TARGET HIT - JULY 23rd

On my birthday, I weighed myself … result 80.3kg (176pounds) !!! .... refer http://okbyebye.blogspot.com/2009/02/my-weight-loss-for-january.html

It looked little shaky few months back, but 2 months of travelling have worked in my favor … so looks like an expensive dinner is on Damian … whenever we get to meet again, in some random part of the world!!! … Tried to take picture of the digital scale (as proof) … but all too hard … so you just have to take my word for it.

I am back to my fighting weight ... going back to 3 years ago, after finished the 3 month drive around Europe (where I dropped to 78kgs) … so maybe its no coincidence that few months travelling/backpacking is actually good for the figure/scales.

6 CONTINENTS in 12 months

I just realized that in past 12 month, I have managed to travel to all Continents of the world, which I think is quite an achievement, and hard to believe I actually did all that travelling, until you start adding up the list

AFRICA - Egypt Jun 09

SOUTH AMERICA - Peru July 09

NORTH AMERICA (based out of LA)

AUSTRALIA - Nov 08, Feb 09, July 09

ASIA - China Oct 08

EUROPE (6 Flights into London, UK)

• Aug 08: Ireland


• Sep 08: Portugal/Spain


• April 09: Italy/Switzerland


• June 09: Finland/Estonia ….Poland

LIMA - Miraflores

I have to say, Miraflores district of Lima really surprised me … stunning coastline, great food, and an amazing atmosphere …. (I could really live here, as a base)…. And it was a great way to relax, and spend last few days of my Peru trip…. And it was hard to leave, once the time arrived to head off to the airport.

AREQUIPA

Ok…. So the return trip back to Cusco was a lot better then expected …. The following morning I bought a train ticket to Ollantaytambo (US$51 for 2hr ride), and then was lucky enough to share a cab with some locals back to Cusco (US$3.50 for 1.5hr, 85km ride) … all up the trip back was less than 4hrs, bypassing the most dangerous roads with the sheer cliff drop-offs.
I really had enough of the Cusco, and had the need to move on, so decided to catch a night bus (with a bed-seat) to Arequipa, about which I have heard a lot of good things.

Arequipa gave me a flashback to my South America travels of 2003 …. All these Latin American cities have the same feel about them …. Spanish influenced building, churches …. But nothing really unique, that gives them any WOW factor.

Arequipa is much prettier than Cusco, with a magnificent cathedral …. But other than that, there is really nothing here to keep my attention for longer than a day … so tomorrow, decided to fly back to Lima … giving me two full days to explore Peru’s capital, before heading back to USA, and then Oz.

MACHU PICCHU

Getting up early was not really an issue (I was grouped with couple of American guys, and they were up, which got me up as well …ie.we shared a room).
By 5:30am, there were approx 600-700 people lined up for the bus, and the street was alive with vendors, and tourists full of anticipation…..A dozen buses arrived, and quite efficiently (surprisingly), the masses got transported to the peak, and then through check points to the ancient Inca ruins.

I have to say, that once I was at the top, I realized that the strain of last few days (flights, altitude sickness, all-day bus ride, 4am start) have taken their toll, and even though this has been a goal of mine for nearly a decade, I was not as excited as I should have been …. Don’t get me wrong ….quite a spectacular place ….. but the tour I was on had to return by 11:00am, so it only gave us few hour to enjoy Machu Picchu.
By 10am, the place is packed with tourists (maybe 2000 plus), and I starched out on the lawns, and had a little nap … only to wake up in time to return to Aguas Calientes (by return bus).

I have to add a side note … as far as a tourist destination goes, in my experience (and I’m up to 60 countries covered in past decade, or so) Machu Picchu is one of the most difficult places to get to … from Lima … one needs to get to Cusco (20+ hour bus ride, or plane at 5am), then there is a monopoly on the trains that go from Cusco to Aguas Calientes (5hrs, approx US$50, which at peak season, are usually sold out days ahead).
Then there is also the 30min bus to get from town, to the peak!! (at US$7 each way) …and a day pass to Machu Picchu is also quite expensive, at US$45.


So here I am, after few hours at Machu Picchu, and I’m contemplating another 10hr bus ride back to Cusco …. Thinking … Im really not ready for that .. an decide to abandon the tour, organize a room, have lunch, and make my way back in afternoon, to watch the sun set over Machu Picchu…. The way I look at it, I did not travel half way around the world (again), for a few hours here … I will leave when I am ready!!!
Glad I did, by 2pm, all the morning tour groups have cleared out, and there is a total of no more than few hundred people wondering around, and now the Lamas have moved closer to the edge, where they can be photographed with the ruins in the background.

How I get out of Aguas Calientes is another issue … with which I will deal with tomorrow, or day afterwards!! All depends on when the trains are available (the prices range up to $300 for return trip, so one can get the train .. it all depends on how much you want to spend)…. One thing I know, is that as a destination … I wil probably never come back to Peru again.

ROAD TO MACHU PICCHU

Some spectacular terrain

YES, that is a 300meter drop just over the edge of the road (photo taken from my seat in the bus!!!).

Somehow, I did fall asleep, but that morning I had a splitting headache….bus came around 7:30am to pick me up … and I was lucky enough to be sitting next to this girl (Holly), and as I mentioned that I had altitude sickness, she responded that she had the same few days earlier, and gave me some of her SOROJCHI pills… amazing stuff (all locals use it, as her Peruvian boyfriend advised) .. within an hour, I was feeling normal again……On a side note, I’m thinking (hoping) that these pills will also cure a hangover … which I will test out once I get to sea level!!!

So Machu Picchu is only approx 70kms away from Cusco (direct line) … how long do you think it took us by bus ….. 10 hours!!!!
I didn’t realize that it was such a long trip, but then when you consider that there is no straight road between A and B in the Andes, and that we had to drive around all these valleys .. the hours just add up (some 300km plus trip) .
There were some spectacular views as we meandered through the Andes, however, the roads were narrow and winding, and with some drops of 300-400m within feet of the road banks (forget about any crash barriers), the constant death markers were a real reminder of how dangerous Peru was to traverse by bus.

We arrived in Aguas Calientes after 6pm, and after a dinner, and instructions from our Guide, off to bed for a 4am start to get to Machu Picchu by 6am (a 30 minute bus ride up the hill) to be there for the sunrise.

ALTITUDE SICKNESS … not cool man!!!

So walking around Cusco, I found myself short of breath, and had to make frequent rest stops to catch my breath … nothing too serious, but I was being conscious that its easily to get exhausted at this elevation.
Nothing could prepare me for what happened that night … throbbing headache and nausea, which caused insomnia … felt like a really bad hangover, except cannot have a beer to “re-set the levels” .. and also some delusions (no, not of grandure!!!), as I was trying to fall asleep…. which I failed to achieve all night.
I was really worried that I would not be able to make it to Machu Picchu the next day, but as I read the Lonely Planet (which described these symptoms), at some random hour like 3am, it advised to drop altitude by at least 500m.
I discovered that the destination we were going to (at base of Machu Picchu) was a town called Aguas Calientes (elevation 2410m) … so I might as well do the trip, in attempt to drop to lower elevation.

CUSCO (elevation 3326m, approx 10,000feet)

After wondering around the streets early in the morning, I found accommodation, and tried to catch up on sleep... slept till mid afternoon.... and as upon waking up, booked my trip to Machu Picchu for following day (2 day/1 night) with the Hostel.
I wondered around the town a bit (there are dogs everywhere) ... and definitely feel the high altitude and thin air, and I know that there is a common risk of Altitude Sickness ... shortness of breath, having to take little rest breaks every 1km of walking .... so I am conscious about not over-exerting myself...

The town itself is rather uninteresting ... packed with tourists (like myself), using it as a start-off point to experience the Inca trails.

BTW, I thought it strange that for a conservative culture, they had the PRIDE flags flying everywhere, only to find out it was actually the Inca flag!!!