Don't Worry Be Happy

Actually what they refer to as a 'cold front' from Patagonia has come through. Temperatures in the low 20s with humidity 100%.  We teased our guide Edwin about it being 'cold'.  To get to the Tambopata Lodge required a short plane ride from Cusco to Puerto Maldonado, a 45 min bus ride, then a 2 hour boat ride on the Tambopata River which flows about 1400 km before it reaches the Amazon. Then about 3000 km more to get to the Atlantic.  Puerto Maldonado is a large city (100,000) and most of it looks pretty grim by Canadian standards. Lots of corrugated metal and brick buildings but plenty of fertile land for growing a large variety of foods. Streets full of scooters and 'moto-cars': The bus we were on had to be escorted to the river with a police escort as the area is under a state of emergency due to gold panning - I’m assuming illegal panning and clashes between licensed gold panners.  The river is wide and muddy and the journey gave us our first glimpse of a wh...

....but I’m going to post them anyway. Of course photos can’t really do it justice and I’m glad I packed my wide angle lens.  From Aguas Calientes the bus takes about 20 mins up a road with 14 switchbacks (I counted). You can also walk up for about 2.5 hours. I’m not sure of the altitude change but it seemed pretty significant looking down from the bus.  If you don’t want to take the train and bus to Machu Picchu you can also do the 4 day Inka Trail hike which several in our group did. Due to my uncooperative knees, lack of toilets/running water and just general laziness we opted to stay a few extra days in Cusco instead.  Our first view of the famous ruins.       We still had to hike up to get the best view. Glad I took my hiking poles.  If you know me there’s not much I consider getting up before sunrise for. Fortunately t he sunrises a bit later and we were there for it. You are officially limited to 4 hours to visit the site but another limit on y...

The name of this town means hot water in Spanish as there are hot springs here. It’s the closest town to Machu Picchu and is nestled in a narrow valley. There are no roads leading here - it’s only accessible by train.  The train follows the fast flowing Urubamba River and is a very scenic ride. Evidence of Incan terracing and ruins as well as snow capped mountains can be seen along the 1.5 hour journey from Ollantaytambo.    The train has nice overhead windows to help you catch the mountain view.  At the entrance to the town.  There really isn’t much room to build in this narrow valley and you’d be hard pressed to find a small piece of flat land. The river runs right through the middle, the two sides connected by 3 or 4 bridges.      It was a beautiful day (as all our days have been so far) so we made our way to the hot springs. Along the way are these marvellous, huge carvings in the rocks depicting various important Incan symbols.  The hot...

There are some very distinctive culinary traditions in Peru. First of all they are avid meat eaters - that includes alpaca, llama and of course guinea pig which is sold at roadside stands roasted on a stick. Roasted chicken is very popular as is ceviche - fish ‘cooked’ in lime juice. At street stands you’ll find empanadas, churros and the corn with the giant niblets. Ceviche: Favourite drinks include Inka Kola, kind of a yellow cream soda, Coca tea is available everywhere, and as I mentioned before, Pisco Sour is the national drink.    On one of our unscheduled days in Cusco Ross and I couldn’t bear the thought of touring more ruins so we booked a cooking class which started at the market with our chef picking out some meat, fruit and veggies.  Back at the restaurant we started by making a Chilcano, another local drink. First we cut up then crushed some ginger and strawberries. Then Estevan added 2 ounces of Pisco, a liquor made from grapes, some ice, then topped with spa...