Category: 2015 South America

This trip is full of changing adventures. We have sailed the Galapagos and been very good environmentalists, we have sped up and down the Amazon River searching for wildlife in their natural surroundings, we have trekked up steep stairs looking at ancient ruins and learning about how they were built. Today we travelled 380km to Lake Titicaca on the Andean Explorer run by PeruRail. During our journey we travel over the highest mountain pass of our trip in Peru at 4338 meters or 14,232 feet. This is the fourth highest railway in the world with a railway in China topping the list at 5068 meters.

After venturing through the outskirts of Cuzco, the train takes us up the Vilconata River towards Puno on the shore of Lake Titicaca. As you can imagine, the landscape 4338 meters is rather barren at that height, but the valley is very fertile with many farms being worked for food crops. The methods of farming are very manual. We see only the one tractor cultivating the dry-looking earth. There are many twin bullock teams and lots of men and women tilling the soil by hand. The valley is roughly about 2 km in width, or less, with mountains towering upwards from either side with a distinct line where farming ends and mountain begins. But some farmers have built terraces up the sides of those mountains for various crops.

There are a few animals being tethered; cows, sheep, llama and horses. As we near the top of our journey, there are mainly herds of llama running freely.

At the summit, the train stops. What for? You ask. A craft market is open. Wow – another opportunity – lol! When the announcement is made a roar of laughter is heard. Obviously, everyone has seen his or her fair share of craft markets in Peru. Lyn bought some llama moccasins for a very low price, I’m told. We were given about 30 minutes to help the local economy.

I found breathing difficult with my lung problems and took oxygen for 10 minutes to help the headache that had been brought on by the effects of the high altitude, but “we will survive”. A couple of others in the group have taken oxygen too.

We were served morning tea, a main mid day meal, and an afternoon tea. All good and well presented. A staff of 4 in the kitchen and 13 waiters have served us well. There is a bar tagging along the back with an outside viewing point. All very nice and well presented. Dancers and Peruvian bands came through the carriage as entertainment. There was a fashion show at 10:00am at the bar. We get looked after very well on trains over here. When will the Victorian Railway (and Queensland for that matter) take note – may be a good draw card to increase patronage.

The scenery remains dry and yellow throughout the journey and the towns look like they need a major clean up and building completion drive. If your house is incomplete, you don’t have to pay taxes on the land. So there are many, many unfinished buildings in Peru.

We travel through the town of Juliaca just on sunset. The town is busy of course. The railway runs through the town’s market and it is evident that stallholders have moved some of their goods off the railway for the train to pass through very slowly. In a way, it is depressing.

We arrive in the town of Puno to be transferred in the best coach we have ever been in on ANY of our travels, to our hotel on the shore of Lake Titicaca.

Tomorrow, we visit a floating island before flying to Lima.

As this is a ‘free’ day, we wake up not knowing what we are going to be doing. We had been given a free entry into the Museum of Machu Picchu so we headed in that direction with Greg and Deb.

The museum is, of course, in an old building that has a courtyard with a small fountain in the centre. We have found many locations have just a high gate within a high wall that when opened, you find all sorts of interesting happenings. There could be a restaurant or a market place or in this case a history of the discovery of the fascinating UNESCO site at Machu Picchu.

Fortunately, the descriptions of the displays are also written in English to reveal to us that the city of Machu Picchu became disused and overgrown with jungle vegetation. Because the city was so well planned for the future, when the ‘clean up’ job had been completed, parts of the city could still be used albeit in a rather ancient way.

In one of the corners of the building, a guy had a display of interesting ‘sound making’ devices. His interest is in the Inca way of providing sound to be used in calling birds while hunting. As we are unable to take photos in a museum, I cannot show you too many examples. I purchased a little tortoise looking piece of clay that has a few holes in it to use like a wood wind instrument and was originally used to call birds in the early days. The sounds are very authentic. A few of the items made of clay have two chambers with two separate connecting tubes. Inside is an amount of water. When the item is tipped slightly, the water transfers from one chamber to the other. This also causes a movement of the air through the other tube creating a bird sound. By shaking the item, you get a vibrato in the sound.

As we were walking back to the city square, various traders that wander around the streets with ‘gifts’ tried to sell us some of their wares. I made for the new ‘toy’ I had and the seller thought I was fossicking for money. When I started to play the whistle, I thought it appropriate for them to pay me for playing to them in the street. Innovation it may be, but it proved a good solution to move them on and out of our wallets.

Greg has to keep off gluten so finding a meal for him can be difficult. Our tour guide had shown surprise when we toured the square a couple of days ago. She noticed that a MacDonald’s had arrived in town. Greg could eat some of the food so we went there, with all these yummy restaurants nearby. It was intriguing to us.

We have been buying a bit of stuff to take back to Australia as souvenirs and gifts. This town does have nice alpaca clothing and Lyn has taken to it quite well, unintentionally she claims. So we have had to purchase a third suitcase. It took 3 enquiries of cases to find one that the locked worked.

After the heavy shower of rain, we made it back to the magnificent hotel we have been staying at. I curled up on the bed to watch the Cycling World Championship while Lyn went out to find some more gifts. It was great to see the New Zealand girl win the Women’s Time Trial. Go Kiwis!

This evening during our ‘fine dining’ meal, we were entertained with some opera. Keyboard and oboe were the orchestra and the singers sang some well know opera pieces. What a good idea!

Tomorrow, we take a 10-hour train journey through the Andes Mountains on the Andean Explorer.

Cuzco is really the gateway to the Sacred Valley. Due to the city being the historic capital of the Incan Empire, it was given World Heritage Site status in 1982 soon after Peru recognised the World Heritage convention. There are eleven such sites in Peru. Our elevation? 3,400 meters.

Situated in the Peruvian Andes, Cuzco developed, under the Inca ruler Pachacutec, into a complex urban centre with distinct religious and administrative functions. It was surrounded by clearly delineated areas for agricultural, artisan and industrial production. When the Spaniards conquered it in the 16th century, they preserved the basic structure but built Baroque churches and palaces over the ruins of the Inca city.

Our walking tour started at the Koricancha (Sun Temple), or Quikancha. This temple was the most important temple in the Inca Empire, dedicated primarily to Inti, the Sun God. The carving and placement of the stones had great significance in relation to the rising and setting of the sun. The positions of the stars at specific times of the year, were also taken into account.

The coach takes us to see and wander through the ruins of the Sacsayhuaman fortress on the hill overlooking this busy city of between 5 and 700,000 people (No one is quite sure). The way the Incas moved enormously large stones and shaped them to fit within a wall, is mind boggling.

We then return to the city square and take a tour through Cuzco’s largest Cathedral, which really appears to be three cathedrals side-by-side.

Our afternoon is free to do as we please. Some of us turn up at the Irish Pub for lunch. The only Irish, or close to Irish, we saw were a young couple from the UK. Despite it being a ‘pub’, they did serve up a good plate of Nachos. After a necessary sleep, we wandered around the shops for the afternoon, looking  at ways we could help the local economy.

Tomorrow is a full free day in this busy and intriguing city in the Andes.

Today we had some free time to wander around the township of Machu Picchu for the morning before our train/bus transfer to the city of Cuzco.

Machu Picchu town is set on a fairly steep side of a hill and is at 2400 meters above sea level. From our hotel, the last building on the road to the Inca ruins, it is quite a climb to the station and into the shopping/market precinct. There are many colourful stalls with ever aggressive stall holders wanting us to purchase their equally colourful wares.

There is a BMX bike downhill competition on today, Sunday, and the track runs through many of the narrow streets of the town. Ease of ‘looking around’ is limited somewhat. Sometimes for me, its good to ‘feel’ what goes on in a town and how it functions and the local highlights make a visit interesting. I was wandering through the crowd with the video camera ready for the action shots wearing my ‘travelling vest’ that has quite a number of patches on it, one is a Canadian Flag. I heard a voice call out, “Video Press all the way from Canada”. Rather neat! I managed to make my way into the area where the commentary guys were at a vantage point for the final jump and finish point, and no-one suggested I get out-of-the-way. LOL!

There were many massage places so I took an Inca Massage for an hour. Lyn has been feeling off and was diagnosed with tonsillitis the other day as well as having a heavy cold. Sort of feeling miserable, you could say, so didn’t try out a massage. Oh yeah, the massage was just right.

We needed to be back at the hotel for 12:30pm for the steep walk back up to the station. Our Tour Director often remarks that ‘you Australians are terrific, you are always on time. This saves me heaps of worry.” And we were again. The train is ready for us and we board ready for the 2 hour journey to where we meet the buses. This train is rather plush and we get served lunch while travelling. Others in the carriage who are not in the Scenic group ask why they missed out – “sorry everyone, we are travelling with a tour company that cares”. Now here’s a question that I expect everyone to answer “NO” to, unless you have done this trip yourself. Have you ever been on a train that entertains you with a ‘catwalk’. Yes, two of the train staff turn themselves into models for 15 minutes and model some alpaca clothing of very high quality, up the aisle of the carriage. Now that’s innovation Australian Railways! We are able to purchase the items and I nearly do (for Lyn, of course), but time runs out and we must get onto the buses that are ready to transport us on to Cuzco.

There are about 6 or 7 buses in our little ‘caravan’ into Cuzco, some splitting to go to other hotels close by. They are an Evergreen Group which is the ‘cheaper’ version of Scenic and so miss out on the fantastic accommodation we are about to walk into. Our hotel is “The Monasterio”; a renovated monastery. We are ushered into the glorious little chapel and served refreshing drinks and given hot towels by the efficient staff. They are dressed as monks to set the scene. We are given heavy brass room keys from years ago, not the modern swipe card type. Some of the group travelling as Diamond Members of Scenic have been upgraded to ‘exceptional accommodation’ as they have described it, which include free butler service, free mini bar and other gifts.

I have included a photo when we reached the highest elevation of our trip so far; 12,450 feet or 3,795 meters. That’s high! It was interesting to see so many houses and even vegetation at that altitude. Even tonight, our elevation is 11,300 feet. I must admit that breathing for me is very much laboured. I shall get an extra shot of oxygen in the morning when people are up and about. (I’m writing this at 4:30am so not a good idea to give the medical desk a call.)

Tomorrow is a city tour of Cuzco.

Over two years ago, one of our clients said to Lyn, “Let me know when you’re going to South America. I want to go see Machu Picchu.” Today, that request was granted and all of us were spell-bound as we entered the ‘sacred Inca ruins’.

An early departure from the resort at 6:30am to board a train to Machu Picchu meant a very early wake up call. However, that was the best wake up call one could ever receive as Machu Picchu is just one of those places that is in your mind to visit one day; and today was our turn.

Machu Picchu township is a very busy little town with so many tourists eager to get to the UNESCO World Heritage site way up in the hills. Shuttle buses transport us up the 470 metre climb around many switchbacks to the entrance of the city that used to have around 1,000 residents. The ruins are kept in immaculately with many workers keeping the stone in pristine condition.

This post is not to provide all the details of the history of the site but is merely to provide some enticing photos and give some personal appraisals from members of our Machu Picchu group. If you want to get all the history using a fantastic guide, give Lyn a call when we return, and she will arrange your trip to South America and you too can experience and learn about this Heritage site.

Almost all in the group ‘jumped’ at the idea of putting their thoughts of Machu Picchu on paper for me to use in the post today.

“You can look at a thousand photos and videos, but you will never really understand until you experience Machu Picchu”

“The trip so far has been great so Machu Picchu had a big ask to beat some of the other experiences. When we got close, the crowds were overwhelming but the wonder started to emerge. Everywhere I looked, I was amazed at the extraordinary sight. And that was just the Scenic passengers puffing and panting but pushing through their fears and fitness. The “site” of course, was incredible. Well worth the trip.”

“Machu Picchu is a must see to experience the size and engineering marvel that it is.”

“Beyond Awesome”

“The walk to the Sun gate was worth every bit of sweat.”

“Machu Picchu, what can I say? – Overwhelming, outstanding & breathtaking – and this is an understatement.”

“A memorable visit to the lost city of the Incas on this my 77th birthday. A Day to be remembered.”

“Unbelievable”

“Machu Picchu – Everything you hear about it. Absolutely fantastic.”

“Picturesque train trip, well organised tour of site – Washington (one of the guides). Good challenge to the top to the sun gate with great view of the site and surrounds. A day worth doing – one more tick on the bucket list.”

“Star Achievers, despite the difficulty of it: Val got to the guard-house. Viv to the sun gate. Greg & Deb, 5 hour Inca walk and still look fresh.”

“Never seen anything like the Inca Trek. This exciting adventure was more adventurous than we expected. Narrow paths, steep inclines, waterfalls, Alpacas grazing. Beautiful packed lunch. The Guide was excellent. Unforgettable.”

“Absolutely amazing and I made it – Yeh!”

“Everything the postcards promised.”

“The feeling of lack of air in front of this wonder is not caused by altitude sickness. It is caused by the feeling of being close to the heaven where these gods made the impossible come true. Well done buddies, we made it together!” (David – one of the guides.)

Back in the 1400s, the Incas decided to build here. What a feat! Check out the pictures to see how amazing their work really was for the 15th century.

Tomorrow we travel to Cuzco – another major site of the Incas.

I’ve got to admit that I was unaware of just what was in store today, although I knew we had selected to go in Group 1 and that included time to ‘shop’. We departed the resort around 8:30am with blue skies and a day that promised warm sunshine.

About an hour away, we started to climb abruptly. Inca ruins lace the mountainside high above the town of Pisac. Extensive terraces were used for growing maze, but also to prevent erosion, as a defensive wall and for aesthetic reasons. Buses can only go so far up and we can walk the rest of the way. Our guide describes the way the Incas used the terraces to environmentally adjust crops to grow at higher altitudes. This process took up to 100 years but now the top terraces are able to grow corn and other cereal crops.

We didn’t make it to the very top of the site but made it to 3,800 meters, over 10,000 feet. What a view of the sacred valley! Our guide, David, describes why there are so many holes in the hills across from where we stand. These holes were tombs of mummified forefathers – over 5,000 of them. They had been bound in a fetal position. We hadn’t gained that much altitude but noticed the rarefied air and the lack of oxygen. By moving slowly, and resting often, we can get by.

I couldn’t help but mention to our guide how good he is, today. His sentence structure is so good for someone who ‘learnt English on the streets of Cusco’. The information is very informative and well put making the experience and adventure in the Sacred Valley well worthwhile. Scenic contract a local travel guiding company but before the individual can guide Scenic Groups, they have to sit a special Scenic guiding Test and then must be in the top 10% of those in the company. Many say that Scenic are too expensive. Let me say that what we pay Scenic is well worth it. The care we receive, the meals, the accommodation, the local guides, the destinations, the little concerts we get from the local people, are all top-notch and we couldn’t wish for more.

At the bottom of the descent is one of the all day markets with many, many stalls. David takes us to a shop where the shopkeeper explains how to tell genuine alpaca garments from the fake ones before the ladies are ‘set loose’ in the shop and also the silverware jewellery shop next door. We made a few choice purchases and make it back to the bus discussing the fact that we need to purchase another suitcase, if you know what I mean.

Lunch got held up due to the late departure from the market but was worth waiting for. On our arrival back at the resort, Eric had been waiting an hour for us so he could bring out some trollies for the ladies to carry their purchases to the room. He is a funny guy and has made many of us laugh on many an occasion during the trip.

Tonight, our Tour Director, Roberta, described what baggage we are allowed for the next 48 hours. The rest will be shipped direct to our accommodation for the 3 nights we have in Cuzco. Tomorrow we climb the famous Machu Piichu.

The scenic Urubamba Valley was cut through the mountains by the Vilcanota River over many years. The “sacred” part of the valley, 100km in length, includes numerous villages that were significant during Inca times, either as administration centres or of ceremonial importance. The lower part of the valley has a much warmer climate than Cusco, and many wealthy Cusquenos have weekend homes there. The main places of interest are Pisac and Ollantaytambo.

We climbed the Temple Hill of Ollantaytambo today. In the town are many tourist accommodation units as the 82 km Inca Trail starts here and trekkers use the town as a starting point for their walk to Machu Picchu. The trail is well set up for trekkers with accommodation along the way.

The town has become a very busy centre with many tourists coming to climb the wall built by the Incas in the 1400’s. The granite stone was quarried from across the valley and ‘dragged’ down a steep hill into the valley and to the other side, and then positioned to make this great, stone, wall. Some of these stones would have been over 6 tonne. Our guide has a book with a photo of ‘150 woman dragging a stone. The photo was probably taken by the men’, he says.

After a short talk on the history, we commenced the ascent from the base at 2792 meters. A few short steps later, we are resting as the strenuous exercise uses up the oxygen very quickly for us poor sea-dwellers. After taking in a few slow, deep breaths, we ventured up to another level and repeated the breathing exercise.

There are no handrails and the steps are uneven. When we get near the top, our guide showed us how the Incas had carved the large stones to ‘fit’ into each other. Small protrusions are noticed which would have been used to help move the rock. From the top of Temple Hill, we can see the area where the stone most probably would have been brought. We had made it to the top! The altitude was now 2880 meters.

After descending into the village, we were given time to ‘check out the gift shops’, of course.

Scenic include in most of their tours, a visit to a school that they help. There are a couple of schools in this valley that they support by providing breakfast and lunch to the students a couple of days a month. We go to Rumira Elementary School. The students are ready for us and have Scenic provided lunch boxes to carry the gift of some food back to their classrooms. The lunch boxes make good sunshades too.

After the distribution of the food, the students sang us a song; they then asked if we could sing a song for them. You guessed it. A very pathetic rendition of ‘Waltzing Matilda’ was performed to the delight of the students.

We had a free afternoon to relax and use the facilities at the resort before having dinner in the main dining room. One of the group, had guinea pig for his main course. I rarely get turned off eating but I left a good-sized portion of my meal tonight.

Tomorrow is a visit to Chinchero Village.

We had an early start today as we commenced our next adventure to the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca. After a one hour 20 minute flight to Cuzco at 3,800 metres, we board a small but comfortable bus for a two-hour ride to the Sacred Valley.

Life in Cuzco is very busy as there are so many flights into the town that bring tourists to see this very interesting region. There were 3 Airbus 320’s and a Bae146 at the airport on our arrival. Photos of the region we have seen before, seem mainly to be of Machu Picchu, but there is so much more to see and experience here. Cuzco houses are built on very steep hills and the buildings all appear to be only half completed. The colours of the buildings blend in with the desolate and barren looking surrounding hills.

While on board the coach, the local guide instructed us at length on how to cope with being at altitude. The main reason we are staying at Sacred Valley for three nights is to acclimatize to this different air pressure that brings funny responses at times before walking up Machu Picchu and being at Lake Titikaka.

Our transfer took us to over 12,400 feet; I always remember from school that Mt Cook in New Zealand was, before a strong wind knocked a bit off the top, 12349 feet high. Looking down into the Sacred Valley was another experience. Political slogans and such like are carved into the sides of some of the mountains. Some snow still sits on top of the sixth highest mountain in the Andes, Huascaran Sur.

It was a long way down into the valley and when we arrived, we were taken to a Spanish ranch for lunch. The dining room was in a large and dark room overlooking the valley with the town of Urubamba in the background.

After lunch, we were treated to a demonstration of wool spinning and washing, then dyeing of the wool using dyes from different barks. By adding salt, they made more colours from the same dye. They then spun the wool tighter to be used in the hand weaving process to make garments, etc.

No craft demonstration is complete without a ‘time to buy’ and some great purchases of wall hangings, scarves, bags and jumpers were made.

The town of Urubamba is rather derelict and in need of major building replacements but Scenic has managed to find a resort that is just ‘out of this world’. Fortunately, there is a high fence around it so the resort does not stand out too much. Everything is immaculate and modern. Our room and en suite is as large as half our house. The en suite is larger than our bedroom at home. We look out onto eucalyptus trees and lawns with barren hills close by.

Some people have come down with a belly problem and some have full-blown colds. We have turned our air conditioner off to perhaps help us out of our colds.

Tomorrow is a local tour of Ollantaytambo; you will love it.

Lima is the capital of Peru. The city is build in a desert and the rainfall is just over 20mm per year. The other day we were here it was drizzling in the early morning. Today, the same. Seems that we have brought the annual rainfall in two days. Our hotel is in the centre of the new business district so there are lots of BMWs and Mercedes around. Strangely, there are no Peugeots – oh one day, maybe.

Our city tour left at 9:30 after our laundry was collected, and we had a very fluent English-speaking guide to teach us so much. She speaks constantly as we drive the 30 minutes or so through heavy traffic to the centre of the old town. First stop is, you guessed it, another church. I am now a firm believer that all old cities and towns would have no history if it weren’t for a church or cathedral. This one is ‘different’. During this tour, we are taken through the catacombs under the church to view lots and lots of skeletons of people who were buried in the church. There are over 25,000. Of course, we did not see all the bones and skulls but to see lots of femurs all lined up in a design was quite interesting and a surprise.

From here we walk through the old streets where shopkeepers were getting their displays ready for the day’s trade. There are beggars and street sellers with goods we would have no use for, but still some purchases are made, just to keep them ‘off our backs’.

Arriving at the city square, we were just in time for a marching band to perform in the Palace grounds. I noticed the tunes weren’t the usual sounding brass band tunes. They were very lively and had a great South American beat to them.

Our coach then took us for a quick tour of the bay side suburbs where the rich and famous of Peru live. But the region was where our lunch was served in an exquisite little restaurant behind a high wall.

From 4:00pm we had free time to catch up or rest up. Our evening was a Free Choice of one of four restaurants for the evening meal.

Tomorrow, we set off on another adventure to the Sacred Valley.

After our final breakfast, we make our way up the riverbank to where tuk tuks are waiting to take us on another journey through a typical Peruvian river town. This town is Nauta. The tuk tuk is a 125cc motor bike with two back wheels that enable a couple of passengers to sit in relative comfort to view the passing scenery and housing.

First stop is the market. Our guide for this visit is Ricardo who explains in detail the different fruits and foods and the benefits to the consumer. He also enlightens us in the ways the foods are prepared. I was interested to see rows of fruit juicers used to make the fruit juice for sale. It reminded me of the ‘boost juice bars’ in Australia.

The fresh food markets in this part of the world are the ‘pantry’ of the locals. Daily shopping for the day’s food is a chore that is the routine of everyone. Animals are carved up on the spot. You can then select the carved meat to be chopped ready for the evening stew.

One member of the group has a broken Scenic cabin bag that needs replacing for the next few weeks of travel. There are stalls with all kinds of goods available; chemist supplies; beauty needs, clothes, shoes, and some selling just ‘plain junk’.

The tuk tuks are waiting to take us to the city square and then to a large pond where large fish and tortoise are waiting for us to feed them some bread. It is 43 degrees and steamy, and the sweat is evident on everyone’s back.

After this venture, the tut-tuts take us on a tour of the rest of the town before returning us to the Aria Amazon for final packing and a chat with our Tour Director about what is coming up in the next few days; we are headed to Cuzco, via Lima.

It is always hard to say farewell to strangers that have become friends in a short period of time. Leaving the Aria Amazon has been one of those experiences where we met strangers who have become friends. We have trusted them so implicitly with our lives to gain the experience of this adventure on the great Amazon River. We will never forget their assurances and crafty ways of caring for us as we board the skiffs or enjoyed a new adventure with them.

After a 90-minute ride towards Iquitos, we come to a Manatee Refuge Centre. Manatees are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. This animal is quite unusual as it has no front teeth and chews its food with its molars. They are very tame and enjoyed some salad type food, which was given to us to feed them by the keepers.

From here, we make our way to the airport and take the one hour twenty-minute flight to Lima and a further 50-minute ride to the Swissotel for a two-night stay.