Day 123 - and how would Sir like his Guinea Pig served?

The problem with taking a break from blogging for 3 weeks is that you end up with a huge amount to recount. And this isn’t helped by the fact that Peru is stuffed with plenty of things to talk about and take pictures of, as well as plenty of opportunities to have a spot of fun. So here we go...

After jetting back from the Galapagos to mainland Ecuador (some 3 weeks ago now) we had a day to try and see as much of Quito as possible so did the touristy thing and visited the equator line - which only managed to keep us amused thanks to all the Johnny Ball-esque experiments they show you (water really does go down the plug-hole in different directions only 2m apart) and a few llamas they had in a pen (2 of which had us in stitches by getting rather too amorous in front of the tourists). We also managed to fit in a night out with Conny (who I travelled with for a bit in Central America and who is now working in Quito) and the remainder of our Galapagos crew in the trendy new-area of town where, for the first time in 3 months, I was impressed to find bars that could almost give London a run for it’s money in terms of style.

After that, James and I had an early 5am start for our trip out of Ecuador and on to Lima in Peru where we had a couple of days gently checking out the sights whilst based in the Miraflores area of town… Lima is a big smoggy city that, although on the coast only 12 degrees below the equator, seams to have been so badly situated that for 8 months of the year it is almost constantly shrouded in fog and is therefore a rather Scottish 8-12 degrees C. Having said that it was still a nice city to wander round for a couple of days and I was particularly bemused by how in Lima, if you want a particular item or service (say a bookshop), you can’t find these randomly in any part of town - you have to actually go to the “bookshop” zone where you find dozens of bookshops all competing for business in the same 2 or 3 streets. This applies equally to furniture, haircuts, party gifts, opticians etc. etc. which all have their own little regions of town. I guess from a customer’s point of view it makes things a lot simpler (unless you want to buy all items in one afternoon which could really kill the feet) and it certainly means you should get a better deal.

Anyway - with Lima ticked off the list, we then headed out to Ica (about 4 hours south) and then on to the desert oasis of Huacachina where we got to race through the desert sands in dune-buggies and go sand-boarding for an afternoon (great fun but, unlike snow, sand gets absolutely everywhere!) before heading on that evening to Nazca.

Nazca is situated in the middle of a near perfect desert - the Nazca area - where it rains less than in almost any other desert on the planet and the winds are so gentle and temperature so constant that almost no erosion takes place. In 1927 one of the first people to take a plane up over the desert discovered an array of huge shapes and forms literally carved into the surface of the earth (a monkey, spider, birds and astronaut are just a few of the more definable shapes) - these huge “Nazca Lines” as they have come to be known were carved by the Paracas, Nasca and Huari people between 900BC and 640AD and due to the unique climate in the desert have been perfectly preserved ever since. As they can only be seen from the air it is still something of a mystery as to how the Nazca people could have carved them so precisely (with no flying technology available) or quite what they were trying to achieve by doing so (some think it’s a primitive astronomical calendar). We hopped in a rickety four-seater plane and spent a wild and bumpy half an hour buzzing over the desert - they’re amazing shapes and it’s almost more impressive that they’ve survived the length of time they have, but unfortunately I’m none the wiser as to how and why they’re there and so can’t lend any useful insights to the debate either!

Whilst in Nazca we also took a trip out into the desert to check out an ancient 2,000 year old Nazca burial site at Chuachilla - the Nazcas used to mummify their dead and bury them in underground tombs along with their riches. Unfortunately grave robbers over the centuries have taken a lot of the artefacts but there are a huge number of perfectly preserved mummies (thanks again to the unique climate) which have been rather gruesomely arranged in their, now open, grave sites. Several still have their original hair, skin and clothing which now clings fragilely onto their old bones despite the elements.

Our next stop in Peru was the colonial UNESCO Heritage town of Arequipa where we spent a couple of days exploring the town and its magnificent and very tranquil Santa Catalina convent (a city inside a city which only opened to the public in the 1970’s after 400 years of secrecy). Arequipa is where I went down with a miserable cold but despite that we ploughed on high into the Andes to see the immense Colca Canyon (at 2 times deeper than the Grand Canyon it’s technically the deepest in the world - although had the help of tectonic plates to form it rather than just a river). We climbed up to 5,000m that day and, although we were a little breathless at times, a few Coca leaves were prescribed - the taste of which took my mind off the feeling of suffocation for long enough to get over the pass. That night we stayed in a town at 3,600m (at that time the highest place I’d stayed) which is where I discovered that altitude gives me really, really evil insomnia and so I spent most of the night awake nursing my cold and feeling sorry for myself whilst listening to James snoring and fighting for breath in the other bed.

Anyhow as we headed to Cuzco (also at 3,600m) the insomnia eventually diminished and other than an inability to do any form of strenuous exercise without wheezing (which if I’m honest happens rather too much at sea-level too!), neither of us noticed any other side effects of being at altitude.

So Cuzco - formerly the Incan, but now the Gringo Capital of South America - certainly lived up to its reputation… we only really spent a full day there but it was enough to see the major sights and to marvel at the multitude of other tourists (from backpackers in the hostels to countless tour groups (half of France were there by my count) to some very exclusive hotels (one of which can apparently pressurise the rooms to simulate being at sea level). It’s actually a beautiful town, with remains of the 11th-16th Century Incan buildings at every turn, usually forming the foundations of the buildings created by the Spanish conquistadors who captured and looted the city in the 16th Century (although the Spanish buildings have had a tendency to fall down at the slightest earthquake whereas the Incan’s still stand solid today). Cuzco, no doubt because of the number of tourists, is also known as the party capital of South America - had we not been getting over colds and had such an early start the following morning we may have tried a bit harder but sadly all we managed was a good meal and some beers in the world’s highest Irish Bar.

The next morning a group of 7 of us headed out for a 3-day trek through the countryside towards Machu Picchu. Instead of doing the more famous Inca Trail route (which books up months in advance and I’m told involves trekking the sacred Incan route up to Machu Picchu in convoy with dozens of other groups) we opted for the relatively new Larez trek which follows a different route (the old Incan commercial trail) and has the advantage of passing through several indigenous communities on its way through the Andes. Although the trek is at a higher altitude than the Inca trail (camping at 4,200m with a tough climb up to the highest pass at 4,600m) I’m really pleased that we did this trek instead as we didn’t see any other tourists the entire time so it felt far more authentic. We were also all pretty humbled by getting to see exactly how the local people (the descendants of the Incas) live nowadays, surviving in the tough conditions of the mountains on a Crofter’s lifestyle as subsistence farmers and shepherds. But it was a delight to see all the local kids running up from their homes to greet us with smiling faces and a real sense of happiness despite the tough conditions they live in. Quechan is their first language (although many elders do speak some Spanish) and so, although we learned a few basic words, communication was largely by pointing and signing with the exception of one group of kids who insisted on singing us a song. Having already been caught out by this devilish tactic in Guatemala I knew we’d have to return the favour so skulked to the back of the group… sure enough we were soon being cajoled into singing and I’m not quite sure who to blame for choosing “Old Macdonald Had a Farm” but the kids looked absolutely bewildered the whole way through and positively terrified when we made the pig noises!

The trek itself wasn’t too tough although I’m glad it wasn’t any longer (or higher) as the altitude did mean that we were absolutely shattered by the end of each day. I’m also now a big fan of using llamas, horses and porters who did all the heavy work carrying the supplies and without which we’d never have stood a chance - actually it did feel like a bit of a cheat but there was something terribly civilised about arriving at the campsite and finding the tents already set up and a nice 3 course meal on the table for you… sod the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award!

So the day after our trek finished we had an early start and got ourselves up in time to see the sunrise at what has to be one of the most iconic images of South America… the old Incan citadel of Machu Picchu. Now I’m always a bit guilty at “big ticket tourism” sites like these of getting over excited and then finding them a huge anticlimax (I even sulked at the Pyramids) - but actually to be one of the first people up to Machu Picchu and to have the view out over the entire complex with hardly a person in sight was much better than I expected. Even without the old city it would be a geographically stunning setting but to see all the old ruins perched on top of the hill and to spend time pondering just how much planning and effort it would have taken to construct that city and then keep it so well hidden was absolutely bewildering and a real highlight for me.

So as the morning progressed and the coaches kept arriving and spilling their passengers all over the site we managed to take in a pretty good tour of the ruins, find a quiet spot to sit and look at the view and read for an hour or so, and then tackle the obscene climb up the path that clings to the side of Huayna Picchu (the mountain that stands behind the city). This 45 minute near vertical climb was an absolute killer but the view from the top was amazing and pretty much a perfect way to top off the visit. But then my old Caledonian Challenge war wound resurfaced and my knee ligaments decided they’d had enough trekking just in time for the never-ending huge steps that you have to take back down.

Heading back to Cuzco we took in a tour of the Sacred valley through which runs the sacred Incan river of Urubamba. We had a look round the old ruins of Ollantaytambo, Pisac and Sacsayhuaman (trying not to grin as the guide pronounced it Sexy Wuuman) and then had a spot of old Incan local brew - Chicha - which is made by fermenting corn (tastes a bit like homebrew but was pretty potent stuff). Although I knew a bit about the Incans before I came out here, I had no idea how vast and planned their society was. Their knowledge of astronomy, agriculture (over 200 types of potato!), building, craftsmanship, commerce, statistics and even taxation (25% of whatever you produce stored away for a rainy day) was exceptional and all learned and incorporated from the other civilisations they conquered. It was only by amassing this knowledge and imposing such planned and rigorous systems of production and government on the people (usually by incorporating the chieftains of conquered communities into their political hierarchy to help soften the blow) that they could take such vast territories and end up expanding their empire from Chile in the South to Colombia in the North. If only they’d had gunpowder they might have made a better stand against the Spaniards.

Since leaving the Inca heartland we’ve headed over to Lake Titicaca (the highest navigable lake in the world at 3,800m) which is where we’re now based for our last night in Peru. We’ve explored a few islands on the lake where again we found Incan and pre-Incan (Quechan and Aymara) descendants living a rustic life where agriculture and tourism sustain them. We spent last night staying on the island of Amantani with an indigenous local Quechan family who took us into their home, fed and watered us, and did their best (given the language barrier) to show us how they lived their lives. Damian, who is 23, met us at the port and took us to his parents small farmhouse up on the hill above the village where he now lives with his wife Judi, 2 year old son Jefferson and 2 month old baby daughter - oh and his parents and 7 other sisters. The house isn’t big (literally 2 rooms) but they’d set a room aside for us with comfortable beds and all the trappings of modern living bar running water, heating, electricity and an inside loo. Their accommodation was much more basic than ours though and the kitchen, where Judi made us a lovely traditional dinner and breakfast, was literally just a side room with dirt floor, ancient wood-fired stove in the corner and some logs to sit on. To see how simple and hand-to-mouth their lives are yet how welcoming and genuinely pleased they seemed to be to have us there, was an incredibly humbling experience and, although I couldn’t stop feeling awkward about being the tourist trying to learn a bit about their lives, I’m really pleased we did this. Damian is working hard trying to save up so he can build himself a new home in the village in a couple of years to house his young family and give his parents and sisters more space and, despite the hardships someone in his position no doubt faces, I’m sure he’ll manage it one day.

Anyhow James and I are now back on the mainland in Puno which sits on the shores of Lake Titicaca. The 3 weeks in Peru have been fantastically fun and educational and we’ve had some really memorable experiences. Despite the heavy tourism in Peru (literally coach loads of people with cameras at the ready in some places) it hasn’t bothered me too much as it’s mostly centred around the culture of the country so whereas sometimes mass tourism prevents you from seeing the real country and people, in Peru it seems to have enhanced it.

Tomorrow we’re heading over the border into Bolivia which I’ve been doing some reading about and have a feeling I’m really going to enjoy… first up - we’ll be getting away from all the culture by jumping on mountain bikes and cycling down the world’s most dangerous road (70km of gravel road that clings to the cliff edge as it descends nearly 4km) - sorry that you had to hear it here first Mum.



Peru Slideshow

---

Videos from "Day 123 - and how would Sir like his Guinea Pig served?":

---

---