PERU - CUSCO, MACHU PICCHU AND LIMA

I’ve decided to take over the writers’ role just for a few moments to introduce you to the beautiful Peru! This is not to say that I haven’t loved EVERY country that we have visited so far, as Al says, they are all uniquely different but Peru has left a strange warmth in my heart. Though I can’t speak for the whole of the country (we’ve only had 6 days here), from what we have seen the surroundings and the people can only be described as incredible and have simply taken my breath away. We’ve seen (and climbed) towering mountains, swaying rivers, curling valleys, colourful architecture and mesmerising civilisations and a special mention must be made for the warm and hospitable people we have had the pleasure of crossing paths with. The Peruvians have consistently offered us large beaming smiles across their wide open faces and friendly greetings. This is what happened.........

We arrived in Lima airport on Wednesday, our first stop in Peru for a connecting flight to Cusco. The airport (voted the best in South America in 2008) is big, modern, and spotless, the best we have come across in South America. After a quick internet catch up in Starbucks for the boys and some very tasty looking ice creams for the girls we boarded our flight and arrived in Cusco around 6pm. This is the 4th largest city in Peru, and was bigger than what we expected. After the usual hassle for taxi’s we were picked up by our driver and taken to our hotel where we were greeted with cups of Coca tea – the local favourite and recommended for acclimatising and an energy boost. Cusco is 3,400 meters above sea level in the Andes Mountains, and the first thing we noticed with the altitude was our difficulty in breathing – nothing major but a noticeable shortness of breath. The drive through the city felt like a step back in time compared to the rest of South America, but it has its own character and is surrounded by vast beautiful mountains. We were advised to acclimatise for at least a day before hitting the Inca Trail and were glad we did. Just carrying Georgies bag up a flight of stairs on our first night had me out of breath! No old age jokes please ;-)

On our first night we went to a local Italian restaurant called Pizzeria Marengo for some cheap pizza and lasagne which was excellent. We also sampled the Inca Kola which is bigger than Coca Cola here, and tastes exactly like Irn Bru in the UK. The majority of us stayed away from alcohol as this is not advised as part of the acclimatisation process, but Georgie and V couldn’t resist the warm wine which is mulled wine served in a pretty pottery mug. We woke up for breakfast on Thursday morning and were then collected by our tour operator for a trip through the Sacred Valley. This was considered sacred by the Inca’s as it provided very fertile soil for their crops in the middle of the mountains. We stopped through several small towns and markets, and had a fun photo session with some llamas in one village – until one of them spat at me with blinding accuracy! Fortunately I managed to duck just in time so missed most but not all of it.

From there we made our way to the first major ruins on the trip, which involved a 90 minute hike up and around the mountain. The walk was a good warm up for the Inca trail and not being fully acclimatised we did struggle a bit. The view and sites were spectacular, and we continued to our next stop at an Inca fortress which was hugely impressive. This old civilization managed to build entire towns and army forts at the top of the mountains, dragging massive rocks for many kilometres without the use of horses or donkeys – all by men. We won’t bore you with all the history, but we couldn’t help but be blown away by their accomplishments! We were then taken for a healthy lunch, mostly western food fortunately as the local delicacy here is Guinea Pig which we had been offered earlier in the market – needless to say we declined!

Lastly we were taken to a small town and led up more stairs and hills to a 17th century Spanish church which was in perfect condition and beautiful inside. By this time after a long day everyone was pretty tired, and we were taken back to our hotel for our 6pm briefing for the big one – the Inca trail. Here we met our tour guide Roberto, a sweet Peruvian guy who gave us the do’s and don’ts for our trip. We all felt ready and excited and headed out for a dinner at the Inka Grill which was superb. Being as tough as we are we decided one sneaky beer before the day ahead couldn’t possibly hurt?! Then it was home to pack, just the essentials of course, for our morning train and then hike to Machu Picchu. On Friday morning we were up and showered by 6.15am, ready for a quick breakfast before our bus ride to the train station. After a 3 hour steam train ride through the beautiful mountains and rivers we arrived at our stop and prepared for some extreme exercise – the first for a long time!

With the formalities out of the way, and everyone changed into shorts and dosed up on mosquito repellent, it was time to start hiking up the mountain. I don’t think any of us appreciated how tough the climb was going to be, and there were plenty of short rests on the way up. To our credit though, despite starting last of the groups we managed to overtake them all and hit the top of the first stage in first place – maybe all that steak and red wine in Argentina was perfect for our stamina and strength training? This despite most of these groups being kitted out in all the latest hiking gear, while we were dressed up in our beachwear and trainers. It took us 2.5 hours to reach the first camp site and our bags were swiftly dumped as everyone attempted to cool down – we were stinking with sweat, it wasn’t pretty! Our guide then took us for a 5 minute walk (after much persuasion) to have our lunch at the Winawayna ruin site on the side of the mountain. We were extremely grateful we agreed to this, the view was stunning and a great place to relax for 45 minutes, enjoy our surroundings and tasty sandwiches. Several comments were made about this beating sitting at a desk at work but I won’t go there ;-)

Reasonably recharged we made our way to The Sun Gate and finally Machu Picchu itself. Fortunately this part of the hike was around the mountain and not so much straight up, rather just small uphill’s and downhill’s. After 2 hours hiking through beautiful scenery we arrived at Inti Punku (The Sun Gate), a spectacular setting looking over the entire valley and the Inca ruin of Machu Picchu. We stood around in awe at what we could see in front of us. It really does take your breath away – especially after all the hard work to get there! After enjoying the moment we then started our 45 minute hike to the ruin just as it started to rain, which made this a slippery and tricky part of the hike. We arrived at the top of the ruin, dumped our bags, and just lay back and enjoyed the view. Then it was time to catch a bus back down the mountain to the small town of Aguas Calintes to check into our hostel for the night.

After a short snooze and shower we met downstairs with Roberto for dinner and a chat about what lay in store for the next day. We then left our tour guide and headed out into the town to sample a little bit of the nightlife. The town itself is gorgeous, and full of little bars and restaurants, markets, and shops. We found a nice restaurant with a warm open fire and had one drink before having an early night, the hike had clearly exhausted all of us and we had a 4.45am wakeup call the next day. The wakeup call came bang on time, and after briefly crying into our pillows about the injustice of such an early start, we showered and made our way down for a 5am breakfast and 5.30am bus trip back up the mountain. Being a Saturday the town was jam packed with tourists and we had to queue for 15 minutes to get on our bus, even at that ridiculous time. The main purpose of the early start is to be one of the lucky 400 who get the opportunity to climb the Wanapicchu Mountain which stands alongside the ruin. We were at the gates of Machu Picchu by 6.15am and only just made the cut – numbers 387 to 391!! Not sure if we were secretly hoping to miss the cut as it’s a hell of a climb, but it was too late. The other reason was to catch the sunrise, and what an amazing sight that was – stunning!

We did a 2.5 hour tour of the ruin, including the history and theories of why this place existed. We finally coaxed our guide into giving us some rest time before our hike up the mountain, a hike we were now starting to dread a little. Fatigue had seriously set in from the early starts and a full day hiking the day before. At 10am we joined the queue for the final 100 to climb the mountain that day, and what an experience it turned out to be. The climb was tiring, hard work, and a little daunting as we manoeuvred our way along tight paths and steep slopes past fellow hikers, as well as through a dark cavern. However on reaching the top (600 meters) it was absolutely worth the effort. From the peak we were treated to spectacular views over the whole mountain range, as well as Machu Picchu itself. The climb down was no walk in the park either, but we managed and the sense of accomplishment was a great feeling. By now though we were shattered, sunburnt, and bitten to pieces (the mosquitoes don’t seem to fear Tabard in this part of the world) so we helped ourselves to some cold drinks and made our way back to the town for a quick shower and some lunch. The girls shot off for a quick massage while Shaun and I passed the time playing chess – I’m 2-0 up ;-)

We caught our 5pm train back to Cusco in the pouring rain, and after a 4 hour ride which felt like 8 we arrived. We were collected at the station and driven by our wannabe formula 1 driver back to our hotel. It was great to have a nice bed again, and after a quick shower we headed out into Cusco for our final dinner there. We must have been tired as we feebly decided to go back to the same Italian restaurant as before, rather than actually walk any further looking for something else. Poor Lara had to head back early as she was suffering from a stomach bug. We tucked into our final meal which was superb again to be fair, and then limped home for a good night sleep. On Sunday we were up and ready for our 7am bus ride to the airport and our flight to Lima for 1 night. We were treated to a little drama as Georgie was bumped onto standby due to an overbooked flight, much to everyone’s frustration. Fortunately it all worked out and the group made our way to Lima intact.

As for Lima itself, it is impossible to give a fair assessment after just 1 day, especially as I spent most of it no more than 5 feet from the toilet – yep the dreaded stomach bug had passed from Lara to me. However it is a very large city and the drive from the airport is mostly through some of the poorer neighbourhoods which are not very appealing. While I chose to stay in our room for the evening to be close to the loo, V and the gang headed out for dinner and this was her impression.....

With aching and tired bodies slightly recovered we headed out for dinner. La had done one of her little research stints and found us a seafood restaurant which was music to our ears, since we’d eaten pretty much all the chicken and rice we could stomach. We jumped into a tin can of a taxi and sped our way between the Sunday evening traffic to our restaurant. As we turned our first corner we were met with an oasis..... Bright lights ran the length of the coastline from restaurants, bars and shops (had we known about this little haven we may have adventured out of the hostel earlier). The place was packed with local people out enjoying their Sunday evening. After a little trouble finding the exact location of the restaurant we solved the mystery and sat down to a divine seafood dinner with a couple of beers and margaritas thrown in for good measure. After dinner we had a short wonder before braving a taxi ride back to the hostel with a can of coke in hand for the troubled patient.

So after just 1 night in Lima it was time to leave South America, leaving everyone a little deflated as we have thoroughly enjoyed this part of the world. We caught a 10am taxi to the airport, and after a quick bite and getting ripped off with airport tax before boarding (US$31 each) we made our way to Central America (or Middle America according to Georgie ha ha) and the next part of our adventure.

So goodbye Peru, and thank you for your friendly hospitality. Here are our highlights and lowlights:
- The friendly people, the friendliest in South America who make you feel so welcome
- The Inca Trail (yes even just the 2 day one we did) – spectacular and well worth the effort
- It’s expensive in Peru, more than any other S.American country and the Inca trail costs a fortune (but it’s worth it!)