Lima 2nd June...hmmm yes errrrr well.... The hostal was more than adequate but dodgy.... pretty much bummed around the rest of that afternoon and made the silly mistake of finding bearings in the evening time.. the streets were crammed and I felt claustro for the first time and insecure with people farting about in every direction.. finding blessed compatible ATMs was such a mission.. bumped into this overly keen peruvian guy, endeavouring to practice his english and chat away.. demanded my email addy for correspondence and that and chatted away for aaaaages about the upcoming presidentail elections 2days away on the Sunday. Afterwards I tok refuge in the hostal in the upstairs sociabe cafeteria which was nice and went to bed v early.... these 2 french canadian girls stumbled in late and were suffering the aftermath of the inca trail eg altitude sickness..not promising for me considering how susceptible to illness I am usually....
Sat: got a hell of a lot done in the city.... didn't anticipate a lot being shut though (due to the security and riot police being overprotective re: elections in the capital). All the same, I visited the fantasic Convento San Francisco: a wonderful example of art, lfestyle and living quarters of the franciscan monks in the order... great huge pictures of the last supper...... really exquisite arabic (spanish moorish) influence of the building etc.... monks still live there so we saw a library, dining room and choir stalls etc....Then, we had a guided tour of the underground catacumbs where 25,000 peruvians were buried....whose dusty but complete skulls and detatched bones lie neatly arranged in these deep waterless wells.... architects are carrying out work there you see. this smelt a bit but was cool.
Then I got as far as the huge main square "Plaza Mayor" which has a posh cafe zone to one side, imposing pretty cathedral on another, an arcade with horsee and traps waiting outside on the 3rd, and finally the well guarded governmental palace (10 downing street equivalent) on the fourth - here the change of the guard can be seen daily at mid-day.... tried out authentic peruvain cuisine for lunch and in the aftee, took this bus ride up to Cerro San Cristobal from where one can observe the entire city form high up..wonderful panaoramas of the resiential quarters, main high-rise buildings, huge sandstone mountain dune things around which the city is buillt...also the motorways with much pollution and dust!!!! .........
Um..... what more.. oh yes, saw a statue of the liberator of peru - San Martin.
In the eve, was pretty tired so again decided to dine chez the hostal caf... met these crazy colombians living off vending self-made arts and crafts on a daily basis....run away rebels they say...the girl was like hyper, and very drama queen like with up and down emotions... she had run in with UK people in dormitory the previous night so wasnt best pleased. anyway, she was overfriendly and we played cards and that in the dorm etc...
Sun: checked out of hotel and headed to my long anticipated 3star hotel where I would meet my next Tucan Travel tour group (same as Mexico adventures)..... yay! Had a cold and was pleased to see hot water again with private room comfort with tv etc....the city wasn't that busy with people and traffic due to election polls... evry1 seemed so not bothered especially since voting is compulsory in Peru. Puts 30%odd turn out for Britain on average to shame.....there were however riot police in the main square with a van full of explosives?!!?!? The day saw a brief orientation tour from the New Zealand female tour guide, a pre-departure meeting, dinner and early sleep due to 6:45am departure for Paracas and Pisco the following day......
A little on my tour people before I move on to the itinerary:This time round, the leader seems to be sound and emotiaonally stable ..early 30s... a married kiwi girl with our driver as her canadian hubby...humour fine and attitude not german and military like.. actually feel am on holiday....co-travellers: mixture of old, mid-aged, young, male, female, married, single....interesting...boring.... from England, Ire, Scot, Wales.. Oz, Nz, South Africa....Holland family...Polish chap & Canadian lass... and me from Jersey. 26 in total so double last time which nice... the bus is much more deluxe..mercedes benz model..bright yellow again with same factilities but huge.... called Peggy. like a zoo van or something lol..am sharing a room with a 19yr old UK gap year student.... nice chap... there are 2 sets of very nice Irish sisters. phwoah.
Mon 5TH (Day 1 of tour): woke up at 5:30 am for breakfast before 4 hour drive to PARACAS..small poor village from where we would take our boat out to the Ballestas Islands to see Sea Lions, Pelicans, small Penguins amongst other fishies...also, amazing rock formations and arches carved by nature - tide and wind movements and tons of poo droppings layer upon layer....
Also, on the sandy headland is a still intact Candelabra (etched sculpture) in the side of 1 sandy hill.....was thought to have been tehre since pre-inca times and remains to this day due to no rain or wind accessing the isolated area... interesting theories proposing its significance..... atfer that we had a picnic lunch and continued onto to Pisco, region where the famous PISCO SOUR drink comes from - clear brandy, with egg white and lemon cordials etc....margarita like....yummy..... town is small with nothing to offer in terms of tourism. just a stop-off point for another early rise at dawn tomorrow..... ate with tour buds in the evening and chilled on the terrace playing cards etc. nice bonding as was 1 english lads 19th birthday that evening....were treated to a funky peruvian trio band who sang especially for us beside our table...
Tues 6th: once again, a crazy o'clock rise "start as we mean to go on" policy.. we had a 2 hour drive to HUACACHINA: a natural oasis in middle of these smooth sand dunes...kind of a cross ebtween the St.Ouenais dunes back home and the Sahara I believe! HIGHLIGHT SO FAR - we went sand buggying in groups of 8. We revved through the windy and bumpy dunes up and down, around humps and scaled vertical drops etc at high velocity. very exhilerating.... felt like a simulator... took videos from the front seats with all the girlies screaming away with delight.....we were drivena round by this cool local in this beast of a machine with a protective cage around.
we took regular stops to take in the surroundings and pose etc.... alos, we had 3 goes at sand-boarding down steep hills... standing and lyign on stomach. also fun but got covered in sand when attempted to zoom down on foot... nevertheless, fun was had by all indeed.....
The next event was a 2hr drive to NAZCA, famous for its stretches and stretches of etched objects, animals and human figures in the sandy earth eg astronaught, hands, tree, spider, condor.... These are in existance since 300BC roughly and are still intact..again, local climate has not affected them in the slightest. Though there are many theories re: their origina and purpose, nothing can be confirmed.. some believe they serve as communication with space, others have more logistic and mathematical answers...hmmm.. is UNESCO site so pretty damn important. We stopped in the middle of the PanAmerican Highway just to climb a watchtower form which one can clearly observe 2 of the carvings closeup to get an idea. very vivid. Following on, we had another gourmet picnic lunch in an offroad site before booking midafternoon flights over the lines with a guided explanation..... veeeeeeery bumpy and hard ot take photos in a plane fitting 6 people, but awesome all the same, even if just to see the lines at a glance and take amazing pics of the mountain ridges, valleys and surrounding community. Some of the lines are 100s of metres long and wide..others v small in comparison.
We boarded the bus again for another drive to our hotel for the night... well, how cool... some converted hacienda building with rooms forming the perimeter of courtyards and then a pool, tennis court, ping pong, open bar, and free roaming LLAMAS in the gardens lol..apparently this particular hotel will soon be out of the tour company's price range so we were loving that... funny as.... had the whole of the afternoon pretty much to chill since we had done all the previous info by 3pm!!!! managed to get myself stung by a bee on the eyebrow so my eye was swollen lol. We felt treated like royalty in this dining room parlour place.... 1 huge long table.... then we adjourned to the smoking room and that to socialise....
Wed 7th: we were jubilant at the news of being treated to a 7am rise today..we got in 3 different sites starting with a local ceramics workshop in Nazca downtown...we were treated to a thoroughly hilarious explanation by the owner in spanglish with good humour.. top class entertainment... he proceeded to break into japanese and dutch and french etc with cheeky gestures towards the females etc. mad! This was proceeded by a mini tour of a gold mining museum down the road..... here men literally spend all day rocking to and fro on this huge rock placed in this bowl type thing with the minerals to be worked on. all for a few dollars a week. Afterwards, we drove a few hours further to the Chauchilla cementary in the middle of nowhere. This place in the open plains houses dug up mummies with a bit of dried flesh and hair still preserved ..have been on show in various tombs since the 1920s. was my first encounter with mummies, but they were certainly not the typical wrapped up type.. clothing on and bones sticking out etc.
Then was another joyful medium-distance drive to PUERTO INCA at the foot of mountains and on the coast. En route, we stopped to admire the small ancient road leading to Cuzco. In P.I, we set up camp for the night and immediately explored the nearby ruins remaining in this strategically created port base for the Incas. we walked around and got as far as this ledge which served asa sacrifical table. fab views of jutting out rocks in the stormy seas.. certainly no tropical waters here. For the rest of the afternoon, a few beers were consumed and we chatted ot this crazy talkative parrot.....our rooms were all scattered around the site....cabin like but very nice. was a bit chilly so jumpers were put on... we did plan to have a beach bonfire that evening but the locals denied us purchasing some wood on the roadside coz some trucks were coming to pick up in bulk that afternoon. shame... But instead we had this marvellous buffet spread in our own private room inside..mixutre of hot and cold, seafood and meats with salads.. yum!!! free pisco sours were had and kareoke was brought out by popular demand after desert.. this pursued for a coupel of hours until we thought it best to retire to our quarters in prep for yet another 4 or 5 hour drive the following day...
PS so far so good with tour mates.. no dramas, run ins or misunderstandings..... haha....
Thu 8th: off we zoomed for AREQUIPA... 7 hours southwards...... we stopped on the way to see some yougurt factory to sample and that.... saw the devastating effects of a tsunami a few years back, and how flat one stretch of land as in comparison to the re-settled upper plains.... such fertile area too. shame....We arrived in Arequipa late afternoon and had to wait to enter than parking lot due to 2 other Tucan tour trucks blocking our way! rude.... hotel was full due to all of us arrivng at once, even budget travellers tents pitched beside the hotel itself......we had a short orientation tour of the city....
1,000,000 inhabitants in this city at some 2,000 feet above sea level. The locals here consider themselves the posh and better folk of the country....one can see why..... the city is incredibly civilised and cosmo for such a secluded area..... top class international cuisine restaurants spread along the streets, with trendy boutiques, tour agency offices, nice buildings.... colonial looking university blocks.... many diff churches and a huge cathedral, spanning across a whole side of the stunning Main Square. (Plaza De Armas)..Tis deemed the nicest in the country.... literally has 2 floor restaurants encompassing the whole square with inviting terraces and balconies....etc etc....
Evening dinner was definiteyl another higlight...some of us decided to break off from the main party and got hot his recommended Maroccan restaurant instead of sampling either ostrich or alparca (local delicacies but for rediculous prices)..was proud of myself for resisting... anyhow, so we had mouth-watering and cheap priced arabic food with wine and followed by Shisha (flavoured fruit tobacco smoked through this huge bong consisting of water and burning charcoal wiht the flavour mixed in...) had alread tried this back oin Granada, Spain, so the novely of it for me wasnt as great as was for others..... nice bonding opportunity with fewer bodies filling the table... even so, we mmet up with those eager night hawks at this retro bar nearby.... drink list was ample and atmosphere just like a trendy london bar expect for much cheaper with locals and not gringos.. nice.... went on till midnight wich was a record so far on this tour haha! Got to bond with 3 new additions to our modular tour: a kiwi couple and a mid 20yr old english dude. Back at the hotel were resting a few altiitude sickness casualties coz we had arrived at our first destination with a real taste for altitude....coca leaves are the way forth apparently.
Fri 9th: free day for us! yay! what a treat. So we revelled in the fact we could get up at normal time. Several of us indulged in brekkie at this fancy creperie place before heading to the tourist sites. Firstly I roamed the Santa Catalina Convent, similar in nature to the Francisan one in Lima.. So won't bore youz with that one too much...... some random guinea pigs were being fattened in the courtyard though in prep for feasting. eugh. Had morning coffee with the kiwi peeps on terrace bar whilst watching the first half of the first world cup game. saw a goal or two i think so was satisifed with that....
Afterwards, I headed to the Juanita Museum in the Casa De Culture. This museum entailed a background video, tour of museum then an actual encounter with the infamous century-old preserved ice mummy Juanita. During half they year, this allegedly teenaged sacrificed indigenous girl gets to travel the world on exhibition, and for the other half, she remains on show here..... So... the locals of Arequipa region believe she was a beautiful girl chosen from childhood to be sacrificed for the mercy of the Sun/Rain/Wind/Moon Gods high up on a mountain like.... Funnily enough, the other Peruvians eg Lima and Cuzco folk don't share the belief in this story..instead they claim she was just a nice girl who was stumbled across by foreign expeditioners in the 1920 whislt climbing the mountains. Obviously, Jauanita and a few other mummies would have drifteds in sink with the natural phenomena eg snow drifts....Arequipenos, however, believe she was raised and treated royally to prepare for and understand the sacrifical prupose before being marched up a long and taxing trail to the summit before being drugged and hit over the head.... the salvaged artifacts along with the mummy herself were so incredibly well preserved..colours, features, skin, bones......so much that apparently she ate veggies before dying according to tests on her internal organs...she looks so real in her conditioned cabinet, still upright in foetal position!
Enough on that. you had to be there....had a quick fast food lunch before marching round the easily navigable streets in pursuit of souvenirs and clothing eg poncho and hat for inca trail. came away with 100% natural alpaca poncho.... looked at churches and nothing much more to be honest. nice. dinner was chilled with a select few in a turquish place but some were still feeling nauseos and headachy from altitude.
Sat 10th: a lovely 8 hr drive higher up in the wilderness to the Colca Canyon. Enr oute we stopped off at the freezing natural reserve on a high snow capped ridge.... donkeys, llamas, alpacas etc all roam free....
sipped some coca tea to remedy or prevent altitude effects. By lunch tiem we ahd arrived at the canyon deemed the 2nd largest in the world and arugable the deepest. very unlike the gran canyon in US.... volcanic and plate tectonic movements account for the shape and form of this canyon, mainly continuing down from the interlocking mountainsides. very tranquil and fresh area with spectacular views.....strem running through.... condors flying over us..... Waled for an hour along paths to properly appreciate the extent of the canyon.
In the pm, we drove onward to our hotel for the night in a small town called Yanque. Those interested including myself went further on to the neighbouring town to bathe in the hot springs set around mountains and valley of Chavay. so hot and blissful.. some guys had a beer in the pool too!
Another commendable buffet was served in the evening at our cold hotel. I tried alpaca soup. v good. most were feeling dopey or faint due to altitude. so we all retired pretty early to our rooms where lit fires awaited us for the night whilst they got nursed with alcoholic based oxygen tank thingys....
Sun 11th: a mammouth 12 hour ride to Cusco so brekkie at 4:30 am. We stopped at this reservoir type place for another traditional Tucan packed lunch...some local kidos flocked our bus so we gave them our remains and some pens and pencils which they were delighted with. no money or sweeties as bad in long-term! The second half of the trip was great fun. on board entertainment in the form of charades, chinese whispers and guess the soundtrack....most participated. Also, we got informed that we would need to devise a suitable song to sing to our porters on the Inca Trail......as an example, a previous one done by another group was "She'll be coming round the mountain" lol... this triggered off the thought process all round, but we eventually agreed on Scottish "500 miles" to be modified according to the Inca Trail walk (lyrics). Those peeps going to the rainforest the following day including me, got briefed on this as well....Time flew by and before we knew it, we had arrived in Cusco, cultural captial of Peru. Got a smaller transfer shuttle bus in due to traffic restrictions. All were loving the city at first site. cobbled streets, pretty plazas and buildings. looked safeish......
So, on arrival we had a mini orientation tour and a bite to eat before packing bags once again in prep for early rise for rainforst trip. Half the group would stay behind in Cusco for fee days and optional excurions eg white-water rafting and horse-riding or city-tours etc whereas us lucky mugs had no chance for recuperation.
Mon 12th: a nice 6am transfer to Cusco airport for a dozen or so or us. Flight was wicked as we saw the sauring snow-capped mountains, valley and town.....got to Puerto Maldonado where i bumpe into 2 univeristy course acquiantances...... knew they were in the continent, but what a coincidence. they were joining our tour for part of the second trip with another guide so that was cool. We then had a small pointless town tour of Puerto M whislt we waited for our bus and boat trip along the river to our lodging in the Amazon Basin. This combined ride was 3 hours and we arived at the checkpoint station by mid pm and then our Travellers' Inn Lodge shortly after. Were pleasantly surpised by the accommodation. Though no electricity and hot shower facilities, the wooden cabin rooms with nettings and ensuite bathroom were more than adequate. Shared with my new roomie henceforth, the mid 20yr old English dude, who I shared more in common with.
That night, we were treated to a walking tour through the rainforest in antipation of seeing nocturnal wildlife though remote chance. First we had a presentation of the species and explanation of the ecosystem setup etc by resident naturists, then we headed off in small groups....What my group did get to see was basically crickets, grasshoppers, glow worms, spiders, ants, frogs and this crazy erotic palm tree (multiple penis shapes the bottom?)... one group got to hold a snake....nevermind... we had fun ambushing another group as well! Dinner followed on from this in the form of a 3 course substantial feast with ample soft drinks....nothing better to do than bed early with candles to guide. Fine.
Tues 13th: up at crazy time for brekkie at 5:30. our proper excursion departed at 6am so off we went fully kitted in welly boots and dripping with mozzie repellent. Our tour consisted of a 5k walk along paths with stops to explain flora, fauna and animals on the way along with far-fetched stories relating to trances and hallucinations resulting from plants and saps...tasted some natural medicinal remedies though which was cool. En route we saw caimans, tucans, cow birds, monkeys.... At the lake we got in a paddle boat and continued upstream to spot a few more species. The return journey was laborious but lunch was fab. we fed monkeys with banana s and entertained a rsident maccaw parrot who was intent on stealing peoples room keys and pecking at the gauze window panels to try to break in lol. Some guys played footie and lsot againstthe local guides but I went the other side of the murky river to a local farm for a while. Before boaridng our boat, we got real close up to a spectacle-eyed caiman on the shore who was stone cold still. wow! the guide taunted it with water so it would dart off into the river.... Ashore, we tasted wild lemons, lime and oranges right from the trees. Also, we sampled the raw produce of the chocolate-derived fruit thing...tasted like sweet syrop. We collected leaves with allegedly hallucinagenic and drwosy properties...also bark whose sap is like blood so good as natural lipstick.... all interesting.....
By the evening all were shattered. Our final excurion was a night sailing along the river to sptop caimans and gian otters. no otters but plenty of lingering caimans with shiny eye reflections. Afterwards, we were presented with a fantastic buffet spread before thanking the guides and that. Some stayed up to drink but I resisted, knowing I wanted to make most of 1.5 days back in Cusco before the Inca Trail.
Wed 14th June: morning was simply spent trailing our rainforest route back to Puero Maldonado then catching domestic flight back to wonderful Cusco. Though shattered, I was pleased to have the best part of a free day! It was wicked since the Corpus Cristi festival was on for 2 days meaning the city was packed and full of music, dancers in costume, food stalls and floats with religious figures on...similar to my Spain experiences around Easter time 2003. Atmosphere was cool so a few of my tucan pals strolled around to take it all in...
some of us went to the Inca Museum in ther afternoon which we couldnt really fully appreciate due to zombification. Pitty as our guide beautifully narrated Peru's history form pre incan civilisations to colonical times.. artifiacts, sculptures, clothing etc were all on view and modles of the city at various chronological times.
A siesta was desperately needed before the dreaded Inca Trail lecture type briefing session with all passnegers reunited ie those who didnt come to rainforest included. ....
Bogged down by our seriously hardcore daily itinerary, we all decided to treat ourselves to a flash meal at this ever so funky restuarant called Fallen Angel... differnt music and coloured theme rooms with lighitng and seating designed accordingly... Was nice to catch up with those travellers who had optional excursions around Cusco instead of jungle... a fiar few of us continued on to Paddy O'Flaherty's Irish Pub in the cvity before getting bombarded with free flyers for drinks in just about every bar or club around the main square...... evening turned into lots of drining and dancing and intermingling with the locals shall we say.. some were worse for wear but was all sound. even T.G (Tour Guide) got rather uncharacterstically rowdy and pushy so that was cool. ended up a very late one by our early rise - early to bed acclimatised body-clock standards....3am ish.
15th: Sore, a couple of us pondered massages in favour or visiting some of the many touristy-historical sites but in the end couldnt justify this move... So a couple of us headed up to Sacsayhuaman (henceforth Sexywoman) ruins on a mountain side overlookinghte whole city... these ruins were the first semi impressive ones we came across in peru....excellent eg of arhitecture and engineering of the inca period....had good guide and toke great bird's eye view photos fo the city from above... even the dots of people crowding the city centre and noises of partying could be discerned. pretty as........ the remainder of the aftee was spent strolling around taking random photos since many religious/administrative buildings were closed on public holiday. I did purchase a thick wollen alpaca hat with tassels to go with my poncho lol....and many whole cooked guinea pigs were on display and being scoffed by locals at the markets.....eugh.. Dinner was had at another nice place...3 courses for 6 dollars.... just the job before Inca Trail began.......bags to be carried throughout the 3 day trail by PORTERS had to be packed to the weight of 5 kilos including sleeping bag gear.... weigh-ins veriefied this so strict policy. anything else had to be packed in personal day backpacks to be carried by ourselves including refreshments, clothing for al weather types due to unforseeable weather fluctuations...annoying...so yes, selectivity was intense!!!!! Managed it slightly under the limit so very proud.
16th: up at 5:15 for our 6am transfer to the starting point of the Inca Trail. En route I whisked up a translation of our comical "500 miles" lyrics tailored for the Inca trail porters at the end of our journey as thanks......also stopped in this town, Ollantaytambo, where last minute winterware and bambo walking sticks could be purchased. We saw some ruins on the way in the "Sacred Valley" and stunning landscape again naturally.... met up with the remainder of our crew who had a tour of the Sacred valley the day before and stayed with locals in lieu of free time in Cusco they had already had when us lot were in rainforest.... complex eh ...... Arrived at the passport control checkpoint at 10am and began our long awaited trek after a few cheesy group snaps with perplexed expressions in anticipation of the hike ahead.....could see the lazy people cruising up the winding hillsides on the tourist train and nearly got run over hmm.....weather was definitely on our side and we immediately geled with our 3 assistant guides who would walk at staggered intervals in between us walkers........ nice chance for others to practice spanish as well.... that first day's walk to campsite #1 was fairly easy going with regular pauses....11km in total.. inclines not challenging and saw loads of animals and diverse scenery on the way. Lunch was had in a pre-erected dining tent... so didnt expect the quality and service we received.. soup to start, rice salad and meat to follow with teas etc.... hand washing facilities available but only bush toilets haha.....
A little on the porters themselves, approximately 34 strong for the 20 or so of us...only 200 walklers zre permitted in the trail each day with 300 porters!!!!!! only get to do the trek once a months roughly as there is such competition.. all of the men of various ages, shapes and form all congregate in the starting town to be selected usually.....got chatting to one of our guides at the back of the pack leisurely who informed me that each porter carried around 20ks on their back ranging from tent sets, our bags, gas bottles, cooking implements, cutlery, crockery, water......... looks painful as solid heavy objects are merely strapped to their backs.constantly sweating but always jogging to get to next stage before the leader of our packs you see... lunch always prepared well in advance and our tents set up before arrival late afternoon each day. amazingly strong and persistent men with smiles on faces......our guide Julio/J.C told us not to address them by the word "porter", rather "cuchiwato"...which in the native language of quechua, APPARENTLY meant "ladies' men"....
After lunch we sailed on and arrived at camp at 4:30pm ish. was fresh but cloudy here..... tents were pleasantly decent (silver coloured 2-man freeman dome style.....) no grumbles.... I was in a tent on my tod since my room-mate was on the alternative easier and shorter "Lares" Trek where they stay one night in hotel, get to stay 1 day in a village and have llamas carrying bags for them... 3 folk in total went on this treck as unfortunately late booking meant no posible on Inca T.... was grateful for the extra space and privacy but not that thankful in terms of extra radiating body heat, welcomed during overnight drops in temperature......Again, dinner was fab.. soup, chicken and chips, local pudding and hot drinkies.. even had a glass of hot water, sugar and rum to get the cockles warmed up somewhat.. a few rounds of cards and song practice preceded early bed as little light etc.
17th - day 2 of El Camino Inka: rise at 7am for a lovely breakfast to prepare ourselves for the hardest day of the trip according to the vast majority... gob-smacked at porridge, fresh fruit salad, bread rolls, pancakes!!!At 8:15ish the group embarked on their journey entailing steep, windy and unsteady paths to lunch spot then onward to the first "pass"...was so happy to have my walking sticks as aids..... puffing and panting were constant and breaks needed.... I formed part of a group of 7 leaders this day, who plodded on together with 1 assistant guide...readched lunch an hour and a half before the last soldier trotted in - funky 61yr old Ozzie woman, Kay. Great effort.... nice chance for a long-earned rest reallly.. Lunch was ace - alpaca for the meat........ Didn´t hang around for too long as knew the worst part was to come.... many many steps on uneven ground up to the first pass which was surrounded by mist half way up, so all we could hear was the sound of applause in the distance without any clear judgement about remaining distances to clime.... frustrating....When we got there it was so cold and misty that some of the pack decided to instantly move on after a few snaps...
I stayed behind to spur on the other dozen or so freezing ass off but relishing the moment..... many were tearful upon arrival due to glee, relief and other due to feeling slightly rough and poorly anyhow.... great team bonding again... one bloke even insisted on a photo with his baby son's photo next to the signpost indicating the altitude (4.5km roughly) and location etc. Once the final walker stumbled in, we had a group shot again.........I had a private shot ontop of the breast and nipple formation (is what the first pass is unoficially recognised by from the valley below leading up. v vivid shape actually hehe).
After all this hype, I decided to accompany the last 3 climbers at the back of the group to get a taste for their style and rest really...... took 2 hours plus to descend, descend, descend jaggered steps pretty much all the way to our second camp... the fog and coldness slowly cleared but the route seemed to go on for ages especially at their pace. all were getting a little delirious and hysterical at this point for no reason lol..... glad to have sticks again as tough on the calves.we arrived to meet the rest in darkness at around 5pm... That night was vvvvvvv cold indeed, especially for me having been in tropical environments for months beforehand......reached -2 apparently...no1 wanted to exit tents after going to bed and all wrapped up ridiculously well.
18th (day 3 inca trail):longest distance walking of 13k.....though steady ups and downs and straights all along....this day was called the "cultural day" due to many frequent stops along the route, on the final 2 passes and at a couple of ruin sites for detailed explanations...hence many more photo opportunities....nice for the group to stick more closely together as well. a few people had been sufering from the altitude and stomach upsets so the pace was a little slower....the second pass was awesome... crystal clear and very pictoresque with a range of snow-capped mountains in the distance....good spot for exploring rocks and that alone......the descent to lunch was similar to that of the previous afternoon though warm and clear....came across a couple of small scale defensive purpose ruins on the way to lunch which were impressive. Food was the best yet by far... bbq skewers of different meats, all diff types of carbohydrate and veg.......Following lunch, the best scenery was to come.... after gradual climbs around the clifftops overlooking the valley and parallel to mountains, we arrived at the thrid and final pass......stunning.... Aguas Calientes village from where the train stops en route to Machu Picchu for connecting buses could be seen as well as 3 coned shape mountaintops behind which lay the famous lost city of the Inca's, M.P. Excited! Panormas were fab.... also had to use this minging toliet, worst I have ever used in fact. portable loo with no portable devices...wooden inside.stained.... small hole in floor... pit not deep..... flies infested...... couldnt close door as so foul........ anyway enough on that!!!!
The remaining 2 hour descent down absurdly steep nevr-ending badly-defined steps is now a blur....minus 1 ruin site stop....a team of 4 of us decided to go full out at thsi stage as if racing... Ozzie dude Matt, his sis and her mate plus me. we just zoomed our way around, regardless of dusty windy paths and dodgy steps, desperate to arrive at the final campsite...Matt stormed ahead and even challenged a couple of the porters to a race near the end. crazy..... we all arrived around 3 30 pm and went straight to the hot showers which we longed for all day.... small price for heaven!!!! was nice to arrive in daylight and have a couple of hours free to chill before the main contingent turned up..... that afternoon we just had drinks and relaxed and polished up our attempt at a speech and song with dance actions.... in the end we just listed 10 things we appreciated most and I translated and formed a speech out of it in spanish... the song went down well and 3 lads did accompanying actions to facilitate comprehension.. This all took place after a fab feast.... pizza, chicken drumsticks..... the works...........all seemed rather offical to me... tour guide had to distribute our "recommended" tip amount of 10dollars each to be split between all staff in some coordinated fashion.. appeared like a presentation ceremony or distribution of xmas bonuses lol. song went down a storm and we heard the porters sing a chant in return.. in quechua lingo.... they all got a beer extra from our group so they were chuffed... some stayed up to dance for a while but I couldn´t face it.....
Song:
Verses 1 - 4: "When I wake up, well I know I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be the one who's freezing and grumpy"
"When I go out, well I know I gotta pee, I know I gotta pee with something prickly next to me"
"When I'm puffing, well I know it's gotta be, it's gotta be the altitude affecting me"
"My only saviour, well I know it has to be, it has to be the feast wyki(brother/friend in quechua) prepare for me"
Chrous: "And I would walk 33km, and I would walk 6ks more, just to be the one who walks 39kms to MachuPicchu's door".... La da da, la da da da, la da da da da da da da da da. :D
Mon 19th - Day 4 Inca Trek:Only got 6 hrs sleep that night as up at 4 for final brekkie and then walk to the gate wehre the famous walk to the sun gate began..... typically delayed by latin american timing but eventually got under way.... all was silent due to a combination of fatigue, aching and desire just to get there asap... pace was regular...... 7:30 am or so we got there..... wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! best view of trip so far........sun was shingin and beating down already.... could see the SHOULD-be wonder of the world site in front of us down the valley a bit, literally in between various mountains fo differing heights.... the terraces and buildings were so clear like on a postcard.......v green...
Then we walked another hour or so more along the narrow paths taking many diff shots of the ruins still in amazement at its splendour.... we had been told to carry this special stone along the whoel trip and then deposit it at this place in order to get rid of burdens etc.... our fantastic guide played tunes on the traditional instrument etc to add to the experience... On the verge of Machu Picchu, we all collapsed in the greenery and listened to an hour long presentation of the site and culture and history of the Incas which was great.... nearly fell asleep though.....Afterwards, we had another hr long tour of the actual site.....scaling the terraces, different important buildings and courtyards etc.....learnt all about the ceremonies and beliefs and functioning of the site...water channels..the lot.. too much to recall.......
That was it at M.P.........just about enough time there to be honest.. What are my impressions? Really should be the 8th wonder of the world.....how immense is this cleverly constructedsite, nesting in secrecy between these huge mountains as if it's floating.....Never inhabited as residences just for agricultural, religious and social functions.... Spaniards neevr ever reached there, so no influence... Very well preserved. much more dynamic than the Aztec/Mayan ruins though not as grand and vast. Hard to comapre. Must go!
So....2 lads crazily decided to climb a further sheer mountain face just to get to the top and see the view... all the rest just caught the bus down the hill to Aguas Calientes villages where we feasted together and walked the small town before our train ride back to Ollantaytambo..back to the start where we would catch a transfer bus back to Cusco again. ride was lush but 2 girls were heaving throughout and rushing up and down the isles.. maybe water or food but no idea.... 1 had to get off the bus to chuck up as well. she looked sto fragile and ill....bless 'em...
.When we got back there was yet another festival going on.something to do with Cusco and a 55 year anniersary. independence?! no1 was in any mood to join in so we ate a quick local meal and retired to bed for yet another IMMEDIATE onward journey the next day back aboard our giant tour bus... slept so well in warm hotel bed!!!!!!! yay...
20th: checked out hotel by 7 in order to board Peggy for our 8hr ride to Puno...... all so thankful just to sit on arses in bus really... and nap... was nice having extra people on board now since they joined in Cusco.. also, another Tucan tour (the one my 2 acquaintances from uni were on) was now running parallel to us in terms of itinerary....quite cool young bunch....the only real break was lunch in a gas station we had passed on way to Cusco a week ago, then some shitty ruins called Sillustani on the side of Lake Titikaka... just about noone was motivated of course having not recovered from the Trail.. so the tour was boring and laborious. Got to Puno by 5 and had traditional orientation walk... decided to get some cough medicine to aid my chesty cough and had a little nap before dining with my 3 best pals from the tour - Matt and the Irish sisters..found this cosy local folklore playing diverse cheap menu restaurant up the road and had 4 courses and hot drink for 5 dollars.. accompanied with sangria, so nice... then we went on to a couple of pubs for a free drink each then played jenga in this one pub.... very random but fun.... returned at a decent time as following morning was our 2 day trip out to some of the islands on the lake and homestay family evening.
21st: 4 of our party couldnt bear coming to the Islands due to chest infection, stomach upset, boredom of intense itinerary and stinking cold reasons........ rest of us jumped into these manual tricycle vehichles and got escorted down to the port where we would board our boat and meet our guide. Firstly, we were obliged to by groceries and goods for our unknown families to the value of 3 dollars each eg rice, pasta, fruit, biscuits, pens etc....our first stop was on 2 of the floating reed islands "Islas de los Ursos". Here we had explanations of the way of life and how the isles are made of reeds and sustain their form etc... good opportunity to buy souvenirs but not for me.... then continued on to another isle on a reed boat shaped like a dragon or whatever.. funky.. some of the guys tried their chances at manual rowing....
Back aboard the main motor boat we carried a further 3 hours onward to Isla Amantai where 9 communities live and lead an ordinary life working and cultivating etc... houses were basic but definitely inhabitable..... we were each allocated in pairs a homestay family for the day and night....... was a great experience.... our guide taught us a bit of quechua on the boat before arrival so we were proud with the few phrases we knew.t hank goodness our family was fluent in spanish though..... our quarters were typically the bes tin teh house with all the bare essentials egbed, table, potty thing, lights, curtains.... we presented our family of dad, mum, 27yr old daughter and 11 year old son (other siblings on mainland) with our goodies adn then tucked into local cuisine lunch consisitng of veggie soup, potato and sweet potato and fried cheese for mains.... herbal tea 2...... fine by me... then we had a pre-scheduled meeting at the soccer field where differnt group leaders had organised a footie match locals vs foriegners.. we lost but was interesting. basic concrete turf. I opted to walk to the peak of the barren Isle to see a gorgeous sunset.... one could clearly see bolivia in the distance, other isles and the tranquil lake all illuminated a rosy pinky orange.... peaceful....
That evening was the highlight though.... After dining with the family - veggie curry dish and soup, we were all dressed up in local outfits - boys = poncho and hat and girls = skirt, belt and other shit.........then we trotted down to the small community hall for a drink and dance session with local band playing..
we were all whisked around the room with partners and in long lines etc...combinations of barn type dancing and country etc... no ball lol!!!! was a lot of fun!! the night was a little cold but tolerable so slep v well........
22nd: awoke at reasonable hour to a brekkie of pancakes...locals especially learn how to make them for the benefit of the tourists... locals ate soup! In the morn we said farewell to the families at the port and ocntinued on to Taquile Island where Aymara is spoken rather than Quechua. All fascinating. Our excursion here consisted of a walking tour and discovery beforelight lunch.... Here we were told all about the myth of the birth of the Inca civilisation from the lake itself....as well as the theories behind the existence of the lake itself. Pm - boat ride back to mainland Puno and free afternoon which was spent chilling.... That evening was a huge group dinner asa good 8 people were leaving the tour here....tried alpaca pizza and mulled wine in Ekekos restaurant...then with our flyers the youngsters of about 12 went clubbing for the first time together!!!!! way hay.. all came out of shells, drank and danced for ages.... real party atmosphere. but then came the farewells.. some kindly promised they'd be up at 7 to say cheerio properly which was sweet.....some got drunk and nearly got into a brawl with some locals on the street but othewise was good night out.
23rd: rough start to day...... a few tears...said bye and boarded Peggy one last time for our ride to La Paz, BOLIVIA. In comparison to my other Tucan Tour of Mexico in April - guide and people were more friendly and diverse.. the itinerary was more intense so sometimes rushed and frustrating.. all in all probs slightly better. more friends made...
En route to La Paz we stopped at the most important archeological site in the country, Tiahuanaco.... ah the border crossing.. no bags checked, but dodgy.... money changers were fine as had separate desks and that... but we were told to take it in turns to guard the bus as we passed through the crowds... poor old Scot Neil had his miney belt stolen but cant pinpoint where or when like... insurance covered the lost money apparently but was still downbeat..passport with him. unfortunate........... in Tiahuanaco, again similar scenario to Sillustani ruins... no1 as really involved in the tour but still appreciated the significance of the place. Our last self-prepared buffet lunch was prepared on site.. Had a short journey to La Paz...stopped off at the mirador watchpoint from the top.. the city seemed so comso and vast for the poorest s.american country really.... many high rises and abundance of buildings spread out in between the surrounding mountains....the ususal pursued upon arrival. hotel was just quids in..... planned to go to cinema with peeps that evening but not feasible. instead went to ice cream parlour and treated selves sufficiently...
Sat 24th: awoke independently and spent the day roaming La Paz (city is actually the de facto captial not the constitutional/juridicial - Sucre).. church, sqaure, many many markets eg witch market (medicinal and herbal products.....and llama phoetus)
each stretch of streets seem to have their own theme of goods eg electrical, clothing, home stuff, alcohol... you name it.. easy to find stuff.. avoided the famous black market though... city much nicer than say Lima, Peru but petty crime more obvious unforunately.... it has it all - markets, restaurants, beauty parlours, cinemas.......rather impressiv but bustling. dedicated a fair amount fo the day to booking a 3 day tour to the famous salt flats of Uyuni... Bolivia's highlight........ did our research and payed up happily for the Monday... was nice to go together as the rest of the group were leaving La Paz for home, or onward with Tucan doing a loop of the country on Sunday......except the irish sisters who were hanging round for a few days.... Lunch was in this trendy coffee and cake shop and dinner was our final group affair which I organised... nearly got free food and drink as the waitor though I was a Tucan tour leader like haha! Got together most of the people still in La Paz and had a nice meal at a hotel-restaurant. Tried Bolivian national drink similar to the Pisco sour but nice without the egg white froth shyte.mmm. Over dinner I learnt that a couple of people had been apparently nearly mugged - 1 woman had ben spat on as a diversion tactic for example.... shame as the city so nice.....
Then was again another mass farewell bid to 8 or so who were continuing 1 more week with tucan. however, me and welsh Jess (salt flat companion) planned to meet up with those people during our salt flat tour for dinner 1 evening!!!
Sun 25th: early rise but lazy morning....I had booked meself into the cheapest hostel listed in the Lonely Planet coz I just couldnt justify $20US a night room in the hotel in my position. nonethless, I still left my gear in a mates' room and used TV and hot shower facilities contently that morning to freshen up....had a v late lunch in a veggie organic place before saying bye to Irish sisters. spent the afternoon got on bus to Uyuni with Jess at 5. delayed by 1 hour and we didnt know we had to pay departure tax/use of bus terminal fee of US25c haha... night ride was bumpy and slow.. 13 hours to get there. roads atrocious..
Mon 26th: arrived at 7am to the bitter cold of Uyuni... a small dodgy ghost town with very littel to offer to anyone really... This is where the fun begins.. Having neatly organised and paid for our tour up front with one of the more renowned and reliable companies, we learnt that a group of 4 girls had postpooned til the following day earliest due to one falling ill at last minute. Now the funny thing was we had alreayd bumped into 2 enlgish lasses in the la paz agency office the weekend before when booking it.. they were on the SAME tour on SAME day but the 4x4 trucks will take 6 passengers only.. Now the boss of the Uyuni office said we couldnt go with 2 of us and then the English girls turned up also to make 4 as expected.. after agruing and reasoning etc we were given 3 options though the story didnt add up - pay extra and go same day.... have free accommodation in partner hotel and go the following day (not guaranteed though according to bookings), or tranfer our identical tour to another company though costs are slgihtly different etc etc.. well!!! very poor and disappointing but ecventually we bargained at 10dollars extra each for hte 4 of us which still cut the company short but 10 dolalrs each. tough! principal of it.. lies and manipulations methinks..... after a goregous brekkie at the Tucan hotel the others would arrive at a day later, we boarded the 4x4 with our supplies and embarked on our salf flat jounrey with our husband driver/guide and wife chef.....glad of the extra room in the truck to be honest so not all that bad.... solely spanish-speaking.
Day 1 of "Salars de Uyuni" consisted of a tour along and through the salt falts themselves.. look idential to ice but feel and smell differently... obviously not always white white either.... had a visit of 1 town to see how they manufacture the salt eg dig, burn, dry, crush, bag up and export onward domestically... pictures cool of the salt formations and hexagonal shaped ground.... About the flats - between 20cm and 70m deep..covers area of 2,500km....apparently used to be sea (lowest plain of the 3 connecting together ( lake titikaka one of them)... not sure what to believe..passed workers at work......
we continued on to the Salt hotel passing by some natural undergound volcanic spring things, smelling of iron and sulphur with dark liquid emerging in pools on the surface...made entirely of salt except the roof..salt blocks and beds and walls.... impressive...not to cold either. kinda like an ice igloo. A nice pasta and potato salad lunch was had at the Isla de Pescadores / Inca Huasi . this small island in the middle of the salt flats.....brown and green earth with huge rocks and sauring cacti of different species....1200 years old.... in stark contrast to the white flat plains obviously!! Got chatting to other people on other tours and bizarrely bumped across a guy from Jersey!!!!!!!!!!!! dont kn ow him or family as bit older and different school but lives 2 mins away from me at Hougue Bie lol.... that was freaky... first channel islander I have met on travels so far...
In the afternoon we drove fro miles through the flats and bumpy tracks to our accommodation for the night - Bella Vista.... basic but nice. hot shower. dorm room JUST for our group... ample blankets and sufficient electricity during evening... food great... soup, fried chicken and chips.. wine to wash down..... Jess had stomach cramps so retired early... wasn't much else to do...... did put 4 blankets on bed though as temperatures go below zerop here easily... especially heading into winter months..
27th - day 2 of salt flat tour: gradually exited the flats themselves and enteresd into dusty barren open land..... wildlife still appeared to raom free in middle of nowhere. Today's highlights were view of the active Ollangue volcano in the distance, 4 lakes opr lagoons (Cañapa, Chiankota, Hedionda & Ramadotas)....all semi frozen and dark in colour...pink and white flamingos and seagulls pottering around...... continued on into the desert de Siloli where there are no roadlike passages.. simply follow tyre tracks or go wherever around bumpy corners etc... stopped off in 1 place where there is a rock shpaed like a tree. not that thrilling. On we went to Colorada lagoon/lake... stained red (ocre) but frozen..... colour is due to the natural material (iron, sulphur etc) of the surrounding mountains being deposited by wind and rain movements..... very expòsed area with strong cross currents. wind biting. That night's lodge was more basic and some cardboard filled smashed windows.. we were in a dorm of 4 and exploited the other empty rooms by gathering as many blankets as poss to survive the -15oc - -20oc temperatures witout suffocating!!!! toilet bucket water had frozen over and the rooms were freezing cold....found it harder to sleep that night.... before a lovely spagbol tea, I emerged into the open for a quick sunset photo but stayed indoors thereafter..bed at 8pm for 4 am rise for final day.......
28th: rose in darkness and absolutely freezing.. boarded truck and carried on for an hour until reached Sol De Mena Geysers - these cool natural steam emitting chimeneys from the ground... mission to even exit the truck to take a photo.. Next was the hot thermal spring waters where we actually saw people bathing at 8am at sub zero temperatures (external) but body heat inside... craaaaaaaaazy folk....... had brekkie outdoors in middle of nowhere before driving through Valley of Dali (weird rock formations that a famous spanish painter represented)....Following on, we visited the Laguna Verde or Green Lake which isnt actualyl green due to winter season.. here more birds flocked... just before getting there, we had a flat tyre.. burst by hitting this big stone in the "road"..driver going fast though so not avoidable.. was funny.. we walked on 5 mins whilst he changed it... day before one group had problem with the ENGINE of their truck so I wasnt complaining..... Lunch point was in this small isolated town back up on the way to Uyuni. Took a different route and saw the Valley of the Rocks (funny shaped rocks like a lion, human face etc)....The final 2 stops were firstly the town of San Cristobal which actually has public transport links to Uyuni... had internet, a church, a school, internet caf, market, park etc....... quite cute......And the last stop (after yet another puncture for some unkown reason) was the train cemetery where old carriages are just abandoned...
Got back to Uyuni town at 6:30pm so good triming to meet our Tucan friends who had visited the salt flats for just 1 day and night...... however, we were warned that there would be local transport strikes the following day or something so out Tucan group had decided to drive on to their next destination...missed them by half an hour but had fantastic pizza in the hotel-resturant they were due to stay in... then we had to wait til midnight before catching our unaffected train to Oruro before getting a local bus back to La Paz...ended up being entertained by cheesy dvds in the communcal room which was fine but felt v tired..... Train ride back was OK then 3hr bus ride back to La Paz ealry morning..
29th: Honked so needed shower and that before anything else....... felt great to be back in civilisation. Moved gear into a funky hostal whilst Jess went up a class into a hotel. Then decided to do somehting constructive in La Paz so went round these 4 museums all linking together. not that interesting grrr..... Then I checked email to learn that the Irish sisters had been stranded in La Paz as they were due to fly out to Santiago, Chile that same morning. But the company they were with only informed them after departure time that the flight had been cancelled... company going bust and head on run from police apparently.. very unreliable and the staff on duty refused any compensation or apology or money back.. locals advised them NOT to just defer flight to saturday as would be same scenario. So they sent us an email that afternoon saying to meet up..did so... poor sould looked shattered but were going to get a bus the next day (today) instead, so not to miss onward plans...Hopefully travel insurance could cover them but poss not in this case.... I plan to meet with them soon in Chile or Argentina so looking forward to that.. Got a couple more things to do and see in Bolivia though so will go in a week's time....In the eve we all went for food at this dutch-run cool wooden pub.
Fri 30th (today) : Lay in til 9:30.. wow!!!! went to bus station to get a bus ticket for Copacabana tomorrow, Saturday (not famous Brazil place) and go solo to the Lake Titikaka again on the Bolivaian, arguably prettier side (40% vs Peru &0% of land/water mass)......Here I will go to the Isla Del Sol and Luna where there are ruins and the place where the Inca civilisation is deemed to originate from to the nail.....Afternoon today....After 3 hours of scratching head and consulting my rough journal pages, I have completed my journal blog to date at last.........Later, going for dinner in this "skyscraper" with Jess and the 2 peeps on our Salt Flat tour then saying bye to her as flies back home.On Sunday there is a referendum so riots may occur..Anyhow, all transport stops Sat evening and doesn't resume till midnight on Sunday so thought I should evactuate soon if all will be mayhem... Again, the Tucan crew on their Bolivian loop are due in to la Paz to finish their tour tomorrow, Sat afternoon..so I could have met up again for dinner but thats just the way things go guys...
Come on England vs Portugal. and France! Can't believe the sour crouts just knocked out Argentina...Ah well, I won't be near there until late July - early Aug anyhoo.
Over and out.... How goes it (1 paragraph fine instead of novel) ?!
(Will be amazed if more than a f ew people actually manage to get through all this, and in 1 go......
btw this took 2 installments so not that much of a geek lol)
Hope to keep on track better but plan to do another 3 day tour to the Pampas before Chile ie after the Lake Islands tomoz so who knows if it wil lay behind miserably once more... Quite like making my base camp in Bolivia in La Paz. Will feel homely before long lol.
PS - exactly 2 months til I return home. 4 down, 2 to go.. incredible... summer has arrived uncharacteristically EARLY I hear?!?! How can this be.....
