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Peru Episode 3: The Inca Trail

Posted on 24 November, 2015 by pierreo

Sorry for the long delay in getting this episode out. I think I have a good excuse, actually two or three good ones!

Since I completed Episode 2, I moved, helped my girlfriend to move into our new house and then we got married!

So Sue Me!

Here we go for the next installment of the trip in Peru. All we did earlier, was just preparation for one of the highlights of the trip, the Inca Trail – this is a five day hike (we did one extra day outside the official trail) in the mountains, across two high passes (4200 and 3900 meters). We started from a place called KM77 with just a few houses and a rare bridge across the Rio Vilcanota; the end point of the trail is, of course, the ruins of Machu-Picchu through the Gates of the Sun.

Our first night was in luxurious accommodations. We did not have to carry tents and sleeping bags yet, so there were sturdy tents with a cover to keep the sun out. This is a permanent campground managed by Wilderness Travel. We had showers, a dining room with real chairs and toilets. All luxuries that we would not have for the next four days.

We arrived at camp early and were able to get organized before sunset. There was one tall mountain just to the North of us called Mount Veronica with very nice glaciers at the top. It was often covered by clouds and our guide told us that she had been on trips where it was not visible at all so we were lucky to get good glimpses of it.

That evening, our crew (more on that later) had a treat for us: a special meal called Pachamanca which is slow-cooked meat and vegetables surrounded by hot rocks. The first step is to get the rocks really hot with a fire.

What the crew did not know is that they were going to get an extra helper. Bee has always been fascinated by fires and so she volunteered to help keep the fire going to heat the rocks. At first, they kept a close eye on her.

We did not get a sunset, as the sky was cloudy and we were surrounded by mountains. But we could see the last rays of the setting sun on some of the mountains near us.

and Mount Veronica got better and better every minute!

Eventually, the crew decided that Bee was not going to immolate herself, or half the country and could be trusted to look after the fire alone. Continue reading “Peru Episode 3: The Inca Trail” →

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Travel

Peru Episode 1: The Amazon Forest

Posted on 6 June, 2015 by pierreo

Bee and I recently came back from a great trip to Peru. We stayed there for three weeks and had wonderful experiences everywhere we went. We had more adventures at some point than we had anticipated (more on that later) but all in all it was a wonderful trip.

I will separate the trip in reasonable bites so that I do not bore anybody with endless photos and commentaries. It will also allow me to issue these blogs more regularly, rather than all at once at the end.

After a 30+ hour trip, we finally arrived in Puerto Maldonado, near the Brazilian and Bolivian borders, on the East side of the Andes and smack at the Western end of the Amazon Rain Forest. We left the office on Friday evening at about 18:30 Brussels time and flew to London, then Bogota, then Lima and finally Puerto Maldonado where we were met by the representative of the Riserva Amazonica, one of the resorts situated along the Rio Madre de Dios and where we would be staying for three nights. The is probably the least typical Peruvian portion of our trip; it is a first introduction to the Amazon jungle for both of us.

After a short bus ride from the airport, we boarded a small boat for the final leg to the resort. You got to admit that Bee still looks good on the boat after 30+ hours of travel!

Just next to where we boarded the boat, there was the one and only bridge across the Madre de Dios River. Nice bridge, the same colour as the Golden Gate bridge, and similar construction. Puerto Maldonado is only 250 m above sea level (the lowest by far we will be on this whole trip) and much closer to the Pacific Ocean (only 600 km) but the Rio Madre de Dios flows into the Amazon and eventually to the Atlantic Ocean, more than 2600 km away. For the mathematicians out there, this is equivalent to an average slope of only 0.01% for all this water to flow into the Atlantic Ocean.

The sun was setting as we motored towards the resort. With storm clouds in the distance, it made for a nice combination.

We decides to start our trip in Puerto Maldonado as it was expected to be the most relaxed part of the trip. This would also give us a chance to recover from jet-lag. When we arrived at the resort, we were told that tomorrow’s activity would start at 6:00 AM, with 5:00 AM breakfast; we thought “No Problems, we will be awake at 3:00 AM anyway” so we immediately signed up.

We started by crossing the Madre de Dios river and ran into many cranes, flying overhead and nesting in the tress. On the picture on the right, the crane is actually landing, but not on the nest that is right below it – it continued to float past it to another hidden nest further down the tree.

On the river bank, we saw a small crocodile and I caught a kingfisher in mid-flight – it is actually the same as the one on the branch on the right.

Continue reading “Peru Episode 1: The Amazon Forest” →

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Culture, Travel

Morocco and Lanzarote

Posted on 5 April, 20145 April, 2014 by pierreo

After a few days in Andalusia, a few more than initially planned, we were finally on our way. Having left Spain late the previous night, we woke up approaching Casablanca, in Morocco, with wonderful sunrise views of the Hassan II Mosque, reputedly the largest in the world outside of Mecca.

As we approached, the views improved and we could clearly see that this was no ordinary place. However, we are here looking at the back of the mosque and the better views are from the front.

There is a large square in front of the building, but still not large enough to be able to take the whole view in one shot, even with my widest angle lens; this is a composite of several photos, which is why this is slightly distorted. The minaret is 200 m high! I am told that the muezzin who goes to the top to call worshippers to prayers five times a day has an elevator to facilitate the task!

This is the only mosque in Morocco which is open to non-muslim visitors and I was really looking forward to the planned visit. However, since we arrived on a Friday, and relatively late on the Friday, we were unfortunately not able to go inside – a real shame. We were therefore limited to taking pictures of the very decorated facade and doors from the outside.

Everything seems gigantic, especially when compared to the human scale – notice the man dressed in white to the right of the gate in the shadows. However, it is very harmonious and quite peaceful and inspiring.

This is all we got to see of Casablanca – we were then bussed about one hour away to Rabat where we whizzed around the Royal compound for a short glimpse at the Royal Palace. We were supposed to stop and get out – we were told we could stop and get out – but at the last moment, it seems that again we were at the wrong place at the wrong time and since a lot of people were going to mid-day prayers, the security officers prevented us from stopping. All I got was this shot of the Royal mosque from the moving bus…

Continue reading “Morocco and Lanzarote” →

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Culture, Travel

Iceland – Part 2

Posted on 9 December, 201220 December, 2012 by pierreo

On the last day in Stykkisholmur, I decided to take on a boat ride on one of the local Fjord.

We were lucky to see several puffins and I was even able to photograph them flying (yes they can fly) and swimming

On one of the islands in the bay, I caught this woolly sheep in an apparent staring contest with a sea gull – this is not a Mexican Standoff!

This is the perfect season to raise chicks – or whatever young Cormorants are called. There were several nests with young chicks in them along the cliffs.

The specialty of this particular tour is that towards the end of the tour, they trawl the bottom for whatever lives there and let you taste what comes up fresh and raw! All that with a glass of wine too. It was delicious. I particularly liked the sea urchins.

Continue reading “Iceland – Part 2” →

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Culture, Travel

Iceland – Part 1

Posted on 8 December, 20128 December, 2012 by pierreo

I do apologise – I have fallen behind (way behind) in writing these, but I will try to recover during the winter break and my forced stay at home…

In June, yes, six months ago, I went to Iceland for a week. I had a great trip which started in the most convoluted flights I ever took. I looked for different possibilities, but the best one was to go from Brussels to Munich then to Berlin and finally to Reykjavik, arriving around midnight local time, or about 2AM Brussels time. The only redeeming factor for this flight was that it was cheap, and I only needed to pay 150 euros extra to fly business class!

I did check to make sure that the hotel near the airport where I was to spend the first night was still open at that time. They assured me they were. And I understood why – this is a veritable “rush hour” at Reykjavik Airport! There were several other flights from Europe and the US which landed just before me, and several scheduled to land in the next hour.

I spent the first night near the airport then rented a car and drove towards Stykkisholmur, town where I was to spend the next three nights.

The road was picturesque and here is the first photo I took.

This is Hvalfjordur, a fjord – can you say that in Iceland? – near Reykjavik. There is a shortcut via a tunnel, but I took the long way around the whole thing.

The weather is great – sunny and cool and I am just enjoying the fantastic views everywhere I drive. The road (2 lanes, country road, but the only one going where I am going and no traffic) crosses a river, and I notice a man fishing in the rapids.

Iceland reminds me a lot of New Zealand – very wild, huge scenery, few people. I think I am going to like this!

On the way, I stopped in Bogarnes, a small town with a famous museum about the history of Iceland. Before going to the museum, I walked around town. I am not quite sure what this was all about but must have been some party – there are also empty beer cans and red decorations all over. I think it has something to do with the summer solstice as I arrived in Iceland on 23 June.

I finally make it to Stykkisholmur, where I will spend next three nights. This is the largest town on the Northwest side of Iceland, one of the gateways to the Western Fjord area – I decided that was too far for me on this short trip.

The view from the harbour with a mountain strangely covered by a single small cloud. I was at the view point for a while, and the cloud changed, but never moved from this positions. Strange!

A general view of Stykkisholmur with the harbour at the forefront and mountains in the back. The strange building in the middle is the local Church – a stunning building that I will explore more fully later on.

Continue reading “Iceland – Part 1” →

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Travel

Scotland – Part 2

Posted on 2 September, 20122 September, 2012 by pierreo

With much delay due to a number of other activities, here is the second part of my recent trip to Scotland.

We took the scenic route from Skye to Scrabster, where we would catch the ferry to Stromness, on Mainland, in the Orkney Islands. It is not a long drive, but took us almost all day as we decided to stop whenever the view was nice.

We drove along the West coast, on a small windy road that was quite pleasant. Occasionally, the view got even better. There are ruins of a castle on a spit of land in the middle of a loch.

and there were nice flowering bushes in places as this is the end of spring.

Leaving Scrabster on the ferry – here is a view of the light house at the entrance to the bay. It looks like the keeper had a large wall-enclosed garden to take care of as well.

There were many birds on the cliffs as we were heading out. There were also many nests in the cliffs, but too far away for a good view.

We had a great day for the ferry crossing – bright and sunny but not too hot.

Continue reading “Scotland – Part 2” →

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