Cusco – massage anyone?

I loved Cusco the last time I was here. It amazes me that I am in this part of the world nearly the same time as I was back in 2005 and it remains a rather beautiful city. Over six years many things have changed. You no longer get hastled by street children begging for money (or selling postcards) – the streets are noticably cleaner and there is a bigger police presence around. But you do get asked whether you want a massage at least 50 times a day – and that isn't an exaggeration. Then of course, do you want a painting for 1 sole? Or perhaps want to eat from this restaurant? The first day Bernard was obviously quite annoyed with everyone – particularly at being called “friend” by complete strangers, but by the second day he was in fine form and had me (and even the women themsevles) quite in stitches with his witty comments and gentle good humour. We posted more souviners back home, explored the inca walls around the city, enjoyed an English ale in one of the many gringo friendly bars in the city, skyped family back home and enjoyed our last day with Emilie and Fred.

It is election time here in Peru – Bernard had wondered how local people would behave during the election period and perhaps respond to the results of elections. His suspicious were that people may respond with aggression and even violence – and his suspicions do have some substance, for the entire weekend here in Cusco is a “dry weekend”. There is no selling of alcohol across the city until the results of the election are finalised. That said, we have enjoyed seeing the election campaigns in full swing, particularly in Arequipa. There were dancing guinea pig adverts for PPK party, numerous rallies in streets and main squares and Bernard got a jolly big pat on the back from Lucio Caceraz who gave him his card (despite being a gringo) – Lucio is fighting for radical change in the Congress. So we will have to wait and see until we get back from Manu for the results of the election for we leave on election day itself.

Cusco, and the trials of finding the ideal room at the ideal hostel

We took the overnight bus to Cusco and though comfortable enough we still arrived rather exhausted. We checked into the Wild Rover hostel, not our usual hostel choice but as recommended by friends we trust, we thought it worth a go. It is clear now, that our friends clearly had a different experience to our own. 

We were checked into a small double room at 8am (not all hostels will let you check in that early in the day) and we were grateful for having a place to rest. But after a few hours sleep we recognised that the small room and tiny double bed really wasn't going to work for us so we switched to a larger and much more comfortable twin bunk room instead. We explored Cusco for a bit, had a delicious lunch at the hostel, then went to see our travel agency to confirm whether we were able to go to Manu Bioserve or not (we were still waiting for others to sign up). We arrived quite literally as another couple departed – and much to our delight were told that these people just signed up to our tour, so we were definetely departing!!! I was as excited as a little puppy. We then went off to buy provisions for the jungle – insect repellant (what some stores were charging was eye watering), hiring quality binoculars etc.

Later that evening we had a drink at the bar and had chinese for dinner and returned to the hostel for a good night sleep. Much to our surpise and dismay the music at the hostel continued to increase in volume to such an extent that Bernard and I could have had our own dancefloor in our room. I have never – EVER – been to a hostel where the music was so loud that it was designed to keep people awake and at the bar – rather than in their rooms sleeping. At midnight I went to reception kindly asking whether we could use their phone to call another hostel – as it was clear we were getting zero sleep that night. We were informed the music would stop at 2am – and so we stuck it out for a few more hours. Thankfully the music did stop at 2am – and people dispersed without half an hour. But needless to say the first thing we did the next morning was pack our bags, find an alternative place to stay then checked out. We are now in a comfortable hostel with all the comforts we require.

Arequipa, Colca Canyon and Condors

We took Cruz del Sur's bus from Puno to Arequipa, a company generally regarded for their safe and comfortable bus service. The four of us waited for our bus and were thoroughly surprised at having our bags searched, subject to handheld metal detector, and filmed getting onto the bus and when on the bus as to which seat we are sitting at. We weren't sure whether to be reassured by these measures or put off – but after several trips with the company and encountering no problems it seems clear that the security measures are effective – quite reassuring given the horror stories we have heard from others having things stolen from buses in Peru.

We arrived safe and sound in Arequipa at our lovely hostel. Found it difficult to find a place to eat at 9.40pm (clearly this isn't Argentina) but found the city to be clean and charming. The next day we tried to arrange a tour to Colca Canyon, being somewhat overwhelmed by the competition and price differential – our ideal company was ludicrously expensive, whilst everyone else was (what we felt) unsettlingly cheap. However, it was Arequipa's pavements put an end to our indicion – poor Bernard rolled his ankle on the uneven road and therefore we opted for the more comfortable non-hiking overnight trip. We diligently iced and strapped his ankle immediately and minimised the damage.

During those few days in Arequipa we took things easy so Bernard's ankle could heal, enjoyed going out for dinner with Emilie & Fred, exploring the fabulous Santa Carolina convent (a city in itself), and drinking pisco sours at sunset (Bernard had beer of course).

Then we departed for our tour to Colca Canyon – enjoying the hot springs at Chivay and fresh trout and alpaca at another lovely family run restaurant. The next day we departed early to see the condors. Last time I was here I only got to see 2 condors and very little of them flying. This time the conditions were perfect – a group of 12 condors were perched at the top of the Canyon and we sat for an hour watching them. They would be still for 20 minute stretches, then a thermal would tempt them and then suddenly four giants would take off and cruise around for 10 minutes or so. It was incredible to watch. The views of the Canyon itself and the valley filled with agricultural terraces were also superb. Bernard started to suffer with flu/altitiude on our journey back to Arequipa – he managed the journey OK but we delayed our travel to Cusco so we could rest another night in Arequipa – the best decision we made.

Lake Titicaca – Puno – what a welcome to Peru

Crossing the border into Peru was like entering another world. Bolivia is wonderful – people don't harass you, and you get an authentic glimpse into what life is like for locals. In Peru you are a dollar sign – Puno was quite a shock – everything was incredibly expensive, and you get hounded by people to buy just about everything. We stayed in Puno to see the Uros islands, the unique floating islands. The beginning of the trip was fantastic – a really good explanation of local life and traditions – everyone was charming and sincere. Then things went downhill – we dressed up in local costume(innocent enough) but were then pressed upon to buy local products, then pay additional money to be taken in a reed boat to another island where we were pressed upon to buy food and drinks – the Uros people spoke English, Spanish, French and their native language – clearly tourism is big business. Bernard and I bought a lovely tapestry from our family, but I didn't haggle enough and were royally ripped off. We didn't take the boat ride – we felt we had invested enough in that community for the day! When we went to leave the island the mother of our family raced over and gave us, what felt like a very sincere thank you. That warmed my heart and so I at least left the islands without feeling bitter. I'm pleased to say that I haven't been that gullable since. Fortunately we had fantastic company in Fred and Emilie which helped. We laughed it off and were pleased that we visited the islands.

Lake Titicaca – Isla del Sol

After our refreshing time in Corico we had a few days in La Paz before heading off to Lake Titicaca. Travellers and guide books alike indicate that the Bolivian side of the lake is much more pleasant and authentic than the Peruvian side, so Bernard and I headed to the magnificent Isla del Sol for two nights. And, much to our delight when having lunch waiting for the ferry to the island we bumped into five different people we knew. We were a merry bunch having lunch that day. In particular we caught up with a lovely English/German couple and proceeded to spend the next 10 days travelling the same path.

Isla del Sol is just lovely. The villages are still small and many hostels/restaurants are run by families. We arrived at the south island with our daypacks and full backpacks and were greeted by the Inca Stairs – we had to clime nearly 200 metres up to the villiage, normally a 20 minute walk, but we took a lot longer at 3800m, mostly because I couldn't climb 10m before getting completely out of breath. After lots of touting and a frustrating experience of searching for a place to stay, we ended up at a lovely family run hotel/hostel. Rooms were refreshingly cold at night (!), but clean and comfortable. The view of the Llampu mountain range from our bedroom window was just lovely. That night we had dinner and a little pizza place. We were the sole customers, and the whole family was involved. The elder boy even sat down at the table beside us to do his homework while we were eating. We were touched by a wonderful evening with such a shy and humble family.

The next day we set out to do the 3 hour walk from the south of the island to the north. Views were spectacular and I was surprised to see a few species of Eucalyptus growing so well at 4000m. We wondered around some Inca ruins then had lunch at this little beach village. Ask Bernard about his interesting lasagne – there's a picture on his webpage – what a interesting variation it was. I was exhausted by this point and feeling rather unwell so paid for a private boat to take be back to the south whilst Bernard made the long walk back. That night I had a bit of a fever – either from a cold or from altitude. Didn't eat much for the next few days but with lots of coca tea and soup I seemed to recover quickly enough. Overall the experience at Isla del sol was just wonderful.