The Peru Trip - Part One

Monday 7^th September

Left for Heathrow by local bus, then National Express. Took the Heathrow Pod to the Thistle Hotel (£5.00 each, each way). Took a room upgrade and walked the miles to the room. Had dinner in the restaurant overlooking the runway with planes landing every 60 seconds – or even less! I had a very cheesy pizza, K had ribeye steak (how unusual). Prices were not at all bad for a hotel.

Pod!

Tuesday 8^th September

Saw K off on the coach to T2 next morning. I took the pod back to T5. Her plane was delayed – so we met up again at T5 a bit later. We both had elderly 747s to go on – hers to Houston, mine (British Airways) to Miami. We were delayed for 40 minutes because some passengers didn’t turn up. I sat on an aisle seat – which was good. Watched two films – ‘Spy’, and ‘Tomorrowland’. Thought they were quite good. Didn’t sleep. Arrived at Miami where it was 32 degrees C and humid. Caught the flight to Lima on an old American Airlines 757 – which had poor facilities – like no individual entertainment system, and few toilets. Sat next to a lady Pastor named Chris, who was from Philadelphia.

Hot and humid in Miami

View from my seat on the 757

Got about two hours fretful sleep and tackled a pretty bad meal. The two glasses of Chile red helped a bit. Arrived at Lima at 22:40. Took a little while to get out, and I changed some dollars into Peruvian Sol (3.3 for a dollar)  Ran the gauntlet of pre-booked drivers and taxi companies and waited for the missus on her flight from Houston. She arrived a little while later at 22:55 and cleared immigration etc. by about 23:20. Much to my surprise, the driver pre-booked by Cambridge appeared and we made our way to the hotel – arriving a little while before midnight. K signed for the taxi and I gave the driver a tip – seemed only fair.

We stayed one night at the Padama Hotel - close to the airport. We were very tired, but still showered to get rid of the flights. The bed was the biggest I’ve ever been in, and the room was well stocked with all the little items that the international traveller may need – ranging from a full mini bar, through cigarettes and condoms to sweets, biscuits and chocolates. All this and free wifi too. Very nice. We slept.

Wednesday 9^th September

I opened the window and beheld a building site (so it seemed). Very dusty and bare. A cat was being piteous somewhere close. I sent a message to our children saying that we were safe and well. I showered again, then we dressed and went up five floors (no lift) to breakfast. Interesting. 

View from the window

Breakfast

View over Lima

There was a selection of teas, with jugs of hot water. Fresh rolls. Scrambled eggs. Something liquidised which looked and tasted like pumpkin (probably pumpkin, then). I tried an apple tea, then a cinnamon one. Both were OK. I finished the pumpkin juice, but K wasn’t so keen. Returning to the room we completed packing and made our way down to the waiting taxi to take us to the airport.

Lima Airport isn’t so bad. It’s probably bigger than Bristol Airport. We arrived far too early – it was five minutes from the hotel. We found the check in desk for Peruvian Airways, then went to explore the airport. Lots of shops and eating places – including the inevitable MacDonalds. We wandered for a while, looking at various things. Changed some more money into Peruvian Sols, then went back downstairs to check in.

We checked in our cases, then found our way back upstairs to a coffee place. We had coffee, K had a slice of Lemon Meringue Pie, and I had a warm (meat) empanada. It came covered in icing sugar and with a slice of lime. It worked well – was very tasty.

We went through departures and looked at the things on that side – not so many. Finding our way to Gate 7 we sat and waited for over an hour to be boarded.

The flight was quick, just over an hour, and we were served a drink and a snack – much to our surprise. They had to go some to get it all out and back in an hour! Cusco airport is small, though Cusco itself was much larger than I was expecting. From the air it was showing many signs of expansion, with lots of new buildings and quite big roads. Cusco was the capital for the ancient Inca people and formed the centre of an empire that stretched over a lot of South America.

We were met by Maria, the lady who was organising our trip to this area for us, and the driver, Percy Vargas (had to get his name in). We chatted whilst we were driven to the hotel. The Terra Andina Hotel is close to the old centre of Cusco, and is very nice. We signed in, accompanied by cups of coca tea, and then Maria took us through the itinerary again before leaving us to settle in. We will meet her again the next day for a tour of Cusco. 

K had a text from the mother of our daughter’s best friend, Yanette, who is living in Peru, to say that she was free, and would meet us for something to eat. The time now was getting on for six o’clock. We met and wandered down to the central square of Cusco to find a restaurant. The walk through the old town was interesting, and thronged with people. The square itself had a fountain in the centre, and a church and cathedral facing it on two sides. We were approached several times by street vendors, but they weren’t persistent, and a gentle ‘No, gracias’ saw them off. There were also people walking about with menus, promoting their restaurant. We were looking for somewhere that did chicken soup, as we had been told that it was one of the best things to help with the altitude adjustment. Cusco is high altitude – 3300 metres above sea level – and altitude sickness is not unknown.

Yanette spoke to one of the chaps with the menu and he guided us up to his restaurant, where we sat on a balcony overlooking the square. Very nice. We chose chicken soup, and some soft drinks and then looked through the menu discussing the other items of fare – including roast guinea pig, which is not unusual in Peru. The picture accompanying this item was basically a guinea pig on a plate with some rice and veg. To me it looked sad, but I remember having these animals as pets, and how cute they are. Yanette told us how well her garden, in the ‘Sacred Valley’ (more of this later), was producing well. She was getting crops of interesting fruits and vegetables, including enormous avocado pears from her trees.

The soup came, and it was very good. We ate it all and then refused dessert as we were full, and still getting over the flight. The altitude had strange effects on me. It was harder to breathe than normal, and every now and then I would get a ‘rush’ feeling in my body – a bit like an adrenalin surge, but without the associated energy increase. My head was also throbbing.

On leaving the restaurant we walked back through the town towards the hotel. Over two hours had passed, and Yanette had to get a bus, or taxi, back to her town, which was about forty five minutes away. We said our goodbyes, and K and I made our way back to the hotel, showered, and went to bed. We were meeting Maria at nine the next day.

Thursday 10^th Sep

We awoke early, must have been jet lag. We were breakfasting on fresh fruit and scrambled egg by eight o’clock. Met Maria outside the hotel at nine, and we began our tour by visiting San Pedro Market, which was virtually opposite the end of the street where the hotel was sited. The market was fascinating. A few pictures here will do far more than words.

Leaving the market, we headed through Cusco to Qorikancha, which are the ruins of a 15th-century Inca temple that once had walls & floors covered in pure gold. Walking through the streets, I was reminded a little of some parts of India that we have visited, where the street vendors provide almost any service and item that you can think of, and where small shops sell a variety of goods and services. These mixed in with more obviously tourist orientated shops and outlets, selling hats, bags, toys and souvenirs with Peruvian themes.

We had a combined tourist ticket for the temple (and lots of other places), which was validated as we entered. It seems that as part of the process of ‘conquering’ Peru, the Spanish levelled temples and other holy places, and built their own churches and cathedrals on top. Another way of showing domination. This building clearly showed the difference between the original Inca walls, and those that came later in what Maria called the ‘Transition’ or ‘Colonial’ times. The original Inca building was amazing. Massive blocks of stone perfectly matched together with no mortar or other joining compound. Just how they cut these things and fitted them so perfectly is incredible. I doubt if we could complete the same feat today. The Spanish additions, by comparison, were pretty poor. Some more photos will demonstrate this.

The best craftsmanship was for the Inca sacred buildings and important places. Here you see the same features again and again – walls inclined at 14 to 15 degrees, trapezoidal door and window shapes, and totally wonderful shaping and fitting together of blocks. We were to see these features at all of the other important Inca sites that we would be visiting.

Leaving the temple, we made our way to the central square again, pausing only to take a picture (for which a tip was given), of two ladies dressed in traditional clothes, holding an alpaca and a lamb. We also saw several people taking lambs around on leads – which seemed odd to us. Very cute though.

The cathedral was large, and very Spanish in features. Maria explained how the Catholic priests had at first tried to force their religion onto the Inca people, but met with resistance. After a while, they tried subtler methods, such as linking the Virgin Mary with the idea of the Mother Earth, which the Incas worshipped. Theirs was a physically based religion – worshipping the Earth, the Sun, the Stars, and other important things that had an effect on their everyday lives. They made sacrifices and offerings to these Gods to try and affect their everyday lives. The priests dressed Mary in clothes which suggested the shape of a mountain, with a crown suggesting the Sun, and a silver crescent Moon at her feet, and so on for other symbolic imagery. This made accepting the ‘new’ religion a little easier for the Inca peoples. That said, even today, people still give offerings to the Earth and to the other ancient Gods – we saw such things for sale in the market of San Pedro.

The time was gone twelve o’clock, so Maria left us for lunch, and we agreed to meet again at the hotel at two. We found a nice restaurant overlooking the square again, and sat watching the world from the balcony. K had a quinoa and trout salad, I had some empanadas (like small pasties). There was trout, vegetable and alpaca – which tastes a little like beef. Maria said that the Alpaca was created by the Incas by crossbreeding the Llama and the Vicuna. The Llama was a work and pack animal, the Vicuna has wonderful fibre and is good to eat, but is wild – even to this day. The Alpaca has very soft, good fibre and produces good meat. They are also very cute to look at – especially the young ones!

Back to the hotel, and just enough time to freshen up before Maria appears and calls Percy who soon arrives with the car to take us to Saqsayhuaman (or ‘Sexywoman’ as Maria told us to use as a reminder).  This is a fortess, or citadel built on the outskirts of Cusco by the Inca. Many of the stones still remain even though Maria said that people took lots of them away to build homes and other things. The site is vast, with good views over Cusco and it’s surroundings. Emphasises again how big Cusco is. Maria thinks that it has about 500,000 inhabitants. 

We paused for some photos and then drove on to Q’inqu (Quenco), which is a holy place and former temple.There are natural rock formations there, which had religious significance to the ancients – at least it is thought that they did. Not having a written language leaves us somewhat in the dark about what actually happened. We entered a cave and found what seemed to be an altar. From there we moved on to Puka Pukara which is a former fortress with great views over the surrounding countryside. It seems to have been built for defence and oversees the main route to Cusco. All of these places were at quite an altitude, so we found ourselves getting out of breath quite quickly. 

Q'inqu

View from Puka Pukara

The last place for today was Tambomachay, which is quite close to Puka Pukara, and seems to have been some kind of resting place or spa for the Inca peoples. There are water courses and waterfalls there as well as the usual terraces. It was quite a long drag up the path to see the remaining small waterfall emerging from the rocks. There were quite a few people milling about also. A gang of men were using wheelbarrows of gravel to repair the path as we came back down. They were working hard – obviously more used to the altitude than we were. It had been a long day, and we gratefully climbed back into the car for the trip back to Cusco and the hotel.

We decided to eat at the hotel that night – and were the only ones doing so. The terrazzo area was nice, with candles on the tables and very attentive staff, but it felt odd just having the two of us there. We weren’t too late going to bed, knowing that we had another full day of site seeing before us the next day, ending with a train trip to Aguas Calientes reday to visit Macchu Picchu.

To be continued.................

Five Days in the Derwent Valley

What with it being July and all we decided to wander up to the centre of England - Derbyshire and the Peak District. Specifically the Derwent Valley, as K wanted to have a good look at the textiles mills and associated history in that area. The Derwent Valley Mills have been designated a World Heritage site. The valley itself runs for about fifteen miles from Matlock Bath to Derby. It contains some of the world's first 'modern' factories as well as many mill complexes.

Monday

We left home at about eleven o'clock and headed north on the M5 motorway. Stopping at Gloucester Services (shiny and new - also buried in the hillside) to use the loo and get a bit of fuel. The weather wasn't great, mostly overcast with the odd bit of rain. We were heading for the Ashbourne Camping and Caravanning Club site, which is between Ashbourne and Belper. We had decided not to take the bikes as the weather forecast wasn't great, and so we intended to use the van to get about. Stopping at Tamworth (where we used to live) for a short break, we casually made our way to the destination.

We arrived just after three thirty and were assigned a flat and level pitch fairly close to the amenities block. One of the great things about having a motorhome is that it takes just a few minutes to get set up. We have watched people arrive in caravans who have taken, quite literally, two hours to get themselves to a state where they were ready to do something other than set up. If you are of the camping fraternity you will know that watching people arrive on site can be a major occupation. It can be quite fun seeing all the paraphernalia that some people feel that they need to bring when they are away. This time we saw someone with a six foot tall birdcage set up in their caravan awning. Not the first time we have seen birds. I remember a particularly vocal parrot waking us up at five thirty am on a trip to Dorset once. All we needed to do was plug in to the mains, and that was it - something of a disappointment for all the people watchers around us.

It turns out that although the camp has several good walks around it - of the hiking variety - there was no where that the casual walker could really saunter off to (the nearest pub - The Nag's Head - was over a mile and a half away). We didn't want to drive off again - having just got there, so we sat and planned what we would do for the next day until it was time to eat. I had brought quite a bit of food with us, so we dined on pork, new potatoes and broccoli. Then we read some more, watched a recorded file from my laptop, then went to bed.

Tuesday

A gentle start led us to leave the camp by about eleven o'clock. We headed towards Belper, then took the road to Wirksworth. We were heading for Cromford, and the Masson Mills built by Richard Arkwright in 1783. As we passed through Wirksworth K spotted a sign for the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway - so we had to pay a visit.

  We found out that there were trains running that day - down to the station at Duffield, where one could connect with the national rail network if one chose so to do. We thought that just a round trip might be fun - so we bought some tickets (asking the price first might have been an idea, mind - £26.00), and wandered around waiting for the train to go. Off to platform two, and into the 1957 carriage that would take us to Duffield.

We had to pass through several railway crossings - each one opened by hand by one of the guardsmen from the train. The trip took about half an hour - but really about twenty minutes when you add in waiting for the crossings.

When we arrived at Duffield it decided to rain very hard, so after a brief sojourn from the train, we re-boarded and sat to have the packed lunch that we had brought with us. Half an hour went by, then we headed back to Wirksworth.

 Returning to Wirksworth, the sun came out, and so we wandered around, looking at the old rolling stock, and at exhibits that the railway society had in old carriages.

Back in the van, avoiding the large puddles, and on to Cromford down country roads - to find that there was no way that I could get the van into Masson Mills car park, so I drove on to Matlock Bath and waited in the van whilst K went into the Tourist Information Centre to ask about motorhome parking. As it turns out, we ended up parking close to Cromford Canal, and walked the ten minutes or so up to the Masson Mills complex. We were interested in the working mill - not the attached shopping complex, so we paid our three pounds and took up the self-guide leaflet to start the tour.

It was well worth the money - and we spent a long time walking around and looking at the equipment and environs. Amazing technology. I was particularly impressed by the Jacquard Looms - seeing examples of what they could produce, and being able to get 'up close and personal' with the machinery was amazing.

Lots of other amazing machinery - the bale breaker, the carding machine, the doublers - all still in working condition - and still being used! There was free wifi in the mill, and most exhibits and machines had QR codes on them which, when scanned, led to a site with lots of extra info on what you were looking at. Very modern, very good.

We left the mill just as it was closing and nipped next door into the complex cafe for a coffee and some cake (blueberry muffin for me, lemon meringue tart for K - she left the pastry base - what with it not being gluten free).

The weather was holding, so we strolled back to the van and decided which way to return the the campsite. Going via Belper seemed an idea, so that's what we did. We sat outside in the sun for a while before showering and eating etc. As the rain came back and settled in for the night (and all of the next day, as it turned out) we nestled in the van, listening to episodes of  'Old Harry's Game' yet again.

Wednesday

As the rain didn't stop until about five o'clock in the afternoon, we effectively had a 'day off'. Stayed in and around the van all day. K did lots of sewing and listening to Jane Austen stories. I played around with the van's TV aerial system - trying to get a signal. I tried every combination of lead, direction, booster, device - to no avail. It's not that I wanted to watch TV - we never do when we are away, the screen has a built in DVD player - we sometimes watch DVDs using that. It's just that I wanted to get a signal. Once achieved, I would have put it all away again, happy. I didn't achieve it - so this makes me determined to take the aerial system apart we we get home to look for problems. Maybe looking up how the 'Status' aerial booster is supposed to work may help.....

When the rain did stop, the skies lightened, and we sat outside for a while. These are from a nature walk within the Ashbourne campsite:

Thursday

Decided to spend the day at the National Tramway Museum  at Crich, so after breakfast etc. we set off and wound our way through some interesting country roads and villages until we reached Crich. All thoughts of how inappropriate the approach was for us in our van were dispelled when I saw that there was a coach park - with coaches in it. This means that they must have also negotiated the twists and turns of the roads leading to the museum. We found a space at the end of the coach rank, and made our way to the entrance. For the entrance fee (£14.00 at the time), you get unlimited free tram rides, and free entrance for a year, should you choose to return.

The site itself is an old quarry. Here is some info taken from Wikipedia about the site: 'George Stephenson, the great railway pioneer, had a close connection with Crich and the present tramway follows part of the mineral railway he built to link the quarry with Ambergate.

While building the North Midland Railway from Derby to Rotherham and Leeds, Stephenson had found rich coal seams in the Clay Cross area and he saw a new business opportunity. Crich was already well known for the quality of the limestone and Stephenson recognised that he could use the local coal and limestone to produce burnt lime for agricultural purposes, and then utilise the new railway to distribute it. Cliff Quarry, where Crich Tramway Village is now located, was acquired by Stephenson's company and to link the quarry with the limekilns he had built alongside the new North Midland Railway at Ambergate, Stephenson constructed a metre gauge line - apparently the first metre gauge railway in the world. 

 In the period after the Second World War, when most of the remaining British tramways were in decline or actually closing, the first event in the history of the National Tramway Museum took place. A group of enthusiasts on a farewell tour of Southampton Tramways in August 1948 decided to purchase one of the open top trams on which they had ridden. For the sum of £ 10 they purchased number 45 – now the doyenne of the tramcar collection at the Crich Tramway Village. From this act of faith – at the time there were no heritage railways, museums tended to be of dull glass cases and the idea of amateurs running a tramway or railway seemed incredible – grew the idea of a working museum devoted to operating tramcars. From the original group developed the Tramway Museum Society, established in 1955, incorporated as a company limited by guarantee in 1962, and recognised as an educational charity in 1963. Over the years, the Society has drawn its members from men and women of all age groups and all sectors of the community, working together in different ways to create the tramway museum.' (from Wikipedia)

It was an interesting place - and would be great if you had children with you - as there is lots to do and see. The tram rides themselves are about a mile long, and take you past some stops - one near a bandstand with picnic tables and a lawned area, one near an explanation of the quarry and how it once worked - with implements and machinery from the time. The turnaround point (where you have to move your seat backs to the other position), is close to a walk up to the hill above the quarry - from where spectacular views over the surrounding countryside may be had. we didn't do this, but stayed on the tram. We had two return rides on the trams, a look at the various exhibitions that they have there. We also looked at the tram sheds, and visited the workshops, where the restoration of trams is still taking place.

All of the buildings currently in the museum have either been built from scratch, or taken from somewhere else - with the exception of the Smithy's Forge buildings, which was there when the quarry was active - repairing and making the tools for the quarrymen. We had lunch in the Red Lion Pub - and I had a pint of 'Tramway Ale' - especially brewed for the museum. The Pub itself used to be in Stoke on Trent - but when it was due to be demolished for a new road system it was taken apart, and rebuilt at it's current site.

After a look at the printing shop and it's presses, also on the site, the old fashioned sweet shop, the Assembly Rooms - which had been moved brick by brick from Derby, and the Restaurant, we returned to the van (via the gift shop) and made our way to Belper, hoping to have a look at Strutt's Mill.

Being brave and parking in the car park next to the mill, we ventured in and spoke to the lady at the desk - the time was about three twenty, and she told us that they closed at four - so it would mean taking things at a bit of a rush, and without a guide.

We decided to return the next morning, and so went for a stroll Through Belper River Gardens, which were very nice, and then through Belper itself, in search of wine to accompany that evening's meal.

Friday

We arrived at the mill about twenty minutes after it opened, and took the people there by surprise, it seemed. We paid our,very reasonable, entrance fee and sat to watch a short film about the history of the mill. This information can be found by following this link. After the film, our Guide, Barry, took us on a tour of the mill and explained at length about the history of the mill and of Belper, and showed examples of the machinery and devices involved in the creation of cotton thread, cloth, and artifacts.

The construction of the mill was very innovative, and these features were pointed out to us. For more information, follow the link in the paragraph above. Things like terracotta pot floors and 'fireproof' construction, as well as a way of using steel columns resting on stone piers of locally quarried limestone. This catered for the vibration set up in the mill by it's machinery, and the columns could be 'tensioned' by driving opposing steel wedges set up at the base of each column.

At the end of our trip to the mill we paused in the gift shop, where K bought some old bobbins, to chat to the very friendly people at the reception desk. Then we drove to a car park near the start of the Cromford Canal, where we sat outside on a bench and had lunch in the sunshine. The canal was built in the 1790s to provide transport from Cromford and it's surrounds. It is now a site of special scientific interest for its entire length.

After lunch we wandered into the Cromford Mills Complex, built by Sir Richard Arkwright in 1771. It was the world's first successful water powered cotton spinning mill.

The site is currently under development, and the Arkwright Society have a 'master plan' as to how things will go. We had a wander around Cromford itself, looking at some of the buildings that came into being as a result of the siting of the mill here. We had a drink at the Greyhound Hotel, which Arkwright had built in 1778 to accommodate businessmen and the many visitors to his mill. It incorporated a bank, and a clock. We also found some ancient pigsties, the village lock up, the pond, and a street of houses built by Arkwright for his workers, with extra windows on the top floor to provide light for weaving or spinning.

Returning to the van, we headed back to the site, where we sat in the sun for a while and contemplated the day, and the fact that we would be heading home tomorrow.

Saturday

Up and out by ten o'clock. We set course for Packwood House - a National Trust Property that, whilst not exactly on our way home, was close to our route.

It was very good, and we spent a while looking around the house and gardens before having lunch in the cafe. Interesting yew trees which had been sculpted to look like pillars - but I saw them more as Sentinels guarding the lawns - from what I don't know.

Upon leaving we made good time, and arrived home at about five thirty.

West Bay and Bridport Food Festival

The weekend of the 13th June saw my return to West Bay and the caravan site once again.  This time accompanied by a friend - there were three things going on that weekend.  The Bridport Food Festival,  incorporating the Beer Festival.  Also the Bridport Steam Fair and Auction.  We managed all three, starting with steam,  and ending with beer.

A very pleasing Saturday.