Peru

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So, a few facts about Peru then :
Peru is 5 times larger than the UK.
Famous for Machu Picchu (Trekking - Inca trail)
Capital - Lima
Currency - Soles (just over 4 to the £)
Population just over 22 million
Languages - Spanish, Quechua & Aymara

Peru's geography varies hugely between desert, sierra and jungle.
Over half of Peruvians live below the poverty line with unemployment out of control and difficult to measure. With many jobless working as street vendors, selling anything from clothes to chocolates.

About 45% of Peru's population is purely indigenous, making it one of the 3 Latin American countries to have such high indigenous representation.
80% of Peruvians are declared Roman Catholic, although often combining traditional beliefs into church festivals.

Football inspires passionate fanaticism although the national team hasn't qualified for the world cup since 1982 and Nolberto Salano (ex Vila & Newcastle) being the big name and still playing ! Bullfighting is also part of the bloodthirsty national culture and in remote Andean hamlets, condors are tied to the back of the bull as an expression of indigenous solidarity against Spanish conquistadors.
Peru is the 3rd largest country in South America with 3 distinct regions, a narrow coastal belt, the wide Andean mountains and the Amazon jungle.

After the tight schedule of getting to Lima to fly to Cusco for the Inca trail, it was nice to have a relaxing couple of days in Lima.

19th - Not too hectic a day, sorting out washing, a bit of lunch and shopping. In the evening Campbell, Brook, Ade and I went for a Chinese & a few beers.

20th - Up at 4am for the 6am flight from Lima to Cuzco. Found a hostel and had a wander around Cuzco, getting used to the altitude. Had lunch (8 soles, £2) and had an afternoon kip. Went out for a pizza in the evening then to a few bars, ending up at Mama Africa (night club).
Had a fairly late night & got quite drunk, altitude making the booze hit you that bit more.
Cuzco has a nice feel to it, no big buildings, less noise and pollution & not that many tourists all thinks considered.
Cuzco is the continents oldest continuously inhabited city and the hub of the South American travel network. Inca-built stone walls line most of the central streets and you don't have to go far to see other major Inca ruins. It is a city steeped in history, tradition and legend.
Cuzco has numerous colonial churches. The Cathedral was started in 1559 and took 100 years to build

21st - not much planned except getting used to the altitude, watching Champions League game Vs CSKA Moscow. Had some lunch, took some photos and enjoyed the sunny day & taking it easy before meeting the gap group the next day..

22nd - Another easy day, checked into the hotel. Got a bit of a fright as there were 40 or so middle aged Americans scattered around reception being loud and generally annoying, as they have a tendency to do. Luckily they all get on a bus to the airport mid morning. I met the rest of the trekking group at night. It was made of lots of different groups at various stages of their gap tours. In the end of group consisted of 16 people, a guide called Abel, 2 cooks and 22 porters.

23rd - We left the hotel at 8ish to head to the Sacred valley. We had a small rucksack each and a duffel back which the porters were going to carry each day. It was an expensive tour but most things were taken care of for us.
We travelled through the Sacred Valley, which is a lush agricultural region that supplies the city of Cuzco with much of its produce. We visited the ruins at Pisac briefly then stopped at a local village to watch the old women at work. Gap allegedly supports the village and they show you how they make the clothing and alpaca related items etc. All a bit staged, predictable and touristy.
We stopped for lunch at a Gap owned restaurant for the most un characteristically Peruvian buffet you can get, costing $12, ridiculous !
We then headed to the village of Ollantaytambo, the site of another large Inca ruin. The town and fortress of Ollantaytambo is strategically situated overlooking the Urubamba River valley. One of the few places where the Spanish lost a major battle during the conquest. We hiked up to the top and our guide gave us an explanation of the history and significance.
We stayed at a nice little hostel, had a healthy and tasty dinner and an early night.

24th - We left Ollantaytambo at 8ish for km 82. We finally got into the hike after showing passports, tickets, toilet stops and sorting equipment out. The first proper day of the hike was fairly easy, seeing lots of flora and passing several small ruin sites including Llactapata. We hiked for approx 6 hours and arrived just as it started raining about 4pm. The porters quickly put our tents up and organised everything with military precision. We had afternoon tea followed by dinner and an early night. What else can you do ?

25th - Woken up by a porter offering Coca tea and a bowl of warm water to have a wash. Quick bit of breakfast, pack your bag up and leave camp for 6am ish. The porters put the tent away and take your 5kg duffel bag for you. Now day 2 of the hike is notorious for being a struggle, climbing the long steep path to Warmiwanusca (Dead Woman's Pass). At 4,198m (13,769 ft) above sea level, it's the highest point of the trek. It took about 4 hours to get to the top and it was mostly up hill and steep. Not easy but manageable with lots of stops, it took a few people in our group a couple of hours extra to get there. We waited at the top for them before eventually having a group photo and hiking down another 3 hours to camp. The hike down was actually worse for me as it was raining making the path slippy and my right knee was struggling down hill. The altitude thankfully wasn't affecting me apart from the shortness of breath.
We got to camp where the porters had set up our tents and even blown up our air mattresses, we had tea, followed by dinner and again in bed by 8pm.

26th - Up early as usual and off again, The second pass of the hike is at 3,998m (13,113ft) with views of the snow capped Cordillera Vilcabamba (if it wasn't so misty). The trail then goes through the cloud forest and the gentle climb to the 3rd pass. (Highest point 3,700m (12,136ft) On clear days you can see the Urubamba Valley below and reaching the ruins of Phuyupatamarca (Town above the clouds) at about 3,650m (11,972 ft). We had lunch about 4pm and then dinner at 6pm. It was about 9 hours of trekking in total, just not quite as severe as the day before. We had decided to eat lunch at camp rather than before a slight up hill stretch, so everyone was very hungry. I bought some rum which I had been swigging with the guide, Dug an Aussie and my tent mate Dan from America. Dan and I were very different people but you literally fall asleep as soon as you get in the tent, didn't really matter.

27th - Up at 4am to get breakfast, pack up and be at the entrance that opens at 5am, some groups get there for 4am to be the first to get up to the Sun gate. No point at all, as we passed most of the first group within 5 mins. We got up to the Sun gate in time to get a good view which either overlooks the peaks that surround Machu Picchu or you gate great view of thick mist and clouds, guess what we saw ??.
We then proceeded to Machu Picchu and waited for the sun to burn away the cloud and mist. Machu Picchu is not mentioned in any of the chronicles of the Spanish conquistador and archaeologists today can merely speculate on its function. The local Quechua farmers in the area knew of Machu Picchu for centuries, it was actually an 11 year old boy who led the American historian Hiram Bingham to the site on July 24, 1911. He was reportedly actually looking for Vilvabamba instead. Bingham returned in 1912 and 1915 to clear the growth and take the gold allegedly...
Our guide gave us a an hour long tour of the site telling us about the individual temples and the significance to the people. With a lot of the tour there is a fine line between fact, theory, local beliefs and general dislike of the Spanish and love of the Inca stories and beliefs. It's important to filter and make up your own mind. Machu Picchu is truly impressive and is deservedly world famous for its stunning location, mysterious past and craftsmanship.
After a few hours soaking up the atmosphere and exploring the site fully we headed by bus down to the village of Aguas Calientes for an over priced pizza (39 soles, £8) and a beer. We then got the train for an hour and a half then a bus for nearly 2 hours, getting back to Cuzco for 7pm.
Quick shower and change before heading out at what turned out to be a big night. You have to celebrate after doing the trek I guess.
I got back at about 5am, I think.
The whole Inca trail / Machu Picchu was a challenging trek which I really enjoyed. The guide was excellent, the group had the usual mixed bag and the tour is what you make it. With most of these type of things you have to forget the price and how touristy it's likely to be and make the most of it.

28th - After 5 hours sleep I had breakfast, packed my bag and went for lunch and a wander round Cuzco where I met up with the Aussie couple (Brook and Campbell) We decided to get the bus that night to Arequipa, so spend most of the day eating and chatting. Got the bus at 8pm (11 hour journey)

29th - woke up after a good sleep on the bus, we did pay 90 soles, £25 for a full cama seat, which means a wide leather chair that goes right back. Found a guest house called Yunta Wasi that we had been recommended, had breakfast and had a wander round town. In the evening Campbell and I went for a few beers found a bar full of friendly Peruvians and got back at 2am ish.
The owner of the Guest House was, called Pichin, who loves to make everyone feel welcome as if it's your house which is a refreshing change from other hostels, probably why I stayed longer in Arequipa.

30th - Said goodbye to the Aussies first thing then Pichin started making Pisco sours. (local drink) Heavy drinking before lunch, always going to be messy ! Then we went to a food fayre just out of the centre. The whole hostel (Israelis, Colombians, Swiss and a German guy ) went including Pichin, lots of Pisco, beer and eating. Similar to the Christmas markets back home just better weather and cheaper food and drink.

31st - A lazy day, catching up on the blog, eating and watching United beat Blackburn before heading out to a Halloween party. For some reason Halloween is taken really seriously in Peru.
The kids dress up like home and go trick or treating but at night the streets were packed with young people in fancy dress of all sorts, nothing like I've ever seen before. We found a bar, had a a few jars and went home at a reasonable time, seemed a bit chaotic trying to walk 10 metres never mind getting into a club

1st November - Pichin started making Pisco sours again, so breakfast then booze and a minibus to a bull fight 45 mins out of town. I wasn't sure what to make of the bull fight, I'm certainly no tree hugging veggie, however I was apprehensive. Basically it turned into a form of sumo wrestling for Bulls. They put 2 fairly evenly sized bulls in the centre of a footy field and they sort of square each other then start trying to push each other. The bull that gets the other to run away wins. A couple of times the bulls ran into the crowd, the locals are pretty good at getting out of the way quickly. I saw a couple of bulls with a bit of blood on the head, no worse than in Sunday league football. The bulls are worth a lot of money, so their well being is actually paramount. Trophies are given to the owners of the winning bulls. It was a lovely sunny day of drinking and mixing with the locals and their traditions and passions. We got back in time for dinner which Pichin cooked again watched a bit of TV.

2nd - Very little achieved except getting a chap to turn my computer setting on windows from Spanish to English and clean it from 39 viruses that I had accumulated from WI Fi connections or whatever.
Arequipa was the perfect place to re charge the batteries before heading to Bolivia and the hostel that I stayed at helped. Believe it or not travelling can be tiring especially if you try to do a lot, see a lot, get on a lot of buses and drink a lot !

3rd - Not an exciting day, getting the bus at 8.30am to Puno (5/6 hours). The bus arrived at 3pm, just after the bus I was due to catch to Copacabana had left. So, I had to stay in Puno, which in my opinion was a dump. I found a hostel and went out for Pizza with an English couple from the hostel and then watched Real Vs Ac Milan on TV whilst keeping an eye on United Vs CSKA online. Got an early night in anticipation of an early start to get the bus to Copacabana in the morning, which is on the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca.

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Photos

Peru
Chaotic border crossing !

Lima
Miraflores

Miraflores
Chinese with Ade, Campbell & Brook

Flight
Lima to Cuzco

Cuzco airport
Good old pan pipe reception !

Cuzco
Chatting up the ladies

Cuzco
The main square

Cuzco
A painting on the wall in a bar..

Cuzco
The main square at night

Inca Trek
The start , visiting the people, very touristy !

Llamas
3 man defence !

Inca Trail
The Beginning..

Comments

[Eduardo]

I'm sad that I didn't make it to this Arequipa hostel...Actually, never got to Arequipa. Next time... By the way, I made the Inca Trail with a heavy, heavy, heavy mochila...It's not that easy in that way. Great post! Peruvian people are awesome and Cusco is magic!