Cusco - Peru 28th March

The view overlooking Cusco from our hostal

Cusco
Before coming to Cusco we stopped at Puno on the northern edge of Lake Titcaca. It was here that we were talked into buying a bus ticket to Cusco from a local who seemed friendly and trustworthy. Normally we don't do this sort of thing but we ignored our good sense and went ahead. Not only were we overchanged for the bus by a ridiculous amount it also broke down mid way!
This was 4 hours into the journey and in the middle of nowhere. After an hour of watching the bus driver doing a lot of chin rubbing whilst looking at the steaming engine, Rich and me got talking to another passenger (a local from Cusco) who helped us get onto another bus towards Cusco. This bus was a 'locals' bus, slow and really overpacked with people, Rich was sat in the front with the driver (and a whole family) whilst I thankfully got a seat but was then subjected to a barrage of questions in Spanish from other passengers. Thankfully I had a packet of crackers which I handed out and managed to make some friends.


Shelley and Craig are a nightmare if you´re trying to stay sober


Partners in crime

We finally made it to Cusco only an hour later than we should have done, we checked into an amazing hostel with wonderful views and then bumped into some friends (Craig and Shelley) who we had met in Buenos Aires. We spent the evening with them and Craig ordered a Cuy (guinea pig) which is meant to be a speciality of Peru...we couldn't quite see this with it's little teeth and claws, and they had even fashioned a little hat out of a tomato and some herbs.

We had a couple of days before our Macchu Picchu trek to relax in Cusco, we spent this time having fun with Craig and Shelley and exploring the city which was by far one of the most beautiful cities I have ever visited. I can completely see why it is a UNESCO world heritage site. Cusco comes from the Quechua word Qusqu meaning centre of the universe and the city is steeped in history from the Inca times. Some buildings still have the original Inca walls however there is also a lot of colonial buildings from the Spanish conquistion which are equally beautiful. In particular the main Plaza de Almas which is surrounded by the Cathedral and 3 other intricately carved churches.


Plaza De Almas


Cusco cathedral


The huge Inca rocks

Cusco is also the stepping point for the sacred valley and Macchu Picchu which means that it is an extremely touristy place. Despite this it is a wonderful place to stay for a while and we have decided to stay here for at least a week after our trek with our friends, and also for my birthday.

Chile to Bolivia

Amazing views of the back of Lucy´s head

San Pedro de Atacama

We found out in San Pedro that the easiest way for us to get into Bolivia was to take a three day tour finishing at the salt flats of Uyuni. We booked a tour with an agency (not really finding out a great deal about it) and set off early the next day. The roads to Uyuni are dirt tracks so the only way to get around is by 4 x 4, however before the journey started we had a 2 hour bus journey to the Bolivian border. This was basically a shack in the middle of nowhere with a flag sticking out of it. From here the bus group was split up into jeeps and off we went.


Bolivian border immigration building - an architectural masterpiece

The scenery along the way was absolutely amazing, we were at such high altitude it was like being on top of the world, snow capped mountains surrounded us and the only plants around were small shrubs that can survive with very little water. We stopped at various salt lakes named different colours depending on the minerals in them, steaming hot gysers and hot springs. Our final stop was a lake called Laguna Colorada which has one of the largest flamingo populations in the world. We stayed in a very run down and basic building for the night and had to wear all our clothes in bed to stay warm...hmm maybe we should have found out some more details of the tour beforehand.


Steaming, eggy pools


Beautiful Laguna Colorada

Our driver with lollipop

The next day we set off early as it was a long drive to Uyuni. The landscape changed from desolate mountains and shrubs and became more rocky, we stopped at an area which is known as Salvador Dali due to the very strange and out of place boulders. From here we descended altitude slightly and stopped at another area which had boulders everywhere, it was like something out of the Flintstones. As we were now at a lower altitude there was more plant life and subsequently more people.

Strange rock formations

We stopped at a tiny dusty town for lunch and were mesmerised with the indigenous dress, particularly the women who wore huge skirts and bowler hats. Their hair was long and plaited and joined together at the bottom with fabric. Just before we got to Uyuni we stopped at a train graveyard and then stayed for the night at a local hotel.

The following day we went to the Salar de Uyuni, it is the worlds largest salt flat which sits at a lofty 3653 metres and covers an area of 12106 square kilometres. It is part of a prehistoric salt lake which covered most of southwest Bolivia. Now most of it has dried up apart from a few smaller lakes. It was a strange yet beautiful sight to see, white reflective liquid as far as the eye could see seemed to merge into the sky.

If you wanted pepper, you're well out of luck


Salt crystals

Northern Argentina 15th March

Rocking it bigtime

Salta and the province of Jujuy

After the week of revelry in Brazil we decided to head up to Northern Argentina to a city called Salta. It was another long and arduous bus journey to get there but well worth it as the city is beautiful with many grand colonial buildings, it also has a large population of indigenous Quechua people who are the descendents of the Incas.

As Salta is close to both Chile and Bolivia it is a perfect stopping point before heading off further north, however before we set off we booked a tour of the surrounding areas as it is famous for stunning colourful rock formations and traditional Quechua towns.

We get picked up early in the morning but it is raining quite heavily, however by the time we reach the first destination Purmamarca which is high up in the mountains it has thankfully stopped. Purmamarca is a wonderful small Quechua town which doesn't look like it's changed in hundreds of years, the highlight here however is the rainbow rock formations which are absolutely stunning.


Standing alongside the tropic of Capricorn


More great views of rainbow rocks

We continued our tour through amazing red rock mountains to our next destination Humahuaca, another beautiful and famous old Quechua town. After lunch here we make another stop in Tilcara and finally San Salvador de Jujuy.

Despite only having a short time here it was well worth it to see the indigenous Quechua people and the strange but beautiful landscapes.