Saturday, May 19, 2007

South America in 4 weeks!

Country #1: Peru

Plaza de Armas in Cusco, Peru

The plaza had many restaurants. Some served Guinea pigs...I would show you a picture but it would be disturbing. It is served as a whole guinea pig.

The main fountain in the plaza.

Yum...Helado!

A view from my hotel in Cusco.

Another view...

Hanging out with the llamas and alpacas (alpacas are the short haired ones and fluffier). They make the best scarves! llama and alpaca meat were also good.


Shopping in Pisac


Huge Ass Stones at Sacsaywaman. People call it "Sexy Woman".



Sacsaywaman


The Inca Trail DAY 1: KM 82

The beginning of the 4 Day Hike.

Ashley, me, & Tony


Our first campsite


Day 2: The hardest part of the trip...climbing up for 4 hours straight!

The group with our awesome guide, Alberto.
Map of the Inca Trail
The many porters who carried our stuff. Each porter carries about 100 lbs. They are amazing! I can't even do it with my small daypack. The altitude really puts a strain on the hike.

FINALLY! Made it to the top, over 4200 meters! It was such a good feeling.

My porter, Gato. He carried my tent, my sleeping bag, and all the cooking supplies/food!

Day 3


The trail made up of many, many stones.

One of 3 Inca Caves.


Do you see the Inca Man?



Day 4: Drum roll please.....

Machu Picchu!!!



Agricultural area of Machu Picchu

hello!


Lima, Peru


Plaza de Armas in Lima

Statue of a couple making out! PDA is SO common here.

Country #2: Chile

Government Palace, Santiago Me & my Chilean Guard. (The guards here are super tall & cute).

Santiago, Chile


Lake Crossing in southern Chile...



This is the coolest part. I am at the border of Chile & Argentina. I'm on the Chilean side.

Country #3: Argentina
Now, I'm on the Argentian side! I kept on jumping back and forth from one country to the next! There were no patrol guards or anything here.
This is a hella old tree!

1500 years old!

My Brazilian friends hanging out with us in Argentina. Man, Brazilians and Argentinans have so much beef with each other. But it is all harmless until the soccer matches!
This is Bariloche, Argentina (Southern Argentina). This is the Chocolate capital of Argentina!! Oh My God!


Chocolate!!! Chocolate!!!

Love meat!

The famous Caminito district in Argentina. Everything here is so colorful.

Home of the Boca Juniors, Argentina's soccer team


Evita!


Buenos Aires, Argentina





Antique fair on Sunday


Lots of meat...

They have roasted almonds and peanuts. They are sooooo good.

Black Sausages... not my favorite

Cool Friends that we met in Chile. They were so awesome. Thanks for the wine tips! See you back in the States!

Stuck in an elevator. It was scary. I think I was in there for a good 10 min.

Every McDonald's here has a McCafe.


Iguazu Falls ( one of the 7 Natural Wnders of the World)

On our way to the falls...

Natives to the Falls. I think they are related to the guinea pigs BUT Argentinans don't eat these.


I'm at the border of these 3 countries.

Iguazu Falls

I was sooooo Soaked!!




Country #4: Brazil
Copacabana Beach




A View from our Hotel room...you can see the Cristo Redentor at the top of the hill!


Hi-Five Jesus! (probably the closest I can get to his hand...a mini Jesus)



View of Rio


Christ the Redemer. Wow...So TALL! It stands about 710 meters! It faces the Guanabara Bay and the Sugar Loaf. It is made of cement and small soapstone triangles. It is one of the candidates for the new 7 Wonders of the World. (I personally don't think it should be the in the 7 Wonders of the World after seeing Machu Picchu...now that is impressive)


I just had to take a picture of this. There is a driver AND a cashier (on the right). This is funny. The drivers here are CRAZY....it's like riding a roller coaster. Taking the bus is the way to go in Rio. It is the safest and cheapest.


Pao de Acuacar: Sugar Loaf


The cable car to the Sugar Loaf


Another view of Rio from the Sugar Loaf




One of the few locals who live in Pao de Acuacar


Brazil has so MANY different kinds of beer!


Caipirinha, the unofficial Brazilian national drink.



Feijaoda, a traditional Brazilian dish...black beans and a variety of meat. It's great with Caipirinha.



Partying with my Brazilian pals in Leblon




My first Futbol game at one of the biggest stadiums in the world, Maracana Stadium.



The opponents from San Paulo


The home team, the Flamengo (Last year's National Champs)...too bad they lost this game. Can I say that these fans are insane? They are 10x worse than Raiders fans. Gooooooooalll!

This was an unforgettable vacation! I met some awesome friends along my trip. Got to check out 4 different countries and succeeded on the Inca Trail. The hike was the hardest part. I am glad I finished. I would never have thought of doing something like that but I DID!