Into Peru and the Inca trail

---

29.12.08 Cusco, Peru:
It has been another week since our last entry. We caught a bus from La Paz to Puño, via Copacabana and a brief boat ride across Lake Titicaca. Puño is a cute little town, situted on Lake Titicaca. Here we bought up some supplies for our home stay, and wandered around the city. We bought a cake for Cara´s birthday, and had an early celebration over a nice dinner.

On Cara´s birthday we caught an early morning boat to Isla Taquile. We walked around the island, and had a great lunch at a very authentic local ´restaurant´. After lunch we boarded the boat and headed to a remote area on Lake Titicaca, where we stayed with a local family and their 7 children. We received a warm welcome, with a marching band escorting us from the wharf to the school, where we met our hosts. We quickly visited their house, and returned to the school for a game of soccer. Some credibility was eventually restored, with a slight win to the visitors! After a traditional meal with our hosts we returned to the school in local dress (including four layers of skirts for Cara) for a fiesta involving music and dance. As it was Cara´s birthday she received a garland made from the Peruvian national flowers. It was a great evening!

The next day we caught the boat to the Uros floating islands. Here they still live on and make much of their products from the tortora reeds found in the shallow areas of the lake. We caught the boat back to Puño, and then caught a bus for eight hours to Cusco. We received our supplies for the trek, and retired for the evening.

On Christmas Eve we had a full day tour of the Sacred Valley, before checking out some of the historic Incan sites in Ollantaytambo. The group all went our for Christmas dinner, and exchanged our KK presents.

On Christmas Day we commenced our 4 day trek to Macchu Pichu, dressed in Santa hats and tinsel. On the first day of the trek we were eased into the walking. However the difficulty and incline rapidly increased! For dinner we had turkey with a Pannetone for dessert - pretty impressive for such a remote area!

On day two we walked uphill for the first five hours, before reaching the summit at Dead Woman´s Pass. Here we were greeted with heavy rain, which continued for the two hour descent. We retired to our tents for the evening early, weary after a difficult day´s walking.

Day three was a day of undulating terrain, through intermittent rain. On our final day we rose at 4am, hoping to get a glimpse of Macchu Pichu from the Sungate. Unfortunately the weather didn´t oblige, and our first view was not until we arrived. The city was amazing! We spent a couple of hours exploring the ancient ruins of this impressive city. We returned to Cusco by train and bus, and then explored the city on foot.
We had a great night out at a local bar.

Today we leave for the Amazon basin, and will next update you early in the new year. Happy New Year!

---

Photos

Party time!
A traditional party on Cara,s Birthday while on a homestay on Lake Titicaca

One of the locals...
One of the locals at Macchu Pichu

Macchu Pichu
At Macchu Pichu, after four days of hiking through the rain

Comments

[michelle]

happy new year
happy new year! i hope 2009 is as good and as exciting as 2008 was for you both. your birthday adventures sound great. the inca trail must feel like a great accomplishment. i would have taken the easy option and gone on the train. the photo of you two at Macchu Pichu is lovely. i hope you are bringing in the new year in style somewhere lovely. not that you want to think about coming home but, i was just wondering would you still like me to come and get you guys from the airport? i dont mind cause im still on holidays. well happy new year trails, speak to you soon, take care. love michelle