Peru - Inca Trail and On

Inca Trail and Machupicchu, Peru - Our trip then lead us to the 4 day, 48 kilometre Inca Trail culminating in the ancient hidden city of Machupicchu. The driver, Skank, and I set ourselves the challenge of doing the trek in bare feet and jandals (flip-flops). The first day was an easy walk passed some ruins and up a couple of little climbs. We only carried daypacks and all our camping equipment and food was carried amongst 25 porters. The company we went with was SAS and they were absolutely awesome. When we stopped for our first lunch stop we were amazed at the service and food we got. We got the feeling of how royalty are treated cos basically we turned up, ate like kings, lay around for an hour while they cleaned up and then we headed off again. By the time we reached the camp for the night our tents were already up and dinner was getting cooked so we could sit back and have some beers.



Day two was over Dead Woman’s Pass, the highest point of the trail at 4215m (about 13,900 feet), which was a big climb after lunch. Over the course of the day we climbed up 1200 metres to the pass and then 900 metres down to camp for another great meal. I found it easier to go uphill in bare feet so I didn’t trip up and downhill in jandals for cushioning.



Day three was the longest walk at close to 16km. It was more up and down but not as bad as the pass the day before. For the first part of the day we checked out more ruins and then at lunch our guide, Jose, told us about the bar at the final camp so Skank and I ran the last 2½ hrs section in 45 mins, downhill in our jandals. We had our first shower for 3 days, which was freezing cold, and then downed 3 beers before everyone else rolled into camp.



The first three days were easy 7am wakeups and we usually headed off at about 8:15 but the fourth day we had to get up in the dark at 4am and headed off at 5:30 am for sunrise through the sun gate. Unluckily for us it was misty like it is 90% of the time and we couldn’t see the Machupicchu ruins until the mist lifted at 8am. Other than the mist we managed to do the whole trail without it raining which was brilliant due to it being the start of the rainy season. Skank and I achieved our goal, with Skank doing the whole thing in jandals and I did about 70% in bare feet and the rest in jandals with no injuries at all. Jose, our guide and a top bloke, said he had never had anybody do the trail in jandals or bare feet before in his 12 years of guiding and he thought we were nuts for doing it the whole way.



We then spent the rest of the day exploring the ruins and Mark, Rebecca and I climbed Waynapicchu, the near vertical walled mountain at one end, to look over the ruins and the valley. It was a very spectacular view after a tough climb. After a 2 hr train ride and 2 hr bus ride we made it back to Cusco and then hit the town to do the 24hr challenge, the arduous task of staying awake until 4 the next morning after completing the trail. Only Anna and I from our truck managed the feat with a few others making it close before crashing. Unluckily for Anna and I the next day was an early start and a long drive to Puno which was a bit rough.

Puno, Lake Titicaca, Amantani Islands and Uros reed islands, Peru - We got into Puno, had some really good and cheap ¼ chicken, chips and rice for $1.50 and then the next day caught the 3 hr boat out to two islands in the middle of Lake Titicaca. That night we were billeted out in pairs to stay with families on Amantani Island. Life on the island is very simple with the only power being supplied by a generator for the hall when the gringos (us foreigners) come for a party. A few tour trucks were there at the same time and I teamed up with one group to play a game of soccer against the locals on a concrete field. We got beaten 5-2 but I managed to score both goals for our team. We then went and had a traditional meal of rice and pasta and then got dressed up in local attire and then went to party to Peruvian pan pipes until 10pm. We got a traditional breakfast with the family but it was very quiet as their English was as good as my Spanish. Really bad. On the way back we checked out the floating reed islands where people have been living for 700 years.

Start of South America trip - Peru

Calgary, Canada - LAX, USA - San Salvador, El Salvador - San Jose, Costa Rica - Lima, Peru - It took 24 hours and 4 flights to make it the Lima for the start of my South America tour. I grabbed a taxi to the hotel and immediately got a taste for Peruvian driving. I spent a couple of days in Lima and met up with my tour group before we headed south. An English lady and I were the only 2 that got on at Lima and the rest had been on since Quito.

Bukima Overland Tour - The tour with Bukima is on a big red MAN truck called Mo and we have a tour leader, Sas and her partner is the driver, Skank. The official tour goes from Quito, Ecuador to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil and takes 15 weeks however travellers get on and off at different stops like I did at Lima. Mo has 20 seats in the back and the seating arrangement is varied with some seats facing in and others facing forwards and back. The days are mixed with 60% camping, 40% hotels and some days are specific travel days and we usually spend a couple of nights in each city. When we are in hotels we eat out because it is so cheap and we only prepare food when we are camping.



The Bukima crew - Skank and Sas (South Africa and NZ)
To Rio - UK: Anna, Stephanie; AUS: Janine; BELGIUM: Rodger and Yvette
To Santiago - NZ: Emily, Fiona; UK: Jayne, Mark and Rebecca
To La Paz - AUS: Mark and Katie, JP and Leanne; UK: Graham; RSA: Janice

Ballestas Islands & Huacachina, Peru - Our first day out of Lima was an early start and we headed down to the Ballestas Islands. They stunk bad of guano but they were full of animals. There were hundreds of South American sea lions, penguins, cormorants, pelicans and thousands of boobies and other native Peruvian birds. After fresh fish and chips and ceviche (Peru’s national dish of raw fish with lime and chilli) for lunch we headed to Huacachina where there are massive sand dunes in the desert. We went hooning around the dunes in sand buggies with V8 engines going up slopes more than 45º and then went sand boarding. It was absolutely awesome flying down the sand dunes at 60km/h on a board similar to a snowboard but thicker. I stacked it big a couple of times on the large dunes and came away with a few injuries however they were soon forgotten when we set up camp in the desert and started downing the Pisco Sour and coke around the campfire.



Nazca, Peru - After cleaning up and trying to wash all the sand off our bodies we made our way to Nazca to check out the ancient Nazca Lines. They are massive animals and geometric shapes that the Nazca Indians created in the desert. The flight over them in a Cessna took 30 minutes and was very bumpy, giving me motion sickness. I then went and chilled in the pool with a game of water polo. That night was my first experience of bad belly everybody gets when over here. It hit me suddenly and it wasn‘t much of a fun night.



Puerto Inka, Peru - I woke up and felt fine and we headed for the beach, stopping at an ancient Inca cemetery to see some mummies. We got to the beach and then chilled for the afternoon before having an open fire barbecue and sleeping on the beach. As per usual I quickly got the reputation of eating a lot and especially everyone’s leftovers. I have now been nicknamed “the garbage disposal“ or Hoover.



Arequipa, Peru - We left the coast and started gaining altitude by heading up the Andes and spent a couple of nights here. I ate a variety of different animals including fried guinea pig (like greasy chicken but not a lot of meat), llama and alpaca (a little like lamb) and ostrich steaks, both of which are very nice. I also sampled several of the local Pisco cocktails. Because Arequipa is at altitude, alcohol affects you a lot quicker which is good for a cheap night. The rest of the time we spent walking the streets meeting the really nice Peruvian people and dodging the 25,000 yellow taxis and the protesting pensioners burning effigies in the street.



Colca Canyon, Peru - After passing over a pass of 4,910 metres (about 16,200 feet) where breathing and whistling was pretty difficult we made it to the small Andean town of Chivay. On the way we managed to see many wild llamas, alpacas and vicuñas (like the other two but endangered) giving us a real Andean feel. The day after we made it to the Colca Canyon, second deepest canyon in the world and twice as large as the Grand Canyon, where we saw a few of the endangered Andean condors flying on thermals. Afterwards we travelled further inland, where the heaven’s opened up so we camped in an abandoned train station on the altiplano and drank mulled wine.



Cusco, Peru - First night in town we went to a flash restaurant where the tables are baths with goldfish in them and covered with a plate of glass, and then we hit the town ’til 4am. The next couple of days were spent sightseeing and shopping before we headed to the Sacred Valley to see ancient Inca ruins.