We’ve been in Peru almost 3 weeks now and
got into Cuzco on the bus last night. Currently sitting in bed waiting for gas
to be delivered to the hostel so we can have a hot shower. So hence have time
for blog writing.
Some of the interesting things I’ve noted
about Peru:
·
The power lines have random
electrical wires hanging from them reaching to approximately my head height
above the pavement. I doubt they are live but so far have managed to avoid
finding out.
·
Dogs live on the roofs of
houses and bark at people walking on the pavement below.
·
Cats live in the city parks and
people go down to the park to pet and feed them.
·
There is a huge range of cars.
All brands, makes and models old and new from all over the world. Datsuns and
old beetles seem to be the favourites.
·
Seeing someone sitting on the
side of the road 100km from any sign of human habitation is normal.
·
Pasta, rice and potatoes in one
meal is not carbo loading it is just dinner.
·
There is always a cheaper taxi
just round the corner.
Our first week and a half in Peru was spent
in Lima taking Spanish lessons. We had a really good teacher, pity we aren’t
very good students. I should really do some revision.
The language school ran a few extramural
activities in the afternoons and weekends. One of them was a trip to a Toro
Match. Toro means bull in Spanish. It wasn’t a bull fight but a kind of
football game where teams of 3 tried to score goals by getting the bull to
chase them through the goal posts. The bulls weren’t that big but still dealt
out some decent blows. Must have been a few sore players afterwards. After the
Toro match everyone moved into an enclosed arena. We weren’t sure what was
happening but soon found out it was cock fighting. In between the cock fights
there was music and salsa dancing competitions. It made for a weird mix of gore
and cheer and we really didn’t like it.
From Lima we took the bus to Arequipa. It
was a very long trip almost 17 hours in total. We were in second class at the
front of the upper level so had a good view but there was very little to see
the whole way. The bus did play movies but they were non stop for the whole 17
hours and are hard to ignore when the tv is right in front of you. To top it
off Dusk got quite car sick from the swaying about of the upper level. So from
now on we have to take first class on the lower level.
Arequipa has quite a nice centre. There are
a lot of older colonial buildings and just about every building is made from
the local white volcanic stone. The highlight is the almost 500 year old
monastery which you can go into and is a labyrinth of courtyards, alleys and
buildings. They also do good apple pie.
From Arequipa we joined up on a 4 day
guided trek to Cotahuasi Canyon – the deepest in the world. The trek ended up
being more driving than trekking as it took a whole day to drive there and a
whole day back including endless switch backs and some fairly scary roads with
huge drops as we went over a pass and down into the canyon. We trekked along
the canyon floor to a village only accessible by foot and camped overnight in
front of the church. Apart from our group there were very few people about
except for an eccentric American and a couple of locals who we managed to buy
some homemade wine (vinegar) from. We also went for a short hike at the top of
the pass at nearly 5000 metres – almost twice as high as either of us had been
before. Apart from breathing a bit harder when walking up the hill neither of
us felt any serious effects. In fact whereas most people lose their appetite I
was the opposite and was really hungry.
In Cuzco for next couple of days then
starting a 4 day trek in the Lares valley ending at Machu Pichu. After that
Lake Titicaca and Bolivia.
Chris
