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Published: July 15th 2010
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Me and Carrie in Lima!
Our first ride on the mental buses So after legging it to Lima, having a slight culture shock at Miraflores in Lima, and rediscovering Mcflurries I was ready to meet Carrie for a couple of weeks exploring Peru!
It was really exciting for me to meet Carrie at the airport, but I did feel an overwhelming sense of responsibility for her holiday! I enlisted the help of a Colombian guy I met at the hostel to accompany me to the airport and waited...and waited... and waited... When she finally came on through the doors (looking impressively like a backpacker may I add- good transformation Carrie!) there was possibly one of the most dramatic reunions that even the passionate peruvians would be proud of. I think we made a slight spectacle of ourselves (think the beginning or end of Love Actually in the airport) and added a bit of entertainment to the airport arrivals area. Glad to be of use.
Anyway, so Carrie fitted right in to my little travelling life and we adventured on Lima´s mental buses to the centre. And I fitted into Carrie´s luxurious life and we sampled nice food and cocktails in Lima´s bohemiam seaside suburb of Borranco! Perfect 😊. Although being a
lot of fun, Lima is in my opinion a bit bleak. In the winter there is a permanent mist settled over it which can be a bit oppressive, and according to a guy I met there are Vultures constantly circling above it. Don´t know about that, but it fits quite nicely into my analysis of Lima! lol. Also, when I had arrived from Bolivia, I found Lima, especially the suburb of Miraflores, to be traumatically modern and ´just like London´! So we didnt stick around too long- and we certainly had a lot to pack into 2 weeks!
... so after negotiations of flight vs. bus (guess who was voting for which?), the better party won and Carrie was forced to take her first 22 hour bus ride....!!!! I know, this could have been the end of it all, but the strength of the family bond held out (through the bad sleep, the crazy bus staff, the mental lady stalking me, and even the enforced Jennifer Lopez videos, yes its true, even through JLo) and we were still talking by the end of it. We even found out the difference between Llamas and Alpacas so that was most useful.
Cusco was actually beautiful. Touristy obviously, but the plaza was lovely and all the white buildings reminded me a bit of Sucre. It had a lovely atmosphere, being just after the sun fiesta thing, and we enjoyed wandering around the cobbled streets and exploring a couple of days whilst acclimatising a bit to the altitude. We had signed our lives away and chosen to do the 5 day Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu!
I was really excited about this as I had heard the trek was beautiful (though challenging), but afer my random altitude situation on Isla Del Sol, I wasnt sure how climbing up to the Salkantay mountain pass at 6,400m would be!
So...we rocked up at 4.30am on the first day with our group - they were very professional looking with hiking boots and walking sticks... and now I come to mention it, appropriate clothing for the fact we would be camping in -5 degrees. Carrie had her converse trainers and an alpaca jumper. And I... well I ended up with a black eye by the end of Day 2. So that says it all I think!
Seriously though we held our own I think,
and the group were lovely, we all got on amazingly which makes such a difference, and our guide was great 😊. After my face´s little argument with the massive rock, he even used a bit of a local remedy to aid me. For future reference, use the inside white film from an egg and put it onto the cuts, then stick it by pouring raw egg all over it. Have a tiny bit of pride or vanity left after falling over? That should sort it! No, actually I do think that helped to stop any scarring... so maybe its got something in it! 😊.
He also told us about these strange naked Peruvian dogs with no hair that have a higher body temperature than normal. Apparently they are used in healing people, by cuddling up to them naked to sleep. So I should just be thankful that one was avoided really eh!
So, aching after the climb, but really happy with all the beautiful sights we had seen (including some of the most amazing night skies and shooting stars!), we began our Machu Picchu day. By climbing for an hour up some steps at 4am in the morning. Yes
its true. Any why did we do this? So that we could be first in line to get the tickets to climb Waynu Picchu Mountain. Amazing decision! lol. We were so tired when Machu Picchu opened that the last thing we wanted to do was climb another mountain! But it was really worth it! It was beautiful and Machu Piccu looked so tiny. It really gave the perspective of the scale and beauty of the mountains around the area. And when we got down, we went for a sleep with the Llamas outside Machu Picchu. What a way to end it 😊.
The group all met up again the following day for lunch at a local restaurant with our guide which was a lovely finish, and was nice to escape all the Gringos in Cusco to see a bit of the local life 😊
So, on to Arequipa! Carrie and me had clearly had enough of walking... so we decided to go hiking in Colca Canyon. Amazing. We decided to go it solo on local buses rather than on a tour, and luckily for our aching bodies the 6am bus was full so our plan was sabataged. With
no time for our trek, we made it to the village that night so we could spot some Condors and go to some Mirador lookouts the next day... much more civilised than a mental trek! Although at first we were a bit skeptical about the ´bird watching´, the condors were amazing! Andean condors are classed as endangered so it was amazing to see them like this- there were about 5 and came so close to the people so you could really get an idea of how big they were - they can have a wingspan up to 320cm (10.5 ft)!
The Colca Canyon is the 2nd deepest in the world at 4,160m (over double as deep as the Grand Canyon!) so it was a pretty good setting! The mirador was amazing too, and it was so nice to be in the village of Cabanaconde which was beautiful with really friendly locals. Which was lucky considering the proximity we would be with them on the local bus back to Arequipa!
We celebrated (or commiserated) our last proper night together by a gorgeous meal at an expensive restaurant - a belated birthday treat for me! And then the next day chilled
Cusco!
So apparently this isnt the gay pride flag, but the indiginous flag of cusco.fact out in Arequipa before heading back to Lima.
Wasn´t nice to say goodbye to Carrie, it kinda felt like this was a little holiday rather than travelling so was a bit of a shock to the system when I realised I´d have to go back to slumming it a bit. Especially since I hadn´t really been travelling solo since before stopping in Sucre...
Anyway, so I headed to the seaside by Trujillo in northern Peru for a night to spot some surfers and then I´m currently legging it through Ecuador on Mission Race To Colombia As Fast As You Can. Good first impressions of Ecuador so far actually, the people seem amazingly friendly and there are lots less whistling cat callings and chat ups on overnight buses so far so this can only be a good thing! I´m only going to have a couple of stops here so I´ll let you know how it progresses! After LOVING Cuenca, I am in Baños for a bit of relaxing in hot pools and swimming in water falls. Tough life eh... 😊 xx
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Mum, Dad and Lara
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So glad you had such a great holiday together and really enjoyed reading about your wonderful adventures and looking at your super photos - all except the ones showing your poor battered face, Bex ! It's a big releif to know there's no lasting damage. Take care darling - we want you home in one piece. You certainly showed Carrie a good time though - good thing she's so flexible and able to fit in with your lifestyle. Love you lots and looking forward to your updates as ever - take care and enjoy - thinking of you xxxxxxxx