Lima

Although I spent a week in Lima I couldn't for the life of me remember what I actually did with that time.

A day or so thinking about it has brought it all back to me... I watched a lot of the Copa America and by a lot I mean almost all of the games!

I was staying in the Miroflores area of Lima which is the most touristy district on the coast. It has several picturesque squares and also lots of (again touristy) bars and restaurants. Miraflores is several kilometers away from the Centro Historico the original part of Lima laid out by the conquistador Pizarro.

I decided to visit the Centro Historico early on in my stay. I had been warned that Lima was quite a dangerous city and in particular the public transport. During my stay I used the local buses and the new Rapid Transport metro system and had no problems what so ever. Having caught the bus up to the Centro Historico I visited the Cathedral, the Bishops Palace and the Presidential Palace as well as the Convento de San Francisco, one f the earliest Convents in the whole of South America. Complete with catacombs containing the remains of hundreds of the founding inhabitants of Lima, not for the fainthearted!

I thought Lima had some of the best nightlife in South America particularly of you got away from Pizza Street in Miraflores. I really enjoyed a couple of nights out in Barranco, a neighbouring district to Miraflores with a much more edgy vibe and some great bars.

One of my original plans for Lima was to take some surfing lessions. Unfortunately I took one look at the dirty polluted coastline in Lima and decided it wasn't for me...

Lima was also home to one of my favourite museums in South America, the Larco Museum, a fantastically presented collection of pre Inca art and artifacts.

Lima was a great place to top off a great country and indeed a great continent. Next stop was a flight up to Mexico and a brief stop in Central America.

Cusco

After the fun and games that was the crossing from Bolivia to Peru and then the eerie quiet that was Puno I finally made it to Cusco, although not without a 5 hour detour to avoid the protesters. Cusco was absolutely one of the highlights of my trip! I enjoyed it so much I stayed for two weeks!

I was lucky in my timing arrive bang in the middle of Inti Raymi (Festival of the Sun), one of the most significant Inca festivals with daily activities and parades though out Cusco. It coincides with the Summer Solstice and culminates in a magnificent festival at Sacsayhuamnan the Inca fort on the outskirts of Cusco.

I decided as I was going to be in Peru for several weeks to join the South American Explorers Club, which has club houses in both Cusco and Lima. This turned out to be an inspired decision.

On my second day in Cusco (the solstice day itself) they were running a guided trek around Cusco visiting ancient Inca sites that can only really be explored with a guide. We visited temples and sacrifice sites specifically designed so that during the solstice the shadows from the sun create images of sacred animals and gods. Unfortunately it was cloudy that day.... Maybe next year.

I had planned to fit in plenty of activities while in Cusco which meant some juggling with schedules. Number one on my list was a trip to Machu Picchu. I made the trip to Aguas Calientes myself by bus shared taxi and a 10 km walk along the railway at the end. A lovely trip that saved me $45.

After a pleasant night in the town (watching the Copa Libertadores Final) I got up to go to Machu Picchu the next day. I decided not to join the race to climb Wayna Picchu (I didn't go traveling to stress out racing to climb a hill) and so when I arrived at Machu Picchu I was heading in the opposite direction to everybody else. I decided to walk up to the Sun Gate, the entrance for those doing the Inca Trail and an amazing view point of the entire complex. Back in the complex itself I visited the breath taking Inca Bridge and then decided to try and climb Machu Picchu Mountain itself it was only 800m more to climb....

If only it was that easy!! The entrance to the climb was hidden away but i eventually found it. At this point I had no water left and had not eaten but I though hey its only 800 meters. Little did I know what I'd set myself in for. It was 800m straight up, the view was stunning but suffice t say it nearly killed me!! By the time I came back down I was on the verge of collapse, the trip back to Cusco was all a blur.

After a day to recover I set out on activity number two... More White Water Rafting this time for 3 days along the sacred Apurimac River with rapids up to grade 5+ certainly the craziest rafting trip I took during my travels. A highlight of this trip was camping on the shores of the river with a group of Condors circling, as far for civilisation as it was possible to be. Also I didn't fall in once!

Trying to squeeze every little bit from Cusco the day after I got back from the rafting I headed out for a 4 day trek around the Lares Valley. This was not the most technically challenging trek (although it reached 4200m) but was stunning in scenery and an amazing way to meet the local people living in a manner not that far removed from their Inca ancestors!

Back in Cusco I spent a couple of days chilling out and visiting the local tourist spots. Including Qoricancha which was one of the most sacred Inca palaces in Cusco and the site of a post Colombian cathedral built on its foundations. This is amazing to see the standards of Inca stone work particularly when compare to Middle Ages European style. Its no wonder that during the many earthquakes Cusco is subject to, not a single Inca building collapsed while the early Spanish building have long since collapsed.

After and amazing couple of weeks next stop Lima... and a lot of football watching

Time to update

Having been back to work for a month I think its high time I attempted to complete my blog and record of my travels so here goes....