Lima

Last stop before Europe. Jorge hosts me for these two days, he lives in Barranco, the bohemian part of Lima, with his lovely white female kitten. “Have you already tasted Pisco?” He asks me. I have, but not the way he prepares it, with canady dry, delicious! On my first day we stroll around in Barranco. The area is nice and relaxed, overlooking the sea. A pity the weather is not better but the second day the sun decides to shine and I can enjoy the center of Lima bathed in sunlight. What a delightful end to the South American part of my trip!

photos Lima

Huacachina, Ballestas, Paracas

Huacachina is a small oasis in the middle of a desert outside of Ica. All the houses are built around the Laguna in the middle. My hostel has a swimming pool and a big garden with a giant turtle living in it. I relax there for some hours before going on the sand buggy and sand boarding tour. The boards are old and broken so the sand boarding is a deception. Better to slide down head first. The sand buggy however is really fun! Our driver takes us up and down the dunes at a tremendous pace. We scream as we pass the top and fly down, only to start again on the next top.

photos Huacachina

Ballestas is sometimes called “Poor man’s Galapagos”. I can assure you it’s not at all like Galapagos, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth seeing. From Huacachina the bus leaves early in the morning to bring us to the boat going out to the islands. Pelicans follow us as we enter the dung bird’s territory. Before, Peru used to export the bird shit to Europe as fertilizer, but they overdid it and had to stop the production, the fish were getting scarce in the ocean. Sea lions sunbathe on the rocks, vultures circle over our heads, but most impressive are the millions of birds nesting on the 3 islands.

Paracas is less visited than Ballestas it seems. A shame because it is really worth it. We are only three visiting, a charming couple from Isla Margarita, Venezuela, and me. We admire the beautiful scenery, the birdlife and finish off with having delicious lunch at a restaurant by the sea. The Cathedral, a rock formation that used to be the symbol of Paracas unfortunately collapsed during the latest earthquake. Vultures fly over the area in search for food. I jump on a bus to Lima, my last destination in South America.

photos Ballestas and Paracas

Cusco and Machu Picchu

Cuzco is the kind of city I could spend weeks in without getting bored. Its streets are welcoming and the population friendly. I wander around aimlessly, admiring the artworks sold in the street. I visit a small museum showing weaving techniques and traditions. Two women are weaving in the museum, they come from a village nearby and demonstrate different ways of weaving and decorating their work.

photos Cusco

I spend one whole day trying to find a good deal for Machu Picchu, which is not so easy. Inca trail should have been booked months ago and even Huayna Picchu, the mountain in front of Machu Pichu is sold out. I buy a ticket to Machu Picchu Mountain which I will not regret.

First, I go by private car to Ollantaytambo and from there I take the train to Aguas Calientes. Aguas Calientes is a very pleasant place and its hot springs relaxing after a day of travel. I spend too much time in the baths, my fingers get all wrinkly. Better get early to bed, I want to be on the first bus up to Machu Picchu in the morning. It is raining at first, and the whole site is hidden in a cloud. I have booked a guided tour to learn more about the Incas and their way of living. Fredrik is a photographer and installs his camera to film as the mist lifts from the ruins. As the morning gets older, the ruins slowly appear. It is magical! There are many lamas around, posing for our pictures. I climb the mountain, the view is breathtaking. The feeling of being here is even better than I imagined. I can picture the Incas walking around in the streets of the city. Their civilization was very advanced; especially in astronomy. They also had a special system for water irrigation. This was truly one of the highlights of my trip.

photos Machu Picchu

Arequipa and Colca Canyon

The cheapest bus to Arequipa costs only 5€. A good deal if the guy next to me had taken a shower. Renzo is my host in Arequipa. He lives close to the center in a beautiful apartment. His family lives upstairs and is like Renzo trying to make my stay as pleasant as possible, and they succeed! Arequipa is a beautiful city. The sunset over Plaza de Armas is incredible. I visit an old convent and take in the atmosphere of the city.

photos Arequipa

Renzo helps me find a good deal for the Colca Canyon, the deepest canyon in the world, or is it the second deepest…? Our guide is excellent. We descend into the canyon. It is pretty steep and my knees feel it too. Admire the scenery… Some condors fly over the canyon at Cruz del Condor, cactus cling to the cliff. We have lunch at the bottom of the canyon, walk three more hours and crawl to bed. The next day we have to climb all the way up again, 1300m of steep slope, starting at 5 o’clock in the morning to be on top before sunrise. We set off at a steady pace; donkeys pass us carrying the wounded and tired. A little bit more than two hours later we reach the top, what a relief! On our way back to Arequipa we stop at a village with baby lamas and several other viewpoints. Finally, the Misti appears, next time I come here I want to climb it.

photos Colca Canyon

Lake Titicaca II - Peru

Next day we travel to Peru the local way. Enough with the tourist buses, we take taxis and micros this time. The price is about the same, but the ride is much more interesting and uncomfortable. The lady sitting next to me shares all her food with me and I get to taste many strange things wrapped up in different leaves. Puno is the city on the Peruvian side, not very interesting in itself but again convenient for catching a boat to the islands. I want to go the next day. The easiest way is to buy a round trip to Uros, Amantani and Taquile and stay overnight on Amantani at a homestay.

Uros are floating islands on which people actually live. The local guide explains how the islands are created. First they carve out a block of mold, then they plant it with grass so the island is actually alive. Finally, they cover it with more grass and plant their houses on top. I visit one of the inhabitants of the island and he shows me the inside of his house. They have electricity since two weeks now, thanks to the solar panels. In his house live 5 people and they earn their living making traditional handicrafts. All is very beautiful. The children go to school one and a half hour away in small boats. The man tells me the worst problem with living on this island is the cold wind, but he couldn’t imagine himself living elsewhere.

Amantani is a real island with some interesting things to see. We settle into our homestays and eat a simple but nice lunch. Anton, Giro and I then go for a swim in the lake. It can’t be that cold, right? It can! Then we follow the locals up the hillside to the two sanctuaries: Pachamama and Pachatata. Pachamama is mother earth. She is the one to pray to if you want good crops and good harvests. Pachatata is obviously a male (her husband?). Each sanctuary is on its own mountaintop, giving us a beautiful view of the sunset. At eight o’clock I’m in bed. What an exhausting day.

At 2 am I wake up, vomiting and with diarrhea. I stumble out of my bed and down the stairs. Of course there is no running water, I have to go down to the end of the garden to fill the water bucket. I am very cold and try to lie down but constantly have to run down the stairs. The grandmother wakes up around five. I ask her if she can make me a cup of tea. She first has to gather the wood, then light the stove and heat the water. In the meantime I feel weaker and weaker. Finally it is time to go to the boat. I am not looking forward to another boat ride, especially with only a basic toilet… The captain of the boat is worried; I can see it on his face. He wants to bring me ashore, but is responsible for other tourists who are going to visit Taquile, another island. I cannot move and my face is first white, then green according to one of the passengers. The captain then decides that it is his mission to cure me before returning to Puno. You wouldn’t believe all the tricks he tried on me to make me feel better. Water, tea, water with rehydration salts, a pill (I don’t know what it was), alcohol flower water under my armpits, under my nose, leaves disposed on my belly, soaked in salt water and with a pullover tied around me, some newspaper supposed to prevent me from vomiting, a foot massage… I was quite happy when Puno appeared in the horizon. God knows what he would have done next. He was so frustrated that I didn’t feel better that he even paid my taxi to my hotel. What an experience! Two days in bed wasn’t quite how I had imagined my first days in Peru, but at least I have a great story to tell YOU.

photos Titicaca II

Lake Titicaca I - Bolivia

Lago Titicaca, the world’s highest navigable lake is shared between Bolivia and Peru. Both sides are worth visiting, I start with the Bolivian side. Copacabana is the ideal departure point for visiting the islands on the lake. Isla del Sol, the Island of the sun, is only a two hour boat ride away. How pleasant to feel the wind in my hair (?!). It is quite cold though, but I decide to stay outside to take in all the beauty of the scenery. We arrive in the small port on the northern side of the island, the least touristy one. A young boy invites me to his hostel. Actually, I think it’s the hostel with the most beautiful view of the island. I can see both sides of the bay, and it is cheap. Armed with my torch I set off for the Inca ruins and the sunset over the whole thing. How beautiful! Even more beautiful is the full moon rising on the other side, the full moon… In the evening I meet up with Anna and Mag, my new friends from England. We set a plan for tomorrow: walk to the south side of the island. Luckily I left my heavy backpack in Copacabana, the walk is not that easy, it goes up and down a lot. The people here are much more used to the altitude and walking with heavy loads. On the track we meet some women with mules and we follow each other almost all the way to the south. If you go the same way, be prepared to pay several tourist tickets, one in the north, one for the trail and one to enter the south.

photos Isla del Sol

We check in to a nice hostel for the night and ask around for internet, which there is only at one place that opens later. Vladimir, another guest, offers to take us but he needs a translator because he is going to a shaman in the evening, who only speaks Aymara, the local language of the island. He has found a person who speaks Aymara and Spanish, but he himself only understands English. Sure, we will go with him, at least for the experience. The Shaman is one little dried up raisin with a few teeth in his mouth. His specialty is to heal little diseases with grinded rocks and plants, which he heats up so they produce a special smoke. Then he rubs the “patient” everywhere and says some words in Aymara. Vladimir is now healed, but still wants to know his future. Unfortunately, our shaman doesn’t have coca leaves, so he cannot do it right now. We need to come back tomorrow at 8 o’clock. Sure thing, we will be there! This time our host lady comes with us, the other translator is busy elsewhere. The Shaman has bought coca leaves so the future telling can start. He puts all the whole leaves in a cloth together with 4 coins, mumbles a few words, asks the “patient”to blow on the package and holds it over his head. What will the future be like? Health? Work? Love? All seems good for those who do it, although too vague to really mean anything. I personally prefer to see for myself what happens. After this refreshing start to the day, we take the boat back to Copacabana where Anna and I climb a hill to see the city from above.

photos Copacabana