Incas vs. Spanish chess set!I'm now in Lima as the final month of my trip is about to begin! All good here in Peru where I've been busy checking out all sorts of Inca ruins... Having somewhat recovered from the Lima nightlife, I'm now completing this post from Iquitos in the middle of the Peruzian part of the Amazon rainforest. The heat and humidity is intense and the atmosphere seems different too, with music blaring out from most places!
Cusco, my first stop in Peru, is certainly one of the most beautiful towns I have been too. It seems similar to Granada or Seville, with beautiful colonial style buildings densely packed together, although it has an Inca touch to it, with a number of buildings having been built on top of Inca ruins. It really is spectacular, although I was shocked by the people selling you stuff on the streets... Every 5 steps someone literally shoves a rubbish painting or some bits of cloth in your face and there is only so much you can take - I guess there isn't much of that in South America, so I was surpised! I had some good Argentine company to help me deal with this stress though, Alejandra and Santiago who turns out to be Che Guevara's second cousin! Some interesting family stories there!!!
Nearby, the Inca ruins of the Valle Sagrado and the Machu Picchu really are special. Partly they are the remaining trace of what was obviously a very impressive society, and then on top of that they are located in some stunning landscape which only makes them seem more amazing. My Machu Picchu experience was slightly diminished by the dodgy banana milkshake from the night before which meant I was more focused on trying not to vomit rather than what the guide was saying, but again you have some spectacular ruins set in some even more spectacular landscape. Unfortunately THE Inca Trail was fully booked so maybe next time...
Pushing on towards Lima, Nazca was the first stop to see the strange Nazca lines which are quite impressive although again there I was contending with sickness, this time induced by this tiny aeroplane being blown around in the wind! Another highlight there are the aqueducts, hundreds of kilometres of underground tunnels transporting water through the desert to the Nazca area, still doing their job hundreds of years after being built. Good engineering!
On from Nazca, I made a quick stop in the oasis town of Huacachina set in some immense sand dunes. Its a nice little place, and I was glad to get my first ever taste of a sand dune desert, combined with a roller coaster like ride in a sand buggy, and some sandboarding, which is not as safe as the tour company suggests! The Israeli guy in my group went home with ripped trousers, bruised legs and looked properly beaten up after his board went out of control!
The final stop before Lima was Pisco where the main attraction are the Islas Ballestas, some islands off the coast which are just covered in birds, and birds' shit which used to be the main Peruvian export. Very nice, but avoid looking up!
Lima was good fun, I met up with Joe's ex-flatmate Dani, who I hadn't seen for years, and although she was tied up with family events, she put me in touch with some other friends of hers who were visiting and we had a good time exploring Lima together! It is set in a mad location, on cliffs facing the sea which look extremely prone to erode at any time, and overall is quite a pleasant place, especially the area of Barranco which I was staying in. The nightlife isn't Buenos Aires, but it certainly got the better of me! Lima, like Peru in general when compared to Bolivia, feels quite dynamic, and although there is plenty of poverty, people seem alot more switched on and entrepreneurial, and it does feel like the place is changing fast.
I feel a bit like a cheat today, as for the first time in South America, I have flown part of the way rather than gone overland, but the flight out here was great. As you crossed the Andes, you could see little streams snaking through the greenery, eventually forging together into a big brown colossus which Iquitos is set right on and I don't think I have ever seen so many trees. Tomorrow I'll be heading to the port looking for a boat to Colombia... Fingers crossed!
Ice cream... motorbike!
Lots of street dogs in South America... This pregnant one is desperate for food!
Old lady moving wood
My first Inca fountain...
Sacrifice altar
The immense fortress wall of Sacsayhuamán
Cusco from above...
Entering el Valle Sagrado
Alejandra, Santiago "mantequita" Guevara Lynch!!!, Don Owen
Ladies singing and trying to sell stuff
Terraces at Pisco
Andean flower
Looking up the Valle Sagrado landscape
Tight fitting Inca designs...
Ruins at Ollantaytambo
Natural soap from a root...
Plants for dyeing cloth...
Dyeing in action!
The San Blas area of Cusco
Misty morning near the Machu Picchu
Sunrise at Machu Picchu
My guide at the Machu Picchu
Watch out for hallucinogenic plants!
Mirrors for observing the stars
Machu Picchu from above
Looking down towards the valley
The dramatic landscape...
Thermal baths at Aguas Calientes
The expensive train back to Cusco
Plaza de Armas in Cusco
Inca stonework built on by the Spanish
Scary plane to visit theNasca lines!
Takeoff!
Alien?
Humming bird!
The strange Nasca lines
Nasca from the sky!
Fruit shop
Grains and parrots
Impressive underwater aqueducts
Aqueducts carrying water from the Andes
Clean river...
Hustling and bustling to sell refreshments!
Beans?
They love painting the concrete walls!
The biggest hostel dorm in the world?
Sand buggies at Huacachina
Oasis near Huacachina
Sandboarding!
The hostel pool!
Despite what you see, there is a health inspector in Peru!
Strange vase!
They used to like deforming young babies skulls!
Toma lo bueno!
Cau Cau! I'm not a fan!
Market street in Pisco
Having a joke at the flower stand by the cemetary!
The bleak beach of Paracas
La Candelabria!
Spreading your wings!
The birds
Sea lions
Ghostly structure for exporting bird poo as fertilizer!
La Catedral!
Paracas desert
Colourful beach!
My friend!
The last of the black marks... I have got my camera fixed (Lima Malecon!)
Sharpening knives on the street
Sunset in Lima
House in Barranco
Parque de los Enamorados
Peak hole!
More sunset!!
Sunset drive in theatre!
Lima pier
Fruit and veg
Malecon in the evening
Modern church in Lima...
Ceviche restaurant with Lolita and Ana!
Giant corn! (spot the cow heart kebabs...)
Just what you don't want for backpacking!!!
An Evo Morales jumper!!!
Plaza San Francisco in Barranco
Puente de los Suspiros
Barranco restaurant...
Half abandoned church...
The start of the Amazon
Getting bigger...
Trees!
Pucalpa outskirts
Twisting patterns
Vast expanse of trees
My plane fared better than this one!
