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Andreas and WhitneyAndreas and Whitney
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This is the travel page of Whitney and Andreas. We love to see the world. Read more Solana Beach, United States
  • Andreas and WhitneyWorld Adventure
    Day 337

    Lunahuaná, Peru

    April 15, 2018 in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    We met up with an old friend of mine from high school, Jose Visconti and his girlfriend Samoa who both live in Lima. It was great seeing a familiar face and catching up with Jose who is now a chocolatier! He sources his beans from deep in the Peruvian jungle, and it is very delicious (shout out to Elemento chocolate). We stayed in the popular Peruvian tourist town of Lunahuana. We drank wine by the pool and chatted about life. Next we went north to Jose’s family’s beach house (30 minutes south of Lima). It was inside a gated community and a very different way to see Peru. It was a beautiful community where everyone spends the day on the beach and rides their bikes from happy hour to happy hour. It felt very much like San Diego. We had a wonderful dinner filled with wine, pisco (Peruvian liqueur), guacamole, and ice cream with Jose, Samoa, and his parents.Read more

  • Andreas and WhitneyWorld Adventure
    1
    Day 335

    Huacachina, Peru

    April 13, 2018 in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Picture a desert oasis and you're probably envisioning the tiny tourist town of Huacachina. There are palm trees, a small lake, and massive, looming sand dunes on all sides. Needless to say, it's an extremely picturesque spot.

    The main tourist activities here are dune buggy riding and sandboarding. Naturally, we did both. We started by hiking (struggling) to the top of a nearby dune for some sandboarding lessons (side note - Whit and I thought this dune was big but compared to what we boarded later, it was but a wee baby). After a few practice runs (including one where I used my face to decelerate) we started to get the hang of it. Basically, in comparison to snowboarding, you have to lean back further with fewer, less acute turns, especially near the bottom of the dunes. This is because sand is denser than snow and gets harder packed at the bottom of the slope making the front of your board feel like a constantly applied handbrake. To combat this, sandboards (modified snowboards) have a layer of Formica (compressed wood) on the bottom and you wax the board with a candle before every run. Following our practice, we were picked up by a dune buggy and zipped deep into the desert. The buggy basically acted like a rollercoaster chairlift, picking us up at the bottom of a massive dune, driving up, down, and around imposing mountains of sand, then depositing us at the top of another, bigger, dune. We had a blast but by the end of it, we were both absolutely covered in sand. I think I prefer snow.    Read more

  • Andreas and WhitneyWorld Adventure
    1
    Day 331

    Cusco, Peru

    April 9, 2018 in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Cusco is a great jumping off point for Machu Picchu and other adventures. The city itself is surprisingly beautiful. It's full of old, well-maintained buildings with red tile roofs. The main square is pedestrian-only and full of cute shops and locals selling “original” prints and massages. Cusco is famous for its rainbow trout ceviche which did not disappoint. As the city is at an altitude of 3400m (11,200ft) and full of very steep streets, we definitely felt out of breath the majority of the time we were here.

    We went on a day trip to the famous Montaña de Siete Colores (Rainbow Mountain). As the mountain sits at a whopping 5200m (17,000 ft) we loaded up on cocoa leaf tea before - a Peruvian altitude sickness trick that packs a kick and makes your lips tingle. As we heard from friends that the hike is a killer at that altitude, we opted to ride horses up. This turned out to be a fun adventure in itself. We rode past beautiful landscapes and grazing llamas. The local men led our horses up the mountain in sandals, amazing as it was snowing! We still had to hike up the steepest parts of the trails to give the horses a break. When we made it to the top, we saw the beautiful multi-colored mountains. We enjoyed the view for awhile and then headed down the mountain to get out of the cold and back to a more reasonable altitude!    Read more

  • Andreas and WhitneyWorld Adventure
    Day 327

    Machu Picchu, Peru

    April 5, 2018 in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Another place struck off the ol' bucket-list; welcome to Machu Picchu, one of the seven Wonders of the World! Whit and I joined a jungle trek tour package and spent an action-packed four days getting there. This trek included some seriously fast down-hill (on a paved road) mountain biking, hiking a panoramic section of the Inca trail, lounging in hot springs next to a turbulent river,  zip-lining across gorges, and, of course, a 4:30am jaunt up to Machu Picchu. We missed the sunrise because of fog, however, this cleared off by mid morning uncovering unbelievable views. Even though the ruins of Machu Picchu are insane, for me, it's where they are located that is most impressive. The ruins are nestled on a mountain ridge between two peaks, about 400m above the valley floor. On one side of the ancient town is a steep drop to the valley below, while the side we hiked up is definitely not a gradual slope. Machu Picchu was discovered by an American Yale historian turned explorer (Hiram Bingham) in 1911 while he searched for a different ancient city. Apparently he was led to the ruins by a local farmer and initially thought he had found an already discovered Inca site. Only after reviewing his pictures of the ruins whilst back in the US did his discovery dawn on him. He returned a short while later to excavate the site and, according to our guide, smuggle some of the discovered relics back to the States (great guy).

    Machu Picchu marked the last of our trip's big ticket items. Seeing it makes us all the more aware that our adventure is nearing it conclusion. It's a bitter sweet feeling but we are excited to embark on the next chapter of our lives.    Read more

  • Andreas and WhitneyWorld Adventure
    Day 322

    Isla del Sol, Bolivia

    March 31, 2018 in Bolivia

    After staying the night at the lakeside town of Copacabana, we took the ferry to Isla Del Sol, a Bolivian island rising out of Lake Titicaca. Lake Titicaca is the largest lake in South America by volume, with a surface area of just under 8400km squared. After a week of nonstop travel, it was a much needed escape. The island has no motorized vehicles and all the hotels are located up 200m of steep steps; at 3800m above sea level, these were quite a challenge. The island is full of flowers and picturesque veggie gardens. For 60 bolivianos ($9 USD) we had a bungalow with a panoramic view of the lake from our bed. We did however have to compromise on the running water/toilet situation. We spent most of our time on the island reading, tasting the local trout, and napping to the sound of donkeys and birds. We also hiked up to ruins on the top of the island to watch the sunset. Leaving the island on a local ferry we felt well rested and ready for our next adventure in Peru!Read more

  • Andreas and WhitneyWorld Adventure
    Day 319

    La Paz, Bolivia

    March 28, 2018 in Bolivia ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    We made it to the dirty, grity, and yet surprisingly likable high-altitude city of La Paz (3640m)! We stayed at an infamous party hostel and while fun, upon leaving La Paz Whit and I desperately needed some R&R.

    We took a walking tour of the city, learning about Bolivia's recent political history, strange cultural customs associated with the witcher's market, and the infamous San Pedro prison which, according to our guide, has a cocaine factory running inside. While Whit relaxed in our hostel, I braved the Death Road by mountain bike, the world's most dangerous road. The scenery was amazing and the sheer drops on one side definitely got the adrenaline pumping. La Paz is implementing a public transport gondola system to get around the city. While a few lines will be completed late this year, those that are up and running are fantastic, and make for a great way to get around the city. We used these gondolas to ascend to La Paz's hills for some stunning views of the city.    Read more

  • Andreas and WhitneyWorld Adventure
    Day 314

    Jeep Tour: Salt Flats

    March 23, 2018 in Bolivia

    On the final day of our tour we set off at 4:30am and drove to the famous Uyuni salt flats. During February and March the rains cause the salt flats to flood giving it a spectacular mirrored effect. After driving over the flooded parts, we made it to the expansive white salt flats. They are 12,000 square km wide, 70 meters of salt deep, and 98% salt. We had breakfast in an old salt hotel and spent time playing with the perspective on our cameras. It turned out that it is much harder than it looks to get a classic salt flats photo. Covered in salt, we briefly visited a train graveyard before parting ways with our tour group in the tiny town of Uyuni.Read more

  • Andreas and WhitneyWorld Adventure
    2
    Day 313

    Jeep Tour: Hotel de Sal

    March 22, 2018 in Bolivia ⋅ ⛅ 6 °C

    During our second day of the jeep tour, we visited the seven coloured mountains (I counted only four), a rock in a strange tree-like formation, several stunning high-altitude lakes each with a colony of flamingos, beautiful quinoa crop fields coloured vibrant greens, yellows, and reds, and  a mountain perfectly framed by a nearby rock formation. That night we stayed in a hotel made almost entirely out of salt. As about 90% of Bolivia's population is Catholic, Whit had to flash the hotel's proprietor her engagement ring so that we could share a room.Read more

  • Andreas and WhitneyWorld Adventure
    Day 312

    Jeep Tour: Laguna Colorada

    March 21, 2018 in Bolivia

    We have heard from a lot of travelers that the ‘thing to do’ is a three day Jeep tour through the Andes from Chile into the Bolivian town of Uyuni. At only $170 for all transport, food, and accommodation, Andreas and I were in. We have been traveling with two kiwis from Auckland and an American from Seattle, so we all decided to go together. Our first stop was the Bolivian border, a small hut in the middle of the desert. We have heard the border crossing can be difficult for Americans (we have to pay $160 US while everyone else is free), however, I had no idea just how difficult it would be. While everyone else got a smile and a stamp, it seemed I was being punished for all the wrongs America has done in history. Although I had all my paperwork in order, they still yelled at me in Spanish, ripped one form I had in half, and refused to accept my pristine US dollar bills. After a lot of stress and bonding with the other Americans being abused, we made it through and we were ready to go on our way!

    From then on, the trip was a wonderful experience. We have split the trip into three post as we have the most unbelievable photos from each day.

    After meeting our driver David, a 50 yr old Bolivian man who did not speak a word of English, we set off on our adventure. We drove by reflective lagoons, snow capped mountains, and endless desert landscapes. We stopped at natural hot springs on a huge lagoon full of flamingos. Despite the beautiful weather, it was cold out and it felt great to relax in the warm water. Everyone in our group started to feel dizzy and short of breath while we were in the hotpools... turns out we were at an altitude of 4800m! The top of Annapurna Base Camp was only 4130m. We drove on to our accommodation for the night; a small hotel with dorm rooms, no showers, and limited electricity. Before dinner, we set out again to watch the sunset at the most spectacular place I have ever been; a red lagoon full of pink flamingos, mossy green shores, and grazing llamas. The pictures do not do this place justice.    Read more

  • Andreas and WhitneyWorld Adventure
    Day 311

    Atacama Desert, Chile

    March 20, 2018 in Chile ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    Thirsty much? Welcome to the driest non-polar region on Earth, the Atacama Desert! This arid hotbox definitely lived up to its name.

    We stayed in the small dusty desert town of San Pedro in a Burning Man-esk hostel straight out of Mad Max. Despite it being a desert, for some reason we decided to hire bikes and pedal our way to Valley de la Luna (valley of the moon) in the mid-afternoon heat. During this 35km/six hour suicide mission, we ran out of water and didn't get back into town until nightfall. Nevertheless, the desertscape was surreal and it actually looked like we were on Mars. We also spent an evening stargazing, learning about the constellations and viewing various nebula through high powered telescopes. Last but not least, we met a 19 year old English chap named Guthrie Ruby who casually implied that his guacamole is unrivalled. Naturally Whitney took this as a challenge and a heated guac-off ensued with me being the judge... poor me. Astoundingly, Whitney was convincingly trounced (she concurred with the judge's careful deliberation) and we learned Guthrie's tricks of the trade. Look out San Diego, delicious guac is coming for you!Read more

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