Ecuador, Galápagos, Bolivia, Peru, Machu Picchu
26 May – 20 Jul 2011
32 entries from Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, 26 May – 20 July 2011.
- Entries
- 32
- Countries
- 3
Timeline · each node is an entry, spaced by date
Day by day
- Andy 1 Beth nill Beth Yes we just got to the airport, but I'm already in the hole for the traveler of the year award. I knew when I booked the damn 1:30 am flight I was going to mess up the dates.
- And we made it Beth Two layovers and three ham and cheese hot pockets later we were in Quito. The half sleeping pill rocked our worlds and the 11 hours flying felt like nothing.
- Baeza- the first unplanned town Beth Upon arrival in Baeza, it appeared all the hostals were closed but they weren’t, they just appeared closed (damn Lonely Planet)!
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Thermal baths of Papallacta Beth I set the alarm for 7 thinking we had to get up early to catch a bus out of town. We had breakfast on the roof with consisted of yogurt with fruit, bread and jam, watermelon juice… - A bus tragedy and half a guinea pig Beth We got up around 620, after a night of little sleep thanks to the party beside us, waterproofed ourselves and headed for the bus stop. It really wasn’t much of an issue.
- Yo soy Jose... Beth I guess I did anger the travel gods because my camera was run over by a car. More on that later… We met our tour group at Q restaurant for free coffee and decided to pass on the…
- Back to land Beth I got to sleep in until 630 this morning which was great since Andy was trying to wake me up since 530.
- Diving on the famous Darwin Island 6/3/11 Beth Got to Darwin early in the morning, about 630 and we were ready for our first dive of four today. The island is smaller than Wolf and you can see The Arch from our boat.
- Frigate birds and 100 hammerheads- oh my! 6/4/11 Beth Our final day diving at the Galapagos, we had three dives scheduled at Darwin before we headed back on our 20 hour bumpy journey.
- Galapagos Bound! 5/30/11 Beth Woke up at 530 to get a taxi to the airport to go to the Galapagos! The ride was uneventful until the cabbie asked for $10. I was like no way, I’ll give you $5 or $6.
- I'm going to be a dive bum forever Beth Woke up at 530 to see the sunrise must mostly because the crew woke me up (and Andy). It’s OK, I’m on vacation and I don’t need to sleep anyway.
- I'm officially not afraid of sharks anymore Beth We woke up at 545 to be briefed on our first dive at Wolf Island (the first of four dives today).
- Swimming in a school of hammerheads 6/2/11 Beth Second day at Wolf Island with three dives today. Up at 545 again for the first dive at Landslide; breakfast, nap second dive at Landslide; lunch nap third dive at Elephant Rock.
- Why won't the ground stop moving? 6/5/11 Beth I took a Dramamine and half a sleeping pill last night. Beers and wine don’t mix with rough waves. Unfortunately, the drugs were too much and I can barely move.
- Falling in a swamp and big ass spiders Beth Woke up at 6 to go up the tower and bird watch. They finished the tower just 8 days ago so we’re lucky we can use it. It’s five stories high and above most of the trees.
- Hello Otavalo Beth Andy got up at 6 to do some bird watching but I was in no mood after the horrible night I had. Not sure what made me sick, but I was sweating with stomach cramps all night.
- Welcome to the jungle 6/7/11 Beth Up at 630 to catch a cab to the airport. How is it a damn city in Ecuador can have free wi-fi at the airport and we can’t get it in Silicon Valley?
- Is that a headband or your real hair? 6/10/11 Beth Up at 630 and ate breakfast at the hotel. I love all the fresh juices here. We walked down to the Los Ponchos Plaza where the market is and they were just setting things up.
- Mindo is amazing- next stop La Paz Bolivia! Beth Wish I had more time in Mindo- there's so much to do, it's beautiful, the weather is perfect, and the people are so friendly. Next time I'll be staying longer.
- A day of downs and ups (13k ft ups) Beth Arrived at 5am at the Santiago airport so we immediately found some chairs and slept until 830.
- Walking uphill at 13k ft isn't easy Beth Woke up fresh at 730 (slept through the 630 alarm) happy my head was feeling better. We slowly got up and put afterbite all over our legs.
- Baby squirrel monkeys and zip lining the WMDR Beth Up at 730 which was a nice change from the 630 we were used to. Andy got up before I did and fed the Squirrel Monkey some peanuts, then later the Macaws.
- Kicking dirt at the devil 6/14/11 Beth Up at 630 to meet our group for the World’s Most Dangerous Road bike ride. As we were leaving the hostal Andy almost ripped the door down with his large backpack.
- Hiking at 12.5K ft with 40 extra lbs Beth The major hail storm woke us up this morning. It was so crazy and hard, I was hoping it wouldn’t break the windows.
- Only a matter of time before someone got hit by a taxi in La Paz 6/16/11 Beth We took our time this morning getting up and making our way out of the Maya Inn Hostal. We didn’t sleep very well because people staying there were coming in at all hours in the…
- Two Japanese and a Frenchman 6/17/11 Beth Woke up to catch the 830 ferry to Isla Del Sol (where the sun was born and a couple gods). Copabacana is a small town on the edge of Lake Titicaca- the highest fresh water lake in…
- We made it across the border to Peru! Beth Up at 630 to catch our flight to Cuzco after a crap night of sleep from the celebrations the night before.
- Rest before the final adventure Beth After 11 hours of sleep we slowly got up and headed down to the kitchen to make ourselves breakfast.
- Day3 and it's the most beautiful day yet 6/23/11 Beth Up at 530 for breakfast at 6. Each day the wakeup call keeps getting earlier and the hikes are harder.
- Here we come Inca Trail! 6/21/11 Beth Up at 530 to catch our ride to start our journey to Machu Picchu. We jumped in the Wayki Trek van and picked up four other guests, a couple porters, and our guide Antonio.
- I might die 6/22/11 Beth Up at 6 to have breakfast by 630. We had pancakes, toast, and tea/coffee. I ate as much as possible since Antonio said we wouldn’t hit the lunch spot until 3.
- Machu Picchu- an incredible end to an amazing journey (winter solstice) 6/24/11 Beth Today is the Incan Sun Festival and we happen to be going to Machu Picchu- pretty cool! We were up by 330 (am that's right), packed, and ready to go.