Machu Picchu, Cusco, and an Amazonian Xmas not exactly as planned

Mid to late Dec 2011

A short internal flight over the highlands of the Andes took us to Cusco - former capital city of the ancient Incan empire. Sitting 3,400 m above sea level, Cusco is a relatively large and busteling town, and a perfectly adapted pit stop for gringos and tourists trekking the Inca trail and visiting Machu Picchu. At the airport we met Rich, our tour guide who would be taking us up some of the continent's highest peaks and then back down to sea level beaches. Apparently you can find anything in Cusco and, although undoubtedly true from the hordes of tourist shops, this led us to nickname the town Harrods.

Our first, and probably most world-renowned, tourist attraction was the legendary archological site of Machu Picchu. Meaning 'ol mountain' this self-cotained site was famously discovered by the American explorer Hiram Bingham in 1911. When he discovered the ruins they were almost completely encased in overgrown jungle, and it is for this reason that they remained so pristinely preserved since the 16th century - it was only really the outlying structures that had to be restored. The ruins comprise a small town adjacent to a set of agricultural terraces fed by natural springs. Many tourists opt to trek the 4-day 3-night Inca trail to Machu Picchu, as a lovely young Aussie couple in our group did, but there is also a train that runs back and forth from Cusco, meaning you can do Machu Picchu in a day trip. And this is the option we went for. Well, you get to a certain age don't you? :-) Machu Picchu really was breathtaking. Through the clouds, viewers greet Machu Picchu from a bird's eye view, and i was particularly struck by the lush green colour of the grass (a consequence of the highly fertile soils and voluminous rainfall) as well as the obvious hierarchical layout of the site - as our guide pointed out, your placement in society determined where you lay your head.








We also went on day trip to the Sacred Valley of the Incas and found proof that the Incas were way ahead if their time in home entertainment...


We arrived in Cusco about a week before Xmas day. Travelling at this time of the year is a surreal experience; your head knows it's appoaching and there are sporadic festive reminders of it - the occasional town square Xmas tree, a dancing Santa and friends' Facebook status updates- but since Latin America doesn't go mad for it, and while experiencing travellers' disorientation and a complete unawareness of what day it is, its very difficult to imagine people back at home going through the usual xmas rituals of batteling the Oxford street carniage and buying M&S turkey and cranberry sarnies. I must admit that it was nice to have no Xmas pressures this year!

Xmas wishes from The Amazon

With Xmas only days away, we stowed our backpacks in our hotel in Cusco and set off on our trip to The Amazon. It's only a 1-hour flight to Puerto Maldonado, the main town serving this section of the Peruvian Amazon jungle and we arrived at the airport raring to get gtYng on our Amazonionan adventure. But now it was our time to experience something very typically South American - a strike. So after being told that our particular flight was still going ahead, just with delay, we checked in and waited patiently. And waited some more. Then had some lunch made by a man with a story, and waited a little longer. After about 6 hours of waiting, we gave up and solmanly begun our journey back to Cusco. However, on the bus back we got a call saying the flight was on its way, so with a renewed sence of jubilation we turned around and managed to make our flight! We were in Puerto Maldonado that evening. Better late than never!

For obvious reasons, tourists are not able to venture too deep into the jungle so the locations that most tourists go to sit on the edge of the jungle. Our eco-lodge was on the Madre de Dios river, a major tributary of the Amazon river. We stayed in small wooden cabins and were taken on excursions through the jungle where we were shown a wealth of flaura and fauna unique to the ecosystem that included birds, insects, huuuuuge trees, flowers and medicinal plants. One of the best trips was a nighttime canoe ride to look for aligators - we saw loads!











Waking up in the Amazon on Xmas day was certainly one to remember. We had an Xmas breakfast and exchanged wishes of merriment with all the other guests. By mid morning we were back on our motorised canoe heading for Puerto Maldonado airport and our flight back to Cusco where a Peruvian Xmas dinner was waiting for us (a guinea pig-free menu). Unfortunately the strike reared its ugly head and we were once again left playing the waiting game. But this time we were not as lucky with the outcome...after a good half day at the smallest airport I've ever been to, we were told our plane would not make it to Puerto Maldonado and with the strike likely to continue into the next day, we decided to take a 10-h overnight bus back to Cusco instead. Despite this, we were all in reasonably good spirits, even though we also had to catch another 7-h bus to catch from Cusco to Puno the very next day. Now, I actually don't mind all these eternal bus journeys but while at the airport I felt the unmistakable wave of illness descend over me and by the time we got onto the second bus I was not in a good way.

Unluckily, things went from bad to worse - I became more and more sick with some kind of bug and by the time we got to Puno, i was bearly able to get out of bed. I stayed there for 3 days. Unable to eat anything solid the whole time (and for a few days after), I survived on Gatorade and the odd slice of melon from the breakfast buffet. I couldn't even watch man v food without feeling nauseous. I sadly missed seeing the floating island and Lake Titicata, but by the time it came for us to move onto our next destination I was thankfully feeling much stronger. And my pals all helped out and looked after me heaps :-)

From Puno it was on to La Paz, Bolivia's capital and the highest capital city in the world.

A Santiago send off

12-17 Jan 2012

Founded in 1541, Santiago is the fifth largest city in South America and certainly one of the most prosperous and westernised. It's an important financial hub and the city's wealth can undeniably be felt resonating through the hustle and bustle. The Andes, and their often snow-capped peaks, can be seen from the city centre and form a valley for the city to sit snuggly in. Unfortunately, this geography creates a sort of sitting pot for pollution and smog (the daily papers even publish pollution tables each day), and some parts of the city can have a putrid smell, especially in Santiago's hot weather. One place I particularly noticed this phenomenom was on top of San Cristobel hill, a wonderfully pretty hilltop over looking the trendy Bellavista district of the city. But despite the smell of pollution, we were able to eat a delicious lunch of empanadas and coke and enjoy the stunning views.









Unfortunately, Santiago symbolised a time to part company with the wonderful people I met on my tour. Our 26 nights together saw a few inevitable travelling ups and downs, but we still managed to spend virtually the whole trip laughing and bantering (with lots of top notch Simpson's quoting to keep me on my toes!). I had a great time and was glad to have a helping hand when it came to navigating around a part of the world that can often prove difficult. Luckily, with Australia being my next stop, I will certainly be reuniting with some of these old friends again and no doubt spending many a night on various sofas.

As soon as I set foot on Santiago soil I knew I would fall head over heels for the city. Resembling Buenos Aires (still one of my favourite cities), I felt instantly welcome and excited to see more. After my tour hotel, I excitedly stepped back into the familiar and much-missed world of hostelling. I found a great one in the bohemian/artsy/cafe culture part of town and settled in straight away. I had 4 days and managed to squeeze in sightseeing, bbqs, drinks, sunning in parks, shopping, cooking, Gazza's autobiography, a whole lotta coffee shops, as well as some vital catching up on sleep time, before preparing for my antipodean adventure. Santiago very much left me wishing I was one of its 6 million inhabitants but I also cannot wait to get to Australia and see family and friends, and see what a country that I have never heard a bad thing said about is really like.







So, while I wait patiently at Santiago airopeurto listenting to the last of the rolling r's that I will hear for a while, I feel very sad to be leaving Latin America. Every country in this region is geographically, economically and culturally unique but they all bask with a similar vibe and attitude expressed through the people that live here. I felt welcome, safe, looked after and tolerated in every country; I'm not sure how many other continents can proudly do the same. I am already planning my return to this part of the world (Colombia? Yes please!) so let's hope I can remember some of the Spanish I picked up! Me gusta Latin America!

Backpacking this part of the world has been the best thing I've ever done, and now that I'm armed with enough memories to last a lifetime, I feel prepared for the next leg of my travels. Check mark against the following: old clothes thrown out, bag repacked, US dollars replenished, photos uploaded, books finished and left at hostel, Facebook status updated, traveller hat on, manky flipflops thrown away, and toothpaste at the ready. 18-hour flight you say? Bring on every minute...Amy's coming to Australia!!

Never judge a city by its cover

Being somewhere I never had any particular desire to see, Miami was a pleasent surprise! Despite my horrendous experience at Miami International, which included a 2.5-hour wait at immigration (although that could be karma for all those times I sailed through LHR looking on at the endless queue of non-EU passengers); finding my backpack dumped in the corner of the baggage collection hall; and not having enough change for the bus, I still found Miami to be a welcoming city with a surprisingly chilled out vibe. OK, so I did arrive on a Thursday night, but I got into town at the party peak of 10.30pm and was expecting this party hub to be rockin' but it was pleasently laid back, with a diverse and extensive restaurant culture. South beach is also nice and the city lives up to its stereotype of being full of beautiful people. The only thing that was a surprise was that many people in Miami only speak Spanish - I had to speak more Spanish in Miami than central america!!

I stayed in a cute hostel nestled between two restaurants on Ocean Drive (queue the song) and ate fantastic fish tapas on my first night. The next day - after much obcessing and weighing up of pros and cons - I decided to give into technological peer pressure and buy a tablet PC from the stateside electronics giant Best Buy. Since beginning my travels I have been amazed at the number of backpackers who travel with about a grand's worth of equipment ranging from laptops, tablets, iPads, and iPhones etc. Latin America is extremely well connected - much more so than Europe - and every hostel I stayed in had excellent Wi-Fi connections. Airports and coffee shops also tend to offer free Wi-Fi for customers and since tablets are also pretty cheap in the states, I thought I would take the plunge and stop feeling like the poor backpacker. It's been the thing I bought for my trip, hands down!

After my whistlestop 24-hours in Miami, i flew into Lima, Peru. Lima also turned out to be a city that is very different from expectations. Hearing from previous visitors and according to the Lonely Planet, Lima is not the safest of places and has a reputation for high rates of petty crime. However, I found the city to be extemeley welcoming and the people some of the friendliest I've come across.

One of the most memorable things to happen, and something I've strangely always wanted to experience, was an earthquake. It was about 1 am and I was lying in bed playing with my new toy :-) and felt the dorm beds shake for about 7 seconds. Oddly, my first thought was that it was a washing machine (the washing machine in my Surbiton flat used to make the whole apartment shake) but when dogs started barking afterwards, my plate tectonics 101 lessons came back to me, and there was no doubt that the shaking was caused by shifting of the lithosphere. Turns out the quake measured 4.9 on the Richter scale...not bad!

Lima is also the destination where I begin my tour of south America. Being a slightly more hostile environment and more difficult to navigate than central America, many backpackers opt to join a tour around the continent for ease. My tour will take me from Peru, Cusco and macchu picchu, into the Amazon and the (very) highlands of Bolivia, finally entering Chile, stopping at all the popular gringo stops in between. Looking forward to it!