SUNDAY 11 October – Last night Sara told us how to get out to the Lambayeque museum so we take a taxi, PS10 (£2.20) directly there.  Now we realise that we went right past it on the bus yesterday and had we know this we could have got off and stayed in Lambayeque overnight.  The museum of the royal tombs opens at 9am, PS10 (£2.20) and we are the first in.  The building has been shaped like one of the tombs and inside we see many of the finds from the tombs and replicas of the burial chambers.  It is quite different from anything we have seen before and takes us almost an hour to get around.  Catch a collective PS2.20 (49p) each back to the city.  We keep thinking it is full but the conductor leans out of the window touting for more business until there are 17 of us jammed into the small mini bus.  Pick up our luggage then taxi PS2.50 (55p) to the Linea bus station.  We make it just on time to catch the 11am one to Trujillo, PS14 (£3.10) pp.  I am pretty tired but the landscape is so interesting I don’t want to miss anything.  It begins with flat desert that then becomes dotted with small grass covered sand dunes.  The villages have obviously appeared due to a water supply as they are surrounded by paddy fields.  Other crops being grown are tobacco, corn and sugar cane.  We’d been told that not all buses are the same quality but so far in Peru they have all been much the same and drivers have been very steady.  Arrive in Trujillo at 2.45pm and pick up another taxi PS10 (£2.20) to take us out to Huanchaco beach resort where Matt recommended Naylamp Hostal.  It is at the northern end of the promenade so should be quieter.  We take a simple room around a courtyard in the back and drop off our bags.  Many locals are at the beach but it is a cold and windy day so they are either sitting in their cars or out walking.  The one thing we have never seen before is the reed canoes that the local fishermen use.  It has a really holiday feel and even has a pier.  We check out a couple more hostals and book into the Ocean for tomorrow.  Their rooms are better than ours, have a TV as well and are cheaper.  Walking back we spot John & Sue in a bar.  They are on an organised day tour and have 20 minutes here so the odds of us spotting them were slim.  We talk to their tour guide and book on for tomorrow.  We eat at Naylamp then settle down for an early night.

HUANCHACO, NAYLAMP

PS50 (£11)

Monday 12 Oct. 09 – Trolley our bags along to Ocean Hostal where the extremely friendly owner stores them.  A colectivo (micro bus) costs PS1.5 (33p) to the edge of the city with the ubiquitous stops every few kilometres for the conductor to dash from the bus to a machine to get a card stamped and then back on – seems to be some sort of clocking on system.  Trujillo has some lovely colonial buildings especially surrounding the main square.  We are not sure what is happening there but lots of school groups are there in uniform and with instruments.  Making a quick tour of the highlighted sights doesn’t take too long.  Yes there are some nice buildings and churches but nothing that much different from what we have seen elsewhere.  Call into the Linea office and book our bus ticket to Lima for tomorrow morning leaving at 8.30am on the direct bus, PS35 (£7.70).  They have buses leaving almost every ½ hour in various categories from the economy right up to VIP cama cama which has beds.  We have opted for the cheapest comfortable one and the one the salesperson recommended for tourists.  At Hostal Colonial we pay for our tour, PS25 (£5.50) per person and at 11am board the mini bus.  We head out to the edge of the sandy desert where some temples have been discovered.  The Moche ruins from 400AD to 600AD include Huaca Del Sol, the largest adobe temple in the Americas but its interior has yet to be excavated.  Opposite is Huaca de la Luna with excavations revealing the remains of a town between them.   PS11 (£2.40) gets you into Huaca de la Luna and you must have a guide to go round which is one of the reasons we did a tour.  Evers gives a great explanation of how this ceremonial temple is actually 4 temples one on top of another in the form of an inverse pyramid.  The first temple was the smallest and when the king died the rooms were filled in with adobe stones, a new surrounding wall made outside the existing one and a new temple built on top.  Excavations have shown that this happened 4 times but little survived of the top layer as the desert sand and winds eroded it.  It is easy to see the other layers with magnificent coloured wall carvings.  The whole set up reminds us much of Egypt and although not as impressive it is better than we expected.  Back in the city the tour pauses at Sombrero restaurant for lunch (not included).  It may be a tourist restaurant but most of the diners are Peruvians.  They put on a dance show and also drag some unsuspecting tourists up in “Generation Game” style to try and copy them.  The afternoon tour is to the Chan Chan complex, PS11 (£2.40) for all parts of the site, except the museum is closed on Mondays.  From 1100AD Huaca Arco Iris o Dragon has been excavated and renovated so you can see the rainbow and dragon wall carvings that give it the name.  Out in the desert the Chan Chan palace of Nik An covers a huge area with excavations revealing walls about 1 metre high.  We are escorted round by an additional guide, Toby a dog that is of the same breed that would have been here 1000 years ago – a hairless dog with big pointed ears.  Chan Chan, the capital of the Chimu Empire, is an area of around 20km with numerous palaces yet to be excavated.  The tour ends at Huanchaco beach where we peel off and head to our new room. 

HUANCHACO 2, OCEANO

PS30 (£6.60)

TUESDAY 13 October – By 7.15am we are on bus “H”, PS1.20 (27p) which takes us right to the Linea bus station arriving just before 8am.  It is a fancy bus station with free Wi-Fi, and as you board the bus there is a security camera check and finger printing.  You have to put your right “peter pointer” finger into the ink then print it on a plan of the bus seats to show which seat you are in.  The “directo” is a very comfortable bus, fewer seats than normal so more legroom.  Set off at 8.45am heading out into the desert.  Again near towns there are farming areas and in one village we see a side street full of carrots drying out.  There is a 40 minute stop for lunch at a restaurant with reasonably priced meals but we didn’t know about this so have already had a picnic on the bus but manage to fit in an ice cream from the street stall.  In the afternoon we ask the conductor if he can put English subtitles on with the movie so that helps pass the time.  Nearing Lima the scenery is stunning with steep sand hills dropping sharply into the ocean and the road cut into the side of them.  We reach the outskirts of Lima at ¼ to 5 but the traffic is terrible.  The population of the capital city is around 8m with half the people living in poor conditions and this is the area of the city we reach first.  2-hours and about 30km later we reach the city centre bus depot.  A total journey time of 10 hours instead of the 8 ½ quoted.  It is just about dark so we get ourselves into a taxi, PS10 (£2.20) out to the Miraflores suburb where our host lives.  It is less than 8km away but takes the best part of an hour.  Mauricio lives in the “Happy Home”, an old building he leases then sublets rooms.  At the moment he has 3 French people, a Welsh girl and some Americans staying.  He has been really kind and moved out of his en-suite room to give it to us.  It is on the roof top and a bit like a cabin leading onto the roof terrace.  Miraflores is the new suburb of town and very modern compared to the centre.  It is also a very safe area so we walk out to Parque Kennedy and stop for a meal.  There are a few things we want to do here but having seen how busy the traffic is and how cold it is in the city we intend to try and get them all done tomorrow so we can move on.

LIMA, MIRAFLORES, COUCHSURFING WITH MAURICIO

WEDNESDAY 14 October – There was a short lull of traffic noise during the night but not for long.  All the vehicles hoot the minute there is a car in front of them.  Road rules definitely don’t apply here but when people cut across in front or cut in there doesn’t seem to be any problem.  You certainly have to drive with a view that anything can happen at the front or the side of you at any time.  We take a bus, PS1.20 (27p) to get near to the city centre then walk.  There are some very elaborate churches and the main square is surrounded by beautiful buildings.  Nearby the San Francisco church has catacombs and a combined ticket, PS10 (£2.20) gets us a tour of the monastery, museum and catacombs where 70,000 people were buried.  The bones have been dug up and placed by type in the shallow graves.  There is a changing of the guard at the Presidential Palace at 11.45 but few people gather to watch it making the Police with riot shields look a bit silly.  The guards have nice uniforms, there’s a band piping the old duty off and new one on but they need a bit more co-ordination with their goose step style marching.   In China town we get a good buffet at the China Salon, PS26 (£5.70) then try to walk it off by cutting back across the city towards the bus depot.  En route we can’t resist ducking into the free bank museum (numismic, archaeological finds, paintings and local wares) and death museum (a fancy coffin plus pictures and paintings of cemeteries).  One of the problems in Peru is that each bus company has a depot in a different part of town so it is really difficult to compare buses and prices.  Cruz Del Sur is known to have one of the best bus companies, and the most expensive, but their depot is easy to get to.  End up booking their coach to Nazca for tomorrow morning, PS66 (£15).  We take a bus out to Miraflores and get off near the beach area.  It surprises us to find we are on a cliff top a hundred or so feet above the ocean.  All along there is a promenade linking various parks.  If it weren’t so cold and windy I guess it would be very pleasant.  One of the parks is to commemorate love with a huge statue of a couple lying down kissing and a long ceramic curving seat with the names of couples.  Further along is a park where people jump off to paraglide, at PS150 (£33) I would be tempted were it not so flipping cold.  Arrive back at the Happy Home just before dark. 

LIMA 2, MIRAFLORES

THURSDAY 15 Oct. 09 – Up at 6.30am and take a taxi to the bus station, PS8 (£1.80).  There is not much traffic so we arrive early and manage to change to the 7am bus.  This time we get a hand baggage security check boarding the bus then someone comes round with a video camera!  We can see what we are paying extra for, leg rests, blankets, pillow, meals and internet.  Well the Internet doesn’t work and the leg rests are not so comfortable in the long term and the breakfast of an olive sandwich, a cheese roll and a tart was no great shakes so maybe the cheaper buses are good enough for us.  Heading south we pass many nice looking beach resorts that we a/ wished we had known about and b/ had time to check out.  Arriving in Nazca at 2pm we are immediately assaulted by people at the bus station trying to sell us flights over the famous Nazca lines, accommodation or other tours.  Last night Mauricio phoned up our Couchsurfing host in Nazca to confirm arrangements and Javier volunteered to meet us at the bus station at 2.30pm.  By 3pm there is no sign of him and his mobile phone is switched off.  Later his phone is on but not being answered and by 4pm we figure something is wrong so check into The Walk On Inn.  The rooms are very basic but they are very welcoming and the inn has everything a backpacker needs and more including a small indoor swimming pool.  Walking around Nazca we get lots of people trying to sell us tours or get us into their restaurants but at least they accept our refusals.  Settle on a nice restaurant for our evening meal but even there the Dutch waiter Ronald tries to sell us a flight and tours.  At least he manages to offer us the flight at $46 when everyone is selling it for $50 and the best previous offer was $48pp.  We are ready to book anyway so take him up on the deal for 7am tomorrow.  Catch a street parade of children and floats whilst we are eating our meal.

NAZCA, THE WALK ON INN www.walkoninn.com

PS50 (£11)

FRIDAY 16 Oct. 09 – We have had a bad night, having asked for a quiet room at the back of the hostel we find there is a local house beneath our window and they played loud music until after midnight.  Then from 4am onwards we were surrounded by cockerels (or as Natasha would say cockroaches) crowing.  Ronald meets us just before 7am, for our flight over the mysterious Nazca lines, and takes us out to the airport.  When we get there we realise he hasn’t actually booked us onto a flight but is going from desk to desk to get a deal – in fact this is what we should have done ourselves.  Anyway including airport tax we pay PS150 (£33) each and go with Aero Palcazu taking off in a Cessna C206 5-seater plane at 8am.  Our flight takes us over more than a dozen figures and to make sure everyone gets a good view the pilot circles over them clockwise then anti clockwise so steeply that the wing is almost vertical to the ground.  Each was drawn with one continuous line by dragging something over the stones to reveal the lighter sand underneath.  They are an amazing sight and you can clearly see the 110 metres monkey, 46 metres spider, lots of birds and other symbols.  The largest figure we see is the parrot at 200 metres long.  Our flight lasts 30 minutes and I half wish we had done the longer one.  Return to our room until check out time at 12.30.  Take a walk around town intending visiting the museum but it is PS15 (£3.30) pp and we have no idea what it is or if there is info in English so give it a miss.  Pick up one of the “lucky dip” lunch deals at PS6 (£1.35) and get a nice soup, good main meal and drink.  Spend the rest of the afternoon by the swimming pool then in the lounge killing time until our coach departure.   Arriving at the Cial depot we hear our coach will not be leaving at 8pm as it will be late arriving from Lima.  In fact we don’t leave until 9.15pm but at least it is a nice coach much the same as the ones used by Cruz del Sur but at PS100 (£22) rather than PS140 (£32).   It is already dark but we can tell we are making a steep climb with lots of switchbacks and nothing but sheer rock face ahead of us.  It is really slow progress made worse by heavy fog.  The evening meal is cold rice and chicken which we turn down to be given a small bread roll with jam and a coke.  Although the coach set up is similar to that on an aeroplane the food is definitely worse.  Watch a movie then settle down to try to doze.  It is not easy as the bus sways around the bends and we also stop 3 times with the drivers getting out and walking round the coach which is a bit of a worry.

CIAL BUS FROM NAZCA TO CUSCO

SATURDAY 17 October – Neither of us gets much sleep so are glad when dawn breaks around 5am and we can enjoy the view.  We are now high up in the Andes but seem to continue climbing or driving along valleys then making another climb over a mountain range.  Many times we are actually above the clouds and it quite spectacular.  Breakfast is a jam roll and coke followed by a couple of movies.  We are more than happy to arrive in Cusco at 1.15pm after our 15-hour journey.  Although we have tried to break the long coach journeys up into smaller stretches in this instance there is no choice.  We hop into a taxi to Ronald’s, our Couchsurfing host.  As we reach the area where he lives the road is closed for a big religious procession.  The taxi driver circles around and can’t seem to find a way through at which point we hear a voice calling out to us in English.  Ronald is chasing us up the street, hops into the taxi and leads us to the nearest place to his home.  We get out and walk and Ronald immediately throws Steve’s heavy rucksack on his back saying it is no trouble for him to carry as he is a porter.  Ronald and his brother Willie both work as tour guides, Willie a recently qualified official one and Ronnie still unofficial.  They share a flat and have a spare bedroom for guests.  They offer us coca tea to help reduce the effects of altitude sickness (3500M) and give us lots of information about the area.  It seems that in Cusco they have packaged 16 tourist sites into one ticket, a great idea but except it costs $45 (£30) whether you do 1 or all of them (and this does not include Machu Picchu which is a further $40 (£27).  However Ronald convinces us it is the way to go in conjunction with bus tours that take us to the sites.  He suggests we have a late nap which we are happy to do and we are so weary and cold that we don’t even bother to undress.  Reckon we must smell pretty rank after our night on the bus but who cares?  Apparently being weary is one of the effects of altitude sickness which often seems like a hangover.  The other thing we have both noticed which isn’t mentioned in the book is that we get loads of crusty dry bogies up our noses!  Early evening they suggest going out for a meal and we are joined by their other Couchsurfing guest Kyle from America.  At the local restaurant we get soup, main course and coffee for PS5 (£1.10) and it is not bad at all.  After a brief walk around the area and a view of the city by night we are ready for bed.

CUSCO, COUCHSURFING WITH RONNIE.

SUNDAY 18 OCTOBER – We feel better after a good sleep and a shower and ready to hit the town.  Ronnie & Willie guide us down the hill dropping our laundry off en route.  Arrive in the San Francisco square with a nice church.  Next on the agenda is breakfast up one of the side streets, P2.50 (55p).  It is similar to the lunch and evening menu with full meals so I opt for fresh trout which comes, as always, with rice, a slice of cucumber, one of tomato and a few raw onions.  Included in the price is a bread roll and coffee so we can understand why the lads don’t bother to cook at home.  At the moment I am finding that I want to eat food but only a little and would rather have a very small snack every couple of hours.  I am sure we are eating too much rice and bread but this is so often the tradition.  On our own we are trying to eat fruit and yoghurt.  We want to buy our train tickets to Machu Picchu (you can book on line www.perurail.com) and at the station find we cannot get on the back packer train the day we want so have to delay until Wednesday to go.  The price is $31 (£20) pp each way for the 1-1/2hour journey from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes.  The full journey is from Cusco but that is more expensive and adds another 3-hour to cover a not very interesting part of the line.  Top of the range is the Hiram Bingham class with full silver service dinner at just $500 (£300) return.  Ronnie leads us through the town pointing out interesting places and we are lucky to catch the army ceremony in the main square.  The historical district of Cusco is really nice.  We meet up with Kyle to walk to the bus stop.  I hear a barking dog and the next thing I know it is hanging off my calf.  I shout out and it runs away, Luckily I have trousers on so only have a tiny puncture mark and cover It with hand sanitizer.  Tipon is about ¾ hour bus ride, PS1 (22p) into the country.  It is Sunday so we are going to have a traditional roast dinner and in Tipon this means roast guinea pig.  The delicacy is much cheaper here than in the city and cooked better.  Ronnie & Willie select a restaurant where 1 whole guinea pig, jacket potato, spaghetti and a stuffed pepper costs PS20 (£4.40).  I blank my mind to the fact that we have had them as pets and first try the shoulder of guinea pig.  It is a black meat and very dry so I move onto the leg which is a bit like chicken.  I still think it is way over rated so pass my half over to Steve.  The lads demolish theirs leaving just a small pile of bones on their plates.  Using the jaw bones they then have fun creating funny sculptures; in fact the bird one is really good!  In Tipon there is an archaeological site that is included in our Cusco ticket so the others head back to the city and we take a taxi up to the site, PS8 (£1/75), 20 minutes drive on a dirt road up a steep hill.  It is the only working example of Inca irrigations system and we are impressed at the sight of lots of terraces with water being fed into channels down the terrace and across each field.  The taxi down is only PS5 (£1.10) and the bus back to town PS1 (22p).  This is one of the buses the locals call “bread on bread” as you are packed as tight as a loaf of sliced bread.  We have about ½ walk back to the historic district then kill time on the Internet, PS1 (22p) hour, until the theatre opens.  Again included in our ticket is a cultural show.  It is really not our scene but nice to see the different traditional costumes.  In the interval you are invited to look at the costumes in the museum and it is really funny to notice they are all on models that are taller than me.  I have yet to see anyone round here that even comes to my shoulders.  By the 5^th dance we have had enough and take a taxi back to Ronnie’s. 

CUSCO 2, COUCHSURFING WITH RONNIE

MONDAY 19 October – Take a taxi down to “Qorikancha site museum” to begin our tour of the attractions included in the ticket.  It is a very small museum with nothing to hold our attention.  At the “Museum of Popular Art” surprises us as we really like the displays of quirky sculptures.  In the “Museum of contemporary art” we see sculptures made out of bones which is probably where Ronnie & Willie got their guinea pig sculpture idea from.  There’s a separate admission fee of PS10 (£2.20) for the Inka Museum has been recommended to us a here we see trepanned skulls.  These are fractured skulls that have been repaired by way of a hole being made then filled and soldered with gold and silver enabling the person to live.  The museum is within the Admirals Palace and the exhibition takes you through some very nice rooms.  It is lunch time and we head up the hill towards San Blas and come across Toqokatchi restaurant with interesting PS10 (£2.20) and PS15 (£3.30) 2 course menu plus a drink.  It is a very cosy place and we order from each menu with Steve trying Alpaca steak in a creamy rosemary sauce whilst I get a nice trout fillet.  The dearer menu even includes are large glass of wine and we both really enjoy the meal.  Further along Carmen Alto we see “Edilberto Merlda Rodrigueza” studio and find it is a lot of the work that we saw in the popular art museum.   His daughter shows us around and explains her father died 4 months ago but his work represents the Indians with characteristic big hands and feet to show how hard they work.  Return to the main square to meet up with Ronnie as he has booked us on the afternoon City Tour, PS20 (£4.40).  Our guide Carlos does his talk in English and Spanish.  First stop Koricancha, PS10 (£2.20) a most impressive buildings where the Santo Domingo Convent used an existing Inca temple and adapted it to their own. Originally the interior was coated with gold plate and the outside wall topped with a cornice of gold all of which was pilfered by the Spanish.  We are not the only group going round and it is very difficult to hear the talk and to actually see much.  Heading out of town up the hill we arrive at Sacsayhuaman (sounds a bit like sexy woman).  This is the next 3 sites are included in the Cusco ticket.  When Cusco was first built it was in the shape of a Puma and this area was the head.  The fortress edges are in a zig zag shape to show the animal frowning.  Here they unearthed some skulls that showed Inca skills at dentistry with missing teeth replaced by pieces of stone in the poor people and gold or silver in the richer ones.  Not only is it an impressive site but we get stunning views over Cusco.  Qenko is a large limestone outcrop with natural passageways and caves.  Puca Pucara is a lookout area also used for stop over’s by runners.  Tambo Machay is a temple of the waters where the water of youth flows out of a fountain.  The entry path is lined with vendors and it is extremely touristy but fairly interesting although the best of them all for me was Sacsayhuaman.  On the way back to town we stop off at factory outlets with local wares.  This means we head down the hill in the dark to be greeted by the wonderful spectacle of Sacsayhuaman by floodlight. 

CUENCA 3, COUCHSURFING WITH RONNIE

TUESDAY 20 October – Today we are doing the Sacred Valley Tour, PS30 (£6.60) so Ronnie & Willie take the taxi down town with us to get us onto the bus and recommend the left hand side for the best views.  We are taking all our baggage with us as one of the stops on the tour is Ollantaytambo and we are getting off there to stay the night.  We retrace our route from yesterday past the ancient sites.  Our first stop is a village craft market where prices are said to be good.  Don’t know about the crafts but the large glass of freshly squeezed orange juice at PS1 (22p) is terrific.  There is also a market in Pisac and we have time to wander around but from the minute we arrive and find they charge PS1 (22p) for the toilet when it is normally half that and double the normal price for empanadas we realise it is just for the tourists. The ruined citadel on the hill is spectacular with a 98 tier Inca terrace running down from it.  You have to walk 2km to see the citadel and it is quite a hike with lots of steps but the view is fantastic.  There is even the Temple of the Sun at the top.  The tour takes us along the valley with a stop for lunch then on to Ollantaytambo.  The bus comes to a halt at roadworks and Carlos our guide announces that we can go no further and must walk the rest of the way.  We have our entire luggage with us so I quickly pack up the stuff we have on board whilst Steve goes out to collect the bags.  Carlos immediately takes a hold of Steve’s heavy rucksack enabling us to carry the rest between us.  Most of the streets are cobbled and a bit slippy as it has been raining.  The main square has been completely dug up as has the last stretch of road to the ruins.  We have to clamber down make shift steps and slip and slide down a muddy slope.  Normally we check out a few hostals but under the circumstances we need to check into one quickly to leave the bags.  At this point I realise I have left my handbag on the bus and it has the site admission tickets in it.  Carlos tells Steve to return to the bus which should be in the same place whilst other people help with our bags.  Luckily we have been given the name of Hostal Kuychi down a cobbled pedestrian street off the square immediately in front of the ruins.  They leave me there with the bags and say to join them at the site as soon as we can.  Luckily the rooms at PS50 (£11) are very pleasant so I explain the handbag problem to the girl and she allows me to pick and room and leave our stuff in and check in later.  I wander back to try and find Steve to no avail so return to the square.  I then see Steve in the distance, race towards him to find that he has returned to where we were dropped off but the coach has moved.  I suggest he goes looking for it whilst I wait at the square until the tour returns.  Next I see Carlos on the hill waving to me, he runs down the terraces and comes out to tell me he could see the bus moving off and has phoned the driver to learn it is now in the main square.  I race after Steve but get stuck behind a funeral procession.  I locate the bus and my bag but have little chance of finding Steve in the maze of side streets.  About ½ hour later he returns to the square, not happy but relieved that we have my bag.  We enter the site and soon catch up with Carlos and our group.  This is another terraced site but almost curved around the edge of the valley.  Many of the nearby rocks have faces in them and it is all really nice.  Carlos fills us in on the talks we missed and we carry on with the group around the agricultural terrace and past various buildings.  Return to our hotel room for a quick shower then wander into town.  We are surprised to see a small monkey wandering freely around the side streets but of course we are at the edge of the jungle now.  Was it not for all the road works it would be really lovely exploring although I think Steve probably saw most of the town earlier.  We have to be up at 4am tomorrow so return for an early night. 

OLLANTAYTAMBO, HOSTAL KUYCHI PUNKU

PS50 (£11)