Every journey comes to an end...

Day 23
2011-01-31
Arriving in Frankfurt

The next day we landed safely in cold cold Germany and this journey came to an end. Chris flew back home to Hamburg...I flew back home to Munich...both of us with a little more in our luggage as when we left.

Not only did we bring some souvenirs or clothes...I think the biggest thing I brought back was the immense experience, the countless impressions, the feeling that I had seen something so special that nothing can ever take this away from me. 

Peru has changed me in many ways...for the good.

This blog has come to an end now...almost 4 months after we came back from Peú. It took me time and effort to write everything down...but in the meantime it helped me memorize each and every moment of this beautiful journey.

Thank you for reading this blog and watching the pictures. There's more of them on my Flickr. Feel free to visit my albums and leave me some comments.


Sincerely

Umberto 

Unplanned layover in Bogotá

Day 22
2011-01-30
Visiting Bogotá - flight to Frankfurt

Bogotá from Monserrate

Well...the day before had left it's traces and we slept until 10 am I think. Since breakfast was included we went down to have breakfast. After that Chris went to the business centre to inform friends and employer and I tried to find out if there was any chance to get the best of this day. The concierge made a recommendation. She knew a taxi driver that could take us to the most important spots in Bogota. She only spoke Spanish but that was fine since I understand a lot. So I told Chris about it and he joined happily.

It was really amazing - we drove to Monserrat, to the historical centre, saw the president palace, the court and a lot of other important government buildings, had a nice traditional lunch and walked the university area. On our way back to the hotel we stopped briefly to buy some shirts. I had a feeling that we could need them for the flight back home. Once back in the hotel we got ready for our flight. We packed, got dressed (with shirts) and drove over to the airport. This time everything went fine and to keep the story short: We ended up being upgraded to business class and so the flight to Frankfurt was over in a blink of an eye.

Leaving Perú...

Day 21
2011-01-29
Flight to Bogotá

The day started perfectly. We got up early, had breakfast, packed our whole stuff and called a taxi to get us to the airport. Once there we checked in and then: the last odyssey started. We were told that the flight to Bogota was fully booked and that there was no chance to get on this flight. That was really bad and so we started to evaluate our options.

We couldn't take another route because the milage wasn't the same. Since we had a connection flight in Bogota at 10 pm we HAD to get to Bogota somehow and so we started to see if any other airline would fly to Bogota that afternoon. We were lucky. LAN Airlines were scheduled to leave at around 5 pm. That meant that we would be in Bogota on time for the connection.

We boarded and the flight went smoothly. Once in Bogota we rushed to the transfer gate. The station manager was a German woman and told me that the passenger numbers were really bad this night and that they were already overbooked. We had to wait until the last passenger had boarded to see if there would still be spare seats for us.

There weren't. We were in Columbia, our luggage was already on the way to Germany and we had nothing but our carry on luggage. I never had something like this before...and to be honest...it's kinda cool. :-) No waiting for your luggage...no heavy trolleys.

The station manager was very kind and she helped us organize a hotel room for the night - nearby the airport and with a shuttle bus connection. Well...only thing that wasn't as we expected: it was a five star hotel. We had spent almost 20 nights in hostals that merely had on star...but we didn't complain and so we storm trouped our castle for the night. Chris was exhausted and stood in the room. I had to go to the bar and have a drink after all those things that happened that day. We were really exhausted...but happy. When I came back, Chris was already in bed watching tv and I took a shower and joined him. After a while I fell asleep.

Lima & meeting Paola

Day 20
2011-01-28
When people get connected

The last day in Lima was a lazy one. We had breakfast, went to the beach, had a coffee at a restaurant on a pier which was really nice and walked up and down the beach watching the waves and surfers trying to catch the perfect wave. 

Afterwards we went to a barber shop to get a decent haircut and I did give my well grown beard a nice grooming action. ;-) We were able to join civilisation again...just kidding. Peru is a very civilised country. It was just easier not to care about hair and beard during our trip and to be honest I didn't even bring a razor or shaver. 

 

In the evening we met Paola - a friend and fan I met on Facebook. We had such a great time, had dinner and took a walk in Washington Park in Miraflores. It was pure fun and so cool to meet her. After that we went back to our hotel to be fit for our trip back home.

Back in Lima

Day 19
2011-01-27
Arrival in Lima

It felt so good to be back in Lima after 3 weeks. After reaching the Cruz Del Sur bus terminal we took a taxi and drove to our hostal - the one we were staying in at the beginning of our trip. It was almost like coming home. Our room wasn't ready yet - so we had breakfast and moved into our room afterwards.

Then we drove to the historical centre of Lima and spent the day shopping, having coffee, lunch, coffee again, walked the whole centre, took photos and laughed A LOT.

Honestly - I don't remember the last time I laughed so hard for a whole three weeks. It was simply magical! That evening we went to a restaurant across the street of our hotel. They served typical Peruvian food and were lucky because there was a guy playing live on his guitar. It was amazing...the food was great the music was awesome and the conversations really profound.

More rockfalls - arrival in Ayacucho & departure to Lima

Day 18
2011-01-26
Another night on a bus - in the mountains

Only two hours later we were on our way - finally. Ok - I'm kidding. I the middle of the night we were - again - standing still in the Andes and there was no back or forth. So we spent another night in the mountains. Honestly - when I think about it now I see why this happened to us. One very important thing I learned is patience. Sometimes you can' t change things - so there's no need to freak out or get nervous. And another thing we experienced were the magnificent sunrises in the mountains. We could have never experienced that if we didn't stop for the night in the bus. Words can't describe how I felt on the edge of that mountain road...so I better add a photo.

After the sun had set we were back on our route and reached Ayacucho at around 11 am. We were supposed to be there the evening before...but hey - we were alive. ;-)

We had a reservation at a beautiful hostal in the centre of the city but due to all the delays we weren't able to check in for the night. We had to take the bus to Lima the same evening at 10 pm. The owner of the hostal was REALLY awesome. She gave us a room for the day to get some rest and take a (much needed) shower after that 38 hour trip. And she even gave it to us for half the price. :-)

The shower was awesomeness and much fresher we started to explore the town. The weather was amazing and we had a great lunch at the hotel. After that we went to walk the area. Ayacucho is an amazing town with lots of arts and crafts...very traditional people and beautiful colours. After a nap in the afternoon we went to have dinner which was awesome. Then we packed our stuff and headed towards the bus terminal. The last route to Lima was on a really comfortable bus with folding seats and catering. We boarded the us, cuddled up n our blankets, had another snack and watched a movie before falling asleep. 9 hours later we woke up realising that we were in Lima. The ride raced by and we felt great!

The world ends at the edge of a road

Day 17
2011-01-25
Rockfalls, avalanches and floods - Andahuaylas 

Only two hours later the bus stopped without further notice. We were in the middle of nowhere - in the Andes, on a dark muddy road. We waited for a couple of minutes hoping that the ride would continue...but nothing happened. I left the bus to see what's going on and I noticed that the s driver were talking about something in spanish. The road was obviously blocked and after a while the drivers started to get ready for a sleep - yes, you heard right: they were getting out mattresses to set up their beds. I went back into the bus to tell Chris about it and we resigned to the situation and tried to sleep a bit. It was a short night. When the morning dawned I woke up and left the bus again. The drivers were already trying to free the road. A rock avalanche went down the night before and the road was completely covered in all sizes of rocks. After 2 hours we were finally able to continue our trip and drove on. 

Only half an hour later the next obstacle hit our way: a mud avalanche blocking the road for a second time. After another hour we were able to go on. Believe me or not...there was another surprise waiting for us. Just a few miles later the road was completely under water and we had to wait again. 

We finally reached Andahuaylas in the early evening. Our scheduled connection to Ayacucho was already gone but the bus company was trying to arrange something. We were told that our bus to Ayacucho has been rescheduled 2 hours after our arrival. 

This gave us the time to visit the city centre and have a decent meal. We hadn't had a big thing to eat since our departure 16 hours before. 

After a nice lunch and a walk in town we headed back to the bus terminal where we waited for the boarding process. But guess what - nothing happened. We were told that no bus would go to Ayacucho this evening because the office was told that the road in the mountains was blocked due to rainfalls. After checking on our options we headed towards the city centre to find a travel agency to get tickets for a flight to Ayacucho. We were just outside the bus terminal when a fellow passenger approached us saying that they had organised a bus that would leave that evening and they were almost boarding. We thought about it and I decided to go back and take our chance because I wanted to leave already. Chris wasn't so happy about that but he joined. 25 minutes later we were sitting on the bus and leaving Andahuaylas. Another 11 hours were laying in front of us and we prepared for the night in an uncomfortable bus seat. We literally JUST left Andahuaylas as the bus stopped. It was raining outside at that point and we couldn't see much. Suffice to say, Chris was furious after following me on my decision to board that bus and not take the airplane. Anyhow - we were stuck because a truck in front of us had turned sideways because of the mud on the road. 

Start of an odyssey

Day 16
2011-01-24
Start of an odyssey

It was planned to go to one last city before going back to Lima: Ayacucho. The city in the Andes is a cultural center for Peruvian arts and crafts but since it is very remote not many tourists go there. The busride to Ayacucho was supposed to last 22 hours in total…The first leg of the route would last 11 hours and stop in Andahuaylas and then go on to Ayacucho.

We knew that this was a long ride, but we wanted to see the city and so we took the adventure. I must add that it was the rainy season which can sometimes cause some minor problems along the way…but more about that later.

We got our tickets – surprisingly cheap compared to the other tickets we got – and we boarded the bus for a ride through the night. Departure time was 10 pm. We left Cusco and headed the Andes direction Andahuaylas. We could not imagine what this ride would bring.

Cusco - the cultural belly button of Perú

Day 15
2011-01-23
Cusco

The next morning after a wonderful breakfast at Jacks bar we started walking the neighborhood again. 

Cusco has the oldest Peruvian University and is a tourist magnet. But it’s not as bad as it sounds. The very modern city is a great place where many young people, tourists and locals come together to make it a unique mixture of pulsating nightlife, entertainment areas, shopping and cultural activities at the same time. Cusco is just beautiful and fun! Walking around the streets during the day gives you the chance to see locals in their traditional costumes. If you walk out of the city center you can find amazing traditional markets where people sell almost everything starting from food to kitchen equipment. Everything happens on the streets and sometimes it can appear a bit strange to us. 

Our discovery of the day was The Muse – a nice Lounge/Bar/Restaurant with great staff, amazing music and awesome drinks! We loved this place and after a snack at lunchtime we decided to come back for dinner. At night Cusco awakes to a lively pool of bars, restaurants and clubs that vary in style and price of course. People love to go out and the younger ones hang out on the streets having chats or goofing around. 

We went to The Muse as planned and had a nice and relaxed time with snacks and good drinks listening to amazing music and observing people. We really had a great time and laughed so hard – mostly about each other.

Macchu Picchu & the drive to Cusco

Day 14

2011-01-22
Machu Picchu & driving to Cusco

I had been waiting for this day since 8 years and I almost couldn’t believe that it was happening…I was so nervous I woke up several times that night only to notice that it was raining strings!

The first time I noticed was at 1 am. I thought “well maybe it will stop until we get up at 3.40 am” but it did not stop. We got up, got ready, checked out and left the hotel. It was pitch black outside and it was raining. I had brought my rain coat with me. But my pants were made from cotton and I already knew they were going to be soaking wet until we reached the top. Anyhow…I was happy to have my headlamp with me – Chris had forgotten his. Although it is a good one – very strong and bright, we almost couldn’t see a thing. I was devastated!

Machu Picchu

But I was determined to go up and see the holy city of Machu Picchu and so we started our walk up – almost 6 km of ancient uphill Inka trail were lying in front of us and the masses of water were coming down on us…wow! The Inka trail to Machu Picchu – which means the steps that bring you up to the city, were literally flooded. It took me almost 2,5 h to get to the top and I was exhausted, wet from the outside, wet on the inside (sweating like I had done a marathon), tired, hungry and just REALLY upset by the rain!

We entered the city of Machu Picchu and were facing a wall of - FOG! I couldn’t believe it…all that effort for nothing? You couldn’t see a thing…everything was clumsy, dripping wet, foggy – just gross! Chris suggested starting our tour through the ruins walking a bit more uphill and despite my objections I finally gave in and followed him. We saw the walls the Inka built, the aqueducts, the steps, the terraces, houses, temples and other buildings and it started to feel different. I almost forgot about the rain and the fog and started to picture the ancient people in this city… How they worked and lived. How they had to climb up and down all those massive steps every day…the ceremonies they held back then, the sacrifices they made.

We almost walked the whole city in this fog and rain when we noticed a slight change in weather. It had almost stopped raining and we could see that the fog was clearing. That made me euphoric and I said to Chris that I hoped to see the city covered by sunlight. I didn’t believe it though cause the sky was still grey and covered by clouds.

Our round tour took us up again to the house of the guards. During the way up the wonder happened: the sky opened up, the clouds cleared and the sun came out! You can’t believe how I felt! I turned and could finally see the whole city. I walked up faster and once we reached the house of the guard the spectacular view over the site took my breath away. There it was – the mysterious and beautiful Machu Picchu! I felt so happy and full of energy. You could feel that this was a special place and the piece of this spot was magnificent. I can’t describe what I felt in this moment but I think my expression on that photo tells everything!

The moment was definitely magical…no doubt. And I’m sure I will be back one day because I love this place!

After sitting there on top of the mountain and breathing in the energy of this place we went down again…all the way back to Aguas Calientes. Since it was sunny now, it was amazing to see the Inka Trail we came up on. I didn’t realize that we went up through a rainforest since you couldn’t see a thing in the morning.

Back in Aguas Calientes we had a wonderful breakfast at the plaza. After that we walked the town one more time and then found a bar at the river we could spend the time until our train left in the afternoon. We just sat there, had coffee and watched the people passing by. It was funny because it started to rain again after lunch and it continued until we boarded the train back to Ollantaytambo. From Ollantaytambo we took the bus that brought us back to Cusco where we arrived late in the evening.

A wonderful journey had found its apex!