“The time of the month” has sent me into a really bad potsy flare, ugh- so while I’m sitting at home feeling rubbish I thought I might as well give my mind something positive to focus on- my time in wonderful, amazing Peru- and give my small group of blog followers the update on this that they deserve!
I am going to include pictures in this blog, and whilst I could write a small novel about how wonderful this trip was, I’m going to aim to keep it succinct, since the constant aching I now have in my finger joints is aggravated by typing.
So, first of all- landing in Peru. This was an absolutely breathtaking experience that my pictures do not do justice to. After over 12 hours in the air in bright daylight (due to flying West) we finally caught up to the coming of dusk, just in time to be coming down over the majestic Andes at sunset. The feeling in my heart of finally being about to set foot in the country I’d always dreamed of visiting, whilst viewing those amazing mountains turning golden in the light of the fading sun is something I just cannot describe and something I shall never forget.
I was in Lima briefly to begin (2 nights)- the highlight of which was waking up very early my first day in Peru due to my body clock still being on English time, walking along the street before the city came to life, and seeing a tiny hummingbird- I had always wanted to see a hummingbird and hadn’t even realised I might see them in Peru!
After spending time in Lima and having a guided tour of the city I was off to Puerto Maldonado in THE JUNGLE! Amazing.
As it had rained torrentially before we arrived, the road we should have been taking part way was flooded, meaning we had to travel by boat from much earlier down the river. This meant a 7 hour boat trip!!! (Rather than 2 hours). Lucky that I went to the toilet beforehand, hehee!
We had a fabulous lunch of rice and vegetables wrapped up in a big banana leaf that we were able to drop into the river once the lunch inside the leaf was eaten.
Due to the lengthy boat ride, we reached the jungle lodge in the dark- after seeing a cayman being set free by fishermen as it had got tangled in their nets!
Walking up to the lodge proved difficult- J slipped down in the mud, her husband A had a wind up torch which I thought at first was a noisy insect due to the vast array of wonderful new sounds we could hear in the jungle darkness- and for me, climbing the numerous stairs from the riverbank up to the trail towards the lodge- in the humidity- was arduous- but then I got my first site of the lodge and that was even more breathtaking that climbing all those stairs!
The jungle itself was an amazing experience. It was lit only by kerosene lamps which were turned off at 10pm (hence us having torches!). There were no phones but believe it or not there was a computer with internet access, although it was a very slow connection (I didn’t use it- I enjoyed being ‘out of the loop’ of civilisation for the 3 days we were there). The sense of peace, wonder and tranquility I felt there, plus the camaraderie with my jungle companions (we all ate meals together in the big dining room, by candlelight) was one of the highlights of my trip.
Whilst in the jungle I took some fantastic excursions- a trip out on the river at night to see baby caymans, hiking through the jungle both in the day and at night on several occasions to see various wildlife, a paddle boat on an oxbow lake- which was sooo tranquil and beautiful- but I think my biggest accomplishment was climbing the 25 metre high canopy tower. Not only do I have pots to contend with, I am also tremendously bad with heights. I go so dizzy with vertigo that I feel a sense of doom that throws my body into a state of panic that I can rarely control. However, on this occasion I managed, though terrified, to not only climb that tower but stand up there for about an hour. Lucky for me I’m not a fainter and, though it makes me feel ill, when I have to I can stand continuously, I just tend to avoid doing so due to how badly it makes me afterwards. On this occasion though, standing was much preferable to sitting, as the top of the canopy tower was so small and with slatted wooden boards for the floor, with my fear of heights I knew if I sat down I’d lose all my courage and have to be dragged back up with my sense of dignity and pride lost. (For some reason, as I have unfortunately discovered in the past, if I sit down, the mere act of standing back up fills me with even more fear and panic because it induces more height and more vertigo, so once sitting down I am pretty much clung to the floor for dear life!) So, staying standing whilst holding on at all times to the rail surrounding the canopy and distracting my mind by spotting toucans and parrots was how I got myself through the ordeal!
How I climbed this I will never know!
My room for 3 nights
Our transport along the river
When the time came to leave the jungle, I felt sad, wondering if I’d ever have the privilege to visit such a magical place again… however, it wasn’t long before the excitement at the next stage of the journey began to set in, and little did I know I was about to visit a city that would very much capture my heart- beautiful Cusco- high in the Andes.
Cusco down below
The most interesting experience for me in Cusco was the effects of the altitude. Being at altitude is pretty much just like having pots, with added fatigue and shortness of breath. Not very much different for me than a typical ‘bad’ potsy day. So, generally I was fine with it. Oh, it also made your nose really dry and sore and for the first day or so hello to sinus pain/headache. But really, nothing out of the ordinary- I quite relished the fact that me and my posty body were at altitude and I was just fine! One thing I hadn’t realised though was that due to not being able to work at altitude, digestion shuts down, so everything you eat comes out the other end rather liquefied shall we say, but even that wasn’t so bad, it didn’t make you feel ill or anything, in fact I ate more in Peru than I’ve ever eaten in my life (we got amazingly delicious buffet lunches with a lot of our trips) yet lost a stone or more in weight! Just in time for Christmas and an excuse to pig out on goodies to put it all back on lol 😉
Cusco is a beautiful city
Cusco is known as ‘the gateway to Machu Picchu’- I caught a train from Poroy to Aguas Calientes to see M.P. The train was luxurious and we even got flowers in a little glass vase served on a tray with our lunch!
The highlight of course of any trip to Peru is seeing M.P- for me, it was seeing a BEAR on M.P. You’ll just have to take my word for that, my survival instinct kicked in over my photography instinct when it came to that- although admittedly after I escaped the jaws of death, I turned back to take a photo, but the bear was gone.
I had a wonderful time ‘chilling’ at M.P as I climbed to a vantage point and sat for around 2 hours on a big rock, just watching the majestic city appear and disappear into the swirling clouds. Oh, and having a bit of fun putting my camera on timer and then leaping off the rock to get into the shot before it was taken. No mean feat given that the clouds were rolling in very fast, you had literally seconds to time the shot just right before the ruins would disappear into the clouds once more.
M.P is not a very pots friendly place due to a vast amount of steps pretty much wherever you go, so it was an exhausting time spent exploring but something I wouldn’t have missed for the world.
After M.P, it was another train journey (very long, 10 hours) to Puno by the shore of Lake Titicaca. Let me tell you, dancing on a train at altitude with a Peruvian Pan Pipe Player (alliteration not even intended lol) is not good for ones heart rate, but something I am happy to have experienced!
Peruvian Pan Pipe Player Provokes Potsy Palpitations!
As well as visiting Puno and the floating islands on Lake Titicaca, I bathed in hot volcanic springs at Colca Canyon lodge and saw a Condor at the canyon itself, flew over the Nazca lines in a scarily small 12 seater light aircraft, took a boat out to the Ballestas Islands to see seals and penguins, stayed in a 5 star hotel and enjoyed chilling out at the end of my holiday in a hotel with beautiful gardens where I made friends with tortugas (turtles) and an Egret by feeding them my oatcakes that got squashed in my case. I’ll let the pictures do the talking now.
Taquile Island on Lake Titicaca- one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen
The national flower of Peru, with Lake Titicaca and the mountains of Bolivia in the background
The floating Uros Islands
Relaxing in the Colca Canyon natural hot springs- bliss!
Last one out!
Sunrise at the canyon
A little bit of 5 star luxury...
My final hotel was not luxurious however it was my favourite due to being in such lovely grounds, with little ponds, beautiful blossom trees, grass and a little farm- so lots of wildlife to see!
Egret meets 'Tortuga'
And finally, it wouldn’t be Peru without… a llama!
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