Deepest Darkest Peru....


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South America » Peru
November 5th 2009
Published: July 28th 2010
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Hello all from deepest darkest peru! Last time i wrote I was in Bolivia it seems an aeon away. Am currently in Cusco having just returned from a 4 day trek in the Andes culminating in a visit to the magical Machu Pichu - truly one of the wonders of the world. The last few days have been a huge mental and physical test. Hiking up to 4800m where the air is so thin every step is an effort and your legs feel like jelly. However, the people and the scenery have been just amazing....a highlight of my time here to date.


Yet, i last left you in Potosi so I shall rewind and skip through the last couple of weeks.

La Paz - highest capital city in the world at 3600m. Spectacularly situated in the bottom of a huge canyon as though ´god´ had made a big icecream scoop out of the mountains, it occupies the entire basin lying beneath the great snow-capped triple peaked Illimani mountain. Warned of the dangers of La Paz - the fake police, the pick pockets, the opportunists - i was completely bowled over by how un intimidated I felt there. The hardest thing to deal with are the treacherously steep roads - you are constantly puffing and wheezing. Vast numbers of aymara women in voluminous skirts and bowler hats squatted on street corners selling silver , textiles and artisan crafty items. Wandered the city taking in the plethora of dried llama foetuses hanging in stalls in the ´witches market´as well as the colourful textiles of Bolivia. http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl=es&rlz=1R2SKPB_esPE347&um=1&ei=2IvzStSiJYyXtgeP57C6Aw&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=witches+market,+la+paz&spell=1&start=0Then there was Mercado Rodriguez - a fiesta of fruit , veg, meat carcasses and fish - full of locals. I was the only gringo wandering about.

The first leg of the trip finished in la Paz and we lost 7 people from the group and gained 2. A 59 year old world wanderer and a 40 something yogic american - the mean age of the group has now shot up and the bungy jumpers are outnumbered by a more sober (or not so!) bunch!

26 October - The shocking roads we have been subject to are now a distant memory and the journey from La paz to Copacabana on the shores of Lake Titicaca was beautifully pleasant. Shortly after leaving the mayhem of La Paz, the emerald waters of the Lake came into view. http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl=es&rlz=1R2SKPB_esPE347&um=1&sa=1&q=lake+titicaca&aq=f&oq=&start=0 Its a huge inland sea which used to connect to the salar de Uyuni - now it covers an impressive 8400sq kms and at almost 4000m is considered the highest navigable lake in the world. The road snaked around its shore and the smell of eucalyptus filled the air. The barren Bolivian altiplano and the mania of La Paz seemed a long way away. The tranquil waters sparkled and the views reminded me of the Coromandel peninsula in NZ mixed with the Swiss lakes and the Greek islands!!

Copacabana sits snugly between two hills on the fringes of the Lake. An 1.5hr boat ride from the mainland lies Isla del Sol http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl=es&rlz=1R2SKPB_esPE347&q=isla%20del%20sol&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi - known as the birthplace of the Incas it contains sacred rocks, ruins and many trails. We were all dropped off at the northern end of the island in the village of Challapamkpa and hiked up to the Chinchina ruins and the temple del Inca....each step on this island was an effort and sadly things went a bit pearshaped when the guide allowed the group to disperse too much. Fiona and I were following our leader who went the wrong way - struggling with the lack of oxygen and with bowels like jelly this wasnt the most pleasant of hikes. Every uphill section causing extreme panting and heart palpitations!. Our leader was too far ahead to hear us and when the paths diverged again we lost him completely. Hence we went way out of our way and missed the 430pm boat back to the mainland. Exhausted, freezing and dehydrated we managed to find a hostel on the south side of the island and got approval to charter a private boat back. It was a tough day and i was pretty furious with the unprofessionality of the set up - 9 miles at 4000m with very little water is no easy thing.....thankfully, we were reimbursed for the boat trip which took us back to Copcabana under a pitch black sky. After all, getting lost was not our fault and we felt that ought to be recognised...!

28 october - Left Bolivia today and crossed the border into Peru heading up to the western shore of lake T to Puno. Had a geeky visit to the HMS Yavari - an iron hulled steamship which was built in 1862 in the UK and then shipped over to S america in thousands of pieces before being carried by mule over the andes during a period of 6 years! http://www.yavari.org/

Also visited by boat - Los Uros one of the 32 floating reed islands on lake T. http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl=es&rlz=1R2SKPB_esPE347&um=1&sa=1&q=los+uros&aq=f&oq=&start=0 Created artifically for the Uro peole to escape the Incas, the islands are made of totora reed which grows in the lake itself. Dense roots support the islands and they are anchored with rope attached to sticks driven into the bottom of the lake. The reeds are not only used to construct and act as foundations for the islands, they are also used to build boats and the houses the Uro people live in. It was an utterly beguiling place but also totally false as tourism is its main economy now. Many of the outer islands remain untouched by gringos but the one we were taken to was anything but. Tourist guilt seeps out as you realisation dawns on you that its your presence that has corrupted an ancient way of life. Part of the ´visit´included the colourfully bedecked Uro women displaying all their handmade wares and crafts. With the money made from tourism these traditional communities are able to ´better´their existence - solar panels, TVs... I wouldnt be surprised if under their totora roofs they are playing PS3 and voting for Latin American idol...or even using their acquired solar panels to power sewing machines to churn out the needlework even quicker! Call me cynical.....

29 october - a Long drive day to Cusco today - heart of the Inca civilisation and known as the ´navel of the earth´. http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl=es&rlz=1R2SKPB_esPE347&um=1&sa=1&q=cusco&aq=f&oq=&start=0 With only 12 of us now in the Group, we all have a double truck seat which came in handy fir napping as we ascended the mountains rising to over 4600m.

Cusco (and it seems peru compared with Bolivia) is a tourist honey trap and the city is full of Quechuan ladies looking to make a sol or two out of the constant flow of gringos. I lost count of the amount of traditionally dressed women happy to pose for the camera... Bolivia is full of traditionally dressed women who hide from the camera.... Away from the centre of Cusco, up the steep cobbled colonial streets were fantastic views of a city that breathes history.

So far on this trip I have tasted llama (bit like beef) and alpaca (like pork) and guinea pig is next on the gastronomic menu....however, many of the group havent terrifically bubbly tummies and so my rodent eating can wait til Arequipa or Lima!

Thats it for now folks.... I need to catch up on my writing from the Andean Community Trek I have just done but suffice to say, 4 days camping and trekking at altitudes of nearly 16000feet have pushed the experience into my top 3 South american adventures so far.

It has been a brutally punishing few days but I survived and have adored it. I have been mesmerised by the mountains and the quechan people living in tiny communities - all a far cry from the over touristed Classic Inca Trail......

I will continue to try and upload more pics - i realise Im far behind. Here i am in peru and you've still got to see pics from Argentina, Chile and Bolivia.... in the meantime, Ive googled images for yáll.....

Happy November the 5th to you all - no fireworks in Cusco (apart from those in my bowels!).

Lots of Love Hannah x


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two comments:

Hannah - well done and great photos. Machu Pichu is on out ‘to do’ list so must come forward. Off to Libya soon so will catch up when we return. Enjoy the rest of your time in Peru.
Nick and Celia - 06 11 09 - 03:37

Hi Hannah - great to follow your adventures and the beautiful pics. Sounds like you’ll be returning with some great recipes - guinea pig makes a change from boring cheese & biscuits at parties !!!
Love from all here in France.
Gina
Gina (email) - 09 11 09 - 13:45



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