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13/01 = Arrive at Arequipa after the long nightbus - though I learn how to do colour accent on my camera during the journey! Arrive in the morning and after freshing up I visit the Santa Catalina Monastery (see image inserted) which is absolutely amazing as the nuns have their own town within the gates and the buildings range from oange, blue, red and white!
14/01 Leave Arequipa and head to Colca Canyon we stop along the way to see an eco-environment for llamas. The journey is long but the scenery is beautiful with the canyons having farm terrace plains cut into them.
15/01 LOADS OF COCA LEAVES TODAY AS ALTITUDE SICKNESS IS TAKING HOLD!
Hike to Cruz point and take in the views of the canyon before stopping for lunch where I have an Alpace burger followed by cake _(the normal chocolate kind!). After lunch we go back to our hostel and then walk up to the tombs of the town´s ancestors in the mountains.
Have dinner at a local restaurant with traditional dancing as entertainment involving themes of love, farming and yellow fever!
16/01 0 Journey back to Arequipa, along the way we reach Colca Canyon´s highest point (iover 400 metres) to see several snow capped mountains in a semi-circle pattern.
17/01 Jounrey to Cusco SO LONG as flight delayed, whole day is used up on travelling.
18/01 After night stop in Cusco we head to Ollantaytambo (I know the journey never lets up!) this town is designed as a stop overbefore the Inca trail. Really beautiful town though encased in ruins and cobbled streets with locals dressed in the customary attire of red colours and concave hats.
19/01 INCA TRAIL begins.
Start at Piskakuchu where with hand over each of our weighed 6kg bags - this is beacuse the porters can only (!)carry 20kg each. They´ll be carrying all these bags plus the tents, chairs, tables, food and propane tanks in sandals and make-shift plastic bag coats all for just 10 USD a day!
9 km walk passing several ruins along the way and a shack that accepts Visa and Mastercard for soft drinks! Campsite near Patawasi ruins where you can see local children practising martial arts! Yep I have two kickboxing mataches with two of the porters which gains e a lot of respect and on the third day one of the porters was attempting to talk to me about it as i gasped up the terrain!
20/01 (Early start of 530am)DEAD WOMAN´S PASS 4200 metres.
Hiking HELL! SO MUCH INCLINE I FEEL LIKE MY LUNGS ARE GOING TO COLLAPSE! Yes I am a drama queen!
Loads of porters overtaking me - and when I eventually reach the summit I´m so cold I do a quick wee stop at the top of the rock face, put on my golves and then walk down the other side of it! I didn´t even realise that it was dead woman´s pass!
Camp site bside a waterfall (3600 metres).
Meet and greet porters which I think may be the most humbling and guilt ridden experience to date of my life, there is a 66 yr oldman carrying our bags for us and another introducing himslef as "I carry the propane tank".
21/01 EARLY START (530am) 16km walk with beautiful scenery of lagoons, view od Dead Woman´s pass- sit does look like a woman! Jungle terrain in the cloud forest.
Campsite again set up for our arrival - we visit some ruins. Porters thank us for being here!
22/01
We quue to enter Macchu Picchu . Once we are through loads of people powerwalk to get to the viewpoint of Macchu Picchu (first sight of ruins from a distance). I walked slow of course and was greeted along with all the powerwalkers with mist! LOL.
Another long walk to the actual site- can´t believe it when I finally get there! Strange thing though is that we have to leave the trail to pass through the tourist entrance (yes you read right) The entrance point has a Macchu Picchu hotel, restaurant, shop and cafe! Anyway we get through the entrance and then have the guided tour. The actual ruins are amazing however the experience is surreal as the postcards are identical to the images-AM I REALLY HERE!? I sit at the to pand watch the site get filled with tourists! I think overall the human aspect of the trail i.e. the porters has been the most amazing experience really of this trail.
Leave site and head back to Cusco.
23/01
Day in Cusco where I do the obligatory Inca trail postcards! I also visit some Alpace shops spending far too much on "must haves" and then head to an English themed restaurant for lunch - yay they sell omlette and salad cream!
I have a traditional Andean mean for dinner (to make up for lunch) which included Chica Mora (fermented maize drink). Night time a few of the group head to the Mushroom bar (yeap you can guess wht the bar is shaped as) for some celebratory drinks - night ends with me attempting to do the can can in the plaza and turning myelf into a human sandboard across it instead (not intentional)!.
24/01 Leave hotel for long trip to Puno.
25/01 Travel by motor taxi to port where I buy food pressies for the home stay family in Lake Titicaca (where I will next be staying). Boat to one island for lunchwhere customs of marriage weaving clothes are explained and how the Shamen can tell what is worng with you by getting the patient to sleep with a guinea pig before cutting it open to examine. Journey to next island which is the hme stay one. Our group separate into twos and then head off for a meal with our slected family (I speak for an hour with them in spanish!). Dress up in local attire and head off to local school for a live bad and dance off!
26/01
Leave family annd take a boat ride to Uros the Floating Islands on the Lake.First imprseeion of the 50 islands is "Waterworld"! We learn about how they make these islands of floating reeds and we nosy around one of their homes (one room)Reed boat ride to another island and then boat ride back to Puno.
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