Time flies when you are having fun....

Hi everyone,

Again, it is been a while since I last wrote to you.... but time flies so fast... and Internet is usualy the last thing on my mind.
For those who are interested.... yes I am still alive and kicking... a bit tired but very satisfied in being here, here is the clipnotes version of the last couple of days:

La Paz- Oruro - La Paz
After La Paz, we went to Oruro, definetly one of the least touristic places we've been, after walking around there I kinda know how lot's of traditional locals must feel when they are being 'watched' by tourists... It was however nice to do something of the beaten track and the city is definetly worth a lot more then the half page it gets in my trotter guiden...

After Oruro we went back to La Paz for 1 day before going to copacabana... for me it was a day of rest and I didn't really leave the hostel that day.

Copacabana

We actually left for Puno, but due to the national independence day of Bolivia we couldn't get there... the bus in La Paz was already late, so the bus for Puno already left and since we were coming back the next day we just decided to stay in copacabana and enjoy the festivities a bit... there's not that much to do there... but it's a very popular travel destination for locals and also a blessing place for cars (I'll explain it more when I get home)

From copacabana we took a very long busdrive to Cusco ( about 11 hours) in a non- aircobus.... but it wasn't that bad at all...

Cusco

Describing Cusco in 1 word: Brugge
It's a really beautifull, nice and clean city with incredibly nice buildings (and loads of tourists) but somehow it al feels a bit too nice and too clean to be genuine... for example we went out for dinner and felt like pollo a la braissa, which is really delicious chicken, but fastfood style, Peruvians eat it like we eat McDonalds. But we got served here like we were in a fine dining restaurant, with a waiter wearing a suit, and the bottels of our drinks with the brand towards us.... both things just didn't match...
Unfortunatly we only spend 1 day in cusco, cause the next day we left bright and early for a tour around the Sacred Valley.

Sacred Valley
8 am in the morning, our tour guide for the day picks us up in our hotel and we leave for a 4 day trip around the sacred valley and Machu Pichu. This part of our trip was prebooked by a travel agency, so for once we don't have to worry about a thing.
First we stopped at a small local market, which was not that special, but the views were extraordinary again, from there we went on to the ruins of Pisaq... they are gigantic and really beautifull.... although it already was quite a climb to get on top of them... the views again are definetly worth the effort...

After another stop or to on local souvenirmarkets and a genuine local non-touristic vegetable and fruitmarket we had lunch in an oasis of tranquility and talking parrots...

Again we got picked up to drive further on to the ruins of Ollantaytambo, which is the last living incatown.The ruins and terraces have the shape of a giant Lama and we actually made it to it's nostral and ear (up again of course...)

After al the climbing and descending I decided that I wanted to do a hike to the ruins of Pumamarca the next day. According to the travelguide a hike of approximatly 6 hours....
Well the whole trip was a little bit too optimistic for my condition... we did climb for about 3 to 4 hours (which basicly ment climbing a 100 meters, catching our breaths for 5 minutes and so on... :-))
But it was worth all the endourment.... I really love hiking around here, the views, the nature, the smell of fresh,unpoluted air, the little streams that are trying to find their way down... they all have an amazing impact on me.

Tomorrow we are going to take the train to aguas calientes... and on sunday we will finally reach Machu Pichu, exactly 4 weeks after we have left Belgium, the climax of our trip is there.... after that it's almost finished and the countdown can begin...

Take care and eat your veggies!!!!
Vero