Day 30
Today involved a long bus ride to Puno, which involved a hungover me being woken up by Ferny on many occasions, mostly by his phone ringing and on one occasion by him drooling on me. Puno is the biggest town on Lake Titicaca on the Peruvian side. The views of the lake are fantastic, but the water from the Puno side is dirty and brown, but that soon changes when you get away from the town.
Day 31
We awoke early to get on a boat to first visit the floating islands in the lake. These islands (over 60 of them) are built by the people who live on them. Nearly 2000 people live on the islands which are made of mud and reeds, and can be moved to anywhere they like; a good advantage if you don't like your neighbours. After we dressed up in some very colourful traditional clothing we set sail to a small village on a peninsular on the lake. Here, we split into pairs, I was with Ferny, and we stayed with a family. our Papa was very welcoming and obviously loved having us. We stayed here for one night, living like them, cooking, eating and working like them. We helped with farming and went to the local church, where everybody was pissed as a fart - my kind of church. That night, me and Nandy had a long heart to heart and became much closer.
Day 32
Today we got up early again, a regular theme, and commenced my favourite day of the trip so far. It started with a hike up an island to a civilisation which seems pretty backwards to western society - the men knit all day every day, and they court by throwing rocks at each other. You can't make this stuff up.
We then got back on the boat for a 3 and a half hour trip back to Puno. This was the highlight so far, as me, Ferny and Bron climbed on the roof of the boat and chatted, laughed and played childish games for the whole journey. With the sun blaring on us, and the most beautiful sights and the bluest water, nothing could have made it more idyllic and perfect.
That night was our last night in Peru, a sad moment because i've loved it so much. We celebrated by -you got it - getting drunk again.
Thursday, 16 June 2011
Monday, 13 June 2011
Machu Picchu
Its not pronounced 'Pickchu', which means 'Penis' in spanish, as I found out the embarassing way.
These 4 days were easily the most amazing of my life. As I had no internet of phone, I decided to take a pen and paper and write a little diary at the end of each day, just before I went to sleep. My first entry at the end of the first day reads:
Fuck
Thats it. I don't remember writing it so I must have fallen asleep. The first day for me was the hardest, simply because it was so hot. It was mostly flat and some uphill sections. I should mention, the third person on our trek was a girl called Kerri, who put us all to shame with her fluent spanish. We ended up joining with another intrepid lot however, of which included the 2 hundred year olds. Nastily, we all put bets on how long they'd last. I don't remember who won but they lasted to the first campsite of the first day. No joke. It turns out that she has emphasima, which is just stupid of her to try this, and he is just old and knackered. The others in our group were in their 50s, 60s and one guy was 73, who put us all to shame with his level of fitness. All were very friendly and we all got on great, including our guides.
So the second day started with a 4 and a half hour climb, to the highest point (4200m) which was very difficult, especially near the top where the oxygen was hard to come by. The view from up there however was just spectacular. I will put all these photos on facebook. The campsites, i should mention, were all very basic, as you'd expect, and the chefs cooked us amazing meals every night, some of the best I've had while I've been away in fact. I have to mention the porters, who carried over 25kg on their backs everyday which had our food, tents, bags, water etc in them, yet they managed to run past us every day, doing it without any issue. They were warriors.
The third day was mostly downhill, with another 2 peaks in them, bt after the first 2 days, it was easy. We were congratulated with a much needed shower at the final campsite.
The fourth and final day, we awoke before 4 to get up to walk to the gate before most people. It was pitch black until 6ish, and we walked for about 3 hours. Eventually, we arrived at the sungate, where you get your first glimpse of Machu Picchu. This vista was like nothing I've ever seen before, no postcard can ever portray it well enough and after 4 days of trekking, I will gladly admit I was a little emotional. As we walked down to the site, we watched a the sun rose above it, shining light over the city.
It was only when we eventually got there, that we realised just how huge the site was. It really is an incredible feat of engineering. We met up with our original group and Fernando, just for a quick hello, and continued with a guided tour round the lost city.
As I said earlier, this was easily the most incredible and satifying thing I've ever done. Did I feel like passing out and giving up on more than one occasion? Yes, but I couldn't let myself do it and I couldn't be happier with myself for it. Its the proudest of myself I've ever been and you don't mind going through so much pain and exhaustion when you get such a reward at the end of it. It is one of the seven modern wonders of the world after all.
These 4 days were easily the most amazing of my life. As I had no internet of phone, I decided to take a pen and paper and write a little diary at the end of each day, just before I went to sleep. My first entry at the end of the first day reads:
Fuck
Thats it. I don't remember writing it so I must have fallen asleep. The first day for me was the hardest, simply because it was so hot. It was mostly flat and some uphill sections. I should mention, the third person on our trek was a girl called Kerri, who put us all to shame with her fluent spanish. We ended up joining with another intrepid lot however, of which included the 2 hundred year olds. Nastily, we all put bets on how long they'd last. I don't remember who won but they lasted to the first campsite of the first day. No joke. It turns out that she has emphasima, which is just stupid of her to try this, and he is just old and knackered. The others in our group were in their 50s, 60s and one guy was 73, who put us all to shame with his level of fitness. All were very friendly and we all got on great, including our guides.
So the second day started with a 4 and a half hour climb, to the highest point (4200m) which was very difficult, especially near the top where the oxygen was hard to come by. The view from up there however was just spectacular. I will put all these photos on facebook. The campsites, i should mention, were all very basic, as you'd expect, and the chefs cooked us amazing meals every night, some of the best I've had while I've been away in fact. I have to mention the porters, who carried over 25kg on their backs everyday which had our food, tents, bags, water etc in them, yet they managed to run past us every day, doing it without any issue. They were warriors.
The third day was mostly downhill, with another 2 peaks in them, bt after the first 2 days, it was easy. We were congratulated with a much needed shower at the final campsite.
The fourth and final day, we awoke before 4 to get up to walk to the gate before most people. It was pitch black until 6ish, and we walked for about 3 hours. Eventually, we arrived at the sungate, where you get your first glimpse of Machu Picchu. This vista was like nothing I've ever seen before, no postcard can ever portray it well enough and after 4 days of trekking, I will gladly admit I was a little emotional. As we walked down to the site, we watched a the sun rose above it, shining light over the city.
It was only when we eventually got there, that we realised just how huge the site was. It really is an incredible feat of engineering. We met up with our original group and Fernando, just for a quick hello, and continued with a guided tour round the lost city.
As I said earlier, this was easily the most incredible and satifying thing I've ever done. Did I feel like passing out and giving up on more than one occasion? Yes, but I couldn't let myself do it and I couldn't be happier with myself for it. Its the proudest of myself I've ever been and you don't mind going through so much pain and exhaustion when you get such a reward at the end of it. It is one of the seven modern wonders of the world after all.
Saturday, 11 June 2011
Hello. My name is Dom and i'm an alcoholic
Sorry for the lack of posts, I am alive. Yes, I did manage to climb Machu Picchu, but I'll talk about those 4 days in a separate post. So, out of order:
Day 22
We had a free day in Arequipa today, where we joined up with Natalie. Natalie has a german/belgian accent, and i started slagging off the French infront of her, and nobody bothered to nudge me and tell me that shes actually French. Whoops. Anyway, we went for a bit of a shop, I didn't buy anything, then we walked up the hill to the viewpoint which was pretty not pretty. That night we had an overnight bus to Cusco which should have taken 10 hours but ended up being 15 thanks to it braking down. Leonie gave me a sleeping pill which didn't work, yet she slept the whole journey, damn her.
Day 23
We eventually arrive in Cusco and go for Lunch and a walk round the city. During lunch, we discover that Ferny got his facts wrong, and the prohibition was only for Peruvian people, and not tourists! Thats 2 days I went without a Pisco Sour. So I tried a new sour, called a Coca Sour which was so bloody strong, i felt a little bit pissed just after one. Cusco is a tourist city, with a lot of Inca history, we all loved it there. Its also a big party town (read further for more details). Ferny explained to us how and where we could get drugs and massages with "happy endings" and then told us that if we did either we'd get chucked off the trip, so I don't really know why he told us.
Day 24
Today we were joined by one of the area managers for Intrepid, putting Nando on edge a bit. He was called Gary and from England, and just became one of the group really. We went to the sacred valley and visited a community where they fed us, told us how to make pottery (again), chocolate and Chicha (the corn beer. We spent the night at Ollantaytambo, the night before the big trek. For a bit of very late practice, we climbed up to an old Inca storage site, some great views there.
Day 29
Missing out the trek days for now. Me and Nando went out on a night on the tiles to celebrate our success of getting to MP. I remember very little, but we joined other Intrepid groups and leaders and didn't get back til about 4, where nobody would wake up to open the gate - understandably - and was getting ready to sleep on the street until someone finally opened the gate for me. I was woken up by Yetti a couple of hours later for breakfast. I really shouldn't have got up because I was still drunk, and breakfast in a posh cafe plus sun plus alcohol do not go well together. I soon returned to bed. I awoke a couple of hours later and decided to spend the day by myself. I walked aimlessly for hours and decided to go for a massage (not a seedy one) which I loved. I've never had a massage before and I now really don't know why, it was so relaxing, and i don't care how girly you think it is. It was Wendy's birthday so we went out for a meal in a pretentious restaurant, and then went out drinking again, thanks to some people I've met, mostly Seb, who tries to get me out most nights. Again, I remember little
Day 22
We had a free day in Arequipa today, where we joined up with Natalie. Natalie has a german/belgian accent, and i started slagging off the French infront of her, and nobody bothered to nudge me and tell me that shes actually French. Whoops. Anyway, we went for a bit of a shop, I didn't buy anything, then we walked up the hill to the viewpoint which was pretty not pretty. That night we had an overnight bus to Cusco which should have taken 10 hours but ended up being 15 thanks to it braking down. Leonie gave me a sleeping pill which didn't work, yet she slept the whole journey, damn her.
Day 23
We eventually arrive in Cusco and go for Lunch and a walk round the city. During lunch, we discover that Ferny got his facts wrong, and the prohibition was only for Peruvian people, and not tourists! Thats 2 days I went without a Pisco Sour. So I tried a new sour, called a Coca Sour which was so bloody strong, i felt a little bit pissed just after one. Cusco is a tourist city, with a lot of Inca history, we all loved it there. Its also a big party town (read further for more details). Ferny explained to us how and where we could get drugs and massages with "happy endings" and then told us that if we did either we'd get chucked off the trip, so I don't really know why he told us.
Day 24
Today we were joined by one of the area managers for Intrepid, putting Nando on edge a bit. He was called Gary and from England, and just became one of the group really. We went to the sacred valley and visited a community where they fed us, told us how to make pottery (again), chocolate and Chicha (the corn beer. We spent the night at Ollantaytambo, the night before the big trek. For a bit of very late practice, we climbed up to an old Inca storage site, some great views there.
Day 29
Missing out the trek days for now. Me and Nando went out on a night on the tiles to celebrate our success of getting to MP. I remember very little, but we joined other Intrepid groups and leaders and didn't get back til about 4, where nobody would wake up to open the gate - understandably - and was getting ready to sleep on the street until someone finally opened the gate for me. I was woken up by Yetti a couple of hours later for breakfast. I really shouldn't have got up because I was still drunk, and breakfast in a posh cafe plus sun plus alcohol do not go well together. I soon returned to bed. I awoke a couple of hours later and decided to spend the day by myself. I walked aimlessly for hours and decided to go for a massage (not a seedy one) which I loved. I've never had a massage before and I now really don't know why, it was so relaxing, and i don't care how girly you think it is. It was Wendy's birthday so we went out for a meal in a pretentious restaurant, and then went out drinking again, thanks to some people I've met, mostly Seb, who tries to get me out most nights. Again, I remember little
Sunday, 5 June 2011
The Night Before
A very quick post because i'm knackered and I need my sleep for tomorrow. Tomorrow morning at 07.30 me and Yetti are getting picked up to start the Inca Trail, along with another girl who we havn't met yet. Its a 4 day trek going up to 14,000 ft, up many different peaks to finally arrive at Machu Picchu. I really can't wait. I (obviously) will not have an internet access for the 4 days, so I will let you know how I got on on Thursday night, along with catching up on the daily posts, because i'm behind again.
Also, the 100 year old couple will not be in our group, so we're both happy.
Wish me luck
Out
Also, the 100 year old couple will not be in our group, so we're both happy.
Wish me luck
Out
Friday, 3 June 2011
The Worst Word in the English Language...
Prohibition
Yep, starting at midnight last night, the Peruvian government imposed a 72 hour prohibition. That means no more Pisco Sours, and the Australians are going to shrivel up. Disaster.
Yep, starting at midnight last night, the Peruvian government imposed a 72 hour prohibition. That means no more Pisco Sours, and the Australians are going to shrivel up. Disaster.
Catch Up
Day 16
We arrived in Pisco, home of the alcoholic drink of the same name, a drink which I have come to love, and have had at least one Pisco Sour every day; a cocktail which I will make for people when I get home. The town of Pisco was completely destroyed by an earthquake in 1997, but they managed to rebuilt it within 9 months, so is relatively modern, yet still a bit of a dump. We were only here for one night, as a stopover on our way to Nazca.
Day 17
We set off early from Pisco to go to Nazca, but on the way we stopped at a Huacachina Oasis, which is a beautiful oasis town built in the middle of the desert. Surrounded by sand dunes, you can't see for more than a mile out of the town. We stayed in a hotel just for the day, where some of us stayed and lounged around by the pool, and myself, Amy and Yeti went Dune buggying. This was great fun, and it felt and looked like we were in the middle of the Sahara. When the Dune Buggy stopped at the top of a Dune - and i'm talking very big dunes - we were handed a board to go down on. I decided to show off and go down standing up, which didn't really work out how I imagined. The bigger sand dunes I thought I'd play it safe and go down on my stomach, still was great fun.
This day we also went to a national reserve park (read: desert) to look at sand, cliffs, a bit more sand and then some flamingos. I was mighty bored and people couldn't understand why I wasn't fascinated by the flamingos like everyone else was, until I told them I've seen them many times before at Flamingo Land.
We later went to an old Pisco factory, to learn how Pisco was made, where we tried about 10 different types of Pisco, some having great strength. We all slept well after that on our way to Nazca.
Day 18
Nazca is a town built because of the Nazca lines, as well as the mining opportunities around it. The Nazca lines are pictures which have been etched into the desert floor hundreds of years ago. Little is known why they exist, or even how old they are. There was an optional activity to go flying over the lines, but we were warned that its quite unsafe and a few planes crashed last year killing everyone on board. Even our governments warned us about going on them, which meant we would not be covered by our insurance. Knowing all these facts, I decided to go on the flight anyway. And i'm so glad i did, it was brilliant. It was a tiny little 4 seater plane, which went along like a rollercoaster, showing us the lines from above. A Danish guy infront of me very nearly brought up his breakfast. Only myself, Leonie and Yeti went on. I loved every second of it and have some great photos, it was well worth the $100.
That afternoon we went to see some Pre-Inca graves, with the bodies still intact, mostly mummified, some gruesome photos there. There were 12 graves, every one exactly the same as the next. We then went to a pottery guy, where we had another run in with 'the others' and I got pissed off because one of the women was asking everybody except the person she needed to ask whether she could use flash or not. She even asked me. What bothers me the most about this was it was broad daylight so there was absolutely no need for a flash. Grrrr
That night we got a little bit pissed because we had our first overnight bus ahead of us. Most people slept all the way through, with the aid of some pills. I, however, hardly slept at all, and felt awful when we finally arrived in Arequipa at 7 in the morning.
Day 19
Arequipa is Fernando's home city, so he gave us a short tour around. We went to a local market to buy all the ingredients needed to make Pisco Sour. From there we went to Mummy Fernando's house, to make the cocktails. Mum, as we called her, was lovely, even though she didn't speak a word of English, but it was great fun, and we all enjoyed being there. Our sours were the best I've had yet.
We also went to a museum right outside our hotel, which contained a frozen Inca girl who had been sacrificed at the top of the mountain and found only 15 years ago. This was very macabre in a way, because she was almost perfectly preserved by the sub-zero temperatures for hundreds of years. She was only 14 years old.
Day 20
Today was the start of a 2 day tour round the Colco Valley and Canyon. The Colca Canyon is more than twice as deep than the Grand Canyon, and gave for some spectacular vistas. We had a short trek at high altitude (13,000 feet at one point) which was great practice for Machu Picchu. The altitude really doesn't affect me that much, which is a great relief to me as it was my biggest worry. To help with the altitude, we all tried the Coca leaves, which is an ancient remedy for the sickness. One word: vile.
Later we went to a natural hot spring, which was possibly the most relaxing thing I've ever done. At 39 degrees C, me and Fernando laid in the pool, chatting and drinking Pisco Sours. Yes, I really am addicted. Me and Fern had a great bonding session then, talking about anything and everything.
We stayed in the middle of the Valley, in a town called Chivay that night.
Day 21
Today we went on the Condor trek, to try and get a glimpse of the condors. Apparently you usually only see 4 or 5, but there were well over 20 when we went. They are very elegant birds, and fly right over your head, which made some fantastic pictures. I will try and put one up on here. We set off back to Arequipa that afternoon, where we had a free evening to ourselves. I slept.
We arrived in Pisco, home of the alcoholic drink of the same name, a drink which I have come to love, and have had at least one Pisco Sour every day; a cocktail which I will make for people when I get home. The town of Pisco was completely destroyed by an earthquake in 1997, but they managed to rebuilt it within 9 months, so is relatively modern, yet still a bit of a dump. We were only here for one night, as a stopover on our way to Nazca.
Day 17
We set off early from Pisco to go to Nazca, but on the way we stopped at a Huacachina Oasis, which is a beautiful oasis town built in the middle of the desert. Surrounded by sand dunes, you can't see for more than a mile out of the town. We stayed in a hotel just for the day, where some of us stayed and lounged around by the pool, and myself, Amy and Yeti went Dune buggying. This was great fun, and it felt and looked like we were in the middle of the Sahara. When the Dune Buggy stopped at the top of a Dune - and i'm talking very big dunes - we were handed a board to go down on. I decided to show off and go down standing up, which didn't really work out how I imagined. The bigger sand dunes I thought I'd play it safe and go down on my stomach, still was great fun.
This day we also went to a national reserve park (read: desert) to look at sand, cliffs, a bit more sand and then some flamingos. I was mighty bored and people couldn't understand why I wasn't fascinated by the flamingos like everyone else was, until I told them I've seen them many times before at Flamingo Land.
We later went to an old Pisco factory, to learn how Pisco was made, where we tried about 10 different types of Pisco, some having great strength. We all slept well after that on our way to Nazca.
Day 18
Nazca is a town built because of the Nazca lines, as well as the mining opportunities around it. The Nazca lines are pictures which have been etched into the desert floor hundreds of years ago. Little is known why they exist, or even how old they are. There was an optional activity to go flying over the lines, but we were warned that its quite unsafe and a few planes crashed last year killing everyone on board. Even our governments warned us about going on them, which meant we would not be covered by our insurance. Knowing all these facts, I decided to go on the flight anyway. And i'm so glad i did, it was brilliant. It was a tiny little 4 seater plane, which went along like a rollercoaster, showing us the lines from above. A Danish guy infront of me very nearly brought up his breakfast. Only myself, Leonie and Yeti went on. I loved every second of it and have some great photos, it was well worth the $100.
That afternoon we went to see some Pre-Inca graves, with the bodies still intact, mostly mummified, some gruesome photos there. There were 12 graves, every one exactly the same as the next. We then went to a pottery guy, where we had another run in with 'the others' and I got pissed off because one of the women was asking everybody except the person she needed to ask whether she could use flash or not. She even asked me. What bothers me the most about this was it was broad daylight so there was absolutely no need for a flash. Grrrr
That night we got a little bit pissed because we had our first overnight bus ahead of us. Most people slept all the way through, with the aid of some pills. I, however, hardly slept at all, and felt awful when we finally arrived in Arequipa at 7 in the morning.
Day 19
Arequipa is Fernando's home city, so he gave us a short tour around. We went to a local market to buy all the ingredients needed to make Pisco Sour. From there we went to Mummy Fernando's house, to make the cocktails. Mum, as we called her, was lovely, even though she didn't speak a word of English, but it was great fun, and we all enjoyed being there. Our sours were the best I've had yet.
We also went to a museum right outside our hotel, which contained a frozen Inca girl who had been sacrificed at the top of the mountain and found only 15 years ago. This was very macabre in a way, because she was almost perfectly preserved by the sub-zero temperatures for hundreds of years. She was only 14 years old.
Day 20
Today was the start of a 2 day tour round the Colco Valley and Canyon. The Colca Canyon is more than twice as deep than the Grand Canyon, and gave for some spectacular vistas. We had a short trek at high altitude (13,000 feet at one point) which was great practice for Machu Picchu. The altitude really doesn't affect me that much, which is a great relief to me as it was my biggest worry. To help with the altitude, we all tried the Coca leaves, which is an ancient remedy for the sickness. One word: vile.
Later we went to a natural hot spring, which was possibly the most relaxing thing I've ever done. At 39 degrees C, me and Fernando laid in the pool, chatting and drinking Pisco Sours. Yes, I really am addicted. Me and Fern had a great bonding session then, talking about anything and everything.
We stayed in the middle of the Valley, in a town called Chivay that night.
Day 21
Today we went on the Condor trek, to try and get a glimpse of the condors. Apparently you usually only see 4 or 5, but there were well over 20 when we went. They are very elegant birds, and fly right over your head, which made some fantastic pictures. I will try and put one up on here. We set off back to Arequipa that afternoon, where we had a free evening to ourselves. I slept.
Thursday, 2 June 2011
The Others
A few days ago we joined another Intrepid group for a small tour. Thinking this was the last we would see of them, we didn´t make much of an effort to socialise with them. It turns out that for their 3 week trip, they are pretty much following us to the same cities and some of the same trips.
We don´t stay in the same hotels as each other as they are on a different style trip to us, where they get nicer hotels (and pay more for the privilege). They have become somewhat of a talking point with us for reasons soon to be explained.
In their group there are 5 people, and their leader Carlos. We have agreed that we much prefer Fernando as a leader, as he is much more charismatic and in general, a better leader. The 5 people include, one Australian couple (in their 50s?) who keep themselves to themselves - i think i´ve seen them speak all of twice. There is another Australian couple (in their hundreds?) who are just plain odd, and the husband scared me the first time i spoke to him because he seemed to pass out of consiousness for 10 seconds while he was talking to me. This couple will be on the Inca Trail with myself and Yeti, which is a very scary thought as none of us think they will make it. The Trail after all, is a demnding trek reaching 15,000 ft at points. I also best mention that I - or anyone in our group - know any of the couples´names; and Carlos has mentioned to us that these couples do not get along at all, therefore do not talk to each other. Finally there is Louise. Poor poor Louise, who is 20 from NZ, is a bit of a party girl and we all get on with her. We feel incredibly sorry for her as she has to cope with the rest of her group. We have spoken to her and Fernando about her joining our tour instead, but this seems to be impossible.
There WILL be more stories about this group to come.
On a side note, after my not so warm welcome to Fernando on my first post about him, I (and we) have grown to like him very much. I´ll explain why in the next post, which i warn you, will be very long, as I am 6 days behind. Oops
We don´t stay in the same hotels as each other as they are on a different style trip to us, where they get nicer hotels (and pay more for the privilege). They have become somewhat of a talking point with us for reasons soon to be explained.
In their group there are 5 people, and their leader Carlos. We have agreed that we much prefer Fernando as a leader, as he is much more charismatic and in general, a better leader. The 5 people include, one Australian couple (in their 50s?) who keep themselves to themselves - i think i´ve seen them speak all of twice. There is another Australian couple (in their hundreds?) who are just plain odd, and the husband scared me the first time i spoke to him because he seemed to pass out of consiousness for 10 seconds while he was talking to me. This couple will be on the Inca Trail with myself and Yeti, which is a very scary thought as none of us think they will make it. The Trail after all, is a demnding trek reaching 15,000 ft at points. I also best mention that I - or anyone in our group - know any of the couples´names; and Carlos has mentioned to us that these couples do not get along at all, therefore do not talk to each other. Finally there is Louise. Poor poor Louise, who is 20 from NZ, is a bit of a party girl and we all get on with her. We feel incredibly sorry for her as she has to cope with the rest of her group. We have spoken to her and Fernando about her joining our tour instead, but this seems to be impossible.
There WILL be more stories about this group to come.
On a side note, after my not so warm welcome to Fernando on my first post about him, I (and we) have grown to like him very much. I´ll explain why in the next post, which i warn you, will be very long, as I am 6 days behind. Oops
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