Beauty in the Mountains

23 Saturday Jun 2012

Posted by in Peru

≈ Leave a Comment

Tags

, , , ,

This was by far the most beautiful day on the trail.  We had finally made it far enough into the mountains that we were surrounded by rain forest.

If you look closely at the picture, you will notice that there is a drop off on one side of the trail.  There are many parts of the trail that are actually a wall built up along side the mountain and you are basically walking on the top of it!  I kept thinking, how in the world did they build this??  And the truth is, they don’t know.  They do not know how long it took for them to complete the trail.  Like most ancient wonders, it probably took centuries to complete.

By this day, I think we were all pretty tired and I noticed there wasn’t as much socializing on the trail as there had been the first two days.  Most of us walked alone.  Sometimes there was no one within sight of me for very long stretches of time and I took the opportunity to stop and take pictures of the landscape.

I used this time to really try to relax and appreciate my pending accomplishment.  There was a lot of reflection that went on for me at this point in the trek and it is by far my most memorable.

We seemed to happen upon an increased number of ruins.  It was amazing to me how you could just look up at a mountain across the way and see old farming terraces or ancient structures.  Our guide told us that the Incas traveled all through these mountains and a lot of the ruins are still yet to be found.  Crazy, right?

It rained off and on a lot (a plastic rain poncho is a must!), but knowing that we were so close to our final night of camping, it didn’t dampen (ha!) our mood one bit!  Because the trail was mostly stones at this point, we had to watch our step because it could get slippery.  Especially when going through the Inca Trail Tunnel.

That night, we played lots of card games in our food tent, attempted (but never finished) to convert Cee Lo’s “F*** You” into a thank you song for our guide and porters and pretty much just enjoyed having survived the trail.  All we had left was to wake up at the most ridiculous hour the next morning to attempt to beat everyone else the couple of miles to the Sun Gate and then on to Machu Picchu!

The HIGH Point of the Inca Trail

19 Tuesday Jun 2012

Posted by in Peru

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , ,

Upon waking after a less than stellar night’s rest (there was a very loud river right next to our camp site), I realized every single muscle in my body was aching.  Muscles that I didn’t even know I had been using on the first day of the trek were screaming at me.  The crazy thing though?  It never crossed my mind that this would hinder me in what needed to be accomplished today.  Here we were, in the middle of the Andes Mountains and it would take just as much effort to go backwards as it would to go forwards at this point.  So, no matter how hard it got at times…and believe me, Day Two is the KILLER…I never once thought I wouldn’t make it. 

It’s worth reposting this picture as a reminder!

This was the day we forged towards that peak far (really far!) in the distance from our campsite.  I should mention that they call it Dead Woman’s Pass.  A very telling name indeed!  This is the day that any hint of ego I had left went right out the window.  On the first day, you were keeping tally of what place in line you arrived back at camp.  You didn’t want to let people pass you on the trail.  You tried to keep up with people you shouldn’t have just to prove you could.  Really silly stuff like that.  Yeah…that second day, all focus was on trying not to let your heart explode.  My legs were jell-o.  If you ever decide to hike the Inca Trail, I beg of you: Do NOT turn down the opportunity to rent walking poles.  You notice I said poles = plural.  They will let you rent only one if you want.  RENT TWO.  They were my saving grace that day! 

The biggest change today was that just an hour or so into the day, we came to the last water and candy stop.  There were no more villagers beyond this point.  It was just you and the trail.  And yes, we totally let ourselves get ripped off by buying lots of overpriced candy bars because we knew it was our last chance.  What can ya do?

Dead Woman’s Pass is the highest point you reach on the classic Inca Trail trek and will take you to almost 14,000 feet.  Remember those steps I was mentioning in my post about day one?  There were lots more of those.  I was literally using my walking poles to hoist myself up onto each step.  The majority of the hike is uphill until you reach the top of the pass.  There are not many pictures of this part of the trail because, well in all honesty, my focus was on survival!

We were high enough to see snow!

Sometimes you would start to go downhill only to look up and see that you would only have to hike back up to the altitude you already were!  We were told the Inca Trail was designed like this on purpose to intimidate their enemy.  Well played ancient Incas…well played, indeed.

This is was the day I felt that you bonded the most with the others on the trail.  Believe me, there was a lot of stopping you catch your breath and often when you saw someone already doing just that, it gave you the perfect excuse to “stop and chat”.  There was one man from Denmark who must have been at least 70 years old and he was practically dancing up the mountain!  He would always stop and chat it up with you, sing you a song, give you a high five or maybe just give you some encouragement as he passed by.  Thankfully, his energy was contagious and you found yourself back on the move shortly after your run in with him.

Sweet Victory!

The best part of the day?  Upon finally reaching to top of Dead Woman’s Pass, everyone who has already made it up is killing time and cheering on each and every person as they make it to the top!  I had never spoken to a word to half the people up there and they were cheering me on like I had just brought home the gold!  And next thing you knew, you found yourself cheering along with everyone for the people that arrived after you.  It was such an exhilarating feeling!

The obligatory group photo at the top

Now, don’t let those cold weather clothes fool you.  I got a sunburn like nobodies business up there!  Because you don’t feel hot, it was easy to forget to keep reapplying your sun screen as the day went on.  Big mistake.  So, there is my public service announcement for the day: WEAR SUN SCREEN!

However, once our little rest was over, it was time to move on.  This time, downhill.  You would think that would be a welcome turn of events.  Not so much.  Our legs were so tired that downhill almost seemed harder than uphill at times.  Did I mention that there are many portions of the trail that are actually steps?  Yeah…not fun going down a million steps after having just climbed uphill for several hours.

Needless to say, we arrived back at camp earlier than the previous day and were extremely happy for the added rest time.  We spent our evening trying to make it sound like we were having a whole lot more fun than the group camping next to us (which included the Denmark guy) that were easily 30 years or more older than us…but truth be told, we threw in the towel long before they went to bed.  It’s a crazy world up there in those mountains!

Eight Down, Eighteen To Go!

16 Saturday Jun 2012

Posted by in Peru

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , ,

In March of 2011, one of my closest friends climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro.  I saw him through all his prep, both physically AND mentally.  I logged more hours in REI with him than I thought humanly possible.  I helped him pack and repack and then pack just one more time his ginormous backpack.  And when he hopped on that plane bound for Tanzania, I knew I had to somehow accomplish an amazing feat of my own.

To be honest, Kili seemed a little much for me and while the Himalayas of Nepal definitely caught my eye, I ultimately decided I would trek 26 miles of the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.  I had always wanted to visit the mystical Inca site so this seemed like the coolest, most unique way to do it…and the bragging rights couldn’t hurt, right?

The trek would take three days.  We would be camping along the trail at night and walking the majority of the day.  One thing that saved all our butts is that we had porters that carried our camping equipment and had excellent meals waiting for us after our long hikes.  They would be last to leave the camp in the morning, then run (RUN!) past us on the trail and already have our camp set up again by the time we arrived.  Nothing short of amazing!  While we usually tried to say a quick “Hello, friend” as they zoomed by, nothing truly seemed adequate to thank them for their part in our success.

Day One Begins…

I was really quite nervous upon waking the first day in my tiny hotel room in Ollantaytambo.  Up to this point my trip had been spent meeting my fellow travelers, roaming though markets and museums in Cuzco, seeing ancient Inca ruins by comfortable bus…basically being tourist.  Today though, today I would become a trekker.  I was worried I wouldn’t be able to make the climb.  The vain side of me was worried I would be the last one back to camp at the end of each day.  The shy side of me was worried I would be sitting in my tent all by myself for hours since I was the only person that did not have to share one with another group member.

Once we were all gathered in the courtyard of our hotel and handing our bags over to our guide for storage, all of these fears disappeared.  Before I knew it, we were all swept up in the excitement of hitting the trail and we never looked back.

The starting point is really quite unassuming.  There is a little booth where everyone’s passport and trail permits are checked and you have the option of stamping your passport with an Inca Trail Kilometer 82 stamp.  You know I had to do it!

We set off and immediately realized that this part of the trail was not at all remote.  Yes, we were in the middle of the Andes Mountains, but we were right off the Sacred Valley where many Peruvians still live.  As a matter of fact, they still live on the Inca Trail!  And they are kind enough to sell you bottled water and candy as you go.  Word to the wise:  The price increases the farther along the trial you go, so buy early!  We also found ourselves passing by families with their donkeys or lamas hauling goods home.  This was the part of the trail that you had to beware of “Inca Coffee”…aka Lama poo!

The ascent was fairly gradual at this point and we stopped here and there for our guide to fill us in on some knowledge of the trail, the vegetation or some ruins.  The group stayed together during the hike and we really got a chance to get to know each other.  I was the only American in the group which consisted of a guy from Canada, two girls from Denmark, two ladies and a guy from Australia and two pairs from the UK.  As we interacted with other groups on the trail (you become fast friends with everyone on a journey like this!), I found that being the only American was a common theme.  I can only remember about 3 other Americans the entire time.  This was unexpected and in another post I’ll get into the conclusions I have derived in regards to this.

We stopped at a lovely little farm for lunch and I couldn’t stop chasing the piglets around trying to get pictures of them.

After a great filling meal, we set off again and encountered more challenging parts of the trail.  Most of the trail is actually flat stones that you have to carefully navigate and often times they create steps you must climb.  This was by far the most difficult thing about trekking the Inca Trail.  Lots of steps.  Also, I had never been in really high altitudes before so I found it very surprising how quickly my heart rate picked up and I found myself out of breath.

We trekked around eight miles that first day.  We were tired, but felt exhilarated.  The first day was done and we had all made it!  It was at this point that our guide pointed to a peak far, far in the distance and told us we would be trekking to that the next day…and then another couple of miles past.  I thought he was joking.

He wasn’t.

You see it in the middle of the picture.  Way, WAY out there?  Yeah, that was my reaction too.

My fellow trekkers and I were served another delicious meal and afterwards, a local woman brought over a bucket of beers for us to buy!  So there we were, in the Andes Mountains, a lightless night upon us, drinking Peruvian beer.  Pretty awesome, if I do say so myself!

My Wishlist: Tangier, Morocco

13 Wednesday Jun 2012

Posted by in Morocco

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, , ,

After traveling to Egypt a couple of years ago, and falling head over heels, I started looking at Morocco as a travel destination.  I don’t know if it was the proximity or just the dang camels, but these two countries somehow seemed connected to me.  And thus, a wishlist spot is born!

Morocco is a country located in Northwest Africa (see, Egypt = north Africa, Morocco = north Africa…they are practically twins!) just across the Straight of Gibraltar from Spain.  To the east is the Sahara Desert, to the south is Algeria and to the west is nothing but Atlantic Ocean.  You can probably already tell, there are a lot of exciting things to discovering in these varying climates, but today’s post is going to highlight the northern port city of Tangier.

Tangier, Morocco. Transatlantic cruise from Rio to Venice, March 2009, on board of MSC ARMONIA.

Depending on where you are coming from, there are a lot of different ways to arrive in Tangier.  If coming from Europe, there are a few different ports in Spain offering ferry service, including Gibraltar, Tarifa and Algeciras.  As always, you can also fly, drive, bus, boat or take a train into Tangier from almost anywhere.  Basically, no excuses!  Get there!

So, why Tangier?   It is said to have beautiful beaches, an incredible (and turbulent!) history and some of the friendliest people.  Lonely Planet listed Tangier on their list of Top 10 Beach Cities to Visit.  Apparently, the new governor has cleaned the place up pretty nicely and even managed (apparently, it’s possible) to remove most of the “hustlers” from the city.  Just the thought of strolling down the beach on the back of a camel is enough for me to head on over!  I know that camels have a rep for being mean little suckers, but that look on their faces like they are always smiling just wins me over every time!

But, I digress…

Due to it’s fairly small size, Tangier can easily be seen wholly on foot.  However, there are taxis around…if you dare!  One thing that you would surely want to do while there is Rock the Kasbah!  Oh, yeah, baby!  The Sultanate Palace (also known as Dar el Makhzen) is now home to two museums that you can check out: The Museum of Moroccan Art and the Museum of Moroccan Antiquities.  Back in its hay day though, it was the fortress that housed the Sultans of Morocco whenever they were traveling through.  The last Sultan of Independent Morocco was exiled here when the French invaded.

Amazing wall in Tangier

Looking for some adventure?  Head out to the Hercules Caves!  Located just 14km from Tangier and only a 15 minute taxi ride, you can discover the supposed resting place of Hercules.  I don’t know about you, but that’s pretty cool in my book!

Caves of Hercules

It seems the best thing to do in Tangier is to just wander.  There are refreshing cafes, vibrant souks and bustling medinas to get lost in and lots of great people watching to be had along the way.  This laid back and colorful city seems like a great place to start your journey through Morocco.

Istanbul…My Kinda Town?

09 Saturday Jun 2012

Posted by in Turkey

≈ Leave a Comment

Let me just put this out there:  Turkey is my top destination choice right now.  I dream of spending a month or more there…not that I’ll have that kind of time.  But, that is the way that I dream of Turkey.  Slowly traveling across this country that has so many faces.  From the bustling big city life of Istanbul to the beautiful geography of Cappadocia.  From the relaxing seaside of Antalya to the ancient history of Ephesus and Troy.  Having borders in two countries, having been the capital of not one, but TWO empires…what does this place NOT have??

Let’s get this party started with a little Istanbul, shall we?

Istanbul is split down the middle by the Bosphorus River…with the west side being in Europe and the east in Asia.  Pretty cool, huh?  To uphold it’s theme of a little of everything, it has at one time been the capital of both Christian (the Roman Empire) and Islamic (the Ottoman Empire) powers and you will see both religions clearly represented amongst it’s population and landmarks.  The history runs deep here, peeps…

Where to start??  There are palaces, mosques, bazaars, bath houses, more museums that you can probably handle and, of course, delicious eats!

Okay, I guess we should start with where to put your head at night.  Sultanahmet is on the European side of the Bosphorus and completely in the middle of tourism central.  If being stationed close to most of the places you plan to visit, this is where you may want to end up.  If you would rather be where the party is at, you’ll want to cross the Bosphorus to the Asian side and head for Beyoglu.  This is where the locals will be wining, dining, dancing and whatever else the locals do for fun!

Sultanahmet Mosque

Now that you have your stuff safely stashed, it’s time to head out on the town!  Ready for a little excitement and color?  Head on over to the sixty-six streets and alleys that make up the Grand Bazaar! You might want to check out some amazing Turkish Lamps…

Lights at Grand Bazaar

Or perhaps you are more daring and would buy some good belly dancing wear…you know, for partying it up with the locals!

Belly dancing outfit in the Grand Bazaar, Istanbul

After having color overload with the lamps and “evening wear”…why not keep it up with a trip to the exhilarating spice bazaar?

spices

Believe it or not, the Turkish people have been going to the Spice Bazaar for several centuries!  Here, you will surely get a true multi-sensory experience!

Have you worked up an appetite after smelling all those great spices at the spice market?  Ready to try some authentic Turkish cuisine?  There are many delicious dishes to behold in Turkey!  From the cheap “fast foods” to the gourmet sit downs…as always in Turkey, there is a little of everything!  This is a great post about all the different foods you can experience in Turkey.

Finally, with a full belly, sit back and partake in the beauty that is Istanbul…

Topkapi Palace, Istanbul

-Topkapi Palace

Aya Sofya

-Aya Sofya

Dolmabahçe Palace...

-Dolmabahce Palace

Bosphorus Sunset

-Sunset on the Bosphorus River

And so, so much more!

Are you just as psyched as I am to visit this great city?  I hope so!

Before I sign off, no summary of Istanbul is complete without a quick read of Adventurous Kate’s hilarious recount of her trip to a Turkish Bath House…buyer beware!

Reality Check

06 Wednesday Jun 2012

Posted by in Planning

≈ Leave a Comment

When I first decided to start this blog, I had this perfect little outline of what type of posts I would be doing up until my traveling began.  I’d slowly drop the crumbs of my travel plans here and there as I went.  It was all going to go over so nicely.

Until I had a major reality check this morning.

As you know (or probably don’t, actually!) I am planning a longer-than-a-vacation-but-not-long-enough-to-call-it-long-term trip for early next year.  What I was going to so nicely piece together in the coming weeks is where I was hoping to travel, what my budget was and how long it would all last. Yeah, that is until I actually took some time to look over other people’s itineraries and budgets and my whole plan has been wadded up and thrown in the garbage.

Here was my brilliant idea of how my glorious travels would have worked out:  I was going to spend upwards of 6 months covering 6-8 countries in mostly Europe with a budget of $4000 for transportation and $6000 for expenses.  I even started pricing out each stop of my first planned county (Turkey) and thought I could make this a success.

A quick trip to the Lonely Planet forums quickly put the kabosh on that!  Now, I know why so many long-term travelers go to Southeast Asia…it’s cheaper!  Europe is not my friend especially with the US dollar doing poorly.

So, I’m starting back at square one.  Blank sheet of paper.  Clean slate.

Did I mention every time I pull out a map to starting planning the best route I find 3 new countries I want to squeeze in?  Oy vey.

Drumroll, Please…

05 Tuesday Jun 2012

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

So, this is it.  My big intro.  My mission statement, if you will.

Except no one is going to read it.  Well, probably not for awhile, at least.  Not until I have earned the right to a regular readership.  And if I make it that far then someone, inevitably, will get curious and go into the archives to check out my very first post to see how it all came to be.  I’ve done this to many bloggers myself, so I know…

This is a lot of pressure.  Let’s do this!

I’m a thirty-something woman who recently uprooted herself after almost ten years of living in Chicago to move back home to Portland, Oregon.  I wasn’t happy with my job.  I wasn’t happy with my relationship (or lack there of!) and I thought moving home would solve all of this.  Wrong!

Abu Simbel, Egypt 2010

Not much has changed and if anything, I’m even more restless now that I’m away from the big city that I loved so much.  After trying to figure out what was going to make me finally feel whole again over these past few months, a plan was hatched.  Yes, a plan I’ve seen so many other travel bloggers hatch, execute and blog about: traveling indefinitely!

Inca Trail, Peru 2011

Okay wait, let’s get realistic here…indefinitely is probably stretching it a bit for me.  Alright, stretching it a lot!  Right now, I’m hoping that I can manage to save enough money over the next 9 to 10 months to be able to travel for at least 3 months.

Niagara Falls, USA 2011

How much money am I aiming for?  I’m researching that.

Where do I want to go?  I’m researching that too.

What do I hope to accomplish?  Most of all, I’m hoping to find myself and some awesome adventures along the way!  I have a short attention span and I’m always looking for the next best thing to come along and sweep me off my feet, but one constant has always been my love of travel.

So, with that said…here we go!

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.