Anyway, our remaining time in the Cusco area was spent out and about. One day we took a trip to the Sacred Valley (a couple of hours outside Cusco) to check out the ruins there. First we visited Pisac. Apart from the Inca ruins there is a market which for the most part is quite touristy but once you get through that there are the local markets selling veges and all sorts of stuff.
Visions of a very old lady weilding an axe and hacking up a lump of meat will remain with us for a while.
Then it was on to Ollantaytambo where there are more ruins. Amazing structures - it is mind boggling how the Incas (and in some areas, the pre-Incas) built them. Then it was onto Chinchero where there is what looks like a non-descript church (Spanish built). Once inside however, wow. The paintings on the walls and ceilings were amazing. Even the wood beams were painted.
Upon reflection, we should have done this trip ourselves over a couple of days but we thought for convenience and the benefit of a guide to explain everything, we´d go on a tour which was very cheap. BAD IDEA. For the first time, we felt like we were on some package holiday. It was great to have the guide but beyond that, it wasn´t worth it. Oh well, lesson learned.
Dylan adds: I have to agree that this really felt like a Butlins day out for me, and in the future wherever possible we will attempt to do things ourselves. I HATE tourists, and can´t stand listening to them go on about NOTHING for hours in a bus, and then show complete disrespect while the tour guide tries to explain the history of these incredible sites. However we are both quite old.
The next day we went on a white water rafting trip. As we´re both novices, the level 2/3 rapids were just fine by us. It was a fun day and a good intro for beginners. Unfortunately some had paid specifically to go somewhere else for a little more action but were lumped in with us. I
imagine that later that evening a certain tour operater got a bit of an ear full. Dylan adds: I thought it was far too easy and for girls. Next time we will do a proper session, at least a 4-5. That said, the river through the mountain was spectacular.
Having had enough of Cusco, the next day we got a bus to Puno which sits on the shore of Lake Titicaca. It was a fairly non-eventful 6 hour trip although concerns did arise when after about an hour the bus broke down. I don´t know what the driver did but about half an hour later the bus started again. We were fine though as we had a quality American movie being shown on the bus to keep us occupied (Jim Carrey was in it, I really hate Jim Carrey). Dylan adds: Why do they think that they can remake "It´s a wonderful life"? Some things should be left well alone.
Puno is very different to Cusco. It´s a lot smaller and much less touristy. It´s nice when the main "tourist" street is full of local people. We decided today to hang out here. We went to visit an old ship nearby but I´ll get Dylan to tell you about that.
Dylan writes (skip if you are not interested in boats I guess) : The ship is the oldest iron hulled boat still working. She is called the M.S. Yavari and she is amazing. The order was placed in 1861 by the Puruvian government to James Watts Foundry in Birmingham. The order was for two "Gun Ships", that could double as cargo/passenger ships. The truly amazing part of the story is that the ships where not to be assembled in England. The component parts of the ship where crated up and shipped around the Cape Horn to Arica (a Peruvian port). From there they where put on a steam train inland for 40 miles. From that point it was 250 miles and a climb of over 15500 feet over the Andes!! The transportation of the parts took mules and porters SIX YEARS! On Christmas day in 1870 the first ship was fully reassembled and launched, she made her maden voyage in April 1871. Back then she was Steam powered burning dried llama droppings, but as the lake is so high (around 3500 meters) you can imagine that the pressure difference was quite large. It took 6 hours just to build up steam, therefore in 1914 the steam engine was replaced with a huge 4 cylinder diesel from Sweden), the largest of it´s kind still in working order. The original steam engine no longer exists.
Walking around the engine room is a trip back in time with all the parts made all over England. It really is a walk back in time, a time when England was the best at something special. The Yavari has been fully restored and moves under it´s own steam (so to speak). Kat has just told me off for writing so much about the boat, I think I got a bit carried away.... it really is a nice boat though. In the picture below the water is being hammered by HAIL, the size we have never seen, quite moody.
Kat continues: We´ve also put some of our clothes back into a laundry here to try our luck a second time. Maybe it will be Persil Pussy Powder this time?!
Kat
2 comments:
Another superb & interesting blog! Stunning pictures too... I'd be a bit worried about the puppy pong though...and if I saw that old lady beating meat I would probably go weak at the knees....
Dylan - the boat bit was actually quite interesting to read.
Best Wishes,
Peter
Wow, looks like a fab trip so far.
Best wishes.
Rob
Post a Comment