Peru: Lima, Puno, Lake Titicaca, Cusco, Machu Picchu

My time in Peru marked a change in travel style, as I went from going solo to enjoying the company of family and friends for three weeks. My dad, John, and uncle, Paddy, joined me from the UK, while Paddy's friend Loring and her friend Dalene joined us from the USA. The five of us met in Lima and then journeyed together for a while – a welcome change from my solitary road tripping to date.

The Peru gang

Lima is the crowded capital of Peru; smoggy, chaotic and crammed with a third of the country's population. We caught up over rooftop beers looking out over the main plaza, enjoyed a couple of days in Miraflores, the seaside district, and of course had our fill of delicious ceviche and pisco sours, the national dish and drink of Peru.

The main plaza

Looking up to houses on the mountains

Cervecas with Paddy and Loring

Poetry stairs at the House of Peruvian Literature

Wooden balconies from colonial times

Inside one of Lima's many churches

Church of San Francisco

Human remains from the Inquisition in catacombs under the church floor

One of Lima's many shrines

Another church

House of Peruvian Literature

'The Kiss', Miraflores

'Play me I'm yours': Last played one of these in Sydney!

With dad in Miraflores

Crazy building painters

Washing

Awesome coke ad near the airport

After a few excruciating hours on various websites and phones, testing my newly-acquired Spanish to its full extent, we had onward travel plans to Puno and then on to Cusco. We flew to the hilariously-named International Airport of Juliaca, where we were greeted at 9pm by a deserted car park, with only two taxis loitering for passengers, both driven by guys named Carlos. We had no plans other than to rock up to Puno and try to get beds for the night, and the Carlos' obliged with both. The taxi ride was certainly one of the hairiest of my life, although it only set the tone for all driving thus far in Latin America. We dashed along single-lane war-torn-looking dirt roads with no lighting, Carlos having little regard for road rules and always taking bends in the left hand lane instead of the right, with no concern about oncoming traffic. Let's just say I held my breath a lot on this hour-long trip. Finally housed in our cosy hotel (the altitude getting to all of us as we climbed the stairs!) we ventured out for a late pizza and beer, so tired that we even laughed at Paddy's jokes!

The gang arrive at the airport

Going loco over dinner

Some kind of youth military parade in Puno's main square

After stocking up on altitude tablets the next morning we made our way to Lake Titicaca, walking through Puno's street markets and past its municipal buildings. I caught my first glimpses of the now-familiar Cholitas and surreptitiously tried to photograph them. Common throughout Latin America these are women in traditional dress – lace tops, wide velvet skirts with lots of underskirts, baggy stockings and flat shoes, hats often modelled on bowlers and invariably carrying a large colourful blanket on their back, fastned at their neck and full of their wares, food or (usually) sleeping children. They must have shoulders of steel, these women, I can't even carry as much as they do in my backpack, and that distributes the weight far more efficiently! They seem to me to be the backbone of Latin America, as they are conspicuously hard-working and industrious.

Lake Titicaca is the largest lake in South America, and at 12,507 feet it's also the highest navigable lake in the world. We caught a boat out onto the Lake to see the floating islands. These are large islands made of densely-packed reeds, upon which entire villages live, fish, eat and sleep, regardless of the fact that there's very little between them and the lake itself! It was fascinating to see how these communities lived, with their simple lives, traditional houses and uncomplicated ways.

The floating reed islands

Fish laying out to dry

Floating island kid

Gazing out on Lake Titicaca

Paddy on his boat

This is what the reed islands look like underneath

Paddy looking out towards some little hotels

Paddy and dad walking through Puno square

On the way back we enjoyed another precarious ride, this time in a customised motorbike with a seat on the back – the driver and three passengers on a small motorbike – crazy! In the evening we dined on Alpaca, trout, quinoa – more traditional Peruvian dishes. And then it was farewell to Puno.

The 10-hour Puno to Cusco train ride was without doubt the greatest train ride of my life. Taking a leisurely pace through the Peruvian countryside, it was like the Orient Express of Latin America. Our tables were delightful and we enjoyed a delicious three-course meal as we watched the world go by. There was a wonderful viewing carriage at the back of the train – predominantly glass windows and ceiling with an open end for optimum photographing. Each change in landscape brought gasps of delight from everyone. Locals stopped and waved at the train and kids ran alongside. We even rode through a market where vendors left their wares on the tracks for the train to ride over! A truly stunning way to travel. Paddy wowed the train with his Pisco Sour-making demonstration while unfortunately dad succumbed to altitude sickness and slept for much of the journey. The train stopped just once, for us to get out and visit a little church, as well as sample some local wares. Paddy and the girls bought some beautiful hand-woven fabric while I made friends with a lamb and a llama! Paddy also tried to abduct the first of many scruffy little Peruvian children on the trip.

There's even a shrine in the train station!

All aboard the Andean Explorer!

In the viewing car

Leaving Puno

Woman carrying child on her back

These guys rode alongside us for a while

View from the back of the train

Roadside shrines

Boys and beer

Caught snapping!

Llamas

Paddy was enchanted by the local kids

Roadside Cholitas

Election art

Men at work

The bicycle is the hub of industry

Football pitches are a big priority here

Grumpy old lady

More Cholitas

Converted motorcycle

Woman of industry

Trackside market

Enjoying Pisco Sours

Rainbow!

I don't think Paddy stopped smiling the whole trip!

Sun setting on our journey

Cusco is a tourist-magnet town where most Machu Picchu trekkers congregate and where it seems all of Peru has something to sell to any gringo they see. It became most tiresome, feeling pestered all the time by people trying to sell things, and some of us were better at fending them off than others. Once we ventured beyond the main square and touristic areas it felt like a delightful, hilly little town with quaint little streets and beautiful architecture. It was funny how many times we were stopped in the Cusco square by people who recognised 'the train guy' – it seemed Paddy had already gained some notoriety with his bartending stint and general amiableness on the train.

Cusco main square

University square

Book purchasing

Paddy in front of Paddy's Pub

Gay pride flag? No, Cusco flag

Ironic sign (people use their car horns ALL the time)

El Peru writing in the hills

With Paddy in the Cusco square

Steps up one of Cusco's steep streets

My college

Walking up the steep streets

Football crazy

Pronounce this street name

Many of the roofs have these terracotta bulls on them

Pre-Inca stonework

We stumbled upon a procession one evening

Gold statue of Atahualpa

Here we briefly parted ways, with Loring, Dalene and Paddy heading off for a day of ziplining and abseiling, while dad and I walked up to the Blanco Cristo and saw some Inca architecture at Saksaywaman.

Gazing down over Cusco

Stones in the street

This VW Beetle was held together with cellotape

The next morning at 4am we began our Andean adventure. We were picked up by our guide, Miguel, a wonderful guy whose smile rarely left his face and whom we would come to know well over the next few days. We journeyed through the dawn streets of Cusco towards Calca, a small village where we bought delicious fresh bread rolls and changed vans. This was also where I sampled my first hot apple and quinoa drink. This is a traditional breakfast drink, loaded with protein and way more delicious than it sounds. Of course it was served by yet another enterprising Cholita with a customised bicycle, complete with little gas cylinder for heating up the drink.

Village market

Our next stop was the aguas calientes (hot springs) where we lounged around for the morning in the naturally scalding pools. To be honest, this would have been a much more welcome stop after our trek rather than before, but geography was not on our side. With a hearty lunch prepared by our chef, Coco, we embarked upon the 4-hour trek to Waka Wasi where we would spend our first night. I won't describe our 3-day Andean trek in minute detail, but instead give you a few memorable scenes from the journey. The Andes are truly beautiful and we were blessed with cool but sunny days, walking through lush green grass, past disinterested llamas, pigs and alpacas, gazing at snow-covered mountains above us. At the highest point of the trek (over 14,000 feet) we walked amongst the snow ourselves, and the views were splendid, despite the air being a little thin. Every now and then on the trail, some enterprising children would scurry ahead of us, setting up their 'shops' on blankets on the floor, selling drinks, bracelets and various other wares. We were armed with sweets to give them and Paddy made friends with most of them. Miguel gave each of them a lecture before we moved on: 'Go to school and don't drop plastic on the ground'! Two very important lessons, I feel.

Miguel in the 'kitchen'

Hot springs and mountain

Gazing down on the hot springs

Foxgloves?

Lunch gang

Lunching above the hot springs

Our trek begins

Mountain Cholita

Mountain kid

Paddy and some mountain kids

Views down the Sacred Valley

Andean bridge

Alpacas

The first evening we arrived at a little village and our tents were already pitched. We were welcomed into the single-room house of a family where Coco used their 'kitchen' to prepare our dinner, while an emaciated old man slept on a bed in the corner and guinea pigs scuffled amongst the furniture, little knowing that they were to be feasted on when the next special occasion came around. The room was incredibly simple, and clearly very old, with no ventilation but at least some warmth from the cold winter night that drew in. The ceiling was black from the stove smoke and meat hung drying from hooks above our heads. Various unwashed children scampered in and out of the room, their black feet encased in tattered old sandals, despite the cold. We observed the first of a continuing phenomena: the boys all coughed while the girls didn't. We continued to ponder the possible social reasons for this over many days. (If anyone knows the answer I'd be fascinated to hear it.) Once again we had a traditional meal of thin soup with quinoa and vegetables, which was invariably followed by 'segundo' of chicken/meat and pasta or rice with potatoes. Suddenly the 'mummy' in the corner awoke, probably from our raucous mealtime chatter, and, clearly completely inebriated, calling for 'one more cup' (he didn't need any more!), literally 'climbed the wall' into a shelf above his bed where he promptly fell into a deep sleep. Little were we to know at the time, but he was awake long before us the next day, becoming 'supermummy' as he carried two of our large backpacks across the mountain, While we sauntered along with our day packs. Though we wore our high-tech walking boots he was equipped only with an old pair of leather sandals, and yet he long outstripped us on the mountain.

Tents and chicken

Guinea pigs roaming the kitchen

Dried poo makes for good fuel, apparently

Inside a traditional mountain home

Despite the warm weather during the day and a wee nip of rum after dinner, the night in the tent was bitterly cold as the temperature dropped to minus 5. After a spot of stargazing in the brilliantly clear skies, I put on almost all of my clothes, ending up with 12 layers on, including thermals and two coats, but still shivered in my sleeping bag. I think Paddy was the only one of us who had a warm night, with his various army-issue equipment! Being woken by Coco bringing us warm cups of tea the next morning was a delight, and we were soon ready for another long day of hiking. We passed herds of llamas transporting sacks of potatoes across the mountains, climbed 14,460 feet to the highest part of our trek, had lunch by Ipsai Cocha lake and slipped some of our stringy, fatty meat to the dogs when Coco wasn't looking. The journey on day 3, in contrast, featured much more hiking by road rather than over the mountains, as we meandered through several little villages, tried the local beer made of corn, saw people ploughing their fields and leaving crops out to dry. We dined in Ollantaytambo, a town and Inca archaeological site, built to a strict grid structure with remarkable drainage and waterway engineering, considering how old it was.

With dad at the highest part of the trek

Battling against the altitude

Jumping over the creek

Andean houses

'Supermummy' taking a rest

Our wonderful guide, Miguel

Mountain life

Paddy & Miguel fast became buddies

Herding llamas

The llama herder (surely about 9 years old!)

Girl herding llamas across the Andes

 The beautiful Peruvian Andes

Gang reaching the top of the trek

 Mountain llama

Chinchilla

Trekking in the snow

Miguel

Dogs at the door of the kitchen

Paddy sets off after lunch

Paddy with more roadside kids

Our evening makeshift kitchen

Tomorrow's dinner hanging out in the kitchen

Kids coming home from school for lunch

More rooftop bulls for luck

Child seeking sweeties

Corn drying in the sun

Ploughing the fields

Wearing a million layers and still freezing

The pinnacle of the whole trek was the final day, when we embarked on our pre-dawn hike to Machu Picchu itself. A UNESCO World Heritage site, this ancient Inca city was built around 1450 and was 'discovered' long after the Spanish conquest by North American historian Hiram Bingham in 1911, which many people cite as the reason the site is so well preserved. After (thankfully) a decent night's sleep in a proper bed we donned our head torches and began the steep walk up the mountain from Aguas Calientes. With only the light of Jupiter guiding us at first, the sky slowly grew paler as the dawn approached. We trudged quickly, the going was hard and the altitude kept doing its worst, but we made it to the top, gazing scornfully at those who had caught the bus up (lightweights! We'd earned it!). And then, after all our hard work, we finally made it to Machu Picchu – and what a sight awaited us! It was truly magnificent, a remarkable feat of ancient engineering. Dad and Paddy had a little emotional hug at the top – in fact I had tears in my eyes too, it was so incredible, and beyond what I had expected. Miguel showed us round, pointing out various areas of interest as the sky grew lighter and the sun got ready to rise. Then we paused, hearts in mouths, silently and awe-inspired as we watched the sun's rays finally break over the adjacent mountain and start shedding their light on the Inca ruins. We'd chosen a place far from the 'obvious' spot where all the tourists gather, and we had a lovely, reverent few moments as the sun fully rose. Magnificent.

The gang arrives at the entrance to Machu Picchu

Commencing the pre-dawn walk by the light of Jupiter

Machu Picchu in the pre-dawn light

First rays of sun make to the top of the peak

Pre-Incan rocks

Touching ancient pre-Inca rocks

And the sun rises over Machu Picchu

After that we were left to ourselves to explore, and dad, Paddy and I climbed Huayna Picchu, the mountain next door, as if we hadn't had enough of steep climbs for the day! This was a rather perilous climb in places, with no guides, handrails or safety bars. I can't imagine anywhere else in the world where such OH&S measures were not implemented. They did, however, limit visitation to only 200 per day, and had us sign in and out at the bottom, so I suppose they would know eventually if you didn't make it out alive. The views from the top were magnificent, and the climb was well worth it. Strange seeing Machu Picchu so small below us after seeing it close up.

Boys climbing an Andean ladder

Machu Picchu far below

Paddy at the peak of Huyana Picchu

Steep stairs!

Feeling on top of the world after an incredible few days!

A truly remarkable part of the world and one I would love to visit again. I got chatting to one of the staff members in the grounds and asked him if he ever got bored of being there every day. He remarked how different it looks at different times of the year, and different times of the day, and I thought it must be one of those places which changes so much you could never get bored. We learnt so many things about the engineering of the place – including about the sun gate and moon gate, which were so perfectly aligned to the midsummer sun and midwinter moon, the many gold and silver treasures which were plundered by others and are now housed in various museums far across the seas (including many artefacts held at Yale University), the pre-Inca stonework in some of the places, the earthquake-proof foundations and angles of the walls. It certainly makes me marvel at how advanced the engineering of the Inca nation was and how ahead of their time they were.

Our guide, Miguel, was an interesting character. Born in the Andes, his father had paid for him to go to university in Cusco and expected him to get a well-paid job working for 'the man', but Miguel had decided instead to spend his time back in the mountains sharing his wonderful country with people and educating children about school and plastic! He was the self-confessed 'black sheep' of his family, declaring himself to be 'Andean' when all of his family are Catholic. Along the trail we had several passionate and opinionated conversations where he waxed lyrical about preserving Andean customs, reclaiming Andean traditions and festivals which had been appropriated by Catholics, the reality of life in the mountains, and so much more. Miguel had killed goats with his bare hands, drowned a sheep, been beaten by his grandmother for making the meat too tough. But he was also a fun-loving young guy, who liked to go mountain biking with his friends and had a 'secret' other room in a sharehouse away from his parents house where he could stay when out partying. He loved to tell us the history of a place and the Quechua word for everything, but it didn't feel like a dry, factual history lesson. By the end of the trek my face ached from a combination of laughing so much with the group and grinning with wonder at the amazing sights. A truly magical experience.

Backpacker chicks!

Our final meal together in Cusco: curry!

Tandoori guinea pig

Final brekkie: a full English at Paddy's pub

Kids playing football

Controversial graffiti

Cusco, where one of my heroes John Peel died

Inside Paddy's pub

Another parade in the square

Ancient Camel cups

In 1984 my Granny had also visited Peru and kept a diary of her experiences. Unfortunately while visiting some Inca ruins she had slipped and broke her arm. I remember as a child she spent a long period of time with an almost full upper-body cast from this accident! Before Paddy and I embarked upon this trip she typed up her diary and emailed it to us. It was fascinating to read her words of discovery from three decades ago. We enjoyed feeling as though we were following in her footsteps, and I even ordered fish with fried banana in a restaurant because she had mentioned it in her diary! While we didn't visit all the places Granny visited, her memoirs gave us a great starting point and it was interesting to see how much has changed and yet how much remains the same in this wonderful country 30 years later.

All too soon it was time to bid farewell to my travel companions and return to travelling solo, heading onwards to Bolivia. I have had such a delightful, fun-filled and memorable time here in Peru and I loved the chance to travel with my dad and Paddy. The trek to Machu Picchu certainly rates among the finest travel experiences in my life and I'm so glad I got to enjoy it with them.

[PS, most of the photos in this post are mine, but there are also quite a few great ones from Paddy, dad and Loring, so big thanks to them. It's great to be able to have some photos of me on here for a change!]