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Up and Over

Posted August 11, 2013

PART 15 (DAYS 33-35): “How’s everything here?” I asked Chris, the manager at Southern Laughter Lodge, when I arrived back in Queenstown for a day in order to catch a homeward bound flight early the following morning.

“Oh, it’s quiet. It’s finally slowing down,” he answered.

“Oh, is the ski season over?”

“No, the season can go all the way until October,” he told me. “But all the Aussie kids have gone back to university.”

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New Friend For New Year’s

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted January 01, 2004

DAY 72: Arequipa, Peru’s second largest city, is nestled in the valley of three volcanoes. The lava of these volcanoes have hardened over geological history to form the white-colored rock known as sillar, which many of the buildings were made of — hence, Arequipa’s nickname, “The White City.”

The Redemption Cookie

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted December 29, 2003

DAY 71: I was up by seven o’clock in the morning to see Lara off before she left with her transport to her 4-day/3-night trek to Machu Picchu — a trek I had already done in 2001. It was her goal to ring in 2004 by entering the “lost” city of the Incas on the morning of New Year’s Day. She left the hostel by 8 a.m. with her new fleece, the cheesy water bottle holder I got her for Christmas and rations of Twix bars and Oreos.

The (Andean) Village People

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted December 28, 2003

DAY 70: “Guess what,” I asked Lara at an early morning breakfast before our day trip to the Sacred Valley. “I got a traditional Andean band to play ‘Y.M.C.A.’ tonight at 8:30.”

“Excellent,” she said. We were both looking forward to it. I even sent out an e-mail to The Ohio Boys about it in case they got back from Machu Picchu in time.

Two Women, A Llama and The Bird

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted December 27, 2003

DAY 69: I was having breakfast at the cafe across the street from the hostel when I noticed the same two women I had noticed at various places in town almost everyday. They were two local women who dressed in traditional Andean clothes that walked around with a llama, asking tourists if they wanted to take their picture for a small fee. The Ecuadorean group in the cafe ran out to pose with them, while I stayed inside and finished my yogurt, fruit and granola bowl.

Catch Him If You Can

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted December 26, 2003

DAY 68: Some people would say that the best invention since sliced bread is the “snooze” button. You know it and its contribution to Mankind — why wake up and face reality when all you have to do is simply push a button and stay in dream land another ten minutes?

Christmas in Cusco

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted December 25, 2003

DAY 67: I woke up to the sound of firecrackers in the streets early in the morning — the kids had been setting them off all night. For me, the sounds of Christmas morning sounded more like the sounds of the Fourth of July.

Horses for Hangovers

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted December 25, 2003

DAY 66: It’s one thing to be hungover after a night of boozing, but it’s another to be hungover when you haven’t yet acclimatized to the thin oxygen 11,000 ft. above sea level. I woke up feeling just awful (but with no regrets) and laid in bed questioning why I was alive — Lara felt the same way. We weren’t sure if it was the pisco or the altitude, but perhaps it was a little from Column A and a little from Column B.

On the Trail of Lara Croft

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted December 24, 2003

DAY 65: In 1996, the adventure video game Tomb Raider was born, starring the full-lipped, big-breasted virtual heroine Lara Croft. The gun-toting Lara adventured around the world in search of artifacts like a modern, female Indiana Jones. The popularity of the Tomb Raider video game spawned two movies in which the full-lipped, big-breasted virtual Lara Croft took the human form of Angelina Jolie.

Where They Drew The Line

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted December 23, 2003

DAY 64: I was lying in bed in the darkness of my room with no windows when there was a knock on the door. It was my driver for my transport to the airport — an hour and a half early. Lizet, the girl I booked the Nazca lines air tour with the day before, must have mixed something up, because I was suddenly on an 8 a.m. flight instead of a 9. Groggily, I put on my clothes and hopped in the car. It was the first time things in Peru actually ran ahead of schedule.

NAZCAR

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted December 21, 2003

DAY 63: Nights in pisco country are great, but the mornings after aren’t so much. With the absence of my usual greasy Hangover Helpers in New York — Union Square’s McDonald’s, Flatiron District’s Eisenberg’s Sandwich Shop or Chinatown’s Wo Hop — I turned to the regional breakfast specialty, the Tamale Iqueño, a corn dough treat stuffed with pork, olives, beans and spices. It might not have been greasy enough to make a sheet of paper transparent, but it did the trick.

Sweet, Sour and Sandy

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted December 20, 2003

DAY 62: Ica, capital city of the department of the same name, is known for two things: its massive and dramatic surrounding sand dunes (picture below), and its pisco brandy and wine-producing vineyards. The easiest way to see them both is with a city tour. At just ten dollars, the tour wasn’t a bad deal considering the amount of free booze samples you get. And what’s not to like about free booze?

A Pair of Turtles

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted December 20, 2003

DAY 61: I was writing a rough draft in the rooftop cafe of the Lima hostel early in the morning when two new pet animals, a pair of turtles, wandered in and walked under the tables and chairs. It took sometime for the turtles to get anywhere.

The Taxis of Miraflores

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted December 18, 2003

DAY 60: Just south of Lima is the affluent oceanside suburb of Miraflores, a place that despite its fancy restaurants and hotels, is suggested as “the better place to stay for budget travelers” according to Lonely Planet. Perhaps this is why the South American Explorers moved their clubhouse there, so it warranted a visit.

Across Lima and into Mordor

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted December 17, 2003

DAY 59: The Lord of the Rings trilogy is a phenomenon in many countries around the globe, Peru included. Tolkien’s world is very much a part of Peruvian pop culture as it is in the States, and with the worldwide December 17th release of the third film, Peruvian nerds, like their North American and European counterparts, lined up in hordes to see El Retorno del Rey. In fact, a front page article in the national newspaper El Comercio had a picture of the hundreds of Peruvian nerds who sat in theaters for ten hours straight watching all three movies back to back to back.

Looking for Christmas in Lima

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted December 16, 2003

DAY 58: Call me old-fashioned, but during the holiday season, I like it to feel a little bit like Christmas — you know, with the trees and decorations and people following shoppers leaving the mall to snatch their parking space, only to find out they were just dropping off bags in the trunk. Being in the jungle city of Iquitos, I was far away from anything remotely resembling a stereotypical Christmas, and so it was time to move on.

Amazon Dot Com

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted December 16, 2003

DAY 57: I was off to drop my laundry off in Iquitos to wash out the stench of vinegar-flavored yogurt and bug spray, when I ran into Richard on the street again. It was weird, because the run-in didn’t feel random — it was like he was waiting for me to come out so he could ask if I wanted him to guide me to the zoo that he mentioned to me the week before.

Survivor: The Amazon