Day 12 & 13 - Lares Trek

Today was a big day, we left cusco in the morning for a 3 hour busride that was closer to 5 hours. Being on a large bus driving along a barely existent road that swerved over mountain cliffs did not make the time go any faster either. We then arrived at the town of Lares, our start point of our 3 day 2 night hiking trip on the Lares trail. Since we didn't book our trip far enough in advance and due to a backlog of tourists who had to reschedule due to the february flood, we didn't get permits for the Inca trail which actually leads into Machu Picchu. But we weren't alone, 10 of the 16 people on our tour were on the Lares trek with us...most of who we learnt were major outdoors people UNLIKE us.

The trek began nice and easy and we ate lunch at this little hot spring complex. No one on our trip opted to go into the hot pools, mostly because of the dark brown water but also because we had a different sort of entertainment from another tour group. This group seemed to be on some kind of yoga retreat. The leader was applying suntan lotion onto the women, helping them with poses all while remaining shirtless. Our entire trek was lined up watching and applauding the spectacle that looked a lot more sexual than yoga should be. Our friend Daniel said it best: "my mom took a yoga class once and I wouldn't be happy thinking her teacher touched her like this!"

Then it was time to get hiking. We started the hike at 2 pm and hiked for several hours. We only needed to carry day packs because were given duffle bags for the hike that we could fill with 6 kg worth of clothes and other junk. The duffles were carried by horses who were guided by several local porters. Luckily we carried small knapsacks packed with water and all the clothes required for the immediate and drastic temperature changes. We stopped a few times for pictures, snacks and to give gifts out to the local children.

Our first night we camped at a small village. When we arrived the porters had already set up our tents and had tea and snacks ready for us. Dinner was shortly after and we had a feast of soup, noodles, rice and trout. In our groups of porters we also had a chef and assistant chef responsible for the cooking. With the sun set, the temperature had dropped rapidly and there was only one nighttime activity option: bed. Although we rented sleeping bags in cusco that were supposed to be suitable for -20, we were definitely cold while attempting to sleep.

The next morning we were woken up at 630 am. The porters brought us warm water and soap to wash up with and then we retreated to the large food tent for some breakfast. We had pancakes, oatmeal, candied pears and toast. They don't do maple syrup in this country which takes some getting used to. We then finished packing up before beginning what became the hardest day of our trek. The guide also spent the morning teaching us and the other canadians a lesson by hiding out hiking poles that we had left outside our tent. This was a slightly frustrating way to start the morning and was indicative of what the next 6 hours would bring.

We spent most of the day at an altitude of _______. We climbed uphill for hours struggling to catch our breath that was affected by the rising altitude. It is a scary feeling being so out of breath. We tried to tell stories and sing to pass the time but this extra exertion only made the hike harder. We remained at the back of the group for the duration of the hike due to some unpleasant stomach issues. The assistant guide Christina stayed by our side for the day assuring us that we could go at our own pace. We grew pretty frustrated being in the back of a group that ranged in age from 20 to 50 but physically we could not keep their pace. We finally reached the hike's summit which was at ____ metres above sea level. We realized that our blog name was not in the least bit indicative of the actual highest point we would reach on this trip. The guide wanted us to get on the medical horse but we refused, settling instead by giving the horse our day packs. We were supposed to have lunch at the top but cold weather prevented us from doing so. This wasn't so bad since the rest of the trek was downhill. We had such a scenic few hours filled with ice glaciers, spooky forests, a blue lake and endless views of the Andes mountains. The horses had gone ahead with the porters so lunch could be prepared before our arrival. This also meant that our knapsacks went ahead too which was great until it started to drizzle and then rain and then pour AND THEN HAIL!

With our jackets stowed in our day packs there was no other option than to get soaking wet. We reached our second campsite which was isolated in a valley. We changed into dry clothes and snuggled up in our sleeping bags before lunch. We had a giant meal of soup, quinoa, noodles, stirfry, curry and of course tea. Once all stuffed up, we explored our surroundings which included a farmer's hut, a forest and a river. As the sun set, we made a great big bonfire which was an excellent way to warm us up and also dry our wet clothes. We had collected wood because fellow canadians Christina and Adam had brought ingredients for smores! Many of our trek members had never heard of them let alone try them! We roasted some marshmallows - the perfect appetizer. The sun sets so early that by 630 its pitch black and freezing. We huddled around the fire until dinner was ready. Yet again we were prepared a giant meal of chinese inspired food and some veggies. It did not take us long to get back to the fire where Lisa burnt her sock and Emily melted her glove slightly burning herself in the process. By then, the ground had frosted and bedtime was upon us (not that we could sleep in the cold.)

Day 11 - Cusco and the Sacred Valley

Today we went on a full-day tour of the Sacred Valley. Our first stop was to a place that supposedly makes authentic alpaca garments but everywhere we go seems to be made for tourists. It was freezing out so we got served some coca tea before watching a demonstration on the natural ingredients used to dye the wool. We saw how different colours come from plants and bugs, with the deepest red coming from these tiny grey bugs that live on cactuses.

Then we were off to Moray an Inca ruin that houses several sets of circular terraces that cascade downwards in a way that they appear almost like a spiral. What is really interesting is that each level has its own microclimate so the people experimented with these different levels and figured out what could grow at different temperatures and altitudes. We were able to walk down the terraces and sense the changes in temperature. We had an intense photoshoot at this location with our whole group taking to different levels and sitting along the bordering walls and step.

Once back on the bus, we headed off to the town of Ollantaytambo where we had one of the best lunches yet. The restaurant had a backyard so we were able to sit outside in the sun eating while viewing the ruins. After lunch we climbed some old inca temple called where the presented highlight was The Temple of the Sun. Truth is, we had a hard time focusing on what the detailed tour guide was saying all day but the just of it was that they used to transport large stones from quarrys far away because their size and strength were superior to the local rocks. Opposite the ruins was a rocky mountain that contained naturally sculpted faces that the Incas believed in. Apparently the sun shines in such a way that it hits one of the faces right in the eye. A lot of the details according to our tour guide come from hypothesis as there is no written explanation for most of the things that are present at these sites. Though we did not learn too much, we had lots of fun taking pictures in the stoney surroundings. We have taken a liking to copying all of honeymoon-esque pictures taken by christina and adam. They are in fact spending the last leg of their honeymoon on the tour and the running joke has become that it is "our" honeymoon. Our photography skills got us into a bit of trouble when we were ordered off some ruins by the guide! Luckily one of the tour members were able to get the shot before we jumped off.

Then it was off to a local market of Pisac where the townspeople sold a mixture of local produce and souvenir items. We picked up some hats and pants while some of our friends got local soccer jerseys. We went quickly onto the bus since the sun was setting and we still had one more locations: alpaca, llama and vicuna petting farm! We were able to get up close, feed them, pet them and take one too many photos. Lisa preferred to be the photographer as Emily got up close and personal with a few of the herd members...some of which had similar hair or rather fur!

Exhausted from the day, we hurried back to the hotel for an information session about the hike, a quick breakfast for dinner at a nearby restaurant and then finally we packed.

Day 9 - Lake Titicaca and Amantani home stay

Today was a great day, firstly because there were no long bus rides! We left our big bags in the hotel and packed up our small knapsacks. After learning our lesson in Colca where we froze, we stuffed our packs with many many many warm layers! Our guide Roger nicknamed us "the happy group," though I'm sure he does with this all his tours. He directed us outside where a row of rickshaws "the local limousines" awaited us! We took a ten minute ride to the port of Puno, on Lake Titicaca. This is a huge lake that belongs half to Peru and half to Bolivia. Though Roger likes to say he is pretty sure its more 60/40. We boarded a boat, the P.U.N.O, that was just for our group of 14. We learnt that most people in this region speak several native languages more often than spanish. Our first stop was at the floating islands. This was so cool! The islands are man made from reeds and their roots. Each is small and house around 6 families. We were told not to go behind the houses or we may sink (really though we think its where they hide their modern stuff) Then the guide showed us how they build the floating islands, which takes a lot of work and patience. Depending on the reason, they have to lay out new reeds once or twice a month to keep the surface from sinking. The kids go to an elementary school on one of the islands and then go to Puno for higher education. The people live very basic lives, with no electricity or running water, although they did have some tvs! With money from tourists, they are starting to buy solar panels. We spent some time on one of the islands and got tours of their houses. We also bought some "local" souvenirs being sold by the family. They are supposedly hand made by the people on the floating islands though we were suspicious since they looked like the stuff in shops in Puno. Emily bought a pillow case, Lisa a tapestry and both of us bought some reed boat things. Then we took a relaxing ride on a life-sized reed boat that took us to another island where we were able to get our passports stamped.

We got back on the "real" boat and after a couple of hours we arrived at our homestay island, Amantani. The main activity on the island is agriculture which is used to feed the inhabitants of the island. The women usually spend the day knitting hats and cooking. These peoples' ancestors were a pre-Inca people, and they figured out a lot of cool things, such as using terraces for agriculture in order to grow things at such high altitude. All the guides are really adamant to tell us about the pre- Inca civilizations. Even though the Incas are the most famous, they didn't invent things, rather they improved them. Around 8 years ago, the island started housing tourists, and they have used the money to buy solar panels and build up their homes.

We arrived at around one o'clock, and were met by our new 'mama' who took us back to her home where we met her son Bryan. We were rooming with Beth who is from B.C. so we were able to hand the family some Canadian souvenirs. After dropping our stuff off in our rooms, our mama took us into the kitchen where we were able to help prepare lunch. We tried to peel and wash the potatoes though our mama put us to shame with her quick hands. Lunch was absolutely delicious. On the island they are all vegetarians and they love Quinoa! We had a quinoa soup with potatoes and carrots and herbs... Yum yum yum. Then we had some Okra/Ochra potatoes that were so sweet it was hard to stop eating. After lunch our mama gave us some hand knitted hats before dropping us off at the main square. We met the rest of the group there and headed off on a short hike to the island top. It is quite shocking the way the altitude impairs your breathing. We had to take many breaks along the way. What's interesting though is that you regain your breath very quickly. We finally made it to the top. Lots of young kids were there selling bracelets which we were warned not to buy as it encourages kids to not pay attention in school. Instead we looked around and waited for the sunset. While killing some time, we made two friends from New York/ Vermont who we nicknamed "better versions of ourselves" mainly because they were in skinny jeans, volunteered beforehand, planned their own tour and were going to costa rica for vacation after their time in Peru...needless to say we were jealous! Then we hiked back down the hill, had dinner, a short siesta and then came the highlight of the day - the disco! Our mama dressed us up in native wear, a blouse, skirt, belt and headdress and led us to the disco. The boys wore hats and ponchos. Once there we danced the local dances similar to the tango and horrah. We shared some dances with our mama and papa as well as our new friends! It was a spectacular evening. By 9:30 we were wiped out and headed back to our home for bed. Tomorrow we head back to Puno for one night... and then CUSCO!

Day 8 - Puno

On sunday morning, we boarded yet another bus which took us from Arequipa to Puno. The ride was 6 hours but we got to watch a few movies which helped pass the time and created some trip inside jokes. The middle movie, Fireproof was a really horrible church movie about saving a marriage and finding jesus. Our friend's commentary helped get us through the cheesiness of the film. Though we can't deny that we were relieved when the next film was Beverly Hills Chiuahua... who could resist taking dogs?
We got to Puno at around 3, checked into our hotel and then we had a late lunch, which was more of a linner. Our guide said that it is not good to eat big meals before bed when at high altitude, so that worked out fine. Puno is at a higher altitude than Arequipa, at close to 4000 metres above sea level. We went to the bank to exchange more dollars into soles (dollars are really useless here despite what we were told predeparture). It is really interesting because the money exchange people won't accept any american bills that are written on or even have the slightest tear. Next, we went to do a bit of shopping. We each bought a sweater and a warm hat, both items which will be very useful for the rest of the trip...obviously our purchases matched, and once again we were dressed identically to the enjoyment of our trip mates. The ladies here are difficult to bargain with. Emily came up with a good method though: bring the price as low as they will go, and then hand them a few soles less, usually they take it. We also went to the grocery store on Sunday night to buy food for our island home stay families for the following night! We were told to buy basic non perishables, and so we bought sugar, flour, jam, pasta, tuna, rice, jam, etc. We also threw in a few canadian souvenirs.

Day 7 - Colca Canyon and the Condors.

So we had a nice 5am wake up. The high altitude did not bother us too badly, though Emily had a headache which is a symptom...nothing a little tylenol couldn't fix. We packed up, had some breakfast and coca tea and boarded the bus for some early morning sightseeing. We stopped in several places before reaching the canyon and even had a chance to see the sunrise! Our guide Omar was a very talkative man and we are pretty sure he talked for all five hours of the bus ride. His favorite expression being "my friends." After a few history lessons, we saw what is called the "terraces," patches of land that like stairs escalate to the top with each level dedicated to growing a certain crop as well as some other uses. We then stopped along the worlds most dangerous looking highway for a view of the hanging tombs. These are tombs on the cliffs of a mountain that are built up like mini rock formations. Apparently most have been destroyed either because of natural causes like a waterfall as well as the result of the highway's construction. There seems to be a theme on this trip of ill-preserved archaeological sites. In every city we have visited we have either viewed or heard about sites dating back thousands of years that are totally destroyed, a lot of the time because of looters who raided the tombs and areas in search of materials they could sell. Today we also tried a local fruit that tastes and looks like a kiwi on the inside but whose outside is more similar to porous pear, whatever that means. We also bought a new bracelet for our growing collection (now at two!) Finally, we were off to the canyon where we were hoping to see some condors, birds native to the canyon whose wing span spreads nearly 4 metres. The reason we got such an early start was because they are not always around later in the day. We walked along the canyon's edge for a bit over an hour until we reached the view point. Apparently the canyon goes down 3000 metres...luckily no one fell in ! Once there we saw a half a dozen condors flying very low and close to the crowds. It was quite the site seeing these large birds up close. A few birds huddled on a rock close to us which made us take some national geographic style photographs. Then it was a bit of souveniring and back on the bus for lunch in Chivay. We had the pleasure of having another delicious buffet lunch before taking the bus back to Arequipa. All the bus rides take us through these breathtaking sites so the long drives are not so bad. Once back in Arequipa, we decided to do some belated Canada day activities since we were too exhausted on the actual date. Lisa and I dressed up for the occasion putting on some dresses and buying new scarves. We went with some of the group to a restaurant called Nina Yuka where the food was a little too fancy, causing us to go for the classic chicken soup. Then we went to this bar discovered by Adam and Christina (couple from edmonton) called Cafe Art Montreal! Inside there was a canadian and quebec flag!! photo op! We couldn't do much drinking since we were going into altitude the next morning. We did learn though that the reason the bar was called that was because the owner's husband is a montreal native... Unfortunately he wasn't there that night. After a bit of national celebration, we went back to the hotel and packed up because in the morning we would be taking a bus to the coastal town of Puno!