Puno...P.U. No!

Arequipa to Puno $15NS Julsa. Lots of companies go all day 5-6 hrs. passing through Juliaca, which must be the armpit of Peru. Glad we saw it and kept on going!  We arrived in Puno at night aftr a long day of travel from Cabanconde (including a lift with Wulf to Arequipa which was onyl 2.5 hrs thankfully). Stayed at Don Giorgio hotel  Tarapaca 238 ($100NS) right off the main pedestrian shopping area, so great location. Rooms was dingy, but bathroom was clean. Glad we only stayed one night.

Food: Don Piero on pedestrian street. Good solid but basic. Nice spot with  second floor dining room that overlooks the street.
Bakery with good pastries, sandwiches, coffee and breads Pan Ricos. A few locations on Avenida Arequipa.
Do: market was very entertaining and large. Great area to stroll in, including the waterfront (dowdy) and an art school.

Bolivia visa: DO NOT go to the consulate in Puno. Miserable guy there is old git who intentionally throws obstacles to your visa process, in the attempt to get a 'mordida'. Screw that. We humoured him for 15 minutes, said we'd be back in an hour with all the necessary documents and copies, but just got a bus and went to the border where we got the visa processed there.

Cabanconde: much to do about nothing

We stayed 3 days here and could have easily stayed a week to explore all the villages and trails that dot the canyon.  Cabanaconde is at 3,300 mtrs

Sangalle Oasis
It is at the bottom of canyon at about ,2,100 ntrs on a steep trail that winds down. It took us about 2.5 hrs through changing flora with an oasis complete with 5 pools, cabanas, mango, palm and avocado trees and exquisite grounds where they grow food too. You can stay here, but we did this as a very long day trip...yes, we schlepped back up!  3.5 hours, very slowly. Mules are also for hire.  Brilliant.

Mirador San Miguel
Walking on the main road out of town, past the cemetery and about 2km there is a dirt track that bops over a ridge and there is a lookout over the canyon. Not a soul and as we took pictures and congratulated ourselves on having hiked down to the bottom the day before, 4 condors came wafting over...magical. 15km out of town is the Cruz del Condor where the hundreds of tours and trips from Arequipa go and where you are charged too. You can get here by public bus from the plaza, I was told that they leave at 8:30-ish am.  Head to the Mirador San Miguel instead, though a local boy also said in Jan-March the condors go to this part of the canyon and in the winter they float around to the Cruz el Condor area...my guess is high-season the locals foist a dead sheep over the canyon around the Cruz, low season, they don't bother.

Villages in the area

San Juan, Tapay, Malata,Paclla, Llacta etc. All linked with trails and very easily navigable either a overnighters or long day trips.

Colca Canyon or bust

Arequipa was lovely but we had a full day and a morning there which was enough for us and we took off for Colca Canyon. There are two main towns to head for, Chivay at the 'beginning' of the canyon road and Cabanconde at the 'end'.  All buses go to Chivay (3 hrs) and some continue on to Cabanconde or you can change buses at Chivay where other services are available. We took a Reyna bus to Chivay (14NS) waited an hour for a bus to Cabanaconde (2hrs I think 2NS).  Had we taken a tour or private minibus the entire journey would've been more like 3 hrs, but I think it's more interesting to travel with locals and not least be shackled to a 'tour' for considerably more money.

Kuntur Wasi, Cabanaconde, Colca Canyon, Peru

Beware of folks in 'official' AUTOCOLCA vests and clip boards at the Chivay bus terminal asking if you are going to the Cruz del Condor and the Oasis etc, because they will ask you to pay a "ticket' ($30-35?NS) to go to these places. I was suspicious as I hadn't read about this fee, so I told him we were going to just hang out in Cabanaconde and decide there what we will do, Is there a local office there where I can pay the fee?  Stumped by that question he left us alone.

We stayed at Kuntur Wasi , a lovely brick, stone and adobe place one block up the hill from the plaza and run by Walther and Pepita, a Bolivian couple who really make you feel at home and part of the family. Low season rate for us was $100NS a night, private room and bath, very clean and every room seems to have a view of the mountains.  And the bar/dining room area also looks out to mountains.  Decent and ample breakfast of fruit, yoghurt, eggs, coffee and bread and jam. We also ate every night at the restaurant which was very good and varied menu.

I think we were one of three rooms being used there, and we were made to feel like part of the family. You are treated to a welcome drink of Pisco Sour the first evening.  Walter studied in Russia and when on the 3rd night a Russian couple was staying there, he played all his Russion music, busted out the beers for us and started singing along.

Walter and Pepa also insisted The Russian and I dress up in a traditional dress of the town and that part of Peru. Dresses that were worn for special occasions such as the saint day of the village, which was a few weeks away.

Going native in Cabanaconde

Arequipa: The White City

Lots of hotels and ranges in Arequipa. We stayed a few blocks from the Plaza de Armas at La casa del Sillar, an old colonial house made of sillar. Rivero 504, www.lacasadelsillar.com

Rooms were large but dark, stark and basic.  Thankfully clean, but it wasn't El Albergue!  Breakfast was included but it was a dry old basket of bread, watery coffee and surly service: eat breakfast elsewhere especially when the room was only 70NS (approx $25).

Eats:
Dinner at Chicha, Gaston Arcurio's magic in an old colonial building on Santa Catalina. beer, sparkly water, ceviche, swrodfish, stuffed rocoto, wine and shared dessert of the crepe, all divine and only 149NS (approx $50!) 
Breakfast: La Canasta et back in a courtyard in a lovely building. So-so breads, passable for breakfast, but awful coffee. Nice outdoor seating area in the courtyard. Jerusalen 115

Lunch: Cafe Bar Istanbul. Calle San Francisco 231 (2 blocks north of the Plaza de Armas) Run by a Turkish woman who has been there for 12+ years (why I ask...apparently she followed her brother there and he owns the Turkish restaurant across the street)  Her space is modern, vibrant colours and warm vibe, even when empty which it was. Food was great: fresh, delicious and good value. I had the Felafel Wrap which came with rocoto sauces.9NS. So good we went back the next day before our bus to Colca Canyon.

Night bus to Arequipa

Turns out 99% of buses to Arequipa leave in the evening anywhere from 7pm-9pm to avoid the high temperatures during the day. I did find a morning bus which was appealing because it would afford us the view of the countryside en route, which at 10-12 hours of driving, that could be a lot.  But the prospect of arriving in the night in a new city didn't appeal either. 

Several bus companies go to Arequipa with varying level of 'service' which is essentially how far back the seat reclines, if there's a bathroom and the number of stops.  They do book up so I suggest you go to the bus station the day or two before to book your ticket, which was about 25NS, but I can't remember exactly other than CHEAP.

Ollantaytambo and Machu Picchu

Rather than make it a long day trip from Cusco and feel rushed and exhausted, we decided to be leisurely about it and split the trip to Machu Picchu as a 2-day excursion staying overnight in Ollantaytambo.  I prefered that to Aguas Calientes, which frankly sounded like a skin of a town that grew to cater to tourism and would be overrun with tour groups and backpackers. 

We took a microbus from Cusco that cost 10NS each (approx $3.40) for a 2.5 hr ride through gorgeous snow capped peaks and potatoe field dotted countryside. I was able to make a reservation a few days before at the Albergue in Ollantaytambo, located right on the train platform, for $65, including breakfast.  I think that is the off-season price.  It's a beautiful hotel with exquisite grounds and views, dining room, bar patio with views of the mountains and cafe that is right on the tracks. Rooms were clean, simple with dark wood furniture and still felt indulgent in a white adobe old station house. There were also newer rooms in other buildings on the small grounds.

Take the time to visit the ruins in town-really quite impressive and sets the tone of awe and wonderment of how they got huge stones quarried and hauled up the mountain side. It's also a great vantage point from seeing the town below and the surrounding peaks.

We had a 7:30 am train which left plenty of time to have a gorgeous breakfast that included coffee from the barrista, buffet of fruit salad and breads, and made to order pancakes or eggs. Great way to start the day.

Train options were many prompted by the recent opening up of PeruRails monopoly resulting in Inca Rail and another train company. We took PeruRail return for approx $63 for the morning run and $50 for the 2pm return, per person. These services were efficient, clean and even offered a lovely snack with tea/coffee (and a fashion show..)

ONce in Agua Caliente the bus to Machu Picchu park entrance (recommended unless you fancy hiking up for 2 hours!) is only 8NS per person and hustles up in 20 minutes, so money well spent especially if time is of the essence. You can also walk down-leave 2 hours to enjoy the well marked trail. Park entrance can be purchased by the shuttle bus at the park office or up at the actual park entrance.  I think park entrance was about $40 each-well worth it. Trust me.

Where to eat in Cusco

No shortage of places to eat in Cusco, but with a mild case of soroche, food was not high on the list for the first few days.  Here's a snapshot of the places we enjoyed:


Inka Grill on the Plaza de Armas. Excellent, fresh, clean Peruvian fusion food.  We ate there twice enjoying the ceviches, tiraditas, taku-taku and alpaca.  Good selection for vegetarians too.

Pacha Papa: Plazoleta San Blas #120 with nice outdoor garden eating area (with heat lamps!)
Victor Victoria on Tecsecocha has a great menu del dia. On our day we had asparagus soup, choclo, pesto spaghetti, lentejas, tres leches and beer (and an ample salad bar) for a measly $5 each!

Crash Pad in Cusco

The start of a 3 week stint through Peru and northern Bolivia started with a stay in Cusco. I reached out through a few Q&A travel forums for suggested places to stay and got some great responses. A Travellr.com reply was the one we went with and with no regrets. 

Hostal Casa de Campo on Sandapata was superb. Rooms are pepepred across a few buildings that ascend furtehr up the hill. Gettung ti our room at that altitude took the wind out of us, but it was worth it for the spectacular views. Our room (#30) had it's own little ante-room with fireplace overlooking the city. Gorgeous. Rooms are basic, but clean.  Low season rate was $30 a night, and includes breakfast.