Machu Picchu at last!

Long time no update. This is the first place we´ve had Internet access where I can actually update this blog.

Since the last blog we visited Colca Canyon and saw the condors. Managed to get some great photos and some video of these giant birds as well as the amazing scenery. I went for a walk along a canyon footpath while mum did the sensible thing and stayed in the minibus.

From there we headed back to the main town Chivay in the valley where we had a buffet in a restaurant. Fatal mistake for me as later that night I was horribly ill until at least 3am. It took the better part of 4 days to fully recover and get some appetite back. We have been very wary of Peruvian food ever since, especially buffets.

From Colca Valley which is still in the Arequipa region we had a long coach journey to Puno where the altitude increased by another couple of hundred metres! Not as dry as Colca Lodge, so less static and a bit easier to sleep at night (when festivals aren´t going on in the streets!)

Had a very average meal at an Italian restaurant off the main square, I had two slices of undercooked pizza which brought up the rest of the bug I had in Chivay. Mum was dreading another night of me being ill, but it was out of my system fairly quickly and I´ve been feeling better since.

We visited Lake Titicaca on our second day in Puno. Getting onto the floating reed islands was an odd experience as it was very bouncy! We were shown how the islands are made and how the people live there (or so we´re led to believe). Titi means Puma and Caca means grey stone, I think, so Titicaca means Grey Puma. Did not see any Puma´s though but the island itself was interesting.

A long trip accross the lake to Tili Island to have some lunch at the top, but due to altitude we decided half way up was enough for us.

After Puno we got on to the first class carriages of a train to Cusco where we were treated to views of fields, cows and mountains ... for 10 hours. Add in the occasional strip of road and shanty towns (the tracks pass right through the main markets) and you have a good idea of the journey. It went on a bit longer then necessary especially when we watched some cyclists over take us at some parts.

After a novel and yet tedious train journey we arrived in Cusco to be picked up and dropped off at El Balcon Hostal (although the itinerary said Hotel) which had a basic room with 3 beds, and a bathroom full of peeling paint, a bit of mould and some cracked tiling. It was a real drop in quality compared to our previous accommodation throughout the trip especially considering we´d spend 4 nights there, as well as 1 night after getting back from Machu Picchu.

We like Cusco as a town and thanks to searching the net found a couple of places to eat at that have come recommended by other tourists on TripAdvisor.com. We´ve had two nice breakfast / brunches at Jack´s Cafe which knows how to cook simple food properly. The first day we had american style pancakes with maple syrup and the next we had scrambled eggs, fried potatoes and baked beans. They also do a nice pot of fresh camomile tea which has improved our mood no end.

Finally today after a 4am (ish) start we left Cusco to get a train from the Sacred Valley to take us on a scenic trip to Machu Picchu (fortunately not a 10 hour trip). Some great photo opportunities, just a shame the reflection in the train windows gets in the way. This is the train journey that really needed and observation carriage.

We got in and were shuttled toward the top where the main ruins are and started taking photos after we caught our breath from the view. Again too many stops and starts as well as mum carrying her camera bag on her back meant she was quick to tire. Fortunately our guide Christoban was kind enough to carry her bag for the first leg.

However after such an early start both of us were spent by lunch time (another buffet we decided to avoid!) and we decided to head back down to the ground and find our hotel where we caught up on some much needed rest.

We´ve just had a very agreeable mexican vegetable chilli for dinner (hopefully no repercussions later tonight!) and mum nearly had a large green cricket for dessert. A little kitten decided to hang round the area for scraps. Very cute looking, but probably carrying something nasty as well.

We get to spend the morning and early afternoon in Machu Picchu tomorrow. We´ll skip on the sunrise at the top - as spectacular as it might be I don´t think we´re up to another 4am start. We´ll look around the market place for some souvenirs as well as stock up on food for when we get back into Cusco later that evening.

Then it´s off to the airport the next morning for our flight to Lima, and then back over the pond to England (via Holland).

Next update back at home ... possibly.

Colca Lodge and a proper PC

First proper post from Peru at a PC in the lodge I'm staying in. s/5.00 for one hour, which is about $1.75 US. Can't complain!

The mountains around here are amazing. Taken some great photos along a 150km road trip leaving Arequipa at 08:30am and getting to Colca Valley at about 2pm. Most of it is long winding roads on the inside of inactive volcanoes (Colca Valley I think is slap bang in the middle of a giant crator). We'll be visiting Colca Canyon in the morning hopefully to see Condors as well as an active volcano. Colca Canyon is more then twice as deep as the Grand Canyon, but the walls are not as vertical. You can read about it and see some photos here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colca_Canyon

We're at about 5,000 metres which is 16,404 feet above see level. Air is THIN but we're taking Coca plant to help counter altitude sickness. It can get quite cold this high up so you don't realise how easy it is to get sunburn. I have slight redness on my face.

The lodge itself is quite quaint and recently built but has an authentic Peruvian feel to the architecture. The room I'm staying in looks a bit like a Hobbit house, and it has a fantastic view of the valley and surrounding mountains and volcanos. There's no easy way to get photos off my camera and onto this basic internet PC unfortunately.

Seen plenty of llamas, vultures, and lots of other animals I can't honestly remember the name of. Have been told there are Pumas in the region but whether we'll get to see any is anyone's guess.

Both of us have stuck to a vegetarian diet for health reasons, as well as sticking to bottled water (although we are using our water purification bottles which has various filters that protect agaisnt bacteria, cysts and pathogenic viruses).

That's it for now, hope everything is well in England.

Arequipa Photos

Photos I took on the morning of our stay in Arequipa. Photos include ones from and of the hotel, the road trip to Colca Valley and Chivay, and photos from our room at Colca Lodge.

Arequipa

Left Lima, now in Arequipa. Lovely weather blue sky amazing scenery. Mountains are something else. Is 1530 here.

We made it!

13 hours from Amsterdam to Lima. Now about 2130 Peru time. Typing through PSP so will end here.