Friday, May 22, 2009

Fiesta a Guantanamera

Location: Cartagena, Colombia
Rundown: Sweet fiesta at a Cuban restaurant in Centro.


Erin Leigh, a very good friend had a birthday fiesta at a Cuban restaurant in Centro called Guantanamera. The place had a sassy feel with tall ceilings, spiral staircases, and black and white tiled floors.






Nico, her husband and a good friend of mine had bought Panama hats and Cuban cigars for everyone to boost the ambiance. So we hammed it up with the hats and cigars. Super fun.





Everyone had a great time. There was a live band playing and we all slung our best salsa moves, much to the amusement of our true Colombian friends who are born with triple-beat rhythm in their blood.





In following true Caribbean culture, rum flowed liberally and mixed with the music and food. We had quite a good time. The Glabs (Erin and Nick) know how to throw a party.



Monday, May 18, 2009

Machu Picchu Excursion

Location: Machu Picchu and Cuzco, Peru

Rundown: A trek to Machu Picchu via the oxygen-starved Salkantay trail with a stellar crew of six.



Flew from Cartagena to Bogota, to Lima, Peru, to Cuzco via the red eye...



Arrived in Cuzco in the morning, bleary-eyed...



Altitude hit us immediately...



The crew: Pete Gorkiewicz, Katie and Ted B., Linnea M., and Nicko and Erin Leigh G.











The train to Machu Picchu via Aguas Calientes.


Hit some amazing hot springs in Santa Teresa (not like the funky ones in Aguas Calientes). After trekking for a few days felt like a little slice of heaven...





Headed out of Cuzco to hit the Salkantay Trail. Here's a little video of the trek.





Really sweet hair on the trail.



The Salkantay pass at 4600 oxygen-scarce meters. Pain is our middle name.


Salkantay ridge.












Made some friends along the way despite our...odor.



Ted and I hiking to Wayana Picchu.







Nick's favorite!





A little video of the train to Machu Picchu, and exploring the ruins.


The group shot. What troopers!


Don't want you to think that we spent the entire trip busting our backsides. We did in fact take some R&R time in Cuzco. My favorite spot was a little coffee shop that we spent an afternoon aclimatizing in...