Top Menu

Navigation

Archive | South America

Trekking The Colca Canyon

By on 26. September 2007 in Peru
Trekking the Canyon de Colca, the 2nd deepest Canyon on earth, Cabanaconde, Peru - On the way to Fure: the path was sometimes not much wider than 60 to 80 centimeters, carved out of the steep mountain slopes going down up to 1.000 meters!

Trekking the Canyon de Colca, the 2nd deepest Canyon on earth, Cabanaconde, Peru – On the way to Fure: the path was sometimes not much wider than 60 to 80 centimeters, carved out of the steep mountain slopes going down up to 1.000 meters!

At the Hostel Valle de Fuego, we booked a 3 days / 2 nights tour with a local guide. The person at the hostel convinced us to choose another route than the one we had planed, which is quiet easy to do because you could see the two places where you stay overnight, Tapay and Sangalle, from the Mirador in Cabanaconde. This is probably one of the more common routes, but since there are so few tourists trekking the Canyon, it really does not matter. Continue Reading →

Going To The Colca Canyon

By on 24. September 2007 in Peru

 

View of the Canyon de Colca (the 2nd deepest in the world at 3.179 meters) from the Mirador in Cabanaconde, Peru

View of the Canyon de Colca (the 2nd deepest in the world at 3.179 meters) from the Mirador in Cabanaconde, Peru

The bus ride from Arequipa to Cabanaconde was our first experience with a “Servicio Economico”, that means the normal local buses, not the luxury ones for tourists. These buses cost 3 times less than the latter, but still offer an acceptable level of comfort, at least for a day trip. Actually Heidi liked them better because there is no air-conditioning, just windows. And people watching is so exciting, especially looking at the local women in there bulky, brightly-colored skirts and hats. All these women entering the bus carried a huge bundle on their back wrapped in a woven blanket. Male passengers would wear a slick, white sombrero, but they all wore modern clothes. Continue Reading →

Three Days In Arequipa

By on 22. September 2007 in Peru
Plaza de Armas, Arequipa, Peru

Plaza de Armas, Arequipa, Peru

Another night on a bus took us from Nasca to Arequipa. But this time we succeed in getting two seats on the first floor of the Cruzero bus from Cruz del Sur, which are normally booked out far in advance. The seats almost fully recline, are wide and extremely comfortable. So we could at least sleep a few hours and arrive not too tired in Arequipa. Continue Reading →

Flying Over The Nasca Lines

By on 20. September 2007 in Peru
The Nasca Lines: the Spider - A UNESCO World Heritage, Nazca, Peru

The Nasca Lines: the Spider – A UNESCO World Heritage, Nazca, Peru

Flying in a tiny Cessna across the Nasca Lines is why people from all over the world come to this small city in the desert. The lines only were discovered once commercial airplanes started flying over the area in the 1930s, but tourism only started to pick up in the 80s, when flying became affordable. Continue Reading →

Travel Guide To Brazil

By on 18. September 2007 in Brazil
The Pao de Acucar seen from Morro de Corcovado ... Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The Pao de Acucar seen from Morro de Corcovado … Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

We spent one month in Brazil: we crossed the border from Venezuela and started in Manaus. Then we headed for the coast: Recife & Olinda, Salvador de Bahia & Morro de Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and last but not least Sao Paulo. Continue Reading →

Trip To Nasca

By on 18. September 2007 in Peru
A 7 hours bus ride took us from Lima to Nasca across the desert along the cost of Peru ...

A 7 hours bus ride took us from Lima to Nasca across the desert along the cost of Peru …

The 7 hour long bus trip from Lima to Nasca made us familiar with long distance bus travel in Peru. Most tourists choose to travel with the “Cruzero” service of Cruz del Sur, a company that runs more than 130 state-of-art busses. For those who still worry about security on Peruvian busses, read on … It is basically like travelling on a plane. You check in your luggage, receipt is attached to your ticket. You then go through a metal detector and when boarding the bus the passengers are videotaped. The busses are equipped with GPS and headquarters permanently control where the busses are and how fast they are driving. Continue Reading →

Lima – Miraflores & El Centro

By on 16. September 2007 in Peru
Miraflores, Lima, Peru

Miraflores, Lima, Peru

Arriving in Lima turned out to be quite a shock… Winter here on the Pacific Coast really means winter, not like in Rio de Janeiro where temperatures climb up to 32 decrees Celcius during the day. Here at night temperatures fall far below 10 degrees and during the day hardly get over 15. On top of that, it is damp, which makes it so much worse AND the sky is always grey. We are basically wearing all the warm clothes we have brought… Continue Reading →

Brazil – Budget Guide

By on 16. September 2007 in Brazil, Country Budget Guide
Santa Teresa Tramway (Bondinho), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America

Santa Teresa Tramway (Bondinho), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America

Brazil is definitely no longer a budget destination. This made us actually shorten our stay here and with lots of guilty feelings we decided to skip certain destinations such as the Chapada Diamantina National Parc or the whole Minais Gerais region to spend more time in cheaper countries such as Peru or Bolivia. Continue Reading →

Visit To Rocinha

By on 14. September 2007 in Brazil
Rocinha, home to 180.000 people, is the biggest favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Rocinha, home to 180.000 people, is the biggest favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

After visiting fancy Leblon & Ipanema, bohemian Santa Teresa, the busy Centro and other nice neighbourhoods in Zone Sul, we decided to see how the less fortunate inhabitants of Rio live. There are currently 500 favelas in Rio, all perched on mountain slopes, often very, very close to the most expensive neighbourhoods. Continue Reading →