Just finished another fundraising event, this time a band night with hotdogs. The night went really well with lots of people turning up and enjoying a few activities like: guess the weight of the cake, guess how many sweets in the jar, a picture pub quiz and of course, a raffle. Whilst this was all going on, the band, Hullabaloo, played right the way through and were amazing. They even managed to get everyone to join in with their version of '500 miles', including the staff! All in all it was a great night and quite a laugh at times. The grand total was £560.05 which puts me ever closer to achieving my final target of £3,650. Thanks very much to everyone for coming and supporting me - definitely couldn't have done it without you.
Be sure to check them out on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkZjvEBDC-Y
If you ever need a really enthusiastic and great sounding acoustic duo, they are brilliant, so give them a shout through their FB page:https://www.facebook.com/Hullabaloomusic636432146427824?ref=hl
Thursday 25 September 2014
Tuesday 2 September 2014
The last few days were spent in Cusco and Lima (the capital city) which were the biggest cities in Peru. It was a big change from Ollantaytambo and a nice way to chill and relax before making our long journey back to England. There were a few sites but it was mainly strolling through the markets and seeing some impressive statues and churches.
I had, had a great time in Peru and Ecuador but I was definitely glad to get home to a hot shower and comfy bed.
I had, had a great time in Peru and Ecuador but I was definitely glad to get home to a hot shower and comfy bed.
Puno's main attraction is definitely the floating reed islands on the famous Lake Titicaca (the highest navigable lake in the world), which we went to see the day after arriving. It was interesting to be on the islands but disappointingly the inhabitants didn't really show us their way of life on the islands and were always trying to give tourists a harder sell than was necessary.
After Puno, we had a very long 12 hour trip to Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley. There were some spectacular sites along the way such as the high plateau surrounded by snow-capped peaks and impressive Inca ruins.
In Ollantaytambo we did a few things like horse-back riding and mountain biking and walks in the surrounding area which lead up to small Inca ruins. It also has a lovely main square with nice cafés and restaurants bordering it but our favourite restaurant was definitely Hearts Café, a non-profitable café/restaurant which donated its earnings to Andean women and children who struggle to make ends meet. Its a very laid back place where you can relax but most of all the town is only a two hour train ride away from Machu Picchu.
The train ride alone meanders through typical, Andean mountains and secluded villages but once you arrive at the station and take the bus ride up to Machu Picchu you realise how far away you are from this lost Inca city.
The view from the top is exactly the same as you see on postcards yet the place is absolutely packed with people from across the globe trying to get their picture with it and making ridiculous poses. Before going into the city itself we walked along a very precipitous path to the Inca drawbridge. Although the bridge wasn't very impressive the path certainly was. Then we went into Machu Picchu itself where you felt almost transported back to Inca times and marvelled at how they built such a thing on a platform surrounded by huge drops. We also went to the official museum which was unusually very quiet and learnt loads about the construction of it and the Inca's way of life.
The rest of the week was relaxed but whilst we were there, there were election campaigns taking place which were interesting to watch. By the time we had to go, like Galapagos, we wanted to stay for longer because only a few days later we would be on the plane back home.
After Puno, we had a very long 12 hour trip to Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley. There were some spectacular sites along the way such as the high plateau surrounded by snow-capped peaks and impressive Inca ruins.
In Ollantaytambo we did a few things like horse-back riding and mountain biking and walks in the surrounding area which lead up to small Inca ruins. It also has a lovely main square with nice cafés and restaurants bordering it but our favourite restaurant was definitely Hearts Café, a non-profitable café/restaurant which donated its earnings to Andean women and children who struggle to make ends meet. Its a very laid back place where you can relax but most of all the town is only a two hour train ride away from Machu Picchu.
The train ride alone meanders through typical, Andean mountains and secluded villages but once you arrive at the station and take the bus ride up to Machu Picchu you realise how far away you are from this lost Inca city.
The view from the top is exactly the same as you see on postcards yet the place is absolutely packed with people from across the globe trying to get their picture with it and making ridiculous poses. Before going into the city itself we walked along a very precipitous path to the Inca drawbridge. Although the bridge wasn't very impressive the path certainly was. Then we went into Machu Picchu itself where you felt almost transported back to Inca times and marvelled at how they built such a thing on a platform surrounded by huge drops. We also went to the official museum which was unusually very quiet and learnt loads about the construction of it and the Inca's way of life.
The rest of the week was relaxed but whilst we were there, there were election campaigns taking place which were interesting to watch. By the time we had to go, like Galapagos, we wanted to stay for longer because only a few days later we would be on the plane back home.
After my awesome Galapagos trip I was finding it hard to say goodbye and was starting to think that the rest of the holiday might be disappointing compared to the first week...
...boy was I wrong! The second part of the trip was to travel down to Peru and venture into the Colca Canyon but to get there we had to take a minibus through the Atacama desert-the driest desert in the world! The landscape was stunning and so alien that I felt as if I was on the moon. On the way we stopped off at some points of interest such as carvings in rocks, called petroglyphs, that were created by the Incas to document their way of life. In addition, there was a place called Jurassic Park where there were fossilised dinosaur footprints in the sand! Eventually it got quite late and we ended up driving in the dark. This meant I got to see the best night sky I had ever seen. The stars were the brightest things you could see for miles and miles-apart from the bus' headlights of course.
The next day was our first day in the canyon, which happens to be the deepest canyon in the world! It started with a 7km trek down from 3350 metres to the canyon's bottom and then a 13km trek to the oasis we were staying in. The mountains we were walking beside towered above us and made the paths that were cut into them look extremely precarious. The locals were really friendly and accommodating to tourists despite having such a hard and isolated life in the canyon. Even a dog from a nearby village followed us to our destination for 12km. When we finally got to the oasis, we were absolutely shattered and went for a swim in a pool fed by glacial melt water then collapsed into bed to prepare for the final day.
It was an early start, 4:45 in fact, when we began our ascent from 2250 metres to 3350 metres. The reason we had to get up so early was to avoid the blazing sun that rose at about 6:00. However, this meant for the first hour we had to stick together and wear head torches to see where we were going. After the sun had risen, I shot off by myself and started to enjoy the challenge of the climb and took in the scenery. Towards the end I began to really feel the altitude and wondered how much farther I had to go when...I arrived. I was completely elated and got a massive kick out of finishing and the view from the top was brilliant. Unfortunately, I had to wait an hour and a quarter until the rest of my family arrived and when they finally did meet me at the top we stopped in a hot spring to relax our aching muscles.
That was the end of Colca Canyon but as we trundled along to Puno on the bus I knew Machu Picchu was only around the corner.
...boy was I wrong! The second part of the trip was to travel down to Peru and venture into the Colca Canyon but to get there we had to take a minibus through the Atacama desert-the driest desert in the world! The landscape was stunning and so alien that I felt as if I was on the moon. On the way we stopped off at some points of interest such as carvings in rocks, called petroglyphs, that were created by the Incas to document their way of life. In addition, there was a place called Jurassic Park where there were fossilised dinosaur footprints in the sand! Eventually it got quite late and we ended up driving in the dark. This meant I got to see the best night sky I had ever seen. The stars were the brightest things you could see for miles and miles-apart from the bus' headlights of course.
The next day was our first day in the canyon, which happens to be the deepest canyon in the world! It started with a 7km trek down from 3350 metres to the canyon's bottom and then a 13km trek to the oasis we were staying in. The mountains we were walking beside towered above us and made the paths that were cut into them look extremely precarious. The locals were really friendly and accommodating to tourists despite having such a hard and isolated life in the canyon. Even a dog from a nearby village followed us to our destination for 12km. When we finally got to the oasis, we were absolutely shattered and went for a swim in a pool fed by glacial melt water then collapsed into bed to prepare for the final day.
It was an early start, 4:45 in fact, when we began our ascent from 2250 metres to 3350 metres. The reason we had to get up so early was to avoid the blazing sun that rose at about 6:00. However, this meant for the first hour we had to stick together and wear head torches to see where we were going. After the sun had risen, I shot off by myself and started to enjoy the challenge of the climb and took in the scenery. Towards the end I began to really feel the altitude and wondered how much farther I had to go when...I arrived. I was completely elated and got a massive kick out of finishing and the view from the top was brilliant. Unfortunately, I had to wait an hour and a quarter until the rest of my family arrived and when they finally did meet me at the top we stopped in a hot spring to relax our aching muscles.
That was the end of Colca Canyon but as we trundled along to Puno on the bus I knew Machu Picchu was only around the corner.
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