This entry covers 13 - 16 November
Day 1:
In my excitement, I accidentally added hot milk to my cereal this morning…its not as bad as you may think! The 1st few songs on my ipod when departing Cusco for Ollaytantambo could not have been more polar:
1. Chariots of Fire
2. Children (Robert Miles)
3. Chop Suey (System of a Down)!
I picked up a simple walking stick (otherwise referred to by the others as ¨the wand¨) in Ollaytantambo and accordingly completed my hiking attire with no less than 5 colour coded items…shoes, shirt, cap, stick and of course my doondies all a brilliant green. We met up with Wilbert (the main guide), Oubert (Wilbert´s sidekick) and the 17 porters just outside Ollaytantambo and before we knew it we had started the infamous Inca Trail. Day 1 was a gentle affair affording the guides the opportunity to gauge the group´s ability. 3 hours later and we had reached our 1st campsite (already set up by the porters)…to applause from the porters and bowls of warm water at the base of our tents and stuffed trout for lunch…camping 1st class! The afternoon was spent hanging around and taking photos of our 1st Inca ruin…I tried to teach Jim the art of flicking stones to which a local gave us such a death stare we were left hands behind our backs in typical naughty schoolboy fashion. I didn´t realize how universal the game of shithead was…even Wilbert declined an explanation of the rules and so our inaugural Inca card game was played.
Nicknames so far for the trek:John - Phoenix / LP / Bomber
Alison - NaughtySylvia - PolishLynda - Pooh FootMe - Randolf / GrinchPeter - Peter Selles / the Meditator
Day 2:This was certainly the toughest day of the trek. While not the longest day on foot (5 hours), we climbed all day to the highest point of the trail at 4215m. Switch backs were the order of the day to help regulate potential runaway heart rates… mine peaked at 168 beats per minute and made numerous attempts to make the leap of faith into my mouth. The vibe at the peak was awesome with a crowd of hikers clapping each ¨finisher¨of the climb. Captain Pisco made a memorable appearance in a photo with Jim, Tracey and John before we turned to decend down the other side. Topics of conversation ranged from Lord of the Rings to Harry Potter to Germany post WW2. John claimed to have been born in the wrong era and assured us that he would have made a great bomber pilot given the astute accuracy required when hovering over the ablutions...We also introduced the song game while traipsing through the wilderness: dudes have to come up with a song with the word called by the winner of the previous round, hence John´s nickname of LP as he continued to amaze us with songs from that era.
Day 3:
We got our firs taste of Amazonian territories spending the majority of the day walking through what can be best described as a wet bathroom feel. The vegetation was dense and light drizzle allowed me to proudly whip out my 15 year old poncho (handed down from my boet…it still had the price tag on the package written in ink…R15.39!)
Some arbitrary story about South Africa caught the attention of an innocent Irish lass called Laura…a teacher who managed to take the world chatting contest in 2004 and made a serious challenge to the Shait Talking Inca Trail contest. Her super company made the hours fly by and after stopping to soak up the vibe…600m drops into Jurassic Park like terrain, before long we had reached our tents which clung to the mountain slope like a plastic bags scragged to a bush. Finding our campsite proved to me more challenging than the day´s hike…abaho / arriva being the options to choose from. We managed to locate our homes and made a dash for the showers (3 days of hiking tends to make one somewhat shvitzy!). Wilbert held an ntroductory ceremony for the porters and Captain Sapo made yet another fantastic appearance with the current Inca Trail Marathon Champion….a 35 year old porter in our group holds the record for the fastest Traditional Inca Trail (42kms) in around 5 hours…Bruce Fordyce would be proud of this on the road and this guy did it on rough terrain at altitudes ranging between 3500m and 4200m and certainly not flat!!!
Day 4:
Up at 4am so that we could get to the front of the queue for the Machupicchu National Park…I thought we´d done well to down our breakfasts and pack up to reach the gates by 5am only to find at least 100 other mofo´s standing in line. Jim and I couldn´t contain our energy and proceeded to invent one of the greatest games ever to be invented with limited tools and lots of time on the Inca Trail…derived from the sport of sumo wrestling, the involved drawing a circle in the sand and trying to hit our own stones (using our walking stick) into the opposition´s stone and out of the ring in the sand. Before long, this simple game had drawn a substantial crowd who were obviously bored out of there skulls knowing what awaited then just 2 hours away. Bets were being tallied and fellow contenders made their challenges…clearly experience was the winner as Jim and I tended to hold our own against ¨wrestlers¨ from all corners of the globe.
We finally got through the park gates at a gentle sprint…the Sun Gate being the target…we were certainly not disappointed. Yet another cracker of a day and mist clearing the travel guide shot of Machupicchu (it wouldn´t be the same without the mist!). It has been estimated that the site was built over a 70 year period by the Inca´s from around 1380 by 250k workers. They occupied this mystical place until the arrival of the Spaniards in 1624 who ransacked as much as they could in an attempt to eliminate all non-Catholic beliefs only to be rediscovered by H. Bingham in 1911. Wilbert took us on a guided tour of the ruins which included the rock mines (where the Inca´s sourced their building material), the sacred plaza (priests abode, sun dial, sacrifice table, 3 temple windows and the diamond rock compass). Legend has it that the priests used all the above to predict the seasons and moon solstices although had to sacrifices and drink the blood of a llama for an accurate forecast…
We met up with the rest of the GAP group in Machupicchu and some had kindly organized tickets to climb Waynapicchu (the new mountain)…the one you see as the backdrop to the famous photo of Machupicchu. We had to be swift as the train was leaving Machupicchu in 2 hours so we hot footed it up the mountain. I would have to say that steep is an understatement and were only too relived to find out AFTERWWARDS that a French dude slipped off the narrow stairs and his body was only found a couple of months later! The view from the tops was simply breathtaking. Perched on top of the highest rock, Alain, Bair, Katrin and I took it all in for a good 20 minutes before making the cariest descent known to man. I knew those Inca´s were small people but making those stairs only a couple inches wide on an adrenalin pumping vertical cliff was a joke! Did I mention that they built a house (also made of stone) about 90% of the way to the top! Some would say they were inspired...I reckon the Inca Kings were nuts!
The return trip took longer than the way up (in aid of saving our lives) and we ended up sprinting through the Machupicchu Ruins which had turned into a giant maze trapping us at every tunr in our attempts to make the last bus to the train station...out of breath and sweaty we clambered onto the bus as it was pulling away...for some the train ride (in 1st class nog al) is a highlight with windows allowing close on 360 degrees viewing, but for me it was respite from 4 days of hiking and a gallop up and down a 500m cliff. Some crazy dude dressed in Inca kit jumped out of the ¨banos¨ and made a helleva racket while we tried to catch some shut eye.
Cusco
This entry covers 11 & 12 November
Our last night in Puno proved to be the final test in preparation for the Inca Trail…this hotel could not have been built on more than 50 square metres of ground but towered 6 floors into the sky, making it one of the tallest buildings in Puno! Rooming on the 1st floor was incorrectly taken as a blessing as meals where served on the roof level…a lift could not be squeezed into the architect’s plans. Fro some reason, the kitchen severely under catered for breakfast which made for an interesting meal of ham, cheese and jam on stale cake. Just the carbs I needed for the 7 hour bus ride to Cusco.
We settled into our new hotel (note the 12th unpack of the tour!) and met Wilbert who gave us a breakdown of the Inca Trail…what to bring and what to expect although no words could possibly describe what we experienced a couple days later. Once again, the 3 amigos were made roomies. I was awoken to what sounded like TV´s being thrown around the room…Peter (Selles) had made an attempted loo break around 1.30am and proceeded to knock over everything from water vases to cell phones to tripping over his hiking boots…needless to say he invested in a head torch in the morning! Carolina took us on a walk through Cusco which included the 12 sided stone known as Hatunrumiyac, Plaza San Blas (a plaza dedicated to Peruvian and Inca art), the Hemp Café, Soleta Saraninas (Pre-colonial museum), the Inca Museum, the Plaza de Armas. Iglasia La Merced (which houses the 2nd largest gym in the world…the grooming of many gold medal Peruvian weightlifters?, and Mercado Central (the local food market). For the 1st time in my life, I felt obliged to turn sideways to let people pass in the streets…a combination of broad shoulders and 3 foot wide pavements!
Feels like Xmas is tomorrow with the Inca Trail looming. Nothing like passing time with a smut session between the 3 amigos…
Our last night in Puno proved to be the final test in preparation for the Inca Trail…this hotel could not have been built on more than 50 square metres of ground but towered 6 floors into the sky, making it one of the tallest buildings in Puno! Rooming on the 1st floor was incorrectly taken as a blessing as meals where served on the roof level…a lift could not be squeezed into the architect’s plans. Fro some reason, the kitchen severely under catered for breakfast which made for an interesting meal of ham, cheese and jam on stale cake. Just the carbs I needed for the 7 hour bus ride to Cusco.
We settled into our new hotel (note the 12th unpack of the tour!) and met Wilbert who gave us a breakdown of the Inca Trail…what to bring and what to expect although no words could possibly describe what we experienced a couple days later. Once again, the 3 amigos were made roomies. I was awoken to what sounded like TV´s being thrown around the room…Peter (Selles) had made an attempted loo break around 1.30am and proceeded to knock over everything from water vases to cell phones to tripping over his hiking boots…needless to say he invested in a head torch in the morning! Carolina took us on a walk through Cusco which included the 12 sided stone known as Hatunrumiyac, Plaza San Blas (a plaza dedicated to Peruvian and Inca art), the Hemp Café, Soleta Saraninas (Pre-colonial museum), the Inca Museum, the Plaza de Armas. Iglasia La Merced (which houses the 2nd largest gym in the world…the grooming of many gold medal Peruvian weightlifters?, and Mercado Central (the local food market). For the 1st time in my life, I felt obliged to turn sideways to let people pass in the streets…a combination of broad shoulders and 3 foot wide pavements!
Feels like Xmas is tomorrow with the Inca Trail looming. Nothing like passing time with a smut session between the 3 amigos…
Puno (Lake Titicaca)
This entry covers 8 - 10 November
8 November
I spent the afternoon strolling the streets of Puno with Blair and Maurene and bought fruit as gifts for our home stay on the island tomorrow. I also bumped into a panting John (suffering from water on the lungs from the altitude) and decided to take some time out over a coffee on a tiny balcony overlooking Puno’s Plaza de Armas (Moysa Café).
9 November
Lake Titicaca (Taquile & Amantani home stay):
Today we took a 35km barge ride onto Lake Titicaca.
Some stats...
- titi: puma, caca: grey, puma of grey colour)
- 3810m above sea level, 165km long, 60km wide, deepest point: 275m, 50/50 between Peru & Bolivia, 5 native and 2 exotic fish (trout, kingfish), the local monster of the water is a 45cm frog discovered by Jacque Custo.
Our 1st stop was Taquile Island. We scaled hillside to a tiny little restaurant with a magnifiscent view of the lake below. I mowed through trout for lunch (so much for loss of appetite at altitude!) and Manuel (the local tour guide) gave us a brief history of the island and its traditions. I decided that our group also needed a bit of culture and managed to convince the men that Movember is the way forward with the ultimate achievement being a handful of smiling moustaches at the peak of the Inca Trail!
We had a crash course on Quechua on our way to Amantani Island where we were greeted by our families. Lukresha took us up to her humble abode to drop off our bits and pieces where we met the rest of the family. We kept climbing to the island’s concrete sports ground where we took on the local lighties in a game of soccer. A coke was agreed to be the winners’ prize and provided the necessary incentive to take the heart rate up to 180…only to discover that this was a basic appearance fee for the locals after a memorable 2-1 victory to the Gringo’s!
Peter, John and I crammed into our family’s tiny kitchen come dining room for dinner…I couldn’t help smiling at the absurd conversations torn between Quechua, Spanish, English and Swedish…One times tired Peter was our saviour with some Spanish to draw on but kept translating into Swedish instead of Spanish. Peter is really coming into his own and is pure entertainment…the striking resemblance with Peter Selles from the Pink Panther is remarkable…the foreign accent overpowering his English translations all the while his mind ticking over as if from another planet!
Peter expressions: “Goods heaven!”
and following me questioning his dancing skills he replied with
“Its funny” instead of “Its fun”…
even better is the fact that he laughs out loud at his mispronunciations which relieves us holding back our laughter. We handed over our gifts of fruit, myre and gold (felt like the 3 kings from the Bible!) and cashed in on the Borat greeting of kisses on both cheeks. The highlight of the home stay was definitely the evening in the town hall where we were treated to both local and mixed (local & Gringo) dancing to tunes passed down though the centuries.
10 November
I spent the next morning on a nearby hilltop lying in the morning sun before returning for breakfast at 7am. As I rounded the corner to the house I was confronted with a rather awekward situation…whether to treat the half naked Lukresha cleaning herself over a bowl of water as the norm, or make a right turn and heading for the hills...I decided to go with the former seeing as I was too committed to the moment by the time she realized I was there.
Uros Floating Islands
On our way back to Puno we stopped off at Lake Titicaca´s floating islands which had its roots 600 years ago when the Uros people decided to use 1000´s of reed boats to hide from the all conquering Inca´s. Over time, the Uros decided to join forces out on the lake by connecting their reed boats together creating 60 islands which currently boasts electricity, a junior school and Viking looking reed boats for the tourists to be paddled about by stout oresmen with the thickest fingers I´ve ever come across.
I seem to be coming up with pearler quotes. the most recent directed at Suzanne (my surrogate mother from Canada) thanking her for breaking wind given the chilly wind that was sweeping across the lake!
Once back on land, the majority of the group decided to make tracks for the Yuvari Steamboat. The Captain of this 146 year old gunboat (Carlos Saavedra) was an absolute beauty who not only gave us insightful stories about the history of this legendary vessel but also threw in his views on the how the industrial revolution formed the basis of everything we discover today, the plight of the Peruvians and the country´s blunders in South American politics, the overdone Incas, and even threw in his thoughts on life...¨one can´t change the past, only manipulate the future¨ and ¨never stop travelling¨... The Yavari was 1 of 5 ships ordered by the Peruvian government to look after the country´s important waters (the coastline, Lake Titicaca and the Amazon Basin). The ship arrived at Lake Tititica in 2766 pieces. Aside from the fact that this boat needed to be assembled on sight, it also needed to be hauled by mules over the Andes taking 6 years from the UK to Lake Titicaca. After 15 years of service on the Yuvuri, Captain Saavedra had decided not to be held down by the routine of society and is heading north in December to skipper a ship from the Carribean to the Bulge of Africa where he intends to make a new life for himself...what a passionate man!
8 November
I spent the afternoon strolling the streets of Puno with Blair and Maurene and bought fruit as gifts for our home stay on the island tomorrow. I also bumped into a panting John (suffering from water on the lungs from the altitude) and decided to take some time out over a coffee on a tiny balcony overlooking Puno’s Plaza de Armas (Moysa Café).
9 November
Lake Titicaca (Taquile & Amantani home stay):
Today we took a 35km barge ride onto Lake Titicaca.
Some stats...
- titi: puma, caca: grey, puma of grey colour)
- 3810m above sea level, 165km long, 60km wide, deepest point: 275m, 50/50 between Peru & Bolivia, 5 native and 2 exotic fish (trout, kingfish), the local monster of the water is a 45cm frog discovered by Jacque Custo.
Our 1st stop was Taquile Island. We scaled hillside to a tiny little restaurant with a magnifiscent view of the lake below. I mowed through trout for lunch (so much for loss of appetite at altitude!) and Manuel (the local tour guide) gave us a brief history of the island and its traditions. I decided that our group also needed a bit of culture and managed to convince the men that Movember is the way forward with the ultimate achievement being a handful of smiling moustaches at the peak of the Inca Trail!
We had a crash course on Quechua on our way to Amantani Island where we were greeted by our families. Lukresha took us up to her humble abode to drop off our bits and pieces where we met the rest of the family. We kept climbing to the island’s concrete sports ground where we took on the local lighties in a game of soccer. A coke was agreed to be the winners’ prize and provided the necessary incentive to take the heart rate up to 180…only to discover that this was a basic appearance fee for the locals after a memorable 2-1 victory to the Gringo’s!
Peter, John and I crammed into our family’s tiny kitchen come dining room for dinner…I couldn’t help smiling at the absurd conversations torn between Quechua, Spanish, English and Swedish…One times tired Peter was our saviour with some Spanish to draw on but kept translating into Swedish instead of Spanish. Peter is really coming into his own and is pure entertainment…the striking resemblance with Peter Selles from the Pink Panther is remarkable…the foreign accent overpowering his English translations all the while his mind ticking over as if from another planet!
Peter expressions: “Goods heaven!”
and following me questioning his dancing skills he replied with
“Its funny” instead of “Its fun”…
even better is the fact that he laughs out loud at his mispronunciations which relieves us holding back our laughter. We handed over our gifts of fruit, myre and gold (felt like the 3 kings from the Bible!) and cashed in on the Borat greeting of kisses on both cheeks. The highlight of the home stay was definitely the evening in the town hall where we were treated to both local and mixed (local & Gringo) dancing to tunes passed down though the centuries.
10 November
I spent the next morning on a nearby hilltop lying in the morning sun before returning for breakfast at 7am. As I rounded the corner to the house I was confronted with a rather awekward situation…whether to treat the half naked Lukresha cleaning herself over a bowl of water as the norm, or make a right turn and heading for the hills...I decided to go with the former seeing as I was too committed to the moment by the time she realized I was there.
Uros Floating Islands
On our way back to Puno we stopped off at Lake Titicaca´s floating islands which had its roots 600 years ago when the Uros people decided to use 1000´s of reed boats to hide from the all conquering Inca´s. Over time, the Uros decided to join forces out on the lake by connecting their reed boats together creating 60 islands which currently boasts electricity, a junior school and Viking looking reed boats for the tourists to be paddled about by stout oresmen with the thickest fingers I´ve ever come across.
I seem to be coming up with pearler quotes. the most recent directed at Suzanne (my surrogate mother from Canada) thanking her for breaking wind given the chilly wind that was sweeping across the lake!
Once back on land, the majority of the group decided to make tracks for the Yuvari Steamboat. The Captain of this 146 year old gunboat (Carlos Saavedra) was an absolute beauty who not only gave us insightful stories about the history of this legendary vessel but also threw in his views on the how the industrial revolution formed the basis of everything we discover today, the plight of the Peruvians and the country´s blunders in South American politics, the overdone Incas, and even threw in his thoughts on life...¨one can´t change the past, only manipulate the future¨ and ¨never stop travelling¨... The Yavari was 1 of 5 ships ordered by the Peruvian government to look after the country´s important waters (the coastline, Lake Titicaca and the Amazon Basin). The ship arrived at Lake Tititica in 2766 pieces. Aside from the fact that this boat needed to be assembled on sight, it also needed to be hauled by mules over the Andes taking 6 years from the UK to Lake Titicaca. After 15 years of service on the Yuvuri, Captain Saavedra had decided not to be held down by the routine of society and is heading north in December to skipper a ship from the Carribean to the Bulge of Africa where he intends to make a new life for himself...what a passionate man!
Colca Canyons
This entry covers 6 - 7 November
6 November
The team woke up to its 1st full breakfast on toer which required no 2nd invitation in anticipation of the 4 hour bus ride to Colca. The Aquaflorida was dished out by the tour guide at around 4000m above sea level. This fumes from this local remedy is inhaled and rubbed onto the forehead. We stopped for pictures of Vicuna (one of the local camels of the Andes) and a mixed tea drink called mune (coca leaves, chachacama). It was here that I found the ultimate daypack…handmade and super steamy...officially in the vibe!
We stopped for a herd of Llamas at around 4300m and agrred with myself that I was feeling very chilled and spaced out on this alien landscape. Surprisingly, a shirt and shorts provided more than enough protection from the elements. Logical thought processes deserted me at 4500m and by the time we reached Patapampa (the pinnacle of our bus ride at 4900m) making a trip to the loo had become a seriously arduous task! We arrived in Chivay (3570m) and enjoyed a typical (local) brunch followed buy a walk around the Plaza de Armas (all Peruvian towns have these). Local women and children paraded the square with Llamas on leads in the hope of picking up a photo for a couple Soles to which Peter (the eccentric Swedish ballie) obliged.
The 2 hour walk through the myriad of highland terraces, stone walls and aqueducts made truly spectacular photographing. Even novices like me managed to capture some awesome shots. From cows mowing the pastures to tiny cacti protecting the brilliant green pastures from hungry beasts, we were rewarded with a diamond in the rough of a hotel…Mama Yachi. Feeling a little svitzy I jumped into the shower and the musty smelling water brought flooding memories of Carrach Lake in Underberg.
7 November
A 2 hour bus ride to the popular Cruz del Condor included sights of cavernous glacial fissures and a photo session of the 121 terraces that climbs the impressive mountain side. While the condor viewing point was littered with stacks of tourists, the Andean Condors didn’t disappoint, taking to the thermals as we arrived (90cm tall, 3m wingspan, 70km/h). Digi had his work cut out alongside hundreds of telescopic lenses that fired away at 3 shots a second! Our tour group decided to get away from all the action with another 1½ hike into the wilderness. The scenery and complete silence was quite breathtaking (aside from the altitude!). The day was rounded off with Cuscena beers in the hot springs, live bands and local dancing over dinner.
Thought for the day: these are the happiest poor people I have ever come across...
6 November
The team woke up to its 1st full breakfast on toer which required no 2nd invitation in anticipation of the 4 hour bus ride to Colca. The Aquaflorida was dished out by the tour guide at around 4000m above sea level. This fumes from this local remedy is inhaled and rubbed onto the forehead. We stopped for pictures of Vicuna (one of the local camels of the Andes) and a mixed tea drink called mune (coca leaves, chachacama). It was here that I found the ultimate daypack…handmade and super steamy...officially in the vibe!
We stopped for a herd of Llamas at around 4300m and agrred with myself that I was feeling very chilled and spaced out on this alien landscape. Surprisingly, a shirt and shorts provided more than enough protection from the elements. Logical thought processes deserted me at 4500m and by the time we reached Patapampa (the pinnacle of our bus ride at 4900m) making a trip to the loo had become a seriously arduous task! We arrived in Chivay (3570m) and enjoyed a typical (local) brunch followed buy a walk around the Plaza de Armas (all Peruvian towns have these). Local women and children paraded the square with Llamas on leads in the hope of picking up a photo for a couple Soles to which Peter (the eccentric Swedish ballie) obliged.
The 2 hour walk through the myriad of highland terraces, stone walls and aqueducts made truly spectacular photographing. Even novices like me managed to capture some awesome shots. From cows mowing the pastures to tiny cacti protecting the brilliant green pastures from hungry beasts, we were rewarded with a diamond in the rough of a hotel…Mama Yachi. Feeling a little svitzy I jumped into the shower and the musty smelling water brought flooding memories of Carrach Lake in Underberg.
7 November
A 2 hour bus ride to the popular Cruz del Condor included sights of cavernous glacial fissures and a photo session of the 121 terraces that climbs the impressive mountain side. While the condor viewing point was littered with stacks of tourists, the Andean Condors didn’t disappoint, taking to the thermals as we arrived (90cm tall, 3m wingspan, 70km/h). Digi had his work cut out alongside hundreds of telescopic lenses that fired away at 3 shots a second! Our tour group decided to get away from all the action with another 1½ hike into the wilderness. The scenery and complete silence was quite breathtaking (aside from the altitude!). The day was rounded off with Cuscena beers in the hot springs, live bands and local dancing over dinner.
Thought for the day: these are the happiest poor people I have ever come across...
Arequipa
This entry covers 5 November
We arrived in the 2nd largest city of Peru to bright sunshine and friendly faces. My shoebox of a single room overlooked the next door neighbour’s porch which saw more action than the Coon Carnival.
After a sneaky cup of coca tea to help acclimatize, Katrin and I decided to take on this quaint little town with our first pit stop being the Santa Theresa Monestary. The 21 nuns are insulated from the world around them and spend their days praying, painting, sowing and making puppets for public display. The only contact permissable with the outside world include attending the doctor or dentist or via spinning doors sunken into the 2 metre thick walls where gifts can be exchanged with family and friends.The pretty guide made an attempt at convincing us that one of the Baby Jesus puppets escapes his cabinet when its time to change his clothes only to return later leaving his toys (gifts from the local community) strewn across the floor. We also bumped into the archangels: Raphael (the fisherman who cures blindness), Gabriel (donning a flower and looks after children) and Michael (the warrior who always has a sword). The central quad had a beautiful garden and a 298 year old Olive Tree in the middle.
With stomach’s aching we followed our noses to the nearest food deli called La Canasta with an awesome outside terrace.
After lunch we headed for the world renowned Juanita Mummy Museum…a human sacrifice to the Pachamama Gods (local God of the earth). Laden with pottery, ceramics and sandals on their feet, this 12 year old girl together with a couple of priests scaled the 6312m Ampato Volcano to make their divine offering for the next life. Juanita was chosen at birth for this role and was considered the ultimate sacrifice given her purity and innocence. The ceremony required that Juanita consume some drugged liquid followed by a blow to the head only to be found between 1000 and 1400 years later.
The rest of the afternoon was spent hunting for a steamy Inca headband which proved more difficult than anticipated given the vastness of the many stores selling local souvenirs, arts and crafts. I was lead into the back of one of these stores by one of the traders and introduced to an ancient lady who was minding her own business behind piles of Alpaca jackets and t-shirts. She pulled out a black plastic bag from behind the stand and presented the headband of all headbands.
Other observations of this superb city where the one product per street rule which I can only assume was enforced by the mayor to stimulate diversification and competitive pricing…from stationary equipment to house cleaning products to clothing…yet neither variety nor unique pricing has been achieved as each trader has agreed to sell exactly the same product for the same price!
I had my 1st stab at Alpaca steak for dinner which was a dry yet tasty beef and back bacon flavour. Carolina (the tour guide) assured us of the buzzing nightlife so we made our way to De Ja Vu for some Machupichu Sours and a live band which played mostly western commercial stuff…it was a lekker vibe which left Katrin and I staggering back to the hotel (alcohol gives one a solid skop at altitude!).
We arrived in the 2nd largest city of Peru to bright sunshine and friendly faces. My shoebox of a single room overlooked the next door neighbour’s porch which saw more action than the Coon Carnival.
After a sneaky cup of coca tea to help acclimatize, Katrin and I decided to take on this quaint little town with our first pit stop being the Santa Theresa Monestary. The 21 nuns are insulated from the world around them and spend their days praying, painting, sowing and making puppets for public display. The only contact permissable with the outside world include attending the doctor or dentist or via spinning doors sunken into the 2 metre thick walls where gifts can be exchanged with family and friends.The pretty guide made an attempt at convincing us that one of the Baby Jesus puppets escapes his cabinet when its time to change his clothes only to return later leaving his toys (gifts from the local community) strewn across the floor. We also bumped into the archangels: Raphael (the fisherman who cures blindness), Gabriel (donning a flower and looks after children) and Michael (the warrior who always has a sword). The central quad had a beautiful garden and a 298 year old Olive Tree in the middle.
With stomach’s aching we followed our noses to the nearest food deli called La Canasta with an awesome outside terrace.
After lunch we headed for the world renowned Juanita Mummy Museum…a human sacrifice to the Pachamama Gods (local God of the earth). Laden with pottery, ceramics and sandals on their feet, this 12 year old girl together with a couple of priests scaled the 6312m Ampato Volcano to make their divine offering for the next life. Juanita was chosen at birth for this role and was considered the ultimate sacrifice given her purity and innocence. The ceremony required that Juanita consume some drugged liquid followed by a blow to the head only to be found between 1000 and 1400 years later.
The rest of the afternoon was spent hunting for a steamy Inca headband which proved more difficult than anticipated given the vastness of the many stores selling local souvenirs, arts and crafts. I was lead into the back of one of these stores by one of the traders and introduced to an ancient lady who was minding her own business behind piles of Alpaca jackets and t-shirts. She pulled out a black plastic bag from behind the stand and presented the headband of all headbands.
Other observations of this superb city where the one product per street rule which I can only assume was enforced by the mayor to stimulate diversification and competitive pricing…from stationary equipment to house cleaning products to clothing…yet neither variety nor unique pricing has been achieved as each trader has agreed to sell exactly the same product for the same price!
I had my 1st stab at Alpaca steak for dinner which was a dry yet tasty beef and back bacon flavour. Carolina (the tour guide) assured us of the buzzing nightlife so we made our way to De Ja Vu for some Machupichu Sours and a live band which played mostly western commercial stuff…it was a lekker vibe which left Katrin and I staggering back to the hotel (alcohol gives one a solid skop at altitude!).
Nasca Lines --> Arequipa
This entry covers 4 to 5 November
A short bus ride to the airport and we where boarding a tiny cessna. Capitan Vaso secured front seat in the plane and the propellors began to spin. Within seconds we were hovering like a dragonfly over the Nasca Lines lurching from left to right to give everyone an opportunity to see these odd geoglyphs´that were etched into the rock between 300BC and 600AD. Catching these on camera required a steady hand and super human levels of concentration noit to let rip into the papewr bags provided just in case. I must admit it was rather éery trying to place these lines...how, why, who?
From the airport, we made our way to the Icachincha cemetaries of Nasca from the 1000 to 1476 AD era. Buried clse to the aqueducts / dry river beds (representing the afterlife) individuals and families were buried in sitting positions facing the rising sun in the east clad with jewelry and ceramics for the afterlife. Each burial site was simply covered with wooden logs for easy access when another family member needed to be added. Unfortunately robbers raided the offerings for the afterlife and left the tombs exposed to the elements only to be covered in sand by the prevailing dry winds to be discovered by archeologists in 1996. What was left folowing the raids has been really well preserved given the super dry climate and protection from the sand. While ít was tradition at the time to grow one´s hair, many of the mummies´ hair continued to grow after death...their hair is currently 2m long!
The rest of the afternoon was for us (at last) so i decided to park easy by the hotel pool réading my book and dozing in the late afternoon sun. We had dinner in the town of Nasca and psyched ourseloves up for an 8 hours nightbus which departed at 10.30pm. They had reclinable seats which was a treat although the number of twists and turns in the road gave some indication of the mountainous terrain we were traversing (in the dark)! Daytlight welcomed the caverness conyons of the Colca area and the bustling town of Arequipa. The contract between the caverness arid mountains and the green pastures in their shadow could be put on a postcard.
This was the start of day 5 of the tour which I will update you on in due course.
A short bus ride to the airport and we where boarding a tiny cessna. Capitan Vaso secured front seat in the plane and the propellors began to spin. Within seconds we were hovering like a dragonfly over the Nasca Lines lurching from left to right to give everyone an opportunity to see these odd geoglyphs´that were etched into the rock between 300BC and 600AD. Catching these on camera required a steady hand and super human levels of concentration noit to let rip into the papewr bags provided just in case. I must admit it was rather éery trying to place these lines...how, why, who?
From the airport, we made our way to the Icachincha cemetaries of Nasca from the 1000 to 1476 AD era. Buried clse to the aqueducts / dry river beds (representing the afterlife) individuals and families were buried in sitting positions facing the rising sun in the east clad with jewelry and ceramics for the afterlife. Each burial site was simply covered with wooden logs for easy access when another family member needed to be added. Unfortunately robbers raided the offerings for the afterlife and left the tombs exposed to the elements only to be covered in sand by the prevailing dry winds to be discovered by archeologists in 1996. What was left folowing the raids has been really well preserved given the super dry climate and protection from the sand. While ít was tradition at the time to grow one´s hair, many of the mummies´ hair continued to grow after death...their hair is currently 2m long!
The rest of the afternoon was for us (at last) so i decided to park easy by the hotel pool réading my book and dozing in the late afternoon sun. We had dinner in the town of Nasca and psyched ourseloves up for an 8 hours nightbus which departed at 10.30pm. They had reclinable seats which was a treat although the number of twists and turns in the road gave some indication of the mountainous terrain we were traversing (in the dark)! Daytlight welcomed the caverness conyons of the Colca area and the bustling town of Arequipa. The contract between the caverness arid mountains and the green pastures in their shadow could be put on a postcard.
This was the start of day 5 of the tour which I will update you on in due course.
Lima --> Pisco --> Nasca
This entry covers 2 to 3 November
Well the toer through Peru has finally begun. A 5 hour bus ride to Pisco gave us all enough time to become well acquainted and the team is as follows:
Carolina: the Peruvian tour guide, John: a supèr friendly Englishman, Jim & Tracey: young couple from UK and Tazmania respectively, Blair & Morene, Linda and Silvia: English speaking Canadians, Danielle, Susanne & Alain: French speaking Canadians, Barbara: a mouse of a lady from New Zealand (recently retired), Chrstina: young German lass and good old Peter from Sweden.
The bus ride confirmed the deserted state of affairs in Peru....dry like a bone with shale cliff`s diving into the ocean below. The random oasis along the way drew comparisons with what I would imagine Egypt to look like. We arrived at Posaso Hispana Hotel in Lima at dusk and had a quick stroll through the quaint little town which was ravaged by an earthquake just last year. I´m guessing the majority of the local's daylight hours are spent rebuilding the town as many buildings are still half complete with gaping holes and missing walls. Sadly, around 300 people were killed in the earthquake when the main town cathedral collapsed during a Sunday prayer session. Weaving between these tiny 3 wheeler taxis, we made our way back to the hotel to be entertained at dinner by a father and son combo playing the guitar, drum and cross between harmonica's and flutes...multitasking was the clearly the winner of the day and I think I showed these 2 up in gorging myself with seabass, pisco sours and good company.
The morning of the 3rd was spent taking an organised Pisco Sours tour thru one of the local distillaries. The process is still pretty primitive with the crushing stage being performed by 10 barefeet for 8 hours a day! The 2 ton Huaranco press sorts out the men from the women afterwhich the liquid is heated in an oven. The process is completed by distillation where 3 concentrations of sours is produced...60 to 80% (discarded), 20 to 60% and 0 to 20% alcohol concentrations are seperated and bottled. We got to sample the sweet (8%), semi sweet (22%) and pisco (42%). It was flippen hot so everyone held fire on getting stuck in especially seeing as we still had an afternoon of sandboarding in the desert to come...the dune buggies looked fit for Mars with engines the size of tractors and steel frames to givce some sort of idea what we were in for. The driving skills of the guides was incredible attacking these 50 foot wave like dunes at high speed only to drop over the other side held back only by our seatbelts. Before long we had made our way into the depths of nothingness...majestic dunes all around and a mountain range on the horizon. While I was quite relieved when the 1st duneboarding demonstration meant we only had to head down these small sand mountains on our bellies, being tipped over the edge by the guide with your chin a mere inches from eternal beardlessness...the ride was truely exhilirating. 3 more rides later with sand in every orifice we treated ourselves to a well deserved swim in the hotel pool (in the middle of the desert)!
Nasca was our next destination (thankfully not far from Pisco). On entry, we stopped briefly to climb the viewing tower just 10m off the Panamerican Highway to check out the hand and tree geoglyphs of the world reknowned Nasca Lines. We checked into our hotel and got stuck into some dinner and idle banter with the group. Carolina organised an impressive cake to celebrate John's bday which got him so excited he proceeded to start downing everything within reach at the table. That spurred Peter on who's quircky nature and incomprehensible speech under the influence an absolute pleasure to watch! Hermy was given a new name/s: Capitan Pisco / Vaso...no one really knows which name was settled upon. After an actions packed day, the bed was welcomed with open arms by all.
Well the toer through Peru has finally begun. A 5 hour bus ride to Pisco gave us all enough time to become well acquainted and the team is as follows:
Carolina: the Peruvian tour guide, John: a supèr friendly Englishman, Jim & Tracey: young couple from UK and Tazmania respectively, Blair & Morene, Linda and Silvia: English speaking Canadians, Danielle, Susanne & Alain: French speaking Canadians, Barbara: a mouse of a lady from New Zealand (recently retired), Chrstina: young German lass and good old Peter from Sweden.
The bus ride confirmed the deserted state of affairs in Peru....dry like a bone with shale cliff`s diving into the ocean below. The random oasis along the way drew comparisons with what I would imagine Egypt to look like. We arrived at Posaso Hispana Hotel in Lima at dusk and had a quick stroll through the quaint little town which was ravaged by an earthquake just last year. I´m guessing the majority of the local's daylight hours are spent rebuilding the town as many buildings are still half complete with gaping holes and missing walls. Sadly, around 300 people were killed in the earthquake when the main town cathedral collapsed during a Sunday prayer session. Weaving between these tiny 3 wheeler taxis, we made our way back to the hotel to be entertained at dinner by a father and son combo playing the guitar, drum and cross between harmonica's and flutes...multitasking was the clearly the winner of the day and I think I showed these 2 up in gorging myself with seabass, pisco sours and good company.
The morning of the 3rd was spent taking an organised Pisco Sours tour thru one of the local distillaries. The process is still pretty primitive with the crushing stage being performed by 10 barefeet for 8 hours a day! The 2 ton Huaranco press sorts out the men from the women afterwhich the liquid is heated in an oven. The process is completed by distillation where 3 concentrations of sours is produced...60 to 80% (discarded), 20 to 60% and 0 to 20% alcohol concentrations are seperated and bottled. We got to sample the sweet (8%), semi sweet (22%) and pisco (42%). It was flippen hot so everyone held fire on getting stuck in especially seeing as we still had an afternoon of sandboarding in the desert to come...the dune buggies looked fit for Mars with engines the size of tractors and steel frames to givce some sort of idea what we were in for. The driving skills of the guides was incredible attacking these 50 foot wave like dunes at high speed only to drop over the other side held back only by our seatbelts. Before long we had made our way into the depths of nothingness...majestic dunes all around and a mountain range on the horizon. While I was quite relieved when the 1st duneboarding demonstration meant we only had to head down these small sand mountains on our bellies, being tipped over the edge by the guide with your chin a mere inches from eternal beardlessness...the ride was truely exhilirating. 3 more rides later with sand in every orifice we treated ourselves to a well deserved swim in the hotel pool (in the middle of the desert)!
Nasca was our next destination (thankfully not far from Pisco). On entry, we stopped briefly to climb the viewing tower just 10m off the Panamerican Highway to check out the hand and tree geoglyphs of the world reknowned Nasca Lines. We checked into our hotel and got stuck into some dinner and idle banter with the group. Carolina organised an impressive cake to celebrate John's bday which got him so excited he proceeded to start downing everything within reach at the table. That spurred Peter on who's quircky nature and incomprehensible speech under the influence an absolute pleasure to watch! Hermy was given a new name/s: Capitan Pisco / Vaso...no one really knows which name was settled upon. After an actions packed day, the bed was welcomed with open arms by all.
Halloween in Lima
The end of 31 October to 1 November
Huaca Puellama was interesting seeing as it was my first encounter with the legendary and somewhat rat like Peruvian hairless dogs who are considered endangered. Not sure why the locals seek to preserve such an ugly looking being although they are an odd bunch. Hermy was introduced to Angelica (a local student from Lima) before we made our way to Mercado del Indies (a local market). Each stall is packed to the rafters with some (most) of Peru´s finest merchandise...alpaca jerseys with steamy tassels / beanies that cover the ears and some / and bags (purses, handbags, manbags etc). Needless to say, each stall was exactly like the previous one and just when I thought I´d discovered a unique item, I was thrown "no para ventar"...not for sale. I ended up parting with 10 soles for a manbag as a solution to my ever present shoestring book (400 pages nog al!) and other bits and pieces that I´ve been lugging around buses, ruins and cathedrals for the last couple of days.
Popped back to the Lion to psych myself up for the arvie session of heading thru to Explore Bicycle Rentals and bumped into a new recruit, Beau from Florida. A freindly looking chap (compared to Mik the Psycho and Chad the tattoo man) and he was keen to get out and about and decided to join me for the afternoon excursion. We got talking about our past lives which seemed remarkably similar despite coming from different continents. We walked around in circles for about an hour and finally decided that my 2007 shoestring was outdated and the Bicycle Rental place must have moved. Popped into a trendy retro bar and sunk a couple while getting to know the ins and outs of what we´re both about. Beau had decided to head to Lima to learn Spanish for 5 weeks to obtain a certification as a final step in completing his Political Science degree. A very open minded chap with strong opinions on the world and where he fits in...certainly not in an office! On our way home, we couldn´t help noticing how serious the Limans take Halloween so made an entry into the nearest store stocking kit and came away with an elephant and monkey hat. The rest of the afternoon was spent playing 100 club with Beau in anticipation of the big night on the town and we were certainly not disappointed. The Tasca Bar was 5m long by 1m wide and had an awesome vibe. A great mix of people both local and foreign. I ended up jamming with Jason from the US and before long we were in the Flying Dog Backpacker Bar which was going some. After an hour´s idle banter with some South African dude and his bird we headed off to some nightclub. The evening / morning´s last memory included cocktails, local mixes and green inflourescent lights.
The 1st of November was a complete non event given the festivities of Halloween. I was shaken from my slumbers by a tremor which rocked the city of Lima around 3pm (I subsequently discovered this measured in at 4.3 on the Richter Scale)! I decided this was a sign to move on from the Lion and checked into La Castalene Hotel for the start of the Gap Tour thru the rest of Peru.
Adios amigos
Huaca Puellama was interesting seeing as it was my first encounter with the legendary and somewhat rat like Peruvian hairless dogs who are considered endangered. Not sure why the locals seek to preserve such an ugly looking being although they are an odd bunch. Hermy was introduced to Angelica (a local student from Lima) before we made our way to Mercado del Indies (a local market). Each stall is packed to the rafters with some (most) of Peru´s finest merchandise...alpaca jerseys with steamy tassels / beanies that cover the ears and some / and bags (purses, handbags, manbags etc). Needless to say, each stall was exactly like the previous one and just when I thought I´d discovered a unique item, I was thrown "no para ventar"...not for sale. I ended up parting with 10 soles for a manbag as a solution to my ever present shoestring book (400 pages nog al!) and other bits and pieces that I´ve been lugging around buses, ruins and cathedrals for the last couple of days.
Popped back to the Lion to psych myself up for the arvie session of heading thru to Explore Bicycle Rentals and bumped into a new recruit, Beau from Florida. A freindly looking chap (compared to Mik the Psycho and Chad the tattoo man) and he was keen to get out and about and decided to join me for the afternoon excursion. We got talking about our past lives which seemed remarkably similar despite coming from different continents. We walked around in circles for about an hour and finally decided that my 2007 shoestring was outdated and the Bicycle Rental place must have moved. Popped into a trendy retro bar and sunk a couple while getting to know the ins and outs of what we´re both about. Beau had decided to head to Lima to learn Spanish for 5 weeks to obtain a certification as a final step in completing his Political Science degree. A very open minded chap with strong opinions on the world and where he fits in...certainly not in an office! On our way home, we couldn´t help noticing how serious the Limans take Halloween so made an entry into the nearest store stocking kit and came away with an elephant and monkey hat. The rest of the afternoon was spent playing 100 club with Beau in anticipation of the big night on the town and we were certainly not disappointed. The Tasca Bar was 5m long by 1m wide and had an awesome vibe. A great mix of people both local and foreign. I ended up jamming with Jason from the US and before long we were in the Flying Dog Backpacker Bar which was going some. After an hour´s idle banter with some South African dude and his bird we headed off to some nightclub. The evening / morning´s last memory included cocktails, local mixes and green inflourescent lights.
The 1st of November was a complete non event given the festivities of Halloween. I was shaken from my slumbers by a tremor which rocked the city of Lima around 3pm (I subsequently discovered this measured in at 4.3 on the Richter Scale)! I decided this was a sign to move on from the Lion and checked into La Castalene Hotel for the start of the Gap Tour thru the rest of Peru.
Adios amigos
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