Copacabana

Monday 16th December 2013

Ismael relaxing in the front garden of our cabana

Our awesome cabana

Our awesome cabana

Our awesome cabana

Our awesome cabana

Relaxing in our front garden

View over Copacabana from our awesome cabana

Sunset from our front garden

On the way to La Paz

On the way to La Paz

We arrived back in Copacabana at 5pm and headed to Las Olas, a hostel we had been recommended by John. Our suite was the nicest we had on the trip so far. It was a little maisonette on the edge of a cliff overlooking the lake. We had one and a half floors. Upstairs was a small study and spare beds and a hammock. Downstairs was a bathroom, bed, kitchenette and coffee table and chairs facing a double height stained glass window looking out over the lake. The other side of the window were two hammocks. On a shelf there were two hot water bottles and by the bed a heater! I was in heaven! We booked the place for two nights and made the most of it, watching sunsets and getting plenty of rest before Uyuni.

After two nights in Copacabana we took a bus to La Paz, the highest capital city in the world (3640m). La Paz is about 75km south west of the lake while Copacabana lies on a peninsula on the southern edge of it. The road to La Paz traversed the southern edge of the lake. We crossed to the northern side by ferry via the Straight of  Tiquina and then followed the road along the northern edge of the lake before leaving it for La Paz. On bus the journey we were afforded great views of the lake making its vastness even more apparent.

Isla del Sol

Sunday 15th December 2013

We’re here

The hostel was up those steps and then some

View from our balcony

View from our balcony

View from our balcony

View from our balcony

View from our balcony

Lake Titicaca

Lake Titicaca

On the way back to the port

On the way back to the port

View from the port

View from the port

View from the port

We arrived in Copacabana on the edge of Lake Titicaca at around 11am. The lake stretches lengthwise south east across the border of Peru and Bolivia. At an altitude over 3800m, and with dimensions of roughly 200km by 50km, it is easily the largest high altitude body of water in the world. The lake is so vast that from most vantage points it looks more like an ocean. For many people, the lake is of great religious significance. The Incas believed that god rose from the lake and created the sun and the moon. The first Incas are believed to have inhabited the islands in the lake, Isla del Sol and Isla de la Luna.

Originally we had planned to spend a night or two in Copacabana before heading to Isla del Sol as we wanted to rest a little having had a long journey not long after doing the Colca Canyon trek. On arrival somehow we ended up in a tour agency where a woman managed to convince us that we should head straight to Isla del Sol, claiming that it would be the perfect place for us to relax. So, after a quick and tasty breakfast at El Condor and the Eagle we jumped on a boat.

The lady at the agency had told us the hostel was near the port. We arrived at the island (with our full backpacks). Stood at the bottom of a steep set of steps we couldn’t see the end of, we looked for the hostel, there was no sign of it. We looked at a map. The hostel was up the steps by the look of things – there was really only one direction one could head in from the port. After walking up the steps which, given the altitude and our heavy packs was not easy, we stopped and asked for directions and were told it was a 40 minute hike upwards.  The sun was blazing and on the way up opportunities to escape it were few and far between. The hostel turned out to be at the highest point on the island – pretty much as far from the port as you could get. Knackered and cursing the woman from the agency, we were shown to our room which had amazing views of the lake from the balcony outside it.

Given that we were not particularly interested in a hike or seeing Inca ruins having done the Inca trail not so long ago, the only thing left to do on the island was watch the sunset over dinner; unfortunately it was a cloudy night. By nightfall the temperature dropped to near zero and I slept with my wooly hat on. Later that night a storm came in; rain, thunder, lightning and all. The next afternoon after a short walk around the island we headed back to Copacabana.

Colca Canyon

Thursday 12th December 2013

Day One: Going down

Colca Canyon

Colca Canyon

Colca Canyon

Colca Canyon

Unexpected companion

Christmas dinner?

Colca Canyon

The Oasis – our abode for the night

18km and still not there yet

Colca Canyon

Colca Canyon

Nearly at the Oasis

The Oasis at sunset

This morning was an early start. We were the first of 10 to be picked up from our hostel at 3am. The Colca Canyon is 160km north west of Arequipa. At 4km from cliff edge to river bottom, it is the deepest canyon in the world. The sharp terraces of the canyon have been cultivated for over 1500 years and still are, despite its growth into Peru’s third most visited tourist attraction.

Including a stop for breakfast at Chivay and at Mirador Cruz del Condor the drive to the canyon took around six hours. Stopping at the Mirador was optimistic as we were off season (May-July).

The first day was a long 18km downward hike into the canyon with a stop for lunch along the way. It was wet season and there had been landslides only days before which had destroyed the path we were taking. Along the way we encountered bulldozers on two occasions which were trying to restore the trail and had to work our way around them. On the way down the colours of the canyon were mesmerising. The different minerals in the rock created different shades, greens, blues, lilacs, silvers, burt yellows. Even when the rocky sides were just blacks and browns they looked like crumpled velvet in the sun. The day ended at the bottom of the canyon at the Sangalle Oasis where we enjoyed some hard earned drinks and dinner before hitting the sack in our huts.

Day Two: Going up

Leaving the Oasis

Colca Canyon

Need a break!

At the top and knackered!

On the way to Cabanaconde

Roast lamb

On the way to Cabanaconde

Cabanaconde

Main square of Cabanaconde

Stop at the edge of the canyon on the way back to Arequipa

Stop at the edge of the canyon on the way back to Arequipa

Stop at the edge of the canyon on the way back to Arequipa

Stop at the edge of the canyon on the way back to Arequipa

Stop at the edge of the canyon on the way back to Arequipa

Day two was tough. We woke at 4.30am, packed our things and after only a cup of tea headed to the trail. From there it was 6km straight upwards along a steep, unrelenting path. The switchbacks were short. We were on a schedule and had to be at Cabanaconde for the bus back to Arequipa by 9am. 8.30am would allow us time for breakfast on arrival. My stomach had not been right since the Inca trail and I hadn’t eaten much the day before. The hike up was hard but we made it with time to spare. It was only once we made it to the top that we were really able to enjoy the scenery. The last 20 minutes of the hike were more or less flat through maize fields overlooked by mountains.

After the hike my tank was pretty much empty, when we reached the town I downed a bottle of luminous orange fanta like it was the last drink I would ever have. On the way back we stopped at the Mirador Cruz del Condor, again with no avail. A final stop at some hot springs before Arequipa was just what the muscles needed – not quite Baños but it did the job.

We arrived back in Arequipa at 6pm for our last night there and after the seriously basic and dusty accommodation at the Oasis we were glad to be back in our nice room at the hostel again.

Next stop: Copacabana, Lake Titicaca, Bolivia.

Arequipa

Sunday 8th December 2013

Santa Catalina Monastery

Santa Catalina Monastery

Santa Catalina Monastery

Lunch spot

Plaza de Armas

Plaza de Armas

After spending so long at altitude I was looking forward to Arequipa. Although still in the mountains, at 2335m, Arequipa is over 1000m lower than Cusco which means that it is significantly warmer at night and the air has more oxygen. At the hostel we happened to bump into  a guy who was heading in the same direction and we shared a cab to the station. When we arrived, it transpired that coincidentally he had the seat on the bus behind us. John was good company and we had long and interesting conversations on the bus about the Incas and earlier civilisations in the Americas, his experiences travelling in Bolivia (where we would be heading soon) among other things.

Bolivia sounded like the wild wild west on on the South American scale and this wasn’t the first time we had heard stories to this effect. John had been robbed by two (supposed) police officers on arrival in the country and then got food poisioning which took him two weeks to recover from. Another friend Matt, who had been recently, said he saw two police officers trying to tazer each other for kicks. We had heard lots of food poisoning stories from Bolivia; it seemed everyone got ill there. I guess we would soon find out for ourselves.

We took the overnight bus from Cusco at 8.30pm and arrived in Arequipa at around 7am, too early to check into our room. We brushed our teeth and put our bags in the storage room and headed out to explore the city with John. John had been recommended the Santa Catalina Convent as a nice place to spend the afternoon and, after a long breakfast at a place we found on the main square, we headed there.

The convent was founded in 1579, 39 years after the Spanish arrived in Arequipa. It is described as a city within a city and when you see the size and use the map to traverse it you understand why. Like much of Arequipa, nicknamed the White City (Ciudad Blanca), the convent is constructed from white volcanic sillar stone quarried locally. It has been restored repeatedly over the years after being destroyed by earthquakes.

Santa Catalina contained many peaceful cloisters with walls painted beautiful colours, burnt oranges and deep blues. We wandered around and had a tasty lunch there before heading back to our hostels for a late siesta. While at the monastary we bumped into Zoe, one of the people we did the Inca Trail with. Later the four of us met for dinner and I wore make-up for the first time since arriving in South America!

It turned out that the hostel we had booked for one night had no availability for future nights. This turned out to be a mini god send. We found a place at the oddly named Flying Dog in town. We had a lovely room off the open courtyard in the middle. The next four days were spent wandering around the city, relaxing, adding to the blog, learning more spanish and eating well, charging our batteries for the two day Colca Canyon trek. I even managed to iron some clothes!

Back in Cusco

Wednesday 4th December 2013

All about Cusco

Plaza de Regocijo

View to Plaza de Armas

Cakes!

Interesting tea brewing cup contraption

Plaza de Armas

Inca wall

San Cristobal

Local instrument demo

View over Cusco ciy centre

Plaza de Armas

Llama

Typical architecture

Qoricancha

Qoricancha

Near Qoricancha

Coloniam Qoricancha

Inca Qoricancha

Qoricancha

Inca wallks behind colonial aches at Qoricancha

Inca Walls Qoricancha

Gardens of Qoricancha

Gardens of Qoricancha

On our return to Cusco we managed to find a nicer hostel than the one we were staying in before the trail for a similar price. Mama Simona is apparently named after the mountain which protects Cusco from nearby volcanoes. The different areas of the place had Quechua names and there was a heater in the lobby!

The next few days were spent relaxing, enjoying Cusco. After falling ill on the trail I had lost all interest in local food. The only thing I seemed to have any appetite for was dessert. We had lots of coffee and cakes at different cafes, the best of which had to be at Cafe Panam by far – basic bites done exceptionally well. The best cinnamon swirl I ever had!

On one of the days we did a walking tour around the city. The guide explained some of the Inca history of the city, showed us some of the remaining Inca walls on which they had incorporated creatures they considered sacred (the snake, puma, condor). We were taken around some of the other neighbourhoods, San Blas, San Cristobal, given a taste of some local foods (alpaca and different products made from local chocolate) and shown examples of local wind and string instruments, having each one played to us.

On the last day we visited Qoricancha. It is arguably the most sacred building in Cusco and has a long spiritual history dating back to the Incas. Inside are the finest Inca walls you can find in the city mixed in among the colonial pillars and arches. Originally the temple of the Sun, the Spanish apparently destroyed most of the building and built the colonial structures of the Santo Domingo on the Inca foundations. The Inca walls here are made from large dry polished stones which fit so closely there is no need for mortar to hold them together. The outer wall slants inwards at and angle of 15 degrees giving them the strength and flexibility to withstand earthquakes.