16th December

Machu Picchu

Following our sprint to the Sun Gate, we took a more leisurely stroll to Machu Picchu city. Machu Picchi is a complete Inca city which for centuries was buried in a jungle, until its discovery in 1911 by Hiram Bingham III. Bingham was an American historian, then employed as a lecturer at Yale University. He collected around 5,000 artifacts from Machu Picchu to be kept in Yale's care until such time as the Peruvian government requested their return. Recently, the Peruvian government requested the return of all cultural material, and at the refusal of Yale University to do so, is now considering legal action!

The ruins include staircases, terraces, temples, places, fountains etc. For our final physical challenge we climbed Huayna Pichhu, the mountain overlooking the city. It was a precarious climb of an hour or so, but well worth it. After a soak in the smelly thermal baths, we boarded the steam train at Aqua Calientes and made our way back to Cusco. Ahhhh, 30 minutes under the shower and to bed, to reflect on this truly magical experience.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machu_Picchu

Interesting snippet:

If under the weather, many older generation Peruvians will consult an Andean priest rather than seeing a doctor. Stripped to undies, the priest will rub a live guinea pig over the the patients body. The guinea pig is then sacrificed and by investigating the innards of the poor thing, the priest will give the prognosis. Modern medicine, who needs it?

White water rafting

Following our night of recovery in a proper bed, we headed off to the Cusco valley for an afternoon of white water rafting. We rode the grade 2 and 3 rapids without loosing anyone over board. Filby set off with his normal gusto at the front of the boat and exhausted himself by rapid number 4. Our guide was very strict but did encourage us to high five our paddles following the safe navigation of each rapid - not very British. By the end of 2 hours I could barely lift the paddle above my head, let alone whoop. Finished our day by celebrating with a glass / bottle of wine. This led to happy hour at the Irish bar and ended in Mystique night club, where I danced in my disco bubble with Madonna like finesse, (or so I believed). After Siobhan, Bridget and I hit the deck, we knew it was time to go. Must have been the altitude!

Ohhhhhhh, vile hangover and we are off to the jungle!!

After an internal flight to Puerto Maldonado, we transferred to motorized canoe and traveled for an hour and a half along the Tambopata River to our lodge. Feeling HOT HOT HOT. We were most impressed with the path illuminated with flaming torches and the very plush bungalow accommodation. Following dinner by candle light, we headed out on our night trek. I clasped my two torches as we entered the jungle and caught sight of various large and revolting insects. That night, I lay under my mosquito net listening to the sounds of the jungle (and Adam snoring) and convinced myself I would be eaten alive by a giant praying mantis. After 45 seconds sleep, headed for breakfast at 5am. We trekked through the jungle for 2 hours to reach an oxbow lake. On route, Hugo our guide, successfully managed to coax a tarantula out of its burrow. Ekkkkkkkkk. Even more sweat poured from beneath my very unfashionable Mrs Winn hat as the giant hairy creature crawled on the jungle floor (the spider that is, not Adam).

After learning that the oxbow lake contained anacondas, piranhas and caimans (all non-aggressive varieties of course), we were asked if we fancied a swim. In unison, the group declined. Spotted some very nice bird life, including nesting blue-yellow macaws and giant stinky birds. That evening, following a nature lecture, we went out on the river in search of caimans. Spotted a few small white caiman hiding in the reeds and really enjoyed absorbing the atmosphere and sounds of the jungle by moonlight.

Arrived back in Lima and enjoyed a few days in Miraflores, the tourist district of the city. We said our goodbyes to the group we had traveled with for 21 days. It was a great crowd and made the trip even more enjoyable. After having a fantastic trouble-free time in Peru, experienced a most terrifying taxi journey to the airport. Adam and I were convinced we were being taken down the city back streets to be mugged. As Adam fumbled for a weapon in his ruck sack, we popped out from the squalid inner city onto the highway. Our taxi driver had been taking a short cut. In the airport I then found myself surrounded by nasty gypsy kids eyeing up my bag. GET ME OUT OF LIMA! Argentina here we come!

Above: Francisco, know as Frisky, our randy tour guide. We learnt a lot from Frisky, nothing relating to Peruvian history and culture, more along the lines of chat-up lines and drinking games. He was however, a great tour leader and we could not fault his tour management and fabulous attitude.

Peru, the good, bad and ugly

Good:

• Diverse and wonderful landscape
• The sacred valley of the incas
• Traditional dress found throughout Peru
• Coca tea
• Llamas and Al Pacas
• Immaculate town squares
• Tourist doctors

Bad:

• Using sewage water to irrigate crops, leading to constant ill health

Ugly:

• Downtown Lima and its thieving gypsies