Cusco

Tuesday, 31 March

Cusco

Went back to the lovely alpaca shop this morning and this time the urge to splurge overcame us. Spent the morning checking out the local shops as we won't get the chance again.

This afternoon was the Cusco city tour. I now know that the locals spell Cusco with an "s". It was very fortunate that the girl on the hotel desk sent us back to get our coats before we were picked up. This morning was sunny and warm. The afternoon was not!

Our first stop was the cathedral. A huge amount of gilding and many many paintings, which were used to convert the Quechua people (aka Incas). When we came out the rain had begun and the temperature had dropped, so hooray for our coats.

From the cathedral square we walked to Qorikancha, once Inca temple of the sun and looted for its gold and silver by the Spanish, who then pulled most of it down and built a convent on top. The Inca structure is remarkable for its ability to withstand earthquakes, while the Spanish bits have had to be rebuilt a number of times.

We then left Cusco and headed up to four archaeological sites: Sacsayhuaman - huge blocks of stone set like a jigsaw, Pukapucara - which I can't remember at all, Tambomachay - known for its aqueducts with clear running water, and Qenqo- with an underground sacrificial altar.

 

By the time we were dropped back near the town square we were absolutely exhausted and pretty damn cold. We grabbed a bite in a pasta restaurant and staggered back to the hotel to pack a few items in our backpacks for the next couple of days. We will leave our cases here in Cusco. It's an early start tomorrow.

 

 

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Untitled

Monday, 30 March

Lima to Cuzco

Lorraine knocked on the door right on midnight last night so our planned rendezvous was a success and there are now two broads abroad once again.

Today has basically been a travel day. Quite a long trip to the airport and our flight to Cusco. A number of detours getting to our hotel as many roads were blocked for a big Easter procession. We were given a briefing by our guide, who was most amused at the water we brought with us. He pointed out that water travels from Cusco to Lima. The Lima guide, on the other hand, said that we should stock up on water in Lima. Why the fuss about water? Because the altitude causes us to dehydrate and we could get altitude sickness. While drinking our coca tea ( to prevent same sickness) we chatted with an Australian couple who have been here a few days. The wife was hospitalised and had to have three litres of fluid replaced. But they started at an even higher altitude and dashed about, definitely not advisable. You will be pleased to know that we have no ill effects so far.

We have taken it easy this evening, wandering down towards the main square to see the Easter goings-on. Police blocking the way and crowds of pressing people so we gave that a miss and and left it for those who are more devout than us. Instead we found a nice little restaurant where we had grilled alpaca for dinner. A young Mexican girl was eating alone so we invited her to join us.

Back to our loft bedroom where I have only banged my head once. We resisted the urge to splurge in a shop selling beautiful alpaca garments but may have to go back there another day.

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Lima

Sunday, 29 March

Lima

After a leisurely start to the day I was picked up at the hotel for my Gastronomic Tour of Lima. Our first stop was a market where we looked at some local fish, fruits and vegetables. It was in an upper class area - very clean and very quiet, possibly also because it was Sunday. Lots of fruits that were new to us and many varieties of potato. Potatoes are said to have originated by Lake Titicaca and there are more than 3000 varieties in Peru.

 

Following the market we were taken to the shore of the Pacific and a very swish restaurant, La Rosa Nautica, on the end of a jetty. In the bar, we were given a lesson on making the famous Peruvian cocktail, the Pisco Sour: 3 parts Pisco, 1 part lime juice, 1 part sugar syrup and 1 part egg white. Delicious but it packs a real punch. Our guide, Patricia, warned us that if you have 2 or 3 you start speaking another language.

While we sipped our Pisco Sours we had a lesson in making ceviche, a classic Peruvian dish with raw fish marinated in lime juice, sugar syrup, salt, cilantro, chilli, seaweed, onion and celery.

From here we moved into the restaurant and enjoyed a three course meal featuring the ceviche and other seafoods. There were only four of us on the tour, an American man, a Finnish man (the American's boss), a Swiss lass (also a teacher) and me. It was pleasant company, a charming setting and a great meal. What more could one wish for?

 

After lunch the men were dropped back at their hotel and I elected to join Isabelle, the Swiss girl, on the afternoon city tour. A few more people on this one, which took us through the better-off suburbs and into the city. We stopped at Plaza San Martin and the main cathedral plaza. This was packed with people watching an Easter procession for Palm Sunday. It was a very festive atmosphere with music and men in purple cloaks (followers of some saint) and families out enjoying the day. Many were carrying bundles of palm leaves with a crucifix in the middle. We then walked to another church and monastery where we went down into the catacombs, full of bones and very hot and humid.

The cloister was tiled with instantly familiar tiles, imported from Seville, and in the blues and yellows that we saw there a couple of years ago. It was interesting that the ceilings in a couple of parts were Moorish in design, again very similar to what we had seen in Seville and Granada. Unfortunately no photos were allowed.

Back to the hotel to wait for Lorraine, whose plane lands around 11pm.

 

 

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Peru and Argentina

 

Saturday, 28 March, 2015. Melbourne to Lima

Day one of the South American adventure is pretty much over, and of course it's more like two days because I've had Saturday twice. I am happy to report that the journey was uneventful, which is just what you want when you are flying.

The highlight was the view of the Andes as we descended into Santiago and then again as we flew north towards Lima - hundreds of kilometres of rugged snow-capped mountains in a long line. My neighbour, a young Argentinian man, told me that the view will be spectacular when we fly over them to Argentina and that we will probably experience quite a bit of turbulence. That's something for Lorraine to look forward to!

Lima has a population of nine million and is very popular with surfers. We drove along a coast road en route to the hotel and saw quite a few of them. It was great to be picked up at the airport and delivered to our accommodation. Arturo from Chimu Adventures had some good advice re altitude in Cuzco and where to stock up on bottled water here. There's a supermarket over the road, but it took me a while to find it as its underground, with cafes and other shops at ground level. Arturo's advice is to drink lots of water to prevent altitude sickness, so I have come home with gallons of the stuff as well as some platano chips for my dinner tonight. I think it's around lunchtime Sunday in Melbourne but it's about to be my bedtime.

 

 

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Prague

Monday, 14 September

After breakfast at the little cafe on the corner we explored a local market which had some beautiful fruit and souvenirs of every kind. From there we made our way to the famous Charles Bridge which was packed with people, including a couple of brides and a film crew.

Our next plan was to take the funicular to the top of a big hill where we there was a great view over the city. By now it had started raining so we opted for a tram to the funicular station. When we got there we discovered that it has been closed off a year so instead we caught another tram up to the castle. We checked out the cathedral up there, which had very impressive stained glass - in this city of glass - and found a cafe which made the best hot chocolate I've tasted in a long time.

The English girls were short of time so we headed back to the bridge and wound our way back to our street for another look at the market. We also found a cafe where the locals go for the cheapest lunches you can imagine. Soup and bread for a couple of dollars.

Said goodbye to Kim and Jo, then collapsed for an afternoon siesta while the rain came down outside. Lorraine immersed herself in a crossword with considerable assistance from Judy and Heather.

Our evening activity was a concert in the Mirror Chapel at the Klementinum. A small chamber group played the overture from Carmen, various Dvorak pieces, Smetana's Moldau and Vivaldi's Four Seasons. I tried some Czech cuisine for dinner which was interesting but very heavy, with two kinds of dumplings. By the time the food arrived we were all starting to fade so we mooches on home for a cuppa and bed. Oh, the joy of being horizontal!

 

 

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