyAround the World: HoneymoonTraveler

    Aguas Calientes & Machu Picchu Day 2

    October 24, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    We checked out of our hostel and did some admin things in the morning at the hostel. We had planned to go to the hot springs, but on second thought decided to go after Machu Picchu so we also could shower after inevitably getting sweaty.

    The price for the shuttle bus to and from Machu Picchu is extortionate, $24 round trip! It's less than 10km for the journey! But it's uphill so people don't want to walk. My legs felt worse than yesterday. My calves were crazy tight and walking, nevermind stairs (especially down) were not a fun time. However, I wasn't willing to pay all that money for the bus. Going upstairs was easier than going down, so I confused the bus ticket woman when I asked for a bus ticket to go down explaining I was going to walk up. She still gave me a ticket for going up, but assured me it would still work to go down (it fucking better).

    We found a cheap place nearby our hostel that did a burger and fries deal, so we had some lunch and then it was time to get ready for the climb up the stairs to Machu Picchu for round 2. The first 1.5 kilometers was fine, because it was flat out of Aguas Calientes, but then it was time for the 2 kilometers of stairs. Slow and steady up we went, I was definitely going too slow for Allan's liking, but I was exhausted! I could also hear thunder in the distance though and didn't want to risk getting caught in a storm on those stairs, so I powered through as best I could.

    Once at the top, we checked in for Circuit 2. This circuit brings you along the outside of the main section of middle buildings. We saw the guardhouse, with its still intact roof, as well as the main entrance to the citadel that perfectly frames Huyana Picchu. Continuing our walk, we saw a quarry of large stones unused as well as some buildings with replicated roofs. We got some good views of the terraces and the 3 window temple which looks so different from all the other buildings. We didn't learn as much about the buildings we saw today because we didn't have a guide, but we did see an elderly Chinese woman chasing a llama to try and pet it.

    After we finished the circuit, I joined the line to get the bus down, while Allan began his run down the stairs. By the time I was walking up the stairs to our hostel, he was walking up behind me, sweaty and warm from running down the stairs in the same amount of time it took me to get the bus. I was definitely holding him back on the Inca Trail.

    We quickly organized ourselves and made our way up into town towards the thermal baths. It was starting to get dark now, and it was a bit wet up near the baths so we (me) had to be careful not to slip. After we changed, we got the lay of the land. There were about 5 different warm baths of varying temperatures (labelled) and one cold bath. I'm sure it surprises nobody to learn the cold bath was empty. The first couple of baths we tried were not very warm, but we chose them because they weren't as busy. We ended up heading toward the busiest pool because it was the warmest, but not hot. It still felt nice to relax in the water though.

    After a quick shower and getting changed, we headed back to the place we had lunch for their cheap pizzas. Allan ran to get the bags while I ordered. Luckily the place wasn't busy, so the food came quick. We ate and then efficiently made our way to the train station to get our train and bus back to Cusco. It was a small one car train, but it was comfortable enough. I also didn't have to imagine the scenery because we had seen it already during the Inca Trail. After about an hour and a half we disembarked the train at Ollantaytambo and made our way to the bus. It wasn't really clear where to go for the bus but a woman was there with a sign to help direct. When Allan went to the bathroom, I expected the woman to wait, but she left! I was trying to go slow enough that Allan could see me when he came out and that I could still see the woman going towards the bus. We caught up once Allan was out, but we were at the back of the line and this expected the worst seats on the bus. A fortunate turn of events saw the big bus fill up, so us and 3 other people boarded a small van to make the drive back. This meant we got back faster which was great because I wasn't feeling well.

    We Ubered back to Hatun Quilla, our previous hostel before the Inca Trail, and went straight to bed.    Read more

  • Kaitlyn HawleyAround the World: HoneymoonTraveler

    Cuzco Day 2

    October 25, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Today was a pretty chill day by our recent standards.

    We got up and had breakfast just before 8 so that we could get an Uber to the Bolivian Consulate. The man took all the documentation, I had to remind him he'd already looked at it a week ago when he confusedly looked at his stamp and signature, and told me to come back at 12:30 for the visa and receipt.

    We went back to the hostel after the quick consulate visit and did some chilling out and admin work before we went back and collected everything. It was a weight lifted to have that sorted. We made more of a trip of it this time and walked to the nearby shopping center to get some groceries and lunch without the inflated tourist pricing where our hostel is. We even splurged and got ice cream cones for 2.50 Soles each.

    We ubered back to the hostel and got organized to head to the cathedral on the main square. It definitely didn't give cathedral vibes from the outside so we weren't sure which building it was. We did find it eventually and when we walked in, we discovered that the building actually actually holds 3 different cathedrals: Triumph Cathedral, Main Cathedral, and Holy Family Cathedral. They are all side by side joined by a main hallway. There were no pictures allowed so we tried to get some sneaky ones.

    We started in the Triumph Cathedral which has a beautiful orange dome with small mosaics around the sides. There were also a lot of statues of Jesus in various stages of his Passion or on the cross wearing different clothing. It was interesting. There was also a statue of what looked like a Spaniard on a horse with an Incan underneath. Maybe that's why it's the Triumph Cathedral...

    Next was the main Cathedral that held a beautiful gilded altar. Allan along the sides of the aisle were huge paintings depicting different religious stories. There was also a choir area with the traditional cedar wood carvings we've seen in some other churches and monasteries.

    Finally the Holy Family Cathedral was very bright in comparison to the other two. The lights were brighter in here, but so was the decor. There was more white and blue with the gold. This one had less surveillance (humans walking around) so we managed a couple decent pictures.

    After the cathedral we made our way to the Machu Picchu museum, but sadly the guidebook times were wrong and the museum was closed. Instead, we made our way to get some dinner and then walked around the different squares on our way back to the hostel for a relatively early night. I've got to be up to get a bus to Rainbow Mountain for 3am!

    Hatun Quilla (double w/ private bathroom)
    9/10
    Facilities: 😀
    Comfort: 😀
    Location: 😀
    Cleanliness: 😀
    Value for money: 😀
    Staff: 😀

    Summary: Great little hostel not far from main square with very friendly staff.

    Good: Please note this review is based on a double room with private bathroom. Please see my other review for twin room with shared bathroom. The hostel was close to the main square (5-minute walk) but far enough to avoid the chaos, including a 2-day long celebration with marching bands and fireworks. The staff were extremely friendly and allowed us to store luggage for 6 days for free while we visited the Sacred Valley, hiked the Inca Trail and visited Machu Picchu. Staff were also transparent about the water issues (not always the case in Peru) and advised us the best time to shower to get hot water. Extra blankets were provided though not required. Room was more like a chalet, split over two levels, and almost twice the size of the town room. Having stayed in a town room before the Sacred Valley/Inca Trail/Machu Picchu, I would definitely recommend paying slightly more for this room type. The only reason I have not rated this 10/10 is because the breakfast was on the basic side.

    Bad: N/a. It would be unfair to comment negatively on the wider water issues, especially since the staff were upfront about this on our arrival.    Read more

  • Kaitlyn HawleyAround the World: HoneymoonTraveler

    Rainbow Mountain

    October 26, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    Today was an early start for me to head out to Rainbow Mountain.

    I went out to wait for the tour bus at 3am and got picked up about 20 minutes later. Once we had all our passengers, around 3:35, we headed out to breakfast. About an hour and a half later we got to a small restaurant with a buffet breakfast. My stomach hasn't been feeling great, so I kept it simple with some plain pancakes and watermelon. Good thing too because no sooner had I taken my last bite, the tour guide was loading us onto the bus! It was a quick 20 minute stop on the way to the mountain. They really wanted to make sure we got there first!

    After about another hour, and failed attempt to sleep, we reached the parking lot. Roxanna explained that you had two options to go up, walk or take a horse most of the way. About half the group took a horse and half walked.

    The path was pretty gradual up the majority of the way, but the high altitude had me huffing and puffing. I was still walking strong though until it got steeper. The view the whole way was beautiful with mountains and a glacier on the left. At the steeper part, I looked behind me and saw that some fog was quickly rolling in. Not wanting my hiking to be futile, I had to really dig deep for that steep section to make it to the top and see the mountain before the fog enveloped it. Luckily I made it and got some good pictures too. There were more colors/stripes of color than I expected and for something natural, the hue was what I expected too. It was still pretty colorful, even on the cloudy day even if the colors weren't eye poppingly vibrant. They also extended around the surrounding mountains towards the Red Valley. I sat for a while at the viewpoint, and then halfway down when it was too cold, and enjoyed the view as fog rolled in and out of the area.

    Roxanna explained about the local people for a bit and about how the tourism around the mountain has formed a big part of their livelihood. She also explained that Rainbow Mountain hasn't been open long because it used to be covered by glacier (hello climate change). Some people continued on to the Red Valley viewpoint, but I made my way back down because it was still pretty foggy and I didn't think I'd see much at the viewpoint.

    The walk back down took about an hour, but felt much longer. I admired the mountain scenery again, astounded at the fact it wasn't even 9 am yet and I'd already been up and almost down a mountain. I guess this is how Allan felt climbing his big volcanoes. I sat on a bench for a while at the bottom and looked out over the mountains and the glaciers. It was very peaceful.

    Once I got back to the bus, it was luckily open, so I went in with a couple of other people and tried to have a nap while nobody was there. It was more successful than the way there and I also managed to sleep a bit on the hour back to the lunch place. It was buffet lunch similar to breakfast. Again, I took it easy with some pita chips, boiled vegetables and rice with chicken. I was feeling hungry which was a change from this morning.

    After lunch, it was time to get back on the bus and finish the drive to Cusco. We were doing pretty good for time, until about 5km out. Even the driver got frustrated at one point and went off the road onto a dirt road near the rail road tracks. No trains came, but was still a bit of a risky move.

    We got back to the Plaza de Armas around 3:30 and I walked up to the hostel to a warm welcome from Allan who'd been working on uni stuff all day while I was gone. I had a lukewarm shower, and laid down for a while, eventually falling asleep for a short nap before picking up the laundry and heading to dinner. The rest of the evening was pretty chill, we even managed to watch an episode of Rings of Power. It's been so long since I've watched any TV. Sometimes I miss mundane things like that. Gotta have a balance to all the adventuring.

    Hatun Quilla (double w/ private bathroom)
    9/10
    Facilities: 😀
    Comfort: 😀
    Location: 😀
    Cleanliness: 😀
    Value for money: 😀
    Staff: 😀

    Summary: Great little hostel not far from main square with very friendly staff.

    Good: Please note this review is based on a double room with private bathroom. Please see my other review for twin room with shared bathroom. The hostel was close to the main square (5-minute walk) but far enough to avoid the chaos, including a 2-day long celebration with marching bands and fireworks. The staff were extremely friendly and allowed us to store luggage for 6 days for free while we visited the Sacred Valley, hiked the Inca Trail and visited Machu Picchu. Staff were also transparent about the water issues (not always the case in Peru) and advised us the best time to shower to get hot water. Extra blankets were provided though not required. Room was more like a chalet, split over two levels, and almost twice the size of the town room. Having stayed in a town room before the Sacred Valley/Inca Trail/Machu Picchu, I would definitely recommend paying slightly more for this room type. The only reason I have not rated this 10/10 is because the breakfast was on the basic side.

    Bad: N/a. It would be unfair to comment negatively on the wider water issues, especially since the staff were upfront about this on our arrival.    Read more

  • Kaitlyn HawleyAround the World: HoneymoonTraveler

    Cusco Day 4

    October 27, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    We used our last day in Cusco to visit some of the Incan ruins just outside of the main city.

    The first stop was Sacsaywaman. We walked to this one, up lots of stairs, but it wasn't far from our hostel. The site was HUGE! It's estimated that only about 20% of the original fortress remains after the Spaniards used the smaller blocks to build their own houses. The blocks left were massive, the largest being about 3 tons. How the Incas maneuvered all of those and built such a place is beyond me. Part of the fortress walls looks like teeth because the king who built it believed that area to be the head of a puma in the earth. It was a pretty cool site.

    Our next stop was a short Uber up the hill to Tambomachay. This site was much smaller and believed to be a bathing site because of the plentiful spring water and still working fountains. Across the street, roughly, was Puka Pukara, another small site most likely an outpost or sleeping place while making large journeys. It may have also linked with Tambomachay at one point. The stones here were not the usual gray color, but had a pinkish tinge.

    Our final stop was Q’enqo. This was an interesting site with some really big blocks. The main attraction was inside the site where there was a former tomb. By now, it had started to rain, so we didn't linger long and descended many steps to get back to the center of Cusco.

    While on our way, we saw a tasty looking vegetarian restaurant called Green Falafel. We stopped in for a late lunch. We ordered some kombucha, blueberry for Allan and passion fruit for me. Allan got a falafel pita combo and I got some quinoa salad with falafel. The food took forever. The wee waiter was clearly very overwhelmed, which was confusing because nothing was actually happening at a quick rate. Luckily we had nowhere to go, but it was probably the slowest I've ever had food served. It was delicious though and very big portions which helped make up for it.

    After our late lunch, we headed back to the hostel where I discovered I'd been a victim of fraud. I froze my debit card, that I haven't even used since we left, and failed to get in touch with RBS. After trying to deal with it unsuccessfully, I gave up and instead used the hour before w had to head out for the bus to call my parents while Allan sent some emails.

    We went painlessly to the bus station and boarded the wildest bus we've ever had. The guy was a speed demon! The good news was, we got some sleep and arrived to Arequipa 2 hours early.

    Cusco to Arequipa    Read more

  • Kaitlyn HawleyAround the World: HoneymoonTraveler

    Arequipa Day 1

    October 28, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    We arrived in Arequipa early this morning after our fast night bus from Cusco. You just never know with South American buses. The latest we’ve arrived is 6 hours late and now the earliest we’ve arrived is 2 hours early.

    Our hostel was very kind and let us check in early, so we were able to dump our bags in our rooms and get a shower before heading out for some breakfast and begin exploring the city. The buildings in Arequipa are predominantly made out of a white volcanic stone giving it the nickname, 'white city'.

    We had a vegan lunch nearby to the Convent of Santa Catalina. The convent was much bigger than expected. Inside were 6 streets, each with varying sized 'villas', which the nuns previously lived in. There was a sitting room, bedroom and kitchen at a minimum. The walls of the streets were all bright orange or red. The orange tree cloister was a vibrant blue. Each cloister had lots of artwork, all designed to teach or remind the nuns of lessons or morals.

    There was also a huge community kitchen. The ceiling was totally black from historic use and you could see ash sparkling in the air when the sun shone a certain way.

    After the convent we went to Yunkahara, which is a lookout point towards El Misti, the volcano nearby. It was a bit of an anticlimax, but wasn't a long walk so not a waste. It was nice to see another part of Arequipa. After we walked back to the main plaza, we had some dinner and then an evening of admin for Allan and scrapbooking for me. It was pretty chill.

    Holidays Hostel Arequipa
    9/10
    Facilities: 😀
    Comfort: 😀
    Location: 😀
    Cleanliness: 😀
    Value for money: 😀
    Staff: 😀

    Summary: Friendly, accommodating staff, spacious room, great location, excellent value for money.

    Good: Staff: after our overnight bus from Cusco arrived 2-hour early (yes, early), staff upgraded us to a (huge) triple room, rather than making wait for a twin room. Room: the triple room was huge; the most spacious we had in Peru. The toilets and showers were also convenient located close to our room, yet we were not disturbed by other guests using the facilities. Location: the location was great, one block away from the main square, one block away from a supermarket and very close to lots of food options (on the way to the main square). Holi, the resident dog, was also big positive, especially with missing our dog. Overall, this was excellent value for money.

    Bad: N/a    Read more

  • Kaitlyn HawleyAround the World: HoneymoonTraveler

    Arequipa Day 2

    October 29, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    We woke up and packed our bags before heading up for a quick breakfast on the terrace. After breakfast we made our way to the basilica. Our hostel was about a block from the square, so it was a very short walk.

    The basilica is a huge building, but only a small part is used daily. Most of it is blocked off, including the main altar, and only used for special occasions. After we walked around the open sections, we went outside toward the entrance to the museum. The guide brought us back into the cathedral and explained about some of the decor and purposes for the different sections. He then brought us through to a couple of rooms that have different artifacts for the church, most of which are not used anymore. There was a huge silver pelican that holds the host on Easter that is still used though. There were a few items with some diamonds and some crowns for statues of Mary made I'd pure gold holding jewelry donated by citizens.

    He showed us the front and back of the massive organ, the tallest in South America, and so difficult to play only 3 people know how. It was interesting to see what the organ looked like from the back as they are normally stuck onto walls. We also continued up the stairs to the beautiful bell towers, one of which collapsed in the 2001 earthquake, but was replaced.

    After the basilica we went to the Museo Santuarios Andinos. This museum is dedicated to the perfectly preserved mummy Juanita found on the volcano. She was not the only mummy found, but the most well preserved, all the way down to the frozen food still in her belly. While we walked around the museum we saw a lot of artifacts that were found with the mummies, many is great condition due to the temperature preserving them. The things found offered very valuable insight into Incan life and sacrifices. Some of the fabrics were still so vibrant! It was really cool to see all the different things. I got some pictures of pottery found with the girls before I remembered we weren't supposed to take pictures.

    We had lunch at the same place as yesterday, good deal and all, but the food was definitely more tasty yesterday. They also just bring it out so fast I can't keep up! We made our way back to the hostel after lunch and had a bit of time to look at Puno before we headed for our bus there at 2:15.

    The bus was awful...we got on and the sun was beating down making the bus super warm. We stayed stuck at the station for almost half an hour before we moved, much to the appreciation of all the locals shouting for us to go and to turn the AC on. We did eventually go, but there was no AC leaving the bus hot, full of sweating people. To add to that, shortly after we left the traffic of the city, we for stuck for an hour and a half on a mountain road which backed traffic up and made our journey much longer. Thankfully by then the sun has gone down so it wasn't as hot as before. But unfortunately the bus driver turned the heater on! It was so uncomfortable 🥵. All of a sudden an hour from Puno we had to change buses! At least the bus we changed to for less than an hour wasn't absolutely roasting.

    When we finally arrived in Puno, taxis were scarce and Uber doesn't operate in Puno. All of a sudden, a man in a tuk tuk appeared and we negotiated him to take us to the hostel. It was a bumpy, tight ride, but it got us there without much waiting. Once we had checked in at Huaytusive, we had quick showers after sweating on the bus for 8 hours and went to bed before an early wake-up for our tour to the islands tomorrow.    Read more

  • Kaitlyn HawleyAround the World: HoneymoonTraveler

    Lake Titicaca

    October 30, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    We got up and had a quick breakfast before our bus arrived to whisk us away on our day tour.

    We were on our boat for about an hour before we reached one of the floating islands of Uros. The tour guide brought us to one of the smaller ones to give us a more authentic experience. As we disembarked our boat, all of the women were there to welcome us and shake our hands. We were directed to some reed rolls to sit on and were introduced to the President of the island. The president told us that the island was a small community of 6 families of 25 people.

    He then gave us a brief demonstration of how they make their floating islands. First, they get the roots of the totoro reed and bind the chunks of earth together with wood and rope. Next, they stack large reeds alternating horizontal and vertical to build up the island. Rope and large wooden poles are then tied around the edges of the island and stuck into the earth of the lake to anchor it. I had been wondering how it doesn't float away! Once the island is built, they use smaller reeds to build up the areas that they plan to build houses. The houses were built along the outside of this small island leaving communal space in the middle. Modern reed houses are rectangular, but used to be more cylindrical.

    After the demonstration, they split us up and showed us into their houses. They have room enough for a bed, and are decorated along the walls with colorful fabrics, probably to keep the wind out and for decorating. We were then given some free time to walk around and take pictures. I also had a little look in at the crafts that one of the families had made. They really are beautiful and colorful. I chose a small hanging mobile type thing with a condor, sun, fish, and small reed boat. I feel like it really summarizes our time in Peru. Shortly after picture taking, everyone was directed to go into the reed boat for a ride. Allan and I opted out and instead spent some more time on the island before getting back on our motorboat.

    Our next visit was to Amantani island. This island is inhabited by 10 different communities that take turns housing tourists for overnight visits. Allan did one when he visited 5 years ago, but it didn't fit in with our timescale this time around. We had a short walk on the island and saw the top of Pachamama mountain while we were walking. We had a brief stop at the local plaza where we also saw the small primary school. We continued our walk to the pier with some gorgeous views across the lake towards neighboring mountains. We also saw lots of local houses and small farms.

    After Amantani, we got back on our boat and headed back towards the peninsula for some lunch. Lunch was either fish, or omelette...luckily the omelette had some vegetables in it making it easier to eat. Out of the window of the small restaurant was a great view of the lake. We then had some spare time after lunch to chill out a bit. Then, it was time to get back on the boat and head for the pier to finish our adventure. I think the floating reed islands were definitely my favorite thing about today. They were so unique!    Read more

  • Kaitlyn HawleyAround the World: HoneymoonTraveler

    Puno

    October 31, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Today we split our day in half. We spent the morning seeing a couple things in Puno and walking around the plazas, and spent the afternoon going on an excursion to Sillustani.

    The cathedral this morning had a facade with intricate stone work outside. When you walked in, it was a different vibe and quite simple compared to some of the other cathedrals we've seen in Peru. The walls and ceilings were open gray brick. The sides of the aisles had simple Stations of the Cross and some white columns around different statues or pictures of Jesus. The main altar area has three sections and nice decorations and painting. The wooden floors were squeaky on my shoes and echoed in the quiet church.

    We spent our afternoon going to Sillustani. It was an interesting bus ride to get there with a couple of unexpected stops. The first stop was at a viewpoint. It gave great views of Puno and the lake. The weird part was all the large animal statues dotted around. For example, we had to climb up some stairs between/underneath a puma's legs to get a higher view. About 20 minutes later, we stopped at some small clay houses and learned about the farm. Apparently they grow lots of different quinoas and potatoes. The guide showed us some edible clay that they mix with water to eat the potatoes with. He also showed us how they use rocks to traditionally grind their dehydrated potatoes and quinoa grains for soups and breads. Finally we made it to Sillustani, about 5 minutes down the road from the farm.

    Sillustani is an old ceremonial burial ground. The structures on site include both Inca and pre-Inca. There are 90 chulpas in total on the site. Our guide took quite a long time to give explanations, but we did eventually just get to walk around and look at the structures. Some were very tall and cut into perfect blocks, and some were more rustic. Many of the Incan structures were not finished due to the Spaniards invading. The bodies were then buried under these towers in the fetal position always facing east towards the sun. We also had some pretty spectacular views from the top of the hill to a nearby island in the lake.

    We left much later than the tour stated, which then delayed things in the evening with getting dinner and packing before our early bus tomorrow. The streets were also absolutely packed with kids and families out for Halloween dancing in the squares or trick or treating into the shops along the main street. It was a bit overwhelming! We had to cut up a couple blocks to be able to walk unimpeded. It was nice to see everyone out enjoying themselves, just better from afar!    Read more

  • Kaitlyn HawleyAround the World: HoneymoonTraveler

    Copacabana

    November 1, 2024 in Bolivia ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    We made it to Bolivia!

    It was an early bus from Puno at 6:45. We changed all of our remaining Soles for Bolivian bobs last night leaving just enough for a taxi. It wasn't until we got to the bus station that we remembered that you have to pay extra embarkment fees to board the bus. We tried to use US dollars, but the woman wasn't having it. Luckily we ran into some kind European guys who swapped us a dollar for 4 Soles. Not the kind of stress I need before I've even had a cup of coffee!

    The bus journey was pleasant and short in comparison to all of our other buses in South America so far. When we got to the border, my stress levels were pretty high. I'd done everything I could to make sure I was sorted for the border crossing by getting my visa earlier, but I was still nervous. The bus dropped us off at the Peru side of the border. We waited in line to get our exit stamps, and then we walked across the border to the Bolivian side to get the entry stamps. There were no issues and I got my entry stamps into Bolivia just fine. Then, it was back on the bus to finish the short 10-15 minutes into Copacabana.

    When we got to Copacabana, we walked to the hostel and settled in. We then went out to get a Bolivian SIM card and we visited the Cathedral next door. It was quite big on the outside, but seemed smaller on the inside. The outside was white with green and yellow tile domed roofs. There was a large courtyard with designs in pebbles and concrete. Inside the church was dark wood with blue and clay orange painted ceiling. The main altar area was very intricate with lots of carvings that had been gilded with gold leaf. One of the statues behind the altar was made by Francisco Yupanqui, a grandson of an Incan ruler.

    After the Cathedral we walked around town and bought our ferry tickets to get to Isla del Sol tomorrow. We made a quick pit stop at our room before heading up Cerro Calvario for sunset. It wasn't a long climb, but it was pretty steep with a fair chunk of stairs. It was also so sad that such a beautiful place was covered in trash and bottles. We enjoyed the sunset though and had some great colors in the sky even half an hour after the sun has gone down. We had some nice soup and pizza for dinner at Gourmet Ali (all the places I wanted to eat were closed today. Devastating.)

    When we got back to the hostel, we had to pack the smaller bags in preparation for walking the length of Isla del Sol and our overnight there.    Read more

  • Kaitlyn HawleyAround the World: HoneymoonTraveler

    Isla del Sol

    November 2, 2024 in Bolivia ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    We got the ferry around 9 am and luckily there were enough of us to warrant a second boat instead of squeezing onto an already full boat. The boat journey to Challapampa took about 2 hours. It was a pretty smooth journey, despite one person being sea sick most of the trip...

    Once we arrived at the port in Challapampa, we got ready to start our walk. The first part of the walk would see us going further north to Chinkana, the main set of ruins on the island. Isla del Sol is said to be the birthplace of the sun for the Incas, but the ruins reminded me more of rustic houses rather than anything religious (putting that good Inca Trail knowledge to good use 😉). I stayed and explored the ruins and took in the beautiful view and listened to the lake lapping and the ducks quaking while Allan ran up the nearby hill for a higher view.

    After Chinkana, we started making our way back south toward Yumani where we are staying tonight. The walk wasn't too bad. It had some stretches of up and then would flatten out or be slightly down. It was very hot though and there wasn't a lot of shade on the walk. I can tell why the Incas thought this was the birthplace of the sun, because it was shining bright and not a cloud in sight. Along the way we saw what would be Inca terraces if they were to be excavated, but other than that, after Chinkana there wasn't any ruins which was a little disappointing. The views were amazing though, and the water was so blue.

    Once we started reaching the end of our walk, we entered the town of Yumani in the south where we would stay the night. This was definitely the steepest part of the walk. We had to go all the way through the town because our hostel is at the very bottom near the port. It was a great view from the hostel over the port and convenient for when we have to go back to Copacabana in the morning (we went down to buy tickets but you can only buy them the day of).

    I relaxed for about half an hour or so while Allan went off exploring towards a potential temple. When he got back we had quite the time trying to get a towel to take one of the shittiest showers we've had since travelling. We've also both now been mildly electrocuted by a shower, me yesterday and him today. For dinner we climbed back up the hill through Yumani (fucking stairs) towards Las Velas, a little restaurant on a cliff side with good sunset views. When we got there it was closed. Nowhere seems to be open when we want to go! Instead we walked back through the forest into the town and found a few restaurants on the cliff with sunset views. We sat outside enjoying some wine and watched the sun go down. It was so nice and peaceful (and the bottle of wine only cost £6.70). After the sun went down, we moved inside to eat. Allan had trout which is one is the dishes this area is famous for.

    It was dark by the time we left, so we used our phone flashlights to get back down the stairs to the hostel and had an early bedtime. It's been a nice day 😊    Read more

  • Kaitlyn HawleyAround the World: HoneymoonTraveler

    Isla del Sol to La Paz

    November 3, 2024 in Bolivia ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Today was a travel day and boy did we travel.

    To start the day we had our ferry from Isla del Sol back to Copacabana. They upcharged us (and everyone else), and despite my arguing it was a take it or leave it situation and we had a bus to catch. I was not a happy chappy. The boat then left late making me more annoyed at the whole situation. The good news is, we got back to Copacabana with enough time to rearrange our bags and to order some lunch. We did end up having to take it to go and eat on the bus, but it was better than nothing!

    After a short time on the bus, the driver asked everyone to get off. The bus has to get on a ferry to go across a peninsula. All of us passengers had to pay 2bob each to get a ferry to the other side as well. It was a windy, chilly wait for the bus to cross, but once it did we were back on our way.

    The bus to La Paz was pretty painless and surprisingly quiet for a day bus. Quieter than a lot of our night buses at times. We hit some traffic coming into La Paz, but it wasn't too bad and we got to the bus station on time. It was a 17 minute walk to our hostel, so we got our backpacks on and made our way there.

    The evening in La Paz was spent planning out some things to do over the next few days as well as buying some bus tickets. We also went the 'homesick' route and had a curry for dinner at a nearby Indian restaurant. We had a llama masala which was pretty interesting. I think I prefer alpaca to llama, it's much nicer. I'm looking forward to exploring some of La Paz tomorrow!    Read more

  • Kaitlyn HawleyAround the World: HoneymoonTraveler

    La Paz Day 1

    November 4, 2024 in Bolivia ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Our first full day in La Paz was very busy. We did a walk around the historic center and popped into a few places along the way

    We started at Calle de las Brujas, the Witches Market. The street goes for about two or three blocks and is lined with small shops, some selling talismans, a myriad of potions and other important artifacts for indigenous festivals and ceremonies. It was also a very colorful street with things hanging over the top like dolls and umbrellas. We continued our walk towards San Francisco Plaza. The plaza is under construction, but we were still able to go inside the church. The ceiling was very high with a lot of arches like a basilica. It has an intricate altar that was covered in gold leaf. Mass was taking place, so we didn't linger long.

    After the church we walked further into the heart of the center and visited Plaza Murillo. The whole place was crawling with pigeons. It reminded me of the main plaza in Bogota. Around two sides of the plaza were government buildings. La Paz is the center of government for Bolivia, but Sucre is the capital. The historic President's Palace was a simple two story building orangish in color. The new building is much bigger and looks like a modern skyscraper with different symbols interspersed along the outside. The other building is a yellow color with a dome and is for the other parts of the government. Also on Plaza Murillo is the Catedral Metropolitana. The cathedral is built in a hill, so the entrance is roughly 12m higher than the back of the building. Inside it was very dark, but it did have some chandeliers hanging in the middle that probably light it up during mass. The nice part of this cathedral was the stained glass. Everything else was quite simple.

    Following Plaza Murillo we headed over to Calle Jaen, the oldest colonial street in La Paz. On this street there are several different museums such as a Bolivian instruments museum, a sea liberty museum, and a couple others. We popped into the Mamani Mamani Art Gallery at the end of the street. Inside was very vibrant art celebrating Andean culture by Roberto Mamani. The art was super colorful and we were able to pick out some of the symbols too.

    After some lunch we visited the Museo Nacional de Etnografia y Folklore. This was a really great museum. It has 8 sections ranging from textiles to precious metals to feather art. I really loved the feather art and how they used feathers in clothing. The section with the masks was also really interesting.

    On our way back to the hostel from the museum it started absolutely pouring. We took shelter in a cafe and then made a run for it the rest of the short way to the hostel. Instead of riding the cable cars (I wasn't comfortable riding them in the ⛈️), we went to the Coca Museum. It was a pretty small museum, but we end up spending a lot of time there reading all about the history of the coca leaf. It was very enlightening and a worthwhile experience. After the museum we went next door to the Coca Cafe where we shared a coca wine and a coca beer. The coca wine was actually really nice and smelled lovely too. The beer was good, but we couldn't quite put our finger on the coca, but we knew it wasn't normal beer.

    After the cafe, we went to dinner at an Indian restaurant. It was really nice to have something that reminded us of back home. We had a vegetarian dhal and a llama masala last night so tonight we had the chicken curry and a butter paneer. They were delicious and I definitely ate too much. After dinner, a lot of things we read suggested seeing La Paz at night via the Teleférico. We took a ride up and it was really beautiful. Definitely reminded us of a smaller Medellin.

    Overall, a busy first day, but a good one!    Read more

  • Kaitlyn HawleyAround the World: HoneymoonTraveler

    La Paz Day 2

    November 5, 2024 in Bolivia ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Today Allan and I did different things. I stuck around La Paz, and he cycled the Death Road.

    Kaitlyn: After Allan left, I did some admin in the morning and washed some clothes. Just before noon I headed out to The Lucky Llama to meet a group for a walking tour. The flyer mentioned a few places we didn't make it to yesterday and it came with a cocktail at the end.

    Once I arrived at the pub, I began to worry I was either in the wrong place or it was going to be only me. Shortly after I arrived, my suspicion was confirmed: I was the only one on the tour. We started the tour at the Witches Market where she told me about some traditions that the witches and warlocks can help people with. She also showed me some of the potions which ranged from cleaning evil from your house, to love potions, to humiliation for your neighbor. There really is something for everything. After the Witches Market she showed me the San Francisco Plaza explaining that it's being renovated and she showed me the nearby market. It was a big place with a lot of stalls, but a lot of them weren't open.

    We then went a bit further afield into what is the Spanish colonial side of the city. We went to the Mamani Mamani Art Gallery and we walked up Calle Jaen. She did point out a green cross at the start of the street I didn't notice yesterday. It was installed to ward off spirits that were haunting the street. We continued the walk to Plaza Murillo where she talked about La Paz being the center for government after a civil war in Bolivia. While we were in the plaza, a pigeon landed on my head and then another on my shoulder 🤢😖.

    The final stop on our tour was the San Pedro Prison. She told me all about how the prison earned its notoriety after a British inmate started selling tours into the prison. What also blew my mind, was how it just looks like any other building, no fence, not heavily guarded, nothing. The building is built for 800 male prisoners, but about 2,500 people inhabit it because male inmates can bring their families with them. The mothers then tend to go out and work leaving the children with the father for childcare. There's even a school in there! And the poor kids never really leave so grow up grossly unsocialized.

    We went back to The Lucky Llama and I had my cocktail. It was made with a Bolivian liquor distilled from white grapes with lime and ginger ale. It was really refreshing and it was relaxing to sit near the window and drink it. After my cocktail I went and did a bit of shopping on the Calle de Las Brujas before heading back to the hostel for a bit. I went back out to visit the National Gallery, but while I was headed there it looked like a protest was beginning to brew so I just went back to the hostel and did some admin and scrapbooking while I waited for Allan to get back.

    Allan:

    Once Allan was back, we went to dinner at The Lucky Llama. They had a special on for Burger Week. The burgers were incredible. They were huge, messy, and delicious. The red bun had burgers with beef chilli, cheese sauce, and salsa. The green bus had burgers with hibiscus bacon, fried cheese balls, and salsa. They were so good. And the Huari local beer was pretty nice too, especially the honey beer. It was a great dinner!    Read more

  • Kaitlyn HawleyAround the World: HoneymoonTraveler

    La Paz Day 3

    November 6, 2024 in Bolivia ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    Today we head to Rurrenbaque in the late afternoon, so we only had part of the day to spend in La Paz.

    After we checked out, we walked back to the prison so I could show Allan. After telling him about it last night, we decided it was worth a quick visit. It was also conveniently nearby the purple line for us to get the cable car up to El Alto.

    To get to El Alto we took the purple line to the platinum line to the blue line and rode it all the way to the end. Along the way we kept our eye out for the Mamani Neo-Andean architecture that the guidebook and several online sites mentioned. When we tried to Google or read where to go, it just mentioned El Alto as a whole and nowhere specific. We took some pictures and enjoyed the views while we rode the cable car, but we couldn't see any main area with the architecture, just random buildings in and around the city. El Alto is not small, so we didn't want to wander aimlessly looking for the buildings (we also didn't have the time). We settled for the buildings we could see with our birds eye view, and headed back in the cable car.

    We took a different route back. We took the blue line to the red line. Instead of going back to the central station, we got off at the cemetery. It was pretty big and well kept. With All Soul's Day being a few days ago, there were lots of fresh flowers at all the graves (are they still called graves if it's where cremated ashes are...?). We walked around and saw some of the bigger graves/mausoleums for famous Bolivians before finishing our walk to the hostel. We even got a small ice cream along the way. I got chicle (bubble gum) and Allan got chirimoya (a sweet fruit).

    Once back at the hostel we popped into a cafe for some takeaway sandwiches for dinner before getting an Uber to the bus station. This one is much farther away from the hostel than the station we arrived at. We made the bus with plenty of time. There's no AC on this bus, but the windows can open so hopefully it will be a comfortable ride as we are on it for 14 hours.    Read more

  • Kaitlyn HawleyAround the World: HoneymoonTraveler

    Madidi National Park Day 1

    November 7, 2024 in Bolivia ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    We arrived at Rurrenbaque on time, which was good for making our tour, but slightly annoying because we had a couple hours to kill before the office opened and everything was shut.

    A red tuk tuk picked us up and brought us to a local bakery that sold french pastries. They weren't open yet when we arrived, but the smell of buttery goodness was too much to resist, so once they did open we sat ourselves down and waited for the pastries to finish baking. How a french pastry maker ended up in a small, rural Bolivian village I have no idea, but his pastries were incredible. We had a pan au chocolat each as well as a pizza style pastry (like the pan au chocolat but filled with a pizza style filling). We also shared a hotdog pastry filled with a sausage and some caramelized onions and tomatoes. It was all very good.

    Shortly after our lovely pastries were all finished, the Madidi Jungle office opened so they sent a tuk tuk and we went the couple minutes down the road to do some admin like pay our park fees. After about half an hour, we made our way to the river, boarded our skinny, long boat and made our way towards our lodge.

    The boat trip was about 3 hours. It started on the Beni River and then we took the Tuichi. Apparently it rained yesterday which greatly helped the levels in the river. There were still points where it was a bit shallow and the boat hit the bottom. While we were on the rivers, we spotted some herons and egrets. It was a nice, peaceful journey and very quiet minus the noise from the motor on the boat.

    Once we arrived at the lodge, we were shown to our cabana. Because it is very quiet, we were given a large private cabana with a private bathroom instead of a shared bathroom. We were immediately whisked away to lunch which was a salad to start (with a hardboiled egg), chicken in mushroom sauce with quinoa, and some chocolate pudding for dessert. After lunch we had a couple hours before our walk so we unpacked, showered, and had a lie down.

    Our walk was along the Wabu Trail. It was about 2 and a half hours and we saw some pretty cool things. Early on we saw loads of cutter ants carrying leaves to their nests all the way up and down a very tall tree. We also saw lots of different butterflies including the huge wide eye owl butterfly. Along the trail we saw 3 different kinds of monkeys: capuchin, red howler, and spider monkeys. We had to go off the trail a bit to see the howler monkeys, but we could hear them very clearly a few times on the trail. Capuchins were small and liked to jump and the spider monkeys were bigger and swinging from the branches. We also managed to see a red and green macaw fly directly over us. I didn't get a picture because it happened so fast, but it was beautiful. On our walk tomorrow we should hopefully see more birds.

    When we got back to the cabin, we had our cold showers and just sat listening to the sounds of all of the birds and insects. I think we will hear some really interesting things tonight and I'm really looking forward to it. It'll also be my first time sleeping under a mosquito net.    Read more

  • Kaitlyn HawleyAround the World: HoneymoonTraveler

    Madidi National Park Day 2

    November 8, 2024 in Bolivia ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    Today we had 3 different walks at 3 different times of day.

    Our first walk was about 2 and a half hours along the Tuichi Trail after breakfast. Breakfast was really nice. We had banana bread, slices of roll, potato pancake, a small omelette, and some fruit. The walk in the morning was to try and see some different birds. Despite being quite hard to see at times, we managed to spot a few different birds. Early on in the walk we heard the pale tail trumpeter. We crouched down on the path, and waited. Then, walking across the path further in front of us were 7 of them! They looked like mini ostriches.

    At a small lagoon we saw a colorful bird with spiky feathers coming out of its head. We also saw a purple jay here. This lookout point was absolutely crawling with caterpillars, they were everywhere including dangling out of trees. Not far from the lookout point we managed to see the white eyed parakeet. We'd heard it a few times on the walk, so it was great to be able to spot the pair we saw. Continuing with the walk we also spotted some jackamars. They were mostly black with colorful bellies. On our way back to the lodge, we went a different way. We stopped and looked out to a huge tree and saw two red and green macaws, the same ones we briefly saw fly over us yesterday. They were high up in their nest. With the binoculars, you could really see all of the colors. It was amazing 🤩.

    Back at the lodge, we had quick showers and then some lunch of chicken and beetroot. On the way to lunch, at the lodge, there were a bunch of small tamarind monkeys! It was so cool and they came super close to me while on their hunt for insects. It was perfect timing.

    After lunch, during our downtime, we had a bit of an infestation. All of a sudden there were some ants making a trail towards our building, 10 minutes later, they had surrounded it and managed to climb inside and cover the back wall of the bathroom in pursuit of a cockroach that was about 5-6 cm long. It was awful. We went to find someone to help us, but by the time we had done that, the ants had completely surrounded the cabin and were crawling on every wall. We quickly packed our things and moved while the staff sprayed bug spray to try and get rid of the ants.

    While our new room got out together, we headed out on our next walk along the Mapajo Trail. This was a shorter walk, and we saw some really big trees here with some super cool vines. We also saw some more birds, like a tiny black hummingbird and the trumpeters again. Unfortunately, all of the monkeys in this part of the jungle were hiding. It was probably our most uneventful walk yet animal-wise. However, between this morning and the afternoon, we saw a ton of new mushrooms and some beautiful butterflies like a big blue one and a black one that was pink on the inside. It moved too fast to get a picture, but it was super special.

    Back at our new cabin, we had showers before dinner. Allan, and the other guests, were given a special catfish meal that was cooked traditionally that the guides caught earlier in the afternoon. He said it was very good, and huge! Then, it was time to prepare for the night hike. I was feeling apprehensive about it, because I know there are scary things and big bugs that come out at night, but I also wanted the chance to see some of the animals. We bug sprayed, layered, and covered as best as possible before meeting the guide. Our walk took us a similar route to this afternoon, just the reverse. We saw some spiders, including a scorpion spider that reminded me of the spider Mad Eye Moody tortures in Harry Potter, huge bullet ants, and possibly a baby alligator. In the distance at the salt lick we also saw a nocturnal Niger bird. Other than that, we heard a lot of critters like bugs, frogs, and birds, but we didn't see them. I didn't know how to feel after the 45 minute walk.

    Before bed, we showered off the deet, killed a cockroach in the bathroom (thankfully not as big as this afternoon), and then crawled into bed. Tomorrow morning we have a long hike so hopefully we see lots of things like we did the first day.    Read more

  • Kaitlyn HawleyAround the World: HoneymoonTraveler

    Madidi National Park Day 3

    November 9, 2024 in Bolivia ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

    Today we had our longest hike of the trip so far, and it was also the hottest day as well.

    We had another lovely breakfast before we embarked on our walk. The walk was a combination of 4 different trails: Biwa, Tareche, Siringuero and our return via Mapajo. Along the path we saw many of the same things most trails had like mushrooms, butterflies and a myriad of insects. On the Tareche Trail we stopped at a beautiful viewpoint overlooking a river with more jungle on the other side. It was very peaceful here. We did see some birds flying overhead and along the river. We also had a little lizard friend at the viewpoint. It was a tan lizard with yellow and red stripes on its back.

    During our morning walk we stopped at a strangler fig that was so far progressed, the host tree inside has completely disappeared. It made for a very interesting looking plant/tree, huge and majestic, but also has nothing inside of it. When we were just about back to the lodge, we came across a large group of capuchin and yellow squirrel monkeys looking for food together. It was really cool to see them both together and the yellow squirrel monkeys were actually pretty yellow!

    Because our walk in the morning was longer, we had quick showers before lunch. After lunch, we got our couple of hours of downtime, part of which was spent trying to kill a gigantic wasp (I certainly will not miss all of the insects when we leave the jungle). Then, it was time to go out on our last afternoon jungle walk. The main goal of this walk was to see some of the biggest and oldest trees nearby.

    Straight out from the path when we started Alejandro quickly stopped us and pointed out a toucan! I felt like that was one of the things I really wanted to see in the Amazon, and we did! It flew away before I could get a picture, but it was still really cool to see one. We continued our walk spotting some more birds along the way. We also saw a super spiky papaya tree. It looked like something out of Super Mario Bros. We also saw some absolutely huge trees that were probably near 1,000 years old. We also saw a very clever strangler fig that grew an extra limb turned root when its host tree started leaning and threatening to fall down. Nature is so cool (and scary) sometimes.

    The highlight of the afternoon walk, was running into a massive group of yellow squirrel monkeys. They were everywhere! I even got hit in the face by a falling branch when one jumped over me! It was really amazing to see so many all at once travelling together. We also saw some capuchins a little while later in some very high trees. They didn't seem to be travelling anywhere like the yellow squirrel monkeys though. There has also been a small black hummingbird and we have passed it twice now. Today, it wasn't in its near so we had a little peek inside and saw a teeny tiny hummingbird. It was so cute! Our walk finished back at the lodge, but we sat at the lodge viewpoint and bird watched for a bit. We saw some black birds and some white eyed parakeets, but unfortunately no flying macaws or toucans.

    We had our last dinner at the lodge, private dining too as we are the only guests still here out of the 6 that were here when we arrived. The food has been incredible, and I'll miss it when we leave tomorrow.    Read more

  • Kaitlyn HawleyAround the World: HoneymoonTraveler

    Madidi National Park Day 4

    November 10, 2024 in Bolivia ⋅ ☁️ 34 °C

    This morning we had breakfast a little bit earlier and headed out on a short boat trip for a walk in a different part of the jungle. We followed the Cullpana trail for a bit to visit a couple of salt licks. The first one there was evidence of animals having recently visited with lots of footprints there were also some big trumpeter birds fighting when we approached. They were very loud and at first we couldn't tell that it was birds! The second salt lick is unfortunately abandoned, animals do not come to visit it anymore. Alejandro told us that it used to be popular with wild pigs and the jaguars that would follow them. The pigs moved on from this part of the forest to try and find food elsewhere, it's very sad (#climate change).

    After the Cullpana trail, we joined up with the Serere Trail. This trail was longer and took us through primary and secondary forest. We didn't see any monkeys today unfortunately, and we also heard the toucans and yellow macaws, but didn't spot them. At the piraña lagoon, we saw some more lagoon birds like the ones we saw a couple days ago. The lagoon still has some water, but not really enough for the piranhas to live in anymore. Instead there are a lot of aquatic plants that sometimes allow snakes to hide and catch some small fish and birds.

    We finished our walk, managed to spot a red macaw right towards the end, and then we took the short boat ride back to the lodge. We had our last lunch which was a chicken and beef kebab. Like I said before, the food here has been really great! And then it was time to pack and get the boat back down the river to Rurrenabaque. At the last minute, when I went back to check on Allan and his packing situation, there were tamarind monkeys right on the path to our cabin. It was like they'd come to say goodbye.

    Our boat trip took a little bit less time because we weren't going up stream. When we arrived in Rurrenbaque, I discovered I unfortunately got a sunburn on one arm that must have been in the sun for part of the trip. So annoying! After cooling down in the office for a bit, we went next door to get some pizza before our tuk tuk at 6 and bus at 7. There was a wee girl playing with a yellow bird toy with us while we waited for our food. We'd seen her going past the doorway of the office a few times, so maybe she recognized us. When the pizza came, it was really tasty, and very hot. We were already sweating before it, but even more so while we tried to eat it quickly before the tuk tuk came. We managed just in time.

    Our tuk tuk driver was very friendly. He chatted to us about our time in Bolivia during the short trip to the station. Once there, it was a short wait before we got on what's been one of the nicest night buses we've had yet. Hopefully we get some decent sleep!    Read more

  • Kaitlyn HawleyAround the World: HoneymoonTraveler

    La Paz Day 4

    November 11, 2024 in Bolivia ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    We arrived on time, again! These buses in Bolivia have been the most punctual of all South America so far. Fingers crossed it stays that way! We also managed to get some sleep once the road became less bumpy. It felt like everything was vibrating for a few hours!

    After we managed to snag a taxi back to No Fear Hostel, we had some breakfast there and dumped our stuff in a room before having a hot shower. After cold, low pressure showers the last few days, it was incredibly refreshing to have a nice, powerful, hot shower.

    We spent the day doing admin and getting caught up on buying bus tickets and reserving hostels for the next chunk of time in Bolivia. We also had to get a new SIM card for Bolivia.

    At around 6:15, we made our way up to the bus station. This is our second time this trip getting two night buses in a row (the last time was in Colombia). Last night wasn't too bad, and our bus is pretty ok tonight as well. Hopefully we fare better than the last time we had 2 in a row 🤞.    Read more

  • Kaitlyn HawleyAround the World: HoneymoonTraveler

    Sucre Day 1

    November 12, 2024 in Bolivia ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    Our first day in Sucre we spent seeing some of the big historical places and getting a feel for the city. Our bus was only slightly delayed and we even decided to walk the half hour to the hostel to try and give more time for our room to be ready.

    When we arrived at Colors House Hostel, we were lucky because the room was indeed ready. They also had spare breakfast so we paid to have some breakfast before we showered and had a nap before lunch.

    The afternoon was spent sightseeing. We started at the Plaza 25 de Mayo, the main plaza. There were lots of trees and even some fountains. It was pretty peaceful, minus the annoying pigeons. Just off the plaza was a big fancy building and at the top is the Mirador de la Mansarda. When we went up, you got a good view of the surrounding central area of Sucre. It wasn't very high, but not a lot of buildings in Sucre are especially tall. There are a lot of white buildings with orange terracotta roofs, which is why this city is nicknamed the "white city" just like Arequipa in Peru.

    After the viewpoint we went into the Iglesia y Museo de la Catedral Sucre. The museum contained many small rooms of different religious artifacts and clothing that were historically used in the cathedral or gifted. There were also lots of bones, small relics of important people and potentially saints (some labels were too faint to read). As we continued through the different rooms, we eventually reached the cathedral. It was a bright cathedral with light blue, white, and gold vaulted ceilings. I really liked the light colors that were used for the ceiling and the altar. Behind the altar was the choir area with seats carved out of wood. Even with the light colors around it, the wood didn't seem too dark in contrast.

    We then continued our way around the plaza to the Casa de la Libertad. This is the location of the signing of Bolivia's independence. It was a square building with a courtyard in the middle and rooms extending from the courtyard. In the first few rooms there were paintings and descriptions of Bolivia's journey to independence and the different people and groups that attempted it until it was finally won in 1825. In the last room, we saw where the document was signed, and the document is still there in a glass case. The room looked quite similar to other Chapter House rooms we've seen throughout South America with seats around the edges and lots of red velvet. Unsurprisingly, there was a giant portrait of Simón Bolivar in the room (that guy is everywhere).

    We didn't get a great sleep on this night bus, so we called it a day on the sightseeing front after the Casa de la Libertad and went back to the hostel for some chill out time. The restaurant below our hostel, Cheers!, had a chicken wing deal on for Tuesdays, so we went there for some dinner before calling it a night (only after some trip planning that naturally rook longer than expected).
    Cheers!    Read more

  • Kaitlyn HawleyAround the World: HoneymoonTraveler

    Sucre Day 2

    November 13, 2024 in Bolivia ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    This has been one of my favorite days of the trip so far I think. I've decided I really like Sucre as a city. It's not too busy, plenty to do, lots of history, and it's beautiful.

    Our day started getting the dino bus to Parque Cretacico. When we arrived, you could immediately see what looks like a giant rock wall covered in dinosaur footprints. This 'wall' contains the largest collection of dinosaur footprints in the world. Only a couple hundred meters of wall are exposed, but it is estimated to be about 1.5 km long continuing under the ground.

    On our guided tour, we were first brought through a path with dinosaur sculptures. They were incredibly detailed and built to size based on footprints found on location. It was really cool to see how they used the data to create the sculptures.

    Only on a guided tour do you get to go down the hill and get close to the wall. We donned our hardhats and down we went. The footprints were even more impressive in person. Our guide explained how rain, dry seasons, and sediments helped to create and immortalize the prints. The reason for all the prints and multitude of dinosaur types is because the location of the park was formerly a fresh water lake where dinosaurs would gather to drink. He also explained how erosion continues to allow for the discovery of more footprints as the rock face erodes and more prints are revealed. When they first found footprints about 20 years ago, there were only 3,000. Now, it is estimated that there are more than 12,000 steps visible and still a considerable amount of rock that can erode to reveal more.

    We walked up and down the rock face where our guide pointed out the 4 different types of dinosaur prints that you could see. Some of them are so defined it's crazy. Paleontologists have been able to measure the gait and speed that these dinosaurs walked because of the footsteps here. After we took all of our pictures, we went back up the hill and had a quick look through the small museums that have fossils, more explanations about the dinosaurs, and a piece of the rock face that fell where you can actually touch a footprint. It was really special to see all of those footprints. Who knew something so incredible was tucked away in Bolivia!

    After we got the dino bus back, we sat in the plaza and ate our sandwiches before getting in a taxi down to Glorieta Castle. It's in a military base, so our taxi dropped us off and we walked a couple minutes inside to the castle. It was an orangey pink color and felt a bit out of place for the location. We took our pictures, and then began our walk back to the center via the cemetery.

    Right as we were beginning the steep uphill trek, a kind man in a pickup truck stopped next to us and offered us a lift up to the cemetery. We jumped in the back and jostled up the hill. It was very kind of him, and saved us a lot of energy and time getting up the hill. When we arrived at the cemetery it had a big white archway at the front entrance with the (translated) words: "today me, tomorrow you". This cemetery was very different from the one in La Paz because there are less people in Sucre, so they have more room for big, grand mausoleums and family tombs. Some of them were huge and ornate. A similarity to La Paz was the the beauty and how well attended the graves were with small altars of the deceased's favorite things, and lots of fresh flowers everywhere. Sadly, as we were walking around, we saw an entire avenue dedicated to Covid.

    After a brief walk through the cemetery, we picked up a snack from a woman outside the entrance on our way back to the hostel. She was selling puffed bread with cheese inside. It was tasty 😋. Once we were back, we grabbed some lunch from a couple of cheapy places nearby the hostel and then had quick showers before heading out to a show.

    The Origenes Cultural Show was incredible. There were not a lot of people there and our table was right in front. The 12 dancers, 6 girls and 6 boys, were so enthusiastic and passionate. The music was energetic and there were so many different cultural dances and costumes. The men in particular had some elaborate dance numbers and costumes. We sat drinking wine and being totally captivated for the two hours. I tried to get a small snapshot of each dance number, but there were just so many! At the end, Allan even got chosen to participate in a little dance number too. It was a high energy, colorful, sparkling performance.

    We went the long way on the way back to the hostel enjoying the weather and still feeling the joy that the performance brought us. It was nice to put some makeup on, and a pair of jeans, and go out to enjoy a performance.    Read more

  • 2025© FindPenguins
  • Home
  • About us
  • Group Tracking
  • Press
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy & Cookies
  • Help Center
  • Legal notice