Homecoming

How do you sum up the experience of 13.5 months of travel?

We certainly anticipate a lot of questions. What was your favorite country? What were the biggest highlights? What did you miss most about home? Each seems to have a simple answer (cheeseburgers for #3); but, in truth, it's impossibly complicated to construct an easy answer to questions that envelop such a diverse set of experiences.

When we look back at 13.5 months, spanning Central Mexico to the Southern tip of Argentina, we're filled with memories of happiness, surprise, frustrations, confusions, good days and bad days. This was not a vacation, it was our life for over one year.

Here we are, finally faced with the reality of going home, but we say goodbye to our current home which is the road. In the end it was - to sum as concisely as possible - one HELL of a Permacation.

Here's a short list of some of our experiences...



Permacation Factoids

We were off US Soil for 412 Days, 8 Hours, and 10 Minutes (if our cheapskate flight arrives on time).

We resided, at one point or another, on 2 continents; in 12 countries; in 96 cities, towns, villages, or municipalities; in 141 beds (that's 1 new bed every 2.92 days); in hotels, hostels, guest houses, tents, mountain refuges, buses, boats, bus stations, airports, and private residences.

We traveled by coach bus, minibus, microbus, minivan, chicken bus, pickup truck, taxi, train, private car, foot, airplane, flatbed truck, bicycle, rickshaw, bike taxi, colectivo, mototaxi (both 3- and 2-wheeled varieties), sailboat, ferry, motorboat, and horseback.

We met travelers from Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, North America, and South America, and locals from every country we visited including, but certainly not limited to, Mexican market women, Guatemalan textile weavers, Belizian rasta-men, El Salvadorian guerilla fighters, Colombian sailboat captains, Peruvian subsistence farmers, Argentinian musicians, Bolivian jungle-sound-imitators, and Panamanian indigenous islanders.

We experienced the following illnesses and afflictions, in no particular order: 6 cases of food poisioning or traveler's... ahem, diarrhea; 1 severe allergic reaction of unknown origins; several cases of heat rash, sunburns, and various heat related afflictions; 1 case of guinea pig-induced indigestion; bites from mosquitos, bed bugs, sand flies, horse flies, black flies, fire ants, spiders, and other unknown insects; 2 head colds; unknown quantities of blisters; permanent scarring from open sores exposed to sulfuric hot springs; all sorts of scrapes and scratches; and countless hangovers.

We survived tropical storms, volcanic eruptions, mudslides, landslides, rockslides, earthquakes, pickpockets, stray dogs, hail storms, bus and taxi drivers, and angry groups of Canadian hockey fans.

We ate crickets, grasshoppers, and termites; cow brains, beef hearts, and huge gourmet steaks; ceviche, fresh trout, red snapper, octopus, and lobster; guinea pig, rabbit, alpaca, and blood sausages and chorizos; churros, empanadas, arroz con leche, dulce de leche, sweet potato donuts, deep-fried bananas stuffed with black beans, and decadent cakes; cactus; new fruits and vegetables; salchipapas; quail eggs; high-end gourmet and street-deep-fried you-name-it.

We drank Mexican tequila and mezcal, Belizian rum, Guatemalan atol, Colombian aguardiente, Ecuadorian leche de tigre, Argentine wine, Bolivian fruit smoothies, Nicaraguan chicha, Peruvian pisco, horrible beer from every country, and unmentionable varieties of instant coffee.

We saw and experienced dry, cracked deserts, ancient ruins, enormous snowcapped mountains, crystal blue Caribbean waters, white sand beaches, tropical islands, rolling hills, active glaciers, Vegas-style lazer light shows synchronized to water fountains, coffee farms, live local music, banana farms, Amazon jungle, rushing rivers, spectacular cliffs, waterfalls, hot springs, Atlantic and Pacific oceans, cosmopolitan cities, tiny indigenous villages, quaint colonial towns, volcanos and crater lakes, highland mountain passes, and cloud forests.

We also wined, dined, hiked, biked, dove, rock climbed, climbed a mountain, rode horses, go-carted, shopped at traditional markets of all varieties, lied on beaches and in countless hammocks, surfed, white water rafted, snorkeled, sailed, ziplined, sandboarded, bet on horses, went to soccer (FUTBOL) matches, caved, took cooking classes, fished, paddleboated, kayaked, canoed, learned to weave, spoke English (American, Australian, Candian, and British varieties), Spanish, Q'uiche, Quechua, Swedish, French, and German.

As sad as it is to leave all this behind, we can't wait to see our friends and family!

See you soon everybody!

Hiking the Cordillera Blanca- Santa Cruz Trek

As our time is dwindling down, we had one last big “must do” on our list: hike in the Cordillera Blanca. As part of the Andes, the Cordillera Blanca has 22 mountain peaks that tower over 6000 meters (19,685ft). Everywhere you look you see white, snow capped mountains crammed together, separated only by dramatic valleys, lagoons, waterfalls, and hot springs.

We stationed ourselves in Huaraz to further investigate the trekking options in the area which range from 1 day hikes to week long ventures. We decided on the Santa Cruz Trek which is one of the most popular, for a total of 4 days hiking and 3 nights in a tent. We by-passed the tour groups and instead rented all the gear we would need for the adventure: a tent, sleeping bags and mats, camp stove, cooking pot, plates/bowls, heavy jackets, and hiking sticks. Add in 4 days worth of food and our bags were cramped to the gill....well let's be honest, Rich's bag was crammed.

The first day was a relatively easy 5 hour walk to the campsite, where we got the first look at some snow as the clouds drifted around the mountains. We woke up before dawn the 2nd day to start our hardest day, hiking 900 meters up in elevation (2,952ft) over the pass and into another valley. The hike up was challenging because of the packs, but our work was well rewarded when we crossed over the pass and saw the steep valley below, surround by enormous mountains on each side. The 3rd and 4th days were a breeze as we continued to walk down the valley, passing beautiful lagoons and crazy high waterfalls.

We were fortunate enough to have pretty good weather as we are still in the end of rainy season here. Although it rained almost every night, we were able to at least get our tent up, and usually get dinner made before getting soaked. And although we may have missed seeing all of the mountains in their glory at one time, we were ecstatic to see them individually as they would occasionally peak out from the almost permanent shroud of clouds.

It was an absolutely wonderful experience, and one we are both eager to repeat again when we get the opportunity.

The Adventures of Sam: Part I

When we were in Cuzco, our good friend Sam came to visit. We duct-taped him to a chair and forced him to write a blog post. Here's the first part of Sam's account of his visit, enjoy!

I arrived in Peru on April 8th or so. The five and a half hour flight down there was over quickly and there I was in Lima, bleary-eyed at 4:30 am. Rich and Kendra had been gone for over a year at this point. Leaving from the Miami airport to go visit them seemed reasonable - it was still in the US and I have other good friends that I have not seen in over a year.

Lima is often blanketed in fog and that night was no different. Nothing of the city or surrounding area could be seen from the glass-walled airport either. A short while after landing I thought that flying to Peru to meet backpacking friends would be a great practical joke. It is a little surreal landing in a foreign country, very early in the morning, with no clear idea of where you are going.

The flight from Lima to Cusco was great. Star Peru operates little quad engine jets with maybe 40 or 50 seats. Shortly after takeoff mountains became visible in the distance. As we flew over them clouds were flowing over ridges into valleys. Mountain streams and waterfalls were in each eroded valley. The scenery was beautiful. We didn't have to descend very far into Cusco, elevation 10,800 feet. As soon as we landed I felt like I was going to suffocate in the thin, rare air - turns out I was just excited to see Rich and Kendra.

Boy was it good to see Rich and Kendra again. They looked really really skinny, unhealthily so by American standards. Rest assured I tried to fatten them up as best I could, but they resisted my efforts at every turn - but I digress.

The drive to the hostel was exciting. The dogs and people were dodging the car as we were driven, in an unsafe manner of course, through the town to the hostel. The hostel was staffed by a number of friendly, perhaps even too friendly, Peruvian dudes of about our same age. When asked for suggestions of things to do or places to go eat/drink they invariably suggested the most casual tourist friendly place. We only asked them for suggestions one or two times.

We had a great private room in the hostel which even had it's own private bathroom - though this would become a bit of a problem over the course of the week. You see, the hostel only had water for parts of the day, so it was a gamble each time to see if you could take a shower let alone flush the toilet. Overall the Flying Dog hostel was a great place in a good location a short walk away from the Cusco main square. It was far enough away to not be loud, yet close enough that we didn't have to walk more than five minutes to be knee deep in the action.

Kendra and Rich suggested that we go to the local market shortly after getting settled in. The market was pretty crazy. It is arranged into sections which smell good or bad depending on what the vendors are selling. The produce and spices smelled great, and the meat... well it is hard for non-refrigerated piles of meat to smell good. Oddly, the fish section of the market smelled much better than the meat section. Fresh fish. Our favorite smoothie lady was also in the market. We stopped to get smoothies from her two days in a row early in my trip. They were delicious. We bummed around the city the rest of my first day in town and went out for a nice dinner where I discovered something amazing - the Pisco Sour (a traditional Peruvian cocktail made with raw eggwhite and Pisco, a local liquor).

We also hung out in Cusco for the second day of the trip, ostensibly so I could acclimatize to the altitude. Even though I live at 500 feet and Cusco is at 10,800 feet, the altitude was nothing that a fresh steeped mug of coca tea or a fat coca leaf wad couldn't fix. Rich and I took a long walk up a hill next to the hostel to an area that was well off the beaten path. We had some great views of the city from there and it was great to do a little exploring.

Machu Picchu: The Monster on the Mountain

Lots of new pictures happening...

After traveling the last 12.5 months, you start to get accustomed to hearing a lot of hype about particular places. In Guatemala, we HAD to see Tikal. In Argentina, we HAD to eat the steaks. But from the time we left perhaps we heard no hype greater than that for Machu Picchu... Inca ruin, perched on the cliff, mysterious and mystical, officially one of the new seven wonders of the world.

Some things live up to their hype, and others don't. The Machu Picchu verdict? Believe it. It's incredible.

With our good friend Sam in tow for the better part of two weeks (more on his adventures later), we hopped around the small villages of The Sacred Valley of the Incas for a few days before culminating the side-trip with a visit to the dramatic Inca masterpiece.

There's no road access to Machu Picchu, the mountains are too rugged. You can hike there along the famous 4-day Inca Trail, but we opted for style and comfort and grabbed the train from the nearby village of Ollantaytambo. The train winds it's way through the valley along the Rio Urubamba through amazingly steep mountains, and despite it's Peruvian-standard lateness, made for a fun and pleasant ride.

We got up early and arrived at the gates just in time for the opening around 6:30am. We grabbed an English-speaking guide for the 3 of us and began a two hour tour of the site. In the mornings, Machu Picchu is completely foggy and covered in mist, giving the place a mystical feel and obscuring most views... you're not really sure what you're in for. As the day moved on, as our tour walked on, the clouds began to lift to slowly reveal the surreal scenery. By 10:30, we were all speechless with awe at the surrounding beauty - and that's saying something for two travelers who've seen a hell of a lot in 12.5 months. Even despite the masses of tourists, the site retains it's beauty and impetus for creating awe.

Steep mountains and jagged peaks paint every vista. The clouds shroud some with mist and slowly burn off. The sun warms you and you can't help but realize that the Incas had kind of a thing for absurdly beautiful views from their front porches. The ruins themselves don't have the big temples of Palenque, Mexico or Tikal, Guatemala, but the architecture is advanced and the relative intactness of the entire city makes it special. Noone knows for sure, but the current leading theory is that Machu Picchu was a political, religious, and administrative center and connected the valley to trade with the Amazon. The Incas built the site in the 15th century, and their culture is still incredibly evident and important all over Peru, Bolivia, and other parts of South America.

After a 2 hour tour, we walked the site at our leisure taking in the incredible views and just soaking in the vibe of the place. We took hilarious pictures, walked out to the Inca bridge built along a cliff side, and played with the llamas (who, usually thriving at higher elevations, are only brought into the site for tourists but are still fun to mess with). Eventually, we made our way back to Aguas Calientes, the closest town for accessing the site, and had the perennial pizza and beer before taking the train back to Cuzco.

After 12.5 months traveling it's hard to be struck with awe sometimes, but Machu Picchu does the trick. After hearing the hype for so long, it was really the experience everyone claims it is. We were also happy to share the experience with one Samuel Baker, fellow Chicagoan, molecular biology genius, new lover of crowded colectivos.

Three more weeks to go... hasn't been too bad so far.

Fun Update

Rich is officially a published (and modestly paid!) travel-writer! Check out his article published on the popular travel website BootsnAll! A couple of the photos featured are Kendra´s as well.

It´s featured right now on the main page at www.bootsnall.com.

You can also copy and paste the following to go directly to the article:

http://www.bootsnall.com/articles/11-04/traditional-markets-in-latin-america-a-guide-for-first-time-shoppers.html

Enjoy!