Adventures in Cusco

Oh, Cusco has been an adventure! We had no troubles getting to our plane on time, the flight was smooth and we arrived in Cusco around 9:30 yesterday.  

Since then, it's been non-stop. Well, mostly. Upon arrival, we dropped bags at the hotel, paid for the rest of our Inca Trail trek and then took off to see the big sights.  

We started with Cusco's cathedral where we had audio guides to take us around. It was really beautiful. The Peruvians are very big on their intricate carved altars and choirs. The outside of the building is also very impressive with so much detail in the facade. From there, it was on to Qorikancha, which is a church and convent built on the site of an Incan temple. The Spanish actually destroyed the temple to build their church on its foundation. Kinda rude, if you ask me. We enjoyed the outside the most, I think - where you could see what was left of the Incan temple and see over a good part of the city. 

Then, it was on to Sacsayhuaman. We walked up to the site from the main plaza. And when I say walked up, I mean UP. There were lots of stairs and then some more and then a hill. And then we reached the entrance which was at the base of more stairs. It was worth it, though. It's the remains of an Incan citadel. There's not much left now but we wandered as much as we had the energy for, getting amazing views of the city and mountains. Then it was down all the steps we came up, which was much easier than going up. We stopped for some lunch and discovered why second floor patios are so popular here. We must have had two dozen people come up to our table over the course of lunch and try to sell us stuff. We'be learned our lesson. 

After attempting a nap and having a briefing with our guide for our zip lining and Sacred Valley tour, we ventured out for some dinner. I was starting to think I was going to get waylaid with altitude sickness - my sister and I both had headaches during the day (expected) but I suddenly felt absolutely awful. But, some fresh air seemed to have helped and I've been fine since. I have chalked it up to the paint fumes in our hotel (which deserves its own post...)

Today, we had our Sacred Valley and zip lining tour. We started in Chinchero where we had a demonstration of how the alpaca textiles are made. We got to see some alpacas up-close-and-personal, which I loved. Then, it was on to the church and the Incan ruins it sits at. We had fantastic views of mountains and valleys, seeing more alpacas and Incan terraces used for potato growing. Once we were done there, we spent some time in the Sunday market, which was a nice bonus. 

The next stop was our zip lining - totally, fantastically amazing. It's about 2km long and you can get up to speeds of 120km/h but I couldn't get myself to go very fast. I was definitely the slowest of the bunch. You go right over the valley, dropping a total of about 400m. It was so awesome! 

After stopping at a viewpoint for photos and at a delicious buffet for lunch, we moved on to Ollantaytambo, where we ascended almost to the very top of a set of terraces to what remains of the temple. It was a bit tough going in a few places but the views were worth every minute of huffing and puffing. 

Our final stop for the day was Pisac's ruins. We climbed to the very top of the mountain to view them. The bus took us most of the way up the mountain, to be fair, but once inside, we got to the top and had the most incredible views of the valley and the towns and the mountains. It was breathtaking. Literally. We were at 3400m so even though it was slow and steady going up, we were still breathing very heavily once we made it. 

Then it was back to Cusco for dinner and our briefing for tomorrow's hike on the Inca Trail. We are doing the last 10km and are leaving at 5am for it so I'd better get the alarm set and get some sleep! 

Loving Lima

We're here!! We arrived in the middle of the night last night after a fairly uneventful flight - unless you count the strange man who seemed to be taking his pants off while we were deplaning.

After a few hours of sleep and some breakfast, we headed to El Centro this morning where we took in the Convento de San Francisco and its Catacombs museum. The catacombs were enthralling - over 25,000 buried in Lima's first cemetary but the highlight for me was the library with its 25lb choral books made of lamb skins. Amazing. Very Harry Potter-esque.

From there, we returned to Plaza de Armas, where we started the day to see the changing of the guard at the government palace.  It was a very nice ceremony, lots of pomp and circumstance and music. And then it was on to the Cathedral of Lima and the Archibishop's Palace, both of which were beautiful. The Cathedral was particularly interesting as we were able to go down into its catacombs, as well.

By the time we were done there, the day had turned into a hot and sunny one so it was time for a cold beverage before exploring around on foot, seeing Plaza San Martin and Casa Riva-Aguero.  Lima is a beautiful city so it was nice to just wander around a bit and take it in.  

Once evening hit, it was time for our food tour with Paula.  She took us to three bars and three food stalls to try some of Lima's delights.  First up was a Pisco Sour - delicious! Then we moved on to beef hearts (quite tasty), rice pudding with purple corn (yummy) and a donut of sweet potato and pumpkin flours (excellent) before finishing off with a mixed drink of Pisco and ginger ale (I didn't catch the name) and local Lima beer.  It was a lovely way to end our first night in Peru.  

Tomorrow, we are off to Cusco where we will be exploring the town and getting ready for our zip lining and Inca Trail adventures. Fingers crossed that we don't over sleep!! 

Peru Plan

Oh boy!  Peru planning is done and Peru booking is *almost* done!  I love the anticipation of a trip, especially one that has come together so nicely as this one has.  And it's all going down in just 74 days.

So what's the plan?

Well, on May 7, we're heading to the airport.  I assume I'll carpool with EDP and probably my sister, too, but I'll have to consult them before I cement that plan into place.  Once at the airport, we'll be meeting up with Wayne.  Wayne lives out in Manitoba and managed to make connecting through Toronto to Peru work so he's actually on our flight with us.  And because of the power of the internet, all four of us have seats together on the flight!  

Our flight arrives in Peru in the wee hours of the morning so we'll head to our hotel to get a bit more sleep before getting up and heading out to check out Lima for the day.  Since I'm the master planner, everything I want to do is on our itinerary so that means checking out Museo del Convento de San Francisco, watching the changing of the guard at the Presidential Palace and visiting the Lima Cathedral.  Later on, we'll either wander around or head back to the hotel for a bit of a nap before heading out on our food tour.  This is one of the things that EDP is most looking forward to, and given the PS on a recent love letter my sister sent me, I think it's near the top of her list, too.  The tour says we'll be exploring the city and discovering Lima's oldest bars and best food stalls.  It should be a pretty fun evening.  

Early the next morning, we're taking off for Cusco.  Once there, we're going to check out Qorikancha, which was once the richest temple in the Inca empire.  It now forms the base of a church and convent.  We're also going to check out Calle Loreto, a little street that is bordered by high Incan walls and the Cusco Cathedral before heading up to Sacsayhuaman.  Sacsayhuaman is an Incan complex that offers impressive views of Cusco & the valley.  Then, if there's time, we'll check out the Pre-Columbian Art Museum.  Then, it's off to bed for an exciting adventure the next day of zip lining and touring the Sacred Valley.  We'll start off by visiting the village of Chinchero to see some Incan ruins before heading over to one of the longest zip lines in the world, letting us see the Sacred Valley from a very different point of view!  Then, it's on to the Ollantaytambo ruins before stopping at the village of Pisaq and finally, heading back to Cusco for a good night's sleep before what I'm looking forward to the most...

Our Inca Trail trek!  I got very excited when I discovered you could hike part of the Inca Trail without doing the whole thing.  The whole thing takes about 4 or 5 days and you have to camp the entire time.  That's not a life for me.  But, you can get dropped off for the last 10km of the trail and spend just a few hours hiking from that point to Aguas Calientes!  We've got a private service booked so it will be the four of us plus a guide.  We'll hiking along an Incan trail to Winay Wayna before ending at the Sun Gate at Machu Picchu.  We'll spend the night in Aguas Calientes before taking the first bus up the next morning to Machu Picchu.  We'll have a tour and then we'll be able to explore on our own and climb up Huayna Picchu, visiting the Temple of the Moon on our way down.  Then, it's back to Cusco to catch our night bus to Puno.

And what's in Puno?  It's the town closest to Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world at 12,500 feet.  We'll be heading by boat to the Floating Islands of Uros,  The islands are built of roots and rumour has it, we get to walk on them!  Then, we're heading to Taquile for lunch and to learn more about the culture of the residents.  Then, it's back to Puno.  My sister & I will get back a bit earlier than EDP & Wayne as they are doing a version of the tour where they kayak to Uros Islands instead of take a boat.  They seem to think it's a fine idea but taking the boat leaves more time later in the day for sitting on a patio with a glass of wine.

The next morning, we're getting on a bus to go out to Arequipa.  It's a long ride with stops at Lagunillas, Patawasi and Pampa Canahuas but the scenery is apparently very beautiful.  It will also provide some excellent book-listening time.  Once in Arequipa, we're going to visit the Monasterio de Santa Catalina and possibly the Museo Santuarios Andinos.  The monastery is a large complex that is said to be very beautiful and the museum houses Juanita, a very well preserved mummy from the mid 1400's.  The next day, we'll be taking a bus tour out to Colca Canyon.  This is the only part of the trip that isn't 100% booked yet but it's almost done.  We'll be picked up in the middle of the night (seriously - we get picked up at 3am) to head out to Chivay, where we'll get breakfast and then continue on to Condor Cross to see the flight of the condors.  Then, we'll be heading back to Chivay to see some lookout points over the valley, visiting the hot springs, having lunch and exploring a bit before heading back to Arequipa.  On the way back, we'll be stopping at the highest point in the area to see the mountains and stopping to visit some llamas and alpacas!  A long day, for sure, but Colca Canyon is really beautiful.

Then, it's back to Lima to check out a few more museums (Museo Nacional de Antropologia y Arqueologia, Museo del Oro, and Museo Rafael Larco Herrera) and to wander around the city a bit more before heading back to the airport to fly home.  

It's going to be a jam-packed trip with a bunch of early mornings or late nights and long stretches of travel but the alternative is to not do as many cool things.  Yeah, we're going for lots of cool things.  Who knows when we'll be back?

Ah... Ahhhh.... Ahhhhhh.... Machu Picchu!

Yes, we're heading to Machu Picchu (and Peru in general) in May! 

And what's really exciting is...  My sister is coming, too!!  We travel a fair bit with a good friend of EDP's and a while back, EDP mentioned to him that we were looking at heading to Machu Picchu soon.  There are already a lot of restrictions on visitors to the site - the high number of tourists plus things like earthquakes and landslides are a threat to Machu Picchu.  A few years back, the government introduced limits of only 2,500 tourists per day with only 400 permits issued for Huayna Picchu and 500 for the Inca Trail.  There's a concern that they may need to shut the site down to tourism entirely so we wanted to make sure we got there before that happened.  Anyway, it was something that EDP's friend wanted to see so he asked to come along.  Since he has a wedding this fall, we decided to plan a trip for the spring.  

Around Christmas, we started looking into things - we decided we wanted to hike part of the Inca Trail so I started looking into tour operators to book with.  Well, things were booking up so we jumped on booking a 2D/1N trek that lets us hike the last 10km of the Inca Trail and then spend at day at Machu Picchu, including hiking up Huayna Picchu.  While we were working on this, I texted my sister to see if she wanted to come and after giving her a full 24 hours to decide, she said she was in!  So now, the four of us are heading to Peru in May.  

As the official Tour Director, I'm still working on the itinerary and I figure I probably should share it with my travel mates before the rest of the world but it's shaping up to be a pretty good trip!  

Zip Lining in the Jungle

Our last full day in Belize gave us some pretty good relaxing time in the morning followed by Central America's longest zip line in the afternoon.

This was actually our first day that we didn't have a morning adventure so we took our time getting up and heading to breakfast before getting some solid reading time in.  I curled up on the porch and EDP headed down to the beach.  After lunch, it was time to head over to the Bocawina Zip Line.

We had a big group - there were 9 of us and 4 guides.  We got buckled into our harnesses and helmets and off we went to start climbing up into the jungle.  After a test run (I think there was an escape hatch after it...) we climbed up some more.  In total, there were 8 runs - all different lengths and speeds.  The longest one was almost a half mile long and you could get up to speeds of 30 mph.  It was a lot of fun, we got to see a lot of the jungle and I didn't lose either of my shoes!  Though, at one point, we had to be dropped via rope about 15 feet.  That wasn't so fun.  I think every lady in our group screamed when the drop happened.  I'm pretty sure I heard EDP laughing at me when I started freaking out.  But the rest of it totally made up for that!  What a great way to end our trip.

After zip lining, it was back for one last dinner and to pack up before heading out Sunday morning.  We had an even smaller plane taking us back to Belize City - this one only held 8 passengers and while I needed a step stool to get off the plane, EDP was able to just step right onto the pavement.  Two more flights saw us safely back to Toronto and now it's back to reality.  And laundry.  

More Snorkelling and Visiting Mayan Ruins

Yesterday was our second snorkel day. It was a much larger group than our first trip - no private tour for us. We were in the water twice with a break in between for cookies and fruit. On our first trip into the water, one of the other women got stung by a jellyfish so that wasn't much fun for her but we saw an enormous barracuda along with a few stingrays and tonnes of beautiful fish. Our second trip into the water took us right into the barrier reef which was awesome. Again, lots of fish to see.

After we got back to the resort, it was time for some reading and then we took a walk up the beach to check out some of the other places. Obviously, ours is the best. By the time we got back, a local drumming group was setting up to perform. I wanted to listen but EDP was ready to relax in the hammock for a bit and on our trip back to the treehouse, Orchid (one of the resort's cats) stalked us the whole way back, culminating with leaping into the hammock after EDP settled himself in it. She cozied down awfully quickly and when he came to join me in the main building, he said she was still curled up on the hammock. The drumming group was very enjoyable to listen to. They had a couple of dancers, two drums and a set of maracas. They sang mostly about everyday things in the language of the village, Garifuna.

Today was a long day. We had a 7am start with a 2.5 hour drive inland to visit two Mayan sites. The first was small but had been fairly extensively excavated so we were able to see lots of detail of how things were set up. The second site was much larger but hasn't been fully excavated. We climbed the multipurpose building, which was 9 stories high. It took over 300 years to build with each priest adding a new level. We climbed to the very top of the building which gave us amazing views of Belize and Guatemala. It was such an impressive structure and baffling that it was still standing after being abandoned around 1000AD. Our guide, Harfield taught us a lot about Mayan culture throughout the day, which was so helpful in understanding what we were looking at.

Tomorrow is our last full day. We're ziplining the longest zipline in Central America - one line is almost a mile long!