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Cusco (Peru): the navel of the world
That day, the sky looked like a shining mirror and Viracocha invited all the stars to follow him to the shores of Lake Titicaca to witness the creation of the world. At his request, the Moon (qilla) rose from the waves, followed by the Sun (inti) and the stars (wara). “O Pachamama (mother earth), bring forth from your sacred womb man and woman, in homage to Pachacamac, the Guardian of the world,” cried the Sun. From the frothy water were born Manco Cápac, a golden stick in his hand, and his sister-wife Mama Ocllo, the first two Incas. They walked northwestward to the place where the stick sank all…
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Machu Picchu (Peru): one of the 7 new wonders of the world
This article is a travel notebook, for practical advice, consult our guide (updated in July 2018): 10 things to know before visiting Machu Picchu Of the New Seven Wonders of the World, I visited the Taj Mahal and the Great Wall of China. Today, it is the turn of Machu Picchu Part 1: Travel Diary Part 2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Diary The general excitement at the hotel starts at 4:00 am, people start running down the stairs, getting ready, breakfast. Without wanting to wake me up so early, all these noises wake me up anyway. A small check by the window confirms me that it is better,…
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Aguas Calientes (Peru): at the doors of Machu Picchu
Aguas Calientes, also known as Machu Picchu Pueblo, is the closest village to the ruins of Machu Picchu. Every day, this small village nestled in the valley welcomes thousands of tourists, who come here with one goal: to conquer Machu Picchu. Part 1: Travel Diary Part2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Diary Ollantaytambo Today is the big day, we must be in Aguas Calientes to visit Machu Picchu the next day.We decide to leave with only one backpack, leaving the other to our hostal in Cusco. We have to be at the Ollantaytambo train station at 12 o’clock, but as we travel by colectivo, we add a little margin and…
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Opinions on Bolivia Hop: bus hop-on hop-off in Bolivia and Peru
In Bolivia, the quality of the bus is proportional to the price. So, if you want a good, comfortable and safe bus, you have to put the price. Most of the time, it’s just 2-3€ more. It isn’t much for you, but it is huge for Bolivians (it represents 2 meals) Even if we took local buses to get around Bolivia, there are two places that don’t reassure us much: The bus terminal in La Paz and the crossing of the Bolivia-Peru border La Paz and its bus terminal aren’t the most welcoming; and the crossing of the Bolivia-Peru border is a source of problems (corrupt police officers, pickpockets, buses…
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The Sacred Valley (Peru): the ingenuity of the Incas
Today we will spend the whole day visiting the Sacred Valley, whose name comes from the Sacred River that zig-zags between the mountains. As planned, we bought a tour from agency A, to be resold to agency B Part 1: Travel Diary Part 2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Diary The planned program is as follows – Visit of the Pisaq market – Visit the ruins of Pisaq – Lunch – Visit the ruins of Ollantaytambo – Visit of the textile workshop of Chinchero The pick-up is done on foot, a gentleman comes to pick us up at the hotel to abandon us at the main square. We are about…
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Lake Titicaca and Isla del Sol (Bolivia): cut off from the world
Isla del Sol (Island of the Sun) is considered the cradle of Andean civilization. That’s all there is to it! Some even claim that Atlantis is swallowed up there. We will make a trek from the North to the South of the island, called “Sacred Road of the Eternity of the Sun”. This hike will cross 3 villages: Cha’llapampa, Cha’lla and Yumani. At the entrance of each village, you have to pay the visit fees for the different communities (between 10$B and 15$B/person) Part 1: Travel Diary Part 2: Budget Part 1: Travel Diary Finally a place where we are a little cut off from the world. Implied: no Wifi,…
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Copacabana (Bolivia): no beach but a nice city
Copacabana is the gateway to Isla del Sol, considered the cradle of Andean civilization. Unlike Copacabana in Brazil, here there is no beach, bikini and hot water, but a more traditional atmosphere Part 1: Travel Diary Part 2: Practical Tips How to get there From Potosí, we take a night bus to La Paz at 9:30 pm, arriving in La Paz at 6:30 am. We will spend one night in La Paz (for practical reasons: I needed a good Korean meal too much). The next day, we take the bus at 7:30 am with Bolivia Hop to be in Copacabana at 11:30 am (Bolivia Hop is a hop-on hop-off bus…
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Round the world cruise aboard a Costa / MSC: Interview
Once isn’t customary, we have the privilege to interview Anna L., a globetrotter who has the chance to travel the world on cruises. For having made and very much liked our cruise in the Norwegian fjords, we recommended the Mediterranean cruise to our parents who also liked it very much. So, the world cruise makes us dream and we thought of an interview to have as much information as possible about this kind of trips. The interview was conducted via Facebook, since Anna is currently on a world tour as well, but aboard the Costa. She has just made a stopover in Brazil. Photo (click to zoom in): An example…
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Visit of the Potosí mine (Bolivia): An atmosphere worthy of Germinal
Potosí is one of the highest cities in the world: 4070 meters above sea level! It was founded in 1545 by the Spanish colonists to exploit the silver mine of the “Cerro Rico” mountain (rich mountain) that dominates the city. The miners were Indian and African slaves. Between 1545 and 1825 (date of Bolivia’s independence), an estimated 8 million miners died in this mountain due to lack of oxygen or because of the landslides. 8 million! Nearly 80 deaths per day for 280 years! Part 1: Travel Diary Part 2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Diary This mine filled the coffers of the Spanish crown during this period known as…
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Potosí (Bolivia): the city classified by Unesco
JB will tell you about the inhumane working conditions of the miners in Potosí. But I will talk about Potosí with its beautiful churches and casas dating back to the time of the conquistadors. The city isn’t only one of the highest in the world (4070m above sea level), it is also one of the most deserved because all the streets are sloping Part 1: Travel Diary Part 2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Diary Day 1 : Route Uyuni – Potosí The Uyuni – Potosí road is very picturesque. You can see the salar of Uyuni from afar and observe its “giant mirror” side. It is incredible! We then…
