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Written by Keith Rhoades
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Friday, 05 November 2004 |
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hi all...well, this will probably be my last email until i get back to the US. I am sorry i didnt write yesterday but i had drama...there has to be at least one drama on every trip i take. Thursday I woke up with a stuffy head, soar throat, general cold symptoms. I went to the Cathedral in cusco for mass which was beatufil and then went shopping for all my souvenirs...i had to buy another bag...but it is beautiful hand made bag. i then had lunch and started to really feel kind of ill. I had a tour at 2 pm of more inca sites and the temple of gold in the city. As the tour progressed...i really started feeling sick....chills, cold, then hot, light headed and my nose was stuff so it made breathing the thin air even more difficutl. The tour ended at 6 pm and I pressed on but felt really bad. I walked home from the main square....thinking i could hardly make it. I finally got to my hostal and laid down....my pulse was racing, i felt weak, i had the chills, and was nearly delirious and hallucinating. i began to panic. i started thinking...this is it..im going to die in Cusco. honestly, i have never been so scared....alone, without medical care, not in a big city. i stumbled to the manager of the hostel and said estoy enferma. he was so nice...he took me to a pharamacy and the pharmacist took my temp and it was 102 and she was sure i had some sort of infection ...so she gave me cipro, some cold medicine and a sleeping aid. i got back to my room and took the cipro (antibiotic) and the nice man at the hostel brought me warm manzanilla tea all night long and kept checking on me. I sort of faded in and out of consiousness, vivid nightmares, tossed and turned...finally about 11 pm the fever broke and i was drenched...the bed and pillow were drenched. i was also nervous because i had to be at the cusco airport at 5:30 am and i did have the energy to pack. once the fever broke i felt a bit better and packed and went back to bed.i got up at 5 am....and took a taxi to the airport and the flight was one hour to lima. i still felt a bit weak this morning...but now i feel back to my old self. i have to take the cipro for 3 days. i am going to have lunch, go to the main square in lima and pack and relax today not do anything to strenous. i still dont know what it was but i honestly have never been that sick or scared in a long long time. i kept thinking i was going to get sepsis like my mom. Anyway, after it is all said and done....it was a good learning experience that i can be alone in a foreign country, and that with a little bit of the language and nice people...i will be ok and taken care of! it truly was so bad that if i was at home i would have went to the emergency room.Well, my family and friends...thanks for listening and all your support. by writing you during my trip it makes me feel connected and helps me resist the urge to drink...as when i travel i can easily fall into that mentality of "no one will know"...but writing you helps with that and helps me stay connected. Take care and i should be in Los Angeles by 11 pm saturday night. |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 09 February 2007 )
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Written by Keith Rhoades
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Wednesday, 03 November 2004 |
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what a day it has been....i woke up at 4 am and left at 5 am for the train to machu pichu. the train ride was beautiful but took 4 hours...one hour of which was just switchbacks. After arriveing to Aquas Caliente i then took a shuttle bus to the entrance of Machu pichu...but alas...once i got inside it was still quite a hike....very narrow passages, when i arrived at the top it was spectacular...it was like being in a dream and it was hard to believe i was there. we toured the whole machu pichu....for 4 hours of hiking, climbing, ducking, scaling, it was insane....but so awesome and there were llamas around. I found out that Machu pichu is to the inka empire as Mecca to the muslims, jerusalem to the jews and the vatican to the catholics...it is the highest holy place of the entire inka empire. when we got there it was a little cloudy and the rain held off until we left. The other thing that was so awesome was that it is the andes where the jungle starts....the tropical forest and jungle was incredible....i was so happy that i got to see part of the peruvian jungle! i of course took a ton of pictures. Then hiked back down to the town which was a tourist trap so i just bought some snacks...though i was little light headed as i did all this with no breakfast or lunch...just some water, diet coke and bread! but after i had a snack i felt better. it was then i learned the news of the election....i wont say any commentaries because this email is going out to a mixed group of political friends...but i am sure you all know where i stand! The train ride back was long and tedious...but I can say that i have taken a jet plane, prop plane, bus, car, taxi, motor boat, rowboat, ferry, and train...all in one trip! it truly was incredible to be at machu pichu....words cant really do it justice. well, i am so tired i cant even think straight or see straight and i need to eat some dinner and get some sleep. tomorrow i am shopping in the AM and then doing the city tour and the inka fortress. |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 09 February 2007 )
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Written by Keith Rhoades
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Tuesday, 02 November 2004 |
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I am one tired puppy tonight. Last night after i emailed...i got kind of in a funk. I made my tourist plans for the next few days and it was a bit expenisve. For example...machu pichu if you go by yourself cost $80 on the train and $20 admission..and even if you hike it you have to have a guide for $80. So between machu pichu and the flight over nazca those things krimped my budget...though on the other hand i have been under budget for food and lodging. so i had to do some self talk last night that this is a once in a lifetime experience, i work hard and deserve to treat myself to this. I got to my room..and it was a wonerful thunderstorm...but for the first time this trip i felt very lonely. This morning i woke up and the tour company picked me up at 8:30 this morning for a tour of the Inka Sacred Valley...it was a great group of people...a few american (who had all voted absentee like myself), a wonderful couple from Italy, from Australia, and some germans that got on my nerves but they broke off cuz they were bored. We visited 3 inka sites...words and i dont even think my pictures can do it justices. We visited pisac, ollantaytambo, and Chinchero...all were wonderful and i learned so much about the inka history and culture. The tour guide was great and we stopped for a wonderful peruvian lunch. The weather was delightfutl and the village of Chinchero means "birthplace of the rainbow" which is the Cuzco flag.....and as luck would have it there were rainbows while we were there. Though i thought i was going to die on a 2 hour hike at pisac....it was at 15,000 feet and our last stop was at 16,000 feet...the highest peak in the peruvian andes! I must say I am very happy, please and proud of myself for this undertaking. It was amazing to see the andean people and how they live and yet very sobering. And the scenery....wow...one cannot question there is a higher power! Tomorrow is mahcu pichu....so i have to get up at 4 am and it will be a 18 hour day!! its amazing what the body is capable of. i am going to eat now and wait for some election results. The group i was with today were all interesting to talk to about the election and everyone i have met on htis trip...has been anti bush...except for a few peruvians but i think they just say they like bush cuz i am an american! |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 09 February 2007 )
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Written by Keith Rhoades
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Monday, 01 November 2004 |
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hi...well, i am near the last leg of my journey. i just finished my last bus ride thank god...it was 7 hours...anything over 5 i feel like i am going to have a panic attack! After i emailed last night i went back out to the festivities...it was nuts. Twice i got pulled out into the streets to dance to the drums. i then had dinner and wentto bed. i woke up early and caught the 8 am bus to Cuzco...the ride..though long was incredible...right through the heart of the andes mountains and glaciers! it was breathtaking. So i will be here for 4 days and then catch a flight back to lima....i need to make all my arrangements tonight for machu pichu, sacred valley,etc. As for pictures....i´ve already taken 200 digital and 110 regular. i had to buy a disposable camera now...and i only have room for 80 more pics onmy digital disk. i didn´t think iw as going to take that many. the altitude has not bothered me and i am holding up well...tho i am feeling a little tired so maybe staying in one place for four days will help. i am hoping to find a shaman while here and i am finally going to try cuy or guinea pic! Amazingly, i have met only one american in 1 1-2 weeks....mainly german, french, italians. i asked why and the reviews are mixed...some feel that americans dont like back packing or americans dont like the harsh terrain and want organized tours. The locals are very suprised i am from the Estados unidos. Well, i need to get a bite to eat, make my arrangements and explore the city a little |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 09 February 2007 )
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La Paz, Bolivia to Puno, Peru |
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Written by Keith Rhoades
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Sunday, 31 October 2004 |
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Hi...well, thank god i escaped LaPaz...unharmed. A dutch couple i was riding with got mugged as well as a japanese girl who had her throat strangled and they took her passport and money!! Also, la paz was so high up but it was like San Francisco..so many hills and the pollution was bad many people had handkerchiefs around their mouth...myself included. in fact, my throat is a bit scratchy tonight. At any rate, i am on a spiritual high right now...but more on that later. i got up at 6 am and got the 8 am bus to copacaban, swithced busses, then crossed the border, and then finally got back to puno at 4 pm and am staying at the place i did a few days ago...nice people, clean rooms. i was not up for 15 hours to cuzco so splitting up the bus ride. The 8 hours was crazy enought though i met some cool people expeically Anna maria from Buenos Aires who i at next too. She was so emotioanal about everything and very interesting. But as the Gods would have it...i am so lucky. i arrived for Puno Festival....which is a festival of all the natives..inca, aymara, uros, and the subtribes and a celebration of their culture combined wiht dia de los muertos. it is crazy here!! it is incredible...parades, drum circles, chanting, burnt offerings...its a combiantion of native culture, catholic holiday, and spring planting!!! the drum circles and the pipes and chanting about bring tears to my eyes spiritually...i feel connected to the universe. So taking a break from the festivities and doing the email thing and theneat and go back out to the festival... Tomorrow morning i leave for Cuzco...the Inka Sacred Valley where i will be for the next four days....incluidng the inca valley, cuzco, and machu pichu! |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 09 February 2007 )
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