Goodbye Peru, Hello Brazil!!

There’s no rest for the wicked!! After our tiring Inca Trail, we only had a week left in Peru and so much more to see. We arrived back at our hostel around 9pm and were out of there at 6.30am the next morning to catch our bus down to the city of Puno, which is on the edge of Lake Titicaca.

Trip to Puno

Rather than catch a direct bus down to Puno, we got on a tourist bus, which would stop at numerous places of interest along the route. We bought a picnic breakfast of bread, jam and orange juice, then set off on our 9 and a half hour journey.

We were introduced to our very enthusiastic guide, Dante, who reassuringly informed us that there was oxygen on board should anyone have any issues with the altitude (we would be climbing over a pass of 4,335m). Not a big deal for us!!

We stopped off at Andahuaylillas, the so-called Sistine Chapel of America and the archaeological ruins of Raqchi, an old temple built again by those Incas. Then as our guide pointed out, the most important stop of the trip, lunch, which was a lovely buffet affair that we felt it was necessary to get our money’s worth. The afternoon’s treats were the high pass at La Raya (no-one needed the oxygen), a visit to a local person’s house, where the kitchen doubles as a guinea pig den (so they can just pick one up and put it in a pot – it’s the local delicacy here) and a museum at Pukara where lots of pre-Inca statues and ceramics had been found.

Gem looking good in a traditional hat Elliott made a friend!!

It was a good trip, but we were so knackered after the Inca Trail that we were just happy to arrive in Puno and hit the sack.

Los Uros, the floating islands

The next day we arranged to go on a tour of the floating islands. These are islands made out of the reeds that grow on the lake. When the Spanish conquested Peru in the 1500s some of the locals didn’t want to be ruled by the conquistadors, so set out to build these islands and live in peace. We took a boat ride for about a half hour until we arrived at one of the hundreds of floating islands, and were given a talk about how they are made.

It is a crazy existence. Almost every week a new layer of reeds must be placed on the ground as the lower reeds rot away and the island effectively sinks. We were told to watch our step if we didn’t want wet shoes!! The islanders live by the reed. They obviously build the island from them, but also their houses and boats and they even eat them. The only other food they eat is small fish from the lake and anything they can barter from the local market in Puno. They also get rheumatoid arthritis around the ages of twenty and thirty due to the sponginess of the reeds. One more fact that put us off considerably is that they use the lake as a cemetery for dead relatives, yet they continue to drink the water unpurified!!

Don't get your feet wet!!

Why anyone would put themselves through this exceptionally difficult life, we don’t know, but it was quite a culture shock!!

Amantani and Taquile islands

There are 2 other islands close to Puno, which we decided to visit. We got a boat the next day for around 4 hours to Amantani island. On arrival we met the host family that we would be staying with. The girl that met us was 21 years old and already had a 2 month old kid, as is the custom here apparently!! She guided us up to her parents’ house and showed us to our bedroom in an outbuilding from the main house. We were immediately fed a huge lunch of soup and salad with a funky cheese in the kitchen. The oven was built from clay and was heated by a wood fire as there is no electricity on the island at all.

In the afternoon we walked around the island watching all the villagers farming, as is pretty much the only occupation here. Everyone has their own plots of land where they grow their own veg. A weird carrot that tasted between a new potato and a sweetcorn was Elliott’s favourite!! We bought candles and a big bag of rice as a gift for our family, then walked up to a temple called Patchatata (Father Earth) to watch the sunset, which was a spectacular sight. We also made a customary wish around the temple.

Dinner was again soup with rice and veggies, after which we got ready for the fiesta that the islanders were going to give us. We all had to get dressed up in the local garb and dance the local dance. It was quite funny!! There were unfortunately a large group of French school kids there and the local dancing quickly turned into the Conga, which then turned into a testosterone fuelled competition to see who could run around the fastest much to our Mama’s dismay. We shortly left after that and went to bed.

Elliott looking good in the local gear dancing with Mama

You haven’t really heard rain until trying to sleep through it in a building with a corrugated iron roof. Needless to say it was very loud and we didn’t sleep much!! After a pancake breakfast, we set off for the other island, Taquile. It was about an hour and a half ride over, then a steep walk up to the main square. We were given a quick spiel about the history of the island, namely the habits of the men and women to show their marital status. All sorts of different hats and hat positions are used for men and the women have to wear various sizes and shapes of pompom on their dress. Wives also have to walk 2 metres behind their husbands for some bizarre reason.

The beautiful island of Taquile

We had an overpriced lunch set for the western wallet, then got back on the boat for our 4 hour ride back to Puno. That night we ate lomo saltado (meat, rice, chips, veggies and gravy) in a local restaurant we’d found a few nights ago for a quid each, then went to bed.

The long ride back to Lima

There should be a rule that for any 22 hour bus ride you take, you must have had a GOOD shower beforehand and be wearing a clean set of clothes. Unfortunately the man behind us hadn’t adhered to these rules and the odour he was emitting was putrid. We had to ask the conductor to spray the bus after a few hours as it had gotten unbearable. Elliott gave off a few choice comments much to Gemma’s embarrassment but it really was disgusting.

Other than that, the journey was quite uneventful. After lots of bad movies with terrible Spanish dubbing and some mediocre food, we arrived in Lima at around 1pm. We got a taxi to our hostel and lay down on the beds where we effectively stayed put for 2 days straight.

Lima again

After what seems a very short 3 weeks in Peru, we were again back in Lima, but had little energy to do much. Constant travelling, hiking, travelling, boating and more travelling has left us pretty knackered. Despite all the good things Lima has to offer, we stayed in our hostel room, skyped lots of people, watched lots of TV and basically just monged out.

Energising in Rio

Our flight to Rio, as we had found out the day before we flew, had been changed but our travel agency didn’t fancy telling us. It basically meant that our connecting flight from Buenos Aires to Rio had been put back by about 9 hours. And despite the excessive airport tax charged at Buenos Aires airport there ain’t nothing to do!!! We arrived at 7.30am, slept on some uncomfy chairs, read, wrote this blog, read some more, slept some more, ate a bit (we’re both sick at the moment, hopefully not swine flu!!). By the time our flight took off at 7pm we were both thoroughly bored out of our minds and looking forward to the comfort of a mattress in Rio. Especially as we’re meeting up with our good friend Dave who is putting us up in his hotel room for free....at the Sheraton!!! SWEET!!

Rio Baby!!

After a nightmare journey we eventually arrived at the Sheraton where we met up with Dave. He’d managed to get a twin room for the 3 of us!! Absolute hero!! Without question the nicest place we’ve stayed all trip!! We met his flight crew down in the bar, then headed over the road to a beachside hut selling cans of beer for 80p. We chatted by the sea for a few hours until we eventually went to bed at around 2am.

The next day we got up and had an amazing shower (power and hot water has been a combination hard to come by over the last few months!!). We left the hotel and got on a bus heading to the famous Copacabana beach. We got there expecting lots of muscle clad bodies and bikini bottoms, but unfortunately just got lots of old fat people walking around in thongs. Obviously all the young good looking people are at work. We had a burger and a beer at another hut, then walked up the beach, dipping our feet in the sea.

Then for the main event. We got a taxi to the Corcovada tram station, where we bought our tickets to the top, to the impressive and famous statue of Christ the Redeemer. The tram was cool, heading up through the forests covering the hill. We arrived at the top and climbed the last few steps until we saw the statue in all its glory. At 30m high on top of a 2,400ft hill, it is an imposing figure over the city. We were impressed by not only its size but also the detail with which it has been created, not to mention the mini chapel underneath his feet!!

A good guy to be looking over you!!

We stayed up there for about an hour, taking the cheesy but necessary tourist photos of us flying in front of the statue and of the immense city and its unrivalled natural beauty, then headed back down and got a cab back to the hotel. Instead of soaking up the remaining rays of the day on the pristine beach in front of our hotel, we instead decided to give in to the amazing facilities of the Sheraton and lie by the heated pool. The super hot Jacuzzi wasn’t bad either. We slowly became prunes as we chatted and drank London Pride and wine that Dave had acquired from his flight over, as the sun went down over the skyline.

Sheraton hot tub...need we say more?!!

For dinner we went to a local Churrascaria. You basically sit down at your table and within minutes waiters have surrounded you with skewer after skewer of meat. After a while we had very full plates and very full stomachs and a table full of pilots and cabin crew. We had a fantastic evening then rolled ourselves back to the room.

Off to commemorate a legend

The next morning we left the comfort of the Sheraton early and just about made our flight after battling the Rio rush hour. We were heading to Ilheus to visit the final resting place of our hero Dad. Wish us luck for what will no doubt be a very tough and emotional week for us all.

Love Ells and Gem xx