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Published: September 23rd 2006
The fortress terracing to Olyontaytambo
Where the Spanish Conquistadors made a quick about turn!Saturday 9th September
7am - met at the language school for our trip to Ollantaytambo, an Inca site in the sacred valley. Bus journey took three hours which gave us some more time to practice our Spanish, joy oh joy!
Ollantaytambo is a fortress located on the Urubamba river. Fantastic, well preserved site (unlike most Inca ruins which we were told, the locals were allowed to remove stones from until 1996 when it was banned!). The site consists of a flight of terraces above the present town and local flea market which follow the contours of the local bedrock. The Incas successfully defended the site from the Spanish inquistadors and their leader, Hernando Pizarro in 1563. This temporary victory was achieved by throwing rocks from the terraces onto the Spanish below. As we all know, the Spanish army has five gears, one forward and four reverse and made a hasty retreat back up the river. It took several more years before the Spanish successfully took Ollantaytambo from the Inca´s (after they had abandoned the site!)
While the rest of our group departed the site to return to Cusco, we explored the local market, brought some essential tourist tat
and walked down to Ollantaytambo train station to catch the Vistadome train to Aguas Calientes, the town just below Machu Picchu. The train journey took about three hours winding along the side of the sacred Urubamba River. Some great views along the way.
We stayed at a well known hostel called Gringo Bills in Aguas Calientes that night.
Sunday 10th September
Awoke at 5am to catch the bus from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu.
Hurded along with about 100 Japanese Tourists into one of the first busses up and finally went through the main entrance for our first view of the city. We both had a feeling of tremendous awe on first witnessing Machu Picchu, the ancient citadel. The city straddles the saddle of a high mountain with steep terracing slopes falling away to a hairpin of the Urumbamba river far below.
After a walk around the city we decided to climb the towering jungle covered peak of Wayna Picchu to the back of the site. We had been told that although a difficult climb, the top gave fantastic views of Machu Picchu and the whole majestic scene first thing in the morning. After an
hour and a half of sweating, swearing and stumbling, we finally made it out onto the rocky summit of the peak. The views were fantastic and well worth the struggle!
Machu Picchu is a complete Inca city and for centuries it was buried in thick jungle until the American explorer Hiram Bingham stumbled upon the ruins in 1911 (after he was made aware of the site by some local farmers who used the site to graze their sheep!) It was explored by an expedition from Yale University and the complete site, ruins staircases, terraces, temples, palaces, towers, fountains and the famous Intihutana or hitching post of the sun were uncovered.
It takes a long time to appreciate not only the masonry but also the selection of large rocks for foundations and the Inca´s use of water ways in channeling rainfall from the surrounding hills onto the site and the location of the sun and moon temples.
We spent several hours exploring the massive site before taking the bus back down to Aguas Calientes and taking the train back to Cusco.
We stayed at the Nino´s hostel that night which was opened by a Dutch woman to
View of the Moon Goddess on Machu Picchu
Oi, any chance of a G and T in this town help a project to support the street kids of Cusco. So far she had used the money to pay for a restaurant and sports centre for the kids and a second hostel had recently opened. Fantastic accommodation and all the rooms were named after the 12 (!!!) boys that she had originally adopted. In the centre was a great courtyard with a fountain and café where we had a big lunch and a few glasses of wine (no physical injuries sustained on the glass this time you{ll all be glad to hear!}.
Monday 11th September
Day spent in Cusco town visiting several of the museums, some more impressive than others - especially the un-missable museo de stito which was very mis-able and the mueso municipal de arte contemporaneo, ummm think spilling paint onto floor and wiping it up with a canvas!
Rest of the day was spent pottering around the town and sunning ourselves, tough day all in all!
Early to bed
Tuesday 12th September
Great breakfast at Ninos hostel, good scrambled egg sitting in the early morning sunshine! Morning spent arranging our train tickets to Puno on lake Titkkaka.
Afternoon spent visiting
Boat on Lake Titicaca
Little did they know the next food stop was four hours away! the San Blas area of Cusco which is also known as the artists’ area. San Blas was and still is predominantly occupied by writers, painters, potters, jewelry shops and numerous kids trying to get money out of you! Lovely church of San Blas with a wooden pulpit said to be one of the finest pieces of carving in the world which was very impressive. So impressive in fact that the maker decided to have his skull placed on top after his death which was a nice touch!
Rest of the day was spent posting my i-pod back to the UK to the original e-bay seller who swore it was in fantastic condition, he failed to mention the slight problem that it wouldn’t actually hold any music!
Big dinner in a restaurant just off the main square, Plaza de Armas (which is actually the name of any main square in South America!)
Arrange our accommodation in Puno with Jenny who is a friend of Bilma, the mother of the family we stayed with during our language farce / course.}
Bed not very early
Wednesday 13th September
10 hour train journey to Puno - agh!!!
We
Our host mother for the night
No Im not adopting you, I dont care about the Geneva convention on pancakes for breakfast set off early morning and caught the backpacker service to Puno. Although the journey was some three hours longer than the bus, apparently there were some great views which would make it worthwhile (!)
Actually went very well, especially after the complimentary pisco sours at 10am and that the train was half empty.
Train stopped at La Raya for a 10 minute break at 4,000m for some photos and usual tourist tat!
Last half an hour of the journey was beside Lake Titicaca, some lovely aromas wafting into the evening air from the welcoming and inviting green waters around the edge! We went past a boat called the Yavari which is currently under restoration by an English lady. It was one of two British made boats which were transported in kit form from England to Arica. From here by train to Tacna and then by mule to Titicaca. The journey took 6 years to complete and each piece had to weigh less than 400 pounds for the mules to be able to carry them! The boat sailed on the lake from 1926 - 1970.
Arrived in Puno to be met by Jenny at the train station.
Homely hostel in the quiet side of town. As soon as we walked in the door, Jenny arranged for us to go on a two day trip onto Lake Titicaca tomorrow, great as apparently Puno isn’t all that.
Went to a fantastic restaurant in the centre of town run by a guy originally from Nottingham!! Had our first Alpaca steaks which was similar to beef if a little tougher. Good pisco sours and hot wine!
Bed later than hoped!
Thursday 14th September
Pancakes for breakfast, get in!
Taxi picked us up at 8-15am to take us to the boat for our trip on Lake Titicaka.
The boat was quite small and reminded me of the boat in the film Jaws - not very reassuring especially when we saw the amount of smoke coming from the exhaust and the fact that the engine appeared to be held together with a handkerchief!
Group of about 15 of us set off firstly for Uros Island, an island made totally from floating reeds. Very interesting experience but and strange walking on a very soft floor made from dried straw like reeds floating in about 30m of
water, not a great place to be a heavy smoker I imagine!
Although interesting it felt like a floating tourist shop that you couldn’t get off until the captain of the boat decided to put you out of your misery.
We all took a short trip on a traditional reed boat paddled by a very old looking islander with what appeared to be a big tooth pick, a little scary!
Finally picked up by our boat for a four hour journey to another, proper island (as in made of rock) for our family stay.
Met by our host family on the quay side, a lady who was 43 years old (neither of us caught her name and it didn’t seem to bother her anyway) and her daughter Flora (flower) who was 10.
They both lived in a tiny house up a steep hill from the quay side. No electricity. The kitchen consisted of a tiny dark room with a small window, the walls made of mud bricks, ceiling from sticks and plastic sheeting and the cooker single black hole in one wall, similar to a pizza oven. To our amazement, the lady managed to produce a
Our intrepid explorers in Local Dress on Titicaca
Oi Harry have you seen how much of a plonker you look! How about this though, Ive not seen this style at Primark, what do you reckon three course, cooked meal for both of us as well as some rather cheeky local tea!
After lunch we met up with the other group members and headed up to the top of the island to watch the sunset. The route was via the local football stadium where we were able to catch a few minutes of a football match between two of the local communities (8 in total on the island). All the players appeared to be putting their all in whilst trying to avoid the small boulders and foot deep pot holes which littered the pitch! Great effort, especially when you consider the altitude of about 4,000m.
The sunset over the island was very good although most of our photos appear to have the captured more of the other tourist’s woolen Peruvian hats than the view!
In the evening we all went back to our families to get dressed up in traditional island costumes, woolen grey poncho and wooly hat for me, two tight girdles, multi layered dress, black headscarf and waistcoat for Dee! We all met up at a local hall from a fiesta (think local barn dance) a few beers and a good
View into the Colca Canyon
1,300m down!!
We followed the wiggly path you can see, for two days!! sweat in all the woolen clothes we had been given to wear! Great fun though.
Bed - not sure what time as there was no electricity on the island!
Friday 15th September 2006
More homemade pancakes and jam for breakfast - thinking if making this a regular way to start the day!
Said our goodbyes and left the island early, 7-30am to head to another local island called Taquille. This island was named after a pal of King Carlos V of Spain whop brought the island to fit in with the Jones’s and buy himself some Titicaca real estate as was the fashion in the 16th Century!
Morning spent looking round several handicraft markets before a local lunch at 11am! Kingfish fish, chips, rice and salad.
The boat back to Puno took hours and hours (maybe Jaws had a nibble on it when we were away!). But we spent the time questioning other travelers about their experiences in South America and where they would recommend. A couple from Belgium (they couldn’t give us anything that Belgium is famous for other than our suggestions of Jon Claude Van Damme and Stella Artois!) told us of
Oooh, thats gorgeous!
Cooling our feet after walking down the path you can see in the background, bliss! a three day walk they had done at the Colca Canyon near Araquipa, our next stop, and drew us a map. Sounds like a plan.
Dinner wither some nice other couples from the trip at the Inca Café in Puno. Good fun and e-mail addresses swapped.
Friday 15th September
Breakfast - more pancakes (breakfat at this rate!)
Jenny from the hostel phoned a friend of hers in Araquipa to arrange accommodation for us, our destination at the end of today.
Bus journey to Araquipa left at 9am and took 6 hours. San Cristobal bus company - never again! Makes the student magic bus services in Manchester look decisively luxury!
Jackie Chan film in Spanish helped in the second half of the journey!
Met at the bus station by Julie and taken to her house (not hostel as expected!). However it quickly becomes apparent that she knows everything about trips in the area, especially to the Colca Canyon and that evening arranged bus tickets for us to go to the canyon tomorrow.
Couple of beers in the evening at the Plaza de Armas (surprise surprise about the name of the square and the
My word thats a big one and have you seen the size of that cactus!
Please remember to wear sensible shoes whilst walking near local plant life in the Colca Canyon
choice of evening aperitif!) watching the sunset over El Misti volcano, fantastic.
Sunday 17th September 2006
Breakfast - 5-30 am and no pancakes in sight, must contact Lonely Planet Guides to put in a complaint!
We took the Andalucai Bus Company coach to Cabanaconde, the town above the Colca Canyon and where most treks start from.
This will be the last time we take an Andalucai bus! We found out afterwards the drivers name was Crazy Jack and he certainly lived up to his name! The road to Cabanaconde is not great at the best of times, very windy and covered with potholes. These facts didn’t seem to bother Jack though as we sped along narrow dirt roads forcing other vehicles, animals and pedestrians off the road, some of them most probably to their deaths!
We arrived in Cabanaconde at about 11am, battered and bruised but thankful to be able to walk. We began our treck with a four hour decent from the canyon rim to the river far below. We understand this was a descent of about 1,300m down a dusty, rocky path and by the time we reached the bottom it certainly felt
Dee at the Convent De Santa Catalina, Arequipa
Unfortunately they weren’t taking in any new recruits that day! like that.
Some amazing views but no signs of the condors who live in the canyon.
We chose to stay at Roy’s Hostel in San Juan which had a fantastic setting just above the river with a waterfall at the side of the garden and a pool where we and two other couples cooled our aching feet in, bliss! The village of San Juan has no road access and any supplies have to be brought by donkey down the same steep path we took. No electricity and just candle light.
Roy and his family cooked us all a great dinner and we were in bed by 8-30, tired but looking forward to our trek to the Oasis in the morning.
Monday 18th September
Breakfast 7am - pancakes and eggs, brilliant!
We started walking at 8am and it was already sweltering at the bottom of the canyon. There were paths going all over the place and luckily, just as I proposed we had come the wrong way and would have to turn around and walk back for about an hour, another group with a guide came past and confirmed we were on the right path
(I knew it all along really!).
The walk to the Oasis took just over three hours, taking in some great views along the way (as well as a rather nasty looking wasps nest!) and we arrived just after one of the other couples from Amsterdam we had had dinner with last night. We chose the most inviting looking (and to be honest closest) hostel to the path with a pool. Quick change into bikini and swimming shorts and we jumped into the water, brilliant!
After a good swim round, avoiding the rather menacing looking numerous bugs and spiders which were also having a cooling dip we had spaghetti for lunch. Wee were originally intending to spend the night at the hostel but the other couples planned to walk back up the canyon that afternoon and we decided to join them. This would give us an extra day in Araquipa.
The walk up was an experience to say the least! It took us 2 hours 45 minutes to walk back up to Cabanaconde, this path being a climb of about 1,200m. The path was very steep, narrow, dusty, rocky and the sun was blazing.
About half way up
Cuy or roasted guinea pig
As I was saying, we used to have guinea pigs as pets and I never even considered roasting them whole between two hot stones, silly me! (The white blobs are its two front teeth!) when spirits were lagging and we were wondering why oh why we hadn’t taken the chance to hire a donkey to carry us back up (as it appeared all the Americans on the path had done!) when we caught our first sight a condor. It flew about 20 meters from us and we only caught a brief glimpse of its white and black, 3m wide wing feathers. Spurred on by this David Attenborough experience we trudged on seeing two more pairs of condors way above us and another pair closer to us when we finally reached the canyon rim. Great!
We reached the town and checked into a hostel with the Dutch couple.
Dinner of a well earned Alpaca steak and early to bed.
Tuesday 19th September
Breakfast of old bread and weak tea, not impressed!
6-30am bus back to Araquipa with much more sane driver!
Get back to Julies house and sneakily ask her mother where the launderette is. Plan works and she takes four carrier bags of washing off to do the honors!
Afternoon spent visiting the Museo Santuarios Andinos to see Juamita, the 12 year old girl sacrificed by the
Inca on top of Mount Ampato. She was discovered in the mid 1990s and was fantastically well preserved due to the high altitude and ice.
Very interesting and good film to accompany the visit. Just put us in the mood for some ice cold pisco sours at Plaza De Almas!
Met up with the Dutch couple in the evening and went to a nice restaurant in the centre of town. Another great Alpaca steak and some good Chilean red wine followed by a good slab of chocolate cake and two spoons!
Couple of night cap beers in a third floor bar with good views over the city
Late to bed.
Wednesday 20th September
Morning spent walking around the Monasterio De Santa Catalina - The Convent of Santa Catalina in Araquipa. This is a four hectare walled town within the main town which was occupied for over four hundred years by nuns and their lady servants (could do with some of those!). It was built in 1579 and shows a mix of colonial Spanish and native architecture (straight out the guidebook that one!). There were many quiet streets, squares and lovely gardens and it reminder
The hands,Nasca Line
Could do with a pair this size in the Ashes series this Winter! us of Seville. Very relaxing.
For lunch I decided to try the local specialty of Cuy or Roasted Guinea Pig! Basically they put the freshly strangled guinea pig on a very hot rock before dropping another rock on top of it and leaving it until it is nice and charred! Although skinned, they leave the head, face, teeth, paws and tail on.
When it arrived it appeared to be grinning at me, with its long teeth poking out with an inane grin. Between us we ate about half of it but it wasn’t the chicken crossed with duck experience we had been expecting! The locals eat the whole animal, paws, teeth bones and all. Apparently the paws taste like cookies. Decided not to find out about that one!
A few mints to take away the taste later we spent the rest of the day shopping in Araquipa. Nothing like some retail therapy to take away the taste of guinea pig as Ive always said!
Back to Julies in the evening for our last meal with her. Chicken curry and some great home made pisco sours.
At 8-30pm we take the night bus to Nazca to see the famous Nasca lines and hopefully take a flight in a small plane over them.
Thursday 21st September
Arrive in Nasca at 5am into a decidedly deserted and dodgy bus station. Luckily, Julie’s friend Ronald meets us and takes us to a local hostel where we leave our bags and make full use of the internet.
He tells us that he will be back at 8am to arrange the flight for me over the lines. Dee decides against the flight as all we have heard from other people is not to have any breakfast before hand and be prepared to wait for hours for the flight, ummmm!
We arrange a guided visit by car to the Dr Maria Reiche museum and to view three of the lines from a Mirrador platform. De Reiche was a German lady who studied the lines for over 40 years and who died in 1998 aged 95. She thought the many lines represented a vast astronomical pre-inca calendar. Our guide tells us that unfortunately none of her theory’s have actually been proven! However, thanks to her work the whole area has been preserved as an ancient monument and kept from further damage by visitors, cars and grave robbers.
The Nasca Lines are cut into the stoney desert about 22km north of Nasca town. There are many different types of lines including parallels, geometrical figures and animals, some with spans of over 100 m. They were made by three groups of peoples, the Paracas between 900 and 200 bc, the Nascas, between 200 bc and 600ad and the Huari at about 600 ad. The lines are made by simply the removal of the top layer of stones to reveral the lighter colour of ground beneath. They are only a matter of a couple of cm deep but have survived for several millenia due to the natural climate of the area.
We visit the Mirador tower where we can clearly see two lines, the hands and the tree and part of a third, the lizard which has actually been cut in half by the main Nasca road, conservation at its best!
We make our way to the airport and await my flight.
After nearly 3 hours Ronald comes to get me and we walk over to the runway. All the planes are five seater small propeller planes which although externally appear in good order, from the inside they look like the type of craft the Wright Brothers would have thought a little dated!
Luckily I manage to force the four other French passengers out the way and take the seat next to the pilot, good job too!
The flight lasted about 40 minutes and we fly over numerous lines, firstly dipping wildly to the right, then the left to give everyone a good view, and to really shake up your stomach!
The lines cover a vast area of about 55km by 20km, with the longest being 20km in length. We fly over most of the well known animal lines including the monkey, hummingbird and spider.
Great experience and I didn’t actually don’t feel ill at all, presumably fearing for your life for the whole time helped!
Land back in Nasca and then a mad rush to get the 2-30pm bus to Lima.
7 hours later we arrive in Lima. Comfy bus with fully reclining seats, much better!
Taxi to the Flying Dog Hostal. Couple of beers and some nice tapas in the hostel bar until last orders before late to bed.
Fly tomorrow to Quito in Ecuador to begin our three week voluntary project in the Cloud Forest and country tour on Sunday morning.
Friday 22nd September
Breakfast at café near hostel, no pancakes, buy a copy of the Times though and only one day old!
Taxi to Lima airport and quickly though to the important bit, duty free! Three t-shirts, two bottles of Picso Sour and a free bottle of wione later we get onto the flight.
Only three hour flight and we watch Over the Hedge, the dreamworks cartoon on the way. This helps to drown out the snoring of a large Peruvian man sitting on my left. Reminds me of the big bear in the cartoon!
Taxi from the airport to our hotel, the Junior Plaza in New Town Quito.
Traffic appears much calmer here and not many potholes to be seen!
Arrive at the hotel and drop our stuff off. Head out for some pasta and a couple of drinks in a locals bar. Very nice and friendly.
The Ecuadorians do not have their own currency, except for small denomination change. They and use American dollars as their main currency!
Bed late.
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