So after walking 5km from Ica to Huacachina, we (Pablo, Krissia, Aleksi, Nathalie) found ourselves surrounded by sand dunes, and it certainly felt like we were in the desert as we continued walking under the hot sun, and soon came to a place with shaded trees and water in a distance. What a relief!
Located about 3 hours from Arequipa, this is a tour that is commonly promoted in Arequipa with one of the main attraction : to see the Andean Condors. I had originally wanted to do this trip free and easy, but with a sprained ankle, I felt it was best to do it via a tour.
The Colca Canyon can be done either on a 1 or 2 days tour, with exactly the same stops for both. The only difference is that in a 1 day tour, it departs at 3am, while it is at 8.30am for a 2 day tour.
Not wanting to have a rushed tour, I opted for the 2 day option. My tour group comprised of a total of 12 people (including me), and most of them were South American married couples, thus I felt rather out of place with minimal communication. I had the tour guide’s personal attention though as he had to translate everything to me in English personally.
Arequipa is promoted as a white city, reason being is that there are a number of buildings in the city which is made of the white volcanic stones. However I personally felt that the whiteness was not the kind of whiteness I experienced in Sucre, Bolivia. The whiteness was more off cream with greyish specks.
It was also a huge city just like Cusco, but I felt Cusco was much prettier as compared to Arequipa. Just the main square alone, it was more pleasant in Cusco than in Arequipa.
Not knowing anything about Peruvian wines, Percy said that Gran Tinto is one of the better Peruvian wines, and being a 2009 variety, it wasn’t too bad.
It is produced in Ica (which is where I am going next!), the wine region of Peru located about 300km from Lima.
Chifa is the common term used in Peru (and also in Bolivia it seems) to describe a place which cooks Chinese food.
So I left the decision of ordering to Percy, since the menu was in Spanish, and also because he has tried most of the food and could recommend better.
Last day in Cusco, and since my ankle is still slightly sore and extremely swollen, decided to take it easy, clear my emails and have a leisurely lunch with Washuma and Maria from Sweden (lunch was Indian buffet! Food was ok, though it seemed to lack the authentic Indian feel), before preparing my stuff to catch the 8 hour overnighter bus to Arequipa.
After hearing from Washuma his specialty drink, I pestered Washuma to make one for me before I leave, and I was glad he obliged.
So after 3.5 months in South America, I finally got to Machu Picchu. One of the 7 wonders of the world, it sure is worth the acclamation, and I can now tick this of my list!
I was also told to be at Machu Picchu at dawn or after 4pm, to avoid the crowd. With an entrance ticket for Wayna Picchu that requires me to be at Wayna Picchu’s entrance at 10am, I decided to be there first thing in the morning and have some time to wander around Machu Picchu before climbing Wayna Picchu.
Getting to Machu Picchu early in the morning meant that I will need to stay a night in Aguas Caliente (I find the name of this town rather strange, as it is literally translated to “Hot Water”!), a small town located at the foot of Machu Picchu.
Getting there was a little complicated however, as I had to take a 2hr ride on a mini van from Cusco to Ollantaytambo, before catching a 1.5hr scenic train ride to Machu Picchu. There is probably a direct train to Machu Picchu from Cusco, but it would have been way much more expensive.
If I had more time, I would have liked to spend a little more time in Ollantaytambo as the town looked really pleasant though compact. This is also the area of the Sacred Valley, where one can see some remains of the Inca ruins and other interesting sights.
So I invited Washuma to join me, his first time eating Korean food!
Food in Cusco seems to be on the more expensive side, and the Korean restaurant was no exception.
It was a good thing they had lunch specials so we ordered Beef Bulgogi on rice. As a typical Korean restaurant (it is run by Korean!), it came with a selection of kimchi, which was an extremely refreshing change from the typical South American food.
There were rows of juice stores, all filled with customers, and they don’t seem to differentiate themselves at all as the menu were all the same. So we settled at one of the stores and I ordered a glass of passion fruit, orange and pineapple juice.
It took a while to be prepared, and when it was served, it was tangy and refreshing… Yum!
Very pleasant for walking around and spending a few days here. A very touristy town though as most people who goes to Machu Picchu will highly likely spend a few days here. It is also the first time I see so many Asians in one location! Most of them seem to be from Japan or Korea.
I left Stefano's house at 7.45am to catch the 8.07am train to the airport, which later required switching to an airport shuttle from T2 ...
