"BUMP IT......WORLD" SOUTH AMERICA HERE WE COME.....HOLD ON
So 1 day late its welcome to the South America continent, namely Peru. Well being told that in South Africa we live in a third world country we were probably not prepared for the REAL 3rd world.....LIMA.....We jump in our cab and head for Mirraflores the wealthy district of Lima(as recommended by the Lonely "Lying" Planet), namely the Flying Dog backpackers....We are both mouth open/wide eyed as our taxi driver frantically makes his way through the traffic....The driving style is 1 hand on the wheel , 1 on the horn and GO! Road rules? Lines on the raod? These are both non existent....We thought world tour was going to end day 4! But after some hair raising moments we surprisingly arrived at our backpackers unscathed .... checked in and heading straight for the bar, well the pool table, but in order to use the table we have to buy a beer! Honestly we wanted cokes, but what can a boy do? We meet an Aussie and NZ guy straight up who instantly told us we were all heading out! Bartini was were it was all happening! Really great place full of Locals....it became very quickly apparent that in Peru, plastic surgery was not just for the wealthy. and this girls compete with barbie when it comes to plastic......But had a fantastic night and managed to meet many locals. Things in South America only get going at 1am so when I say we rolled in at 6 am, don't judge us....After all when in Rome! Well we spent the next 4 days exploring Lima with some of the locals we had met. Unfortunately in Lima you never really ever feel safe. Always needing to watch over your shoulder and look out for getting ripped off by the many taxis....I think about 60% of all Lima´s cars are taxis and at push maybe 5% of those are road worthy! But it all added to the experience..... In central Lima you can see the strong Spanish Influence and some parts really do not look 3rd world. Well at least 1 pedestrian street and 2 squares that is. There is a massive police presence and all armed to the teeth. We also visited the catacombs of the San Francisco Monks....Very interesting. Only 35 monks remain there today! We also went to a great locals hang out the one night called El Sergeanty, dedicated to the Beatles. Really really good and very big nite!And so on the 6th of October it was time to head for Cusco(small dog) Previosly Cuzco but changed by the Spanish....This city is at 3600m above sea level, that is the top of most European ski resorts, so as you can imagine Oxygen is in short supply and simply walking around you find yourself sucking hard for air! Cusco is considered the tourist capital of SOUTH AMERICA. This soon becomes apparent, you feel very safe and the squares are extremely beautiful and well kept! The squares are all filled with amazing flowers and beautiful buildings. After checking into our hotel, we get a guided tour of the city....(its not very big 590000 people) but the highlight being the food market. We learn that Peruvians eat everything.....and I mean everything! From full frogs to cows mouthes....you will understand when you see the photos! Very colourful and amazing to see! and the fruit juices prepared in front of you with milk are to die for! and at 3 soles (roughly 1 dollar US) its a bargain....After the guided tour we end up back in the main square....We then find out every Sunday the military and the Police do a massive and very impressive parade to raise the countries flag. This last for about 5 hours and is performed to perfection. Not something you would expect from a 3rd world country! We obviously don´t sit through the whole thing! But were none the less well impressed! It was then time for a spot of breakfast, we found a cute little cafe and made ourselves comfy. We got chatting to 2 danish girls and organised to meet up for drinks later. They turned out to be great fun and up for a bit of a party...So we hung out together for 2 nights, thats 2 agressively big nites. This after being told by our tour guide not to drink for at least 2 days! Oops.....it doesn´t take a lot to get drunk at that alitude, so its not our fault. The 9th of October we did the sacred valley tour. We visited some great Inca ruins and learnt all about the history of the Inca people. Their beliefs in the Upper, middle and lower world. Fire, Water and earth. Mother earth was very importnat to them. and they never mined for their buildings but rather had to wait for rocks to break off to use them for thier buildings! It was really amazing to see the ruins of the buildings that they made and just how they did so many years ago without technology! Its was was a whole day tour of information. An interesting thing we saw was a small Christo Blanco (White Christ statue) Given to the people of Cusco by the Arabs. Which is weird as the Arabs don´t believe in Christ, but it was a gift as the people of Cusco gave them a place to stay while there were problems in their own country!
"BRRRRRR....ITS COLD IN HERE"
So we arrive at our first trek. Now we do not camp, we do not trek and we do not climb....but we definitely don´t do all of these in the rain. So the start of the Lares trek, an alternative to the Inca trail...and it started off in pouring rain! so after a 4 hour drive we arrived at the start of our 3 day trek. Our guide Victor introduced us to our chef, porters, our 2 donkeys, then donned our B-E-A-U tiful ponchos and set of. During our drive we stop at a bakery to pick up loads of small bread roll like things to hand out to the kids we will meet along the way. Victor our guide is great and the fun begins. The surroundings are absolutely breath taking and it reminds us of hiking in the drakensberg. Its cold and wet but we are not in London working so it has a whole different meaning.
"BREAD.....THAT THE BEST YOU CAN DO?"
Its not long before we meet our first children. They are extremely adorable and very well mannered. They don{t ask for bread but come running up to you with the excitement of western kids on christmas eve. As you hand them a "pan" (thats bread in spanish - we are now fluent!) their faces light up on the utter a nervous "gracious", they are very cute. Now we say camping but really this is slightly better than that. Our food (3 course meals) are prepared in a cooking tent with chairs and table, our sleeping tents are erected for us, pur sleeping mats are blown up and laid out for us and in the morning its all packed up....Most certainly our kinda camping! The first nite we sleep amongst the water right below snow capped mountains at 4400m....its still raining and its cold.
"DOGS LOVE THE WIND IN THEIR FACES"
Day we have an early start, but not with out a quick 2 course breaky.... its a hard hour up to the highest level of the trail 4600 m with snow at our feet. At the pass we have beautiful views of the valley the one side and a tourquise lake the other side. The sun is out and the trekking is .... i´m happy to say....not so bad. Its 8 hours of walking to camping spot number 2, passing through amazing terrain and rural settlements. Day 3 we have a short day tha brings us to Olyantambo.... where we are to catch the train to Maichu Picchu. 40 kms completed and buns walking like John wayne because he hiked with no jocks.
"ITS A WONDER OF THE WORLD"
The next stop was Maichu pichu which is simply amazing, we can do no justice trying to explain this wonder to you. You simply need to go for yourself...... The ruins are simply amazing. The first 400 people up get the option of climbing Wyna Pichu. which climbs 800m in a matter of a 30 min climb. its pretty intense and nerve racking but the view from the top is stunning. You look down on the ruins through the clouds....have a look at the pics!
After that it was back to Cusco to get back on the beers after 3 dry dry days. No man should be on holiday and go a day without a cervesa ( beer in spanish - we told you we were fleunt) So it was a couple more nites in loki hostel Cusco (anyone going that way its the place to stay) before we started our journey for Bolivia!
Peru.....a success, cheap, fun and beautiful....but very 3rd world.
1 comment:
only buns would hike without jocks.
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