Peru with Truus

And there she was: my friend of twenty years from Holland.

Truus

Two weeks were ours; two weeks we could drink tea, eat bread and discover Peru.

Truus and I with the first of many cups of tea.

For 30 cents you can do a cuppa now and then eh?

NAZCA AND IT'S MYSTERIOUS LINES

It all started with her backpack not arriving, so we had to spend an extra day in boring Lima. But after those first 24 hours waiting and a nightbus of more then seven hours we arrived in the big Pampa Colorado in the town of Nasca.

I think that most of us have heard of the famous Nasca Lines. This great archaeological mystery consists of over 800 straight lines, 300 geometric figures (geoglyphs) and 70 spectacular animal and plant drawings (biomorphs). The lines are made by removing the darker sun-dried crust to the side to expose the lighter soil below, this over an area of 500 sq km.

The little plain that showed us the mystery from above.

Those figures are of course best appreciated from above, so every day many little planes carry four to six tourist per time into the air, to make a circle of: the monkey, hummingbird, astronaut, lizard, dog, condor, spider and many more.

The Hummingbird

Truus' and mine conclusion was that those ancient lines were made out of respect for the animals, as a part of ritual to honor their surroundings and maybe also a little out of boredom. Why else do we paint, make jewelry or grow flowers?


Traditional dancers and their band with an Arpa (the big instrument).

We were lucky to run into Nazca's cultural festival. Many dance performances were given by little kids and adults in draditional dress. A huge funfair (with the biggest amount of football tables ever) gave the air a colorfull light and Mazamora and Ponche were our new discoveries to eat.

SHOPPING IN CUSCO

During the 12 hour bus ride to Cusco we encountered a protest of students.

The bus brought us in fast tempo from sea level to 3326m above. It gave a nasty sick feeling during the ride and made our hearts beat fast to get more air with less oxygen.

Cusco is a the place where Manco Capac, the first inca, could plunge a golden rod into the ground untill it disappeard. He had found the navel of the earth (qosq'o in the Quechua language).

It became the thriving capital of the Inca empire, starting around 1100 AD and ended by the Spaniards in 1532.

Me in front of the famous, well-fitted, 12-sided stone in one of the many inca walls.

Almost all main churches in Peru are build on top of the Inca tempels. The Spaniards ruined all marvelous buildings, robbed everything from it's gold and precious stones and smashed statues and pottery that had spiritual value for the Inca's.

If you walk through Cusco you can still see the original inca walls with their technically brilliant fitting stones though.

Dried Llama foutussen for offering to mother earth.

Inside the big market.

One of our many cups of coca-tea, they say it helps with the altitude.

The main plaza in Cusco.

After this day roaming around we came home a bit poorer but very colorfull.

THE ANCHIENT CITY OF MACHU PICCHU

Underway with the bus to Santa Maria, the first stop of three on the way to Machu Picchu.

During the years of 1438 to 1470, the ninth inca, Pachacutec, embarked upon agressive empire building. Machu Picchu is one of the mountaintop citadels build in this period.

It's desolated location and the overgrown jungle kept it hidden untill American historian Hiran Bingham stumbled upon it in 1911 while being guided around by locals.

These days it's the prime destination of all tourists to Peru, the cherry on the cake as we say. And righteous so. It's a place of great grandeur and the location it absolutely stunning.

To get here, most people take a train in the morning to just have enough time to see the main ruins and see the site from the 'caretakers hut' for the famous postcard-picture, but this option costs (this year) minimum $104. Others, with time, walk the three day Inca-trail or one of the similar routes. A beautiful hike over high passes with other peole that carry your food, tent and other needs. The fourth day you visit the ruins and you take the last train back to Cusco, a tour of at least $300 to $400.

Truus and I would have loved to hike, but time was too short (and I REALLY dislike hiking in a group with (slow) strangers) and the wallet not so thick. So we opted for DIY.

First you take a 6 hour bus to Santa Maria, then you share a colectivo (car or minibus) to Santa Marta along a gravel road. From here you take another colectivo to a hydroelectric plant along an even worse gravel road. At this point the road stops and the railroad track starts (or ends, how ever way you look at it). Two hours of uneven steps brings you to the touristy town of Agua Calientes. You can do this trip by organized tour for $180 or by yourself for $10 or less.

It's not difficult, many others step the same way and it takes only one day to get there.

Truus and I during the two hour train-tracks-hike.

First entrance, mystical fog covers the grounds and llamas keep the grass short.

At 4:30am you hike with a few more diehards the steps to the entrance (about one hour, you can also take a $7 bus) to enter the site before sunset and get tickets to climb Wayna Picchu, the mountaintop behind the site.

My favorite time of this day, 5pm, sunset and no more tourist. It was so quiet with only the birds and chewing llama's.

We walked so much this day, trying to see all there is to see. Sadly we missed eachother when I came back from a little solo-expedition, so from ten till three we both did our own things untill Truus found me talking to some moss scrapers (cleaning the walls).

Alpaca meat: tastes almost the same as beef.

We ended the day in town with soar calves from all the Inca stairs, but with a traditional Alpaca (family of the llama) steak and very very good new memories.

CUSCO AND THE DAY OF THE VIRGEN NATIVIDAD

We were lucky again to be back in Cusco with the celebration of the Virgen Natividad. A huge fest with lots of fryed Cuy (guinea pig), sparkling suits, glittering dresses and colorfull ornaments. A huge parade went through town and all woman made swaying motions while the man had whole dances.

PUNO AND THE CHULLPAS

At the market to drink 'un Especial Extra'

This drink contains truly all the protein you might need: eggs, raisins, beer, milk, sugar, extract from Algarrobo (is from a plant and makes you strong), maca powder (good for your brain/memory), papaya, carrot and banana's. Yes, it tastes good and fills you for several hours.

The traditional hats that all woman wear and which never fall from their head. It really looks like they are glued on.

Our next expedition went to the Cutimbo Chullpas.

This site has square and cylindrical funerary towers made by the Colla, Lupaca and Inca Cultures.

The Cutimbo Chullpas: Funerary towers.

This dramatic wind-swept site has an extraordinary position atop a table-topped volcanic hill surrounded by a fertile plain, now yellow in the dry season, but totally green in the rainy time.

LAGO TITICACA AND ITS SPECIAL ISLANDS

For two days/one night we went island hopping on tremendously blue lake Titicaca.

There is almost no way you can avoid the other admirers and I had to swallow a few times by the sight of all the tourists that made thousands of the same photo's and the locals who know how to tell the most sad stories to get your simpathy....... and money.

First stop were the floating islands of the Uros people. Made from two meters of Totora roots tightly packet with earth which they cut out in the deeper parts, and ontop of that dried totora reed, also two meters or more. This makes walking very bouncy. I absolutely loved it! You can just run on bare feet, fall and sit super comfortably. The botom part of this reed is eadable too, it tastes watery.

Their houses, souveniers and boats are also made of this material.

A Totora reed boat takes a month to make and holds for one to two years.

The woman wear huge pompoenen in their hair.

Bouncing about.

One of the many islands, they tigh them down on the botom, a 3 to 12 meter freedive.

Traditional Quechua-speaking Amantani islanders on the dock.

A three hour boatride brought the group to Isla Amantani. About 4000 people live here in ten comunities. Upon arrival many beautiful dressed woman stand on the dock in the hope they get a few tourists for the night. There is not a lot you can do yourself, without doing a tour it's still arranged. And you pay good for the three potato meals with fried eggs and delicious soup: $8.30 (in comparison with $4 for a way better bed with breakfast in Puno.)

But our family was very nice, Celia, the 17-year old daughter had a daughter who became three months and was riskfree for early-birth death. So we helped her pick a name. They don't name their babies before this date.

Celia making a cape.

The island was dry, in beautiful contrast with the lake and air and full with traditionally dressed peole and their sheep. There is not enough food for cows, and because every little piece of earth is used for agriculture they don't want chicken who scretch all the seeds up.

The islands are full with super old arches and steps leading to old ruins where chamans make offers to Pachamama and Pachatata the second Thursday in Januari.

In one of those ruins we found a funny little woman who made us Muña tea and Picarones.

The boys drinking sweet Muña and Tortorchi in the morning before school.

On the next Island: Isla Taquile

A very old Tequile habitant, who made his own hat.

At the island of Tequile the man make their own hats (and now many more for tourists) while the woman spin the wool, make colofull waistbands and also knit and croshe whatever you might need for the cold nights.

LAST STOP: LAMPA

The day started with a gorgeous sunrise from our beds, we had a huge window with this view.

The ghoulishly decorated tomb of Don Enrique Torres Belon.

For our last day we took a colectivo to the small pink-buidings town of Lampa. The really pretty church in this place has two strange things: first of all it still has Inca catacombs below, not much, more a damp cellar with one hallway, and secondly it has a huge domed tomb constructed by Don Belon who decorated his own 'grave' with skeletons and skulls of spanish goldmine workers from the graveyard nearby. Brrrr.

More cheery times: Every Saturday everyone gets married and peppered with confetti.

One of the many llamas along the walk to Cueva de los Toros

This little girl came along as guide and shared our fruit. She knew so much.

On the way back we hitched a ride with a truck full of Alpaca's, Truus' best moment of the two weeks.

For the second time (near Machu Picchu we slept two nights in the tent as well) we pitched my little tent in some ruins and cuddled close against the cold.

Selfmade guacamole in the tent.

Well, and that was it. A last day to organize in Juliaca where Truus would fly the next morning to Lima to catch her plane to Amsterdam in the afternoon.

There is no doubt she saw the best and most beautiful of Peru.

Bedankt Truus, voor het dragen van al die extra's, voor het luisteren, voor het vertrouwen in je vertellen en je inzichten die alleen iemand die me 20 jaar kent kan hebben.

Ik hou van je.