two to tunis

our next and final destination in the country was tunis so we woke up early hoping to make our way back to the capital. we'd hoped that going to a bigger city might make catching a louage a bit easier. it wasn't quite so straightforward, unfortunately. we made our way to the station only to be met by big crowds and a tiny ticket office. i left JR to stay with our bags near the louage marked 'tunis' while i went to buy our tickets. (why we couldn't buy them on the louage itself here was unclear.) i jostled for a spot in line outside the station near a ticket window only to learn, several minutes in, that i'd have to order a ticket for tunis inside. of course the inside was packed with people jammed up in lines. the line was interminably slow but i did only see a few arguments break out and a couple of people jump to the front of the line for whatever reason. fiiiinally i got our tickets and went to join JR at our louage. we had a bit of time to get some last minute snacks at a kiosk before our van was full and ready to go.

asla (meaning honey), our temporary pup

the trip itself was largely uneventful and in a few hours we were back in tunis. now it was a matter of finding our airbnb. while it wasn't in the labyrinthian streets of the medina it was just out the city walls in a small alley which turned out to be perhaps even harder to find. after a number of (probably expensive) confused phone calls to our host and plenty of frustration we finally made it. happy to drop our bags - and the wrapped up carpet that poor JR had lugged all over - we said hi to the friendly dog and tried to relax a bit. our host left before we got the wifi password from him (oops) but we tried to make a plan for the day with the maps and info we did have at our disposal.

we had once again managed to miss the typical lunch hour so finding food was proving difficult. in the bustling streets outside the medina we managed to find a little stall where someone was making what looked to be savory crepes, but the meat was some kind of nondescript flat, red circles and the cheese came in a little foil wedge. whatever, it would do and it at least had harissa on it. with some food in us we were a little less hangry and ready to take on the rest of the afternoon. we hopped on a local train to take us out to carthage, just a quick ride across the water.

overlooking carthage, or what's left

from the station it was a bit of a walk to the historical site (which you'd think would be better marked, right?) but we managed to find it. once there, we tramped around the ruins of carthage (such as they were) in the late afternoon sun, enjoying identifying what was left of the various buildings and store rooms. it really was pretty well decimated. the museum on site had some great mosaics and quite a few interesting artifacts but we only had about 45 minutes to enjoy it. JR was eager to find more ruins (and, indeed, there were random roman columns and sprinkled all over the place without sign or ceremony) and so we tramped around in search of old things.we managed to stumble across some aqueducts, a possible temple (well, columns) and an old amphitheatre. most had no signs whatsoever and were littered with garbage.

sunset views from cafe essaude

we found another train station and hopped on the train a few more stops to make it to sidi bu said, which we'd wanted to hit before the sun went down. it was just starting its descent so our timing was fairly good. the town was full of tourists but we made our way through the busy street to a cafe advertising a rooftop terrace (i, of course, wanting to catch the sunset from a nice vantage point). this one fit the bill - it had mint tea and cocktail shisha. we lingered a little longer and JR tried his first turkish coffee - served with a syrupy 'flower water' that was delightful. leisurely sipping out drinks and chatting into the night was definitely a highlight of the day for me.

by around 8pm we figured we should probably try to head back to tunis before it got too late. we made the short walk down from the town's main drag and caught the next local train. there were some young guys inside goofing around, trying to jump in and out while the train was still moving. we watched but didn't pay them much mind. then all of a sudden as we were approaching a station one of them grabbed for my camera bag and started to run. luckily i had it and my purse secured under my arm (as i nearly always do when traveling) and of course i held on tight. he pulled me up off my seat but i kept my grip tightly and eventually he fell backwards onto the platform. JR immediately jumped up ready to put up a fight but it all happened so fast and almost as quickly as he had lunged for me he was on his back in the station. no harm done really but we were a little shaken up. just a good reminder to always secure your stuff and be aware of your surroundings!

the next metro ride was short but we sat in the station forever just waiting for the train to move so we didn't end up getting back until almost 9. the streets of the medina were dark and nearly deserted - it was a little eerie, to be honest. at some point we were walking through a dark passage with little light to see the dirty ground.. and i managed to slip in whatever was covering the ground (likely at least some percentage of that was poop). fortunately i fell forward onto my knee and not onto my back, but still - ew. nothing seemed to be open so clearly we missed mealtime once again. eventually we passed a few open cafes but JR was nervous and anxious to get back (probably a good idea to follow your instincts in such scenarios) so we stopped at a little kiosk near our place to grab some chips, sodas and a snack that was 'oriole' flavored (we think they meant oreo..). back at the airbnb we realized we still didn't have the wifi password so our attempts to watch a movie were thwarted. all in all not our best day but still an adventure.

classic view of tunis' rooftops

the next day we slept in all the way until 9.20 - what luxury! our host, hamza, offered to take us to breakfast in the medina. anxious to get a meal at the appropriate time we acquiesced. he took us to a fabulous little cafe filled with antique chairs, rugs, and various textiles and lanterns covering every surface. most people around us were start in on the shisha but we decided to stick to coffee and tea accompanied by some little almond cakes he snagged at a kiosk around the corner. we had a nice conversation about his work and travels - all in french. funny, while he said he's learned spanish, italian, and russian he said he'd never managed to learn english. i translated as best i could for JR. of course we weren't getting away without being taken to a few carpet shops, many of which feature rooftop views of the city and the signature minaret of the great mosque. having secured our major rug purchase already we listened politely to their spiel but demurred when they urged us to buy another. hamza was very gracious and made it clear we weren't being pressured to buy anything. back in the medina he took us past his friend's perfumerie. here i got suckered into buying some argan oil (which i'm positive was incredibly overpriced, but we wanted to be nice). in fact it was apparently so overpriced that they threw in some perfume oils, which i appreciated.

cafe mrabet still life

here hamza left us and we explored the souqs on our own for a bit before it was about lunchtime. we were in the middle of the medina and - miracle of miracles - actually found a restaurant open and had a proper meal. our host had recommended el ali cafe and it was indeed very nice - clearly where folks have business lunches or rich housewives come for a break. we had a 'brik au thon' (flaky fried pastry with egg and tuna) along with 'briwettes' with shrimp, almost like an eggroll but perfectly fried in flaky dough. for our entree we shared a plate of what was essentially tunisian bolognese. it was huge and quite tasty, with a bit more red pepper than the italian version. from lunch we wanted to pop into the mosque but (once we eventually found the door on the giant structure) were told it was closed for prayers. logical, since it was still around lunchtime. we were told to come back at 2.15. to pass the time we stopped in some more souqs and took a little break at the historic cafe mrabet, with its landmark red-and-green painted columns. people were stretched out, lounging over shishas and lemon drinks. we got lemonade with mint and shisha although eventaully all the smoke (from cigarettes as well) started to give me a headache.

i like any place that gives tiles their due

we left and went by the mosque again - closed for prayers, we were told. (really??) we swung by the airbnb to drop off our purchases and use the wifi (we had the password, finally!) only to discover that the internet wasn't working. still, we tried to find our way to the sidi qasim zelliji zawiya - a mausoleum for a famous tilemaker. anyone who knows me knows this is right up my alley. we had vague directions and between that and the map on my phone we were eventually able to find the place, but not without getting turned around several times. there was actually a little workshop going on so we were able to see some artisans at work and the small place itself was indeed covered with tiles as promised. from here we figured we'd have enough time to get to the bardo museum before it closed at 4.30. the cab ride took about 15 minutes so we got there at around 3.45... only to discover the museum actually closed at 4. argh! definitely a disappointment missing that. we got out of the cab here, figuring we could hop on the metro instead. well this turned out to be a mistake. the metro came to a halt before we had even made it one stop. it finally did move again but at a snail's pace. instead of taking it all the way to the main transfer point we got off and grabbed a taxi to the station where we could get on the local train for carthage. all of this took nearly an hour.

one of the crowded punic cemeteries we explored

eventually we did make it to carthage. JR had found a few more sites he wanted to try to see. one was something called a trophet, which as far as we can tell is a place used for child sacrifice, a practice done in the punic religion. it was walled off with a little guard station but we were able to walk right in and see the little chambers and stones, whose purpose we could only guess at (there was no signage, naturally). we walked on, the sea just to our left, and passed a number of other ruins that we admired through the iron bars that walled them off. JR still really wanted to see the american cemetery though, realizing that not much or any of it may be visible. after a lot of walking we did find it, discovering that it was closed (although it was unclear if we would have been able to enter even if it hadn't been). unfortunately the big wall around it made it virtually impossible to see any of it. from here we tramped through a large field (full of snail shells, we noticed) in search of the nearest train station. figuring we'd rather get a meal rather than head back to tunis and be disappointed, we set off again for the touristy town of sidi bu said. we went up the now familiar main drag and settled on the place we'd been to the night before because at least we knew they had food and a view. here we had a a panini and a waffle with nutella (basically your universal tourist fare) and of course enjoyed our last shisha of tunisia. we lingered over our drinks as the night grew darker and just enjoyed each other's company. before leaving the town we popped in a few of the souvenir shops to get some gifts and spend some of our last tunisian dinars.

so, all in all, we learned that things tend to take longer than expected in tunisia. we certainly made some mistakes and if we'd had it to do over again we definitely would have done some things differently. but overall we enjoyed a beautiful new country together and i'm so glad JR got to see a different part of the world.

trailing the incans

we left our hotel after enjoying the hotel's extensive breakfast (complete with nutella and pillowy little croissants) before meeting the taxi driver the hotel had helped us arrange. we left cusco, traveling up over 12,000 ft (thank you, snapchat) on our way out of town. for miles we saw little besides rolling hills, the occasional goat, and a few people in traditional dress (women in braids and skirts with bright sweaters) walking along the road. there were a few llamas too, when we passed by villages. the houses we saw were mostly few and far between but a good portion of them were entirely painted with the names of presidential candidates. i wonder if they get paid to do that. it seems a little.. extreme.

they're much farther than they look

our first stop was the stepped terraces of moray. to get in we had to buy a pass for a number of archaeological sites within the sacred valley - which cost almost as much as our tickets to machu picchu! (gotta make money somehow, right?) we figured we wouldn't have time to see more than a couple but we did want to explore some of the sacred valley on our way. as i mentioned, we didn't have tons of time to linger - and my mom couldn't have hiked all the way to the bottom and back up - so we contended ourselves to walk around the edges. the terraces here were used for farming - specifically to test out certain crops that the incans may have then planted closer to home. we later learned that the incans would have eaten corn and quinoa but also lots of different beans.

panning out

our second stop was, i thought, far more visually impressive although arguably less archaeological significant. the salt pans of maras at first seem tiny because you're so far above them. in actuality each one is about 6-8 feet square and covered in tiny salt crystals. you can walk in between them, along the crystalline walls of the pans, which was rather surreal. it reminded me of a cross between mammoth hot springs and the leather tanneries of marrakech. i wish we'd had a little longer to explore but just being there (and, yes, sampling the salt) was a worthwhile experience in itself. on our way out i made sure to buy some salted chocolate for the office.

chica

from there it was still a short drive to ollentaytambo, where we had barely enough time to scarf down our lunch before being dropped at the train station. the lunch was tasty - sopa criolla with noodles, egg, and tasty broth and my first chicha morada, a lemonade-type drink made from blue corn - and the town itself looked rather nice, if a bit touristy. it's too bad we didn't have longer to explore. we were told to be there early for the train so of course we didn't want to take any chances. we seemed to be about the first tourists there but before long the waiting area was full of fellow travelers looking in vain for a place to charge their phones (it pays to get there early!)

by the time the train was in the station the clouds had rolled in and it looked like it might rain. we took our seats in the vistadome train which i think ended up being a bit overblown. (again, you gotta make money somehow) it was basically a normal train with transom windows which didn't afford you a view of much except the clouds. and the lights were on inside the train which means the view is obscured by the reflection. they did give you a drink and a little quinoa pizza, which was a nice touch. the view was fairly stunning, with mountains rising impossibly high all around us and the river beside us. we followed the river the whole way to aguas calientes, the little town in the valley closest to machu picchu.

we left the tiny train station and immediately found ourselves in the middle of a labyrinthian market that seemed like something out of morocco or india. we were disoriented but eventually found our way out with some direction. the little town of aguas calientes exists solely to accommodate tourists visiting machu picchu so as you can imagine it's full of hotels, restaurants, and little shops with snacks and souvenirs. from the train station, most of the buildings are uphill. the whole town is built up around the river - presumably the agua of aguas calientes, although i can't imagine it's terribly warm. the incline, particularly with luggage, was tough for my mom with the altitude and her asthma, but we took it slow and she made it. after settling in we made arrangements for the next day - including a search for a rather elusive ATM (for all the tourists you'd think there would be more. i guess they're hoping you'll use a currency exchange place) with an exorbitant fee ($13!), buying our MP tickets, getting our bus tickets, and booking a tour guide. we were planning on an early night as we had (yet another) early morning ahead of us but we did venture out for a small dinner.

we were up the next morning at 4 after about six hours of sleep. the hotel was rather noisy - according to my mother; i never wake up - which is annoying. it's definitely not the nicest of hotels we've stayed in but it was fine for one night. at the advice of guide books we elected to catch the very first bus, or groups of buses, in hopes of getting views of early morning light and missing the rain. we had worried that it would be totally overcast or, worse, rain while we were up there but as we waited in line we noticed a little peek of sunshine coming through the clouds so we were hopeful. we later learned that the weather changes so quickly up there in the mountains - it's so high it has its own micro-climate. by the time we reached the top - only about 10 minutes after we boarded the bus - the skies had started to clear and i was thinking we might get some views with rays of sunshine peeking through. i rushed ahead, at my mom's suggestion, while she took her time climbing the many steps to the lookout spot. i made it up fairly quickly - actually perhaps a little too quickly. i never really felt winded from the altitude (we were at about 8000 ft there) but i did notice my heart beating faster than it usually would have.

first view

that first view was as magnificent as i had imagined. there were a few other people who had made their way up there but it was still enough space to peacefully take in the view. it's one of those places that's surreal to be in because you've seen the image so many times. but also you feel as though you're completely isolated - surrounded by enormous mountains for miles on every side. it's amazing to think that anyone would have built anything somewhere so remote. just getting all those huge stones to that spot was dangerous and time consuming - it took them 100 years to build the site. my mom and i enjoyed the view for a good while before moving on.

llama llama

we walked down along the many terraces (of course used for farming), through the main gate and in towards some of the temple areas. the prevailing theories were that this was either a university or a site for astrological purposes. they know the men's and women's living quarters were separated and that the king would have visited twice a year, on the solstices. there's a sundial in one of the temples that indicates the solstices. their lives were dominated by two seasons - summer, the rainy season when they'd plant the crops and winter, when they could build. there were some nice examples of that typical incan masonry - the huge blocks smoothed out to fit with no mortar - but there were other structures that were used with smaller stones also. we had some close encounters with some of the many llamas who roam the grounds - partly for the gratification of tourists i'm sure but they also serve the useful purpose of trimming the grass in an area that would otherwise be nearly impossible to maintain. they don't seem to mind being touched but they don't care much about posing for photos.

clouds rolling in

our guide did a nice job of explaining structures as we passed them along with telling us a bit about how the incans lived and the kinds of things they would have eaten, including the central role of coca that remains important in peru even today. down on the lower portion of the site we saw some of the residential areas and another temple - the temple of the condor this time. there's a large rock formation which is supposed to resemble the bird with a pit below. based on the skeletons they found at the bottom they assumed this space was used for ritual animal sacrifices (no humans). nearby were also two shallow pools carved out of rock. eventually they determined these were used for looking up at the stars without having to actually look up. not long after we arrived the clouds that were still in the sky rolled away and it was sunny and even warm for the majority of the time we were there. it was hard to guess at what they weather was going to be like so we were glad we hadn't brought our heavier sweaters and even more glad that it didn't rain. our guide left us after he had guided us through the ruins and let us explore on our own. i walked along the terraces a bit more and back up to the initial spot where you get that quintessential view of huyana picchu (the mountain beyond the site that some crazy people climb up). i wanted to take a few more minutes to drink in the view, not knowing when i'd be back here again. this time there were quite a few more people around and it was a little less tranquil.

terrace tea

by the time we made our way back down to town it was only midday since we'd gotten such an early start. we still had a few hours to kill before our train back to cusco so we decided to relax in a little french cafe with some pastries and coffee. we lingered quite a while and eventually realized that it had started to rain. we were thankful we weren't up at machu picchu then - although we couldn't be sure it was actually raining up there. eventually we made our way back to the hotel and had some tea on the terraces as we passed the time watching the rain. we gave ourselves plenty of time for a late lunch before we had to make it to the train. the walk back to the station was much easier - downhill this time. i was anxious to sleep on the train but the staff seemed bent on making sure that didn't happen. one thing after another - music, then a fashion show of traditional peruvian clothes, and when they weren't doing anything they seemed to blow the horn every fifteen minutes. we arrived back in poroy - for some reason the train doesn't quite go all the way to cusco - and we were glad to see our earlier taxi driver we had arranged to meet. finally about 20 minutes later we were back in our lovely hotel and i went down to take advantage of the spa.

piles for miles

the next day we got to sleep in until all of 7 and got a cab to take us to pisac. on the way we stopped at a few incan ruins to try to make use of our expensive passes but maybe we were a bit blasé after all the impressive sites we'd already seen. after a short drive we made it to pisac, a nearby town in another valley. we happened to be there on market day, and we'd heard it was one of the best so we were eager to explore. the market took up all of the large main square, with produce at the front and textiles and other goods in the back section. we made our way towards the back, poring over brightly colored alpaca blankets and scarves and trying to decide what we should get. we strolled up and down the stalls, slowly crossing off items on our list of christmas presents. i settled on a couple of pillowcases and a wall hanging for me, both in a lovely reddish orange.

perfect little meal

we walked through a bit of the produce section, noticing again how many women wear the traditional braids and tall brimmed hats. after we'd finished in the market square we popped into a nearby place that's known for serving guinea pig, or cuy. they have a giant stone oven also where they serve empanadas, which seem to be the food of choice in pisac. short on time before we were set to meet our driver again, we elected to go to a less populated cafe. we found a perfect one just off the main square that had fresh empanadas straight from the colonial clay oven, washed down with another chicha morada. pisac did seem like a cool little town, and i'm sure it would've been worth exploring more if we'd had some time.

we wanted to make it back to cusco in time to do the last of our shopping. by the time we got back it was raining so we took a break in our room to wait it out. once it stopped we ventured back out and got some alpaca sweaters, patterned shoes, and a few more gifts. once we got back down to the main square we figured we should finally go into the cathedral. it was huge and each of the three sections seemed completely different and very separated from the others. it wasn't remarkable, but again maybe we had seen so much at that point that we were mentally exhausted. there were some interesting paintings that explained the major earthquake. that night mom figured it was probably her last chance to try guinea pig so we were on a mission to find it. we found a little restaurant that had the meat in taqueño form, which seemed more manageable (usually they're served whole, roasted on a stick). the meat itself was gamey and greasy - not our favorite.

i'm sure there was lots more to explore but for the three days we spent in the sacred valley i think we did pretty well!

hampi.. history, hippies, hummus

from pondicherry we hopped on a bus back to chennai, then took a train to bangalore, and from there an overnight to hospet. from hospet it was an auto ride to hampi, where we cross the river jammed into a tiny boat and walk the remaining kilometer along the path lined with guest houses. easy as pie.

where's dino?

hampi, as expected, was pretty much filled with white people. which for some reasons means that 'german bakeries' and restaurants with menus that feature israeli food or pizza seem to pop up all over. so, as i said, i was expecting the abundance of absurdly clothed and hairstyled (or should i say non-styled) foreigners. what i wasn't expecting was how beautiful it was there! everywhere we went we were surrounded by gorgeous green rice paddies, palm trees, and crazy rock formations that look like something out of the flintstones.

climbing to the top

one evening we were wandering around, taking in the scenery in the glowing orange light. an auto rickshaw passed by and two spanish girls yelled out with an invitation to go to the monkey temple. in a few minutes we found ourselves climbing the hundreds of white washed stairs that lead up the side of a mountain. it was a long hike so we made sure to stop plenty of times to take in the gradually changing view. the panorama, bathed in the golden light was really quite remarkable. and then we reached the top and arrived at the so called 'monkey temple' which apparently is thought to be the birthplace of hanuman. no wonder there were so many aunties climbing all the way up there. the view was beautiful as we watched the sun go down over the rocks. the unexpected discoveries are so often the best ones.

the next day we set out to explore the ruins of hampi, the remnants from the vijayanagar empire. evidently most of the remaining structures are only from the 16th century, which begs the question why are they in such lousy shape?

after crossing the river again we found a place to rent some bicycles - old and rickety as usual - and made our way towards the first set of ruins. we biked all around and still, i'm sure, only saw a fraction of the sites which span acres upon acres. we ended up making a pretty big circuit, in the end probably biking across 15 kilometers or so. but we had lots of breaks to enjoy the temples, scenery, and occasional popsicle.

exquisite carvings

the last temple on our must-see list was the vitthala temple. a long trek, but we figured we could finish the circuit on bike and head back to bazaar road and make the last-boat 6.00 deadline. the temple was pretty spectacular, especially in that gorgeous amber light of early dusk. the carvings on the pillars and exteriors were in fantastic shape. it was certainly worth the trek.

the ride back however... i should say i'm using the word 'ride' very loosely here. the first few minutes we did ride our bikes away from the temple complex. then we hit the rocks. at first pretty flat, nothing we couldn't walk our bikes over. then they got bigger. and craggier. and finally there were out and out hills. pretty much everyone walking by commented on the four strange white girls who seemed to think you could bike across a kilometer of craggy granite hillside. some favorites were 'mountain biking?' and 'power lifting?' eventually we had to carry the bikes part of the way - principally up the stairs and over the larger chasms.

but somehow we made it back to the main road, returned our bikes, and - yes! - made it back to the boat launch site with 25 minutes to spare. a hampi success. the rest of the night was spent relaxing over dinner and enjoying a few well-deserved beers as we watched one of the movies offered at the local restaurants (they know there's little to do in hampi at night and seem to know their audience pretty well, at least based on the movie selection).

the next day we spent visiting the nearby town of anegundi (this time by rickshaw/walking), just 7 kilometers away. the kishkinda trust has come in to encourage sustainable tourism and integrating the locals so that they can benefit from the economy. we wandered around and saw what there was to see, although it was pretty sleepy on a sunday.

the rest of our time in hampi was spent relaxing. with little internet connection and little else to do, we enjoyed our remaining hours sipping lassis and reading or napping in the sun on the swings outside our cottage. not bad, hampi. not bad.