Peru

Things can often sound much worse than they are at times & with our 27 hour bus marathon from Guayaquil (Equador) to Lima (Peru) that´s exactly how it was for us! Not only did we get a bus with reclining seats, leg room (important for those above 6ft tall, ed. and their wee partners who usually get squashed up !!)) & air conditioning that worked, but we caught up on 4 movies we had been meaning to watch for a while & befriended an English/Spanish speaking linguist from Switzerland. As such we arrived refreshed & transfered from the suburban bus depot to our inner city hostel with the minimum of hassle.

Above: Our 27 hour Steed!

Quite unlike the endless shanty towns, (ie. zero sanitation, running water or electricity,) we had passed on our way in, central Lima appeared almost European in appearance with its Spanish colonial influenced architecture, ultra modern shopping malls & miriad of cafes/restaurants - such is the contrast between the ´haves & the have nots´ in Peru it would appear!

Still our modest hostel of choice (Espana, on Calle Azangaro) was a complete delight with classic roman busts, stuffed birds & countless oil paintings that adorned almost every spare inch of wall within the rambling old mansion. This lime at least, Lonely Planets (SA edition) appeared to have got it right & we would highly recommend it ourselves!

Left: Roman busts in our hostel. Right: Central Lima.

From our central location, we set out to explore the city - visiting such sites as the Plaze De Armes, Plaze San Martin & the Grand Bolivia Hotel, (where we enjoyed our first Pisco Sour - lemon juice, brown sugar, bitters & ´pisco´ - a whie grape brandy - topped with whisked egg white!) before lunch beckoned. (ed...good olde Edwina Currie would have had a heyday!!)Having therefore exhausted the city centre sights, we jumped into a local bus & sped South to Miraflores, the luxury coastal suburb.

Left: Pisco anyone? Right:

Mostly frequented by flashpacking travellers staying in posh hotels, Miraflores is worlds apart from central Lima in many ways. Safety being the main one thanks to the armed guards on every street corner & coffee shop doorway. Still, it does share a strange phenomena of picturesque city parks full of artistically decorated cows?!!? Why, we dont know but then it does give you something to think about over coffee as paragliders whizz pass overhead!

Above: Why not!
(ed. with some time on my hands I have now done some research it would appear this is a popular means of using a public art display of cows to support charitable causes - http://www.cowparade.com/)

On the return bus back to central Lima we spyed (& visited) out first pre-Inka pyramid (Huala Pucllana) before frequenting the most surreal of restaurants to date - L´eau Vive in Calle Ucayau. Here, French order nuns cooked us the most superb evening meal before singing Ave Maria to us at 9pm.

Above: Huala Pucllana!

The next destination on our Peruvian jaunt was Nazca & the world famous lines! Quite why such lines even exist is anyones guess as theories for their existence vary from astrological calenders to giant running tracks and spaceship landing markers! But whatever the reason, most agree to them being constructed betwen 900BC & 600AD by removal of the deserts sun darkened upper stones, thus exposing the lighter ones beneath. For us, it was well worth the $45 price tag & extremely bumpy flight to fully appreciate them!

Left: Come fly with me! Right: Just one of the many lines.

Another bus journey (an 8hr zip from Nazca) & Arequipa (the White city) rolled into view with the usual smattering of churches, monasteries & parks centred both geographically & socially around its central plaza, Plaza De Armes. Quite from being an overcrowded, noisy & repugnant town square full of yobs that you might imagine in some UK towns, Arequipa´s Plaza De Armes is a delight to behold as the Peruvians still hold dear the idea of community spirit & actively enjoy their open air spaces with the entire family. Never a moment goes spare without something occuring in such a place & so sitting amidst this cacophany of noises & sounds, Miranda & I couldnt help but enjoy the experience.

Above: The view from out Arequipa hostel!

Whilst most travellers fan out from Arequipa to visit such sights as Canon Del Cocla (the worlds deepest @ 3191m) or the Chivay´s Agues Calienta (hot springs), Miranda & I contented ourselves with a mornings exploration of the citidel like Monestary Santa Catalina & endless views of the surroundings like Volcanio El Misti (5822m), Chachani (6075m) & neighbouring Pichu Pichu (5571m) before jumping on another bus to Cuzco.

Left & Centre: The monestary. Right: Lunch out in Arequipa.

Cuzco may well be a city of huge architectural & historical importance, to both Peru & the world at large, but it is of a singular human endeavor that makes it one of our favourite destinations so far. The endeavor of concern is that of the dutch lady, Jolanda Van Den Berg who having returned to Cuzco in 1996 after a brief holiday there, set about changing the fortunes of the street children she had met some 6 months previously. Starting be the adoption of 2 street children into her own home, Jolanda quickly realised more was needed & with a little financial support from friends & one off donations she finished her first year with a family of 12 around her!

Jump forward 13 years and Jolanda & her staff are now responsible for the well being, basic education & health of more that 600 underpriviledged children - all made possible because of the profits raised through their Nino´s restaurants and hotels.

Miranda & I were priviledged enough to stay & Nino´s II on Calle Fierri & quite from being a excellent hotel (with calm, quiet courtyards, superb cafe food, an open fire and uber helpful staff) we got to chat to one of Jolanda´s helpers (Gladys) & see first hand what a difference such help & resources are making.

Left: Nino's courtyard. Right: Behind the scenes & note the little toothbrushes!

Whilst we wouldn´t ask anyone to donate to any old cause, this is one we wouldn´t mind promoting & ask that you consider staying at, if you should ever be in town. http://www.ninoshotel.com/

Left: Buying localgoods in Cuzco. Right: Are we lost?

Left: More goods top fit in the bag. Right. Lima or ballon?

Still our of choice was the alternative jungle trek, as quite simply, we didn´t fancy the "classic" 7 days/6nights tented exploration in Mozzy filled campsites with zero hot water for $500pp! Not when $140pp ensured us a hostel bed for the night, warm shower & escape from the biting insects!

Day 1 started with a dizzying mountain bike descent along the sides of Abre de Macaca (4319m) to the nearby town of Santa Maria & yet another encounter with a canine friend (a wonderful baby mastiff ) that yes, yet again, Miranda seemed heart broken to leave behind! (ed. dont worry folks it wouldnt fit even in the massive bag!!)

Above: Rady for the off.

Day 2 - our first of two 8hr jungle treks through lush riverside scenery & climb along an original Inca trail to the welcoming sites of the hot springs at Aguas Calienta & the poorest hostel of the trip.

Above: Not the best weather for hiking!

Day 3 - our penultimate 8hr trek to the base town of Machu Picchu through Mozzy ridden railway sidings & avocado & other fruit ladened trees. Sweaty & shattered, we proceeded to enjoy a wicked Mexican meal before crashing out in the best hostel of the lot, (Hostel John!)

Above: Watch out for the train.

Day 4 - a 4am start, with 2 hours of solid climbing ahead. The relief of arriving before the 1st of the tourists arriving by bus (aka. "slackers,") was a prize enough as we dug into our well deserved tramps picnic style breakfast out of the rain. Gaining the much sought after Huayna Picchu tickets we entered the main site & explored the amazing ruins. To think they were built some 550+ years ago is amazing when you consider the craftmanship, altitude & scale of the place. As this is becoming a hugely wordy blog, we´ll now let the pictures speak for themselves...

Totally shattered & a little sun burnt, we then pressed on up the sides of Huayna Picchu to the best view of the main site so far, (ed. I can now conclude that men get far more out of reaching summits than women!)

Following a slow descent back down to base camp, much needed rest & full body massage we took the train back to Cusco, for a nights rest in Ninos II, before our onward bus journey to Puno of the banks of Lake Titicaca.

Though the bus journey from Cuzco to Puno is only 6hrs long, Inka Express buses(http://www.inkaexpress.com.pe/) takes 10 hours since it stops off at Andahuaycillas (the cisteen chapel of South America with stunning 24crt gold decorations,) Raqchi (an ancient Inca temple of Adobe brick 6 stone), La Raya (the highest point of the trip @ 4335m) & Pukara (the oldest ceremonial centre of the Puno Altiplato). However its best not to undertake such a journey if shattered or cultured out as it´s all a little lost on you otherwise! Arriving in Puno we enjoyed the town for about 3 minutes before jumping in a taxi & heading east to the nearby town of Chucuito.

Above: La Raya

The Taypikala Lago hotel (yep, Miranda wanted luxury - ed. & Toddie wasn´t resisting!) we stayed at was about 100m from the lake front & so afforded us some awesome views of Lake Titicaca from all angles! With a tranquil atmosphere we couldn´t have asked for more,(admittedly we were the only guests for this 400 bedroom hotel.) We used the opportunity to relax, unwind, catch up with the blog & explore the local town where meals cost as little as $2 for three courses & local wedding celebrations seemed to last the entire weekend.

Next stop Bolivia!