We arrived in Puno after an all-morning bus ride.
Later in the day we had a short orientation walk (short, as there is not too much to see in Puno), then some food and finally we did some shopping for the next day (mainly presents for our hosts for the upcoming home stay at Lake Titicaca).
The world cup was finally over, Italy had beaten France – and the group had decided to to get into Cuzco at night …
Today we – once more – had an early morning – to be at the airport in time for our flight back to Cuzco – and another 2+ hours boat ride before that.
After our arrival in Cuzco the group more or less split into two parts – as could be expected for the day with the Worldcup finals. One part of the group went straight into a pub to watch the game, while the others enjoyed food at Jack’s, some last-minute sightseeing and the empty streets of Cuzco.
This gallery contains 16 photos.
Today was dedicated to two excursions. In the morning we enjoyed a small walk through the jungle, enriched with many explanations about the local flora and fauna, as well as some maggots and a boat ride on a lake. In … Continue reading
Today we – once more – left Cuzco in the early morning. The group got split in two parts as the first plane was already booked out. I was on the first plane (LAN Peru, with the second group following on an AeroCondor flight). After we landed in Puerto Maldonaldo, we found ourselves in a new environment, at low altitude (around 1300m above sea level) and in a warm and humid climate.
The people of our lodge did pick us up at the airport and drove us into town; here they gave us a short tour before we headed to the port to jump on a boat for our transfer to the lodge about 30km out of town.
After arrival at the lodge we got a short introduction, lunch and also had the time for a swim in the COLD swimming pool. We then met again in the early afternoon to go on a trip to Monkey Island; later in the evening (after lunch in the dark), we had the opportunity to go caiman spotting.
Today was the day, after we had made it back from the Inca Trail – so after a nice shower and a night of good sleep. All of us took it easy today and decided to just go for the organized tour through the Sacred Valley close to Cuzco.
Our first stop was at an Inca ruin in Ollantaytambo, followed by a visit of a Chicha brewery (Chicha is an alcoholic drink made from fermented corn – kind the local beer).
In the Chicha place we also had the chance to try playing Sapo, a local, traditional game played in bars. Goal is to throw a coin to a small table with holes, each hole represents points – the maximum number of points is given, when the coins lands in the mouth of a metal frog in the middle of this table. Of course we had to try this game.
After having had lunch, we left Pisac and stopped at a Llama/ Alpaca center. We have been shown the animals and the production process for llama and alpaca clothing. In the end we had the chance to buy some llama and alpaca goods at the highest prices I have seen in Peru (so a tourist trap – what else to expect).
On the way back to Cuzco we had another stop at the ruin site of Sacsaywaman.
This gallery contains 16 photos.
After sunrise we continued for another 2km to get into Machu Pichu. Here we did enjoy a tour led by Pepe, after which we had time on ourselves. Most of us used some of this time to climb Huayna Picchu … Continue reading
Today we had an early morning, waking up at 04:00 to be ready to start hiking at 05:00. Our target was to be at the sungate (Intipunku, 4km away) in time to view the sunrise over Machu Pichu.
This gallery contains 32 photos.
Everyone expected this night – at 3600m above sea level the one at highest elevation – to be freezing. However it turned out okay. We set off after an omelette breakfast. This third day was the day with the longest … Continue reading
This gallery contains 12 photos.
We left Wayllabamba after a great pancake breakfast – all of us looking forward for the 1200m elevation gain for Dead Women’s Pass / Warmimanuska – up to 4200m. It was pretty cold with the sun still being behind the … Continue reading