Travels by Bus
See the world on bus, ON foot & on my own.
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PERU
Of Inca, Uros and a dash of Spanish influence with Andean
20/08 - 03/09/2010
15
days
When Sam asked where I'd like to go on a summer vacation, somewhere outside Europe, I knew immediately that it had to be Machu Picchu, Peru. And he was game for the adventure so off we went on the LAN flight connecting from Madrid, Spain.
FLIGHT on LAN:
Munich to Cuzco via Madrid and Lima
Cusco
The first time in South America, I'm excited. I had to shut my eyes though when we were travelling in the taxis or buses because people drive differently here. Generally though, people are very friendly on the street. Compared to the travel warnings on (petty) crimes, nothing threatening happened to us, maybe it could be Sam's height and built, Peruvians know to leave us alone.
Cusco is the historic capital of the Inca Empire. Here's me in front of the oldest parish church - built in 1563 - at the centre of Cusco which has an attractive square.
We came to Cusco because we wanted to visit Machu Picchu. Cusco is a city of about 435,000 inhabitants. It is about 3,400 m above sea level and some people suffer from high altitude sickness. At the airport arrival, there were signs to take note of the symptoms of altitude sickness and shops were selling oxygen "tanks". We planned to do nothing for the first 2 days of our arrival so that our bodies can adapt to the altitude and drank lots of water. Perhaps it was the fatique from the long flight but on arrival at our abode at Amaru Hostal, we crashed out immediately.
The Hostal is not a dormitory style hostel. It provides private rooms and I chose it because of the proximity to the centre of Cusco.
We went everywhere on foot. It is the neighbourhood called Barrio de San Blas which houses many artisans, workshops and craft shops. The streets are very steep. If you have shoes that do not have much grip like my cowboy boots which are made that way, you would be slipping down the street. Luckily there was a cobbler in town and I had them fixed with a padded sole. It wasn't easy to find it because of my lack of Spanish but when we did, the cobbler was a nice guy who tried to have a conversation with me. At the end when I collected my boots, he gave me a card that guarantee his work for a year. We wondered, if the adhesive do come off within a year, would it be an excuse for me to come back to Cusco?? The streets are also narrow with old houses built by the Spanish over important Inca foundation.
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The feeling I have is, people are quite poor here. The Llamas are used to help them make a living off tourists who want to pet them or take photos with them. Old women are seen making handicraft everywhere although I have not seen any purchase during my visit here.
And they are not the only one to make tourist money. Apparently The Paddy's Pub is the highest Irish-owned pub in the world. You can find Guinness, Jameson Whiskey, Irish coffee and a number of ales on tap and supposed to serve the best food. And they will even record football matches and replay them should you wish to visit Machu Picchu on the day of a match. This sure satisfy the Irish among us.
We had the chance to see this street festival one day. It was very colourful, and noisy but everyone enjoyed themselves. We wished someone would explain the "uniform" and characters to us as we saw men dressed in bird mask etc.
Saksaywaman, Saqsaywaman, Sasawaman, Saksawaman, Sasaywaman or Saksaq Waman, whatever you call it, is a citadel just a bit north of the city. It was first built by the Killike culture about 1100 and later expanded by the Inca from the 13th century who built dry stone walls constructed of huge stones. I am of average height but look at how big and tall these are!
The workers had to cut the boulders carefully to fit them together tightly without any mortar. This site is at an altitude of 3,701 m. In 1983 Cusco and Saksaywaman were both added to the UNESCO World Heritage List for recognition and protection. Here is a good explanation of Saksaywaman.
Located on a steep hill, it sits at an altitude of 3,701 m sea level, that overlooks the city. The fortified complex has a wide view of the valley to the southeast and served as military functions in 1536 when Manco Inca lay siege to Cusco to control over the city.
There were royal mummies and gold hidden in the temple here and several of the large structures may have been used during rituals.
In later years when the Spaniards came, the Indians worked the stone and pulled down all the smooth masonry in the walls and built houses with them in the city. Today, only the stones that were too large to be easily moved remain at the site.
In January 2010, parts of the site were damaged during periods of heavy rainfall in the region.
The Inkas Sacred Valley in Urubamba
We wanted to go to Ollantaytambo and at the same time visit the Sunday Market at Pisac. The best option then was to join the Sacred Valley bus tour which called at the The Inkas Sacred Valley in Urubamba, the Sunday Market at Pisac and lastly Chincero.
The Inkas Sacred Valley in Urubamba
Sunday Market at Pisac
Leading from where the tour bus stopped to the local Sunday market was shops after another. You ought to be prepared to haggle. I was "overwhelmed" by the handicraft, not the price, that I ended up not buying anything because of indecision which one I liked best. I also do not want to start with asking for the price so I prefer the local market because it is so colourful and interesting. The locals come here to do their groceries by the looks of the produces sold here.
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The cuy or guinea pig is a Peruvian delicacy. They were domesticated in 2000 BC and easy to keep and multiplied rapidly. At the market, we came to a stall where you can choose the live Guinea pig you want and they grill it for you. It was said that they stuff hot stones inside and the entrails used as an ingredient in soups along with potatoes, or made into a sauce.
I guess we grew up with guinea pigs are pets as such, we were unaccustomed with eating them. We told ourselves we have to try it once. It was the worst feeling I had in my life, the guilt of eating a pet. There isn't much to munch on anyway so we don't understand why Peruvians love it.
At dusk, we arrived at Chincero for another market before sun down. The place was more like a ruin so not too much to see. It was the end of the tour before the bus heads back to Cusco so the kind tour guide took us to get a cab to take us to Ollantaytambo for 80 Peruvian sol (around 24 EUR). It was quite a long journey. It was then that we realised that Peru is a HUGE country.
Ollantaytambo
Ollantaytambo is an Inca archaeological site at an altitude of 2,792 meters above sea level. Emperor Pachacuti who conquered the region, built the town and a ceremonial center. It is now one of the most common starting points for the three day four night hike of the Inca Trail. We stayed at the Hostal KB Tambo (the yellow building below) and it is just stone's throw away from the ceremonial centre. I'm not sure why travellers raved about the hostal. We found it to be basic but clean. Not sure why Sam woke up with a nightmare about spiders crawling over him. It was funny tbh.
This is the terraces of Pumatallis, a ceremonial center with a series of stairways that climb to the top of the terrace complex.
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The steps are steep and narrow and it does not have any railing. It was good that we brought our hiking sticks along. The view on the top is amazing.
Pinkuylluna or Pinkulluna, the storehouses the Incas built out of fieldstones on a high altitudes i.e. more wind and lower temperatures meant the contents can be "protected" against decay. The ones here have ventilation systems to store the production of the agricultural terraces built around the site e.g. grain which was apparently poured in the windows on the uphill side of each building, then emptied out through the downhill side window. It is not easy to hike up to these storehouses but I'm "surprised" to see the 2 persons in my photos who did.
Machu Picchu
After 2 days in Ollantaytambo, we are ready for the highlight of our trip: Machu Picchu! We caught the Inka Express train from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes ("hot springs") and had to stay one night to wake up at 3 a.m. to catch the bus up to Machu Picchu. At 4 a.m., the line for the bus has already grown quite long. We had to wait for 4 buses before we got on one.
The drive up to Machu Picchu is very steep and can make you sick in the bus. Luckily none of that happened and we were soon at the top. The sun hasn't completely risen so the air is still very nice and cool.
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The way up to Waynapicchu is not an easy one. Only 400 tickets are available every day and we were let in in small group at a time. Besides, the route is closed by 11 a.m. so we were glad to have made it.
The view on top is a top-down view of Machu Picchu. Pretty amazing, huh?! The "zig-zag" road was the road the bus travelled.
We went round the other side, over the Gran Caverna down.
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... which wasn't easier as the rain/flooding from last year has washed away some of the routes and in its stead are steep wooden ladders in some cases, one of which was very terrifying as I have some fear of heights and at some stage, I couldn't look down to see where I was going, depending only on my foot - as far as it can go - to find the next "step". Sam also said most of his men (soldiers) would have difficulty in some of these parts too. I am just glad that we made it back in one piece.
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We got the Inka Express to take us to Puno because I thought it is better to see a few more sights along the way.
Raqchi
The first stop we came to was Raqchi which is 3460 m above sea level. It is very important as an archaeological place possibly constructed in 200 B.D. and occupied for almost 2000 years. The temple was made in honor of the God Wiracocha - the Creator of the World - with a dimension of 25.5 m wide, 92 m long and at least 15 m tall.
Peru is a huge country and has one of the most amazing landscape.
After about 5 hours, we finally saw water. That meant that we have finally arrived in Puno.
We were given maté tea at the guest house where we were staying overnight. Puno isn't really interesting for us. We just had dinner and went to bed because the next day we start off early to go on the 2D1N tour of Lake Titicaca.
Tour of Isla Apu Inti
The tour took us first to a floating island of the Uros.
The islands here are made from planting Totora reeds. The larger islands house about ten families, while the smaller ones about two or three. The reeds do break up and it needs constant maintenance to keep it together.
The dried reeds are used to make mats and even reed boats. And chewing the totora reeds give people natural white teeth.
Live like a local on Amantani Island
The 2 Day tour meant that we get to stay overnight at a local island - Isla Amantani. It is a tranquil island without any vehicle nor running water/sanitation. We were put to stay with a local family. Families are chosen by the municipal every month to host tourists for a small income to put solar panels on their roof or even just to expand their houses. As you can see, they try to minimise the amount they have to spend on the height of their houses. The husband-and-wife of our family is are younger than us but possibly due to the sun, they look a lot older than us. Their young children are slowly learning English or other tourist language as these families are slowly exposed to the outside world.
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Sunset is amazing. After dinner, we were invited to the local party and party in their local costumes.
After leaving Puno, we took another tour bus to go to Chivay stopping at Lagunillas and Pampa Cañahuas.
We have spent quite an amazing number of hours travelling on the bus because Peru is HUGE but I gathered it would be nicer than flying. We got the chance to see the so called native camelids in the wild: the llama, alpaca and the Vicuña. Not sure if we saw any Guanaco.
The highways are new and the landscape is amazing.
After 6 hours, we arrived at Chivay but to get to Cabanaconde, we have to leave the comfort of tour buses and get on to a local bus which wasn't too bad. We got to see a bit of local "scene" like this woman carrying a bag double her size! Here is an useful source of information on Cabanaconde.
CABANACONDE
Cabanaconde, located at an altitude of 3,278m, is one of the last villages of the Colca Valley and less visited places by tourists. It offers beautiful views of the Colca Canyon but one of the reasons I wanted to come here is to see the condors, scavenger birds. They usually glide around during breakfast from 7 to 10 a.m. but we were very lucky to see a few on our walk one day and close enough to get a few photographs.
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People come here to hike. We tried it one day. The slippery gravel wasn't easy and the slope is very steep even the thought of taking a donkey ride down was scary enough for me to decide to stay on the ridge.
We are not quite sure if this was a wedding or a festival.
Arequipa
Even Peruvians like to joke that you need a different passport to enter Peru’s second-largest city. Guarded by three dramatic volcanoes, the city enjoys a resplendent earthquakes which regularly wrack this region. The historic centre of Arequipa is built in volcanic sillar rock, with building architecture influenced by the European colonial masters, Criollo and Indian masons, giving it a very interesting baroque-mestizo look.
In 2000 the city’s central core earned a Unesco World Heritage listing with the sight of the gigantic cathedral, and the ethereal image of 5825m El Misti rising behind it.
We stayed at the Hostal la Casa de Melgar, an 18th-century building of high-domed ceilings and unique decor lend the entire place an old-world feel. It is said to be a "romantic hideaway within the city limits" but I think it is an over-sell.
Monasterio de Santa Catalina
The guide said not to miss this convent as it is supposedly one of the most fascinating religious buildings in Peru. The 20,000-sq-meter complex is almost a citadel within the city which was founded in 1580 by a rich widow, Doña MarÃa de Guzmán.
"Nuns lived as novices for four years, during which time their families were expected to pay a dowry of 100 gold coins per year. At the end of these four years they could choose between taking their vows and entering into religious service, or leaving the convent – the latter would most likely have brought shame upon their family."
Sometimes religion doesn't make sense.
From Arequipa, we flew to Lima, our last stop, and we have not even seen all of it.
I think this last photo, a collection of liquids we have been consuming in this beautiful and interesting country, will do for now.