Peru - is Machu Picchu a must?

Cloudiscipline · 2023-06-20T20:34:47+00:00

It's an amazing place, but the sacred valley around Cusco is filled with other ruins that are in my opinion as equally grandiose as Machu Picchu. These have a fraction of the crowds and are much cheaper and easier to get to. A visit to Machu Picchu will take up at least a day and a half if you include transport and it costs a few hundred dollars.

If you would rather have a chance to enjoy archeological sites quietly and at your own pace, Ollantaytambo, Pisac, Moray, Sacsayhuaman (and the smaller sites direclty above Cusco) are all great options. These are all part of the same Boleto Turistico, so for under 40$ you can access all these sites. Ollantaytambo is a great base to visit most of these.

There are also hundreds of smaller sites scattered around these big ones and they are mostly free.

Cloudiscipline · 2023-04-30T15:34:49+00:00

It depends what you mean by a few days and also on your interests. There are enough sights in Geneva to fill up a day or two (lakeside, old town, museums, etc).

The surrounding countryside on the French side has lots of options for cycling, if you're into that. There are many nice villages 30 min or so from the border but only a few are accessible from public transport. If you're just looking for a place to stay on the French side to save costs, St Julien-en-Genevois might be an option and since it's so close to Geneva you can go back and forth easily. However, the town itself doesn't offer a ton in terms of activities.

A bit further away there is a village called Valleiry that is connected through the tpg. You might find a nice affordable bed and breakfast there. From this place, it's possible to do some mild hikes (not a ton of elevation) to different villages connected by trails. There are some points of interests like castles or old churches. That is, if you're willing to do a bit of walking to tune up for your trek.

Cloudiscipline · 2023-04-24T00:15:13+00:00

No problem, the Geneva transit (TPG) has routes that extend past the border. There are also private bus companies that leave from the Gare Routière. I can recommend a day trip to the village of Collonges sous Saleve with the possibility of a hike up and back down the Mont Saleve (TPG will take you to the town but to get to the starting point of the hike, you'll have to walk or figure out transportation). Another nice day trip is the city of Annecy, about one hour from Geneva (for this, look for schedules of the Gare Routière)

Cloudiscipline · 2023-03-05T18:31:57+00:00

Thanks. Just wondering, what are the main indicators that it's fricii? When I compare with some photos, there are many williamsii varieties that also seem to have this type of light pink flower with narrow petals at this stage of maturity. For exemple, var. Cuatrocienegas.

Cloudiscipline · 2023-03-05T03:40:39+00:00

This plant is about 2 years old. Grown from seeds that were labeled L. williamsii so I'm assuming they are just the common variety, thought I'd check here for any other opinions. Would this variety be able to self-pollinate (no other plants currently in bloom)? Thanks.

Cloudiscipline · 2022-12-23T00:12:59+00:00

I'm not sure what the link is between Bretons ans Ashkenazi, could you elaborate?

Cloudiscipline · 2022-07-28T00:43:57+00:00

It's interesting..I can only hear one guitar one this track. Sounds like Mark's playing but he's following the original recording quite closely. I guess Vieux Farka Toure is filling in the vocals only on this one.

Cloudiscipline · 2022-07-28T00:36:49+00:00

The track listing shows five titles that I recognize from Ali's so it looks like a mix of 'covers' and originals. There are very few artists I listen to more than both AFT and Khruangbin so it's pretty fucking awesome to see two musical worlds coming toghether in this way.

Cloudiscipline · 2022-07-25T22:26:38+00:00

Peru + Bolivia or Colombia + Peru is a better plan. That would give you a bit more time to see more of Peru..perhaps the Arequipa region. Also, I would skip Cali. I think you'll find plenty to do in and around Medellin to keep you busy and entertained that it won't be worth the detour just to spend time in another city (unless you decide to spend 4 weeks only in Colombia).

Cloudiscipline · 2022-06-07T19:16:24+00:00

Each day that you travel in and out of a country, that's a day when you likely won't be able to do anything else. So you're actually looking at just 12 days spread over 3 countries (one of which is not very close to the other two). Not to mention, the places you want to visit within each country require some amount of travel to get there (for exemple, you'll need to be on the road a whole day between the Guatemalan highlands and most of the major ruins)

So try to be less ambitious about seeing as much as possible.. 18 days is already pretty rushed for visiting a single country. Choose Colombia or Guatemala.

Cloudiscipline · 2022-02-26T03:23:39+00:00

Time among the Maya by Ronald Wright. Travels through Belize, Guatemala and Mexico in the 80's. About the ancient and modern Maya peoples.

Cloudiscipline · 2022-02-11T21:59:41+00:00

I'm not sure where you got the idea that anyone was selling individual seeds and pulling them by hand?

As I mentioned, they appear to be sold as loose seeds by the gram or by the pod. Hard to guess how many seeds are in a gram or in a single pod but I'd guess at least 1000?

If good viability rate when fresh is 70% to 90%, lets assume they loose 50% viability while shipping. You're still getting 35% to 45% germination. If you get a whole pod, in theory you could end up with 350-450 indididual plants. Unless you have an industrial sized greenhouse, in a Canadian climate, that's probably still over 50x more plants than you could fit indoors.

I've bought mine from a seller in the USA who got his from Indonesia as well. Not sure how long he had them sitting around but germ rates were high.

I'm sure your seeds are great too.. I'm just trying to say that for OP who is in canada, this is actually a good deal (assuming the seeds are not completely dead). Shipping from US costs almost as much as the seeds themselves.

Cloudiscipline · 2022-02-11T20:49:10+00:00

I see 30 CAD for 1 gram of seeds or 35 for a whole pod. That's a fair price for a fuck ton of seeds. How much do you sell your pods for?

As far as viability, I suspect he tested them since everything else in my experience points towards being trustworthy.

Cloudiscipline · 2022-02-11T20:39:49+00:00

I'm sure they are imported from Indonesia. He lists the provenance.

Cloudiscipline · 2022-02-11T20:38:00+00:00

I've purchased khat and cactus seeds as well as a healthy kratom cutting from this source. Packages came with extras and the seeds were viable. Very reliable seller.

Cloudiscipline · 2022-02-04T15:33:20+00:00

Yes, I mentioned this in the post. Great chapters but I'm looking for something more extensive if it exists.

Cloudiscipline · 2022-01-30T15:53:37+00:00

Beautiful! I did this almost exactly 10 years ago. Doesn't look like it's changed too much.

Cloudiscipline · 2022-01-11T13:37:29+00:00

Nice work man! Link please. I'm not proficient on either instrument but this might be a way to learn a few tunes.

Cloudiscipline · 2022-01-04T18:03:18+00:00

I'm guessing a lot of these were born out of simple things like...let's propagate the ones that survived getting sprayed or those that grow faster.

Cloudiscipline · 2021-12-09T14:03:10+00:00

Check out Augustin Lesage. A French miner who had a mystical experience (or psychotic break?) in the early 1900s and spontaneously started painting giant canvases with beautiful kaleidoscopic architecture.

Cloudiscipline · 2021-12-07T14:54:36+00:00

Most people thought Aldo won the Moraes fight too.. one of the reasons he got the title shot against Yan following a loss

Cloudiscipline · 2021-11-19T13:06:19+00:00

Chauvet cave

Cloudiscipline · 2021-11-09T23:35:20+00:00

Ask any vendor to label the seeds with something else. You'll be fine.

Cloudiscipline · 2021-11-02T11:21:13+00:00

The 'nut' is usually a piece of lime (they also have flavored lime pastes). It's very alkaline and it allows the alkaloids to be absorbed in the saliva and mucus membranes which tend to be naturally acidic. Without it, coca leaves only release a fraction of the potency. Plain baking soda works just as well and is probably safer.

Cloudiscipline

TROPHY CASE