Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Canda and New Zealand visits
We are now back on our boat after our 3 month trip in Ecuador and Peru, 4 days repacking and then almost 4 weeks in Canada and 4 weeks in New Zealand.
We had a wonderful; visit in Canada with family and friends; it was great to see those of you who are reading this ongoing saga.
We arrived to the news of the arrival of Alexander James, Dave and Becca’s newest baby in Hong Kong—they now have the ultimate family of Arianne, who is a sweetheart and Alex who I am sure will also prove to be. We were unable to fit in a visit to Hong Kong on this trip and so are sad that we missed them. Hopefully we will catch up with them in the not too distant future and meet Alex and see Arianne who continues to be a beauty—I am sure she has some of her Nana in her!!!
We spent a couple of weeks in Calgary enjoying staying with Amy and Rob and their happy family. We loved watching Isaac and Alora involved in their many activities and acting as “real grandparents” for a while—poor Mike always wanted a “real mum” and now we are having grandchildren who will spend their lives wanting “real grandparents”. Luckily the in-law grandparents are filling in for us and we will be the ones they will speak of as the crazy ones who travel in exotic lands. It was good to have those family “get togethers” where baseball became the sport of the moment—Isaac having a “great arm’ with his pitching.
We met Ashley, Aaron’s new girlfriend who is a delightful young woman and was good to see Aaron established in his own place and patrolling on his “hog”. Mike had started his new job which seems to offer him his outdoor lifestyle and a decent salary as well—what more could he want.
We then went with Aaron and Ashley to Kelowna and visited with Adelyn who was almost walking. She is a cutie and very happy but drives Kristen nuts as she will not cuddle as she is far too busy in her own world—reminiscences of Dave!! Also has Kristen’s sociability so appears to have either the best or worst traits of them both?? It was lovely to spend the week with their family as well. We have since had news that Kristen is expecting a boy—she is due in March which will give them the perfect family as well---she hopes he will take after either Kyle or Mike!!! Adelyn who hated the riding toy which I was so excited to buy her of course loves it now that we are gone!!
We were proud of Kyle who we watched run his first marathon and achieved the time of 3hours 27mins which he had hoped for.
As parents your greatest hope is that your children are happy and having successful lives and they are all doing very well which makes us very happy.
We then flew to New Zealand and had a lovely visit with my family there. My mother had had a stroke a month before we got there but much to my delight had lost very little. Her walking is slower but her mental capacity was not changed and she is still as interested and involved in the world as ever and is very capable living on her own still looking after her dog and cats. We had a low key trip spending a lot of time with her and taking her out and fit in visits with my brother and sister and their families. Luckily for my mum she has lots of family and friends who look out for her so even though I feel guilty that I have abdicated responsibility I am glad she is so well looked after.
Met up with Anne –my old school friend (became apparent how old when she had to sign as a character witness on my NZ passport application and say how many years she had known me!!!—where did the time go?). We went out on their power boat on Guy Fawkes night—a big celebration in NZ—he tried to blow up the house of parliament in England many years ago and everyone has set off fireworks every Nov 5th (also Dave’s birthday) ever since. When I was young it was just a neighborhood celebration with every family having their own and maybe a local huge bonfire but now there is a huge display on Wellington Harbour and so it was great to be right there. It was a beautiful night and was Wellington at its best. It continues to be one of the world’s most beautiful cities and I always leave with mixed emotions.
This time was a little different as we should be there next November with our boat to stay for 6 months and renewing my NZ passport gave me a sense of renewed citizenship.
We had one of our last nights and took mum to a Chinese variety show which had been put on to showcase the Beijing Olympics. It was very colourful and bright. It had a distinct lack of Chinese flavour and was China meets Las Vegas—I think a sense of what they will try and portray next year—a little sad as McWorld is quite large enough. The highlight was a tenor who would have outrivaled Pavarotti had he been born elsewhere and we all enjoyed him immensely.
Stocked up with minties, vegemite, manuka honey, tea and chocolate and headed back to LA where we had a couple of days to run around stocking up with cheddar cheese, jelly bellies and various boat parts. We marveled at the amount of “stuff” which is available and were tempted to sail our boat back to San Diego just to buy more stuff!!!
We got back and cleaned our grubby boat having had workers fixing our single side band radio and hooking up our new iridium aerial in time to greet Karen and Jeff (previously of Calgary and now Pender Harbour BC). They stayed with us for a few days and we enjoyed visiting with them. Took the opportunity to go to the local museum which was very impressive for such a small town and we went over to a local beach where many gringos are buying waterfront property. Mexico and then Costa Rica have become very expensive and now the Ecuadorian government is very stable and is the most desirable retirement country right now. Now that we are back to $2 50lb huge shrimps and chicken breasts and $10 being more fruit and vegs than we can carry home we know why.
We are having sanding done right now $10 a day and in a week or so will take one last trip to Otavala—the largest market in Sth America to stock up with goodies here and then we will head to Panama to cruise until Feb when we will cross to the Galapagos.
Many thanks to all of you who entertained and fed us on out visit we did love seeing you all.
We had a wonderful; visit in Canada with family and friends; it was great to see those of you who are reading this ongoing saga.
We arrived to the news of the arrival of Alexander James, Dave and Becca’s newest baby in Hong Kong—they now have the ultimate family of Arianne, who is a sweetheart and Alex who I am sure will also prove to be. We were unable to fit in a visit to Hong Kong on this trip and so are sad that we missed them. Hopefully we will catch up with them in the not too distant future and meet Alex and see Arianne who continues to be a beauty—I am sure she has some of her Nana in her!!!
We spent a couple of weeks in Calgary enjoying staying with Amy and Rob and their happy family. We loved watching Isaac and Alora involved in their many activities and acting as “real grandparents” for a while—poor Mike always wanted a “real mum” and now we are having grandchildren who will spend their lives wanting “real grandparents”. Luckily the in-law grandparents are filling in for us and we will be the ones they will speak of as the crazy ones who travel in exotic lands. It was good to have those family “get togethers” where baseball became the sport of the moment—Isaac having a “great arm’ with his pitching.
We met Ashley, Aaron’s new girlfriend who is a delightful young woman and was good to see Aaron established in his own place and patrolling on his “hog”. Mike had started his new job which seems to offer him his outdoor lifestyle and a decent salary as well—what more could he want.
We then went with Aaron and Ashley to Kelowna and visited with Adelyn who was almost walking. She is a cutie and very happy but drives Kristen nuts as she will not cuddle as she is far too busy in her own world—reminiscences of Dave!! Also has Kristen’s sociability so appears to have either the best or worst traits of them both?? It was lovely to spend the week with their family as well. We have since had news that Kristen is expecting a boy—she is due in March which will give them the perfect family as well---she hopes he will take after either Kyle or Mike!!! Adelyn who hated the riding toy which I was so excited to buy her of course loves it now that we are gone!!
We were proud of Kyle who we watched run his first marathon and achieved the time of 3hours 27mins which he had hoped for.
As parents your greatest hope is that your children are happy and having successful lives and they are all doing very well which makes us very happy.
We then flew to New Zealand and had a lovely visit with my family there. My mother had had a stroke a month before we got there but much to my delight had lost very little. Her walking is slower but her mental capacity was not changed and she is still as interested and involved in the world as ever and is very capable living on her own still looking after her dog and cats. We had a low key trip spending a lot of time with her and taking her out and fit in visits with my brother and sister and their families. Luckily for my mum she has lots of family and friends who look out for her so even though I feel guilty that I have abdicated responsibility I am glad she is so well looked after.
Met up with Anne –my old school friend (became apparent how old when she had to sign as a character witness on my NZ passport application and say how many years she had known me!!!—where did the time go?). We went out on their power boat on Guy Fawkes night—a big celebration in NZ—he tried to blow up the house of parliament in England many years ago and everyone has set off fireworks every Nov 5th (also Dave’s birthday) ever since. When I was young it was just a neighborhood celebration with every family having their own and maybe a local huge bonfire but now there is a huge display on Wellington Harbour and so it was great to be right there. It was a beautiful night and was Wellington at its best. It continues to be one of the world’s most beautiful cities and I always leave with mixed emotions.
This time was a little different as we should be there next November with our boat to stay for 6 months and renewing my NZ passport gave me a sense of renewed citizenship.
We had one of our last nights and took mum to a Chinese variety show which had been put on to showcase the Beijing Olympics. It was very colourful and bright. It had a distinct lack of Chinese flavour and was China meets Las Vegas—I think a sense of what they will try and portray next year—a little sad as McWorld is quite large enough. The highlight was a tenor who would have outrivaled Pavarotti had he been born elsewhere and we all enjoyed him immensely.
Stocked up with minties, vegemite, manuka honey, tea and chocolate and headed back to LA where we had a couple of days to run around stocking up with cheddar cheese, jelly bellies and various boat parts. We marveled at the amount of “stuff” which is available and were tempted to sail our boat back to San Diego just to buy more stuff!!!
We got back and cleaned our grubby boat having had workers fixing our single side band radio and hooking up our new iridium aerial in time to greet Karen and Jeff (previously of Calgary and now Pender Harbour BC). They stayed with us for a few days and we enjoyed visiting with them. Took the opportunity to go to the local museum which was very impressive for such a small town and we went over to a local beach where many gringos are buying waterfront property. Mexico and then Costa Rica have become very expensive and now the Ecuadorian government is very stable and is the most desirable retirement country right now. Now that we are back to $2 50lb huge shrimps and chicken breasts and $10 being more fruit and vegs than we can carry home we know why.
We are having sanding done right now $10 a day and in a week or so will take one last trip to Otavala—the largest market in Sth America to stock up with goodies here and then we will head to Panama to cruise until Feb when we will cross to the Galapagos.
Many thanks to all of you who entertained and fed us on out visit we did love seeing you all.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
The Inca Trail to Machu Pichu
We left Cusco at 5 30am on the bus to go up to the starting point of the Inca Trail which is up the Sacred Valley.
We were group of 11 people from various Commonwealth countries ranging from 27 to our ages. After a 2 hour ride up the Sacred Valley they fed us breakfast and we and our 18 porters and 2 guides loaded our packs and set off. The first day was spent in undulating terrain trekking through the beautiful countryside gradually climbing to our lunch spot. Our porters were loaded with huge loads and hurry on ahead, we step aside as they run the trail—up or down. By the time we got to the lunch spot they have set up a dining tent and have prepared lunch. It was a huge selection of sandwiches, salads and bread. Coca tea—for altitude-- was served always. Our altitude was at around 2800 metres and until Machu Pichu which is 2600metres was never lower.
Two of our fellow trekkers were ill—one having had a lung infection before leaving which was bothering him as we climbed—the other one had diarrhea—this is not a great time to be sick as there is nothing other than hiking on or going back as options. As we hiked we visited small Inca ruins where our guide described the history and we were able to get a better idea of the life the Incas had led. This area was where they had begun and they were here for 300 years before expanding their empire North to Columbia and South to Argentina 100 years before the Spanish arrived.
We continued to hike up to the campsite where the porters had once again gone on ahead and set up our tents. The guy with the lung infection had by now developed a fever and had decided to go back down the next day. The one with diarrhea was feeling a little better.
The porters were amazing and had bowls of warm water for us to wash with. Afternoon tea was then served—coca tea, cookies and popcorn—at 5.30. At 7pm supper was served and this was indeed a gourmet feast. Chicken stuffed with vegetables, eggplant casserole and many other choices. Oh to have these guys with us when we go to the mountains in Canada or NZ!! We had tables and stools, all of which they had carried on their backs. They carried up to 60kgs each and although small people had huge leg muscles.
We had a great sleep and were awakened to more coca tea and warm water to wash with at 6.30am to have our pancake breakfast and set off again.
This day was the hardest of the trip and involved climbing to Dead Woman’s Pass which is 4500 metres above sea level. Fortunately our previous trekking had acclimatized us and we were the first two to get to the top in about half the time which they had said it would be. It was a slog as it was straight up—there are many steps to climb. We then dropped down for 1 ½ hours only to climb again to 4000metres and drop down a little to the campsite.
We had light rain for a lot of this day and wore our colourful $3 ponchos. It meant it was cool hiking and the views were still magnificent so we enjoyed the day which proved for us to be not as difficult as we had been led to believe.
One more of our group had succumbed shortly after starting this day to altitude sickness and had had to go back down—many Incas were sacrificed in the past to ensure good weather, crops etc—so we felt we deserved sunshine on our last day when we would come through the sun gate to see Machu Pichu having sacrificed two of our members.
This campsite was much colder than the previous one as it was higher. We had rented sleeping bags and ground pads from the trekking company which were excellent so we were cozy and warm. Another great supper and we collapsed into bed early again.
The next morning was another beautiful hike which was more undulating and gradually dropped in altitude so the orchids and begonias which grow in the area flower abundantly. It was only a 4 hour hike so was a luxury to just hang out when we got there. There was a huge Inca site nearby and we walked down to it. This was the most magnificent setting we had seen as it was surrounded by towering mountain peaks. It was built with a temple at the top with windows placed to watch the sun setting over the mountains. It was breathtaking to watch the sun setting. Below were the agricultural terraces and below them the houses—each would have had stunning views. They were masters at building water systems and at each level was a pool which had running water flowing down.
The third day continued to drop in altitude and the vegetation thickened. We had now become good friends and were all enjoying the trip. At the end of the day we arrived at the largest camp where a lot of the trekkers spend their last night so it was a bit of a culture shock to suddenly have a lot of trekkers there. Definitely felt a bit invaded but we were able to have a hot shower and the last dinner was eaten in the large hall with each group still eating as a group—this night our porters had managed pizza—still astonished us how they could do it all with what they had carried up. Everything had been dismantled each morning and moved to the next night.
There was an American team of students from a fancy university doing an MBA programme who were doing the trek along side us and we had been vying for top spots all along—we had labeled them Team America and ourselves Team Commonwealth ( we forgave the young man from Southern Ireland on our team)
The morning we awoke at 4am and after breakfast we packed and lined up at the checkpoint ( there are several on the course of the trail) which opened at 5 30am. Team US was already there and as soon as we cleared the checkpoint the race began—we found ourselves running the trail which fortunately was mostly down. We covered the 2 hour portion in 45 minutes and when an older man in team US had to step aside with exhaustion we plowed on and reached the sun gate as a team, having split their team.
Our sacrifices had paid off and the morning was gloriously sunny. We had our first view of Machu Pichu which made it all worthwhile. We sat along the path and waited for the sun to hit the site. Our members who had had to pull out had caught the train and bus up to Machu Pichu and now joined us for our achievement.The site is set surrounded by awesome mountains. After the sun rise we walked down to the huge site to explore it.
Our guide gave us a very good tour and we learned that there had been 300 permanent residents and the emperor would come up from Cusco on a pilgrimage—he would be carried and 900 would be there at that time. It was considered to be a very sacred site and was discovered by Hiram Bingham in the early 1900’s when he was looking for Vilcabumba (the emperor Inca had fled there from the Spanish but the site was not discovered till 1997.)
We spent several hours exploring and left around noon as the trains continued to bring droves of people up from Cusco—5000 people a day visit the site so we were very thankful to have been among the few early in the day. It truly is a magical experience.
We caught the train down which is set up with huge windows above offering views of the towering mountains but the train was set up as a true tourist train with a fashion show and somehow did not fit with our mindset at the time.
We then went to Agua Calientes where we all made our farewells—some were leaving right away—we, along with a few others were spending the night to soak in the hot springs.
We returned to Cusco the next day to prepare for our return to Lima and then our boat to fly back to Canada.
This is my final blog entry for this part of our journey other than the pics to go with this which I will put on in a few days.
This trek was a fitting end to our trip to Peru and will stay forever in our minds.
We hope to see many of you when we return to Calgary on the 23rd Sept so are looking forward to that.
We were group of 11 people from various Commonwealth countries ranging from 27 to our ages. After a 2 hour ride up the Sacred Valley they fed us breakfast and we and our 18 porters and 2 guides loaded our packs and set off. The first day was spent in undulating terrain trekking through the beautiful countryside gradually climbing to our lunch spot. Our porters were loaded with huge loads and hurry on ahead, we step aside as they run the trail—up or down. By the time we got to the lunch spot they have set up a dining tent and have prepared lunch. It was a huge selection of sandwiches, salads and bread. Coca tea—for altitude-- was served always. Our altitude was at around 2800 metres and until Machu Pichu which is 2600metres was never lower.
Two of our fellow trekkers were ill—one having had a lung infection before leaving which was bothering him as we climbed—the other one had diarrhea—this is not a great time to be sick as there is nothing other than hiking on or going back as options. As we hiked we visited small Inca ruins where our guide described the history and we were able to get a better idea of the life the Incas had led. This area was where they had begun and they were here for 300 years before expanding their empire North to Columbia and South to Argentina 100 years before the Spanish arrived.
We continued to hike up to the campsite where the porters had once again gone on ahead and set up our tents. The guy with the lung infection had by now developed a fever and had decided to go back down the next day. The one with diarrhea was feeling a little better.
The porters were amazing and had bowls of warm water for us to wash with. Afternoon tea was then served—coca tea, cookies and popcorn—at 5.30. At 7pm supper was served and this was indeed a gourmet feast. Chicken stuffed with vegetables, eggplant casserole and many other choices. Oh to have these guys with us when we go to the mountains in Canada or NZ!! We had tables and stools, all of which they had carried on their backs. They carried up to 60kgs each and although small people had huge leg muscles.
We had a great sleep and were awakened to more coca tea and warm water to wash with at 6.30am to have our pancake breakfast and set off again.
This day was the hardest of the trip and involved climbing to Dead Woman’s Pass which is 4500 metres above sea level. Fortunately our previous trekking had acclimatized us and we were the first two to get to the top in about half the time which they had said it would be. It was a slog as it was straight up—there are many steps to climb. We then dropped down for 1 ½ hours only to climb again to 4000metres and drop down a little to the campsite.
We had light rain for a lot of this day and wore our colourful $3 ponchos. It meant it was cool hiking and the views were still magnificent so we enjoyed the day which proved for us to be not as difficult as we had been led to believe.
One more of our group had succumbed shortly after starting this day to altitude sickness and had had to go back down—many Incas were sacrificed in the past to ensure good weather, crops etc—so we felt we deserved sunshine on our last day when we would come through the sun gate to see Machu Pichu having sacrificed two of our members.
This campsite was much colder than the previous one as it was higher. We had rented sleeping bags and ground pads from the trekking company which were excellent so we were cozy and warm. Another great supper and we collapsed into bed early again.
The next morning was another beautiful hike which was more undulating and gradually dropped in altitude so the orchids and begonias which grow in the area flower abundantly. It was only a 4 hour hike so was a luxury to just hang out when we got there. There was a huge Inca site nearby and we walked down to it. This was the most magnificent setting we had seen as it was surrounded by towering mountain peaks. It was built with a temple at the top with windows placed to watch the sun setting over the mountains. It was breathtaking to watch the sun setting. Below were the agricultural terraces and below them the houses—each would have had stunning views. They were masters at building water systems and at each level was a pool which had running water flowing down.
The third day continued to drop in altitude and the vegetation thickened. We had now become good friends and were all enjoying the trip. At the end of the day we arrived at the largest camp where a lot of the trekkers spend their last night so it was a bit of a culture shock to suddenly have a lot of trekkers there. Definitely felt a bit invaded but we were able to have a hot shower and the last dinner was eaten in the large hall with each group still eating as a group—this night our porters had managed pizza—still astonished us how they could do it all with what they had carried up. Everything had been dismantled each morning and moved to the next night.
There was an American team of students from a fancy university doing an MBA programme who were doing the trek along side us and we had been vying for top spots all along—we had labeled them Team America and ourselves Team Commonwealth ( we forgave the young man from Southern Ireland on our team)
The morning we awoke at 4am and after breakfast we packed and lined up at the checkpoint ( there are several on the course of the trail) which opened at 5 30am. Team US was already there and as soon as we cleared the checkpoint the race began—we found ourselves running the trail which fortunately was mostly down. We covered the 2 hour portion in 45 minutes and when an older man in team US had to step aside with exhaustion we plowed on and reached the sun gate as a team, having split their team.
Our sacrifices had paid off and the morning was gloriously sunny. We had our first view of Machu Pichu which made it all worthwhile. We sat along the path and waited for the sun to hit the site. Our members who had had to pull out had caught the train and bus up to Machu Pichu and now joined us for our achievement.The site is set surrounded by awesome mountains. After the sun rise we walked down to the huge site to explore it.
Our guide gave us a very good tour and we learned that there had been 300 permanent residents and the emperor would come up from Cusco on a pilgrimage—he would be carried and 900 would be there at that time. It was considered to be a very sacred site and was discovered by Hiram Bingham in the early 1900’s when he was looking for Vilcabumba (the emperor Inca had fled there from the Spanish but the site was not discovered till 1997.)
We spent several hours exploring and left around noon as the trains continued to bring droves of people up from Cusco—5000 people a day visit the site so we were very thankful to have been among the few early in the day. It truly is a magical experience.
We caught the train down which is set up with huge windows above offering views of the towering mountains but the train was set up as a true tourist train with a fashion show and somehow did not fit with our mindset at the time.
We then went to Agua Calientes where we all made our farewells—some were leaving right away—we, along with a few others were spending the night to soak in the hot springs.
We returned to Cusco the next day to prepare for our return to Lima and then our boat to fly back to Canada.
This is my final blog entry for this part of our journey other than the pics to go with this which I will put on in a few days.
This trek was a fitting end to our trip to Peru and will stay forever in our minds.
We hope to see many of you when we return to Calgary on the 23rd Sept so are looking forward to that.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Sacred Valley
A couple of things which continue to amaze us as we travel Peru—one is –who has all of the change?? No one can make change for any amount—their profit margins are so small that no one carries a float. It means when you want to purchase something they will either tell you they cannot make change or if they do not want to lose the sale will tell you to wait while they rush of—sometimes up to 10 minutes—till they find another business that can do it.
The second is the lack of inventory anyone can carry—if you need toilet paper in your hotel room they will have to run out and buy one roll. If you order a beer in a restaurant they will run to the corner store and buy it. You buy aspirin and any other drugs by the tablet it makes us realize how close to the edge these people live.
We left Cusco to travel one hour to the village of Pisaq. It is at the head of the Sacred Valley which is 1500 feet below Cusco so is much warmer. They have a large tourist market there where we stocked up with the family gifts we had not bought previously so are now laden down even more.
The next morning we climbed the 2 hours up to the Inca Ruins. These covers a large area which took several hours to clamber around, it is fascinating to see the incredible labour which went into building these sites. The terracing which they used to plant their crops still exist, there was a supply of water channeled from springs and the river.
The village is cute and we spent a pleasant night there and the next day went further up the valley to another town and climbed up another set of ruins which was the location of one of the most sacred sites and had huge rocks which had been transported 6 miles from a neighboring mountain and they diverted the river to get them across. This village is built along narrow cobblestone streets the houses set in squares the backs opening onto a communal garden which was the way it has been since the 12th century. It was very charming.
The Spanish had finally beaten the Incas here and the leader had fled further into the Amazon where he was finally captured and killed and the empire collapsed. It was a fascinating trip.
The area is also known for its pottery so had a couple of visits with local potters. I had to buy a Toro (bull) to take back to the boat as the houses here all have them on their roofs to bring luck. I only got one so hope we do not only get half of the luck.
We head off tomorrow to hike the 4 day Inca Trail so will have had our fill of the ruins.
We then head back to our boat where we will repack and make our way back to Calgary which we are looking forward to.
The second is the lack of inventory anyone can carry—if you need toilet paper in your hotel room they will have to run out and buy one roll. If you order a beer in a restaurant they will run to the corner store and buy it. You buy aspirin and any other drugs by the tablet it makes us realize how close to the edge these people live.
We left Cusco to travel one hour to the village of Pisaq. It is at the head of the Sacred Valley which is 1500 feet below Cusco so is much warmer. They have a large tourist market there where we stocked up with the family gifts we had not bought previously so are now laden down even more.
The next morning we climbed the 2 hours up to the Inca Ruins. These covers a large area which took several hours to clamber around, it is fascinating to see the incredible labour which went into building these sites. The terracing which they used to plant their crops still exist, there was a supply of water channeled from springs and the river.
The village is cute and we spent a pleasant night there and the next day went further up the valley to another town and climbed up another set of ruins which was the location of one of the most sacred sites and had huge rocks which had been transported 6 miles from a neighboring mountain and they diverted the river to get them across. This village is built along narrow cobblestone streets the houses set in squares the backs opening onto a communal garden which was the way it has been since the 12th century. It was very charming.
The Spanish had finally beaten the Incas here and the leader had fled further into the Amazon where he was finally captured and killed and the empire collapsed. It was a fascinating trip.
The area is also known for its pottery so had a couple of visits with local potters. I had to buy a Toro (bull) to take back to the boat as the houses here all have them on their roofs to bring luck. I only got one so hope we do not only get half of the luck.
We head off tomorrow to hike the 4 day Inca Trail so will have had our fill of the ruins.
We then head back to our boat where we will repack and make our way back to Calgary which we are looking forward to.
Saturday, September 01, 2007
Arequipa to Cusco
After leaving Arequipa we had a 6 hour bus trip traveling on a road which was desert gradually climbing to 12,800 feet above sea level to Puno on Lake Titicaca. Alpacas and llamas—both of the camel family are the only animals who can be farmed up there and it was amazing to come across small villages with herds of the animals. We were lucky to see herds of Viyacunas, small wild alpacas who blend with their warm brown colour into the desert scenery.
Puno is set on brown hills with the houses of adobe clay and dull red roofs made us think we were in Beirut. Lake Titicaca is huge—170km long and 60km wide but the town is touristier than we have been used to and ¨Gringo Alley¨ is full of western restaurants and locals trying to sell crafts and shoe shines all along the street.
We visited a ship which had been a steamship built in parts in England in 1862, they shipped the parts around the Horn to Africa then to the south of Peru on the west coast and taken by mules over the Andes which took 6 years to finally get them there and reconstructed. It delivered goods around the Lake for a long time and then was left to rust. They have recently restored it and are readying it to take tourists next year to outlying islands.
We also frequented the local markets as we had been told that Alpaca products are cheaper here than elsewhere so stocked up.
We joined a 2 day 1 night tour to the Islands. The first visit was to Isla Flotantes, these are an amazing group of 25 small reed islands each with a family group living on them. Originally these were the Uros people who wishing to avoid the Incas left the mainland to live on reed boats constructed from the reeds which grow around the lake. They then set up life in the boats making everything from the reeds, catching and salting fish and trading their goods with mainland tribes. About 70 years ago they were intermarried enough with another tribe to start constructing the islands which they now live on. They cut great hunks of reed roots and tie them together, anchor them and make an island from them. They dry reeds and build houses from them and now that tourists come to visit they sell their wares and charge a fee so have a comfortable if not amazing lifestyle. They dress the tourists up in their costumes and show their lifestyle and once you have become friendly with them they start to sell you their crafts. They actually have a school and a medical clinic on the islands.
We then went 3 more hours to Isla Amantani, a real island inhabited by 4000 people. Here we felt we could have been in the Greek Islands if they had put whitewash on their walls. It is very rocky and picturesque with flocks of sheep being herded by villagers. A house was under construction and many of the villagers were involved in helping build it. There are no mules on the island so local men were dragging the planks of wood by tying it across their shoulders and dragging them across the fields. Adobe bricks are dried and used for the basic walls.
They have set up a tourist business and when you arrive you are taken in by a family who give you lunch. You then head up to the top of the island which is the site of Pachumama (mother earth) and opposite Pachutata (father earth) this is at 1400feet above sea level so is quite a climb. They still have a very blended religion with Catholicism and the old Inca beliefs which worship nature the way most indigenous religions do. In fact when we were crossing the lake a local man was sprinkling coca leaves on the water to make sure the gods gave us safe travel—it was very rough but seemed to work as we arrived OK.
We waited till sunset which is lovely, looking over the lake to the Bolivian Andes—half of the lake is Bolivia. You then head back to your family for dinner and then they walk you to the community centre for the dance. You dress in Andean costume and the ladies (their husbands seem to have opted out!!!) get everyone up doing the typical dances. It became more of a photo op for most of us but the ladies are lovely and very generous.
Next morning after breakfast we headed off to the next island nearby. This is yet another culture which at the surface seems to be more prosperous. They have become renowned as the best weavers in South America so sell their products all over. They also have developed a restaurant trade and feed the tourists lunch before they go back to Puno. The women are much more shy than the previous island and do not like to be photographed. The men wear brightly coloured hats which have long floppy tops which are white if they are unmarried and red if they are married. There are no mules on this island as their philosophy is of the Inca rules which are “no stealing, no lying and no being lazy”!!! Wow trying to be lazy in this life would be impossible. They do not have dogs as they consider them lazy animals. Horses or mules would mean the people were lazy.
We then headed back to Puno for the night and left the next morning for the 6 hour journey to Cusco. This trip involved climbing up through the desert to a very high pass and once we were over the divide the world changed. There were mountains in the background and fertile valleys. Llamas were replaced by sheep and cattle and crops were being planted. These people certainly have the easier lifestyle than their brothers on the other side of the divide.
Cusco is a beautiful city which was the centre of the Incan Empire. They were here for about 400 years although their expansion from Columbia to Argentina was only the last 100 years and was ended by the Spanish. Massive Inca built walls line narrow cobble stoned streets which wind up the hills. Our hotel is at the top of a windy road and is very quaint.
It is very touristy and restaurants, hotels and street sellers abound.
The sites are all around and we caught a bus to a site 10km away and walked back exploring 4 other sites on the way. Their construction techniques are incredible with no mortar being used and no steel to cut the incredible angles and fit required.
They used springs and channeled water to their villages and developed the amazing terracing still used today to grow crops. The Spanish destroyed a lot of the sites but there is still enough remaining to marvel at their skills.
We are off tomorrow to the Sacred Valley which is meant to be lovely and then on the 7th will start on our 4 day hike up to Machu Pichu which will be the highlight to the end of this sector of our voyage.
We fly back to Lima from here and will make our way back to our boat to get to Quito to come back to Canada.
Puno is set on brown hills with the houses of adobe clay and dull red roofs made us think we were in Beirut. Lake Titicaca is huge—170km long and 60km wide but the town is touristier than we have been used to and ¨Gringo Alley¨ is full of western restaurants and locals trying to sell crafts and shoe shines all along the street.
We visited a ship which had been a steamship built in parts in England in 1862, they shipped the parts around the Horn to Africa then to the south of Peru on the west coast and taken by mules over the Andes which took 6 years to finally get them there and reconstructed. It delivered goods around the Lake for a long time and then was left to rust. They have recently restored it and are readying it to take tourists next year to outlying islands.
We also frequented the local markets as we had been told that Alpaca products are cheaper here than elsewhere so stocked up.
We joined a 2 day 1 night tour to the Islands. The first visit was to Isla Flotantes, these are an amazing group of 25 small reed islands each with a family group living on them. Originally these were the Uros people who wishing to avoid the Incas left the mainland to live on reed boats constructed from the reeds which grow around the lake. They then set up life in the boats making everything from the reeds, catching and salting fish and trading their goods with mainland tribes. About 70 years ago they were intermarried enough with another tribe to start constructing the islands which they now live on. They cut great hunks of reed roots and tie them together, anchor them and make an island from them. They dry reeds and build houses from them and now that tourists come to visit they sell their wares and charge a fee so have a comfortable if not amazing lifestyle. They dress the tourists up in their costumes and show their lifestyle and once you have become friendly with them they start to sell you their crafts. They actually have a school and a medical clinic on the islands.
We then went 3 more hours to Isla Amantani, a real island inhabited by 4000 people. Here we felt we could have been in the Greek Islands if they had put whitewash on their walls. It is very rocky and picturesque with flocks of sheep being herded by villagers. A house was under construction and many of the villagers were involved in helping build it. There are no mules on the island so local men were dragging the planks of wood by tying it across their shoulders and dragging them across the fields. Adobe bricks are dried and used for the basic walls.
They have set up a tourist business and when you arrive you are taken in by a family who give you lunch. You then head up to the top of the island which is the site of Pachumama (mother earth) and opposite Pachutata (father earth) this is at 1400feet above sea level so is quite a climb. They still have a very blended religion with Catholicism and the old Inca beliefs which worship nature the way most indigenous religions do. In fact when we were crossing the lake a local man was sprinkling coca leaves on the water to make sure the gods gave us safe travel—it was very rough but seemed to work as we arrived OK.
We waited till sunset which is lovely, looking over the lake to the Bolivian Andes—half of the lake is Bolivia. You then head back to your family for dinner and then they walk you to the community centre for the dance. You dress in Andean costume and the ladies (their husbands seem to have opted out!!!) get everyone up doing the typical dances. It became more of a photo op for most of us but the ladies are lovely and very generous.
Next morning after breakfast we headed off to the next island nearby. This is yet another culture which at the surface seems to be more prosperous. They have become renowned as the best weavers in South America so sell their products all over. They also have developed a restaurant trade and feed the tourists lunch before they go back to Puno. The women are much more shy than the previous island and do not like to be photographed. The men wear brightly coloured hats which have long floppy tops which are white if they are unmarried and red if they are married. There are no mules on this island as their philosophy is of the Inca rules which are “no stealing, no lying and no being lazy”!!! Wow trying to be lazy in this life would be impossible. They do not have dogs as they consider them lazy animals. Horses or mules would mean the people were lazy.
We then headed back to Puno for the night and left the next morning for the 6 hour journey to Cusco. This trip involved climbing up through the desert to a very high pass and once we were over the divide the world changed. There were mountains in the background and fertile valleys. Llamas were replaced by sheep and cattle and crops were being planted. These people certainly have the easier lifestyle than their brothers on the other side of the divide.
Cusco is a beautiful city which was the centre of the Incan Empire. They were here for about 400 years although their expansion from Columbia to Argentina was only the last 100 years and was ended by the Spanish. Massive Inca built walls line narrow cobble stoned streets which wind up the hills. Our hotel is at the top of a windy road and is very quaint.
It is very touristy and restaurants, hotels and street sellers abound.
The sites are all around and we caught a bus to a site 10km away and walked back exploring 4 other sites on the way. Their construction techniques are incredible with no mortar being used and no steel to cut the incredible angles and fit required.
They used springs and channeled water to their villages and developed the amazing terracing still used today to grow crops. The Spanish destroyed a lot of the sites but there is still enough remaining to marvel at their skills.
We are off tomorrow to the Sacred Valley which is meant to be lovely and then on the 7th will start on our 4 day hike up to Machu Pichu which will be the highlight to the end of this sector of our voyage.
We fly back to Lima from here and will make our way back to our boat to get to Quito to come back to Canada.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
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