The difference from Peru and Ecuador to Chile was obvious even before we landed in the plane. The scale of the agriculture and infrastructure is much larger and the country is generally completely modern and just like Australia (except for the Spanish of course). The main difference we are having trouble adapting to is the South American timing for meals and sleeping. We are quite far south so its not completely dark until about 10.30. People don't seem to get going much before about 9.00am then a big breakfast with lunch lucky to be before about 3pm. Dinner is just a couple of snacks around 10pm and everyone including kids gets to bed at midnight. Nothing wrong with that but its just taking a bit of time to adapt to for us early risers.
We have been having a fantastic time with our friends Barb and John Cote. They have four children, Josh (14), Erin (12), Morgan (10) and Lyndon (8). Our kids get on really well with them and have been enjoying having the oppurtunity to play.
The drive down form Santiago to Chillan (about 4 hours) was fascinating as the entire trip was through the Chilean central valley which is chock full of intensive agriculture. I lost count of the number of huge fruit packers, wineries and grain set ups. Every sort of crop and vine and fruit could be seen along the way. The roads are good (nice change) and the road rules, well lets just say that there actually are road rules in Chile which is a nice change.
We have spent the last couple of days at the beach about an hour west of Chillan with Barb and John and some of their Chilean friends. It has been a really nice change of pace to just sit on the beach for a couple of days after 4 weeks of constant movement. The beaches were great but very different to what we are used to. Black sand, amazing rock formations including huge walk through caves, seal lion colonies and freezing, freezing water. A couple of the beaches that we went to had these weird little crab/bug things that burrowed into the sand on the edge of the surf. There were so many of them that you could scoop up a handfull of sand and there would be ten or twenty in your hand. The girls had hours of fun filling buckets full of them.
Today we are back in Chillan where we will go to the markets this morning then go flying with Barb this afternoon.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Tammy's Contribution
I thought I'd better write something. So far we've had an excellent trip and I can't believe we've been away nearly a month. I've read 8 books so far not that this means the trip has been boring we've just had lots of plane/bus/car trips between things.
The food in South America has been really good. We didn't end up trying Guinea pig, it seems to be served with the head and feet still attached and we thought this might be a traumatic for Rhiannon. Ally has become much more adventurous with her eating and will now try things she wouldn't have touched before.
We've all learned a few basics of Spanish. The biggest problem isn't figuring out what to say it's understanding the answer. Fortunately the guides we've had have been really good and most people in Peru speak some english. The old ladies in Peru all seem to want to steal Rhiannon she's been kissed by some complete strangers.
Richard likes blogging better than me so I'll leave it up to him. But yes Nikki I'm still here.
Tammy
The food in South America has been really good. We didn't end up trying Guinea pig, it seems to be served with the head and feet still attached and we thought this might be a traumatic for Rhiannon. Ally has become much more adventurous with her eating and will now try things she wouldn't have touched before.
We've all learned a few basics of Spanish. The biggest problem isn't figuring out what to say it's understanding the answer. Fortunately the guides we've had have been really good and most people in Peru speak some english. The old ladies in Peru all seem to want to steal Rhiannon she's been kissed by some complete strangers.
Richard likes blogging better than me so I'll leave it up to him. But yes Nikki I'm still here.
Tammy
Lake Titicaca
I apologise in advance for the length of this post. Internet connection points are hard to find on islands with no electricity so there is a bit to catch up on.
We are back in Cusco now at the end of our tour of Peru. Tomorrow we fly to Lima then the next day on to Santiago. We have an afternoon in Lima but we are unsure of what to do with it because we have not met one person (even the people that come from there) with a single positive thing to say about Lima.
Lake Titicaca was a highlight of the trip and well worth the bus trip and other transport dramas.
We traveled to Puno, on the shores of Lake Titicaca via a nine hour bus ride that was actually quite interesting. The bus stopped at a few sites along the way including a Church of St Peter that had every inch of its interior covered with frescoes and gold leaf. It really was quite spectacular. Another highlight for me was an Inca site with an extensive silo system!
After passing through the highest point of the trip (4200m) we spent about three hours driving through the high antiplano. Completely treeless and at first glance quite desolate. A careful second look however revealed that the landscape was full of people and animals. Huge herds of Llamas and Alpacas were tended by shepherds (mostly women) across the plains and up the sides of the mountains. The people lived in tiny adobe brick houses which blended into the landscape. There were no roads and definitely no electricity. Quite a bleak existence which seemed incongruous with the beautiful brightly coloured clothes that were worn.
Before Puno we passed through Juliaca which is one of Peru’s biggest industrial cities. It was quite a bizarre town to drive through with most business seeming to be done in the open on the verges of or sometimes in the middle of the crumbling roads. Juliaca was obviously a centre for bus repairs and given the massive size of the Peruvian bus fleet we spent what seemed like about 15 minutes driving along a wide road weaving our way through bus after bus in various stages of repair being fixed in the open on the road.
Puno itself was really nothing to write home about with only the very centre of the city being relatively clean and safe and not particularly pretty. The lake however was a different matter entirely.
After a night in Puno we set out on a boat with about 18 others for an overnight tour of the lake and a couple of the islands. The group consisted of Americans, English, Welsh (Welsh first language), Argentineans and some other Aussies. It was great to travel with some other people and it was a fun group who all got on well.
First stop was the Uros floating reed islands. The people of the islands still live in tiny reed huts built on piles of floating reeds. Solar panels give enough electricity for the odd television and other concession to modern life but on the whole they live as they have for many hundreds of years. The other concession to modern life is the boat loads of tourists that they now cater to with slick presentations of island life along with the obligatory handicraft market. Rhiannon made friends with a girl around her age who as result of growing up with boatloads of tourists visiting her everyday was a born performer and spent the whole time parading for the cameras.
Next stop was Amantani Island which had about 4000 inhabitants in small communities around a central mountain. Here we were all farmed off to local families for our overnight stay. While the house itself was very comfortable it was basic living at best with the kitchen consisting of an open fire with a sort of clay oven. The meals that our host produced from this tiny space were amazing with beautifully tasting soup and main dishes seeming to appear from nowhere. Our hosts spoke no English and in fact very little Spanish with Cechwa, the indigenous language of the Incas being the main language spoken on the islands.
We walked up to the top of the mountain in the afternoon and the views were spectacular. Titicaca is truly immense with the snow capped peaks of Bolivia on the other side only just visible. The island itself is very pretty with every inch of the mountain being divided into tiny fields surrounded by stone walls and pathways. The fields were growing crops of corn, wheat, potatoes and beans and the patchwork landscape resulting was spectacular from up high.
In the evening we were treated to a fiesta where local costumes were provided for everybody and the dancing seemed to go forever. A very memorable night and a wonderful island.
The next morning we boated over to Taquile Island, equally beautiful and with the fame of being UNESCO listed for its traditional textile production. We had a long and leisurely trout lunch with the whole group in a little restaurant on a terrace overlooking a steep drop to the lake. We could have easily stayed there all day.
After the beauty and peace of the lake it was a shame to go back to Puno but it was made somewhat better by a very enjoyable dinner with most of the group from the boat. After dinner we were exposed to the more unpredictable side of Peru when we got back to our hotel and were informed that a snap strike had been called by Bus drivers and it was doubtful that we would get out of Puno in the morning. This is where guides come in extremely handy as Paull quickly organized a minibus to get us to Juliaca from where we were flying back to Cusco. The bus was going to have to leave at four o’clock in the morning however as the main road was going to be blockaded by the strikers and we would have to take back roads.
As it turned out when we got up at four the strike had been averted and all the drama of the previous night was for naught. Paull had not wanted to take any risks however as Puno is a hotbed of political discontent with a couple of local mayors killed in the last few years and most strikes seeming to emanate out of there. Paull told us that if he was president of Peru we would give Puno to Bolivia.
So now on to Chile and the next stage of out trip.
We are back in Cusco now at the end of our tour of Peru. Tomorrow we fly to Lima then the next day on to Santiago. We have an afternoon in Lima but we are unsure of what to do with it because we have not met one person (even the people that come from there) with a single positive thing to say about Lima.
Lake Titicaca was a highlight of the trip and well worth the bus trip and other transport dramas.
We traveled to Puno, on the shores of Lake Titicaca via a nine hour bus ride that was actually quite interesting. The bus stopped at a few sites along the way including a Church of St Peter that had every inch of its interior covered with frescoes and gold leaf. It really was quite spectacular. Another highlight for me was an Inca site with an extensive silo system!
After passing through the highest point of the trip (4200m) we spent about three hours driving through the high antiplano. Completely treeless and at first glance quite desolate. A careful second look however revealed that the landscape was full of people and animals. Huge herds of Llamas and Alpacas were tended by shepherds (mostly women) across the plains and up the sides of the mountains. The people lived in tiny adobe brick houses which blended into the landscape. There were no roads and definitely no electricity. Quite a bleak existence which seemed incongruous with the beautiful brightly coloured clothes that were worn.
Before Puno we passed through Juliaca which is one of Peru’s biggest industrial cities. It was quite a bizarre town to drive through with most business seeming to be done in the open on the verges of or sometimes in the middle of the crumbling roads. Juliaca was obviously a centre for bus repairs and given the massive size of the Peruvian bus fleet we spent what seemed like about 15 minutes driving along a wide road weaving our way through bus after bus in various stages of repair being fixed in the open on the road.
Puno itself was really nothing to write home about with only the very centre of the city being relatively clean and safe and not particularly pretty. The lake however was a different matter entirely.
After a night in Puno we set out on a boat with about 18 others for an overnight tour of the lake and a couple of the islands. The group consisted of Americans, English, Welsh (Welsh first language), Argentineans and some other Aussies. It was great to travel with some other people and it was a fun group who all got on well.
First stop was the Uros floating reed islands. The people of the islands still live in tiny reed huts built on piles of floating reeds. Solar panels give enough electricity for the odd television and other concession to modern life but on the whole they live as they have for many hundreds of years. The other concession to modern life is the boat loads of tourists that they now cater to with slick presentations of island life along with the obligatory handicraft market. Rhiannon made friends with a girl around her age who as result of growing up with boatloads of tourists visiting her everyday was a born performer and spent the whole time parading for the cameras.
Next stop was Amantani Island which had about 4000 inhabitants in small communities around a central mountain. Here we were all farmed off to local families for our overnight stay. While the house itself was very comfortable it was basic living at best with the kitchen consisting of an open fire with a sort of clay oven. The meals that our host produced from this tiny space were amazing with beautifully tasting soup and main dishes seeming to appear from nowhere. Our hosts spoke no English and in fact very little Spanish with Cechwa, the indigenous language of the Incas being the main language spoken on the islands.
We walked up to the top of the mountain in the afternoon and the views were spectacular. Titicaca is truly immense with the snow capped peaks of Bolivia on the other side only just visible. The island itself is very pretty with every inch of the mountain being divided into tiny fields surrounded by stone walls and pathways. The fields were growing crops of corn, wheat, potatoes and beans and the patchwork landscape resulting was spectacular from up high.
In the evening we were treated to a fiesta where local costumes were provided for everybody and the dancing seemed to go forever. A very memorable night and a wonderful island.
The next morning we boated over to Taquile Island, equally beautiful and with the fame of being UNESCO listed for its traditional textile production. We had a long and leisurely trout lunch with the whole group in a little restaurant on a terrace overlooking a steep drop to the lake. We could have easily stayed there all day.
After the beauty and peace of the lake it was a shame to go back to Puno but it was made somewhat better by a very enjoyable dinner with most of the group from the boat. After dinner we were exposed to the more unpredictable side of Peru when we got back to our hotel and were informed that a snap strike had been called by Bus drivers and it was doubtful that we would get out of Puno in the morning. This is where guides come in extremely handy as Paull quickly organized a minibus to get us to Juliaca from where we were flying back to Cusco. The bus was going to have to leave at four o’clock in the morning however as the main road was going to be blockaded by the strikers and we would have to take back roads.
As it turned out when we got up at four the strike had been averted and all the drama of the previous night was for naught. Paull had not wanted to take any risks however as Puno is a hotbed of political discontent with a couple of local mayors killed in the last few years and most strikes seeming to emanate out of there. Paull told us that if he was president of Peru we would give Puno to Bolivia.
So now on to Chile and the next stage of out trip.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Machu Picchu
Wow. Machu Picchu has joined the very short list of places that have not only met but much exceeded expectations.
We set out this morning (along with hundreds of others) on the buses that run from Aguas Calientes up to Machu Picchu. It was cold, dark and very wet and I have to say I was wondering whether it was going to be worth it. By the time we snaked our way through the half hour line up to get in the rain had stopped but we were still in thick cloud. We walked up to a high vanatage point and as Paull spent about half an hour giving us some of the history the cloud slowly cleared revealing more and more of the ruins until by the time he had finished it had completely cleared. What a sight. The ruins themselves are amazing and much more complete than I thought they would be but their location is just as if not more impressive. Perched high up, a lot higher than it looks in the photos on a narrow ridge with almost vertical drops down to a thundering river on three sides and towering mountains at the ends and accross the narrow valley.
The great thing about Machu Picchu is that because it is so complete there are so many stories to tell about what went on at the site. We spent an easy four and a half hours walking around seeing the many astrological features and hearing about the religous ceromonies that were performed. Paull is a fantastic guide with an obvious passion for Inca history and kept us enthralled for the whole time.
Once we got in the crowds tended to thin out a little bit and it wasn´t too bad at all for people. One bit of Australian celebrity spotting. We saw Liz Ellis the Australian netball captain taking a tour.
Hopefully I´ll get to a wireless site soon instead of internet cafes and get some more photos up.
We´re back in Cusco tonight and spend the whole day tomorrow on a Bus to Puna on the shores of Lake Titicacca.
We set out this morning (along with hundreds of others) on the buses that run from Aguas Calientes up to Machu Picchu. It was cold, dark and very wet and I have to say I was wondering whether it was going to be worth it. By the time we snaked our way through the half hour line up to get in the rain had stopped but we were still in thick cloud. We walked up to a high vanatage point and as Paull spent about half an hour giving us some of the history the cloud slowly cleared revealing more and more of the ruins until by the time he had finished it had completely cleared. What a sight. The ruins themselves are amazing and much more complete than I thought they would be but their location is just as if not more impressive. Perched high up, a lot higher than it looks in the photos on a narrow ridge with almost vertical drops down to a thundering river on three sides and towering mountains at the ends and accross the narrow valley.
The great thing about Machu Picchu is that because it is so complete there are so many stories to tell about what went on at the site. We spent an easy four and a half hours walking around seeing the many astrological features and hearing about the religous ceromonies that were performed. Paull is a fantastic guide with an obvious passion for Inca history and kept us enthralled for the whole time.
Once we got in the crowds tended to thin out a little bit and it wasn´t too bad at all for people. One bit of Australian celebrity spotting. We saw Liz Ellis the Australian netball captain taking a tour.
Hopefully I´ll get to a wireless site soon instead of internet cafes and get some more photos up.
We´re back in Cusco tonight and spend the whole day tomorrow on a Bus to Puna on the shores of Lake Titicacca.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
The Sacred Valley and Aguas Caliente
Tomorrow morning we head up to Machu Pichu at 6am and after the Inca ruins we have seen the last couple of days I now don´t know what to expect. Machu Pichu is supposed to be the most amzing and complete Inca ruins however what we have seen so far has already blown me away. We set off yesterday morning from Cusco to Pisco where a bustling handicraft market lightened our wallets yet again. It is hard to pass up nice Alpaca wool jumpers for $15.
On the mountain above Pisco was the first amazing Inca temple that we visited. Huge stone blocks that had been brought in from 33km away and hauled up the mountain fit together so well that you could barley feel the joins when you ran your hands over them. One of the common themes for Incan temple sites was that they are all either astronomically significant in terms of the way shadows were cast from the surrounding mountains or they were strategically placed geographically. Pisco overlooks the convergence of three steep valleys and the views are incredible.
After Pisco we went on to Ollantaytambo, another Inca site along the sacred valley. It was just as impressive with an incredible set of terraces used for agriculture carved laser like into the mountain. Under each terrace is a layer of dirt then sand then small rocks then large rocks with precise drainage allowing irrigation from one to another. The engineering effort required to do this as perfectly as they did is astounding.
We stayed the night in Ollantaytambo and this morning caught the train to Aguas Caliente which is the town at the bottom of Machu Pichu. Aguas Caliente would have to be one of the more bizarre places I have ever been to. Fifty years ago it barley existed but as the tourist traffic to Machu Pichu has grown so has the town. The only way in is by train and the only road is a short one running from the town to the base of Machu Pichu. The tiny space it occupies in the bottom of a valley with towering sheer faces of rock around it has resulted in a dense, steep collection of restaurants, cafes, hostels, shops and markets all in a space that measures no more than about 400m by 100m. During peak season about 5000 people a day visit Machu Pichu and every hostel and hotel in town is booked out and the restaurants are pumping. At the moment it is a little quieter and most of the tourists seem to be Argentinians and Chileans on summer holidays. It is full of people either completely shagged out after completing the four day Inca Trail or people pumped up in anticipation of a visit to Machu Pichu the next day (as we are).
On the mountain above Pisco was the first amazing Inca temple that we visited. Huge stone blocks that had been brought in from 33km away and hauled up the mountain fit together so well that you could barley feel the joins when you ran your hands over them. One of the common themes for Incan temple sites was that they are all either astronomically significant in terms of the way shadows were cast from the surrounding mountains or they were strategically placed geographically. Pisco overlooks the convergence of three steep valleys and the views are incredible.
After Pisco we went on to Ollantaytambo, another Inca site along the sacred valley. It was just as impressive with an incredible set of terraces used for agriculture carved laser like into the mountain. Under each terrace is a layer of dirt then sand then small rocks then large rocks with precise drainage allowing irrigation from one to another. The engineering effort required to do this as perfectly as they did is astounding.
We stayed the night in Ollantaytambo and this morning caught the train to Aguas Caliente which is the town at the bottom of Machu Pichu. Aguas Caliente would have to be one of the more bizarre places I have ever been to. Fifty years ago it barley existed but as the tourist traffic to Machu Pichu has grown so has the town. The only way in is by train and the only road is a short one running from the town to the base of Machu Pichu. The tiny space it occupies in the bottom of a valley with towering sheer faces of rock around it has resulted in a dense, steep collection of restaurants, cafes, hostels, shops and markets all in a space that measures no more than about 400m by 100m. During peak season about 5000 people a day visit Machu Pichu and every hostel and hotel in town is booked out and the restaurants are pumping. At the moment it is a little quieter and most of the tourists seem to be Argentinians and Chileans on summer holidays. It is full of people either completely shagged out after completing the four day Inca Trail or people pumped up in anticipation of a visit to Machu Pichu the next day (as we are).
Monday, January 14, 2008
Cusco
The first couple of days in and around Cusco have been fantastic and quite different to Ecuador. the differences started as soon as we got to the hotel at Lima with everyone speaking quite good English (very few people spoke English in Ecuador). We were quite surprised to be picked up at the airport in Cusco by virtually the whole travel agency running the tour. While the tours are under the Kumuka name they are organised and run by local agencies. In Ecuador it was Happy Gringos (couldn´t fault them for any else looking to do anything at all in Ecuador) and here in Peru it is SASPeru. Robin, an Australian who has lived here for 11 years is part owner of the agency and she met us along with a driver, a porter and our guide, Paull. Paull is a local and an absolute wealth of knowledge about Inca and Spannish history. The girls have been informed that this tour is to be treated as a history lesson to make up for lost school. They are not impressed! Again we are the only people on the tour which is a pity and again apparently we are the first to this particular tour as well.
Yesterday we just wandered around Cusco which is a booming town of about 400,000 and a mecca for every type of tourist. It is backpacker heaven with cheap hostels, food and beer but also caters to a significant sector of more wealthy tourists with very upmarket jewellery, garment and art shops. The city is architecturally stunning which the Spannish style closed courtyards and tiny cobbled streets leading away from beautiful leafy plazas with impressive cathedrals and churches. Walking up the tiny alleys every door leads into a cafe or courtyard or hostal or shop. Like Ecuador once you get away from the central areas there is grinding poverty but it is amazing how much of a difference the housing style makes in disguising the extent. in Ecuador as I mentioned most housing seems to be constructed with grey concrete blocks with flat roofs and a perpetually unfinished look. In Cusco the houses are adobe brick with red tile sloped roofs. While there is just as much poverty somehow the houses look more inhabitable. I guess it is just closer to what we are used to.
Today Paull led us on a horse ride around four Inca sites in the mountains overlooking cusco. The history was a bit overwhelming to take in one day but the ruins were fascinating. Massive constructions made of huge stone blocks that fit together perfectly in intricate patterens all in a grand plan that made sure that water was able to be fed by gravity throughout all the significant sites. It was truly awe inspiring to think about how such feats were carried out 600 years ago and the girls were suitably impressed wishing that they could have seen it when it was at its peak.
For lunch we had a picnic with a herd of Alpacas that had been organised especially for the occaision. Being the first family to do this tour I think they are trying to get some goood phots and all the stops are being pulled out.
We wandered back down into cusco at about 5pm.
tommorrow we head off to the sacred valley for more inca sites and some markets.
I´ll try and get some more photos up next time i get to a wireless spot for my laptop.
Yesterday we just wandered around Cusco which is a booming town of about 400,000 and a mecca for every type of tourist. It is backpacker heaven with cheap hostels, food and beer but also caters to a significant sector of more wealthy tourists with very upmarket jewellery, garment and art shops. The city is architecturally stunning which the Spannish style closed courtyards and tiny cobbled streets leading away from beautiful leafy plazas with impressive cathedrals and churches. Walking up the tiny alleys every door leads into a cafe or courtyard or hostal or shop. Like Ecuador once you get away from the central areas there is grinding poverty but it is amazing how much of a difference the housing style makes in disguising the extent. in Ecuador as I mentioned most housing seems to be constructed with grey concrete blocks with flat roofs and a perpetually unfinished look. In Cusco the houses are adobe brick with red tile sloped roofs. While there is just as much poverty somehow the houses look more inhabitable. I guess it is just closer to what we are used to.
Today Paull led us on a horse ride around four Inca sites in the mountains overlooking cusco. The history was a bit overwhelming to take in one day but the ruins were fascinating. Massive constructions made of huge stone blocks that fit together perfectly in intricate patterens all in a grand plan that made sure that water was able to be fed by gravity throughout all the significant sites. It was truly awe inspiring to think about how such feats were carried out 600 years ago and the girls were suitably impressed wishing that they could have seen it when it was at its peak.
For lunch we had a picnic with a herd of Alpacas that had been organised especially for the occaision. Being the first family to do this tour I think they are trying to get some goood phots and all the stops are being pulled out.
We wandered back down into cusco at about 5pm.
tommorrow we head off to the sacred valley for more inca sites and some markets.
I´ll try and get some more photos up next time i get to a wireless spot for my laptop.
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