Update from Cuzco, Peru

Buenos Dias, Amigos!!

We’re now in Cuzco in Central Peru, having arrived in Lima (capital of Peru) a couple of weeks ago. Unlike South East Asia, hardly anyone here speaks English, so we’re learning Spanish as best as we can. We got off to an inauspicious start (“Bonjour! No, I mean, umm, Buenos Dias!! Is that right?"), but things are improving. Proudest moment to date was when we negotiated a well-dodgy street deal in Lima to secure tickets to the Copa America final between Brazil and Argentina (The Copa America is the South American equivalent of the European Soccer Championship). And they weren’t even fake!

Brazil won on penalties, by the way….

Our linguistic skills did not rise to the fore when it was haircut time, though. Phil’s haircut was pretty simple (“Numero Uno, err, Shave-o, por favor!!"), but Emily’s requirements were a bit tricky to describe. In a fluster, she pointed to one of the pictures of models on the wall, said “Err, like that?”, and ended up having peculiar South American layers cut into her hair. The look on the barber’s face when a tearful gringo handed over her cash was one we won’t forget in a hurry. Oh well. Hopefully mullets will be back in fashion by the time we get back to London…!

Current contender for worst translation from Spanish into English would have to be the hotel that offered “Bath deprived with water warm up the 24 hours” and “National and International Service of Laundry”. Still, I suppose that’s better than how we sound…

There is a fair amount of money here in Peru, but it isn’t well distributed. As a result there are loads of poor areas around the cities - crime hotspots - and we accidentally found ourselves in one such area when we went to get a bus to one of the tourist sites outside town. We had been holding our bags in front of us for security, and we strutted with confidence, but this still didn’t stop one street urchin from trying to grab Phil’s bag. Little tinker! We ended up feeling a bit sorry for him afterwards, he was dishevelled and so obviously hungry, and it was really a half hearted attempt. Lima is probably the most dangerous area we’ll be visiting in South America, so hopefully we’re past the worst of it now - although we’ve still got our guard up.

Peru is actually a tad more commercial than we anticipated. Angel-faced children in traditional clothing can usually be found clutching lambs, and asking money for photos, in most of the main squares. Also, the entire country seems to be sponsored by Pepsi. And if we hear one more pan-piped rendition of Simon & Garfunkel’s “El Condor Pasa”…..oh, we love them really!

The Incas are the best known historical civilisation in Peru, mainly because they were in charge when the Spanish conquistadors turned up and took charge in the 1500s. But there were numerous other civilisations before the Incas, each of whom had their own unique architectural styles and religious beliefs. Peru is therefore a haven for Indiana Jones wannabes and grave robbers, not to mention tourists. The jewel in the crown is Machu Picchu, the ‘Lost City of the Incas’, and tomorrow (Sunday) we begin the four day Inca Trail hike to get there.

Whether we’ll make it or not is a different story. We’re now in the Andes, and have had to cope with the perils of high altitude. On a recent trip to the Colca Canyon, we stopped at an altitude of 4800 metres - much more impressive when you think of it as nearly 5km above sea level. We got the usual symptoms; dizziness, nausea, headaches and shortness of breath. A 3km walk later that day (at 3300 metres altitude) left our legs feeling very tired. The highest point of the Inca Trail is 4200 metres above sea level, so no wonder some call it the Inca Trial. Wish us luck….

Good graphical representation of the walk can be seen here.

Coming up: After the Inca Trail, we head to Lake Titicaca and then into Bolivia.

Hasta Luego!!

(2023 Update: photos from this trip were uploaded to Flickr a couple of years later, here are snaps from Peru, and a link to the collection for the whole trip can be found here)