Acapulco

My original plan for Mexico had been to get out of Mexico City and to spend a week in Puerto Escondido. The bus was booked and paid for only for me to arrive at the bus station to find a landslide had cancelled all buses... Afte a quick re planning (and couple of beers) I decided to opt for a trip to Acapulco instead.

My first impression of Acapulco was of a faded British seaside town such as Blackpool. It definitely lacked glamour... That said I checked into my hostel and hit the beach for my first swim in the see of my entire travels!!!! Later that evening I tried out a few of the beachside bars. None of which particularly covered themselves in glory. Most bring theme bars catering to the limited number of package holidaymakers.

So far I could see why no body advises a stop in Acapulco while in Mexico....
I decided at this point to revise my plans for the week. Somebody recommended a cheep beachside hotel in a tiny fishing village called Pie De La Cuesta about 20 kilometres along the coast.

Pie De La Cuesta was everything I could have hoped for. The hotel backed onto the beach, the village had one bar that was happy to put the football on for me and the little beachside restaurants all sold amazing fresh grilled fish. The only downside was that the Pacific was too dangerous to swim in at this point with very strong currents. Not that it stopped some of the crazy surfers I saw.

Although I spent much of my few days here sprawled in a hammock I day make the effort to do a bit of exploring.
Pie De La Cuesta is at one end of a spit of land between the pacific ocean and a freshwater a lake called Coyuca, so I took the opportunity to go on a boat trip around the lake stopping off on one of the islands for a swim.

Back at the hotel I pretty much spent the next two days chilling out, a very welcome break.

Back in Acapulco itself I booked into a different hotel in the old part of town in view of the famous cliff jumpers.

Next up (bar a quick couple of days back in Mexico City described in my previous post) was Los Angeles and my final country the good ol US of A

Mexico City

Okay so I'm determined to get this all finished before the New Year...

Next stop was Mexico City as part of the 2 weeks I had in Mexico.

I was fortunate to have a friend, that I first met at Glastonbury, who lived in Mexico City and so I had plenty of tips for my time here.

As per usual I spent the first couple of days in the City wandering around getting my bearings. Mexico City is HUGE so I quickly realised I wasn't going to be able to see all of it, as such I focused on districts that particularly appealed to me.

These first days I visited the university district and San Angel, an older town that got submerged as the city spiralled. An area most famous as the home of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, a nice contrast to the crazyness of the Centro Historico.

As well as getting all this culture in I still managed to find time to watch Mexico get knocked out of the Copa America in a recommended Tapas bar.

Next up I met up with Alejandro who showed me some of the less visited sight around town, including a stop at the Plaza Garibaldi-Mariachi where we drank pulque while watching genuine Mariachi touting for business!

We then booked a day trip to see some of the sights around Mexico City culminating in a trip to Teotihuacán, a pre Aztec city on the outskirts of Mexico City. It is a truly staggering archeological site with two pyramid temples believed to be the inspiration for the famous Aztec temples built in Mexico City itself. Unfortunately it was chucking it down with rain all day we lingered far longer in the traditional tequila factory next door...

Alejandro also pointed me in the direction of some great gig venues so I finally got a fix of live music that I'd been sorely missing.

I returned to Mexico City after a few days on the West coast of Mexico to visit the remaining sites including the Metropolitan Cathedral (The largest cathedral in the American continent), the Palacio Nacional and the Templo Mayor the only remaining ruins of the Aztec city upon which Mexico City now stands. I also stopped by to show solidarity with the trade unionists occupying the Zócalo...

Mexico City was definitely one of the best cities I visited, a vibrant place with more museums and archaeological sites then anyone could hope to visit in one trip. You could spend two weeks in the National Anthropological Museum alone!!!

Next up was Acapulco an unintended destination... All will be explained (hopefully in less than 2 months this time)

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...