Peruvian Celebrations!

[amaroo]

Day 3 Lake Titicaca

Molloco - Pre-Inca Burial Towers

 

[tgh]

Sorry I missed this.
We went through so much , so fast, all a bit discouraging in hindsight….

 

[amaroo]

Day 3 Lake Titicaca (con't)

Aramu Muru

Our guide described this as an ancient sacred site. We were the only ones there and hiked all over it .... won't be long before they change that.

 

[amaroo]

Aramu Muru Portal

https://translate.googleusercontent...u_Muru&usg=ALkJrhi0GT7yxHI3uBmFg4eYZPoZVN1UNw

Now this was special! Not everyday you come across a 3,000 year old portal to another dimension.





Our guide showing us how to open the gate... Yes, we both gave it a go - unfortunately, we couldn't get it to work







Fascinating! Definitely worth checking out when visiting the Lake.

 

[drron]

Unfortunately we will never visit Lake Titicaca.Mrsdrron has a serious problem with altitude sickness.
So I am living the experience through your eyes.Thanks for that.

 

[amaroo]

The drive between sites provided some nice scenery...





Harvesting is still done by hand ... mostly by women



Just about every house had two outdoor toilets ... I asked why?

Not sure if the guide was taking the piss ..... apparently a few years back a presidential candidate promised to install toilets to most houses in the district. He won and duly delivered.

No 1



Next election a new guy promised to install even better facilities ... he won!

No 2

 

[amaroo]

Next stop was the village that made all the rugs and runners for the lodge.

These people are hard working - farming during the day, and weaving in the downtime.







hmmm, turkey



Awesome place!

 

[amaroo]

Peru is beautiful.... but extremely poor.

http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/country/home/tags/peru

~ 30% of the population live in poverty. The minimum wage is ~ US$256/month - you can see it!

Hopefully, tourism will assist in raising the tide for everyone.

One of things that really stood out - everywhere we went seemed to be under construction.... most places looked like the builders packed up and left years ago.

TAX is the reason - crazy system! You don't pay property tax until the building is complete.

https://overlandtraveller.wordpress...the-unfinished-buildings-in-peru-and-bolivia/

 

[24601]

Terrific report, and love the photos, thanks so much.

 

[UpInTheAir:)]

My Wayna Picchu tips...

Don't watch the countless youtube videos telling you how hard it is, and that you'll most likely die.

Book the early (7am) group.

Once started - keep moving

Keep baggage to a minimum - large backpacks, tripods, the kitchen sink are not really that important.

Take 2 litres of water per person

Enjoy the moment up-top... but time your descent so that you don't get caught sharing the stairs/path with the 10am group on their way up.

It's easier than what it looks!

Back yourself and climb!!!!

Thanks Amaroo (I am late joining this TR... silly work got in the way of my TR reading time )
I was looking at your pictures and thinking.. not this little black duck!!
Your summary is very encouraging/ motivating

 

[Myrna]

Amaroo - Did you have any problem with altitude sickness? Did you bring any medication for it? Did you have to use oxygen in the hotels? Also, did you encounter any problem with sand flies at MP, or other places?

we will see the GP for yellow fever injection, tablets for altitude sickness, and something for sand flies. But, just curious to know about your situation.

 

[drron]

Myrna altitude sickness doesn't affect everyone.Some people have a susceptibility to it.In Quito mrsdrron felt quite lethargic.Then we went up on the Telerifico.At the top she went blue and couldn't do anything.I parked her at the medical clinic where O2 was available and ran around taking a few pics in a very short time and we descended.
In research for possibly going to MP the upmarket such as SPG and Belmond do have oxygen rooms.
Sorry amaroo.

 

[amaroo]

Altitude!

I did try and get the birthday girl motivated for alternative accommodation in the Sacred Valley






skylodge adventure suites suspended 400 feet above ground

[video=youtube;xPW7vZkaQh4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPW7vZkaQh4[/video]

 

[love_the_life]

I saw those amazing rooms in an article but this little (large?) black duck ain't gunna be sleeping in them.:shock:

drron, mrs.dr.ron must have given you quite a scare. Mr LtL was fine in Cusco though I felt a bit thick headed. The hotel had increased oxygen piped into the room through the aircon vent though some people say it is not a good idea as you then feel it more when you go outside.

 

[tgh]

I have suffered from fast altitude changes in the past , but have now decided that acclimatisation works a treat.
We have recently been high for several weeks travelling from Atacama to Cusco .
Some of our group took Diamox for most of the time but other than on day one , I decided to go cold turkey.
The first few days were challenging when climbing stairs etc , but over time I felt quite normal.
Coca leaves and tea are endemic and cheap through Bolivia.

 

[amaroo]

Amaroo - Did you have any problem with altitude sickness? Did you bring any medication for it? Did you have to use oxygen in the hotels? Also, did you encounter any problem with sand flies at MP, or other places?

we will see the GP for yellow fever injection, tablets for altitude sickness, and something for sand flies. But, just curious to know about your situation.

We didn't take any medication for altitude. We did get Yellow Fever and Hep A vaccinations prior to departing. When working out the itinerary I started a thread and received excellent advice from the AFF community

http://www.australianfrequentflyer....uide/arrive-santiago-leave-10-days-71807.html

I took the advice and structured the itinerary so that we had time to acclimatise and rest prior to hitting the higher sites. I felt the altitude at Cusco airport ... very happy we had a car waiting to take us down to the valley. The 3 nights in the valley, and walking around the higher attractions of the Sacred Valley placed us in good stead.

Oxygen was available in every hotel - we didn't need it. Titilaka Lodge tested the oxygen levels for all guests on arrival, and throughout the stay. They were very proactive and were on the lookout for people struggling. There was a couple who flew directly from Lima to the Lake ... they looked like the grim-reaper was travelling with them. Their stay would not have been a memorial experience!

All the hotels and guides recommended drinking Muna tea (tasted ok) and several litres of water. Alcohol can be punishing at altitude :shock:

We took mozzie spray and only used it at MP ... didn't really need it. Remember we went in the dry season ... wet season could be another story.

 

[amaroo]

Myrna altitude sickness doesn't affect everyone.Some people have a susceptibility to it.In Quito mrsdrron felt quite lethargic.Then we went up on the Telerifico.At the top she went blue and couldn't do anything.I parked her at the medical clinic where O2 was available and ran around taking a few pics in a very short time and we descended.
In research for possibly going to MP the upmarket such as SPG and Belmond do have oxygen rooms.
Sorry amaroo.

No need to apologise - Dr has right of way in these things!

If you do manage to persuade mrsdrron - I'm sure you'll both love MP, Sacred Valley, and Peru.

 

[JohnM]

I was looking at your pictures and thinking.. not this little black duck!!

That is a wimpy attitude unbecoming of you, Uppy .

 

[Milboo]

Sunscreen is a must for Macchu Pichu - was surprisingly hot in August.

Bug spray - yes! There are little sandflies. I ended up with about 6 bites on my legs and I was on anti histamine when in the Sacred Valley as something was making me sneeze. Got back to AU and without the AHs, I was itching like crazy and continued for a couple of weeks.

 

[love_the_life]

We were there in a September and did not see any bitey bugs/flies at MP, though we had the industrial strength repellant just in case. We did need it in the Amazon as there were lots of flying, biting things.