As I have been told by almost everyone - if you´re in Peru you have to see Machu Picchu. Especially as this year is the 100th anniversary of it´s rediscovery.
After going through the fairly long process of buying a ticket in Cusco (the system had crashed) we were going to visit Machu Picchu and Machu Picchu Mountain on the 21st August. The traditional way of getting to Aqua Callientes (the village nearest to the ruins) is by a very overpriced train. However, there is an increasingly used cheaper, if longer, route to get there.
From Cusco to Santa Maria and from there to Santa Teresa and then a short (2 hour) walk to Aqua Callienetes. The views to Santa Maria were absolutely spectacular and definetely made the longer trip worth it. I´ve seen many mountains but these were different - they were so green! After the dryness of the Colca Canyon it was quite nice to see some rain and with the clouds were also low around the mountain tops it looked gorgeous.
The walk to Aqua Callientes was very easy but Aqua Callinetes is not my favourite place to visit. It is just a huge tourist trap, like many parts of Cusco. The tourism has taken over the main part of the town and it is just full of over-priced restaurants all claiming to sell ´Peruvian Style Food´. Howver, the boy at the hostal showed us to his mum´s restaurant and we got some proper Peruvian food.
The next day we set off very early for Machu Picchu - at 5am. The walk up isn´t easy either - it´s about an hour and a half of stairs straight up. You arrive at the queue sweating and cursing the lazy people who got the bus. You can immediately tell who´s who by who is wearing their hats and scarves!
We entered and then we had our first sight of Machu Picchu - you can´t see it at all when climbing up. As the guide said it´s the picture that National Geographic took and I have to admit it was stunning. It´s huge and well preserved and very intricately built. We got a guide as otherwise you understand nothing.
He showed us the temples - Temple del Sol, Temple of the 3 Windows (originally named), Temple del Condor. It´s all built based around the sun and on 21st June the shadows line up and many of the sights become clearer than if you just see it on a random day. It was still very impressive and strange to think that so many people used to live here when now it´s so full of tourists!
There was also a rock that was meant to be a llama, one that was meant to be a guinea pig and one that´s a condor. The guinea pig looked more like a whale, you could see the condor with a little imagination and the llama was a square rock. They also grew hallocinogenic plants in the grounds. I don´t know if this is a conincidence.
After our tour we had a nap in the sunshine and watched some Peruvian school kids playing a game in the grounds - it´s amazing how much fun kids can have with nothing. And then there was our assault on Machu Picchu mountain.
Most people climb Huyna Picchu mountain but there were no tickets avaliable so to get the views of the ruins from higher up we climbed Machu Picchu mountain. It was not the climb I had anticipated. It was the most difficult walk I have done so far.
Again, it´s just stairs straight up and, wisely, we decided to try this around midday and so the sun was very strong. It is also much more humid than we were used to and so I have never sweated so much in my life. It wasn´t a very long climb - I think it took us less than an hour - but it felt like much longer. The workers maintaining the stairs seemed to find us entertaining. Although at that point I just wanted to get to the top!
And it was worth it. The views of Machu Picchu were amazing, let alone the surrounding landscape, it was absolutely stunning. There were snow-capped mountains and the cloud hung low, just reaching the mountains and you could see into the valley and were we had walked. It was also my favourite view of Machu Picchu. From 600m higher you really get an idea of how big it is and how long it must have taken them to build it. It´s an amazing construction.
Cusco and Machu Picchu were the last stops in Peru and next is Bolivia. I have only heard good things about it and so am looking forward to getting there although with such a short time left I think it will be quick visit to very few places!
Tuesday, 23 August 2011
Friday, 19 August 2011
Colca Canyon
The Colca Canyon is just outside of Arequipa and you are able to trek and also see the condor there. A must-see if you´re in Peru.
We had to leave very early to get to the Cruz del Condor - on the 1am bus. This meant a fairly cold and intermittent night´s sleep. We sat and ate breakfast at the Cruz del Condor and waited for the birds. It was warming up and more and more people gathered. It was very peaceful sitting there, even if there were lots of people. Everyone was quiet and peaceful and it was lovely in the dawn just sitting there and waiting.
At first there were only a few birds - far away and very small. Everyone got out their cameras and started clicking but you needed a very good zoom to get good pictures! At first I was inclined to agree with what one girl had told us in Baños - the most overrated bird. However, as time went on the birds flew closer and closer to the Mirador (viewpoint) where we were standing and the numbers of them increased.
As they got closer you really got an idea of how big the birds were - they´re huge! The birds were different colours; some brown and some black and white. They seemed to be showing off for us. They circled around the Mirador and they really were beautiful to watch - not overrated at all. Of course, my pictures really don´t reflect how amazing they are.
After seeing the condors we then trekked in the Colca Canyon. I had been told my some-one in Lima that it was dry, but I hadn´t prepared for how dry it was. We first descended into the canyon and the pathway was nothing but dust. It was so thick in places that you really had to watch your step on the downhill, I think we all slipped at least once!
We stayed the night near the bottom of the canyon - we chose the place because of the hot springs and after a long day of walking they were more than welcome!
The next day we started early so we could get back that day. All the trekking I´ve down so far has been in the mountains and so by the time you´re heading back you´ve done the hardest part. Canyons, unsuprisingly are the other way round. After lunch we had the ascent out of the canyon. This was a 1,107m ascent.
Luckily, it turned out to be easier than I expected. I´m not saying that it was a walk in the park but I kept trudging up all the way to the top, and it was a beautiful sight when I got there. As I am already acclimatised I think it made it easier as I wasn´t struggling for breath so much.
There was definetely a well-earned dinner when we got to the town though!
Arequipa
Arequipa is a city in southern Peru and we were lucky enough to be there for Fiesta de Arequpia which celebrates their anniversary. Peru may not do fiestas like Brazil but they certainly don´t do badly!
The first we heard about the fiesta was music. We heard this a lot. There was a parade that went around most of the city and we could hear it coming a long way off! We then watched it coming down the road from the top of our hostel and decided we should go down to the street to watch.
There were so many bright colours! The first people we saw were dancers all dressed in yellow. All along the parade there were bands playing and there was constant music - mostly the same song, but everyone was dancing to it.
There wasn´t just dancers and music. There was also horses, followed by donkeys and then a herd of alpaca. Along the parade there were also trucks and on them were people eating and drinking traditional food - this meant lots of chicha morada (a drink made of purple corn); which they were also giving out for free.
There were also more unexpected things - like dancing clowns. They were all wearing very bright colours, a costume normally made of two different ones - red and yellow, blue and green etc. They were very enthusiastic and one even danced with my friend Verena and then lifted her up! I think that was what was so amazing about the parade - the people taking part were having as much fun, if not more, than we were. Everyone was very proud to be Arequipan and were enjoying celebrating their city.
We did get our turn at joining in as well. The dancers sometimes picked people to dance with them and, as we definetely stood out from the crowd, we were picked more than once. The dance was fairly simple and easy to pick up, but I didn´t dance it half as well as all the little children. It seemed to come so naturally to them, while I felt quite clumsy.
I ended up dancing all the way to the Plaza de Armes (main plaza) and there I stopped to watch having decided that I´d done plenty of dancing. However, a small boy of no more than 6 had other ideas and, even if I had tried to protest, the old women behind me was going to make sure that I joined in the fun. And so, once more, I was part of the parade and I´ve never had so many cameras in my face! I wish I had a photo on my camera as the boy was almost half my size.
The whole celebration was great fun and there was one in the evening as well. This one was made up of slightly older people and the dancing was better. It still had the same energy and enthusiasm that the one during the day had. We only saw the day before the official Fiesta day and apparently on that day there was even more dancing in the streets. You didn´t get anywhere fast by car during the fiesta in Arequipa!
The first we heard about the fiesta was music. We heard this a lot. There was a parade that went around most of the city and we could hear it coming a long way off! We then watched it coming down the road from the top of our hostel and decided we should go down to the street to watch.
There were so many bright colours! The first people we saw were dancers all dressed in yellow. All along the parade there were bands playing and there was constant music - mostly the same song, but everyone was dancing to it.
There wasn´t just dancers and music. There was also horses, followed by donkeys and then a herd of alpaca. Along the parade there were also trucks and on them were people eating and drinking traditional food - this meant lots of chicha morada (a drink made of purple corn); which they were also giving out for free.
There were also more unexpected things - like dancing clowns. They were all wearing very bright colours, a costume normally made of two different ones - red and yellow, blue and green etc. They were very enthusiastic and one even danced with my friend Verena and then lifted her up! I think that was what was so amazing about the parade - the people taking part were having as much fun, if not more, than we were. Everyone was very proud to be Arequipan and were enjoying celebrating their city.
We did get our turn at joining in as well. The dancers sometimes picked people to dance with them and, as we definetely stood out from the crowd, we were picked more than once. The dance was fairly simple and easy to pick up, but I didn´t dance it half as well as all the little children. It seemed to come so naturally to them, while I felt quite clumsy.
I ended up dancing all the way to the Plaza de Armes (main plaza) and there I stopped to watch having decided that I´d done plenty of dancing. However, a small boy of no more than 6 had other ideas and, even if I had tried to protest, the old women behind me was going to make sure that I joined in the fun. And so, once more, I was part of the parade and I´ve never had so many cameras in my face! I wish I had a photo on my camera as the boy was almost half my size.
The whole celebration was great fun and there was one in the evening as well. This one was made up of slightly older people and the dancing was better. It still had the same energy and enthusiasm that the one during the day had. We only saw the day before the official Fiesta day and apparently on that day there was even more dancing in the streets. You didn´t get anywhere fast by car during the fiesta in Arequipa!
Thursday, 11 August 2011
Santa Cruz Trek
The Santa Cruz Trek goes from Huaraz - which is a city that is surrounded by beautiful mountain ranges. It is known for being a beautiful trek. We weren´t to be disappointned.
We had to start very early in the morning - 5.15am on the bus. However, we then got to sleep as we drove up into the mountains. It was gorgeous scenery, but very cold before the sun rose. On the way we got a chance to take some photos of a gorgeous lake - bright blue. This was to be one of many.
Once we had arrived at the start of the trail we waited for the donkeys (we were lucky enough not to have to carry all our things!) and then set off downhill. The first day was relatively easy. We started going down and only had a little bit of uphill. It was very warm as when the sun is shining it gets very hot. It´s just when the sun goes in that you have to make sure you wrap up warm!
Once we got to camp we all put up the tents. It probably took us a little longer than necessary but we did prove the point that boys aren´t necessarily good at putting up tents... We all sat in the communal tent and had tea. A common drink here is mate de coca which is just coca leaves and meant to be very good for altitude. It tastes ok, but I did add lots of sugar when drinking it.
That night was very cold. We had camped above 3000m and you needed lots of layers. It was colder than I expected and we all woke up a lot during the night. Although this may have been partly because of the altitude as well. Unfortunately one of our group had to go back to Huaraz in the morning because of altitude sickness. It was such a shame for her as she had been very excited about the trek.
Day 2 meant we were attempting the pass. This is the highest part of the trek at 4750m, after this we would descend before camping. In the morning, however, the last thing on my mind was altitude. It was freezing! There was frost on the ground and as we were camped in a valley the sun hadn´t reached us when we started walking. Even after walking for 15mintues I still couldn´t feel my toes. I have never seen so many adults get so excited about seeing the sunshine. And 2 minutes later we all were back in t-shirts.
Trekking in a group means you naturally walk at different speeds and so we all trudged up the slopes and across (a little bit of) flat at our own speeds. The scenery was, as always, gorgeous. We were walking in a valley to start with and could always see mountains. The most beautiful were the ones that we saw were just before we started the last climb up to the pass. Which was 500m up. This doesn´t sound like much but when going up to 4750m it is.
The path wasn´t hard. There were huge rocks making up the landscape and you zig-zagged your way between them on the path. It was a case of just keep on walking as once you have a pace going at that altitude you just keep walking up. And once we got over the pass it was definetely worth it. Apart from the feeling of satisfaction the view was amazing. You could see down the valley and straight down to the right there was a gorgeous lake. The mountains rose up from the shore of the lake right to the snowy peaks - my photos definetely don´t do it justice.
We all stumbled through the pass at different times. It was a climb that you do at your own pace. We then sat and had a well earned lunch and then began the walk to camp, at about 4200m. The walk down was nothing compared to the walk up - it was like walking in a park at sea level! We all looked absoutely exhausted when we reached camp and as we sat waiting for dinner we were almost asleep at the table. An early night was definetely needed.
The 3rd and 4th days of the trek were much easier. We walked up to see another lake (you can never get enough of them - sitting beside the shore is so peaceful) and then walked along the valley floor. This did get very hot, but you could see all the water coming down from the mountains on either side.
The 3rd night was also a good night´s sleep! The altitude was lower and we were used to the thinner air. Plus it was warmer. However, the first night we got back to Huaraz I don´t think I´ve ever slept so well in my life. Nor has a shower been more appreciated.
Saturday, 6 August 2011
Lima
After our 21 hour coach drive (and 5 films) we arrived in Lima! Glad to be off the coach and walking but Lima didn´t give a great impression to start with. We were staying in the touristy area; called Miraflores. We had a nice hostel with lovely people but the actual place is very Westernised and had a lot of American chains - McDonalds, Pizza Hut and lots of casinos.
We wondered down to the beach front hoping to be able to get down to the sand. Unfortunately it´s not possible to walk to as there´s a huge cliff so we just went for a walk instead. Lima is also very grey at this time of the year. Apparently it´s hot and sunny in January-March but seems to be quite grey the rest of the time. Getting out of Miraflores gave a more positive impression of Lima - less business like and rich, upper class Peruvians.
The next day, however, we headed to the centre of Lima. This is a much nicer area. There is a park in the centre that is filled with random art work and a theatre that looked like Hanzel and Gretel´s house! There were chalk drawings on the ground which were amazing and seemed to be there just for the sake of being there.
There are also two main plazas in Lima - Plaza de Armes and Plaza San Martin. We were very interested in the Plaza San Martin as there was meant to be a statue of a woman with a llama on her head. We weren´t disappointed! There was a mistranslation in the instructions for the statue - it´s meant to be a crown of flames. A llama is much better though. The other Plaza is gorgeous. It´s surrounded by impressive buildings and has a fountain in the middle. Like most plazas it´s very symmetrical and had lots of grass and flowers. Really nice to walk through.
We also visited a Church while in Lima. We felt we should be a little cultural (we also tried to visit a museum but after much walking around never did...). The Priory San Domingo is just off the Plaza de Armes and included in the entrance is a free tour. It was well worth it and very interesting. It´s a beautifully decorated Church with handpainted tiles in two courtyards that were painted in Spain in the 1600s and shipped across. There was some replacement work in the 1900s to fix the damage after an earthquake and you can really tell the difference in quality. The 1900s tiles are much more faded!
Although Lima gave a bad impression at first it really grew on me. I don´t think I could spend much more time there but it was great getting to know the city centre. It´s bigger and busier than Quito (Ecuador´s capital) and this has it´s disadvantages (Starbucks) but also meant that there is a lot more to do there, almost all of which I really enjoyed.
Tomorrow we´re trekking in the Huaraz region, which we´re both excited for. Time to burn off some of the food we´ve been eating! Hope all´s well in England
We wondered down to the beach front hoping to be able to get down to the sand. Unfortunately it´s not possible to walk to as there´s a huge cliff so we just went for a walk instead. Lima is also very grey at this time of the year. Apparently it´s hot and sunny in January-March but seems to be quite grey the rest of the time. Getting out of Miraflores gave a more positive impression of Lima - less business like and rich, upper class Peruvians.
The next day, however, we headed to the centre of Lima. This is a much nicer area. There is a park in the centre that is filled with random art work and a theatre that looked like Hanzel and Gretel´s house! There were chalk drawings on the ground which were amazing and seemed to be there just for the sake of being there.
There are also two main plazas in Lima - Plaza de Armes and Plaza San Martin. We were very interested in the Plaza San Martin as there was meant to be a statue of a woman with a llama on her head. We weren´t disappointed! There was a mistranslation in the instructions for the statue - it´s meant to be a crown of flames. A llama is much better though. The other Plaza is gorgeous. It´s surrounded by impressive buildings and has a fountain in the middle. Like most plazas it´s very symmetrical and had lots of grass and flowers. Really nice to walk through.
We also visited a Church while in Lima. We felt we should be a little cultural (we also tried to visit a museum but after much walking around never did...). The Priory San Domingo is just off the Plaza de Armes and included in the entrance is a free tour. It was well worth it and very interesting. It´s a beautifully decorated Church with handpainted tiles in two courtyards that were painted in Spain in the 1600s and shipped across. There was some replacement work in the 1900s to fix the damage after an earthquake and you can really tell the difference in quality. The 1900s tiles are much more faded!
Although Lima gave a bad impression at first it really grew on me. I don´t think I could spend much more time there but it was great getting to know the city centre. It´s bigger and busier than Quito (Ecuador´s capital) and this has it´s disadvantages (Starbucks) but also meant that there is a lot more to do there, almost all of which I really enjoyed.
Tomorrow we´re trekking in the Huaraz region, which we´re both excited for. Time to burn off some of the food we´ve been eating! Hope all´s well in England
Monday, 1 August 2011
Some Surfing and Lots of Falling
After the whales we stayed for a while on the beach and we both tried surfing. Tried being the important word.
Having never even touched a surf board before I didn´t really know what to expect but I guessed it would involve a lot of time in the sea - and it did! We got some instruction on land and I realised that jumping up and landing on your feet in the right place on the surfboard, at speed and on the water was going to be much harder than it looks.
The instructions became much clearer once we were on the water and had an example and then we were trying it ourselves. It was great fun but standing up is a difficult and rare occurance! Even when you are standing you need a lot of balance and concentration and I was always more surprised that I wasn´t in the water. I managed to stand up a couple of times and get to the beach - but most of the time we definetely spent in the water and swallowing it.
It was really tiring as we were spending most of our time hoisting ourselves onto the boards and then jumping up using mostly the power in our arms. An hour was more than enough!
There are some pictures that will be posted up soon. We´re now facing a long coach ride down to Lima - plenty of time to catch up on some reading...
Having never even touched a surf board before I didn´t really know what to expect but I guessed it would involve a lot of time in the sea - and it did! We got some instruction on land and I realised that jumping up and landing on your feet in the right place on the surfboard, at speed and on the water was going to be much harder than it looks.
The instructions became much clearer once we were on the water and had an example and then we were trying it ourselves. It was great fun but standing up is a difficult and rare occurance! Even when you are standing you need a lot of balance and concentration and I was always more surprised that I wasn´t in the water. I managed to stand up a couple of times and get to the beach - but most of the time we definetely spent in the water and swallowing it.
It was really tiring as we were spending most of our time hoisting ourselves onto the boards and then jumping up using mostly the power in our arms. An hour was more than enough!
There are some pictures that will be posted up soon. We´re now facing a long coach ride down to Lima - plenty of time to catch up on some reading...
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