Archive for August, 2013

I lost my sole on my way to Lake 69

Saturday, August 31st, 2013

It would make a great song title; ‘I lost my soul on my way to Lake 69’…except for the fact that I lost my SOLE, not my soul! 馃槈

After 12 years of duty my hiking boots decided to retire; in the same trip both soles came off!! Pretty amazing that I still made it to ‘Laguna 69’ as the hard plastic sole on the inside made hiking extremely hard; it got very slippery on the trail, especially the river crossing rocks…will-power and extreme care did it! 馃槈
So, my next challenge was to find new hiking boots as I am not done exploring Peru by foot! 馃槈 Now, finding hiking boots in Huaraz (aka mountaineering paradise) is no problem at all, finding the right size (=BIG 馃槈 ) is however! It took me a great deal of the afternoon and many, many shops, but I succeeded! In the process I discovered that speaking Spanish would have made things a lot easier and go faster, and I also found out that the size mentioned on the boot is totally random; it turns out I am a size 46,5 (US12) here in Peru, WTF?!?

All in all another nice experience in Peru! Below the story in photos for the ones who like pictures over text. 馃槈

 

 

 

 

All ends well…

QOTD August 31 2013

Saturday, August 31st, 2013

Malcolm Gladwell: “You can learn as much – or more – from one glance at a private space as you can from hours of exposure to a public face.”

QOTD August 30 2013

Friday, August 30th, 2013

Reverend Sean Parker Dennison: “The ability to see beauty is the beginning of our moral sensibility. What we believe is beautiful we will not wantonly destroy.”

Peru: hiking the Andes mountains from Huaraz

Thursday, August 29th, 2013

A picture heavy update from the last (quite intense) days in Huaraz, Peru!

Day 3-5, Huaraz

I arrived last Tuesday by bus聽in聽Huaraz聽at a very convenient time;聽06:00h (AM that is)…luckily the hostel I booked was open and ready to serve me banana pancake breakfast! 馃槈 The host Frank also talked me into a first trip to the high Andes mountains and I figured that 3 hours in Huaraz at 3052m above sea level would be enough to get used to the altitude, uhhhh maybe not?! 馃槈

The trip went up the the Pastoruri Glacier聽which tops at 5250m and we hiked from 4800m to the base of the glacier at 5000m, I believe this is the highest altitude I have ever been…within a couple of hours after coming from sea level oof! (I did have slow my pace to be able to catch enough oxygen)

It was all worth it though, as you can see in the pictures below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since I got into hiking at high altitudes 馃槈 , I booked a tour on Wednesday to the beautiful Laguna 69 (no comment on the name…in earlier days they gave every lake a number and this one just happened to get #69 馃槈 ). We first stopped at the two聽Llanganuco lakes聽called Laguna聽Chinancocha (female lake) and Laguna Orconcocha (male lake) to enjoy the crazy beautiful early morning views over these blue green lakes. The next stop was at the basecamp for the hike to Laguna 69; another fantastic hike through spectacular nature surrounded by the steep walls of the highest mountains of Peru the Huascaran (6746m) and the Huandoy! It聽made me completely forget the early wake-up at 05:25h! 馃槈

As always, pictures say it all:

First the Llanganuco lakes

 

Then, on to Laguna 69:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I made today a day to relax a bit after all the hiking and make bookings for the coming days; the bus to Trujillo is booked, so is the hostel there, the night bus to Lima on Saturday and the flight to Cuzco on Sunday!

My (ever-draft) travel schedule is still intact (although I might check out Chili to avoid double passings 馃槈 ) so upcoming highlights are: Trujillo (Chan Chan), Cuzco (Machu Picchu), Puno (Lake Titicaca) then on to Bolivia: Copacabana, La Paz,聽Salar de Uyuni聽(Salt lakes), Coroico in The Yungas. Then most likely Chili to go back to Peru: Arequipa, Nazca, and Lima once again to fly back to Europe on September 23)鈥errrrrry exciting!!!

QOTD August 29 2013

Thursday, August 29th, 2013

Thich Nhat Hanh: “Keeping your body healthy is an expression of gratitude to the whole cosmos – the trees, the clouds, everything.”

QOTD August 28 2013

Wednesday, August 28th, 2013

Thich Nhat Hanh: “Keeping your body healthy is an expression of gratitude to the whole cosmos – the trees, the clouds, everything.”

QOTD August 27 2013

Tuesday, August 27th, 2013

Helen Keller: “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Security does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than exposure.”

Peru: the first days in Lima

Monday, August 26th, 2013

After a relaxed flight from Amsterdam to Lima (I got three seats to myself thanks to KLM steward Auke! 馃槈 ), I arrived in the early evening last Saturday聽at the聽Quincha House聽guesthouse with no plans for the first days other than…resting and making my travel schedule!

Day 1&2, Lima

I got up late Sunday morning after a ’round-the-clock’ night sleep (yeah, I guess I was pretty knackered…the added bonus is that I lost the jetlag in just one night! 馃槈 ). I spend the Sunday afternoon sniffing up some of Peru’s historic culture in the National Museum (Museo de la Naci贸n)聽and wandered around the historic centre of Lima. The city offers nice mix of colonial architecture, street entertainment/artists and churches, loads of churches…I accidentally stumbled into the lesser documented parts of Lima, the ones you would rather not go to…you know, those that are recognized by a distinct urine smell and hardly any people on the streets (probably hiding in a place I don’t want to be! 馃槈 ).
All in all it is quite easy to get around Lima; just grab one of the 325.000 taxis 馃槈 that are driving around, empty most of the day it seems and costing just a couple of euro’s for distances you don’t want to walk!

The craziest thing I experienced was getting back to the guesthouse in the evening; I literally had to guide the taxi driver using the map in my Lonely Planet!! A piece of cake of course; my spanish is non existent (though I am fluent in my dreams;) ) and聽obviously I know the city by heart after a full day! 馃槈

Today I completed my (ever-draft) travel schedule, which for now leads me tonight聽to Huaraz, high up in the Andes mountains (I just booked the bus!), Trujillo (Chan Chan), Cuzco (Machu Picchu), Puno (Lake Titicaca) then on to Bolivia: Copacabana, La Paz, Salar de Uyuni聽(Salt lakes), Coroico in The Yungas. Then back to Peru: Arequipa, Nazca, and Lima once again to fly back to Europe on September 23)…verrrrrry exciting!!!

And now…picturessss! 馃槈
My room in Quincha House

 

Museo de la Naci贸n

 

Plaza de Armas (Plaza Mayor)

 

 

Iglesia de Santa Domingo

 

Chinatown

 

Lima city with the Cerro San Crist贸bal hill in the background

 

The real Lima?! 馃槈

 

Giving the taxi driver directions where to go…?!?

QOTD August 26 2013

Monday, August 26th, 2013

George C. Marshall: “When a thing is done, it’s done. Don’t look back. Look forward to your next objective.”

QOTD August 25 2013

Sunday, August 25th, 2013

Martha Grimes: “We don’t know who we are until we see what we can do.”

Peru, here I come!!

Saturday, August 24th, 2013

Yesterday evening I wrote ‘the time is NOW’…well, the time is actually NOW as I am ON my way, yayyy!! I am halfway between Oslo and Lima, not in distance/time but the first of the two flights is done! 馃槈

The trip is great so far, I arrived well in time in Amsterdam so my luggage should make it to Inca land聽without any problem…

Also; flying without the ‘standby-seat-stress’聽that I got so used to is a charm! (especially since I still have an el-cheapo flight by using my frequent flyer miles 馃槈 )

Ready, set, go…Peru, here I come!!

 

The famous Machu Picchu is certainly on my ‘to-see’ list!

 

QOTD August 24 2013

Saturday, August 24th, 2013

Elmer Davis: “The first and great commandment is: Don’t let them scare you.”

Packed for Peru & Bolivia!

Friday, August 23rd, 2013

The time is NOW…all is packed for my trip to Peru & Bolivia, woohoooo!

Ha, I had to dust off my backpack (I believe that I used it last for my trip Downunder in 2001, oof! 馃槈 ) and have my hiking boots with me: verrrry thrilled to see and experience South America!

I expect to blog (with photos 馃槈 ) every now and then when internet is available AND when聽I feel for it (!), I have the Quotes of the Day scheduled though, so there is something waiting everyday for y’all… 馃槈

 

QOTD August 23 2013

Friday, August 23rd, 2013

Malcolm X: “You can’t separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.”

QOTD August 22 2013

Thursday, August 22nd, 2013

Eric Schmidt: “In a world where everything is remembered and everything is kept forever, you need to live for the future and things you really care about.”

Video for Nikky…

Thursday, August 22nd, 2013

Thank you for being a friend…

 

In loving memory of Nikky

Wednesday, August 21st, 2013

Nooooooo………awful news when I came back home today; Nikky died…The oldest of the three cats, daddy to Kwibus and really everyone’s friend got hit by a car late this afternoon (similar to Juultje (his ‘wife’) many years ago)….I am so sad….. 馃檨 馃檨 馃檨

Just 14 years old (72 in cat years), the sweetest cuddle cat of all聽is now in cat heaven…

Thank you for being my friend dear Nikky…I love you!

QOTD August 21 2013

Wednesday, August 21st, 2013

Martha Graham: “Dance is the hidden language of the soul.”

QOTD August 20 2013

Tuesday, August 20th, 2013

Herodotus: “If a man insisted always on being serious, and never allowed himself a bit of fun and relaxation, he would go mad or become unstable without knowing it.”

QOTD August 19 2013

Monday, August 19th, 2013

Robin Norwood: “Make your own recovery the first priority in your life.”