After returning from Nasca, I spent about another 5 days in Cusco. Armed with a tourist ticket that allowed access to over 15 attractions for the price of $10, I set out to explore Cusco and the Sacred valley, museums and a variety of ruins in and around Cusco, most notably the ruins of Sacsayhuaman, Q'enko, Tambomachay and Pisaq. Located 18 Km. from Cusco in straight line, and 35 Km on a paved road, Pisaq is considered a typical Inca town, with several stages of a state city, and early privileged assimilation to the Inca Empire. I also visited Chinchero,
a small Andean Indian village located high up on the windswept plains of Anta at 3762m about 30km from Cusco. There are beautiful views overlooking the Sacred Valley of the Incas, with the Cordillera Vilcabamba and the snow-capped peak of Salkantay dominating the western horizon. Chinchero is believed to be the mythical birthplace of the rainbow. Its major claim to tourism is its colorful Sunday market which is much less tourist-orientated than the market at Pisac. The ruins in Chinchero are beautiful but the town's masterpiece is it's church, especially the inside which contains original wall paintings and altars.
Here are some images of Chinchero and it's beautiful church(no pictures are allowed inside the church).
After 5 days of ruins, I decided that's it and headed down to Arequipa (10 hour bus ride from Cusco), spring board for explorations of the Colca and Cotahuasi Canyon. In Arequipa, illness struck me and it wasn't pretty. I barely made it to the little hostel called "home sweet home" having to fight with back and chest pain, a headache and short breath. I went straight to bed and slept from 5pm until 7am the next morning. Feeling a bit better and ready for adventure, I called my friend Vic, a fellow SCARABS member from SoCal,in Cotahuasi to let him know that I am on my way and will be there the next day. After another 10 hour bus ride, with arrival time in Cota at 4:30am, i was excited to see Vic waiting for me at the plaza.
The first day we went to Mungi where we explored and bush waked an old trail leading up to some ruins on one of the mountain tops. We enjoyed beautiful views from the top and then got back down a newer trail. For the next three days, we planned a trip down the
Cotahuasi Canyon, the deepest in the world. Cotahuasi canyon, which extends from the foothills of the Solimana snowcapped mountain until the confluence of the Ocoña River, is 3,535 meters deep in the Ninacocha sector, nearby the Quechualla town, being the deepest part of a wonderful trip where one can enjoy lofty lakes, revitalizing thermal waters, white glaciers and a great variety of flora and fauna. So, off we went with our backpacks until about 2 hours into the hike when I had to put the breaks on. Though I started with antibiotics in the morning, the chest and back pain was terrible, leaving me with short breath and a fast running heart beat. Any attempt to cough hard or breath deep resulted in extreme pain as if someone smacked my rip cage. Our hiking pace was already slow due to my not feeling well, so we decided to set down our backpacks and slowly hike towards a dry waterfall. It was to beautiful that we decided to spent the day relaxing outside instead of going back and staying in bed. We took a little lunch and a little nap and waited for the 2PM combi, which eventually arrived about 3:30PM heading back to Cota. The next 2 days we took day hikes (I felt much better by then) which i enjoyed very much as it offered a mixture of everything, canyons, mountains, green villages with field terraces, waterfalls, old and new trails. Cota canyon reminds me of hiking in Anza Borrego, traversing the Grand Canyon, scaling some 10-11000 foot mountains somewhere in California to being transplanted into a Greek farming village. I very much enjoyed my time in Cota and Vic's company. He is planning a 3-4 day adventure race there sometime next year.
A special mention and thanks goes to the people of Peru. I think I mentioned it earlier but the people are the ones that make this a special country. The people of Peru really make it easy to visit this country. Wherever you go, they greet you with a big smile and are curious to where you are from and how you like Peru. They are so easily involved into a conversation. Sure, there are beggars in the street which are in pretty much every country. But i haven't seen people asking for money or people complaining about their poverty as they did in Guatemala or Nicaragua. They don't envy you or think you must have tons of money to be able to travel. They are happy that you get to know and see the beauty of Peru and they are proud (I guess that's what i missed in the people of Guatemala and Nicargua, the sense of being proud)of their country and their history. I talked to farmers, store owners, teachers and market woman and they are all readily talk about their families, their lives and their county. The kids are so polite too, they greet you and smile their big smiles (they don't stare at you for hours like in Guatemala). All in all, people here are very open, friendly and hospitable (yes, i would like to spend more time in Peru).
After Cota, I headed to Puno. The city of Puno is located in the south east corner of Peru, on the shores of the magnificent Lake Titicaca and only 126km from the border with Bolivia. At 3,827m in altitude, Puno is a rather cold and bleak town surrounded by the desolate altiplano (or high plateau). It is not so much a destination in itself but a necessary stop on the way to visit the islands on Lake Titicaca, or when crossing the border to Bolivia. Puno is, however, a melting pot of Indian cultures including the Aymara from the south and the Quechua from the north. This has earned Puno the title of 'Folkloric Capital of Peru' which it lives up to well with its huge number and variety of traditional fiestas, dances and music.
The city, whose full name is San Carlos de Puno, was founded in 1668 following the discovery of nearby silver mines. Prior to this, Puno had been a small stopping off place between the much larger silver mines at Potosi in Bolivia and Lima. Today, Puno is a predominately agricultural region. Its main economic activities are cultivating potatoes, barley and quinoa, as well as raising cattle, sheep, llamas and alpaca.
Using Puno as a base, I went on a 2 day trip to the Peninsula of Llachon, a beautiful farming village with terrace shaped fields. Here, I stayed with Don Valentin and his family. Valentin organizes family home stays on the Peninsula. It was also on Llachon that I saw an incredible sunset to one side of the peninsula and a range of snowcapped mountains to the other side. Llachon is just a special and beautiful place. I will spend another 2 days touring the floating island of Uros Islands, and visiting the islands of Taquile and Amantani. Both islands are beautiful and have a rich heritage of both Inca and pre-Inca ruins. Taquile is nearly 6km² in size and lies about 35km from Puno. About 300 families live on the island and have made it famous for its weaving, which is traditionally conducted only by the women of the island. The inhabitants still live by the three guiding principles of the Incas: Ama Sua (Do not steal), Ama Quella (Do not lie), and Ama Lulla (Do not be lazy). To this day, anyone breaking the rules can be banished from the island as punishment!
Amantani is larger than Taquile, and over three and a half thousand people live there. It has some important Inca and Tiahuanaco culture ruins and, like Taquile, specialises in the production of hand-woven textiles. The inhabitants of Amantani also produce fine pottery in traditional styles. Here, one can stay overnight with a local family and sample some real Andean life.
On Wednesday, I will leave for La Paz.
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