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?!