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[bristolianbackpacker]

Day 33 & 34 - Travelling to Bristol

The long wait and long flight goes by and I arrive in Madrid with just a few hours sleep to discover that my BA flight has been cancelled. Iberia staff refuse to help me as “I am now a BA customer” and tell me to collect my bags, go through immigration and find BA staff at checkin. After a long period where Iberia are unable to find my baggage I discover that there are no BA staff at the airport. I decide to try my luck on an easyJet flight to Bristol - I transfer terminal. Frustratingly it still has spare seats but online sales have stopped and they don’t sell tickets in person.

BA online chat tell me I need to talk to Iberia 😡 Back to the other terminal and Iberia desk and they finally start to “help” me by offering a flight to Split and then to London tomorrow. I have to decide immediately as the staff are leaving and they tell me there is no other way of getting there as everything is sold out so I reluctantly take it. I am given a voucher for an airport hotel. By this point it’s been 5 hours since I landed, I am beyond tired and hungry and I cannot think straight. I grab a quick sandwich before trying to get the courtousy bus to the hotel. It doesn’t turn up for 45 mins and when it finally does it only has 6 seats and people push in. I go and join the taxi line and wonder what else can go wrong.

I arrive at the hotel after midnight and check in. My pickup is at 4:30am. I make a decision that I can no longer trust Iberia or BA and I don’t want to end up stranded in Croatia so I book an Air Europa flight from Madrid to Gatwick tomorrow morning. I take a quick shower and try to get some shut eye. Unfortunately my brain, even though it’s beyond tired, cannot switch off from all of the drama of the day. Plus the torture instrument that this hotel call a bed is not helping - sounds about right that Iberia would choose the cheapest/worst hotel to put stranded customers up in. I end up getting about 90 mins sleep.

Air Europa, despite me having never heard of them, come to my rescue and get me to London early. My amazing Dad drives 5 hours round trip to collect me from Gatwick and take me to Bristol. I have never been more relieved to be home.

[bristolianbackpacker]

Day 32 - Santiago

I have another slow start to the morning as I don’t need to checkout until 11am and my flight isn’t until 10:20pm so I try to make the most of the warm apartment while I’ve got it.

I pack up my stuff and need somewhere to store my luggage for the day. I’ve booked a Stasher (think of Airbnb for the luggage storage world) at a hostel nearby. It’s only a 15min walk but I get an Uber as I have so much stuff. Of course nobody answers the security door when I get dropped off so I’m stuck in the middle of nowhere. After a while somebody leaves the hostel and I am able to get in. Eventually I find a worker to helps me store my luggage in a very insecure place. It makes me feel really uncomfortable but I don’t know what else to do with it.

I take the metro back to Lastarria where I get some lunch - I’m feeling like a pasta and having this as more of my main meal today. I’m still not particularly hungry after porridge this morning but I know I won’t be able to get around the museum without food. The waiter speaks English, the menu is in English and the food is good - yay!!

Recharged I’m off to the Museum of Memory and Human Rights. It’s a very impressive building and there is a long line to get in - it seems to be really popular with locals which is good to see. Unfortunately a lot of text is not translated into English so there is only so much I can take from it.

Whilst I’m at the museum Iberia text me to say my flight will be delayed by more than 2 hours - arghh! I just want to get home now and this means I will miss my connection to London. Also I’m pretty much done exploring and I still have another 8 hours until my flight.

After a McCafé break I decide to grab my luggage (which is luckily still where I left it) and go to the airport extra early (7 hours early). Reluctantly the staff at the airport change my connecting flight to a BA flight to London - it’s the last flight of the day and I am glad I’ve got a head start on everyone else trying to rebook. At 8:30pm I join the checkin line which takes an hour, another 45 mins to get through immigration by which point I am famished so head straight for Maccas.

[bristolianbackpacker]

Day 31 - Santiago

We wake up and get Jack packed up ready for the airport. I was supposed to be doing a day trip to the Andes today but it was cancelled because the weather has closed the road. It’s probably for the best as it gives me time in the morning to help get Jack on the road.

After Jack leaves I spend a while in the apartment. Before lunch I head to the Museum of Pre-Columbian Art that was recommended yesterday. I am wandering around trying to find somewhere suitable for a quick lunch before I head in but I am feeling lost. It’s so strange to be on my own after walking in these same streets laughing and joking with Jack the day before. Eventually I just get a cheese emprenda - it’s quite different to what I’ve had elsewhere - it’s almost deep fried.

Tummy full I can tackle the museum. I’m not blown away - there are many many impressive artefacts but it doesn’t seem to tell a coherent story.

After the museum I remortgage the house in order to be able to buy a coffee and cinnamon bun from Starbucks. It’s nice to sit in familiar surroundings for a while and sip away at my jug of coffee. Then I head to the Costanera centre for the supermarket and to see if it’s worth doing any clothes shopping here (it’s not).

Back home and time for a cuppa.

For dinner I’m still full from the cinnamon bun so I opt for a nearby Mexican place where I can just grab 2 tacos.

[bristolianbackpacker]

Day 30 - Santiago

We have the alarm set because we have a busy day of sightseeing planned for our last day together. We wake up to a sunnier day than yesterday and the city is looking great from our balcony with the beautiful snow capped Andes surrounding us.

First up is a free walking tour of the city. We take the Metro to Plaza de Armas - first we need to buy a Bip! Card (love the name). The process is super easy (take note Buenos Aires!). As soon as we are on the train Jack thinks there is something strange about it but he can’t put his finger on it - more research is required.

Our tour is due to be 4 hours long but luckily we get swapped out of the bilingual tour to anther guide who is doing English only so it’s only going to be 2.5 hours long.

We start off in Plaza de Armas and take a quick peek inside the cathedral which is beautiful.

Claudio is our guide and is very enthusiastic with lots of hand gestures to animate his stories. We find out more about the native people of Chile - the Mapuche. We stop by the Museum of Pre-Columbian Art which comes recommended.

Outside of La Moneda Palace (The Presidents Office) we hear about the Pinochet dictatorship and what lead to it (American intervention to prevent communism) and about more recent social and political crisis which I wasn’t aware of and we both found really interesting. A 30 Peso rise in the Santiago metro fare resulted in over a million people taking to the streets to protest. This resulted in two new constitutions being drafted both of which were defeated at the referendum ballot box leaving the country in a bit of a directionless future.

Drop by past the Old Stock Exchange building where we hear a bit more about earthquakes in Chile and how buildings now need to be earthquake proofed up to 7.0 on the Richter scale.

The last stop is the Lastarria neighbourhood which has lots of upscale restaurants. Claudio tells us a bit about Chilean cuisine. We find out that a traveller brought concept of the hotdog back from New York, added diced tomatoes, guacamole and mayo toppings to call it a “Completo italiano” because it looks like the Italian flag. Anything “European” is seen as trendy so it caught on ha! He also gives us a few recommendations for restaurants which we take up straight away for lunch - we share a beef sandwich with some kind of corn concoction and a fried egg. Washed down with a cider which is a bit more British style - not as carbonated or sweet. Delish!

Next up we walk back a little bit to climb the Santa Lucia hill - it gives a great panoramic view of the city which is great on this clear sunny day.

Another hill to climb - now it’s San Cristóbal Hill - this one is much higher and we take the funicular up and the cable car back down. This brings us back nearer to the Costanera centre so we go home for a cuppa.

We’ve been sat down resting for a while and quickly realise that the sun is about to set so dash back outside and head over to the Costanera centre to go to the observation deck. It’s on levels 61 and 62 so again we get a great view of the city. It turns out we went up at a great time as we caught the sunset and then got to see the city in the dark.

At the top they were giving out free tastings of Chilean wine so we queue up and get one but it wasn’t really worth the wait. We haven’t had much but from what we have tasted Chilean wine seems to be a bit hit or miss (unlike Argentine wine).

Next up we take the metro back to Lastarria for dinner. Our first choice is too busy to we go to a Chilean-Peruvian fusion place that has a million types of Pisco. We order a pisco cocktail (it would be rude not to!), Jack gets the salmon and I get the beef.

Next up we try go to a rooftop bar nearby but the beer was terrible and the atmosphere was pretty average so we head back to the place we stopped at for lunch and get some more cider. We spend some of our time here researching the metro - we reaised earlier that the difference was that it used rubber tyres so of course we needed to know the pros and cons of this technology. Then on the way home we stop at the Irish bar opposite our accomodation for a night cap.

[bristolianbackpacker]

Day 29 - Travelling to Santiago

It’s a 6:15am wake up, I swear we are waking up earlier on holiday than we would do at home. Final pack up and some oats and off to the airport we go.

Both the flight to Lima and to Santiago are uneventful. As soon as we land in Santiago the cold air hits us…we aren’t used to this! We grab an Uber to our accomodation around dinner time. We are staying near in an apartment near the Costanera centre. This is the biggest skyscraper in Latin America and we wonder why this building is so much bigger than the rest of the city (corruption?)

We head straight out to the shopping mall at the Costanera centre and grab a Wendy’s for dinner…because who doesn’t need a square burger? It’s pretty average but ever since getting sick and wanting something fast at Puerto Maldonado we’ve been craving a burger. Whilst we are in the mall we get some chores done - we buy a bag from Decathlon so that Jack can bring some of my stuff back home and pickup a few bits from the supermarket. It’s our first hypermarket experience in South America and reminds me of a Carrefour - absolutely huge. Time to head back and get some rest.

[bristolianbackpacker]

Day 28 - Puerto Maldonado

Today was originally planned to be our relaxing day at the hotel after the Amazon, but given we are still recovering we could still do with a day to rest up. It’s a slow start and we head down for breakfast - salty eggs in salty buttered, salty bread. We are going to have a coronary if we stay in this town too long!

We sit by the pool and take a very short dip (it’s still not exactly typical jungle weather). One of our hotel staff let us know that there is a sloth in one of the trees next to us. This was the one animal I was separate to see when we came to the Amazon and had remained elusive until now but it’s really just a blob in the tree as it’s asleep.

We head into town for lunch armed with some recommendations - both from the hotel and from Marco who told me a few restaurants where we might be able to spot sloths.

We grab lunch at a cafe and share a chicken sambo with Brazil nuts plus a quinoa salad bowl. Both delicious and only moderately salty. But no sloths to be found.

We head to another place (a hotel) for a coffee and then invite ourselves in after for a sloth search but nada. We take a tuktuk back to our hotel - an interesting experience on dirt roads.

Back to the hotel it is, hopefully there is some more sloth action there. Jack is booked in for a massage so I go back to the pool to find the one from earlier. After a few minutes I find it, a few minutes later and it’s moving, next it’s dangling from the branch facing me with baby strapped on both itching their heads. I AM LOSING MY MIND AT WHAT I AM SEEING BEFORE MY EYES!! This better be a seriously good massage Jack is getting.

For dinner we head back into town and we each get a chicken dish with buffet salad.

Time to pack our bags again ready for our flight tomorrow. Farewell Puerto Maldonado, the Amazon has been an amazing experience but I think we are both keen to move on by this point.

[bristolianbackpacker]

Day 27 - Puerto Maldonado and Lake Sandoval

This hotel has been such a lifesaver for us! Jack is still in the depths of the symptoms when we wake up. We grab some brekkie and I pack up our stuff as we need to move to our next hotel today.

I get picked up at 12:45pm for the trip to the lake. It’s a 10min taxi, 40min boat ride, 1 hour hike to the lake. Marco is my guide again which is a relief. He greets me with his usual directness “Benjamin, vamos!!”. Nice to see you too Marco, yes I’m feeling better thanks for asking 😂

Along the hike Marco explains a bit about this area. About 80 years ago a family moved in around the lake. They were involved in timber trade and cleared the area of a lot of its most valuable trees. They also participated in collecting tropical fruits to sell, fishing and farming. This has left the area looking quite different to Chuncho - much less primary forest here due to the clearing. The secondary forest that remains can eventually return to primary forest now that it is protected but it will take a longgg time naturally. The only big trees that remain are figs as nobody wanted their softwood. It was only made a national reserve about 20 years ago and the family have been allowed to remain. They now all work in the tourism industry (the five children of the original parents that moved in each have their own lodge on the lake). It feels a bit like this family have managed to monopolise the lake.

Before we even get out of the creek in the canoe Marco spots a caiman. This one is a black caiman which grows much bigger than the white caiman we spotted the other day at Chunchos. It’s only a juvenile though so 60-70cm long. It takes me so long to even spot him despite Marcos detailed instructions on how to find him. They camouflage so well and don’t move a muscle.

The lake is huge and so beautiful. The main aim is to spot one of the giant river otters that live here but there are only 6 (one family) so it’s difficult.

We spot a bunch of different birds - the Squirrel Cuckoo, two Stinky Birds, a Snake Birds (with its wings open to dry out after fishing), a Ringed Kingfisher and an eagle that nearly caught another bird.

Marco spots a huge 4m caiman through his binoculars. He theorises that it might be hunting the baby otters. Interestingly, the otters are the apex predators on the lake and will kill the caimans so it tries to kill off the babies whilst it still can before it becomes the prey. Unfortunately no luck spotting the otters, but I spend quite a while just watching it through the binoculars - it moves so fast but stealthily.

Aguaje palm trees surround the lake, there are home to macaws so later on before we leave we see them all returning from their days activities to nest for the night.

Time to paddle back, it’s starting to get dark so we briskly walk back through the jungle to get to the boat.

Whilst I’ve been away Jack has moved our stuff to the next hotel so I meet him there. It’s another fancy place compared to where we’ve been - hopefully we will be feeling well enough to actually enjoy it. We have dinner at the hotel as it’s a little outside of town and we need something convenient. It’s a three course set menu that is vegetarian only but it gets good reviews so we go for it. The food is nice but again it’s all so salty.

[bristolianbackpacker]

Day 25 & 26 - Puerto Maldonado

The rest of the group leave the jungle this morning after breakfast and me and Jack are due to stay another night - we have already arranged with Marco to do kayaking, piranha fishing and a hike but by 6am we both realise that this is not possible. Jack head off to find him to try and get us back to civilisation in case I get any worse.

I dose up and force down some breakfast, and grin and bear the 2 hour journey back to town. We find the nearest hotel to town with aircon and book in for 2 nights. We will miss the rest of our tour (one night in the same lodge and one night at Lake Sandoval) but we know we couldn’t have stayed as Jack is now starting to cough.

We both sleep on and off for the next 2 days taking it in turns to duck out and grab food/water depending on who is feeling better at the time.

By the end of the second day I am starting to feel a bit better - fatigue has eased and my fever has gone so I decide to arrange with the tour company to Lake Sandoval tomorrow afternoon as a half day trip instead whilst Jack rests up.

We are finding that this town is really not setup for tourism yet. The few restaurants that exist are clearly targeted at locals, most of them strangely seem to sell desserts only, few of them have menus and often what they do sell is sold out. It’s a struggle to find lunch/dinner options - especially when we can’t think straight. On Sunday evening I order a takeaway lasagna from the place opposite our hotel that is suppose to take 15mins. This turns into an hour and then we cannot eat it because it is SOOO SALTY!

[bristolianbackpacker]

Day 24 - The Peruvian Amazon

We head to the dining room for coffee before we start our boat trip. Neither of us slept very well - not really on account of the animal noises surrounding us but because my cough is getting worse, plus the bedsheets were damp because of the humidity. Today we are going to the Macaw clay lick. We take the boat 90 mins upstream and pull up to a “beach” alongside a bunch of other boats. We sit on our stools waiting for the parrots to arrive. There are some birds flying overhead an in the trees but it’s a slow morning - Marco assures us that as long as it doesn’t rain they will come. In the meantime we learn a bit about the different macaws, parrots and parakeets we can see). After a while we go back to the boat and have some breakfast that was packed for us - a boiled egg in a brioche bun (a little strange but it fills a hole).

Not long after starting breakfast the birds start to come. We finish up and bring our stools back up the beach to watch. The birds are quite far across the river from where we are but we can see them through Marco’s telescope. He explains to us that the birds come here for two reasons 1) to get minerals from the clay and 2) to find a mate (parrots stay in couples and are monogamous).

Apparently there were some other clay licks in the region bit as the clay cliffs have moved further from the riverbank vegetation has grown over them meaning that the parrots no longer visit. Marco says this is the case for Collpa Colorado and Collpa Chunchos hence today we are at Collpa Ocho Gallinas (although on Google maps it is marked as Collpa Chunchos). This is one of the last remaining so they need to keep it clear of vegetation to prevent this from happening.

Next we jump back on the boat and go down a smaller channel to try and spot other wildlife. We find several families of Capybara (Jack was very happy about this), a caiman and lots of turtles.

Time to take the boat back to the lodge - we need a nap. We manage to sleep better as we are so tired but I also start getting a fever - I’m wrapped up in blankets despite it being hot.

At 1pm we head into the dining room for our lunch - it’s Aji de Gallina (the dish I had in Cusco).

I’m dosed up on meds so feeling a bit better, there is just enough time to use the wifi before we go on the 3pm hike.

The hike is not very far and we are continually stopping to see stuff. Some things that we encounter are a tarantula’s nest (Marco tries to entice it out by simulating pray with a vine but it doesn’t fool for it) and learn some more about the trees in the area. One tree has a fruit (Jagua) that’s juice can be used as tattoo ink - a few volunteers come forward and Marco applies it directly with his machete - it goes on clear but apparently will go black later and will last 1-2 weeks. The Ceiba Pentandra (kapok) tree rather than having fruits produces a cotton like seed that floats away from the tree.

At various points most of the group have been dressed down by Marco for talking too much or asking a question if it’s already been answered. He’s very friendly but at the same time he won’t hold back if he gets frustrated 😂

We also learn a bit more about the timber trade - we see another beautiful Ceiba Pentandra tree which is about 50 meters high and is the tree where the king vultures were perched that we spotted from the tower yesterday. The base of the trees trunk reminds me of a fig. Unfortunately these trees are logged for making plywood. Marco explains that the Chunchos land under its original owner was used to log mahogany and cedar to the point that these trees cannot be found here anymore. Plus planting of rubber trees and harvesting of latex for the car industry.

We also stop at an Ironwood (Shihuahuaco) tree. This hardwood is good for building houses hence why it is a target for loggers. Shockingly it is also commonly used for charcoal packets in Europe - what a waste!! Apparently the government will protect this tree within 18months. The Brazil Nut also a target for its timber has already been protected.

These trees are near the property’s boundary and if they were outside they would have already been cut down for sure.

We head back to the hotel via the shortcut route which I am glad about as I’ve been struggling on this walk.

When we get back Marco offers to take us back out in another hour for a night walk and I’d love to go but we decide to stay home as I’m feeling so exhausted.

For dinner we have spag bol and end up staying talking to our group until nearly 10pm. By the time I get up from the table and walk back to the room I suddenly realise how ill I feel - I am completely wiped out, my body is aching. It’s time for bed but I cannot sleep as I am coughing so much and my fever is back throughout night.

[bristolianbackpacker]

Day 23 - The Peruvian Amazon

We are being picked up at 9:00am for our tour. Breakfast is complementary at the hotel but I just need some oats. 

Our cold symptoms have pretty much cleared up but now I have a cough developing. Marco our guide for the next 5 days picks us up and we go via a pharmacy to get some cough syrup and lozenges. 

We head to the HQ to drop some of our stuff off and we start the 90min drive to the lodge. It’s fairly unusual that we can access our lodge by road as most lodges are accessible by boat only. Our lodge would take 5 hours to reach if we were travelling by boat. Once we arrive we just need to take a short boat ride to the other side of the river and we get an intro from Marco, meet the other guests properly - there are two couples from UK and one from US/Canada.  We then get shown to our rooms where we have a little downtime. The room is a bit basic but it’s exactly what I was expecting. 

The site is big and they are building more lodges, the gardens are so well maintained with flowers and fruits growing - plenty of bananas on the trees. 

It takes us quite a while to walk from our lodge back to the lunchroom as there is so much wildlife to see - butterflies, two types of monkeys.

Lunch is served at 1:00pm and it’s really good considering we are in the middle of nowhere. Beetroot, potatoes and carrot salad as entree and vegetable curry for main followed by some watermelon. 

Eating together in the group at set meal times makes it feel a little like boarding school but the group are really nice and we are getting on well so it’s nice to sit together. 

More downtime before we go on a walk later. We need to get adjusted to island time - especially given the limited internet access!

We meet back up at 4:00pm to go on a short 10min walk to a lookout tower. 

The lookout tower is 38m high and is a little scary for me as it gets quite wobbly at the top but it’s easy to get distracted with wildlife spotting. Marco brings his huge telescope so we can zoom in on things - it really puts out Temu binoculars to shame. We see lots of birds - a few types of vultures (3 king vultures were perched in the top of a nearby tree which Marco said was very rare - they were absolutely massive!), a few types of toucans and the olive crested oropendola.

After spotting for a while, it starts getting dark but we stay at the top whilst Marco gives us some information about the area. The lodge is situated on 30 square hectares of private land and it borders Tambopata National Reserve which is 205,000 square hectares. The national reserve is protected land but there is plenty of other land in the Peruvian Amazon that isn’t protected where mining is allowed. He also says that during COVID gold miners started illegally mining in the park because it wasn’t able to be monitored effecting by rangers but this has since been cracked down on. We also find out a bit about native tribes that do not have contact with other humans (plus some that do). 

By the time we get to the bottom it’s really dark and we need our phone torches to get home. 

On the way back to the lodge we see spiders (incl. a deadly spider - I think it was the wandering spider but can’t remember 100% plus a tiny little spider that uses other dead insects to form a big fake spider in its web), a lizard, leaf cutter ants (so cool) and army ants (bad), some frogs plus a cane toad (we know all about this one!)

After the trek we get stuck into dinner - chicken with a creamy mushroom sauce, roasted potatoes and veg. So yummy! Also another older American couple have joined us. 

It’s an early night for us, we have to be ready for our excursion tomorrow at 4:45am! Also the electricity goes off at 10pm and I don’t fancy our chances walking along the uneven/non-handrailed boardwalk in the dark.

[bristolianbackpacker]

Day 22 - Puerto Maldonado

I wake up a little before the alarm - I think there were a few earthquake tremors as the door kept shaking. The dog wasn’t as bad last night but I still didn’t sleep great as I was quite hot with 100 alpaca blankets on the bed!

Quick breakfast and we grab an Uber to the airport for our flight to the jungle. It’s another LATAM chaotic scene as they are desperately trying to offload passengers at the gate (for a measly $25 compensation) so we assume they’ve overbooked the flight and go and queue up. We absolutely need to be on this flight as the next one isn’t until tomorrow and we will miss our tour. Apple Watch sends me a notification that my heart rate has been over 120bpm for an extended period 😰 After an hour, they tell us that it’s too hot in Puerto Maldonado and that we cannot fly unless 10 people are offloaded or it cools down so we should sit down. We go sit down and a few minutes later boarding begins and we’ve lost our place in the line - classic LATAM behaviour. Anyway the main this is that we make it on board but just before take off they announce that some bags have been offloaded but we thought it was only 3. When we land in Puerto Maldonado it’s 22 degrees - how on earth is this too hot?!? It turns out to be 40 bags offloaded and of course both of ours were. The process is that one guy is texting himself photos of people’s passports and accomodation details so that the bags can be sent over later tonight - what could possibly go wrong?!?

We get a taxi to our new accommodation which is on the river. It’s a little out of town but it’s really luxe (at least compared to where we’ve been staying). I tell Jack that we need to experience the lows to appreciate the highs!

There is an infinity pool which of course we cannot get in because our trunks are in the missing backpacks 😂

What else to do? Eat lunch and have a beer. Then spend the afternoon catching up on blog posts.

We have dinner and Jack tries one of the local river fish. The food is so fancy at this hotel!!

The bags arrive at 8:00 woohoo 🎉 time to shuffle things around - we can’t bring too much stuff to the jungle.

[bristolianbackpacker]

Day 21 - Cusco

The Incan gods seem to the telling us our time in Cusco is up and we should move on. After a crappy night sleep due to dog barking, we realise that we’ve lost our zoom camera lens. We bought this specifically for the jungle which is where we are heading next so it’s a bit frustrating. I shoot off a bunch of messages to see if it’s been handed in anywhere but keep expectations low. I take a shower and as soon as I’ve put shampoo in my hair the hot water stops. Jack gets the owner to soon fix it but I freeze in the meantime. At breakfast the only other family in the room are coughing all over us and then the child vomits down the stairs - nice! We ask the hostel if we can change rooms to a quieter one - the older lady at the front desk doesn’t speak English but is nice and offers us a room with no window but a huge bed. We figure it might be a little better in terms of noise so move all of our stuff. Next we go outside to grab an Uber and a stray dog cocks his leg on me 😫

We take the Uber to Q’enco archeological site, but it’s one of the less impressive sites and neither of us are really in the mood so it’s a short stop.

We Uber back to the city - we desperately need a refuge so we head to Mollys Irish bar and have a beer. I get a chicken salad to try feign some semblance of a healthy diet whilst Jack gets the hearty Irish stew.

After a while we’ve recovered enough that we can face the outside world again, but baby steps so we go straight to Starbucks for a coffee and sort through some photos.

Next up, another massage - we are determined to enjoy this day!! This one is a bit more remedial but my muscles are aching today so perhaps that’s not a bad thing.

For dinner we go to a cute Italian restaurant (only 4 tables) and share lasagne & pesto pasta along with a passion fruit pisco sour. YUMMM.

We take a quick look at a camera store and are amazed when we see our exact lens on sale but it turns out to be S/2800 - wayyy too much money.

Back at the hostel and the younger (son?) owner tries to rip us off with the exchange rate and then denies that he did it at all. Jack lets him have it.

Time for bed. I hope that dog isn’t back!

[bristolianbackpacker]

Day 20 - Machu Picchu & Huayna Picchu

The alarm goes off, we snap into action - shower and get ready. The hotel breakfast starts at 4:30am - they know their customers well haha.

We grab some eggs on toast and coffee to keep us going for a few hours of hiking. Our hotel store our bags after we check out. Today we climb Huayna Picchu. It’s not particularly long hike but it’s a huge elevation gain over a short distance. I’m a little worried about the climb as I’m scared of heights but we’ll see how it goes.

We take the bus up to the site and as I had feared it’s quite misty this early in the morning. However it’s kinda nice and mysterious with the clouds.

Firstly we are on Circuit 4 today so we can enter the Inka House that we looked down on yesterday.

Then we meander our way towards the Sacred Rock which is the start of the trek up Huayna Picchu. We are allowed to start a little earlier than our scheduled 7:00am start time so after signing in we begin the climb. It’s almost immediately lots of stairs but nothing too crazy. The first 3/4 of the hike we are surrounded by bush and enjoying the flowers. At some steep staircases they have metal chains to help you get up.

After this we get to the terraces where it’s cleared and you are able to better see how high up you are. Quickly followed by the “Stairs of Death”. We did need to climb up on our hands and knees but I think they are a little overhyped. Once we get up the stairs we get amazing views down into the valley so we stop for some photos.

It’s still cloudy so we stop to once side for half an hour and eat some snacks. My only struggle is when Jack stands really close to a sheer cliff edge whilst taking photos and it makes me feel a bit queezy!

After this, the clouds start to clear and we head up a short staircase to another terrace where there is spectacular views down over Machu Picchu. We stop again for a while to enjoy.

It’s the last little climb to the very summit, the space at the top is very limited so we don’t stay too long - just enough to snap some photos.

It’s all downhill from here!! The downhill is a little harder as my knee is playing up, but we take it slow. There are so many people climbing by this point (10am) and we keep needing to stop to let them last. Also they are all struggling in the heat so I’m super happy we chose the early slot.

WE MADE IT - I’m so proud of myself. The heights were barely a problem for me at all.

We make our way towards the exit and we stop off at the Temple of the Condor. The Condor (part of three of the Trilogy of the Andes world). The rock has been carved into the shape of a condor.

Ok it’s time to head back down to Aguas Calientes. I’ve been geeking out on Incan stuff for days now so it’s time for Jack to get to do something fun. We head straight for a message next to our hotel. We opt for the Incan massage with hot stones. It’s an hour of pure bliss - one of the best massages we’ve both had. Next we grab some lunch at a nearby restaurant. We both order the beef burritos (plus a pisco sour to celebrate) which look very much like tacos but they do the job.

By the time we pick up our bags it’s time to walk to the train station. This time it’s even more chaotic than yesterday, after a while with utter confusion we realise that the previous train is late to depart so the small station is packed with two trains worth of people. The staff don’t seem to know what is going on and keep telling us different things - the usual South American stuff.

We end up leaving about 40mins late which isn’t too bad but the train goes really slowly the whole way back to Ollantaytambo. We have a taxi prearranged to take us back to Cusco which then gets stuck in heaps of traffic so it’s quite late by the time we get in. Not ideal after our 4am wake up. We head straight out to grab some hot chips for dinner and some more water. The new hostel is pretty bad - black mould everywhere, it smells badly of drains, the walls are paper thin and a dog is barking all night!

One final thought before I sign off - I’ve realised upon returning to Cusco is that the altitude really messes with everything - for example Jack’s moisturiser exploded on him and it reminded me that the same thing happened to me with sunscreen when we first arrived here. The altitude pushed all of his snot out as soon as we arrived back (sorry TMI). Also we’ve noticed that the beer has way too much head and is a bit flat tasting. When the car was stuck in traffic earlier I started feeling sick - it’s difficult to differentiate between side effects from the tablets and actual altitude sickness but I think the summary is that my body just feels a bit fragile at 3400m but glad we took the tablets because everything we’ve experienced has been very very mild.

[bristolianbackpacker]

Day 19 - Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu

We have breakfast at our B&B and repack the bags. We are only allowed to bring small backpacks on the train so our big ones will be left at the accomodation in Ollantaytambo. It’s time to walk down the road to the train station. Our train leaves at 9:15am and for a continent that is famous for having no rules, PeruRail is very strict.

The train leaves on time to the minute but it’s a very bumpy 90min ride. Jack is not able to use the time to review any photos in case he gets motion sickness - he’s missing the Tangara!

We arrive at Aguas Calientes and our guide for Machu Picchu meets us at the station which is a relief because it’s a bit chaotic and Jack is stressed. Miguel shows us where to buy our bus tickets, takes us to our hotel to check in and goes back to wait in the bus line for us whilst we grab some lunch (empeñadas of course!). At noon we go back and meet up with Miguel and wait for our turn for the bus.

It takes 30 mins to reach the entry to Machu Picchu - up a very windy road with some sheer drops on the side so it’s a bit scary when we meet another bus coming down.

We use the baños, and wait for exactly 2:00pm to be able to enter. We thought PeruRail had lots of rules but Machu Picchu has even more. It’s at this point I realise my hours of research has paid off - Miguel says that our two tickets (circuit 2 + Inka Bridge and Circuit 4 + Wayna Picchu) are the two best tickets and we have chosen times with the least people. Miguel has briefed us that we will use the first 15mins to take photos and then go and do the Inka Bridge trek which takes 30mins. By the time we get back to do circuit 2 it should be much quieter.

First we stop at the upper part of the site where we you can get the “postcard” photos. Miguel is such a great photographer and ends up just taking Jacks phone for most of the tour so he can quickly snap away.

We walk the Inka Bridge trail which has some narrow sections but I find it ok. At the end of the trail where it’s very quiet Miguel gives us lots of information about the site.

He mentions that Pachacuti the 9th Incan ruler was very important as he greatly expanded the Incan empire. Pachacuti ruled from 1438 - 1471 and it is thought that he commissioned Machu Picchu.

But why here? The main reason was for a safety, not from invaders but from landslides. Another reason was to be closer to gods - it’s in the middle of the most important mountains to the Incans so it’s a religious centre. Also they found water here which made it easier. However, they had a problem - agriculture was difficult here. So they imported soil from the Sacred Valley.

They didn’t want to disturb the earth, so there was no quarry as many people think. Instead they used rock from landslides and incorporated their designs into the landscape e.g built around the rocks.

The terraces at Machu Picchu were not just for agriculture but perhaps more inportantly for retaining walls to help prevent landslides.

The population according to archeologists was 500-700 - much lower than previously thought. Nobody lived here permanently and families didn’t live here - people took it in turns to stay for perhaps 1-2 years.

After Pachacuti it was the beginning of the end of the Incan Empire. The 12th Incan ruler died along with his chosen heir (probably of smallpox introduced to the continent by the Spanish). His other two sons were granted separate rule over different areas of the empire Atahualpa, the northern portion centered on Quito and Huáscar, the southern portion centered on Cusco. However, a civil war broke out between the brothers. Atahualpa won the war but it has weakened the Incans and shortly after just 168 conquistadors arrived and captured him. He offer vast amounts of gold and silver for his release but upon providing the ransom he was not released and was instead executed.

After the Spanish took control of Cusco some remaining Incans fled and founded a new citadel called Vilcabamba. This lasted around 30 years until the Spanish discovered this site and destroyed it.

Meanwhile Machu Picchu was left abandoned for hundreds of years until Hiram Bingham discovered it in 1911. He was actually looking for Vilcabamba but locals instead showed him the way to Machu Picchu.

After all of this information we walked back along the Inka bridge trail and moved down onto the citadel itself. First through the main gate - it’s big so even Jack can fit through.

We walk through houses of the ‘professionals’ eg doctors, architects etc. It was possible to differentiate them from working class houses because of the big entrance doors.

We look down on the Temple of Sun and Miguel explains that its curved walls have significant importance. This site would have been used as an astronomical observatory.

We also look down on the Inka house nearby - the rulers home. This location was chosen because it was the first place to get water from the source and it was right next to the Temple of Sun.

We learn that the building style in Machu Picchu is different to what we have seen elsewhere in Cusco and the Sacred Valley - there is no tongue and groove mechanism between the blocks of stone. They are simply placed on top of each other. The area is not really prone to earthquakes like Cusco but it is not really known why this method was used. Also I noticed that they had used mortar in the walls around buildings which I hadn’t seen as much of elsewhere.

The other surprising element of the buildings themselves was that they plastered the internal walls in houses with yellow clay (and even possibly painted them). See the different colours of the internal vs external walls:

We make it all the way to Sacred Rock at the far side of the site. This is where a rock has been carved into the shape of the mountain behind. The Incans worshiped the mountains. Here Miguel gives us lots of tips for our climb of Huayna Picchu tomorrow - where to go, what to see before and after, what time we should get the bus etc.

We see the Water Mirrors - two perfectly formed ponds in the rock where water would reflect back the night sky to allow for astronomy.

Next up were the workers houses these were on 2 levels and would have been used for rest only.

It’s time to make our back out towards the exit. See you bright and early tomorrow Machu Picchu!

We take the bus back down, say our farewells to Miguel and do a few admin tasks - buy bus tickets for tomorrow, get more Soles from the ATM, get some groceries (water and snacks for tomorrows hike). Then we go to the hotel for a quick rest.

For dinner we go to Mapacho Craft Beer Restaurant - somewhere that was recommended by the waiter from Moray in Cusco. We have burgers and craft beer but we can’t stay awake too much longer. The alarm is set for 4:00 tomorrow.

[bristolianbackpacker]

Day 18 - Sacred Valley

We have breakfast at 7am so that we are ready for Lito to pick us up at 8am. I found Lito as a recommendation on a Facebook group. As soon as he picks us up I know that he is going to be a good guide - his English is really good. We’ve arranged to see 5 things and then be dropped off our at accomodation in Ollantaytambo.

Our first stop is Chinchero. It’s another multi purpose Inca site - Lito explains that it would have had housing, agriculture and religious a temple.

The site was probably built in the 1300s (this is before the height of their powers in the 1400s).

Lito explains that religious temples would have used the highest quality stone work. Whilst terraces were built for agricultural purposes.

Each stone is carved by hand and no mortar is used yet they look like they fit together perfectly. It’s so impressive the engineering skills they had back then. The stones can only survive earthquakes and still stand today because they hace a tongue and groove mechanism to lock together. Hematite is a type of stone that has a high iron content. This was likely used as a tool to carve the stones.

Upon questioning further we realise that it would have been slaves that built the structures. As an example Saksaywaman took 10,000 people to build. Somewhere like Chinchero would be about 5,000 people. Even with such large numbers of people towns like Ollantaytambo and Machu Picchu would have taken 30+ years to complete.

Our second stop is an Alpaca farm. First we get to feed the Llamas and Alpacas and see the guinea pigs. The poor things are being sold for food and Lito is asking the owner if he has been selling a lot recently (it’s a specialty for Mother’s Day). Then the owner gives us some information - it has social aims to provide jobs for single mothers who have a pretty tough time in Peru. We learn (with demonstrations) all about the washing, spinning and dying process using traditional techniques. We are both given some bugs from a cactus plant and told to squash them in our hands - we both nearly scream when a bright red liquid covers our hands. From there, things are added e.g. salt that can change the colour of further. We each buy a jumper as a souvenir.

Our next stop is Moray where there are perfectly circular terraces exist. Historians initially thought it was an amphitheater as Incans used circles for their rituals. However it turns out that it was used for farming and specifically experimental farming. Each terrace is its own microclimate and the temperature at the centre is the warmest. They managed to adapt plants from lower elevations eg there is evidence of cocoa having been planted here. In order to do this they had to bring soil from subtropical areas to be able to grow the cocoa plants as the soil here is not fertile enough.

Only one of the three circular terraces has been stored back in the 1990s. With the other two you can clearly see the stonework is still at the site and will likely be put back at some point in the future.

At this point Lito uses his guide books to show us a few things - firstly the terraces are not just built with stone. Each terrace has layers of soil, sand, gravel and stones for drainage. All of these would have had to have been brought in 🤯 Also we see an image that shows the class hierarchy in the Incan times. In fact…only the royalty were actually referred to as Incans and they had their own language. The rest of the people spoke Quechuan and there is a very clear social hierarchy down to the slaves.

Lito is able to speak Quechuan - the native language. He learnt this from his grandparents. It’s good to hear that the language is still alive and thriving outside of Cusco. We’ve also noticed that the Peruvian culture is well and truely alive e.g. traditional clothing is not just for tourists - it’s something that they all seem to still wear and is really nice to see.

As we leave via Moray town Lito stops and we buy some chicha from a vendor through the car window (ordered in Quechuan). It’s a fermented corn drink that has a low alcohol content. We get the one with strawberry. Lito says that this is drank in place of water in Moray and Jack asks “I assume the kids don’t drink this though?” But oh no, the kids drink it too 😂

Our next stop is the Maras Salt mines. The mines are collectively owned by the town and every resident is entitled to their own ponds but they have to maintain them themselves. Newer residents of the town will need to built their ponds at the very bottom of the hill.

The salt is formed because the spring is naturally salty it’s very unusual but they think that the mountain is full of salt and the water dissolves it as it comes out. The water is directed via channels that go to leach of the pools. The water fill the pools and within 5 days it has evaporated. They repeat the process 5-6 times to get about 10ish centimetres of depth. The layers have different properties - the lower ones are brown salt with minerals, the middle ones are pink salt and the top is white salt. It is believed that the Incas used this site to harvest salt, however in recent times it wasn’t until the 1970s that the ponds were created and it has been expanding from there ever since.

We stop for lunch at a buffet restaurant which is needed by this point!! Jack tries guinea pig but I can’t do it after seeing them at the Alpaca farm earlier today.

Our last stop is the Ollantaytambo Incan site. We drive through the cobblestone streets of the town and in the main square.

This area was strategically important as it was the intersection of three valleys (each of which was an inca trail). It was a place where people from the four different states could meet via the different trails and trade food.

Ollantaytambo is one of the latest sites to be built and is thought to still have been in progress when the Spanish invaded. The site is again multi purpose - you can see terraces for agriculture, there is a site that is used as a calendar - the sun will rise either side of the mountain in summer vs winter and in the middle of the mountain during spring/autumn. At the top is a temple - Lito explains that this is the piece that was still in progress. The stonework here is the most impressive of all - the pieces are absolutely huge. Also they had by this point innovated their techniques with the “tongue and groove” to improve it:

Whilst the Incas didn’t have a written language on the temple you can see vague carvings of the Inca cross - this represents life stages going up (prime of your life), going down (as you get older), death and the afterlife (further down), and back up to rebirth. When the Spanish arrived they tried to remove as many symbols as possible in order to establish Catholicism as the only religion.

Wow it was a big day of sightseeing so Lito drops us off at our hotel in Ollantaytambo. We say our farewells and check in. The B&B is a bit basic but it’s big selling point is that it has a terrace on the roof that overlooks the town and the Inca site, however it’s too cold to spend more than a few minutes up there.

[bristolianbackpacker]

Day 17 - Cusco

We wake up at 7am as we are still on Rio time and get a delish breakfast cooked at our B&B. The accomodation is really nice - all centred around a courtyard with flowers everywhere.

We noticed that our hands and feet have pins and needles and wonder if it’s the altitude sickness kicking in but it turns out to be a side effect of Diamox - the medication we are taking to avoid the altitude sickness. I do have a bit of a headache today but nothing too much.

I make a quick pitstop to the ATM (the free one only allows 400 soles per card per day) and to buy Boleto Toristico - this costs S/130 each but allows us access to heaps of historical monuments in and around Cusco for the next 10 days.

After Jack is ready our first stop is Plaza de Armas. Cusco is such a cute city - the historic centre is full of historic buildings (albeit some in the main square had been turned into Maccas, KFC and Starbucks) and the flowers in the main square were meticulously maintained. People definitely seem to speak much better English here than elsewhere we have visited. Also everyone here seems to be so much friendlier than Argentina or Brazil! And as a bonus I feel so tall here - Peruvians are one of the shortest average heights in the world! We stop in one of the balcony cafes overlooking the Plaza de Armas for a coffee.

A few other observations we have made about Cusco - it must have the highest number of barbers per capita in the world!! Also the city is much bigger than we had expected. It’s not just a tourist town as was the case for Puerto Iguazú - people are living their everyday lives here too. The streets and footpaths here are sooo narrow (and the traffic and pollution is pretty bad).

We quickly realise that even though it was cold last night, in the sun today it’s baking so we head back to the room via the chemist to get sun screened up.

The second stop is San Pedro Central markets where we pick up some souvenirs and stop for an empeñada for lunch (plus custard flan - this seems to be a thing here - set custard in a glass).

On the way out we realise that heaps of kids are leaving school and think that it seems early to finish up (1pm-ish). However, we also notice that they are all carrying gifts for their mums for Mother’s Day. It’s so cute!!

Our third stop of the day is Qorikancha (the most important temple in the Inca empire). It contained the Temple of the Sun. When the Spanish arrived they destroyed much of the site but as with much of the other Inca ruins they used the foundations and first story walls to build on top of and create Santo Domingo Church. Cusco (and Qorikancha) were the centre of the Inca empire. There were 4 states surrounding Cusco covering areas south into Chile and Argentina and north as far as Ecuador.

Our next stop is Saqsaywaman, it’s a huge citadel on the outskirts of Cusco. We were thinking of walking as it was only 25mins from Qorikancha but we ordered an Uber. Thank goodness we did as it was all up a very steep hill. Once we got there we still had to walk up many more steps to enter the site where the car could not access. This is where we really struggled - simply walking up some steps at this altitude feels like you’ve ran a marathon! Anyway after taking a break and drinking lots of water we made it to the top.

Saqsaywaman’s purpose is thought to be as a fortress, and of course as a temple and for religious ceremonies. The site is absolutely huge but there is little information so without a guide it isn’t easy to understand what we are seeing. The name Saqsaywaman means full eagle, this is thought to be because the last Incan resistance battle took place here against the Spanish and a large number of Incans would have been killed on the flat open grounds which would have attracted eagles. After their success the Spanish dismantled much of the site and used the stones for construction in the city.

Time to pack up our bags again, we are off to the Sacred Valley tomorrow. For dinner we head out to a top rated restaurant in Cusco “Moray” - they seem to specialise in modern Peruvian cuisine. Jack has alpaca tenderloin whilst I order the Aji de Gallina (Creamy Chicken with rice and potatoes). Both are really good!! Back to the hotel it is.

[bristolianbackpacker]

Day 16 - Travelling to Cusco

The alarm wakes us and we finish packing our bags before grabbing an Uber to the airport which is super quick at this time of the morning. Subway is the only thing open so Subway for breakfast it is!

The LATAM flight is an hour late leaving, it also has bad turbulence the whole way and our seats don’t recline so sleep is near inpossible. It’s a fairly long 5 hour flight and by the time we get to Lima and wait around for our baggage as instructed (despite it supposed to be checked through to Cusco) we have missed checkin for our connecting flight. It turns out that a lot of our plane are in the same situation. Why they don’t offer direct flights between Rio and Cusco is beyond me - welcome to South America! We get told to wait to one side and before we realise what is happening a tour group of 30+ people are being prioritised for rescheduled flights despite getting there after us. We end up missing the next flight because of this - thanks LATAM!! We are both a bit irritable and Jack is still quite sick but LATAM do give us a meal voucher for Lima airport and we are put into the 4pm flight which means we will have a few more hours waiting around than expected.

On first impressions of Peru are that it seems to be very different here again - Brazil of course has a lot of poverty but there are also pockets of extreme wealth and the prices in general in Ipanema are not too much lower than Australia. Here it feels poorer again but much safer and it’s nice to be back to a Spanish speaking country!

We make the 4pm flight (with another 30min delay). We’ve been expecting some chaos with our flights and we are grateful that it is just a few hours and on a day that hasn’t caused too much disruption to our plans. As we left Rio we noticed that all flights to Argentina were cancelled for the day due to a general strike in the country so it could have been much worse!

After landing we get an Uber to our B&B which looks really nice.

We manage to pop out get some Soles from the ATM, some more water and a pizza for dinner before bed. Jack needs his rest to recover. It’s really cold here compared to Rio so we need to make use of the blankets as the B&B doesn’t have heating.