Passionate about Peru, the final sector!

I´ve no idea how im going to make this short and sweet, there is too much to share and you know that im a little addicted to too much detail! Bear with me while I give it a go.


So last you read Anna Banana and I arrived into Cusco complete with a touch of altitude sickness, we were met by the lovely Sarah Pausina (my kiwi mate from Brisbane whom I will refer to as SP from here on in) who had kindly searched the town high and low for accommodation and suitable eateries to satisfy our ever healthy appetites. We spent 2 nights in Cusco trying to breathe and researching ways to get to Machu Pichu hopefully without having to take out loans! It was so expensive, its times like this when being a tourist is not cool at all. SP and I were keen for some hiking action too so investigated options for doing that, it can get stressful with all this organising, felt like I needed a holiday after all our hard work!


Township of Cusco in the South of Peru, 3,350 metres above sea level. No wonder we were feeling the effects of the altitude. The chest goes tight and its kinda difficult to breathe. Those in the know take coca leaves to aleviate the effects and the locals have the opposite problem, their lungs are accustomed to this height so they feel the effects when descending to sea level.




We seemed to have developed a theme of dessert desperation! Our days for some reason were much happy when there was talk of a postre (dessert) stop!

Can you find the Military dude? Illegal pic taken in the centre of Cusco, apparently you´re not meant to take photos of them. How radical am I! ha. What would John say SP????

One of my favourite sights. You see this everywhere, women of all ages carrying babies on their backs in hand woven cloths, you know I have many more photos like this....what with the obsession and all.

SP and Anna Banana catching a few Zzzzz´s on the 5.37am train to Machu Pichu! Sorry girls, this is too priceless not to share!

After the train journey we arrive into Aguas Calientes (where you can then walk or catch a bus to Machu Pichu), action paction at 7.30am with tourists mad for some Machu Pichu action.

SP hooning up the 1.5hr ascent like the ´Road Runner´ towards Machu Pichu, Anna Banana and I almost passing out doing our best to keep SP in sight. There was the option of taking the bus but the $12US put us off, besides it was a good opportunity to work the BUNS OF STEEL!!!

SP and I atop WaynaPichu 2720 metres above sea level with Machu Pichu in the backdrop.

The ´See I was there Postcard shot´, Machu Pichu and WaynaPichu in the background, we hired a guide to give us a zooming 1.5hr tour around the ruins, very interesting and nice to have a bit of history under the belt!

Postcard shot from the past of how WaynaPichu looks when all the trees are cleared from the mountain, you´ll notice it resembles a face, apparently this is no accident, the Incas chose their site for building Machu Pichu with this in mind. Was there human intervention or is this a natural phenomenom?...... (you can see how it looks now, above & below)

View of WaynaPichu and Machu Pichu. We hiked upwards another 1 hour from Machu Piccu to WaynaPichu (and almost died!!) to get a view over Machu Pichu from nearest high platform. They only allow 200 people per day up to WaynaPichu, apparently the mountain is starting to erode due to all the tourist traffic.

After our Cusco and Machu Pichu stints were over SP and I farewelled Anna Banana who was to start her return home to Sweden and headed off on a 4 day 3 night trek into the mountains of Choquequirao complete with Jyeguel (our AMAZING, helpful, interesting and patient guide), Wilfredo (our 5 star dining cook) and Willie (our hardworking horseman who I swear never went to sleep, he was at the tent waking us at 5am with a cuppa tea, had the mules loaded before we´d even brushed our teeth and hooned past us on the trek with his 2 mules a backpack and doning a pair of sandals on his feet!)

Group shot atop Choquequirao with our guide, me, our cook, Sarah P, and our horseman on our second morning, yes we were up in the clouds. Amazing days!!!!

Our magical cook Wilfredo and his kitchen assistant our horseman Willie preparing our lunch on the first day.

Breakfast on our final day!!! Pancakes with Dulce de Leche (caramel) in the design of a Dolphin!!! Yummo. The food was amazing, better than restaurants even. On our last night we had a buffet dinner! Can you imagine camping and having all the luxuries of restaurant dining!

Jyeguel giving us a lesson on how to chew Coca leaves to help with the altitude and its effects on our bodies.

Willie our 18 year old horseman loading the Mule up with all our supplies. The Mules eyes are covered with this cloth while the load up takes place to prevent the Mule from freaking out and bucking. At night the horseman sleeps by his mules on the lookout for bats which try and attack the Mules and he sleeps with the cloth over his eyes, a Peruvian belief for protection from ghosts.

Jyeguel hooking up the free and natural shower! This was amazing, I felt like Tarzans Jane showering in the wilderness!

Amazing waterfalls flowing into this gushing river, totally breathtaking! And might I add that my little friend SP has somewhat of an obsession with rivers and waterfalls, I swear she hyperventilated at the very sound of running water. Again SP, what would John have to say?

One of the 3 Condors we spotted whilst Hiking, these puppies are amazing! Apparently they aren´t that easy to spot either.

Jyeguel telling us about the offering of Coca Leaves to the Gods, the offering is made on top of the mountain to ensure the land is taken care of.

Stolen aerial shot of the Choquequirao ruins.

The Artistic shot taken at the Choc ruins.

SP and Jyeguel overlooking the mountains of Choquequirao (just call me the paparazzi!)

Moo Cow searching for greener pastures

The 2nd artistic shot, we seen so many vibrantly coloured flowers! I was in heaven.

Right so I think that about brings me to the end of this edition of the blog! And thank goodness for that, it was starting to eat into my precious postre (desert) time. Peru has been truly amazing, so glad to have come and were very lucky to have had such great company and amazing times!

Till next time :)

Heres some video action of Jyeguel teaching us how to chew coca leaves, SP is particularly amusing! ......SP I wonder what John would think about the effects of coca leaves, could you find out and get back to me

Prancing around in Peru....Part I

So here I am tap tap tapping away at another update for the blog! Today im pleased to report in about the adventures had in Peru, ive had to split Peru into 2 portions though so theres still more to come! So I arrived into Lima on the 15th of Feb to an airport mobbed with every peruvian and his 8 person family and spotted a sign with PALMWYN TUTTY scribbled on it, I figured that had to be bm, smart cookie I know! Anyway turns out that the owner of the hostel was at the airport to collect me! Talk about silver service!! That was just the start of things to come, the hostel was amazing, run by a wonderfully kind, helpful and amazing dude by the name of Eric (plug here for http://www.paypurix.com/). Also in the hostel live Erics family, big score there as I love the family buzz! An amazing place to stay and a family ambience to boot, I cant stress enough just how nice they were to me, incredibly humbling! I spent a couple of days hooning around Lima checking out tourists sights and being taken to lunch by randoms, another couple of days trying to head north but failing miserably due to strikes, road closures and riots, two days spent in Miraflores; a town an hour from Lima where I chewed time while awaiting the arrival of my Swedish mate from Cordoba, Argentina - Anna, hung out with a 60 year old spiritual dude who had many interesting things to tell me (love that stuff!!), came down with the flu and horrendous sinusitus so got whisked off to the doctors and back at the hostel was fussed over by Family Hostel and my wonderful Swedish mate (just secretly, love that stuff too!!) and recouperated for our trip north. From there it was time to shoot the gap so Ms Sweden and I headed 17 hours north to Mancora where Perus lush beaches can be found and spent 4 days kicking back, doing nothing much more than chilling out with walks on the beach, drinking fresh fruit juices, painting, catching some waves along with a few rays, laughing with Anna and talking about the meaning of life and all that interesting stuff that girls can spend hours talking about! Practising spanish with the local sales-children and busting out a bit of a detox from all the booze and rubbish consumed over the past 6 or so months! Once the beach liasion was over with we headed back south another 17 hours by bus to Lima then another gruelling 22 hour bus ride to Cusco. By which stage my Swedish mate was sick with a 40deg temp and we both came down with a touch of altitude sickness (by the way, thats a really good line to use for any stuff ups in the heights of South America too, you can blame so much on the altitude)! Come for a stroll with me and check out some of the pics of Peru Part I.......

Family Pay Purix and the farewell photo

Eric, the most helpful and kind hostel operator in South America!

Yes youre seeing right, this is Black Corn - the Peruvians have a healthy corn market

A typical day in Lima, complete with a tank and armed officers patrolling the main square

Backdrop of Central Lima, Peru

San Martin, the main square of Central Lima

Parque Reserva, park full of fountains in Lima, families flock for hours of entertainment watching the fountains dancing to synchronized music

Look closely and check out this dudes Safety Shoes!!

Melting away the stresses in the hammock outside our room in Mancora at Punta Sal beach....G & T on the rocks please Anna, oh and a slice of Lime

Beach mates, Julio, Junior and their mate, these dudes were 12 and 13, theyre so tiny!

Forcing the gang to take a shot with me

Punta Sal by night

Punta Sal by daylight, Anna Banana is down on the sand somewhere here soaking up the rays, apparently the sun dont shine so much in Sweden

Anna Banana and I after the come down of altitude sickness and a hideous 40 hours of bussing it from the north of Peru to the south....not to mention the need to fight off the sickness of the upset stomach variety, bus toilets are no good for upset stomachs! Sorry, too much information.

That brings us to the end of Part 1, scroll on and check out some snaps the build your excitement up for Peru part 2 where we met up with the lovely Sarah Pausina also from Brisbane! Coming soon to a computer near you....

Foz De Igazu - Argentina

So I took the plunge and decided to make the 27 hour bus journey from Rio De Janiero to Foz De Igazu to see the world famous Igazu Falls (which are contained within the borders of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay). The bus ride there on the Pluma bus lines was dire, I had the seat at the very back of the bus, which was right infront of the toilet and stank, there was some hot generator thing behind my seat which mixed with toilet fumes, a rocking bus and the smell of a childs spew were anything but delightful! The things we hard-done-by travellers have to do to get our thrills! Oh and did I forget to mention the slightly obese lady sitting next to me who at times likes to turn on her side hence forcing her brazilian butt onto my section leaving me with next to no room to breath! Sigh..... Things looked up on approach to our destination though as I made friends with a couple from Costa Rica and a girl from Peru, we decided to travel on masse to Argentina which involved more buses and 2 border crossings! How exciting. I had wanted to see both the Brazillian and Argentian sides of the falls but as I am reminded all the time, we can´t always do everything we set out to do. Falls the following day then an 18hr bus ride back to Brazils Sao Paulo where I had a plane to catch to Lima, Peru. I am pleased to add that the bus journey back was a dream, the bus was clean, there were even rubbish bags, I had 2 seats to myself for part of the way and a seat which really reclined! Oh there was a little excitement on approaching Sao Paulo, I think some drug smuggler was sitting next to me, cause he had these plastic packages which he broke apart with a key and stuffed in his socks and his pockets. I kept a watchful eye over my specs whilst cranking out a soduku (great bus entertainment...and the sooner I finish that damn book the sooner I can throw the thing away!!). Those of you up on the geography of South America will wonder why I never travelled overland to Peru, two words: airline conditions! Scroll on for a gander at my pics of my romance with Igazu.

See heres me, I was really there!

Rare and beautiful Blue Butterfly at Igazu

Explains itself really

.....more

Three sisters waterfalls

Lush!

First glimpse of the falls from the Argentinian side

Hot dinner date with my new bus buddies from Costa Rica & Peru

Check out this bus stop in Brasil, buses leave from here for Argentina (look closely for the sign ARGENTINA)

RIO DeJANIERO-The happiest city in the world (Brazil)

Along with the action packed festivities of Carnavale in the Sambodromo in Rio DeJaniero (from my last blog update) I had plenty more adventures in the city that has everything to offer! Most especially a nation of people high on life and mad for Carnavale. I was fortunate enough to stay most of my time in Rio with an angel of a lady otherwise known as Thereza (she is the aunty of Reinaldo whom I worked with in Brisbane), I was made to feel incredibly welcome and infact it was difficult for me to leave I felt so at home. After 3 nights with Thereza, hanging out for the Carnavale and hanging with Thereza and her friends checking out some of Niteroi´s hot spots I took off into Rio city centre where I spent 3 nights in a hostel in Lapa (Samba central of Rio), Thereza bless her was reluctant to send me off on a public bus in search of my hostel but bravely let go as I jumped on board some random bus bound for the city centre, me waving furiously with an ear to ear smile for Thereza as she stood there dumbfounded at having let me go out onto the streets of Rio alone. I hit Rio (around 20 minutes later) as darkness was falling, aware of the fact I looked like a tourist I searched out help, next minute a cute little grandma armed with an umbrella is escorting me to my hostel (which is 15 minutes walk away up a horrendous hill with steps in the dark), she follows me into the hostel and waits to see that I have a reservation and feel comfortable, any probs and she was taking me home with her! We parted with a hug and two kisses, I fought back the tears of yet another random act of kindness..... The following day I hunted down a bus for the botanical gardens, once on board I made a few enquiries, next thing I know i´ve got the entire bus directing me, it is at this point that I should mention I do not speak Portuguese so for the most part could not understand what anyone was on about, I do however have enthusiasm and a smile to get me through virtually everything challenging! On arriving into Rio´s Rodoviaria bus station from the Sao Paulo bus journey and having been told the station was extremely dangerous I set off imediately in search of bus number 100 for Niteroi. 4 people later I was on some dodgy looking street with all kinds of dodgys lurking about, I promptly made another enquiry with a semi-respectable looking lady as to where bus no. 100 left from, next thing I know shes marching me down the street past the dodgys and about 15 minutes later we´re standing on the side of the road waiting. She tells me she works in Niteroi, plenty of no. 100s pass and I ask why we don´t get in one, she assures me she has a safer way for me to travel....i´m hoping this will all work out happily...we´ll ride off together in the no. 100 hand in hand and all that.....30 minutes later she flags down a van gives the driver some info then sends me off on my way!! It wasn´t the no. 100 and she wasn´t with me, good grief! 100 metres down the road we stop, the driver finds a better deal (a whole van load of school kids) so tells me to get out!!! Ok its not that dramatic, he tells some dude something, the dude signals to follow him, he tells some other dude something then has me follow that dude and next thing I know i´m getting on bus no. 100!!! There you have it. A few stories to put you in the picture of how wonderful, kind and extremely helpful the Brazilians have been with me. I´ve been assured this is not always the case and I have been especially lucky, awesome eh! In Rio I hit a few of the main tourist attractions, including the Pao de Azucar mountain, a game of football at Maracena stadium, a couple of Samba clubs, a couple of street blocos (street parties), Ipanema Beach and then there was the adventure of finding and trying new food, transport and communicating! Back to Therezas for another 3 nights where I was again spoilt with kindness by Thereza and her friends Paulo, Denise her daughter Fernanda and her friend Rachel! These guys treated me as one of their own and were even encouraging me to bust out some numbers on the Karaoke machine! God help Niteroi that night! I got to hang with the locals, eat their food, visit their favourite places and not at all feel like I was a tourist! One of my big missions with this trip was to be invited into peoples homes, definately got that wish ticked off the list in Rio! I´m sorry to be leaving Rio, it has been an amazing time here for me, lots off late nights, too many Caiparenas, lots of dancing, devine food and being amongst some of the warmest, kindest and happiest people I think the world has to offer.....wait for me Brazil, I hope to be back! A big kiss, thankyou and goodbye to Thereza, Denisina and Paulina!

Art a-la-sand

Monobloco at Copacabana Beach on the last day of Carnavale

When you gotta go you gotta go.....finding a loo during Monobloco can be difficult

Dudes putting in some serious effort for Monobloco! An amazing effort despite the 32deg heat!!

Pao De Azucar, waiting to go up in the Cable Car

Refreshing natural Agua de Coco (coconut juice) on the beach in Niteroi served by muscle man!

Overlooking Niteroi Beach at sunset

One of the best nights out in Rio. A club we tried to go to (me and my Italian mate) got a bit mental after waiting 2 hours to get in, so we mossied on down the road and stumbled across this place. I think some folk had opened their house to us and a few other locals!!

View of Christ the Redeemer from Pao De Azucar (one of the new 7 wonders of the world) atop Corcovado mountain

One angle from the top of Pao De Azucar mountain in Rio.

A pooch in Carnavale mode!

Overlooking Ipanema Beach in Rio on an overcast afternoon

Maracena Football Stadium, watched a match between Flamengo and V Redona. Stadium holds 90,000 but only 20,000 in attendance this night. (2-1 to Flamengo)

Final night out to dinner with Denise, Thereza and Paulo. These guys had to be some of the nicest folk in Rio!!! So good to me and so fun too! Denise and Paulo are singers and musicians so you can imagine the fun that was had with them and their musical equipment.....

If you dont start the day with a smoke in Rio you are completely mad! You can find an ashtray on the headboard of most beds!! (Well those that I seen anyway). Naturally this goes against my clean and healthy lifestyle....I almost convinced one of them to start drinking carrot juice!!!

Amazing St art in Lapa, Rio De Janiero

All time favourite drink in Brasil, Caipirinha! Heres what wikipipedia has to say about it: Brasils national cocktail, made with Cachaça, sugar and lime. Cachaça is Brazil's most common distilled alcoholic beverage. Cachaça is made from sugarcane alcohol, obtained from the fermentation of sugarcane juice which is afterwards distilled. Caipiroska, a common variant of the drink, uses vodka in place of cachaça. After finding out that 5 t-spoons of sugar go into each class I decided to end my love affair with Caipirinha and the 3 glasses per day!!

Had a couple of videos I wanted to share but computer is playing up so you are saved!

.......From here onto Igazu Falls