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Hi all
Well it's been a while since our last blog, so quite a bit to fill you in on.
After Coroico we headed back into La Paz for a couple days before continuing north to Copacabana on the shores of Lake Titicaca, and Isla del Sol which is just inside the lake, and the birthplace of the Incas.Copacabana was alright - not that enchanting, but just jumping ground to Isla del Sol which was really beautiful.We spent a whole day there walking from the north of the island to the south and admiring the gorgeous views, peace and quiet - no traffic on the island and very little by way of human or animal traffic either.The journey to the island was a bit slow and arduous with only 1 of the boat's 2 engines functioning... a travel sick local and some very loud yanks.Sometimes it would be nice to have a mute button for them......
From Copacabana and Isla del Sol we said goodbye to Bolivia (what a fabulous brilliant country) and hello to Peru.... equally as fabulous and brilliant so far, in different ways and experiences.First stop was Arequipa which was really beautiful - a stunning town with lots of buildings made from white volcanic rock which is really pretty.We visited the Santa Catalina convent there which was stunning itself, a walled city within the city that was only opened to the public in the 1970s in order to gain some extra cash - it appears living life as a solitary nun isn't as popular as it used to be ...... go figure!!!There was a cell (for some reason the guide didn't use the word bedroom) for a nun who was a really big deal - she was beatified by Pope John Paul, but on her bed was a bed of nails - apparently she had to use it twice weekly for bad thoughts?!?!?!What like escape?!All joking aside the convent was really stunning , beautiful layout and grounds, serene in the middle of the city and a thought provoking place.We enjoyed some fabulous food in Arequipa, and wine - yippee - had had a bit of a wine dry spell in Bolivia.Went to an Argentinian asado restaurant and had the most divine beef and alpaca.... yummmmm.Also indulged in lots of chilling and sun soaking - weather was beautiful every day - consistently warm days, blue skies, the kind of November weather we could get used to.
From Arequipa we took a 2 day tour into Colca Canyon which was very cool.Was a more conventional tour group organised by a local company who were really good - us 2, 2 Spanish, 2 Peruvians and 2 Germans - nice bunch.The Peruvian girl was particularly lovely - really bubbly and friendly and we managed some fairly fudge-it conversation with her limited English and my really rusty Spanish!!So on the tour we saw lots of cool Peruvian animals - vicunas (like small alpacas) and these coolio big rabbit things that were chilling on rocks!Not to mention condors - wow we were really lucky and saw lots which flew so close to us - quite a sight.Stayed at a lovely lovely hostel type place in the Canyon... great views (pics to follow).Thermal baths to relax in, and then the views of the canyon itself were really worth the journey out.Stunning, deep, vast.Although I'm not sure whether Paul was more enchanted with the view of the canyon and the condors, than with his double seeded banana and the most ridiculous looking traveller we have seen yet - again pics to follow!
After Arequipa we took the BEST overnight coach of our trip so far to Cusco.Full cama (bed) service on the cama suite service from Cruz del Sur which was a really good experience.Departure lounge at the bus terminal in Arequipa (that was a first), blankets and pillows, safety video (!), snacks, drinks and bus bingo! What more could you want from modern travel?!Arrived in Cusco very early in the morning on the first day in a while when it didn't rain (we have been so so lucky with the weather on our trip and it keeps going!).We intended to chill out for a few days before heading to Machu Picchu but when we were checking out companies there was an opening to go the following day (last Thursday 18th Nov) so we thought - why not!What a good call..... We started off on our Inka Jungle Trail just the 2 of us (no one else in the group) with the company's best guide - Johan (retired at just 19 but he has been guiding since he was 12 and now pursues other things) and had the most perfect weather the whole 4 days.Kicked off with breakfast at the owners house, meeting his dogs and all sorts, then the rest of day 1 was mountain biking from up high to down lower - finger freezingly cold to begin with and then descending to the heat of the jungle!Amazing views and all the way peppered with heaps of information about Peru, Quechua culture, and the history of the Incas.Fascinating.... Day 2 and and 3 were trekking days - day 2 was pretty hard going with lots of uphills and a section of the original Inca trail.Monkeys, cats, good food (not the monkeys or the cats), free mangoes picked from the trees, ending the day at thermal baths, and a pass over a river in what I can only describe as a metal basket on a big rope.... all the good stuffDay 3 was more gentle as we passed through the valley floor past rivers, a hydro electric station and into Machu Picchu territory, ending up at Aguas Calientes, which for a town at the base of one of the world's major tourist sites was surprisingly nice and in keeping (albeit expensive!)This is where we left Johan (as he headed back to Cusco) - what a great guide.Passionate about Peru, guiding and his Quechua culture, also as a local very frustrated with his country and its shortfalls, but wishes to do something about.Going to study archaeology, and wants to learn Chinese (already speaks English, Spanish, Quechua and Aymara).Felt very educated and enlightened by what he had to share with us.... what a cool guy.
So that brings us up to yesterday when we went to Machu Picchu - 4am start to leave the hostel at 0430 and start the 1 hour 30 walk up to the entrance - wow that was a way to start the day - never had so much exercise before breakfast!Pauls t-shirt was sopping wet by the time we got to the top.... it was quite a climb!And then we got in..... WOW, the place was simply stunning, magical and an enigmatic place to walk around and experience.We had a guide for the first 2 hours that showed us the key sites and places and gave us some interesting background information, theories etc.Another lovely lovely lovely Peruvian - passionate about his job and what he has to share with visitors, eager for questions and so warm.We saw him later on in the day and he wished us luck with our travels - so sweet.So we had a mixture of weather in the day - misty moody clouds making some perfect pictures at 0600 when we arrived, then freezing cold mist during our guide, then the clouds lifted to beautiful sunshine and blue skies for the rest of our day there - pretty perfect for climbing Machu Picchu mountain to view the whole site from quite an elevation - 3100m!We spent the whole day there which was a luxury as the crowds departed early afternoon and we enjoyed some really peaceful spots, and then walked all the way back down to Aguas Calientes at the end of the day - we figured we'd spend the money otherwise spent on the bus on drinks for all our cycling and trekking efforts!Our legs feel somewhat in pain today for all the efforts, but the pisco sours and caipirinhas were a well deserved treat last night!
So now we're back in Cusco today having taken the train and bus back from Machu Picchu.Lovely to be back in this beautiful city which we now have time to explore and wander round... enjoying more good food, markets, beautiful buildings, ruins and we'll likely take a trip back out to the Sacred Valley to soak up some more of that.All very cool Inca stuff.
Well, that's about it..... enjoy the piccies.Shall try not to leave it so long til the next update.
Hope all well back home with all the joys of cosy winter weather and Christmas preparations!Aaaaaahhhh
Much much love, L&P xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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