Well another day another adventure, just past half way to Ollantaytambo the train ground to a halt because the track was blocked by teachers again. This time the police came and firebombed them, but because of all the damage to the tracks, we had to walk a couple of miles to the next station and a road, where by chance a minibus offered to take us to our hotel for a few dollars, so we eventually made it. The walk was through some stunning countryside and we sort of enjoyed all the added excitement. We found a lovely restaurant here and I had a couple of Belgian beers which added to the enjoyment on leaving the restaurant a taxi driver came up to us and after a bit of bargaining he will take us to our next destination back to Cusco which is about 60 miles away. I will post some photos of yesterdays walk and the train trip this morning, our carriage was actually full of Americans mainly from the east coast, we chatted to a few about their adventures... The start of our 10 mile trek.... A few stopped off for a dip in the river... I felt sorry for these porters taking some peoples luggage the whole ten miles in wheelbarrows One of several snack bars on the route, a lot of backpackers walk the tracks to save the train fare
Here are a few photos of Machu Picchu which though unfortunate for many was special for us in that it was virtually empty. nearly 7,000 people a day visit but because of the train stoppage only those that walked made it. It is an amazing place, impossible to capture on a photo really, we did hire a guide who gave us a lot of information about the history of the place, and the current situation regarding religion etc. This carved stone reflecting the outline of the mountain behind was painted with an image of the Virgin Mary, by the Spanish when they invaded Peru, as part of their indoctrination of the locals by the Catholic religion. A couple of rodents sunbathing..
I am still sorting out the Peru photos, but here are a few taken during our one night stay on a floating island ...... Lake Titicaca... I think I posted odd ones before on other threads The Uros islands are a group of 70 man-made totora reed islands floating on Peru’s Lake Titicaca. Its inhabitants, the Uros tribe, pre-date Incan civilization and continue to hunt and fish the plentiful land and waters they occupy. This is our room for the night, one of four on this island The room was cosy, though at night the temperature on the lake dropped to freezing point or below, but our hosts bought us water bottles so we kept warm... The window overlooked the lake Just after we arrived It was very hot in the sun, and sitting on a deckchair which sank into the reeds could be a challenge.. — Three generations of our hosts family shared the island Soaking up the sun... The dining room where we had our meals.. Sunset over the lake from our room...
Wow, @Terry Page. Those pictures are fantastic. What an adventure! Did you feel any sense of connection to the ruins? Just think, the Machu Picchu civilization existed thousands of years ago. I'm not sure my memory is correct but I think maybe it existed before the birth of Christ. Where did they come from? What happened to them?
You, Mi amigo, have taken the vacation of a lifetime, filled with mini adventures, documented it with wonderful photos and thrilled a bunch of us with your sharing. What a vacation! Thanks hardly seems adequate but sometimes thats all we can say, so thanks for sharing your memories.
Thanks @Bill Boggs I too felt it was vacation of a lifetime and full of surprises, I am pleased you liked the photos, when I hang up my travelling shoes, I will hopefully become an armchair traveller and be able to enjoy the travels of others....
While on the floating island we took a couple of boat trips in a traditional boat (mainly for tourists these days) with the owners younger brother Joel, who was a really nice guy though he didn't speak much English so Lisa translated for me, I am so lazy with languages Here are some photos: The boat A chapel on an island Our second trip was to show us one way they fish and how they cut the reeds for island use: Joel wearing his grandfathers jacket; Fishing Reed cutting A passing boat with a collection of reeds
Thanks for letting us share the adventures you and Lisa take @Terry Page. I think we all enjoy the arm chair travels with you and your beautiful pictures that make us feel we are right there with y'all.
One of the places we visited on our tour was in Arequipa ... Santa Catalina Monastery....... I liked the history of the place: The city of Arequipa set aside four plots of land for the monastery. Before it was completed, a wealthy young Doña María de Guzmán, the widow of Diego Hernández de Mendoza, decided to retire from the world and became the first resident of the monastery. In October 1580, the city fathers named her the prioress and acknowledged her as the founder. With her fortune now the monastery’s, work continued and attracted a number of women as novices. Many of these women were criollas and daughters of curacas, Indian chieftains. Other women entered the monastery to live as lay persons apart from the world. Over time, the monastery grew and women of wealth and social standing entered the novitiate or as lay residents. Some of these new residents brought with them their servants and household goods and lived within the walls of the monastery as they had lived before. While outwardly renouncing the world and embracing a life of poverty, they enjoyed their luxurious English carpets, silk curtains, porcelain plates, damask tablecloths, silver cutlery, and lace sheets. They employed musicians to come and play for their parties. When Arequipa's frequent earthquakes damaged portions of the monastery, the nuns' relatives repaired the damage, and with one of the restorations, built individual cells for the nuns because occupancy of the monastery had outgrown the common dormitories. During the two hundred years of the ViceRoyalty of Peru, the monastery continued to grow and flourish. By the mid-1800's, word that the monastery functioned more as a social club than a religious convent reached Pope Pius IX who sent Sister Josefa Cadena, a strict Dominican nun, to investigate. She arrived at the Monasterio Santa Catalina in 1871 and promptly began reforms. She sent the rich dowries back to the motherhouse in Europe, dis-employed the servants and slaves while giving them the chance to leave the monastery or stay on as nuns. She instituted internal reforms and life in the monastery became as other religious institutions. We both loved the place and spent most of the day there, here are a few photos I took, as you can see it's a lot more plush than the usual monastery....
A few more photos... One of the confession cubicles, there was a whole corridor of these maybe a dozen, a lot of sinning must have gone on The laundry area... There were many kitchens most of the nuns cells had their own The view from the belltower
Lots of very nice looking antique carved furniture..I wouldn't mind the dresser. Where you on the other side of the confessional listening to Lisa's sins?