Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Epilogue

So, this last blog post brings our around-the-world-adventure to a conclusion. In many ways, this trip was “better” than the first one seven years ago. Better planning, MUCH better technology; perhaps more upscale places…all made for an incident-free trip.

Here are our top ten random observations collected along the way:

1. Graffiti…why is not controlled? These ancient, beautiful buildings around                     the world are slowly being destroyed by senseless acts.
2.  Apple products do not need a 220v converter!
3.  Most people in the heart of Russia live in poverty by our standards
4.  Technology advances since ATW in 2010 are amazing…goggle maps, e.g. Imagine 7 years from now 2024?
5.  UBER is the only way to go. Cheap, efficient and worldwide (almost).
6.  Tip often and it doesn’t have to be a lot. Makes a huge difference in peoples lives   plus it is appreciated much. Guaranteed to generate a smile.
7.   Croatia is the most well kept secret in the world.
8.  Get a hotel that includes the breakfast buffet. They are almost always great plus you can skip lunch.
9.   Most travel problems can be resolved with a smile and\or a little $$.
10.  Use ATM’s for local money. Currency exchanges are expensive and are a rip-off.

And finally…in keeping with our last blog from seven years ago…

Around the World in 66 days: By the Numbers

MILES TRAVELED:
      
341 WALKED
20 BIKED
34,377 FLOWN
1,320 RENTAL CAR
7,650 TRAIN
88 FERRY\BOAT
75 SUBWAY
80 SAFARI
35 BUS
125 TOURS
240 TO\FROM ATL AIRPORT
3 SWAM\SNORKLED
250 TAXI \ UBER
________
44,604 TOTAL DISTANCE
      
10 COUNTRIES TOUCHED
      
4 CONTINENTS TOUCHED
      

COST BREAKDOWN %'S:
      
12% FOOD
43% HOTELS
9%  PREPARATION
8%  SIGHTSEEING
28% TRANSPORTATION
______    
100%      TOTAL
      
VARIOUS:
      
18   AIRLINE FLIGHTS
28   HOTELS
4      TRAINS
1     RENTAL CAR
66   ACTUAL DAYS
66   PLANNED DAYS
1     MELTDOWNS
0     I-WANTA-GO-HOME'S
11   BOOKS READ
16   ATM WITHDRAWALS
100.7%   ACTUAL % OF PLANNED CASH SPENT
7     NUMBER OF TIMES CLOTHES LAUNDERED
1     NUMBER OF TRIPS TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM
       AFTER BILL TRIPPED ON THE CURB TWO HOURS AFTER ARRIVING BACK        IN ATLANTA.
      
AND FINALLY:
                          
INFINITE....NUMBER OF MEMORIES MADE!!

Thank you all for letting us take you along.

Bill and Andrea Thomason
Miami, Florida
June 27, 2017




Amazon Rain Forest

The Amazon Rain Forest

The short forty-five minute flight from Cusco to Puerto Maldonado provided some spectacular scenery. We flew across the Andes Mountains, west to east. The terrain changed from the grey, barren Inca rocks of the sacred valley to lush greenery of the Amazon rain forest that is fueled by the constantly melting snow flowing down from the Andean mountains. We were met by the efficient staff of the Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica who bussed us to their port along the Rio Madre De Dios and then by river canoe about fifteen kilometers down river to their camp in the Amazon rain forest.

On the canoe cruising on the Madre De Dios to our resort

Our cabana, located on the river, we got upgraded! 


Cayman laying on the riverbank by our cabana



This place was a very upscale eco lodge with about thirty cabanas and accessible only by water…no telephone, television or internet. Electric power was provided by generator during occasional hours and otherwise; kerosene lanterns were used for light. Our cabana was right along the river that provided a spectacular and fascinating perch for observing life along the river. This river, along with many others, eventually ran into the Amazon River. Wide, fast flowing and muddy, it drives the economy for many Peruvian families that live along its banks.

Being all-inclusive, there were three excellent meals a day and service was superb. During the day, there were numerous hikes, treks and classes provided by expert guides into the rain forest. One thing that dawned on us the first morning about two a.m. was the realization of the true “raining” of the forest…massive condensation falling from the tree canopy for about three hours until sunrise which sounded like a three-hour rainstorm. Then, it all started to evaporate again until the next night. It’s an amazing cycle that is the backbone of the ecological system there.

Day one tour: The canopy tour and Wetlands. The  tree canopy bridge, one of South America’s largest, makes it possible to literally walk through the treetops for more than ¼ mile, suspended 98 feet above the ground, near Tambopata. 




Blue Headed Parrot



Peeing red howler monkeys

Mom and baby

The monkeys used the canopy walk too! 

SQUIRREL
Leaf cutter ants;  Seeing these guys in action was fascinating.  For more on these amazing little insects click here: Leaf cutter ants




Although we did not see any giant anaconda snakes, we heard plenty of stories about them and were reminded that they are everywhere and are indigenous to the area. One of the half-day trips was to a lake where we could swim with the piranha fish. Bill just about laughed in their faces at this proposal and commented that he would just as well opt for the rattlesnake wrestling as swim with flesh-eating fish. Of course, Andrea was ready to experience it. We didn’t.

Day two tour:  Fruit farm tour (Andrea went solo). She had to be up and ready to go at 5am and captured the sunrise. 




Drying bananas for banana chips


We didn’t know until afterwards, but the actor (Tony Goldwyn) who portrayed the young bad-guy who was stealing the bank’s money in the movie “Ghost” was there with his daughter. Once our guide told us, we looked at his webpage picture when we eventually had Internet access and immediately recognized him from being in the dining area several times when we were there at the same time.

Day 3 tour:  LAKE SANDOVAL
A 30-minute ride by motorized canoe takes you to the Tambopata National Reserve, where wildlife surrounds you as you enjoy the one and a half hour walk along three kilometers of trails to reach Lake Sandoval. 

Macaws along the hike, they were beautiful. 





On lake Sandoval. River otters, they were so cute!




The canoes did come equipped with a large machete just in case that Anaconda slithered on board. 



We had two issues while there. One, our computer died. We suspected that it was from the extreme moisture. Thus, our blog entries came to a screeching halt. Since there was no Internet, we really didn’t feel the effect until we left the resort. The other issue was that we both got a bad case of “altitude bronchitis” from Cusco that hit us pretty hard upon arriving at Inkaterra. In fact, Bill spent a morning in bed and spent the afternoon in the porch hammock. Andrea felt as bad, but pushed through it so as not to miss any of the guided walks.


Saying good bye to the Amazon rain forest.


So, after a very relaxing four days we effectively started the long journey home. River canoed to Puerto Maldonado to the three-hour flight to Lima. We scheduled one full (and last) day in this huge, fascinating city to explore and were glad we did. The traffic is awful, as the Peruvians make their own lanes and the auto emissions are way behind U.S. standards so that makes for watery eyes. But, it is a typical colorful South American city and the people are reasonably friendly.






Wheels up at 0630 on June 26 so it was a very early wake-up call (which incidentally never came but fortunately we set our Iphone clocks as backups. We raised hell at the front desk but the night clerk seemed clueless to the potential disaster that was averted by their incompetence at such a simple task).

Because we were short on the Delta miles when we made the reservations last August, our last leg was not only coach class but also required an overnight layover in Miami. We made the best of it and in fact had a most memorable last meal with plenty of cold beverages overlooking Biscayne Bay and reminiscing of the amazing trip we’d just completed (without incident, by the way).

After a short hop up to Atlanta the following morning and an Uber ride back to Marietta where our car was, our driver pulled into the Park at Piedmont to see Grandmom and Grandman standing exactly where we had left them sixty-six days before at four a.m. when we left on our journey.

Amazing, this world-traveling!

Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Cusco, Peru


Cusco, Peru

Day 56...June 17, 2017, Marco the taxi man picked us back up at Ollantaytambo and hauled us back out of the sacred valley to Cusco. Cusco is a fairly large city and promotes itself as the tourist capital of Peru. Whether or not that's true is questionable, but it is the gateway to the sacred valley thus many tourists fly to here but then move on to Machu Picchu...as we did.

Our hotel in Cusco is "The Fallen Angel", a very eclectic and art-sy place that was well known for it's restaurant but then added six guestrooms upstairs. The structure was built in the 15th century. When we checked in, the young man showed us three of the rooms (the other three were occupied) and allowed us to choose our room which we thought was most thoughtful and probably has never happened before in our travels. We selected the one with a balcony overlooking the little plaza of St. Nazareth. The main plaza of the Cusco, Plaza de Arms is only a block away which is very convenient to all the food joints and watering holes.

The Fallen Angel  hotel:

Our room, yes that is a sink on top of an old TV.





View of the plaza from our balcony. 

Turns out, the entire city was in the midst of celebrating the arrival of the winter solstice on June 24th with continuous festivals, parties and parades. This made for a most interesting look at Peruvian life.

The festival.  Some of these floats were just down right scary! 
The floats:





There were two days of dance competitions that were a lot of fun to watch.  The colleges had their different areas of study compete and we were thrilled to see the accounting department dance... yep, 30 nerds with calculators and general ledgers doing their best twerking.




The plaza during the day.





At night  the plaza was rocking with music playing and fireworks show late into the night.  It was jam packed. 


Bill even found time to get a hair cut. Best one he has received in a long time....

and Andrea found time to cuddle a llama.



We took an open-top bus tour of the city that oriented us to the place and then the next day did another tour to some Inca ruins in the area and also the Inca salt mines nearby. It seems that the Incas harvested salt for bartering purposes with other cultures since there was no currency at that time. On both days, the tour included the obligatory stop a local craft store where the hawkers pressured us to buy their stuff. We could have done without it but it's always part of the tour and not optional.

Statue of JESUS on mountain top in Cusco. 



Inca ruins





Salt Mines





Tasting the salt water

Workers mining the salt




The food in Cusco was outstanding and is known for such. We ate at The Fallen Angel restaurant one night and it was easy to see why it is so well known there.

The dinner table was an old bath tub, covered with glass and fish swimming below!.
Our romantic dinner setting


Cusco is 11,000 feet above sea level. By comparison, Denver, Colorado is 5,000 feet. Consequently, altitude sickness is very common. Walking up steps is a challenge and even laying in bed, one can feel the sensation of gasping for air. Beware.

In summary, Cusco is a cool place and worthy of a stop for a day or two. We are at the Cusco airport awaiting our forty-minute flight to Puerto Maldonado where we will spend four nights at a lodge down-river in the Amazon basin. Sadly, this is the last destination before we start the trek home.

The people of Peru:


We wanted to dive into this but were warned about eating from street vendors if not a local. 







These ladies were weaving clothing from llama fur and then dying it different colors
 using native plants, bugs and food items.




Peru is known for its potatoes and corn, they have over 55 varieties of corn.