Advertisement
Published: December 12th 2007
Edit Blog Post
The Charango
One of the Peruvian coach musicians showing off his Charango - a small ten stringed instrument which sounds like a banjo. Tuesday 11th December:
On Sunday evening I tried some llama for my main dish; it´s a tender meat and tastes a little like venison - I like it. Monday morning was an early start to catch the 8:00am coach to Cuzco in Peru. I´m planning on spending a few days around Machu Picchu (renowned Inca site and one of the wonders of the world). The road was slightly better than the one from Uyuni. However it was a tedious and long trip. Nevertheless, there was some beautiful scenery on the way, particularly as we coasted close to Lake Titicaca. After the usual hold-ups at the border check-points we crossed into Peru. I changed all my Bolivianas into Peruvian sols, as I needed some change to buy something to eat along the way. Peru seemed much greener than Bolivia - lot more signs of agriculture, and every spare patch of hillside cultivated. It was odd seeing so many people in their traditional dresses working in the fields. Don´t they get very hot with so much clothes on? In many of the small towns we passed through bicycle rickshaws and tuck-tucks (motorised rickshaws) seemed a common form of transport. The mountain scenery in
The Machu Picchu Train
This special took us through some wonderful Andes scenery. Peru was just spectacular. We stopped at a few places to get a bite to eat and freshen up; when we started off again a group of Peruvian musicians joined the coach. They played their pan-pipes, guitars and charungo (a small ten stringed banjo-like instrument - see photo) and also sang for us. It was during one of these sessions there was a slight incident, involving a couple of science students from the USA sitting behind me who didn´t want to listen to the music but were arguing loudly about something to do with the effects of the G force on the body. I had to tell them to shut up and keep their science seminars for the classroom. They didn´t like it but were quiet after that.
Next to me was Paolo (Italian) doing work experience in the Italian Embassy in La Paz. He had a few days off before going back to Italy and wanted to see Machu Picchu - spoke three languages fluently. As we crossed the Andes altitude sickness began to affect me - we were over 4,000M above sea level (headaches and shortness of breath); the latter was the worse. We arrived in Cuzco just
Andes Scenery
Just one of the many beautiful scenes on the way to Aguas Calientes. after 8:00pm local time (Peru is an hour behind Bolivia), so the journey took us over 12 hours. Cuzco was a much bigger place than I expected. The central part of the city has beautifully maintained colonial-style buildings with cobble-stoned streets. The main centre has a lovely square architecturally.
As we got off the coach we were hassled with offers of accommodation. Paolo and I listened to a few and chose one we thought was the best offer. It was good - larger than average single rooms with bathrooms for 30 sols per night (about £6 ). After freshening up we went out to the main square to find a place to eat. Once we hit the square we were again hassled, by restaurant traders - they were like locusts around us, so much so that we walked away from them and found a place ourselves. After a good meal we tried one of the many local disco places.
Despite a late night I was up quite early to the sound of fireworks outside; I never did find out what they were celebrating so early in the morning. 'Had a difficult job sorting out the best way to
Rail Runners
As we passed by a small hamlet in the train some local children ran alongside. Some passengers threw out left-over sandwiches and sweets. The children scrambled dangerously close to the rails, in their efforts to be the first to get the food. get back to Belem (Brazil) by Sunday evening, and time is running out. Unfortunately there will not be enough time to visit Equador - ´will have to save it for the next trip. I did not succeed in getting a flight to Manaus (Brazil), which was going to be the starting point of my final trip down the Amazon in a boat back to Belem. Instead I just booked a flight to Lima (for Friday), which is an international airport, and I will sort out the best route from there.
´Checked out of the hostel and bought a train ticket from Ollantantambo to Aguas Calientes - the latter is the nearest village to Machu Picchu. However the evening train was already fully booked, so I went for an earlier one (2:55). The only problem was that Ollantantambo was a 2 hour bus journey from Cuzco and it was then 12:00. Luckily I was able to get a "collectivo" (a small minibus or car) which was going directly there. It was an estate car and the driver ws keen for my custom, so I got it at a reasonable price. I explained to him that I had a train to catch - what I didn´t expect was the dangerous breakneck speed he drove at; so much so that the two burley Peruvian men who were wedged in either side of me in the back seat, complained vociferously and asked him to slow down. Their protests were even louder when the driver clipped a stray dog which wandered out in front of the car. He didn´t slow down, not even to look at the wounded dog, nor did he take any notice of the two complainants. He did stop once to pick up another passenger; she was an indigenous local. He unceremonously put her and her young baby in the boot of the estate with all the luggage. Because of the speed of his driving I got to the train station with time to spare.
The train was a special with a partially transparent roof for better scenery viewing. The mountain scenery really was spectacular. The one and a half hour´s journey seemed to flash by. I met up with a couple from Texas on the train and was going to try their hotel for accommodation until I heard what they were paying. I looked around and found a similar one, if not better standard, close to the centre of the village for less than half they were paying. Aguas Calientes is a quaint little village hemmed in a narrow valley with a mountain river flowing through the centre. I will have another early start tomorrow as I want to catch the 5:30 bus from the village to the Machu Picchu site.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.096s; Tpl: 0.015s; cc: 11; qc: 47; dbt: 0.0664s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
PAOLO GALLIZIOLI
non-member comment
CIAO JO
HI JO...IT'S PAOLO..I JUST FIND YOUR DIRECTION AND LOG ONTO THE BLOG...IT'S VERY WELL STRUCTURED AND INTERESTING. I'M GOOD, I COME BACK TO LA PAZ SOON, WRITING A BOOK FOR THE ITALIAN FOREIGN AFFAIR MINISTERY.. HAVE A GREAT REMEMBER OF YOU.. UN ABRAZO