After 4 weeks on the road, 3 countries, and countless hours on a bus - our trip through South America was concluded a completed and utter success! This will be a brief look into our month of travel - a time both Luke and I will always look back on as a great adventure...Enjoy!
First stop: Santiago, Chile
Luke arrived in the early AM - and I picked him up after only sleeping for 2 hours! We were exhausted and elated to be starting our trip! Here are a few photos from our time in Santiago...
After the city, we headed north to my house in Villa Alemana, where my family was awaiting Luke with open arms and lots of food! Luke really got treated well, as they pulled out all the stops, we had a great lunch with some of my Chilean friends/co-teachers, and a big family lunch on Sunday - it was really great for my family to meet him, and despite the language barrier I know it was really important for Luke to see where I have been living these past 6 months! We also took a day trip over to Vina del Mar and Valparaiso - spent time by the ocean and basked in the sun! Luke has these photos, so I cannot upload any right now!
We returned to Santiago - where Luke met my good friends Lauren, Jorge, and Steve. We stayed with them for a night before flying north to Arica, Chile and making our crossing into PERU...
in the infamous white van on the way to the airport!
jorge & lauren helping us out!
Destination 2; Arequipa, Peru
After crossing the border in Arica, to Tacna, we took an 8 hour trip to Arequipa...a beautiful Peruvian city, known as "the white city" because its so clean ad bright. It really was beautiful there! The plaza and museums we visited were lovely, and all in all we enjoyed this city. The market was an experience for Luke, and we also had a few adventures getting lost on our way back to our hostel!
Slightly impromptu, we decided to take a 2 day trip up into the start of the Colca Canyon - a river canyon twice as deep as the Grand Canyon! We stayed in a town called Chivay, at a small little hostel, run by a 9 year old boy! We hiked, adjusted to the altitude and enjoyed some hot springs nearby.
After Chivay, we began the longer trek to Cusco, on a fancy overnight bus:) The ten hour bus ride got us to Cusco at about 530am. Lost and hungry, we finally found our hostel! We spent 3 days in Cusco trying to adjust to altitude - it was a vibrant, touristy city, with lots of ruins, people, and things to see! We also met up with some of my fellow WorldTeach volunteers and their friends from home - we were a big group of 9 - so it was fun to plan our Machu Picchu trek together, as well as enjoy the city...We climbed up a short but steep hike to a Jesus statue that overlooks the city - it had some great views and was a really fun afternoon...
Destination 3; Machu Picchu, Peru
The next portion of our trip was a big undertaking -we chose to complete a 5 day trek through the Salkantay pass, to Machu Picchu - both Luke and I loved this entire trip, and anything I post below simply cannot do it justice - the trek, nor Machu Picchu itself can quite be summed up beyond saying it was a journey. Every step we took those 5 days made arriving to Machu Picchu that much more impressive, and climbing the higher peak, Huayna Picchu was phenominal and totally worth every steep step - it had great views and impressive altitude as well! I will post only a few photos - as we took over 300 along the journey...! Our guides were great, as was the rest of our trekking group, Pollo Rico, and it wouldn't have been the same without them!
Desination 4; Copacabana, Bolivia and Lake Titicaca's Isla del Sol
After being struck down by a couple infections during the trip, we had taken a day of rest in Cusco. This is involved a bizarre tour through the peruvian hospital system that left me praying I never had to enter it. I did find a nice doctor to save me with some antibiotics however...after that we were on our way to Bolivia!
Bolivia began with a bit of a hassle at the border, it's difficult for US citizens to go here now, that they imposed new restrictions for Americans, nonetheless, a 20 dollar bribe later we were in the beautiful town of Copacabana! And staying at a "fancy: hotel nonetheless! This beautiful city is located on the edge of Lake Titicaca (geography review: the highest lake in the world...!) Here we stayed a night before we took a boat out to the lovely Isla del Sol - potentially my favorite part of the trip. Isla del Sol is believed to be the birthplace of the sun, to native Bolivians, and is a large island in Lake Titicaca inhabited by about 5,000 people. We stayed in a great hostel, with amazing views for about 5 dollars. Another thing about Bolivia is its very cheap! We played lots of cribbage, I (not Luke, see photos) got up for the sunrise and we really just enjoyed the views, and tried to relax after our busy time in Peru...! That and tried to catch our breath about every other second...!
Destination 5; La Paz, Bolivia
After hearing rumors of protests and blockades, we weren't sure how our next destination would pan out....but alas, we hopped a crowded, crazy Bolivian bus to La Paz and 5 hours later (instead of the required 3) we arrived! Bolivians are famous for road protests, and so we took a non-road roundabout way there...it was, well, interesting! Once in La Paz, we found a nice hostel with HOT WATER (a pure luxury in Bolivia) and bunkered down for the rest of our time in Bolivia. Bolivia had great food, interesting culture, and plenty to see! We took one day trip to Bike "el camino del muerte" or the Death Road - an infamous road known for killing up to 300 passengers a year and a total of 33 bikers in its history...and yes, we survived! We took a day trip, biking the downhill, relatively tame but definitely steep road through the beautiful Bolivian jungle. It was a fun day! We also enjoyed our bad-ass equipment...!
Final destination; Back to Chile!
Breaking off our original plan, Luke and I decided to absorb a bit more Bolivia since it cost us so much to enter the country...we enjoyed the down time, ate great food, and lived up the last few days of our adventure. On the 22nd we took a horrendous bus ride back to Arica, Chile, slept 3 hours and caught a flight from Arica to Santiago once again! Once in Santiago, we explored a bit more of the city - taking Luke to the top of Cerro San Cristobal via funicular as well as enjoying some Chilean wine and good food! We had one last stop with friends before sending Luke off to the airport and I returned to Villa Alemana!
That concludes a very brief outline of our South American adventures! Again, I feel so blessed that we had the chance to even take this trip...we have amazing memories for sure! I am now enjoying my last week in Chile - before I head back the the United States on September 5th!
Most importantly, I have a great family to see upon my arrival, one I have missed dearly, and even better - there is a new edition for me to meet! On August 12th of our journey, Luke and I received word that little Lydia Eloisa Theis had been born safely to my sister Alissa and her husband Josh! I am so thrilled and beyond excited for them, and cannot wait to meet the lady!
Lastly, I write this from the familiar spot in my home in Villa Alemana. I just ate a bowl of homemade lentils and spent the evening hanging out with Ely and Emi. I have a few days left before I will say goodbye to this family - I have very mixed feelings about leaving. I have loved my time here, with these people, in this country, and in this home. I am full gratitude for every bit of it! Can't wait to fill you all in on it, in person, soon enough!
til next time,
lck
