On the way we see vultures and capybaras again, one very cute baby capy eating happily on the river bank.
The trip takes about four and a half hours, and by the end the sun is shining and we are sweating again! We snooze and snap photos of the people we pass on the river.
We reach the port - it's not really a port, just a muddy bank where our bus is waiting.
Some tourists from the other lodges join us, and we drive to the headquarters through the town of Puerto Maldonado/Invierno. There's not much to it, a shanty town of neatly arranged wood and plastic shacks, and a small dusty town filled with tuk tuks.
At the headquarters we get our big bags back, have a cup of strong black coffee and then head to the airport. We say goodbye to Lucio, who gives us hugs all round. After kiosk check in, we have to have our bags searched, seems they don't have a scanner here. It's a huge hassle for me, Van and Wendy, as we have already wrapped and secured our bags and now we need to open everything up again! We are offered a special upgrade to business class for US$30 but don't bother as its such a short flight!
We grab a bite in the onsite restaurant - the biggest hamburguesas I have ever seen with crisps and eggs on top!
Finally we are on the Taca flight to Cusco. The aircon is very welcome as we walk on! We land in Cusco, and as we walk towards the baggage reclaim, one of the tourism stalls offer us coca leaves to chew. We all pop some leaves in our mouths and chew - we are surprised that they are dry, and they break up a bit in your mouth... Tastes a bit like eating weeds from your garden! They are supposed to be amazing for health - they suppress appetite, thirst, pain and fatigue, and especially help a lot with altitude sickness and have a plethora of other benefits. They make your mouth go a bit numb which is weird... Coca is the plant that cocaine is made from, but the alkaloid used for cocaine is less than 0.7% of the leaf. Coca is also used for coca-cola, and is no relation to cocoa, which is used for chocolate...
As we walk out of the Airport, we are shocked at the change in temperature. We have gone from steamy amazon to icy cold Andes, and it is raining on top of that. I can immediately feel I am getting the cold that Wendy and Van have been battling with the last few days.
We meet our Chimu representative, Larry, and all hop into his van. He is very friendly and speaks good English. He takes us to our hotel - Casa Andina Koricancha. The hotel is smallish and has a lot of character. It is built around a central courtyard with cactuses and other plants. apparently this used to be a monastery - makes sense as it looks similar cloisters we have seen in European monasteries.
The rooms are clean and we are very grateful for private bathrooms and to have all four walls closing around us again! My Dad and Wendy are staying in a different Casa Andina hotel, down the road as there was a small mix up with the booking. Their hotel is a definite step up, and we joke about their spa and massages and amazing breakfast (which they don't really have)!
Larry talks us through the itinerary for the next two days, and strongly advises us to take it really easy tonight. Cusco is at a very high altitude, 3400m, and the altitude can take its toll if we don't rest. He says to drink lots of water, and eat lightly, and drink lots of coca tea, which is on tap at the hotel, or chew some leaves. We all head to our rooms, and find that just a small flight of stairs to the second floor is enough to leave us breathless, with hearts pounding, wow, this altitude isn't for sissies! Its still very hard to resist the temptation to run out and explore this exciting new city, but Van and I find that as soon as our heads hit the pillows, we pass out for about two hours.
Wendy knocks on the door later, all showered and refreshed and ready to sort out washing... We haven't done any of that! We hear a huge racket in the room next door, Uncle John and Aunty Bev's room, lots of laughter, and pop in to say hi. We meet Lorna and Brendon, Australians who will be joining us on the Cusco and Inca trail parts of our trip. They are friends that my Dad and Uncle John met on their Himayalan hike to Everest base camp last year. They seem like a great couple, and Lorna gives us all hugs, saying its great to meet us, as we part ways and get ready for dinner.
We take huge bags of stinky Amazon laundry to a shop nearby that offers a laundry service. We negotiate down to 5soles per kg, and end up washing 9.5kg just for the two of us! It will be ready by tomorrow. Next we head to Nonna's Trattoria, a restaurant next door recommended by Lorna and Brendon. We order soups for me and Wendy, and huge pizzas for everyone else. The pizzas are awesome, some of the best we have had!
After that we head back to the hotel for an early night.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Cuzco, Peru
No comments:
Post a Comment