Unenthusiastic Blog

Right i need to play catchup cos i have a gap of about 4 days where i wrote nothing.

OK umm I was in Nazca and we went to see the ruins at sunset, unfortunately we were told the wrong time for sunset and it was already gone by the time we reached there. However the sky was still beautiful and so were the ruins.
We walked back into town in the dark which was tricky cos the cars don`t see us and there are no footpaths but we`re still alive so it was all good. We went to a planetarium type thing where we learnt about the nazcar lines and how they correlate with the stars and the summer and winter solstice, it was interesting to begin with but then it just became unbearably hot. After we went out for dinner and then at 10pm we caught a night bus to Ariquipa.
Arrived in Ariquipa around 8am and wandered the town then went out for lunch. During lunch someone stole Claires bag. She had put it on the ground next to her chair so we assume someone would have picked it up as they walked past. Claire Diana and I spent the afternoon at the police station getting a police report for her insurance.
Next day we went to Colca Canyon, the worlds largest canyon. left around 6am, and made many stops along the way and saw about 4 volcanos. We stopped to buy some Ariquipa chocolate and drink Coca tea on our way because the tea helps with altitude sickness and the chocolate is delicious. We also stopped to see llamas and alpacas along the way cos they are so gorgeous with their fluffy coats and big brown eyes. At the highest point of the trip we reached 5000m, we got out of the van and immediately felt breathless. A tradition of the local people is to add a stone to a stack at this peak of the mountain to ensure a safe journey over the pass. We added a stone to a pile and wandered around, got our breath back and wandered back to the van. We then made our descent into the town of Chivay where would spend the night.
First stop was lunch where all i could stomach was a sandwich, the altitude had removed my appetite and given me a headache, fortunately it didn`t last long. We went for a walk with our guide around the town and he showed us some beatiful inca ruins hidden just over the hills from this town, it looked like a tiered circular theatre but it was actually a place where they people would plant crops and the tiered system and stone walls created a drainage system for their crops. Also saw some cute donkeys on the walk back.
That evening a few of us went to the hot springs which were so nice. It was a freezing evening so it was horrible getting changed and taking the mandatory shower before getting in but once we were in it was perfect. There was a nice view of mountains surrounding us and we could move from one end of the pool to the other to find the perfect temperature. After the pools we went out to a restaurant that has traditional peruvian music and dancing. It was really amazing, the music was very impressive, especially the flutes and the dancers wore beautiful costumes. The final dance of the evening was called the Malaria dance and it was very bizarre. The man wears a white balaclava mask and they begin dancing normally, then he bites into an orange, collapses onto the floor and starts convulsing. This goes on for about 2 mins while the woman casually dances around him and occasionally whips him with a piece of rope. eventually the man gets back up again and regains his composure and continues to dance. Then the roles are reversed and the woman has to collapse, convulse and be whipped. Then the man picked Claire out of the audience to dance with him. So Claire had to bite the orange, collapse, convulse, be whipped and then he picked her up threw her over his shoulder and span her around. Needless to say Claire loved it. I found it hilarious and took photos.
The next morning we were up early and continued our trip into Colca Canyon, the scenery out the window was incredible, the fields were so green and bright, the mountains were massive and the sky was very blue. we reached the lookout point which is one of the deepest points of the canyon, it is apparently twice the depth of the Grand Canyon. As we sat on the edge admiring the view and Condor flew right past us. These are massive birds with a usual wingspan of 2 metres. We saw a few of them fly past. Then we headed back to Ariquipa as it was a 6 hour journey.
The next morning we had to be up at 5am for our flight to Cusco. This would have to be one of the more miserable days of my trip. We got to the airport, boarded the plane without any hassle. The flight was enjoyable, we took photos, saw views of the mountains and the whole journey only tok 45mins. But it wasn`t a direct flight to Cusco, we had to fly to Puno firs then Cusco. We arrived in Cusco and then sat in the plane waiting to take off. And we waited... and we waited... 2 hours later we were still sitting in the plane. We had all had cockpit tours and had spread out and we hungry and bored. finally after another 30mins we learned that the weather in Cusco was too cluody and the flight was cancelled. So we flew back to Ariquipa. Then we had options, bus to cusco which would be an overnight bus, take about 10hours and we would have to pay for it ourselves. Stay in Ariquipa, take the same flight the next day, risk not being able to get to Cusco and then have to take an overnight bus the next day and then go stright onto the Inca Trail. plus we had to pay for our own accomodation cos neither the tour company or the airline would cover our expenses for the cancelled flight cos it was weather related therefore not their fault. So we decided to risk staying in Ariquipa and taking the early morning flight. So we found ourselves a cheap hostel for the night and then went our seperate ways to wander around and get things done. I walked to the main square and went to take a photo just to realise my camera was gone. I don`t know what happened to it, i had it on the plane, i double checked the seat and under the seat before leaving the plane and then 5 hours later it wasn`t in my bag anymore. It was very gutting. Especially with the Inca trail in 2 days time. I still don`t have a camera but hopefully my insurance will cover it. So i miserably wandered around til 6pm when our group was meeting. We went out for dinner that was the best part of a crap day. The restaurant was located on the edge of the sqaure and we sat on the balcony overlooking the square with the mountains behind and the moon shining bright. It was freezing on the balcony but the waiters brought us all ponchos which was fantastic and very warm. Our only issue was taking our hands out of the ponchos to eat.

The next morning we were up at 4.30 for attempt 2 at flying to Cusco. This time it was a success thank god. The problem was Cusco is a beautiul town with so much history and many inca ruins but we had one day and had to get ourselves organised for the Inca Trail the next morning. We were all feeling exhausted but we rushed around getting more warm clothes at the markets, buying snacks and supplies and then having a quick lunch before joining a city tour. The first part of the city tour took us to an inca temple that spaniards had built a church over. It has a long and complicated name beginning with O. Then we stepped outside and it was absolutely bucketing down with hail. we had just bought ponchos, meant for the trail but we threw them on and ran through the weather to the bus. the hail stones stung so much, one hit me on the nose and it really hurt. By the time we got onto the bus, about 200m away my jeans were soaked and so were my shoes. We then went to the main Cathedral and we were really lucky cos our tour guide was of Quechuan desendence so rather than giving us a typical tour telling us about the spanish cathedral she told us about the Inca influence and how they were mocking the spanish with the artwork and pillar designs. It was really quite entertaining and this woman was so passionate. She said she was lucky that we speak english because the admin people of this cathedral do not want her telling people about the inca influences but they can`t understand english so she can say what she likes. Although the tour had been very fascinating so far Claire patty and I decided to quit because we were cold and wet and the next parts of the tour were outdoors.
We headed back to the hotel and continued organising and packing for the next day, We also found Anthea who had slowly gotten sicker over the last few weeks and it had peaked that day and she was in agony, she had a headache and cramps and was in bed feeling absolutely miserable. We decided to get a doctor in and he gave her some Antibiotics but she was told she couldn`t do the Inca Trail. It was a shame because Cusco and the Inca Trail were the parts of the tour Anthea had looked forward to most but she said she didn`t mind, all she cared about was getting better. So that night we went out for dinner and then went to bed early as we had a 5.30 start the next morning.

And so this blog continues with my Inca trail blog...

the blog wasn`t as unenthusiatic as i had thought it would be.