Day 172 - 173 : Salento

Salento is located within the coffee triangle region, between Armenia and Pereira.  Not being a big fan of coffee, this was not an originally planned stop, but having heard nice things about this town where one can do other things beside visiting coffee plantations, and as a fellow hostel mate that I knew in Popoyan had also just arrived here 1 day before, I decided to stop here for a day enroute to Medellin to check it out. 

The bus ride from Cali to Salento was of a little adventure, with the 1st bus ride of 4 hours in a hot and stuffy bus (aircon wasn't working and could not open windows), and then being stopped along the way by police, where the police asked all the men on the bus to get off for a body check. 

Trucha Mak'na

I decided to give myself a good dinner treat today, and went into a restaurant called ¨Donde Laulita¨, which I had noticed was extremely crowded in the afternoon.  I asked for their recommendations and they suggested the Trucha Mak´na.

When the dish finally came, it was HUGE!!!  A whole trout was baked on a hot plate covered with cheese, and under the cheese was also shrimps and mushrooms in cream sauce, with also taste of wine in the sauce.  It also came with a portion of a huge crisp on the side.

Horseriding through the valleys of Salento

I was contemplating on going on a horseriding trip today, as the weather apparently over the last few days has not been great and it was rather cloudy when I got out of bed.

After a few hours of contemplation and after seeing some moments of sunlight and clear patches in the sky, I decided not to hesitate further and asked the hostel staff to arrange for a horseriding trip on my behalf.  Surprisingly, I was told that the horse will be brought to the hostel door in 5 minutes!!!

Day 167 - 171 : Cali

I was glad to have chosen Cali as the place to spend Xmas as I have had an amazing time the last few days.  It also coincided with the Cali fiera, a fair which happens during 26 to 30th December, where lots of partying in the streets and performances and live music takes place

Cali is a rather huge city, and I guess being with the right company helped, as I was shown different parts of the city.  From the historical part of the city where numerous colonial and historical buildings are located, the Tres Cruces, River Pance, the Xmas lights up in the city centre and many others.  

Open Air Salsa

My last night in Cali, as we headed over to a stadium which holds free performances of live bands playing salsa music during the Feira period.

There were long queues as we waited for our turn to go in, and upon entering, found ourselves in a huge open space area with many ¨warehouse¨ like space, with vendors selling extremely old LPs of salsa legends and other salsa music collection, as well as food vendors selling various local food items.

We browsed around the stores before deciding to head out into the open air to find a spot and wait for the live band to start playing.  In a few moments, the band started and people around us started dancing to salsa.

Mountain & River

We woke up at 6am today to go for an early morning walk up to La Tres Cruces (The Three Crosses), together with Luis' father and another of Luis' friend from Bogota, Fabiola.

La Tres Cruces is located around the northern part of the city centre, which has three huge crosses on top of a hill.  The trek up the hill was not easy though, as the path was rocky and often not paved, and on many occasions I was really worried I may end up spraining my ankle again. 

It must have taken us about an hour to finally reach the top and be welcomed with an amazing view of the city. 

Cabalgata

As part of the week-long Cali Fiera (Cali Fair), a line up of activities and street events were available to the public.  One of them was the Cabalgata, where horses are paraded down the streets of Cali. 


It´s the first time I ever saw soooooo many horses in one location (there must have been over a 1000!), and these horses are not your normal horses.

Many of them have been trained in such a way that they were dancing to the rhythm of the songs playing in the background.  Truly amazing and beautiful creatures!

A Colombian Christmas

It´s Xmas eve, and soon after travelling for 2.5 hrs from Popayan and arriving into Cali at 2pm, I got whooshed off immediately to a Colombian family Xmas gathering (Luis' girlfriend´s family), before heading over later in the night for another Xmas gathering with Luis´ family.

Luis´Family Xmas Gathering

It is interesting to see how Xmas is celebrated here in Colombia, as it seems just like our traditionally huge family gathering during the Chinese New Year, but instead of receiving ang pows, one get presents from under a Xmas tree at around the stroke of midnight (transitioning from Xmas eve to Xmas day), and with everyone ripping apart the wrapping paper to see what appears underneath.

Day 165 - 166 : Popayan

As I arrived at about 6.30am after catching the night bus from the border, I was rather surprise to see quite a bit of activity in the main square in the morning.  I think I was lucky that I had chosen a hostel with an extremely centralised location right in the centre of the main square, and for this time of the year, it is extremely beautiful with the Xmas lights up and decor they have fixed up in the square.

There were also a number of street performers and music and dance events happening in the square, as part of the Xmas line-up I suppose.

Day 164 : Border Crossing to Colombia

Queue at Ecuador border snaking on outside

The border crossing from Ecuador to Colombia is a nightmare!  There were extremely long queues at both the Ecuador as well as Colombia immigration, and is the worse border crossing I have done in South America till date as it took me almost 4 hours to clear both borders.

Strangely, they did not seperate the crowd into an entry or exit queue, so everyone gets squeezed into one queue to be handled by the same immigration.

Queue at Colombian border

Traffic from Ecuador to Colombia

By the time I cleared customs, it was already 5.30pm.  Initially, I had wanted to squeeze in a day trip to Sanctuario de las Lejas, which was just about 20 mins away.  But because of the delays at immigration I had to forsake visting this supposedly amazing cathedral built on a bridge, and head straight to Popayan on a night bus, in order to have enought time to spend in the city and yet be able to reach Cali by Xmas eve!

Day 163 : Otavalo

Last day in Ecuador, as I arrived in Otavalo in the afternoon.  Otavalo is famous for its Saturday markets where it is supposed to attract huge crowds, especially tourists seeking for souvenirs.

Not intending to squeeze with the crowd, I decided to go in on a weekday instead, and also since it is enroute to the border of Colombia.  There are still a number of vendors laying out their merchandisers here, though probably lesser than Saturday, but most importantly, there isn´t that much crowd.

Lots of vendors selling clothings including alpacas and other warm gear, silver jewellery, hammock, hats etc.  I would have bought quite a few things from here if it had been my final stop of my trip, but unfortunately I can´t be carrying them around with me over the next few months, so sorry guys... no souvenirs for anyone from here as I didn´t buy a single thing.

 

Day 162 : Fellow Singaporean Comrades

After 4 days in Quito, I finally found out that there were 2 Singaporeans in Quito!

Fried fish & prawns with rice & potatoes

Singh had contacted me earlier in the morning, and within a couple of hours we met up in the Historico Centro.  Apparently Singh has been in Quito for the last 4 months, and he shared that he is travelling around the world for 10 years (?!?!), of which he is currently on his 2nd year of his travels.  I want his lifestyle!!!

So we walked around the town, and headed for yummy lunch at a local market place (together with Joseph, whom I had bumped into earlier), before heading over to his lovely penthouse apartment with an amazing view of the city that he had rented at a bargain in Quito. 

Singh & I

Joseph, Singh & I

Presence of the Ecuadorian President

I decided to head into the Historico Centro today again to explore some of the few places which I have yet to cover, including the Iglesia de la Compania, Calle de la Ronda and the Basilica.

While in the Historico Centro, I noted that there was a lot of activity in the main square, with lots of camera crew standing in various parts of the square.  Thinking that there must be something big happening, I decided to hang around and wait.

Day 161 : Ecuadorian Ceviche

Ceviche Mixto

Had my first try of Ecuadorian ceviche, which is totally different from the Peruvian ceviche.

Ecuadorian ceviche is served with cooked seafood, but in a cold soup.  It looked like a small portion, but extremely filling.  It is also rather tasty, though can be rather sourish for those who are not a big fan of sour stuff.

Day 160 : ME DAY!

My cake!

I turn one year older today... looking back, this has been a rather interesting year, especially having made the decision to go on this major trip.  Definitely no regrets, as the various experiences and new insights gain of the world has been immensed!

However, not all have been smooth sailing over the last couple of months though (sprained ankle, lost phone, and recently stolen laptop), so am hoping that with this birthday, luck will change for the better!  

Going to be another 4 more months on the road, so should be exciting!  

Spent this special day travelling to the ¨Middle of the World¨, and had a mini sushi party in the house with some friends in Quito, along with a bottle of champagne!

Sushi Platter

Sparkly from Germany!

Fransciso, Christina, Roberto and Alfredo

And of course me!

 Not too bad for a celebration on the other side of the world :)

Mitad del Mundo

Apparently there are 2 sites here in Quito, fighting for the claim of the ¨Middle of the World¨ title.  They are each located about 240m away from each other, one being much grander and flashier in layout than the other.

Intinan

Me in the Middle of the World!

Gunpoint

Woke up this morning, and needed to get directions to go to Midal del Mundo (Middle of the World), and thus knocked on Roberto´s room door. 

He opened the door and apologised for waking me up last night.  He had a slight bruised on his face and he explained that while he and his friend was on their way home in a taxi last night, the taxi had stopped at a traffic light.  It was at this time, 2 men with guns suddenly appeared and entered the taxi.

Day 159 : Historic Centre Quito

After a tiring 8 hour bus ride on a crammed bus (I am too used to taking cama seats and no longer normal coach seats!), we finally arrived in Quito at 6am, where I parted ways with Joseph.

Made my way to the Historic Centre of Quito in the afternoon after taking a short nap.  Unfortunately weather isn´t the best, as it rotated between slight drizzle and heavy downpour.  Nevertheless still managed to see some sights, which mostly comprised of cathedrals and including a tour of the Presidential Palace, which I think would be the highlight of today´s visit.

Day 158 : Laptop Stolen!!!

My laptop has been stolen, while in my bag in the room... sigh...

We had gone out this morning to take a walk around the city, and when we returned to check out of the room at 2pm, I noticed that my laptop was gone!

I checked all my bags just to be sure, and couldn't find it.  So we asked the staff at the counter if anyone had entered our room, since it was a private room and I had the key the whole time.  She denied, saying no one did.  Very strange that it could have gone missing, and we were certain it had to be a staff from the hostel. 

Day 157 : Cuenca

1st stop into Ecuador, and experience hasn't been all that welcoming! 

Firstly, our bus from Mancora to Cuenca somehow departed only 1.5hours after the scheduled time, and so by the time we got into Cuenca, it was already about 10.30pm, and we had not booked a hostel. 

Met an Irish traveller (Joseph) at the bus terminal of Mancora, and apparently both of us had taken down the same hostel address in Cuenca to try our luck in finding an accomodation without a booking (guess I am not the only one doing this trick!).

Day 156 : Mancora

So I arrived into Mancora early this morning, my final stop before heading into Ecuador.  Checked into a nice hostel which had a pool (for once!).

Mancora is a fairly laidback beach town, which had a feel of a small fishing village.  Not much to do here though, but just kickback and relax!

Will post up some pictures when I get the chance!

Moche Pyramids

This is a definitely MUST-DO in Peru! 

Moche Pyramids in Trujillo basically comprises of Huaca de la Luna and Huaca del Sol (not the original names during the Moche period.  Original names unknown at this time). 

Huaca de la Luna is said to be the religious and ceremonial grounds for the Moche tribe (civilisation just before the Chimu and Incas), whereas Huaca del Sol was the political area for the Moche. 

At the time of the visit, Huaca del Sol was closed to the public as they have recently only just commenced excavating this site.  Huaca de la Luna has been open to the public for about 5 years already, however it is still in the process of being excavated and thus new discoveries of this site is being made on an almost daily basis.

Chan Chan

For all the talk that I have heard about Chan Chan, I was rather disappointed with this archaeological site.  Firstly, it looked rather artificial and secondly, very much smaller than I expected.

Chan Chan is one of the 9 palaces, belonging to the Chimu period (just before the Incas), that has been archeologically excavated.  The other 8 has not been excavated as yet.

Apparently Chan Chan is 22 hectares wide (with the largest palace being about 40 hectares), though what was made available for public viewing seemed to be just a small portion of the entire palace – mainly the ceremonial and sacrificial chambers. 

Huanchaco

Huanchaco is located about 15 minutes away from the archaeological site of Chan Chan, and about 30 minutes away by bus from Trujillo town centre. 

A sleepy beach town, it was not very crowded even on a Sunday.  Lots of seafood restaurant here, though menu does not seem to be very different across each restaurant.

The beaches are not very recommended for actual swimming due to the numerous small rocks near the shore as well as the big waves, though you will be able to spot many surfers trying to catch “the” wave. 

Day 149 – 153 : Lima Wrap Up

Having not known much about Lima before this trip, I have always thought that Lima was rather backwards and undeveloped, and after having been to La Paz, I thought Lima would be rather similar to La Paz, maybe just a little more developed.

So from the 1st day I got into Lima till today, I have been time after time greatly surprised by the developments and how modern Lima actually is!  There are so many gardens and parks dotting around the city, and all extremely well landscaped and very well taken care of. 

I think it can actually compete with Singapore on being a green city, and I must say that the landscaping is in some places way much better than Singapore.

Pisco Cocktail Lessons

After making my own Pisco Sour cocktail yesterday, I got to learn how to make another not commonly known Pisco cocktail, which tasted almost like Bailey’s, just before leaving Lima.  Yum! 

It’s called Algarrobina Pisco.  The only problem is that I don’t think I am going to find the ingredients in Singapore!

Miraflores

Miraflores is a well-known area in Lima, mainly for the surf beaches as well as a pleasant neighbourhood and for hostel accommodations (as compared to staying in the downtown area). 

As usual, this is a rather big suburb area, and I was again pleasantly surprised at the huge landscaped area, as I spent about an hour just walking along the coastal route of Miraflores, located about 30 metres above the beach. 

While doing so, I kept wondering “Am I really in Lima”?  It felt like I was in some other western countries like New Zealand or Europe as it was really modern and clean and well-landscaped!

Trip Extension

After contemplating on changing my tickets for the last 1 month, I have finally got round to changing my Singapore Airline return ticket today and therefore confirm that my trip has been extended!

So the new plans after Colombia would be to travel in a sail boat via Cartagena to Panama, spent a couple of weeks in Panama, and take a flight to Rio de Janeiro (to be booked in the next couple weeks!) in mid February, just in time to attend Carnaval, and then travel down South to Sao Paulo to catch my flight to Barcelona in end February.

Spend about a week in Barcelona and off to Morocco for about 3-4 weeks, and then to London and I fly out of Paris back to Singapore in April!

So if anyone is keen to join me on the additional places, let me know and I will give you my detailed plans!

Rare Pictures of Machu Picchu in Park of Fountains

We headed to the Park of Fountains, which contained 13 different fountains and supposedly have a Guinness World Record for either the largest number of fountains or biggest musical fountain. 

It was definitely an extremely huge park and there were some rather interesting fountains here, including a really enchanting laser show using the fountain’s water as a backdrop.

Lima Downtown

Downtown Lima is way much much bigger than I expected!  Marco and I must have walked for about 4 hours and only covered part of the city! 

It is definitely not as clean and modern as San Borja or Surco (where Marco’s place is located), but it does have some beautiful buildings with the Spanish architecture and balconies.

Where’s my Appetite!

Seems like I am down with a stomach bug.  Been feeling strange about 3 days ago (after a Russian couple prepared a pizza and Pablo cooking Papas Huancaichina), but it seemed to have gotten worse over the last 1.5 days with effects of queasiness, some bowel runs and loss of appetite.  On self-medication, though seems to be taking some time to get better.

Not great, especially when Lima is said to have a wide range of food offer. 

Trip to the Nation Museum

Having about 5 hours free, before moving over to Marco’s place, I decided to take the chance to explore San Borja area. 

San Borja is a rather pleasant neighbourhood, with a large park separating San Borja North and South region.  Lots of casinos and also Chifas in this area.

There is also a train that runs through here but is not yet open to the public.  I subsequently heard that the tracks has been built for many years, but was never in operation (It was recently completed, and is now in the testing phase, with expected opening early next year). 

Hostel–less in Lima

Having covered all I needed to see in Ica, I decided to leave a day earlier and head into Lima.  So after a 5 hour bus ride, I caught a taxi and headed to San Borja to a hostel address for “Happy Up Here Hostel” (without a booking), which I had taken off one of the famous hostel booking website, in the hope that there would be a bed available.  And if not, availability of other hostels in the area.

When I arrived in the area, I was surprised to find that it was a residential area, and the address brought me to the doorstep of a house!  There was no hostel name on the front, and so I decided to try my luck and ring the bell.

Day 148 : Earthquake 9.0 in Ica

I was staying around the outskirts of Ica in a place called La Tinguina, and the best way to travel from La Tinguina to Ica town centre is via “Collectivos”, where a taxi will ply on a certain route between down town and another suburb, and any passenger can hop on and “share” the taxi with other passengers. Definitely a cheap and affordable way to travel.

There are also motor taxis (tuk tuks), and the vehicles apparently came from India!  They are supposedly cheaper than taxis, but routes are usually limited within a suburb. 

So I hopped into a Collectivo and headed to the downtown of Ica to explore.  I was faced with a pile of chaotic traffic on the roads and putting it together with the stifling heat within the city centre, I didn’t quite enjoy being in the centre for too long.  So after just visiting Plaza de Armas, the main square of Ica, I wanted to escape the city centre. 

Winery Vista Alegre, Ica

Ica is the wine capital of Peru, with a number of vineyards scattered across the huge region of Ica.  Pablo knew of a fairly good vineyard near his place and brought me there to have a look.

Pablo shared that the locals seem to prefer the sweeter variety of wines such as Rose and Vino Dulce.  Vista Alegre does a really good job in producing a wide variety of wines including the sweet ones, as well as the traditional whites and reds, Vermouth and even Pisco! 

Day 147 : Huacachina

Ever seen a real oasis in the middle of the desert?  This is what Huacachina boasts to have. 

So after walking 5km from Ica to Huacachina, we (Pablo, Krissia, Aleksi, Nathalie) found ourselves surrounded by sand dunes, and it certainly felt like we were in the desert as we continued walking under the hot sun, and soon came to a place with shaded trees and water in a distance.  What a relief! 

Day 145 – 146 : Colca Canyon

Located about 3 hours from Arequipa, this is a tour that is commonly promoted in Arequipa with one of the main attraction : to see the Andean Condors.  I had originally wanted to do this trip free and easy, but with a sprained ankle, I felt it was best to do it via a tour. 

The Colca Canyon can be done either on a 1 or 2 days tour, with exactly the same stops for both.  The only difference is that in a 1 day tour, it departs at 3am, while it is at 8.30am for a 2 day tour. 

Not wanting to have a rushed tour, I opted for the 2 day option.  My tour group comprised of a total of 12 people (including me), and most of them were South American married couples, thus I felt rather out of place with minimal communication.  I had the tour guide’s personal attention though as he had to translate everything to me in English personally. 

Day 143 – 144 : Arequipa

Arequipa is promoted as a white city, reason being is that there are a number of buildings in the city which is made of the white volcanic stones.  However I personally felt that the whiteness was not the kind of whiteness I experienced in Sucre, Bolivia.  The whiteness was more off cream with greyish specks.

It was also a huge city just like Cusco, but I felt Cusco was much prettier as compared to Arequipa.  Just the main square alone, it was more pleasant in Cusco than in Arequipa.

Peruvian Wine

I had my first taste of Peruvian wine today.  We had ordered a pizza from Morengo’s and asked for a bottle of wine to be delivered together with the pizza. 

Not knowing anything about Peruvian wines, Percy said that Gran Tinto is one of the better Peruvian wines, and being a 2009 variety, it wasn’t too bad. 

It is produced in Ica (which is where I am going next!), the wine region of Peru located about 300km from Lima. 

Chifa

Seems like I am going on an Asian food tasting in Peru!  Percy highly recommended that I try out one of his favourite Chifa place for dinner. 

Chifa is the common term used in Peru (and also in Bolivia it seems) to describe a place which cooks Chinese food.

So I left the decision of ordering to Percy, since the menu was in Spanish, and also because he has tried most of the food and could recommend better.

Day 142 : Purple Passion

Last day in Cusco, and since my ankle is still slightly sore and extremely swollen, decided to take it easy, clear my emails and have a leisurely lunch with Washuma and Maria from Sweden (lunch was Indian buffet!  Food was ok, though it seemed to lack the authentic Indian feel), before preparing my stuff to catch the 8 hour overnighter bus to Arequipa.

After hearing from Washuma his specialty drink, I pestered Washuma to make one for me before I leave, and I was glad he obliged. 

Day 141 : Machu Picchu 100 years

“You haven’t seen South America, if you have not visited Machu Picchu”, so I was told. 

So after 3.5 months in South America, I finally got to Machu Picchu.  One of the 7 wonders of the world, it sure is worth the acclamation, and I can now tick this of my list!

I was also told to be at Machu Picchu at dawn or after 4pm, to avoid the crowd.  With an entrance ticket for Wayna Picchu that requires me to be at Wayna Picchu’s entrance at 10am, I decided to be there first thing in the morning and have some time to wander around Machu Picchu before climbing Wayna Picchu.

Day 140 : Aguas Caliente

Getting to Machu Picchu early in the morning meant that I will need to stay a night in Aguas Caliente (I find the name of this town rather strange, as it is literally translated to “Hot Water”!), a small town located at the foot of Machu Picchu. 

Getting there was a little complicated however, as I had to take a 2hr ride on a mini van from Cusco to Ollantaytambo, before catching a 1.5hr scenic train ride to Machu Picchu.  There is probably a direct train to Machu Picchu from Cusco, but it would have been way much more expensive. 

If I had more time, I would have liked to spend a little more time in Ollantaytambo as the town looked really pleasant though compact.  This is also the area of the Sacred Valley, where one can see some remains of the Inca ruins and other interesting sights.

Heading straight to the train station upon arriving in Ollantaytambo, I noticed that there were separate cabins for locals and foreigners.  Wasn’t able to see if the seats and service level was different for the locals but the one for foreigners was fairly comfortable (though a little crammed with everyone’s bag either on their laps or on the floor), and a drink as well as a light snack was served on the way.

Day 139 : Korean Craze

I had bumped into a Korean couple (Sujin and Wong Sang) last night in the main square of Cusco, whom I had met while I was in Puno and Uros, and we agreed to meet for lunch at a Korean restaurant at 2pm. 

So I invited Washuma to join me, his first time eating Korean food!

Food in Cusco seems to be on the more expensive side, and the Korean restaurant was no exception. 

It was a good thing they had lunch specials so we ordered Beef Bulgogi on rice.  As a typical Korean restaurant (it is run by Korean!), it came with a selection of kimchi, which was an extremely refreshing change from the typical South American food. 

To the Market…

We headed to one of the nearby markets to get a glass of fresh juice. 

There were rows of juice stores, all filled with customers, and they don’t seem to differentiate themselves at all as the menu were all the same.  So we settled at one of the stores and I ordered a glass of passion fruit, orange and pineapple juice. 

It took a while to be prepared, and when it was served, it was tangy and refreshing… Yum!

 

Day 138 : Cusco

Cusco is a really pretty city, with stone cobbled roads and an extremely Spanish feel in the main square, due to the numerous Spanish architecture as seen in the balconies and numerous churches (there are 11 churches just around the main square!).

Very pleasant for walking around and spending a few days here.  A very touristy town though as most people who goes to Machu Picchu will highly likely spend a few days here.  It is also the first time I see so many Asians in one location!  Most of them seem to be from Japan or Korea.