Trip to Peru, South America
August 13th – 25th 1998
August 13th
Up at 3.45am, washed, packed and ready to go but no taxi came. Mike drove to the airport and we flew from Norwich to Amsterdam without incident. Amsterdam to Curanchao (where?). Spent an hour long vacation in the Caribbean then 31/2 hours to Lima.
A short wait at immigration where we saw Mr Bean impersonating an officer, then a long drive to the hotel.
On the way we drove around the man sitting in the middle of the road, past the begging children, through the slums and into the posh area of Milaflores where the La Hacienda Hotel and Casino was situated.
Everyone in Peru knew we where coming, I know this because nearly all the drivers honked their horns in celebration.
August 14th
Woke up after a good night’s sleep. Mike and Jonathan had breakfast downstairs and then we went for a walk a few blocks and back. First impression is of a noisy, intense city. Taxis and buses pull over shouting at us to jump aboard. A few beggars and lots of moneychangers. Banks are plentiful with armed guards at the door of each one. We walked to a small park at the seashore where we had a meal at the Pizza Hut.
Back in the hotel we lounged, watched television and relaxed. All the time celebration of our visit continues.
August 15th
Up at 3am, collected at 4am, taken to the airport for our one-hour flight to Cusco. Must be mad.
Cusco is a small and very beautiful ancient city, dating back to before the heyday of the Inca Empire. Although most of the buildings are now colonial, these are mostly built on Inca foundations. The city stands at over 11,000 feet above sea level, high in the Andes. We had been warned to expect side effects because of the high altitude, ranging from mild headaches to serious vomiting and breathing problems. The hotel welcomed us with cups of coca tea, which is the local remedy for altitude sickness and seems to have worked.
We walked to the main square in the afternoon and were stunned by the sight of the beautiful buildings. Local people in traditional costume tried to sell us their crafts, sometimes quite forcibly. One small child, begging for money attached herself to Mike and was so persistent, in the end he had to pay up or adopt her. Lunch in a café then a stroll back. Later in the afternoon Mike and I toured the Sun Temple and local alleyways before settling down at the hotel with a Pisco sour – delicious. Meal in the restaurant, shower and bed. It seems word of our visit has reached Cusco and the celebrations are intense tonight. Mike came back from a bar and told me that people were cooking meals in the streets on women’s underwear, I think he meant braziers.
August 16th
A noisy night, Mike didn’t sleep very well. but we managed to be ready in time for our guide at 8.50am. We were joined by 3 other people for a trip along the Urubamba Valley, the sacred Inca valley. We stopped at the market in Pisac and were tempted by the many stalls. The colours, sounds, smells and people made us feel we were in another world. We haggled for pottery and wall hangings. Jonathan proved a dab hand at the serious business of haggling. Laden with our purchases we headed further along the valley to the Inca ruins at Ollantaytambo. On the way we were held up in a village where a parade was underway to celebrate the life of the Virgin Mary, there were many people in costumes and loud music. Once at the Inca fortress our guide, Julio, led us to the top (about a zillion steps). We looked at the impossible boulders carved perfectly to fit together and we wandered down through terraces cut into the hillside. Parts of the village below were still complete Inca houses with drain channels in the streets. We visited the home of one family. Very basic, mud floor, daylight through the straw roof, guinea pigs and chickens running around the one room. It stank, it was dark and the lady of the house was cutting up something for lunch. It was definitely meat but none that we had ever seen before!
Then on to the hotel a few miles back along the valley. The Pasada Del Inca Hotel was a magnificent complex built around small courtyards. It was very old and colourful. Jonathan’s door was about half his height. Jonathan retired to bed with a headache and another coca tea. Mike and I toured the hotel copmplex ( a former convent we were told ). Then into the bar where we met Terry and Stef for far too many Pisco sours and a light supper. A call came from Julio to say that we would meet at 10am and not 7am as agreed. Approval all round then bed. Thankfully the celebrations have now abated.
August 17th
Met at 10am for a drive to Ollantaytambo again to catch the train to Machu Picchu. The platform and tracks were full of people selling their wares. There were dogs scrounging and lots of noise. Mike bought a silly hat and amused us by wearing it in different ways. The journey took about 11/2 hours and was through spectacular countryside of mountains and rivers. At the station in Aguas Calientes we transferred to a coach to climb the switchback roads to the top. After queuing for about an hour for a grotty lunch we walked the steep steps to a vantage point above the ruins and the view was breath taking. Our guide explained the city was discovered by an American archaeologist And explorer in 1911, had been cleaned up and become one of Peru’s major tourist attractions. The Incas lived at this impossible position while below in the valleys, the Spanish were conquering the towns and cities. Quite how the city remained overlooked for centuries is not known. It is said that the indians knew of it’s existence through folk tales handed down the generations but it’s location remained a mystery until the discovery this century. After an exhausting whistle stop tour, we returned by coach to the village with just enough time for a Pisco sour all round then a long 31/2 hour train journey back to Cusco and the Don Carlos Hotel.
August 18th
Up to meet our driver at 9.30am only to discover that the road was jammed with a high school parade. So we walked up the hill to the Hotel Liberator to meet our companions and Julio our guide. We started at the Sun Temple and learnt how the Inca empire spread throughout the region with Cusco as the centre of the empire. The city apparently built in the shape of the puma, one of the Incas sacred animals (the others being the lama, frog, condor snake and guinea pig). After another exhausting tour we went to Sacsayhuaman (pronounced ‘sexy woman’ – well almost) to look at the gigantic fortress built of huge stones cut perfectly to fit together. Then on to Tambomachay to see the fountains. It is said that if you drink from both fountains you will have twins. We stuck to the bottled water. Finally we went to Q’enqo and saw a vast stone structure carved and tunnelled to make tombs and passages, rooms and caves. Julio was knowledgeable and very enthusiastic |I am beginning to dislike him. We drove back through he town, earmarking the best restaurants for our final night. Exhausted, Jonathan and I relaxed, Mike roamed about a bit and bought a shirt. In the evening I revived with a Pisco sour and Mike fell asleep.
August 19th
Mike felt ill during the night with a stomach upset and stayed in bed for the morning. Jonathan and I walked to the Cathedral and had a look around. We then crossed the square, walked a couple of blocks and found the Historical Museum. There we met a couple of men from New Zealand and shared a guided tour. After a quick coca tea, Jonathan and I walked back to the hotel, buying a little lama for Mike on the way. Jonathan bought himself a wallet and sunglasses, doing all his own haggling too. Lunch at the hotel and writing a few postcards. After lunch Mike was feeling a bit better so we took a taxi to the square and as the sun went down we enjoyed the sights of the lights and the town coming to life for the evening. Lots of shopping later, we had a very good supper in the restaurant and then walked back to the hotel for our last night in Cusco.
August 20th
Back to Lima where we had just enough time to check in at the La Hacienda once again before being collected by Melouska our guide for a tour of the city. This finished with a visit to the Cathedral, then the Gold Museum. There we saw an enormous array of gold from pre Inca times to the present day. Also in the museum was a display of amour and weapons. Dinner at the hotel and another Pico sour.
August 21st
Got up at 5am to meet our transfer to the airport, the receptionist told us that a message had been received the night before changing the time to 6.30am. ‘Deary me’ we said and went in for breakfast. After the usual long queues at the airport we flew the 11/2 hours to Iquitos and met Wilson our guide. It took about half an hour in the most amazingly unsafe, unroadworthy taxi driven by a maniac in similar condition before we arrived at what was called the port. A ramshackle array of boards to negotiate over smelly water, to a dirty hut where we waited in the stifling heat. Eventually our covered boat, a pamacary, arrived and we set off down the Amazon. The sights and sounds were extraordinary, and the cool air in our faces as we sped along, refreshing. Everything was going well, life was good again. Then we got to a smaller, uncovered boat and transferred across. Apparently the river had shallow spots this time of the year and the smaller boat had a better chance of negotiating them. In the searing heat, progress was very slow. We kept getting stuck and the men got out, waded in the water pushing and pulling us free for a few more yards. Some river people, one carrying a three-toed sloth, matched our pace by walking along the bank. We were now about three hours into our journey and a few spots of rain turned into a shower which was greatly appreciated. The river deepened and we began to make better progress. Then the shower became a torrent and we eventually arrived, drenched. Putting on our only dry clothes, we hung the wet ones in our damp humid room on stilts, to dry! Before supper, we walked with Wilson through the jungle for a couple of sweaty hours. After learning about the diversity of flora and fauna we arrived at an indian village. The indians had dressed in costume for us and danced (trying unsuccessfully to make us join in.) Mike and |Jonathan had a go at firing a blowpipe, with unexpected success. Then a short canoe trip back to the lodge. By now the heat and humidity was unbelievable. We sat in the bar and sweated buckets, not looking forward to the night. Supper was delicious and we retired to our rooms with an oil lamp. Nightlights lined the high walkways so we wouldn’t fall off. A thunderstorm broke during the night, which was spectacular and cooler.
In the morning it was still raining hard.
August 22nd
Hard to tell, but our clothes seem marginally drier than the night before. The rain eased after breakfast. The parrots chattered around the lodge, some tame enough to be stroked. As I write this entry the rain has almost stopped and the humidity is rising once again. The birds and insects can be heard once more and I am beginning to sweat again. As for my hair, do I leave it to get even more sweaty and lank or do I wash it in river water? Will anyone know the difference?
In the morning we went for a walk in the jungle and saw monkeys, termites, birds and then met a scorpion which Wilson killed with his machete. A jungle lunch then straight out again for a walk to the village school past houses of the river people. Shelters built on poles to keep above the river in the rainy season. A few children and chickens running around. At the school we watched a ladies football match before walking back to the river and the river and our canoe. We sat and watched the sun setting before returning to the lodge. After supper by lamplight, we set out in the canoe again, This time for a ride in the dark to listen top the rainforest symphony and look for alligators. Plenty of symphony but no alligators.
August 23rd
Up at 5am to take a canoe ride a little way along the river to watch the dawn break and the birds and animals wake up.
Back at 7am to change into damp clothes, have a wash and then breakfast. Mike and Jonathan went out fishing for lunch (yuk). I stayed behind to pack the clothes - all damp (double yuk). It is difficult to find a place that doesn’t smell of Amazon and parrot droppings, or contain a zillion biting insects. Lunch at 11am in order to get back to Iquitos airport and catch out 4 o’clock plane. Jonathan and Mike arrived back without fish, apparently they gave their catches to a hungry dog!
We departed from the lodge at 11.30pm and met with the powerboat at 1pm. We swapped places mid river with another couple heading for the lodge. We sped our way into Iquitos arriving about 2.15pm The same taxi and driver met us and took us on an even scarier ride to the airport. The heat was still oppressive and it was a relief to get onto the plane for the journey back to Lima.
Tony met us at the airport and we took the half-hour drive back to the La Hacienda for one last time. My arms and face were burnt from the sun during the boat journey and very sore, but a pisco sour dulled the pain. A shower made us feel human again and clean clothes completed our transformation back into civilisation. A small supper in the restaurant, Mike went for a walk, then bed with air conditioning and cable T.V. Bliss.
Mike spent most of the night in the bathroom with an upset stomach again and in the morning still felt poorly.
August 24th
Our last day in Peru somewhat spoiled by Mike’s continues stomach problems. I managed to get the clothes packed and cases zipped then sat in the lounge to complete this diary. Mike in bed and Jonathan plugged into the television. Tony has handed responsibility fore our safe passage to the airport back to his sister Wendy which was somewhat of a relief. Tony was an interesting character, very young, very likeable, but not really sure about what he was meant to be doing. He gave us biscuits, his e-mail address and lucky Peruvian coins. We didn’t tip him.
At 4.30pm Wendy collected us. Last trip to the airport, usual queue at check in, queue to pay tax and long wait in the departure lounge. Wendy said goodbye and promised to visit us when she is in great Yarmouth next year.
A long flight broken by a brief 30-minute holiday in the Caribbean island of Aruba, but it was closed.
A long dull wait in Amsterdam then the final leg home.
Overall Impressions
Peru
We had always wanted to visit South America and Peru seemed as remote a place as we could imagine. We knew nothing about the country except that Paddington Bear came from darkest Peru. It didn’t disappoint at all. A completely different culture, in fact many different cultures. Friendly people, excellent services of the tour operator who took all the worry out of the trip. Yet for the most part we were not sharing the tour with anyone. A very private and exclusive holiday. This we felt particularly at the Amazon Lodge, where we were the only guests.
Lima
Pretty much like any other sprawling city, but with the addition of far more noise and pollution. There were shanty towns on the fringes, beggars on the streets, security guards with guns and plush hotels and casinos. The city is by the sea, but the sea looked grey and uninviting. Because of construction at the beach to reclaim more land, the area was bulldozed, covered in rubbish and didn’t smell too good. Milaflores was supposed to be one of the nicer areas but it was difficult to tell. We didn’t feel particularly comfortable in the city and have no desire to return. One of our least favourite places was the airport where there always seemed to be long queues and the Peruvian idea of queuing was just push in at the front. We were lucky in not suffering any of the notorious flight delays and cancellations.
Cusco
An enchanting city (more of a town really) high in the Andes. Very picturesque and inviting. We walked into the centre after dark and felt perfectly safe. The people were friendly, though the constant badgering by street traders became rather tiresome after a while. Our guide, Julio was rather eccentric, but very enthusiastic and conveyed his passions for the area. Cusco had many shops, cafes, narrow alleyways and courtyards to explore. Walking was literally ‘breathtaking’ because of the altitude, we never the less did rather a lot of it.
Evidence of the Inca empire of a thousand years ago was everywhere in and around the town and it was hard to believe that the precision stonework was possible to achieve so long ago without the modern tools.
Urumbamba Valley
The sacred Inca valley. This was beautiful, (and apart from the road) serene. Our guide kept pointing out mountains and crevices that he said had significance because they were shaped in the form of sacred animals. We didn’t take this too seriously and it certainly stretched the imagination at times. The ruins at Pisac and Machu Picchu were hard to take in because of their locations and sophistication. The thin air made these tours very taxing, and coupled with the heat – exhausting. Our stay in the Pasada Del Inca Hotel was quite an experience too and we enjoyed the company of Stef and Terry on this leg of the tour.
Amazon Lodge
Difficult to find the right words to describe this part of the holiday. I can’t adequately write about the heat and humidity. I don’t want to describe how sweaty and dirty I felt. Impossible to convey the sounds of the insects, birds and animals filling the air and surrounding us day and night. The feeling of constantly moving and swaying in our bedroom high up on poles. How could I possibly write about the experience of sitting in a canoe on the Amazon watching the sun set. A strange mixture of feelings we wouldn’t have missed but couldn’t wait to get away from.
Our guide, Wilson was a strange little man, very serious, very knowledgeable and yet his grasp of English was not sufficiently accomplished to give full explanations.
A note in the visitors book gave timely advice ‘If a parrots squawks above you, do not look up.’