Buenas Noches en la Ciudad de Mexico

Well, we´re still trying to recover from lack of sleep - so we slept quite late today. Then had lunch at a vegetarian restaurant, then booked a tour for tomorrow to go to the Teotihuacan pyramids outside of the city (as well as to the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe, and the Plaza of 3 Cultures). This afternoon, we rode the subway to the Museo Nacional de Antropologia and spent several hours there. It is a huge and very well designed museum, with different rooms for the different cultures of Mesoamerica. Also noticed while walking around near the Museum, and near Chapultepec Park (largest park in the city), that the Paseo de la Reforma, the widest and main rode through the city, was completely closed off because of the protestors and demonstrations that had situated themselves on the road. Then we rode back to the center of the city and went up to the top of the Latin American Tower for a beautiful 360 degree view of the city, the Valley of Mexico, and the surrounding mountains and volcanoes. There were patches of rain here and there off in the distance, a rainbow, and the sun beginning to set. After descending, we walked to Chinatown and ate dinner there. I think we´ll go to bed pretty soon because we´ll get up early for the tour to the pyramids. I was able to get in touch with my mexican host family and we´ll plan to visit them at their home in Cuernavaca on Friday. They sounded excited to hear from me, and it will be neat to get to visit with them again.Well, I guess that's about it for now. Hope ya´ll have a great night and a great Thursday!

Hola from La Ciudad de Mexico

Well, we made it safely to Mexico City, landing around 6:00 am this morning, after leaving Lima around 12:15 am. I really didnt sleep on the flight at all (I have a hard time with that on airplanes for some reason). We flew past a lot of lightning storms once we got over Mexico, so that was interesting looking out the window at those. It took about an hour and a half to go through immigration because it was so crowded. We finally arrived at our hotel without any transit delays around 7:30 am and immediately went to sleep for a while. The protests and demonstrations appear to be completely nonviolent and passive. Many tents and sitting areas are set up on the Plaza de la Independencia and along one of the main roads leading to the plaza, which seems to be the only road closed off. Other than that things seem to be running smoothely. We walked around a while all afternoon after a late lunch, and just now finished eating dinner. Probably will go to bed soon - missing a whole night of sleep doesnt feel all that great. Tomorrow I think we'll go to the National Anthropology Museum. Thursday or Friday we'll go to Cuernavaca to visit my host family. The day we don't go we'll go to the Teotihuacan pyramids outside of the city. Its been pretty rainy here today, but a nice change from the dry Andes.

Hola from Arequipa, Peru

Hello Everyone!Here´s another update of what my brother James and I have been up to over the past few days in South America if you´re interested.Our time in La Paz, Bolivia, the highest capital city in the world at almost 13,000 ft. above sea level I think, has now come and gone. We arrived Tuesday night and left Thursday afternoon heading back in to Peru. Our hotel is in an old colonial home and is very nice. Slept late Wednesday morning for a change (have been up at 5:00 am or earlier every day for the past week). Had a nice pizza for lunch, then walked around in the "Witch´s Market", one block from our hotel, where all sorts of strange objects and concoctions are for sale, including dried llamas to be placed in the foundations of new buildings for luck. Wednesday afternoon we took a city tour: saw a variety of neighborhoods including wealthy and not so wealthy, the main plaza and cathedral (apparently, in 2003, a shootout between the police and the army occurred here), the valley of the moon (strange rock formations due to erosion), and drove up to a panoramic vista of the entire city and distant snowcapped peaks. Then we went to a dinner folkloric show that evening. We left La Paz Thursday afternoon at 3:30 pm for Arequipa, Peru, and arrived there around 3:30 am Friday morning.The train ride monday was nice, and met some nice people from Italy who sat next to us. I was amazed at the amount of their Italian I could understand, even though I´ve never studied it - I guess Spanish and Italian have many similarities. We saw some interesting scenery and small villages as we rode through the Altiplano high in the Andes. The highest point the train passed through was around 14,500 ft. above sea level. Spent monday night in the railway hotel in Puno. Tuesday morning we were picked up early for our transit tour to La Paz. Throughout the day we saw many interesting sights on and around Lake Titicaca, the world´s highest navigable lake at 12,500 ft. Walking across the Peru/Bolivia border was easy. The town of Copacabana, Bolivia, where we got aboard the catamaran to go to the Sun Island and cross the lake, is interesting and picturesque. Bolivia is gearing up for their independence day celebrations, which is on August 6 (Peru´s is on July 28 - and we saw a lot of preparations for that, although we were traveling back from the jungle on the actual day). Anyway, the sun island is in a microclimate and has gardens with all sorts of flowers, plants, and vegetables. Got to interact with some llamas, alpacas, and vicuñas, as well as participate in some spiritual ceremony involving offerings to "Pachamama" or "Mother Earth". The whole tour was very interesting and we learned a lot. We also met some nice people traveling with us from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, a mother and son from Buenos Aires, Argentina, and a couple from Birmingham (Birmingham, England, that is). We exchanged stories about each of our respective Birminghams. The guide, Gloria, from La Paz, was really intersting and funny as well.At any rate, James and I arrived in Arequipa around 3:30 am this morning. Arequipa is the second largest city in Peru, with around 1.5 million. The hotel is quite nice (someone from the hotel met us at the bus station early in the morning). Once we were up and about today, one of the young hotel workers walked with us to the main plaza of the city, and, while sitting on the steps leading up to the cathedral, we helped him with some English homework he is working on for his English class, which he was going to this afternoon. He then helped us book a tour to the Colca Canyon: We get picked up from the hotel at 2:00 am Saturday morning, visit the Colca Canyon (one of the deepest in the world), see the giant condors, see some villages, and return to Arequipa between 5:00-6:00 pm. Then, we have bus tickets to Lima - the bus departs around 9:00 pm saturday night, and arrives Lima sometime the next day. We´ll stay at the youth hostel in the Miraflores neighborhood of Lima Sunday night. Monday night, we head to the Lima airport for a flight to Mexico City just after midnight Tuesday morning.After all the bookings, we ate lunch at a vegetarian restaurant, then visited a large monastery with many brightly painted, winding passages and rooms. There is a nice view of the city, the snowcapped mountains, and the towering volcano "El Misti" from a lookout point on top of one of the buildings. Then we looked around in the main cathedral. After that had some fruit juice and bread, now are here checking email. I think we´ll look for dinner soon, then head back to the hotel to get some rest before our extremely early departure (2:00 am) to the Colca Canyon. The adventure continues!I hope you all have a great weekend. Take Care!

Hello from La Paz, Bolivia

We are now in La Paz, Bolivia. The world's highest seat of government at around 12,500 ft. above sea level. The full name of the city is "La Ciudad de Nuestra Señora de La Paz" ("The City of Our Lady of the Peace"). It actually sits in a canyon surrounded by towering snow-capped mountain peaks. El Alto is another city adjacent to La Paz that sits at about 14,000 ft. on the canyon rim. That is also where the airport is located. Planes must land at about twice the speed that they would land if at sea level. So we heard that the decent and landing at this high international airport is quite harrowing. The distance required for takeoffs is much greater as well because of the thinner air.The transit tour from Puno to La Paz yesterday was spectacular. We were picked up by bus at our hotel in Puno around 6:30 am, then drove a couple of hours to the Peru/Bolivia border crossing and walked across the border. Next, we stopped at Copacabana, Bolivia, on the shores of Lake Titicaca. After looking around the cathedral and the main plaza a bit, we boarded a catamaran for a cruise and transit across the lake. El Lago de Titicaca is the world's highest navegable freshwater lake. Most estimates say that the deepest point is about 450 meters, although some believe that there is no bottom to the lake. Much myth and legend surrounds the area. The Incas believe that this was where the world began, the center of the universe, and the first Inca rulers emerged from the waters (Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo). The catamaran stopped at the Isla del Sol (Sun Island), which is the most sacred island on the lake. We toured a garden, saw some llamas, alpacas, and vicuñas, went through a museum of Inca culture around the lake, and participated in a spiritual ceremony of offerings to Pachamama (Mother Earth). It was all quite interesting. Then had a buffet lunch back on the catamaran as we sailed further towards another shore where we would then get on another bus bound for La Paz.We are staying at Hotel Rosario - in an old colonial home. Today we went on a city tour of La Paz. Saw the plaza and main cathedral, and learned that in late 2003 there was a deadly shootout in that very plaza between the police and the army, right there in front of the government buildings and the cathedral. We also saw the Valley of the Moon with its interesting geologic erosional formations. Additionally we saw the upscale part of town where many diplomats, ambassadors, government officials, narcotraficantes, and others live. The culmination was a high point in the middle of the city where we had a 360 degree view of La Paz and the surrounding canyon and snow-capped peaks.

Hola from Aguas Calientes, Peru

Hello again everyone!Our jungle expedition the last few days to the Amazon Basin in eastern Peru was amazing! We traveled by specially equipped vans along a dirt road from Cusco, descending out of the Andes into Manu Nacional Park. There were four others in our group: two people from Toronto Canada, one from Sweden, and one from Norway. Wednesday night we stayed in the Cloud Forest. Thursday we left the cloud forest lodge on mountain bikes and descended further. We rode the bikes for about 3 hours until we arrived at Pilcopata on the Rio Madre de Dios. The views of the cloud forest and transition into low tropical rainforest were fantastic. We also passed through several small villages and visited a coca plantation. In Pilcopata we transfered to an inflatable raft where we did about an hour of whitewater rafting down the river. At one point we were able to swim and jump off a 25-foot rock into the swiftly flowing river. We then arrived at another village where we transfered to a narrow wooden boat that took us further down river to a jungle lodge. I can´t wait to show the pictures. After resting a bit, we headed off into the jungle on an evening hike for a couple of hours. It was all an amazing adventure. All the food they cooked for us was also delicious. I´ve never had fried rice mixed with both soy sauce and mayonaise with lime juice before - but it was great. Friday morning we got up at 5:00 am and headed further down river by boat to visit a "parrot clay lick" - a cliffside along the river where hundreds of parrots come to eat the clay to help their digestion of seeds and things. They are beautiful birds. Seeing the rainforest come to life early in the morning was interesting as well. It sounded like nature´s symphony getting warmed up. After breakfast back at the lodge, we hiked uphill for a while to do the canopy zip line type thing. We were all outfitted with rappelling gear, and then attached one by one to a pully system on a cable, from which we went sailing from one platform to the next through the rainforest canopy. Quite thrilling!!! There were four cables and five platforms in all. The first cable was about 100 meters long and 50 meters above the ground. All the others were a bit shorter. But it was an amazing vantage point to view the rainforest as you go sailing through the air. On the final platform, which was very high in the air on a tree, we had to rappel down the tree to get back to the ground. After all that, and lunch back at the lodge, it was time for James and I to leave to head back to Cusco.Some of the animals we saw on our trip to the jungle include: the "cock of the rock" (peru´s national bird), several types of monkeys, wild pigs, baby tarantulas, other spiders (one type we saw was larger than a person´s hand stretched out - this type floats on water to catch fish to eat), snakes (we saw one very venomous type too), a slug with glowing eyes staring at us in the darkness during the night hike, many types of birds, many brightly colored butterflies everywhere, and more. After hearing and reading about rainforests every now and then all through school, it is finally neat to now have been to part of the famous Amazon rainforest. The heat and humidity reminded me of what we´re currently missing in Alabama. But it was a welcome break from the cold dry air, and lack of oxygen, of the high Andes. The air in the rainforest smelled so fresh and pure, and oxygen-rich. At night, after the 2 or 3 hours of electricity was cut off, we were able to see billions of stars and the milky way very clearly (when the clouds cleared of course). The sound of the swift river flowing right near the lodge was relaxing to fall asleep to.We got in to Cusco from the jungle very late Friday evening. We had left the jungle lodge by boat around 12:30 pm yesterday and then arrived at a village upriver about an hour later where we waited around a while and then got on a van. When we got to the village of Pilcopata, we had another pit stop to unload some rafting supplies, before continuing. Outside of that village we then ran into an accident site where a bulldozer had rolled off the dirt road into a ravine, and many people were around trying to help. And a couple of other tractors were attached to it by cables trying to pull it back up. So, we sat there for an hour or so and then finally they were able to upright the thing and clear the roadway of all the help equipment. Next, after a fast thrill ride up the dirt road into the Andes, careening around sharp curves next to several thousand foot drops into what looked like a black abyss, all the way back to Cusco, we finally arrived.Then we had to get up around 4:00 am this morning to be taken to a bus to take us to Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley (about one hour and fifteen minutes ride) to catch the train from there to Aguas Calientes (below Machu Picchu). We arrived here in Aguas Calientes around 7:15 am, and after some confusion as to who was meeting us, arrived at a simple hotel by 8:00 am. So, not much sleep lately, but we´re getting to see some amazing things.We´re now here in Aguas Calientes checking backed up email. Its kind of rainy here, but looks to be letting up. Might try to hike a mountain next to town this afternoon, with a good vantage point of Machu Picchu across the Urubamba River Canyon. Tomorrow we´ll enter Machu Picchu and hike Huayna Picchu (the pointed peak in the background of most photos of the place), and then return to Cusco in the evening by train/bus. Monday morning we leave Cusco by train and arrive in Puno on Lake Titicaca in the evening. Tuesday we leave Puno very early and head towards La Paz Bolivia, utilizing buses and boats, visiting an island and a village on the lake, and arriving in La Paz late in the evening.I hope all of you are doing wonderfully! Take care and best wishes to all!

Hola from Cusco, Peru

¡Hola a Todos!I hope you all are doing well. My brother James and I have had many adventures since last I wrote in Ecuador. We are now in the Inca capital of Cusco, at about 11,500 ft. elevation in the Andes mountains of Peru.To get to Lima, we took a 10 hour bus ride from Quito to Guayaquil, Ecuador, spend the night there, and then took a 30 hour bus from Guayaquil, to Lima Peru, arriving there last monday evening. We spent four nights in Lima. Lima, on the Pacific coast, is covered by a grey haze for much of the year apparently. I think there are around 8 million or more people living there, with more arriving each day. We saw many parts of the city, which offered a glimpse of many contrasts. Of course we saw the main historic and colonial sights, a monestary, the main plaza and surrounding sights (during the daylight and at night - everything is beautifully lit up at night), the upscale Miraflores and San Isidro areas and the seaside cliffs. But we also ventured into parts of Lima on the outskirts where many people from the countryside move to, and saw how most Limeños live. I got to visit a school and a church in one of these areas and talk with the students. That was a very meaningful experience, and I really learned a lot such as how some parts of Lima have very wealthy people and nice amenities and resources. But here in this community there is a twenty percent plus unemployment rate, and the average family income is less than US$60 per month. As I know from previous travels, this scenario is common in some form or another around the world.Well, concerning other stuff. My mom and her colleague´s speech at the conference on Problem Based Learning in Lima went well Thursday morning (James and I met up with them in Lima on Monday). All the food we´ve been eating has been quite rich. I think a meal or two every now and then of just rice and potatoes my be in order to offset all these full, tasty meals. My favorite dish so far is Lomo Saltado, which consists of beef strips grilled with onions, peppers, sauce, fried potato strips, and sometimes other stuff. Potatoes and rice do usually work themselves in with most entrees. Límonada (fresh limeade) is always a refreshing beverage.Well, our trip to Macchu Picchu has now come and gone. We arrived in Cusco after about an hour flight from Lima over the beautiful Andes around 9:00 am Friday morning (after waking up at 5:00 am), then were taken to the hotel to rest. The altitude in Cusco is around 11,500 feet and you can definitely tell it. We were all suffering from mild altitude sickness due to less oxygen and extremely dry, thin air. I can still feel the altitude even today, so I guess it takes a while to acclimatize. Friday afternoon was a 4 hour tour of Cusco - a monastery, the cathedral, the Plaza de Armas, and three Inca sites in the hills above the city. The guide, Odilia, was very good and had a lot of interesting information. We went to bed early friday night, and got up around 5:00 am again on Saturday. The train to Aguas Calientes (about 6,000 ft. elevation) and Macchu Picchu left around 6:15 am and arrived about 10:00 am. We then took a 30 minute bus ride up a switchback road on a cliffside to the entrancce of Macchu Picchu (around 8,000 ft. elevation). Our guide of the site has written several books about the place and has also been a professor and archaeologist. Every view of the site from all points was absolutely incredible. One of the most interesting places I have been to. I would say that it is a must to see for anyone traveling to Peru. Words and pictures really can´t substitute seeing it with one´s own eyes (but I took countless photographs though). The steep mountains here in this cloud forest are covered with lush vegetation as it is on the border with the jungle region. It was a nice contrast to the barren hills surrounding Cusco (although they have a beauty all their own as well). After that, we ate lunch in Aguas Calientes, on the Urubamba River, and then got on the train which left around 4:00 pm and got back to Cusco around 8:30 pm. This morning, my Mom, her co-worker Janet, and Janet´s husband Dexter, left for the airport to fly back to Lima around 10:00 am. We were sad to see them go because we´ve all had such fun together over the past week. I think they land in Atlanta around 8:00 am monday morning. I´ve had a bad cold over the past couple of days (soar throat, aches, etc.), and James has had a sour stomach I think. We´re both still literally winded here because of the altitude and less oxygen. So, today and tomorrow we´re going to take it easy. Tuesday, if we can get it booked, we´ll go on a four day expedition east of here, and much lower, into the Peruvian tropical rainforest and stay at a jungle lodge. Next weekend we may return to Machu Picchu again to do some more things there such as hike to the top of Huayna Picchu - the pointed mountain in the background of most pictures of Machu Picchu). Next monday we´ll probably depart Cusco by train and ride all day south of here to Puno on Lake Titicaca - the highest navigable freshwater lake in the world, at about 12,000 ft. I think. After that, we´ll try to go into Bolivia a little, maybe to La Paz, and then start making our way back to Lima for the flight to Mexico City on Aug. 8. We return home on August 12. I would probably say that this has been the most exhausting trip I´ve ever been on, but it has been well worth it. Wish us a continuing safe journey!I hope all of you are having a nice summer, whether at home or on a journey of your own. Take care everyone!

Volcanic Eruption in Ecuador

Today was action packed. After riding on the roof of the train through El Nariz del Diablo this morning from Alausi, we continued back north by train, over 4 hours, to the town of Riobamba. While descending into Riobamba on the rails, I could see one volcanic crater on the horizon that very much resembled Mount St. Helens. However, to the left of that one on the horizon of mountains I could see another volcano that appeared to be currently undergoing a major eruption. It looked quite close, the gray ash cloud shooting miles into the sky, and pyroclastic flows descending down the mountainside. So, we got on a bus to head out and return to Quito.

We are now back in Quito and have learned that what we saw was Volcan Tungurahua having a major eruption, about 85 miles south of the capital. Several towns are being evacuated, including the touristy town of Banos, the other option of where we would have gone had we not chosen to do the El Nariz del Diablo train.

Here is some information about the eruption:
BBC - Ecuador Volcano Sparks Evacuation
BBC - News in Pictures - Ecuador Volcano
BBC - Volcanic Eruptions Score Melodies - Interesting article about how volcanologists use the low-frequency, seismic rumblings of volcanoes, transforming them into delicate musical scores, in an effort to predict when they will erupt.