PurpleDeborah

We've had a fabulous day in Lima today, thanks to our friend and Debbie Wiener's cousin, Perla. She gave us a real insider's view of the city. She started but driving us around the better residential neighbourhoods where grand neo-colonoal buildings have been restored, mostly as office buildings, and mix with new housing and apartment buildings. There are lots of pleasant small parks, including one which is an olive grove, rthe emnants of an olive farm that previously occupied the entire area. We had coffee and a traditional Peruvian caramel cookie at Perla's local cafe. Then we went to Museo Larco, a beautiful private collection of ceramics, tapestries and metal craft from pre-Columbian Peru, set in an elegant mansion draped in multicolour bouganvillia. The museum is particularly known for an entire room of erotic ceramics, which ... read more

This morning we left Refugio Amazonas early and spotted an aguti just as we were leaving. They are rodents, about the size of a domestic cat, and are very important to Brazil nut production because they have very sharp teeth and are the only animals that can open the big nuts that hold the seeds we call Brazil nuts. They eat them but, like squirrels, like to save some for later so they bury them in individual holes. They frequently forget where they have buried them, thereby planting more Brazil nut trees. Actually I think they should be called Bolivian nuts as 60% of the production is in Bolivia but Brazil nuts are a very important part of the local economy in Brazil and Peru too. In Puerto Maldonado, the Brazil nut industry is second only ... read more

I am sitting in a hammock next to the open fourth wall of our magnificent bedroom in an eco-lodge called Refugio Amazonas, two hours' boat ride into the Amazon forest from Puerto Maldonado in the east of Peru. I can hear the sounds of a dozen different birds, insects and monkeys, smell the sweet, damp soil and see a range of deep greens, red leaves and orange flowers. I am also breathing much more easily as we are almost at sea level and the cold I had when we were at Lake Titicaca (very bad timing) has passed. I feel very relaxed. To recap the past couple of days, we took a bus back from Puno to Cusco, which was a direct seven-hour journey, in fact a little longer due to a mechanical problem which required ... read more

Today we left Cusco for a long but interesting bus ride to Puno, on the edge of Lake Titicaca. This road is known as the Manco Capac route because legend has it that the first Inca leader, Manco Capac child of the sun, emerged from Lake Titicaca, together with his sister Mama Ocllo. As well as the stops, we had great views en route, including a mirror-like lake with fabulous reflections of the Andes and those fabulous craggy.mountains and snowy peaks. There were herds of llamas and alpacas and we passed lots of women in traditional dress working the fields, doing washing in rivers and carrying babies in colourful wraps on their backs. ... read more

Today was one of those days I'll remember for the rest of of my life. The day started at 4.45am so we could be at Machu Picchu when it opened at 6am. I didn't feel the least bit tired all day: so much adrenaline from such an amazing day. I'm really glad we came on a guided tour because Claudio knew exactly how to make the most of this remarkable site. Machu Picchu was built around 1450, primarily as a religious centre by Pachacuti, the Alexander the Great of the Incas. It was functional for less than a century because in 1539 the Spanish invaded and destroyed the Inca Empire. They never found Machu Picchu but they brought smallpox which runners from Cusco carried to Machu Picchu. The population was decimated and the site was abandoned. ... read more