Radio Felicidad

After spending the first 2 weeks in the highlands of Peru, our arrival in Arequipa was also the arrival to the (semi) desert climate zone. I had no idea that pretty much all of Peru’s coastline is in the desert. Anyway, Arequipa is the second largest city in Peru and is called the white city because most of the historic buildings in the beautiful city center have been built with white (!) volcanic stone. It is also the gateway to one of the major tourist attractions in Peru, the Colca Canyon, second deepest canyon in the world (thought to be more than twice as deep as the Grand Canyon!).

Historic center of Arequipa

Arequipa is flanked by snow capped volcano Misti (5822m) and Chachani Mountain (6000m). As you know, Swiss cannot resist the mountains and hence we decided to tackle Chachani. But this time we did it the easy way, by hiring a Toyota Landcruiser, two mountain bikes and a guide. Denis drives us to the base of Chachani at 4800m to the tunes of Radio Felicidad (90.3FM). This radio station was playing the weirdest 80s songs we had not heard in a long time. Little did we know that the radio station would follow us for the next 10 days and only once we got closer to the coast were the 80s overpowered by more appropriate salsa and merengue rhythms… The downhill ride was a blast – 52km of mostly unpaved road with some technically challenging sections. Fortunately no one fell off the mountain bike, no one was bitten by the stray dogs. When we got back to Arequipa we were just dusty and happy.

Mountainbiking at Chachani (Misti volcano in the background)

Dust would also be a major topic during our 3 day excursion to Colca Canyon. The canyon is about 150km from Arequipa and in order to get there we have to once again cross some major mountains with altitudes of up to 5000m. We drive through nature reserves with interesting microclimates and stop to see some amazing rock formations. Once we drive past Chivay we start to see the amazing landscapes of Colca Valley with the artistically terraced agricultural slopes dating from pre Inca times. We continue to drive towards Cabanaconde. The valley gets deeper, the terraces disappear and eventually it gets harder and harder to see the small river in the huge Canyon. Our last stop for the day is Cruz del Condor, one of the spots that keeps attracting busloads of tourists every day. Supposedly, this is one of the best spots to see Condors in Peru and Peru probably has the smallest Condor population of the Andean countries. We got lucky and could see several of these majestic birds relatively close up. It was truly a highlight to see them gliding through the air, effortlessly, without a single stroke of wing, just taking advantage of the thermal. Still, when they fly by the “noise” is very similar to the one of a glider… It was hard to leave this beautiful scenery behind us but once the sun disappeared behind the mountains (around 5pm) the air turned chilly and we instantly started longing for a hot shower… Next morning we started hiking down the canyon, descending a little more than 1000m to get to the bottom (at the deepest point the canyon is more than 3000m deep). While Gustavo El Tren took the lead, I decided to walk more slowly with the rest of the group. It took us more than 3 hours to get to the bottom and I had to eat a lot of dust because everyone kept sliding on the slippery path. Once we got to the bottom we were pleasantly surprised to find a swimming pool and some beer (even though it was warm), so we decided to hang out and take it easy for the rest of the day. However, down in the canyon the sun even disappeared at 4pm and from then on it got cold and dark and there was not really a whole lot to do.  So we ended up going to bed (to tent) at 8pm on a Saturday night – shame on us!! Next morning, our guide made us get up at 4am, so we could avoid hiking up the 1000m in the blazing sun. We started hiking at 5am and since I did not want to repeat my dust eating exercise I joined Gustavo at the front. We were in pretty good shape and arrived back at the top 1 1/2 hours later, way before the rest of the group and unfortunately also about 45 minutes before the first sunrays could warm our bodies. Man, it was freezing up there without sunshine… But somehow it also felt great. I dont remember the last time I have finished a major workout at 6.30am Sunday morning… From there it was just relax. We stopped at Cruz del Condor again, went to the hot springs and finally were driven back to Arequipa.

Agricultural terraces in Colca valley

King of the Andes – El Condor

In Arequipa we had no time to waste since the next highlight was already waiting for us – the famous Nazca lines. We took an overnight bus and arrived in Nazca 6am next morning. We did not sleep very long and not very well and I felt like I was dragged out of the bus in the middle of the night. I felt like a sleepwalker and in that condition we went straight to the airport (the best way to see the Nazca lines is by plane). Next thing I remember is that we found ourselves on a small 4 seater Cessna plane, flying across the desert with the pilot excitedly pointing out some astounding figures drawn in the sand. Some of them were difficult to recognize, even more difficult to photograph and then we also had to worry about our stomaches that started to turn funny… At some point I saw Gustavo fumbling with his little plastic bag but I quickly looked to the other side. And then it was all over, it all seemed like a surreal dream, but honestly my stomach was soooo happy to be firmly back on solid ground. It took us about an hour to recover and once we found our voices again we asked to be shipped back to the bus terminal. Next destination Huacachina, a small oasis in the desert.

The famous Nazca lines

Huacachina used to be a vacation place for the Peruvian elite but these days it is mostly inhabited by backpackers that are chilling out in the desert and enjoy sandboarding in the dunes. Naturally we signed up for the sandboarding too. So we hopped on a strange looking vehicle called sand buggy and thanks to a crazy driver felt like we were flying (oh please not again!) across the sand dunes. The funniest part was actually the 3 Italian gay men we had on board. They were screaming like little school girls at a Robbie Williams concert. The sandboarding was different from what I had expected. Instead of standing on the board like in snowboarding you actually lie on the board face down (and ideally with your mouth shut…). Some of the dunes were quite steep, the speed accordingly high but it felt very safe because the sand is normally quite soft (except for some of the speedbumps when I seriously started worrying about my manhood). When we got back to the hostel we realized that we had carried back half of the sand dunes in our pockets and shoes… Reportedly the cleaning ladies in Huacachina had to work overtime to clean up the whole mess…

Sandboarder in Huacachina

Currently we are in Lima, the capital of Peru. We arrived here after a brief stop in Paracas, a small beach resort about 4 hours south of the capital. The major attraction of Paracas are the Islas Ballestas, also called the poor man’s Galapagos (we are talking about a $10 vs $1000 price tag). The 2 hour boat trip to see the Islands was really worthwhile since we got to see dolphins, penguins, sea lions and a variet of different birds. Back onshore we got ourselves a big Ceviche (raw fish) lunch at a local restaurant. Ever since that day we have been carrying the diarrhea bug with us. Hmm…

Wildlife at Islas Ballestas

As for Lima, we have arrived here with no expectations since most of the large South American cities are nothing to write home about. However, we were pleasantly surprised how modern and cosmopolitan the place is (we even found a Hooters!). Our hostel is in a beautiful residential neighborhood called Miraflores where the streets are clean and safe. We have also been surprised by all the beautiful parks around here and the best part is that Miraflores is built on a cliff, about 80m above the Pacific. The views would be spectacular if it was not for the mist that has been hanging around for the last couple of days (mist in the desert, how does that work?). The city center of Lima is also beautifully maintained with lots of historic buildings/plazas and relaxing pedestrian areas that are patrolled by a cute police force (women in white uniforms…). With 10million inhabitants, Lima is by far the largest city in Peru but I kept wondering where all the people are hiding? The (few) neighborhoods we have seen are really really well organized and civilized… Best of all, Lima has developed a thriving restaurant industry with some very sophisticated menu’s. This is the icing on the cake after all the good food we have already enjoyed throughout the country!

Miraflores in the mist

Tomorrow it will be time to say goodbye to Peru since we are catching a flight to Bogota, Colombia. Peru was really fun and it has a great infrastructure for tourists making it easy to travel around (even if you dont speak Spanish). Unfortunately we have only seen the Southern part of the country but that will give us an excuse to come back! For now, I am very excited to return to Colombia, a country where I have travelled extensively 10 years ago (when it was still dangerous, hahaha!). I am sooooo curious to find out how it has changed in the last decade. Will keep you posted!

Hasta la proxima

Adrian

Of Incas and Gringos

After party town RdJ, Peru is quite a different experience… We arrived in Cuzco by plane via Rio, Sao Paulo, Lima and let me tell you it felt nice to use the plane once again after so many bus trips. Hopping in a taxi and driving to the hostel we noticed immediately the colonial character and charme of the city. Apparently Cuzco is the oldest continuously inhabited city in South America, originally built by the Incas, and it is really a beautiful and impressive place. Gee, if those walls and cobblestone streets could talk… Second thing we noticed is that we felt kind of dizzy and were breathing like old steam trains after just a short uphill walk. Well, Cuzco is at an altitude of 3400m (higher than Mt Fuji!) which is quite a leap from the beaches of RdJ. Amazingly at day time the temperature still rises to the 20s (celsius) and the sun is burning down very strongly. Night time is a different story though. All you want then is some warm clothing and a hot shower (and I have to admit that I was dreaming more than once about the wonderfully heated toilet seats they have in Japan. Later on I would have been happy just to have a toilet seat at all…).  Cuzco is also the tourist capital of Peru and yes, there are a lot of gringos around here. Machu Pichhu and Cuzco are at the top of the list for every Peru traveller and hence it is no surprise that tourism accounts for 70% of the local economy. The downside of this is that trips on the Inca Trail have to be booked one year in advance (I guess it did not help much that we started reading Lonely Planet Peru only 2 weeks before arriving there), that prices have been skyrocketing (they seriously charge USD220 for a 10 hour train ride from Cuzco to Puno now) and that they seem to sell Pizzas on every corner (despite the many delicious local specialities). Well, talking about local customs, coca tea is supposed to help you getting over altitude sickness, so I was all over the stuff in the first couple of days (maybe a little too much because I cannot go anywhere close to coca these days). And for the record, we also had lama and alpaca on our plates but the guinea pig project is still on hold (childhood memories anyone?)…

Plaza de Armas and city center of Cuzco

The ruins of Sacsayhuaman, close to Cuzco

After 2 days of taking it easy, strolling around Cuzco and getting acclimatized we felt ready for some trekking and signed up for the Salkantay Trek. This is a 5 day/4night trek, one of the more challenging alternatives to the classic Inca Trail, peaking at 4650m, supposedly with great views of the Salkantay Mountain (6270m) and totalling about 60km. This one does not lead directly to Machu Picchu, but hey if we have to take a bus on the last day to get up there that’s a small detail. The upside is that the trail is much less crowded and commercialized.

The rainy season around Cuzco “officially” ends in March, so we knew that trekking in April may bear some risk and conditions may be wetter than we like. And so they were… It was not that we were walking in pouring rain all day long but there was enough rain every day to keep the clothes wet and the  path very muddy. So from the second day our clothes and shoes did not really dry anymore and on top of that half of our group were hanging in the ropes due to diarrhea, blisters, altitude sickness and just general exhaustion. Fortunately though we had a really good bunch of people and so thanks to a good dose of OZ humour, Mexican charme, Swiss power (Gustavo aka El Tren), US spirit, British innocence (Excuse me, what is spooning?!) and some local mules and coca leafs we all made it across the Salkantay Pass and from there downwards towards the valley. However, after day 3 we had enough of mud, walking, wet clothes etc and the infamous Plan A was created. It involved hopping on a bus and getting a lift to Santa Teresa where we could camp at a wonderfully green campsite and enjoy the hot springs. And boy, it was a heavenly oasis… I felt like we had checked into a five star luxury resort. Most of us did not leave the hot springs for hours (maybe also because Kevin07 opened his bottle of red wine) and jumped in there again first thing next morning (6.30am, no red wine involved then)! It was amazing how rejuvenated both body and spirit felt and hence the 3 hour walk to Aguas Calientes on day 4 (again with some rain sprinkles) was a piece of cake. I think it was the first day of the trip that everyone had almost fully recovered from their physical pains and the thought of visiting Machu Picchu put us in high spirits anyway.  In Aguas Calientes (this place is almost gringos only) , our guide Freddy offered an additional hike of 1hr to Putucusi mountain from where we would be able to get a first glimpse of Machu Picchu. Uh la la, sounds very tempting…! But just when we were about to leave, it started raining again, so only 3 of us took up the challenge. Thank God I did not chicken out since this 1 hour excursion would turn into the adventure highlight of the trek. To be fair, it was more of a climb than a hike and at times it felt like we were only going vertical for the whole hour. We had to climb some wooden ladders straight up the rocks, the longest one probably close to 100m long (I kept thinking of the song “Stairway to Heaven”, that’s how it felt)! When we got to the top, I was totally out of breath but also unbelievably proud because I am normally suffering from vertigo and did not think I would be capable of doing something like this.  We also got lucky with the weather and while we were catching our breath at the peak, some of the last sunrays of the day put the spotlight on Machu Picchu on the hill across. We all lit up with joy. This was the perfect occasion and the perfect spot to sacrifice our 3 best coca leafs to the Inca Gods and make 3 wishes (a local tradition).

The Salkantay Trek was a muddy proposition…

Despite rain and clouds we got a glimpse of Salkantay Mountain

A bunch of tough cookies at Salkantay Pass (4600m)

Amazing view from Cutupusi after a strenuous climb

Finally, day 5 - Machu Picchu was waiting for us. We got up at 3.45am (I never thought I could get up at that time – surely the Inca Gods must have kissed me awake) in order to catch the first bus to Machu Picchu. And guess what? It was pouring and when we got up there after a 20min bus ride most of the ruins and scenery were covered in fog and clouds. Hence we first went for a hot chocolate and gave it another try one hour later. Luckily, it started clearing up somewhat but unfortunately we would never be able to see the full panorama (MP is 360º surrounded by hills and mountains). Our guide Freddy took us for a 2hour tour around the site and it was interesting to see and learn how advanced the Inca culture had been at such an early time. Even to this day though, there are still a lot of speculations what exactly MP served for, who lived there, why it was built there (I could not think of a more beautiful spot) and why it was never discovered until 1911. As I mentioned, the ruins, the terraces, the setting and the history behind it are all spectacular and interesting but I still think there is a little bit too much hype around it. Interestingly, the Unesco has asked the Peruvian government a couple of times to slow things down, otherwise MP may take permanent damage (the hill is moving at rate of 2cm per year), but sadly the bucks seem too tempting for now…

 

Classic View of Machu Picchu

The Inca Gods continued to be very kind to us (must have been all those coca leafs I sacrificed) and thanks to a farmers strike that made it impossible to get out of Aguas Calientes we got to stay there another night. This was the perfect occasion to party and finally even our OZ friends started drinking (I was already getting worried about them). It turned out to be a great night (probably the first night in Peru I was not in bed by 10pm) and while most of us were dancing away amidst exotic rhythms (irrespective of talent…) and having a great time, our poor guides were so exhausted (and drunk) that they were napping in the disco…

Finally, we made it back to Cuzco the next day and it was time to say goodbye to everyone. I felt pretty deflated that day, not sure whether it was the hangover, the fact that one of the big highlights of our South America trip was behind us or simply the lack of Mexican charme around us… Fortunately my mate Gustavo had already planned the next steps of our trip and dragged me on a (gringo) bus to Puno.

Amazing landscapes and colours on the way back to Cuzco

Puno (altitude 3800m) is on the shores of Lake Titicaca, the largest lake in South America. The town looks a little awkward because none of the houses are painted and many look unfinished with iron rods still sticking out at the top. The reason? Only finished houses are taxed… We went to see the floating islands at Uros on Lake Titicaca. There are about 300 families living on floating islands made of reed and they seem to be living a very peaceful life. On recommendation of Kevin07 we took a bus to Copacabana (no joke) on the Bolivian side and from there a boat to Isla del Sol. This is a beautiful island in the middle of Lake Titicaca at an altitude of 4000m. At times I felt like on a Greek Island and at times it felt like the French Riviera. The only difference was that we could see the Bolivian Andes at 6000m and higher, plus the temperature dropped pretty badly at night (I am actually getting sick of cold places now), so we went to bed pretty early every night (again). Funnily, Isla del Sol was the first place on this trip where Gustavo and I actually lowered the average age of the guests at the hostel even though it had Youth Hostel stickers all over the place. Ah, and Isla del Sol also wins the award for first place on my trip (almost 3 months now) where I could not find an internet cafe.

The floating village of Uros

View from Isla del Sol

So far so good. We have been in Peru now for a little more than 2 weeks and it has been fun. Also, the Peruvians are incredibly friendly and (justifiedly) proud of their Inca heritage.  The sites and landscapes have been amazing. Looking forward to the coming Peru chapters…

Hasta luego

Adrian

PS – ever since we stopped trekking the weather has been good! Another sign from the Inca Gods?