sheepfilms
@theartofmadeline
⁂
Peter Solarz
pixel skylines
Today's Document
let's talk about Bridgerton tea, my ask is open
tumblr dot com
Jules of Nature
Game of Thrones Daily
JVL
styofa doing anything
ellievsbear
if i look back, i am lost
TVSTRANGERTHINGS
祝日 / Permanent Vacation
Origami Around
art blog(derogatory)
todays bird
AnasAbdin
seen from Malaysia
seen from Indonesia
seen from India
seen from Macao SAR China
seen from United Kingdom
seen from United States
seen from Malaysia
seen from United Kingdom
seen from Argentina
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Türkiye
seen from Kazakhstan
seen from Malaysia
seen from Denmark
seen from T1
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
@oneweekinperu
All over like that! time to pack our bags and leave our second home. So sad to be leaving this beautiful country. What a wonderful, eye-opening, draw dropping experience!!
Happy hearts and lots of souvenirs to remember Peru by... off we go on SAA back to reality and back to our FIRST and best home, sweet South Africa.
Our last night in Lima was spent in the Barranca bohemian neighbourhood. We had sun downers and a plate of our favourite dish - ceviche - overlooking the pacific ocean.
We then took a stroll to the main square and, on the other side, we found a sweet little market selling odds and ends. Beautiful ceramic bowls in fact, just a bit too much of a mission to carry all the way home. I bought myself a beautiful red lucky bean ring which I now wear for luck.
On our way back, we stumbled upon a wedding at a beautiful old church, just across the road from the market. Of course mom wanted to have a closer look so we followed the bride and bridal procession up the red carpet and into the church and watched for a bit. Too beautiful : )
Finally we decided it was time for our last supper in Peru and headed down to the restaurant strip. We were persuaded by a very charming maître'D into a lovely little rooftop restaurant. I distinctly remember him in black sunglasses (and remember it's night time and completely dark outside), like someone out of The men in black. Hilarious! Couldn't say no : )
Our last delicious meal - HUANCAÍNA and CAUSA “limeña”. As usual, SUPER delicious.
We'd missed the Erotic gallery the last time we were at the Larco museum so I was keen to go see it this time round.
This part of the museum is full of erotic archaeological ceramic pots portraying a number of sexual positions. As I mentioned before, it is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Peru! So interesting ( and a bit disturbing). Can you believe some of these were made 200 years before Christ!
We then had a quick stop over at a local market which had nothing we hadn't already seen before... Not nearly as nice as the others I've mentioned on our trip. Mom, however, managed to buy some gorgeous silver teaspoons that she apparently "needed" : P
Our last day was in Lima..
We refused to go back to the Delfines hotel and casino and instead took one of the guides advise and booked into a boutique hotel called "Second home"
Definitely the right choice. What an absolute gem!
It is situated within walking distance of the main square of Barranco - Lima's art district. and looks over the misty pacific ocean.
It was once the home to the Peruvian sculptor Victor so it has a very interesting, Art Deco style interior. Bold and wacky art pieces cover the wall and floors.
http://www.secondhomeperu.com
Love these! Found it in a travel shop in Cusco's main square.
I found in HEART in amongst the stones on the streets in Cusco :)
At 2 o’clock, mom and I left the hotel and began our wander into town. We ended up at the beautiful main square and searched for a place to eat immediately as we were starving! After a bit of an argument, I finally decided on a restaurant called Braza Brava that looked down onto the square. It was quite a modern joint with a friendly waiter and fusion foods. For lunch we order a quinoa salad and trout dish with passion fruit glaze to share. What a taste sensation! The passion fruit complemented the fish so perfectly. Mm m. We then explored Cusco town some more. Cusco is full of narrow cobblestone street with many street venders, alpaca wool shops, art galleries and markets. We bought lots of last minute prezzies for family and friends and then went yet another meal at Don Thomas. A restaurant recommended by Carlos. Mom had a fish soup and I tried ALPACA!!! Another adventurous meal one has to try while in Peru. It was so tasty. The best way to describe it would be a light steak. We also both got a complementary Pisco Sour which turned us red in the face again.. surprise surprise. Then back to the hotel and straight to bed. The high altitude makes you soo sleepy!
Once the parade had passed, we headed off to the giant fortress of the Incas, which protected the Holy City. The Sacsayhuamán complex was built with gigantic blocks. The transportation and construction of these blocks continue to be a mystery.
We took a picture with the biggest stone block used to build the fortress, as well as a pic with some lovely local ladies their llamas. You will find these women at various tourist attractions offering a photo in return for 2 or 3 soles (about R5). Smart move, us touritas love them photos :)
After the fortress, we visited Qenqo, an archaeological site of the Incas that was used for religious purposes. Within these ruins is a sacrificial bed that was used to sacrifice humans and animals to the God. For a short time Incas were believed to have sacrificed humans (mainly the most beautiful women in Peru). Inca Pachacútec banned this when we began his rule and from then on llamas became the main sacrifice.
We then went to Puka Pukara, which means "red fortress" because of the colour of the stones. This was a place used for military purposes; it has many rooms, walls and towers. It is believed that the Inca messengers or "runners" used this place as a sanctuary to rest on route, when sent to deliver messages in other city.
Lastly, we went to the Santo Domingo Cathedral, the most important building on the Main Square and one of the most splendid Spanish colonial churches in America. It is shaped as a Latin cross and houses about 400 colonial paintings from the Cusco art school, and impressive goldsmith, silversmith and precious stones works. Its construction lasted almost a century, it started in 1560 and ended in 1654.
Sadly, we had to say goodbye to Carlos for the last time. Himself and Elvis dropped us off at the hotel, we thanked him for looking after us and turning us into Peru groupies :) He was a really fantastic guide!
We then had the whole afternoon and evening to wonder around and explore the little town of Cusco, but first a little nap was in order. The high altitude really just takes all the energy out of you!
The next morning we enjoying a scrumptious breakfast buffet while being serenaded by a harpist playing beautiful Peruvian melodies. Needless to say we bought his CD :)
Carlos then fetched us from the Hotel and off we went on our days touring. Salvador was sadly no longer our driver; we now had an Elvis Presley look alike.
Our first stop was the cathedral right next to the hotel. During the time of the Incas, it was called Coricancha, also known as “The Temple of the Sun”. This is when the Sun was worshipped during the Inca Empire and at the time of the Incas its walls were fully covered with gold sheets and its courtyards were planted with golden corn and life-size llamas.
When the Spaniards conquered Peru, they stripped the Incas of all of their gold and silver. The Temple of the Sun was then used as a base for the construction of the Santo Domingo Convent.
When we left the convent, guess what held us up for 5 minutes… ANOTHER festival. Peru is just too cool. This festival celebrates Señor de qoyllority who is the lord of the star of the snow peak. The dance they were doing is called the Qoyacha dance.
Our train back to Cusco was very entertaining! There was a masked dancer who pranced around giving a traditional show, pulling people off their seats to dance with him. Then the waiters changed their clothes and did a full on fashion show for everyone down the isles - too hysterical! Afterwards, they tried to sell the garments - all very beautiful alpaca jerseys and ponchos. Stunning stuff but we were in no mood to shell out 2 grand.
We got to Ollantaytambo train station at about 6pm and were fetched by a transfer that took us to the city of Cusco - a 2hour drive away.
We arrived at our new hotel –Libertador at about 8.30pm. Yet another mind bogglingly beautiful Hotel! This one was oh so GRAND -like a royal palace. We chilled out in our rooms and went to bed early. The next day was our one and only day to explore Cusco! No grumpiness allowed.
We then went shopping in the market. It was all the same stuff we'd seem before so didn't buy much. I got lovely silver earrings and mom got a lovely piece of tapestry.
For lunch, we found the MOST divine restaurant called Indio Feliz Bistro. I would say it was the best restaurant we went to in Peru. The owner is a French man, he was on the floor constantly so the service was immaculate. The decor was awesome! A very colourful, bohemian theme. Fruits, flowers, hats and business cards decorate the walls and tables. And, of course, the food was amazing. We both had an avo and melon starter followed by the famous Peruvian ceviches - raw trout that beats sushi hands down! We also had a Pisco sour each that again gave us major bar rash again! We then had to go back to the hotel to check out and leave Machu Picchu :(
We had a lovely lazy morning the next day. We were both up at 5.30am. I immediately called my bestie in London town, miss Anthea knight, who had just turned 24:):)
We got the fire working, ordered hot chocolate, I blogged, mom drew in her visual diary. We then enjoyed the hot spring bath again, followed by an exotic outside shower. Pretty much the best lazy morning EVER!
We had a lovely buffet breakfast (I tried the local quinoa pancakes -yum!) and then went on the tea making tour. We went into the tea plantation (which was about 20 metres from our room) and learnt the art of picking the leaves, crushing them, drying them, sieving them and lastly packaging them. All organic and natural! Was such fun. Afterwards, we all went to the hotel lounge and had our tea and biscuits. A lovely tour to offer to the guests- free of charge and totally unique!
Inkaterra Hotel is BEAUTIFUL. So far, my favourite!
When we arrived, we were upgraded to a suite with a hot Jacuzzi bath outside and a fireplace inside. The hotel is very Eco friendly. It’s set in very lush tropical gardens. It has many excursions for the guests to learn about the environment surrounding Much Picchu, such as bird watching, tea making and an orchard walk (there are over 372 species of orchards).
We were both so tired from the thrill of hiking Machu Picchu all day that we hardly lasted through dinner. I was told by the guest relation’s manager, Julio, that I must try the guinea pig- so I did!! (Confit guinea pig with white corn puree and orange sauce) Ah the poor little things. It was very tasty (quite a juicy, fatty meat) but all I could think about was their sweet little faces and couldn’t finish it :(
Mom had delicious mushroom and mascarpone cheese risotto. We also tried 2 starters, which were amazing!
Baked, spicy red rocoto pepper au gratin stuffed with meat and vegetable and fish croquet with tomato gazpacho, avocado mousse and olive oil.
When mother dearest started falling asleep at the table it was time to go. We took our bottle of wine and headed back to the room. 5 minutes later it was good night Irene.
After our tour of Machu Picchu, we had a lovely snacky lunch overlooking the valley. A juicy Machu Picchu burger, a tuna/avo sandwich and 2 cueveña beers – perfect fuel food. We then decided to go for a 1hour hike up to the “Gateway of the Sun”. It was a sort of guardhouse and the sun rises through this gateway every day. From here we saw an incredible view of both the Andes Mountains and the city of Machu Picchu. I found myself a rock to sit on and took a few minutes to meditate and absorb the break-taking scenery, beauty and energy of this sacred land.
We then walked back down, stamped Machu Picchu and the date (22nd May) in our passports, caught the 4.30pm bus back into town (the last bus is at 5pm) and went to discovery our new hotel, Inkaterra.
This symbol represents The Principle God of All The World, known as CHAKANA. The 4 corners represent birth, growing up, getting old, and dying. This cycle never stops- it starts again with birth as the Inca’s believed in reincarnation. The 4 corners also represent the Southern Cross, NSEW, the seasons; the steps represent the months of the year as well as symbols, such as, the Condor and the Snake.
Machu Picchu is believed to be the sanctuary and resort for Inca Pachacùtec (1438 – 1471). It is made up of the people's resting rooms, storerooms and temples such as the temple of the summer and winter sun, and the temple of the condor where the royal mummies were laid to rest. There is also a huge sun dial and compass that is perfectly accurate. The city is divided into the living area and the farming area and entry to the living area was guarded by an intricate guarding system.
(The reason why I am talking into a hole in the wall in one of the pics is because, behind me on the green grass field with stone steps, you can hear me loud and clear. Like a microphone at a stadium. Unbelievable!!)
Machu Picchu!!!!!! Ah.. Yeah J
We were picked up at about 7am and taken to the Peru rail at Ollantaytambo station. The train ride to Machu Picchu was about one and a half hours, along side the scared valley river, with steep mountains on each side.
When we got to Machu Picchu town we were met by Castilia who took us to the bus and 20minutes later we were at the entrance to Machu Picchu.
Edril was our guide for the day. He first gave us some history of Machu Picchu.
Machu Picchu is 2400 metres above sea level. It means “Old Mountain”. On either side of the Inca city of Machu Picchu, there are 2 mountains, one known as Machu Picchu and the other known as Wayna Picchu (Young Mountain). According to Edril, the Inca’s took about 100 years to build Machu Picchu city.
We walked through the ancient city listening to the interesting stories of the Inca’s- their way of life and daily toil. There was never a starving body, no currency. Everyone had a skill, such as farming, building, weaving. These were used as trade-offs for daily living.