The Lake with a Funny Name, and a Brief Intro to Cusco

Lake Titicaca is listed as the #2 most important place in Peru (according to Lonely Planet), after Machu Picchu. This lake is the highest navigable lake in the world at 4000 meters or so. Also, it is huge. Lake Titicaca spans part of the border between Peru and Bolivia, and is shared by the two countries. I only visited the Peruvian side, and once again Alex of England acccompanied me.

We stayed in the supposedly lively city of Puno, located on the lakeshore. Getting to Puno was an event of its own. Our night bus was freezing cold, the lights came on randomly at 2 AM, and we arrived 2 hours earlier than expected: 4 AM... We got pestered endlessly upon arrival, until we accepted a taxi ride to a terrible hotel. Not the best start to this portion of the trip. Despite it being Easter weekend we saw close to nothing in the form of celebrations in Puno. There was a massive thunderstorm that drowned out a small procession in the street, leaving us inside a bar playing dominoes with a Jenga set.

Day two was a big improvement! We booked a boat tour of Lake Titicaca. The tour included a stop at the floating Uros Islands. That's right, the islands float! For centuries the people of the lake have used the floating masses of totora reed plants as a place of residence. The root balls of the plant provide a platform on which they stack the stocks of the plant in layer after layer. The islands were obnoxiously touristy, but our fellow tourists were cool, as well as our guide.

The other stop on the trip was to an island of the non-floating variety: Isla Taquile. The views from this island were spectacular. The people were also pretty fascinating. The men and women wear colorful hats, belts, and robes to represent social and marital status. The people of Taquile also happen to be deeply religious, and of the Catholic variety. They are best known for their weaving and traditional lifestyle. Not too sure what else to say here...

Overall Puno and Lake Titicaca were a little underwhelming. Alex and I befriended some more Brits, as well as some Kiwis, many of whom joined us for a night of karaoke.

After Puno we took a long bus ride to Cusco, the former capital of the Incan Empire. With only a couple days to see Cusco I chose to spend a day, once again with the burden of Alex (completely kidding), exploring ruins just outside of town. The ruins included an ancient fortress, ceremonial baths, and a couple less memorable but cool structures.

Now that my pre-expedition vacation is coming to an end I have some awesome stuff to look forward to. For the next ~2 weeks I will be in the Andes to assist with the PhD research of Kelsey Reider of Florida International University. I'll be sure to make a blog post about that expedition after I return. Can't wait to get started!

Also, thank you Alex, Barbara, and everyone else for keeping me company during the last two action-packed weeks!

Arequipa and the Canyon

The "white city" of Arequipa is known for a few particular things: its' white walls and buildings made from local rock called sillar, the proximity to the massive Colca Canyon, and the Peruvian delicacy called cuy, or guinea pig.

Most of this portion of the trip was spent away from the city, though there was one day of exploration to see what the white city was all about. Recently acquired English travel buddy Alex joined me for a day of scoping out the city center. Like all Peruvian cities there was a Plaza de Armas with a large church facing it. We walked through the mass of pigeons in the area and ended up finding the Monasterio de Santa Catalina, also called "a city within a city." Since the late 1500s nuns have inhabited this large complex. The architecture within included styles from many eras and cultures, mostly because it has been damaged and rebuilt due to earthquakes. For our purposes it served as a place of refuge from the honking taxis and busy sidewalks of Arequipa.

Next Alex and I chose to take a bus ride out to Colca Canyon, which is the second deepest in the world. It is much much deeper than the Grand Canyon, and a completely different place to visit. We started off staying in small Chivay for a night, followed by a good 16 km hike through a few other towns along the Colca River. There was a hot spring we stopped by on the way, and an endless expanse of magnificently terraced hills leading down to the canyon walls. The canyon region has been inhabited for a very long time, and fortunately much of the original culture lives on in the clothing of the women. Colorful hats and flowing dresses were a common sight in the villages. At the end of our trek a happy couple with a dog picked us up and brought us to the sleepy town of Cabanaconde, where the real hiking began...

That next day Alex and I, along with our new friend Barbara the Belgian, took morning buses to Cruz del Condor, where the iconic Andean condor can be found riding thermal air currents up from the canyon between 8 and 10 am. The viewpoint did not disappoint! We saw at least 7 condors swooping and soaring along. I have never seen anything like it in my life! There were a ton of other gringos snapping thousands of pictures, but it remained enjoyable. To my bird-loving friends that want to see Andean condors, COME TO THIS SPOT.

The rest of that day was spent hiking down into the canyon - not an easy task! There were a few forks in the trail, and at each fork one path had rocks with "NO" spray-painted on them. After some trial and error picking trails we discovered the "NO" paths were the right way. Despite the confusion, it took only 6 hours to reach the oasis of Sangalle at the bottom of the canyon that day. The hike was beautiful in too many ways to describe: sheer canyon walls, madly terraced fields of color, huge mountains looming in the background, and a river cutting through it all. The oasis at the bottom provided Alex and I an opportunity to jump in a pool and grab a beer with Barbara, who hiked in on a different trail. Early that next morning we rode mules out of the canyon, partly because, well, why not? and because hiking up just didn't sound so fun. The guys leading the mules shouted "Mula! Mula!" a lot, which was pretty silly.

I should mention that herpetology (reptile and amphibian stuff) finally reared its head at Colca Canyon. On day one I found a very large toad (Rhinella spinolusa?) in a gutter outside the village of Chivay. In the canyon itself we spotted a few large lizards that remimded me of the Chuckwallas of the US southwest and Mexico. Alex saw a black snake, but I missed it. It was lovely to finally be in nature!

When we finished up the canyon activities the three of us returned to Arequipa for a day. As a final goodbye to canyon country, Alex, Barbara, and I found a restaurant that serves the aforementioned cuy. It was basically a deep fried rodent with all the body parts still there. Not much meat... I was not impressed. We spent a few days getting hyped for the meal, hence the immense letdown after the first attempted forkful. A few days before in Colca Canyon we saw a little guinea pig stable, so people definitely do find a way to eat them. Not I. Foods I did enjoy were alpaca (5so good), and cactus fruit (favorite fruit ever). The latter is usually in the green-red color range I have so much trouble discerning, so I will leave the description at that.

Next stop is Puno and Lake Titicaca!

Islands, Sand, Lines, Fun

From Lima I "coasted" on down to the Paracas peninsula, to the crummy little town of El Chaco. The reason one goes to Paracas is not to see countless stray dogs or to enjoy a happening nightlife (guess which of those I discovered). Instead the Islas Ballestas are what bring the tourists. These small islands off the coast are known as the "poor-man's Galapagos" because they provide tremendous wildlife viewing, but on a lesser scale than the Galapagos.

To get to the islands it is a ~45 minute journey via motorboat. The lines for the boats are really long, so it was a major relief to finally get on a boat. The tour guide spoke both English and Spanish, and most importantly he had a great eye for spotting wildlife. We briefly stopped along the peninsula to take a look at the large "Candelabra" design set in the side of a sandy hill. Nobody knows the purpose of the image, but they know it dates back to pre-Inca times. Following that stop we headed directly to the islands. The seas were rough, yet our boat managed to weave around the islands to reach the top photo spots. On this tour you do not go on the islands, you stay in the boat. Even so, I saw a few Humboldt penguins, Inca terns, Peruvian boobies, Peruvian pelicans, very vocal sea lions, and a group of bright red shrimp alongside the boat. Green, Hawksbill, and Leatherback sea turtles are supposedly out there, but I saw none. Without the turtles this tour was still easily my favorite activity to this point in my travels. There were so many birds, though rumor has it there were several times more back in the days of the Inca.

That same day I also went on a less exciting bus tour (do not go on bus tours!) on the desert peninsula itself. I hoped for a few geckos or a snake, and only saw more of the same birds. The views of the desert meeting the ocean were dramatic, so that saved this tour from being a bore. I also saw Peruvian boobies diving into the water for fish - very cool. We stopped briefly at a fishing village where I had my first taste of ceviche as well! It was called "toyo" or small shark, as the menu translation stated. The shark was rubbery yet flavorful. Overall that variety of ceviche gets my stamp of approval.

The next day I met up with some English folks in the desert oasis of Huacachina. I got totally screwed over by a taxi on my way in, which meant I needed this stop to function as a pick-me-up. It absolutely did! Huacachina is literally a tiny town built in a circle around a small lake. Surrounding it on all sides are massive sand dunes, which held the key to improving my mood. With my English pals and some American med school students I went on a thrilling tour of the seemingly endless dunes via buggy. The dunes were seriously massive, so as part of the tour we all brought sand boards with us to make a few runs down the slopes. The recommended technique for doing this was to lay flat on the board, face first, with your arms tucked in, head up, and legs spread apart. The views from atop these dunes were definitely intimidating, though that fear was quickly forgotten after my first run. After one ride on three separate dunes I can safely say that sand boarding is the greatest thing ever. It is like sledding except there are no trees to hit, and you burn/melt in sweltering mid-morning heat. It was surreal being out there. In all, a great decision to go.

The final activity on this portion of the journey was a brief sojourn to the "Mirador" where one can view some of the famous Nasca Lines without paying for an expensive flight over. With my English friends still in tow I climbed up a big metal tower and saw a few of the shapes below: the frog, the lizard, and something else I think. For just one Nuevo Sol this was a good deal, just nothing like the pictures you see on postcards all over Peru. We also hitched a cramped ride to a small hill and sort of saw more of the lines for free, and saw a beautiful sunset to boot! Not too shabby.

From Nasca we headed east on a SAFE overnight bus ride to the "white city" of Arequipa, where my next blog post will begin. Writing this blog has turned out to be pretty fun. Hope it remains interesting! Thanks so much for reading!

First stop: Lima

Lima is the overwhelmingly massive capital city along Peru's central coast. This city of 7 million people is home to 1 in 5 Peruvians. My principal reasons for staying here are: 1) it's where my flight dropped me, 2) the food was rumored to be exquisite, and 3) my Lonely Planet book devoted an entire chapter to this place.

Being so large, Lima contains quite a few attractions, including ancient pre-Inca ruins, a wide variety of restaurants, countless museums, and some cool parks. For my stay I chose a hostel in the modern, safe, and foreigner-filled Miraflores district.

In Miraflores I spent much of my time walking through the parks set atop tall cliffs overlooking the Pacific. There are a lot of surfers down in the rocky beaches below, and a heavy fog known as the garúa, which hangs over the city for much of the day during the fall and winter months.

The pre-Inca ruins, known as Huaca Pucllana, were the next walking-distance destination on my itinerary. Tucked right into the middle of a mostly residential area in Miraflores, these ruins were a big surprise. They house(d) the remains of those given the honor to act as sacrifices for the gods of an ancient civilization. The adobe bricks holding together the structures of Huaca Pucllana are stacked "bookcase style" with each brick standing vertically. This architectural technique has allowed many of the structures and their tombs within to survive countless violent earthquakes. Much of this site is still being excavated, and this process will likely continue for another 30 years! Definitely the oldest structure I've seen in my life to this point.

When I finally branched out and escaped Miraflores I discovered there is so much more to  Lima! Museo Larco was number one on my places to visit in this new world. It is located somewhere that took 45 minutes by bus from a random street in Miraflores. Fortunately there was an old Peruvian woman acting as my tour guide the entire ride there. The struggle to both speak and understand Spanish was quite real. Anyways, the museum was incredible. They gave great background on pre and post-Inca cultures and had on display the various styles of pottery, textiles, and bodily adornments. The most fantastic  artifacts in the museum were a collection of golden headdresses worn by the rulers of the ancient civilizations. In addition there was a shockingly comprehensive collection of erotic pottery on display in a separate area. Altogether I was blown away by the collection at the Museo Larco. It was well worth the long trip there.

Finally, I visited the historical Central Lima as well. This time I opted for a comfortable taxi ride in which the driver made great conversation despite my incredibly limited Spanish. The walking tour I took brought me to busy plazas, large government buildings, busy street markets, and old churches featuring awesome Moorish architecture. The real highlight of this day trip was the lunch spot my Lonely Planet guide led me to, called Domus. The hole-in-the-wall restaurant serves an assortment of Peruvian-Italian fusion dishes. My meal began with a mundane salad topped with delicious slices of fresh mango. Next came the main course consisting of ravioli stuffed with sweet potatoes, topped with some sort of magical sauce, and a very tender cut of steak thrown in as well. As if the previous was not adequate, I also received a coconut-banana slice of flan at the end. All of this was downed with a few glasses of incredible apple drink. That may have been the best meal of my life! The rest of that day is a fishy-smelling, crowded marketplace blur. El Barrio Chino (Chinatown) was a surprise, but nothing super noteworthy was seen.

My nights in Lima were much different from my days. There was not much of a nightlife,  which meant lots of time spent relaxing at the hostel with friends. There was also a night where a few of us visited a crazy fountain light show at a park. The friends I met in Lima hail from the UK, Canada, Switzerland, and SWEDEN (I'm proudly 3/4 Swedish so of course this was extra exciting).

Anyhow, that is my account of a short stay in Lima. My next stops will provide some much-needed wildlife viewing and some time outside a bustling city on the souhern coast of Peru. My apologies if this post was a lot to read! Hopefully the pictures make up for it.

Intro

I am excited (though a little hesitant) to announce that I will be keeping a blog of my experiences in South America! I will not follow any sort of schedule for updating this thing. Instead, I will put things up when I it makes sense to.

As you may already know I am slated to spend a couple weeks chasing frogs in the high Andes of Peru, followed by a month-long stint looking for all reptiles and amphibians at the Los Amigos Biological Station (CICRA) in the Peruvian Amazon. Fortunately those two experiences might not be where my adventure ends... My generous supervisor from my most recent job, Dr. Emily Lemmon (Florida State University) has put me in contact with herpetologists in a few other South American countries. The details for those expeditions have not yet been finalized, but the leads are promising. Prior to all of the field expeditions I am flying into Lima, and then traveling by bus to some tourist destinations to get in a little vacation time.

Here is some background on why I am going:

1) South America has always been on my radar as a must-visit continent. (along with the rest of them)
2) I want international experience in my field of study: Herpetology
3) The stars aligned and it just seems like the right decision at this time

In the next couple years I would like to start working toward a Master's degree in the field of Herpetology - the study of reptiles and amphibians. I would like to focus my research on helping understand the declines of amphibian species since they are in the most trouble right now. Their declines are due to a wide variety of factors, which I might elaborate on later.

Because I am a also a lover of geography (ahem, biogeography) I will try to include some maps in my blog. I hope you can enjoy what I have to say on here. If not, just look at the maps and pictures. They're more important than the words. I do not claim to be much of a writer, so please bear with me if things get rough!

As a reward for reading to the bottom of my first post I have included a complementary map of my tentative travel plans in Peru:

Check out the Map Directory at StepMap