South America

Lake Titikaka is the largest lake in South America and the largest lake in the world above 2000m. I am in Puno, on the edge of the lake, at 3700m. Last night I stayed on one of the islands in a 'homestay' with a family. It was wonderful, one of the best bits of this trip so far!

To start the story though. On Monday we left Cusco and took a 6 hour bus ride to Puno. I was worried about this bus journey. If it had been in England or on a greyhound bus in Australia this would not have been the most comfprtable ride...however this is South America and they do bus journeys well! The seats were larger and more comfortable than those in economy on aeroplanes and had more leg room, so you didn't feel bad tipping your seat back. They served us with coffee and a little snack of a chocolate bun and some crackers. They also played us 2 films: Cold Mountain and a crap one that I can't remember the name of. This all meant that I was almost sorry that the 6 hours was up when we got to our destination!

Puno is very much poorer than any of the other places that we have stopped in so far. The majority of the houses are built from mud and straw bricks and only a few have plastered or painted them, otherwise the individual bricks are visible and it seems amazing that they last through the wet season! The centre of this small port, however, is rather more western and the 'hotel' that I am staying in is built using bricks and plaster!

My Lake Titikaka experience started yesterday at 730am when we left in rickshaws to get to the port and catch the boat to the first island of Taquile. First though we had to purchase some gifts for our host family of rice, sugar, oil and powdered milk. So then on to the boat where we were briefed by our local guide, Giscard (so called because of all the terrorist problems they had in the 70s/80s where those with the same names as the terrorists had big problems).

So after 3 hours (24km) we arrived at Isla Taquile, famous for its pre-Inca origins and beautiful textiles. They have many interesting customs which still survive today, and they still wear their traditional outfits, even the men which is unusual so far this trip. It was very interesting to see how they embrace both the catholic religion, bought to them by the Spanish, and their original believes about 'Pacha Mama' (mother earth). They run the tourism on their island like a cooperative business, so all the textiles made by the families are sold in one market in the main square and the low and high restaurants take it in turns to be open. Unfortunately it was the high restaurant's turn to be open so we had to climb to 3900 meters to have lunch! We took it really slowly though, admiring the surroundings which seem to be from a completely untouched world, and stopped to have a lecture from Giscard on the customs of the islanders. Amongst other things they have a marriage custom whereby the couple must live alone together for a year before they are married in order to get to know each other. At the beginning of this year the woman drinks a secret infusion which means that she will not get pregnant for this period (Giscard emphasised the secretness of the ingredients of this!). Then at the end of the year they are either married or divorced! During this time the man knits a hat for himself (all red rather than half red half white which means he's single) and the woman weaves a waistband for the man adding her own hair to the edge of it! All the women in Peru have amazing long black hair which they always wear plaited. Benjamin, the owner of the restaurant where we had lunch, was happy to show us how the men wore their hat and waistbands, which were beautifully embroidered. As Giscard spoke more about the ancient textile and weaving traditions of the island my heart sank...I had only bought 80 s/. (about 15 pounds). I did, however, manage to make this stretch to some purchases! The hats and gloves there are all hand made and are so much better quality compared to what I have seen in the rest of Peru. I'm pleased that I hadn't succomed to the urge to buy anything before!

So then, all shopped out, we got back on the boat to travel an hour further on to the island on which we were to stay the night: Isla Amantani. At the port of this small island we were met by the women that were to be our mothers for the night, all wearing traditional costume. On the journey over Giscard taught us a few words of Quechuan, as these islands have managed to keep this language as part of their heritage despite the Spanish. But they did speak Spanish as well, thank goodness! Our mother was Aleiha (spelt phonetically as I didn't ask how to spell it!), she was the daughter of the family with whom we were to stay and was very pretty and kind. She is 20 and her mother is 52 and is the youngest daughter with one younger brother of 13, all the other 5 children in the family had already married and moved out. Their house was of the mud brick style, but with a smooth finish and painted. It was very pretty with a passion flower and gerainiums growing outside (and a donkey next to the loo!) and a small courtyard in the middle.

After a quick break we walked with Aleiha to the community's football pitch and watched (or played if you weren't me!) the locals vs the gringos. There were a few other tour groups there and they put up a good fight winning a few games, but the altitude got the better of us in the end so the locals won overall.

Then back down to our houses for supper. The kitchen was in a seperate building to the rest of the house, making up one of the 4 sides of the courtyard. The stove was a traditional wood fired one that is made from ceramic material and is fed as the fire needs it. There are very rarely fires in these islands as there is not very much oxigen in the air at this altitude. As we were peeling potatoes to help with supper we heard little squeeks and were told by Giscard (who was staying in the same house) that this was the guinepigs! Their little house was next to the stove accessible if you were next to the stove or through a little door around the outside of the house. They were really cute and had 2 babies! Giscard explained that they were kept for special occasions like festivals or birthdays, when they would be eaten!

After supper with the family (our uneatten rice went to the gpigs!) we were taken to another room and dressed in the local costume! This was very exciting! It involved wearing a white shirt with the front richly embroidered, an under skirt which had embroidery along the edge (and was yellow) and on over skirt (which was pink with a lime green band along the hem on the inside). Both skirts were very heavy wool and the shirt is worn over a jumper or 2. I have to say that this all looked very fetching over my jeans and walking boots! To complete the look we were then given a black shawl made of alpaca with embroidery at each end of flowers mainly. (Aleiha told us that her father had embroidered hers!) We walked to the community hall in our outfits and just used the light from the moon, which although is only a cresent still is very bright. At the hall there were other tourists staying on the island and their family, and there was a band and all the 'mothers' made their guests dance with them, which was very tiring at this altitude! There was a fun atmosphere though and we were all sorry that we didn't have more money to buy beer and weren't more energetic so could dance more!

Up this morning at 6 am to have breakfast and say goodbye to the family before the boat left at 7. It felt like we hade been there for longer than one night, and had been given such a warm welcome and kindness by the family, it was sad to go.

We got on the boat though, all proudly wearing the hats that our families had picked for us, and ready for the next stage of our Lake Titikaka experience, which was to visit a reed island. But more of that another day as I am sure that you have had enough of reading this by now!

I can't believe that I have only been gone 2 weeks. It really feels as if I have been away for a lot longer than that! La Paz tomorrow, and an experience of the highest city in the world at 4100meters. Please will you all keep your fingers crossed that I don't get altitude sickness again!

Love Bec xx

First things first I need to clarify something: you can spell "Inca" like that or like "Inka", even the Peruvians spell it both ways!

So I survived the Inca Trail. It was tough and I got altitude sickness, but it was so worth it. We trekked 45km in 3 days. Day one was 13km in 7 hours, day two was 17km in 11 hours (going up to the highest point at 4200 meters above sea level and called Dead Woman's Pass!) and day 3 was 15km in 10 hours. On day four we got up at 4.45 am to get the bus from town to Machu Picchu in time to see the sun rise. Needless to say we were all absolutely shattered that night!

It was an amazing experience though. I really feel proud of myself and in awe of all the porters that do it with 25 kilos on their backs! Apparently there was a porter´s race to complete the Inka Trail and the winner did it in 3hours 45 minutes!! Althought that was with just water to carry.

In the 3 days we passed several Inca ruins, all of which have been restored by about 70-80%, but are still very impressive. It is the incredible stone work of the important and religious buildings that make the Incas so interesting. Even today scientists are not exactly sure how they managed to make the stones fit so precisely, or how they cut the stones from larger rocks. That is something that has to be seen to be believed. There are stones that weigh tens of tonnes that have been made to fit perfectly with the one next to it. And all the Inca buildings were built to withstand the many earthquakes that happen every year in Peru, and they have. This is one of the interesting things in Cusco: where the spanish built on top of the Inca buildings the Inca part survived the quakes and the colonial building collapsed.

So back to the Inca Trail. The days were hard treks and took us through many different types of Peruvian landscapes, including grasslands above the tree line and cloud forrest. Day one was ok, but day two was awful. It rained a lot and I got altitude sickness on the way down from the highest pass (4200 meters). If you´ve never had altitude sickness before you cann´t imagine how horrid it is! I felt sick and exhausted and couldn´t eat or sleep. But luckily Flora had some spare pills and gave me some which worked brilliantly, although they did give me odd tinglings and pins and needles!

I have to admit that by day two I was wondering why I was putting myself through this, but then we reached our camp site and we had the most incredible sunset and view over the mountain ranges and the sun came out and all seemed ok again! Then reaching the sun gate Machupicchu at the end of day three made it all worth it. It was breathtaking and stunning and amazing. And then that all over again but better when we got up to see the sun rise from Machupicchu. There were some wild Llamas around as well, and one posed beautifully for me! And that was the end of the Inca experiance. Or not quite because our train wasn´t until 4.30 and it was only 10.30! So I wondered around the town of Aguas Calientes for a while and walked down some streets that the locals populated rather than the tourists, and saw that they live a much poorer life than the surface level shown to the tourists. I also tried the huge corn on the cob that thay sell in this part of the country. You buy it "con queso" (with cheese) and eat it wrapped in a corn husk leaf. (see picture)

So then back to Cusco. We got the train to Ollantaytambo and then a coach and were all absolutely shattered by the time we were back. That, however, didn´t stop us all going out for a drink to celebrate the completion of the trail. And some of the more hard core members of the group completed the 24 hour challange, ie we got up at 4.30 and they didn´t get back to the hostel before 4am.

Anyway that was all ages ago so I must publish this blog update so I can tell you all about the homestay on Lake Titikaka last night, which was amazing!

Love Bec xxx

I am sitting at this computer at 3300 meters above sea level. And, so far, I have not got altitude sickness Although I have just touched wood as I don´t want to tempt fate! I have already chewed coca leaves, eaten the sweets and drunk the tea, and I really hope that I´m not going to have my blood tested for cocaine in the next 8 to 12 weeks!

Cusco is lovely. I was worried because our guide (I´ll tell you about the group in a minute) said that it was really very touristy, and it is, but the town is very picturesque and feels much more like the real Peru than Lima did. It is obviously much poorer than Lima but more real too. There is a lot of Inka and Spanish history which I´ll explore when we have a free day after the Inka Trail trip.

The group all seem realy nice. Last night after the welcome meeting we all went out for a meal (which incidentaly was nearly 10 times more expensive than the other meals I´ve had so far because was in a gringo restaurant) and got to know each other a bit. There is a good atmosphere so I have positive feelings for the next 2 weeks.

So about the group: Walter is our guide. He is a 33 year-old Peruvuan from north of Lima and is a fount of knowledge. This is his 64th time in Cusco and 10th time to Machu Pichu and he says that although he could take or leave Cusco, Machu Pichu he could never tire of even in the rain. Oh yeah I haven´t told you - it is rainy season here. This is a good thing becuase it means that there are much fewer tourists. Bad thing because it means that it is very rainy and cloudy - ie no views and very damp walking! I´m positive about this though because i would rather less tourists than the sun and I´m sure that it will still be an amazing experience.

The rest of the group consists of a Norwegian couple (early 30s maybe) who I still can´t pronounce the names of, but they are really nice. they work for the social services and have a 5 week holiday using some from this year and next year, but they get 5 weeks a year!!

Then there is an American couple, Mike and Jen, (who are maybe 27) and they seem nice too - interesting to talk to, and much more travelled and open minded than I assumed (probably wrongly!) most americans are like.

There is an English guy on his own called Steve. He´s 24 and is doing the same thing as me in the same direction so we might hook up for a bit from La Paz. If we haven´t annoyed each other too much by then! It would be good to have a male travelling buddy. We´ll see though.

And then there are 3 English girls who graduated from Oxford this year (they are 21) and are travelling for 3 months. One of them, Kate, is particularly nice and I´m sharing a room with her this evening. Laura, who´s bag was in my room last night is also nice, and her friend is Flora and is a bit severe, but not horrid. Laura and Flora are best friends and Kate is along because she knows them from college.

So everyone is nice and I think that we´ll have fun in the next week or so.

So this is the last update you´ll have for the next few days or so as I won´t be able to do anything while on the inca trail which starts on Tuesday and is 4 days long. I hope to have lots of emails from you all by the time I come back online!!

Take care everyone and please send me positive no altitude sickness thoughts

Love Bec xx

I have to say that Lima is odd! It is full of familiar things and yet very unfamiliar too. There are so many simailar things to home, I guess because of the Spanish influence, but then it is very much a foreign city too.

I have to brag - I managed to have a whole conversation with my taxi driver from the airport, even though he spoke no English. He now knows that I am married with 4 children (all boys) and am 45 years old
I´m not as worried as I was about not knowing enough Spanish, but I have realised that a tiny pocket dictionary might have been a useful pre-trip purchase...

Today I woke up to a hot sunny day. The hotel´s breakfast was very interesting, but it filled me up and was tasty. I then was told by the receptionist that it wasn´t that safe for me to get a bus into central Lima and I should get a cab instead...that was the first time that i wished that i wasn´t doing this alone/wasn´t a girl. I wonder how many more of these moments I´ll come across in the next months.

On the way into town we took a motorway type thing and along the sides there were lush green banks, with advertising in them...not billboards, but in plants! And companies like the local radio stations and Price Waterhouse Coopers have thought that this is a good idea. I have a cool photo of this but I haven´t worked out how to upload pictures onto this site yet...

The taxi dropped me off in the main square and I wandered around a bit getting my barings. On one side of the square was the government palace and on another was the Cathederal of Lima. There were police with riot shields on the corner of every road leading into the square, but they were just hanging around in groups and some were even on their mobile phones!

The Loney Planet says that there are high unemployment rates here in Peru, so I expected to see more beggers, but I´ve only seen 2 so far, I wander if this is a cultural thing and that begging is just not accepted.

So now I´ll tell you o bit of the touristy stuff that I´ve done today:

I went inside the Catedral de Lima, and then went out again deciding not to pay the s/.10 entry.
I watched a group of tiny cute peruvian school children be herded out and into a bus and am gutted that I didn´t get my camera out in time.
I then walked over to the other side of the square just in time to realise that I´d missed the changing of the guards in the Government Palace, but did buy a cool post card of it
While I was thinking about this i noticed a dog in a pair of glasses and a traditional peruvian hat and a body warmer. I´ll show you a picture when I´ve worked out how to upload them!

Lunch was another proud moment for me. I found a little cafe/restaurant and had a delicious 2 course meal for s/.4. I´m not entirely sure what I had but it was very tasty. When I sat down the very nice (but silent)waitress came over with cutlery and a small bowl of a pink sauce and a quartered lime. I decided to bite the bullet and try the pink stuff while i was waiting for my meal so I put a bit on my finger and tasted it.... and it was really hot chilli sauce! Tasty though

I then went to the San Fancis Church and was taken on a tour which included their catacombes. When it was excavated in the 1970s the archeologists thought that it would look good to arrange all bones in patterns so it was rather more eiree that it would have been anyway!

Tomorrow I´m meeting my tour group... At 6.30pm we´ve got our welcome meeting in the hotel´s restaurant and then we´re going out for supper together and will be given a free drink ´the first of many´apparently I hope that the flight to Cusco the next day isn´t too early!

Anyway I´m going to bed now as am shattered! I hope that you all have a great weekend

Love Bec xx

Well I´m actually here, and I can´t really get my head around that at the moment! I won´t bore you with details of how long the flight was and how hard it was to say goodbye etc, instead I´ll tell you of my plans for this adventure...

So a brief outline of what I´ve got planned for the next 6 months is:

18th November leave Lima for 15 day trip including the inca trail, machu pichu and lake titicaca, ending in La Paz.

I´ve promised mum that I´ll leave Bolivia as fast as possible once on my own, so I´ll hot pace it to the Chillian boarder and then drift down to Santiago catching all the interesting things that there are to see in between. And I´ve heard that the beaches are rather good in Northern Chile

But I have to be in Santiago by December the 16th as this is the start of my next tour:
16th December leave Santiago for 21 day trip taking in such things as Patagonia, Torres Del Paine, Tierra Del Fuego and ending in Ushuaia on the 9th January. I´m hoping that i´m going to be somewhere cool for Christmas and can send you pictures of a very un-English celebration!

I then have a leasurly month to make my way through Argentina to Rio (not very far-only about 3000 miles) where I will arrive on the 16th February in time for the madness of Carnival. And then comes the most exciting bit of my trip. I´m trying so hard not to look forward to this too much as I really don´t want to be disappointed. I´m going to do a 27 day tour of the Amazon from Rio to Manaus (a town in the middle of the Amazon). I´ll tell you more about all that nearer the time though.

So then I´ll be in the middle of the Amazon fairly close to the top of Brazil. And the only way out is either by air or boat, so I think that I´ll get a boat to the coast and then travel down. Not at all sure about this bit yet as haven´t looked into it yet.

So there you go. My trip in a nutshell!

I hope I haven´t missed anything yet in the 24 hours that I´ve been gone!

Bec xx