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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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Culture, Travel

Peru Episode 2: Cuzco and the Sacred Valley

Posted on 21 June, 201524 November, 2015 by pierreo

We arrived in Cuzco in mid-afternoon and by the time we settled into our hotel (right next to Plaza De Armas) and met our tour leader Holy for a quick orientation chat, it was already dark. We decided to go for a stroll and discover the immediate neighborhood around the hotel. We also wanted to scope out several restaurants in the area and decide where we would eat.

Near the hotel, we saw our first Inca Wall, down a narrow pedestrian street. Little did I know when I took this picture that somewhere down the wall on the right there is a 12-cornered stone – we found it later…

A little further, in the square in front of the Monasterio Hotel where we will be staying later, there were school children hard at work rehearsing a dance routine. We saw several such events in the next few days and were told that it is not unusual for classes to organize something special for “Mother’s Day” which would be celebrated on the second Sunday in May.

Plaza de Armas – the central square in today’s Cuzco (actually it was already the central square in Inca Times too).

Before dinner, we had a drink in a cafe overlooking the Plaza; Cuzco is surrounded by hills and one of these is visible on the left. In the distance, a statue of Christ (similar to, but smaller than the one in Rio) seemed to float above the city like a ghostly figure.

The next day, Bee and I explored the city on our own. We first stopped at an attraction that is not in any of our guides as it was only discovered and developed a few years ago. Right in the centre of Cuzco, the remains of several Inca houses have been discovered. The site is called Kusicancha and I was able to find very few references to it even on Google search! The church in the background is Santo Domingo, part of the Qorikancha Complex which we will visit later with our group.

Continue reading “Peru Episode 2: Cuzco and the Sacred Valley” →

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Culture, Food, Travel

Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast – Part 2

Posted on 9 February, 20159 February, 2015 by pierreo

After 5 days in Naples, Bee and I moved to the relative tranquility of Sorrento, on the Bay of Naples, on the Amalfi Peninsula, and the gateway to the Amalfi Coast and Capri. We had ten more days to explore this part of Italy, rich in History, Art and Nature.

We went to Capri on our first day there – the weather forecast was not ideal for the week to come and we thought we wanted to take advantage of a reasonable day to explore the island.

Unfortunately, two cruise ships had arrived overnight, and all passengers from the ships were also going to Capri. Our ferry into the island was full and we could not get the return trip we wanted, so had a return earlier than we wanted initially.

Still, the day started positive – we booked a boat trip around the island, which included a visit to the Blue Grotto and wandered around the harbor while waiting for the departure. It was very interesting to see that even though this is a very touristy island, there are still people here doing traditional work, such as fishing out of small boats.

Here is a general view of the main harbour. On the side of the mountain in the background, you can see the first few houses of the second town in Capri called Anacapri.

Taxis on the island have been somewhat modified to cater to the expectations of local tourists. It is obvious that the maximum expected speed on the island is very low, or this type of roof on a car would not survive very long.

On the trip around the island, we first passed by the Blue Grotto. We were told that unfortunately the tide and the wave were too high to be able to visit the grotto that day. The entrance is very tight and it is often impossible to go through. However, it looks like some people are making it, so I am not sure if the boat captain was telling us the truth or not.

At the Western tip of the island, on Punta Carena, stands a very tall light house. It is critical to mark the entrance to the Bay of Naples where there has been a busy port for many centuries.

Again, we can see that normal life continues around tourism – this gentleman was fishing probably in the same way they were doing it 100 and 500 years ago!

Continue reading “Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast – Part 2” →

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Travel

Napoli and Amalfi – Part 1

Posted on 15 September, 201413 February, 2015 by pierreo

If it is not obvious already from the amount of time that I spend there, I love Italy. I have been there many times and every time I do, I come back more enchanted and convinced that I should come again.

In all my previous trips, I had spent a grand total of 3 or 4 days in the area around Naples, and all of that when I was 11 and 13 years old. I had memories of Paestum, Monte Cassino, Heculaneum and Castel del’Ovo. But these were very vague, and I was not sure what was what any more.

Bee and I decided to spend the time between Easter and May Day in and around Naples so that we could take advantage of two holidays. We arrived in Naples on 19 April, rented a car and drove to our hotel right in the center of the city. The hotel was situated on a pedestrian street and so had left good instructions of where to park. We found the parking and walked to the Hotel Il Convento. We had booked a room with balcony, at the very top of the hotel and it was very nice.

We went for a walk in order to discover the neighborhood. On Piazza Plebiscito (Suffrage Square), we saw this sight of a cruise ship leaving harbor. Naples and, as we will see later, Sorrento are major stops on the cruising Italy scene.

There was not much going on in the low town around the square, so we decided to go up with one of the old cable cars (Funicolare Centrale) up to the Vomero Hill. The car runs underground all the way up to the top of the hill.

We first went to visit the Castel Sant’Elmo, located right at the top of the hill and built by the Spanish in 1538, with spectacular views of the city and Mount Vesuvius just behind it. At first, I was not sure that it was Mount Vesuvius, as I did not remember the second “hump” on the side of the mountain, and all the photos and paintings of the volcano showed it more with the typical conical shape. However, comparing with the location of Vesuvius on the map, and when we went there, I can confirm that the big mountain just outside the city is indeed Mount Vesuvius.

Here is a wider panorama of the Bay of Naples. Vesuvius is on the left and then you can see the low hills of the Amalfi Peninsula. The last two dark spots on the right of the photo are the two hills of Capri – we had excellent visibility that day as the sun started to come down.

After the castle, we went to the Certosa di San Martino, located only 100 m from the castle. It used to be a Monastery, build in the 14th century and rebuilt in the 17th. A constructed view (180 degrees) of the cloisters inside the monastery – this is Chiostro Grande.

There are ancient carriages used by the former occupants of the Certosa – I guess the chief abbot was used to travel in style!

Continue reading “Napoli and Amalfi – Part 1” →

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Culture

WWI – In Flanders Fields

Posted on 4 May, 2014 by pierreo

In November, Bee and I decided to go visit the Flanders Fields Museum in Ypres and a few of the monuments around that area where battles were fought during WWI.

The museum is great, with a very good history of the many battles around Ypres. The area around Ypres was the only part of Bergium that was not conquered by the German Army during the whole duration of the War. The invasion was stoppped by flodding the fields around the Yser River and then everything was bogged down in four years of trench warfare.

www.inflandersfields.be/en is a very good site about the museum if you want to know more about it.

After lunch in Ypres, we started driving around and came about this WWI cemetery as we were driving by. This is the Menin Road South Cemetery with mostly British and Commonwealth soldiers. The whole area is dotted with small cemeteries. At the time, armies tended to burry the dead as they fell, into small fields. These were then reorganised and preserved after the war.

These are very peaceful places, even in the middle of the city, they seem to have an aura of themselves. We discovered that there are hundreds of these small cemeteries all over the area.

The Menin Gate in Ypres is a memorial to soldiers killed in the Ypres Salient and whose grave is unknown. 54896 names are listed on the walls and alcoves of the monument. The Memorial was dedicated in 1927 and is still the site of an annual ceremony on ANZAC day, on the anniversary of the battle of Gallipoli when Australia and New Zealand honour the memory of those fallen in foreign wars.

Below is a monument to the many Indian soldiers who participated and died in the many battles for Ypres. We were surprised to see an Indian flag in the middle of the city, up on the ramparts, so we explored a little bit closer. What a shock it must have been for these soldiers to leave India and end up in a muddy trench in rainy, cold Belgium.

Further along the old city ramparts, we saw the Ramparts Cemetery, near Lille Gate. It started as a French cemetery but in 1915 and 1916, welcomed mostly Commonwealth victims. At the end of the war, the French soldiers were removed.

Here is an example of graves from the Ramparts cemetery.

Just outside Ypres was an extensive set of trenches and caves dug up by the Yorkshire Regiment over many years of war. Some of it has been preserved in this secluded lot in the middle of a light industry zone.

Here is the entrance to underground caves. The old sandbags have been replaced with concrete imitations.

Bee is looking at the trenches, and just imagining what it must have been like after 10 days of continuous rain in only 5 DegC weather…

It was a good day of remembrance. We ended up in Nieuwpoort, having an excellent dinner before going home.

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Culture

Carnaval of Malmedy 2014

Posted on 13 April, 2014 by pierreo

I do not make it every years, but whenever I can I always enjoy spending the Sunday of Carnaval in Malmédy, in the South of Belgium, in the Ardennes. There is a very special celebration there each year, with some formal and traditional events, but especially a carnival parade with free participation from anybody who wants. This year was the 556 year that this tradition has existed. There are records dating back to 1458 – however, nobody can be quite sure how many parades there have been in total. It probably changed a little bit over the years too.

The Sunday celebration opens with the “Dance de la Haguète” – last time we came, we missed that as we were still having lunch, so I wanted to make sure that we saw it this time. We setup at the front of the crowd early and waited.

As I said, there is a lot of free participation to all events. Three teen girls, dressed as Pandas entertained us for a few minutes – they were obviously having fun.

The Haguète is a very colourful traditional costume. They must have been treated very poorly in the past, or in traditional lore, or legend … some time any way as their carnival “trick” is to capture the ankle of an innocent bystander with their wooden tool (not sure what it is called) and force them to apologise on their knees, before they are released. Traditionally also, a different society each year gets to open the parade with a dance. As you can see on this picture, some of them start very young…

There were a lot of people watching from every point of view. There was also a duo between the band accompanying the Haguète and the brass band on the balcony here.

As the parade was getting ready, we actually met the three clowns who get to open the parade. It is obviously a great honour to be selected for that job; as soon as she saw my camera, I got the best smile in the world! And we chatted a while after that.

Continue reading “Carnaval of Malmedy 2014” →

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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

Andalusia 2013

Posted on 1 February, 2014 by pierreo

Our trip to Andalusia continued in Cordoba, another city that was heavily influenced by the Moors who occupied it until late in the 15th century.

Cordoba was ‘freed’ earlier than Granada and Ferdinand and Isabella established their royal seat here while they were fighting for Granada. They lived in a former Muslim palace which is now known as the “Alcazar de los Reyes Catolicos” or Palace of the Catholic Kings. It is clear, however, that the origin of the buildings and gardens has nothing to do with catholic kings.

One look at these gardens and you know immediately who designed them.

The palace itself is not very interesting, and there has not been a significant effort to make the interior look like it must have either during the Moors’ occupation, or the later royal affectation, which was not very long as the royal court eventually moved to Granada instead.

However, the gardens are the real attraction of this palace.

There are fountains everywhere and several different levels which are all just slightly different from each other.

This group was added later, I am sure. It is the representation of Christopher Columbus requesting funds from Ferdinand and Isabella for his trip to India via the Atlantic Ocean. We all know how that ended.

However, there were conflicts in what we heard from different guides. Granada was freed from the Moors in January 1492 and the court moved there soon thereafter. So in Granada, they claim that this discussion took place in the Alhambra. In Cordoba, they claim that this occurred before the court moved and therefore it happened in Cordoba. Looking at several sources of information (Encyclopaedia Britannica, Wikipedia and Royal Greenwich Museum) there is consensus that the decision to go West was made in January 1492 but only Wikipedia mentions that this occurred in Cordoba while Britannica does not say where the final agreement took place. It could be that it is not documented and therefore both cities have a legitimate claim!

The other major attraction of Cordoba is the Mezquita, the most confused building in the world. It started life as a Mosque and is now the Cathedral of Cordoba. There are contrasting views throughout the building, with clearly Muslim architecture surrounding obviously catholic details.

When they established (and built) the cathedral inside the old mosque, a lot of the building was left unchanged. There are thousands of columns supporting the roof around the core which is now the cathedral. This is an “illegal” photo! I took it with the camera sitting on the floor so that I could have a longer exposure. Immediately after I took this photo while sitting on the floor, I was told to stand up as sitting is not allowed!

Continue reading “Andalusia 2013” →

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Culture, Travel

Granada 2013

Posted on 17 January, 201426 January, 2014 by pierreo

I first came to Granada, in Andalusia, Spain, in 1999. I only spent 2 nights there on a tour of Andalusia.

The pictures I took back then can be seen on my other site: www.twimpg.net

Bee and I stopped in Granada for 4 nights before our Eclipse Cruise – more on that later. It was a great opportunity to see the Alhambra again, and discover more of this wonderful historical city.

We arrived just before lunch – lunch time in Spain that is, so got to the hotel around 1:30 PM. We stayed at the Alhambra Palace, just a stone throw away from the Alhambra itself. On the way to the restaurant for lunch, we saw our first glimpse of the outside wall of the complex and the imposing fortress.

In the afternoon, we went to visit the town and stopped at the main cathedral. It is a very impressive building that was designed and built after the moors were chased out of Andalusia and Granada was the seat of the Spanish Royal family.

We discovered that, on week-ends, the gardens of the Generalife are opened to the public in the evening, after sunset. We had therefore booked for going there on our first evening.

We tried to be early (I did not have to try very hard!) so that it would not be too crowded and we succeeded. The one palace on the Generalife was almost empty and very peaceful.

It is amazing that this was built in 1400 when the rest of Europe was in the “Dark Ages”! Granada was actually a place of great learning during that time, with scholars from all over the known world visiting and lecturing thousands of ‘students’ who came there to learn.

From the Generalife, we had a good view of the Alhambra complex, but could not go there. Actually, we probably could have walked around there too as most of the area around the Alhambra is public, but we only found that out on the next day, during our daytime visit of the palaces.

The detailed work of carving on the stone and the wood is always incredible in these buildings. It is amazing that this survived during the last 700 years. Notice how the patterns are different on top of each archway over the doors! Continue reading “Granada 2013” →

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Culture, Travel

Portugal – Part 2

Posted on 18 November, 201326 January, 2014 by pierreo

After Coimbra, we spent a few more days in the area and went to the Natural Park da Serra da Estrela which includes the highest mountains in Portugal. We stopped at the highest peak where there is a weather station and what looks like army radar installations. The weather was good, but cold and very windy – you can still see that there is a lot of snow left on the ground and this was at the end of May.

We did some walking in the park too but no great pictures. We stopped for lunch in Manteigas, right at the center of the Parque Natural da Serra da Estrela where we saw an old car rally but no pictures of that either. I was not in the right mood for photos that day!

We then had to head towards Lisbon, but first we made a stop on the way in an old Roman town called Conimbriga which has some of the best preserved Roman ruins in the Iberian Peninsula. We were very pleasantly surprised.

There is a house with exquisite floor mosaics (above) and an incredible atrium with really nice fountains (below)

We discovered that by putting a 1 euro coin in a slot, we could get the fountains to actually work. You can see the water spays (white arcs) against the red bricks, if you look carefully. The sound was actually better than the sight! I wonder if they still use the original plumbing?

Continue reading “Portugal – Part 2” →

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