30th August - 5th September 2012
We were up at 5.30am to get the bus from Puno to Cusco on Thursday 30th August. We had decided to get a different type of bus than the normal transportation - this was a sightseeing bus with a tour guide to stop at different sites of interest during the course of the journey. I wasn't feeling great that morning and only got worse during the day. I actually don't remember much of the journey as I basically slept most of the day - slept for 8 out of 10 hours! Ronan, Kate and Alice all really enjoyed the journey and seeing the different sights along the way.
It was more expensive than a normal bus but definitely attracted a different class of traveller than we were used to! All the others except us actually had suitcases not rucksacks! It was a crazy comfy bus with cup holders, very fancy compared to what we are used to these days! I honestly don't remember what the sights we visited were but I just remember the relief of getting to the Loki hostel in Cusco at 6pm that evening! The Loki hostel is seen as a party hostel but we liked the fact we could get a double bed and private bathroom with an on-site bar for a decent price. The first evening I hadn't eaten all day so managed a toasted sandwich before heading to bed.
I should mention that Cusco is at 3,300m altitude and it is recommended to stay there for at least 4 days to acclimatise to the altitude before doing the Inca trail. We had read this and spoken to other travellers who told us how much there was to do in Cusco so we decided to spend a week there. This was amazing as we hadn't spent a week anywhere since Jaipur. We got to keep the same room in the hostel so no unpacking or repacking for a whole week - that is bliss!
On Friday 31st August we had a lazy morning in the hostel and the Irish lads from the Las Pampas tour turned up in Loki after their trek so we were just catching up with them. I was feeling better so we decided to do the free walking tour of the city offered by the hostel to get our bearings and see the highlights of the city. We have never done a walking tour with a guide before but this was actually really good as it wasn't a boring historic tour but really fun! The rest of the afternoon we spent around the markets and confirming the details for our Inca trek. We went out for dinner as we didn't want to fall into the same trap as in the Wild Rover in La Paz of eating in the hostel every night!
Saturday 1st September was a lazy day which we spent booking tours for the following days, going around the markets again and just generally chilling out. We found the prettiest McDonalds in the world:
We were very proud of ourselves for going out for dinner again even if it was only to the highest Irish owned bar in the world!
The next day was white water rafting! Myself, Ronan, Kate and Alice had booked to do this together and there was another girl from the UK in the group with us. We left the hostel at 8am and got to the starting site around 10am. It was 1.5 hours away 'Peruvian time' which means just over 2 hours! Myself and Ronan had done white water rafting before when we were in Malyasia but hadn't experienced anything like the safety talk and safety procedures in place here. The company was Peru Activites set up by two brothers who worked in the US so brought their health and safety training from there to Peru.
This might sound like standard practice at home but it's a very big deal here in Peru where no safety procedures exist at all. For example we saw a zipline as we were going down the river - this consisted of a piece of rope going from one tree to another tree across the river I kid you not! Our guide for the rafting told us how they had to rescue a woman who did it but the harness broke and she fell into the rapids in the river. Personally I thought it was her own fault as anyone who takes a piece of rope as a zipline should get their head examined!
So we had an amazing two hours rafting for about 12km down the river which was only up to Grade III+ because it is the dry season but still so much fun! I did not think it would be such a workout though and so much paddling!
When we came to the end of the rafting there was a table and plastic stools laid out at the side of the road for lunch! It was a gorgeous lunch with rice, chicken, vegetables, bread etc and even a table cloth, all produced from a picnic basket in the back of the van! Random but delicious and fun! Afterwards we started our journey back to Cusco and got back to the hostel at around 4pm.
We were so tired and sore from all the hard work that we allowed ourselves to have dinner in the hostel that night and not bother going into the city. I decided to have a couple of drinks while we were sitting around chatting to the Irish boys as they were getting a night bus later that evening. Alice had been out for the last two nights but between me being sick and getting up early for rafting I hadn't bothered so tonight was the night myself and Kate decided to let loose! Loki is the type of place that removes the cups and kettle for free tea and coffee at about 10pm so as to free up the table they are on for dancing! Classy! Needless to say we availed of the empty table facility and danced the night away! We kept requesting songs so it was basically our own personal playlist for the night but it doesn't feel right to be dancing in runners with no make-up! I kept standing on my tippy toes as if I was wearing heels. One thing I am looking forward to when I get home is dressing up in a nice dress, heels and makeup.
Needless to say when I woke up on Monday I wasn't feeling my best! Well it was tough luck as we had a horse riding tour booked for the afternoon! I spent the morning drinking tea and willing myself to feel better. All too soon 1pm rolled around and we were collected for our trip. We started off on the horses by walking and then doing a bit of a trot before visiting an ancient Inca site. We could also see one of the sights that it cost $40 to visit from the top of the hill so no need to go to that! Afterwards we took a trip through the woods going up the mountains to a height of 3,900m and got a great view over the whole valley. On any of the flats we did some cantering and even galloping! I have never galloped before abs I was terrified at the start but it actually was really enjoyable! My horse was a little frisky though and knew the parts to canter and gallop before I did, as it knew the route so well, so I did get a couple of frights where it took off before I was ready!
There was a real wild west feeling to cantering through the forest particularly as the equipment on the horses was pretty old school! If I though I was sore from the rafting, it was nothing compared to the aches, pains and bruises I had after this! Ronan's legs were actually rubbed bare and left hairless from the friction with parts of the saddle hanging down. We were black and blue it was insane. We brought back to the hostel and I was in bits so it was dinner here again. I just wanted to go to bed but Kate and Alice had checked out of Loki earlier that day and were coming back up to meet us for a table quiz in the bar. That went on from 9-11pm and I was never so glad to see my bed as afterwards. We lost by the way.
The following day was Tuesday 4th September. Today's activity was a nice, physical-free (or so I thought) chocolate making class. My broken body struggled with walking up and down the stairs, standing for 2.5hours and grinding chocolate with a pestle and mortar. We had a great couple of hours learning about the different types of chocolate, the chocolate making process and making our own. I asked to make mine with milk chocolate rather than dark but it turned out dark anyways so I don't like it! Never mind - all the more for Ronan anyways!
Afterwards we went out for dinner with Kate and Alice as we were saying our goodbyes for good! Whole out for dinner we decided to delay the inevitable and meet for lunch tomorrow afternoon aswell!
Wednesday morning and early afternoon passed in a haze of preparing for the Inca trail. This involved buying things like a water bottle for Ronan as I still had my camel pack from Nepal, head lamp, knee support, toilet paper and all manner of random things you would never think of! We also had to buy snacks like cereal bars and nuts to eat along the trail. All shopping done we met Kate and Alice for a late lunch/early dinner and it was time to say goodbye! It was strange as we had being travelling with them for almost a month, even if we didn't spend every day together we saw each other every day at some stage. So long Kate and Alice!
That afternoon Ronan got a haircut and we decided what to pack for the trail before heading to our orientation meeting. We were meeting our guide and the rest of our group at 7pm for a briefing. This gave us an idea of the schedule for the next few days. The guide was great, very passionate and enthusiastic so I started to get excited about what was ahead! Afterwards it was back to the hostel with the bags provided by the company to get packed. We had paid to hire an extra porter each to carry clothes and toiletries for the next 4 days. We got 9kg each but once the sleeping mattress and sleeping bag were taken out this left us with 6kg each for clothes, toiletries and snacks. It can get down to freezing at night because of the altitude so we had to ensure to pack thermals and warm clothes aswell! We were warned to pack for the 4 seasons! We also had our day packs to carry things we would need during the day for the trail like water, sun hat, suncream, raincoat etc.
After this it was time for bed as we were being collected at 5.30am the next day so needed a good sleep!
We were up at 5.30am to get the bus from Puno to Cusco on Thursday 30th August. We had decided to get a different type of bus than the normal transportation - this was a sightseeing bus with a tour guide to stop at different sites of interest during the course of the journey. I wasn't feeling great that morning and only got worse during the day. I actually don't remember much of the journey as I basically slept most of the day - slept for 8 out of 10 hours! Ronan, Kate and Alice all really enjoyed the journey and seeing the different sights along the way.
I should mention that Cusco is at 3,300m altitude and it is recommended to stay there for at least 4 days to acclimatise to the altitude before doing the Inca trail. We had read this and spoken to other travellers who told us how much there was to do in Cusco so we decided to spend a week there. This was amazing as we hadn't spent a week anywhere since Jaipur. We got to keep the same room in the hostel so no unpacking or repacking for a whole week - that is bliss!
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| Cusco at night - home for a week |
On Friday 31st August we had a lazy morning in the hostel and the Irish lads from the Las Pampas tour turned up in Loki after their trek so we were just catching up with them. I was feeling better so we decided to do the free walking tour of the city offered by the hostel to get our bearings and see the highlights of the city. We have never done a walking tour with a guide before but this was actually really good as it wasn't a boring historic tour but really fun! The rest of the afternoon we spent around the markets and confirming the details for our Inca trek. We went out for dinner as we didn't want to fall into the same trap as in the Wild Rover in La Paz of eating in the hostel every night!
Saturday 1st September was a lazy day which we spent booking tours for the following days, going around the markets again and just generally chilling out. We found the prettiest McDonalds in the world:
We were very proud of ourselves for going out for dinner again even if it was only to the highest Irish owned bar in the world!
The next day was white water rafting! Myself, Ronan, Kate and Alice had booked to do this together and there was another girl from the UK in the group with us. We left the hostel at 8am and got to the starting site around 10am. It was 1.5 hours away 'Peruvian time' which means just over 2 hours! Myself and Ronan had done white water rafting before when we were in Malyasia but hadn't experienced anything like the safety talk and safety procedures in place here. The company was Peru Activites set up by two brothers who worked in the US so brought their health and safety training from there to Peru.
So we had an amazing two hours rafting for about 12km down the river which was only up to Grade III+ because it is the dry season but still so much fun! I did not think it would be such a workout though and so much paddling!
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| Ronan goes from a dip from the top of the rock! |
When we came to the end of the rafting there was a table and plastic stools laid out at the side of the road for lunch! It was a gorgeous lunch with rice, chicken, vegetables, bread etc and even a table cloth, all produced from a picnic basket in the back of the van! Random but delicious and fun! Afterwards we started our journey back to Cusco and got back to the hostel at around 4pm.
We were so tired and sore from all the hard work that we allowed ourselves to have dinner in the hostel that night and not bother going into the city. I decided to have a couple of drinks while we were sitting around chatting to the Irish boys as they were getting a night bus later that evening. Alice had been out for the last two nights but between me being sick and getting up early for rafting I hadn't bothered so tonight was the night myself and Kate decided to let loose! Loki is the type of place that removes the cups and kettle for free tea and coffee at about 10pm so as to free up the table they are on for dancing! Classy! Needless to say we availed of the empty table facility and danced the night away! We kept requesting songs so it was basically our own personal playlist for the night but it doesn't feel right to be dancing in runners with no make-up! I kept standing on my tippy toes as if I was wearing heels. One thing I am looking forward to when I get home is dressing up in a nice dress, heels and makeup.
Needless to say when I woke up on Monday I wasn't feeling my best! Well it was tough luck as we had a horse riding tour booked for the afternoon! I spent the morning drinking tea and willing myself to feel better. All too soon 1pm rolled around and we were collected for our trip. We started off on the horses by walking and then doing a bit of a trot before visiting an ancient Inca site. We could also see one of the sights that it cost $40 to visit from the top of the hill so no need to go to that! Afterwards we took a trip through the woods going up the mountains to a height of 3,900m and got a great view over the whole valley. On any of the flats we did some cantering and even galloping! I have never galloped before abs I was terrified at the start but it actually was really enjoyable! My horse was a little frisky though and knew the parts to canter and gallop before I did, as it knew the route so well, so I did get a couple of frights where it took off before I was ready!
The following day was Tuesday 4th September. Today's activity was a nice, physical-free (or so I thought) chocolate making class. My broken body struggled with walking up and down the stairs, standing for 2.5hours and grinding chocolate with a pestle and mortar. We had a great couple of hours learning about the different types of chocolate, the chocolate making process and making our own. I asked to make mine with milk chocolate rather than dark but it turned out dark anyways so I don't like it! Never mind - all the more for Ronan anyways!
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| The last activity we did together as a family!! |
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| The finished product! |
Afterwards we went out for dinner with Kate and Alice as we were saying our goodbyes for good! Whole out for dinner we decided to delay the inevitable and meet for lunch tomorrow afternoon aswell!
Wednesday morning and early afternoon passed in a haze of preparing for the Inca trail. This involved buying things like a water bottle for Ronan as I still had my camel pack from Nepal, head lamp, knee support, toilet paper and all manner of random things you would never think of! We also had to buy snacks like cereal bars and nuts to eat along the trail. All shopping done we met Kate and Alice for a late lunch/early dinner and it was time to say goodbye! It was strange as we had being travelling with them for almost a month, even if we didn't spend every day together we saw each other every day at some stage. So long Kate and Alice!
That afternoon Ronan got a haircut and we decided what to pack for the trail before heading to our orientation meeting. We were meeting our guide and the rest of our group at 7pm for a briefing. This gave us an idea of the schedule for the next few days. The guide was great, very passionate and enthusiastic so I started to get excited about what was ahead! Afterwards it was back to the hostel with the bags provided by the company to get packed. We had paid to hire an extra porter each to carry clothes and toiletries for the next 4 days. We got 9kg each but once the sleeping mattress and sleeping bag were taken out this left us with 6kg each for clothes, toiletries and snacks. It can get down to freezing at night because of the altitude so we had to ensure to pack thermals and warm clothes aswell! We were warned to pack for the 4 seasons! We also had our day packs to carry things we would need during the day for the trail like water, sun hat, suncream, raincoat etc.
After this it was time for bed as we were being collected at 5.30am the next day so needed a good sleep!
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