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Magical Mystery
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Hi everyone!
It's been a while since my last blog.....so I guess I have one or two things to update you on?! Wow, it's been a great couple of weeks, jammed packed and totally amazing all the way. I've been traveling with Fabienne and Joelle (Swiss), which has been so much fun, they are really lovely girls and we've become good friends on our journey through Bolivia and Peru. I've even promised to visit them in Zurich...to go Salsa dancing! But we have to part company soon as Fabienne flys to the States and Joelle to Mexico...so I'll be back on me own again.
Anyway when I left you I was in Sucre, Bolivia, just about to make my way to La Paz. How do I describe La Paz to you?.....totally mad.....and I loved it!! When you enter the city, it's hard not to be overwhelmed by what greets you...........endless rows of houses and buildings set right into the surrounding mountains......and when you get closer to the city centre.....jammed packed roads of cars, taxis and colorful old buses! The streets, as you can imagine, descend almost vertically, which makes walking tricky, and on every corner someone is selling something....you can pretty much get anything if you look hard enough...from cloths, fruit, meat...to those all important Cocca leaves, for altitude sickness...La Paz is 3,600 metres above sea level. I arrived a day ahead of the girls, so had some time to explore. Having said that I didn't get much beyond a 100 yards, as I booked a hostel for us right in the centre of the Witches Market....which is a shopping mecca for silver jewelery, ponchos and, well, pretty much anything that you don't really need but have to have!!!!!!!!!!!!! We spent a couple of days in La Paz, doing some sight seeing and well mostly shopping...not for me of course, but they are coming to the end of their trip soon so had lots of gifts to buy. We found a great Cuban restaurant that served good food and even let us Salsa dance!
Our next stop was Copacabana, located on the shores of Lake Titicaca, on the Bolivian side, which meant another 4hr bus journey. Wow, a really beautiful trip through the countryside. I'm sure I'm not telling you anything you don't already know....but blimey, Lake Titicaca is massive, and stunning of course! Amazing to think that it's over 3,800 metres above sea level. We took a boat trip to the Isla Del Sol, on Lake Titicaca, to the north and south part...very pretty and some great views, and we ate Trout from the Lake.....lovely! The town had a great feeling about it and at night it's really atmospheric, with market stalls lining the streets and amazing sunsets!!
After a couple of days we headed out again to the town of Puno, on the Peruvian side of Lake Titi. Another amazing bus journey, which of course involved a border crossing into Peru and general confusion when trying to change buses and money!! On Easter Sunday, we took another boat trip to the Floating Islands of Uros...very interesting but very tourist driven. These are people who literally live on the water of Lake Titi, in small communities. Next stop was the island of Taquila. After a pretty steep climb we arrived at the top of the island and at the centre of the town, just in time to see a sort of Easter parade, where people from the community were dressed in traditional cloths, etc. We even sat at the back of the really pretty church while they had their easter service....very nice, lots of singing and people being nice to each other. The boat trip back was particularly beautiful...but very cold. However being the silly English person that I am, I insisted on sitting outside, so that I could really appreciate the view and the sun setting. I swear that the other passengers were laughing at me from their warm comfortable environment...but I didn't care, I wanted to see as much of Lake Titicaca as I could, for as long as I could. Unfortunately Fabienne was unable to join us, as she was sick and laid up back at the hostel. In fact she had been unwell for a few days, which meant she missed out of a few things. There are a couple of funny stories of locking ourselves out of the bathroom in the middle of the night (at very crucial moments...if you know what I mean) and me having to wake hotel people up, with bad bed hair and questionable bed attire, etc....but I won't burden you with all that.
Next on the schedule was Cusco, Peru...on our way to...well, you must be able to guess...yes, that´s right....Machu Picchu!! We had thought about taking the Andean Explorer 'posh' train from Puno to Cusco, but thought better of it, as pretty expensive and a bit of a rip off, according to some people we asked. So instead we took a 'first class' bus. The great thing was that it took the same route as the train through the Sacred Valley. During the 9 hour trip we went through some stunning scenery (again) and visited some very interesting places, full of Inca history. These included; La Raya, Pukara, Raqchi, and Andahuaylillas (learnt alot about Inca history here). Finally we arrived in Cusco....which was even better than I imagined!
Right, Cusco.....well I could dazzle you with some amazing facts and statistics but then I would need my Lonely Planet.....because most of you know how rubbish I am at remembering information and that, so instead I'll do my best to give you the bare essentials! Almost 3,000metres above sea level, with over 300,000 inhabitants....Cusco, the ancient capital city of the Inca empire, is definately a place you can´t miss. Not only is it very pretty, with cobbled streets and colonial balconies, but it's surrounded by ancient Inca ruins and a magnetic energy...oh yeah and some pretty rocking night clubs!! There's a definate vib in this city, and the people stop to talk to you. We spent a couple of days here before taking the bus to Ollantaytambo. The route took us to Pisac and a strange place with a sort of Guinee Pig farm (for eating not petting). Ollantaytambo is a really nice town, with some interesting Inca ruins. We only spent a few hours here as we were up early, 5.30am, to catch the train to Machu Picchu!!!
Machu Picchu.....oh my god, I'm sooooooo excited just writing about it....I've got tingles all over!!! As you can probably tell, I liked it. In fact it had a really profound effect on me. How can I describe to you what it was like?? Well, as you can imagine it looked unbelievable.....an Inca city perched on the top of a mountain, surrounded by mountain peaks that seem to rise out of nowhere! But it was the feeling of the place that really overwhelmed me and has stuck with me ever since. There's is real energy there, which is magical and mysterious. We spent the whole day there just walking around, taking pictures and...well...just looking at it. They say that you can hear the mountain calling to you.....and I think I did....anyway I will definately go back one day.
Anyway, as hard as it was, we had to tear ourselves away and return to Cusco, where we spent the next few days until Fabienne and Joelle had to catch their plane. Even got in a couple of nights of Salsa dancing at a club we discovered that just had locals. Had a very sad trip to the airport to say goodbye to the girls and then I was on my own again. But not for long, as I met a New Zealand girl called Stephanie, and we explored the surrounding area of Cusco and lots and lots of Inca ruins.
Next stop, Arequipa, South Peru. There's a famous canyon where I can see condors and stuff, so should be good. Not long now and I'll be in New Zealand!!
By the way, I promise to include some pictures soon!!
Anyway bye for now...till next time xxxxxxxxxxx
Where I stayed:
Hospedaje Touristico Recoleta
Latest Comments (1)
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Amazing! (reply)
Apr 16, 2008 15:16 EST by julih100
Hi Sarah
Sounds like you are having an amazing time. So glad you have met up with fellow travellers! Wish I could do what you are doing, hold on a minute, I will do what you are doing only I will be about 100 by the time I get the chance!
Keep safe
Julie x
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| 6. | Magical Mystery - Cusco, Peru Apr 01, 2008 (  1 ) |
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