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  • Rachael Zielske
  • Rachael Zielske

Chicas Locas

Une aventure de 25 jours par Rachael En savoir plus
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  • Début du voyage
    9 novembre 2022
    Rachael ZielskeChicas LocasVoyageur
    11

    Here we go again!

    9 novembre 2022, États Unis ⋅ 🌧 50 °F

    Big travel day to start! From Minnesota to New York to Miami with only one hurricane to fly around! Just normal travel things. Thank you to the American Airlines worker who managed to rebook us after our first was cancelled! She even got us on a better flight with better seats 🙏🏼En savoir plus

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  • Rachael ZielskeChicas LocasVoyageur
    213

    Starting the adventure

    10 novembre 2022, États Unis ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F

    Well, that was surprisingly smooth sailing! Made it to Montanita! After walking on an empty stomach through the town (apparently didn’t learn that lesson after all our time in Europe, smh), we got to have dinner, an Ecuadorian beer, and listen to live music! Balsa Surf Camp is crazy beautiful and cozy! Can’t wait to explore the cuteness tomorrow!En savoir plus

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  • Rachael ZielskeChicas LocasVoyageur
    2

    Las clases de español y surfing!!

    11 novembre 2022, Équateur ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F

    Today we started a bit slow because the room is so cozy and dark, and the cloudy weather really adds to that vibe. I then had oatmeal for breakfast. We then went for a beach walk and into town. THEN we did a 2 hour Spanish class and THEN we did our first surf lesson! It was so fun, truly the ultimate way to ride the waves! We immediately had dinner at like 4:30pm and are probably ready for bed 😅 (ps what is up with this weird sand pile..? Not to mention what is up w my post surf hair mess!)En savoir plus

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  • Rachael ZielskeChicas LocasVoyageur
    111

    A freakin’ fabulous day

    12 novembre 2022, Équateur ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F

    We started our day with an hour long yoga and meditation. It was really relaxing and made me for sure want to do more yoga in the future! We then had breakfast and took another beach walk into town. The little snails make so many fun squiggles in the sand! After Spanish class and surfing (still not totally mastering either one) we got to go in the jacuzzi!!! It was a great way to warm up and felt sorta tropical with our delicious drinks served to us in the pool! We also talked to a girl staying here too who has done so many cool trips! Inspiring!En savoir plus

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  • Rachael ZielskeChicas LocasVoyageur
    32

    We be learning and relaxing

    13 novembre 2022, Équateur ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F

    We got up bright and early to catch the morning high tide for surfing today. The first thing I saw was my first sea turtle…. Dead on the beach being eaten by vultures 😭 Surfing was off for me today. I managed one good stand but did not get my feet under me any other time. Maybe I was tired, I’m not sure, I just couldn’t get focused. Then we had breakfast, the oatmeal here is out of this world, as are the beans, toast, and breadsticks! We then read books in the hammock and just chilled till our Spanish class. We then chilled some more before dinner, the breadsticks people!! We have some lovely (loud) interesting (religious) Americans at the restaurant tonight. Not sure if they are staying here or not. And now ending the night chilling back in the hammock.En savoir plus

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  • Rachael ZielskeChicas LocasVoyageur
    1311

    The sun is out??!

    14 novembre 2022, Équateur ⋅ ☁️ 73 °F

    We finally got some sun today! Can you believe it?! We did yoga and as I was stretching I felt a small ray fall upon my face. Then, when we went for a walk, after having breakfast with Fabi, the sun was full blast on the shore line! We walked amid the tide pools and crabs and it was gorgeous! Summer must be here suddenly because the iguanas are out in force, we saw 5 just at lunch! You can also see that I am not surfing correctly based on my knees… hopefully last day tomorrow I can get the hang of it!En savoir plus

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  • Rachael ZielskeChicas LocasVoyageur
    1
    1

    Totally rad, dude 🏄‍♀️

    15 novembre 2022, Équateur ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F

    We had our last surf lesson this morning! We tried out the back waves which was interesting to say the least! Much more choppy and a lot more push on the board from the waves. Not sure how he thought I could get up there when I haven’t mastered the little waves, but I’m happy to have the experience. We moved to the little waves after and it felt so much smaller it was actually, finally, possible to get up a few times! And my last wave took me into shore!! So glad we got to do some surfing in one of the world’s best places to learn. Ademar is a great teacher! We then had breakfast and coffee (of course their coffee rates better than ours at home too). We did an on-land surf lesson, as well. We did Spanish lessons and then relaxed after lunch till having some dessert! Good day!En savoir plus

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  • Rachael ZielskeChicas LocasVoyageur
    1

    Last day at Surf Camp

    16 novembre 2022, Équateur ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F

    We were going to go surfing with one of the waiters here at the camp’s restaurant, however he never texted us! So sad! (Apparently he slept in). So we missed yoga and surfing! But we took a walk into town to do some shopping and to take in the ocean on our last day. We managed to have lunch before Spanish class for once and, of course, were joined by our gatito friend! Imma miss her! The sun was out for about 3 mins to have a bit of a sunset! Hallelujah! We then decided last minute to go swimming, and ended up swimming until it was too dark to see. Amazing time letting the waves “Take me awaaay” 🎶 We had our last time in the jacuzzi and had our last dinner! 😩 Also I have been injured…? So many bruises all over.En savoir plus

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  • Rachael ZielskeChicas LocasVoyageur
    1
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    Nos Vemos, Ecuador!

    17 novembre 2022, Équateur ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F

    On our final day in Ecuador we squeezed in yoga and then a final hour of Spanish class (gracias, Dario!). We had to do our homework during breakfast as we hadn’t gotten around to it. We’re speaking so much Spanish now you don’t even know. We then walked to the bus station. ¡Adios el mar! The journey was smooth and then we walked to the airport and just hung out for awhile. I slept the whole plane ride but then that’s when things get intense. Once we were through customs immediately this man was herding me and mike to his “taxi” which did just look like a car so first red flag for sure. But we didn’t see other taxis and other people were following other guys so it seemed ok. Then he said $70 but I was convinced he meant sols at the very least. Turns out not and as he’s driving to the exit of the airport we are asking to get out because who pays $70 for any taxi ride let alone a 5 minute one. He was so insistent and our bags were in the truck so we couldn’t get out and find another option. We were trying to talk him down from 70 the whole time and even tried to explain we literally did not have that much cash but he wouldn’t believe us or change his mind. Every time he said a lower price I would say ok and then he would go back on his word with a higher price. Finally we just gave him all the cash we had plus some sols and got out as fast as we could. I thought he might just drive us to some random location but luckily he let us out at the hotel which was seriously like 5 blocks from the airport!En savoir plus

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  • Rachael ZielskeChicas LocasVoyageur

    The city of mountains!

    18 novembre 2022, Pérou ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F

    We are off to Cusco! I am happy to leave Lima behind and was glad we had a much smoother time walking to the airport than yesterday. Me and Mike are rather blind and have clearly forgotten how to travel as we made it all the way to security without getting our boarding pass! We totally missed the rows of check-in desks! We flew in with some incredible views!! But did feel a bit car sick on the rough landing. Breathing was seeming a bit tricky for a bit there but after meeting up with Anna(!), fate brought us both to the Airbnb at the same exact time, we caught up then had dinner. Feeling much less shaky and dizzy now. Even though I had to say goodbye to gatito :( I managed to make a new friend already! Ps we got totally stuck on a road that fits one car at a time but we were going down and someone was coming up and neither man wanted to back up. So, after like 20 mins there were about 15 cars lined up facing down and 15 lined up facing up with not really any options since no one wanted to move! Men, I tell ya!En savoir plus

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  • Rachael ZielskeChicas LocasVoyageur
    11

    Crazy girls officially back!

    19 novembre 2022, Pérou ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F

    First full day in Cusco! I went on a quick walk for some breakfast, I was proud of myself for heading out alone! We are in a super nice and quite neighborhood. We then went straight to the big San Pedro market where we ate milanesa with rice and fries. We then explored the market and started our big shopping day! We all found pieces we loved and some Christmas gifts! It’s a great market with people being nice and not too pushy! We had fresh juice, explored the old town, watched the sunset and a protest for women’s rights! We then had a fabulous dinner and went home for a movie night! I know we are crazy girls!En savoir plus

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  • Rachael ZielskeChicas LocasVoyageur
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    Inca Explorations

    20 novembre 2022, Pérou ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F

    Today we went to see our first set of ruins!! We went to Saqsaywaman which is an old Inca complex. The most impressive part is the size of the rocks and the way they were fitted perfectly with nothing holding them together, and that they have managed to survive at least 3 earthquakes when all other structures crumbled. The parts left standing today are all the stones Spanish colonizers couldn’t move when they took it apart to build their own structures. We also saw aplacas and went shopping. These scarves are absolutely a win! Perfect for when shorts weather isn’t actually shorts weather and you aren’t prepared for it to be just plain cold.En savoir plus

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  • Rachael ZielskeChicas LocasVoyageur
    12

    So much to see!

    21 novembre 2022, Pérou ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F

    Today we got ourselves up early! Go us! We went to have breakfast at The Bagel Cafe and then we took a car to Inca ruin number 2, Tambomachay. This one was small and just showcased an early aqueduct made by the Inca. It was sunny and very hot and, of course, we aren’t wearing shorts today. We then walked to Puka Pukara which means red fortress because of the red rocks making up this ruin. We then decided to walk about 4.5kms downhill to a third ruin, Q’enqo. This was our favorite because it was built into a rock so was like a cave and felt more interactive. We then got a car back home where we rested till we walked over for dinner at a Peruvian restaurant. We had lomo saltado which was the beef stir fry and then more milanesa this time with chaufa their style of fried rice. They were so good I had to document them in all their glory.En savoir plus

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  • Rachael ZielskeChicas LocasVoyageur
    1

    Zebra Mountain!?

    22 novembre 2022, Pérou ⋅ ☁️ 45 °F

    Sooo we got up at 4:30am to do our day trip hike to Rainbow Mountain. They picked us up in the van and we drove 2 hours before having breakfast. It was a chilly morning and it had snowed the night before so as we drove the last hour after breakfast we were seeing more and more snow capped mountains. It is a fairly steep drive and with the snow, came mud. Of course, our van was the one that got stuck and couldn’t get up the slope (how did a giant bus make it?! Idk). So, we got out and walked and some people finally after probably half an hour pushed it out of the mud. Then off to do the hike! It was about an hour of “flat” ground and 45 mins super steep. It was maybe the hardest thing I have done. My legs would go numb and then I would have to stop walking to breathe O2 into them! But we made it and saw…. Mostly snow. We then walked back down and were extremely ready for getting home and taking a nap! We never wanna hike again! Until Friday when we start the 5 days of this except more…!? Good luck to us!En savoir plus

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  • Rachael ZielskeChicas LocasVoyageur
    111

    Someone stop us

    23 novembre 2022, Pérou ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F

    We left the apartment at about 2:45pm today. Really soaking up the do nothing day while we can. But as usual this meant no food for like 19 hours… so we walked to food because we couldn’t find an Uber and then that place was closed to we searched for another Uber while sitting on the curb, of course. Finding food paid off with delishous fancy Peruvian food, including picu picu. It was fresh and local and beautiful. We then…. Went shopping! I have never wanted to buy everything so much in my life. We literally cannot stop and have managed to buy something at nearly ever store we have come across. I bought a super cute jacket today as well as more gifts and I think I still want more. I will be wearing a full winter outfit on the plane home because who knows how this is fitting in the backpack! Ps we also went to the museum of contemporary art..? What beautiful stuff.En savoir plus

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  • Rachael ZielskeChicas LocasVoyageur

    Horses & cuy

    24 novembre 2022, Pérou ⋅ ⛅ 52 °F

    Today we went horseback riding to some off the beaten path ruins. We saw a Moon Temple of the Inca as well as some alters built right into the rock inside some cave like tunnels. Our guide told us some of the tunnels even go all the way down the mountain to Cusco’s center. It was fun and relaxing, the walking around the hills reminded us how hard our trek was going to be, especially when he pointed out the Inca trail going through the nearby mountains. We then wrapped up our exploration of Peruvian food with Cuy (Guinea pig) and pisco sours, the local alcoholic beverage of choice. Both were good! It was unique to pick through the body for the meat but we aren’t shy about getting our hands dirty! We then raced over, slightly tipsy, to our informational meeting about the hike! Off to packing we go. Can’t wait to wake up at 3:30am…Omg, what have we gotten ourselves into!En savoir plus

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  • Rachael ZielskeChicas LocasVoyageur
    11

    Salkantay Trek here we come

    25 novembre 2022, Pérou ⋅ ⛅ 43 °F

    Salkantay Trek day 1, part 1. We were up and going by 3:40. Not loving it so far but after taking an Uber to the city to get in the bus we are starting! We had breakfast and then kept driving till we made it to the mountains proper! It is gorgeous I’ll give it that. We are starting at Soraypampa. Elevation made this a hard start despite this supposedly being the easy day…? We were behind our group by a lot right off the bat. They would wait for us as we were getting info from Vlad, our tour guide, as we went. We were going to Humantay Lake. It was about 2 miles up and 1000ft elevation change. It was raining at the top but was very lovely. I nearly cried from the relief of making it. Vlad seems like a cool guy and it’s interesting to start meeting the people who we will be with all 5 days. They are all European and clearly actually in the fit category whereas we are realizing already we may be just scraping the bottom of moderately fit.En savoir plus

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  • Rachael ZielskeChicas LocasVoyageur
    1

    We aren’t struggling at all….

    25 novembre 2022, Pérou ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F

    Salkantay Trek day 1, part 2. After making it to the top and taking some pictures we started our walk right back down. It was steep but a cool walk because there really isn’t a path just a wide area so you get to pick your own adventure. We then kept walking in a bit of an up and down path over to the camp at Quiswarniyok. It’s absolutely gorgeous and we get our first glimpse of Salkantay Mountain! We are all feeling the burn and may be internally crying over having to hike to the little hut on the hill for lunch. Too much walking! We got a little gift from the universe when our group got to be the one sleeping in the glass sky domes. They are near the lunch hut and not back down the hill so thank you Jean Michel for picking a high card! It’s a beautiful little dome and absolutely mind blowing that we are here but that meant a few overwhelmed laugh tears were shed! It’s cold up here but we are cozy squeezed in one dome together!En savoir plus

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  • Rachael ZielskeChicas LocasVoyageur
    1

    Holy Sh*t

    26 novembre 2022, Pérou ⋅ ☁️ 46 °F

    Salkantay Trek day 2, part 1. We woke up early, gotta get used to that, unfortunately. One of the cooks woke us up with a cup of coca leaf tea. The plant responsible for cocaine. It helps with elevation sickness and is super mild. This day we get the option of a horse because the hike is up 2000ft elevation to the Salkantay Pass. We told our guide we wanted a horse and he said “I know”. Haha I guess our struggles were not hidden very well. It was a nice slow horse ride as Anna’s horse in particular wanted to stop every 3 seconds. We made it though and even though we didn’t have a great view of the big mountain because of the clouds it wasn’t too cold so we had time to chill and do an Inca ritual saying thanks to Pachamama, Mother Earth.En savoir plus

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  • Rachael ZielskeChicas LocasVoyageur
    11

    Down, down, down

    26 novembre 2022, Pérou ⋅ ☁️ 50 °F

    Salkantay Trek day 2, part 2. We were at 15,190ft and had to walk down to 9514ft. It was about 2 hours down then lunch time. We felt very lively at this point since we hadn’t walked up the Gringo Killer like the rest of the team. However, continuing after lunch was brutal. So so so far down! My toes be hurting and I’m just over looking down at my feet! I had to adopt new walking methods to keep things interesting. With such an early morning we managed to walk all 16miles before 5pm. We are staying in a little triangle hut tonight and get to have a little electricity for charging. Can’t miss taking pics of the views! We had dinner as a team as usual and then played a Peruvian game of throwing coins in holes for points, a mix of beer pong and bean bags kinda. The food is actually really great and our chef for the week is, according to Vlad, the best chef in the mountains. I have to say he may be right. We get new meals each time and such a large variety, I find something good each time!En savoir plus

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  • Rachael ZielskeChicas LocasVoyageur
    1

    Early morning hike

    27 novembre 2022, Pérou ⋅ ☁️ 54 °F

    Salkantay Trek day 3, part 1. At least the sun comes up so early that the mornings aren’t so depressing. However, getting up at 5 to pack is rough. We ate breakfast as a group and then went off hiking right away. We got some info from Vlady about hallucinogenic flowers that just grow right there on the side of the road. We walked about 14.2 miles today. However, this included a lot of casual, just hanging out, walking later in the day. Our first task was to walk along the river through the valley and continue our down down down. It was a decent walk compared to days earlier and the elevation is significantly better here. We saw a waterfall and we were actually able to enjoy hiking today.En savoir plus

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  • Rachael ZielskeChicas LocasVoyageur

    Party in the chicken house!

    27 novembre 2022, Pérou ⋅ ☁️ 55 °F

    Salkantay Trek day 3, part 2. From the waterfall we kept walking but actually finished the hike right before noon today! We then took a van to a coffee making tour and then went to the campsite for lunch. We are sleeping in tents tonight and of course squeezing all in together. We got to go to a hot springs today which was super nice and gave us a chance to really finally connect with the other people in our group. We talked with Joyce and Stan from The Netherlands, Leen from Belgium, and Erik and Alex from Germany. We then left the hot springs and found Vlady partying it up! We all had a shot of Inca tequila and some played a drinking game! We then got in the van and it became a real party! We stopped in town for more drinks and then kept the party going through a late dinner and into the chicken house! They had a disco ball and speaker inside an old chicken coop. It was fun and we got extra connected with the group and finally actually learned everyone’s names. We have a really fun, supportive group!En savoir plus

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  • Rachael ZielskeChicas LocasVoyageur

    Will we be able to continue?

    28 novembre 2022, Pérou ⋅ ☁️ 52 °F

    Salkantay Trek day 4, part 1. It’s gonna be a long day. I think they purposely don’t talk about day 4 too much because it’s supposedly the hardest one. They keep you focused on day 2, but here we are with no horses available and over 2000ft to walk up anyway. Luckily, we are not hungover and due to our party we got to have a slightly later morning, aka breakfast at 6:15am! We start walking at 7:30 and it’s up and away! We fall behind as usual. But we just say we like to take it all in! It took some real focus today to keep walking, I was managing to count to 2 with every other step to feel like I was making progress. We make it to the top at about 10:00 though, so I say we made real good time! If a chicken can do it than so can I; chicken pace is the one for me. It’s magical to be in the mountains and have such insane views at every turn, too bad I’m just looking at my feet willing them to keep moving the whole time!En savoir plus

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  • Rachael ZielskeChicas LocasVoyageur

    We survived, but we’re dead

    28 novembre 2022, Pérou ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F

    Salkantay Trek day 4, part 2. We made it to the top and saw a lovely view, the first sighting of Machu Picchu! It looks so freaking far away though and we still have to walk all the way there today! I made another cat friend. She was so, so sweet, and she liked Doritos! We then started the down portion of today’s hike. A horrible, tedious, painful part. We had gone up over 2000ft to Llactapata, another Inca ruin, and now had to go down 2600ft elevation. We were over 4 hours in with about 4 hours to go. Finally, we had lunch at a restaurant. The crazy girls were feeling like they were crazy for choosing to do this and not doing their best mentally. 6 more miles down the road we finally FINALLY made it to Aguas Calientes where our hostel was. We wanted straight to bed but had to wait for dinner. Everyone else of course has energy still and we are walking zombies who want to cry! We finally get to shower and sleep in a bed though! In picture 5 we have Jules, Mink, Stan, Erik, Vlady, Jean Michel, Alex, Wout (Woody), Romain, Louisa, and Joyce and Leen in front!En savoir plus

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  • Rachael ZielskeChicas LocasVoyageur

    Machu Picchu, so happy to see you

    29 novembre 2022, Pérou ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    Salkantay Trek day 5, part 1. 3:30am wake up so we can eat a quick breakfast and leave by 4:30 to walk to the entrance of Machu Picchu! It opens at 5 and we want to be the first ones in. It’s a sleepy walk but we make it in time to have the sun come up while we start the hour long uphill stairs climb to the top of the mountain. It’s about 2.5 miles and it was hard!!! We had to make it close to 6 to be the first people inside the site. Our tour guide was really nice and informative! We learned about what the different surviving buildings were for, a lot of storage of vegetables and some houses. The city was around for just over 100 years when it was abandoned because the Spanish were believed to be coming. However, the Spanish never found Machu Picchu and ended up finding the city they fled to instead :( Our guide also mentioned that bodies were found in surrounding caves and that still some of the site is buried underground.En savoir plus

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