Choquequirau
2 May 05
Took a bus to Chinchero, a tiny little village known as ´the birthplace of the rainbow´ to the Incas, not sure if a village name could get any better than that! Traipsed through the Inca ruins and terraces, large rocks carved into seats and staircases, contrasted by the Colonial Architecture of the local church and the Andean village.
On the bus ride a young musician serenaded us with Peruvian songs of love, accompanied by the Charango, a Peruvian ten string guitar, and a Zampuña, a set of panpipes made of bamboo canes...Musica Folklorica. I would love to have a man sing like that to me. Constantly awe struck by how beautiful the Peruvian people are.
In trying to locate the ruins after getting off of the bus, Dan asked a local gent for directions and we all struck up a conversation.As it turns out, he is a local painter. After wandering around in the sunshine over the ruins we went back to his shop to see his work and meet his wife.
I bought two beautiful Peruvian sweaters made of Alpaca fur and watched as this gent turned his beautiful paintings into woven blankets and wall hangings, mixing loose coloured wool together and placing it in the tapestry little bits at a time, literally painting intricate designs with the coloured wools. They were such a lovely couple.
Afterwards we caught a second bus to Urubamba for a beautiful lunch in the sunshine...lots of lovely Peruvian dishes in a flower filled garden.
Off to visit Ollantaytambo next, another village with a massive Inca fortress clinging to its mountain sides. Such a quaint little village. Lovely little cobblestone streets, a beautiful central square surrounded by tiny shops filled with local handicrafts and markets of fresh produce.
I hiked to the top of the ruins and perched myself on top of a small rock to soak up the afternoon sunshine like a kitten and stare off over the surrounding mountains and valley filled with agricultural lands...a colourful patchwork of fields.
Terrace after agricultural terrace climbing the mountain interrupted only by a long vertical staircase. Intricate water systems chiseled by hand out of the rocky mountain side to ultimately pour into ceremonial baths and fountains.
Ride from psychotic collectivo driver back to Cusco listening to shit 80´s music. Lunatic in the back seat that knew all of the words = more disturbing.
Dinner and a return visit to the Shisha bar for mint Shisha, hot tea, chess, and an excellent and ecclectic selection of music.
4 May 05
Dan, George (one of our guides from our Machu Picchu trek), and I took a bus to Moray this morning. Moray is a deep amphitheatre with different levels of concentric circular terraces, each of which has its own microclimate. Moray was used as a type of crop laboratory to determine optimal conditions for species of Inca plants.
After a brief lunch in a local woman´s house in Moras we hiked to Salinas about an hour away through a hot desert like landscape surrounded by snow capped mountain peaks. We hiked around the salt pans which was amazing.
Used for salt extraction since Inca times, the site has a hot spring at the top of the valley that discharges heavily salt laden water. The water is then diverted into various salt pans then evaporated in the sun. I tasted the water and craved a hot soak, then nibbled on a bit of the salt pieces and craved something sweet.
5 May 05
Up at four am to jump back on the Inca Trail...gluten for punishment. This time we are heading to Choquequirao which is apparently the last refuge of the Incas. It is an immense archeological complex still under dig and restoration.
It is a much more intimate group this time and isn´t structured as Machu Picchu was, which should be quite an adventure. Only me, Dan, and Ibar accompanied by a cook, guide, and someone to care for the horses. My knee is feeling a bit rough, hope there is no ´Dead Woman´s Pass´on this trek.
After getting off of the four hour bus ride we all piled into a taxi...four days worth of food and equipment, the six backpacks, a driver, three guides and the three of us....I envisioned us as a headlining circus attraction! How many gringos can you fit in a taxi?
The ride to the trail head was the experience of a life time, honking at pedestrians and various farm animals to get out of the way, skidding around treacherous corners at break neck speeds on dirt roads that were covered in washouts and pot holes. I think that Dan, as he was unfortunate enough to be sitting to my right, might have a hand print on his knee where I was clenching it...
First days trek turned out to be relatively easy, not on the knees though as it was all down hill on really loose ground...stone and sand, much slipping and sliding. Papa plant which I know as Agave thrusting forth flowers that are up to 30 and 40 feet high, becomes the only forest around in this desert setting. The air is filled with the scent of roasting plants in the hot sun and sweet peas which comes from a beautiful yellow flower found in clusters at the tip of bright green stems along the trail .
The views are outstanding, breathtaking peaks, rivers, speckled with groups of horses, cows, pigs, sheep, butterflies everywhere and landing on us.
Puma land, I would die to see one, though I imagine that we are making far too much noise. Camp turns out to be a residence made simply of bamboo with a thatch roof made of husks. You can see in from outside. Lovely location peppered with an orchard of mangos, papaya, bananas, lime, and chirimoya.
A lovely and shy little girl with a grubby face smirking and flirting with us, we share our sweets. A universal language. Turkeys, chickens, pigs, ducks and dozens of guinea pigs running around the yard. I noticed that one of the guinea pigs had escaped and I begged it to run for its life, as it is not only a house pet but, under the guise of Cuy, becomes dinner as well...it stupidly ran back into the house...I suppose this is how we weed out the weak guinea pigs.
Very early night. We all share a tent. Tomorrow is supposed to be all up hill.
6 May 05
Up at five am...first thought in my head...´happy birthday my lovely sister, Jenny, happy 30th, I LOVE YOU!´
Now, let´s start this entry out with all the lies we have been spoon fed today....
1. We were awakened at five am this morning and though its not a actually a lie, it was just plain yucky.
2. We were fed Quaker (pronounced Guakay) which has turned into a food that we threaten each other with as it is usually really runny and served in a mug. Beverages just shouldn´t be chunky. The gents have taken to passing the time with the Quaker game...it goes something like this...´which would you rather do? Drink seven glasses of Quaker or´....insert one of the worst tortures you can imagine...The outcome is never to drink the Quaker.
3. Today´s climb was all steeply uphill, and, after my Quaker breakfast, not only was I gasping for breath at the steep ascent but my stomach threatened to reject that putrid substance.
4. Joaquin, the Arch Deceiver Lord of the Lie, informed us that we would have a steep two hour incline, followed by a gently sloping two hour incline, followed by a flat two hour hike to the ruins...this is where the lie part comes into play...it turned out to be two hours of murderous climb, followed by two hours of torturous climb, that was about as flat as Pamela Anderson´s chest (but wasn´t nearly as lovely (thanks Ibar!)).
Fortunately for the Arch Deceiver we were far to knackered to lynch him...
5. Yes, I forgot to mention that I am peppered with measle-like bug nips, and I am smeared with mud and horse shit.
It was a good day.
Now, Dan, Ibar, Joaquin and I lie on the grass in the sunshine listening to the wind and buzzing bees at the peak of Choquequirau...breathtaking views of mountains and ruins as it is located at the junction of three valleys. The site exhibits clear religious and agricultural elements.
Choquequirau was recently rediscovered and is a ridge top Inca site that is extremely remote and only accessible by foot. We were really fortunate to be the only people there at the time.
A bit of sketching, then I looked up and saw a monstrous Condor soaring overhead, they have a six or seven foot wingspan. We saw three before we began our return trip to camp. As the sun was setting and we were close to our campsite we startled a flock of parrots and they took off squawking just before us...breathtaking.
7 May 05
I think Joaquin was trying to make up for yesterday`s dissillutions in that he allowed us to sleep in until almost six am. We woke to squawking parrots and lovely fresh, mild weather.
Side track...
Experienced a ´toilet with a view´ this morning...A sparse bamboo structure on three sides, the downward facing mountain side open to incredible vista. The view made up for the two holes in the ground - best view I´ve experienced in a toilet in a long time.
What took us five hours to ascend yesterday took us just over an hour to descend this morning as we ran down most of it leaving us plenty of time to play in the lovely Apurinac River (Speaker to God, I believe it translates to), lovely light olive green waters. Lying in the shade and watching the sun creep down the hillside towards us. Cold, cold rushing waters, and me warming my body by lying on sun soaked flat rocks. Good to wash the dirt, sweat, sunscreen and bug spray off and to be bathed only in the sunlight.
Forty five minute hike straight up in the heat of the day - absolute heat exhaustion...the gents waiting for me and me begging them to go on so that I could be sick to myself. We each have only one 600ml bottle of water to drink throughout the day until more can be boiled later this evening as water isn´t drinkable otherwise. So rationing out one bottle of water per person = dehydration and Rebecca loosing her breakfast.
Aaaahhh occasional glimpses of shade....
I had stupidly made the assumption that we would wait for the day to cool a bit before continuing our upwards trek but after an hour long lunch we were off reluctantly again.
Nothing more to say than up, up, and more up...very slowly, crawling really. Felt quite elated when we finally completed our ascent...we had to in order to get to a site with water running nearby. Another accomplishment, only about three hours of trekking to do tomorrow as we really squeezed about two days trekking into today.
When we stopped to camp, I help to unload the horses, fed the guys full of chocolate, then off to bath in the nearby stream. Dusky views of snow capped mountains...sunrise promises to be breathtaking.
The guys we are traveling with are so cool, Joaquin, Leonidias and a gent caring for the horses (unfortunately, I can´t recall his name). Definite animal lovers. They seem full of joy and laughter, and have constant cheeky grins on their faces.
I think about tomorrow and how I intend to buy a huge bag of carrots for the horses and several beers for the gents, they have been great fun and very kind.
For our final dinner together the guys prepared a huge feast...it really could have fed twice as many people...of vegetable soup, a vegetable rice (for me, the guys had meat rice) a lovely noodle dish, fresh salad of tomatoes, cucumbers and lemon juice, and the finale...Chile peppers stuffed with various vegetables and legumes battered and fried - called Recoto Rellano and absolutely spectacular. I plan to try preparing them when I get home, I´ll attempt to get the recipe today.
During his dinner preparation, I put my head lamp on the chef´s head, as he was cooking by candle light. He was absolutely tickled pink by it, may just have to leave it with him...
8 May 05
Well rested, wake to the horses shuffling about outside of our tent, snorting and stomping. I love horses, someday I hope to have two, one for me to ride and one for my pal, they are lovely and tender animals. Bright blue skies, immense snow capped mountains dressed in drifting clouds. I am sun warmed and listening to chirping parrots.
Upon the completion of our trek, we went to a couple of local vendors to purchase carrots and beer for the horses and guides (in that order). The gents appreciated the beer but they laughed at me trying to feed the horses carrots as the horses refused them. I was told that they didn´t like them...I stupidly assumed horses world wide would enjoy carrots...who knew?
After lunch we had a second psychotic drive back up to the bus stop. Seven people and equipment packed into a taxi, dodging squealing pigs and yipping dogs (insert Rebel with her hands covering her eyes and occasionally peaking through parted fingers), up to wait for the bus to drive us back to Cusco. We sat in the sunshine sipping beer, swapping recipes, and chatting.
Recipe of the day...
Recoto Rellano
- 7-8 Peppers
- Sacar pipas del recotos. Raspar del su adentro.
- Hacer herviir en el agua bastante limon y un poquito de azucar.
- Cinco minutos - los recotos en el aqua.
- Zanamoria, ava, alberga, arroz, mani, alderezo
- La masa - huevo (sin huevo para mi!), comino, sal, roal
- Un minuto friar.
Mmmm. Mmmm. Good!
Bus ride from hell...two many people, not enough seats, my legs are too long for reclined bus seats and nobody seems to like to ride with the window open...
Took a bus to Chinchero, a tiny little village known as ´the birthplace of the rainbow´ to the Incas, not sure if a village name could get any better than that! Traipsed through the Inca ruins and terraces, large rocks carved into seats and staircases, contrasted by the Colonial Architecture of the local church and the Andean village.
On the bus ride a young musician serenaded us with Peruvian songs of love, accompanied by the Charango, a Peruvian ten string guitar, and a Zampuña, a set of panpipes made of bamboo canes...Musica Folklorica. I would love to have a man sing like that to me. Constantly awe struck by how beautiful the Peruvian people are.
In trying to locate the ruins after getting off of the bus, Dan asked a local gent for directions and we all struck up a conversation.As it turns out, he is a local painter. After wandering around in the sunshine over the ruins we went back to his shop to see his work and meet his wife.
I bought two beautiful Peruvian sweaters made of Alpaca fur and watched as this gent turned his beautiful paintings into woven blankets and wall hangings, mixing loose coloured wool together and placing it in the tapestry little bits at a time, literally painting intricate designs with the coloured wools. They were such a lovely couple.
Afterwards we caught a second bus to Urubamba for a beautiful lunch in the sunshine...lots of lovely Peruvian dishes in a flower filled garden.
Off to visit Ollantaytambo next, another village with a massive Inca fortress clinging to its mountain sides. Such a quaint little village. Lovely little cobblestone streets, a beautiful central square surrounded by tiny shops filled with local handicrafts and markets of fresh produce.
I hiked to the top of the ruins and perched myself on top of a small rock to soak up the afternoon sunshine like a kitten and stare off over the surrounding mountains and valley filled with agricultural lands...a colourful patchwork of fields.
Terrace after agricultural terrace climbing the mountain interrupted only by a long vertical staircase. Intricate water systems chiseled by hand out of the rocky mountain side to ultimately pour into ceremonial baths and fountains.
Ride from psychotic collectivo driver back to Cusco listening to shit 80´s music. Lunatic in the back seat that knew all of the words = more disturbing.
Dinner and a return visit to the Shisha bar for mint Shisha, hot tea, chess, and an excellent and ecclectic selection of music.
4 May 05
Dan, George (one of our guides from our Machu Picchu trek), and I took a bus to Moray this morning. Moray is a deep amphitheatre with different levels of concentric circular terraces, each of which has its own microclimate. Moray was used as a type of crop laboratory to determine optimal conditions for species of Inca plants.
After a brief lunch in a local woman´s house in Moras we hiked to Salinas about an hour away through a hot desert like landscape surrounded by snow capped mountain peaks. We hiked around the salt pans which was amazing.
Used for salt extraction since Inca times, the site has a hot spring at the top of the valley that discharges heavily salt laden water. The water is then diverted into various salt pans then evaporated in the sun. I tasted the water and craved a hot soak, then nibbled on a bit of the salt pieces and craved something sweet.
5 May 05
Up at four am to jump back on the Inca Trail...gluten for punishment. This time we are heading to Choquequirao which is apparently the last refuge of the Incas. It is an immense archeological complex still under dig and restoration.
It is a much more intimate group this time and isn´t structured as Machu Picchu was, which should be quite an adventure. Only me, Dan, and Ibar accompanied by a cook, guide, and someone to care for the horses. My knee is feeling a bit rough, hope there is no ´Dead Woman´s Pass´on this trek.
After getting off of the four hour bus ride we all piled into a taxi...four days worth of food and equipment, the six backpacks, a driver, three guides and the three of us....I envisioned us as a headlining circus attraction! How many gringos can you fit in a taxi?
The ride to the trail head was the experience of a life time, honking at pedestrians and various farm animals to get out of the way, skidding around treacherous corners at break neck speeds on dirt roads that were covered in washouts and pot holes. I think that Dan, as he was unfortunate enough to be sitting to my right, might have a hand print on his knee where I was clenching it...
First days trek turned out to be relatively easy, not on the knees though as it was all down hill on really loose ground...stone and sand, much slipping and sliding. Papa plant which I know as Agave thrusting forth flowers that are up to 30 and 40 feet high, becomes the only forest around in this desert setting. The air is filled with the scent of roasting plants in the hot sun and sweet peas which comes from a beautiful yellow flower found in clusters at the tip of bright green stems along the trail .
The views are outstanding, breathtaking peaks, rivers, speckled with groups of horses, cows, pigs, sheep, butterflies everywhere and landing on us.
Puma land, I would die to see one, though I imagine that we are making far too much noise. Camp turns out to be a residence made simply of bamboo with a thatch roof made of husks. You can see in from outside. Lovely location peppered with an orchard of mangos, papaya, bananas, lime, and chirimoya.
A lovely and shy little girl with a grubby face smirking and flirting with us, we share our sweets. A universal language. Turkeys, chickens, pigs, ducks and dozens of guinea pigs running around the yard. I noticed that one of the guinea pigs had escaped and I begged it to run for its life, as it is not only a house pet but, under the guise of Cuy, becomes dinner as well...it stupidly ran back into the house...I suppose this is how we weed out the weak guinea pigs.
Very early night. We all share a tent. Tomorrow is supposed to be all up hill.
6 May 05
Up at five am...first thought in my head...´happy birthday my lovely sister, Jenny, happy 30th, I LOVE YOU!´
Now, let´s start this entry out with all the lies we have been spoon fed today....
1. We were awakened at five am this morning and though its not a actually a lie, it was just plain yucky.
2. We were fed Quaker (pronounced Guakay) which has turned into a food that we threaten each other with as it is usually really runny and served in a mug. Beverages just shouldn´t be chunky. The gents have taken to passing the time with the Quaker game...it goes something like this...´which would you rather do? Drink seven glasses of Quaker or´....insert one of the worst tortures you can imagine...The outcome is never to drink the Quaker.
3. Today´s climb was all steeply uphill, and, after my Quaker breakfast, not only was I gasping for breath at the steep ascent but my stomach threatened to reject that putrid substance.
4. Joaquin, the Arch Deceiver Lord of the Lie, informed us that we would have a steep two hour incline, followed by a gently sloping two hour incline, followed by a flat two hour hike to the ruins...this is where the lie part comes into play...it turned out to be two hours of murderous climb, followed by two hours of torturous climb, that was about as flat as Pamela Anderson´s chest (but wasn´t nearly as lovely (thanks Ibar!)).
Fortunately for the Arch Deceiver we were far to knackered to lynch him...
5. Yes, I forgot to mention that I am peppered with measle-like bug nips, and I am smeared with mud and horse shit.
It was a good day.
Now, Dan, Ibar, Joaquin and I lie on the grass in the sunshine listening to the wind and buzzing bees at the peak of Choquequirau...breathtaking views of mountains and ruins as it is located at the junction of three valleys. The site exhibits clear religious and agricultural elements.
Choquequirau was recently rediscovered and is a ridge top Inca site that is extremely remote and only accessible by foot. We were really fortunate to be the only people there at the time.
A bit of sketching, then I looked up and saw a monstrous Condor soaring overhead, they have a six or seven foot wingspan. We saw three before we began our return trip to camp. As the sun was setting and we were close to our campsite we startled a flock of parrots and they took off squawking just before us...breathtaking.
7 May 05
I think Joaquin was trying to make up for yesterday`s dissillutions in that he allowed us to sleep in until almost six am. We woke to squawking parrots and lovely fresh, mild weather.
Side track...
Experienced a ´toilet with a view´ this morning...A sparse bamboo structure on three sides, the downward facing mountain side open to incredible vista. The view made up for the two holes in the ground - best view I´ve experienced in a toilet in a long time.
What took us five hours to ascend yesterday took us just over an hour to descend this morning as we ran down most of it leaving us plenty of time to play in the lovely Apurinac River (Speaker to God, I believe it translates to), lovely light olive green waters. Lying in the shade and watching the sun creep down the hillside towards us. Cold, cold rushing waters, and me warming my body by lying on sun soaked flat rocks. Good to wash the dirt, sweat, sunscreen and bug spray off and to be bathed only in the sunlight.
Forty five minute hike straight up in the heat of the day - absolute heat exhaustion...the gents waiting for me and me begging them to go on so that I could be sick to myself. We each have only one 600ml bottle of water to drink throughout the day until more can be boiled later this evening as water isn´t drinkable otherwise. So rationing out one bottle of water per person = dehydration and Rebecca loosing her breakfast.
Aaaahhh occasional glimpses of shade....
I had stupidly made the assumption that we would wait for the day to cool a bit before continuing our upwards trek but after an hour long lunch we were off reluctantly again.
Nothing more to say than up, up, and more up...very slowly, crawling really. Felt quite elated when we finally completed our ascent...we had to in order to get to a site with water running nearby. Another accomplishment, only about three hours of trekking to do tomorrow as we really squeezed about two days trekking into today.
When we stopped to camp, I help to unload the horses, fed the guys full of chocolate, then off to bath in the nearby stream. Dusky views of snow capped mountains...sunrise promises to be breathtaking.
The guys we are traveling with are so cool, Joaquin, Leonidias and a gent caring for the horses (unfortunately, I can´t recall his name). Definite animal lovers. They seem full of joy and laughter, and have constant cheeky grins on their faces.
I think about tomorrow and how I intend to buy a huge bag of carrots for the horses and several beers for the gents, they have been great fun and very kind.
For our final dinner together the guys prepared a huge feast...it really could have fed twice as many people...of vegetable soup, a vegetable rice (for me, the guys had meat rice) a lovely noodle dish, fresh salad of tomatoes, cucumbers and lemon juice, and the finale...Chile peppers stuffed with various vegetables and legumes battered and fried - called Recoto Rellano and absolutely spectacular. I plan to try preparing them when I get home, I´ll attempt to get the recipe today.
During his dinner preparation, I put my head lamp on the chef´s head, as he was cooking by candle light. He was absolutely tickled pink by it, may just have to leave it with him...
8 May 05
Well rested, wake to the horses shuffling about outside of our tent, snorting and stomping. I love horses, someday I hope to have two, one for me to ride and one for my pal, they are lovely and tender animals. Bright blue skies, immense snow capped mountains dressed in drifting clouds. I am sun warmed and listening to chirping parrots.
Upon the completion of our trek, we went to a couple of local vendors to purchase carrots and beer for the horses and guides (in that order). The gents appreciated the beer but they laughed at me trying to feed the horses carrots as the horses refused them. I was told that they didn´t like them...I stupidly assumed horses world wide would enjoy carrots...who knew?
After lunch we had a second psychotic drive back up to the bus stop. Seven people and equipment packed into a taxi, dodging squealing pigs and yipping dogs (insert Rebel with her hands covering her eyes and occasionally peaking through parted fingers), up to wait for the bus to drive us back to Cusco. We sat in the sunshine sipping beer, swapping recipes, and chatting.
Recipe of the day...
Recoto Rellano
- 7-8 Peppers
- Sacar pipas del recotos. Raspar del su adentro.
- Hacer herviir en el agua bastante limon y un poquito de azucar.
- Cinco minutos - los recotos en el aqua.
- Zanamoria, ava, alberga, arroz, mani, alderezo
- La masa - huevo (sin huevo para mi!), comino, sal, roal
- Un minuto friar.
Mmmm. Mmmm. Good!
Bus ride from hell...two many people, not enough seats, my legs are too long for reclined bus seats and nobody seems to like to ride with the window open...
posted by Rebel at 11:10 AM
1 Comments:
He-He...I love talking about filth with burnt biscuits! Totally wish that I was with you on your birthday lovely girl...
kdog! Girlie, I miss you lots...no letter has arrived as of yet...come to think of it, I have yet to see a ´mail man´ in Peru....where do you think mail goes when it doesn´t reach it´s intended address anyways?
And...you will definatly be allowed to ride my horse next to my Phillip Johnson Glass House in the woods anytime!
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