More Picchu pics

One of the many ladders we had to descend to get back to Picchu

Me going up a staircase cut into the rock

Looking down onto Picchu.... yers we were that high up!

Me chilling at the cave at the bottom

Jude on a very thin walkway by the edge of the jungle

Peru thoughts

I´m sitting in an internet cafe in Puno passing the time till we have to catch our bus to Bolivia so thought I´d write a quick summary of Peru...





We´ve spent just over three weeks in Peru and it`s been pretty mental cause there is so much to see. The sights are spectacular, although you always have to share them with bus loads of other tourists, and the diversity of the landscapes is amazing, even breathtaking. It´s one big adventure though i would say to anyone thinking of coming out that getting fit before will help you get more out of the sights!





The people are also generally extremely friendly and smiley, especially if you try and use Spanish with them.





Now onto the most important bit...the food! It`s been pretty similar everywhere we´ve been in Peru - lots of potatoes (they apparently have 4,000 varieties here, haven`t sampled them all!) In fact the other day we had a main which was a 'potato cake' and nothing more. The other thing I´ve seen a lot of is... sandwiches!!! They are everywhere tourists go, especially bus terminals, and you can get more than cheese and ham... fried egg, avocado and salad, chicken and salad, alpaca meat and if you want to pay a bit of money in a proper resturant you can get anything from cheese and chutney to roasted vegetables! Having said that, the main snack here for locals seems to be popcorn or corn, cakes (hurrah!) and just plain bread rolls which are available in huge baskets on pretty much every street corner.


So country number 4 is done and dusted and we´re off to number 5 - Bolivia - for some jungle action and Salt Planes.

Picchu Pics

Us on a big rock

You're not allowed to walk on the grass, which is why its so lush

The walls are a little bit bigger than you think when up close!

A side view of the main shot

whoops..... accidently put the same shot in twice!

Puno

Puno itself isn't very interesting or attractive and at an altitude of 3,827 meters it is cold at night, in fact I´ve pretty much lived in my fleece for 4 days! Puno is also Peru's folklore center - we weren´t disappointed, every day we saw some sort of parade or Fiesta!

Whilst staying in Puno we visited Juli and Chucuito. We went to Juli on Sunday for the market, not much to write home about but did see a dried lama foetus which was interesting! Juli has four colonial churches and is therefore know as `Little Rome'.

Chucuito reminded me of a little French town and when we got there another Fiesta was in full swing, we think someone had just got married or maybe they were having a party cause it was Sunday?! The journey back to Puno was crazy with Tim and I being squashed into a little van with a load of locals for 30 mins. I was literally sitting on a withered old man who must have been about 90!


The first parade that we saw after arriving about 30 mins before. yes, that is a man in a silly mask dancing infront of a big brass band!

Just after a wedding the locals sit down for a rest after throwing 5 tons of confetti at each other!

A tiny little village off Puno, we rock up to the main square only to be confronted by a dancing congo procession after a wedding.

Lake Titicaca - Uros and Taquile

We left Cusco for Puno, the main place for organising trips to the Lake Titicaca islands. The Lonely Planet said that some of the organised trips were too rushed but the thought of someone doing everthing for us rather than us DIYing appealed, so we booked up a day tour which took us to the Uros Floating Island (Puno´s main tourist attraction) and Taquile Island, know for the inhabitants excellent weaving.

The Uros islands are created from layers of reeds, it felt very strange walking on them - a bit like a giant sponge! We were given a little talk by our guide about how they make the islands and then left to look round the huts and boats made from the reeds. The inhabitants were trying to sell their handicrafts or boat rides to us so it did feel a little commercial, especially when one of the `inhabitants' actually came with us on the boat from Puno! But it was a great trip and we got some cool pictures!

After Uros we carried on to Taquile, the 34Km distance took us 3 hours to cover as the boat was going so slowly - a good chance to snooze as we were up at 6am! The highest point of the island is 4050 meters above sea level and the main village is at 3950 m so the climb up to the top was surprising difficult, but the views were amazing, the Lake looked like a painting as it was so still.

We managed to break away from the tour group so we could explore the island oursleves. There were loads of kids everywhere eager for their photo to be taken for 1 sole or a biscuit. We had some biscuits so gave a cute little boy (with the biggest belly, think he does well from the tourists!) a biscuit and suddenly we were surrounded by kids asking for food too! We leant our lesson quickly!


sunset over the lake

The floating islands

One of their traditional boats that they use to go to the pub

The local dress on taquile island

On our way back to the boat

Machu Picchu

The train got us into Aguas Calientes for 7am and then we took the bus (42 soles for the two of us which is more than a room for a night!) to the site, arriving about 7.30am. Already the place was heaving with tourists, but once we entered the site the sheer size of the ruins swallowed people up so it didnt feel too crowded.

Even after having seen the classic photos of Machu Picchu in guide books, web sites, travel brochures and postcards we were still impressed by the awe-inspiring location of the ruins. The ruins seem to almost cling to the steep hillside, surrounded by towering green mountains, it really was beautiful.

We first made our way to the Watchman's Hut which offered some of the classic views of Machu Picchu. In seach for a better view, and with time to kill until our 5pm train back, we decided to climb Huayna Picchu, the mountain you see rising behind MP. As from May 2007 the government has put a limit of 400 on the number of people who can climb the mountain. We didn't get over to the base until after 9am so had to wait until the second group was allowed up at 10am. It is supposed to take about an hour to reach the top, but we did it in about 35 mins. I dont think I´ve ever sweated so much! The climb was much more dangerous than i thought it would be, I would not recommend it for sufferers of vertigo! The narrow trail nearly made my legs freeze at one point but seeing as 60 year olds were having a go I just got on with it! The view from the top was amazing, to catch our breath Tim and I played a game of cards.

Instead of just going down the way we came we decided to go down the other side of the mountain to see some further sites. About an hour later after we had climbed down very steeply (ladders were provided to help us) we arrived at a Cave which was pretty cool and then started on the trail again expecting to be back at base prettty soon. We weren´t. The trail just went on and on going up and down and up until we joined the original trail we had taken to go up. I really thought my legs were going to give, my knees felt like a 90 year old´s and i was being attacked by mossies (I counted over 30 bites afterwards, my ankles and hands were swollen to twice the size) so I was overjoyed when we finally got back to base over three hours later.

We carried on looking round the ruins and then went to the exit. Dying for food and drink we went to a cafe just outside the entrance but couldnt bare to pay the prices advertised - 30 soles for a burger and chips, more than triple the usual price and 15 soles for Coke - usually about 1.5 soles.

As if we hadn´t done enough walking we then decided to walk back to Aguas Calientes at about 2pm to save the bus fare and spend it on food instead. It was a steep trek down but only took about 40 mins and then, like a beacon in the night, we saw a campsite with a resturant. We ordered burgers and fries and washed in the toilets whilst we waited for the food. I dont think I´ve ever eaten food so quickly, we were starving after having breakfast at 7am!

The train back was slow and then it broke down so we hopped on a bus which had been laid on for the passengers, but we had to pay for! We arrive back in Cusco about 10pm totally and utterly shattered. MP was amazing and definitely worth seeing but the crazy prices had left a bit of a bitter taste in our mouths.


The money shot!

Or maybe this is the money shot... you decide. Will upload more pics later!

Ollantaytambo (great name!)

As we had applied too late for the Classic Inca Trail (we applied in August and the permits were all used up until Nov!) we had been looking into alternatives treak to Machu Picchu but as the situation with the flat was getting worse we thought we should save some pennies and DIY. So we packed our day bags and headed to Ollantaytambo, a town 60 kilometers northwest of Cusco and a starting point for some of the treks.

Ollantaytambo was the royal estate of Emperor Pachacuti who conquered the region, built the town and a ceremonial center. The ceremonial center is the main tourist attraction... it was pretty amazing but not a patch on Pisac, although it did have a pretty little river flowing through and a couple of lamas! After climbing the steep steps of the site and being blown about in the strong wind I was ready for a shower, so I was over the moon when we found a hostal with lots of hot water (the first proper one in three days).

After walking round the main square and gasping at the prices of the food, which was all priced up for the numerous tourists, we found a little resturant serving up Cena to the locals for 4 soles (75p) so we slurped on lovely warm soup, munched on a main of rice, potatoes and a sort of stew and washed it down with hot honey and lemon tea.

We were booked on the train to Machu Picchu at 5.37am so after dinner we were happy to go to bed. Neither of us slept very wel,l in fear of not waking up in time, so at 4.30am we were up and getting dressed ready for our Machu Picchu adventure!


The fort towers above the main village

Here you can see the village at the bottom

The cobbled streets have been inhabited for over 700 years

Part of the greenery between the village and the fort

Tim trying to play with a Lama

Pisac

Písac is a village on the Urubamba River which is supposed to be one of the highlights of the Scared Valley so we jumped in a collectivo for the hour journey. The village is well-known for its market every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday - when we turned up there were loads of tour buses there already, we just cant seem to escape them! I spied some great pineapple cake which was making my mouth water, but we had a mountain to climb, so we stocked up on a Menu Del Dia for 75p (4 soles) which consisted of thick soup, and then a 2nd plate of rice, potatoes and chicken, plus a drink.

As the weather was so cold in Cusco we had packed fleeces, hats, ,gloves and wind breakers but the sun was out in full force so the kind manager of the resturant agreed to look after our gear whilst we visited the Inca ruins, known as Inca Písac, at the top of a hill at the entrance to the valley.

The site was amazing and just went on and on and on! we spent nearly four hours exploring the ruins winding our way through terraces and huge doorways, steep steps and even a little tunnel. The view of the valley from the top was amazing and the ruins themselves were stunning.

A very inpressive view that could take on picchu!

Me at the top of the mountain next to the palace ruins

Tim standing on the village ruins (he got shouted at as not meant to do this... whoops!)

A tiny me going through the tunnel to get to the second half of the ruins!

Me next to the man made fields

Cusco

We arrived in Cusco at about 5.30am, the former capital of the Inca Empire was very pretty even through bleary eyes, but very cold. It didn`t get any warmer, we spent most of our time in Cusco wearing literally all of our clothes to keep warm, even in the hostal room!



Cusco offers tourists everything they want from pìzza to handicrafts. Peru in general is very much geared up for the tourist, you can´t visit any site without seeing coach loads of French, German, Chinese, American and English being guided round. And the sites aren´t cheap. Just a couple of months before we arrived all the site entrance fees doubled which was a pain, so we paid 70 soles (14 pounds) for ticket to take us to 4 inca sites around Cusco and later found out that Machu Picchu was 122 soles (23 pounds), steep prices when we were used to paying a couple of $ for entraces in other countries, but it was all worth it...!

Arequipa and the Monasterio de Santa Catalina

Before we left for Cuzco, we had a few hours to run about and see the sights. This included the most extravagent nunnery, which was so large that its a city within a city. Each nun at Santa Catalina had between one and four servants or slaves, and the nuns invited musicians to perform in the convent, gave parties and generally lived a lavish lifestyle. Each family paid a dowry at their daughter's entrance to the convent, and the dowry owed to gain the highest status, indicated by wearing a black veil, was 2,400 silver coins, equivalent to US$50,000 today. We noted that they seemed to have better accomodation than us!


Me checking out the many paintings adorning the ceilings and walls

Jude in one of the many courtyards

One wing of the gallery room

The main Church at Plaza de Armas

A bit of a different sight this one...... yes, Father Christmas selling sweets to cars by standing in the middle of the road!

Some more pics that jude wanted to put up

Was snapping away from the bus when I saw this little lady... it was only when I looked at the picture afterwards that I noticed I´d captured her picking her nose!

The locals wear great outfits- i took a sneaky pix on the bus of this lovely lady

I made Tim take this one - a lady carrying her baby on her back which seems to be the norm for all indigenious people in South America

The view from our ´flat` in Arequipa

Me on the rocks, trying (very badly) not to squint in the morning sunshine

Happequipa and the canyon county

Jude and I have been staying in Arequipa, in a lovely little 'flat' overlooking the volcanoes. Every single person we met was so happy and smiley all the time, we though it was something they put in the water!
Sadly due to reccent event back home we didnt have the most relaxing time, but we did manage to take a day off and visit the Colca Canyon and see the sunrise (its double the depth of the Grand Canyon in the US!). We stayed the night in a tiny village called Cabanaconde the night before, and were woken at 4am by cockrels, donkeys, goats, and any other mammal that wanted to wake up and tell the world they were alive. It wasnt too much of a problem as we needed to be up for 5:30am for the trek! We were also lucky enough to see some condors soaring overhead, though sadly no pics as they're pretty quick.


Me checking out the sunrise coming over the canyon

Pre-inca farms cut into the canyon!

An oasis in the middle of the desert

More crazy landscaping by those pre-inca's

Loads of alapacas grazing..... they are very tasty in a sandwich!

Nasca, lines worth waiting for!

I have never been in such a small plane, and probably never will again!

Tim and I both felt completely sick but it was worth it to see the world famous´enigmatic` Nasca lines. No one really knows what they mean, even though a German woman studied them for 16 years...I think a couple of guys got bored one day and decided to make giant markings in the rock for a laugh (what else was there to do 2000 years ago?). Tim thinks its to do with rituals to the gods.

There was three of us, plus the pilot on the 35 min flight over the desert. We saw all the lines from the Spider to the Hummingbird. Check out the pictures.

The whole process of getting on the plane was totally crazy. We were recommended to use Pepe by our hostal in Pisco to book the flight. After a long conversation in Spanish (I said "si" a lot and not much else) we took it that Pepe was going to meet us in Nasca but we didnt know how or where. Somehow it all worked out and Pepe greeted us with a big grin off our bus. We paid him the money ($65 each, that could feed us for a week!) and were told to be ready for 7.30am but we might not fly then.

It was all a bit confusing but we trusted happy Pepe and got up at 7am. We waited, had breakfast, waited, went on the internet, waited. I was starting to think that Pepe and done a runner with our money, Tim had faith. At about 8.30am a guy turned up, after much hand gesturing we realised he was taking us to Pepe. But when we got to Pepe he just told us we weren`t flying until about 1pm and to come back to the office then. So off back to our hostal we trotted. At 11.45am the woman at the hostal passed on a message that we needed to be at the office for 12 or we´d lose our flights, so we started running round only to be picked up half way by the first messenger. How did he know where we were?!

Why the rush i really dont know as we ended up waiting 35mins at the aeroport for our flight (maybe they didnt want us eating anything before the flight so kept us waiting a while!)



Tim and a tiny plane. Every slight gust of wind was felt... a lot!

Check out the view and all the other lines that haven't been given names...yet!

Spider

Hummingbird

Hands and tiny weeny people at the bottom