Travel Journal #5 - Street Food

Food Carts - I love them. Half the time they end up making me run to el baño the next morning but sometimes it's well worth it. When I lived in México I always looked forward to eating at one of the food carts. It was like eating out but oh so much more friendly on the wallet. I think the experience is even more fulfilling then in a restaurant because you get to watch your food be prepared, slaved over and put onto your plastic sheet covered plate (they have found a way to not do dishes!). And a car? Who needs a car, just walk down the street and you're at the blocks hottest eatery. In Leon, Guanajuato I had the stations mapped out in my head and knew exactly which ones were rough on the gut and which ones left me wishing for more. I loved sitting at the stools, nose to the cart's plastic protective window watching the knife slice away and trying to decide which of the awesome extras to sprinkle or pour onto my taco. Every once in a while I still crave it like I crave a brownie. It's odd. But once you do it, you too will be hooked and it'll leave you whistling to the cook and saying "Un mas por favor! Muy rico."

These sketches are by Eduardo Yaguas on Flickr. They are set in Lima, Peru.

The Rain Gods Have Spoken

So I guess in the last week or so Peru has had some major rain fall and flooding as become an issue in some of Peru's top cities like Cusco, Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu. Unfortunately the rain has caused some major mud slides and filled the Urubamba River destroying parts of the train tracks and cutting off traffic to Machu Picchu and the surrounding areas. So what does that mean? Many tourists were stuck in the tiny town of Aguas Calientes, sleeping on streets, sharing beds in hotels, eating all the food and water (because deliveries couldn't be made) and just making everyone just kinda restless. Some parts got so bad that thousands of tourists had to be air lifted and taken to safety, even from the ruins itself! So for a couple days straight, these lucky tourists got a beautiful ride through the Andes mountains. Having been there on those mountains myself, I could only imagine what great views they had.

On a side note, I think camping out on Machu Picchu for a couple nights would probably rock my world.

But the situation isn't something to be jealous about. The Peru Rail is the only way into the area to see this Wonder of the World and it's tracks were washed away! So the Peruvian government has decided to shut the park down and work on fixing them. This could be anywhere from 3-8 weeks! Businesses and hotels in the area are already feeling the pinch - costing the country up to $500,000 a day. Many employees have left to find work in neighboring villages because without tourists, it's pointless to be there. Without Machu Picchu, Peru's economy will suffer. It will be interesting how fast they will turn this problem around. Then again, Machu Picchu is probably thanking the rain gods because it can now take a breath of fresh air and not slowly be destroyed on a daily basis.

What's your opinion? Is this a good break for Peru's number one star or a bad one?

Photo via The Associated Press

CBS News Article

Travel Journal 2

I found yet another set of awesome travel journal illustrations. These were done by illustrator Maral Sassouni who enjoys dipping into her travel image bank. I kinda have a thing for illustrated maps and she does a great job using mostly just watercolor, gouache, and ink.

Machu Picchu was named
one of the seven wonders of the world today! It's one of the seven wonders along with The Great Wall of China, Christ the Redeemer of Brazil, and the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza in Mexico, just to name a few. Having filled out a ballot on top of Machu Picchu myself, I feel I had a good part in it winning. I bet it was a party there in Peru today, it would have been fun to be there right about now. Woot Woot! Salud!

It started with me dreaming
and getting bored one night and surfing the web on whats out there to possibly go see. It was mainly to fill my thoughts so that my mind can wonder and dream of the places I wish I could go to. Every couple of days while I was sitting at work I'd say to myself "just go somewhere, you will be much happier if you did". So I put my foot down and made myself just pick a place and just do it.

It was between Brazil and Peru. I wanted to go to Brazil and see the large statue of Jesus (Christ the Redeemer) or go to Peru and see Machu Picchu and the Nazca Lines. Peru seemed much easier to get into the country and not have to deal with getting visas and all that jazz. So that made my decision.

I grabbed my friend Ben (who had mentioned to me that he had time and money to travel) and made him go with me. I knew he wouldn't say no. While searching for a travel agency, my eye was caught by a nicely design website. http://www.peruforless.com/ If it's designed nice it has got to be a good one. Not really, but I won't lie, that does cross my mind. Heck I'm a graphic designer and work at an Ad Agency, give me a break. And well, their good sense of design won a happy client.