Mmmm, Machu Picchu!

When we decided to add Peru to our itinerary, I was like:

No, seriously, I replayed this scene in my head the entire four days of our jungle trek.  But I digress.

Upon arriving in Peru, Felipe and I spent the afternoon looking for Jungle Trek tour groups and found one that left the next day.  For those of you traveling to the area (especially when it's low season) I highly recommend you hold off booking until arriving in Cuzco - it can save up to $200/person for the same tour people book ahead of time.

Before going any further, most people are not familiar with the jungle trek - that's because its fairly new.  Up until a few years ago, the only way to see Machu Picchu was by trekking on the Inca Trail for ~4 days or taking the train.  However, there's a new kid on the block that appeals to ADD outdoor-adventure-loving folks such as myself.  As much as I love outdoor adventures, four days of hiking felt incredibly tedious ...not to mention an ass killer (its possible I'm a wimp, but I prefer the term "variety inclined").  The jungle trek combines hiking the Inca Trail with mountain biking, white water rafting, and zip lining.

Here are the top ten highlights from the jungle tour:

10.  Bathrooms encouraging silence

9. Bugs in your teeth and being soaked to the bone after riding down a mountain pass on questionable bikes...a wobbly front tire is safe, right?

8. White water rafting class four rapids

7. Seeing strange creatures... I forget the name for this in Spanish but, as you can tell, this is an R.O.U.S...as made famous in "The Princess Bride" 

6. Hiking to the highest point of the Inca Trail

5. Being greeted to our camp on day two with lunch, puppies, and hammocks after 8 hours of hiking

4. Crossing a gorge in a basket

3. Meeting fellow travelers and making great friends

2. Supermanning (is that a word?) across mountains

1. Of course...seeing Machu Picchu and experiencing a part of it's incredible story (a few pics showing how spectacular the site is below)

                   

January River

Rio is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever visited.  While nothing can make a just claim to being more beautiful than San Francisco (its sacrilege to suggest otherwise), Rio is certainly not less...differently beautiful, but equally breathtaking.

We spent three days in Rio (turns out Rio de Janeiro means "January River" in Portuguese) and really loved the bohemian and beach-y vibe here.  There were riots in the Copa Cabana area and in one other favela (slums) three days before we arrived so there was definitely a jittery/restless vibe that prevented us from getting too adventurous during our stay -- we stayed to Copa and ventured out once with a tour group - more on that later.

After speaking to native Brazilians about the why there were so many protests here, we discovered that the unrest is rooted in inequality.  This is certainly not a shock but I was surprised that people of all classes seemed to be united in a common frustration that the government appears to be neglecting its people.  With Brazil being one of the BRIC economic giants, there appears to be massive mismanagement of the influx of funds the country is receiving.  Rather than investing infrastructure and education, the money is going to soccer stadiums and higher salaries in the government. Apparently there are massive protests expected to take place during the World Cup targeting this issue.

But I digress.  Our time spent in Rio was fantastic.  Since most of our time involved being on the beach, there is not much to share but I did want to show the highlights from our Rio tour.



1. Big Jesus - the Christ the Redeemer statue which sits atop the Corcovado Mountain in Rio was really incredible.  It is, of course, one of the world's most iconic statues and I was absolutely dumbstruck at the size of the statue.  It stands 98 feet tall, made entirely of soapstone and rests upon a 26 foot pedestal.  Felipe and I spent a lot of time trying to get amazing pictures of us standing in front of the statue but found varying degrees of success due to people constantly walking in front of us...which makes me wonder : (1) how many pictures am I randomly in? (2) what are some good photobomb poses I should start to practice for situations as these? This is one of our more successful attempts.











2. Pretty Tile Steps...also known as Escadario Selarón is an incredible set of stairs overlaid with beautiful, colorful tiles.  Up until 1990, these were normal, concrete steps set in a poor neighborhood; then Chilean born artist Jorge Selarón started to create this breathtaking mosaic in front of his house as a side project and a tribute to the Brazilian people.

Me posing next to San Francisco tiles

These pictures do not do the location justice but I wanted to show a sense of this dazzling mosaic.  There are tiles from all over the world on these steps and its a great celebration of the many cultures of the world in one place.




3. Sugar Loaf Mountain.  Suger Loaf mountain is the iconic mountain seen in pictures taken at Copa Cabana beach.  It affords a breathtaking view of the city which we were able to see just as the sun was setting.  A couple of favorite shots are below:

CopaCabana beach is on the left overshadowed by cables of the
 gondola we took to the top

Sunset with Corcovado and Big Jesus on the mountain to the left

Pizza in a Cone, Detours, Lizardo, and Portuspanglish

Since my last post, Felipe and I visited Buzios in Brazil - which others have refereed to as the Hampton's of Brazil.  We had a bit of a rough time getting there because no one told us that the Easter Holiday is one of the busiest in Brazil - and everyone in Rio leaves town to go to beach resorts - Buzios being one of them.

Felipe and I left Ihla Grande on Friday of the Easter Holiday expecting to go to Buzios same day with

On the Ferry leaving Ihla Grande

a detour through Rio's Bus station.  Ihla Grande is south of Rio; Buzios is north.  Upon arrival to Rio and after two hours of standing in line and trying to buy a bus ticket to Buzios in Portuspanglish, we found that all of the bus tickets had sold out for the day.  With little more than a Lonely Planet map on the ipad, we got a cab to take us to a hostel  recommended in Lonely Planet.  We played it old school that day and simply walked in and asked if they had room.  They had one private room available for 325 pesos per person...that's approximately $160... per person...for a hostel room!

Pizza in a Cone

I'm always amazed how things can often just work out when one is traveling. As it happens, there was a group checking into the hostel at the same time we arrived and two of their friends had bailed on the trip and they were forced to pay the full fee for two empty beds for their friends. They basically offered us the extra space which we happily took...for about $40 per person...still pricey by hostel standards but much better than the alternative.

We spent the rest of the day in Copa Cabana beach enjoying Pizza in a Cone, Caipirinhas and a Jack Sparrow look alike wandering around the beach...presumably as drunk as Jack Sparrow seems in the movies..."why is the rum gone?!"

Next day, we were off to Buzios...the three hour trip took about six after several detours due to road closures forced the driver to get creative with his routes...but we made it! Our hostel owner, Lezandro, was incredible. Not only did he not charge us for missing our reservation the prior night, he also took us to the best beach in Buzios where we hung out all day drinking Caipirinhas and eating incredible, fresh-caught fish (he's sitting next to Felipe in the pic).  Afterward he insisted we spend our remaining three days at his Hostel for free as his friends.  It was here that I was absolutely floored by the friendliness of Brazillians.  If you find yourself in Buzios, be sure to visit Lezandro at his hostel Lobo Inn, Buzios.  It will be one of your highlights of Brazil.

So these were all incredible experiences but there were also some rough situations over this time period:

CC shot of the ATM thief

1. My ATM card number and pin (though not the card) was stolen and someone pulled about $1200 in cash at various ATM's in Rio. About ten ATM charges took place in Rio...while I was not in Rio. All I can say is thank god for American banks who work quickly to right fraudulent charges.

Ten Second Shannon...er, Tom

2. Turns out I am "Ten Second Tom" from 50 first dates.  I've referred to Caipirinhas several times in this post.  However, the entirety of my time in Brazil, I kept calling them "Caipirinis."  Felipe would point out that I was mis-pronouncing the name, I would repeat it properly and then forget it...10 seconds later.

Thats not the worst of it. Our amazing hostel owner Lezandro... I called him "Lizardo"the entire time we were his guests.  I would constantly realize I was mispronouncing his name but couldn't remember his proper name.  Luckily he was gracious enough to say nothing about it and respond to me like I did not just insult his name...but we both knew.  I hope this is a product of having to speak Portuspanglish and I haven't lost my mind...but only time can truly tell.

Stay tuned for updates on Rio and Machu Pichu coming up next!

Alarm Clock

You know it's going to be a good day when this is your alarm clock:

...and this is one of your travel companions













I arrived in Ilha Grande, Brazil last Monday.  Unfortunately it rained all day for the first few days...it ended up working out perfectly that it coincided with my jet lag...so we just did a lot of reading in these:

and in our hobbit house here:

Today was the first day without rain, so we ventured out into the island.

Ilha Grande is a beautiful island - there are no cars here so everyone gets around via water taxi or long hikes across the island.  Felipe and I want to keep traveling as long as possible so we pretty much always opt for the money saving option - especially when it coincides with the calorie burning option, which is a necessity when your diet somehow always contains bread, beer and cookies.   We hiked for 2 hours to Dois Rios beach today.  It was overcast today but we made the most of it and still got a 4 hour hike in and some good beach time...and, of course, I have the sunburn to show for it...you would think in my 30+ years on this earth, I would realize that cloudy days can still lead to sunburn...apparently not

Here's Felipe enjoying some time on the beach

We stayed in Ihla Grande until April 18th and then moved on to Buzios during the busy Easter Holiday (apparently the country takes a few days off for the Holiday and they consider it to be as busy of a time as Carnavale).  Stay tuned for adventures in traveling through Rio, living in a digital world and staying in "The Hamptons" of Brazil.

Career Break; Priority Shift

"Are you ready to change your life forever?" my lyft driver asked as I stepped into his car. It was the last stop to drop off clothes and gear at my apartment before heading to the airport to travel with my boyfriend for six months in South America, Cental America and Africa. 

My response is a resounding "yes!"

Stay tuned for stories and adventures. Until then, I leave you with the words of St. Augustine (thanks for the inspiration, Neil) "the world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page."

Wheels up!