Biking the World´s Most Dangerous Road

The fog is masking a massive vertical drop!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ready to ride!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What a totally awesome day!

Before the ride, for good luck, we had to spill some 97% alcohol on the front bike tyre, a bit on the ground for Pachamama and then we were supposed to put a bit on our lips. From my face you can see that I accidentally swallowed some and it burnt my insides!

So I survived biking down the World’s Most Dangerous Road thanks to Gravity Assisted Mountain Biking.  We were a group of 14 and the day started off well until the torrential rain started.  I have never been so wet in my life without going swimming.  By half way down the road I was soaked through to my underwear.  Fortunately, I remembered to put my camera in the van before it got too wet.  I forgot about my money belt though and ended up with some soggy dollars.

Still smiling...

The ride was totally awesome, even if we couldn´t see much of the massive cliff drops for all the fog and rain.  I had a smile on my face the whole way down!  I later learnt that most companies dont´t encourage riding the road in the rainy season, and if they do run trips, they don´t encourage beginners to go.  I was certainly not one of the people right behind our crazy guide, Cody, but neither was I with the girl from NZ at the back that shouted “jesus fucking christ” every time she arrived at a stopping point.

Near the start of the ride. The people in ponchos are protestors who have been marching from the Beni province in Bolivia to La Paz since August. They were protesting against the construction of a 185-mile road through the Isiboro Secure National Park and Indigenous Territory (Tipnis).

I was fine on the asphalted roads but somewhat slower when it came to riding down on the rocky, narrow road.  I don´t think I´ll be taking up mountain biking any time soon.  Think I´ll stick to my touring bike, thanks!

 

 

 

Me concentrating on the wet and rocky road

We ended the day at an animal rescue centre for dinner where we showered, got fed, and saw amazing animals like spider monkeys and parrots.

We were supposed to go back up the World´s Most Dangerous Road to get back to La Paz but with all the rain there had been landslides on the road after we left.  So we took the ´new`road (which was still quite rough and unpaved in parts) and got back quite late to La Paz.

 

We all survived!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celebrating with a beer (and a muddy face and sopping wet clothes)

 

La Paz

La Paz

So I ended up staying in La Paz longer than I expected.  After some small cities and towns, it was a bit of a shock to be in a big city again.  I consoled myself with a sag paneer aloo curry from La Paz´s only British-owned curry house.  It was delicious!

I arrived on Thursday to learn that there would be judicial elections taking place on Sunday, which meant EVERYTHING (including public transport) would be closed.  So I opted for a day in the city on Friday, biking down the world{s most dangerous road on Saturday, a lazy day on Sunday, a trip to Tiwanaku ruins on Monday, then off to Rurrenabaque and Madidi Mational Park from Tuesday for 5 days and then back to La Paz for another day.

La Paz is a crazy busy city with a million taxis, mini buses, cars etc all spouting out major fumes.  It´s a very polluted city but you can walk around the central parts during the day and early evening and taxis are cheap for longer distances and late at night.  Coming in and out of the city is impressive because it sits in  valley with sprawling houses up each side with a massive snow-capped mountain also visible from most parts of town.

I visited the excellent Museo de Textiles Andinos Bolivianos to marvel at the exquisite textiles and weavings from all over Bolivia.  As usual, I was the only visitor.  I´d taken a taxi to get there but decided to walk back to the centre.  After asking at a kiosk for directions, and after much hilarity that I would want to walk any great distance, the kiosk lady sent me off with her Cholita friend (a traditionally dressed Bolivian women wearing a bowler hat) who was going in the same directions.  We had a bit of a chat and the woman thought it was hilarious that I would be interested in weavings and textiles and had come all this way to the museum.  Like all local people in Peru and Bolivia, she warned me to be careful on my travels! 

The Museum of Contemporary Art was also quite interesting (again, I was the only visitor) with a variety of works by mainly Bolivian artists in a beautiful building.

I did many of the obvious tourist things – got my shoes cleaned by a shoeshine boy after they got covered in mud in the jungle, bought some lucky charms carved in stone from the Witches Market, bought a wooly hat for Rebecca (work colleague) from a weaving/knitting co-operative, and bought delicious (and very cheap) Bolivian chocolates.  I also did some less obvious things like learning to play poker at the hostel, being on the winning team for the pub quiz, and having a really good and authentic Japanese meal.

La Paz on the day of the elections.

On the day of the elections, La Paz was like a different city.  I woke up to silence rather than car horns honking.  The streets were empty apart from people on bikes and families had brough their kids out for the day on bikes and trikes.  It was great!  Sylvie, Alexandra and me spent the day walking around the city, having a girly chat over coffee and cake, and walking up to one of the view points.  Monday morning everything was back to normal and the car horns and fumes were back in full force.

La Paz with Huayna Potosi in the background.

Sun Gate at Tiwanaku

The ruins at Tiwanaku were quite impressive, if not quite Machu Picchu.  The site is considered one of the most important pre-Inca sites in South America.  It was amazing to see the ruins still be excavated and one of the main sculptures had been moved to its own museum in a dramatic setting.  There wwere also some surving stones within the complex that worked like loud speakers – you spoke from outside the temple inwards and your voice was aplified really loudly.  The bus ride there and back was scenic, with great views of the mountain ranges around La Paz and Lake Titicaca.  Of course, we weren´t even out of the ruins complex when we got a puncture and the driver and guide had to change the tire.

One of a few surviving sculptures. One hand faces in and the other faces out as if it belongs to someone else. This shows duality in giving and taking.Stone sculpture at Tiwanaku.

 

The stone sculpture with its own museum

 After not liking La Paz all that much at first, I ended up really liking it!

Copacabana (Bolivia)

So it took me about 5 weeks to get to Bolivia!  Of course, I had to change my ticket ao now I am supposed to fly from Buenos Aires to Sydney on the 30 November.  I suspect I might have to push it back another week if I can manage to extend my visa for Bolivia.

Crossing the border into Bolivia

So I made my first border crossing without incident.  We had to get off the bus, get our exits stamps for Peru, change money, get entry stamps for Bolivia, then get back on the bus for the short drive to Copacabana.

 

 

 

Parade in Copacabana

There was some glitz and glamour in the Bolivian Copacabana in the way of some street parade just after I arrived.  I´ve no idea what it was for but everyone got on a bus after they had finished.

 

 

 

 

Copacabana is a lake side town on Lake Titicaca.  Too many hippies for my liking trying to sell you home-made sandwiches before your trip to Isla del Sol.

How to steer a boat of seasick passengers with your foot

Luckily I met another girl at the hostel who also planned to go to Isla del Sol.  Her name was Courtney and she´s studying neuroscience!  We bought one-way tickets and hopped on a boat that would probably not be seaworthy in any other country.  No sign of life jackets and the captain steered the boat with his foot.  The weather was raining and windy so it was a long and rough 1.5 hour crossing.  Courtney and I speculated who would puke first but no-one did.  Given half an hour more, I might well have puked.

 

 

 

 

One of many beautiful bays on Isla del Sol

We arrived at the south end of Isla del Sol and set off to walk to the other side where we would stay the night.  The walk was amazing – up and down the mountains of the island, through little villages and beautiful bays and beaches.  We passed lots of kids walking home from school who thought we were hilarious for some reason?  They would all giggle as they went past and the boys would confer before one of them was nominated to shout “Hola mi amor” (hello love) as we walked past.  The smaller children (not at school) were much more upfront about asking for stuff (regalame! = give me a present or dame algo! = give me something).  We didn´t give them anything as we didn´t want to encourage begging (not easy to do).  The small childern in Peru were not this upfront about begging.

My feet in the clear water of Lake Titicaca

We found a little place to stay on the north side of the Island and ran into two Australian guys (Ben and Tom) also looking for dinner.  Fresh trout from the lake is the best thing to eat unless you are vegetarian like me and then it´s omelette, chips and vegetables.  The restaurant closed early so we found another one open late to have a drink and play cards.  Now I know two card games – Shit Head and Black Bitch (the latter refers to the Queen of Spades before you ask).

View of the ruins from the highest point on the north of the island

The next day Courtney took the first boat back to head off to La Paz and I spent the morning walking to the Inca ruins, which area labyrinth of walls and rooms with a well that was supposed to be used for cleansing rituals in Inca times.  I also climbed up to the highest point on the north side of the island to enjoy amazing views and peace and quiet (apart from some man who I could hear playing the flute somewhere).  As I set of early, I had the place to myself before the first boats arrived.  It was amazing!

Fortunately the lake was calm for the return journey back to Copacabana.

Puno and Lake Titicaca

Puno wasn’t the most picturesque city after being in Cusco and Arequipa.  Highlights included taking a tricycle taxi (with a great view of the oncoming traffic!), hiking up to the condor mirador for great views, eating a s./2.50 (65p) two-course lunch, staying on Amantani island and visiting Taquile island, and staying on the Yavari ship on Lake Titicaca.

(L - R) Me, Alexander, Jean Francios

I took a boat trip to Amantani and Taquile islands and met some great people on the trip (Jackie, Jes, Rob, Jean Francois).  The islands are a few hours from Puno and run on a community/collective basis.  When you stay on the islands you stay with a family on a full-board basis, and the families are rotated to receive visitors about once a month.  I was paired up with another solo traveller called Jean Francois from Montreal and we were allocated to a family.  The mother had 7 children in total but only the two small boys still lived at home.  The youngest, Alexander, was allocated as our tour guide for the afternoon so he showed us how to get to the plaza and where to start the walk up to the highest points of the island with some ruins.  The moon was out and a storm was coming in so the sky was an amazing blue colour.

 

 

The moon and ruins on Amantani

The families on the islands survive from growing some basic food stuffs (mainly potatoes) and supplement their income from tourism and selling weaving.  There is only solar power electricity on the island and water is also scarce.  The guidebook advised to take fruit as a present for the host family, which I did.  I’d been worried about telling them I was vegetarian but I needn’t have worried.  The islanders only eat meat on special occasions so we were filled up with tasty carbohydrates (and one egg).  I’m not sure if I’ve ever had rice and pasta at the same time but it was filling.

 

The fiesta for the gringos

A few of us from the boat had all agreed to meet in the plaza in the evening but little did we know our host families had other plans for us.  After dinner we were brought traditional clothes to put on and invited to a fiesta in the house I was staying in.  Some local students had been roped in to play music and beer was for sale.  We all had a lot of fun dancing to the traditional music and trying to learn some local dances, which seemed to involve dragging each other round in circles.  As we had to put the traditional clothes over our normal clothes, we all looked quite funny with our walking shoes and travel trousers under our skirts and ponchos!

 

A local Man (you can tell he's married by the type of hat) showing us how to wash wool with a local plant.

The next day we went to Taquile island which is famous for its weaving.  There were some amazing examples for sale in the island’s co-operative shop and I got a small woven belt.  We then had a delicious lunch at the co-operative restaurant, which had an amazing view.  Like the host families, the running of the restaurant is rotated around different families so that everyone gets a chance to earn some income.

The walk back down to the boat was spectacular.  We could have been on a mediterranean island with the blue sky and crystal clear water.

 

 

The Yavari ship

I then stayed two nights on a living museum, the Yavari ship, which is the only way to stay on a boat on Lake Titicaca.  It was a bit out of my budget but such a unique experience that I couldn’t resist.  The ship was built in England and brought to Lake Titicaca in bits by sea, rail and then by mules and llamas over the Andes.  It was estimated that it would take six months to bring the pieces over the Andes but it took six years!

Captain Giselle Guldentops welcomed me to the ship and gave me a guided tour, including the engine rooms.  They have managed to retain many of the original features of the boat and it is well preserved because it is located in a fresh water lake rather than the salty sea.  I was allocated the bottom bunk in the Inca cabin and the next day treated to an amazing breakfast while sat in the original Captain’s chair.

The next night another English couple arrived to stay on the boat and we enjoyed a delicious dinner brought over, course by course, from a hotel on the mainland.  Staying on the boat was amazing and the B&B services supports a lot of the ongoing conservation work that the boat requires.  The Yavari project needs to raise about 300,000 dollars to make changes to the ship in order to make it sea worthy to sail passengers across Lake Titicaca in the future (at present they can only sail with crew).

Potatoes with clay sauce and cheese - yum!

In Puno I also did a tour to some local burial towers but it chucked it down with rain the whole time.  The tour highlight was eating potatoes with a local clay sauce.

 

 

 

 

 

My favourite form of transport in Puno (apart from when you are face on with a bus)

 

 

Colca Canyon

After realising my trekking ability (or not) in the Sacred Valley, I decided to try trekking up and down colca canyon, which is deeper (but not bigger) than the grand canyon.  There was also the lure of spotting wild condors and going swimming at some thermal baths.

A minibus picked us up at the ungodly hour of 3.30am but I had to laugh when the last passengers we picked up were Louisa and Tom who I’d met on the Machu Picchu trip.  I was glad something could make me laugh at that time of the morning.

After a long and winding drive as the sun came up, we reached Cruz del Condor which is the best place to spot soaring Andean condors in the early morning.  We saw about 4 or 5 but I later learnt that the condors are fed at 5.30am to make sure they are out for the tourists at 8am!  Oh well, at least they are getting fed and they are not in captivity.  These condors have wingspans of 3 metres and they glide in the canyon on the wind currents, hardly flapping their wings at all.

Our group was a mixed bunch (again) – me, three young guys who just graduated from Cambridge, a Peruvian couple, a crazy French couple, a Dutch girl, and a woman on a medical mission from the US and her friend who made furniture and wore those shoes that look like feet.  Needless to say, you can guess out of this group who was zooming down and up the canyon (hint – the 3 guys with youth on their side and the guy with the feet shoes).

It was a long, steep and rocky walk down to the bottom of the canyon.  On our way to the place we stayed for the night (back up the canyon a bit) we ate cherimoya (guanabana) straight from the tree and tried a variety of other weird and wonderful fruits bought from local woman.  We went to a great but very small museum (one room) that displayed stuffed animals, food, tools, local dress etc. We also got a small glass of chicha (imagine if the V&A gave a glass of beer to every visitor…).  The museum was run by a local family and our guide was very informative.

We set off early the next day to the Oasis.  Someone had the bright idea to build some swimming pools and cabins in small resorts at the bottom of the canyon.  As you are hot and tired walking in the canyon, when you look down to the Oasis it looks like a mirage.  We went swimming as soon as we arrived and for a moment I felt more like I was on a luxury package holiday rather than backpacking.  In the evening we played volleyball (Peru has a very good woman’s volleyball team (fact) and I am rubbish at volleyball (also fact) then ate dinner, drank too much Pisco and sat around a campfire until late.  Probably not the best idea when we had to get up at 5am to walk back up the canyon.

The walk up the canyon is supposed to take 3 hours but the two of the English guys and the American guy made it up in 1.5 hours.  This is the same time it takes the mules to carry people up.  I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen them over take me and zoom up the canyon.  I managed a respectable 2.5 hours with the aid of some coca leaves.

Climbing back up the canyon I saw a couple of wild condors (not recently fed) as they took off and circled round and round down into the canyon without flapping their wings even once.  It was magical!

p.s. I still can’t access the colca canyon photos so here are some of Aerquipa instead.

Arequipa with the mountains and Misti volcano in the background

La Plaza de Armas in Arequipa

Arequipa

Arequipa is my favourite place so far in Peru.  What´s not to like – it has a warm and sunny climate, the best food, great people, and you can see mountains and volcanoes from the city! 

After arriving on an early bus from Cusco, I spent the day hanging out with a cool guy from Melbourne called Tom.  After checking out Colca Canyon tour prices, eating the best chaufa (Chinese food, and this time actually cooked by a Chinese person), visiting the frozen mummy called Januita, we climbed the stairs to the roof top bar that looks over the plaza to enjoy some pisco sours as the sun went down, then accidentally found the best vegetarian restaurant in town.

Juanita is housed on the only museum I´ve visited so far that had low light levels and air conditioning to protect the objects.  We did have to try not to laugh out loud though at a wall photo that showed how Juanita fell down the volcano and was discovered.  This was an out of proportion photocopy of the mummy stuck onto a photos of a volcano.  Maybe you had to see it to believe it…

Unfortunately, one of my memory cards seems to have developed some kind of fault so I can´t get post pictures from Arequipa and Colca Canyon :0(  Hopefully I can fix it when I get to Australia.

Machu Picchu

The postcard shot

What can I say?  Machu Picchu is amazing and it doesn´t disappoint!  I thought it might be a bit underwhelming after seeing so many photos of it but it absolutely takes your breath away.  You can read more about Machu Picchu here.

 

 

 

 

Freddy gave us a tour of the important parts of the site before we had some free time to walk around.  We opted to hike up to the Sun Gate (where Inka Trail trekkers arrive) to enjoy more amazing views.  While we were there a group of American women, all in their 70s, arrived from the Inka Trail.  It was quite inspiring to see the delight on their faces that they`d finally made it.

Machu Picchu

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Me in a typical Inka doorway designed to withstand (several) earthquakes

Unfortunately, I got sick from something I ate in Aguas Calientes so the trip back from Machu Picchu involved being sick on the train, sick on the bus, sick in the street going to the hotel, and sick a few more times before falling asleep.  I can confirm that it´s true that Gatorade (and some home mixed essential oils) can sure a sickly stomach within 24 hours.  As soon as I felt better the next day, I treated (tested?) my stomach to some home brewed Chicha (see Cusco post)

 

 

 

I was stoked to see a wild chinchilla in an Inka window

Lares Trek

The Lares trek and visit to Machu Picchu was the only thing I booked in advance on my trip, which I booked with Gap Adventures.  We were a group of 13 from the UK, Canada, America and Ireland, including a surgeon, TV promo writers for ABC, IT guru – so quite a mixed bunch!  Of course, on the first night the Irish lads had us go to Paddy`s Bar (supposedly the highest Irish owned bar in the world but I suspect not…) as they were desperate for Guinness (from a can, flown from the other side of the world).  Most of the group were doing the Inca Trail so it was me and Melanie, Dina and Jigna from London on the Lares trek.  Later Beth (from London) and Yoella (from South Africa/Israel/Toronto) joined us for the actual trek.

Our guide for the Sacred Valley tour was Percy (not a very Peruvian or Quechuan name).  We went to a small weaving village where we saw how they dye and spin wool and then weave it into blankets.  This is a charity supported project to provide extra income for an otherwise remote village whose main income is from farming. 

Balls of wool dyed with natural dyes

We also visited amazing Inca ruins at Pisaq and Ollantaytumbo which had great examples of Inca terraces, principally built to support the mountains on which the Inca`s built rather than for agriculture (as commonly thought).  The stone constructions are amazing and how the Inca`s moved stones of this size around, and how they made them fit so perfectly together is a feat of engineering.  It`s really incredible to see this stone work first hand.

Ruins at Ollantaytumbo

Loading up the gear

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We stayed in Ollantaytumbo town as we had an early start the next day for the Lares trek.  Our guide was Freddy (see the pattern here…) and we went to the start of the trek where our duffel bags (strictly 3kgs of stuff) was loaded up onto llamas and horses for the trek.  We carried just our day packs with water, snacks, rain poncho etc. 

Ready to trek!

The first village we passed through had only got electricity 11 months ago.  People in the village will have TV for the first time but there aren`t any Quechua language programs we all the channels are in Spanish.  Imagine getting TV for the first time and you can`t even watch anything in your own language.  It`s hard to imagine the effect of TV on these remote villages but there are definitely positives and negatives. 

Walking through amazing scenery in the rain and sleet

Shortly after the village the hail and rain started (spending s./3 on a rain poncho was the best investment ever) and carried on as we walked through the most amazing landscapes.  I felt like we were in the Lord of the Rings film walking up and over mountains and lush green hills dotted with tiny stone villages. 

Check out the little koala on the girl´s hat

We didn`t see anyone else all day apart from a few local women selling drinks and souvenirs and our porters, llamas and horses racing ahead of us to set up camp.  We even saw eagles and condors circling overhead at one point.

Our snacks (and Yoella demonstrating the iPhone4 to Freddy)

As a fussy vegetarian I don`t have very high expectations for food on organised trips but the food we had over the three days was amazing.  When we arrived at the lunch stop the porters had already set up the kitchen/dining room tent and had hot coca tea and crackers ready for us (even though we’d already been given a snack bag for the day).  Then followed hot soup, a main dish and more tea.  Dinner followed the same format but we had fresh popcorn with our tea and then soup and a main dish again.  How they managed to cook such delicious and fresh food with limited supplies and equipment was amazing.  I never have any excuse again for not being able to cook a wholesome dinner from scratch.

What a beautiful place to camp (and do a bit of yoga)

We walked some more in the afternoon (it carried on raining) until we reached our camo for the night.  This trip should really be called glamping because our tents and everything were all set up for us when we arrived, and we were woken up each morning with a cup of hot coca tea.  After dinner it was dark and we could see the most amazing starry night sky.  I thought the night sky in the outback of Australia was amazing but the sky on the Lares trek was out of this world.  My camera wasn`t up to taking a picture but I`ll never forget the brightness of the stars and being able to clearly see the milky way.  Because there was no cloud at night it was bloody freezing.  Fortunately I had layers of clothes to wear and a warm sleeping bag that I`d hired.

The llamas with some of our stuff (they can´t carry as much as the horses)

We woke up early for the second day of trekking but didn`t set off until we had made an offering of coca leaves to Pachamama (mother earth) and Freddy had shown us how to prepare some coca leaves for chewing (they really help with the altitude and fatigue).  I also managed to fit in some outdoor yoga with amazing views.  The second day of the trek took us uphill all morning to the highest point of the trek at 4,600 metres.  At that altitude climbing uphill for hours can be quite a challenge but we all went at our own pace and made it to the top, even Melanie made it without of the aid of a horse and she was super sick with food poisoning. 

The view of the lake from 4,600 metres

Our reward for making it to the top was the most amazing view of a lake and the surrounding landscape, and a traditionally dressed lady that let us take her photo in exchange for some coca leaves (well deserved as she`d hiked up the other side with her baby in tow).  I found the whole photo in exchange for money/coca leaves a bit awkward but then you realise there are few opportunities for people, especially women, to make some extra money in these remote areas so you can`t blame them for taking advantage of the opportunity to make a little extra money through photos or selling drinks to trekkers.

After more walking and another chilly night at a beautifully remote campsite by a river we were treated to an amazing breakfast of pancakes decorated with writing in caramel sauce.  On each pancake they had written `Señoritas en Lares`.  It was so cute and we were all made up (and again amazed at what they could rustle up in the cooking tent).  As we descended to a lower altitude the scenery became more green, lush and tropical.

Our support team (from L-R the horse and llama men, the guy who set up our tents and brought us tea and water in the morning, the chef and boss of the other three, Freddy our guide)

The whole team post-trek

After getting back to Ollantaytumbo we caught the train to Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu Pueblo) which took us through more amazing landscapes of mountains and green forests.  Aguas Calientes is the main gateway to Machu Picchu so it`s full of gringos and tourist restaurants.  There are no cars there but the train runs right the way through the middle of town.  As we sat down for dinner in a place next to the train tracks, a train went through and sucked all of the electricity out of Aguas Calientes.  There was a power cut in the whole town so we had to make our way back to the hotel, through the cobbled streets, with one torch between us.  At the hotel we were given a candle in a plastic bottle.  When the power came on later in the night, you could hear the town cheer.  I guess this is a regular occurence because there was a power cut the next day when we got back from Machu Picchu.

The train to Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu Pueblo)

Cusco and drinking chicha

Arriving in Cusco I suddenly realised where all of the gringos were – they were all in Cusco and the bus station had that chaotic Latin American bus station vibe.  A bit overwhelming after arriving on the crazy night bus from Andahualylas.

I stayed at a nice little hostel away from the main square and met a bunch of super nice people while I was there.  The American, Canadian and British guys had me cracked up most of the time.  I learnt a very useful phrase from them – `tramp stamp`which is when a woman has a tattoo (usually a Chinese symbol) tattooed on the small of her back.  They couldn`t believe I`d never heard this before!  Lee, the British guy, is the only person I`ve met so far that has been to Venezuela and he started his travels there, which I couldn`t believe.  We had fun swapping stories about the state of the streets in Caracas and the amazing sites (and lack of tourists) in Venezuela.

Guess which one is the 12-sided stone?

Cusco is super touristy but also a pretty and historic city.  You can still see cobbled streets with original Inca walls, and of course it has a nice plaza.  There is a famous street where you can see a 12 sided Inca stone and there is sometimes a man dressed up as an Inca for the tourists who stands next to the stone.  If you stop for more than a second in Cusco though, someone will call you their friend and try to sell you something, normally some watercolour paintings or an Alpaca knitted hat.

Cusco has several excellent museums and Inca ruins within easy reach.  Highlights were the Pre-Colombian Museum (amazing collection of high quality objects displayed to international museum standard) and an evening show of dancing and music that took place in the hall of the local Science College.  This reminded me of the dancing shows I used to do as a kid but the mainly Peruvian tourists seemed to be really into it.

I also got the chance to drink chicha in a very local bar (I use the term `bar`loosely as it was more of a back room with a TV and a place to piss).  Chicha is traditional fermented corn beer that has been around since Inca times (or before).  It tastes a bit like farm cider but different.  I hate to think what water was used and what it was fermented in (most likely a rank plastic bucket)!  We were ushered into the back room and stools around a table were quickly found for us.  For s./4 (about 1 pound) we got a two litre pitcher and one small glass between five of us.  This wouldn`t have been that odd except that the place was full of old (and drunk) Peruvians drinking chicha from massive pint glasses.  Some of the old peruvian ladies are really small which made the glass look even bigger!  We were obviously the source of much amusement and the two old ladies at the end of our table were outraged when they heard we paid s./4 when the local price is s./3.50.  They thought it was hilarious that we didn`t get a glass each and I was promptly appointed translator as we poured a drink then passed the glass round.  I`ve got used to translating except translating drunken, toothless spanish is quite difficult.  One especially old and small lady was particularly taken with the young Canadian guy with blond hair.  She could´t keep her eyes off him!  A very drunk local called Francisco was particularly keen to tell us about the amazing powers of chicha.  From what I could work out, he told us it would make us strong enough to climb Machu Picchu if we drunk enough of it.  After such great advice, it was the least we could do to buy Francisco a top up.  On their way out the old ladies sharing our table told us to be careful.  I`m not sure if they meant generally on our travels or in the bar, so after the pitcher we decided to leave before we were floored by the strong chicha.

Plaza de Armas en Cusco

Cusco was the starting point for my tour to Machu Picchu and the Lares trek, so more about that in the next post.

Andahuaylas

 I got up early to catch a bus from Ayacucho to Andahuaylas.  After the night bus I thought I would try the day bus to catch some more  mountain scenery.  I met a lovely Finnish couple (Felicia and Oskar) at the bus station and they were sat across the aisle from me.  I sat next to a chatty Peruvian guy called Carlos who was travelling a bit around Peru.  This gave me lots of opportunity to practice my Spanish!  He asked me what people in the UK thought about Peru and I found this a bit difficult to answer.  I think people in the UK know more about Brazil and Argentina but when it comes to Peru people only know Machu Picchu and eating guinea pigs.  If you tell a Peruvian that guinea pigs are kept as pets in the UK they think you are mad!

One of many amazing views from the bus

The bus took a long and winding road through amazing mounting scenery and remote farming villages.  There were plenty of opportunities to see pigs, chickens, sheep, llamas, alpacas and of course the feral dogs that seem to be everywhere here.  We also met a young Peruvian guy called Henry on the bus who is travelling around Peru.  Felicia and Oskar has pre-booked their hotel and Henry helped me find a hostal room for the bargain price of s./9 (about 2.25).  Of course, this required me waiting around the corner while he bargained the price down.  Having a gringa in tow does not help your bargaining power!  The place was simple and my room had a plastic relief of the Eiffel Tower on the wall and a window repaired with parcel tape.

 

 

Chankas ruins at Sondor

The next day we all took a combi up to Sondor to see some Chankas ruins (the Chankas were around just before and at the same time as the Incas, who then defeated them and made the most of their sites) which were located in a strategic position in the mountains next to a beautiful lake (Laguna de Pacucha).  The guide/guard of the ruins (he was a young guy who got to sit around in the sun all day listening to his radio while ‘guarding’ the ruins) gave us a good explanation of the ruins (in Spanish) before we wandered around ourselves.   The ruins were laid out in the shape of a condor, which was the main god for the Chankas.  The location was specifically chosen because it is surrounded by a number of micro climates, and the lake, which meant that lots of different produce could be grown on different levels of the mountain terraces.  The views from the ruins into the mountains and over the lake were amazing!

 

We walked down from the ruins to the lake, past many small farming villages who all shouted “Hola Gringos” to us, especially the kids, as we went past.  We found two young girls hanging out on a lookout tower who let us take their photo.  They seemed so young compared with 9 year old girls in the UK who mostly seem to be into clothes, make-up, music etc.

We eventually hopped on another combi back to Andahuaylas so we could catch the night bus to Cusco.  The combi driver stopped in some great spots to let us take photos, and the locals on the bus seemed quite amused by us gringos.  In the end I ended up on a separate night bus from Felicia and Oskar (and Henry stayed another night) with a driver who thought he was Lewis Hamilton with a death wish.  Again, by some kind of miracle, I think I managed to get a few hours of sleep but god knows how?!