Hello from Puno on Lake Titicaca

We are now here in Puno a town right on Lake Titicaca.

 

A few days ago we did an all day bus trip from Cuzco to get here to Puno. We  stopped at various Inca sites and Spanish colonial churches. One church was incredibly elaborate with massive priceless religious paintings and the ceiling covered in paintings and murals too. There was lots of gold on the alter and walls. This place was in the middle of nowhere which made it more amazing. It had been built right on top of an Inca temple that the Spanish had destroyed which you see a lot of  here.

 

We stopped at a touristy lunch stop that had the usual pan flutes playing in the background (which drives you crazy after a while!) and a cute little baby alpaca next to some market stalls. Of course I decided to go over and pat it as it looked so cute and fluffy and it turned around and spat right in my face!! I got a huge shock and luckily only got a few strands of grass in my face and hair and no alpaca saliva luckily!. I had disturbed it as it was happily munching on the grass.

 

We have just come back from two days visiting islands on Lake Titicaca, it was a two day overnight trip and we stayed on one of the islands last night.

 

We visited the Uros Islands which are artificial floating artificial islands made from reeds. The islands were a bit touristy but interesting

to see how people live there and how the islands were constructed. The whole place was a bit damp though as the water seeped through the reeds at times.

 

We stayed over night at another island called Amantani island. It is mainly farming and rural with no cars which was a nice change. We did a home stay and stayed with

a local family there who cooked for us and provided basic accommodation. There were 15 in our tour group and each couple or small group were assigned to one family on the island. The group was mainly Americans as usual and it was also a nice change to have some Canadians and an Aussie too!

 

It was all very basic and rustic but comfortable. There is no electricity on the island so we ate by candlelight.

 

As we speak very little Spanish it was a little hard to communicate with the family but we managed somehow with smiles and hand gestures and the daughter of the family could speak some English as she was learning it at school. We found we could play, sing a few songs and have a laugh with the cheeky son of the family who is 9 years old and that made it easier too!

 

It was very rural with sheep and donkeys wandering around the terraced fields of maize, quinoa, corn and potatoes. The kitchen the family cooked in was just a basic clay fire stove but they still managed to provide delicious local food by candle light. It was mainly quinoa and vegetable soup and then rice, vegetables and lots of different varieties of potatoes and okra. The toilet was outside way down in the garden. The people in the village seem to be happy without all the modern equipment and gadgets we take for granted and when we did a walk to a local Inca hill temple the local people smiled and greeted us. As there was no electricity there was not much to do after dinner so we were in bed asleep, under nice warm blankets by 8.00pm!! It was so quiet and dark it was easy to fall asleep even for a nocturnal person like myself! It would be hard for us to live without the Internet, TV, music, lighting, electricity, tap water etc. now but was a nice change to get back to basics for a while!

 

As we left early the next morning after pancakes cooked on the stove, the villagers got our group to all dress up in their local costumes for a group photo which was funny. Dave was in a brown poncho and hat and I was in a green full skirt, white blouse and black shawl. We did not blend in very well though and our walking boots did not improve the look!

 

We visited and did a walk across another island called Taquile which was also very scenic. The dry rural landscape reminded me a bit of Greece. The island was covered in Eucalyptus trees as are most of the places we have been to here in Peru. We  found out that they were brought over from Australia in the 18th century and are used for firewood mainly. It is like a familiar Australian landscape at times and when you can smell the Eucalyptus leaves it feels like we are on a bush walk back in Australia! It is strange to see them everywhere. They are hardy and adaptable.

 

We then we had a slow three hour boat trip back across lake Titicaca which looked lovely as the sky and lake were so blue with the mountains in the distance, some snow covered. It is the highest commercially navigable lake in the world at an altitude of 3,800m (12,500ft) above sea level.

We are back in Puno now in our luxurious hotel, which is a bit of a contrast to where we were staying last night! We are off to Bolivia tomorrow on a three hour bus trip round the lake over the border to a place called Copacabana, not to be confused with the one in Rio!

 

Off to dinner now for some alpaca loin (it is a bit like beef), chips and veg and Peruvian red wine which is what we had a few nights ago and was delicious! The local trout is lovely too.

 

So will say adios for now,

 

Love to everyone from Diana and Dave

XXX

--
Diana Ellem
http://www.ellem.com/
+61410584296

--
Diana Ellem
http://www.ellem.com/
+61410584296

Hello from Cuzco, Peru again....

Hi there,

Just a quick note to say that we are back now in Cuzco after doing the 4 day Lares trek and 2 day visit to Machu Picchu.

We had a great time and did not see any other Westerners the whole time during the trekking part of the trip.

The trek was quite hard and we got up to 4,700m (15,000 ft) at the highest pass.

We were camping for two nights but it was warm and cozy in our sleeping bags and thermals so was OK. We were woken with a cup
of tea every morning so that was quite pleasant. The food provided on the trek was amazing, very tasty and healthy and it is incredible what can be
cooked in a tent with just a few utensils.  We even had a dining tent which had the kitchen tent next to it and we had a toilet tent which was interesting!

On the trek we had porters, a chef and a horsewoman. Horses carried all the equipment needed for the trek. There was
even a foal "in training" too! The porters and chef went on ahead of us each day to set up the lunch dining tent and then the camp including the tents we used for sleeping in at night.

We had a guide who had a good sense of humour and was knowledgeable about the local areas and Inca history. He was our guide around Machu Picchu too.

There were seven of us all together in the trekking group. It was the two of us and five Americans and they were all very nice, we all got on well.

One of the group got altitude sickness on the second day and had to go slowly. He was being sick and feeling very tired but we were OK thankfully.

The first day was the hardest as we were going up most of the time and you feel breathless at that altitude when exerting yourself.

There were great views from the highest pass at 4,700m and then it was downhill towards valleys, villages and farmland with lots of sheep and llamas in the fields. We met quite a few local people and children too.

We ended up at some thermal hot springs at Lares at the end of the trek and a soak in the hot mineral pools was good for our sore legs.

We even had some excitement with the bus taking us to the starting point. It got one wheel stuck down a huge hole in the middle of the road (not sure what the hole was doing there!) so we had to get out and walk and extra part of the trek at the start. Also the bus taking us away from the end point of the trek broke down in the middle of nowhere on a mountain road with smoke filling the front of the bus and we had to help push the bus out of the middle of the road as it was blocking it! Our guide was very good and quickly arranged for a replacement bus to get us to the train to MP on time. It gave us time to meet some local school children who were very perplexed and interested to see us on the side of the road miles from anywhere. Dave gave one boy his Sydney FC cap so there is a 6 year old Peruvian boy doing his bit advertising the A-League (the Australian football league - not that he would have any idea what that was!)

The highlight of the trip was going to Machu Picchu and we were there for two days.

That classic view you always see of MP is amazing and it is hard to believe you are actually there! You can see that view in the pics I have sent the link to at the end of this email.

We did lots of walks around  the area getting different views of MP. A highlight was climbing Wayna Picchu which is the incredibly steep mountain you see behind the ruins in the picture you usually see of MP.

At times we had to climb backwards on our hands and knees down very steep and narrow stone stairs with a massive drop of a few hundred metres at the side below us! I had to hold my hand up to my face to shield the view of the drop below as it gave me vertigo at times, even Dave found it scary! There were no railings or anything to prevent you falling off the mountain or ropes to hold on to at the most scary times so it was difficult.

We also walked an hour  back along the actual Inca Trail to the Sun Gate which is the first view that people who are doing the trail get over MP from higher up and it was amazing too.

It was interesting to walk around the ruins and they are like a maze, we kept on getting lost inside them! There are even llamas wandering round inside eating the grass on the terraces! The various temples are interesting and it is amazing to think it was built about 600 years ago on that site high up on a ledge in the mountains. It was not "discovered" by the west till 1911 and was there all the time getting overgrown with foliage. Only a few local farmers knew about it and used some of the terraces to grow things.

We are off by bus to Puno tomorrow and the town is on Lake Titicaca. We will stay there for a few days visiting various islands on the lake and the make our way to Bolivia and La Paz.

Dave managed to find the time after a day at Machu Picchu to see the Champions League Final and we have just been in a pub watching the England v Mexico friendly as it was on this afternoon so we are keeping up to date with things! The pub was full of English people and we were surprised there were that many here as it seems to be mainly Americans travelling here.

Here is a link to some pics from the trek that we have shared with the others on the trip.

http://picasaweb.google.com/DavidEllem/2010LaresTrekPeru#


Anyway I have to go now to dinner so all the best to everyone.

We hope you are all keeping well.

Love from Diana and Dave

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX


--
Diana Ellem
http://www.ellem.com/
+61410584296

Hola from Cuzco, Peru

Hola

Buenos Tardes,

We are now in Cuzco, Peru.

It took us about 24 hours total travel time from Rio including spending most of the night in Lima airport on an uncomfortable chair and three separate flights via Santiago and Lima.

Our Our last flight from Lima to Cuzco was delayed 4 hours due to fog, which is what we did not need after already being stuck there for 6 hours.

We have gone from sea level straight to 3,400 metres (11,000 ft) and we feel a bit breathless just walking up a slight incline!

We are taking it easy to avoid altitude sickness and last night we went to bed at 4.00pm thinking we would have a nap before the evening and did not wake up till the next morning! Had about 15 hours sleep!

Just had a walk around the town and it is amazing with lots of lovely historic buildings, Spanish cathedrals and churches, Inca walls, market places, steep and narrow, cobbled streets. The main square in the city is very attractive with lots of flowers around a fountain and is interesting for people watching as there are lots of locals around.  A lot of the women are in colourful local dress with hats like bowler hats.
The light is so bright here being so far up. It is warm in the day time as the sun is very strong but cold at night.
There are lots of other foreigners here. We don´t get hassled as much as we expected to buy stuff which is good.
It is not too crowded in general as this is not peak season, that is more July and August. This is the dry season so that is good and it is autumn here now. There are snow capped mountains in the distance.

Is has not been too much of a problem not being able to speak Spanish, we seem to be getting by OK.

Had an amazing hour and a half flight from Lima to Cuzco over the Andes to get here. At times we were just above the mountains and you could see paths, towns and fields not far below even though we were flying at the normal jet height. It did not take long to descend in to Cuzco as we did not have far to go down!

Have to decide whether to have the local delicacy which is Cuy otherwise known as guinea pig, I will not have to think of all the guinea pigs I used to have in the past! These ones are bigger anyway and slightly different, I think!!

We have just booked a 4 day Macchu Picchu trek for next Tues 18th and we are doing the Lares Trek as the main Inca Trail has been booked out for months after the  bad rain and landslides a few months ago. We don´t mind as this trek is less crowded  than the Inca Trail, which has 500 people a day going up it and it can get congested. The Lares Trek goes through little villages and over a pass with dramatic mountain scenery and past some lakes so we are looking forward to it.
There is plenty to see here without going very far, lots of Inca ruins and Spanish cathedrals, churches and different museums to keep us occupied or it is just nice people watching from a cafe above the main square.

Since my last email from Rio we walked the whole length of Copacabana beach, which is quite long and it was all action with volleyball, football and the beautiful people parading round in their skimpy g strings and speedoes. We went to two favelas (shanty towns) on a Favela tour (would have been too dangerous to go on our own).It was very interesting seeing how they live in makeshift houses all on top of each other most of them illegal or not recognised by the government.

We went to a football game at the Maracana and really enjoyed the experience even though there was not a very big crowd (they had an important cup game a few days later). We sat next to the people with drums and instruments who were singing and making a lot of noise. We saw the local team Flamengo  play Sao Paolo and it was 1-1. The crowd went crazy when Flamengo equalised so they were happy in the end.

One night had a Brazilian BBQ which means a massive amount of meat but we managed to eat quite a bit but could not do it too often!
The Red Bull air race was on at the weekend were were there so we watched it at Flamengo and Botafoga beaches. It is amazing how the little planes fly through the gates with such accuracy and agility especially as they are under time pressure to complete the course.

That is it for now.
Hope you are all well.
Adios!

Diana and Dave

Greetings from Rio de Janeiro!

Hello from a hot and humid Rio De Janeiro.

 

We are in Ipanema at the moment yes the one from the song ``Girl from Ipanema` which is where our hostel is.

You can see it here at

http://www.mangotreehostel.com/

 

We have actually just had our evening meal at the Girl from Ipanema restaurant, it was where the famous song was written.

We had a delicious ``cook your own steak at the table` meal with a busker nearby playing THAT song which has been in my head all day!

 

Arrived here yesterday morning and had a look around Ipanema beach with the locals playing football and volleyball on the

beach. The local area is nice with upmarket shops and nice restaurants and bars and pleasant to walk around day or night.

 

We flew overnight from Chicago via Miami so were really knackered yesterday. 

 

It is all very hot and tropical here with balmy evenings. It has been 30 degrees today.

 

We did a fantastic city tour today and went up the mountain to see the world famous Corcovado and Christ the Redeemer statue but unfortunately it is being

restored so was mainly covered in scaffolding. There were wonderful views from the top of Rio.

 

Went into the city centre and to areas with lots of old Portuguese buildings.

 

They had a lot of rain here 3 weeks ago and you can see where lots of landslides have happened. Lots of houses on the steep hillsides (in the favelas)  were washed away and people killed.

 

Here are a few pics of the statue, not ours though.

 

http://shanesthoughts.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/christ-the-redeemer.jpg

 

http://colouroflife.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/brasilriodejaneirocorcovado.jpeg

 

Went up Sugar Loaf mountain for sunset  and once again there were amazing views. The Christ the Redeemer statue actually looked better from afar  as you could get the real shape and it looked good especially when lit up after sunset.

 

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/179/461606141_32f39d27f1.jpg

 

It is such a beautiful city  with the mountains and beaches and surrounded by tropical rain forest.

 

 

We are going to a football game at the Maracana stadium on Sunday to see the local team, Flamengo, it should be interesting with the crazy fans with their samba music, drums, singing and flag waving. Will be interesting to compare it to an English game. We saw the outside of the stadium on our tour today and it is massive. It will be closed for 18 months in a months time for renovation for the world cup so is good timing.

 

They are football mad here which makes a nice change to the United States and Japan!

Tomorrow we are hiring bicycles and will cycle over to Copacabana which is the next beach. I will probably have that Barry Manilow song in my head all day!

 

They are gearing up for the Olympics here in Rio in 2016 and the World Cup in Brazil in 2014 so they are cleaning up the city with more police around keeping an eye on things.

The locals are friendly here and the hostel here is run by Aussies.

 

We don´t know any Portuguese but are getting by and making ourselves understood.

 

We leave here on Monday and head for Peru.

 

We had a great time in the UK as I mentioned before. We had a lovely weekend at my brother´s in the New Forest and enjoyed a great walk in the spring sunshine followed by a real ale at a country pub.

 

It was great to be back and see everyone.

 

It was good to see Simon too in Chicago and the day we left we had time to see where he works in the Hancock building in the city and then we went up Sears Tower (now called Willis tower) as we could not go up it when we were in Chicago in 2001 just after 9/11 happened. We walked back to Simon´s place along the parks by the lake, Lake Michigan and there is even a beach on the lake. So we got a feel as to how close to the city he is, it took about 50 minutes. It was a lovely warm spring day but nobody was swimming the lake though!

 

That is it for now.

Hope you are all well.

I am lucky to get on this computer here at the hostel as they have three of them but they are always being used so I am making the most of the opportunity.

 

Lots of love from Diana and Dave

XX
--
Diana Ellem