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August 2005 Monday
1st of august.
PUNO A short stop
over in As I have been
travelling with the two brothers from I just came
back today and didn’t go very far, but I could explore the
Copacabana… a
very tiny little town right on the lake from where you can visit the
I went to visit
the sun island, but hardly anytime to hike around; there I missed
the morning boat, wanting to go individually… no tours for me
here. The tour to the
Taquile and We stayed one
night with one of the families on Beautiful
dough. Two typical days full of food, boat rides and visiting the
Islands in Their boats and
houses are also made of reed, floating Quiet special
to feel the flexibility of the surface they live on. Of course they
are all waiting for you to buy loads of souvenirs that they make out
of reed and seeds. But it is amazing how they keep there island
alive by jut throwing new layers of reed on top of the existing
layer. This will replace the rotten parts below and so it stays
intact. No maintenance, no cleaning necessary…
The lake is
huge and tourism important for the people here now. Tourism is a
part of their daily lives here, next to agriculture and weaving.
Beautiful is
how these things make live so rich in this culture. Weaving is used
for measuring how good your wife or husband will be in working and
creating. Unmarried men weave a whie and red hat, so everyone can
see he’s not married, the way he wairs it tells you if he is or
isn’t in love with someone. The men with full red hats are married
and the finer and more colourful he weaves it, the more it tells you
how many capacities he has and how he will be good for you as a
husband. Agriculture is bonded to the gods and the seasons and dates
from before the Inca time… all these hills and mountains exists out
of terraces, which makes it very pretty to look at.
Also the way of
keeping there animals is so different. Everything in the field is
done by hand or with help from the bulls or donkeys. Loads of
donkey’s here in The bus drive
to Just not as
friendly in Copacabana, maybe that’s different in other places in
There is so
much I would like to do here in Definitely I
want to travel through Well I changed
my tickets to Rio towards the 11th of August, so got 10
more days in Machu
Picchu Here I come…
Monday 8th of August
Wow, if you
want to see something special! Come to This city alone
is very pretty and different. Little alleys and step ways, beautiful
cathedrals and fortresses, full of energy and people and tourists
(of course). Arriving here,
together with the two brothers and Caroline, whom we picked up in
Puno again, we were all thinking about relaxing for a couple of
days. Hanging around and just taking it easy to plan any trips or
hikes… Of course that
all changed faster than fast, having a hard time to choose what to
do out of all the possibilities this place
offers. We took the bus
from Puno arriving here at 4.30am. Lilian, the travel agent from
Puno, a friend from me now, helped us out big times by sorting
everything out, hotel, bus, name it!! She even did al my plain
tickets; I’ve changed all tickets, different times, other
plans. That day
walking through the centre, I was already thinking... I will have to
hurry if I want to do all these things. Meeting so many people that
I’ve already met in other parts; recommending me to go for the 3 day
rafting gig. And also the alternative Inca trail to visit Caroline was up
for the 5 day/4 night trekking to 3
days rafting, camping on the beach next to the river for two nights,
meeting loads of people, good food and just a super fun time! On the
We saw condors
and even I spotted a scorpion that I just missed with my bare feet
in the sand. I was also
covered in sand fly and mosquito bites… still itchy now.
Just an amazing
time and when we arrived back in The next day I
left for The way to get
there was also funny, there I chose to go the cheapest way (still
bloody expensive), and together with 4 Irish friends I met on the
Whitewater trip. The first bus
from Beautiful trip,
through the mountain ranges, some tops covered in snow, I felt like
really falling in love with this
country. The next
morning the bunch of us woke up at 3.45, to start climbing the hill,
where the ruins are found. That early to enjoy the sunrise; this is
meant to be spectacular. 1,5 hours walking and climbing, sweating we
reached the ruins, covered in clouds and mist. Soaked because of the
rain, freezing, we were praying to get some clearings to at least
see something. As for 9 months
and a while I’ve been lucky again! The clouds drove off, and the
most spectacular ruins appeared in front of our eyes. I could feel
the energy of these Inca constructions a soon as was up there, it
made me feel very tired, but so so so
beautiful. We walked
around and hang around until 2.30pm. We even had a little siesta up
there. Crazy but I loved it big times. I could sit there for ages,
without being bored, so much to see. It is smaller than I expected,
but big in its whole. On top of a mountain like that, this monument
is one of the best sites to live in this world if you ask me.
We missed out
on a guide, the entrance and everything was already unbelievably
expensive. One more night
in Agua Calientes and the next morning back with the train to
Today is day of
getting back on trek, buying bus tickets for Around the
3th of September I’ll fly to NY, where I will stick
around for a day or two and than one of my highlights! Go and visit
my family in My Spanish is
getting better by the day; it’s going to be weird to have to miss
that again. Maybe some Portuguese in
stead? I love
Monday 15th of August, Miraflores
LIMA And so I got
robbed. It was kind of a nasty experience but I’m doing great after
all. End good all
good. The funny thing is that I was just telling my parents how safe
it has been until now… that same night I went out for dinner, to try
out my last typical Peruvian dinner, met up with Edwin and
others. Edwin and I
went for a drink afterwards, going back home after… the cab we took
was the set up. This cab drove the wrong way, Edwin asking what the
hell he was doing and before we could change direction two other men
jumped into the cab, one on each side. They took
everything in my purse, which was my cellular, money, banc and
credit cards. Also I lost all my addresses, because they took my
little agenda as well. Damn, I will have to start over and ask all
you guys to send me your home-address by
e-mail. It all went
very fast, luckily a police car spotted us and tried to catch them,
it also made them panic and gave me a break to not having to tell
them my codes and ability to empty my
account. I was a bit
brave telling them they could fuck off when threatening me for my
codes. I said I didn’t care about what they would do if I wasn’t going to work along… They threw us out after driving like mad man from the police car.... fewwww I thought! The shitty
thing was I was flying out 5 hours later to RIO, normally. I had to
go to the airport and try to change this flight, with no money I
wasn’t going to get far. This all just
worked out perfectly, no problem at all and so I changed my flight
to next Thursday. After all I’m not that sad, because staying in
Peru doesn’t bother me at all. As well I can stick around at Edwin’s
place, it was such a relief he was there. Living here it was his
first time as well, that this happened to us. He a great person and is
actually great to have a friend like
him. So more time in
a very busy and polluted city, full of noise and people. I went for
a night out in a club, and am taking this opportunity to rest as
much as possible, sleep as much as I can and do nothing at all.
Hoping it will give me a fresh head, new space to absorb all
possible in my coming two months of travelling.
I still like
Peru… I’m also looking forward to discover brazil, which will be a
quick and fast visit, as now only 2 weeks
remain. All happens for
a reason I guess. Lima appears
different to me then the rest of Peru, as it also is a huge city it
does have some similarities with our cities, but also the people are
different. People understand it as the best option to work and grow
in the capital cities, they see it as having more opportunities to
become secure and wealthy. Which makes sense in a way, to me I would
never want to grow and live in a place like this. Travelling even
makes me more aware that nature is my preferred location to settle
down. Peru has loads of silent little Pueblos, that are so
beautiful. Surrounded by those enormous mountain ranges, terraces,
white water rivers, Pumas, condors, scorpions, snakes, beavers,
dear, donkeys… so much nature, nobody there. Working in such
environment to me sounds like much more fun and happiness which to
me sounds like wealth! Anyway, no
worries about me guys, I’m doing great, things like that just
happen.
Saturday
20th of August, RIO DE
JANEIRO. Here I am in
one of the most famous cities in the world, stuck to nothing (no
money), for at least the week-end. It is quite interesting to see
how you cope in situations like this and I have to say I arrived
here fairly down. Not worse than that, but the one after the other
disappointment didn’t make it easier on me to sort stuff
out. It is hot here
and I haven’t spotted any raindrops yet, so that’s very good
news. A vibrant city
so far, with lot’s of people with a very specific unfamiliar
attitude, which I will observe as long as I’m around. Lot’s of food
and drinks, which don’t seem too expensive. I’m lucky the hotel will
cash in later and serves free breakfast, much more I can’t
do… Admitting… I
miss Peru already. Maybe my feeling is because of that… maybe I
should have stayed. I just loved it there! All of it. I have been
able to taste all sides of the life there, good and bad, low and
high… and all where just positive encounters in the end! Good
vibrations. Of course I’m
going to give Brazil it’s fair chance.. and will probably travel up
North, once my situation is back on track. Bahia, sounds more like it….
Time to go… by
the way, my Portuguese isn’t as good as my Spanish, by far. Haha…
Tuesday 23rd of August,
Trillen met die
billen… Bom Dia, tudo
bem? Tonight I’m leaving
This is the
only place I can’t recognise who’s the tourist and who’s not. I
discover so many different faces and colours, forms and styles.
Amazing.
The language is
hard, a lot of people say it resembles Spanish and in a way it does,
they understand me when I speak Spanish slow enough. But to
pronounce these very beautiful Portuguese type of things, I’ll have
to practise a bit more. I have got all
my money situations sorted (thank you Mamsi and thank you Alejandro)
and still didn’t go for my night out in RIO, I will do so when I
come back to finish off my beautiful time in Brazil, Which I might
extend a bit. Can you imagine
that the beaches are loaded with all types of persons, the waves are
impressive and all you would love or wish for while roasting in the
hot sun is brought to you on the spot? From beer to caipariña, cake
to hotdog… you can even get your bikini on the beach if you don’t
have one. I would say
freestyle adventure, be who you are! Makes me
smile. It
is quit busy and overloaded with things to do, at night I’m
exhausted; also the heat is something to get used to again. 30 to
I’m
looking forward to going up North, as much as
The busses here
are indefinable, driving like mad man, you can hardly sit on the
same spot at the end of the trip, that racing type of driving just
like cowboys. I’ve
been on the right time here to see a special show of caoepira here
in The description of
Capoeira varies according to people's personalities. It is a native
Brazilian Indian word given to a small partridge whose male is very
jealous and engages in fierce fights with its rivals. Capoeira blends elements of
dance, music, rituals, acrobatics, and
fighting. All
people involved, young-old-girl-boy… doesn’t matter. Here in
Here
in
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