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Jackman Travels
Altitude sickness is really rubbish. It took a while to hit us properly; either this was a delayed impact or - more likely - we both had colds so blamed the symptoms on that. Such symptoms include: nausea, fizzily sensation in parts of the body (pins & needles-ish), achiness, headache, shortness of breath and an overwhelming lethargy. On only one night since reaching 3000m have we stayed up past 9pm.
After flying from Quito to Cusco (via Lima - looks like we didn't miss much there), we were to be picked up at the airport by someone sent by our hostel. And indeed we were. Only thing was, he didn't have a car. He didn't seem bothered by this, though, and took us to get a taxi from the main road. His name, of course, was James Bond and he was there to try to sell us tours. It worked too - we booked our trip to Macchu Picchu with him (after a wee bit of haggling).
Our hostel, Samay Wasi 2, is lovely - up in San Blas (sort of arty neighbourhood), with great views. It also provided us with our first taste of té de coca, a hot drink made with the leaf of the coca plant... which also happens to be the same plant from which a certain drug of a similar name is made. Now, we certainly didn't get a high, but we did feel slightly funny. Fortunately, it doesn't taste very nice so we won't be having it again anyway.
After a day walking up to and around the ruins at Sasquaywaman (pronounced a bit like 'sexy woman'), it was Macchu Picchu day. Up at around 6am, and after a bit of excitement involving getting into the wrong taxi which tore off down the road, we found James Bond. He escorted us to the bus, then we had 3 hours on a train (proper ´great train journeys of the world´ stuff, including switchback sections down the mountainside - made Andrew VERY excited indeed), a bus up the last hill and we're there, with a tour group, looking at the classic postcard view. (Oh, in the loo at the entrance, Andrew crossed paths - or should that be streams - with Charlie from our Galapagos group who had just completed the Inca Trail. Didn't see any others of the Gallypuss lot, despite some decent sealion impressions).
And the ruins really are simply stunning, set up in the mountains. Well worth the trip and well maintained too. After our tour, we walked to the old Inca Drawbridge (one of the two main entrances to the old city)... and came back to find the place deserted. Seriously, 3pm and we had the place just about to ourselves (well, apart from the llamas who had definite right of way on the paths) and it all the more amazing for that. Guide books suggest getting there for 5.30am to avoid the crowds - nah, just bring a packed lunch, stick around and get the later train down.
Now - the train down. Wow. We had been upgraded to a fancier train with a glass roof to give a better view of the valley. The value of this at 6.45pm - half an hour after sunset - was limited however. Nonetheless, we settled in, enjoyed our comlimentary jam tart and drinks... and then it all went weird. One of the train crew burst out of the toilet dressed in supposedly traditional Inca dress - including white woolen balaclava with facial features - and charged up and down the train as music blared. We were exhausted already and tried to ignore him and look unimpressed but just ended up laughing openly. THEN! Then, they changed the CD and a voiceover announced that the crew were about to give us a fashion show of alpaca clothes (that we could buy, of course) and, sure enough, the other two members of the team came out of the loo, trying to make woolens sexy. It was utterly, utterly brilliant.
Fans of inappropriate music in public will be glad to hear that part of the fashion show soundtrack was the unedited version of Mylo's 'Drop The Pressure'. The Americans in front of us were confused, then appalled.
Oh yeah, and then the train was delayed so instead of a 'luxury coach' home, we were bundled into a seatbelt-free taxi with a faulty radio and an 'eager' driver and ended up getting home rather late indeed (see taxi details below). But hey, it's kind of all worth it for the day at Macchu Picchu (okay, and the train ride).
WHAT WE'VE LEARNT (PERU):
- At every turn, people want to sell us stuff. When it's a handmade alpaca scarf, fair enough. When it's a photo opportunity with the llama they're dragging around town, weird. And when it's five people at a time trying to sell you their restaurant for the tenth time today, GO AWAY.
- Every male of driving age thinks he's a taxi driver. You can't slow down on trhe pavement without a man pulling up and throwing his door open for you. Crossing the road is a nightmare - as soon as you stop, your path is blocked by cars. Of course, it doesn't help that anyone can by a 'Taxi Autorizado' window sticker in the street.
- Driving is not simply a matter of getting from A to B - it is an opportunity to express your masculinity and male pride. Never wil a Peruvian driver allow his machisimo to be undermined on the road. If someone attepts to overtake you, accelerate like fury, especially if there is oncoming traffic. If driving on winding mountain road in the dark, in lashing rain and another car comes around the next bend, both drivers put their lights to full beam, just to make sure NOBODY can see anything. And most of all, no matter now heavy the rain, don't use your windscreen wipers - THEY'RE FOR GIRLS.
- A stone in a wall with lots of corners is an excellent tourist attraction. They claim that these were of great importance to the Inkas - we think it's an impressive bit of PR from a Tourism Ministry brainstorm:
BOSS: "Right, these Inka ruins are okay but really they're just some stones in a field -what have we got that sets us out from other olden societies?"
LONG SILENCE
TEABOY: "Erm... well some of the stones have got...erm... lots of corners."
BOSS: "Wow, Juan, you've got it! quadruple all entrance prices immediately!"
Which brings us to...
- The Tourism Ministry reall is milking us tourists, leading to massive inequalities between costs of 'official touristy stuff' and 'local stuff'. So a day trip to Macchu Picchu costs well over 100 pounds, but a three course meal in a really nice 'locals' restaurant costs less that 2 pounds.
- Inka Kola is brilliant. Okay, only Andrew thinks this, but he thinks it enough for two people. It's bright yellow, sugary, massively caffeinated, full of tartrazine and is the closest taste in the world to Irn Bru. Suzie has imposed a half litre per day maximum for obvious reasons.
- Alpaca wool is very warm - we both now proudly own hats and scarves made from this cosy wool.
- Alpaca meat tastes nothing at all like chicken. Rather, it has the texture of mutton with a hint of liver in its flavour.
- Look past the well-marketed tourism and much of Peru is very traditional. A huge number of people (particularly women) wear traditional dress and many live off the land in a subsistence farming fashion. Driving through the countryside, we see husband and wife teams tending the land, either by hand or ploughing with oxen. Next turn, we see a group of women washing clothes with rocks in the river.
- And still, despite the poverty and limited resourced, they maintain the South American love of football, giving up perfactly farmable fields to provide a pitch every couple of kilometres.
After flying from Quito to Cusco (via Lima - looks like we didn't miss much there), we were to be picked up at the airport by someone sent by our hostel. And indeed we were. Only thing was, he didn't have a car. He didn't seem bothered by this, though, and took us to get a taxi from the main road. His name, of course, was James Bond and he was there to try to sell us tours. It worked too - we booked our trip to Macchu Picchu with him (after a wee bit of haggling).
Our hostel, Samay Wasi 2, is lovely - up in San Blas (sort of arty neighbourhood), with great views. It also provided us with our first taste of té de coca, a hot drink made with the leaf of the coca plant... which also happens to be the same plant from which a certain drug of a similar name is made. Now, we certainly didn't get a high, but we did feel slightly funny. Fortunately, it doesn't taste very nice so we won't be having it again anyway.
After a day walking up to and around the ruins at Sasquaywaman (pronounced a bit like 'sexy woman'), it was Macchu Picchu day. Up at around 6am, and after a bit of excitement involving getting into the wrong taxi which tore off down the road, we found James Bond. He escorted us to the bus, then we had 3 hours on a train (proper ´great train journeys of the world´ stuff, including switchback sections down the mountainside - made Andrew VERY excited indeed), a bus up the last hill and we're there, with a tour group, looking at the classic postcard view. (Oh, in the loo at the entrance, Andrew crossed paths - or should that be streams - with Charlie from our Galapagos group who had just completed the Inca Trail. Didn't see any others of the Gallypuss lot, despite some decent sealion impressions).
And the ruins really are simply stunning, set up in the mountains. Well worth the trip and well maintained too. After our tour, we walked to the old Inca Drawbridge (one of the two main entrances to the old city)... and came back to find the place deserted. Seriously, 3pm and we had the place just about to ourselves (well, apart from the llamas who had definite right of way on the paths) and it all the more amazing for that. Guide books suggest getting there for 5.30am to avoid the crowds - nah, just bring a packed lunch, stick around and get the later train down.
Now - the train down. Wow. We had been upgraded to a fancier train with a glass roof to give a better view of the valley. The value of this at 6.45pm - half an hour after sunset - was limited however. Nonetheless, we settled in, enjoyed our comlimentary jam tart and drinks... and then it all went weird. One of the train crew burst out of the toilet dressed in supposedly traditional Inca dress - including white woolen balaclava with facial features - and charged up and down the train as music blared. We were exhausted already and tried to ignore him and look unimpressed but just ended up laughing openly. THEN! Then, they changed the CD and a voiceover announced that the crew were about to give us a fashion show of alpaca clothes (that we could buy, of course) and, sure enough, the other two members of the team came out of the loo, trying to make woolens sexy. It was utterly, utterly brilliant.
Fans of inappropriate music in public will be glad to hear that part of the fashion show soundtrack was the unedited version of Mylo's 'Drop The Pressure'. The Americans in front of us were confused, then appalled.
Oh yeah, and then the train was delayed so instead of a 'luxury coach' home, we were bundled into a seatbelt-free taxi with a faulty radio and an 'eager' driver and ended up getting home rather late indeed (see taxi details below). But hey, it's kind of all worth it for the day at Macchu Picchu (okay, and the train ride).
WHAT WE'VE LEARNT (PERU):
- At every turn, people want to sell us stuff. When it's a handmade alpaca scarf, fair enough. When it's a photo opportunity with the llama they're dragging around town, weird. And when it's five people at a time trying to sell you their restaurant for the tenth time today, GO AWAY.
- Every male of driving age thinks he's a taxi driver. You can't slow down on trhe pavement without a man pulling up and throwing his door open for you. Crossing the road is a nightmare - as soon as you stop, your path is blocked by cars. Of course, it doesn't help that anyone can by a 'Taxi Autorizado' window sticker in the street.
- Driving is not simply a matter of getting from A to B - it is an opportunity to express your masculinity and male pride. Never wil a Peruvian driver allow his machisimo to be undermined on the road. If someone attepts to overtake you, accelerate like fury, especially if there is oncoming traffic. If driving on winding mountain road in the dark, in lashing rain and another car comes around the next bend, both drivers put their lights to full beam, just to make sure NOBODY can see anything. And most of all, no matter now heavy the rain, don't use your windscreen wipers - THEY'RE FOR GIRLS.
- A stone in a wall with lots of corners is an excellent tourist attraction. They claim that these were of great importance to the Inkas - we think it's an impressive bit of PR from a Tourism Ministry brainstorm:
BOSS: "Right, these Inka ruins are okay but really they're just some stones in a field -what have we got that sets us out from other olden societies?"
LONG SILENCE
TEABOY: "Erm... well some of the stones have got...erm... lots of corners."
BOSS: "Wow, Juan, you've got it! quadruple all entrance prices immediately!"
Which brings us to...
- The Tourism Ministry reall is milking us tourists, leading to massive inequalities between costs of 'official touristy stuff' and 'local stuff'. So a day trip to Macchu Picchu costs well over 100 pounds, but a three course meal in a really nice 'locals' restaurant costs less that 2 pounds.
- Inka Kola is brilliant. Okay, only Andrew thinks this, but he thinks it enough for two people. It's bright yellow, sugary, massively caffeinated, full of tartrazine and is the closest taste in the world to Irn Bru. Suzie has imposed a half litre per day maximum for obvious reasons.
- Alpaca wool is very warm - we both now proudly own hats and scarves made from this cosy wool.
- Alpaca meat tastes nothing at all like chicken. Rather, it has the texture of mutton with a hint of liver in its flavour.
- Look past the well-marketed tourism and much of Peru is very traditional. A huge number of people (particularly women) wear traditional dress and many live off the land in a subsistence farming fashion. Driving through the countryside, we see husband and wife teams tending the land, either by hand or ploughing with oxen. Next turn, we see a group of women washing clothes with rocks in the river.
- And still, despite the poverty and limited resourced, they maintain the South American love of football, giving up perfactly farmable fields to provide a pitch every couple of kilometres.
- comments
nigelpatrick Can I just let you know that I almost wet myself this afternoon laughing at the story of the train staff and the accompanying photo - absolutely genius!!