Bolivia and Peru (5/29/08-6/8/08)

Itinerary: Bolivia and Peru (5/29/08-6/8/08)
5/29/08-5/31/08: Bolivia (La Paz-Tiwanaku)
5/31/08-6/2/08: Bolivia (Copacabana-Isla Del Sol)
6/2/08-6/6/08: Peru (Cuzco-Ollanta-Machu Picchu)
6/6/08-6/8/08: Peru (Lima)


5/29/08-6/2/08: Bolivia (La Paz-Tiwanaku, Copacabana-Isla Del Sol)

I landed into La Paz, the world's highest capital city (airport is over 4,000 meters above sea level).... met Frederick on Friday evening - his friends were a warm and welcoming, fun loving mixed crowd, in their mid-20's to mid-30's (his polar opposite twin brother was a trip)... Started out in a couple of house parties, before bar/club hopping till dawn. Drinks were ridiculously cheap, and we drank plenty. I think the altitude neutralized the alcohol a bit (or maybe it was the coca or smoke-ables). Anyways, I felt pretty great - no altitude sickness here nor hang over the next day. Frede traveled on with me to Lake Titicaca for some beautiful hiking and some fun row boating to Isla Del Sol. Despite living in South America's poorest country, I found the Bolivians to be very generous and happy people.

BOLIVIA PHOTO LINK


6/2/08-6/8/08: Peru (Cuzco-Ollanta-Machu Picchu, Lima)

After the weekend, Frede went back to his job in banking, and I went on to Peru - starting off with a freezing 12-hour overnight bus ride to Cuzco for about 12 bucks. I spent the 2nd full day there heading up the Cuzco mountains with Siri, a beautiful 28 y/o girl from Marin County - she was of nordic background, born in Japan, and had traveled and lived all over the world including years in India and West Africa. We went on a mind blowing "San Pedro" journey of warmth, love, empathy, and spiritual insight. I really can't do it much justice here - but 'WHOA' - I can't recommend it enough either - I am very moved by the experience.

The last highlight of the trip was heading to Machu Picchu. Sure, there were loads of tourists... even at 5:30 am on the first series of buses heading up... but I guess I did my part by taking hundreds more pictures than I anticipated... limited only by the fact that my camera memory card filled up. But the site was massive, and it was easy to carve out some isolation. I spent about 10 hours hiking around the site, down various trails, in awe of the scenery pretty much the whole time there.

After 4 days in the region, I flew to Lima, spending my last couple of days enjoying the diverse fusion cuisine there. I stopped into Govinda a couple of times - a cafe run by the Hare Krishna, where I got a delicious 3-course vegetarian lunch for $2.50, before flying back on a red-eye back to NYC.

PERU PHOTO LINK