In Search of the Incas

I'm in Peru....land of ancient Inca ruins, cowboys and llamas...and, apart from that, i have to admit that I don't know much about it.

I assume this will change as I spend the next three weeks here travelling through the arid countryside to reach the Andes and trekking for four days (good grief) through the mountains (mountains!!!) to reach machu piccu. All I can say is that those crazy inca ruins had better be worth the pain that I'm sure they will cause me!

I am in Pisco now - famous for its drink, the pisco sour - which, of course, I have already sampled and adored. We caught a local bus down from Lima this afternoon having spent the morning wondering around the stunning colonial buildings of the historical centre - a UNESCO protected world heritage site.

Lima surprised me. I don't know what I expected - if I expected anything with my lack of knowledge about peru (you'd have thought i'd read up on a country I will spend 3 weeks in....) but I think I expected a much dirtier, run down place than I found.

Staying in Miraflores, a costal suburb filled with gorgeous restaurants, cafes and shops I felt right at home...and, even when we ventured into the city, I found everything completely spotless...I even saw a cigarette butt litterally being swept up from under someone's feet.

I was told by my Peruvian guide that the most recent mayor has been responsible for cleaning up the city - bulldozing the slums in the city centre and replacing them with lush green parks, sorting out the theiving pickpockets in the area as well as undergoing a massive regeneration project of the old buildings, even going so far as to provide beautiful housing for the people living in the city centre to move into while the renovations were being done. The result is a modern, clean city with beautiful parks, colonial buildings, cathedrals and friendly people. At least this is what the average tourist sees. I am sure that, behind the scenes, there is just as much poverty and desperation as anywhere else in south america.

In fact, even just travelling down to Pisco from Lima, we saw shanty towns scattered along the desert roads and, upon reaching Pisco we saw the devestation that still exists following a horrific earthquake in 2007....still, we are told that the town is slowly but surely being rebuilt...you have to admire the peruvians for their tenacity.

'We' is my new tour group....six of us plus a guide we are Australian, French Canadian (yes, a good opportunity to practice my French) and British. Problem is that everyone is more than a little bit older than me....retired....and not so much into the partying. I expect this may be a quieter section of the trip than expected - which may actually be good news for my liver. I am disappointed of course, but am trying to see it as a chance for a bit more rest and relaxation before I go home and back to work than i would have had if I was partying every night as I have done the past 3 weeks....well past 3 months really!

Tomorrow, tsunamis permitting (Peru has been on high-alert following the Japanese earthquakes...but so far so good and I believe the worst is over - thankfully as I am on the coast here) we will visit some islands to look at amazing wildlife and birds...

Till next time...