No Sign of Paddington

Well as we´ve been in Bolivia for almost a week now I thought I´d give you all a brief summary of Peru. It seems like an age away now, but it was 15th June when we crossed the border from Loha in Ecuador to Piura in Peru. I think Michelle was looking forward to a bit less poverty but I didn´t have the heart to tell her it would be pretty much the same as Ecuador. Anyway, the first sight we saw, which made both our hearts sink, was what looked like a rubbish dump! It was in fact the outskirts of Piura, although I´m sure there was a rubbish dump nearby as the smell was horrendous and as it was hot the smell was even worse!

Still we braved it and once we entered the main city it improved. Onwards from Piura brought us to Trujillo and the ruins at Chan Chan. These were very impressive (thanks again to Ozelyne for the tour) and I´m sure if the money invested into the South of Peru (specifically around Cusco) was invested in the North then there would be a lot more visitors.

From Trujillo we headed to the capital to Lima, which was fairly uneventful, and then to Cusco by plane. I´m sure you´ve read about our struggles with the altitude (no not attitude!) but this is where it hit us the most. It´s hard to describe how bad it is; I was thinking it can´t be as bad as that surely, but it does cripple you. There were stories from other travellers we talked to who were in bed for days, throwing up, not eating, etc. We weren´t quite there but still it was tough.

Still, after a few days acclimatising, nothing could prepare us for Machu Piccu, it was fantastic. To think that ruins that big remained hidden for so long is amazing. The setting too is unbelievable, literally perched between two mountains with gravity defying terraces, the Incas sure had a head for heights!

After Cusco, there was Arequipa and the Colca Canyon and then Puno and Lake Titikaka. To mention them in such a short sentence doesn´t do them justice as both are easily worthy of a trip to Peru.

Overall I think Peru has more sights to see than Ecuador but Ecuador has more of an untouched feel to it (and Bolivia even more so). Sometimes the locals give me strange looks when I´m taking photos of scenery. "Why are you taking a photo of that for, it´s only a mountain?" The country they live in is so diverse and scenic, but then they have lived in it all their life and don´t know any different. Also the Peruvians are really friendly and always seem to be smiling even though a large percentage of them have absolutely nothing compared to the luxury we have back home. I´m not preaching but it really does make you realize how lucky we are at home, even people who can´t (or in some cases won´t!) work usually have a roof over their head, running water, heating and Sky TV. And in some of those cases they still spend all day moaning as if they are owed a decent life by the government.

So that´s it. We won´t be spending as much time in Bolivia as Peru which is a shame as there´s loads to do here too, but time is pressing. The main highlight in Bolivia will be crossing the salt flats into Chile which we should be doing next week sometime. It´s a 3 day tour and you camp out in sub-zero temperatures which will be nice!

Adios,

p.s. We didn´t see Paddington Bear although he´s from Peru. He must be getting on a bit now though, so he probably doesn´t get out much!