Les îles flottantes ça existe !

Les îles flottantes ça existe ! Ils y en a à peu près 90 dans le Lac Titicaca ! Environ 600 personnes y habitent. Elles s’appellent les îles de Urco. Hier on en a visité une qui s’appelle « Hayna Marca » ce qui signifie les jeunes de la cité. Elles sont battis sur des feuilles de roseaux avec les racines. Tous les dix jours les habitants doivent rajouter des roseaux parce au fur et à mesure les roseaux pourrissent. Ils vivent de la pêche et du tourisme. Ils ont des bateaux pour transporter les touristes, on les appelle Mercedes Benz !!!

Evidemment les îles sont ancrées par ce que sinon elles passeraient du Pérou à la Bolivie ou de Bolivie au Pérou.

D’après les indigènes le lac ressemble à un puma en train de saisir un lapin quand on retourne le lac… Titi c’est pour le Pérou et Caca c’est pour la Bolivie !

Après avoir passé la frontière aujourd’hui nous sommes allées sur « la isla del Sol » (île du Soleil) en Bolivie. Nous avons marché sur cette île qui ressemble à une île de la méditerranée : la Corse ou les îles de Croatie.  Le lac Titicaca est vraiment magnifique ! Avec toutes ces îles et ces bras de lac. Les habitants cultivent des pommes de terres sur les terrasses avec des murs en pierres. Bien sur ils cultivent ça tout à la main….  Les ruines incas ce n’étaient pas ça… Mais la beauté du paysage valait vraiment la peine !

Je crois que depuis qu’on est en voyage le lac entre le Pérou et la Bolivie va être un souvenir inoubliable…

Is Machu Picchu really in Peru?

We are back from the unavoidable visit to Machu Picchu. We could not really travel through the whole of Peru without paying a visit to this world famous site. We almost did not go, because we suspected that it was a lure for tourists; it unfortunately proved right. 

First of all, there is no easy way to get there. There are three options: the Inca Trail, five days of trekking through the Andes; or taking the outrageously expensive train (Swiss prices); or taking three different buses and walking the remaining 11.5 kilometres. We were not so keen on walking for five days; we have no problems paying Swiss prices provided employees also get Swiss salaries: in Peru, the average salary is USD 513 a month, more than ten times less than average salary in Switzerland; so we went for the third option. It took us one day to get there and one day to come back. The good thing about this is that we enjoyed stunning sceneries on the way, bucolic views of farms and fields with snow-capped mountains towering at more than 6’000 meters in the background. Simply gorgeous. 

Secondly, there is a huge buzz on the Internet about tickets being sold in limited numbers for each day and that we should get our tickets weeks in advance. We bought our tickets in Cusco two days before going… entrance fee is USD 43 per person. In addition we have to pay USD 10 for a twenty minutes one way bus ride from the nearby village going by the ridiculous touristy name of Machu Picchu Pueblo (formerly Aguas Calientes); if you do not take the bus, you have to walk two kilometres and climb 1’768 steep steps up to the entrance of the site. We paid more for the two of us than for the American The Beautiful yearly pass giving us unlimited access to all National Parks in the United States. Give me a break!

And finally, yes, the archeological site is beautiful: relatively well preserved ruins of an ancient Inca capital perched on the top of a mountain, with stunning views of the surroundings. But because it is swarming with people, it feels like an amusement park. By the way, bottles of water there go by Japanese prices… I admit we may be a bit blasé because of the many fantastic places we have seen on our journey, none of them nearly as famous as Machu Picchu, but so much nicer. Tourism is the second industry in Peru after mining. They should be careful not to over milk the cash cow, it may dry up pretty fast! 

Tomorrow we will head towards Lake Titicaca and the Bolivian border. More stunning sceneries of altiplano and mountains to enjoy!

Traditional Trade on our Plates

Since we have been in Latin America, we have always tried to do our shopping in the “Mercados”, the traditional markets instead of going to supermarkets (called modern trade in the food business). True, it is a bit more time-consuming, but this year, we have plenty of time. The San Pedro Market in Cusco is one of the best we have seen so far. It is indoor with plenty of stalls selling absolutely everything: all kind of meats, poultry, cheeses, vegetables, fruits, and packaged products as well (including Nestlé products of course). Everything is fresh and the meat is usually excellent. Yesterday, we tried a beef sausage, a local specialty. The day before, we had a beef fillet that was delicious. We also had shrimps and squids on the coast one night in Mancora, yummy. We always eat proper meals, no tins or canned food, except the few times where we ended up with nothing else in the middle of nowhere.

Well, as you can guess, I am not the one doing the cooking; if I were, we would only eat meat and seafood for dinner and cured meat for breakfast. Xénia D. is an expert cook and always gets vegetables and fruits. I always push for bigger pieces of meat; as for vegetables and fruits I could not care less…but eat them all the same, in reasonable amount though: abuse of greeneries may be bad for my health, who knows?

Nights are very cold in Cusco and guess what? Our heater does not work: because of the altitude, the propane does not ignite. Just when we need it. Who needs heating at sea level really…anyway, it is fine as we are inside and have a goose-feather comforter. The challenge is getting out of it in the morning… Some people travelling on motorbikes or even bikes are sleeping in tents, they must be freeeeeezing.

Tomorrow we are going to Machu Picchu, a must-do when in Peru. However, we almost wanted to pass on it… will tell you more on this on a next post!

Le Pérou, c’est pas le Pérou !

Ca fait maintenant plus de 15 jours qu’on est au Pérou et si je n’ai pas écrit c’est parce que jusqu’à maintenant il n’y pas grand chose à dire mis à part nos problème de camping car…

Le Pérou c’est un tiers de désert, un tiers de montagne et un tiers d’amazone.

La côte est désertique et on trouve des poubelles partout !!! En plus ce n’est pas un désert qui très beau a voir à part au sud le Lima où il y a des montagnes et des dunes de sables.

De ce que j’ai vu le Pérou est assez pauvre. Les maisons sont en torchis ou en paille fait d’un simple carré avec une taule ondulée dessus et les toilettes sont à l’extérieur, je suppose sans eau… On a vu plein de villages dans le désert qui étaient fait comme cela. Le salaire minimum est à 292 dollars soit 228 euros par mois…

Quand nous sommes arrivées au Pérou, le dimanche suivant c’était les élections régionales et municipales. Il y a plein de panneaux électoraux partout pour les différents candidats et ils sont pléthores. Il y a beaucoup de Péruviens qui ne savent pas lire parce que à côté du nom avec une photo et du parti qu’ils représentent il y a plusieurs photos avec l’insigne qu’ils doivent cocher. Il y en a qui choisissent des trucs très originaux : un pain , un arbre, le soleil ou des lettres, etc…

Samedi nous sommes allées voir les lignes de Nazca. Le peuple Nazca a dessiné ces formes dans le désert sur du sable. Pour l’instant on ne sait pas trop ce que ça veut dire. Il y a plusieurs théories là dessus. Pour certains c’est lié à la religion, pour d’autres les dessins sont juste au dessus des nappes phréatiques, pour d’autres ces sont motifs pour parler aux extra-terrestres !!! On a survolé les lignes de nazca en avion. C’était assez intéressant mais il était 10h30 du matin et le soleil tapait trop fort pour que les photos soient bonnes. On a eu la nausée dans l’avion parce que l’avion bouge beaucoup.

Il y a 634 kilomètres entre Nasca et Cusco. Cusco est à 3500 mètres d’altitude et Nazca a 600 mètres. Le paysage est magnifique surtout sur l’altiplano. C’est des montagnes chauves, des troupeaux épars de vicugnas, des lacs et dans la pleine une herbe assez séche qui doit résister aux grands froids. On est montées à 4533 mètres d’altitude avec notre camping car. Je crois que c’est le plus haut sommet que j’ai atteint dans ma vie !

How Long Now?

Our camper is back from its few days of vacation at the workshop, apparently in good shape, except for a few drumming noises underneath here and then. But at least no more wailing from the gear box just the normal comforting humming. Let’s see now how long we will be able to go before the next break down…

Yesterday, we went to Central Lima, about five miles from where we stay. We took a public bus. Buses are free in October, so there are huge lines of people waiting for them and they are completely overcrowded. At each stop, there are two security officers making sure passengers embark and disembark in an orderly way. Once you make it into the bus, you have to  do some tactical planning to get close to the exit at the rear in time to get off at the right stop. Here again, we used MapsWithMe to navigate the city because bus stops are not announced in advance. Central Lima is quite pleasant: a huge main square, with the ubiquitous cathedral and  government palace and some pedestrian streets.

Most of the toll roads are also free in Peru. This is quite surprising, most toll booths are deserted with fences up with a sign “libre” (free). We have the impression that only vehicles going northbound have to pay, good for us, we are going south. 

So tonight is, we hope, our last night in Lima, coming next are the Nasca lines, about 280 miles away. Let’s hope we will not have to complete this journey on horses!!!

A gear box out of its box

Yesterday we took the camper to a workshop specialised in automatic gear boxes. This workshop was recommended to us by Jaime the owner of the campground in the mountains as the best in Lima. We just could not go to any workshop, as gear boxes require special expertise. Jaime went really out of his way to find this workshop, doing some research and calling some friends. Incredibly helpful, we can thank him a million for this.

The mechanics took half a day to dismantle the gear box and then called us to come and see. Fortunately, we are staying in a hotel/campground not very far, about twenty minutes on foot. They took out each part one by one, checking which was damaged. In a way it was interesting to watch this, even though we did not understand much of what was going on. They were showing us the damaged parts as it was absolutely obvious to everyone: see, this part should spin only one way, and it goes back and forth, this is the cause of the problem (Aaah, I see, even if I could not see anything); see, these gears are burned (Aaah, yes, obvious…). A gear box is incredibly complex, lots of small parts, springs, screws, gears of all sizes and shapes. I am sure my off-road friends would have been thrilled to see this. We were only interested in knowing whether it could be fixed, at what cost and how long it would take. Unfortunately, we did take the camera with us, but the whole process was really worth a picture or even a little movie! 

The mechanics asked us whether the camper had previously been in Latin America, because they saw that some parts had already been changed. No idea, really, maybe the previous owner did a similar journey? In the US and Europe, I reckon that the entire gear box is replaced without bothering to dismantle it to check what is really wrong. Here, only the damaged parts are changed, which is a great relief to us. And the good thing is that the parts are available; there are many American cars in Peru; so if everything goes according to plan, the camper will be ready tomorrow Wednesday late in the afternoon, fingers and toes crossed please!!!

For those interested, this is what needs to be replaced:

• Gear discs
• Filter
• Bandas (??)
• Juego muachas (??)
• Fixing of the pump

Luxury is heavy

We are now in Lima. We initially wanted to avoid it, but apparently our camper thought differently. It is again bothering us with mechanical issues; this time the first and second gears are slipping. We were in the Cordillera Blanca, a beautiful place in central Peru when it started after fifty kilometres on a dirt road. We usually try to avoid dirt roads, but in this case, it was the only option to reach the cordillera. It was a very scenic drive on a narrow road first at the bottom of a canyon and then overlooking it with plenty of tunnels. These tunnels are one way, so we had to honk every time before entering to make sure that no one was coming the opposite way. Whenever it happens, the smaller vehicle has to backtrack regardless of its position in the tunnel. It happened to us once with a truck, we had to backtrack for about 100 metres, that was quite a challenge. These tunnels have no lights and are very narrow. Fortunately, we are a team, so one could guide shouting “a little bit to the left, a little bit to the right, etc” until we reached the entrance, let the truck pass, and made another attempt, successful this time. To add to the fun, it started to get dark and to rain as well, but we eventually managed to reach our campsite. We drove at an elevation of over 4’000 meters (about 13’000 feet) with peaks covered in snow hovering at over 6’000 meters (20’000 feet) all around us. We are both definitely in a better shape than our camper; this is actually better than the other way round! 

The camper is still running but we do not want to risk being stuck in the middle of nowhere, so we will have it checked and hopefully fixed in Lima. Let’s hope we are  not stuck for another two weeks or more… We have many mountains to climb in southern Peru and Bolivia, so we definitely need a first and second gear. All things considered, I think we should have chosen a smaller and lighter vehicle, but ours was the smallest we could find in the US. We are carrying along some stuff that we never or hardly use: the bathroom and related water tanks, a micro wave we used maybe ten times at most, air conditioning that we never used; not mentioning our golf clubs that we have been carrying along all the way and never used once. All we need really is comfortable beds and a little stove to make coffee in the morning. All the rest is heavy luxury, that takes its toll on the mechanic. So fingers (and toes as we say in Ghana) crossed and let’s hope for the best!

Days on the Coast

We have been in Peru for four days now. We enjoyed an amazing variety of landscapes on our way last Friday. First, Alpines sceneries, then rocky desert, rain forest, banana plantations, paddy fields and sandy desert, all this in eight hours drive, including two hours dedicated to our favorite activity during this journey: border crossing!

But since then, it is always the same… sandy desert. The northern part of Peru is a desert area, a bit similar to south of Tunisia; there are some sand dunes and few bushes here and then, rocky hills on the horizon, rocks and… sand and dust. Unfortunately, there are also heaps of waste scattered all over: plastic bags, trash, dead dogs. Horrendous. The desert has been turned into a giant dumping place. The few towns encountered are very poor. Some areas are irrigated, so there are a few fields, but this is definitely not a prosperous area. 

Fortunately for us, we do not have to camp among trash, we have always until now managed to find nice campsites, where we usually find people who are travelling across South America. It is always nice to have a chat and exchange tips and information. There are actually many such people on the road… more than we would think, we are not that unique after all! Since Colombia, we have regularly met Sabrina and Markus, from Germany, travelling with their two-year old son Jasper on a blue Mercedes camper.

There are a few beautiful archeological sites, made of adobe, dating back from the Chimu Empire around 1100 AD. The Chimus were later defeated by the Incas, who themselves were defeated by the Spanish. And life goes on…

It is the beginning of spring in Peru now, so the weather is still cold, even in the desert. We still wear our ponchos and will for some time as we are going up in the mountains soon. We definitely need a change of scenery!!!

Rushing down the mountains on the Devil's Nose Train

Today, October 2, we have been travelling for exactly six months. So much time has gone since we left Geneva on April 2. We have seen and experienced so many things: national parks, colonial towns, gorgeous landscapes, sea and mountains, deserts and forests. The journey of our lifetime, simply amazing.

Our camper is running smoothly now, like a Swiss watch, let’s hope this lasts… at least for a while… Despite being so thrilled to have our old self camper, we decided to park it for a while to take… a train… Some of     you might remember the Nescafé train, this great advertisement that was on air in Europe in the 90s… well, we took a similar train, called the Devil’s Nose Train (Nariz del Diablo) running down the mountains among beautiful landscapes. Unfortunately, we could not sit on the roof, but it was great all the same! The rail tracks were built in the late 19th century to link Quito to the coast. It was a great technological achievement at the time; the train runs across mountains that are sometimes so steep it does not allow for curves, so the rail tracks zigzag using switchbacks, quite impressive. No cogwheels like we have in Switzerland though. 

After this, we visited our first Inca site, Ingapirca and drove to Cuenca, where we are now. We are planning to cross into Peru tomorrow or Saturday, another new country. As Peru is running on 220V, we bought a voltage transformer for our camper, the biggest we could find, better be safe than sorry; it can handles 3’000V, should be sufficient for all our electrical appliances, fridge, microwave, AC, water pump, water heater and lights… This device weights ten kilos, one more thing to store in the camper. Peru runs on 50Hz, same as in the US, however, I have read that Bolivia, Chile and Argentina run on 60Hz…I am not too sure what this means, we will investigate when we get there, one thing at the time.

We liked Ecuador very much: the roads are fantastic, the best we have had since leaving the US. The country is beautiful; people are straightforward and honest, no tricks being played, and very relaxed at the same time. A very cool country, wish it was bigger, but unfortunately Peru snatched a significant part of it in a war some decades ago!