Road Trip with Family
Hey!
So I know I technically made this blog only to discuss my trip to Peru and Brazil but I figure since I made it so early I might as well also use it to talk about random stuff in the meantime. I am right now in Hartford, CT after spending the last week and a half with my family road-tripping it up New England. I went through New York, Hartford, and Maine. Maine was awesome! I got to hike through Acadia national park (which is beautiful) and walk by some HUGE rocky cliffs that precipitously meet with an awesomely rough and choppy sea. I also went kayaking for 10 miles down a local lake (whose name I cannot remember, since it was long, but it is around Camden). It was intense but soo much fun!
So now I am ready to go home and start planning my trip to Peru this summer. I am sooo lucky that I changed the trip from Bolivia to Peru, because now there is a travel warning since a revolution ended up happening. The president, Carlos Mesa, of Bolivia resigned and the next two men who were in line did not dare take their posts, so the third man in line, the head of the supreme court, is now the new president of Bolivia. Crazy!!! I feel really bad for Bolivia; its future looks very unstable right now, and it already is the poorest country in South America.
Well, I will post the pictures from my New England trip later. Stay tuned!
-Francisco
posted by Francisco @ 3:14 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Francisco,
I look forward to your posts about your trip. Will you be posting photos here (or on Flickr)? What's your itinerary, or at least the places/experiences that are highest on your list?
Bon voyage!
d.
Hey d.,
I decided to give Flickr a shot. So far I seem to like it.
About my specific experiences, because I had to change my plans at the very last minute from Bolivia to Peru, I am not exactly sure yet of the specific places I would like to go. I am staying in Lima mainly to do my research (that much I know). I would also like to visit small, Quechuan villages where traditional medicine is still very much alive so I can interview "curanderos." I also am looking forward to going to the many beautiful ruin sites of Peru (Machu Pichu being one of course). I see from your blog that you have traveled a lot in that area...any recommendations?
Thanks,
Francisco
Flickr can be addictive. My Flickr site, btw, is http://www.flickr.com/photos/ptegonzalo/. I have lots of Cusco, Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu shots.
Well, here's the Peruvian hit parade, grouped into zones. You could start in Lima and go in this order:
>Pisco/Islas Ballestas
>Paracas Reserve
>Nazca lines
>Arequipa
>Colca Canyon
>Puno (gateway to Lake Titicaca & Islands)
>Train to Cusco
>Cusco & Sacred Valley
>Machu Picchu
That's all to the south and east of Lima. There's also a circuit east and north of Lima, called the Cordillera Blanca, pretty much some of the finest whitecapped mountains in the Americas north of Chile. You'd go from Lima to Huaraz to do that trip. Never done it myself -- seen tons of photos -- but I hear nothing but high praise for the trip. A friend just got back and has photos on her Flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zephyr/
Lastly, there's the jungle. That's a whole other ball of wax. Some folks to go northward to Iquitos. Problem is, it's a big city, so if you want to see wildlife, you gotta go a long ways out into the jungle (most people go to lodges). However, from Cusco, you can fly down into the Madre de Dios region, specifically to Puerto Maldonado. Lots of lodges around there which claim to have a high frequency of wildlife spottings.
Finally finally, there's Lima. I've spent lots of time there, so the place fascinates me. But most tourists hate the place. I think they have the wrong attitude. It ain't New York or the Bay Area, after all. It's a real city with real working, struggling people. I won't add to this lengthy comment, but if you ever want some highlights in Lima, just let me know. But your best bet will be to just follow your nose and experience the place. Make local friends and let them show you their city. Now, there's an interesting fellow in Lima, Patrick Barry Barr (a retired Jamaican journalist, actually), who posts lots of photos of Lima to his Flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/barrybar/
Best of luck!
d.
Thanks! All that information is really useful. I am going to try to hit the spots you mentioned. Since I will be staying in Lima for a whole month, could you tell me about those highlights of the city you mentioned?
Thanks once again. I really appreciate the help.
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