Lima - La Paz

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Lima:

We arrived into Lima a couple of days early and once in our hostel in MiraFlores we wondered out for some lunch and a quick look around to get our bearings. We can’t miss our hostel, it is situated right on a main round about intersection and on street level it is so noisy with the sounds of traffic but it is a bustling part of town.

Day 2 in Lima for us was locating a post office and sending back some paintings we purchased in Quito so we wouldn’t have to carry them around or worry about them on tour. So after getting everything done to the prescribed requirements we were finally able to post our items home and then headed down the road to try and find the Gold Museum.

The Gold Museum (Salsa Museo Oro del Peru) is located in a rather new looking shopping plaza, Larcomar and wasn’t quite the gold museum I thought I was taking Jay to as it is just a display of the Incan Gold that a private collector has managed to acquire throughout the years. The collection shows how the Incans smelted and works this precious metal and has fascinating examples of the intricate works as well. The main piece (which is the Peruvian Icon we all relate to) is a Tumis that is just breathtaking.

Overall the Gold Museum was a worthwhile visit and was just a short walk down from our hostel. Deciding to take a different road back to see something different I was fortunate enough to come across a chiropractor and booking in for a quick adjustment and then caught up with Jay for a rather nice Menu Del Dia before heading back for a coffee around the corner from the hostel.

For something different we headed to the centre of town to see the main plaza and caught the local bus. An experience in itself with a guy hanging out the door of the bus (mini van to be correct) yelling in Spanish gibberish the destination headed and the driver will slow down enough for you to jump on and continue the journey. All in all it was a rather loud and boisterous experience.

At Plaza de Arms we were on time to see the change of the guard. An array of Red Jackets with blue pants frog-marching to the band looked rather comical but all were very serious in their task at hand. After watching the event we wandered around the main square for awhile before catching the bus back to mirafores for our final night before joining our tour.

Lima - Rio a 49 day journey.

Really our tour started on day 2 as day 1 was our joining day.

With an early start we gathered around at 5.20am for breakfast and to start our journey. We’ve a good mix of people on the trip so it should be a great 3 weeks until some leave the tour in La Paz and others will start.

So after our bright and early start we grab our bags and wait, and wait and wait for our truck to arrive. Running on Lima time the bus was caught up by police checking papers, so we are told however the wait is a good icebreaker and soon everyone is talking.

Our truck is a bright orange/red (which is good as you can’t miss it in a parking lot anywhere) with 2 drivers (Willy and Pedro) and our seats are really comfortable. The tour is full with 20 or so people so there are no spare seats to stretch out on but some of the Aussie lads are onto this and have perfected the stretching out in the aisle to sleep technique.


After an couple of hours drive our first stop is at a fishing village, Pisco and a chance to get on a boat to head out to the Ballestas Islands. The tour is an optional extra but well worth the money. All up we spent about 2 hours on the water and we were fortunate that the seas were fairly calm. On the way to the islands we stopped to see the Candelabra that is etched onto the side of a mountain by what is thought to be by the Spanish and continue onwards to the islands we have set out to see.

The islands are home to over 150 species of marine bird including the Humboldt penguin, cormorants, Peruvian boobies and pelicans. We were told that condors have been known to visit the islands on occasion as well. As well as the birdlife there are sea-lions and an array of aquatic life as well. It is a nature lover’s haven that has the pungent smell of nature to accompany it. We spent a good amount of time slowly passing the animals and birds taking numerous photos. It’s not the Galapagos but it’s a good alternative and a damn sight cheaper at s/40.

After a nice lunch we were back on the truck and headed to our campsite for the night and some 4WD sand bugging in the afternoon. We are staying in an oasis town Huacachina of the Ica Region where the desert meets the sea. The sand dunes are enormous and the dune buggy drivers are insane! For S/48 we had an adrenalin filled couple of hours that took in breathtaking assaults on the dunes, sand boarding and a gorgeous sunset. In all day 2 was packed full of activities and action and a great way to start the tour.

Day 3
With a laid back start to the day our first task was to buy food for the next day where we are camping along the ocean tomorrow but for today we are heading to the mystical Nazca Lines.

As we approach the town of Nazca we stop to climb up a watch tower for S/1 and from here we are able to see 2 of the lines, The Hands and the Tree. Once photos were taken it was back on the truck for the final drive into Nazca and our campsite for the night.

Once we had pitched tents and had lunch some of us opted to do the flight over the Nazca Lines. I was one so after photos in front of the 6 seater plane that from here on will be termed the “puke-o-meter” we were up and looking out the window trying to spot the lines that are shown on our little flight plan chart. Puke

Unfortunately I was on the sunny side of the “puke-o-meter” and had trouble seeing too much below due to the sun reflection so spent most of my flight leaning over the poor lass next to me with my camera on rapid shot trying to take photos of something I couldn’t see. I did manage to get some good shots of the whale, humming bird, spider and a few others and by accident got the astronaut and monkey as well. The cost of the trip was USD65 and in hindsight it maybe wasn’t the best value for money but I am glad I did it. A warning to anyone doing this flight, I have termed it the “puke-o-meter” for a reason...it is extremely bumpy and turbulent in the air and even the strongest stomach gets a bit queasy up in the air. If you suffer from motion sickness, even in a very mild way make sure you take something for it before heading up.

In the evening a majority of us headed out for a traditional meal cooked in the ground with pork, chicken and an array of vegetables. Was rather cool to do and there was a quick ceremony that goes along with it every time you cook this way to thank mother earth and all that.

Day 4,
Day 4 wasn’t a particularly good day for me as I suffered from an extremely upset stomach and missed out on the cemetery tour before we travelled onto Puerto Inca where we had lunch and dinner camped out near a beach and a good time for a bit of relaxation. Those who were up to it headed out to the Incan ruins about a 20 minute walk from where we are stay, some ventured into the cold ocean for a swim that didn’t last long and others headed up to the games room to play pool after lunch and the boys played soccer before dinner duties. Me, I just laid down and rested after a long morning of feeling quite ill.

Day 5
Today we head to Arequipa. It is a long drive that takes all day with a quick stop for lunch along the way and we arrive quite late in the evening. Some headed out for a quick sandwich and others out to party.

Day 6
With a quick walking tour by Manuel (our tour guide) we were left to our own devices to sight see for a day. One of the girls from the tour and I headed to the University to visit Juanita, an Incan female mummy (also refered to as the Ice Maiden or Lady of Ampato - the mountain she was found on) preserved in the snow for about 500 hundreds of years and was discovered in 1995 by Johan Reinhard. It is thought that Juanita was between 12-14 years of age at the time of death around 1440 - 1450. bout 10 years ago. A lot has been learnt from her and the tour is well worth the S/14 entry and the guides English is outstading.

Juanita is well preserved having been frozen just after death by the harsh conditions on the mountain and because of this today’s anthropologists have been able to run tests on her lungs, liver, stomach and muscle tissue and gave new insights into the Incan lifestyle of the 1400’s.

It is thought that Juanita’s body was exposed from her hiding place in the snow when a nearby volcano erupted and hot ash melted the snow and Juanita “fell down” the mountain and was discovered shortly afterwards along with some of her burial monuments. Jo and I were taken on a tour around the museum by our guide who spoke excellent English and the tour finished off with a viewing of Juanita we finished our tour and headed out to look around the rest of this pretty town which is apparently the second most important city in Peru after Lima.

Day 7
It’s another long day on the bus today with an early start (4am or something like that) we leave Arequipa and head for Colca Canyon. Along the way we stop at a high point of 4600m above sea level and discover just how thin the air is at this height before we continue on towards the canyon.

Why are we heading to Colca Canyon and why did we get up so bloody early? Well first up the scenery is pretty cool and it is where we have the best chance to see the Condors flying and the best times to see them is in the morning between 9am and 10am hence why we were up so early for our 6-7 hour drive to get here. We were fortunate to see about 7 Condors which for this time of the year is very lucky.

After the Condor sightings we headed towards our accommodation for the night and dinner. There is an option to go to some hot springs or to the small town for a couple of hours but the rain has set in and some of us decided playing cards in front of a nice fire.

Day 8

It’s another long day ahead of us all and a 6am start to go with it. We have to back track over the roads we used to get to Colca Canyon and have time to stop again for photos at our high point along the way. Munity is about to be called on poor Manuel who has organised lunch along the way, it has taken us longer than expected to get there and at 3.30pm we finally stop to have lunch and then head off towards Cuzco again. Arriving early evening I am reminded why I loved Cuzco the first time I visited many years ago. It is such a friendly town and although it has changed quite a lot in the time between visits it is still a lovely town. But for us it is something very quick to eat and bed as we are all pretty shattered after our long day of driving. (For the record our hotel room is really small, loud and shitty and we are not happy)
Jay and I had organised to see a doctor to try and get something to make us feel better as I still have an upset stomach and Jay has a bit of a chest infection and the Incan Trail is only 2 nights away. After parting with S/100 each for the doctors visit we were then hit with the pharmacy bill of nearly S/ 500 combined, ... ouch!

Day 9

We have a free day to ourselves and a handful of us decide to do a revised sacred valley tour. It is just people from our tour so it is small and intimate and we have a brilliant guide. We stop to look over Sacsayhuaman and get a brief history on this fortress and the part it played in the conquest by the Spanish and here of the story that weakened the Incan defence of 2 brothers that were feuding at the time and can be considered the main reason of the downfall of the Incan nation. There as been more excavation of the ruins since I was here the first time and it looks even more amazing than I remember.

From here we travelled to the Pisac Ruins, again another great introduction to the Incan culture and way of life before we head out on the Incan trek tomorrow. These ruins are the location of a major supply route. As we walk around these ruins we are shown look-out spots and then make our way into one of the reconstructed religious sights that had the most awesome view perched on the side of the mountain and terraces cut into them. We are also given an insight on climbing up and around in altitude whilst we tour around these amazing ruins.

After pisac and lunch we head to Ollantaytambo and one of my favourite Incan ruins. We climb up the terraces and look down on the city that still holds many of the features that the original Incan designs that make this place to appealing to me. As with most places tourism has changed these towns a lot with the supply and demand but it still holds the same charm to me as it did on my first visit. At the top of the terraces there are the temples and although earthquakes have given a bit of a battering over the years you can still make out the different temples and marvel at the size of the rocks that would weigh over 2 tonnes that have come from a quarry over another mountain and river away. It’s a pretty awesome feat when you consider how far they moved these rocks that were carved to shape at the quarry and then moved into location at the top of another mountain to fit perfectly into place...amazing.

On our way back we stopped off to taste some traditional “beer” made from corn. Not my cup of tea as was quite bitter and I don’t like beer at the best of times. We also played a game where you toss discs at a frog that is positioned on a board with holes around it and the objective was to get a disc into the mouth of the frog or at least the holes around it and you get varying points depending on where your disc lands. Proud to say I got the most points for the day.

Once finished we headed back off to Cuzco to be on time for our Incan Trek briefing. Here we meet our main guide - Effe and is assistant guide Pedro and we are given a outline how the trek works and what each day holds for us. It’s getting exciting and I am a little nervous. There are a handful of people that can’t go due to illness and Jay & I saw a doctor last night and have more pills than your average pharmacy to fight whatever it is we seem to have. Jay & I are going no matter how sick we are.

Day 10
We meet Effe and his crew in the foyer at 6am sharp for our transfer from Cuzco to the start point. There are a few stops along to way to buy last minute items and snacks before we make it to the departure point. We have our photos taken and looking back at them now we are so fresh faced and possibly naive to what we have ahead of us.

Day 1 of the Trek
Today is like an introduction to what we are to expect over the next few days. It starts off with a gradual incline and we stop along the way at various points of importance where Effe gives us the low down on some more Incan culture and customs. We cruise along slowly creeping up and then we are hit with our first real incline that has left a few of the girls (myself included) struggling for breath. Once up the top with are treated with one of many Incan ruins we will pass through in the next 4 days.

With a quick decent and bit more walking we make it to our lunch location for the day. We are greeted with claps from our many porters with bright smiley faces (these guys ran past us about 1 hour into our walk carrying loads of up to 20kg per person) and lunch almost ready to be served. Food on the trek is good and our lunch most welcomed as we had all eaten at 5.30 this morning and at around 1.30pm we are all pretty hungry by now.

After about 1 hour break we get ourselves moving again and head towards our fist campsite for the night. Again after about 20 minutes this time we are overtaken by our porters who race ahead and by the time we make our campsite our tents are up and we are told that there is a happy our at 5pm of hot chocolate, tea, coffee and something to eat before dinner. We also get a chance to meet the team of people behind the scenes that make our journey possible, the cooks and porters. All up we have about 25 porters with 2 cooks in there as well that work their backsides off. They have 1 day off between treks and all have farms back home to be tended to. These guys are amazing. There is one porter on this team that has run (without packs or carrying anything) the 42km we are hiking over 4 days in 3hr and 45 minutes from start to finish and holds the record for doing it in the fast time....Wow.

Anyway after a hearty meal and some card games most of us head to bed as tomorrow we have a hard day ahead of us.

Day 11
Day 2 of the Trek.
We are woken in the morning with a gentle tap on the tent and hot coca tea and one of the porters puts a bowl of warm water each at the front of our tent. This is camping deluxe style. We have about 30 minutes to pack our stuff away in our duffle bags and be ready for breakfast and last minute morning brief. We are to walk together to a certain point then after that we go at our own pace to our campsite for the night. It is estimated that it shouldn’t take us more than 8 hours to complete today’s hike and lunch will be served at 2.30pm if not everyone is in camp by this time. If we all arrive earlier then lunch will be earlier.

Today is the day where you will face a few demons and have to draw deep to get through it you are not a seasoned hiker. Jay has always walked faster than I up hills and I am quite happy for him to go charging up the mountain like a bull at a gate. I have been suffering with low blood pressure and although I could walk the mountain and do it on my own in good time I decide on the company of Mike and Lindsay and we set ourselves goals to break the mountain up. Along the way we take in the scenery and in some points we have a stream running alongside the track we are walking. Everywhere I look we are surrounded by mountains at our peak for the day the clouds start to roll in and we were in for some rain to add some spice to our uphill walk. In a couple of hours we make it to the summit of Dead Woman’s Pass and we are making relatively good time for the amount of stops we have made to both catch our breath and look around.

At the top we were clouded in so we couldn’t take in much of the view however we have made it and take the photos next to the sign and of the clouds in the background before we start the down hill decent which takes just over an hour or so to complete before we make it to camp. What a welcomed sight that was.

The afternoon is a chance to relax and take in the spectacular scenery around us whilst it gets colder and colder. We were warned that tonight it the coldest we will be on the trek as they are not wrong. I wore most of my clothes into my sleeping bag last night and still shivered away most of the night.

Day 12
Day 3 of the Trek

Today we are back to walking as a group between points and Effe is back into guide mode with stops along the way at Incan sites that need explaining. Each sight is getting better and better. With regular breaks along the way and some more ruins as well we are told the there is an undulating walk to get to lunch and we can head off on our own pace to get there. I team up with Lindsay and Mike again and we stop regularly to take in the view and take the odd photo here and there. Our spirits are much higher today and we are on the edge of the Amazon Jungle.

After another 2 hours of hiking or so we saw our lunch site and egged each other on with a run to the finish line and arrived with giggles and triumph for our lunch break that included a little siesta time as well.

We’ve got a couple of burly Scotish lads on our tour and 3 crazy aussies as well and they have been challenged to carry the porters backpacks for a 20-30 meter distance up some stairs and back down again. The challenge met none of them volunteered to carry the packs to tonights campsite.

After lunch we are off again with more downhill stairs. We are given free rein to go at our own pace and I make my way down slowly. Have passed out a few times today so don’t want to go pushing it too much. Pedro has kept an eye on me this afternoon to make sure that I arrive safely. Go Pedro!

Our campsite tonight there is an opportunity for those that want it to have a hot shower but the wet one baths are going fine so stick to that. There is a bar at this camp site as well and everyone is humming with excitement as tomorrow is not only our last day hiking but we arrive at Machu Pichu, one of the best Incan sites to see.

Day 13
Day 4 of the Trek
It’s an early morning to get ourselves down to the gate in a timely manner and wait in queue for the gate to open for hikers for the day. We all mill around and the excitement is building. With the gates opening it is like something you’d see at the horse races. People pushing forward for the final 2 hour hike and the pace is cracking.

Today I manage to keep up with the our group and there are people trying to overtake all the time from further back. This is all good however they try and overtake on the mountain side of you and pushing you towards the edge so tactics come into it as I am at the back of group and trying to hold off the speedsters as long as I can before they go crashing past our team. After a few have overtaken Jay & I have had enough and give a piece of our mind and feel better for getting it out of the system.

The scenery is still awesome and the drop off the side of the paths is sheer. You don’t want to be slipping here. With the cracking pace still on we make it to the City of the Clouds in no time but unfortunately it is too cloudy to look down on Machu Picchu. So after a quick break we are off on our final leg of this journey. We make it to the Watch tower by 7.30 am or something like that you can see Machu Picchu but it is shrouded with mist and cloud and looks very mysterious. We still take our group photos and then continue down the mountain to the main gate to start our tour of Machu Picchu with Effe.

The cloud dissipates and we are left with a beautiful blue sunny and hot day to explore the ruins. Although our legs are tired we head back up to the Watch tower for the photos that I want and no amount of exhaustion is going to stop me getting them. Jay & I lay out my poncho (2nd use for the trek) and chill out taking in the amazing view of Machu Picchu for a couple of hours and revel in our accomplishment.

On our way back down disaster struck, I managed to lose my footing whilst having a mini black out and came too sliding head first down a terrace embankment looking at the sky. Realising quickly my predicament I managed to at least get my head out of body impact way and land on my shoulder and rolled towards the next embankment before Jay stopped me from going over. A little shaken, a broken watch and a tear in my pants and scratch on my bum later I have to say that the quick way down isn’t necessarily the safest way to dodge more steps. Either way, I am okay and even managed to laugh about it shortly after. Jay, I think had a mini heart attack as he was in front of me and was helpless to save me until I hit the ground.

Looking back at the 4 days they went so quickly and it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as I thought it was going to be. We had great support with Effe, Pedro and our wonderful crew of porters and cooks to make the experience enjoyable. The secret to doing these 4 days is to go at your own pace. I have a lot of pride in myself and Jay for taking on this challenge when neither of us of a healthy state and it is an experience that will remain a highlight of my life.

Day 14 and 15
Our final 1 ½ days in Cuzco were spent chilling out and wondering around this beautiful city before getting ready to head to Puno and out to the homestays of Lake Titicaca. The journey from Cuzco to Puno takes about 8 hours and we arrive to Puno with the welcome of rain and thunderstorms.

Jay hasn’t got any better and I am not feeling very well again so we make a quick decision to stay in Puno instead of heading out to the homestays where there is a big chance Jay will get worse due to the cold and damp conditions.

Day 16

Today is a designated day of rest for us. Jay has settled in with a few English channels on TV to watch movies whilst he tries to rest and I head out to organise a tour to the floating islands for tomorrow so we at least get some sort of experience of Lake Titicakka. Whilst I am out and about get some more drugs for Jay and enjoy the sunshine for a little bit.

We headed out for dinner and decided on a comfy looking restaurant which turned out to serve great food whilst the rain clouds settle in for the night. After finishing we entered back out into the main arcade area to find a procession of people dancing and bands playing in what we can only assume was a Christmas pageant of sorts but we got to see the men and women in traditional dress but eventually the rain got too much so we headed back to the hotel for the night.

Day 17

Today we head out for our ½ day tour of the floating islands. We are collected from our hotel and shown to our boat for the morning. It is pretty calm on the Lake and although it is cold it is a pleasant enough journey for the 30 minutes or so it takes to get to the island.

Along the way we are given some facts and figures on the Lake, for example its deepest point is 284m and is the highest commercially navigable Lake in the world at 3812m above sea level. The Bolivian navy apparently trains on this lake too.

We are off to Uros which is our destination is made up of a group of about 42 artificial islands made from floating reeds. We were treated with a demonstration on how the islands are made with the reeds found on the Lake but the show was stolen by the rather tame birds that wondered between us all and then pinched some fish in a bowl in our ½ circle for the demonstration. Was a pretty cool experience and glad we headed out on the tour.

This evening we caught up with the 3 aussie lads who stayed longer in Cuzco before coming to Puno to catch up with the tour. We ended up at the same place and this time had some of the best pizza we’ve had so far in south America.


Day 18
We catch up with Willy early in the morning before heading around the Lake to pick up the rest of the tour and those that did the homestays on the Lake. We get mixed reports about the accommodation on the islands and we know we made the right decisions for our health to hang around in Puno. The rest of the day is in transit to La Paz.

Just out of La Paz there is Tiahuanaco ruins (cradle of Inca civilization) and is believed to be where the Incans developed their stone masonary techniques and pottery. In truth I was expecting more but the ruins are cool enough and I am glad that we managed to do this on the way to La Paz and I didn’t have to pay for a full tour to get out here.

We arrive in La Paz early evening, again. It seems we do a lot of long days and get into our destinations at night when it is too late to see anything. Our room is pretty nice and we are all meeting at a restaurant for a group dinner as tomorrow there are a few that are leaving the tour to head home. With a good meal, I headed back an Jay partied on till early hours of the morning. As I am still not well I ended up watching TV all night and surprized Jay by still being awake when he starts to tip-toe into the room.

Day 19
Today was spent with me waiting for the doctor to visit me in the hotel and then getting blood tests and waiting for the results. Unfortunately we didn’t get out to see much of La Paz but we did get a good lunch near the clinic I was having the tests done.

We have met with the new tour guide John, who is pretty organized and there are only 3 more on our tour that some of us haven’t met and we have a new group of about 11 people now.

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