South America - Peru Lima, Cusco, Aguas Calientes, Machu Picchu, Cusco, Puno, Lake Titicaca, Copacabana, La Paz, Uyuni, San Pedro de Atacama, Arica, Arequipa, Lima
Our adventure starts from the capital of Peru ', where we landed on the evening of August 26, 2009 with a direct flight from New York.
From here we take a taxi to bring about the 'hostel and now we learn that before getting into the taxi and' good thing to ask the driver if you have the rest of 50 soles, otherwise once they arrive at their destination so they pretend they do not have to lead the tourists to leave a generous tip.
The next morning we are ready for a ride in the center, but instead of taking a taxi as we had been recommended, we climb on the bus ...
... experience that has 'turned out to be one of the most memorable visit to this city'. Aboard it were the only tourists. The medium was old and rusty, so that the doors for half chido 'and the floor has small holes that allow glimpses of the asphalt below. In the small corridor between the seats we have seen alternating during the stops, vendors walking, trio of guitarists, and a pair of blind beggars.
Once in the center, take a look around through the main square ...
... but hunger draws us into a small restaurant located in a small alley. And even in this situation the choice of place and 'was crucial, because we avoided all the tourist restaurants and we ended up in this small shop where the Peruvians working in the area stop for lunch.
Here we had our first experience with what we then called one of the best aspects of Peru ': food.
Ceviche and 'the dish that delighted us most. This is Trout raw chopped and seasoned with lemon, salt, pepper, and onions. A goodness' incredible. At the end we have 3 different dishes, 2 beers and a water and we paid 25 Soles or $ 8, € 5.70.
Finally, leaving the restaurant we noticed that seemed to contain a large pot of boiled corn. Our intuition was right and so we closed the room munching on an ear very special because of the enormous size of the grains of corn.
In the afternoon we moved to the Miraflores area, the part of the city 'which faces the' Pacific Ocean, a breathtaking view that opens up a lot of personal reflections.
After walking for a whole day, we returned at night in the hostel very hungry. Here we have suggested an excellent restaurant nearby, "La Carreta".
A place where you eat a delicious delicious grilled meat. A 5-star service, with lots of great background music Piano and Sax.
Here we have also tried that and that 'the typical cocktail of Peru, the Pisco sour. And I 'liked it so much that for the rest of the trip I thought about how I would survive in New York without it.
In Lima, we stayed only one day because the next morning we had a flight to Cusco, and all in all one day and 'enough in this city' where the sky and 'always cloudy and the air suffocating because the 'enormous traffic of old cars.
Cusco and 'a quiet city' located at 3399 meters high. It was the capital of 'Inca Empire and is considered the historical capital of Peru.
From here and 'also started our adventure in search of 'hot water. Dealing with the poorest countries has given a lot of sense in this journey of ours. When you open the 'hot water and cold water instead of coming down', or after your needs when you throw toilet paper into the trash alongside but not in water, it makes you rethink what we inevitably to the "developed countries" are living in luxury and too often we forget to appreciate what 'we have.
Here we tested for the first time the popular soft drink Inca Kola, yellowish and taste similar to a zither without lemon.
Nell 'hotel we were served tea' Coca, or the leaves from which then produces the drug, but which are very far from Cocaine to property '. In fact, coca leaves have moltemplici property 'healing from physical pain, headache due to altitude, metamobilsimo adjustment, etc..
Machu Picchu speaks for itself with the photographs of the ruins of the city 'lost Inca.
The only discordant note and 'unavoidable but perhaps over-tourism business that revolves around a
these magical places.
For dinner we ate still Ceviche, Soup Quinoa, Grilled Trout, Pisco Sour, ...
but we refused to eat the guinea pig and that 's basically a rat, cooked with lots of legs, tail and teeth. My mom would not ever forgive me.
A child hanging laundry on the roof of the house
traditional dance in the train back from Machu Picchu
Puno and 'the last village we visited the border between Peru and Bolivia. This City 'and' only one of many access points to Lake Titicaca, which is the second largest lake in the world, and the first to altitude (3812 meters above sea level).
From the bay of Puno by boat we reached one of the many floating islands of the lake. These artificial islands created in the steppaglie, where some tribes 'living while maintaining their autonomy and their own culture too far from the contagion of the cities' nearby.
The inhabitants of some of these islands do not like the visit of tourists, while others are organized visits to divide them according to time periods. In fact, although these people live on barter, they still need money to send children to school and buy medicine, since that would otherwise have to buy a book swap 10kili fish.
just landed on 'island, this begins to move under the pressure of our feet. The people welcome us dressed in traditional clothing and speaking in their ancient language.
Strange points out the effect of solar panels mounted on these poor and humble islets. The tour guide explains that because 'in the past there have been many accidents because of falling candles caused serious fires, causing more deaths especially among children, the government decided to give them these solar panels.
Arequipa and 'was the last leg of our journey before returning to the capital Lima where we then flew to New York. There 's something in this city' that brought me back with the mind in Naples: narrow lanes, paths, a slight slope, but above the streets of lava rock. In fact the landscape to 'horizon' similar to the view of Vesuvius from Naples, with the difference that here are three volcanoes.
There would be plenty to do nearby. For example, river rafting or trekking in the Colca Canyon, the deepest canyon in the world (most of the more famous Grand Canyon). However, given the tiredness and opportunity 'to finally make us a hot shower, we decided to take this break to relax your muscles and dedicate more time to food.
There 's something in this city' that brought me back with the mind in Naples: narrow lanes, paths, a slight slope, but above the streets of lava rock. In fact the landscape to 'horizon' similar to the view of Vesuvius from Naples, with the difference that here are three volcanoes.
If you were to spend a day here, take my advice and stay in 'Hotel Casablanca is situated just off the main square.
As for the food avoided all the tourist places, take a taxi ($ 1) and in 5 minutes you are in the best restaurant in Arequipa, "La Nueva Palomino."
La Chica de Jora and 'an exquisite cold drink prepared from fermented corn. A big glass costs less than a dollar (50 euro cents).
From the moment in which 'the day we visited one of our trips, Lima was not liked at all. But dovendoci must return, because 'here was our return trip to New York, we decided to opt for a 5-star hotel. Thanks to the extraordinary ability 'of Noriko in the good deals, we had $ 150 for a room that otherwise would cost $ 300. And it 's not. In fact, since 'our room was not ready for check-in, and there' was given the imperial suite. I had never been in a hotel so gorgeous in my life before. In 'open the door of the room, my first exclamation, and' was: "wow sfarzo che, ma dove diavolo e 'il letto? ". Infatti immaginato avrei mai prima di allora a stanza di albergo che avere a salotto potesse.
televisoni Le 2 (a salotto e l'altra nel in the bedroom) have kept us busy most of the time.
The rest have done the gym, swimming pool, sauna, internet terminal, and the breakfast is so abundant that a 'Oretta and a half we pretty much had breakfast, lunch and dinner. Even when you ordered the 'egg could not only have a bull's eye, a fried or scrambled, but we could choose what and how much egg yolk.
Copacabana and 'the first country of Bolivia to stay with them. Although this town is also famous for its beach Titikaka the lake, the scenery and 'certainly very different from' the homonymous resort 'Brazilian tourist. 
But the adventures were not over by bus. In fact, to leave and head to La Paz Copacabana, you have to cross a bay of Lake Titicaca, and have to do it and 'also the bus, with the means available. 
La Paz and 'the capital of Bolivia. The first capital in the world to Altitude (3600), and this I added, also one of the first to pollution from cars. 
's idea to spend time in a big city' to breathe smog not attracted to anything and so we stayed only a few hours. So we took a bus, Uyunni directions. 
Uyuni and 'famous for its salt desert in which he names (Salar de Uyuni). This is the largest saline (12,000 km2) and more high (3,700 m) in the world. 
From Uyuni we left for a 3-day tour by jeep in the desert, crossing lakes, geysers, national parks, volcanoes, canyons, and breathtaking horizons. 
I were in a jeep, Noriko, a young Canadian, a Frenchman, another Italian Cesena + The driver and the cook. 
And since 'the two were even a couple, the group there' to add a baby of 1 year. 
"The train cemetery 'and' the first leg of our journey. 
The scene took me back immediately to a western by Sergio Leone, and so I started singing the music of "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. "melody and 'was then impossible to remove from the head all the way. 
Uyuni and it' is also an important railway junction of important lines all'incorocio: La Paz, for for Chile and Argentina. 
As a second step we headed to the vast salt lake. 
During two nights we slept on beds of stone hovels in the desert without hot water and heating. 
But the most interesting ' that these shelters were built with bricks of salt. So much so that one of our friends wanted to travel to the test of evidence by throwing water on the wall and then taste the salty mixture that had melted from it. And needless to say, but also the floor was as if a truck carrying salt had overturned spilling them 'whole load. 
An alleged portrayal of Che Guevara 
Along our journey we made some short breaks in the small and dry villages, where we met the most humble people. 
A local woman who removes the sand from quinoa 
a family that spends time on the 'front door. The interesting thing 'that the family is not' in that position 'cause we took a picture, but we took a picture just because' they were already in that posture. We stopped a bit 'to talk and we promised that we would have printed and sent that photo. We thought it must be a rare thing for the people of this village have a family photo. 
Nell 'last part of the trip we enjoyed the numerous lagoons separated by several kilometers and each one different from 'the other primarily for the color of the characteristic and which gives its name to them: Laguna green, blue lagoon, lagoon, white, etc.. 
The natural geysers and sulphurous were the last beautiful moments that we shared with our fellow travelers. 
fact we had arrived time to break away from the rest of the group, return to Uyuni, and continue our adventure to Chile 
televisoni 
