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Gertrude Stein: “Everybody knows if you are too careful you are so occupied in being careful that you are sure to stumble over something.”

I scheduled this post just before I left yesterday (Wednesday) as I am currently completely without any internet (FINALLY I am disconnected!! hehe)…I am ‘somewhere out there’ doing the Lares Trek, a 4 day / 3 night hike to Machu Picchu (woohooooo!!).

Day 8-10, Cusco

An amazing town this is, Cusco, the historic capital of the Inca Empire and therefor stuffed with ancient buildings and also flooded with tourists (many youngsters) using it as the portal to many Inca sites in the area (or just to party ’till you drop 😉 ).

I flew in from Lima last Sunday morning after enjoying the splendid night bus from Trujillo to Lima on Saturday night, tapped in to the ancient yet vibrant energy that flows all around and booked two day trips to the Sacred Valley of the Incas; Monday to the Inca sites in Písac and Ollantaytambo, and Tuesday to the Moray Terraces and the Maras salt mines, also both Inca sites.

The Sacred Valley of the Incas was a crucial area for the Inca empire and it functioned as both an agricultural, spiritual and political center for them and boy, ain’t that so; loads of old ruins and structures showing the Incas’ amazing construction skills!

As usual, pictures say it all so I included a LOT (if you’d rather read; the Wikipedia links inserted above provide you enough reading material 😉 ):

The Inca site in Písac:

The Inca site in Ollantaytambo:

Moray Terraces:

Maras salt mines:

Fritjof Capra: “During [these] periods of relaxation after concentrated intellectual activity, the intuitive mind seems to take over and can produce the sudden clarifying insights which give so much joy and delight.”

Though not specifically planned, it turns out that I am chronologically following various ancient Peruvian cultures; from Moche (100-800AD) to Chimú (900-1470AD) to the Inca empire (1438-1533AD).

Day 6&7, Trujillo

After arriving in Trujillo, roughly 800km north of Lima, and having explored the city, I visited two ancient sites just out of the city. First on the list were Huaca del Sol y de la Luna (Temple of the Sun and Temple of the Moon), two adobe brick temples built by the Moche civilization, very impressive! (pictures below 😉 )

Since both sites are so close by (roughly 9km apart, ‘just’ 2 hours with local buses 😉 ), I was able to visit the second site on the same day; Chan Chan build by the Chimú culture, which is the largest adobe city in the world. (adobe is a natural building material made from sand, clay, water, and some kind of fibrous or organic material like sticks, straw, and/or manure). Less ‘arty’ compared to the Moche’s Huaca del Sol y de la Luna, yet still impressive to see. Glad that I visited this place, which is not ‘typical’ for most tourists coming to Peru.

And now, it’s pictures-time!! 😉

First Trujillo city centre:

Moche culture in Huaca del Sol y de la Luna:

Chimú culture in Chan Chan:

Lisa Williams: “The only way to last a really long time is to build something useful enough that people will want to keep it going after you die, and to cultivate a sense of ownership in other people. In short: make good shit and give it away as fast as you can.”

Christine Bovee : “Doubt whom you will, but never yourself.”

Spanish Proverb : “Never advise anyone to go to war or to marry.”

Adelle Davis: “As I see it, every day you do one of two things: build health or produce disease in yourself.”

It would make a great song title; ‘I lost my soul on my way to Lake 69’…except for the fact that I lost my SOLE, not my soul! 😉

After 12 years of duty my hiking boots decided to retire; in the same trip both soles came off!! Pretty amazing that I still made it to ‘Laguna 69’ as the hard plastic sole on the inside made hiking extremely hard; it got very slippery on the trail, especially the river crossing rocks…will-power and extreme care did it! 😉
So, my next challenge was to find new hiking boots as I am not done exploring Peru by foot! 😉 Now, finding hiking boots in Huaraz (aka mountaineering paradise) is no problem at all, finding the right size (=BIG 😉 ) is however! It took me a great deal of the afternoon and many, many shops, but I succeeded! In the process I discovered that speaking Spanish would have made things a lot easier and go faster, and I also found out that the size mentioned on the boot is totally random; it turns out I am a size 46,5 (US12) here in Peru, WTF?!?

All in all another nice experience in Peru! Below the story in photos for the ones who like pictures over text. 😉

All ends well…

Malcolm Gladwell: “You can learn as much – or more – from one glance at a private space as you can from hours of exposure to a public face.”

Reverend Sean Parker Dennison: “The ability to see beauty is the beginning of our moral sensibility. What we believe is beautiful we will not wantonly destroy.”

A picture heavy update from the last (quite intense) days in Huaraz, Peru!

Day 3-5, Huaraz

I arrived last Tuesday by bus in Huaraz at a very convenient time; 06:00h (AM that is)…luckily the hostel I booked was open and ready to serve me banana pancake breakfast! 😉 The host Frank also talked me into a first trip to the high Andes mountains and I figured that 3 hours in Huaraz at 3052m above sea level would be enough to get used to the altitude, uhhhh maybe not?! 😉

The trip went up the the Pastoruri Glacier which tops at 5250m and we hiked from 4800m to the base of the glacier at 5000m, I believe this is the highest altitude I have ever been…within a couple of hours after coming from sea level oof! (I did have slow my pace to be able to catch enough oxygen)

It was all worth it though, as you can see in the pictures below:

Since I got into hiking at high altitudes 😉 , I booked a tour on Wednesday to the beautiful Laguna 69 (no comment on the name…in earlier days they gave every lake a number and this one just happened to get #69 😉 ). We first stopped at the two Llanganuco lakes called Laguna Chinancocha (female lake) and Laguna Orconcocha (male lake) to enjoy the crazy beautiful early morning views over these blue green lakes. The next stop was at the basecamp for the hike to Laguna 69; another fantastic hike through spectacular nature surrounded by the steep walls of the highest mountains of Peru the Huascaran (6746m) and the Huandoy! It made me completely forget the early wake-up at 05:25h! 😉

As always, pictures say it all:

First the Llanganuco lakes

Then, on to Laguna 69:

I made today a day to relax a bit after all the hiking and make bookings for the coming days; the bus to Trujillo is booked, so is the hostel there, the night bus to Lima on Saturday and the flight to Cuzco on Sunday!

My (ever-draft) travel schedule is still intact (although I might check out Chili to avoid double passings 😉 ) so upcoming highlights are: Trujillo (Chan Chan), Cuzco (Machu Picchu), Puno (Lake Titicaca) then on to Bolivia: Copacabana, La Paz, Salar de Uyuni (Salt lakes), Coroico in The Yungas. Then most likely Chili to go back to Peru: Arequipa, Nazca, and Lima once again to fly back to Europe on September 23)…verrrrrry exciting!!!

Thich Nhat Hanh: “Keeping your body healthy is an expression of gratitude to the whole cosmos – the trees, the clouds, everything.”

Thich Nhat Hanh: “Keeping your body healthy is an expression of gratitude to the whole cosmos – the trees, the clouds, everything.”

Helen Keller: “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Security does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than exposure.”

After a relaxed flight from Amsterdam to Lima (I got three seats to myself thanks to KLM steward Auke! 😉 ), I arrived in the early evening last Saturday at the Quincha House guesthouse with no plans for the first days other than…resting and making my travel schedule!

Day 1&2, Lima

I got up late Sunday morning after a ’round-the-clock’ night sleep (yeah, I guess I was pretty knackered…the added bonus is that I lost the jetlag in just one night! 😉 ). I spend the Sunday afternoon sniffing up some of Peru’s historic culture in the National Museum (Museo de la Nación) and wandered around the historic centre of Lima. The city offers nice mix of colonial architecture, street entertainment/artists and churches, loads of churches…I accidentally stumbled into the lesser documented parts of Lima, the ones you would rather not go to…you know, those that are recognized by a distinct urine smell and hardly any people on the streets (probably hiding in a place I don’t want to be! 😉 ).
All in all it is quite easy to get around Lima; just grab one of the 325.000 taxis 😉 that are driving around, empty most of the day it seems and costing just a couple of euro’s for distances you don’t want to walk!

The craziest thing I experienced was getting back to the guesthouse in the evening; I literally had to guide the taxi driver using the map in my Lonely Planet!! A piece of cake of course; my spanish is non existent (though I am fluent in my dreams;) ) and obviously I know the city by heart after a full day! 😉

Today I completed my (ever-draft) travel schedule, which for now leads me tonight to Huaraz, high up in the Andes mountains (I just booked the bus!), Trujillo (Chan Chan), Cuzco (Machu Picchu), Puno (Lake Titicaca) then on to Bolivia: Copacabana, La Paz, Salar de Uyuni (Salt lakes), Coroico in The Yungas. Then back to Peru: Arequipa, Nazca, and Lima once again to fly back to Europe on September 23)…verrrrrry exciting!!!

And now…picturessss! 😉
My room in Quincha House

Museo de la Nación

Plaza de Armas (Plaza Mayor)

Iglesia de Santa Domingo

Chinatown

Lima city with the Cerro San Cristóbal hill in the background

The real Lima?! 😉

Giving the taxi driver directions where to go…?!?

George C. Marshall: “When a thing is done, it’s done. Don’t look back. Look forward to your next objective.”

Martha Grimes: “We don’t know who we are until we see what we can do.”

Yesterday evening I wrote ‘the time is NOW’…well, the time is actually NOW as I am ON my way, yayyy!! I am halfway between Oslo and Lima, not in distance/time but the first of the two flights is done! 😉

The trip is great so far, I arrived well in time in Amsterdam so my luggage should make it to Inca land without any problem…

Also; flying without the ‘standby-seat-stress’ that I got so used to is a charm! (especially since I still have an el-cheapo flight by using my frequent flyer miles 😉 )

Ready, set, go…Peru, here I come!!

The famous Machu Picchu is certainly on my ‘to-see’ list!

Elmer Davis: “The first and great commandment is: Don’t let them scare you.”