From the islands to the forests to the mountains
We left Pavones (a beautiful beach, laid back village, and a wonderful host, Jonnie, who made us fantastic food from around the world and helped us with travel plans) and had 2 extra days, so we went to Bocas del Toro.
Bocas del Toro were beautiful islands on the caribbean side of Panama. Not yet overwhelmed by tourism (snorkeling trip for an entire day was $17), but very small and the city is having problems with all the new developments from the incoming tourism. We snorkeled with jellyfish and saw some amazing coral and also stopped at Red Frog Beach (yes little kids came by showing us a red frog if we paid them for a picture) for some beach volleyball and bodysurfing. Our hostel was literally over the water and also a nightclub, so we enjoyed some salsa dancing before returning to our dorm bunk beds.
Next we took 11 hours of buses to Panama City, which was huge! We hungout at a huge mall (the food court had every imaginable american fast food place and then some) and saw the Simpsons in Espanol. We barely got to see the rest of the city due to the intense rain, but it cleared up in time to visit the Panama Canal.
We caught our flight to Lima, then a shorter flight to Puerto Maldonado, where we spent 5 days living in the rainforest. We went on many hikes, boat rides, we even went camping up the river and watched hundreds of parrots and macaws eat at dawn at a clay lick. We saw an Emerald Boa Constrictor, Collard Peccaries, Titi Monkey, lots of birds, Black Caiman, and heard howlers all night long.
Most importantly, we played soccer every night until it was too dark to see with the guides/staff and a few of the guests. Trev played an amazing defense and I scored 5 goals in 3 days, so our team always won :)
We have arrived in Cuzco, which is 10,700 feet high (still feeling the affects of altitude). The city has quickly become one of our favorites. The streets are clean and safe, the town is surrounded by beautiful mountains, and the architecture is fantastic. We spent the morning climbing high to a lookout point and taking pictures with Alpacas.
Machu Picchu
Puno (Lake Titicaca - 13,000 feet high!)
La Paz
2 months into our trip...here´s some interesting facts:
·We have ridden on 37 buses for a total of 97 hours (ranging from 1-8 hours)
·We have taken 30 motorized boat rides (ranging 30mins to 2.5 hours)
·Trev got 42 mosquito bites on his legs in one night
·Internet range: $0.30 in Peru to $4 in Tortuguero
·We have taken 5 flights and have 5 flights left
·We have used every mode of transport possible: car, taxi, bus, van, truck, plane, train, motor boat, canoe, kayak, horseback, hiking, biking, walking
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