Peru, el pais de los Incas

¡Buenas tardes amigos! ¿Que tal?

Vladi & I are now in the north of Peru, and we will enter Ecuador tomorrow! We spent almost 3 weeks in the land of the Incas and have discovered Cuzco, the sacred valley, the world famous Machu Picchu and the mountains of the "Cordillera Blanca". We took plenty of buses to cross the country from south to north, hiked a lot, and for the first time even walked a 4 days trek with some fellow french travelers! Below is the first picture I took in Peru... actually it was the shooting place of a french movie called "Le Grand Bleu"... Welcome to this beautiful country!

CUZCO, LA ANTIGUA CAPITAL DEL IMPERIO INCA

From Copacabana (BOLIVIA), we took a direct bus to Cuzco, a nice city surrounded by moutains. The first night we shared a taxi with other travelers and stayed in a noisy backpacker, but then for 2 nights more Vladi found the best double room of the town! TV, private bathroom, fantastic view and friendly owners, for 6€ per night! Youhou! We strolled around the cobbled streets, gazed at the old churches and houses, and had our "almuerzo" (lunch) and "cena" (dinner) everyday in the open market  or in the cheap local eateries. We also randomly met Alberto, an italian couchsurfer we knew in La Paz! The world is so small...

Cuzco is the historic capital of the Inca empire, and one of the oldest city continually unhabited. You can still see old Inca walls in different parts of the town, and most of the churches are built over former Inca buildings. In Cuzco we also heard about the crash of the Rio de Janeiro-Paris plane thanks to the local newspaper... Bad luck for these poor people... But don´t worry for Vladi and I, who are traveling around the world and taking a lot of planes... It´s still the safest way of traveling, better than bolivian buses I can tell you!!!

EL VALLE SAGRADO : EL MACHU PICCHU & LAS AGUAS TERMALES DE SANTA TERESA

After a few peaceful days, we left Cuzco to explore the sacred valley and reach the long-awaited Machu Picchu. If you want to visit it one day, the paragraph below may be interesting for you...

How much most of the tourists pay to visit the Machu Picchu?
1º) Train from Cuzco to Aguas Calientes : 80€ aller/retour
2º) Bus from Aguas Calientes to the Machu Picchu : 11€ aller/retour
3º) Machu Picchu entrance fee : 30€
TOTAL = 121€/person

How did David & Vladi manage to do it cheaply?
1º) Bus from Cuzco to Santa Maria : 8€ aller/retour
2º) "Collectivo" (minibus) from Santa Maria to Santa Teresa : 3€ aller/retour
3º) Local taxi from Santa Teresa to Hydroelectrica : 1€ aller/retour
4º) 3 hours hike from Hydroelectrica to Aguas Calientes : free
5º) 1h20 hike from Aguas Calientes to the Machu Picchu : free
6º) Half-price entrance fee thanks to fake ISIC student cards : 15€
TOTAL = 27€/person

Now you understand the difference beetween tourists and travelers, don´t you?

In the bus from Cuzco to Santa Maria (departure 08.30am), Vladi was sick to death and suffered from vomiting during 5 hours and a half: the road was full of dangerous bends and rised up at 4300m. Then fortunately it was better in the minibus and  the taxi. We arrived in Hydroelectrica at 16.30pm, and started to walk on the railway towards Aguas Calientes. It was soon too dark to see the sceneries around, and we had to use our headlights. Under the moonlight, we walked for a while with a brazilian guy who looked like "Forrest Gump" with his huge beard. We had sometimes to move away from the railway to avoid getting run over by the trains!!! After 3 hours, we reached the village of Aguas Calientes, found a cheap hotel and both fell asleep in a few seconds after a quick dinner...

We rested one day more in Aguas Calientes, taking advantage of our comfy room and of the nearby hot springs. The next day, we woke up at 03.30am, drank a coffee and started our hike to the Machu Picchu at 04.00am. Another french couple, Jean-Noël & Jane, left the hotel at the same time and we got to know each other better on the road. It was completely dark around and we followed the very steep path (well, "stairs" is more precise) wIth our headlights. We were almost the first to arrive at 05.20am, and we waited in a huge state of excitement in front of the entrance until 06.00am. I was the 7th guy to enter the Machu Picchu on that day!!! At last, we entered this awesome archeological site and believe me, we were not disappointed at all...

Since I was a teenager, I was willing to see the Machu Picchu. I had a strange feeling being there, like a kind of achievement. I guess it´s possible to categorize the travelers: there are those who have seen the Machu Picchu, and the others! In any case, my vivid imagination started to work as soon as I entered the inca citadel! After the sunrise, we walked through the well-preserved ruins and went to the main viewpoint, at the house of the caretaker. Then Jane, Jean-Noël and I hiked to the top of the Wayna Picchu, the mountain behind the Machu Picchu, while Vladi took a nap under the sunrays. It was there also very steep, and the stairs so narrow... But we made it in one hour, to enjoy an incredible view: yes, the white spot you see on the mountain below is the Macchu Picchu!

I really couldn´t stop to walk here and there to see every part of this awesome human construction, located at 2430m on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba valley. The Incas started building it around 1430 but was abandoned as an official site for the Inca rulers a hundred years later at the time of the spanish conquest of the empire. Although known locally, it was largely unknown to the outside world before being brought to international attention in 1911 by Hiram Bingham, an american historian.

In the Inca citadel lives an unknown number of "vizcachas", a strange (but so cute) animal, something beetween the squirrel, the rabbit and the rat. They appeared suddenly at the end of the afternoon, more exactly at the beginning of the sunset. It reminded me of the "dassies" of Namibia and South Africa. From dusk till dawn, we have lived a full day in the Machu Picchu, and every minute was brilliant! Go and visit it, don´t content yourself with those pics, it´s really worth it!

Finally, we were almost thrown out by the guardians! It was hard to leave but the mind (and the camera!) full of pictures, we started to go down the stairs back to Aguas Calientes. Good bye Machu Picchu, it was a real pleasure meeting you!

As I told you, we didn´t really see the road and the landscapes beetween Hydroelectrica and Aguas Calientes because of the darkness. But while coming back, we enjoyed the path nearly as much as the Machu Picchu itself! Imagine yourself walking along the river, on the railway, under a beautiful weather, almost alone, in a wonderful vegetation...

For a moment, I really thought I was in the movie "Jurassic Park". Wild mountains, high cliffs, wild plants, nice butterflies, perfumed flowers... but fortunately no Tyrannosaurus Rex! Vladi and I were like in the paradise on earth, if you except our heavy backpacks of course...

We managed to come back to Hydroelectrica without any problems, then take a collectivo to Santa Teresa. We were greatly advised by Jane & Jean-Noël, and visited the thermal waters of Cocalmayo, only half an hour walk away from Santa Teresa. We arrived in the afternoon, camped there and took advantage of the hot springs during the night, and all the next morning until noon! By the way, let me introduce you to our new tent "Doite", a famous brand of South America for outdoor activities.

The thermal waters are divided into several pools, hot showers and bathes. Diving and swimming in the crystal-clear hot waters was delicious, the hardest part was just to succeed in leaving them... Oh, and I forgot to tell you I was bitten 43 times on my arms while putting up the tent, by some awful black and yellow little flies... Grrr...

LIMA

We went back to Cuzco with a more rapid bus, and Vladi was not sick on the crazy roads this time. Then we took a direct bus (22 hours) to Lima, the capital of Peru, where we couchsurfed at David´s place in the southern suburb of San Juan de Miraflores. David was very kind and helpful, thanks to him I tasted the "chicha morada" (a purple corn based-drink) and learnt a lot about Peru. Che, a guy from South Korea, was hosted by David at the same time. We all went for a day visiting Lima, including the marvelous city hall library. I wish I had the same library in my house later. OK I  agree, I must stop dreaming...

A few days ago, we met randomly Jane (the french girl we knew at the Machu Picchu) in Cuzco and fixed a time to meet again at the "Plaza de Armas" in Lima. So we found each other again and visited the San Francisco monastery and its claustrophobic catacombs, then had lunch all together with David and Che. And before leaving our new french friends, we planned with them to do the 4 days Santa Cruz trek in the mountains near Huaraz. So a new meeting point 2 days later was carefully chosen! We then came back to David's house to watch a soccer game beetween Peru and Colombia, and to share some cold beers...

Lima is not a what we can call a beautiful city. The city center is Europe away from home, but the suburbs are ugly, and the weather grey and misty 8 months per year... Add a lot of pollution, traffic-jam, noise... Beurk! We were happy to leave! Fortunately we spent those 2 days with great people, so everything was fine.

HUARAZ Y LA CORDILLERA BLANCA (SANTA CRUZ TREK)

We arrived in Huaraz one day before Jane & Jean-Noël to choose a good hotel and a safe place to let most of our belongings. Indeed, don´t think we were about to hike for 4 days with our backpacks full! We fortunately made them as light as possible, to keep a good mood during the trip. J & J, more experienced than us, purchased the necessary food
and brought their little bottled gas and trekkers stuffs. We met in the morning, bought our tickets at the national park headquarters office, then took a bus to Caraz and a shared taxi to Cashapampa, starting point of our adventure.

DAY 1: from 2900m to 3500m, walking time 02h30

We started walking at 14.30pm in a narrow valley, and the path was steep right from the start. Actually we went up all the time. As the sun began to hide behind the mountains, we found a nice flat place to camp on the riverbank, with a little cave ready to provide shelter to light a fire. We spent a nice evening in this unspoiled nature place, under the stars, chatting about our respective travels while eating some chinese noodles.

DAY 2: from 3500m to 4200m, walking time 04h30

We woke up slowly, took our breakfast (coffee, tea, bread and strawberry jam) and started hiking at 10.00am. The path along the river was at the beginning easier than the previous day. We had a break for lunch (delicious home-made "pâté de foie" by Jane, bread, cucumbers and red peppers) at 14.00pm in a nice forest, and enjoyed the company of a curious cow. We continued while the weather turned bad, first very cloudy then a little bit rainy, and the path also turned bad (slippery and steep)...

We choosed to stop at 16.00pm to put up the tents, and we were lucky enough to watch the sun coming back. The camp was surrounded by snow-covered mountains, and the valley just awesome. We found a cave (again!) and were happy to be close to the campfire while eating our heavy "pasta con pesto". The night was very cold, and we were shivering in the tents. Actually the temperature went beyond 0ºC that night, which is not surpristing at an altitude of 4200m, and we didn´t sleep very well...

DAY 3: from 4200m to 4760m, then to 3800m, walking time 06h00

In the early morning, the tent was frozen (only outside fortunately!) in some parts! Brrr... But Vladi and I were happy to have slept in this new tent, more solid and warm than the previous one. Still, despite of the cold weather, I felt very good when going out of the tent: it´s not everyday that you wake up in a scenery like this...

The mission of the day was to reach the Punta Union Pass at 4760m. So we slowly but surely started the ascent, chewing coca leaves and taking deep breathes. The wonderful landscapes around helped us to make it to the top (in 02h30), where we were rewarded with even more spectacular sceneries in every direction! Actually this place is said to have the best view of the Andes... I can confirm now... Really fantastic...

At the top we took a long break to enjoy the view and rest our old bones (!) under the sun. We ate some snacks (apples, dried fruits, chocolate) and took dozens of pictures. What a great feeling to be at the top of a mountain at 4760m, to breathe some fresh air surrounded by some of the highest mountains of the world (+6000m)...

The descent was also impressive: altitude lakes, changing sceneries, different vegetation, rivers, little waterfalls, cute caterpillars... The weather was turning very cloudy, but only in the mountainside we were coming from! So lucky once again! So we kept on walking down towards the sunny valleys, which seemed to be waiting for us. The path was a little bit exhausting for the knees, but who cares? We stopped for lunch at 13.30pm, and the bad weather caught up with us. We wore back our warm sweaters, and continued the descent until 16.30pm.

Once again we camped in a beautiful and peaceful place. The peruvian cows are certainly the most curious cows in the world. They were all the time coming close to us and to the tents! Maybe they were just friendly? Once, Jean-Noël helped one cow who had a little cactus stuck in her nose... Maybe they wanted to thank us? After 3 days, I also decided to take a bath in the river, but... no way!!! The water was too cold, and I only washed my hands and my face... Like every night, we lighted a campfire, but we didn´t last long in front of it because we were too tired. We all slept like marmots, lulled by the music of the nearby river...

DAY 4: from 3800m to 3500m, then to 3850m, walking time 03h00

The night before, we planned to wake up at 07.00am. Actually we woke up late and left only at 09.00am! On this last day, we started with 2 hours of "flat or going down" paths, meeting semi-wild horses, cows, and sheeps on the way. The valley was a piece of paradise, and we also hiked through some nice little villages, where life is peaceful all year long. The kind of place I would love to live in later...

For the last hour of the last morning hike, a winding road and a steep path led us to the village of Vaqueria. It was like a last test from the Cordillera Blanca on our physical abilities! But we made it! We bought some beers to celebrate our success and this unbelievable Santa Cruz trek, and ate with a huge appetite all the remaining food (mainly bread, tuna , red peppers and mayonnaise!!!). At 01.00pm, we took a 3 hours minibus to Yungay, and the road was like the final fireworks of this great adventure: we saw the highest peaks of the area, including the Huascaran (6768m), and the turquoise laguna of Llanganuco. At last, another collectivo drove us back to Huaraz at the end of the afternoon. End of the trip... Pfiou...

Back in Huaraz, we rested 2 days in our comfortable hotel. I took some pictures around the "mercado central", so as to let you appreciate a little bit the peruvian way of life.You can see below a small taxi (the driver is on a moped), and some women selling vegetables on the street. In Peru, as in Bolivia, a lot of people try to make a living by selling fruits, veggies, bread, cheese, but also DVDs, teethbrushes, clothes, sweets... well almost everything possible on the street!

Vladi also enjoyed having a room at the rooftop of the hotel. After washing the clothes (4kg!), she indeed had a good place to let them dry. It was also pleasant to take the breakfast under the sun with such a good view of the city and the mountains around. And, we can confess it... we also enjoyed watching TV for a few hours (Vive TV5monde pour le journal de France 2!)...

From Huaraz, we took yesterday a night bus (10 hours) to Trujillo, and carried on with a 3 hours and a half bus to Chiclayo. I am now in a cybercafé in this town, and we will in a few hours take another (8 hours) night bus to Tumbes, at the border with Ecuador. We are a little bit running out of time in South America, cause our flight from Quito to Central America is on the 30th of June. So we are now going straight to Ecuador!!!

As a conclusion, Peru was another great country to visit. Of course the Machu Picchu comes first to my mind. So much beauty and history in one place! But we had really some good surprises going through the country: the Urubamba valley, the Santa Teresa hot springs, the Cordillera Blanca... My only advice will be, as usual: come and see it yourself! See you later for some more news of our world trip!!!

IN FRENCH FOR THEO

Salut Théo!

Un p´tit coucou en direct du Nord du Pérou! Dans ce joli pays (si tu exceptes les ordures que les gens balancent un peu n´importe où, quel dommage...), Vladi et moi nous avons visité le célèbre Machu Picchu, dont tu as pu voir les photos dans cet article. C´était génial de se ballader dans cette ancienne cité Inca, on se demande quand même comment ils ont fait a l´époque pour amener ces énormes blocs de pierre au somment de la montagne... On a aussi eu la chance de se baigner dans des sources d´eau chaude à Santa Teresa, ça fait plaisir! Enfin, nous avons fait un trek de 4 jours dans la Cordillera Blanca: 4 jours de randonnée entre 3000 et 4800 mètres d´altitude, entourés de montagnes aux sommets enneigées, dont la plupart culminent à plus de 6000 mètres!!! Le soir, les feux de camp pour se réchauffer étaient obligatoires, et la nuit dans les tentes, ça caille mon filleul!!! Un jour, il faudra qu´on aille camper ensemble quelques jours, ça te branche? Maman m´a envoyé des photos de la fête de l'école, sympa ton déguisement d'indien! J´aime beaucoup la photo où tu poses avec tes 3 copains, tous déguisés. Vous êtes trop mignons... Je pars dans quelques heures en bus pour le dernier pays que je vais visiter en Amérique du Sud: l'Equateur. Bientôt les vacances pour toi, COOL!!! Profite bien cet été, embrasse tout le monde à la maison, et à plus dans le bus... PARRAIN.