The In-between.. Lake Titicaca!

Hola everyone,

Even though we always do the blog updates together, Adam is the one actually writting as I can definitely be lazy sometimes with my english.. but today no choice I will be the one writting, excuse my english then!

After our 4 nights in Arequipa we left for the small port of Puno which is one of the main Peruvian "city" around Lake Titicaca. We arrived around 3pm and only stay there for the night in order to get our cross border bus to Bolivia.
Early start the next morning to take our 7.30am bus to Copacabana Bolivia with a new bus company Tour Peru, a bit sad to leave Cruz Del Sur our top notch peruvian bus company! The bus journey last in total 4 hours but you had a 30 minutes wait at the Peru-Bolivia Border which went rather smoothly. We were lucky enough to have front seats on the top level of the bus.. Amazing view of glittering Lake Titicaca! The size of this lake is unbelievable, we are still trying to find out which country it would equal in terms of superficy, it seems as if it's never gonna end.

Adios Peru, Hola Bolivia!

We arrived in the small and charming town of Copacabana in the afternoon which gave us time to found a really cheap and ok hostal owned by a local family wearing pretty cool typical Bolivian clothes!
We planned to stay in Copacabana for 2 nights so that we can do a day trip to the Isla del Sol which is the legendary Inca creation site and the birthplace of the sun in Inca mythology.

Early the next morning, we took a slow boat to the north of the Isla del Sol (the journey last 2 hours) where we arrived on a little beach surrounded by mountains.The island has a good network of walking tracks which make exploration easier however the sun and the 4000m altitude can take their toll. We walked up and down hill for a good 4 hours before reaching the south of the island where boats are waiting for travellers who wants to go back to Copacabana. There is the option to stay overnight as hostal and pizzerias have exploded in the last years. Hiking on the island is great as the scenery change pretty quickly from little beaches, to small villages, schools, no mans land or farms.. you walk right next to sheeps, pigs, donkeys, Llamas and dogs which are everywhere!

Back to Copacabana we enjoyed strolling through the street markets and eating some pretty amazing burgers!
After a sweet breakfast with lake view the following morning, we took our bus to La Paz for a 4 hours journey including a 10 minutes boat trip in the middle. Travellers on a tiny boat and bus on another small boat made of woodsticks, an experience!

It is only once arrived at our 3* hotel in La Paz after being transferred from our hostal which was full (nice upgrade :) that we realised we were missing two things rather useful, our passeports! To be continued..

Hasta Luego Amigos,
G&A

Arequipa - `Canyon Country´

Hola Peeps,

This blog comes to you from the shortest of our long distance bus journeys so far... 5 hours from Arequipa to Puno.

A quick word on the buses as they will make up the vast majority of our travels through South America. As far as comfort goes the Peruvian long distance buses are about as good as they come. We are of course travelling on the 'tourist' buses as oppose to the 'chicken buses', but they are always full with a large majority of locals. At an average cost of less than $2 USD an hour they provide a great way to get around the country. A good level of comfort includes reclining seats, hot meals, onboard films, and blanket & pillow on the overnight journeys.  During the day they also provide a great way to see the local landscape from the height of the second floor of the bus (oh yes double deckers).

So the is bus is taking us out of Arequipa and onwards to Puno and Lake Titicaca (recognised as the largest high altitude lake in the world).

Arequipa on the other hand makes up the arid desert like terrain of Peru. Claiming to be the capital of Southern Peru, Arequipa is Peru's second most populous city. It is also a city of outstanding beauty, located at the foot of three (approx) 6,000m high volcanoes the views from every street are stunning. A city heavily influenced by the Spanish Jesuists the centre of the city has a very colonial feel and is centred around a communal 'plaza del armas' which houses the grand cathedral and offers a place for daily Peruvian fiestas!  The centre itself is actually a UNESCO world heritage site  due to the architecture surrounding the plaza.  Also known as  La Ciudad Blanca ('The White City') the majority of buildings are constructed of white volcanic rock that glistens in the sunlight. At an altitude of 2,350m we've spent 3 days baking in unbroken sunshine without ever a cloud in sight!

 

A short but fun visit to Arequipa which has seen us being dragged into a dance off in the plaza with school children and clowns (!), to relaxing by a swimming pool in the scorching desert sun whilst admiring the snow capped mountains on the horizon. A city thats seen us eating gourmet food and visiting a Citadel within a City (the Santa Catalina Monastery) covering over 20,000 sq meters! A city to remember...

Ciao for now.

A&G

Inca-redibile

100 years after Hiram Bingham ´rediscovered´ Machu Picchu (and only a few days after Mick Jagger visited) it was our turn to find out what all the fuss is about...
Day 1 - Easy
Pick up from Cusco at 6.20am, so an early morning wake up call at 5.30am.  After a quick shower, bite to eat and coach ride to KM82 we started our journey.  Our group consisted of 2 Canadians and 2 Dutch, 3 guides, 7 porters and 1 cook.  Certainly one too many guides!
After passing the check point and entering Machu Picchu National Park we walked for around 5 hours plus a welcome pit stop for lunch.  The porters would run ahead set up camp and start cooking so everytime we arrived at a stopping point there was food at the ready (perfect!).  The first evening involved getting to know our fellow explorers with a few Cusqeuena´s and some wine before bedding down in our sleeping bag and tents.

Day 2 - A Challenge
Woken up (again) at 5.30am but this time we were geared up and hiking by 6.30am.  By 8am the sun was shining and the sweat was dripping!  The whole morning consisted of an uphill climb to ´Dead Womens Pass´ at a height of 4,200m (we started the morning at 2,900m above sea level).  But what goes up must come down....  After a short break at the top to admire the views and rediscover our lungs it was time to to lengthen the walking poles for some 500 year old down hill steps!  2 hours (and 2 inflammed knee´s) later it was arrival at basecamp for a late lunch and a siesta before happy hour and dinner.

Day 3 - Unforgettable
A 5.15am start for our longest days hike... 10 hours up, down and around.  The morning started with an immediate climb and some already stiff joints.  However the day was broken up by several awe-inspriring Inca sites on the original Trail made 500 years ago.  The late morning consisted of several hours of cloud forest, passing around the mountains with cliff edges on either side (one stretching perilously high, and one stretching omminoulsy deep) against a 3 foot wide path.  As the cloud clears in area´s the views are stunning but also a little bit alarming at the though of putting a foot wrong!  The afternoon took us on a chosen detour off of the path to visit the Incans largest existing agricultural site (picture the spralling grass and stone pyramid effect stretching down the mountainside.  A sheer drop with a view of the entire Urubamba valley allowed for the perfect time to get some high altitude action photo´s in.  Arrival at basecamp around 5.30pm for our last night before the big day.  A few drinks and celebration and thanks to the porters before bed....

Day 4 - Unique
.... a stupid early start (3.45am) in the dark was required to allow us to treck the final 3 hours to Machu Picchu in order to get there for day break.  After little sleep and waking up with even stiffer joints (and still no shower - deodrant clean only) we set off for a relatively easy hike to ´The Wall´.... 50 stone steps that are so steep you´re required to scramble up on all fours.  From the top we just needed to turn one more mountain side in order to gain the near top down view of ´The Lost City Of The Incas´.  Cue the greatest Indiana Jones moment as the clouds start to break and we got our first glimpse of the Incas most sacred city, circa 8am.  A final push down the mountainside fuelled only by what we´d just seen materialise from the clouds took us down into the site.  After about 20 minutes of Kodak moments we started to explore the Sun Temple, Royal Tomb, and Sacred Rock among the Llama´s and Chinchilla´s!  Words cannot describe the magical feeling attached to the place after spending 4 days walking the original steps of those who frequented the site half a millenium ago!

Kudos to our fellow trekkers and guide for making it unforgettable experience.

Ciao for now....
A&G

Living Lima & Conquering Cuzco

One week in....

After a long flight via Madrid (no in-flight entertainment = poor show for an 11 hour flight) we arrived safely in Lima around 7.30am local time.  We´re about 6 hours behind London, so 1.30pm UK time!  Lima´s a massive city (5 biggest in South America, thank you Lonely Planet) so we set about looking round about 8am!

Thanks to G we we´re in the district of Miraflores (the Marylebone of Lima).... A short walk through the centre took us to the Pacific Ocean and some stunning views and a first chance to mix with some of the Peruvian locals (Si... Hola... Gracias...).  Lima is a cool city with a very colonial and Spanish feel to it espcially around the historic centre.  We tried our hand at a few of the local delicacies, Ceviche (raw seafood and fish salad thing), Grilled Alpaca, Inka Cola, Pisco Sour (made with grape brandy), Chicha (strange purple maize drink) and of course Cusquena = ´the Gold of the Incas´. The buses are mental, even if you don´t want to get on the bus you will likely get thrown or talked onto one!

50 odd hours in Lima had us takling our first long distance bus journey.  20 hour plus to Cusco which (highly recommend Cruz Del Sur if anyone does it - hot meals, films and near lie flat beds!).  Departing at 3.30pm on Friday got us to Cusco at midday on Saturday, through some very dizzying and windy roads.  Cusco was the ancient Inca capital and sits 11,000 ft above sea level, the city literally (´Mikey´) takes your breathe away.  The place is AWESOME!

We have already taking in all the Peruvian vibes, the markets, bright colours, music, dance, folklore, we cannot get enough (just not the roasted guinea pig yet)! The locals are all really nice (Si... Hola... Gracias...). The altitude is the only bother as it can sometimes leave you a little out of breathe, however we are drinking a lot of coca tea which is the local tipple and cure.

Today we started our training for the Inca Trail (4 day 3 night trek) with some Bear Grylls style Inca Ruin exploration.  Hard to climb but well worth every breathless minute of it, and damn good practice for what is now feeling like it could be a 4 day onslaught.... Macchu Picchu.

Adios Amigos!

A&G