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The Quilatoa crater lake. (near Chugchilan, Ecuador)
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In the summer of 2004, Katie and I travelled through Ecaudor, Peru and Bolivia. We loved our experiences along the way, particularly the folks of Puerto Lopez, our good traveling companions Matt Kelley and Lindsay Siegel, Macchu Piccu, the mountains of Hauraz (and the California Cafe for the best coffee of the trip), Coroico and the trip down the world's most dangerous road to get there. It was a great trip for fun and it continues to inform our interactions with the world. We also blogged during our trip.
Friends from the Black Sheep Inn while we're hiking on the rim of Quilatoa. (near Chugchilan, Ecuador) The Quilatoa crater lake. (near Chugchilan, Ecuador)
View of Quilatoa. (near Chugchilan, Ecuador) More of Quilatoa. (near Chugchilan, Ecuador)
The river in the bottom of the valley. (Chugchilan, Ecuador) View over the valley. (near Chugchilan, Ecuador)
The trail around the rim of Quilatoa. (near Chugchilan, Ecuador) Us in front of Quilatoa. (near Chugchilan, Ecuador)
A little indigena girl. (near Chugchilan, Ecuador) The ubiquitous feral dog. (near Chugchilan, Ecuador)
Hiking along the rim of Quilatoa. (near Chugchilan, Ecuador) Eating lunch on a cliff overlooking the valley. (Chugchilan, Ecuador)
Hikers! (near Chugchilan, Ecuador) Hiking along the rim of the volcanic crater lake, Quilatoa. (near Chugchilan, Ecuador)
A view of the rim down into the crater. (near Chugchilan, Ecuador) Hore hiking along the rim, with a view of the lake. (near Chugchilan, Ecuador)
More views of the valley. (near Chugchilan, Ecuador) More Quilatoa. (near Chugchilan, Ecuador)
More views of the valley. (near Chugchilan, Ecuador) HIking down from Quilatoa, we see a pen of goats and sheep watched by a farm dog. (Chugchilan, Ecuador)
Joey in a field of lupines. They are cultivated as food. (Chugchilan, Ecuador) We're hiking down through the clouds that seem to have socked in the top part of the mountain. (Chuchilan, Ecuador)
The trail around Laguna Quilatoa. (Chugchilan, Ecuador) View of the valley near Quilatoa. (Chugchilan, Ecuador)
Hiking back out of the valley. (Chugchilan, Ecuador) A steep part. Climbing out of the valley on the Quilatoa hike. (Chugchilan, Ecuador)
Humberto, Daniel, and Katie on the edge of the valley, before we head up into the cloud forest. (Chugchilan, Ecuador) Katie begins her obsession with pigs. (Ecuador)
Creepy branches in the cloud forest. (Chugchilan, Ecuador) Katie in the cloud forest. (Chugchilan, Ecuador)
Some random rock house. (Ecuador, Peru or Bolivia. Who knows??) A parade in Puno. The costumes worn are the traditional dress of the school group. (Puno, Ecuador)
MOre of the Puno parade. (Puno, Ecuador) Leafcutter ants. (Hola Vida Park, Ecuador)
More of the leafcutters. (Hola Vida Park, Ecuador) Visiting the jungle. It's creepy in there. (Hola Vida Park, Ecuador)
View over the jungle. (Ecuador) View of the jungle (Ecuador)
Joey with a fruit eating catlike creature. It's possibly a civet. (near Puno, Ecuador) A giant turtle shown by our guide to the Ecuadorian jungle. (near Puno, Ecuador)
Large fishing boat. (Puerto Lopez, Ecuador) A fisherman heading out into the Pacific from Puerto Lopez. (Puerto Lopez, Ecuador)
Boobys on the rocks. (Isla de la Plata, Ecuador) Lookin' good! (Isla de la Plata, Ecuador)
The view. Puerto Lopez was orginally a fishing port for the Spanish, the a pirate hideout and has now gone to the birds. (Isla de la Plata) Not sure. (Isla de la Plata, Ecuador)
The Albatross rookery. (Isla de la Plata, Ecuador) Blue-Footed Booby. (Isla de la Plata, Ecuador)
The world famous Blue-Footed Booby. (Isla de la Plata, Ecuador) Blue-Footed Booby hiding in the lush vegetaion. (Isla de la Plata, Ecuador)
View over the desert island, also known as the "Poor Man's Galapagos." He must be a very poor man indeed. (Isla de la Plata, Ecuador) Quicocha. Lake of the guinea pigs. (Otavalo, ecuador)
Closeup of the available goodies. (Otavalo, Ecuador) Un puerco grande at Otavalo's market. (Otavalo, Ecuador)
Get yer veggies! (Otavalo, Ecuador) Matt's friend in the market. (Otavalo, Ecuador)
A view of the market stalls. (Otavalo, Ecuador) Welcome to the butcher shops. (Otavalo, Ecuador)
Another shot of the hooves. (Otavalo, Ecuador) Market scene. (Otavalo, Ecuador)
Your choice legumes. (Otavalo, Ecuador) Roasting guinea pig or cuy. (Otavalo, Ecuador)
One greenhouse on the rose plantation. (Otavalo, Ecuador) Lots and lots of roses. (Otavalo, Ecuador)
A test greenhouse where they try many varieties out and do their breeding. (Otavalo, Ecuador) On the road. (Ingapirca, Ecuador)
Matt picking up chicks with our new boombox. Oh yeah and six hundred year-old ruins. (Ingapirca, Ecuador) Another view of Ingapirca. (Ingapirca, Ecuador)
The temple wall. Note the amazing mortarless construction. Ingapirca was built in a 60 year period ending in the mid-16 century. (Ingapirca, Ecuador) Katie in the Incan baths at Ingapirca (Ecuador)
Tending the cows near Ingapirca (Ecuador) Katie and Lindsay on the trail to see the Eye of the Inca (Ecuador)
Taking a break on the trail (Ecuador) Too bad the view is terrible :-). (El Cajas NP, Ecuador)
Entrance to a cathedral off the Plaza de Armas. (Cuenca, Ecuador) A little creek in El Cajas. (El Cajas NP, Ecuador)
Taking a break in El Cajas. We are at about 14,000 feet. (El Cajas NP, Ecuador) LLamas in El Cajas National Park. (El Cajas N.P., Ecuador)
Hiking around the Rumi Wilco Preserve. (Vilcabamba, Ecuador) View from our cabin at the Rumi Wilco Preserve. (Vilcabamba, Ecuador)
Pottery of medical maladies from the Lambayeque culture. Cleft lip, amputations, and conjoined twins, they had it all down. (near Chiclayo, Peru) The Corpus Christi holiday. The street drawings are made from flower petals and sawdust. (Chiclayo, Peru)
Corpus Christi street drawings. (Chiclayo, Peru) In a moto-taxi headed to the huacas. (near Chiclayo, Peru)
The huacas of the Lambayeque. Once grand adobe pyramids, they now resemble miniature badlands. This is pre-restoration. (near Chiclayo, Peru) Katie overlooking the Lambayeque huacas. (near Chiclayo, Peru)
Sunset over Huaraz. (Huaraz, Peru) Near the Mirador of Huaraz. (Huaraz, Peru)
Sunset from the roof of the Way Inn. (Huaraz, Peru) Sunset from the roof of the Way Inn. (Huaraz, Peru)
The cemetary. (Huaraz, Peru) Tiny village at the beginning of the trail. (Santa Cruz Trail, Peru)
View from our lower camp. (Santa Cruz Trail, Peru) Matt takes a load off. (Santa Cruz Trail, Peru)
Taking a break on our way up to the pass. (Santa Cruz Trail, Peru) Camping around 15,000 feet. So cold. (Santa Cruz Trail, Peru)
Views from our low campsite. (Santa Cruz Trail, Peru) The view from the pass where are trail leads. (Santa Cruz Trail, Peru)
Hanging out at 15,500 feet. (Santa Cruz Trail, Peru) The view out the door of our room. (Nazca, Peru)
Lookin' good in Arequipa. (Arequipa, Peru) Lookin' good in Arequipa. (Arequipa, Peru)
The view over Arequipa from the room at our hostel. (Arequipa, Peru) Santa Catalina Convent. (Arequipa, Peru)
One of the communal kitchens in the convent. (Arequipa, Peru) Arches next to a cloister in the Santa Catalina Convent. (Arequipa, Peru)
An alley of the convent. (Arequipa, Peru) The "washing machines" at the convent. The jugs were usually used for making alcohol. Heh. (Arequipa, Peru)
More details of the convent. (Arequipa, Peru) Convent. (Arequipa, Peru)
Terraces of the fortress at Ollantaytambo. (Ollantaytambo, Peru) More of the fortress. (Ollantaytambo, Peru)
Us at Machu Piccu. (machu Piccu, Peru) View of Machu Piccu. (Machu Piccu, Peru)
The jumble of rocks on the right is the quarry for Machu Piccu. (Machu Piccu, Peru) Another view of Machu Piccu. (Machu Piccu, Peru)
At the bottom of a huge series of agricultural terraces in Machu Piccu. (Machu Piccu, Peru) Ruins of Machu Piccu. (Machu Piccu, Peru)
Ruins of Machu Pizza. (Machu Piccu, Peru) An example of the rougher stonework used in more common areas. Also an animal that I don't know the name of. (Machu Piccu, Peru)
A view over parts of Machu Piccu. (Machu Piccu) The mountain Huayna Piccu. (Machu Piccu, Peru)
Joey in front of the massive wall at Sacsayhuaman. This was the military center of the Incan empire. (Cuzco, Peru) Lindsay and Katie at the ruins of Pisac. (Pisac, Peru)
Katie in front of the Temple of the Sun in Pisac. All this perfect stonework was made by rubbin ght rocks flat. (Pisac, Peru) Another Pisac photo. (Pisac, Peru)
More of the fortress. (Ollantaytambo, Peru) Market in Cuzco. (Cuzco, Peru)
On a walk from Copacabana on the shores of Lake Titicaca. (Copacabana, Bolivia) Another photo from our walk. (Copacabana, Bolivia)
Isla del Sol in the distance. (Copacabana, Bolivia) Little piggies! Animals were everywhere and these guys were too cute to pass up. (Copacabana, Bolivia)
More of the piglets. (Copacabana, Bolivia) The view over La Paz. (La Paz, Bolivia)
Katie getting ready to ride. (near La Paz, Bolivia) At the top of the 'death road.' (near La Paz, Bolivia)
Halfway down the World's Most Dangerous Road. (Bolivia) Dusty and muddy, but we made it! (near Coroico, Bolivia)
Small stop in the valley on the world's most dangerous road. (near Coroico, Bolivia) The gang at the end of the dangerous road. (near Coroico, Bolivia)
The hospital. (near Coroico, Bolivia) Classic storefront. (near Coroico, Bolivia)
Heavenly Coroico. The view from the terrace of Hotel Esmereldas where we stayed. (Coroico, Bolivia) View of the world's most dangerous road and the swimming pool. (Coroico, Bolivia)
A blockade of the plaza by indigenous people from a nearby town. (Potosi, Bolivia) Katie hanging out in the Plaza de Armas of Potosi. (Potosi, Boliva)
Coca leaves for sale in the miners market in Potosi (Bolivia) Mining gear: coca, ammonium nitrate, dynamite, work gloves, hard hat, detonator (Potosi, Bolivia)
An ingenio where the piles of mined rocks are treated to extract the valuable metals. (Potosi, Bolivia) Chemicals like copper sulfate flow from these buckets into vats below to extract the metals. (Potosi, Bolivia)
A closeup of how the flow of chemicals is managed. (Potosi, Bolivia) The vats in which the rocks are crushed and treated. (Potosi, Boliva)
Closeup of rock crushing machine. (Potosi, Bolivia) Closeup of a machine that mixes the pulverized rocks with chemicals. The foam contains the extracted metal and is scraped off and dried. (Potosi, Bolivia)
Another closeup of the mixers. (Potosi, Bolivia) More of the Cerro Rico. (Potosi, Bolivia)
The Cerro Rico where the Potosi mines are located. (Potosi, Bolivia) View over Potosi. (Bolivia)
Ready to head down into the mine. Yes, Matt has dynamite in his mouth. (Potosi, Boliva) El Tio. The miners worship the devil while underground. (Potosi, Bolivia)
A meeting of the miners collective. (Potosi, Bolivia) Lit dynamite in the pants. I think it's fair to say the altitude was getting to us. (Potosi, Bolivia)
Washing day at the springs. The river is too polluted to wash clothes in but these springs do the trick. (near Potosi, Bolivia) Two boys carring the laundry. (near Potosi, Bolivia)
Katie and Lindsay in the Plaza de Armas. (Sucre, Bolivia) Sucre's Plaza de Armas. (Sucre, Bolivia)
Our last day in Sucre, looking out over the city in comfort. (Sucre, Bolivia) View of Sucre. (Sucre, Bolivia)
Feeding pigeons in Plaza Murillo. Behind me is the congressional building. (La Paz, Bolivia) Another photo feeding pigeons. (La Paz, Bolivia)
La Paz (Bolivia)