Puno Visiting Lake Titicaca was a dream came true. The syllables ‘Ti·ti·ca·ca’ of its exotic name sounded like a song when I was a child. I knew that the lake was somewhere deep in the Andes, far from my native Russia, and I had no hopes to see it one day. Lake Titicaca is the […]
Lake Titicaca, Peru 2004 Read More »
Machu Picchu Our next destination was Lake Titicaca. It took 6 hours by bus to get to it from Cusco. The lake is located even higher in the mountains, at 12,500 feet (3,812 m). People who come from sea level may experience altitude sickness. We were already well adapted and did not feel a thing.
Cusco For anyone who wants to see Machu Picchu, the trip starts in Cusco. Our tickets included a 4-hour train ride to the site and back, a 10-minute shuttle bus to the entrance and admission to the ruins. We got up very early to take the first train so we’d have more time in Machu
Machu Picchu, Peru 2004 Read More »
Tumbes After one day in Tumbes at sea level, we were up in the Andes again. Cusco is located at 3,400 m (11,152 ft) which is higher than Quito. I was back to wearing a sweater. Cusco was the capital city of the great Incan Empire. The Incas were brilliant engineers. They managed to build
From Ecuador to Peru After a rather exhausting bus ride from Quito, we decided to spend one night in Tumbes and bought tickets at a travel agency for the following day to fly to Cusco via Lima. Tumbes saw multiple conflicts between Ecuador and Peru. It belonged to Ecuador until a war between these two
Leaving Quito It was even more uncomfortable to be alone on the dark street. More questions popped into my head. What if the bus came and my husband Sergey was late? Would the driver wait for him? We did not have cell phones; I could not tell Sergey that the bus was already there. Soon,
From Ecuador to Peru, 2004 Read More »
Cotopaxi After my husband’s safe return from Cotopaxi, we stayed in Quito for a couple days visiting artisan markets. Usually, we bring home from a trip a few small souvenirs because we prefer to travel light. This time, we bought a lot including some bulky items like a wool blanket. Arts and crafts in Ecuador
Leaving Quito, Ecuador 2004 Read More »
The equator The guide, Eduardo showed up at Casa Helbling at the agreed time. He swiftly threw my husband’s backpack on the roof of his Jeep, tied it up and they were gone. They planned to return in 2.5 days. Until then, there was no communication between us. Left to my own devices, I roamed
Cotopaxi, Ecuador 2004 Read More »
Quito The equator passes through Ecuador. That’s how the country got its name. Quito is located about 15 mi (25 km) from latitude 00°00’00”. The equator near Quito is marked by the monument called Mitad del Mundo (The Middle of the World). We took a local bus to see the monument. A bright orange line
The equator, Ecuador 2004 Read More »
Denver – Quito In the morning, we went to find a place to have breakfast. There were two cafés next to each other and close to our hotel. One was noisy, unpretentiously furnished and packed to capacity with locals; the other was more formal, with starched tablecloths and empty. It was going to be our
Quito, Ecuador 2004 Read More »
