Peru

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Overview

Forget about llamas and panpipe playing poncho wearers - the most common sight in Peru is the VW Beetle. They are everywhere, they even have yellow Beetle taxis - watching people trying to squeeze in and out behind the driver is hilarious – but the colour of choice is certainly a red one.

The driving is some of the worst I have ever seen - everyone drives like a madman – and yes I can say "man" as I only saw two women behind the wheel. Also the horns blare continuously and they even beep you at traffic lights.

There is so much history in Peru, it is hard to take it all in - everyone has heard of the Incas but there were many more civilisations before them, and there are so many temple ruins and architectural sites that have survived for hundreds, if not thousands of years, it’s just mind boggling. Whoever told me that you lose weight travelling in South America because the food was so bad, was (unfortunately) lying. OK, in Peru it hasn’t been the best – the smash and rice with a fried egg on top stands out in my memory – but it isn’t as bad as I had thought. In fact, the ceviche – raw fish, marinated in usually lemon and chilli – is delicious. I have to admit I didn’t try guinea pig ,the other national delicacy, and having seen other people try it, I am glad I didn’t.

Having all our stuff nicked and the subsequent hanging around wasn’t really a good time but there was so much other fun and fascinating stuff to see in Peru that they more than made up for it. Machu Picchu, for my birthday was a highlight, as was all the trekking in spectacular surroundings and, despite the vast areas of desert, Peru is a beautiful country.

3 November

•   The last couple of days in Trujillo we did pretty much the same as we have been doing all week - lots of waiting around and crap cable TV.

•   On the way out to dinner on Friday, we saw someone getting his wallet lifted by a pickpocket. It all happened so fast, it was only when the thief ran off, we realised what had happened. Obviously Trujillo is the place to get robbed.

•   Anyway, we went to the oddest restaurant that day - it was a little Chinese place with all the tables were curtained off in the little 6*6 cubicles. It was like eating in a hospital we were expecting someone next door to call for a scalpel or something.

•   Our new (and hideous) passports turned up at about midday on Saturday. So we quickly packed up and headed to the bus station. Jumped on a bus at 1.30 and head out of Peru.

30 October

•   We have a credit card (although we haven’t tried to use it yet!) and our passports should be here tomorrow (Consul sounded very sure they would be).

•   Assuming all goes well, the plan is to move on to Ecuador over the weekend, get up to Quito probably by the end of the week, sort out our tickets (and hope AA will waive the reissue fee) and then head into the Amazon for a few days to wind up what has (despite the last week or so) been an absolutely incredible adventure

•   [Editor's note: we spoke to Fran this evening and learned that the items that were stolen were taken, while they were on the bus, from their hand luggage the straps of which were wrapped around there feet. Unfortunately, the road was very bumpy and the luggage kept sliding on the floor. What they assume happened is that one or more of the passengers on the bus must have eased there bags out and then helped themselves. Because they were half asleep and the bags were lurching around anyway, they didn't notice anything suspicious and only discovered the loss after they had spent the night at the hostel following their arrival in Trujillo]

29 October

•   Have no intention of letting this spoil the end of our trip but it is just a bummer coming this close to coming home. Also it hasn’t helped that Catherine’s replacement credit card didn’t show up today, although they have "guaranteed" it will be here tomorrow. We will just have to wait and see.

•   Tickets are another problem. We have to contact BA in Quito (if there is one), because they issued our tickets. American Airlines, whom we contacted today and who are the carrier for our remaining flights, wants to charge us $100 plus taxes per ticket, per person just to re-issue them (cheeky bastards). If they count our flights from Ecuador and from Miami seperately, we are looking at $400 plus already!

•   It isn’t that we are out of money, just that we are going to have to spend more than anticipated and so we are trying to be careful.

28 October

•   Two days on the beach in Huanchaco (I can spell it now) was enough considering it was windy and the water was freezing. Killing time and trying not too spend too much money isn’t that much fun and I have already read two lousy books this week.

•   So, we are now back in Trujillo - staying in a lovely room with a fridge - to chill the beer and orange juice for the vodka I have been lugging round for months – and cable TV, so we can sit and watch crap movies to our hearts’ content. And it´s cheap. The place where we are staying only has four or five rooms each of which has a different theme - we are in the Japanese room and it is adorable. There is an ensuite bathroom – with a piping hot shower – the aforementioned TV and fridge and a waterbed the only downside of which is that, for the first time in months, we have to share it.

•   Meanwhile the saga continues:

-   Catherine´s credit card is not here yet. It´s supposed to arrive via DHL today but it is only 2pm, so fingers crossed. and

-   Also my squiggly signature "touched the side" of the box on the passport form, and so the computer can’t process it, so I have had to redo it. Still, British Consul is still confident we can get them back by the weekend as Catherine’s was ready yesterday and it´s not taking as long as he had thought. So fingers crossed there too, please.

•   Will keep you posted to the credit card although the situation is not critical as we managed to cash some more travellers cheques and even have some cash left after we bought a replacement camera to keep my snap happy fingers happy for a couple of weeks.

26 October

•   After beating ourselves up in Trujillo thinking of all the things we could have done to prevent or lessen the impact of being robbed, we have decided there wasn’t much we could have done and we headed over to the beach (can’t spell the name) for a couple of days. The beach doesn’t compare to some we have seen, but it is nice being out of the city for a bit.

24 October

•   Well, yesterday was a bit of a write-off as we spent the day cancelling cards, filling in forms for the police and being sent round the houses trying to find the British embassy.

•   We managed to get some new and not very flattering passport photos, in the hope we would only be getting an emergency temporary passport, but when we finally caught up with the Consulate guy who, by the way, was an ANGEL, today you can only have a temp one if you are flying straight home and because we have to go via Miami we are getting whole new ones, valid for ten years, with these horrible photos.

•   Still, we are getting passports, so we can get home. Unfortunately it will take a week because they have to be sent down to Lima (it was us, or them) but Trujillo is quite a nice place to hang around, and there seems to be plenty to do.

•   Aforementioned Consulate guy also helped us to change some travellers cheques with a photocopy of our passports, and so we have cash now and everything.

•   After such a painful day yesterday, we went out with Lisa (Editor’s note: Lisa is a friend the girls made in Chile and who fortunately was not robbed and has therefore been able to help the girls with emergency funds) – who has also been a total star – for a very nice meal and treated ourselves to a decent bottle of wine and a couple of cocktails - commiseration, and a belated birthday for me.

•   It was a lovely evening, and when we got back to the hostel, it was the owner’s birthday and they were having a party, so we had more wine, salsa´d with some strange guys and finally flaked out about 1 this morning.

•   Today the sun is shining, we are both still in one piece and somehow it doesn’t seems quite so daunting anymore. Still smiling!

23 October

•   We've been robbed. Bastards stole stuff out of our bags on the overnight bus to Trujillo last night - we are our without cash, cards, cameras, tickets or passports. So, this is just a quickie to tell Dad to cancel his credit card asap. I am about to do mine online, and my cashpoint card. Have been to the police and he is writing a report, but we may have to go back to Lima to get passports sorted from the embassy there because they don't have one here.

22 October

•   We are still in Peru , but will be moving on up to Ecuador in the next few days - we are leaving Huaraz this evening, for Trujillo (and the beach) and will make our way north from there.

•   Huaraz has been a fun place to hang our for a while - it is apparently the trekking and climbing Mecca of Peru, so we did a four day trek round Sta Cruz in the Cordillera Blanca mountains, and it was fantastic. There were the two of us, Lisa (whom we had met in Chile ), and another guy, from Bristol (there are loads of us Brissolians in South America ) so that was a laugh. Good job really, because the guide was a bit miserable, and didn't speak a whole lot of English. The trek itself probably was no harder than the Inca trail but the weather was so much nicer and far, far hotter. We actually went higher than we had on the way to Machu Picchu and therefore it was absolutely FREEZING on the middle night. The scenery was simply stunning and well worth all the hard work. However, the road back down to town, was one of the scariest I have ever been on - one of those nasty hairpin bend jobs, and the truck we were in had t throw in a few reverse manoeuvres to avoid the edges, so there were one or two stifled screams, it was a nightmare. Having been up since 6am to get to the bus stop in time for the 9am bus (which then didn't until past 12), that was the last thing we needed.

•   We have been learning lots about the ancient pre- Inca cilvilisations in Peru during the last few days. Yesterday, we went to Chavin for a day - it was the main temple/religious centre for the Chavin people said to be the equivalent to Rome or Jerusalem in terms of relative religious significance. It is incredible that people built such an architecturally perfect complex in 1200AD - they had irrigation systems, the rocks (hauled form the mountains, 15km away) are all perfectly squared off, the stones have engraved representations of all the three worlds (this one, heaven and the underworld), the "courtyard" and the Andean crosses represent the four elements, and all the measurements are divisible by the number 7 (perfection, apparently.).

•   Before the trek, we went on a another "little" walk, to acclimatise ourselves to the altitude (it took about five hours.) to Willcahuain - another temple ruin, from the Wari, or Wasi I think they were called, and this one predates even Chavin and was built in 900AD. Again, it's all built around the sun, so that people and the high priests could read the light and the stars to gauge the time of year and whether or not people should be working in the fields or whether it would be a good year and more. It's all really interesting.

•   We have also been over to Pastoruri, the "local" glacier, which was quite fun. It wasn't as impressive, or even as pretty as some we saw in NZ, but you can climb on it, and slide down on these plastic bag things, which looked like great fun, until we spotted the puddle at the bottom. Still, we had a go, and jumped off before we got soaked. Although I did get a rather bruised arse and then managed to stick my foot through a patch of thin ice anyway.

12 October

•   We are just back from our trip out to Ballestas and Paracas.

•   The Ballestas Islands are just off the coast here in Pisco, and are full of birds and seals, who were all playing around the boat, and were super cute. Apparently, they also get whales and dolphins but not at this time of year.

•   We did see Peruvian boobys, cormorants and others whose names I can’t spell. Apparently their guano is really valuable – foul smelling but full of nitrogen. For three months of the year, people live on these islands to collect the guano for export – new job anyone?

•   On the way, we passed the Candelabra, which is another giant shape on a hill in the desert and just like the Nazca lines, nobody quite knows how it got there.

•    Paracas National Reserve is a huge area, which covers both the sea and desert – strange to see, sandy desert with no vegetation right next to all this water - albeit salty water of course. We saw flamingos from a distance and apparently their colouring is the reason behind the Peruvian flag. Don’t quite know why.

•   There is a museum of the Paracas cultures, including more mummies, disfigured skulls (they bandage babies heads to elongate them - supposedly a sign of nobility) and examples of the ceramics and textiles for which they are famous.

•   Back in Pisco today, and we are booked on a bus to Lima tomorrow. HOPEFULLY, we will be able to get straight back out again as we’ve done Lima pretty thoroughly and go on to Huaraz

11 October

•   We skipped the sand-boarding thing in Ica , because apparently there are other places to do it in Peru and it didn't seem like enough of an excuse to stick around for a whole other day.

•   We're now in Pisco (home of the local grape brandy), and we are going out to visit the Ballestas Islands and Paracas National Reserve tomorrow.

•   Then I think we will head north to Huaraz for some more trekking as one Peruvian town seems to be very much like another

10 October

•   We finally made it out of Arequipa – felt like we had been hanging around for ages as our bus was at 9.30pm and we didn't sleep much on the way to Nazca but at least ir wasn't due to coldness this time.

•   When we arrived in Nazca, we found a lovely little hostel, with a pool and a very pretty garden and so, after we booked our flight over the lines, we just lazed around the garden for the rest of the day.

•   The Nazca lines were pretty impressive, even if the flight was the roughest I've ever experienced – a tiny plane with room for only five passengers and we felt every bump along the way so I am very, very glad I didn't have breakfast before I went, as my stomach was in my mouth on more than one occasion.

•   There are a variety of theories about the lines, ranging from alien landings to the slightly more logical sounding religious, shamanic explanations - the shamans were transformed into various animals not found in the area on their hallucinogenic drugs and the animals - monkeys, spiders etc - represent animal instincts used by the shamans to cure people and as intermediaries with the gods.

•   I have no idea how my photos will turn out, because although I did manage to take some as we bumped along, as soon as I removed my sunglasses I noticed a horrible glare off the ground.

•   We arrived in Ica today and, as there seems to be very little to do, so we might try to get out sand-boarding tomorrow, if we can get up there early enough before the sand gets too hot or we might move on to Pisco.

7 October

•   The Colca Canyon trek was fantastic. All the walking seemed to start early in the morning but at least that meant we were out of the heat of the day, and by the time we reached whatever our destination was for the day, we had time to enjoy it.

•   On the first day, we walked along the ridge, then down the valley and upto San Juan , just across the river. We were staying in the cutest little village and because we were there about lunchtime we had time to sit back and relax there.

•   Day two, we walked along the other side and into the Oasis, where there was a warm pool for us to play in all afternoon and, after all that trekking, did we ever need the wash.

•   Yesterday we were up and out of the door at 3am – 3 am! – because we were walking straight back up the canyon and you couldn't do it in the sun - it was quite hot enough as it was. We reached the top in time to see the condors come out for their morning flight/feed. They are incredible – huge and they just seem to float effortlessly around on the thermal uplifts. Awesome!

•   We are back in Arequipa today, doing nothing more exciting than cleaning our clothes but you have to understand how exciting that is after a three day trek in the same clothes with little opportunity wash.Then we need to sort out a bus for tomorrow.

•   We have finally decided against going into Bolivia because the strikes there haven't eased up and, although they have had similar before, these are apparently more serious as the campesinos want to overthrow the government. While we could probably get there ok and see at least some of the sights we had wanted to take in, we didn't fancy being stuck there when we don't have enough time left to "waste".

•   Instead, we are planning to take our time round Peru , and we have had some great tips from other people we have met. So while it is a shame, I am not overly disappointed.

•   Next stop Nazca, and possibly the famous lines - although everyone I have spoken to was really sick on the flight over them. Apparently the trick is to avoid breakfast before you go.

3 October

•   Been to the Santa Catalina convent today. It's a pretty complex, with Spanish and local architectures and even has Moorish influence in the arches designed to withstand frequent earthquakes.

•   The areas for novice nuns are painted terracotta to represent the Earth and eventually they are "promoted" to blue areas representing heaven.

•   Apparently in the old days, girls had to pay a "dowry" of 200 pieces of gold to get in, but it was a huge source of pride to the families to have daughters there even though they were never able to see them again –except through a grille – even at their funeral. Even royalty from Europe were sent there These days, they take anyone – with no fees – and it's much more communal.

•   I can't quite bring myself to try the local delicacy – roast guinea pig – as it is served whole, complete with head, feet and entrails. I don't think I could manage to eat something that looks whole, and is looking up at me as I tuck in. Not so different from fish, I suppose, but I never had a pet fish. I did try Alpaca the other day, and it was lovely - like steak really.

•   We are off on another trek tomorrow - three days through the Colca Canyon which may or may not be the deepest in the world - apparently, they are still arguing about it. Either way, it's supposed to be pretty impressive, and there is a good chance that we will be able to see condors.

•   We are now in Arequipa and it is soooooo nice to be somewhere warm. We are wandering around in shorts and t-shirts for the first time since Easter Island (or Canada in my case) and it´s BLISS.

•   Arequipa is a mere 2800m above sea level, and so not only is it considerably warmer than elsewhere but also, for the first time in weeks, I feel like I have actually got an entire lungful of air.

•   We went to the local museum to see Juanita, the "ice maiden" - a 500 year old mummy, they found perfectly preserved in the mountains in the 90s. From what they can make out, she was an Inca sacrifice to the Mountain gods – a 14 year old girl trekked all the way from Cusco (some 160 miles) knowing she was going to be sacrificed, and was supposed to be grateful. Apparently, it was a big thing and practically made her a deity too, but still! There were several other mummies though not so well preserved (Juanita is in pretty amazing condition), but our guide made it clear that human sacrifice wasn't a common practice among the Incas just when times were desperat..

30 September

•   Hi - no, we haven't been kidnapped, and we're not in Bolivia either.

•   Just made it to Puno yesterday, and have been out and about today. Not that there is much to see here, but we went out to the local Inca cemetry - can't pronounce or spell its name

•   Tomorrow we're off to the floating island of Uros and Taquville. Then hopefully over to Bolivia on Wednesday but the road is apparently closed at the moment, so we'll see.

•   Can't believe the Inca trail is only 45km - feel like I walked 450. I wonder just how far it would actually be if it were flat.

•   Got back and went out for dinner and drinks with our group on Friday and that pretty much put pay to doing anything on Saturday.

•   Sunday we were on a bus all day to get down here.

•   In answer to your questions, I haven't read any Gabriel Garcia-Marquez while here but I think I read Death in a Time of Cholera and maybe even 100 Years of Solitude before. As yet I have no idea who Simon Bolivar is but there is a street named after him.

26 September

•   Thanks for the birthday card everyone and pressie. The Inca trail and Machu Picchu were FAB but I can't see what I can to netter that for the big three-oh next year.

•   You might like to know that, while I haven't actually been out been out for my birthday meal yet, I have identified a place to go and I have bought myself a fleece and another warm top as it's freezing here at night and apparently will get worse in Bolivia. With the change, I intend to get myself a hair cut this afternoon.

•   OK, so being woken up at 3.30 in morning when it's FREEZING cold may not be everyone's idea of a birthday treat (but we were given a cup of cocoa tea), and the hours that followed were tough trecking particularly as it was so early in the day, but the views of Machu Picchu at the end of it were well worth all the grief. Possibly the best birthday present I'll ever give myself

•   The four day trek along the Inca Trail - more commonly and, probably more accurately, known locally as the Gringo trail –was absolutely amazing. Totally worth all the aches and pains, and the throbbing knees. The scenery took your breath away as did the walking and altitude.

•   The guides were fantastic, they allowed everyone to carry on at their own pace which in my case was speed of a velocity-challenged snail and were positive and encouraging throughout the tough bits where we thought we would die. Cheesy though it sounds, the congrats and hi-fives were very much appreciated at the top of the Dead Woman's pass – so called because of the rock formation rather than, as I had feared, the number of females who had succumbed.

•   Catherine deserves a HUGE commendation for making it. She had just about shaken the flu attack when she was hit with altitude sickness, and was even more shattered than the rest of us but she heroically soldiered on to the end. Luckily, when we got "down" to Machu Picchu – being only a mere 2800 metres above sea level, she was feeling much better and able to appreciate the site we had made all that effort to get to reach, just not the scenery along the way.

•   When we finally arrived at about 7 in the morning we just had time to take some photos of an almost deserted Machu Picchu, before the swarms and swarms of tourists arrived - you could spot the day trippers - they were clean, could walk properly and hardly smelt at all. Then we had a two hour tour of the city and learnt some fascinating facts about the Inca civilisation and history about which I will bore you when the photos arrive.

•   We were lucky with our guides and the group who were all quite a laugh as that's exactly what you need after all that exertion when you are exhausted and stinking because at 4000m above sea level it is really cold and the option of bathing in a river isn't too appealing. The cooks managed to whip up some lovely food in their tent and they repeatedly out did what I can come up with in a kitchen although of course that it difficult. They even russled up a birthday cake for me, although I didn't appreciate it as much as I might have done because it was presented to be at a 4a.m. breakfast.

•   The weather (well, being English, it was bound to come up.) was pretty much perfect - we had heard stories of people doing the trek the previous week when it did nothing but rain an that must have been a nightmare. We had it pleasantly warm though generally overcast which was ideal for hiking up and down mountains for hours on end - not too hot, and mainly dry. There were a few drizzly bits, but it was only wet one afternoon while we were still out walking.

•   We got back into Cusco at about 9 last night, and everyone pretty much went straight to bed, so we are all meeting this evening for farewell drinks and dinner which should be a laugh. In the meantime, I need to get my hair cut because I feel like I've just been dragged through a jungle which, in fact, is exactly what I have.

20 September

•  Catherine has a cold-flu type thing but not malaria – poor thing, she has not been too well this year at all. In all the years I’ve known her (getting on for 12 now), she’s never been as sick (or hung over) as she has in the last twelve months.

•  We’re going to go try the archaeological museum, and then I might send her home to bed for a bit. 60 days, and still so much left to see. We’re still booked on the Inca trail on Monday as apparently the first day is fairly easy and if after that Catherine’s still not feeling up to it, she can be escorted down and put on a train to meet us the other end. That would be a crying shame, but better than missing out altogether. Still, fingers crossed she’s feeling better after another decent night’s sleep tonight.

•  Can’t wait to see those other photos, although I suspect all the ones of Easter Island will bore you guys silly if you haven’t been to see the real thing.

•  Happy birthday for tomorrow Dad. If I can find a phone card, I might try and call. (Editor’s note: Fran did call Catherine a bit better but still not certain that she will be able to complete the trail.)

•  Might not be in touch again for a few days, as I doubt there will be email along the Inca trail although I have been surprised by some of the places that have.

19 September

•  Arrived in Cusco only this morning – shattered after our taxi picked us up in Lima at 3.30 this morning – and so there’s not much news.

•  It is a quaint town, but at 3,300 metres above sea level the air feels pretty thin - not enough to leave you struggling for breath as you walk around, but certainly enough to notice that it’s different. Heaven knows what it’s going to be like next week on the Inca Trail where the highest point is something like 4,200m –can’t wait to find out though.

18 September

•  Yes, we have heard of those kidnappings too and, as I don't believe it couldn't happen to us, we won’t be taking unnecessary risks. (Editor’s note: this after parental request that they take care following the taking of hostages in Colombia.)

•  Having said that we did venture into been into central Lima, about which I’ve only had bad –it’s a hole, being mugged or robbed etc etc – but I thought it is actually quite cute. I mean we only wandered through a few square blocks – as recommended by our taxi driver – so didn't go into any of the known danger areas (see, I can be smart) but the bits we saw were nice - lots of grand old buildings, the changing of the guard at the palace – sooooo many tourists – a tour of the cathedral and we sat out in the sun in the plaza.

•  We're staying in Barranco district, which is lovely. Apparently it's the holiday home destination of the richer folk from Lima. And very nice it is too, although the beaches and the sea don’t have much going for them at least not compared to others we have seen on our travels.

•  We fly down to Cusco tomorrow as the alternative is a 30 hour bus journey on a hideous bumpy windy road which is famous for bandit attacks on tourist buses, and the flight was only sixty dollars. Then we've have a couple of days to acclimatise to the altitude before commencing our trek to Maccu Picchu on Monday morning for four days. I can't wait although I know it will be a killer because I’m so unfit, but it should be a great experience