Yes! Adventures

Highlights of Argentina (Slide Show)

I created a slide show of photos from Argentina. The highlights of Argentina are: Buenos Aires,  Iguazu Falls, Salta Province, Bariloche, Talampaya National Park and Ischigualasto (The Valley of the Moon). I left out Argentinian Patagonia because I want to create a separate slide show for Patagonia.

[Buyeo, Korea]: A Very Special Wedding

When we first heard that we were going to be going to be doing a traditional Korean wedding while over in Korea, Rachel had an idea of what this might look like and I had no clue. Apparently, many couples who get married in Korea have a “Western Style” wedding as well as a “traditional Korean wedding”. We had been married in September last year and it was going to be held several days after our one year wedding anniversary. Continue Reading…

[Huaraz & Santa Cruz Trek, Peru]: Climbers’ and Trekkers’ Heaven

Jon went back to Vancouver last night and I found myself on my own for the first time in 5 months. He also had to take his phone with him, which left me with no alarm. To catch a bus (Cruz del Sur, 80 soles) at 9:30 to Huaraz, I asked the reception at the place I was staying at in Lima to wake me up at 7:30.

The bus ride to Huaraz is an interesting one. From Lima to Pativilca, the bus is on the paved Pan Americana Highway, which has an ocean view. Continue Reading…

[Paracas & Ballestas Islands, Peru]: Galapagos of Peru

This would be the last place we would be visiting together on the trip. I had to leave a few days after finishing in Paracas while Rachel would be continuing on in Peru for two and a half more weeks before flying back to Canada.

Paracas is a Quechuan word (indigenous language) that basically means “sandstorm”. Apparently this phenomena happens each year sometime towards the end of August and beginning of September where the winds pick up and the skies are filled with sand that covers everything. Fortunately, this didn’t happen while we were in town. . .all the trips and tours would have been cancelled if that had been the case. Continue Reading…

[Eco Truly Park, Peru]: Volunteering in Peru

Our original plan was to do some volunteer work in Peru right at the end of our trip. However, what we hadn’t planned on was the Peruvian Independence holiday days of July 28, and July 29. The government had declared a really long weekend for 5 days starting on Wednesday and going until Sunday. During this time, a large percentage of the Peruvian population travels and accommodation throughout the country is completely booked up. To take advantage of this, bus companies and hostels and hotels double or sometimes triple their prices. We only had realized this when we arrived at Huacachina 5 days before and didn’t have any reservation to stay at Huacachina during the long weekend or our next destination in Paracas on the coast. We tried phoning some places in Paracas but they were all booked up as was Huacachina (not to mention really expensive). We went to look for a place in Ica but a few hours there was enough to turn us off staying there for even one night. . .it is very loud with tons of honking cars, there is a lot of pollution and after spending 6 nights in the peaceful Huacachina, there was no way that we would be doing this.

Continue Reading…

[Huacachina, Peru]: Calm Oasis Town in South Peru

Huacachina is a small oasis about 5-10 minutes from the city of Ica in the south of Peru. While relatively close to the coast, it’s still high up enough to be above the fog that hangs over the coast of Peru for 5 months of the year.

After coming from higher altitudes and cold temperatures in the Peruvian sierra, we wanted to find the ideal place with warmer temperatures, and lots of sun to relax and do some writing . Huacachina is definitely a good place for that. It’s basically a lagoon surrounded by palm trees and big sand dunes. There used to be homes around in the last 10 years but these got converted to hotels, night clubs and tourist agencies. It is now a very popular resort place and known for dune buggy trips and sand boarding. There used to be 7 lagoons like this around Ica but local farms pumped all the water out of them killing the palm trees and they completely dried up. Peruvians have become a lot more concerned over their resources over the last few years. Continue Reading…

[Colca Canyon, Peru]: The Deepest Canyon in the World

This time we decided to go with Cruz Del Sur for our bus company from Cusco to Arequipa. Cruz del Sur has the reputation of being the best bus company in Peru and after travelling with several companies, I am inclined to agree. Everything on the bus is well maintained and in working order and the seats can recline very far making it comfortable for night journeys on the bus. There are two classifications of seats on the bus – semi cama and cama. Semi cama only reclines partially and cama reclines to 160 degrees. With the better bus companies, meals are provided as well. Continue Reading…

[Salkantay Trek, Peru]: Alternative Trek to Machu Picchu

There are several ways of approaching Macchu Picchu. The most common is to take the train from Ollentaytambo to the town of Aguas Calientes and then busing or hiking up to the ruins. Another popular option is the Inca Trail, a 4-5 day trek along the original trail the Incas used passing through a number of ruins. The problem with this trek is that it is exceedingly popular and has a limit of 500 people a day on the trail. To hike it in the summer requires booking at least 6 months in advance. Continue Reading…

[Nazca Lines, Peru]: Mysterious Ancient Geoglyphs

Nazca is a town in the south of Peru which is famous for the archaeological site a little ways outside of town called the “Nazca Lines”. These are giant lines that were drawn in the desert by the Nazca people between 400 and 650AD.  Due to the arid conditions in the desert, they never eroded and are still present. There are dozens of geometrically perfect shapes that are so big that they really only can be seen from the air. No one to this day knows how they could have actually made the lines so perfectly in the sand. Continue Reading…

[Machu Picchu, Peru]: The Masterpiece of Inca Empire

We got up at 3:45 a.m. and left a little past 4:00 a.m. in the morning to climb up to the park entrance of Macchu Picchu from Aguas Calientes. We were still tired from our 5 day Salkantay Trek that we had finished the night before. However, the excitement of going to Macchu Picchu carried us through.
Although the entrance to Macchu Picchu is open at 6:00 a.m., people start lining up way before that to be in the group of 400 that can climb up Huayna Picchu, the sacred mountain above the main set of ruins. Continue Reading…