Blogs from Pisac, Cusco, Peru, South America - page 4

This blog is about the non-tourist parts of Pisaq. I took photos that suit the geography classroom. I am curious about the quality of life of the people who live in these communities. The Sacred Valley is a hotspot for tourists around the world. The Peruvian government or the people who own LAN airplanes and PeruRail are charging premium rates to transport tourist to and from MachuPicchu. They are making a lot of profit. To support the demands of tourists from Europe and North America infrastructure has been built and services established, e.g. hotels with hot showers, five star restaurants, airconditioned buses, good roads, bank machines, tourist markets. I wonder how the people in the community feel about the injection of such things? If they benefit from it, e.g. good roads, then they will be happy. ... read more

Dag 163 og 164. Sondag vaaknet Eirik og var mye bedre enn igaar. Etter frokost gikk vi en til Paddy's, en irsk pub like ved Plaza de Armas, for aa skrive en del i dagboken. Vi ble sittende saapass lenge at vi begynte aa bli smaasulten igjen. Vi kjopte en porsjon med nachos, bonner, ost og guacamole, som vi delte. Vi gikk tilbake til hostellet og sov et par timer. Resten av ettermiddagen og kvelden brukte vi paa aa skrive mer i dagboken, og legge ut nye entryer paa bloggen. Paa kvelden kjopte vi billetter til guidet heldagstur til inkaenes hellige dal. I tillegg bestilte vi bussbilletter til Arequipa tirsdag (50 soles p.p.). Mandagen sto vi opp saapass tidlig at vi fikk spist frokost for vi skulle bli hentet kl. 7.30. Vi kjorte forst til Pisac, ... read more

After flying all night we arrived in Cusco at 9:00 am and were picked up by our hotel and driven the forty-five minutes to Pisac. We were tired and adjusting to the altitude (going from sea level to over 9,000 feet overnight had given us both headaches) so we basically did nothing the first day but wander the market in the center of town and bit, drink water and coca tea (which is supposed to help with adjusting to the altitude), and rest. We woke up our second day in Pisac and decided to check out the ruins above town. We walked down and got a taxi up to the ruins, but we didn't anticipate how much it would cost to get in, and only had enough money to pay the taxi driver and buy the ... read more

Today, after a frustrating $16, 1-hour international phone call to Bank of America to find out WHY MY ATM CARD WAS NOT WORKING, we actually found a bank with an ATM that did accept my card, amen! This bank was BCP (Banco Credito Peru), but we like to call it Bank of the Crazy People. It is my new favorite bank because it prevented me from being penniless on my trip and having a panic attack in the middle of Cusco :). A little behind schedule, we searched for the bus station to get a ride to Pisac, a smaller town outside of Cusco famous for its outdoor markets. After a few wrong turns (I was distracted by the immaculately clean Church of Latter Day Saints across the street, which stuck out like a sore thumb ... read more

Off to Peru we were. A short 6hr bus ride around Lake Titicaca, past Puno and onwards to Cusco - Peru´s oldest city and the base from which to visit Machu Picchu. A simple journey until our bus driver decided to drive past a customs police blockade at 60miles an tour. Whistles, sirens, the works as the police caught up with us. The driver eventually pulled over and the luggage holds were opened for inspection. Normally that would be fine but the Peruvian police are not reknowned for being the most trustworthy themselves so Sheena watched the bags inside the bus and I hopped off to watch our bags (and their contents) in the hold. Naturally, I made myself useful by asking the police lots of questions about what was going on which I’m sure they ... read more