History

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Lares Trek - Alternative Route to Machu Picchu (or not)

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Lares Trek - Alternative Route to Machu Picchu (or not)

I recently blogged about my 2015 trek on the Salkantay trail, which got me thinking about all my Peru hiking experiences. I've had the good fortune to have trekked most of the routes to Machu Picchu, including doing the Classic Inca Trail nine times, over the course of 16 years working and living in the country. However, now with a family and concomitant responsibility, the opportunities to head into the hills and disconnect for a few days, are few and far between. 

I have to go back to August 2009 for the previous multi-day trek, Lares. Reassuringly, the photos reveal that I was using the same faded green hoodie then that I used for the Salkantay trek, six years later!

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Historic Boat Museum in Iquitos

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Historic Boat Museum in Iquitos

The Museum of Historic Boats is a recent addition to Iquitos's tourist attractions and the culmination of a holistic restoration project, intended to preserve Amazonian history from the early days of exploration and conquest to the present day. 

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Cajamarca: where History was Made ... and Ignored

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Cajamarca: where History was Made ... and Ignored

The Cuarto del Rescate is one room, of Inca stonework, with a red line drawn at around 2m high, supposedly indicating the height at which the room was to be filled with gold treasures. 

Not really much to indicate the change of regimes, religions, language and world view that the execution of Atahualpa signified. Not to mention the massive loss of life through pestilence and warfare. 

Luckily, Cajamarca has a lot else to offer, even if its remarkable place in history is not abundantly obvious or celebrated.

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Walking Tour of Central Lima

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Walking Tour of Central Lima

Despite living in Lima, it is seldom that I actually go to the centre. Over the last 30 years, the economic, cultural and tourist focus has largely shifted to the coastal districts of San Isidro, Barranco and Miraflores, and there are few practical reasons to visit.

So the visit of my photographer friend, James Brunker, offered a great excuse to explore once again, in the company of someone with a keen eye for the details, contrasts and absurdities that central Lima offers in abundance.

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The Pisco Earthquake

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The Pisco Earthquake

Peru’s President, Alan Garcia, famously gaffed on the evening of August 15th, 2007, after a powerful seismic tremor had been felt in Lima for over two minutes, saying that ‘fortunately it hadn’t been a tragic event, as there were not many victims to mourn’. 

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Santa Rosa de Lima

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Santa Rosa de Lima

August 30th is a public holiday in Peru in honour of Santa Rosa of Lima, the first female from the Americas to be canonized, and the patron female saint of Peru, the New World, the Philippines, the Peruvian Police Force, and the Argentinean Armed Forces ... among others.

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And then the kitchen blew up ...

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And then the kitchen blew up ...

  • Lima - Huancayo train line is 2nd highest in the world.

  • A remarkable engineering feat: begun in 1870 - finished in 1907.

  • Only runs intermittently, for benefit of tourists.

  • A must for rail enthusiasts.

I had been interested in the historic Lima to Huancayo train for some time, and can finally give a first-hand account of the journey.

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Immaculate Conception ... Explained?

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Immaculate Conception ... Explained?

Most of you are probably aware that 8th December is a public holiday here in Peru, and much of the Catholic world, but I doubt many of you know why. It is the Day of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception which celebrates God’s granting of ‘grace’ to the Virgin Mary.