How can you top the hike to the City in the clouds? We were in Ollytantambo after the train took us back from Aguas Callientes, our hostel had a lovely leafy courtyard and a crazy puppy. Most were resting after the gruelling trek and I was the only taker to see some Inka ruins just in the town in the dark and drizzle, up more stairs, my sore legs not thanking me at all. I was not missing out on anything this trip. We left the next day back to Cusco to catch up on some rest and shopping.
After our final meal in Cuzco which have all been excellent, we got a bus to Lake Titikaka and we stayed in Puno. The lake was soooo large and apparently in the shape of a puma catching a rabbit, and is 270m deep and the second highest navagable lake in the world. We pottered around Puno and had dinner and the next day were taken by cyclos to the dock where we got into a boat to take us to Uros floating reed islands to meet the people who live on the lake. Appárently they fled from the Spanish or the Inkas and built these floating islands, boats and huts made out of the plentiful reeds, with small fish farms attached, which can be added onto of chopped if families have a bone to pick with each other... flexible lifestyles... but the youth are going to uni in town and do not return so a uniqe way of life is coming to a halt and all that will be left is for tourists... how sad. They have small solar panels to watch tv and for some lighting but build clay ovens to cook outdoors and make handicrafts to sell, they bartyr with townsfolk with fish for fruit and vegies etc... so simple, and females dress in very colourful clothing with their dark black hair cascading down in 2 thick plaits tied with colourful pom poms, the bigger and brighter the pom pom the more available the girl, dark and small are for married ladies.
From there we went to another island where we had to climb over and across to lunch, our highest lunch spot at around 3700m, with a view of the lake. The men there knit as the women spin the wool and the designs are just fantastic, wish i could have bought some stuff to bring home but did not take much cash. Then back to puno.
The next day we got another coach for a long ride to Bolivia around the lake, we had a windy road to contend with after crossing the border and my stomach went out of kilter and I felt so sick... but we got to bustling La Paz which was nestled in among mountains and glaciers with hoardes of people and skinny cobbled streets crammed with vendors. We went to the Witches market where they sell all sorts of dried foetuses of llamas, herbs, potions, charms, talismans etc... all very weird, and then to the touristy craft shops before dinner.
The next day we went out of town to another ruin, pre inka and we were by then all tired, unable to take in the information the guide was gushing, and must have looked a bit sheepish. We had lunch and returned to the hotel as it was our last night. So there you have it... all over, and now I am in Argentina after a long wait in Lima for my connecting flight and have walked my legs off exploring the colourful, clean European like city, which is very large. I went to the zoo which was great and saw the animals i did not see in the Amazon, and the botanical gardens full of cats, they are everywhere... what is with that? Then I hit La Boca with its colourful tin houses and tango spontaniously happening everywhere in the tourist zone, and i walked for 5 hours through to the trendy shops and malls which was a huge contrast... my legs were so sore i got a cab back and went for a lovely swim in the hotel pool... the night life here goes on and people are everywhere, dining and drinking and dancing... it is a very cool and sophisticated city and is very European in feel. Great food, from all corners of the globe, wine, beers, cakes, chocolates.... a gourmet´s delight. They do a great caramel sauce which is in and on everything, and you can buy it in big buckets... hmmmm.....
Tomorrow is my last day and i have booked in a massage in the day spa downstairs in anticipation of my very long flight home... cannot believe this trip is over, but i have had an absolute amazing experience here and will definately recommend it and hope to return soon. Thanks for reading my blog, hope it was interesting... c u back home... P
Monday, October 12, 2009
oops i forgot the Amazon
Ok, if my memory serves me well, we flew from Lima to Cuzco and onto the Amazon where we were ushered into a covered motorized canoe and shunted to our jungle lodge over 3 hours away. We passed by flat bottomed canoes loaded up with timber or fruit looking so top heavy you wonder how they even stay afloat. We finally viewed our timber eco lodge and it was lovely, no electricity or hot water but just fine and dandy. We had our dinner and went for a night walk in the jungle with torches and spotted lots of insects and lovely big tarantulas, some of which lived under our cabins... (see the photos) and then were left on our own every 200m or so, torches off, to just become one with the forest. You could hear all sorts of noises in the still of the night, owls hooting, creatures moving around you as twigs cracked underfoot, insects buzzing around your ears... it was so dark, it was just amazing that 10 mins of stillness, isolation and silence... then we all joined up and walked back to the lodge together.
The next day we went for a long walk and trudged through the rainforest in the humidity and heat to a lake where we got into a flat bottomed boat and cruised around spotting turtles, monkeys and macaws and whatever else we could see... they were at a distance so no great pix there and were so startled by our presence they took off when we approached. Different to Galapagos where animals have no fear of humans as there are no predators there. It was so bloody hot as the glare of the sun on the water seemed to intensify the heat. We sleepily looked out of the boat into the river and spotted fish darting around the lily pads, and our guide caught a walking fish with a bit of chicken gristle on a fishing line... it was cool. We then headed back to eat our packed lunch in a banana leaf and had another 3 hour walk back and we were exhausted in the heat of the midday sun and the humidity and our guide stopped talking as he knew we wanted to just go back and shower and rest up. All in all it was a 6 hour walk. The cold showers were great....
That night a few of us jumped into the silty brown river full of caymen and fish and other scary stuff for a quick swim. None were eaten thank goodness so we went back to eat dinner and after that embarked on a Caymen hunt. We saw some small ones slither into the river as we spotlighted them in the dark and then our guide rocked our boat as he jumped off and chased after a small baby on the shore and bought it back to us to inspect. Poor lil fella was probably scared to death and mum was not too happy either. But he was put back in the same spot and wandered off into the bush without too much trauma i hope.
That night we heard rain on the roof as we slept. When we awoke the heavens opéned and i have never seen so much rain in my life, a steady shower of water pouring out of the heavens, wish we got that in Melbourne. We got the covered canoe back down the river to catch our flight and it was a soggy, cold and windy 2.5hours as the boat leaked water and we huddled out of the wind and rain. It was amazing... then we headed to Cuzco and you know the rest if you read the blog!
The next day we went for a long walk and trudged through the rainforest in the humidity and heat to a lake where we got into a flat bottomed boat and cruised around spotting turtles, monkeys and macaws and whatever else we could see... they were at a distance so no great pix there and were so startled by our presence they took off when we approached. Different to Galapagos where animals have no fear of humans as there are no predators there. It was so bloody hot as the glare of the sun on the water seemed to intensify the heat. We sleepily looked out of the boat into the river and spotted fish darting around the lily pads, and our guide caught a walking fish with a bit of chicken gristle on a fishing line... it was cool. We then headed back to eat our packed lunch in a banana leaf and had another 3 hour walk back and we were exhausted in the heat of the midday sun and the humidity and our guide stopped talking as he knew we wanted to just go back and shower and rest up. All in all it was a 6 hour walk. The cold showers were great....
That night a few of us jumped into the silty brown river full of caymen and fish and other scary stuff for a quick swim. None were eaten thank goodness so we went back to eat dinner and after that embarked on a Caymen hunt. We saw some small ones slither into the river as we spotlighted them in the dark and then our guide rocked our boat as he jumped off and chased after a small baby on the shore and bought it back to us to inspect. Poor lil fella was probably scared to death and mum was not too happy either. But he was put back in the same spot and wandered off into the bush without too much trauma i hope.
That night we heard rain on the roof as we slept. When we awoke the heavens opéned and i have never seen so much rain in my life, a steady shower of water pouring out of the heavens, wish we got that in Melbourne. We got the covered canoe back down the river to catch our flight and it was a soggy, cold and windy 2.5hours as the boat leaked water and we huddled out of the wind and rain. It was amazing... then we headed to Cuzco and you know the rest if you read the blog!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
cuzco and Machu Picchu
Hi gang, still on a high, literally, as just was in Machu Picchu this morning for sunrise... the past few days have been great.
Cusco is a lovely place with lots of history and culture and markets... the altitude was my greatest worry as in Quito i did not do too well, but drinking lots of coca tea must have done the trick. After 2 days exploring Cusco and eating alpaca steak and yes, I know, guinea pig... we left to start our trek at km82. The weather has been great and we walked for the afternoon at an easy pace, and i got to our campsite first. We had 4 italian middle aged people join our group and they were really good walkers... but i soon earned their respect and at first they called me Speedy Gonzales and later Queen of the Mountain. Porters carrying our 6kg luggage, tents, equipment, food etc all overtook us as they virtually ran up and down the paths as sure footed as a mountain goat... it was awesome to watch them speed past with huge packs on their backs sweating and panting to beat us to our campsite to set up when we arrived. We had a round of applause and a drink handed to us on arrival and our tents were set up, a dining tent for arvo tea and boiled water to drink. The loos everywhere were pretty rank to say the least and they were the only low points to the campsites which were used by many groups.
The second day was our hardest. We trekked to the height of 4200m and it was gruelling going up step after step. That day i overtook 2 other groups and even tho i stopped and got my breath every 10 steps or so as the air was so thin, I still got there first in our group with the italians 20 mins behind and the others following within the next hour or so. It was foggy and freezing up top and then we began our descent and that was also hard and steep. I had a headache by then so stopped trying to race the others which was not my intent, just wanted to prove to myself I could do it.
We finally arrived at our campsite and after arvo tea of popcorn and crackers and jam, we made our beds and played cards and then heard the heavens open... we were warm and dry and sat til dinner ended and the rain stopped. We always had soup, main and some small dessert. that night it was so cold in the tent i had to put on socks and a jacket and still could not sleep... was tired the next day.
We had a 5am wake up to start the next leg, long but not so challenging. That day was the prettiest as we hike up to another pass at nearly 4000m and watched the landscape change from rocky mountains to beautiful rainforest... i sped along taking pics of all the wildflowers and then lost everyone completely as i overtook 2 other groups again and ended up tagging along with an Intrepid group not sure where I was headed. I kept going and then finally came to our lunchspot at least 25 mins before the next people arrived. The guides said all they could see was a trail of dust as I disappeard into the distance and they had trouble keeping up, so i got briefed and let go to walk at my own pace. That night we were lower down and it was warmer in the tents.
The following day we had some more hills to climb with some Inka ruins along the way. We finally arrived at the last campsite with a lot of other trekkers at the base of the famed site we were to set eyes upon the following day. There was a shop and showers so drinks and cleaniness were top of the agenda. The cooks baked us a special cake on our last nite and that was lovely.
We hit the sack early as we had a 3.45am start to get packed and out of our tents and to line up to start the final leg of our journey. I could not sleep at all. We were off at precisely 5.30am when they opened the gates and i and 3 other Norwegian and one aussie girls overtook the Italians and virtually ran to get there first... a few people overtook us but we kept up the pace and the one hour journey took us 40 mins up the final flight of steep stairs to the Sungate where we were to get our first glimpse of the famed lost city in the clouds. it was thick with fog and we wondered when it would lift, but it was beautiful all the same with low cloud hanging over the mountains. Gradually it lifted and we held our breath and went a bit snap happy as the city came into view.
We made our way down and our guide gave us a history lesson and let us loose to explore. By now my legs were starting to ache so every step up was agony after the past 4 days, also it became quite sunny and hot so i got a headache again. It was so large and built to withstand earthquakes, had such good aquaducts still working and good defence systems and was just as amazing as I imagined... it was worth all the pain to get there. Now we are in Ollytantambo and seeing more inca ruins today and tomorrow before heading back to Cusco to wash all our smelly clothes and have a well earned rest.
Cusco is a lovely place with lots of history and culture and markets... the altitude was my greatest worry as in Quito i did not do too well, but drinking lots of coca tea must have done the trick. After 2 days exploring Cusco and eating alpaca steak and yes, I know, guinea pig... we left to start our trek at km82. The weather has been great and we walked for the afternoon at an easy pace, and i got to our campsite first. We had 4 italian middle aged people join our group and they were really good walkers... but i soon earned their respect and at first they called me Speedy Gonzales and later Queen of the Mountain. Porters carrying our 6kg luggage, tents, equipment, food etc all overtook us as they virtually ran up and down the paths as sure footed as a mountain goat... it was awesome to watch them speed past with huge packs on their backs sweating and panting to beat us to our campsite to set up when we arrived. We had a round of applause and a drink handed to us on arrival and our tents were set up, a dining tent for arvo tea and boiled water to drink. The loos everywhere were pretty rank to say the least and they were the only low points to the campsites which were used by many groups.
The second day was our hardest. We trekked to the height of 4200m and it was gruelling going up step after step. That day i overtook 2 other groups and even tho i stopped and got my breath every 10 steps or so as the air was so thin, I still got there first in our group with the italians 20 mins behind and the others following within the next hour or so. It was foggy and freezing up top and then we began our descent and that was also hard and steep. I had a headache by then so stopped trying to race the others which was not my intent, just wanted to prove to myself I could do it.
We finally arrived at our campsite and after arvo tea of popcorn and crackers and jam, we made our beds and played cards and then heard the heavens open... we were warm and dry and sat til dinner ended and the rain stopped. We always had soup, main and some small dessert. that night it was so cold in the tent i had to put on socks and a jacket and still could not sleep... was tired the next day.
We had a 5am wake up to start the next leg, long but not so challenging. That day was the prettiest as we hike up to another pass at nearly 4000m and watched the landscape change from rocky mountains to beautiful rainforest... i sped along taking pics of all the wildflowers and then lost everyone completely as i overtook 2 other groups again and ended up tagging along with an Intrepid group not sure where I was headed. I kept going and then finally came to our lunchspot at least 25 mins before the next people arrived. The guides said all they could see was a trail of dust as I disappeard into the distance and they had trouble keeping up, so i got briefed and let go to walk at my own pace. That night we were lower down and it was warmer in the tents.
The following day we had some more hills to climb with some Inka ruins along the way. We finally arrived at the last campsite with a lot of other trekkers at the base of the famed site we were to set eyes upon the following day. There was a shop and showers so drinks and cleaniness were top of the agenda. The cooks baked us a special cake on our last nite and that was lovely.
We hit the sack early as we had a 3.45am start to get packed and out of our tents and to line up to start the final leg of our journey. I could not sleep at all. We were off at precisely 5.30am when they opened the gates and i and 3 other Norwegian and one aussie girls overtook the Italians and virtually ran to get there first... a few people overtook us but we kept up the pace and the one hour journey took us 40 mins up the final flight of steep stairs to the Sungate where we were to get our first glimpse of the famed lost city in the clouds. it was thick with fog and we wondered when it would lift, but it was beautiful all the same with low cloud hanging over the mountains. Gradually it lifted and we held our breath and went a bit snap happy as the city came into view.
We made our way down and our guide gave us a history lesson and let us loose to explore. By now my legs were starting to ache so every step up was agony after the past 4 days, also it became quite sunny and hot so i got a headache again. It was so large and built to withstand earthquakes, had such good aquaducts still working and good defence systems and was just as amazing as I imagined... it was worth all the pain to get there. Now we are in Ollytantambo and seeing more inca ruins today and tomorrow before heading back to Cusco to wash all our smelly clothes and have a well earned rest.
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