Blogs from Cusco, Cusco, Cusco, Peru, South America - page 13

I knew I had woken up later than usual this morning, because the three people I was sharing with had already left for the day. There seemed little point in rushing to get ready this morning, especially with yesterdays events still hanging heavily on my mind. I eventually trudged down the stairs and towards the dinning room, where I arrived just in time breakfast. I didn't feel particularly hungry, but still managed to make my way through the mundane stone baked rolls before heading back upstairs. I poured over the Internet for hours, looking at what there was to do in Cusco and still feeling rather uninspired. All the energy and drive to travel and discover had left me, with the news yesterday. The anger at my situation and the world at large for seemingly causing ... read more

Cuzco - By far the most touristy place I have been and by far one of the most interesting, mystical and beautiful places on the planet. It has it all; history, mystery, cathedrals, pride and blatant beauty. You can’t get away from the tourists and every Tom, Dick and Suzanne trying to sell you a pedicure, massage (pronounced; maasaage) and a trek and every person you meet complains about that, I just smile, because honey, if you went there, you’re part of the ‘problem’. The city itself is absolutely gorgeous! You can’t help but just love it and you understand why some backpackers end up staying here for months, although I am sure the famous pub crawl that happens every night around the square might have something to do with it. After a day or two ... read more

Hola todos! Na Arequipa hebben we Huacachina bezocht. Dit is een klein dorpje volledig omgeven door zandduinen.. Daar hebben we dan ook goed gebruik van gemaakt :) Eerst zijn we gaan buggy rijden en erna gaan sandboarden. Dit was superleuk maar het was zooo moeilijk om recht te blijven staan! Daarom besloten we om uiteindelijk, zoals iedereen, gewoon op onze buik te gaan liggen en zo naar beneden te gaan woehoeoeoe!! Het feit dat erna alles (en daarmee bedoel ik ALLES) vol zand hing, vergeten we even :D Later hebben ook de Ballestas eilanden bezocht, dit is een verzameling van kleine eilandjes waar zeeleeuwen, zeerobben, Humboldtpinguïns (superschattig) en grote kolonies watervogels leven. Ongelooflijk hoeveel vogels we daar gezien hebben, naar schatting leven er 160 verschillende soorten.. Er was geen enkel stukje rots zichtbaar door de immense ... read more

So, instead of doing the classic tour-organised trek up to Machu Picchu we decided to visit some isolated, gringo-free ruins on our own. Surprisingly, Jens (our German friend from Colca Canyon) was willing to put up with us for another trek, so together with him we decided to do the Choquequirao trek. Choquequirao is an Inca ruins site about 30km from any village with a road. So the only way to get there is to trek and camp! We spent a day in Cusco getting everything we needed, from renting a tent, mats and a gas stove to buying cutlery, a pot and 4kg of pasta. Then we spent the evening boiling eggs... our only protein source for 4 days! Day 1 Jens came to pick us up early from our hostel. We caught a bus ... read more

Just got back from the project phase. It wasnt quite as i expected as there was absolutely no running water so no showers and no toilets, just a hole in the ground. We didnt end up staying in with the locals as we arrived quite late at night, so the whole week was spent in a tent in a big hall. When we arrived the children brought over a deer for us to stroke and some piglets and sheep which was nice. To help the community we worked on a medical centre where there was an inch thick of dust on the floor and no windows. we have sanded and cemented the walls, painted them, cemented the outside, pickaxed some massive grassy ledge and rebuilt a ledge out of stones and cement, made a path, painted ... read more