I was so ill on the way to Cusco, and for the couple of nights we were there, that I did not take a single photograph.Cusco was really cool, despite being ill-zilla. I really like the narrow stone-paved streets, the gringo-run cafe’s and pubs, and the general vibe of tourists on their way to Machu Picchu.
I bought a pair of leggings, a t-shirt & some highly fashion conscience (NOT!) zip off hikers trousers. For the inka trail, obvs.
I came up with an easy way to remember how to spell Machu Picchu as well, by the way. Feel free to refer to this for all of your spelling needs (actually, just for your Machu Picchu spelling needs). The group ofen forgot how many ‘c’s were where. So I am proud to announce to you “one in the Machu, two in the Picchu”. Never forget that.
On our way out of Cusco, we drove through the Sacred Valley where we stopped to see some local women making hand-woven crafts from alpaca wool. I bought myself a purse, and my parents a table runner. Natalie bought a totally amazing sugar bowl for her parents, I was mucho jealous. I forgot to beat her up and steal it, and she’s in Canada now… maybe I still have time…
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Friday, March 30, 2012
Colca Canyon (Chivay)
We travelled from Arequipa to the Colca Canyon by private bus, making a couple of really awesome stops along the way. We went Llama/Alpaca/Vicuna spotting, and I am proud to announce I can officially tell all 3 apart.
It was a pretty dangerous drive, the road was covered in black ice, and our van wasn’t exactly the fanciest. We actually came across a guy who’d driven his vehicle off the road and was proper stuck, although luckily not hurt at all.
At the very top off the moutain we stopped for some photos. We were 4,800m above sea level, and it was snowing. I built a stack of wishing stones - a tradition I continue - my wish has yet to come true though. More stacks, perhaps?
We stayed in a tiny little town called Chivay, in the Colca Canyon. It was raining, so we went to the local hot pools to keep warm, and that night we went out for dinner and a show which included a live Andean band, pan pipe etc, and some dancers. I got to dance with them which was both crude and a highlight. Next morning we set out across the valley to watch the early morning ‘Flight of the Condors’ (not to be confused with comedy band, Flight of the Conchords, but equally as amusing). It was pretty magnificent watching the giant birds coasting along on the streams of early morning air, and at one point they even flew direcly above our heads - huge vulturous beasts! Brett prooved expert condor spotter. The canyon itself is truely breathtaking. I cannot even describe it, look at my photos.
It was a pretty dangerous drive, the road was covered in black ice, and our van wasn’t exactly the fanciest. We actually came across a guy who’d driven his vehicle off the road and was proper stuck, although luckily not hurt at all.
At the very top off the moutain we stopped for some photos. We were 4,800m above sea level, and it was snowing. I built a stack of wishing stones - a tradition I continue - my wish has yet to come true though. More stacks, perhaps?
We stayed in a tiny little town called Chivay, in the Colca Canyon. It was raining, so we went to the local hot pools to keep warm, and that night we went out for dinner and a show which included a live Andean band, pan pipe etc, and some dancers. I got to dance with them which was both crude and a highlight. Next morning we set out across the valley to watch the early morning ‘Flight of the Condors’ (not to be confused with comedy band, Flight of the Conchords, but equally as amusing). It was pretty magnificent watching the giant birds coasting along on the streams of early morning air, and at one point they even flew direcly above our heads - huge vulturous beasts! Brett prooved expert condor spotter. The canyon itself is truely breathtaking. I cannot even describe it, look at my photos.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Arequipa
Arequipa is a pretty wee Colonial town at the foot of El Misti (the volcano, not the Pokemon character). The city just oozes Spanish Colonial charm, and is well known for housing a mummy of a 12 year old girl known as ’Juanita’ or ‘Ice Maiden’ who was killed as an offering to the Inca gods sometime between 1450 and 1480, and found in he Colca Canyon in 1995. HOWEVER… she was undergoing “restoration” when we were there, and unfortuntely we didn’t get the meet her. We went on a walking tour with Manny, who showed us the local markets where we bought some coca leaves to chew on for the Inka Trail (and being in altitude in general).
I bought a very 90’s blossom-esque hat, and did very little else in Arequipa.
OH! Except casually eat deep fried guinea pig! Totally disguisting, I know… but when in Peru. It tasted chewy and bland and was somewhere in between white chicken-like meat and something a little redder. Not something I’ll be going back for seconds for, and certainly not worth breaking my vegetarianism over.
I bought a very 90’s blossom-esque hat, and did very little else in Arequipa.
OH! Except casually eat deep fried guinea pig! Totally disguisting, I know… but when in Peru. It tasted chewy and bland and was somewhere in between white chicken-like meat and something a little redder. Not something I’ll be going back for seconds for, and certainly not worth breaking my vegetarianism over.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Lima - March 2012
The capaital of Peru was exactly what I expected, a big city. When travelling I’m not the biggest fan of the cities, and tend to enjoy the smaller towns more. Lima was no exception. We arrived by bus in the evening and went to an average restaurant for dinner. The following morning Rory and I ventured solo to the markets where I picked up a new charm for my bracelet. It’s hard to explain, but is typical Peruvian and has a peice of green stone set in it.
One of the highlights of Lima was the cat park. That’s right folks, cat park. Park filled with cats. It’s so filled with cats there are literally signs in the park telling jerks not to dump their cats in the park. I wanted to take a picture holding as many cats as I could, but the one above is the best I did. Life regret.
We took a stroll down the waterfront as well, lots of tourist places renting surfboards, not alot of surf.
That evening we met up with most of the others (Richard, Natalie, Brett, Callum…) and took off to the fountain park thingee with light show. The light show was spectacular! Much better than I was expecting even. Then we fooled around in the fountains for a bit and went back into town. Another drinking session with our brand new tour leader, Manny, which we smartly cut short… there is rumour of the others getting in at 5am with stories as long as their arms. My story is that of sweet slumber and a freshed faced morning. Lima could easily have been left out for me, but not to fear, we’re off to some smaller towns very soon.
That evening we met up with most of the others (Richard, Natalie, Brett, Callum…) and took off to the fountain park thingee with light show. The light show was spectacular! Much better than I was expecting even. Then we fooled around in the fountains for a bit and went back into town. Another drinking session with our brand new tour leader, Manny, which we smartly cut short… there is rumour of the others getting in at 5am with stories as long as their arms. My story is that of sweet slumber and a freshed faced morning. Lima could easily have been left out for me, but not to fear, we’re off to some smaller towns very soon.Monday, March 26, 2012
Pisco & Ballestas Islands - March 2012
The beauty of travelling with a tour group (Intrepid) is that you can just sit back, relax, and let awesome things happen all around you while barely lifting a finger. No organisation, no booking buses, hostels, reading guide books, struggling with language barriers, hell I barelly even know where we’re headed half the time! Plus, Intrepid already know the best things to do, especially when it comes to breaking up long bus trips. That’s what Pisco & The Ballestas Islands were I think, a good way to break up a loooooong trip to Nazca.
Pisco is (arguably) where the alcoholic beverage, Pisco, was created. The first pic above is of the cocktail “Pisco sour” and often comes free before meals, or maybe that was just another Intrepid perk. Either way, it tastes pretty good. We didn’t do anything in Pisco, except sleep, but the following day we went on a scenic boat tour of the Ballestas Islands in Paracas National Reserve.
Apparantly referred to as the ‘Galapagos of Peru’ the islands are a haven for wildlife, and we were lucky enough to get to see pelicans, red-footed boobies, sea lions and penguins.
It was a really special trip, and just one of those times I have to pinch myself to beleive what I’m doing, and where I am. I just asked Rory what else I could possible say about the Islands and he replied “Teaming with life” haha a regular David Attenborough….
Pisco is (arguably) where the alcoholic beverage, Pisco, was created. The first pic above is of the cocktail “Pisco sour” and often comes free before meals, or maybe that was just another Intrepid perk. Either way, it tastes pretty good. We didn’t do anything in Pisco, except sleep, but the following day we went on a scenic boat tour of the Ballestas Islands in Paracas National Reserve.
Apparantly referred to as the ‘Galapagos of Peru’ the islands are a haven for wildlife, and we were lucky enough to get to see pelicans, red-footed boobies, sea lions and penguins.
It was a really special trip, and just one of those times I have to pinch myself to beleive what I’m doing, and where I am. I just asked Rory what else I could possible say about the Islands and he replied “Teaming with life” haha a regular David Attenborough….
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Nazca
On our way from Pisco to Nazca we made a couple of stop-offs. First to a winery to see how Pisco is made, and get slightly tipsy for our second stop-of which just so happened to be… SANDBOARDING!!!
We took Dune buggies to the site, and they seriously felt like rollercoasters. Up and down some of the largest sand dunes in the world at some amazing speeds. My favourite part is when the buggies drag themselves to the peak of a dune that is so high it eliminates all of horizon, then clumsily tosses itself over the edge, down gradients of sand you have to see to believe. I pretty much laughed and screamed the entire way.
The sandboarding itself was equally as fun and terrifyingly awesome. It’s really hard to tell how steep the sand dunes are when you’re surrounded by sand with no shadows, and no earth as far as the eye can see. Lying on the top of a dune (on a snowboard) and hurling yourself face forward, down, is so much more fun than I had imagined, and I was left wanting more. Unfortunately we had places to be, Nazca.
Nazca was kind of boring actually. Rory and I opted out of the plan ride to see the lines themselves, and mainly just bummed around trying to get cash out all day. The worst part was, we all went to the Planetarium (which I expected to enjoy!) and got bored to sleep by repeatition of information “the lines point to water/ sunrises/ line centres..” “the lines depict anthropomorphical figures..” Blah blah blah. Take me back to the dunes. For serious.
We took Dune buggies to the site, and they seriously felt like rollercoasters. Up and down some of the largest sand dunes in the world at some amazing speeds. My favourite part is when the buggies drag themselves to the peak of a dune that is so high it eliminates all of horizon, then clumsily tosses itself over the edge, down gradients of sand you have to see to believe. I pretty much laughed and screamed the entire way.
The sandboarding itself was equally as fun and terrifyingly awesome. It’s really hard to tell how steep the sand dunes are when you’re surrounded by sand with no shadows, and no earth as far as the eye can see. Lying on the top of a dune (on a snowboard) and hurling yourself face forward, down, is so much more fun than I had imagined, and I was left wanting more. Unfortunately we had places to be, Nazca.
Nazca was kind of boring actually. Rory and I opted out of the plan ride to see the lines themselves, and mainly just bummed around trying to get cash out all day. The worst part was, we all went to the Planetarium (which I expected to enjoy!) and got bored to sleep by repeatition of information “the lines point to water/ sunrises/ line centres..” “the lines depict anthropomorphical figures..” Blah blah blah. Take me back to the dunes. For serious.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Huanchaco, Peru - March 2012
Two archaelogical site visits, Huaca del Sol y Luna & Chan Chan. The pics are of Huaca del Luna, however the following quote is from our tour guide, Janet, at Chan Chan. “Something interesting!”
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