Glorious Machu Picchu - 4 Sept 09


The ride to the train station was quite beautiful, the light on the hills was gorgeous and it just looked like a painting unfolding in front of our eyes. I tried to take some shots and some came out nice but you can never show the full scale with one frame.


When we got to the train station I was pleasantly surprised to see that our train was as VistaDome train, very neat, with tables and flowers and table cloth, and windows on the roof for us to see how high the mountains would be. Last time I´d been on it I had travelled on the back packers´ train and never even realised that there was a much more civilised option where they serve you breakfast and all. A guide we met on the train (who was keen to practice his French) told us that there is also a deluxe option, run by the same company as the Orient Express, with silver spoons, etc. but he said ´you pay a fortune and what we have now is the best value for money´.


We had a 3 hour ride in front of us and though it felt a bit chilly when we set off (and Nathalie was covered with 2 blankets, as she would) it soon warmed up.


We were lucky to have another perfect day, weather wise. The journey was fascinating because you gradually dropped about 1,000 ft in 3 hours and you could really see the drastic changes in vegetation. We started with vast plains and agricultural fields and then we went through a gorge where vegetation was still quite dry but we were following a crystal clear river with small houses of farmers nearby. A couple of times we ´drove´ through villages and could really see how they live and did witness so much poverty. Houses looked run down and people´s clothes looked so worn out. It was quite heart breaking to see women carry such heavy loads on their backs too.

We then entered the Sacred Valley of the Incas and mde a brief stop at Ollantaymtambo Village to pick up more tourists. At this point we were about 9,500 ft and kept going down a bit faster, we had the best seats right by the Urubamba River and enjoyed views of many rapids and some Inca foundation remains. There were snow capped mountains on the left handside (Veronica being the highest) and yet minutes later we were going through a cloud forest with lush vegetation, much more flowers on the trees, many bromeliads, colourful flame trees and orchids and the air started to smell SO pure. It was distinctively purer. There are some quetzals and toucans in the area but I never saw any though I did try to look out for them. But the last section of the journey was definitely the most ´Sylvie´ section. I totally loved it.

We got to Aguas Calientes at around 10am if I remember correctly and had to walk through the local market (packed with stores selling so much silver jewellery and alpaca wool items) and then walked to our hotel (right on the main street), El Presidente within minutes. You cannot get lost in Aguas Calientes are there is only ONE main street!

Rooms were decent, nicely decorated with warm paint colours and bathroom was basic but we never run out of hot water and our bed was comfortable enough, so I was happy. I think we only paid abouy $50 a night and we were RIGHT in the centre. Dozens of restaurants on our doorsteps.

We decided to have an early lunch before we went on the bus to Machu Picchu as there´d be fewer options for eating out up there. We were totally spoilt for choice and waiters do try their best to entice you in (which can be a bit tiring after a while). We tried 3 different restaurants over 1.5 days and just loved everything they had. Their avocadoes must have been in season because they were so ripe, they just melted in the mouth. They were huge too. I adore avocadoes and made sure I had some every day. It was such a treat. We also had to try their traditional and beautiful quinoa soups with lots of vegetable, cheese cubes and parlsey (it smelt so French and familiar).

I can´t recall not liking any dish. Peruvian food is, to my tastebuds, far superior to Argentinian food (over there they have 80 million cows for 44 million people, so meat is hot on the agenda). In Peru, they seem to value vegetables more and produced beautiful dishes with delicate flavours. We had some hearts of palmtrees grilled with cheese on top and it was simple but delicious. I will definitely miss the food and we enjoyed many freshly squeezed juices for 1/4 of the price you´d pay in England.

There was always a band or two playing Peruvian music on the streets, right in front restaurants, with the compulsory pipe flutes (is that the word in English?!), the flute with 3 or 4 pipes, and it was just so lovely. It really put you in the holiday mood and reminded you that you were indeed in Peru.

It was still incredibly sunny by 1pm so we bought our bus tickets (US$14 each) and our entrance fee to MachuPicchu National Park for 124 soles (you can only pay in Soles). That´s about $25 or so I think.

Buses left every 15 mins off peak but every minute at peak time (i.e. from 8am to 10am or so). The bus ride up there takes about 15-18 mins and zig zags all the way and it can look pretty hairy as you climb up & up & up & up & up & up with the bus and you almost wonder if you will ever get there as Aguas Calientes looks smaller and smaller at the bottom of the mountain.

When you get there, there are toilets and cafeterias with an outdoor terrace or the Sanctuary Lodge Hotel where you can enjoy a buffet for $30 (but with no view of MP). We soon went through the entrance gate and within minutes we were greeted with THE vista that is such a classic cliche the world over. It is a sight that does take your breath away and I was thrilled to see so many more llamas roaming freely around the grounds this time. Something that I misssed out on last time.

There were hundreds of people probably but as the city is SO vast, you could always find a little spot to yourself. Some people had hired guides to know all about the place, others were just sitting there, in awe... trying to take it all in.

There is so much on the internet on Machu Picchu that I´ll leave it to you to do some research if you want to know more. I´m in between two flights as I´m writing this so kind of short of time but it was discovered in 1911 by Hirma Bingham who was looking for some Inca gold and silver. His research trip was funded by the National Geographic Institute and he had spent days looking for old ruins with his binoculars but had not managed to find anything that ressembled what he was after. One day though, as it was getting dark, he had to have dinner at a local farmer´s place and he mentioned in passing that he was after a lost city but had been unsuccessful. This guy said that he knew exactly where it was and even told him the name of the place was Machu Picchu. It was not difficult for Bingham to convince him to show him where the place was and the next day they struggled to cross a river and climbed 1,200 ft to the top. They reached their goal at about noon and were stunned to be greeted by a friendly family that had settled there, enjoying the ancient Inca terraces to grow crops. They had been living there for ages and were able to show him all the stone work, most of which was badly over grown with thick vegatation, hence his being unable to stop the ruins from afar. It was so thick that he had to enroll the help of an 8 year old boy to squeeze through some paths to lead him to some stone work. Bingham started clearing the area with his bare hands and then realised he had found a large inca city. This was 24 July 1911 and the rest was history.... It was one of the biggest archeological find in Peru, ever and its appeal has remained unmatched ever since. It attracts more tourists to Peru than anything else, even more so than the mysterious Nasca lines.

It is a sight to behold and it is almost a spiritual place. You can feel ´something´special in the air. Of course, most of it has been rebuilt to give us an idea of what it´d have looked like before it got abandonned and there are still restoring bits of it now. I think I read somewhere that MP was built, lived in and abandoned within 100 years. There are still lots of speculations about it today.

The one thing that the tourist books don´t really warn you about is that you will get stung by sanflies as of 2pm or so and I remained blissfully unaware of this until it was too late... by the time I lifted my long skirt, I realised I had been bitten 84 times on my legs alone and my ankle was swelling rapidly. Ooops. Of course, we had insect repellent but had left it behind by mistake.

We left at 5pm, reluctantly.... they close the park at 5.30pm and we didn´t want to miss the last bus. The light was even more beautiful at 5pm and the mountains behind even more defined and there were much fewer people too so it was really sad to leave it at its best.

When we got back to Aguas Calientes we expected temperatures to drop overnight but they remained a very pleasant 23C all evening, so we ate outside and had such a nice time eating gorgeous food and listening to live relaxing music (the Sheraton at Iguazu also a harp player every night and it was very lovely too. Live music always sounds better, doesn´t it !?).

The day after we got up at 7am, checked out by 9am and headed straight back to MP for one last glance. Once is never enough. We were both mesmerised up there. After a 30 mins of wild panic when Nathalie thought she´d lost our very expensive tickets we went back in, walked through different areas again (it is HUGE so you cannot walk it all in 3 hours... you also have to take it easy due to the altitude) and took more photos. The light was even more even in the morning so there were fewer shadows. We´ve got some great shots of each of us posing happily on some rocks with MP behind, in full glory. It is such an incredibly photogenic place, you cannot take a bad photo there really. And it was SO hot, almost too hot... but so much better than misty or rainy. We were SO lucky. We had had the best weather at the two most crucial times. But itwas definitely much more crowded in the morning.

At noon we had to leave, but enjoyed one last fantastic lunch in town, at leisure, we bought a few jewels at the market (silver is incredibly cheap and their jewellery was really beautifully crafted) and at 3.30pm we left by train, enjoyed the same incredible vistas on the way back, still were lucky to be seated on the river side, and got to Cuzco at 7pm when it was totally dark.

The one treat on the train is that they peformed a fashion show with various alcapa capes and cardigans or other beautiful sweaters, etc. Nathalie was so taken by it that she bought two things. They feel absolutely lovely. In fact, baby alpaca fur was reserved exclusively for the Inca noblesse due to its exquisite texture. So, it does feel like a treat when you wear it.

Our guide and driver were there, drove us safely and quickly back to our hotel. We had a quick stroll around town and then headed to bed ! We skipped dinner altogether as we were too tired.

The next day, we left our hotel at 10am (we could not seem to be very fast in our thinking and our packing, I think the medication for all my nasty bites was making me a bit feverish and slow) and we enjoyed a few last strolls around Cuzco. I told Nathalie we had to sit at one of the balconies overlooking the plaza as it´d be the best view and the safest place to get away from all the begging people. It seems selfish to say this but when every minute that you sit down at a cafe terrace someone comes over to try and sell you something, you do despair. Even though we remained accutely aware that we lucky not to have to be the ones doing the begging really.

Nathalie hated the fact that so many dogs seemed lost and almost got run over by cars. She found this very distressing and couldn´t wait to leave because of all this. I liked it a lot more because the air is so crisp, the skies are so blue and the architecture is really pretty.

We are now at Lima airport, awaiting our 11h15 flight back to Madrid and then onto London.
We haven´t had time to send post cards as we hardly stopped. Sorry !

Bisous to you all, Sylvie x

Cuzco - as quaint as ever. 3 Sept 09

3rd Sept was a loooong day for us. We took off from Buenos Aires quite early at 8.45am but had 2 hours check in. The flight was 4h45 which is long enough by most people´s standards but at least it had decent entertainment, a choice of 46 movies on-demand on LAN and it did help pass time. But then we had a 3 hour wait in Lima for a 1h15 flight to Cuzco. This did drag... there were 2 earlier flights to Cuzco that we could have easily made, it was so frustrating. You can tell that Cuzco is the number one destination in Peru just by the number of flights that take off every day. It must have been at least one per hour from Lima alone.

Anyway, when we did land, our guide there was really sweet (and called Mily - which is like the cat I found, Millie, so there has to be something in the name! It was also the name of ´my´ocelot in Bolivia). The light was golden when we arrived at 4.30pm but by 5.10pm, it was already too low for decent shots.

I really love Cuzco, it is a very charming Inca city (of major significance as it was the centre of the Inca empire at once point) but the number of people trying to sell you stuff can get exceedingly tiring very quickly. If you stop for 5 seconds (to tie your shoe lace, say) you will have a queue of people wanting to sell you post cards, jewellery, paintings... most of them are very beautiful as there is a lot of talent out there, but I never know what I could do with all these ´things´. I am forever aware that we cannot take material things with us when we die and really make a point to accumulate as little as I can in this life so that it´ll be easy to clear my flat when I´m gone! :) I have never liked ´stuff´.... and though craft can be exquisite sometimes I personally never find anything quite as beautiful as God´s original work of art that inspired the human artists, be it a flower, a landscape, or a portrait. It´s me... picky as ever. Sorry.

If it wasn´t for all the people begging (and lots of dogs on the streets that we were worried about too) we could have enjoyed our strolls better... at night the whole square is lit up and it is very atmospheric. The lights from the little houses on the neighbouring hills look like stars all around the city centre. Great optical illusion.

Nathalie & I were staying at Casa Andina which was great location, right at the back of the main square so we had a view over it at night. For dinner we went to Greens, just off the main square and we really loved the ambiance. Very quaint, very ´organic´ feel and fantastic food. Even a simple sandwich was truly gourmet. We will most likely go back there again before we leave Peru. We were mightily impressed and will recommend the decor and food to anyone who comes to Cuzco.

Our room was cosy, nice hot showers, great bed, lovely soft sheets... we slept quite well. It wasn´t even half as cold as we expected at night so we didn´t put the heating on. The weather forecast had predicted 1C to 3C and it must have been at least 10C. We were pleasantly surprised!

We were fast asleep by 8.30pm. I guess that coming from Buenos Aires, it was +2H in our heads. Either that, or we are turning into grannies already ! We do love our beds, boy... when I think that some people start to get ready to go out at 8.30pm, it feels seriously odd.

We need to get lots of sleep anyway as the day after we had a 4.45am wake up call for our 6.10pm pick up to go to the train station. We had to pack an overnight bag as they have now changed all the rules for the trains to Machu Picchu and people are not allowed more than 5kgs of luggage for overnight stay. We had come prepared with ruck sacks but still had to decide what to bring and what to leave behind - which, for most girls, can be a 30 min affair at least.

After that, we made a quick dash to the top floor for an even greater view of the city at sunrise and enjoyed a simple but pleasant breakfast just the two of us... I just loved the light at 5.30am, it had a pink aura to it and the square was deserted so all the stone work looked really quaint, plenty of wooden carved balconies too. Nathalie wasn´t feeling too good, had a headache and felt sick and was starting to be affected by altitude sickness it seemed. The day before she was out of breath a lot faster than I was too. She didn´t get on with the coca leaves tea at all (she hates bitter stuff, even with a ton of sugar with it).

Thankfully, she improved a bit as the day went by and another great thing about Machu Picchu, is that it is quite a bit lower than Cuzco, so the altitude sickness is usually not as bad there. Phew.

Buenos Aires - Sept 2009

We spent our last morning in Iguazu with mixed emotions: great sadness at the thought of leaving such an idyllic place and yet such joy at feeling so connected with nature whilst we were there. We went for a walk back on the Upper Trail soon after an early breakfast and it was so quiet... hardly anyone at all at this time of the day (the trails only open at 8am and we were there at 8.15am) but a few coatis... the light was palpable and we loved it all over again just as much as on the first day. Nathalie was telling me, quite rightly "you´d think that after 3 days of seeing waterfalls after waterfalls you´d get used to it, but you can´t, it still takes your breath away, it´s just tooo spectacular". I think that I too would like to have my ashes scattered here after all. Well, 70% in my beloved East Africa and 30% here.

I grew so attached to the coatis that I felt I was leaving my pets behind... they are such lovely sociable creatures and I just loved to watch them run around with their striped tails up in the air. I will go back to London Zoo as soon as I´m home again to see their pretty faces again but I know my heart will ache as it will never be the same as watching them roam around in their natural tropical habitat.

It was so hot that we were really sweating and had to have a quick shower before checking out. The 15 min drive to the airport was smooth and our flight was on time. My heart felt sooo heavy when we took off. I had a lump in my throat and tears rolling down my cheeks (really!)... I cannot bear to leave any kind of beauty behind, it´s the visual person in me that totally craves beauty and feeds on it to feel alive. It´s part of my inner make-up.... total appreciation of God´s creation at its best. And as much as I love London, it doesn´t overwhelm me to that extent.

When you fly over the province of the Iguassu National Park though you realise how much damage humans have done in the last 100 years alone and how very very little remains of the original tropical rainforest. It is even more unbearable to see the ravages once you have seen first hand all the treasures that a tropical forest holds in terms of flora and fauna. How many precious birds and coatis got burnt in the fires that we started to clear the grounds for farm lands... it just doesn´t bear thinking about.

When we landed in Buenos Aires, it looked very cloudy and it was a lot cooler. We went from 30C in Iguassu to 15C in the capital city. As the weather was grey and dull it seemed to match our moods. If we had had more time and money we would have definitely stayed in Iguassu an extra 3 days (though the weather forecast seemed to indicate that it`d be stormy soon after we left and downpour were forecast for the next 4 days... if the weathercast was right -and is it ever !?- then we would have timed it right as it was raining last week when we were in London as I kept checking).

Anyway, we reluctantly headed for the town centre and checked into our hotel 40mins later. The ride was 42 pesos, about 8 pounds, so quite reasonable. I´d say "I´m writing this for future ref" but I really don`t think I will come back to Buenos Aires again unless I really have to.

Both Nathalie and I just don´t like this city much. I am not sure why so many people love it but it lacks something... the parks are all the same, the monuments are very European but nothing special and I guess the only suburb that is distinctive and vibrantly colourful is Boca. I took about 15 pictures there. But beside that, we really fail to see the appeal. It may have felt more exciting on a sunny day but as neither she or I have got any interest in tango, I think we may be missing the fun of what living here is all about.

Besides, we seem to be a lot more lethargic since we came here. Not sure why. Pollution!? Sadness!? But I was in bed at 8pm last night and fast asleep by 9pm and most tango shows start at 8pm and finish at midnight. Far too late for us - already. Dear me... we are ageing !!!

We will be leaving tomorrow morning for Lima and we are already counting the hours. I know that Cuszo is pretty and that Machu Picchu is also awe inspiring in a completely different way and I really need to go ´wow´again. And I simply cannot go ´wow´here in Buenos Aires. Nothing grabs me ... visually.

Our hotel, the Marbella, is real basic but the beds are comfy and breakfast is only croissants, which suits us French ladies fine ! It is in a superb location as we are on Av de Mayo, right off Av 9 de Julio (the largest road in the world) and is really cheap compared to the Sheraton at Iguassu. At the Marbella we paid like US$45 per night, which is roughly half what you would expect to pay in any other hotel here.

The room is a bit depressing as the deco is inexistent but it has hot shower and for 2 nights, it off sets nicely the cost of what the Sheraton would have cost if my friend hadn´t kindly left me some money in her will for me to scatter her ashes. Strangely, the spot where we scattered her ashes no longer had a rainbow the next day... so I like to think that she was indeed there with us in spirit when we ´did the deed´.

On this note, I will have to sign off as we are going to go for a late lunch / early dinner.

Bisous bisous and I hope that London isn´t getting tooo cold by now. As the seasons are reversed, Buenos Aires is the equivalent of late March, so few leaves on the trees and it´s dark by 6.15pm, so this doesn´t help our moods either I guess.

Oh well, moan over. Just thought I´d say it as it is so that you don´t envy us tooo much.
The next post will be from Peru... God willing.

Last full day at Iguassu

Well, today was another fun, relaxing day with different experiences again. We slept 30 mins longer and washed our clothes, hang them to dry on our little balcony (so convenient) and then had our great buffet breakfast overlooking the falls to set us off. After that, we went straight to the Devils Throat, where the highest and biggest of the waterfalls converge to make one impressive jump. In turns of volume of water, this is the jackpot ! Totally awe-inspiring. And the water volume was so high that you just couldn´t see the river bed at the bottom as the spray and mist were too dense. In some ways, it is almost better when it´s not SO full on... but what an experience !!!! Nathalie absolutely loved it. I think her jaw dropped open on a few occasions.

You have to catch a little train to get there and then walk 1,110m on some iron bridges that take you across the river (very shallow river in most parts, making it even more mind boggling as to how the waterfalls can be SO impressive -- where on earth does ALL this water come from!? the Andes and rainfalls I guess) and this alone was hugely relaxing. We even spotted our first (of four) wild tucan and other pretty birds and there were butterflies just everywhere... some would follow, stay on your back or camera lens for ages. It was just packed with wildlife and we SO enjoyed this too. The journey was almost as beautiful as the destination in that sense.

After that, we decided to enjoy a boat ride back and climbed on a big canoe with 5 other people and just glided down the river, peacefully... spotting a few aligators basking in the sun on the way. It was just totally serene and we really enjoyed this too.

When we got back to the train station we decided it was time to walk the LowerTtrail and enjoy different perspectives again. I had a lovely spot in mind for me to scatter my friend´s ashes (my main mission for this trip) and I took them to a spot with a huge waterfall that had a rainbow right at the bottom of it -- as if I had my friend´s seal of approval. I got my sister to do a quick rehearsal on the video and just as she started filming we got a spray of mist coming from nowhere over us. It was quite sweet.

I had to take a few photos and do a quick video for legal reasons (as she had left some money in her will for me to do this part of the trip) and her various friends had set up a blog to put photos and videos of the 6 international places where she wanted us to take her ashes. So, it was great for me to have Nathalie with me to help me with this part of the project. I took a few pinches of ashes and we did some photos and then threw the rest to the wind and filmed the ashes fly above the falls into the rainbow. It was just picture perfect and I know that my friend would have really appreciated the serenity and majesty of this particular spot. I could not have chosen a more beautiful spot in Argentina I think. Nothing else matches the power of Iguassu on the whole planet anyway !

It was 3pm by then and we were just starting to feel hungry. It had been SO hot all day (another totally glorious day without a cloud in the sky) that we simply did not feel hungry any earlier. The restaurant ground was full of coatis and it was just so sweet to see so many of them roaming free. I did lots of fun videos of them looking into Nathalie,s bag. Once she even tried to lift her bag off the ground quickly but one of them managed to hang onto it regardless. It was so funny. I think I will put the video on my Facebook for all to see !

We then decided to enjoy the beautiful pool of our hotel and just relax a little bit. The water seemed icy cold at first but I soon got used to it. It was perfect to cool down our over heated body and we then just stayed by the pool an hour before deciding to head for the Upper Trail again as it was so gorgeous on our first day. Unfortunately, by the time we got back to our room, changed quickly and headed down again, it was 5.40pm when we got to the Upper Trail start and the path was closed already.

Never mind, our back up plan was to rush up to the terrace of our hotel on the 4th floor and enjoy a magnificent sunset (we had noticed last night that they are absolutely superb at 6.15pm).
Nice buffet at the hotel tonight... and another perfect day has ended. We really could not have had a nicer 3 days here and I would recommend no fewer than 3 days at Iguassu Falls. Every day we have had has been uniquely wonderful and we would not have missed them for the world.

We feel SO totally blessed and utterly privileged to be here. We truly truly do not take ONE minute for granted and will be able to put together a really neat photo album to inspire you guys to do the same trip one day -- we hope. We really do !!! It is sooo memorable. It makes us miss all our friends and family even more not to be able to share this with them all TOO.

Off to Buenos Aires tomorrow, I think it will be a shock to the system to re-adjust to civilisation !