Cusco (part one)

7th Nov – Day 26

We took a morning coach to Cusco, with Tour Peru. It`s great to shop around at the bus terminals for a good deal. 2 first class tickets for 50 soles each was a bargain. Waiting for the bus, a friendly old Peruvian man sat and chatted with us. His conversation was a strange mixture of being really happy to really solemn, he was hard to understand and he kept talking about God. He was really thankful for the company, even though we couldn´t speak fluent Spanish, and said we had been sent by God! Bit early in the morning for God talk, but he was nice enough, and it passed the time.

It was great to see the land change again. This time the mountains were getting higher, and the forest was getting thicker on the horizon. Exciting change, meaning we were definitely getting closer to the jungle, and Machu Picchu!

Once we arrived we hunted about for a good hostel. It seems that many of the hostels are mainly dorm shares, and we´re still not sure about doing that yet? We managed to find a great habitacion matrimonial; basic, clean and comfortable, with a peaceful turqoise decor. There were also many Aztec style mirrors around the courtyard, a good find for two nights.

Cusco has so much funk, and a great energy about it. We fell in love straight away. It has many cobbled streets on steep hills and they serve lots of organic foods, perfect.

San Blas is a particularly Bohemian area that attracts many colourful and talented souls.

One of the many themed stonebake ovens they have, cute. 

8th Nov – Day 27

Our first day, and a real chance to explore! The Plaza De Armas is huge in comparison with the other squares we´ve seen so far, with the biggest Cathedral. Built by orders of Francisco Pizarro, a leading Spaniard of the conquest of Cusco, back in 1559. There´s so much life here, and so much to see and do in terms of museums, galleries, places to eat, groups to join for things like yoga, meditation, spiritual journying, Spanish classes, volunteering, cooking cladses and many many cool bars. For now we´ve made a note of all the places we´d like to go as we want to take it easy before the Inka Trail.

We went to a place called Jack`s for breakfast, as it is highly recommended; usually you have to queue for a while, but it was the best food ever and very well priced. We heard that Cameron Diaz came here many times when she was in town, there´s a photo of her on the wall, and even she was made to wait for a table!

Paddy´s bar in the evening was also a great choice, it`s the highest Irish bar in the world, serving all the old classics on tap (except Guinness due to the altitude) and a traditional Irish menu.. I missed having gravy and hot vegetables!

9th Nov -  Day 28

Today we moved into our new home, The Samay Wasi. The desciption was “a treehouse dwelling Ewok hostel, clinging precariously to the hillside.." Naturally after reading this we were sold! This is the first hostel with a great lounge area, and the views from the balcony stretch over the whole of the city. We´ve started to look into what`s best to do for our trip to the Amazon basin. A national park called Manu is looking exciting, but we may stick with Tambopata, Puno´s?

 

  

10th Nov – Day 29

 

In preperation for Machu Picchu, I went out to gather the supplies we needed and Leroy needed a bed day due to illness. Our hostel is high up, with many stairs. We thought this would make good practise for the trail that has over 100 flights of steps! Ouch.  I had such a good lunch at an Austrailian organic bar with lots of art. It was so good that in the evening I took Leroy back there for dinner. 

 

We met some lovely Americans and a couple from Lima. We had a great evening together, talking about Machu Picchu mainly as they had just got back. That evening was the Taurian full moon, a special moon for me, so I sat outside for a while and charged my crystals before bed. Hopefully this will bring good energy for the Inka Trail.

 11th Nov – Day 30

All excited we did the last of our sorting for the Inka Trail. We´ve got our sleeping gear packed (hired bags and mats), and the camera is all ready. That evening we had our meeting with Eco Inka, to meet our guide Jhon, the group  (though one couple didn`t make it), and to go through what we were about to do.  We grabbed some grub at a bar called Indigo, where we met the Dutch girls for the last time before they head off to Bolivia and we start our trekking mission. We then bought the last bits we needed and tried to get an early night!

                                         All the natural energy you need for the Inka Trail..

                                             Coca Leaves - Maca Cookies - Maca Toffee

 

Puno

3^rd Nov – Day 22 

We arrived in the early morning at the Gran Puno Inn, a comfortable Hotel/Hostel with great beds and hot showers. It´s much colder here in Puno, 3800m (asl), and you can certainly notice the altitude a lot more. After a well needed nap we wandered to the Plaza De Armas to see the start of the celebrations. The festival is to celebrate the Life of the first Inka, and is also known as the day of the dead.

The costumes and music are amazingly special to see. The music is a varied mix of traditional, pan pipe and usual band parade with thumping bass drums.  

We then ventured further into town, coming across a large food market. Seeing skinned cows heads on tarpaulin, behind the meat sections was something else! They don´t seem to refrigerate any of their meats, especially on the markets and their work surfaces are often the lids of buckets, nice.

Walking even further we found another clothes market. Puno´s cold so it was time to get a coat. I found a beautiful Alpaca coat, and Leroy was tempted by a scarf that matched his hat! Dinner was pretty standard, though it was great that we were up top because another parade happened, and we could stand and watch from the balcony.

 

                                                        One of many art shops they have;

 4^th Nov – Day 23

Today we went to go and see the larger than life white statue of the first Inca Manco Capac. He sits on top of a hill pointing out to, and over-looking the grand lake Titikaka. It was quite a walk up the hill, especially with the lack of air, but at the top the views panned out across the highest lake in the world, and the entire town of Puno. 

Beautiful.

 
















 We came down for a coca tea, and to get our breath back. After the tea we stumbled across a free art exhibition, mainly large collage paintings and photography. The work was based on how strong and important the role of the Peruvian woman was. It depicted her undergoing the many different roles she has to fill in life. 

We tried to go to the Coca Museum but as it was shut we had a little flick through our guide and saw that you could do day trips out to the floating island Uros. We walked down to the Harbor and got on board a boat. I wasn´t that happy that the boat was petrol run, as some of the people that still live on their floating islands, about 4 hours away, still use the lakes water! 

 

 













As time has moved on, less people actually live on Uros, but it was nice to see the island still intact, and we were grateful for the Peruvian people to help give us an insight of how life was for them, and how it still is for others on different islands on the lake. (These Islands are private so as to not disturb them) We hope to get out and stay with some families on the other islands, but we plan to do so from the Bolivian side. 

When we got onto the island it was quite surreal. Springing onto the many layers of floating reeds made for some bouncy walking. It was great fun to see how the people have managed to find so many uses for the reeds, a very resourceful and vital material. The guide was only Spanish speaking, so thanks to the help of some smaller scaled props we got the gist of how the islands, huts and boats were made. The first layer of the island is a very light floating earth and onto this they laid many layers of reeds. Over time new reeds grow keeping the island locked together. They then use rope and large wooden supports hammered into the island, to tie other parts together.

We then got onboard one of the authentic reed boats, most of them are in the style of dragons and other water spirits. Before we left three of the women from the island sang to us, they even had a second translated version of ‘Bring back my bonny to me´ We went to another island to have a wander around, then headed back to the mainland. Close to shore our boat stopped working! We had just enough fuel to get back, but as we were only about 15 minutes away we could laugh about it.

 







  














Back to the steets, there was more dancing and parading, with many couples swirling around the square. Leroy and I needed to get to the other side, so in the end we decided the only way to get across was to pair up and dance like they did to the other side. This got lots of smiles from the locals, phew. We checked into a recommended bar, Kamikazi; a groovy little rock shack with music on request, Kyuss and Autolux over a few games was pretty great. With the altitude its advisable not to drink, smoke or eat too much, or you suffer the consiquences, boo!



Puno´s funniest milkshake shop.

       










5th Nov - Day 24

Out in the streets we saw a collection of dancing groups and bands. The sound filled the streets in every direction. As the festival went on the age groups got older and the costumes more elaborate. Seeing the young children dressed in traditional dress up, cowboy costumes and animal wear was so cute, they seem to have more rhythm than English children, and probably even adults!



The teenagers had a collection of more traditional ´day of the dead´ wear; crazy demon masks, devil costumes and some boys dressed as scary women with pink wigs.. odd, but great fun to watch.  Some of our favorites had to be the smaller boys dressed as condors with feathered masks, and the venga boy inspired bell outfits. 



 

The parade also had a great group of horses and another massive group of men playing pan pipes. We chilled out for the rest of the day, as Leroy was feeling the altitude.














6th Nov - Day 25

Today I went out with Cindy and Rhianna to see ´The Gates of the Gods´. It was great to have a girl day, and to explore beyond the guide book. We kind of knew where to go, so got in a cab and headed to Llave. We then asked around and found another guy who knew where the gates were, he took us to Santiago to explore. It took us nearly 2 hours to get there, on the journey the views of the lakes from this side were really open, making the land look even more vast.



We hunted around for a while, but couldn´t find it.. I climbed up the biggest hill to see what the rock face had in store. I got so high up and along the climb the biggest owl flew straight over my head. He had the biggest yellow eyes I´d ever seen. After a further drive we found the gates.


There were many women and children selling crystals and other hand made bits. it makes me feel bad that I can´t give my money to everyone tryng to sell something to me. It´s apparant that for some this is their only way to make a living making tourism a positive thing, but some really do push to sell, making you feel like a walking ATM. 


Our tickets are now booked for Cusco. I had a love for dusty old Puno, it´s a bit dirty but totally a warm-hearted place. The people are so friendly, and most willing to help you, and the lake is a stunning highlight, but it´s time to move on..

        

Arequipa (part two)

26th/27th Oct - Day 14/15

Our first day back in Arequipa. After the trek we decided to have a well deserved rest. In the late afternoon we went out to grab some bits we needed; sun lotion is a must here, and an ice cream. In the town we saw a massive crowd of people outside the gates of the Cathedral, we thought a celebrity had turned up or that it was related to the minors protests. Turns out it was one of the leading investigators connected with the mysterious death that happened at the Colca Canyon!!  I also taught Cindy and Rhianna the famous card game: s**t-head.

In the evening we found our way to beautiful pizzeria, and also hooked up with another Dutch girl that had completed the trek through the canyon with us.

The next day was much the same. We´ve convinced ourselves to chill for the rest of the week, as we found out that Puno doesn´t have as much to offer as Arequipa. This was great as I was also a bit ill. The evening took us to a great restaraunt called Crepisimo, an amazing meal with a great selection of savoury and sweet crepes, Coplestons: this definitly tops the pancake houses of Center Parcs! The Table had Ludo hand-painted on it so we asked if they had the pieces for it.. they did, so we ended up sitting there for a further 2 hours playing, and I think being the loudest people in the restarant! Ludo is an exciting intense game, and so much more fun when you´re older, who knew!?

http://crepisimo.com/esp/creperie.html

27th Oct - Day 16

We´re getting used to having breakfast in our room that has a cute little table for two. It´s still just bread and jam, but  you also get an egg at this hostel, 10 points La Reyna. They also offer a cheap laundry service, definitely getting used to the service :o) We went for a picnic today, the park´s still closed but we found a nice patch of grass close by. We wandered round town and stumbled across (find the name) church. We went through the church, which had amazing architecture, and at the back we found a room that had been totally covered with hand-painted flowers, cherubs and exotic birds. The vibrant colours and art nouveau style was breathtaking.

it was called - Iglesia de la Compañía

There was yet another street festival going on. This was to celebrate one of the monastry leaders last reign in charge. The celebrations will be going on all week and will end with Halloween. In the day time they have a siren that goes off to signify the begining. This scared that crap out of Leroy and I the first time as its exactly the same as the air bombers siren; when Leroy asked at reception what it was he was laughed at a little; phew! The loud bangs that also happen irregularly in the day keep making me jump too. That night we tried a vegetarian restaurant with Cindy and Rhianna, more games, more games.

28th Oct - Day 17

We went our for lunch today at a place called De Ja Vu, hmmm sounds familiar! After some alpaca steak sandwiches we had fun with the shoot and select setting on Leroys camera. here´s what we ended up with . . .

Today was get a hat day for the Browns, so we went into town to bimble round the markets and shops. It´s crazy that the same shops can exist next to each other, and still survive! Having about 10 shops next to each other that sell the same thing seems to be a regular occurence here. We found great buys then went to dinner.

Not sure about these ones?

In the steets just outside our hostel there was a firework display. A massive bamboo tower was the main structure of the display with many sparkling crackles that ran in every direction around, and off the top of the tower. This was a great bit of free entertainment just before dinner.

Surprisingly we ended up in a really fancy reastaurant but the set menu was only S.28 each (£7 each) For that you got a starting cocktail of Pisco sours and Coca Sours, our first in Arequipa. A first starter of great bread and chutneys, a large starter, a large main meal, a desert AND a drink (of course we had beer). We were shocked and lapped up our surroundings.  

  

30th/31st  Oct - Day 18/19

After popping to the supermacardo I ended up playing cards with a guy called Wes, while Leroy battled with the bad computer downstairs. Wes had a strange cocktail of an accent; a mixture of the Birmingham and a lot of Australian. Wes is on a great 9 month backpackers package deal, it sounds very worthwhile but you have less freedom. In the evening we went to dinner with Cindy, Rhianna and Wes. A place on top with great views of the Cathedral. Wes was off to Cuzco that night so we said goodbye and have planned to meet again. We went back to De Ja Vu to play Ludo and have a cocktail. We ended up staying there all night and met a group of Argentinian guys.. They fancied Leroy !!

Halloween: Crepisimo was a great way to start the day, ice cream and Rasberry Culi Crepes, mmmmm. This place is definitley my decided favorite in Arequipa. We took the girls back to Los Leños, the pizza place with the graffitti on the walls, and a stone-baked oven. This was Leroy´s decided favorite place to eat, though Cindy wasn´t happy when Leroy said he thought a spice was paprika, only for her to find out she´d just covered her pizza with a spicy powder, woops!

The whole town was decorated with great Halloween dress-up. There were so many kids and adults about town also enjoying the night in halloween style. Leroy and I grabbed a coffee so we could sit and people-watch; the costumes were great. We wanted to get involved but to go all out for one night didn´t add up.

1st/2nd/3rd Nov - Day 20/21/22

Our last days in Arequipa as our bus tickets are sorted to Puno. We´re really ready to move on and explore the festival. At the station we found a great selection of breads, a bit strange that they all have a little porcelain face attached to them! They put them on the bread as a tradition, and sign of respect for family members that have passed on. I found a little ginger girls face, it looked like a female Robin Hood, so naturally I was sold.



another bread produce we liked

We popped back to Cappuccino. This place does the best coffee and cake in the world, FACT. We had our final meal at Manolos, and on the way home we saw an artist in the streets making great landscapes using spray paint.

Packed up and ready to bimble round town for the last day, we put our bags in storage and left La Reyna hostel. As soon as we got out the door the universe made us collide with a colourful guy called Oscar. A hippy looking Peruvian with a groovy red beard and a beaten guitar, he had many feathers hanging from it, and was also carrying a tambarine. We got chatting straight away, and as Leroy wanted a small guitar we went with him to his friend´s shop. He got a sweet guitar at a great price, and having a little jam in the shop was just the ticket!

         

We ended up spending the day with Oscar, hanging out in the small square gardens of the church, a popular place for bohemians to sell their groovy jewelery and metal sculptures. He took us to the Mirador, a view point to see the whole of Arequipa.We shared a lot of our music interests leading Oscar to show us not only some tradtional Arequipian music on his guitar, but also ´Yellow Submarine´and ´Greensleeves´; brilliant. After a beer, Leroy and I needed to go and get day backpacks for Machu Picchu, so we went to the markets, and a great outdoor shop. In the evening we hooked up with Oscar again for some wine, we stumbled across a free gig, in honour of the start of the Puno festivals; to celebrate the life of the first Inka. The music was traditional Folklorica: I got pulled into the dancing circle that passed round the band; twas great fun. That evening we got our bus to Puno using a cheaper but just as good service Tulsa.