Leaving Puno I decided splurge on the bus to Cusco and take the Inka Express tour (www.inkaexpress.com) which includes a buffet lunch, English speaking tour guide and stops at 4 different sites along the way. I bought direct from the company at the bus station for s70, if
you buy through your hotel or an agent you'll pay more as usual. My hotel charged s84. The bus leaves at 7:30am and arrives at 5:30pm. There was also another company called tourPeru (www.tourperu.com.pe) that had a bus doing the same exact trip and their bus was nicer. A
regular tourist direct bus to Cusco costs about s30 and you can get a local bus for s15. The Inka Express was worth it I think. The bus has a toilet but the seats aren't that great with limited leg room but It was very nice to stop at sights along the way and the lunch was very
good. The scenery along the drive is absolutely incredible. Some of the best in the world I think. The price doesn't include entrance to the sights so I skipped the first museum (s6) and I'm glad I did. The town it's in is pretty cool and it was nice to walk around away from the tourists. The second stop is the top of a pass at about 4200meters above sea level with great views. Then lunch, then an Incan archeological site that was cool, entrance was s10. The last stop was a quaint little village that had a chapel. The chapel was s6 to get in and didn't look too special so I skipped it and played frisbee with a 5 yr old Peruvian child and a piece of cardboard. When the bus arrives in Cusco it stops at the company office which is a couple kilometers from the center. Official taxis are waiting but charge s8 when it should be s5 so I took a "pirate" taxi for s5 out of principle. Might not have been the smartest thing since robberies aren't uncommon but it worked out
Friday, April 22, 2011
Puno and Lake Titikaka
I stayed at Hostel Monterrey which is right on the pedestrian street in the center. It was recommended in the Lonely Planet. I negotiated a private room with bathroom for s20 but an electric heater was an extra s10. It was pretty cold so I got the heater. The bathroom had really
good hot water which was nice to take a long hot shower. They also had rooms with shared bathroom for s15. I had lunch at a locals place where I got a plate of meat, beans and rice for s3. Man it's good to be back in the third world. Haha
To go out to the Uros floating islands I walked to the boat dock and bought a ticket for s10 and paid the s5 entrance fee. The boat takes you to one of the islands where one of the guys who lives there shows you how the islands are built. They also try to sell you some stuff and encourage you to take a ride on the straw built boat for s6 to another island where there was a restaurant. The whole trip took about 2hrs.
good hot water which was nice to take a long hot shower. They also had rooms with shared bathroom for s15. I had lunch at a locals place where I got a plate of meat, beans and rice for s3. Man it's good to be back in the third world. Haha
To go out to the Uros floating islands I walked to the boat dock and bought a ticket for s10 and paid the s5 entrance fee. The boat takes you to one of the islands where one of the guys who lives there shows you how the islands are built. They also try to sell you some stuff and encourage you to take a ride on the straw built boat for s6 to another island where there was a restaurant. The whole trip took about 2hrs.
Flying to Peru
Flying to Peru I was on Copa Airlines. At the checkin in Rio the guy asked to see a ticket out of Peru which I didn't have. He was real nice though and I showed him my flight from Colombia back to the USA and that was enough but I think that if I hadn't gotten someone so nice then it could have been an issue. I have a ridiculous trip ahead of me. I fly Recife-Rio (3hrs) Rio-Panama City (7hrs), Panama City-Lima (3.5hrs), spend 9hrs overnight in the Lima airport, then
Lima-Julisca (1hr), bus Julisca-Puno (45min).
I flew on Lan Airlines from Lima to Juliaca and they let me check in 9 hrs before my flight which was great since it allowed me to check my bag and get my boarding pass so I could go through security. In the food court in Lima there is a place called Pardos Chicken the has absolutely delicious "Anticucho de Corazon" (skewered grilled beef heart pieces) for s4.50. Get them, Don't be put off by the beef heart thing, it tastes like some of the most delicious steak tips you've ever had. I found a good place to sleep in what seemed like an old smoking lounge. It had long bench seats that were pretty comfortable and it was quiet with other people sleeping in there too. There are good bench seats at the gates but access is closed from 11:00pm to
1:30am. I didn't have to pay an airport tax leaving Lima.
Arriving in Juliaca there are collectivo mini-buses waiting to take people to Puno for s15 and they take you right to your hotel.
Lima-Julisca (1hr), bus Julisca-Puno (45min).
I flew on Lan Airlines from Lima to Juliaca and they let me check in 9 hrs before my flight which was great since it allowed me to check my bag and get my boarding pass so I could go through security. In the food court in Lima there is a place called Pardos Chicken the has absolutely delicious "Anticucho de Corazon" (skewered grilled beef heart pieces) for s4.50. Get them, Don't be put off by the beef heart thing, it tastes like some of the most delicious steak tips you've ever had. I found a good place to sleep in what seemed like an old smoking lounge. It had long bench seats that were pretty comfortable and it was quiet with other people sleeping in there too. There are good bench seats at the gates but access is closed from 11:00pm to
1:30am. I didn't have to pay an airport tax leaving Lima.
Arriving in Juliaca there are collectivo mini-buses waiting to take people to Puno for s15 and they take you right to your hotel.
Pipa
I couchsurfed in Pipa the first few nights with a girl named Rafaela and she had an awesome apartment in a complex with a pool. I stayed there 3 days and the Her boyfriend Jack set me up in a room in a 4 bedroom house that a Norwegian woman named Marette rents out for R$100 per week. It was nothing fancy but the price was right. Marette also runs a community non-profit project for kids in town. It's in the vicinity of Cavalo Marinho Pousada on the same street as the Rose Hostel. I hung out a Cavalo Marinho a bit and definitely recommend that place for a pousada. Laz (from Chicago) and Ed (from NH) are still holding it down. Watched the final four with Laz which was fun cause he always bets a lot of money on sports. If you know the right
people you can rent a surfboard for R$100 per week, maybe even R$150 for a month. The best beach for beginning surfing is Praia do Madeiro it takes about 30min to walk there at low tide from the main beach which is cool because you walk along Praia do Dolfinhos where there are often dolphins swimming very close to shore so you can swim with them. You can catch the collectivo back to town from Madeiro for R$1.50.
Leaving Pipa I took the collectivo to Goianinha for R$3 then you walk across the main road, turn right and walk 200 meters to a restaurant that sells bus tickets (R$58). They have a sign outfront. The bus company website is www.progressoonline.com.br for the schedule. My bus was suppose to leave at 8am but it stops for 30min at the restaurant because of this, I almost caught the 7am bus. The bus is really nice.
people you can rent a surfboard for R$100 per week, maybe even R$150 for a month. The best beach for beginning surfing is Praia do Madeiro it takes about 30min to walk there at low tide from the main beach which is cool because you walk along Praia do Dolfinhos where there are often dolphins swimming very close to shore so you can swim with them. You can catch the collectivo back to town from Madeiro for R$1.50.
Leaving Pipa I took the collectivo to Goianinha for R$3 then you walk across the main road, turn right and walk 200 meters to a restaurant that sells bus tickets (R$58). They have a sign outfront. The bus company website is www.progressoonline.com.br for the schedule. My bus was suppose to leave at 8am but it stops for 30min at the restaurant because of this, I almost caught the 7am bus. The bus is really nice.
Recife
From the airport it's very easy to catch public buses to anywhere in the city. There is a good info office that has maps but There's no free wifi at the airport. I stayed at the hostel Piratas da Praia in the Boa Viagem neighborhood for R$37. The staff isn't that helpful but the location is good and there is free wifi and a mediocre breakfast. Hostel options in Recife are limited. I stayed at the HI hostel before and it was ok, a little cheaper and it would have been better probably but there were lots of mosquitos. I got a ride up to Pipa with Bruna so that worked out well.
Coming back from Pipa when the bus comes into Recife the first place it stops is a park in the center. It is best to get off here if you are staying in Recife because the main bus station is very far out of town. From this park I easily caught a bus to Boa Viagem for R$2. Back in Recife I stayed at Piratas da Praia hostel again and this time I was able to get the student price of R$32 for a fan dorm room. On Saturday I went to Praia da Calhetes with Aline and Bruna and the family. It is about a 45 min drive south or Recife and it's a really cool little beach that is
really pretty. We also bought 15 mangos from a guy for R$3! And they were delicious. I don't know how you could get to the beach by public transport but it is a cool area. I couched surfed a couple nights with a girl named Mariana Ochoa which worked out great and it turned out she knew all my Recife friends too! She lives in Boa Viagem and getting to the airport was really easy, just caught a bus marked "aeropuerto" from Ave Domingus Ferris for R$2. Buses start running at 5am.
Coming back from Pipa when the bus comes into Recife the first place it stops is a park in the center. It is best to get off here if you are staying in Recife because the main bus station is very far out of town. From this park I easily caught a bus to Boa Viagem for R$2. Back in Recife I stayed at Piratas da Praia hostel again and this time I was able to get the student price of R$32 for a fan dorm room. On Saturday I went to Praia da Calhetes with Aline and Bruna and the family. It is about a 45 min drive south or Recife and it's a really cool little beach that is
really pretty. We also bought 15 mangos from a guy for R$3! And they were delicious. I don't know how you could get to the beach by public transport but it is a cool area. I couched surfed a couple nights with a girl named Mariana Ochoa which worked out great and it turned out she knew all my Recife friends too! She lives in Boa Viagem and getting to the airport was really easy, just caught a bus marked "aeropuerto" from Ave Domingus Ferris for R$2. Buses start running at 5am.
Itacare
Itacare: I stayed at Che Lagarto hostel on the main road to the beaches. I got a special price of R$24 in an 8 bed dorm with bathroom inside with hot shower, wifi, good breakfast, and 1 free caipirinha per night,for booking online. The hostel was in a good location and quite nice.
Itacare is a cool beach/surf town that has a mostly backpacker feel. The beaches are small but really nice. There is a "secret beach" that isn't secret at all but takes about 45min to get to by hiking through the jungle. The path is pretty windy and there are no signs so its easy to get lost. The hostel recommends a guide, I recommend going with someone who has been before. There are a couple places in town to get Pratos Feitos for R$7. Surfboards can be rented for about R$20 per day.
Leaving I took the 12:00pm bus to Bom Despacho (R$31.25, 5hrs) for the ferry to Salvador. There are about 7 departures per day. The company was Cidade de Sol and the bus was nice but didn't have AC. Then took the 6pm ferry boat to Salvador.
Itacare is a cool beach/surf town that has a mostly backpacker feel. The beaches are small but really nice. There is a "secret beach" that isn't secret at all but takes about 45min to get to by hiking through the jungle. The path is pretty windy and there are no signs so its easy to get lost. The hostel recommends a guide, I recommend going with someone who has been before. There are a couple places in town to get Pratos Feitos for R$7. Surfboards can be rented for about R$20 per day.
Leaving I took the 12:00pm bus to Bom Despacho (R$31.25, 5hrs) for the ferry to Salvador. There are about 7 departures per day. The company was Cidade de Sol and the bus was nice but didn't have AC. Then took the 6pm ferry boat to Salvador.
Morro de Sao Paulo
To Morro de Sao Paolo I took the ferry boat to Itipairica for R$3.95 (45min) from the Sao Joaquim terminal (every hour I think). The ferry docks right at the station with buses to Valenca (R$13.50, 2hrs) and finally the boat to Morro (R$6.70 slow boat, 90min, R$13.50 fast boat, 40min). In Valenca the ferry dock is in the center of town. I took the slow boat and they first drive you in a bus back out of town for 30min to a different dock and then you take a slow boat across. WARNING the boat stops at the village of Gamboa first before continuing to the village of Morro de Sao Paulo. I accidentally got of at Gamboa and had to wait for another boat and pay R$3 to get to Morro. At Morro there is a R$10 entry tax. There are lots of touts at the dock and I let one of them take me to Pousada Caminho de Praia on the road down to the beaches. They had a single room with a big bed for R$40 which was nice but I wanted cheaper so I got a very small room with a set of bunk beds for R$30 with private bath and breakfast included. Breakfast was excellent with a large buffet including scrambled eggs, cheese, breakfast hot dogs (popular in Brazil), bread, fresh fruit, cake, juice, coffee, etc. I checked the Che Legarto hostel which looked pretty nice but they said $22usd for a dorm bed!
Overall Morro is a very pretty place with gorgeous beaches but it's also VERY touristy and expensive. There are also hardly any backpackers around or anyone who speaks English for that matter. There was a place to surf and some board rentals but it didn't look very good.
Leaving I took the same slow boat/bus combo back to Valenca but for some reason it was R$7. There's also a R$0.62 port use tax leaving Morro. My boat left at 12:30pm. I think I just missed a boat at 11:30 but I'm not sure. Then walked about 1km or 10-15min to the main bus station. Valenca actually seems like it could be a pretty nice town with a pedestrian street but NOTHING is open on Sunday. From there I caught the 15:10 bus to Itacare (2.5hrs) for R$18 on the company Aguia Branca. The bus was really nice with a bathroom, aircon and very comfy seats. They have a website www.aguiabranca.com.br
Overall Morro is a very pretty place with gorgeous beaches but it's also VERY touristy and expensive. There are also hardly any backpackers around or anyone who speaks English for that matter. There was a place to surf and some board rentals but it didn't look very good.
Leaving I took the same slow boat/bus combo back to Valenca but for some reason it was R$7. There's also a R$0.62 port use tax leaving Morro. My boat left at 12:30pm. I think I just missed a boat at 11:30 but I'm not sure. Then walked about 1km or 10-15min to the main bus station. Valenca actually seems like it could be a pretty nice town with a pedestrian street but NOTHING is open on Sunday. From there I caught the 15:10 bus to Itacare (2.5hrs) for R$18 on the company Aguia Branca. The bus was really nice with a bathroom, aircon and very comfy seats. They have a website www.aguiabranca.com.br
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