Samedi 22, après la
visite du monastère San Domingo bâti sur le plus célèbre des
temples du soleil Inca au cœur de Cusco, nous déambulons dans la
ville et préparons nos sacs pour notre grand trek.
22nd September, after visiting the monastery of San Domingo which was built on top of the most famous Inca Temples of the Sun (in the heart of Cusco), we we wander about the town and prepare our bags for our long trek.
22nd September, after visiting the monastery of San Domingo which was built on top of the most famous Inca Temples of the Sun (in the heart of Cusco), we we wander about the town and prepare our bags for our long trek.
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| petit repas au marche de San Blas a deux pas de notre hôtel. Little meal at the Sa Blas market right by our hotel. |
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| Cusco sous l'orage. Cusco in a storm. |
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| Notre pierre préférée, fondation incas devenue fondation d’église... Our favourite stone: Inca foundations that our now the foundations of a church. |
Sunday 23rd, 7:30am, we arrive at our meeting point with the guide and meet our grou for the trek: 2 Frogs, of which one is Jeremy, and 4 other Israelis. Jeremy is for once in the minority!
Première étape, une
belle descente a VTT du col de Malaga jusqu'à Santa Maria. On passe
de 4200m a 1700m : 4h de contemplation des montagnes et jungle
sans beaucoup d'effort, juste les fesses posées sur une selle mais
une bonne trentaine de degrés de différence. On passe de la très
haute montagne aride et nuageuse (brouillard total) a la chaleur
humide de la jungle !
First stage, pretty bike ride down the peak of Malaga to Santa Maria. We go from 4200m altitude to 1700m: 4hrs of contemplatig mountains and jungle with v. lttle effort, just our bums plonked on the saddle ·0 degrees difference from the top and the bottom though! We go from an arid, foggy, high mountain landscape to the hot humidity of the jungle.
First stage, pretty bike ride down the peak of Malaga to Santa Maria. We go from 4200m altitude to 1700m: 4hrs of contemplatig mountains and jungle with v. lttle effort, just our bums plonked on the saddle ·0 degrees difference from the top and the bottom though! We go from an arid, foggy, high mountain landscape to the hot humidity of the jungle.
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| Avi se fait un peu d'argent en faisant la circulation en ville! (depart du VTT en fait). Avi earning extra cash as a traffc warden (its actully the leaving point for the bike ride : SO COLD!) |
Next, evenig in the pub with our new travel buddies who are rather nice. We drink a litre of Cusquena, a Peruvian beer and some shooters made with "mixed herbs"... Pool and poker, all with a backdrop of great music: Queen, Led Zepp, Bettles, Clapton... not bad to listen to that in the middle of the Peruvian jungle.
Le lendemain, jolie
balade sur les chemins des incas qui sont assez remarquables quant a
leurs constructions en bord de falaise. Le guide qui nous accompagne
nous explique que les incas, en respectant la Pachamama (la terre
mère), bâtissent leur chemin en l'adaptant a la morphologie de la
montagne afin de « l’éventrer » le moins possible. Du
coup, le sentier monte et descend en bord de falaise, c'est
magnifique.
Next day, nice walk on Inca trails which are quite remarkable having been constructed on the ede of cliffs. Our guide explains that the Incas, by respecting Pachamama (Mother Earth, a goddes to them), build their paths by adapting it to the morphology of the montain, to respect it as much as possible.
L’après midi, nous traversons une ferme en plein milieu des montagnes où le guide va nous faire un topo sur les fruits et cultures locales, l'histoire des Incas (leurs messagers pouvaient transporter un message de la Bolivie a l'Equador en 15 jours), dégustations diverses (chocolat pur, graine de cacao avec du miel, feuille de coca aux différents pouvoirs énergétiques), maquillage avec des fruits locaux, essayage d'habits traditionnels, tout cela sous un beau soleil, des montagnes magnifiques et des habitants accueillants (ils vivent quand même beaucoup du tourisme). La chincha (jus de fermentation de maïs noir)coule a flots.
In the afternoon, we walk by a farm in the middle of the mountains where our guide gives us a presentation of the local fruits and farming, the history of the Incas (their messengers could get a message from Bolivia to Equador on foot in only 15 days!), different tasting sessions (pure chocolte, roasted cocoa grins with honey, coca leaf chewing with its numerous health benefits), make up with local fruit which have a v. red colour, trying on traditiona clothing, and all this under a beautiful sun, wonderful mountains and very welcoming locals (they do make a living somewhat from tourism...) Chincha, juice made from fermenting purple corn cobs, flows freely.
Next day, nice walk on Inca trails which are quite remarkable having been constructed on the ede of cliffs. Our guide explains that the Incas, by respecting Pachamama (Mother Earth, a goddes to them), build their paths by adapting it to the morphology of the montain, to respect it as much as possible.
L’après midi, nous traversons une ferme en plein milieu des montagnes où le guide va nous faire un topo sur les fruits et cultures locales, l'histoire des Incas (leurs messagers pouvaient transporter un message de la Bolivie a l'Equador en 15 jours), dégustations diverses (chocolat pur, graine de cacao avec du miel, feuille de coca aux différents pouvoirs énergétiques), maquillage avec des fruits locaux, essayage d'habits traditionnels, tout cela sous un beau soleil, des montagnes magnifiques et des habitants accueillants (ils vivent quand même beaucoup du tourisme). La chincha (jus de fermentation de maïs noir)coule a flots.
In the afternoon, we walk by a farm in the middle of the mountains where our guide gives us a presentation of the local fruits and farming, the history of the Incas (their messengers could get a message from Bolivia to Equador on foot in only 15 days!), different tasting sessions (pure chocolte, roasted cocoa grins with honey, coca leaf chewing with its numerous health benefits), make up with local fruit which have a v. red colour, trying on traditiona clothing, and all this under a beautiful sun, wonderful mountains and very welcoming locals (they do make a living somewhat from tourism...) Chincha, juice made from fermenting purple corn cobs, flows freely.
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| Plante de coca : feuille a mâcher comme stimulant. Les Peruvians peuent signer un contrat avec le gouvernement pour faire pousser la plante sur jusqu'a 3km2 de terre. Coca plant. The leaves are chewed for their health virtues (vitamnes minerals, help against sorroch, altitude sickness...). The Peruvians can sign a contract with the government to legally grow Coca on up to 3km2 of land. |
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| Papaya tree. |
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| Du café qui sèche au soleil. Coffee beans drying in the sun. 5 years ago, 50kg was worth 1000 sols. Since Brazil drowned the market it is only worth 250 sols. |
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| De la bonne banane. |
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| Un ami fort sympathique...et quelque peu hyperactif. A very nice friend, if somewhat hyperactive! |
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| et juif aussi! And jewish too! |
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| Dégustation et explication menées par le guide Rene. Show and Tell time with our guide, Rene. |
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| "I'm Batman." |
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| Rene's lesson on Incas and Pachamama. |
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| Les Incas n'avaient pas le vertige! The Incas weren't afraid of hights! |
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| Vertige de l'amour... |
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| Une cigal...asse qui a un chant bien particulier dans ce pays (sorte de vouvouzoula electronique!). Giant cigada which has a very odd sound in this country (like an electric vouvouzoula) |
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| Une partie de bataille navale pendant que la pluie passe (retour en enfance ou peut être "toujours en enfance") Battleships in the jungle whilst waiting for the rain to stop. (Childhood revisted, or perhaps never left...) |
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| Les Turkey au Perou. Peruvian (very ugly) turkeys. French Turquays are better looking! |
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| Hmmm, la bonne viande fraîche au soleil! Hmm, good fresh meat hanging in the sun... |
La journée se termine
par les bains chauds de Santa Teresa, après une traversée de la
rivière sur un chariot en tyrolienne.
The day ended with the Santa Teresa Hotsprings, after crossing the river in a handbasket (a trolly on a zipline). Beautiful setting wth the jungle mountins all around.
The day ended with the Santa Teresa Hotsprings, after crossing the river in a handbasket (a trolly on a zipline). Beautiful setting wth the jungle mountins all around.
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| Les bains chauds de San Teresa. |
Third day, we take a taxi to avoid a dull part of the trek. The route isn't always well planned for tourist enjoyment in Peru: the esthetics of the path aren't a priority, but rather making the tourists buy into the tourist traps like rafting, ziplining and pubs (each would have cost us he equivaent of a day's living in Peru, so we weren't particularly iterested). Jeremy negociates the taxi price with hs new Isreali friend Adam, 1m90, broad shouldered and excellent Spanish, and finds it easier sailing than we we try to negotiate!
Our guide sulks for the rest of the day because he had tried to arrange a taxi for us with one of his friends for 3 times the cost... and we obviously didnt take it. We deprived him of his healthy Mark up.
On arrive alors a
hydrolectrica, gros espace dédié a la production d'électricité
pour Cusco, en plein cœur des gorges du fleuve Urubamba. On joue au
time's up avec nos amis de Natanya (Israël) : Adam et Mor. Puis
dernière montée pour Agua Calientes, ville au pied du Machupichu.
On suit la voie ferrée, rien d’extraordinaire, mais marcher dans
la jungle reste intéressant. Notre guide nous fait la gueule
puisqu'on négocie tout nous même directement avec les personnes
concernées puisqu'il a tendance a se faire des marges lorsqu'on fait
appel a lui... culture locale !
We arrive at the hydro electric plant whch produces eletricity for Cusco, right in the middle of the Urubamba river. We play a game of Time's Up with our friends from Natanya : Adam and Mor. Then last uphill hike to Aguas Calientes, town at the foot of Machu Picchu. We follow the train tracks, nothing extraordinary but walking in the jungle is interesting.
We arrive at the hydro electric plant whch produces eletricity for Cusco, right in the middle of the Urubamba river. We play a game of Time's Up with our friends from Natanya : Adam and Mor. Then last uphill hike to Aguas Calientes, town at the foot of Machu Picchu. We follow the train tracks, nothing extraordinary but walking in the jungle is interesting.
| Remontée de la voie ferrée jusqu’à' Agua Calientes. Hiking up along the train tracks to Aguas Calientes. |
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| PeruRail |
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| A priori, la Machupichu est quelque part là haut! Apparently, Machu Picchu is somewhere up there! |
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| Jérémy, Avi, Pachakutek, Mor et Adam |
Avant de lire la suite, je vous invite a cliquer sur ce lien :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9w_zn3uRwPU
Voila ce qui a berce ma
jeunesse et m'a peut être donne le goût du voyage ! A vous de
voir la suite ou de vous la créer !
Jeremy's link to the french introduction to Cities of Gold. Childhood memories that gave us both the desire to see this part of the world.
After having been bitten to death by mosquitos, my knee is so swollen I can't even bend it. Luckily, the antihistamines work a treat and I'm ready for the trek up to Machu Picchu by the next morning!
Jeremy's link to the french introduction to Cities of Gold. Childhood memories that gave us both the desire to see this part of the world.
After having been bitten to death by mosquitos, my knee is so swollen I can't even bend it. Luckily, the antihistamines work a treat and I'm ready for the trek up to Machu Picchu by the next morning!
Mercredi, 4h du matin, on se lève et nous partons pour Le Machupichu (« vieille montagne »). 1H15 de montée sur un sentier sinueux de nuit. A notre arrivée, nous sommes pris en main par un guide passionne dont on peut sentir le sang inca couler dans ses veines.
Wedenesday, 4am, we get up early to begin our ascent to Machu Picchu (which means Old Mountain in Quechua). 1h15 of climbing up a sinuos track at night (15 minutes faster than the guides predict: Yay me!). Upon our arrival, we are met by a new guide who is passionate about Machu Picchu and we can feel the Inca ancestory running through his veins.
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| T'as vu où je t’emmène, Beaute! Look where I take you Beautiful! |
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| Notre guide du jour. Our guide for the day. |
Nous sommes éblouis par
la beauté du site. Sa disposition géographique lui donne encore
plus d’éclats. Les falaises tout autour sont abruptes, au creux
coule l'Urubamba, rivière qui par, la suite, va traverser toute
l'Amazonie pour se jeter dans l’océan Atlantique, alors qu'elle
passe qu'a quelques centaines de kms du Pacifique : Magie des
lignes de partage des eaux !
We're blown away by the beauty of the site. Its geographic location adds to its charm. Abrupt cliffs, with the Urubmaba running below, a river that then crosses the entire Amazonian rainforest to empty itself into the Atlantic Ocean, some hundreds of km away from th Pacific.
We're blown away by the beauty of the site. Its geographic location adds to its charm. Abrupt cliffs, with the Urubmaba running below, a river that then crosses the entire Amazonian rainforest to empty itself into the Atlantic Ocean, some hundreds of km away from th Pacific.
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| Après où est Charlie? Où est le goy? (oui je sais Vanina, c'est pas facile). Sequel to where's Wally : Where's the Goy? |
Puis nous montons sur la
montagne que l'on peut voir sur toutes les photos de Machupichu. 1H
de montée sur un sentier d'une incroyable « agilité »
sur la falaise. Des marches nous emmènent au sommet qui nous donne
un bel aperçu de la ville Inca.
Next we climb up the mountain that we can see on all the famous Machu Picchu photos: Huana Pichhu, or Young Mountain, in Quechua. A 1h climb with an incredibly "agile" path up the cliff face. The steps take us to the top of the mountain which gives s a beatiful view of the Inca city.
Nous passons la journée a déambuler. Les touristes sont nombreux mais la magie du lieu nous transcende. Je retrouve les images de mes rêves d'enfants berces par les dessins, photos, films du Pérou et des sites Incas. Avi se croit en Xia.
Next we climb up the mountain that we can see on all the famous Machu Picchu photos: Huana Pichhu, or Young Mountain, in Quechua. A 1h climb with an incredibly "agile" path up the cliff face. The steps take us to the top of the mountain which gives s a beatiful view of the Inca city.
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| Vu de Waynapicchu (jeune montagne). View from HuanaPicchu. |
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| He, Indiana! ( si vous retournez votre écran de 90 degrés vers la gauche, le village de Machupichu donne l'image d'un condor tète en bas et ailes relevées! Et si vous retournez votre écran a 180 degrés, le cowboy sera a l'envers, attention au chapeau SVP! Hey there Indie! (if you turn your screen 90 degres left, the town of Machu Picchu is built in the image of a condor with its head bent and its wings flying up. And if you turn your screen 180 degrees, our cowboy will be will be upside down: please mind his hat! |
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| Un ami peu farouche. Vous pouvez observer sa boule de feuilles de coca dans sa joue droite. Les lézards aussi craignent l'altitude. Our fearless friend. You can see a ball of coca leaves in his right cheek. Lizards suffer from altitude sickness too! |
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| Une mouche le matin (presque aussi poilu que Jeremy). A mornig fly (almost as hairy as Jeremy) |
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| Descente de Waynapichu. Descent from Huana Picchu. Perfect for my fear of hights!! Don't I look at ease? |
Nous passons la journée a déambuler. Les touristes sont nombreux mais la magie du lieu nous transcende. Je retrouve les images de mes rêves d'enfants berces par les dessins, photos, films du Pérou et des sites Incas. Avi se croit en Xia.
Marcher dans les ruelles
étroites, passer dans des failles qui débouchent sur un temple,
croiser un alpaga qui broute l'herbe bien verte, admirer les
montagnes tout autour avec des nuages qui donnent un cote mystérieux,
rester bouche bée devant l’architecture des lieux, l'ingéniosité
des canalisations d'eau...tout cela nous fait frissonner d'envie.
J'aurais aimé vivre ici et apprendre !
We spend the day wandering around. There are many tourists but the beauty of the site transcends us. Jeremy finds images of his childhood dreams, nourished by drawigs, photos and films of Peru and the Incas. I fancy myself a real life Xia.
Walking along narrow paths, passing through narrow cracks that open up to temples, meeting alpagas munching on the green grass, admiring the surrounding mountains which leave give a mysterious atmosphere, staring open mouthed at the incredible architecture of the place, the ingenuity of the water canals... sends shivers down our spines. It would be nice to live here and learn!
We spend the day wandering around. There are many tourists but the beauty of the site transcends us. Jeremy finds images of his childhood dreams, nourished by drawigs, photos and films of Peru and the Incas. I fancy myself a real life Xia.
Walking along narrow paths, passing through narrow cracks that open up to temples, meeting alpagas munching on the green grass, admiring the surrounding mountains which leave give a mysterious atmosphere, staring open mouthed at the incredible architecture of the place, the ingenuity of the water canals... sends shivers down our spines. It would be nice to live here and learn!
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| Oui, je sais, c'est la photo classique, mais j'ai pas pu résister au sourire, et en plus ça m'a coute que 10 dollars! I know, its the classic photo, but I just couldn't resist the smile , and it only cost me 10 dollars! |
Nous marchons jusqu'au
pont Inca, détruit par les incas eux-même lors de l’arrivée des
conquistadors. En effet, les habitants du site ont préfère détruire
l'ensemble des chemins bâtis puis fuir les lieux, afin que les
conquistadors ne trouvent jamais ce site. Il est évident que même
avec toute l’ingéniosité des espagnols, il aurait été difficile
d'imaginer des sentiers sur des pans de falaises gigantesques comme
celles entourant Machupichu, du coup ils n'ont pas trop explore les
lieux , les pensant inaccessibles.
We walk to the Inca bridge, detroyed by the Incas upon the arrival of the Conquistdors. The inhabitants of the ste preferred to destroy all paths leading to Machu Picchu before fleeing, so that the Conquistadors would never find it and ransack t as they did with other Inca sites like Ollataytantambo. Its clear that even with all the brillane of the Spanish, it would have been difficult to imagine paths that run across giant cliff faces like those surrounding Machu Picchu, so they didn't explore the area, thinkng it inacessible. That is what led to the perfect preservation of the site. In fact it was only discovered, by accident, in 1911, and a native couple had been farming on the Inca terraces for over a century!
We walk to the Inca bridge, detroyed by the Incas upon the arrival of the Conquistdors. The inhabitants of the ste preferred to destroy all paths leading to Machu Picchu before fleeing, so that the Conquistadors would never find it and ransack t as they did with other Inca sites like Ollataytantambo. Its clear that even with all the brillane of the Spanish, it would have been difficult to imagine paths that run across giant cliff faces like those surrounding Machu Picchu, so they didn't explore the area, thinkng it inacessible. That is what led to the perfect preservation of the site. In fact it was only discovered, by accident, in 1911, and a native couple had been farming on the Inca terraces for over a century!
En fin de journée, nous
rentrons pour prendre la train. Nous sommes seuls sur le sentier, de
quoi continuer a rêver... Notre silence nous amène devant un
magnifique oiseau. Lorsqu'il m’aperçoit, il hésite a partir et
laisser sa proie s’échapper (un serpent agonisant), ou rester
près de moi et finir son repas. Il finira par prendre le serpent
dans ses pattes et s'envoler difficilement.
At the end of the day, we make our way back down to ctch the train. We find ourselves alone on the trail allowing us to dream some more. Our silence leads us to abeautiful bird. When he sees Jeremy, he hesitates whether to leave, abandoning his agonising prey (a serpent), or to stay near and finish his meal. He finally takes the snake in its claws and flys off with some difficulty.
Nous retrouvons Adam et
Mor a l’hôtel et nous convenons d'un prochain RDV en France et en
Israël.
At the end of the day, we make our way back down to ctch the train. We find ourselves alone on the trail allowing us to dream some more. Our silence leads us to abeautiful bird. When he sees Jeremy, he hesitates whether to leave, abandoning his agonising prey (a serpent), or to stay near and finish his meal. He finally takes the snake in its claws and flys off with some difficulty.
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| L'oiseau bleu. Dinner. |
23H30, après une grosse
journée, retour e trin et bus a notre hôtel de Cusco, avec nos sacs sur le dos et
des images dans la tète.
We find Adam and Mor at the hotel and we arrange to meet in the future in France or Israel. 11:30pm, after a big dat, return to our hotel in Cusco by train then bus, with our backpacks and a head full of wonders.
We find Adam and Mor at the hotel and we arrange to meet in the future in France or Israel. 11:30pm, after a big dat, return to our hotel in Cusco by train then bus, with our backpacks and a head full of wonders.
A ceux qui aiment la
montagne, l'architecture, la pierre, les sites propices a la
spiritualité, l'Histoire, Machupichu me semble un endroit
incontournable sur Terre. Bien évidemment, le tourisme et ses
dérives peuvent le dénaturer, mais la beauté du site nous met bien
au dessus de cela.
Masada (site
archéologique en Israël) vient de perdre sa première place dans
mon cœur ! Mais notre voyage ne fait que commencer...
For those who love mountains, architeture, siritual sites, history... Mauch Picchu is an unmissable site on Earth. Tourism and all it entils can denature the site a little, but its beauty is well above those petty concerns.
For those who love mountains, architeture, siritual sites, history... Mauch Picchu is an unmissable site on Earth. Tourism and all it entils can denature the site a little, but its beauty is well above those petty concerns.
Jeudi 27 septembre
Aujourd'hui, après un petit resto israélien (ben oui, il faut bien varier un peu), des burrakas a la ricotta et un hummilum (sorte de poivron éclaté car fourre avec force par du riz et de la viande), nous sommes dans notre chambre. Avi fait une petite sieste pour préparer la grosse soirée salsa qu'on va se faire en ville,
Aujourd'hui, après un petit resto israélien (ben oui, il faut bien varier un peu), des burrakas a la ricotta et un hummilum (sorte de poivron éclaté car fourre avec force par du riz et de la viande), nous sommes dans notre chambre. Avi fait une petite sieste pour préparer la grosse soirée salsa qu'on va se faire en ville,
et moi j’apprécie ce
moment de liberté total :
Today, after a little Israeli restaurant (excellent bourrekas and memoulaim, tht Jeremy has called hummilum...) we are in our room. I take a nap to prepare the big salsa night that we've planed on the town, whilst jeremy appreciates this moment of liberty to reflect:
Today, after a little Israeli restaurant (excellent bourrekas and memoulaim, tht Jeremy has called hummilum...) we are in our room. I take a nap to prepare the big salsa night that we've planed on the town, whilst jeremy appreciates this moment of liberty to reflect:
Décider au jour le jour
de nos pérégrinations, de nos repas, de nos moments de repos, de
nos découvertes... est un luxe assez incroyable quand on pense que
des milliards de personnes subissent une routine pas toujours jojo...
Nous sommes chanceux d'avoir pu entamer cela et heureux de le
partager grâce a ces quelques lignes.
Deciding from day to day our travels, our meals, our rest time our discoveries... is an incredible luxury when we think of the millions of people suffering from a not-alwaysfantstic routine... We are lucky to have been able to do this and are happy to share it with you thanks to a few sentences.
Deciding from day to day our travels, our meals, our rest time our discoveries... is an incredible luxury when we think of the millions of people suffering from a not-alwaysfantstic routine... We are lucky to have been able to do this and are happy to share it with you thanks to a few sentences.
Je rappelle que
l'ensemble de ces textes ont pour objectif premier d’être un
souvenir perso, nous n'avons pas du tout la prétention de vous faire
rêver avec les descriptions du menu du jour ou de la pierre plantée
au fond a gauche !
Just to remind you, these texts have the aim of being a personal souvenir, we don't aspire to make you dream with our descriptions of our daily meals or the rock in the back left of a photo...
Le jeu des 7 erreurs : maintenant, à vous de jouer ! Spot the 7 differences: Its your turn to play!
Just to remind you, these texts have the aim of being a personal souvenir, we don't aspire to make you dream with our descriptions of our daily meals or the rock in the back left of a photo...
Le jeu des 7 erreurs : maintenant, à vous de jouer ! Spot the 7 differences: Its your turn to play!
To be continued...
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| Je ne résiste pas a cette dernière. Pour la route... Couldn't resist this last one for the road... |
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