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Published: July 17th 2006
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Rafting the Urubamba
This is one of the later class III+ rapids that we run At nine o’clock in the evening on the night before I was due to start a three day rafting trip down the Class V rated Apurimac River, I was left a note which informed me that due to lack of numbers the trip had been cancelled. I couldn’t quite believe my continuing run of bad luck; ten minutes later the most recent in a long line of Peruvian cock ups was confirmed; I had no option (since every other tour agency was closed) but to do a two day trip on the Urubamba River. Although I was disappointed not to attempt the notorious Apurimac, I ended up having a great couple of days.
On the first day I was joined by a nice pair of Brits from the west midlands who had an awful lot of piercing in places I didn’t even know you could get pierced. Our small group of three was taken down the lower section of the Urubamba by our local guide Arturo or R2 as I called him; this section of the river only went up to a Class II+, which is very tame and a I’m afraid a bit dull. The upshot of this was
Sit down and shut up
This is one of the many occasions where R2 our guide did all the work while we sat in the middle of the raft, not quite sure why my paddle is floating around mid air, oh well that the other two got a bit disillusioned with rafting and heading back to Cusco that afternoon; this left me alone in the massive riverside camp with R2 and the cook.
Luckily that morning I had spotted a big wood fired pizza oven in the camp grounds and once everyone else had gone, R2 and I headed into town to buy some pizza ingredients. After a couple of hours shopping, R2 and I were getting on famously so we decided to go to the local “pub” for a few drinks. It was there that I had my first taste of Chicha, a vile tasting local brew made from fermented corn. For entertainment in the pub there was a game called Sapo, which consisted of throwing fat coins at a table covered in various holes and a big brass frog. After the first round of Chicha and Sapo we were joined by a few of the other rafting guides who ensured that the rest of the evening went off with a bang. We all arrived back into the camp quite merry and within an hour were gorging ourselves on some fantastic freshly made pizza. Just to top off a great
Bodyboarding
I´ve just finished the last rapid and am having a well deserved rest night I ended up sleeping in the sauna, which was still lovely and warm from its use earlier in the day. It was the first time I got to know some of the locals under the influence and it was a very memorable experience
The next day a new group of day trippers arrived into the camp and we set off to raft the upper section of the Urubamba; this was much more fun since there were three full rafts on the river and we attempted mainly class III+ rapids. The previous evening I had spotted a body board in the rafters of the camp which R2 said I could use for the last half hour of the next days rafting trip. He was true to his word and for the last four rapids I paddled down the river on a big green bit of polystyrene. It was tremendous fun since I went easily as fast as the rafts while being almost level with the water, every time I went over a big stone of fell off the board the safety kayaker would paddle over to check that I was still grinning. The only downside to this little escapade
Bloody Frezing
I may not look it but I am very very cold. After half an hour in the water I´d lost feeling in my hands and feet. was that by the time I exited the freezing cold water I’d lost feeling in my hands and feet, still totally worth it. After a half hour defrosting in the sauna I headed back to Cusco, R2 and I spent the entire trip back taking photos of the other tourists fast asleep on the bus.
Because my three day trip had been cancelled I had a day to fill in Cusco; I opted to do a full days mountain biking. After a couple of hours folded up in a public bus we arrived at the top of the Urubamba valley, over the next six hours myself and three Spaniards followed our guide down some fantastic farm tracks and downhill trails. It was fantastic days biking since the trails were great fun, very challenging and most importantly mostly downhill. Many fields in the patchwork that covered the lower slopes of the surrounding mountains were being harvested which ensured that during the ride there was always plenty to see. Along the way we stopped off at a couple of archaeological sites the first was Moray, a pre-Incan amphitheatre like depression in the ground. The structure consisted of several circular terraces at incremental depths below ground level; each terrace formed its own microclimate and was used by the pre-Incans as a kind of agricultural laboratory. Incredibly the temperature change between each level is about 5°C. The second site we visited was the Salinas or salt pans; this again is a pre-Incan construction which was used for extracting salt from a natural saline hot spring. The spring water that gushes from the head of the valley is distributed into small channels that in turn fill thousands of small reservoirs that have been built into the side of the valley. The effect is a valley bleached almost completely white; when viewed from below the terraced pans look like one vast icefall.
I ended up having a fantastic few days which really topped off my time in Cusco, although having spent seven of the last eight days doing some kind of physical activity, I am now completely knackered. Luckily the day after my biking trip I had a 10 hour train ride to Puno; the train left at 8am and was a good reminder that Peru is in fact five times the size of the UK with half the population. For almost the entire trip all that could be seen were mud brick farm houses set in vast expanses of grasslands and mountains. A train full of gringos was still such a novelty that all the local kids would come running alongside the train waving frantically whenever we passed.
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mazza
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Just had a fab day in copenhagen and we are now sailing under a huge bridge into the Baltic sea on our way to Stockholm. Can't get onto Hotmail so can't get onto my travel blog cos can't remember the password! Oh dear! Sea is like a mill pond and the sun is tremendously hot. Dad having great fun - alls well.