Leaving Peru
Ended up in the tourist ghetto of Cusco. Its probably the party town of Peru, on entry to a club they offer the first drink free, so if you visit enough clubs...did not do much sleeping after falling in with a great group of Irish lads and lassies.
Prised my self loose of Cusco´s various delights and went to Machu Picchu. It started pretty miserably, a dawn start in heavy cloud and rain. After an hour´s near vertical hike sat huddled nibbling chocolate biscuits under a rock peering into the gloom. Cold and wet, for the want of anything else to do eventually decided to climb the mountain that towers over the ruins. Dodgy slippery path, up into the clouds. How the Inca´s managed to build such structures without continually falling off is anyones guess. Sat and waited for the clouds to rise with an eagle perched next me, maybe a meter away. When the clouds burnt away revealing the vista it was all worth it. Machu Picchu is magnificent.
Before I ended up back in the Cusco rut I bused overnight to the town of Puno on the edge of lake Titicaca. I enjoyed visiting the villages built on floating reed islands, bit like a bouncy castle. It is a complete tourist trap, but it was sunny, the locals friendly and it was fun to be on the water.
Next crossed the border to Bolivia and stayed on the mystical island of the sun. It was pretty much like being on a very quite Greek island, but with llamas. Very pleasant. Have a look at the piccies to get an idea. The air was especially thin (3,827m) giving the sky a painted appearance. Good place to unwind before moving on to the city of La Paz.
Prised my self loose of Cusco´s various delights and went to Machu Picchu. It started pretty miserably, a dawn start in heavy cloud and rain. After an hour´s near vertical hike sat huddled nibbling chocolate biscuits under a rock peering into the gloom. Cold and wet, for the want of anything else to do eventually decided to climb the mountain that towers over the ruins. Dodgy slippery path, up into the clouds. How the Inca´s managed to build such structures without continually falling off is anyones guess. Sat and waited for the clouds to rise with an eagle perched next me, maybe a meter away. When the clouds burnt away revealing the vista it was all worth it. Machu Picchu is magnificent.
Before I ended up back in the Cusco rut I bused overnight to the town of Puno on the edge of lake Titicaca. I enjoyed visiting the villages built on floating reed islands, bit like a bouncy castle. It is a complete tourist trap, but it was sunny, the locals friendly and it was fun to be on the water.
Next crossed the border to Bolivia and stayed on the mystical island of the sun. It was pretty much like being on a very quite Greek island, but with llamas. Very pleasant. Have a look at the piccies to get an idea. The air was especially thin (3,827m) giving the sky a painted appearance. Good place to unwind before moving on to the city of La Paz.
posted by Richard at
12:34 am
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