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.
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.
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!
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
