Advertisement
Published: November 23rd 2008
Edit Blog Post
Hi all, it´s been a while...we flew to Cusco, Peru (Lima, then Cusco) from Sao Paulo on the 11 Nov (I think). we just stayed near the airport in SP as we were told not to stay in the city(crime etc). Also, we were told to skip Lima so we got connecting flight in lima to cusco. Cusco was v pretty. its v high up so the altitude did affect us slightly but not much. nice during the day but freezing when night falls-we had 3 days to adjust before the Inca trail anyway. we stayed in ahostel called sami wasi-v basic but so cheap and the guys who run it are lovely. we saw such a difference form Brazil-breakfast is now 2 pieces of bread and jam with coco tea....they love ther coco tea here-its made from coco leaves and they belive it gives you lots of energy, you can also get coco chocolates which are divine. this is the source of cocaine also so we were told not to take some over the border or there may be trouble.there, we visited the church of San Blas and the cathedral -both are well worth a visit - you get headphones
with a english guide so that really helps. Also, the irish bar there (highst in th world!) paddy´s serves the best steak sandwich and chips..there´s a great atmosphere there too. Two things that annoyed us was the feeling that you were been ripped off all the time-one price for the locals and one for the Gringos! taxi from the airport charged us 20soles when it should have been 8 and we also got ripped off on our bus from cusco to arequipa but in euro terms its not much. also you are constantly hounded by the locals wanting you to buy stuff-from dolls to paintings...pearse wanted to buy a "no gracias" t-shirt but you do get used to them and just ignore them after a while.
the inca trail was great. much tougher than we had thought. we thought it was just a long walk but there is a lot of serious climbing to do. the scenery was amazing and we were so lucky with the weather. Waking up in the middle of the andes was something else!it only rained once and we are in the riany season here. we went with Llama Path company and they were fab.
the food you get is amazing. how they cook with extremly limited resources in the dark in a tent amazes me. they treat their porters well too. there was 12 of us in our group and we had 17 porters and a chef all dressedin red and black costumes. (they looked like elves). i couldnt help but feel sorry for them-they work so hard running the inca trail with 25kg on their backs (even cylinders of gas). they treat us like we are a class above them, doing everything for them and all this for a basic wage and what ever tips we gave them. it´s a different world! anyway arriving a sungate for our first and best view of Machu Picchu was amazing-its amazing as is the whole history of the incas..
After cusco, we spent 2 days in arequipa (an overnight bus for 10 hours-v comfy!)which i loved. fab buildings built from volcanic rock and just a really cosmopolitan vibe to the city. its built beneath El Misti-an active volcano -amazing!much more chilled out than cusco-noone hassling you.stayed in Bothy a really relaxed chilled out hostel, well located with cool hammocks to relax in on the roof
terrace. we visited a museum which house the frozen figure of an inca girl who was sacrificed on the mountain 500 years ago-fascinating and also santa catalina, a city within the city of Arequipa, which was home to an order of nuns for centuries and was only opened to the public in 1970.we visted a really cool bar-deja vu there for some pisco sours.
We arrived in Copacobana, Bolivia yest evening. overall it took about 9 hours with the border check etc. it´s higher here so the altitude is affecting me a little but not too bad. We booked in to La Cupala, a class hotel, run by a german, martin who could not be more helpful. defo recommend it after doing the inca trail etc-so peaceful and really good restaurant.
Machu Pichu-getting there.. them here now also. until next time Exx