I have finally lived up to my blog name and have (slightly) perused this fine country called Peru. Sorry for my being MIA, when Kevin came I wasn't home at night a lot and on the weekends I was off...well, perusin' (okay okay, I'll stop shamelessly using that word because it's the only pun I can think of with the word 'peru').
(as an aside this guy, Dan Hardin plays some crazy good guitar and has such a sexy voice: http://www.youtube.com/user/danielhassixstrings) Okay...continuing on...
My adventures begin in Cusco, which is a much more expensive city than I had anticipated. There was some (more like a lot) of stress with money because I hadn't brought enough, but in the end everything worked out okay. I mean of course I wasn't able to buy a pet llama like I wanted to, but I guess that it would be sort of hard to explain that one at Canadian customs anyway. Also, nobody tells you that Cusco is actually really freakin' cold and you wouldn't expect it either, or at least I didn't anticipate it. After 2 months of warm, coastal Limean weather I was under the impression that all of Peru enjoyed this constant warm weather. Not quite the case, so for 5 days I freezed my ass off wearing jeans and several t-shirts, and once, when I went out at night, I nicked a pair of Kevin's socks and wore them like I had a pair of sock-hands. I might have looked dumb with a pair of Nike socks on my arms, but I was warm and really, who is looking that closely at my hands anyway? For all anybody knows, I am wearing a pair of stylish, gothic, elbow-length gloves...because you know, people wear gloves like that all the time...at least that is what I kept telling myself.
Cusco is a beautiful city, though where our hostal was was a bit "out of the way" (as in 15 minutes instead of 5 minutes) away from the Plaza de Armas, but the atmosphere changes quite dramatically from the plaza outwards. The memory that stands out for me with Cusco is the Cathedral de Santo Domingo...which is actually 3 cathedrals attached together. Now, I am not exactly who you might call a religious person - but I was in utter awe of this cathedral. I have never seen something with so much detail and so beautiful. The other sites I saw were interesting as well, but obviously not interesting enough for me to remember without looking at the photos.
Cathedral of CuscoI do however remember Saqsaywaman...but mostly because of the treacherous uphill climb we took to get to it. I like to say that it was the altitude of the city that made me all out of breath and tired, and not because of the fact that I have not stepped into pair of running shoes since early November and have since then taken up the nasty habit of consuming a bar of chocolate everyday (I just finished my bar in fact. Chocolate with nougat filling...hey, I'm alone and lonely in Lima and chocolate is my companion okay?!). We'll see how my weight is when I get back to Canada, I am hoping that getting back into the habit of biking everywhere will help shed the pounds I have surely put on here. Anyway, I digress. Saqsaywaman is a set of Incan ruins that at the time I visited them, I thought was great. Later travels would make this set of ruins pale in comparison.
Aaaaaw. Baby llama!Saqsaywaman! Wooo!More SaqsawwamanAfter Saqsaywaman, Kevin and walked up a hill on a gravel road and waited and waited for a bus to take us to Pisac. A bus, because not only am I an adventurer (or at least I like to think so) but also because of the money issue. Hahaha. So I have heard about bus rides in the sierra (the mountains) before, but I had never previously experienced them myself. Well, the bus ride to and from Pisac were my first, and terrifying. Roads on the mountains are narrow, and many times unpaved and the buses drive as fast as they do when they are driving on the highway. I was sure I was going to meet certain death about a billion times on that bus ride alone (later, I would take many more bus and care rides in the mountains).
Pisac is on the Sacred Valley of Urubamba and is famous for its Incan ruins (why yes, I did just rip that right out of the Wikipedia article. Whatever). Words can't really describe Pisac...it's just such a beautiful site to be. The best thing about Pisac is that most people who travel Cusco can't be bothered to make their way here because a) a taxi ride from Cusco to Pisac can be expensive and b) most tourists are too nervous to take the bus (this I understand...Peruvian buses can be quite intimidating if you don't know what you are doing). So, if you do manage to make it to Pisac, it's likely you'll be the only one there...with maybe a handful of other tourists. You cannot beat the views, and while the ruins aren't as well maintained as Machu Pichu, nor are the views as good - it is still beautiful and worth a visit.
Terracing in PisacGetting back to Cusco from Pisac took a lot longer than expected so Kevin and I ended up getting back much later than anticipated, successfully missing the last bus to Urubamba. So, instead, we walked our way to where the colectivos (shared taxies) are located, apparently in the sketchier part of Cusco but I guess working in La Victoria has made me more desensitized to rougher neighbourhoods so I didn't really think too much of it. We ended up finding a decent(ish) price to Ollantaytambo, where our hostal for that night was located. If I thought that the bus ride in the mountains during the day was scary, it was nothing compared to the taxi (which moves much faster than a bus) ride through the mountains in the night. Exhausted from our day full of uphill climbing - we collapsed into bed at Ollantaytambo in our cute Bed + Breakfast style hostal. The next day was much more refreshing and we managed to make our way to Morai, a series of Incan-time terraced circles used for agricultural reasons, and Salineras, the Incan Salt Pans. Morai was once again, a tiring and perhaps rewarding experience. When I think of it now, it was a rewarding experience but at the time I wanted to to just grow wings and fly my way out of the bottom of the circle. Again, I blame my exhaustion on the altitude change. Salineras was a neat site, but I am sure that the Uyuni Salt Flats in Bolivia will be much more interesting (when I go in April). We also went to Salineras during the low salt-production season, so instead of the pans being completely white it was mostly brown.
Since my photos for Morai and Salineras have not uploaded onto Picasa yet...too bad for you!
Finally, on the last leg of this trip we made our way to...bum bum...Machu Picchu! What can I say about Machu Picchu? Other than the fact that they try to milk you for all of your money by making you pay for the train, the entrance fee and then the bus there (of course if you take the non-lazy, walking route it's much cheaper). But it was worth it...the sites are just amazing. Even with the buzz of so many tourists from all over the world, you can't help but just be in wonder on top of this mountain in the midst of Incan ruins. Of course, sometimes it can be frightening standing on the edge of a ruin and looking down at the mile drop. The thing I loved about Machu Picchu was just walking around the ruins, taking in the gorgeous views and then just...happening upon a llama. The llama, in especially in the sierra, is quite ubiquitous and I must say it's much nicer seeing a llama in Peru than the ones I see in Waterloo Park on my way to school. It just doesn't seem right to see llamas walking around in snow behind a gate in...well, Waterloo Canada.
Man got in my shot...grrrr!These little guys were quite commonLlama feeding...you know...whateverAnyway...this is turning out to be an extremely long post, which I know it's also way overdue and that I still need to share my adventures in Pisco, Nazca and Huaraz and now to come, Trujillo. But I also need to finish my presentation as I leave for Trujillo tomorrow and present on Saturday.
I shall talk to you soon my dearies! Hasta pronto!
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