Machu Pichu

We took the night train to Aguas Calientes at the foot of Machu Pichu and started our climb the following day at about 8am - it took us just under two hours to walk up the many many steps to the ruins a climb of 500m. Loads of different species of butterflies and birds provided a good excuse to stop for a photographs (and a rest). The ruins at Machu Pichu are massive but it was the stunning views of the surrounding mountains that we enjoyed the most.

When we got back down to Aguas Calientes (hot water), sunburnt of course, we went to the thermal springs which were very warm and the Sulpher in the water made the pools look yellow (at least we hope it was the Sulpher). Anyway they were quite manky so we followed the locals' lead and showered in the thermal showers - that was lovely.

The journey back down on the train began at 5am the next morning. On the train we met a super fit German who had done it in one and a half hours so we felt quite proud. The views of the Sacred Valley of the Incas were superb and the local children were waving from the houses as we went past.

Pushing off from the river bank early in the morning

Butterflies in the cloud forest

Manu Biosphere -The Jungle is massive!

We left Cusco at 7am. Our group consisted of 4 Swedes (Karl, Jenny, Johanna and Mathias), 2 Swiss guys (Marco and Marcus), A Dutch couple in their sixties (too evil to name), our guide Mendel and us.

The first day was a 7 hour bus journey over the Andes into the cloudforest, mostly on unpaved roads with precarious edges - Alton Towers have obviously been here doing their research.

The second day was much better, we got up early to observe the mating display of Peru's national bird called, we kid you not, "The Cock of the Rock". Then it was 3 and a half hours of hardcore mountain biking down from the cloud forest to the low jungle - descending about 1000m. Our outriders were clouds of beautiful tropical butterflies. It was all you could do not to fall off the mountain looking at them.

Then after a stop for lunch we rafted down the Madre de Dios river for an hour or two. The highlight for Tim was jumping from a huge rock, 5 metres into the river. Wow!

The remaining days of the trip were a mixture of trekking in the jungle, traveling in the boat, floating on oxbow lakes on catermerans powered by Jungle chaps with paddles.
We saw:-
- 5 different species of monkeys, including one which threw big branches at us from the tops of trees.
- Caiman, mini alligators
- A family of Giant Otters fishing in the morning.
- Macaws and other parrots galore as well as hundreds of different species of other birds.
- Jaguar tracks, they are quite shy you know.
- A family of capybara, about 200 times the size of Cath's guinea pig but more or less the same.
- And last, but by no means least, we saw an Armadillo!

We visited a village that still maintains the old ways of the jungle and learned about which fruits they grow and how they hunt for turtles and piranha.

What an experience. We will remember it for the rest of our lives. We decided to take the plane back from the jungle to Cusco - pricey but worth it to avoid the bus, get our clothes clean, and for the view over the jungle.

- It looked like a massive head of broccoli in case you were wondering.

View of the mountains from Machu Pichu

Ruins at Machu Pichu

Tim gets trampled by a Lama

Top of Machu Pichu

Sascayhuaman

Reading up

Traditional Costume in Cusco

Ollantaytambo 

Temple Ruins at Pisaq in the shape of a partridge 

The view from the plane on the way from Lima to Arequipa 

Cusco and The Sacred Valley of the Incas

Hello All,

Hope you are all happy and well.
Cusco is the historic Inca capital set in a mountain valley and laid out in the shape of a puma - representing force and power.
The air is very thin as it is 3500m above sea level so it took us a few days to get used to it. We couldn´t even climb the stairs at first. It's a tourist orientated town (they call it the Gringo capital) but it´s beautiful.
Yesterday we took a taxi to Sascayhuaman an ancient Inca ruin from where you could view all of Cusco, there was also a statue of Christ in white stone which was very impressive.
Today we took the bus from Cusco to Pisaq and visited a local market. We climbed all over the ruins at Pisaq with our guide Michaelangelo a student of Inca history at Cusco.
Tomorrow we are heading to Aguas Calientes (hot water springs) the nearest place to Machu Pichu which we will climb the following morning.
Then we return to Cusco for Friday night beers. On Saturday we have our briefing before a jungle trip to the Manu Biosphere which we have booked. The trip details are here:
http://www.manuadventures.com/programreserved.html

Please let us know your news we love hearing what everyone´s upto.

Lots of love from,

Tim and Tamsin.
xxx

Hooray - we´ve got our bags.

Hi,

Well, it´s only taken three days and about fifteen phone calls and a trip to the airport and we´ve got our luggage. Lesson number 1, fly direct - or stop over between flights.
Nevertheless, we´ve been having a cool time in Lima so far. We´ve been to Pachacamac - the second most significant archealogical site in Peru - second only to Machu Pichu. A site inhabited since the beginning of the Lima people in the coastal desert sometime in the middle of the first millenia. It was constantly inhabited until the conquest of the Spanish (1538?). We climbed to the top of what was the sun temple for a panaramic vista of Lima - bit cloudy but you could see the Pacific coastline for about 10 miles in either direction and the river valley inland which is the reason for the location of this site. It was a religious place first and foremost. The last Inca sent the Spanish here for the gold for his ransom but the message that they were coming arrived first and most of the gold was never found.

We stayed until now at a hostel called "El Pukara" in Miraflores - a suberb. Tonight we´re near the airport hoping for a quick getaway tomorrow.The people here in Peru are very friendly and it´s been great to practice our Spanish again. In fact I´d say wé are getting more opportunity for that here in Peru than in Spain.We visited the gold museum today - not as interesting as Pachacamac but fun nonetheless. Think we´d probably have given it a miss and pushed on down to Cusco had we not been stuck here waiting for our bags! That´s what we´re doing tomorrow.
Tamsin is very, very happy now that we have fresh clothes and all our gear.

Hope you´ve had a good week.

Love from,

Tim and Tamsin.xxx