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By Nic, August 22, 2010 11:08 am

The Monastery

Arequipa was the first stop on our Peruvian adventure. Arequipa is at 2380m above sea level, so not technically, but very close to the level that altitude sickness can become an issue. Well we didn’t get sick, but we certainly knew we weren’t at sea level any more. On arriving at the hostel I got half way up the stairs before I was short of breath! Then we realised we couldn’t walk down the street as fast as we’d like, and our noses were sore from the dry air, so this is when realised altitude was no joke! We were also very pleased that we’d planned the trip this way round so we gradually got higher and higher.

Arequipa’s tourist centre is pretty small, and we were on strict instructions from the hostel not to stray from the tourist centre. However, it was small but perfectly formed, and a good introduction to Peru. We really enjoyed the colourful buildings of the monastery and we also had a cultural moment in the museum that houses Juanita the Ice Maiden, the frozen remains of an Incan girl, who was sacrificed on top of one of the Andean Mountains.

Go to the gallery for the photos of Arequipa.

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By Nic, August 15, 2010 9:16 pm

Colca Canyon

I think we covered the canyon pretty well whilst we were away as we were both fresh faced, healthy and enthusiastic! So all there is left to say is the up hill walk was a rude shock to our calves and we couldn’t walk for 4 days afterwards but I think the photos say it all and it was definitely worthwhile! I have also come home from a holiday, for the first time in my life, having lost 5lbs so I think I should keep up the exercise regime! The only problem is I am still waking up at 5 every morning and I desperately need a holiday to recover!!!

Here are my photos from the Canyon, Graham assures me he will get his online soon…

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By Nic,

Now we’re back home it’s time to fill in the gaps and add some photos. There are so many to go through that it will take a while, but here is my first offering.  The fateful journey from Puno to Cusco where Graham’s food poisoning materialised!  It was definitely a good job that we upgraded and took the tourist bus instead of the local bus because thankfully it had a toilet!

Halfway stop

In order to break up the 9 hour journey we stopped at some note worthy places on the way, starting with the pre-Inca ruins in Pukara; followed by an important Inca temple in La Raya; followed by the highest point in the Andes between Puno and Cusco – another stop that takes your breath away  by merely stepping off the bus!

There was also a stop for lunch and a church with an amazing interior that I previously blogged about. Here is a link to the photo of the interior, but it really doesn’t do it justice!

The chill out day in Cusco was timed perfectly with a local fiesta so we got to see all the locals performing their traditional dances, which provided us with the perfect photo opportunities as there was no obligation to tip! We also have some video footage which will be uploaded in the following weeks.

At this stage of the trip I was optimistically packing our bags for the trek and desperately trying to feed Graham up so that he had enough energy to walk. Unfortunately the fantastic tapas dinner that I enjoyed didn’t stay down too long with Graham, so at 5am Monday morning Graham had to make the tough decision to stay in bed whilst I went off to walk the Sacred Inca trail alone.

Here is a link to the photos from Puno to Cusco! They are all mine as Graham was too ill to even pick up a camera! That says it all…

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By Graham, August 4, 2010 8:38 am

Well what a difference a 40 minute flight makes! We left Cusco on Saturday for the short flight east, off the edge of the Andes and down into the Peruvian jungle *. Part of the Amazon basin.

Back down at sea level, or there abouts, we were positively buzzing with the oxygen levels back up to the heady heights of 21%! The heat and humidity was also in stark contrast to the highlands, where we have spent pretty much all of our holiday so far.

The trip to the lodge we are staying at took the form of a short bus ride from the airport to the office in town, where we sorted out luggage to take into the jungle, then another short bus ride to the river, followed by a 45 minute boat ride, followed by an hour hike.

The lodge is fantastic and we are having several trips a day into the ‘jungle’. This takes the form of hikes or, much more relaxingly, boat trips (paddle boats of course) onto the lake where the lodge is based.

Just around the lodge, without barely moving from our room, we’ve seen Pink Footed Terantulas (lots!), Vine Snake (beautiful, and harmless), humming birds, lots and lots of Monkeys and huge rodents (think large cat with no tail). As well as multitudes of other little critters.

Our forays onto the lake have so far revealed Black Caymen (similar to crocodiles), sting rays (one silly English woman decided to go paddling (despite ‘the rules’ saying not to) and got speared by one! Ha!), very cute Squirrel Monkeys in the trees adjacent to the lake, Vultures, Kingfishers, Herons (Blue, Tiger, Agame – very rare), Long Nosed Bats sleeping on trees…. The list goes on and on.

Tomorrow we are going to a clay lick early in the morning so hopefully we will see Macaws and parrots up close.

As you could imagine, Nic is in her element. Spotting is her thing (as many of our dive buddies are well aware – underwater photographers, including me, follow her around like lost puppies in anticipation of her next find!) and I think she sees it as a challenge to spot things before the guides!

I’m sure there will be a photo/video update soon!

* to our mild disappointment our guide confirmed that there really is no such thing as a ‘jungle’. It’s really a made up word and originates from the Hindi word for forest. So was no doubt adopted by the Brits in colonial times as a generic word for ‘thick rain forest’.

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By Graham, August 1, 2010 12:11 am

As I’ve mentioned before, Peruvian driving is up there with the worst in the world. Every journey seems fraught with danger, you seemingly take your life in your hands when accepting a ride in a taxi, or a bus transfer across the Andes.

The roads are chaotic with smoke belching, un-roadworthy cars and trucks. Carbon monoxide poisoning can’t be far away by just walking down the street! No-one gives way to anyone, people ON roundabouts are meant to give way to those entering the roundabout – yeah, good luck with that one.

And then there’s the honking of horns, which seems to be a national pastime. There are a number of messages a driver seems to be conveying when honking said horns:

1. I appreciate there is no way you can go any faster as we are in a slow moving line of traffic, but I will honk to try and get you to move out of my way nonetheless.

2. I am overtaking you, but have now run out of momentum, thus rendering my overtaking maneuver useless. I will therefore honk my horn repeatedly in the hope you will brake, and let me in.

3. I am on the wrong side of the road trying desperately to overtake someone and I am on a collision course with you. I am in the wrong. Not you – for you are on the correct side of the road minding your own business, however I will hold my position whilst honking my horn in the hope you will move into the gutter and risk pedestrians lives to allow me to complete my maneuver.

4. I am unsure why I am using the horn, it just makes me feel better.

5. I am too slow to even contemplate trying to overtake you, I will therefore blow my horn in frustration.

6. Watch out tourists, I’m coming through ready or not!

7. The speed limit through this small, rural village is 50km/h. I shall therefore tear through at 100 whilst blowing my horn, hence completing the pass in complete safety.

8. I am a taxi with no passenger, please flag me down for a ride.

The list goes on (and on). I may add more as and when they come to me – oh and don’t get me started on policemen and the reasons they blow their whistles, that’s a whole other blog which may be coming tour way soon!!

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By Graham, July 28, 2010 2:37 am

The holiday in Peru has been fantastic so far! That was, until Saturday.

On Saturday morning, just before leaving Puno to go on a 9 hour coach journey to Cuzco, I had a fried egg for breakfast. It was a lovely egg, cooked perfectly by the lovely owner of the hostel we were staying in – a soft runny yolk to run all over the bread I had sat it on.

Within 2 hours I was making the toilet on the coach (thank goodness it had a toilet!!) home. Every last bit of that egg came up, over the course of several hours and several trips to my new second home on the coach.

It was a very unpleasant day!

On arrival in Cuzco (which is lovely by the way) we had to head straight to Peru Treks to pay the balance of our 4 day trek to Machu Picchu. They insist on you paying 2 days in advanced to ‘prove’ you have been at altitude (Cuzco is at 3200m) before going on the trek. Many people suffer from altitude sickness in these parts and some of the trek is over 4200m – which is pretty high.

So we duly paid (not before I had used the ‘facilities’ to throw up whatever was left of the egg – which wasn´t much by this stage), confident that I would get over the bug and be fine and dandy to go on the trek Monday morning.

Well that didn’t quite happen. I thought I was getting a little better on Sunday, having not thrown up all day, but that all went pear shaped in the evening when I dared to try and eat something! An hour later, up it came. Although both ends of my digestive system were now involved in this ‘getting rid of the egg’ situation.

I was sick into the night and it became quite clear that it would be foolish for me to try and go on the trek. So we decided that I would stay in Cuzco and Nic would go on the trek on her own – it would be silly for both of us to miss out on such an exciting trip.

So here I am, stuck in Cuzco but feeling a little better. Still feeling weak through lack of food (it’s been nearly 4 days now and I’ve managed one bowl of soup – although I feel like I could eat OK today).

Yesterday was interesting – having seen Nic off in tears at 5am to go on the trek I decided I needed to see a doctor, at least to get a certificate or whatever so we could claim some of the money back from insurance.

The owner of the (fantastic) hostel we are staying in called the doctors, and within 20 minutes two of them turned up in white coats! Literally I was taken away by the men in white coats (although, having said that, one of them was a woman). Once outside they looked confused as the ‘ambulance’ they had arrived in had vanished! ‘Must have been called on an emergency’ they said, so they proceeded to hail a cab to get the three of us to the medical centre.

Blood tests (and ‘other’ tests) done, it was confirmed that I have a paracitic infection – basically food poisoning I think. Thankfully not the more serious salmonella as I thought it might be. Still, it’s knocked me out for a few days that’s for sure.

So loaded up with various drugs (4 different types!) and re-hydration drinks (the nicest I’ve ever tasted actually – tastes like strawberry milkshake!) I was driven back to the hostel to feel sorry for myself.

I’ve just booked the train to get to Machu Picchu on Thursday so will hopefully still meet up with a no doubt exhausted Nic on her arrival at Machu Picchu, so we can at least enjoy our 10th wedding anniversary as we had intended!

Here’s hoping!

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By Nic, July 25, 2010 10:47 am

Today we embarked on a 9 hour bus journey from Puno to Cusco. Our backpacking days are long gone so we splashed out on the “tourist bus” which was infinitely more expensive but provided us with a comfy bus that stopped every couple of hours to see the sites (if only briefly!)

The first stop was really nothing special. Personally I was just glad to use the toilet! The next stop was marginally better as we walked behind a small town square to find the remains of an apparently important Inca temple. Unfortunately there wasn’t a lot left to see and you needed a great deal of imagination to appreciate it.

By the last stop i was kind of over it and just glad to stretch my legs. We were told we were stopping at a very important and truly spectacular church, but when I stepped out of the bus I almost got straight back on again. From the outside it looked just like all the other churches we’d seen – fairly plain and ordinary, certainly not like all the European churches we have seen on our travels.

But it just goes to show that looks can be deceiving. When I stepped inside it really was the most spectacular church interior I have ever seen. Every single inch was covered in either beautiful paintings or gold leaf columns and statues. When the Spanish invaded Peru they were a little more respectful than the British discovery of Australia and in order to get the locals on side they combined the Andean cultures with their desire to introduce Catholicism. So this leaves an interesting mix of styles that cannot be viewed anywhere else in the world.

Unfortunately no photography of any kind was allowed in the church so I don’t have any pictures of the inside (I will post one of the outside when I get a better Internet connection), but maybe if you google “Andahuaylillas church” you might find some pictures.

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By Nic, July 24, 2010 9:54 am

Cough up Nic!

We are finding this holiday a little more expensive than we thought it might be as we are being charged for taking photos! Many locals make a living from placing themselves strategically in tourist hotspots, dressed in traditional dress, and are ready to pounce for tips at the first sign if a camera.

I think the results will be worth it in the end though! All of the photos on these blogs are from my phone, we’ll get the proper ones online when we get home.

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By Nic,

Usually when we travel we try and get off the beaten track and travel under our own steam but unfortunately for this trip, if we want to see everything we are interested in, we have to succumb to the guided tours. This is fine for some aspects of the trip as there is no other way of doing it, and I spent many hours researching the companies that would fulfill our needs, so we should be traveling with like minded people. However, today we had to join what can only be described as the most touristy tour we have ever been on!

Puno is not the picturesque lakeside town I had imagined it would be so in order to appreciate Lake Titicaca at it’s finest we had to get out to the islands. The original plan was to do a homestay on one of the more remote islands but as we struggled to get out of bed yesterday there was no way we were going on any great adventure.

So bright and early this morning we were herded onto the Gringo bus and dumped on a boat destined for Uros – the floating reed islands of Peru.

Colourful Locals

We decided to do it because even the lonely planet acknowledges that despite the cringe factor there is nothing else like this in the world and it really should be witnessed at least once. So once you got past all the different camera wielding nationalities and found a quiet corner you could take a moment to enjoy. That moment was soon interrupted by a souvenir wielding local who was trying to fleece you for all the Soles you have.

Once we had endured the local women’s performance of a song in Quechuan, Spanish and the worst performance of twinkle twinkle little star I have ever witnessed we were herded back on the boat bound for the next island.

Taquile

Taquile was not as unique as Uros but did provide us with some nice photo opportunities once we had let the hoards pass. We even got a glimpse of the snow capped mountains of Bolivia.

Trips like this also provide you with enforced down time (2 hours on a small boat that doesn’t look entirely sea worthy!) so I have succeeded in finishing my book and have written this blog, which will probably be the last for a few days as the next stop is the trek to Machu Picchu.

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By Graham, July 23, 2010 12:59 pm

OK. So first of all a few thing’s I’ve noticed about Peru;

1. It’s really, really high. Pretty much.
2. Potatoes. They’re everywhere.
3. Driving. It’s bad. And we’ve been to some countries where bad driving must be taught at school. Peru is REALLY bad!
4. Hot water bottles. They have never been so appreciated!
5. You burn really easily, even when it’s 5 deg c.
6. Everyone wants a tip.

We’re having a fantastic time, cramming enough in without feeling too rushed. We’re currently recovering from our 2 day trek into (and out of) the Colca Canyon – the deepest Canyon in the world.

It was hard!

Cabanaconde

It was also incredible and something I’d recommend to anyone coming to this part of the world. It started off in Arequipa where we took the first day traveling to various spots an the way to our first overnight stay at the top of the canyon. This included some amazing landscapes sculpted by volcanoes and earthquakes over the years (the area is both earthquake prone, the last major one being in 2001, and also volcanically active) as well as stopping at our highest point so far at over 4900m. It literally can take your breath away!

We stayed in a small town called Caboneconde in a lovely little hotel at around 3800m, see ‘Dressing for Dinner’ for an idea of how chilly evenings are around these parts!

Local transport!

The next morning saw us starting the trek to the base of the canyon over 1200m below us. The decent was spectacular and also pretty hard going on the loose and dusty ground. Luckily we had mules to take our luggage down so all we had to carry were cameras and water!

At the bottom of the canyon are various hostels in the oasis. We, however, were camping. It was beautiful, particularly after a refreshing dip in one if the pools!

After an afternoon relaxing and an evening dinner over candle light in the cold night air, it was time for bed as we were due for breakfast at 5am!

We started the trek back out of the canyon at about 5.45am, in the dark with torches.

It wasn’t long before the sun started to rise though – and so continued our 3 hour hike. Seemingly near vertically!! It was a good job we started early because although the nights are cold, the sun is really intense. Sun burn and dehydration are both serious and common at these altitudes this close to the equator, so it was good to get a head start whilst it was cool.

It was a long, tough slog out of the canyon, but we held our heads high as countless people passed us on mules (which they had hired for a princely sum at the bottom of the canyon having realised it was going to be a very tough climb out!. Someone at the bottom of the canyon must have been making a pretty penny that’s for sure!!)

Nic and I made it out in just under 3 hours, which is about average I think.

We had a HUGE lunch and then were straight on a transfer to Puno, from where I write this. In fact, I am writing this on a boat on Lake Titicaca (the highest navigable lake in the world at 3800m don’t you know).

More on Puno and Lake Titicaca later…