Voici nos dernieres photos (2 albums):
- Machu Picchu
- Travel from Peru to Bolivia
Showing posts with label Peru. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Peru. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Photos of Cusco online
Nos photos de Cusco sont maintenant disponibles. Attention aux ames sensibles (photos assez gores a la fin de l'album -- a ne pas regarder avant de passer a table).
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Friday, August 31, 2007
"Quand lama pas content..."
A vous de completer...
Apres avoir recu un email de mon emmerdeuse de cousine Audrey, insatisfaite du retard que nous avons pris avec le blog, je me decide enfin a ecrire.
Nous sommes revenus hier de Machu Picchu, ou nous avons passe une nuit dans la petite ville d'Agua Calientes au pied de la montagne qui abrite Machu Picchu. Agua Calientes se trouve a 3 heures de train de Cusco. De la, il faut soit prendre un bus pour monter vers le site, ou escalader une montagne. Comme nous sommes restes deux jours, nous avons essaye les deux. La montee a pieds fut rude pour deux grands sportifs comme nous, surtout a 2400 metres d'altitude, mais la vue de la vallee est magnifique; et je pense qu'un peu d'activite physique etait necessaire afin d'eliminer les Pisco sours, bieres Cusquina, Casillero del Diablo (vin pas terrible, prefere de Nick) ingurgites ces derniers jours !...
Machu Picchu est magnifique, et beaucoup plus impressionant en realite qu'en photo. Le site est immense, perche dans les montagnes. Les amateurs de randonnees y sont dans leur element. Et je dois dire que j'ai commence moi-meme a prendre gout a la marche en montagne ! Comme quoi, tout arrive ! Mais attention, je ne suis toujours pas prete a camper !
Nous sommes desormais en route pour Puno, au bord du lac Titicaca. A 3830 metres au dessus du niveau de la mer, le lac Titicaca est le lac naviguable le plus haut du monde. Il se situe entre le Perou et la Bolivie. Nous pensons passer une nuit a Puno, ce soir, avant de traverser la frontiere demain par bateau ou bus a destination de Copacabana en Bolivie.
Les paysages que nous traversons sont splendides. Je suis etonnee de voir que les campagnes peruviennes sont restees tres typiques. Les peruviens portent toujours des vetements traditionnels, tres colores, et l'on rencontre beaucoup de lamas et d'alpaca.
Apres avoir recu un email de mon emmerdeuse de cousine Audrey, insatisfaite du retard que nous avons pris avec le blog, je me decide enfin a ecrire.
Nous sommes revenus hier de Machu Picchu, ou nous avons passe une nuit dans la petite ville d'Agua Calientes au pied de la montagne qui abrite Machu Picchu. Agua Calientes se trouve a 3 heures de train de Cusco. De la, il faut soit prendre un bus pour monter vers le site, ou escalader une montagne. Comme nous sommes restes deux jours, nous avons essaye les deux. La montee a pieds fut rude pour deux grands sportifs comme nous, surtout a 2400 metres d'altitude, mais la vue de la vallee est magnifique; et je pense qu'un peu d'activite physique etait necessaire afin d'eliminer les Pisco sours, bieres Cusquina, Casillero del Diablo (vin pas terrible, prefere de Nick) ingurgites ces derniers jours !...
Machu Picchu est magnifique, et beaucoup plus impressionant en realite qu'en photo. Le site est immense, perche dans les montagnes. Les amateurs de randonnees y sont dans leur element. Et je dois dire que j'ai commence moi-meme a prendre gout a la marche en montagne ! Comme quoi, tout arrive ! Mais attention, je ne suis toujours pas prete a camper !
Nous sommes desormais en route pour Puno, au bord du lac Titicaca. A 3830 metres au dessus du niveau de la mer, le lac Titicaca est le lac naviguable le plus haut du monde. Il se situe entre le Perou et la Bolivie. Nous pensons passer une nuit a Puno, ce soir, avant de traverser la frontiere demain par bateau ou bus a destination de Copacabana en Bolivie.
Les paysages que nous traversons sont splendides. Je suis etonnee de voir que les campagnes peruviennes sont restees tres typiques. Les peruviens portent toujours des vetements traditionnels, tres colores, et l'on rencontre beaucoup de lamas et d'alpaca.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Cusco: A very picturesque town
Cusco, about 725 miles/1165 km from Lima, is the main city that people use as a base prior to visiting Machu Picchu. Normally, people have the option of driving or flying; however, the route between the two cities was heavily damaged by the earthquake, so a 1 hour flight is currently the only option.
At 11,151 feet/3,399 meters above sea level, visitors are advised to rest for 24 hours to get acclimatized to the altitude (similar to Leh, India). Upon arrival at practically any hotel/guesthouse, the locals will offer you "coca tea" (made out of the same leaves used to create cocaine - or so we're told), whose medicinal powers are said to help cure altitude sickness, hangovers and pretty much anything else you could imagine. Of course, thanks to Nancy Reagan, we only drank the tea.
Even though many people only use it as a launching point for Machu Picchu, Cusco should be considered a proper destination in its own right. The city has a remarkable blend of Incan and European influences: the grand plazas, numerous Catholic churches, cobblestone streets and outdoor cafes have a distinctly "old world" feel to them, while the colorful clothing worn by the locals, centuries old ruins, and backdrop of farmers herding animals across the Andes mountains add a splash of Peruvian culture. Its really neat.
The city can accommodate tourists of varying budgets -- you can find a guesthouse for $10 USD, or the royal suite at a 5 star hotel for $1500 USD. Not surprisingly, we picked housing on the far-lower end of that scale (except for Marie's birthday -- see below).
Cuisine is similar to Lima -- lots of meat. Guinea pig is the local specialty, although chicken, beef and pizza are found on practically every menu. And those raised in Ireland will feel very comfortable -- seemingly every meal is served with some form of potato.
Random thoughts:
Apparently the urban planners in the 16th century didn't anticipate the Cadillac Escalade -- the streets are extremely narrow, made of cobblestone and surrounded by buildings with high walls. By far the most common cars are the Daewoo Tico (a vehicle that could easily be confused with a riding lawnmower) and the Volkswagen Beetle, with the powerful 1300cc engine.
Buy your eyeglasses (or a backup pair) in Peru: Marie lost her glasses, and we had to purchase new ones here. All together: eye exam + frames similar to the ones she had + scratch proof lenses = $43 USD!!!!!
For Marie's birthday, we stayed at Hotel Monasterio, which as its name suggests, is a hotel built inside a former monastery. This was the first hotel we've seen that has its own church!!! Its also the only hotel in the world with pressurized rooms -- similar to airplanes, each room is pressurized to simulate the air at 9,000 feet, and also enriched with oxygen. This is said to help guests acclimatize to the altitude. However, as with the roads, the 16th century architects of the building didn't anticipate wireless internet; the stone walls are so thick its impossible for signal to go through them ;-)
Generally speaking, Peruvians are really short. Marie at 5' 6" (1.68m) is taller than most men. Our friends Jim and Raphelle were here recently, and we can't imagine what it was like for Jim, who stands at 6' 5" (1.96m).
At 11,151 feet/3,399 meters above sea level, visitors are advised to rest for 24 hours to get acclimatized to the altitude (similar to Leh, India). Upon arrival at practically any hotel/guesthouse, the locals will offer you "coca tea" (made out of the same leaves used to create cocaine - or so we're told), whose medicinal powers are said to help cure altitude sickness, hangovers and pretty much anything else you could imagine. Of course, thanks to Nancy Reagan, we only drank the tea.
Even though many people only use it as a launching point for Machu Picchu, Cusco should be considered a proper destination in its own right. The city has a remarkable blend of Incan and European influences: the grand plazas, numerous Catholic churches, cobblestone streets and outdoor cafes have a distinctly "old world" feel to them, while the colorful clothing worn by the locals, centuries old ruins, and backdrop of farmers herding animals across the Andes mountains add a splash of Peruvian culture. Its really neat.
The city can accommodate tourists of varying budgets -- you can find a guesthouse for $10 USD, or the royal suite at a 5 star hotel for $1500 USD. Not surprisingly, we picked housing on the far-lower end of that scale (except for Marie's birthday -- see below).
Cuisine is similar to Lima -- lots of meat. Guinea pig is the local specialty, although chicken, beef and pizza are found on practically every menu. And those raised in Ireland will feel very comfortable -- seemingly every meal is served with some form of potato.
Random thoughts:
Apparently the urban planners in the 16th century didn't anticipate the Cadillac Escalade -- the streets are extremely narrow, made of cobblestone and surrounded by buildings with high walls. By far the most common cars are the Daewoo Tico (a vehicle that could easily be confused with a riding lawnmower) and the Volkswagen Beetle, with the powerful 1300cc engine.
Buy your eyeglasses (or a backup pair) in Peru: Marie lost her glasses, and we had to purchase new ones here. All together: eye exam + frames similar to the ones she had + scratch proof lenses = $43 USD!!!!!
For Marie's birthday, we stayed at Hotel Monasterio, which as its name suggests, is a hotel built inside a former monastery. This was the first hotel we've seen that has its own church!!! Its also the only hotel in the world with pressurized rooms -- similar to airplanes, each room is pressurized to simulate the air at 9,000 feet, and also enriched with oxygen. This is said to help guests acclimatize to the altitude. However, as with the roads, the 16th century architects of the building didn't anticipate wireless internet; the stone walls are so thick its impossible for signal to go through them ;-)
Generally speaking, Peruvians are really short. Marie at 5' 6" (1.68m) is taller than most men. Our friends Jim and Raphelle were here recently, and we can't imagine what it was like for Jim, who stands at 6' 5" (1.96m).
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Les Sept Boules de cristal...
We have been a little lazy with the blog lately... Our trip to El Salvador really exceeded our expectations. We met there the nicest people, and the country, despite being the smallest of Central America has a lot to offer. It is also apparently a paradise for surfers (Gildas, Manu, when are you buying your tickets?)
We are now in Lima, the capital of Peru, where we spent the past 2 days. Lima is definitely not the most beautiful city. We feel that it's a mix of Miami and Las Vegas -- a lot of casinos and neon signs. Our guesthouse is located in the Miraflores district, one of the most upscale area of Lima. It's actually pretty nice. There are a lot of restaurants, bars and stores. We actually spent quite a lot of time in a... mall (yes, that sounds pretty pathetic... traveling so far to spend time in a mall!). Larcomar is actually a pretty unique shopping mall, on top of the cliffs, overlooking the Pacific coast.
Today, we explored the historic center of Lima from the Plaza San Martin to the Plaza Mayor, stopping at the Convent of San Francisco to visit the catacombs. It is quite pretty actually in comparison to the rest of the city.
Tomorrow, making slowly our way to the Temple du Soleil, we are heading by plane to Cusco, where we are planning to spend the next five days. We booked a pretty nice hotel to celebrate my birthday. Nick was lucky to spend his at the Lake Palace... I had to compete...
By the way, we are aware that we haven't posted any photos for a long time... We still owe you our photos from Moscow and El Salvador. It should come soon!
We are now in Lima, the capital of Peru, where we spent the past 2 days. Lima is definitely not the most beautiful city. We feel that it's a mix of Miami and Las Vegas -- a lot of casinos and neon signs. Our guesthouse is located in the Miraflores district, one of the most upscale area of Lima. It's actually pretty nice. There are a lot of restaurants, bars and stores. We actually spent quite a lot of time in a... mall (yes, that sounds pretty pathetic... traveling so far to spend time in a mall!). Larcomar is actually a pretty unique shopping mall, on top of the cliffs, overlooking the Pacific coast.
Today, we explored the historic center of Lima from the Plaza San Martin to the Plaza Mayor, stopping at the Convent of San Francisco to visit the catacombs. It is quite pretty actually in comparison to the rest of the city.
Tomorrow, making slowly our way to the Temple du Soleil, we are heading by plane to Cusco, where we are planning to spend the next five days. We booked a pretty nice hotel to celebrate my birthday. Nick was lucky to spend his at the Lake Palace... I had to compete...
By the way, we are aware that we haven't posted any photos for a long time... We still owe you our photos from Moscow and El Salvador. It should come soon!
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