Three Months of Getting Lost

Well, once again there has been a change of plan and I decided not to go to the Caribbean coast. It would have been lovely but I really did not fancy another two days of travelling. Time was running out. Therefore I left Puerto Lopez (weather was not great and beach pretty shitty) and have made my way to a place called Canoa. It is in the North West of Ecuador and on the Pacific coast. Today has been pretty warm (about 30 degrees) and the beach is certainly very pretty. I am not sure if there is much coral but I intend to have a proper search for it tomorrow!

The bad news is that I seem to have lost my camera (the one that I bought). I think it happened sometime over the past three days (during the marathon bus journey). The memory card has also gone. Therefore I have lost hundreds and hundreds of photographs!

The good news is that almost all of the photographs were backed up on my friend, Ricks, USB memory card. He has already downloaded many of them onto Facebook. I also have those that I have uploaded to the blog. Therefore I will, over the next few days, buy another memory stick and transfer all the photographs over. Unfortunately there will not be any of the Amazon as we had not got around to transferring them onto his facebook account. The Amazon was great although in all honesty I did not see much wildlife. However it was certainly something I will remember for the rest of my life (I got some great shots as well but, alas, they are all lost now!)

I am not going to buy another camera now (it was insured and I have a police report) although might buy a cheap disposable one here just to get some shots of the beach.

I intend to stay here for about a week and then make my way to Quito for a couple of days before finally getting to Bogota for the flight home!

I will probably not blog again now until a day or two before I leave. I want to rest now, catch some rays and swim!

Well the last few days have been eventful to say the least!

Early Saturday morning I joined a group and guide and travelled to Machu Picchu. There are a number of options available to reach the sacred site and almost all of them are, in Peruvian terms, expensive. Clearly the Government understands the importance of this archaelogical treasure, and the tourism it brings into the country, so try and squeeze every last penny out of us gringos. The options available to me were via the Inca trail (a four day hike) which costs about three hundred sterling. A train that takes you to a few kilometres from the site for half that price, or a car and then a hike for about seventy five pounds. Needless to say I´m on a budget and chose the latter option.

We left at eight in the morning and were dropped at a hydroelectric plant by about five in the evening. We then hiked for about three hours to Aguas Calientes - a town located in the valley below Machu Picchu. The town itself is nothing special and seems to exist just because of the famous city kilometres above it.

I awoke at five thirty the following morning and decided to walk to the famous Inca ruin. There were buses carrying passengers but for some apparent reason (not sure why) I felt brave, healthy, wanted to really get a view of the valleys below and also soak up the atmosphere. I was forty five minutes into the hike, all up hill, when I began to regret my decision. Nevertheless I continued and reached Machu Picchu by about seven thirty in the morning. Before entering the site I settled down for a spot of breakfast and gallons of water!

Once again I feel kind of embarrassed to admit to this but the site itself really is awe-inspiring. It has been immaculately maintained and by all accounts has changed little over the years. Its remote location meant it was one of the very few Inca cities that the Spanish never found - indeed there is no mention of it in any of their official history books on South America when they invaded. For this reason it is perhaps the greatest archaelogical treat on the continent. Historians are still in some disagreement as to when it was built. Some argue it was constructed at the height of the Inca empire, whilst others claim it was built much later as a royal retreat to avoid the invading conquistadors. Regardless, it is truly fantastic.

For me, anyway, what really made it special was its inaccessible location - situated and looking down upon the Urubamba gorge. I slightly redden in the face when I admit that at one point I sat staring down at the beauty of the surrounding terrain and began to contemplate what life really meant! It took me half an hour to pull myself together and, once again, remind myself that I am not a hippy! All I can say in my defence is that if one was there it would be easier to understand what I mean.

Fortunately I got to the site before all the hordes of tourists turned up. Sure, the place was still pretty busy but there was a tranquility about the place that left a lasting impression on me.

I have also seen the only "old wonder of the world" left, the Pyramids, twice now, and although I appreciate the great craftmanship that went into building them thousands of years ago, they really do not compare, in terms of beauty or location, to what I saw over the weekend.

The only complaint I have is that I could not have stayed longer. I needed to be back at Aguas Calientes by one in the afternoon so was only really at the site for about four hours. It would have been quite easy to spend a whole day there.

Anyway, I am now back in Cuzco and once again there has been a change of plan. I hope to see the jungle from here (hopefully book tomorrow) and then make my way North to a beach in Ecuador or Columbia. If I time it right I should still be able to spend the last two weeks sunbathing, reading and snorkelling.

I will post a comment before I leave for the jungle just so everybody knows my whereabouts.

Tomorrow morning I will be leaving Cuzco and making the trip to Machu Picchu. I am looking forward to seeing the undisputed archaelogical gem of the continent although will also be sad to say goodbye to Cuzco. Thus far, out of all the cities I have visited (Tupiza was really just a small town) I think it is my favourite (Sorry Sucre!) It is the continents longest continually inhabited city, and although completely overrun with tourists still has a charm that really is quite unique.

The main plaza is beautiful and I absolutely adore the fact that the locals (like most South Americans) need no persuading to enjoy themselves. Us Europeans really could learn a thing or two from them. We often take ourselves far, far too seriously.

Last night the plaza was jampacked with people for yet another celebration. In nineteen hundred and eleven an American historian called Hiram Bingham stumbled across what is now known as Machu Picchu. By all accounts he was actually looking for the last stronghold of the Inca's, the lost city of Vilacabamba. Anyway, I have no idea if it was one hundred years to the day yesterday but live footage from Machu Picchu was beamed throughout Peru. I just hope they have cleaned the mess up by the time I arrive!

I should get back on Monday morning and then I have a trip from hell. First a bus journey to Lima and then another (perhaps with a day stop over in the capital) to a Peruvian/Ecuadorian border town called Tumbes. I have decided against Iquitos due to time constraints and the very real possibility of getting stuck there (the only way in or out is by boat or flight!) Anyway, it is going to be at least a two day trip, but once done will leave me three weeks to explore some of the Amazon with a guide (in South East Ecuador) and then the tropical beaches along the Ecuadorian and Columbian coast. Happy days!

I may not have time to blog again in Lima so it may be five or six days before you all hear from me again (a collective sigh of relief!)

I have recently been reminded that I have not posted anything for a few days so thought I would get my words down before going to a bar to watch the Copa America (Come on Peru!)

I know this is not the first time I have written about the beauty of this continent, but once again, Cuzco is a truly stunning city. Perhaps one of the greatest of cities I have ever had the delight to visit (particularly around the central plaza), and certainly a visual feast for the eyes.

As I am sure you are all aware it was the base for the Inca empire and the central plaza is a strange mix of old Inca walling and fantastically built Cathedrals. I will not go into too much detail now, but will certainly post again before I leave the city. I hope to visit Machu Picchu tomorrow and then need to make my mind up as to where to visit next. Top of the list is Iquitos (the largest landlocked city on the planet and bang in the heart of the Amazon!) However that would mean either a six day boat trip from Pulcappa, or a bus to Lima and then an hour and a half flight. The second option is preferable. Despite this, I am also aware that I only have just over four weeks left before reality hits me in the face and I do not want to get stranded in a city with no economically viable way out. I´m pretty sure we could charter a boat (if there is enough of us to get from Iquitos into Ecuador), and I am very, very determined to spend the last three weeks on a beach in Ecuador and/or Columbia.

Anyway, enough rambling. Apologies if this blog is rushed but I wanna go to a bar and support the Peruvians! Hopefully if they win the atmosphere will be electric. The one thing I have discovered is that the local population absolutely love a party!

I have purchased another camera (which actually works like a dream). The shots below (some are cropped so the quality could be better) are from another festival I seem to keep running into. This was on Sunday morning.

Well I have finally left Bolivia. What a great country! I leave behind great memories, some stories I could not possibly publish and many, many laughs. I will definitely come back one day,

The last few days have been hectic. I left La Paz on Thursday (I think) and made my way, with Rick and Tony, to Copacabana. It is a little fishing village set on the shores of Lake Titicaca. Very relaxed, great grub and totally tourist friendly. Indeed I felt safer walking down the roads their than I ever did in some parts of London. I m not a great lover of fish but have eaten it most evenings over the past few days. It is fresh and cooked to perfection.

We spent two evenings in Copacabana before making our way to the Isla Del Sol. It is an island about and hour and a half from the shore and bang in the middle of Lake Titicaca. By the way Titicaca is the highest altitude lake in the world (another useless piece of information for you all!)

Anyway, the Isla Del Sol is absolutely fabulous. Very beautiful, tranquil and quite literally in the middle of nowhere. By all accounts the island is the mythological birthplace of the sun in Inca mythology. According to the guidebook it was here that "The bearded white god Viracocha and the first Incas, Manco Capac and his sister wife Mama Ocllo, made their first mystical appearances."

We were staying on the south of the island. On our second day we decided to hike to the north and visit the Inca ruins located at a place called Chincana. Big, big mistake. We set off at about two thirty in the afternoon (after a hearty lunch) and did not arrive at the ruins until at least six. In all honesty they were pretty disappointing and by the time we began to make our way back the sun had gone down. We somehow missed the trail back and got stuck somewhere under a small mountain. I was wearing only a t-shirt and absolutely freezing. We somehow ended back on the trail by, and I joke you not, climbing a rock face for about fifteeen minutes. Not the most sensible thing I have ever done but it just about beat freezing to death. Needless to say I slept like a baby when I got back to the hotel.

We are now In Puno (Peru) which is on the west of Lake Titicaca. The miners who had been blocking the road seem to have reached an agreement with the government. The only evidence of their presence now are large boulders in the road! I have only been here a day and although am impressed will be moving onto Cuzco probably tomorrow. I hope to visit Machu Pichu, a town called Pucallpa (where I will rent a guide and visit the Amazon) and then head north to Ecuador and Columbia for the last few weeks on a tropical beach!!

On a sadder note Tony, one of our travelling companions, is leaving tonight. We hope to meet up with him again in Cuzco. My camera has also broken so will need to invest in a new one in Cuzco (some of these pics are from Tonys camera).