Leaving Lima

I was all by myself today, everyone else was either home already or making their way home. I took my time getting ready and packing up in the morning, then after I had checked out of the hotel (they held by backpack for me) I caught a cab to the centre of Lima.

I got my driver to drop me off at Plaza San Martin so that I could walk up Jr. De La Union - a pedestrian shopping street. Even though it was already later in the morning, many of the shops were still closed. I was also surprised to see many of the same stores in different spots on the street. The road ends at the Plaza De Armas (the central plaza) which is surrounded by colonial palaces, cathedrals, and the government palace.

I wandered around taking some pictures of the balconies, then made my way to Covenento De San Francisco. After walking around the edges of the inside of the church (there was a service going on for some saint) I took a guided tour of the catacombs beneath the monastery. The catacombs were filled with skulls and femurs, all neatly sorted and arranged. Until the early 1800's, everyone from Lima was buried in this catacomb, and about 100 years ago, archaeologists sorted the remains - only the skulls and the femurs were still intact. Photography is prohibited, so I wasn't able to get any pictures. As I left the church, a procession came out the the church, banging drums and leading a dressed up saint around the courtyard. The church was covered in pigeons, and when the banging started, they all took off and started orbiting the square in front of the church - I'm surprised I walked out of there clean!

I went back to the main plaza around noon to watch the changing of the guard. Before it began, the police guarding the government palace closed off the road in front, moved everyone across the street, and donned their riot gear. (It made me wander what they were expecting!) After the band had marched out and played for about half an hour, other guards finally started marching around. It was a bit slow and difficult to watch through the fence, so I walked off to explore the surrounding streets after a while.

After lunch at McDonald's (I had to try it once before I left - every country tastes a bit different), I got another cab back to my hotel. The original plan was that I would meet up with V that afternoon and go see a park in Lima that has some impressive fountains, but because the lady at the front desk left and didn't tell her replacement about me, I missed V's phone call and didn't get the message until I was leaving for the airport. I was pretty tired of traveling and sightseeing by this point (I'm always done on my last day and just want to go home), I didn't mind spending the rest of the afternoon surfing the web, sending emails, etc. I didn't want to walk around by myself in the dark, so got supper at the airport - I figured that it was a good way to kill some time, too. The flight home was uneventful, I tried to sleep but couldn't (typical), and mom was at the airport waiting for me (dad was driving the car around instead of paying to park) ... actually, she was the only person waiting for anyone!

All in all, it was a great trip, and while I probably won't go back (I always want to go somewhere new), I definitely recommend it. It was interesting to drive from the desert, up into the high mountains, and fly into the amazon. The country has a lot of history and culture, and the food was great!

Lima

Today I was basically on my own - the Germans and the Danes were on the same afternoon flight, and K was flying out in the evening (and spent the rest of the day sitting at the hotel, still sick). I ordered a cab and then went out to see some of the museums.

The first museum that I went to was Museo de la Nacion (the National Museum). There were several rooms displaying pottery and weavings, but there weren't many signs indicating what the artifacts were or what they were used for. After half an hour I had seen everything, so found a cab and left for museum number two, Museo Larco. This museum had a lot more signs (and most of them had English translations) and the overall quality of the displays was much better. I spent almost two hours wandering.

I caught a cab outside the museum and tried to get back to Parc del Amor, but ended up in Parc de Lamour (or something like that). It was still in Miraflores and I knew that I was close to the coast, so walked the rest of the way. I had watched the paragliders the first day I was in Lima, and today decided to try it - I figured that if I hurt myself today, it didn't matter as much. I had to wait a bit for the instructor to get down (I had a 10% off coupon, but only for two of the instructors), and then it was quickly sign the papers and get the harnesses on. It was probably for liability reasons, but there was a guy taking pictures of everything - how every buckle was connected, how my helmet was put on, how the parachute unfurled ... everything! We had to change the first parachute, because one of the lines was cut, but after the new one was found and connected, we were off and running. It took about three attempts for the parachute to fill properly and then we were off and running.

We were airborne well before we reached the edge of the cliff, so it wasn't anywhere near as scary as I thought it might be. There must be a set course for everyone to take - everyone goes the same way! We went south as far as Larcomar (the mall set into the cliffs) and then back north as far as the lighthouse. The first time we headed south and inland, we got pretty close to the buildings, but after that, gained some altitude. After about 15 minutes soaring, we landed softly back at the park - a much smoother landing than from skydiving!

I walked back towards the hotel and was getting pretty hungry by this time (it was about 3 pm). I ended up going down pizza street for pizza (what else?). After paying the bill, the waiter, who had earlier told me he had one month of English lessons (but he sounded like he had a lot more), asked what I was doing the next day. I told him that I was going to explore downtown Lima, and he asked if I wanted to get together with him so he could practise his English. Uh ... NO. I don't think so! I just said no, and got up and left quickly.

By this time I had seen everything that I wanted to see in Miraflores, so walked back to the hotel and found K on the free internet. After watching some TV, we walked down to Larcomar and had supper, then back to the hotel to watch more TV (luckily there was always at least one channel showing a non-dubbed American show).

Amazon to Lima

This morning we had the long trek out of the jungle and back to civilization. We packed up our duffels before breakfast and after we had eaten, got back into the canoes one last time. We saw some more parakeets and macaws flying over us as we crossed the lake, and a few monkeys as we hiked from the lake to the river. According to the guide, we saw all four species of monkeys in the area (don't ask me what they were!). The hike back was much easier than the hike in - most of the mud was dried up. We could tell that it was going to be a hot and muggy day! The canoe ride back wasn't exciting, the only interesting part was the couple sitting beside and across from me seemed to argue (in Spanish, so I can't tell for sure) most of the way to port.

Our plane was late getting in from Cusco, so while K and I stayed in the airport, V took the rest of the group into town to pay a phone bill. The airport needs to work on their PA system - the echos made them almost impossible to understand (even for native Spanish speakers) and they liked to broadcast two announcements at the same time!

I was looking out the window for most of the flight back to Lima - looking at jungle change to mountain and then to desert. We had a short stop over in Cusco (never left the plane) so got to experience the add feeling of landing at an airport without the cabin pressure changing and the super long take-off roll. Back in Lima, we relaxed at the hotel for a while, then took a couple taxis to V's apartment (except for K who had stomach issues and just went to bed). We just hung out there, eating pizza, and telling her room-mate about the trip. Then V drove us back to the hotel, all of us squishing into her 1970's pink VW beetle!

Sandoval Lake

This trip did NOT allow us many days of sleeping in! We were woken up early (before sunrise) this morning and after a quick shower, jumped onto our catamaran (two canoes with a raised platform between them) to be paddled around the lake like royalty. We saw many types of birds (macaws, parakeets, "stinky birds", etc.), some caymans, and a family of giant river otters. It was awesome to watch the otters playing around with each other and eating their breakfast. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get any really good pictures - it was still fairly dark, all the animals were under the trees where it was even darker, we weren't allowed to use a flash, and they and I were moving. Sigh.

We returned to the lodge for breakfast and were given some time to relax before our first hike of the day. Since most of the animals hide during the day, this hike focused more on the plants found in the area - the medicinal trees, plants used for make-up, and others for food. The guide showed us how to open a termite mound and get termites to eat - he and V ate a bunch of their finger, and I tried to eat one, but by the time I got it to my mouth, it had moved and ended up walking over my lips. I ended up having V flick one into my mouth. They supposedly taste like mint, but I had just brushed my teeth (and I only had one tiny termite), so I didn't taste anything. I wasn't brave enough to try more than one!

Our next demonstration was Brazil nuts - we were given a nut (the size of a softball) and a machete and told to try open it. We were each given three attempts. K went first (only a small nick), next was D (still only nicked it), then C (it flew off to the side when she hit it), and then me. I looked at how the open nuts had cracked and hit it that way - I got the blade in on the first stroke and it finally split on the third try. Girl power! The next step is to break the edible part of the nut out of its smaller shell. There was a nut press on the table and the trick was to hit it hard enough to crack the shell, but not too hard to squish the softer nut inside. Lots of fun - they didn't taste quite right though, a bit like dirt (but it wasn't the season for them).

After V made us all up with "make-up" (red lips, purple eyes, and a white ? on my cheek), we ate a jungle orange (more like a lemon!) and headed off into the woods. It's amazing how disorienting the jungle is - I never knew which direction the lodge was in. Good thing we had a guide! He pointed out lots of different types of trees - "garlic" (it smells like garlic), quinine, and even a walking palm tree! The palm tree walks by growing new roots out from the trunk (which starts about two metres above the ground) in the direction it wants to travel and cutting off nutrients to the roots on the other side so that they die and fall off. It can travel up to two metres per year!

We had lunch back at the lodge and were able to either watch a nature video about the otters living on the lake or just relax. I watched the video then wandered around the grounds, taking pictures of the plants. Later in the afternoon, we hopped on board a canoe to go to the other side of the lake for a hike. The best part of this hike was swinging on a vine that was growing down from a high tree - not something you can do every day! It was hanging off a tree with large buttress roots, so I climbed up those and grabbed the vine. The first swing I didn't go very far, so pushed off the root for a better swing. I was planning on stopping myself after two swings, but my foot slipped and banged my shoulder into the tree instead. On my next attempts, I was able to get back onto the root (still not very graceful!) and hop back down to the ground. Back in the canoe, we could see a large group of monkeys swinging in the trees and then as the sun set, we paddled back across the lake. We stuck close to the shore and were able to spot the caymans hiding in the shallows - if you shine a light at them, their eyes shine back as two red dots. Very cool!

I sat near the look out and watched the stars with K for about an hour, then we went back to the lodge for supper. We didn't do anything besides play a board game that evening - we had to get up early for our flight home the next morning so couldn't stay up too late (and the lights go out at 10 pm).

Cusco to the Amazon

We got up pretty early to head to the Cusco airport and fly to Puerto Maldonado in the Amazon jungle (near the boarders of Brazil and Bolivia). It was a weird experience to take off about 11,000 ft - it took FOREVER for the airplane to rotate and it was going FAST by that time! Also, there was no decrease in cabin pressure as we climbed out, if anything, it actually increased!

Since there was a cold wind blowing down from the Andes, it was unseasonably cold in the jungle - only about 15 degrees and drizzling. We boarded a bus to the office of the lodge we would be staying at and had some time to find a pair of rubber boots and repack our things into duffel bags they provided. Since we were still waiting for a few more groups to arrive, we wandered around the town a bit. Puerto Maldonado is home to mostly miners and loggers, and the town looked pretty muddy and desolate - not the type of place you would want to spent too long in (but it could have been the weather). After the others arrived, we all climbed back onto the bus and drove 15 minutes to the port.

At the port, we made our way down the slippery and muddy stairs into our boat. The boat is narrow and not very stable, so we had to make sure that we sat down in pairs opposite each other. I was seated near the back of the boat which turned out to be a good thing - the people in the front got pretty wet from the rain and the waves. What was really strange was that the water was so warm, almost like a bathtub! (I'm used to lakes and rivers being cold!) And since it was such a cool day, it was steaming like crazy. The lodge supplied us with lunch on the boat - a rice dish cooked and served inside a banana leaf. After an hour and a half, we reached our dock.

The boat was unloaded and we began our hour hike into the jungle. It was still raining so I was glad to have my dollarama poncho - of course, it made me look like a giant yellow blob (my backpack was under it), but at least I was dry and warm (some of the others didn't dry out until we left). The trail was extremely muddy in parts so it was a good thing we were wearing our boots. I feel sorry for the porters though, who had to push and pull a cart with all out things through the mud - it must have been a tough job!

We got to the end of the trail and after the porters bailed out the canoe, we climbed in and they started paddling us down a channel and across the lake. It took another hour to cross the lake (still raining!) and get to our lodge - Sandoval Lake Lodge. We were greeted with tea and hot chocolate and shown to our rooms. All the rooms are connected by a covered veranda, and the front and back walls are large screen windows. The walls between the rooms don't go all the way to the roof, so you can hear everything going on in the rooms around ... not too much privacy! But it was a great room, my favourite on this trip. There was electricity in the morning and the evening, and they put a pitcher of drinking water on the bedside table.

After dinner, we went on a night hike. Because of the cold weather, most of the insects were hiding, but we did see a tarantula, some other spiders, ants, moths, and even a crab! It was a dark, quiet, and cold night (I used both of the quilts they provided and was still a bit cold).

Cusco

The night before, C, D and I decided that we would tour around the ruins outside Cusco together, but we would sleep in first! We ordered our first cab using the hotel, and it only cost us S/. 10 (about $4) to drive 20 minutes up to Sacsayhuaman, a temple to the sun. The view of the city from there was amazing, and the ruins were interesting to walk around, but we not interesting enough to keep us there for more than half an hour. During Inca times, Cusco was built in the shape of a puma and Sacsayhuaman was the head. The zig-zaging walls were the teeth of the puma (according to C's German guidebook). Most of the rocks were removed by the Spanish when they were building Cusco, so it isn't as impressive as it once was.

We left the park and wandered around the parking lot trying to find a cab to drive us to the next site. A cab stopped along the road and it looked like the couple inside were getting out, but instead, we joined them in the cab up the road to Tambomachay for S/.15 (the other passengers continued on). The driver tried to raise it to S/. 15 / person as we were getting out, but we could tell by the smirk on his face that he was just trying to rip us off.

Tambomachay was an Inca "resort". According to legend, if you drink the water flowing out of the fountain, you'll have eternal health and beauty. We decided that you're more likely to get nausea and diarrhea from it. A few people from another tourist group were actually giving it a try ... I wonder how they felt for the next few days.

We crossed the road and walked 200 m to the next ruin, Puca Pucara. It was a storehouse, but there wasn't much left of it compared to some of the other ruins we had seen. We knew we wouldn't be able to catch a cab there, so walked back to Tambomachay. All the cabs sitting there were waiting for their fares to view the site, so we stood along the road waiting for a cab to show up. One came pretty quickly, and we all squeezed in (there were already 2 people in there). This cab took us down to the city, but wasn't able to take us back to the main plaza. He was nice though, and had called another cab to pick us up where he was dropping us off.

C and I went into the main cathedral to look at the amazing collection of paintings while D went back to the hotel to get something. We met back together in the plaza, then they went to look at a market while I went in the opposite direction to see a few museums. The museums weren't the greatest - not much on display and no English, of course - so it didn't take me long to get bored of them. I walked around a few of the streets and then, since it was looking like it was going to rain, I headed back to the hotel to relax and watch some TV.

That night we went out to a really cool restaurant, "The Fallen Angel". Its three rooms are decorated as heaven, hell, and in between. We ate in the "in between" area and our table was a bathtub filled with water and plants with a glass table top over it. Very cool! After dinner, we were shown the guest rooms upstairs - six fancy rooms (each with a theme) that cost a couple hundred dollars per night.

Inca Trail - Day 4, Machu Picchu!

We were woken up at 4:30 am this morning, had a quick breakfast, and raced to stand in line (in the dark!) at the checkpoint at 5 am letting us onto the final two hours of trail. Four of us were in the bathroom when our guide lead the other four to the checkpoint to save a spot in the line for us, and another guide got pretty mad at him when he led us to where the rest of our group was waiting for us! His group ended up RUNNING to Machu Picchu so they passed us pretty quickly. At 5:30 am the checkpoint opened and the "race" to the Sun Gate began.

The hike took us across a steep mountainside through lush, humid cloud-forest of giant ferns and broad-leaf vegetation. Suddenly we crossed the stone threshold of Intipunku (Sun Gate) and encountered an unforgettable sweep of natural beauty and human artistry – a backdrop of twisting gorge and forested peaks framing the magical city of Machu Picchu. It was amazing to see it - I think it helped that we had put so much effort into getting there!

The Sun Gate was crowded with people waiting for the sun rise. It was pretty misty though, so it was hard to get pictures without some clouds in the way. We stood there for a few minutes, then took off down the trail again. We completed the final leg down the royal flagstone walkway, past outlying shrines and buildings and into the heart of Machu Picchu, where we spent the rest of the morning exploring Machu Picchu. It was a much different atmosphere once we got through the gate, probably because we started meeting people coming up the trail towards us ... people who didn't have four days of dirt, sweat, and bug spray on them! A few times I heard their guides tell them that we (the dirty people carrying backpacks and using hiking poles) had just hiked for the last four days - most of them looked suitably impressed.

V met us as we entered the city (K, L and H were already on a tour of the site) and took our pictures with Machu Picchu in the background - the picture every tourist takes. I was amazed that that picture is actually taken in the middle of the ruins! I always thought that they were standing on an over look and the whole site was behind them.

After exiting the city, getting a final stamp in our passports, and giving our poles to V to deal with (they aren't allowed on the site), we rejoined our guide for a tour of the city. It was interesting to learn about how they constructed the buildings (splitting stones, attaching grass roofs, etc.) and see all the temples and alters to the various gods. After two hours with him, we took off on our own to meander through the area a bit more.

C, D and I were pretty exhausted (day 4 is the hardest!), so soon took a bus down to Agua Calientes. There wasn't much to see in the town, so we found a coffee shop, relaxed, and checked our emails. We were supposed to meet the rest of the group at 1 pm for lunch, but by 1:30, no one had shown up! We finally called V and figured out that they were just getting on the bus heading down from Machu Picchu. Lunch was in a chifa (Chinese restaurant), then it was to a different restaurant to collect our duffels and onto the train back to Ollantaytambo. The train ride was impressive, rolling through the Urubamba valley with great views of the rapids. We were met in Ollantaytambo by our bus driver who brought us back to our hotel where we could finally scrub off some of the grime - those showers always feel fantastic!

Inca Trail - Day 3

Today's hike was the longest on the trek - about 16 km. That wouldn't be too long a hike normally, but when it's a lot of ups and downs at high altitude, it's a lot of work!

We started the hike picking up an Inca stairway and ascend again past the small Inca site of Runkuracay. As we reached the second pass, the landscape opened onto spectacular new views to the snowpeaks of the Pumasillo range. We descended to the ruins of Sayacmarca (Inaccessible Town), an intricate labyrinth of houses, plazas and water channels, perched precariously on a rocky spur overlooking the Aobamba valley. The Inca trail, now a massive buttressed structure of granite paving stones, continued along the steep upper fringes of the cloud forest through a colorful riot of orchids, bromeliads, mosses and ferns. At the third pass (where we stopped for lunch), pinnacles topped with Inca viewing platforms overlook the archaeological complex of Phuyupatamarca (Cloud-level Town).

Pausing to explore the wondrous maze of Inca stone towers, fountains and stairways that spill down the mountainside here, we began a long descent through ever-changing layers of cloud forest. An Inca stairway partly cut from living granite (as in, it was there and carved, not put there when they built it) lead us finally to our camp by the ruins of Wiñay Wayna (Forever Young), the largest and most exquisite of the Inca Trail sites.

This day was the day filled with Inca ruins and awesome views - my favourite day of the trek! We were given a small snack bag in the morning and had our lunch about one and a half hours past where everyone else was stopped. This meant that for that piece of the trail (a REALLY nice piece of trail!), there were no other groups around and no porters running past us on the trail!

The campground was again terraced, but this time the terraces were narrower and separated by trees and shrubs as well as the drop. There were showers, but no one in our group wanted to wait with the 100+ other hikers waiting to pay to use two showers, instead, we scrubbed down with our buckets of warm water. There was also a bar at this campsite - it's amazing what some people will pay for a bottle of beer and some chips (it was at least 4 times as expensive here). We were at the bottom level of the campground and had a great view of the valley, it was also the warmest (and lowest) of our campsites. The stars that night were amazing!

Inca Trail - Day 2

We were woken up by our assistant guide and a porter, who gave us hot tea in our tents! A few minutes later, they came by with a bucket with warm water so we could wash our faces. We got dressed, packed up our duffel bags, then headed to the meal tent (where the porters sleep) for a not so good breakfast of porridge. This ended up being the only meal on the trek that I didn't like. At breakfast, one of the older Norwegian ladies told us that she thought she should go back - her chest was hurting a bit and she had tingling in her left arm ... not what you want before climbing up a mountain pass! We took a couple pictures with our guides, cooks, and porters, and then our group split up - the lady went down the way we had come the day before with the assistant guide and one of the porters.

Most of today's hike was climbing up - we started with a climb up the steep-sided Llullucha valley past a rushing stream and through enchanted native polylepis woodland. After crossing the rim of a small plateau, we found ourselves in the puna, the treeless grasslands of the high Andes. The trail traversed an open slope opposite mighty mountain crags as we ascend to the first and highest pass, Warmiwañusca (13,776ft). Here we encountered spectacular views of the trail ahead to the second pass, and could look back to the sweeping snowpeaks and valleys of the Huayanay massif. The trail then went down to the floor of the forested Pacaymayo valley, where we made camp.

Resting while waiting for lunch.

Like on day one, R and I were usually at the back of the pack, resting and taking pictures (well, I was taking pictures!). We had lunch part way up the pass which allowed us some much needed rest for a couple hours. The last part of the climb, R and I actually passed the two Norwegians and the Brits, making it to the top just after C and D - I guess taking it easy for most of the day paid off in the end! The view from the top was amazing and we stayed up there for close to half an hour before starting down the other side fuelled by the lollipops that our guide gave us. I was definitely the slowest going down. I had sprained my ankle really badly two months before leaving on the trip and it still wasn't completely healed, so I didn't want to wreck it any more than it already was. I found that for the large steps, I had to go one at a time, making me take at least twice as long as everyone else! But I made it without hurting myself too much!

Our campground for the night was a terraced dirt area with everyone camping close together. The bathrooms were up a bunch of uneven rock steps (not something you want to do in the pitch black night by yourself) and the group behind us was pretty noisy, so this was my least favourite of the campsites we stayed at.

Inca Trail - Day 1

C, D and I got up VERY early this morning to meet our guide at 6 am and drive to Ollantaytambo where we met the rest of our hiking group. We got to Ollantaytambo early, so the three of us wandered around the town, found a free bathroom, and got a cup of coffee. The others finally arrived and we were off to kilometer 82 where we began our trek.

It took a while to actually start the trail - the porters had to gather all the stuff together. We were finally off after about half and hour of standing around and walked down across the train tracks and took the requisite picture under the Inca Trail sign. After another ten minutes of walking, we got to the first check-point. This was the only place we were required to show our passports to verify that we were registered to walk the trail. (Only 500 permits are given out for each day and over 60% are used by the porters and guides.) I now have a stamp in my passport to prove that I hiked the trail!

After crossing a footbridge, we hiked for two hours down the Urubamba canyon, and were able to see the Inca farming terraces and the settlement of Llaqtapata on the banks of the Cusichaca side river. We then climbed a short way up the Cusichaca valley to Huayllabamba, the last inhabited village on the trail, where we camped. If the hike had been at a lower altitude it wouldn't have been much of a challenge (there was only one big hill), but I could definitely notice the high altitude. R and I tended to be at the back of the pack, taking our time (and a few more breaks). At least by stopping, I was able to get some pictures of the trail. The assistant guide was laughing at me for it, but hey, I figured "It's my trip, so I'm going to enjoy it!"

The trail goes through a few villages, each with a stall set up to sell snacks and drinks to the hikers. We stopped for lunch near a stream (all the porters clapped as we came in and one handed us a glass of juice) and were able to use the "toilets" while we waited for our meal. It was my first time using a real squat toilet, which is actually easier than squatting over the toilets without toilet seats. After being given a basin of water and a bar of soap to wash our hands, we had lunch - soup for starters and trout for the main course. I was amazed at how fancy the food was - I was expecting something simpler to make!

Our campsite for the night was just outside a village, so the chickens were roaming around most of the evening. Our tents were already set up by the time we got there and our duffels were inside. A porter came around with hot (well, luke warm) water for us to wash ourselves and to blow up our mattress if we wanted. At 5 pm, we had "tea" - tea, hot chocolate, crackers, popcorn ... it was great! We relaxed a bit more before supper - a few people went an bought themselves a beer to reward themselves for a hard days work. Supper was soup, a main course, and then desert (I can't remember what we ate, but it was all very good), then after the guides had told us some stories about emergency evacuation off the trail (they CARRY you on their backs either to km. 82 or Machu Picchu, whichever is closest), we were off to bed.

The Sacred Valley

We had a free day to spend exploring Cusco and the area, so D, C, H, L and I went on a city tour - though it was more of a Sacred Valley tour! Our first stop was at a zoo that takes in injured and abused animals. Because of how they have been treated, the animals would not survive if they were released into the wild. It was sad to see some of the things done to the animals (eg. the feet of a bear were cut off), but it was nice to be able to see the animals close up. My favourite part of that experience was when we were allowed into the condor cage and they started feeding them - I didn't realize how big they were until two of them swooped down close to our feet to collect their chicken carcases. We continued down the road, then up a narrow, steep, winding dirt road (with a VERY deep drop-off) up to the Planaterra weaving project. GAP runs this project - supplying alpaca wool to the women who then dye, spin, and weave the wool into items for tourists to buy. The items were very nice and I bought a scarf, but all of us had seen so much of this type of thing before, that we wouldn't have minded skipping it.

We finally entered the valley and made a quick stop in the market at Pisac. They had more arts and crafts, as well as a few t-shirts and instruments. I picked up a pan-flute - I've always thought that they sound really cool. (Now I just need to learn to play it!) We drove up from the town of Pisac to the Incan ruins on the hill behind the town. Hundreds of years ago, this is where the bodies of the nobility were prepared for burial, and they are buried in the caves in the cliff behind it. We walked part way to the lower ruins before going back to the van and driving to the upper ruins. Our guide didn't want to tire us out, but we insisted on exploring the ruins and trying to find our way to the top. I think he was happy about this - he seemed to enjoy racing through them, trying to lead us up! It felt like we were in an Indian Jones movie! Somewhere along the way, we lost D and L (they must have stopped to take pictures), but we were able to see them from the top and met up with them after we made our way back down. We all had snacks with us, so decided to skip lunch so that we could see a bit more of the valley. The next stop was Ollantaytambo which was FULL of tour groups! Unfortunately, the sun was setting behind the ruins so it was hard to get decent pictures of it. It was neat to see how they built their walls - none of the stones are rectangular, they all have curved edges yet fit together perfectly! We still had a bit of light left, so convinced the guide to take us to Chincero - ruins of another temple. These ruins were mostly destroyed by the Spanish who built a church on them. The Incas believed that humans came to existence out of a rock on the site - there's a large red patch on the rock that looks a bit like a, well, hmm, ...., you know, ...., so it isn't that hard to see where they might have got that idea from. We got back to Cusco well past dark, but looking out at the night sky was impressive - so many stars were out! It helps to be up high with no humidity!

After supper, it was time to pack for the Inca Trail. We were given duffel bags to put our things in - the trick is, it isn't allowed to weigh more than 6 kg! That isn't much stuff! The sleeping bag, pad (which I rented) and duffel back together weighed 2.5 kg, so after adding all the medications that I brought from Canada (just in case!), there wasn't room for much else. It took a few trips to the hotel lobby to weigh the duffel before I got it right - I was actually underweight the first time so could add a bit more.

Puno to Cusco

We got up early and made our way to the bus station in Puno to catch our eight hour bus ride to Cusco. There were a few other travel groups on the bus, including a GAP group with, what V called, the "hot guide". She was hoping that he was going to be sitting next to her, so she was checking her make-up, adding more perfume, and spraying some on his seat ... she wasn't impressed when her seat-mate turned out to be a not-so-good looking passenger from his group, and not him! The ride was long and not very exciting - the scenery was mostly scrub brush. The movie died after only 15 minutes, so V gave the driver her "Chick Flicks" CD to listen to (over and over again!). Our only stop was at the half way point, where everyone rushed to use the bathrooms, take a few pictures, look at the always present handicrafts, then hope back onto the bus. We got to Cusco around 4 pm, and went to Bembos for a very late lunch. Bembos is the Peruvian version of McDonalds, but the food is better, cheaper, looks like the picture, and is made fresh when ordered. We sat upstairs where we had a great view of the main plaza. Our next stop was to go to the tourism office to pick up a pass that gave us admission to a lot of the historic sites in the Sacred Valley. V also gave us a quick tour around town, showing us things like the Inca stone with 12 edges in one of the alleys - this stone appears in almost all the brochures.

Before heading off to supper, we had a meeting with our guide for the Inca trail. Since only C, D, and I are doing the trek (K isn't trekking, and L and H are doing Lares), we are joining 6 people from another GAP trip - 3 Norwegian ladies, a British couple, and a girl from Canada (R). We were given our packing list, told how far and high we would be hiking each day, and a bit about what to expect. I think we were all a bit nervous about what we had gotten ourselves into!

Floating Islands of Uros

Our breakfast at the homestay was great - fried bread with muna tea. And they made sure we ate until we were stuffed! We got back on board our boat and sailed for a few hours back towards Puno, stopping at the floating islands of Uros. The totora reeds that grow in the shallows of the lake are used for making everything from the islands themselves to the boats and the homes. The islands are made up of layers upon layers of reeds; as the layers closest to the water start to rot, they are replaced with fresh reeds on top. We were given a tour of one of the islands, including a lecture on how the islands were created and are maintained, and then were given a few minutes to explore. It's a weird feeling to be walking on the reeds - it isn't as solid as the ground, but it isn't as unstable as a water bed either. It's more like walking on a piece of foam. We were given a simple lunch on the way back to Puno and were given the rest of the afternoon to explore the town - I ended up spending the afternoon in a cafe with C, D, and K.