AREQUIPA

From Cusco I flew to Lima where I spent the day before taking a bus to Arequipa in the south of Peru. In Ica - after 5 hours on the bus – Micha got on the bus and got the seat next to me (not coincidentally but planned). After another 10 hours or so on the bus we got to Arequipa in the morning. I was surprised how clean the city was. A lot of places in Peru (and South America in general) are quite dirty.

In Peru almost everywhere there is a lot of garbage along the road. And people quite often just throw there garbage out of the bus window.

After arriving in Arequipa and finding a hostel we spent the rest of the day organizing a hike in the near Colca Canyon, doing laundry and a walk through town. Most of the buildings in Arequipa's center are build with white volcanic stone and are very pretty.

After we returned from the Colca Canon I stayed another night in Arequipa. At night we enjoyed a few beers with the Colca Canon guides at the hostel before checking out Arequipa's nightlife. There are quite a few bars and clubs along Calle San Francisco and the atmosphere was good with lots of people on the street. It was kind of disturbing though that there were almost as many security and police guys around as people partying. We stopped at a small rock club where a live band was playing. First I thought it was music playing from CD but the guys were really good and sounded awesome. Unfortunately we got there late and could only listen to the last two songs.

The next morning I luckily went to check out the Monasterio Santa Catalina. I liked it a lot and could have taken pictures there for hours. Unfortunately I didn't have a lot of time since I was leaving in the afternoon. The Monastery is a huge complex with several streets and plazas, churches, beautiful little buildings and colorful plants. The monastery was founded by a Spanish woman in 1580, opened to the public in 1970 and still is an active monastery with around 30 nuns. I especially liked the buildings that were painted in orange and bright blue but also the many little staircases and plazas and would have liked to spend more time there to wander around. 

MACHU PICCHU

It was still raining when I finally got to Machu Picchu. But the view was still stunning. Although I didn't see too much because of the rain and the gray sky the landscape around the ruins was beautiful.

I spent a few hours walking through the ruins while it was raining before I waited for another hour at the little snack stand in front of Machu Picchu for the rain to stop. Fortunately I did stop raining around noon and I went for another stroll along the impressive remains of the old houses.

It's difficult to describe the Machu Picchu and I think you get a better impression through the pictures.

GETTING TO MACHU PICCHU

It seems like almost everyone who travels to South America is visiting Machu Picchu. Therefore I thought it would be easy to get there. But for independent travelers it definitely is not.
It is not possible to buy entrance tickets to Machu Picchu at the site itself (for what reason I don't know). Tickets need to be bought in Aguas Caliente or Cusco. I decided to do so in Cusco. The office where you can buy the tickets is not anymore at the place that my one year old Lonely Planet says - of course. After I walked through half of Cusco, I found the ticket office in a little side street without a sign or anything. There I only had to wait for maybe 15 minutes. At counter #1 I made a “reservation” for the ticket and got a paper that showed the information. From there I went to counter #2 where I paid. The paper was then reached over to counter #3 where I picked up the ticket. I would not call this efficient!

From Cusco there is a train to Aguas Caliente (also called Machu Picchu pueblo), the closest town to Machu Picchu. Fortunately it is possible to pay the train tickets online - at least one part that is easy. The train doesn't leave directly from Cusco though. First I had to take a bus to Urubamba, from there it was about another hour by minibus to Ollantaytambe where the train leaves. Ollantaytambe is a pretty little town with cobblestone streets and old houses. From there the train ride is two hours along the Rio Urubamba to Aguas Caliente. The scenery is beautiful and it's not a bad thing that the train is going quite slow, so there is enough time to enjoy the landscape. In Aguas Caliente I was picked up at the train station from someone from the hostel which I booked for two nights.
The first bus to Machu Picchu leaves Aguas Caliente at 5.30am. The guys in my dorm room left shortly after 3am to be on the first bus but that was too early for me. I left the hostel around 4.30 am to wait in the pouring rain. Since I wasn't smart enough to buy the bus tickets the day before, I had to wait in line for the bus tickets as well. After I got those tickets I moved to another line to wait for the bus. When I finally got to Machu Picchu I had to wait yet another time to get inside. When I finally entered Machu Picchu it was only 7.30 am and I had already spend 3 hours waiting in pouring rain.

CUSCO

The closest town to Machu Picchu is Cusco. It is an old colonial city with narrow cobblestone streets and nice plazas. I spent most of te time there walking through the streets. I liked the houses, churches and streets and so did many other tourists. Cusco is be far the most touristy city I've visited on this trip. There are tourists everywhere and everyone living in the city seems to be living from tourism.
I especially liked the area around Plaza San Blas with a lot of small restaurants, bars and cafes. And I enjoyed the food in Cusco – good, cheap food at a dutch and a french restaurant. Since there are many western tourists a lot of restaurants have vegetarian and international dishes. And sometimes it's nice to eat something without rice.

MUSIC

This blog post is a little different. I thought I give you a taste of my travels with the music that I listen to all day. In South America (at least in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru) music plays every time and every where. Often you hear music from three different places at once. And the music is always very loud.
Here is a selection of songs that I hear daily.

This song I hear about 20 times a day lately
Danza Kuduro, Don Omar


This is played almost as often
I gotta feeling, Black Eyed Peas


Another favorite song
cuando, cuando es?, J King y Maximan


Estoy Enamorado, Wisin& Yandel


Verano azul, Magan


Y desde entonces, Jorvy

PISCO SOUR IN LIMA

After a long night in the bus (where the bus stopped in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere and after three hours everyone got on a new bus that arrived) I got to Lima late in the morning. Micha was already waiting for me in the hostel. We spent most of the time in Lima at Starbucks or Cafe Z (which was a very nice cafe but unfortunately didn't have wifi) catching up on everything that happened during the last few weeks and talking about future. MICHA – DANKE fuer den Pisco Sour am Mittag und fuers zuhoeren und traeumen.

I liked Lima because it was the first really big city since I started traveling four months ago. And there was a Starbucks near the hostel and even a North Face Store. Although I really don't travel to see and use the things that I'm used to, for a change it was great to enjoy a Frappucino.
Saturday night it was time to check out Lima's bar scene in Barranco. A very nice, modern neighborhood with lots of bars and clubs. After walking around for a while we enjoyed a beer in the local rock club. Afterward we decided to check out the Lonely Planet recommended, Ayahuasca cocktail bar. The bar was in an renovated 1860 mansion with great decoration and the Pisco Sour was delicious. After a few days hanging out in Lima with Micha, I flew to Cusco because you have to visit Machu Picchu if you are in Peru.

ONE DAY IN TRUJILLO AND CHAN CHAN

On the way south to Lima I stopped for a day in Trujillo, another colonial-style city. There I visited Chan Chan – ruins of an ancient adobe city. Quite interesting. I took a guided tour through the ruins. A small part of the huge complex of mud walls is a museum today and is being restored. But remains of the walls stretch over kilometers along the road.

At night it was time to take the bus south to Lima to meet Micha.