May 2008

Hello All

So we left Cusco on the 21st and headed for Puno and Lake Titicaca. I had forgotten how much fun Peruvian bus rides can be; all that bouncing through potholes and swerving to avoid old women / stray dogs / other vehicles...oh how we laughed! Missed the tour of the reed islands (mainly due to our hotel receptionist miss informing us...can a backpacker get no service these days??), but met up with some friends for food and drinks.

The following day we headed for Copacabana and the Isla Del Sol (Island of the Sun for the uneducated among us). We met a fellow Brit on the way over, and good job too as we discovered we didn´t have enough cash on us to pay for a hostal (let alone a hotel...how ghastly!). The border crossing is an interesting affair. Three buildings, two forms, and one stop sign later and we´re 7 people in a 6 man campervan heading for our destination.

The Sun Island is amazing though, so quiet (only 2000 residents and no vehicles), water all around, and just the friendliest people. We were sorry to say goodbye.

The following day we caught a bus to La Paz (which actually stopped on the way due to the steepness of the hill!). Finally made it into La Paz and the approach is stunning. You come in from high and descend into the city, which is saying something when it stands at 3800 metres above sea level. It´s huge, with these stunning snow capped mountains in the background.

On ground level it´s manic! So much hustle and bustle going on that you don´t know whether to stand and watch or get out of the way! We´ve wandered through the Witches Market (where you can buy Llama Foetus´among other shopping essentials), been to a a fake english bar called Oliver´s Travels, and visited to the Coca Museum (Cocaine was all the Westerners fault don´t you know).

Tomorrow we´re off to the salt flats for 3 days. Be glad to get out of La Paz for a little while, it´s so busy!

So that´s about it. Catch you next time people.

Sharm

I'm traumatised. Not from

-the proposal - (Machews, that one's for you!)

that was lovely and we're both still smiling but the rollercoaster that is travelling in South America lead to our first (albeit mild) issue of the trip. We decided to do some laundry but as they don't have central heating in Cusco our washing wasn't drying at all so we thought we'd take advantage of a local laundry service instead. We found one proudly boast a 2 hour service, dropped off our washing and were invited to collect it 8 hours later (bless the Peruvians). When we came to collect they were still drying our stuff, and I noticed that a few bits seemed to be missing. Being the fuss-bag that I am I then insisted on counting everything, only to discover that I was missing 5 pairs of pants and 4 pairs of socks. Hmm. I explained this in my ropey Spanish and all bar one pair of pants were recovered. I pointed out that a pair was still missing which was met with the universal gesture of a shrug, the return of our change and the movement to serve someone else. I suppose for 1 pound 50 one can't complain, but when you're only carrying 7 pairs the loss of one is quite significant! I can only hope that whatever Peruvian ended up with them is enjoying my pair of M&S finest

Hey ho, trauma aside we've been having an absolutely fab time. Got back from trekking the Inca Trail yesterday and we're both still a little achey. You only cover 49KM over 4 days, but what I don't think we appreciated before starting is just how many of those KM are vertical! Still, we were rewarded with some stunning views, great company in our group and the most amazing food cooked for us along the way. Those who have done the trail will know what it's like - you are basically waited on hand and foot by the porters in your group. While you are wheezing your way uphill in your fancy walking shoes carrying little more that some sun cream and a bottle of water, they are legging it on ahead, carrying up to 25kg of stuff and wearing sandles in order to ensure that by the time you get your sweaty, sunburned self to camp there is a tent waiting for you, a bowl of hot water for you to wash in and a 3 course meal for you to enjoy...unbelieveable. They also break camp down for you so all you have to do in the morning is eat breakfast and go. 5 star camping, if you will

Macchu Pichu was a sight to behold - quite how the Incans put it together in the middle of a jungle 2500M above sea level is beyond me, but making it to Sun Gate after 3 and a half days of hard trekking was absolutely amazing. Sadly a few hours later the place was teeming with tourists which seemed a little surreal after spending the preceeding 3 days in relative isolation, strolling around cliff edge ruins with 10 other people and trekking up mountains and through jungle seemingly alone...but it's a popular place and I think we both walked around the site with more of a sense of achievement than those who'd got the bus there would have felt. We smelled worse, too

We're off to Puno tomorrow to check out the floating islands of Lake Titicaca, then on to Copacobana (which is clearly not north of Havana I have to point out...) and La Paz. We'll write more soon!

Hope all is well back in Blighty/France/Canada/Australia* (*delete as appropriate!)
Sue xxx

Alright people

So we landed in Cusco after another thrilling 9 1/2 bus ride. 6a.m and we´re standing in the middle of a yard in the rain waiting for our bags and not having a clue where we were (sounds about right!).

Will miss Arequipa, the place where I found my first Peruvian Liverpool fan, a green Santa, and discovered the wonders of deep fried Guinea Pig (which looked a little too much like A.L.F for my liking!).

Cusco is pretty cool. Nice and busy if not a little touristy. Even though we´re really high up we haven´t been suffering from altitude sickness too much (although i´ve found out that even a couple of beers can have a nasty effect in the morning ). Lots to see here if you get out of the centre, including an amazing market, churches galore, and lots of stunning views.

On the 13th it was our 3 year anniversary so we booked a nice little restaurant overlooking the main square in Cusco. And yep, most of you were right, I proposed and luckily Sue said yes (could have been an awkward 13 weeks otherwise!). So close the sweepstake (hopefully i´ve made a killing) and worryingly talk has already started on the where and when of the big day

Tomorrow we start the Inca Trail which we´re really looking forward to. Four days trekking and then back to Cusco for some well earned rest. Weather is playing nice so hopefully it´ll hold.

Right, enough said. Till next time. Hope all is well with you and yours.

Sharm

Hello People

So we´re out of Lima, the land of the constantly beeping taxis (trust me, they beep to see if you want a ride, when dropping someone off, when changing lanes, when letting someone in, when berating someone, and i´m convinced sometimes just for the love of beeping ). Nice place, if not a little too polluted for my liking.

After a 16 hour bus ride (only made bearable by the fantastic cinematic experience of ´The Peaceful Warrior´(*ahem) and Peruvian Bingo (all in Spanish, of which we only know numbers 1 to 10...we didn´t win)) we´ve landed in Arequipa. Great place, full of character and fewer taxis!

We´ve tried the local cuisine of Osterich Carpaccio and Alpaca burger (Sue was opposed to me eating Alpaca to start with until i told her they were responsibly for thousands of Peruvian deaths every year...vicious i tell thee, just look at the photo! Giving the Alpaca death stare)

One more day here and then another bus ride to Cusco to prepare for the Inca Trail. Sue is trying to get me to have a Peruvian haircut...i´m less convinced though

Gotta go now, already spent 10p on internet access!
Sharm

Afternoon all!

Firstly, apologies for any random puntuation in this post...the Peruvian keyboard is a little different to ours¿`Ñ

Our journey over was relatively uneventful, apart from being adopted in transit by a rather mad old Peruvian lady with stripy rainbow coloured socks - we named her Mildred as it seemed to suit her. She latched onto us as we were the only other people she could find heading for the Madrid-Lima flight and she wasn´t sure where she was going...quite why she thought we knew I'm not too sure but she followed us nonetheless, all the while jabbering at us in loud fast flowing Spanish despite being told by an air hostess that we had no idea what she was saying-Bradders, she's obviously been to your school of speaking to foreigners!

We arrived in Lima and were met by a chap called Fermin who was to take us to our hotel....what's one of the first things we saw? A Manpower office...something for you v- sorts to bear in mind should you fancy a change of scenery!!

The hotel we're in is absolutely beautiful-amazing works of art everywhere and stunning views across the pacific...not strictly what you could call backpacking, and sadly I don't think our budget will allow us to stay in places like that all the way around, but it's a nice start after 15 odd hours of travelling!

Day one in Lima took us to the centre which is full of beautiful old buildings such as the presidential palace and the San Francisco church and monestary. The walk between the two is where we saw the dog wearing a coat, hat and glasses. Actual glasses too, not even sun glasses...most bizarre.

We spent the day strolling around before heading back to the district called Miraflores and from there we walked along the coast back to Barranco where we're staying. All in all a lovely start to the trip! The Peruvians are all very frindly, even if they do drive like people possessed....makes Parisian driving look like something Miss Daisy might be involved in!

And that's about all I have time for right now - Sharm will be here with the next installment soon

Love to all,
Magoo xx