Ollantaytambo- Let's go for a hike (or two)

We just spent two magnificent days in Ollantaytambo. The first day we checked in, showered, ate lunch, and immediately headed out for a shorter hike to some ruins on the mountainside near the city.

Ruins near Ollantaytambo

Barrett looking from some ruins at some other ruins across the valley

 The next day we did a longer hike to some ruins nobody goes to that the woman working the front desk at our hotel told us about. It was about 2 hours away that took us through some of the countryside. Along the way we saw different types of farming, several Incan terraces, and some farm animals.

The sign marking the way to the Pumamarca ruins

 Then came the spooky part...seeing a human skull just nestled in the wall along the trail.

Human skull?!

We got a little lost trying to follow the hand-drawn map, but when we finally made it to the ruins, we had them to ourselves (other than a couple of horses grazing).

 Remember how I said we kind of got lost? Getting lost meant wandering through overgrown terraces looking for a path. The result was HUNDREDS of various different seeds attached to my shoes, socks, and leggings. Good times.

When we finally found the trail back, it was beautiful. It followed old Incan aqueducts for a while, then winded us through some terraces, across creeks, and eventually led us to herding about 5 cows for 15 minutes because there was no place for us to get around them or for them to move off to the side. I channeled my inner Grandpa Hall for cattle herding skills.

Once back home, about 5 and a half hours later, we had a great evening exploring more of the town and ended with dinner and some intense star gazing from our patio. We saw numerous shooting stars as well as the Southern Cross. It was neat to see a different night sky than we see in the northern hemi.

Road to our Hotel at Night

Peru- Let the Journey Begin!

We're back at it again! This time Barrett and I are headed to Peru. Our trip is going to be twelve nights; two nights in 6 different places. Here's a run-down of our itinerary:
1. Ollantaytambo/Sacred Valley
2. Aguas Calietes/Macchu Picchu
3. Cuzco
4. Yanque/Colca Canyon
5. Arequipa
6. Lima
*Bonus: Los Angelos for my cousin Amber's wedding.

Barrett sitting with all our luggage

This trip presented some challenges. For me, the main one has been what to pack. It's technically winter there, but since it's so close to the equator, the main variable for weather is the elevation. The temperatures we'll be seeing range from 30s to 50s at nights and mornings to 50s and 70s in the day.Basically my strategy is layers. This trip is a mixture of cities and some intense hiking, so let's hope our bodies hold up at the high altitude (Cuzco's the highest at 11,152 feet or 3,399 meters)!
Since it was really my brother who first got us hooked on the idea of going to Peru, he wants us to bury a time capsule near Macchu Picchu for him to come back and get when he finally gets there. At our very first security check in Port Columbus we were pulled aside and had our luggage looked through because they saw something suspicous. They were very perplexed by a glass bottle duct taped closed with a note, harmonica and carabeener inside. I then had to explain the idea to the TSA guy who did not seem to buy it. He then put the jar through the x-ray machine again before letting us on our way. Barrett also had to get a pat down. Clearly we have "criminal" written all over us.

7's time capsule

So we flew from Columbus to Miami and then took an overnight flight to Lima. From Lima, we caught another flight to Cuzco. From Cuzco, we took a taxi to Ollantaytambo.
Needless to say, we're a mix of incredibly excited and exhausted.

Flying over the Andes Mountains

Fiji: Paradise Found

After a 5 hour plane ride, we arrived in Fiji!! It is so lush and unspoiled, compared to most places I’ve been.  I guess that’s because it’s run by a military right now, and they have turned tourists and resorts off from buying and building. However, in 2014 they are supposed to have an election and start a more normal government. Right now, you can buy 2 acres on the water for $75,000 FJD, I expect that number to rise in a few years.

First glimpse of Fiji

So after being welcomed by a Fijian band at the airport, we took a 3 hour “express” bus ride that was full and not air-conditioned, we were dropped off in a village of a couple hundred near our resort. There, a van took us on a very rough road about 5 km up and over a mountain to the Waidroka Bay Resort. The resort was much more bare bones than our Thailand Resort had been, but still very nice. Since the worst cyclone in 20 years had hit Fiji on Monday, closing the airport for a couple of days, and leaving the resort without power, there was only one other couple at the resort the first night.

Everyone eats dinner together at the resort-the diving instructors, managers, surfer instructor, and guest-and the food was good. The chef was part Indian, so the food was Fijian, with some Indian influences. After dinner, we hung out with the other guests and at 10, the generator shut down so the party was over. Thank goodness at night it cooled down, because without electricity, we were without a fan our air conditioning.

Our little cabin

During our three days in Fiji, we relaxed, read in the hammocks, played with kittens, kayaked, snorkeled, did a small amount of hiking, played pool, swam in a pool, and just had an all-around good time. The kayaking in the mangroves and snorkeling were my favorites. I haven’t snorkeled much (Ohio doesn’t really have much to offer in that area), but the snorkeling here was way cooler than any I’ve done before. The coral was all sorts of neon colors, the fish too, and we saw bright blue star fish! We were able to access the reef from a pontoon, which we could kayak (or long-board) to in about 10-15 minutes. Our resort was in a lagoon, so the water was calm and way out in the distance the waves crashed. The reef we snorkeled at was inside the lagoon, so the water was very calm. Once again, I will let the pictures show what we did.

Barrett reading (or probably playing Tiger Woods Golf) on the Ipad by the pool.

paradise

A view from someone's house on the top of the hill. you can see sunrise and sunset from his porch. You also get a feel for where the lagoon ends and waves start, and can see all the shallow reef area inside the lagoon.

taking the road less traveled by

some of the coolest looking trees in the world, as seen on our mini hike

3 cute kittens cuddling

kayaking into the mangroves! If you look closely, you might see some mosquito bites.

The mangroves

Oh, did I mention there are cane toads in Fiji?! Yes there were hundreds of toads that swarm the resort at night, but they're not the massive ones that are on Australia.

heading towards the reef to do some snorkeling

We basically had the resort to ourselves

jumping off the platoon! 

Ugg!

Our last couple of days in Sydney, we went to more markets, walked along more coasts and generally just enjoyed the city. One of the highlights for me (and also for Lauren) was purchasing Ugg boots for less than half price at Paddy’s Markets. It felt strange getting them when its 80s and sunny outside, but I think I’ll be glad I got them once I get home. We also walked around Balmain, a suburb that was very quaint and full of cafés. I think I'll let the pictures do the talking for some of the stuff we did our final couple days in Sydney.

Paddy's Market

Koala bear sleeping near Darling Harbour

$10 steak lunch on the Harbor!

The Strand, an old shopping mall

Sydney eye peeking out from Martin's Place

China Town

Walking across the Sydney Harbour Bridge

Fish and chips/seafood platter

Sydney University at night (really creepy!)

Bondi Beach (Hugh Jackman was there the day before us!)

Us next to Bondi Beach

self explanatory

On our final day in Sydney, we had a guided tour of the Sydney Opera House. The tour was so interesting, and our guide was hysterical. It had been projected to be finished in 3 years with a budget of $7 million dollars. It ended up taking 17 years and costing $13 million dollars. We got to see the drama theatre, which is run by Kate Blanchet, the concert hall, and the opera/ballet theatre. It was really impressive!! We also got to see the organ that took 10 years to build and 2 years to tune. Wow!

We also walked across the Sydney Harbour Bridge at dusk, which was super windy, but gorgeous none the less.

The most purple lobby ever concieved

Inside the concert hall

In case I haven't included enough pictures of this building...

On Friday, we woke up at the crack of dawn, ate breakfast, and caught the train to the airport. We couldn’t believe how smooth everything went in Sydney, we never seemed to have to wait on any bus, train, or ferry, and we timed up our plane to Nadi, Fiji perfect as well!

Hiking the Blue Mountains

On "Blue Mountains Day" as declared by our itinerary, we were out on an 8:24 am train to Katoomba, in the Blue Mountains, a 2 hour train ride from Sydney. Once in Katoomba we walked through town and out to Echo Point, where we could see the famous rock formation known as the Three Sisters.

Interesting fact, the Blue Mountains get their blue tint from the oils from the Eucalyptus trees' leaves evaporating. We then hiked to the base of the 3 Sistas and down the 861 steps down the side of the formation know as the Giant Staircase.

Once at the bottom, we bush walked our way through the valley, past some waterfalls, and then up the Fuber steps. This hike took about 2.5 hours, and other than the mass amounts of steps, was rather easy. We then had a nice lunch in Katoomba and took a train to Wentworth Falls.

At Wentworth Falls, we took the Charles Darwin Walk to the falls, which took an hour of easy walking along a babbling brook.

some flowers along the easy trail

Then it was onto the challenging trails. We took the National Pass to Wentworth Pass which went straight down the side of cliffs on some ladders, and up and down some ridges. It had some gorgeous views.

We decided after the fact, that the trail was technically closed, but decided to disregard the sign.

one of the many ladders

At the very top of Wentworth falls (see picture to right)

We came down along one set of falls (which cooled us off with the spray when the wind blew) and then up another set. It was a very long hike and the sun was setting by the time we got back to the town. We napped some on the 2 hour train ride home, and then showered off and got a late dinner at a pizzeria in Sydney. After a super long day, we finally went to bed after midnight.