Blogs from Ayacucho, Peru, South America

The Incas pulled together the pre-existing tracks in the region to create an extensive paved road system of 40,000 kilometres, stretching past Quito (Ecuador) in the North and Santiago (Chile) and Mendoza (Argentina) in the South. The roads were primarily used to redistribute goods, as different items were produced in different regions, and for efficient transfer of the Inca armies (which could number in the tens if thousands) to ensure their hegemony over the Empire. The Great Inca Road traversed 6000 km along the spine of the Andes and, en route, connected Cajamarca and Cusco. Today, it is not possible to make this journey without returning to the coast. Apart from flying the most direct route is to bus it from Cajamarca to Lima (13 hours) and from Lima to Cusco (24 hours). We took the ... read more

There are few real mysteries left to archaeologists anymore. Stone Henge is one, it wasn't made for or by aliens, that's just stupid, but it's real use is lost to antiquity. Sure, we (by "we" I mean actual achaeologists and hitorians, possibly Tony Robinson too, but not me or you dear reader) can have educated guesses, but that's all they are, guesses. Peru has the Nazca Lines fill the role of antiquity puzzler. These are lines, no more than 50cm wide, carved in to the surface of the desert. Some are shaped like animals or humans but most are straight lines. They are visible only from a height and are rather large. We decided against taking a flight over the desert; it's expensive, we'd had mixed reviews and the safety record of some companies is questionable. ... read more

I believe in Karma. I think if you do something horrendous, Karma will find you and she will kick you in the face. Hard. You cannot escape the sweet justice of Karma. She keeps the world in balance. Just like if you do something good, you will be rewarded. However, lets face it, us humans dont often stretch ourselves to do something nice. Therefore we only have real experience with the hand of retribution. Which brings me to my week. Here I will take a short pause to ponder....what the fuck did I do to deserve this week? Karma got beef with me. So let me begin.... Firstly....Barclays bank can go fuck itself. Ok, I forgot my pin number. But I forgot my pin number because some cunt of a person stole my bag before I ... read more

This is not easy to write so I do not know if it will be easy to read. Often when people heard I was going to Peru, they assumed that it was going to be a non-stop party. A way of escaping the monotony and boredom of life. I am the first to admit that I have no real aspirations career or money-wise. And I suppose many of you think its easy for me to leave behind England for a 4 month fiesta. Now, don´t get me wrong there are fun times and there are experiences I would never have if I spent all my life in England. I want to be here. And as such you have to take the good with the bad. Yesterday I attended a funeral for a 10 year old boy. ... read more

Omdat we tijd zat hebben en Peru groot genoeg is hebben we besloten dat het goed is als Thieu wat extra gaat reizen. Hij wilde graag Huancayo en Ayacucho bezoeken en dat kan mooi in weekje. Op zondag geprobeerd nog een vlucht naar Lima te boeken maar dat ging hem natuurlijk niet worden. Internet boekingen in Nl kunnen soms moeilijk verlopen, probeer het maar eens in Zuid-Amerika. Na 3 maal proberen te betalen met de creditcard heeft Thieu het maar opgegeven. Maandag maar weer eens proberen. Natuurlijk was het betaalbare ticket $136 op maandag alweer weg. Mocht hij nog willen vertrekken op dinsdag dan ging jhet $160 kosten voor een enkeltje. Het wordt tijd dat Ryan Air ook hier gaat rondvliegen. Dan maar kijken wat de opties zijn met de bus. Niet alleen krijg je dan ... read more