Page 2 of KatieTankard Travel Blog Posts


South America » Peru July 18th 2012

A hairy ride on one of the tut-tuts (a bicycle taxi) took us to the boat port of Lake Titicaca. Dad decided to give the young Peruvian rider a break and instead he sat next to me to enjoy the ride while dad cycled. This was the first time dad had been on a bike in weeks and he was pretty excited as I'm sure he is missing his 'Prince' (his beloved racing bike). We had to boat jump to get into our boat which had an inside area and was very cosy. .After a very slow one hour drive we arrived at the floating islands. Families actually live their whole lives on these islands in the middle of the lake. They build the islands themselves from reeds and restore them every three months. They have ... read more

South America » Peru July 15th 2012

This morning I I briefly got to speak to mum, Hannah D, Jess Chirgwin, and Jess on Skype before the wi-fi crashed at the hotel, and then leaving Cusco early to begin the 6-7hr journey to Puno was a struggle. bus ride gave me the opportunity to catch up on my blog posts anyway! And I was feeling very philosophical writing some of my own quotes about travelling. Arriving in Puno by 2.30 gave us a few hours to explore. The main reason tourists come to Puno is visit Lake Titicaca which is the worlds highest navigable lake (meaning you can put boats on it), however we don't visit the lake until tomorrow. Puno sits at 3,800m high and is not quite as appealing as Cusco, although it retains the Spanish and Quechua cultures that settled ... read more

South America » Peru July 14th 2012

With a free day in Cusco, which by now I knew very well after venturing around by myself for a few days, I couldn't wait to show dad a few places. We began with a superfood green smoothie at my mate Pedro's raw organic cafe then headed to the 'Museo de Plants' or something along those lines. We spent an hour there learning about the interesting history of coca, which actually has several health benefits. It's a shame we can't bring any coca leaves back into AUS. The historical dispute over coca's notorious use in the form of cocaine was interesting also, along with the history of coca-cola. On the bus back to Cusco the previous day I met a like minded girl from Canada who was a holistic nutritionist. She explained how she had been ... read more

South America » Peru July 14th 2012

I woke at 4.30am to get to Macchu Picchu, one of the seven wonders of the world. This incredible Inca site was built by the Inca's in the 1500's, but was not discovered until 1911 by the American archaeological explorer Haram Bingam, accidentally. The photos of this place do not do it any justice. The first view I got of it was overwhelming. Here I also met up with dad who I had not seen for a few days and during the two hour tour or Macchu Picchu we struggled to listen as we kept talking trying to catch up on everything. The Macchu Picchu tour was run by Jefferson, another Intrepid guide who is quite a character and very cheeky, and was apparently lots of fun as a guide on the Inca Trail dad said. ... read more

South America » Peru July 11th 2012

Right now I am in Aguas Calientes sipping on a very VERY nice glass (or 2 or 3) of Chilean red wine in a restaurant right next to the fast flowing river... It is literally below me when I look out the window. At 6.30 though I am due to go back to the hotel for dinner with our guide and one other family. Today was fairly relaxed as I returned to the raw food bar for my morning green smoothie then hopped on the bus back to Ollayantambo where Ollie, myself and Annie and her two teenage boys had lunch at the Hearts Cafe which supports several causes. We then caught the train to Aguas Calientes, otherwise known as Macchu Picchu town. The train ride was simply amazing and so scenic, however the whole time ... read more

South America » Peru July 10th 2012

I had an amazing sleep in and woke up in a more positive mood today. I left the hotel with zero plans and the day turned out beautifully, especially because I could actually put some more weight on my foot and the pain wasn't anywhere near as bad. It was such a perfect day as well and I was able to wear a t-shirt and sunnies. I came across an organic cotton shop and treated myself to a few nice Peruvian made tops. I somehow found the Inca Museum and spent a fair while in there secretly following another group with an english speaking tour guide... Everything was written in spanish so Everything would have been meaningless to me if I hadn't of been informed in a language I understood. Then I think it was fate ... read more

South America » Peru July 10th 2012

I woke up pretty disappointed my ankle still had no improvement but it was an okay day to be injured as it wasn't very active. We took the minibus to Ollayantambo and along the way we stopped at Moray, an Inca site. We also stopped at a local place where they made Chichua which is a beer made from corn... Dads face was hilarious as it wasn't very tasty. It is one of the most popular drinks among Peruvian's though. All of us went for tea that night and later there was a huge conflict happening between our intrepid group and a large group of american teens who were yelling, singing and continuing to do so even after being asked nicely by several people to keep the noise down. A few of the boys came and ... read more

South America » Peru July 9th 2012

We left the jungle mid morning to catch our flight to Cusco, the most historical city in Peru. This day was not a very exciting one for me as when getting off the boat after the 2hr boat ride I spotted a monkey that was being very playful. I slowly walked over to it to capture a shot... And didn't see the half a metre drop as I was focusing on the monkey! Such a Katie thing to do and you can understand where I get my reputation for being clumsy. Unfortunately the fall badly sprained my ankle... I don't usually swear and I was cursing trying to hold back tears. For some reason I then responded hysterically and began laughing, maybe because the monkey shot straight over to me and was tilting his head from ... read more

South America » Peru July 7th 2012

By 6am this morning we had our hiking gear and gum boots on ready to explore and learn about the Amazon. After a short walk we arrived at a canopy tower which we climbed to view the jungle from above. The view was incredible and through some binoculars we were able to see toucans and other beautifully coloured birds. The guides are so knowledgeable and I tried to soak as much in as possible. We continued walking for another hour, on the way spotting a tarantula and learning about the flora eg. Brazil nut trees. Next we hiked through mud to the 'lago' (lake) where we immediately spotted four otters. Francesco our guide was making a huge fuss and was ensuring we were all getting pictures. He then explained he has been taking people to this ... read more

South America July 7th 2012

After a horrible sleep I woke at 5.30 and did a Pilates workout in the room, spoke to mum on Facebook, had some yacon tea, and prepared dad and I a healthy breakfast with our foods from the health food store and some organic fruit. We all boarded the plane to Puerto Maldonado where it is 31 degrees celcius and humid. The turbulance was intense and the plane was almost empty. When boooking this trip I had little expectations of the Amazon and it didn't really cross my mind too much, however after being greeted with fresh squeezed passion fruit juice, local bananas, brazil nuts and later a lunch in a banana leaf on the boat, our expectations were already exceeded. Especially during the scenic 2 and a half hr boat ride to the lodge. We ... read more




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