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....

Sneak peak...

A few pics post-Lima as a sneak treat...











































I promise I'll explain all...

Home

I'll be home on Tuesday and back in London on Wednesday next week.

I promise I'll update the last two months of blog on my return.... Honest...

Copacabana and Puno

After recovering from my unplanned drinking in La Paz I made it to Copacabana on the Bolivian edge of Lake Titicaca the highest fresh water lake in he world at an altitude of just shy of 4000 meters!

I was unsure of how long I would spend here because ongoing boarder issues so I planned a few activities to keep me occupied.

Copacabana has he feel of a small seaside town with a rustic beach side, again it had a chilled out Bolivian vibe. The Bolivians are certainly relaxed and friendly people it must be all the coca they chew!

I spent the first day climbing up a hill (mountain!) to view, what turned out to be, very limited Inca ruins!

The next day I planned the first day of two on the Isle del Sol... an island on Lake Titicaca which is, in legend, the birthplace of the Inca religion and empire. I took the early boat to the north of the island. My plan was to trek along the mountain ridge to the south, stay overnight and return the next day. As it turned out by the time I'd viewed the Inca ruins and trekked the (exhausting at altitude) 4km to the South I was in time for the afternoon boat back to Copacabana and so didn't actually end up staying. Was still a cracking day though.

I'd heard a rumor that the Bolivia Peru boarder was closed (again!) due to ongoing protests my indigenous people in the Peru side over mining contracts. I found out all buses were canceled until further notice so book a boat to Puno. Little did I know what I had in store for the next day!!!

No buses were going from Copacabana to Puno (according to the 11 agencies I trawled around). On the 16th June buses were attacked by protesters throwing rocks so all companies suspended buses until further notice.

I took a boat but this was equally difficult.

The 8.00am boats were massively oversold with those travelling to the border being packed onto rowing boats and taken to the boats only to be sent back due to overcrowding.. I was not even taken to the border before being told my boat was cancelled.

I then booked onto the (more expensive) fast boat at 11am. We got to the Yunguyu/Kasani border but just as we were stamped out of Bolivia the protesters showed up at the Yunguyu/Kasani border and closed that. We waited 3 hours for them to disperse before we could stamp into Peru.

We were then taken to the boat through fields to avoid the protesters. Unluckily they spotted us on the way and confronted us. Luckily a Colombian traveller negotiated with them and eventually once we each paid them 10 soles they let us get to the boats.

The boats we were on then ran out of fuel 30mins from Puno so we drifted for an hour until another boat brought us some extra fuel. I eventually arrived in Puno an 8.30pm. Some journey!!

But hey I arrived so it could have been worse.

After all of that fun Puno was quite relaxed. Unlike Copacabana Puno is a city. I spent weekend wandering around looking at the great markets and trying (unsuccessfully) to find some football to watch.

I also managed to visit the floating islands. A community of people who live and man made reed islands on Lake Titicaca. Fascinating to see but way too geared up to tourists.

Surprise surprise the road to Cusco was blocked by protesters and so I had to book a 12 hour night bus (it normally takes 6) but hey, at least there were buses going....

La Paz & Rurrenabaque

Okay I'm back...

iPhone has been replaced with an iPod Touch and the blog can resume. I've got some catching up to do!!! So where we... Arriving in La Paz that's where.

The first thing I noticed about La Paz was the amount of uphill involved. The second thing was the ridiculously high altitude. Once I got my head around those two (which took a while) I spent a week or so exploring the place.

The first two days were pretty much wiped out once I went out drinking with the owner of the loki hostel, but I didn't manage to book my ticket for the "death road" cycling.

The death road is the most dangerous road in the world, it's single lane gravel road that descends approx 3500 meters in 3 hours. On one side is a shear drop off of the cliff... An average of 2 travelers die each year off the edge.... I didn't die!

Next up was a flight to the jungle for 6 days. The plane was a 20 seated biplane which was an experience, but nothing compared to the airport at Rurrenabaque!! A grass field with a straw hut is probably the best description!!
Rurrenabaque was my favorite place in Bolivia, it had a chilled out vibe and plenty to do if it took you fancy. On my first day I booked my jungle trip with an Eco-lodge and had half a day spare. I made use of this by booking a kayaking trip a short way along the Rio Beni including a short trek to a natural pool for a bit of a swim. Certainly a nice way to welcome the change from dusty Andes to Amazon basin.

The jungle trip turned out to be a highlight of my whole trip. The company I booked with was actually the tourist arm of a community based on the edge if the Madidi national park. All of the trip was on their land and the guide were all from the community and so had grown up on this land.

Day one was in the community visiting a village ( the only one of 7 open to tourists) and trekking to a natural pool for a swim. I was with a family of 3 in including a four year old. He certainly enjoyed the swimming!!

Day 2 we took a 3 hour boat into the Madidi Nation park, although still on Ticana (the tribe) land. We had two days in the deep jungle to do several wildlife treks. We we incredibly lucky seeing loads of animals quite rare in the deep jungle, including 3 types of monkey, wild boar, a tapir, capybara and made others. We also saw numerous birds including, a particular highlight of mine, a Toucan!!!

After an amazing 2 days I had an extra day back in the community where I had great trek though a canyon and learnt about traditional hunting method's. As I said before, definitely a highlight of the trip.

God knows what possessed me, but I decided to book a day zip lining in the jungle tops to finish of the trip... I've never been so terrified in my entire life!!

Back in La Paz I got stuck for a day because of a strike preventing my onward trip to Copacabana and so did what any normal person would do... Visited the Coca/Cocaine museum and then went out drinking....

Pictures from my time in India up to Uyuni are now up on my picasa page...

http://picasaweb.google.com/tumbridge