Puno and Lake Titicaca

I actually do not know where to start with this one! What to say about Puno... 

We arrived to Puno on an overnight bus at 4am and checked into the most spotless hostel we have have stayed in so far, Quechuas Backpackers. It's a family run hostel with spotless bathrooms, really comfy beds and super fast wifi (which is great, cos there ain't much else to do in Puno!) The hostel is right beside a public park where the kids do PE at school and, as we discovered, the local pan-flute band come to practise - it was cute for about half an hour but they only knew one song so it got old pretty quickly! 

The next day we went to the harbour to start our tour of Lake Titicaca, which is the highest navigable lake in the world at 3,812 metres and borders both Peru and Bolivia. 

Our first stop was to the Floating Islands of Uros. We visited one of the 80 tiny islands and we were greeted by members of the 5 families who lived on it.

They showed us into their homes and demonstrated how they built the islands with cork and reeds. An island takes 30 years to build and lasts for about 80 years, they are about 2 metres thick and float on water that is 20 metres deep! 

It feels a bit like walking on a waterbed, but there are so many kids around it's incredible that they don't fall in. There was one little girl living on our island who was so cute and so cheeky, she was 4 years old and well able to interact with us. She loved looking at herself in my phone and was fascinated by the "designer" holes in my jeans. She even managed to take a selfie:

The patriarch of the family explained (through a translator) that when families living on the same island fall out, they physically saw their part of the island off and let them float away. He had a great sense of humour too and offered us a ride in his Mercedes Benz: 

Then it was time to make the 3 hour journey by boat to the island of Amantani where we would partake in homestay with a family. This is where things got interesting. 

When we arrived to Amantai we saw some local women at the harbour washing their clothes on the rocks in the water. But on closer inspection it turned out they were actually washing their dinner, it was a load of chickens bobbing around in there! We gave each other a look that said "please god don't let that be our dinner!" 

Our guide took us to meet our "Island Momma", named Rufina, a lovely lady with not a word of English who had a special talent of knitting while she walked. While Rufina walked us to our home for the next two days we noticed... Absolutely nothing. There is nothing on the island apart from a few spread out houses and amazing views of Lake Titicaca.

We soon arrived at Rufina's house and met her husband, 5 kids, 2 inlaws and 2 grandchildren. Thank god Karen had enough Spanish to talk to them, while I nodded a lot. We were then shown to our room which had a tin door and a plastic roof; reality may have set in at this point! 

After about half an hour we were invited to the kitchen for lunch. A picture speaks a thousand words so I'm just going to let this do the talking:  

It actually wasn't really that bad and at the end of the day we were invited into their home and they made us feel extremely welcome and were totally open about their lives. 

But when a black shadow scuttled across the kitchen floor, myself and Karen and simultaneously put our feet up on our chairs expecting the worst. A rat. Of course we needn't have worried, it was just the family of guniea pigs who lived under the table. In fact, our new Island Daddy even offered to cook us one for dinner. We politely declined. 

After lunch we discovered what the islanders must do for fun, you guessed it... Astro Turf?!

Our group tried to have a game while our proud Island Mommas knitted on the sidelines, but at 4000metres it didn't last very long before everyone was gasping for air. Luckily our guide had something else in store for us - a hike to a temple at the top of a mountain to watch the sunset. Seriously, these hikes are getting old, but this one was worth it: 

That's enough for one day I hear you say? God no, the fun was just getting started. After we had our dinner (rice, chips and a tomato by candlelight) we were invited to a party in the town hall. There was no need to worry about what to wear beacuse Rufina hooked us up with traditional outfits and hairstyles for the evening:

Rufina regretfully explained that she couldn't attend the party with us but that her daughter Noddy would chaperone us. Noddy, who is around 18 years old, dutifully woke up her baby, strapped him screaming to her back and lead the way to the town hall. We felt awful but she genuinely didn't seem to mind. We bought her a coke to ease the guilt. 

The party wasn't exactly bangin to begin with

But once the band (2 men with panpipes and 1 man with a drum) arrived, the local ladies showed us how to do the traditional dance and everyone really got into it. The band played the same song 3 times while we marched around like lunatics, and then it was time for home. 

The next morning after a, eh, rustic experience it was time to day Adios to our Island Momma and to Amantani. 

 

Our boat took us to another island on Lake Titicaca, this one named Tequilli. It is a beautiful and extremely traditional island. There have been numerous attempts to commercialise Tequilli with a hotel and restaurants for tourists, but the islanders ensure that this never happens and they maintain their culture. One custom on the island is that married men wear red hats and batchors wear white hats - genius if you ask me. 

The town square was like something out of a western, unlike anything I have ever seen. We were also invited into a family home where they showed us how they weave clothing and even make their own shampoo from a plant that grows natuarally on the island (and apparently men who use it never go bald). 

Eventually the time came when we had to leave and we made our journey back to dry land on Puno.

Other bits and pieces: 

The islanders were just as interested in how we live as we were about their lives. I would have loved to have some photos of my house and family to show them. 

They only speak Spanish so if you don't speak the language try to get grouped with someone who does. There are usually about 4 people in each house. 

Bring lots of snacks!! 

The rooms are fine, but we were glad to have our sleeping bag liners to sleep in under the covers. 

Bring some rice/pasta as a gift for your new Island Momma! They really do look after you, so a tip is nice too. 

We booked with Edgar Travel in Puno and everything left on time and our guide was fantastic. 

Finally, there really is nothing to do in Puno. It's necessary to say there to do the lake Titicaca tours, but I wouldn't recommend staying there any longer than necessary. 

Cusco, Peru

After spending just under a week in Cusco, I'm very sad to say goodbye to such a cool city. 

The altitude at 3,300metres took some getting used to at first, not helped by the fact that our hostel was at the top of a massive hill with loads of steps!

We stayed in Loki and absolutely loved it there. The bar is great fun and they serve food all day, and there's hot water bottles in the beds - what's not to love?! 

We started our stay with a walking tour of the city and learned lots about Inca culture. Maybe it was the lack of oxygen, but I immediately fell in love with Cusco. One of my favourite places is the market where you can buy anything from souvenirs and alpaca jumpers, to flowers and chocolate, and of course the best fresh local food for a couple of soles.

We finally got our alpaca jumpers (officially travellers now!) and may never ever take them off, they are so cosy for chilly Cusco nights. 

The nightlife in Cusco is hard to beat and we had our best night out so far in Loki, before moving on to a club called Temple. The altitude does have its benefits as we were all very "happy" after about 1.5 drinks! 

Unfortunately the buzz didn't make the steps back up to the hostel any easier!

We are so lucky that our stay coincided with celebrations leading up to The Inti Raymi, or Festival of the Sun. Inti Raymi takes place annually in Cusco on the winter solstice when the sun is farthest from earth, so the Incas held a ceremony to ask the Sun God for his quick return.  

Cusco was flooded with people for the weekend and we saw fireworks, street parties, music and parades (with some mad looking floats!) 

I could go on and on about Cusco and the friends we made here, but for now it's time to say goodbye as we make our way to Puno. 

Lares Valley and Machu Picchu Trek

I genuinely think that I have walked more in the past 4 days than I have in my 26 years combined! 

We set off at 5am on Monday morning and met our fellow hikers and our guide Armondo for breakfast. We then made our way to the start of the Pumahuanca Valley in the Andes where we met our porters and horses, and we were ready for off. 

Truthfully, I wasn't expecting the trek to be so physically tough and the altitude really affected me, which meant I spent most of my time behind the pack with our guide Armondo coaching me on how to regulate my breathing (I could not have done it without him, I miss him already!). But every so often when it felt really hard, I just had to stop and look around me and realise where I was, then it all seemed worth it:

After a few hours of walking we stopped for lunch and could not believe how the porters worked their magic half way up a mountain with just a cylinder of gas and a tent - we ate like kings three times a day every day, it was unbelievable! 

We walked for a few more hours until we reached camp at 4,000metres. It was really cold but we had plenty to eat and lots of tea and we were in for one massive treat that we weren't expecting. The sky. None of us had ever seen so many stars in such a clear bright sky, we were dumbstruck. Good aul Armodo broke the silence with "stars like these are hard to find...and even harder to forget". 

We woke up at 4.30am in a tent covered with frost and some very cold feet. But that didn't last long as we treked above the clouds to the 4,850metre summit: 

Jesus was there too

Going back down came as a sweet relief as I could feel my lungs full with air and could finally keep up with the rest of the gang. There was some pretty sweet views on the way down too: 

After lunch looking up at a massive glacier, we set off on our final hike to the village of Lares, which is famous for its medicinal hot springs. The springs look a bit off-putting because they are full of sulphur which turns the water a murky shade of yellow, but my god they were just what the doctor ordered for our weary bones. It was much warmer that night at a lower altitude and we even had a LIE IN until 9am, imagine! 

There was no more walking as we made the journey to the town of Aguas Calientes via a scary bus around the cliff face with a drowsy driver, followed by a very cool train with panoramic views. 

At 5am on Thursday it was finally time to make the final trek to Machu Picchu. A bus goes from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu every 15 mins, but for some reason we decided to hike the 2,000 steps up to the ancient site. My advice, take the feckin bus!! 

Of course it was all worth it once we arrived, and I have millions of pictures of Machu Picchu to show for it! 

And finally, me and Armondo, my new bestie, thanks for everything! 

Other bits and pieces:

We booked our trip with SAS travel before we left home. We were a bit miffed when we got here and saw so many other cheaper options, but after comparing experiences with other people we definitely made the best choice. Absolutely everything was included in ours (tickets, food, the hostel, guides, porters, the works) and they were so professional, I 100% recommend them. 

It gets super cold once the sun goes down so pack thermals.

Pack a few snacks to keep your energy up in between meals (also serve as a good excuse to stop for a while!) 

Trekking poles are really really recommended for the Lares trek as there is a lot of downhill slopes wth loose stones. They made it so much easier. They aren't necessary for Machu Picchu though. 

Arequipa, Peru

(For the purpose of this blog it is important to note that I have a phobia of birds. Pigeons have been known to make me cry in the past.)

We bit the bullet and took our first overnight bus to Arequipa, it was 12 hours in total but we slept the whole way and it wasn't nearly as rough as we were expecting. 

We stayed in the Wild Rover Hostel in Arequipa, it´s in a great spot and has a cool bar which is always buzzing with music and lots of friendly people. The rooms were a little cold but they have a make-up room with hair dryers and straighteners which was a nice touch.
(Sidenote: I am typing this on a Spanish computer and I can´t feckin find any punctuation marks!)
We took things easy the first day, went for a stroll in the sunshine around the very pretty town of Arequipa and saw some sights like the Plaza de Armas where I took my life into my hands and walked through hundreds of pigeons (shudder):

And we visited a few of the local sights like the Monasterio de Santa Catalina, where over 200 nuns used to live without any access to the outside world:

We booked a tour to Colca Canyon for the next day and we were shocked to hear that the bus was going to pick us up at 3am that night, so we had a few hours sleep before peeling ourselves out of bed again while it was still dark. Arequipa is really sunny during the day, but the nights are baltic. The bus journey was not fun. Imagine bouncing around potholes in a noisy freezer for 6 hours absolutely exhausted and you may be half way to understanding how uncomfortable it was. It was also the highest altitude we have reached so far, which comes with it´s own complications!

We arrived at Cruz Del Condor just before 9am to catch the flight of the Condors. These gigantic birds come out to fly at the same time in the same place every day, pretty beautiful eh?

HOWEVER, look a little closer and these 12kg birds are not so pretty. He would totally eat your face off, just sayin.


Then it was time to get back on the ice-bus which drove us around to some other viewpoints and to a tiny village where the locals sold their wares. The views were breathtaking (as was the altitude! It´s going to take some getting used to)

There was also an "opportunity" to use the bathroom. Now, I´m prepared for most things when it comes to bathrooms in Peru, but what I was not prepared for was a CHICKEN clucking around the toilet. I could hear it before I saw it. I was terrified and I didn´t know what angle it was coming from.Then there it was, an actual chicken. I was all bird-ed out for one day!

We made our way back to the hostel where we really should have went to bed, but instead partied the night away in Wild Rover and a club called Circus. I LOVE the music here and even Irish guys can dance to it, the Latin rhytm must suit them...

Our final day in Areqipa rolled around far too quickly, but we went out in style with some rafting along the River Chile, which is up there with sandboarding for the most fun I have had since we got here:

Other bits and pieces:

 I would have liked another day in Arequipa town as it is so pretty and the nightlife is great, so make sure to give yourself enough time to fit everything in. It is quite modern and has everything you need, so stock up! 

It really does get very cold at night time, might be time to invest in an Alpaca Jumper!

Next Stop: Cusco

Huacachina, Ica

I should be writing from Nazca today, but after hearing some great stories about Huacachina, a village built around a small natuaral lake in the desert, we decided to change our plans and head to Ica. 

Best. Decision. Ever.

We arrived to Bananas hostel to this: 

And it turned out we accidentally booked a suite, which was a very happy mistake, so we have been living like rock stars for 2 days! 

Travellers are drawn to Huacachina to sand board and dune buggy on the massive sand dunes and we were no exception. It was a once in a lifetime experience I'll never forget, SO much fun! 

It was my birthday too so we went out for a few drinks and the guys looked after me with an improvised ice cream cake and a shaky rendition of "feliz cumpleaños a ti"!!  It was perfect x 

We have been doing a lot of travelling so going to take it easy today and lie out in the sun and maybe take another stroll around the lagoon

(Karen just asked me when we are going to start doing squats in preparation for Machu Picchu, might make that Plan B) 

Other bits and pieces: 

It is super sunny during the day, but very cold at night time. Wrap up warm chicas!

We did our desert trip at 4pm and we got to see the sunset behind the dunes around 6pm, so that's a good time to do it. But again, as soon as the sun went down it was freezing so bring a fleece or jacket. 

Bananas is by far the nicest hostel we have seen here and the food is amazing. We had a BBQ last night and it's the best food we have had so far in SA. 

Next stop: Arequipa 

Paracas, Peru

I heart Paracas!

We just spent 3 days in this sunny little town, right on the beach and in the coolest hostel, Kokopelli. 

We couldn't have asked for a better place to stay. Kokopelli not only looks cool, it's super clean, amazing showers, a great place to meet people and has a very fun bar! 

On the first night we arrived after a 4 hour bus journey from Lima and decided it was only right to sample the local drink, a Pisco Sour. This somehow lead to the 4 of us taking part in the bar's "Power Hour". One backpacker from Israel explained the rules: 

"Take a shot of beer every minute for one hour, 60 shots... and everyone will puke". 

He wasn't wrong. But it was great fun while it lasted! 

There is such a cool relaxed vibe at Kokopelli and the beach is just a few feet from the doorstep. You can rent paddle boards and kayaks too. 

We were a little worse for wear when we woke up, but we somehow convinced each other to go on a BOAT tour to the Balestas Islands. What could possibly go wrong?! 

The islands and wildlife are incredible and we felt like David Attenborough... But a boat + choppy water + a hangover does not equal a particularly fun time. We are glad we soldiered on and didn't miss it though. 

We spent the rest of the day chilling out and lying in the sun on the beach. We are still the palest people in South America, but working on it! 

Other bits and pieces: 

The local vodka is very strong. Won't be doing that again. 

Pisco Sours have egg whites in them, just FYI. I would have liked a warning.

Food in Paracas is not fantastic. But we did find a pizza place called Venicio on the promenade, it's run by an Italian guy and we had some great pizza and fun there. 

If there was an ATM we didn't find it, so make sure you have enough cash for your stay. 

There was warnings of a sandstorm in Paracas while we were staying there. It did get quite windy and we were all covered in a thin veil of sand, but it passed quickly and was no biggy. 

Next stop: Huacachina