Besos Before Bed

Besos means kisses in Spanish.  They are full of fluffy marshmallowness and we visit the shop every night before bed.
60 Centivos.

Huanchaco

05/04/11  We were tempted up here by our Bristol friend John who's been living in the Pacific fishing town for a year'ish.  It was a nice time :) Chilling at the beach, in the town and at Hostel Lily, surfing big cold waves and learning to Salsa (Salsa is not a verb! But who cares?).  Thanks to Delia for taking us into Trujillo to her Salsa school!  (John has sexy hip shaking issues).

The Pier.  There is a sweet left hand reef break all down the beach to the right.  John struggled as it got quite big and he handn't had to use his arms for many months!  Stuck at it though and bagged some waves :) The water is cold!

Classic reed fishing boats, classic car.

Apparently it's nearly winter.  Boo.  Lets go to the Northern Hemisphere on Sunday :)  Misty with sunburny spells.

Pelicans.  Not quite as bright eyed and bushy tailed as in Sydney, but BIG none the less.  They love bombing down the line and pulling out before it closes out :)

Wishmeam = Seaside.

Fight!  There are elections in Peru this weekend.  All the bars are shut. Makes for a sober judgement?

Always On A Bus

04/04/11  We are officially tired of buses.  12 hrs is the norm around here, 24 doesn't even make us flinch.  But how many more!!!  If you look at a map, we've nearly completed a figure of 8 over South America by bus.  It feels like it.

We headed from Cuzco to Lima (nice evening in Miraflores) and then up to Trujillo.  Peru is not just mountains and jungle, it's also Pacific coast and desert. Another hot and stuffy road block on the way to Trujillo.

Machu Picchu

01/04/11 (7 months!)

We arrived at 6am in a heavy rain cloud, not much to see :(  At 7 we walked up to Huayna Picchu, hoping to break through the cloud.  The plan worked and it started to clear up when we reached the top, leaving spooky views of the Inca city between the clouds.

Huaynu Picchu, the big mountain in the background of the classic shot (see below). It´s unbelievable what these people built.  You don´t need a tour guide to learn a little about their mentality!  Think paths, steps, terraces and houses on the edge of vertical cliffs.  Unreal!

Terraces on Huaynu Picchu.  For growing food and stabalising the mountain for building foundations.  Yep, a long way down if you slip.

No time for vertigo and wobbly legs. (Of which Grace had both)

Here it is!  Very happy the sun came out late morning :)  Wow.

The planning and building work is epic.  Great to romp around exploring for hours :)

To Machu Picchu (The Long Way Round)

30/03/11 In the interest of adventure, we took a round about rural route from Cusco to Machu Picchu.  A 6 hour local bus took us up steep forested valleys, clinging to the tight hair-pin bends until Sants Maria.  From Santa Maria we shared a series of collectivos (minibus/taxis) up and down the most sketchy roads that could ever cling to quickly eroding mountain sides! The reason there was a series of collectivos is that we had to walk across several landslides that had swept the road away, and find another car on the otherside to take us on (to the next landslide!). Bad bad bad.  We finally arrived safely in Santa Teresa that evening.  From Santa Teresa we walked to Aguas Calientes (the base town for Machu Picchu) via roads, bridges, pull systems(!) and train track.  It was an entertaining journey :)  and with epic scenery all around.

Road from Santa Maria to Santa Teresa.

Landslide over the road.

We had to walk straight up it to find a car on the road above.

Walking from Santa Teresa to Aguas Calientes;  There are a few of these pully system river crossings, so we had a go!  Made extra scary by the rainy season river boiling below.

Following the tracks.

See through wings.

Mountain with waterfall coming out of it, from the inside?!

Arrival into Aguas Calientes. The river looked like a natural disaster.

Chicharrones

29/03/11 Another traditional meal to try.  Roast pork, potatoes and maize with a mint, lime and red onion salsa on the side.  Fresh!!!  It´s lush.  The pork was immense.  Also tried the cheaper snack version in a plastic bag on a bus (still nice but greasy fingers).

12 Soles.

Cusco

28/03/11 We loved staying in Cusco and wondering around.  Full of little winding streets, all Spanish Colonial mixed with old Inca Capital.

Plaza De Armas and the suburbs on the hills.

Lady and Baby.  We had to pay a few Soles for this one.

Stone of the12 angels.  Cusco, the old Inca capital, still has a lot of original building work.  This one shows off their maisonary skills. Its over a meter square in size, 12 sides in total and all stones in the wall fit perfectly with literally no gaps.

Calle Loreto.

Hostel Inca '5 stars without the stars'.  It´s funny, as you walk up hills, rooms get cheaper, and you end up with old farmhouse style buildings and amazing views :)

Alpaca Kebab

Better than the Bolognaise Llama surprise we got in La Paz.

Colca Canyon

25/03/11 Colca Canyon is twice as deep as the Grand Canyon. Although it may not be as dramatic as its height is created by mountains instead of a plateau and vertical drops. Twas pretty sweet though.

We hear you say "This be not a Canyon but a multi-talented musician!?" Tis the in-bus entertainment! This is one of the better ones, as the rest tend to perform a small dramatic monolgue before trying to sell you diet drinks or mini encyclopedias. This man got skills.

We left Arequipa in flip flops, went up over snowy mountains and landed in a rainy canyon. Ouch.

We found a cool place to stay in a town called Cabanaconde with Cats who join you for breakfast. We got up early to start our bike ride along the canyon. Also note, new Alpaca jumper! Sweet.

Grace leading the way to Cruz del Condor. See ya! Glad for clear skies after arriving in the rain :)

Farms with sheer drops to villages on the other side.

Cruz Del Condor. No Condors but a great view of the deepest part of the canyon and lots of these splendid ladies selling their wares. It's great that most of the local ladies still wear this stuff. Not just in tourist places. And if they dont wear it all, its tracksuit and pretty hat :) Grace would personally wear it the other way round, Blossom style ;)

We cycled on from the Mirador and this Condor found us! Massive!

White on top, black underneath.

DIY wild west security.com

Pinchollo. The next town from Cabanconde. A whole lot smaller and sleepier. We cycled on to here to look for lunch.

We found a family Hospedaje who agreed to cook us pasta :) This is Chela, she is one and half times bigger than a Condor feather.

Looking down. You can walk it in about 4-5 hours. We decided against the day trip there and back.

Here's the hat maker! 20 soles. 8 days work.

Cabanaconde ladies.

Because Music Is Important In Life

Hostel in Arequipa.

Puno y Los Uros

23/03/11 We took a day trip to Los Uros.  Man made, floating, reed islands on Lake Titicaca (world's highest navigable lake dont you know) that are still inhabited.

Indigenous in neon.

 Los Uros life explained in miniature.

These ladies are serious about their pompoms. Respect.

Pow wow.

El Mercado in Puno. Matt overwhelmed by knitwear.

Inca Kola. Weird sweet yellow stuff. John reports "its ok."