The White City

Tuesday, March 15, 2011 – Wednesday, March 16, 2011

I’m currently in Peru’s second largest city, Arequipa (population less than 1 million), also known as the “White City” because of the many buildings constructed using sillar, a pearly white volcanic material.  Yesterday morning I woke up in Lima at 8 to prepare for the airport.  I’d packed the night before but wanted to give myself plenty of time before my flight.  I enjoyed a fabulous bowl of fruit with yogurt, paid my bill and hailed a cab.  When we arrived at the airport 45 minutes later, there was a bit of traffic but we took the coastal road for a bit, the cop at the gate asked to see the driver’s license.  He was missing some type of paperwork and was in trouble, but I requested that they settle things later because I was dying for the loo.  So he dropped me off, I strapped on my backpack and hurried inside.

I found the Peruvian airlines counter and was checking in for my flight when I noticed the attendant had put a yellow luggage tag on my bag.  A couple guys came to put my luggage on the belt and I said to the attendant, “Arequipa?”, because I’d noticed that the tags in the basket for Arequipa were blue.  His response, “Oh, oops.”  By that point my bag had already gone to wherever it goes behind the check-in desks.  He radioed someone to locate my bag and handed a different person the blue luggage tag.  I leaned against the counter shaking my head.  I couldn’t fathom the idea of my bag not showing up in Arequipa due to the error of the desk attendant.  Unable to express all my frustration in Spanish, an English-speaking woman approached me to inform me that the luggage tag had been changed.  I insisted on seeing my bag, but of course, it wasn’t possible.  So I asked her if she was 100% sure and she called again to reconfirm.  All I could do was go to the gate and hope for the best.

Given the eateries in the Lima airport, one would think they were in the States – Starbucks, McDonalds, Papa Johns, Dunkin Donuts and Subway.  I ended up getting a personal pizza at Papa Johns and going through security.  I had more than an hour to spare before my midday flight and sat down to eat my pizza and wait.  As we took off I glanced down at the Pacific realizing that the next time I would see that ocean would be when I returned to California in three months.  It was a clear day, so I looked out the window hoping to get a glimpse of the Nazca lines but just saw the dry desert-like landscape.  There was very little life on the ground until we approached Arequipa.

At the luggage carousel, I stood around hoping that I’d see my bag.  In the third batch of bags, my bag appeared.  I breathed a huge sigh of relief and left the small terminal to find my airport transfer for Los Andes B&B, both which Miriam (my tour guide in Ecuador) had kindly arranged for me.  For the second largest city in Peru, the airport was quite close to town and I was at my hotel in less than 15 minutes.  Still feeling a bit sick, I took a two hour nap on the double bed in my spacious room.

It was a quarter to five by the time I ventured outside in the cold to look around.  I checked out the Plaza de Armas, less than a block from my hostel with a massive Cathedral (founded in 1612 and rebuilt in the 19^th century), La Compañia (a church with an amazing façade of the florid Andean mestizo style), a pleasant courtyard from the 1600s that I stumbled upon and San Agustin church (which I’d gotten a glimpse of on the drive into town).  I was quite keen to see Santa Catalina Convent and decided that I’d visit in the evening since the Convent is only open Tuesday and Thursday nights.  With this in mind, I returned to my hotel to warm up.

Plaza de Armas

Courtyard

San Agustin

At 6:45 I bundled up, it had really cooled off now that the sun had set, and strolled to the convent.  Santa Catalina Convent was opened in 1970 after four centuries of mystery having been founded in 1580 by a wealthy widow who chose her nuns from the richest Spanish families.  A complete miniature walled colonial town, about 450 nuns lived there in total seclusion with their women servants.  I entered the convent on my own at 7pm.  It was solely lit by torches, candles and fireplaces.  Luckily there was an English tour (a mission group from a hospital in Colorado in Peru for two weeks) which I was able to join otherwise I would have been lost in the maze of narrow cobbled streets.  The nun’s apartments were surprisingly large with a bedroom, kitchen and servant room.  The seemed to be living in luxury, part of the reason there was such curiosity surrounding the place.  Even in the dim light, I could see the brightly colored buildings (mostly orange, red and blue) and numerous flowers which decorated the streets and plazas (a few nuns still live there).

Cathedral in Plaza de Armas 

Santa Catalina Convent

When the tour finished at 8pm I was craving a hot bowl of chicken soup (the cure for the common cold) and went to a restaurant on the plaza recommended at my B&B.  On the menu was chicken soup, score!  I didn’t know exactly what I’d be getting but it turned out to be chicken noodle soup, just like that I’d get back home.  It hit the spot (that expression always makes me laugh mom and Shell).  As soon as I finished my soup I retreated to the hotel for a warm shower and my bed.

I set my alarm for 8am this morning because I was supposed to meet Tucan group that I travelled with in Ecuador around 9.  Let’s just say things didn’t work out exactly as I’d expected.  I woke up naturally but when I checked my email Dave had written to tell me he thought it’d be more like 9:30.  I accepted this, and started downloading the latest episode of Glee while I got ready.  I was waiting in the lobby at 9:30 and got an email at 9:45 to tell me they wouldn’t be arriving until 10:30.  So I went to get a coffee at Cusco Coffee Company then went back upstairs to my room to watch the episode of Glee.  At 10:40 just before I was headed downstairs, I got a phone call from Miriam telling me they would be at least another 30 minutes.  In the end, they didn’t show up until noon; a bit annoying considering I’d been waiting for about three hours and could have done more with my morning if I’d known they would have been so late.

In addition to Dave, Lyle and Marie-Ann, there were three more travelers, Wesley (31, Lyle and Marie-Ann’s son), Thomas (29, Warsaw), Kym (32, Melbourne).  The age of the tour has greatly decreased in Peru.  Miriam told us about the Museo Sanctuarios Andinos and I talked to her about my options for Colca Canyon before she took us to a restaurant for lunch.  Marie-Ann was feeling ill, so she and Miriam returned to the hotel while the rest of us had lunch.  The service at the restaurant was a bit slow, so we ended up there for two hours and it was 3pm by the time we left. 

Lunch: Thomas, Dave, Lyle, Wes, me and Kym

Dave, Wes and I returned to the Museo Sanctuarios Andinos, famous for ‘Juanita, the Ice Princess,’ a frozen Inca maiden sacrificed on the summit of Ampato over 500 years ago (who sadly is not on display from January through April).  A different child (one of 18 in total found on mountain peaks in the Inca territory) was on display and after a 20 minute movie about the discovery of Juanita, a guide showed us around the museum.  Fascinating to learn about an aspect of the Inca culture which is not well-known.

After leaving the museum, the three of us went for a drink at On the Top with views overlooking the Plaza de Armas and city.  The restaurant provided ponchos to keep us warm and I ordered a hot chocolate since I couldn’t fathom drinking something cold.  Unfortunately it was one of the bitterest hot chocolates I have ever tried; I required a lot of sugar before I was able to drink the liquid.  We sat enjoying the plaza and chatting for almost an hour and a half before splitting.  I returned to the hotel to relax and was told they’d be by at 7:30 for dinner.  Wanting to be on time I was sitting in the lobby at 7:30 but they didn’t turn up until 8pm.  I should have known better.

View of the Plaza de Armas from On the Top

The group ate at Patio del Ekeko, but Lyle and Marie-Ann were absent.  The restaurant had a wide variety of meat (including alpaca) but since I wasn’t that hungry I simply ordered a beef skewer.  I had a great time getting to know Kym, the young woman on the trip, and she mentioned she was thrilled I was joining their Colca Canyon trip.  We didn’t finish at the restaurant until 10:30pm at which point I was more than ready to go back to the hotel.  I just had a shower and video skyped with my parents and am ready for bed.  Early start tomorrow for Colca Canyon.  

Dinner: Dave, Kym, Miriam, me, Thomas and Wes

Pescado in the Capital: Lima

Sunday, March 13, 2011 – Monday, March 14, 2011

Another new country!  After six hours in the Guayaquil airport, including a fifteen minute chair massage, my flight left for Lima.  We arrived around 9:30pm and I waited 30 minutes plus in the huge line at passport control.  There was a mission trip from the States going to Iquitos (the Amazon in Northern Peru) for a few weeks.  Seem to be a lot of mission trips in Peru.  Once I retrieved my backpack and cleared customs, my drive was waiting to take me to Pariwana hostel in Miraflores.

I finally arrived at the hostel around 10:30pm ready to get to bed after a quick call home, but I ended up chatting with two girls from Colorado in my dorm for about an hour.  After a warm shower, I curled into bed hoping my stuffy nose wouldn’t prevent me from sleeping.

The majority of today was spent in the hostel.  I woke up around 10am and had a great omelet for breakfast (the hostel has bread and jam for breakfast but there are lots of other options available for purchase).  Needing to sort out a few logistics, I used the hostel agent to book a bus ticket from Arequipa to Cusco and, after finding out that my flight reservation from Lima to Arequipa had been canceled, bought a plane ticket for tomorrow.  Wanting to pay by credit card since the most I’ve been able to withdraw at the ATM is 700 soles (worth $250) or $200 at a time (each one subject to bank fees), I had to go with the agent to her other office.

By this point it was already past 1pm and I was anxious to see some part of Lima.  The hostel is near a busy intersection with McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Burger King and Starbucks, but there is a green park in the middle of them.  Miraflores is a modern part of this city of 9 million.  Given my extreme fatigue, I decided I’d rather go for a nice lunch then explore the old city of Lima (a 30 minute cab ride away).  A short, cheap taxi journey took me to Pescados Capitales, a restaurant recommended in my Food and Travel Magazine article on Lima, noting that the menu is based on the cardinal sins and is the source of the latest gossip.

The modern restaurant with high bamboo ceilings and long bar was packed.  Luckily they had English menus so that I could understand the information, since the menu was much more than a list of available dishes.  I asked for a recommendation from my waiter and he suggested the typical sole ceviche (the famous Peruvian dish).  My mouth is still salivating from the delicious infusion of lime, onion and a touch of spice on the raw fish which came with the traditional sides of corn and some type of orange-colored ginger-flavored mashed potato.  I ate slowly, savoring each bite and cooling the heat with diet Coke.  When the women at the table next to me ordered a purple drink I enquired about it.  My friendly waiter brought me half a glass of the chicha morado, a juice prepared from purple corn, sweet and unfermented.  As I finished my meal, I requested a copy of the menu in Spanish, since the article made such a big deal about the hidden messages inside and I figured it would be fun to read once I learned a bit more Spanish.  I thanked my helpful waiter and left Pescados Capitales thoroughly satisfied with my experience.

Feeling the exhaustion of my cold and early mornings on the ship, I headed back to the hostel for the remained of the afternoon.  I made a quick stop at Starbucks, having not seen one since Viña del Mar, for a latte before returning to the dorm.  I’ve been sitting here relaxing and writing.  Turns out it was a good time that my flight reservation was cancelled because now I leave at noon rather than 6:30am.  Can’t say too much about my impressions of Peru at the moment since I haven’t really seen much.  Am looking forward to getting to the smaller cities as Lima seems overwhelming, tons of people, cars and pollution.  

The giants and goodbyes (aka day 5 Galapagos)

Sunday, March 13, 2011

(more photos on shutterfly )

Early morning.  Wake-up announcement at 6am.  Breakfast 6:30 with luggage in hallway.  Tell my roommate that her bag is supposed to be outside the cabin but she doesn’t listen.  When she finds it still in the cabin, they have to turn the luggage dingy around because it had already left.  Can I say, I told you so? Off the boat at 7:15 to Port Ayora, the biggest town in the Galapagos and the one most effected by the tsunami.  Street is still slightly wet.  Port Ayora is much bigger than I realized with lots of buildings.  Really started to notice the environmental effects of all the people living in the Galapagos and tourism.  Kind of sad.

Sunrise at Port Ayora

Port Ayora

Bus to turtle reserve in the highlands since the Charles Darwin center is closed.  Put on boots and walk through muddy trail looking for giant tortoises.  First sighting of a giant tortoise – so big.  Continue on to see four more.  They are huge!  Oldest is 100 years.  Amazing creatures.  Wiggle into a tortoise shell on display.  Say goodbye to Lynn, Judy, Heather and Leonie.

Me with the guides Daniel and Victor Hugo

Denni and me

Catherine, Bill and me

Saying goodbye to Leonie and Heather

Transfer to airport.  Bus breaks down on the road.  Driver gets underneath and after about 10 minutes we get going again.  Ferry across to Baltra Island and bus to airport.  Some last photos of fish and birds.  A bit of time to shop.  Plane ride 1.5 hours to Guayaquil.  Everyone has to change plans even though most are continuing to Quito.  Say goodbye to the rest of my new friends.  Stacey and Evan flying out of Guayaquil tomorrow and kindly agree to take my waterproof cameras back to the States.  Excuse to see them in NY in June.

Taking the bus driver's seat while he was under the bus :)

Me, Stacey and Evan

Brown pelican

Land at 1:30 but by the time I get luggage and go to check-in; I don’t have to wait long.  Able to check-in for Lima flight at 2:45pm.  Find internet to call home and let parents know that I’m ok (couldn’t contact them about the tsunami).  Am now at the airport waiting for my 7:30pm flight to Lima.  Had a fabulous time on the Galapagos!  Wonderful group of people, incredible wildlife, knowledgeable guides, excellent boat.  Hope to go back again with my family.  Next stop… Peru.

Bartolome and murky waters (aka day 4 Galapagos)

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Good day today.  We got off the boat!  The landing this morning was excellent but the afternoon was fairly disappointing.  The effects of the tsunami were evident at Black Turtle Cove where some of the mangrove trees fell down and the water was a cloudy brown, where it is normally crystal clear.

We began the day with our normal wake-up announcement at 7am and breakfast at 7:30 and news that we’d be able to disembark to Bartolome Island.  Located at the center of the archipelago, the highest point is 114 meters above sea level and is separated from the island of Santiago by the Bay of Sullivan.  The island has a surface area of 1.2 kilometers. (Rest of this post is in some type of short-hand.)

Bartolome Island

Dry landing on Bartolome.  Excellent views of island and Pinnacle Rock on approach.  Two sea lions on steps.  Walk up 365 stairs on Summit Trail to top of island.  Mostly plants, very few animals on the island: lava lizard, mangroves, pioneer plants, Tiquillia nesiotica (endemic to the island), Chamaesyce (aka sandmat), lava cactus, Scalesia bushes and other plants.  Stunning views of surrounding islands and Pinnacle Rock.  Some of landscape like moon.  Can see the crater underwater.  On way down, spot a couple Galapagos penguins.  Get in dingy and follow them.  Five in total.

Adorable sea lions on the steps

Tiquillia nesiotica

Lava cactus

Me holding some lava stone

View of Bartolome with Santiago in background

Underwater crater

Lava lizard on Tiquillia

Galapagos penguins!

Back to boat to change into bathing suits.  Snorkel time.  Beach has yellow sand.  One penguin swimming right near shore as we approach.  Water has ok visibility.  Lots of fish.  Most similar to the other dives.  Thought I saw a baby shark at beginning but not sure.  Daniel, our guide, spots two penguins on a rock.  Big ray sitting on floor.  Lots of coral and rocks – need to be careful.  More fish.  Swam back to shore. 

Pinnacle Rock

Penguin near the shore

Dingy ride back to the boat, but first Louis takes us to see the penguins.  They dive off the rocks just as we approach.  Follow them for a bit and also see two sea lions.  Brown pelicans sitting around.  Woman is snorkeling right next to the two penguins and sea lion and doesn’t see them.  We’re all yelling at her from the dingy.

More penguins :)

Pre-lunch Bloody Mary with Denni, Susan and Amy.  Lunch with Heather and Leonie.  Really good chicken lasagna.

Amy, Susan, Denni and me

Lunch with Heather and Leonie

Take an hour nap since I have a little cold (feel like a hypochondriac on this trip with my sore throat, pinched back nerve and runny nose).  Afternoon excursion is a dingy ride around Black Turtle Cove on Santa Cruz Island.  Raining when we set out.  See a great blue heron.  Pelicans sitting on the mangroves or fishing.  Can see the effects of the tsunami.  Some trees are down and the water is extremely murky.  Can barely see one foot down and normally it is clear.  Spot some turtles through all the muck and one ray.  I keep trying to get a picture of the turtle head and fail, becomes a bit of a joke on the dingy.  We’re headed to an area with sharks, but all the sudden a current picks up and gets strong very quickly, so we have to turn around.  Stupid tsunami.

Great blue heron

Brown pelican flying

Sea turtle

Few more turtles, great blue heron and pelicans on way back to boat.  Shower and get ready for dinner.  Supposed to be a barbeque but it’s raining.  Sea lion on back of boat, try to get a pic but it jumps off.  Sea lion comes back again and I snap a photo just before it disappears into the water.  

Me on the dingy in Black Turtle Cove

Brown pelicans in mangroves

Louis, our dingy driver

Dinner at 6:30pm.  Eat with the girls (Lorilee, Denni, Susan and Amy) for my last night.  Prawns, tuna, snapper, potatoes, salads, guacamole, bread, cheese.  So much to choose from.  I take a bit of each and Susan makes fun of my full plate.  Then Stacey says, “Wow, look how big your plate is” mostly because she overheard the conversation.  Very funny, we’re all laughing.  When Lynn walks in she exclaims, “Look at the size of the shrimp” but before she can finish, I say, please don’t say my plate.  Basically it looks like more food because I haven’t taken a small plate for the appetizers.  Sangria served with dinner.  Photos below of friends on-board.

Nancy, Mike, Bill and Catherine

Evan and Stacey

Leonie and Heather

Amy, Lorilee, Susan and Denni

Me and Amy at dinner

Post dinner briefing about tomorrow.  Charles Darwin center is closed because of the tsunami.  We’ll be going to a different point of the island to see the giant tortoises.  At least we get to see them.  Closing remarks, review cards and tips.  Exchange contact details with people.  Back to room to pack.

Day at sea 'cause the tsunami (aka day 3 Galapagos)

Friday, March 11, 2011

Well this sucks.  We spent 10 hours yesterday navigating from Santiago Island to Fernandina Island.  Wake up announcement at 7am told us breakfast would be ready in 30 minutes.  I was so tired, not wanting to wake up, after my interrupted sleep.  I took half an Ambien, but an hour later, pain all through my right leg woke me.  My leg had been bothering me a bit before bed, feels like its needs a massage or something, and I freaked out with the pain, crying in the middle of the night.  Unsure what to do, I went to find Denni and ask her opinion.  I felt bad waking her, but it was only 12:30am and I couldn’t possibly fall back to sleep.  She ended up giving me a muscle relaxer and I managed to get to bed.

This morning the pain is still there and I think it might be from some type of pinched nerve in my back.  I’m also having a problem with my right shoulder as well.  Lots of people asked how I was doing at breakfast, so at least people are looking out for me.

Towards the end of breakfast, Daniel and the other naturalists came in to make an announcement.  There was an earthquake in Japan at 7am (not sure if that was our time or theirs) and Ecuador had closed the Galapagos National park.  We were going to have to move the boat to the east side of Isabela Island in order to protect ourselves from a tsunami.  That means no two hour hike on Fernandina Island and no snorkeling near Tagus Cove, the city of sea turtles and home to the Galapagos penguin.

The tsunami isn’t supposed to reach us until 5pm, but it seems we’ll be spending the entire day doing nothing due to it.  This is such a bummer.  I’m so disappointed.  And I know there is nothing we can do about it, but there’s no way we’ll be able to come back to these islands because the travel time is far too long.  I’m curious to see what the day will bring, but that’s my update as of 10am.

We’re now approaching 2pm and we’re still sailing.  Just finished lunch with the girls.  Spent the morning identifying the animals in my pictures with Victor Hugo and talking to various people on the ship.  They played a movie about the Galapagos in the lounge, so I listened to the first two chapters of that.  Going to take a nap now.  Really sucks that we can’t do anything all day.  Tsunami should have hit Hawaii by now.  So curious what’s on the news back home.  Guess I’ll have to Google it when I get to Lima.

Lorilee, Susan and me at lunch

In the meantime, the rest of the people on the ship who I haven’t yet mentioned to total 33:

• Nancy and Mike, and their son Thai and his wife Ann from Alaska/Arizona
• Three Japanese guys from Tokyo (this news is not good for them) who work for Visa magazine Japan and are writing an article about the Galapagos
• Italian couple
• Swedish couple
• German couple
• Spanish speaking couple (don’t even know if they are from Spain or Latin America)

(night time) I found out this afternoon that the places we were supposed to visit today are somewhat unique to this cruise.  A lot of the less expensive boats don’t come all the way out here, no surprise since its 10 hours each way, to visit Espinosa Pont (Fernandina Island) and Tagus Cove (Isabela).  For most people it is the highlight of the cruise.  Stupid earthquake.

After I woke up from a two hour nap, I went to the upper deck to hang out.  The afternoon breeze created the perfect temperature.  Everyone on the deck was wildlife watching and we spotted a ton of sea turtles in the water in addition to some dolphins and three minky whales in the distance.  Was a bit more exciting than I expected and at least we got to see something.  I was on the upper deck around the time the tsunami was supposed to hit the Galapagos, but we were so far out we didn’t feel anything.  I hung out there for over an hour until there was an announcement for ice cream.  Every Friday on the boat they have an “ice cream fiesta” although I have to say, they are really lacking in toppings (only nuts, coconut and raisins, chocolate syrup and a few types of liquor).  Who puts raisins on ice cream?  It was still a nice sweet treat and afterwards I sat inside to hear about the earthquake.

Me, Thai and Ann eating ice cream

Daniel was eventually able to get the news on TV and we saw some fuzzy photos of Japan and heard about various countries putting their Pacific coasts on tsunami alert.  Seeing it on the news made it feel much more real.  Dinner was served at the usual hour of 7:30pm; I ate with Stacey and Evan.  On the menu was trout, broccoli, pasta, salad, cheese, etc.  We were still sailing, even though we’d been told that originally it would only be a few hours, to reach our destination for tomorrow, the island of Bartolome.  The boat was rocking a bit too much for my liking.

Dinner with Evan and Stacey

At our post dinner briefing, Daniel told us about the potential activities for tomorrow.  However, the ship had no contact with the navy and all we’d heard was that Ayora Port, where most of the population of the Galapagos lives, had been hit hard.  It is difficult to get excited for tomorrow’s landings since we don’t know if they’ll actually happen.  It’s been such a sad and disappointing day.  I’m spent, even though I haven’t done anything, and am going to bed hoping for the best in the morning.