from where i left off

so i was going to machu picchu tomorrow. ok. we bought tickets with a tour company called sas travel. they picked us up early sunday morning. we took a bus to Ollantaytambo, and then a train the rest of the way to Agues Calientes. On the way to Ollantaytambo we went through a small town that strongly reminded me of Santo Poco. Thats a reference to ¨The Three Amigos.¨ Only difference was that they had internet cafes.

Agues Calientes is a small tourist town with wonderful views, and lots of street vendors trying to sell you random useless things of which I only bought one, and lots of restaurants begging you to come in and eat. They try and entice you with games of chess, and free drinks. They also have a hot springs resort which is naturally hot water in small man made pools for people to sit and be warm in.

We took a bus Monday morning to Machu Picchu which took a very windy road all the way up the mountain. That was the scariest part of the trip for me. At the top we had a nice tour guide named Ruben explain all sorts of significances to us relating to the ruins, and their religion. Lots of things to do with Puma, Snake, and Condor. The view was very nice, and very clear. There is no pollution up there, so you can see far out in all directions. I have photos of the snow capped mountains surrounding Machu Picchu. I trekked up Waynu Picchu. This was the culmination of my 6 1/2 year test. The conclusion is that sitting at a computer for 10 hours a day will not keep you sufficiently in shape for hiking up Waynu Picchu. I did finally get to the top, and it was amazing. There is a great view of the ruins of Machu Picchu from the peak. You can also see the distant white mountain tops all around.

We flew out of Cusco on Tuesday morning to Lima, and from Lima to Buenos Aires Argentina. Noone speaks english in Buenos Aires. We saw the Obelisk which is a just a monument like Washington´s monument. We also ate lots of Beef. Plenty of restaurants in Buenos Aires. I had sweetbread which I really enjoyed. We stayed at hostel Vaikra. The owners just got married less than 2 weeks ago - Yisroel and Devorah. They are both lovely people, and we had a really nice time there. Many Israelis stay there. The only way we could have any intelligent conversations was with the help of Shmuel who was raised in Israel but moved back to Brazil like 5 years ago.

I went skydiving in La Plata Argentina. It´s not too expensive, and it was a lot of fun. I have a DVD of the experience, and many digital photos which I´ve already put online. It is an experience like no other. I recommend it to everyone.

We stayed in Buenos Aires for 7 nights, and then took a flight to Puerto Igauzu which is the Argentinian city next to Igauzu Falls. We spent the next day at the falls, and I took hundreds of pictures. They will soon be online. The closest view of the falls is in the area called devils throat. It brings you right on top the falls, and I have some great panoramas from there. I also got pictures of these strange looking creatures called Coitas. The coita isn´t afraid of humans at all, and I heard a story from a guy that one coita jumped onto the table at the restaurant he was eating at, and took a whole burger. The restaurant replaced the burger free of charge. Iguazu Falls is one of the most amazing places I´ve ever been, and I strongly recommend the trip. I didn´t have a chance to see the Brazilian side, but as I understand it the Argentinian side is much better.

That night we took a bus from Foz Do Iguazu (the Brazilian city by the falls) to Sao Paulo. We bought the cheaper ticket which was class ´semi-cama.´ The seats lean fairly far back, and there are really good leg rests. The trip is supposed to take about 15 hours, but our trip took a bit longer. About 1/2 hour out we stopped by a police station, where Federal officers proceeded to remove bags from the bus and search them. They even opened my bag! I´m innocent I swear!! Anyhow this went on for about an hour during which they kept coming on the bus and calling people off. They never called us off, but some of the people they called off stayed off. They even took some bags away. They would first duct tape the bags closed, and then roll them off. At the end of the hour it seems that they found what they were looking for. They started to take white packages from one bag and transfer them into a black sack of theirs. There were between 5 to 10 of these packages. Each package was identical, and each one was about 10 inches by 6 inches by 2 inches. You can draw your own conclusions as to what was in the packages, I´ve already drawn mine. The bus was stopped a few more times on the way for more officers to come onboard and search the carry on baggage. The last 12 hours of the trip were uneventful.

We arrived at the bus station this past Thursday from where I took a subway to our destination in Sao Paulo. Its been fairly boring since then until today. Now we are in the Hebraica. This place is huge! Its a jewish only social club. On a good sunday they can have upwards of 15,000 people here. All jews. Oy Vey. We just had a nice big lunch, and I´m hoping to go for a swim.

Thats all for now. Next update will likely be in Rio De Janeiro, or possibly once I´m home which will be in about 2 weeks.

everything up till now...

As you all know, I've left Israel to go to South America. But before I risk body and soul in the jungles of the backwards flushing world, I went to visit family in the states. Of course El Al lost my baggage and this is a story that could take a whole blog in and of itself. I won't expand on that horrible experience here, but suffice it to say that I have a new pair of sandals... Anyhow I made it to Peru last Tuesday with a flight from Miami. I expected only Spanish in South America, but I kinda expected English in the Miami airport; no such luck.

I landed in Peru before 5 AM, and I went directly to Youth Hostel Malka. I have only good things to say about this hostel, so if you are ever in Lima you should definitely stay there. Lovely people, great atmosphere, real nice they are. I spent 2 days in Lima, seeing a bit of the sights, going to the National Museum, and noticing how technologically advanced they are. For those who know the reasons that I moved to Israel, I should mention that they also have new cars, running hot water, and the internet here too. Who knows, I might move to Lima. ésta es vida. Lima is a very Americanized city, large stores, plenty of American food, Dunken Donuts, Starbucks, and of course McDonalds. Taxis in Lima are between 5 and 7 sole which is between a $1 to $2. Food is very cheap too, 7 sole for a full American breakfast. No shock to anyone to hear that Starbucks is still the same price - cup of chai latte for $3.81 or 14 sole.

There are many DVDs in Peru, although all of them are pirated. I swear! You can't even find original American movies here, they are all burned DVDs, both in the outside markets, and in the indoor shops. I guess the RIAA is too busy suing mothers to do anything about this.

On Thursday I flew into Cusco. For those in the know - Cusco is just a 4 hour train from Machu Picchu. It's also a nest of Israelis. There are a bunch of Israeli hostels (read stoned). I am staying at one, House of Kishkashta. Avi is the proprietor and he is very nice, very very mellow... I guess I can't get away from computers - I fixed the one here. Even installed new memory. Its a disease I guess. There is a Chabad here run by Ofir. I ate there last nite, and today. They are a nice group of people, who provide a great service. There were about 70 people last nite, and about 40 today. This is considered an empty Shabbat for the Chabad. They have on many Shabbatot more than 200 guests. I think thats amazing, but I guess it shows that Israelis have truly pervaded the farthest reaches of the earth.

I have to get up early for the ride to Machu Picchu, so goodbye for now. I will have pictures from there, so stay tuned; same bat time, same bat channel...

I haven't gone to any picture worthy places yet, but as I'm going to Machu Picchu tomorrow, I'll send lots of photographs from there.