Travelling to Ecuador

From Cusco, our journey to Ecuador began.  We travelled by bus, which was very tiring.  We stopped in Lima for one night, where our host at the hostel was one of the most helpful and nicest men we have ever met.  With it being Holy Week, many people were travelling out of the city, which caused some problems finding transportation to Guayaquil, Ecuador, however Angelo advised us of our options.

From Lima, we travelled to Tumbes on the Peru-Ecuador border.  When we embarked from the bus, we were approached by a man who showed documentation, declaring he worked for Cifa, the bus company which transports people across the Peruvian border into Ecuador.  As such, we got into his taxi, where he drove us to the Peruvian border to have our passports stamped, leaving Peru.

The Peru-Ecuador border is not like others, such as Peru-Chile.  There is a town inbetween the two, so once leaving Peru, you need to pass through the town before reaching the Ecuador border.


The man and his colleagues asked us for money before taking us to the Cifa office/bus station.  This made us suspicious, especially after the incident with the taxi driver when we crossed into Chile.  So we refused to give them any money and sent them on their way.

The view from our cabaña

Two other men then approached us and took us to a different bus company.  They wanted $100 just for the 2 minute walk and carrying my suitcase, but of course we refused.  We boarded the bus for Guayaquil, expecting the bus to stop at the border so we could pass through Ecuadorian immigration.  However, at the border, officials just waved the bus through.  This meant we did not have our passports stamped and were not granted visas.

Exhausted and clearly somewhat stressed, we arrived in Guayaquil during the evening, greeted by heat, humidity and pouring rain.  Arriving at our hotel, we hoped to sink into bed in a cool air conditioned room with a lovely view.  However, an error on their part meant we spent our first night in a tiny room with no windows and only a ceiling fan.  Fortunately in the morning, this was rectified and we were moved into a cool, bright room which even had a balcony.

We spent a couple of days in Guayaquil.  It is an enormous city, high rise buildings and lanes of traffic spanning 6 across.   This busy metropolis felt so modern compared to Arequipa.  There was a pretty park near to our hotel, with an impressive statue situated in the centre.  We explored some of the local shops and ate a lovely meal at a restaurant beside the river.

Our cabaña

From Guayaquil, we travelled to Kamala, near Montañita, where Tom will be studying his CELTA course for the next 5 weeks.  We have spent 2 nights here now.  Our accommodation is practically on the beach, with a view of the ocean from the window of our cabaña.  We are waiting to hear what course of action we need to take to resolve our immigration situation, however for now I am enjoying relaxing in the sun for a couple of days before hopefully continuing with my Spanish classes and finding some more volunteer work.

Cusco & Machu Picchu

Tom and I were sad to say farewell to our friends in Arequipa, and I must admit I had a couple of tears when saying goodbye to the little ones at Manantiales, but we were also excited about the next stage of our travels.

Our journey from Arequipa to Cusco took around 12 hours.  We arrived early morning and were greeted warmly by our hosts at Hostel Llipimpac.  It felt like such luxury to be provided with a room which had hot showers and a proper duvet cover on the bed, rather than sheets and wool blankets.

Exploring around Cusco, we found the main plaza.  It was very pretty, with many flowers and looking up and around we could see the green landscape and mountains.  Cusco has a much more old world feel than Arequipa, the buildings all of different stone, darker and weathered.  In the sun, it feels hot, but in the shade much cooler, as Cusco stands at a higher altitude than Arequipa.

During our stay, which crossed partly with Holy Week, we saw a procession of police and military staff carrying a huge cross with a replica of Jesus Christ.  The procession started at the enormous, grand church and gradually wound its way around the plaza, local people throwing red flower petals as it passed by.

We visited the Choco Museo, where we learnt about the origins of cacao, myths of chocolate and the uses it has had through time (and of course we ate some chocolate, too).  The cacao plant does not bear fruit until it reaches maturity at 5 years, then it is fruitful for another 20 years.  The flowers that flourish near the bottom of the tree are pinkish white and have 5 petals.  It is believed that the cacao plant was originally discovered in the foothills of the Andes.  The Mayan people used to use chocolate in sacrifical ceremonies.

The highlight of our time in Cusco was visiting Machu Picchu.  Early one morning, we travelled by train to Ollantaytambo, a small town.  From there, we boarded another train to Aguas Calientes, the town at the bottom of Machu Picchu.  Our train journey wound alongside the river.  As we approached Aguas Calientes, the plantlife and vegetation became more and more lush and green.  Finally, a 20 minute bus journey brought us to the gates of Machu Picchu.

Machu Picchu, which comes from the Quechua language meaning 'Old Peak' is also known as the 'Lost City of the Incas'.  It was built around 1450, during the height of the Inca Empire.  It is believed that it was abandoned around 100 years later, following the Spanish Conquest.  It is also possible that many of the Inca inhabitants died from Smallpox.

It is difficult to convey what an incredible sight it is and even more amazing to think of the time and effort invested in establishing such a well built and structured estate.  The Incas who created it were incredible people, in terms of both physical and mental ability.

The site was split into two main sectors, one for agricultural purposes and the other for more urban use, where the inhabitants built their homes with specific areas for the nobility and for religious places of worship.  The Incas built using a technique called ashlar, involving dry-stone walling without mortar.

Whilst our time in Cusco was brief, we saw many interesting and amazing things and we feel really lucky to have seen one of the seven wonders of the world.

Next post:  Travelling to Ecuador.

Next step: CELTA Ecuador

Extreme Language College

Half a year teaching English in Arequipa seems to have gone by really quickly. Thursday 29th March marks my last day as a teacher at Extreme language college.

When I was first offered the job I must admit I was nervous. Not knowing anything about Peru or the city we were going to, we had many concerns. I had joined ESL forums and websites and it was the horror stories that other teachers had shared that stood out the most. The least of my worries was that it was going to be the first class I had ever taught.

San Pablo University

Luckily I chose one of the better language institutions in Arequipa. Here I have gained experience in all ages and levels of learners and made my mark, I hope, teaching English (Yorkshire!). My colleagues, who have always been friendly and supportive, and my students, who have on the most part been enthusiastic learners, will be missed.

My next step will be to start a CELTA (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) course in Ecuador. This is an intense 5 week course of 170 hours, which is a week longer than the usual 120 hour 4 week course.

I found this image on Google to give you a glimpse!

The course is set on a beach on the Ecuadorian coast between the small fishing village of Manglaralto and a popular surfing beach called Montanita. Sophie and I will be living on the beach, just a stones throw away from the pacific ocean, in rustic style beach huts called cabanas. We have been told the cabana will come with en suite facilities but we have been informed it will be basic.

I already have a TEFL qualification but have decided to do this course, and choose Ecuador in particular to do it, for a number of reasons:

1. CELTA is more respected and recognisable all over the world since it is awarded by Cambridge ESOL, part of the University of Cambridge. There are institutions in countries around the world, especially ones I would like to teach in, that only accept teachers with CELTA. 
2. I feel it will show employers that I am serious about my trade. I see it as the next step in my professional development. I enjoy what I do and want to be the best I can be.
3. This course in particular is 5 weeks rather than 4 weeks, so I feel like I am getting value for money and the stress of an intensive course seems more manageable.
4. The course works out cheaper than it would do in England. Also included in the price is accommodation and food. Plus we'll be living on a beach!
5. We were travelling through Ecuador anyway, so why not make the stay an educational one.

We are both really looking forward to moving on to Ecuador. It's going to be sad to say goodbye to a place we've called home for the last seven months but we both feel like we are ready for the next phase of our journey around South America. 

We leave Arequipa on Friday 30th March on a week long travel up to Ecuador with some interesting stops along the way. You'll have to wait to read about them in our next blog :)

Thanks for reading,

Tom

Guinea Pig & Salsa Dancing

Tom and I have lived in Arequipa for almost 7 months now.  It's strange to think, that in less than 2 weeks time we will have left what has been our home and where we have settled into daily life.

Aside from the usual routines of work and volunteering, we have spent much of March doing all of the things that we haven't had chance to, but really want to do, before leaving Arequipa.

We have sampled some interesting food.  First was anticuchos, otherwise known as beef hearts.  These were slightly fatty, but rather tasty, marinated in a delicious sauce.  Second was cuy (guinea pig).  Served whole, the skin was very crispy, like pork crackling.  The flesh underneath tasted a little like chicken, although there wasn't much of it.  We ate some of the organs too, but drew a line at eating the brain!  Thirdly, we have eaten adobo, a soup which is traditionally eaten on a Sunday morning.  The consistency of the soup is quite thin, and is not spicy but does have a warmth to it.  It contains what can only be described as a pork chop.  It sounds bizarre that this would be eaten for breakfast on a Sunday, but it is delicious, and also a good hangover cure.

We visited Museo Santuarios Andinos, which is famous for holding the preserved frozen body of a young girl who was sacrificed to the gods, named Juanita.  She is also known as the Inca Ice Maiden or Lady of Ampato.  She was sacrificed during the 1400's and would have been aged between 11 and 14 years old.  Her body was preserved in the ice near the peak of the Ampato mountain for around 500 years, before the volcano erupted and her body was subsequently discovered.  It is amazing that much of her skin and organs have remained intact.  Children were chosen at birth, for sacrifice during their lives.  If the Incas felt that a sacrifice to the gods was needed, the most intelligent children, usually from wealthy families, would be selected.  They would have trekked for days, in cold temperatures, to the top of the mountain, before a ritualistic ceremony took place, ending in the death of the child.

Something else on our list of things to do, is to take salsa classes.  So, we booked in for 2 week sessions, our final class this evening.  We have learnt steps from 2 styles, Bachata and On 1.  It has been a lot of fun, complicated at times and certainly requires a lot of energy.

We will be interested to see what our final days in Arequipa bring, before boarding the bus on the next leg of our journey on 30th March.

A la playa

There is a prestigious sports and social club in Arequipa, 'Club Internacional'.  In additon to numerous swimming pools, tennis courts, football courts, restaurants, general areas for socialising and enjoying the sun (when it's not rainy season), they also organise outings.  Our landlord, Juan, has been a member there for 40 years.

At the weekend, some of the club members organised a trip to Mollendo, on the coast, and Juan invited us to go. After the cooler temperatures and incessant rain and flooding in Arequipa, we jumped at the chance to lie on a beach and soak in some sunshine.

At 5am on Sunday morning, Juan, Tom and I walked to Club Internacional to meet the others and to catch the bus.  This being Peru, the bus was late of course, but by 6.30am we were on our way.  The journey took around 2 hours and during that time we learnt about Juan, who up to this point we knew little about, except that he has an excellent singing voice and loves to blast out opera music during the early hours of the morning.

Juan Guillermo Carpio Muñoz is a well-known writer in Arequipa, specialising mainly in writing about the history of his country.  He also taught at one of the universities in the city for 30 years, but eventually gave it up for a life of leisure and writing.  Who would have thought our landlord would turn out to be a local celebrity! 

When we arrived at Mejia beach, the air was hot and slightly humid, the few light clouds clearing to reveal blue sky.  From there, we took a 4km walk along the sand, the cold Pacific Ocean intermittently sweeping across our bare feet as we walked.  Being a sports and social club, the others ran or jogged, but we were content to stroll.


At the end of the 4km, we were provided with water and a delicious piece of carrot cake, in celebration of Juan's friend's birthday.  Juan then led us to the main road where we hailed a taxi to ride into Mollendo centre.

What should have been a short journey ended up being longer, as we were pulled over by the police and our driver reprimanded for carrying 7 passengers when he only had a licence to carry 5.  It was very cramped in there, with a little girl sat on her mother's knee and me squashed against the roof sat on Tom's knee, wedged against Juan.  The driver got back into the car and continued to drive, so whether he paid the policeman off or not, we don't know.

Once in Mollendo, Juan showed us some sights of interest and then took us to the local market for lunch.  Here, one could really immerse in true Peruvian culture.  We lunched on pescado frito (fried fish) and rice, washed down with a glass of chicha de maíz morado.  I find the plates of food here somewhat overfacing, and Tom even does not always eat everything.  So we were astounded to watch Juan not only clear his plate, but then order and devour another whole serving of pescado frito and rice.

By that time, the 3 of us were hot, full and tired so we took a bus back to Mejia beach to meet the other club members, and lay in the hot sun, relaxing, for the remainder of the afternoon, before taking the bus home.

When we arrived back in Arequipa we could see that the effects of the rain had not ceased.  The road over Puente Grau into the city centre was closed and the traffic diverted.  We paused on the bridge, to look down at the río Chili, amazed by the masses of water flowing over onto the road.

Rainy Season in Arequipa

Well, the sunshine has left us for a while.  January and February are summer months in Arequipa, however this time of year is also rainy season.  For the rest of the year there is nothing but clear blue skies, so I suppose for this reason that is why the city is not equipped to cope with heavy rainfall.

The endless days of blue sky have been replaced with fluffy white clouds, turning darker as the day progresses.  By late afternoon, it starts to pour with rain.  There are no drains on the roads, so the water just flows like a river down the streets.  The flood risk of being a pedestrian is incredibly high.  Vehicles speed by, drenching folk on the pavements.  People leap across the roads, trying to avoid obtaining wet feet and ankles.

Another hazard as a pedestrian are umbrellas.  Peruvian people are of a lower average height, and as such the spikes on their umbrellas are exactly at face height for myself and Tom.  I have nearly lost an eye on a couple of occasions.

No sunshine also equals no hot water, as the water in our apartment is solar heated.  Washing one's hair in cold water is not a pleasant experience!  It also poses a problem for washing and drying clothes, as we are missing the modern luxuries of a washing machine and tumble dryer, meaning I wash everything by hand, as many people do here.

Whilst we were surprised at how modern certain parts of Arequipa are, the rainy season has reminded us of differences between here and home, in terms of how our infrastructure is built differently to handle wet weather conditions.  We are also lucky to have hot water at any time of the day, every day, something I will never take for granted again.

5 Months Later...

It's almost the end of January and almost the end of our fifth month in Arequipa.  After the initial excitement of arriving in Peru, getting started with our own projects; Tom's teaching and my volunteering, then the experience of spending Christmas and New Year in a different country away from our families, this is the first month where I feel like I am finally settled into a routine.

I have concluded working at the school and orphanage for Traveller Not Tourist.  However, I have been working on a couple of side projects for them, including a pen pal scheme between Flora Tristan school and a primary school in Middlesbrough, UK.  I have also now taken on the role of Accountant for their sister charity in the UK, Pachawawas.  I was never really going to escape the world of finance, was I!  I am still volunteering at Manantiales and am really enjoying my time there.  On the days that I am there, I work with Marisol and Miriam, the two lovely Peruvian ladies who work there full time, and another volunteer, a lady from Canada.  After time spent playing with the children and giving them their morning fruit juice, it's bath time!  Some of the little ones love it, others hate it.  By the time we have got the babies dried, with fresh nappies and clean clothes and nicely brushed hair, it's usually time for lunch.  After which, it's sleep time.  I never imagined myself singing a baby to sleep, and those of you who know me very well will know that I am a terrible singer, however it seems to soothe them and send them to sleep.

Tom and I are still continuing our Spanish lessons twice a week and are into a routine with that now as well.  Our teacher, Cindy, is lovely and thanks to her our Spanish is improving, even if Tom did ask for '6 Thursdays' instead of '6 eggs' at the corner shop. 

We don't eat out as much as we did in the beginning and are in the habit of cooking for ourselves now.  It's strange trying to prepare the same meals as back home, because some of the ingredients either aren't the same or are just not available.  I did find Lea & Perrins in the supermarket though, which I was very excited about.

Something I haven't written about, but I guess is fairly significant for travellers to South America, is What Happens When You Get Ill.  Not the cheeriest thing to talk about, but I wouldn't be painting the full picture of life travelling in Peru if I didn't mention it.  The very nice Dr. Alan, whom Tom and I have seen 3 times between us, told me that foreigners just aren't accustomed to the types of viruses and bacteria in this continent.  So, some advice for anyone travelling in South America - if you become ill, don't wait for it to pass, see a doctor! 

I can hardly believe that we have been here for almost 5 months and are more than halfway through our time in Peru.  Now that we are settled and into a routine with life, I sometimes forget where I am.  I can be walking around Arequipa and I will suddenly stop and think, 'Wow, I'm in a beautiful city in South America, in the lovely sunshine, thousands of miles from home'.