Day 6

So not everything is peaches and cream. I learned a valuable lesson the other day...May 24th we began our hike of the Salkantay trail from Mollepata, Peru. Needless to say I am out of shape and knew I would have little oxygen climbing a mountain over 13,000ft, however I fought on and on. Out guide was very inexperienced and we suffered many problems. The biggest of which was that several of our group were having trouble as we climbed higher and higher and despite our guide telling us we would have plenty of stops to rest we had none at all. Also we were supposed to stop for lunch at a certain elevation and rest...another problem here was that our horsemen who were to set up our lunch were over half an hour ahead of us so we had to keep climbing more and more, faster and faster. After about 2 and a half hours of nonstop mountain climbing my legs began to quit on me, still I pushed on. I figured if I just made it to lunch I could rest and go on. More problems arised as I was fighting harder and harder to breathe, still I pushed on. Our guide paid no attention to this nor that fact that others were also having much trouble. Half hour later near the peak of a large mountain thousands of feet above sea level I collapsed. I could not breathe and began hyper-ventilating. Our guide carried an oxygen tank in case something like this happened, however he did not know how to operate it. I most certainly would have died if not for Jayme Barton who had worked in an oxygen bar and knew how to administer the oxygen. After several minutes I could feel my arms and my face was no longer blue. Also from the oxygen I was able to move the muscles in my face again and speak clearly letting everyone know that I would be ok. So from that point on I said to hell with the shitty outfitter and my brother Brock, Kathryn, and I turned back and climbed down the mountain. The rest of our group stayed and continued the 5 day hike. We made it back to Cuzco and are leaving early in the morning to meet back up with them in Aguas Calientes. From there we will all go to Macchu Pichu and get it over with. Until then I want to let everyone know I am alive and still kickin. Lesson learned.

Day 1

Well its officially Day 1 of "The Big Loop". Lima is pretty cool, very lage, and pretty dirty. They could difinitly use some construction pointers and I think that someone could really make a killing as a contractor here. Regardless its still quite fun. Our Itinerary has changed significantly and instead of going around the continent counterclockwise we are now going clockwise. So after our Machu Picchu hike we are going to fly back to Lima and then to Iquitos to begin our journey down the Rio Amazonas. So it will be something like this: May 22nd - Lima to Cuzco, May 30th - Cuzco to Lima then Lima to Iquitos.

Rough Draft Itinerary

Itinerary for: THE BIG LOOP

May 20: Arrive Lima, Peru
May 21: Depart Lima, Peru by plane for Cuzco, Peru
May 22-31: Hike the Salcantay Trail to Macchu Picchu and arrive back in Cusco, Peru
June 1: Depart Cusco for Lake Titicaca
June 2-3: Lake Titicaca
June 4: Depart for La Paz, Bolivia
June 5: Arrive in La Paz
June 5-9: Travel throughout Bolivia
June 9: Depart Bolivia and travel futher south through northern Argentina and curve into Chile near the Atacama Desert
June 10-11: Atacama Desert
June 11: Depart for Santiago, Chile
June 11-14: Explore Santaigo, Valpariso, Vina del Mar in Chile
June 15: Depart central Chile en route to Patagonia
June 15-30: Patagonia to Buenos Aires
July 1: Tentative arrival in Foz do Iguacu, Brazil
July 2: Foz do Iguacu
July 3: Rest
July 4: Depart for Uruguay
July 5-8: Uruguay
July 9: Arrive back in Foz do Iguacu, Brazil for rest
July 10: Depart for Sao Paulo, Brazil
July 11-13: Sao Paulo
July 14-17: Rio de Janiero
July 17/18: Depart Rio de Janiero by plane to Manaus, Brazil
July 18/19: Depart Manaus via boat up the Amazon River to Iquitos, Peru
July 19-23: En route by boat up Amazon River to Iquitos
July 23-25: Iquitos, Peru
July 25: Depart Iquitos, Peru by plane for Lima, Peru
July 26: Depart Lima, Peru for Paccha, Peru for home stay
July 26-August 3: Paccha, Peru
August 4: Depart Paccha, Peru en route to Lima, Peru
August 5: Depart Lima, Peru via plane back to United States

As I said this a rough draft and all dates are subject to change.

Destination Peru

May 20, 2008. 9:55pm Estimated arrival in Lima, Peru. May 22, 2008 5:40am Lima, Peru to Cuzco, Peru. May 22,23,24 acclimatize to high altitude of Cuzco. May 25 begin the 5 day Salcantay trail hike to Machu Picchu. This so far will be the start of our Journey.
When I say our I am referring to the group of people who I will be joining on this most excellent adventure. This group includes myself Bryn Michael Anderson, my brother Brock Anderson, Mike Jozwik, Elisa Hidalgo, Jayme Barton, Karen Morris, Kathryn Dwyer, Kristen Lindemann, Larry Boutin, and Carleigh McDonald. Our main goal to create a Documentary on sustainability in SA and to see one of the most beautiful continents on this planet.