jhubbel

Heading for lovely Peru in April and looking for suggestions for the confusing Cusco area. Not so much places to eat or stay but ways to sort out all the things to do. I'm a dedicated rider, advanced intermediate, so would love to hear anyone's recommendations. Some of places nearby charge $500 for a solo rider so that's way out of reach. Alternatives would be welcomed.
How have been your trips around Pto Maldonado? Your adventures around Cusco? What did you love there? What stood out from all the options?

Trujillo for me is all about the Pasos, a friend has a family member in the business. Any recommendations for great adventures in the Cusco neighborhood would be great. Also in the Lake Titicaca area, if anyone has done alternative trips to the less touristed areas, that would be great to hear about.

Thanks to all the experts and expats on here with super ideas!

crellston

can't really help with the horses. i didn't cover myself with glory on my last outing!! however, i do recall that there was a place in Ollantaytambo that was highly rated by people that new. you could try KB Tambo (hostaland tour operators) or maybe Apu lodge.

Cusco is full of stuff to see. you could stay a week and not see it all, especially if you are into Inca Antiquities. for me just wandering the markets soaking up the atmosphere and trying the food stalls is a grey way to while away a day or two, especially some of the non touristy markets. worth spending a few days in the sacred valley to acclimatise.

Anice hike is to get the bus to Tambo Machay and hike back down along the old inca paths through Puka Pukara, q'enko, Sacsayhuaman etc. into San Blas.

a longer trek of 3 days i would recommend considering is from Lares to Ollantaytambo. fantastic scenery an not too many visitors.

if you are heading up to Trujillo, a great city BTW, there is a lot to see, Chan Chan etc. ( well worth a couple of days) but you could also carry on up to Chachapoyas, a place mlgb suggested to me for our last trip and is now one of my favourite places in Peru and certainly doesn't see many tourists.

jhubbel

Crellston, as always, you are a gem. I'm going to put this into the pipe as they say and smoke it. I hope your Spanish is coming along. After coming back from Vietnam I've been impressing my local Vietnamese restaurant when I order Pho in complete sentences, and when they fire back at me too fast I can also say I don't understand in Vietnamese, which makes them laugh.

If anything, there's going to be SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much for the senses, I daresay, that I'm likely to be overwhelmed. What a lovely problem to have!

I very much appreciate your recommendation of the trek where there are fewer visitors. Thanks ever so much.

Trujillo is for me about 8-9 days of total horse immersion. A friend has a cousin who married into the Paso breeding dynasty, I met him in Tanzania (talk about a small world indeed) and we are organizing day trips and longer around that whole area. I show up with my wallet and riding boots, hat, chaps, and sunscreen. Pure heaven.

BTW heading back to ARG to annoy AVRooster and go visit Patagonia, and ride and ride and ride some more.

Lonely Planet has much to say on this area around Trujillo which I am studying right now. I like that it's along way from tourist central, and has rich archeological values of its own. Travel well!

jhubbel

Another question: what is the best way to exchange dollars in Peru?

crellston

"Total horse immersion" - an expression not often heard! LOL . oh how I wish I could ride...sadly I doubt I will ever master horse riding much as I would love to. I think I will stick to motorbikes..

sadly, I have allowed my Spanish practice to lapse a little since returning home but have started anew as we are returning to. Andalucia for a few weeks next month. Have also started reviewing my Thai language skills in preparation for a possible visit to Laos and Cambodia later in the year ( although I am also looking at. Columbia??) . I studied Thai at evening classes for a couple of years and got reasonably proficient and fortunately it is very similar to Lao so will come in useful. I am going to have to choose as there only seems to be room for one language plus English in my brain at a time!!

ATMs are the way to go in Peru BNP and. Scotiabank seemed the most efficient and the cheapest in terms of withdrawal fees. You will also find money changers outside of the banks. They offered pretty good rates for USD and Euros. We used them a couple of times in Arequipa and. Lima without any problems.

sartoric

Hi Jhubbel,

Looking forward to your planning and insights. South America is on my radar for 2015.
I'm also a horse lover, and horse rider, I think its a fine way to travel, beats elephants or camels any day. Not so sure if I can get husband to agree, he seems to be an anti-magnet to large animals.

Greetings from Myanmar, and thanks so much for your entertaining Viet nam post.

Cheers
Caroline

jhubbel

Dear friends,

Caroline you are so welcome. I've had so much to think about since Vietnam and believe me much was absorbed. Not talking about the pho. Crellston, I loved learning Thai, sawadee ka from Denver, and while I dare not try to type it out here I still recall how to say nice to meet you and the Thai people are beautiful. I love pulling those out when I meet someone on the road who happens to be Thai, it's an eye opener indeed. What I've learned. Crellston, is that once I've used that language in country and move on to the next, the same thing happens. Slow drainage. It's like I'm finding those words and phrases in puddles on the floor and it's very difficult to suction them back up again. However, once learned, they do come back fast.

A question I wish to put out the community of Peru experts is about an NGO in Puno called Cedesos. I like what I've read but multiple attempts to contact have born no fruit whatsoever. I even had a Peruvian friend call, write, and he also got nothing in return. I don't even know after that if they're still operating. So two things- they give no pricing guidelines on their website (which is all in Spanish) and nobody talks about their pricing that I can find other than it's pricey. What is pricey? Hundreds? Thousands? I am determined not to do the Lake Titicaca tourist loop, so this is such an attractive, slow, excellent option. If anyone, anyone knows about these folks and can help with their vitality and their pricing I'd be so very grateful.

Otherwise I am riding in Urubamba, and spending about 9 days riding near the breeding stables in Pacasmayo north of Trujillo. That pretty much defines heaven for me, and other than that, being immersed in the Amazon for five days and wandering around such a lovely country, using Crellston's suggestions for my extra two days in Cusco, are sounding pretty yummy right now.

BTW Caroline, summer of 2015 I have on my horizon a three week riding trip in Iceland. That's if I can get my house sold and myself relocated, something I don't suggest to anyone who is leaving town for two of the next three months. As for your husband, if he is allergic to large animals, he'd not be comfy around Delilah, the ginormous Shire who lives next to the corral where I get my training mounts. Black, white socks, feet the size of dinner plates, she is as gentle as a puppy, but when she leans into when you scratch her ears, you better have something to lean into. That's about 2200 lbs right there.

A different definition of Big and Beautiful.

Thanks to you both. The trip is evolving and I leave in two weeks.

Again thanks to the community for any help on Cedesos.

mlgb

Don't know anything about Cedesos but All Ways in L Titicaca is well regarded and lists "nontouristy tours" on their website

http://titicacaperu.com/

jhubbel

mlgb, thanks so much, just fired off an inquiry to them this morning. Their only limitation is their requirement for two people and I'm just one traveler. I'm happy to join a group- or sometimes they let you pay double- but this always depends on how many support folks they have to have to make an adventure happen. We'll see what they say!

jhubbel

Yep, they want two people.

Does anyone know the temps at night on the Inca Trail in April?

jhubbel

To all, thanks to a delayed flight in Houston, I landed in Lima at 1:38 am. However, since miles give me a free flight and bad seats on the bulkhead in the back, it also means nobody else sits back there- so you almost always get two side by side. That means you can lie down and snooze! And you're also first in line to the loo, so it's not all bad news. Houston's delay also turned a potential OMG I only have 20 minutes to make this connection into a whew, I can get dinner, a snack, and relax for a couple of hours and recharge all the devices. Delays can be such a gift. Where we were on concourse E the shops served up some really healthy and yummy food offerings which were a darn sight better than what United served up for dinner, which was far too spicy to be edible. Everything worked out perfectly. And so did the weather, which was a touch overcast and soft.The sleepy guy at Enjoy Hostels in Miraflores kindly let me in and led me to a double bed next to the kitchen. Honestly I didn't hear a thing when everyone else was up and at 'em for breakfast, but I did hear the water guys hammering away.

When I pulled myself out of bed at 10:30 to take a shower I was reminded that I'm not in Kansas any more when the trickle I got was not hot, nor warm, nor consistent. Back on the road again....So an amble to the front desk explained that hot water was indeed the issue of the pounding from above, and perhaps there might be some available in a few hours. No worries. I did the pits/face/you know where fast wash with the chilled water and dressed for the walk through this very nice neighborhood to get cash, get my bearings, get some papaya, breathe some Peruvian air and buy a really warm hat for the Inca Trail.

The neighborhood is so clean it doesn't compute. Clearly this is a Lima showcase, as many of its pricey shops indicate. I've already fallen for a few unique wall hangings of alpaca (one of a kinds for a mere s/3600). It's easy to cross the street, I'm not dodging traffic fearing for my life. I soak in the beauty of the features of these lovely long haired women, their strong noses and the architecture of the cheekbones and the accented eyes, the strides of the handsome men, the humor of the young men on the streets. The bright red bike paths. The very solicitous girl at the Claro store works hard to get my little brick of a phone working and soon we're in business.

Around a corner there's a supermarket and the moment you walk in you're greeted by a mound of papaya a mile high, which I want to embrace after a long Rockies winter, and the first thing I do is grab a basket and a papaya big enough to fill the whole thing. And pull my arm out of its socket. Then it's off to the yogurt counter where the fun starts, to inspect the flavors and options of a new country's interpretation of one of my favorite foods. Among other choices I pick a big bottle of passion fruit yogurt drink. The counters offer every kind of meat and cake, pastry and pre-prepared food. This is one fine neighborhood and this store caters to their tastes, and I take photos of all of it for a chef friend of mine to drool over. One counter features forty different kinds of sausage, which will send her over the moon.

It's a touch chilly outside, the sun is behind the light fog, and while we are close to the ocean there isn't much for the sun bathers to enjoy today. As I walk down the broad avenue there is security everywhere: at the banks, in the nice stores, the moneychangers in their blue vests sitting outside ready to do business. In no time I've found an adapter, food for one night, things I want but won't buy, and am back at Enjoy for a critical meeting with a friend I met back in November in Tanzania.

Jorge Cockburn was at Moshi when I was climbing Kilimanjaro, and he and I made swift friends. He promised at that time, since his family had married into the Paso horse breeding business, that he would do his best to help me find a way to do some riding in that world. He had done just that. We were meeting to finalise those details. We grabbed coffee and sat overlooking the foggy ocean as loads of skydivers lazily circled overhead. We talked about the upcoming trip, the details of the rides, and where to go for the best kinds of art to bring home. Jorge is a compact, energetic man who has just scored a job in America through his cousin, and my time with him tonight is the last I will see him in Peru if all goes well for him in San Jose were he is headed on April 8th. He has kindly put in hours organizing with local breeders in Pacasmayo, his hometown, where I get to meet his family, spend time with this magnificent breed, ride six hours a day (instead of the controlled two to four on tourist horses) and immerse myself in the Paso world. None of this is inexpensive- but it is an honor to be allowed into this unique world and have this extended experience this close to the very heart of the breed.

It has always amazed me, the kindness of others who will do such things for people they me as we did. There is of course work on my part to be done, too, for the breeders hope that I will write very good things about them, and help bring them business. That is highly likely. But without Jorge none of this would have happened.

I leave for Cusco tomorrow early am, and from there to Urubamba, where Jorge also arranged for several rides on Pasos to get me started. The good news, as we are moving into cooler weather now, is that I didn't make the same mistake I made in Vietnam this past January. I packed for the cold, and as the sun headed low this afternoon, it already cooled down fast. In the higher elevations of Cusco and on the Inca Trail it will be considerably chillier. Only on the Amazon will the fast wicking light stuff be useful. For those of you already familiar with this amazing country you are familiar with the challenges of packing for multiple climates!

For anyone looking for a very well placed, friendly and nicely staffed hostel in Miraflores, I recommend Enjoy Hostels. I stayed in both a double room and a single room, both were fine, the double is next to the kitchen and the single is next to the street. Either way there's a bit of noise, but it's private, and the small intimate kitchen can get very friendly at times. But you cannot beat the price or location, you are close to everything here, and it's just a gorgeous neighborhood. I've had several of those wonderful, only-in-a-hostel conversations here already. Staff is uber helpful.

For those of you who like to sit on my shoulder periodically as I pen these, welcome back. For newcomers, this is a month long thread, and we'll be going through a number of lovely areas. I don't review restaurants or food. I do tell stories. I take myself to task a lot and there is a very large part of my back pack set aside for a sense of humor. My Spanish is pretty bad but I try.

Welcome along.

BTW mglb, I did go with AllWays Travel, they sent me an itinerary that works. Thanks for the suggestion.

sartoric

Hey, I'm in JH.

Could you ask the mods to flag this as a trip report ? Makes it easier to find.

Enjoy your month - I know I will !

jhubbel

Happy to comply. Sitting on a sun splashed balcony in Cusco after eating a big fat tangerine, having speed walked the town streets (on purpose, just for training's sake). I leave for Urubamba at 5:30 am and ride Pasos tomorrow and the next day. Heaven. This is such a lovely town, and the altitude is not a big bother, even hefting big bags up steps. I do respect the Inca Trail, however, and the poles will come in handy on the long long downward steps. At least no vines this time.

I'm continually surprised at how clean everything is kept. Again I am in the showpiece areas and that's probably maintained that way but it sure is a feast for the eyes. Flying into Cusco this morning was also green eye candy. The clouds parted and the green valleys and clay colored houses appeared, climbing up the sides of the mountains; lovely. I shot over to my trek provider and paid up for the Inca Trail trip, then found a taxi to find my hostel for the Cusco part of my stay. The rest of the time I've been walking all day, partly to see the churches and the architecture and the markets but mostly to get intentionally winded, if need be, to get used to the thin air. Didn't happen until I started really speed walking and at that point I was also thirsty and hungry.

Back when Argentina, and most specifically Salta, was in my camera's sights, I had fallen in love with doorways. Entrances. This country has the same love affair with entrances. As you walk along a thin slice of walkway (one person only, you step off for elders), suddenly a space opens up next to you into...air. Or a restaurant. Or a courtyard. And almost always there is some kind of arch or welcoming door that invites you in, some treatment that makes it inviting. Sometimes there are several that open into each other, like going into a maze. It reminds me of looking down a forest lane with the trees making a delicate arch overhead, inviting you to take a walk. Go explore. I love towns that feature nooks and crannies that invite pedestrian exploration like that and Cusco is no exception.

Today was a touch cool but the sun cleared off the clouds early enough to make my hoodie unnecessary by noon. The plaza had a big demonstration with the requisite showing of riot police. That lasted about half an hour and all dispersed peacefully.

I cut a deal with one of the costumed girls who was carrying a baby lamb- they ask if you want a photo, you pay a sole, so I offered to pay her five to let me take several and I hold the lamb. She was a pretty child, and it's a tough life, but if it pays something to her family I feel better. As in Vietnam, however, I fell in love with their skirts, and made a point out of finding a few of these ethnic treaures at the artesan market down on El Sol, a nice walk down from the main plaza. The particular cubicle that features las faldas was not inhabited, so I waited until 2 pm which was the time she was expected back from lunch. No mujer. So it was up to her neighbors, who didn't want their neighbor to lose a potentially substantial sale, to haul down the various skirts and help me try them on, in the main hall, on top of my pants, with everyone holding court, including all the restaurant patrons, tourists and security guards.

So there we are, the skirts are huge, black, full, wildly decoreated, they are big and they have ties on either side of the waist so that they can expand as you do (or not) and even through baby time. So there are long ties on both sides of this skirt. My waist is about 24". I step inside skirt #1 and one women wraps the ties from one side so that it sits on my hips. I can feel it slide. Then she does the same on the other side. Not good. She sneaks into the lady's booth and comes out with a makeup mirror. Well first of all I feel like a belly dancer and second, I can't see this thing at all, and third, it's not tied around my waist. We make adjustments, it's better, but not quite right. We try the next one. They inform me it's too small. It is, in fact, just right. It hits right at the knee, perfect size, tight on the waist, but it's kinda cheap. So is the price. I feel like Goldilocks as I eyeball falda #3. It's way up there, almost out of reach, but the other gal gets her reacher bar and snags it. This time it takes both of them to tie it properly. We now have an interactive audience. For some reason this little show has drawn a crowd that has decided to comment on the proceedings. The hiking boots take away from the flowers (you think?) The orange top doesn't go with the skirt (It's for camping meathead) What's that huge thing under her bra? (that'd be my WALLET and who asked you to look there anyway Sherlock?) I wiggle around like a Hawaiian girl at the Maui Sheraton and everyone giggles, and it strikes me that this skirt is really beautiful. The careful embroidery, the rich handwork. This is it. And they take Visa. Yes. Only....they can't do it for the shopkeeper. So I have to say what they don't want to hear. "I'll be back." When? Well, after I do the Inca Trail. That's going to be in about six days. Dark clouds over faces. All this and you're gonna walk? It needs to wait til I can do Visa. You sure you can't do this for her? Ah, no. Well. Sigh.

Skirt goes back up. I walk out into the sun with many sets of eyes burning into my back. I walk fast. They know I might find a better one up the road. So do I. That's what happens when you take a four hour lunch.

jhubbel

This is just a great walking town, Cusco. After I left the artesan market feeling guilty I made my way through the winding streets and cobblestones back to my hostel where I was directed to the little market to get food. Now this isn't a supermarket like the very very fancy one I shopped in back in Miraflores. This is the local Peruvian market- where Peruvians shop. Local women in bowler hats and old men lying in heaps off to the side, a few dogs here and there. Great produce for the taking and this is my element. You're not going to find yogurt here but oh my, the produce. So a little wandering and I find this one stall where fresh fruit is piled high. I settle in and I start pointing and pretty soon this woman and I are having great fun- she's got herself a hungry customer and I want a load of fruit both for tonight and for my horseback rides tomorrow. For only 14 soles I walk away so loaded down with tangerines and a massive papaya and a big fat ripe mango, and she's got herself a big sale. There's great satisfaction in seeing the money go directly to these women, whose artristocratic faces crease into such wonderful smiles when we help each other climb and reach for the ripest fruit on the piles.

I am in this country only a few days and already I am madly in love with Peru. It didn't take long. I'm swept away by the unbelievable beauty of the land I've seen so far, the beauty of the people, the brilliant native costumes, and everyone's graciousness. Of course I have far to go, but sometimes it takes a bit to warm to a country. Not here. This was love at first sight and I have many days to go. Today in a few minutes I take a taxi to Urubamaba to go riding, and I cannot wait. My hosts here at the hostel were kind enough to organize my ride with trusted providers and I have fruit for the hour long trip. Two more days before the Inca Trail!

mlgb

Ha ha you are hooked! Same thing happened to me. I first went to Peru as an add-on to Torres del Paine and now can't get enough.

I will be following along also.

avrooster

Great word food from jhubbel, as usual!

mlgb

If you haven't had one, pepino dulce is one of my favorite bits of produce to buy in Peru, since it's so expensive in the US. Taste wise a bit of a cross between a melon and cucumber. Very refreshing.

jhubbel

Well more on this a bit later, as I have some work to do first, but I just got in from my second four hour ride on Peruvian Pasos. I was given two horses con fuego, someone really listened to my request- but also when I walked up to the pair yesterday the fiery one chose me. The calm one didn't like me AT ALL. And they choose you. So up I went on Largo, who instantly gave me a taste of what it was going to be like- high action, a tossing head, and we would leave the guide behind. The guide was kind enough to periodically call out which way to turn so Largo wouldn't go paso-ing off in the wrong direction.

For those of you who have done this and who are also riders you can understand the sheer bliss I've been in the last two days. My fine little gelding gave me a sweet ride, and as soon as I found where my seat needed to be for the paso and got my back nice and straight, the my upper body was totally still. This is classic. If you're disciplined about your posture (and you damned well should be or you insult this fine animal) you can balance a champagne glass on your palm at a good speed. It's simply an honor to ride such a horse. More on our two days together a bit later, I have been immersed in the valley, horse sweat, steep trails, heavenly views and perfect, perfect weather.

jhubbel

I landed at Llama Pack Backpackers in Urubamba which is a little outside town- not far- this was two days ago, and Katie from Virgina was there to meet me, grab my gear and send me on my way with the driver from Hacienda Huayoccari (sp?) where Pablo Lambarri had two horses and a guide waiting for us. The sun was bright, the clouds were light, the air was gorgeous and the valley, which had revealed itself to my eager and hungry eyes as we made our winding way down the mountain roads, was as bountiful as expected. Green muscular striated mountains circled this small town with toothy and snow dabbed sharp peaks just beyond. A light wind promised a lovely day, and I strode to the car in my riding gear, well used chaps (thanks, Tanzania) ready to go. We headed out of town and wound our way up some very narrow cobblestone and dirt roads into a grand hacienda( not the restaurant) which was protected by massive trees surrounded by the most emerald grasses I'd ever seen. Waters flowed nearby as we passed slowly, then stopped where the animals were tied to a wood fence. There Pablo waited with my guide.

The first Paso, a chestnut, smelled my proffered hand, laid his ears back and lurched backwards. Well, that's a howdy do. I gave him a wide berth and approached the grey gelding right behind him, of the long mane and fine legs. Largo smelled my hand and put his nose toward mine and we breathed each other in. He let me work my hands on his muscular neck, find those wonderful OOOHH I love it spots near the ears and under the chin, and he nuzzled my side. Now that's more like it.

Pablo then came out and informed me that the chestnut would be mine for the day, and I explained that the choice had actually been made by the horse, if that was all right, and he kindly allowed that to proceed. Largo danced sideways a bit as I swung aboard, and found my seat in the unfamiliar tack. Instantly he came alive and his energy shot up through me, and I got those lovely chillbumps you get when you know you have a live one. And I had a LIVE one. I was about to get a first taste of the paso gait, right away, and as soon as we directed our animals down the grassy trail Largo introduced me to the sweet cream of riding heaven.

My tushie never left the saddle- not for four hours- no matter what speed, what altitude, going up or down, even when he occasionally shied, this animal was what I've heard others call a fine warm liquor. His mane flowed, his head was regal, and I periodically looked down to watch his foot action. There it was. I would follow the guide across bridges for safety but Llargo would have none of following. The moment we were past an obstacle he would bull ahead and lead, and my kind guide would call out left or right when we hit a fork.

Largo had huge liquid eyes that missed nothing, sharp curved ears that swiveled everywhere, so active and alive. It was a great practice ride to maintain perfect position, the upper body so still you could balance a champagne glass on an open palm. Hell I can't but a real Paso rider could.

We rode up and down around the town, through groves and past irrigated organic farms, past vantage points which begged photos, and we periodically got hailed by old men whom I suspect had a Paso or two in their long lifetimes. The women here wore their unique black hats slightly to the side on their heads, their skirts plain, their shawls brilliantly colored, often holding a tiny child with an equally colored cap on its head. Lunch came at 12, and we rode the horses up to the real Hacienda, where Pablo met us again.

This time he escorted me into the Hacienda's fine small pre-Inca and Inca museum of pottery and fine art, which I wandered to the sound of choral music. The art led you eventually into the large eating area, which that day was empty, so I was alone for the lunch hour. The table was on the window which looked out over an effusive garden full of the last of the summer flowers. The view was lovely and it was about to change to a shower, as my attentive waiter brought a big plate of fresh cut fruit as an appetizer.

A big salad came after that, and at that point I was done. However the kitchen wasn't going to let their only guest slip out after two courses. There was corn soup, a main of an omelette and a huge mound of fresh veggies, and omg dessert, which was chocolate mousse. Oy. I ordered the barn to bring a wheelbarrow to carry me back out to the horses, and Pablo was kind enough to supply a bright blue poncho to deal with the cool rain.

We switched to new animals for the 2-4 pm ride, and I climbed aboard a new chestnut whose name I don't recall. This one also had a good bit of fire ( I guess the word got back to the stable, which is very kind of them) And so off we went. This new horse had a more nervous nature and he didn't like anything tin, or concrete, or standing. He would walk close, eye it carefully, then suddenly plant his feet hard or shy sideways which gave me a start the first time, then I got with the program. His constantly swiveling ears gave him away, and I got to the point where I could see what was coming about 10 feet away. He also really didn't like any gestures on my part- so nothing dramatic from the back of the horse. I tried to point ahead to ask where we were going at one point and nearly got myself tossed in the irrigation ditch. Having learned my lesson, I kept my movements very close to the heart after that.

We got our share of light sprinkle, but it didn't at all ruin the day, if anything it lent the experience character and sweetness. The kangaroo chaps did precisely what they were advertised- they shed the water, and it wasn't appreciably cooler for the rain.

The taxi picked me up right at four with a promise to get me again at 9:30 for another epic ride the next day. Katie was gone for the night. And with a tip of the hat to Avrooster, I did it again. When I got in the dorm room, which I had all to myself, in fact I had the entire hostel to myself, I couldn't find the key to my backpack. Nowhere to be found. Now given my prelediction for this kind of thing you'd think I'd search every single pocket. I have lots of them. Nah. I didn't. Well I cant't take a shower without getting into the backpack and I really needed one. So. Now. How to break the little lock.

Search the house, which is cold and there's not much light. No tools. No hammer. I look everywhere. No neighbors. No one to call. No phone calls to be made. (My cell phone did indeed get lifted this time, it isn't lost.)

I find a big rock. Ummmm, I don't want to break the zippers,too. Well, I take the backpack out on the outside step and balance it to get to the zipper. BANG. the bag slips. Crap. BANG! the lock gets bruised. Nothing happens. BANG! Nada. I give up. Drag the bag inside. Rock is just too big.

I wander. Wandering gets me another rock. I look through the kitchen drawers again and find a wine bottle opener. An idea forms. I drag the bag back outside, place the bottle opener just so to force the hinges open, with the smaller rock go
BANG and instantly it opens.

Um.Good news, bad news. On one hand I'm glad it was easy to open, on the other hand I'm really not glad it's so easy to open.

Tonight is hairwash night, after eight days, so a shower really is important, and after fiddling with the recalcitrant and fussy controls (flip the switch up (wear shoes) turn the knob just this far, if it goes cold turn it off and start again, keep the pressure low, more heat the less pressure yadayadayadayada). Hot hair very cold house. I raid another bed for a second comforter. Heaven.

Oh, and the key to the backpack lock?

In my down vest pocket. Classic. Say what you want, Avrooster. It wouldn't be my trip if I didn't do this at least four or five times.

avrooster

Classic, great word food from jhubbel, obviously including repeated gear loss in her own pockets. LOL!!!

Keep up the good work, jhubbel!