After a frantic morning almost missing flights we finally made it into Bogota. The one time home of Aunty Tatiana, that smokin' hot Colombian we all know and love. We only had about five days in Bogota. Possibly the least interesting place to go in Colombia, or so the masses told us, but it turned out to be pretty cool. Our first few nights were spent in La Candelaria in a funny little hostel with rock hard beds. We were, however, pretty close to all the touristy joints. We wandered around checking out all the awesome street art mixed in with old buildings. We sniffed out the best beer joint in town (Bogota Beer Company) and the tastiest places to eat. They had food trucks, arepa de queso on the streets, the best jugos you could imagine (guanabana was my favourite too Tatiana!) and some heartier fare including avocado soup or ajiaco. Breakfast almost always included a hot chocolate and sweet bread. Our favourite joint, especially after an evening at BBC, was Luchador pizza where the guy would always serve us in his luchador gear. I think we were still dreaming about our Mexican Luchador nights!
A few nights later we met up with the lovely Ana, Tatiana's cousin. She was so nice! She let us stay at her house and would cook us meals. It was a nice change being a part of a home again for a while. Her apartment was out of the touristy area and reminded us of Norwest. We started getting the hang of taxis so we ventured to the botanical gardens and to the movies just because we could. While we were getting the hang of taxis, we were forgetting how to read a map. We got seriously lost one afternoon for hours trying to convince taxi drivers to take us in the completely wrong direction. We no longer had a phone for calls or wifi so couldn't contact Ana for help. Anyway, after an extensive tour of the city we finally made it home safe and sound. Are we surprised? I didn't think so.
A few nights later we met up with the lovely Ana, Tatiana's cousin. She was so nice! She let us stay at her house and would cook us meals. It was a nice change being a part of a home again for a while. Her apartment was out of the touristy area and reminded us of Norwest. We started getting the hang of taxis so we ventured to the botanical gardens and to the movies just because we could. While we were getting the hang of taxis, we were forgetting how to read a map. We got seriously lost one afternoon for hours trying to convince taxi drivers to take us in the completely wrong direction. We no longer had a phone for calls or wifi so couldn't contact Ana for help. Anyway, after an extensive tour of the city we finally made it home safe and sound. Are we surprised? I didn't think so.
Our next flight was going to take us to Ecuador. Galapagas was on my "to do" list for this trip and Ecuador is the place to get it done. The flights there were a bit beyond our budget especially after the last seven months or so of adventure time! So we decided to spend a week in Quito and get some more Spanish lessons with the lovely Jacqui. In a similar vein to Antigua, mornings were spent at school, afternoons eating and doing homework and evenings trolling the streets for some good eats and bevvies.
Jacqui took us to the local market which turned into our favourite place to eat. For breakfast we would hit up the little, old lady for tortillas de verde (plantain patties) with chilli sauce and a cup of coffee. For lunch we would usually share a jugo and have a massive bowl of soup. I had the chicken, caldo de gallina, and Frost would have the seafood, Encebollado. When we were feeling especially hungry (or just greedy) we would head to the Queen's of the market for a giant plate of pork for me and an even bigger plate of fried fish for Frosty. And who can forget the many empanadas we devoured alongside warm, sweetened corn drinks on rainy afternoons. I thought maybe I'd come back to Australia a little leaner because we're being active and whatever, but somehow I don't think that's going to happen!
Jacqui took us to the local market which turned into our favourite place to eat. For breakfast we would hit up the little, old lady for tortillas de verde (plantain patties) with chilli sauce and a cup of coffee. For lunch we would usually share a jugo and have a massive bowl of soup. I had the chicken, caldo de gallina, and Frost would have the seafood, Encebollado. When we were feeling especially hungry (or just greedy) we would head to the Queen's of the market for a giant plate of pork for me and an even bigger plate of fried fish for Frosty. And who can forget the many empanadas we devoured alongside warm, sweetened corn drinks on rainy afternoons. I thought maybe I'd come back to Australia a little leaner because we're being active and whatever, but somehow I don't think that's going to happen!
We made it down to southern Ecuador with the intention of crossing into Peru near the coast. We had read a million horror stories about that particular border crossing so opted for a quieter crossing in a mountain town. We arrived to torrential rain in the little town but it was better than the other way as apparently the beaches were flooded from a giant tide. We arrive into Peru without a hitch and headed for Trujillo where we dined on ceviche and lazed in the park. We spent one day in Lima before finally making to the very pretty Cusco! With an elevation of around 3400m I got hit with altitude sickness straight away. It didn't help that I had a cold too! Altitude sickness is pretty fascinating the way it can affect the body. It can make you wee more, fart more, get dizzy, feel naseous, eat and drink less, give you headaches, mess with your womanly ways, and of course be out of breath. Now I'm not saying I got all those! I just felt weak and out of breath. I bought a massive bag of coca leaves and started chewing on those as often as I could which helped a lot. Just so you know, you need about 6000 leaves to make 1 gram of cocaine so chewing them is fine.
Cusco was a pretty city but we were getting bombarded with people trying to sell us stuff. Food, clothes, drugs! We needed some quiet time so we headed to the mountains. The Inca Trail was out of the question as it was booked out until November so we decided on the quieter Lares trek. It was awesome!! Just me and the Fromeist in the wilderness. With the help of our Spanish lessons we could even have proper conversations with the locals! That was definitely a highlight seeing our hard work paying off. We managed to climb a pass of 4400m with only about 1000 breaks. The higher we climbed, the harder it got. Phew! It was tough work but once up the top it was beautiful looking down into the two valleys. We decided to celebrate up top with a picnic lunch. Well, we bloody deserved it! I got everything out and ready. The first bite was was the delicious. The best avocado on a biscuit we've ever had! The second bite was just as delicious but a little less satisfying as it started to hail on us. We survived the whole ordeal though. We're tough cookies! We even got to finish the trek by soaking in some hot pools. It's tough being us.
Back in Cusco we visited museums and strolled the pretty streets planning our next move to Machu Picchu! Machu Picchu is expensive but we managed to find an OK priced way of getting there that wasn't as long and boring as the backpacker version. We caught the local buses to the very scenic Ollantaytambo and scored ourselves a luxury room for a bargain price. From here we caught the train to Aguas Caliente and another bus up to Machu Picchu. We got straight into it and climbed Machu Picchu Mountain which was a decent climb! Lots of huffing and puffing and red faces from all but when we finally made it to the top it was beautiful. It was a cloudy day and we could watch patches of misty cloud flow over the ancient city. We spent the rest of the day walking around the ruins in the pouring rain soaking it all up. The views and the water! Then we got to go on another swanky train back to our swanky accommodation. Pretty snazzwit!
But enough about us....for now. Our final installment will be the amazing Bolivia and Chile! I can't believe it's almost over!!
Cusco was a pretty city but we were getting bombarded with people trying to sell us stuff. Food, clothes, drugs! We needed some quiet time so we headed to the mountains. The Inca Trail was out of the question as it was booked out until November so we decided on the quieter Lares trek. It was awesome!! Just me and the Fromeist in the wilderness. With the help of our Spanish lessons we could even have proper conversations with the locals! That was definitely a highlight seeing our hard work paying off. We managed to climb a pass of 4400m with only about 1000 breaks. The higher we climbed, the harder it got. Phew! It was tough work but once up the top it was beautiful looking down into the two valleys. We decided to celebrate up top with a picnic lunch. Well, we bloody deserved it! I got everything out and ready. The first bite was was the delicious. The best avocado on a biscuit we've ever had! The second bite was just as delicious but a little less satisfying as it started to hail on us. We survived the whole ordeal though. We're tough cookies! We even got to finish the trek by soaking in some hot pools. It's tough being us.
Back in Cusco we visited museums and strolled the pretty streets planning our next move to Machu Picchu! Machu Picchu is expensive but we managed to find an OK priced way of getting there that wasn't as long and boring as the backpacker version. We caught the local buses to the very scenic Ollantaytambo and scored ourselves a luxury room for a bargain price. From here we caught the train to Aguas Caliente and another bus up to Machu Picchu. We got straight into it and climbed Machu Picchu Mountain which was a decent climb! Lots of huffing and puffing and red faces from all but when we finally made it to the top it was beautiful. It was a cloudy day and we could watch patches of misty cloud flow over the ancient city. We spent the rest of the day walking around the ruins in the pouring rain soaking it all up. The views and the water! Then we got to go on another swanky train back to our swanky accommodation. Pretty snazzwit!
But enough about us....for now. Our final installment will be the amazing Bolivia and Chile! I can't believe it's almost over!!