Oh how I love Peru!

Hello my little blog followers!

My latest adventure was an absolutely amazing two weeks travelling through Peru. I honestly can not sell it enough. Peru is incredible, the people are brilliant, the country is beautiful and don't even get me started on the food. Peruvians know what they are doing in the kitchen!

I flew into Lima (25 hour flight from London) and stayed in a little guest house called "The lighthouse" in Miraflores, which is the centre of Lima and well known for being the safest suburb for tourists to stay in. My guesthouse was very sweet, it's family run and breakfast feels like you are staying with the family as a visitor, you just sit with the other guests at a little 6 seated dining table, while being fussed over in spanish. I stayed there for two nights and didn't achieve very much. I just wanted to have a couple of chilled out days and mainly walked along the coast and through the city. Lima is not a very pretty city and you don't get the safest vibe from the buildings. Most of which are run down/falling apart and everything is covered in barbed wire and/or prison bars. There is however some incredible street art hidden through out the city. There is a huge surfing culture in Lima too, which I had never really thought about. The walk along the cliffs is quite nice, it is very lush and green and well maintained. Lima is covered in a fairly constant cover of cloud for about eight months of the year. One of the locals said that it is called the sad city. I must admit, it was pretty glum both times I was there. So I probably wont rush back to Lima, Cusco however, I'd go back tomorrow!

I flew down to sunny Cusco and immediately felt the effects of altitude! I went to Peru without doing a whole lot of research, which wasn't the best idea I've ever had. I honestly didn't think altitude was that much of a big deal. As soon as I stepped off the plane though I felt weird. I was dizzy, short of breath, headachy and my legs felt like jelly. It wasn't too bad, some people get hospitalised from altitude sickness, I was ok though. I drank loads of coca tea, which is what the locals recommend. Coca tea is tea made out of the leaves from the plant cocaine is from. It just tastes like green tea, but it felt a bit naughty drinking it (living life on the edge, I know!). 

I did a short contiki tour while I was visiting. I usually just do my own thing when I travel, but I really wanted to not have to think too much, have my decisions already decided and the added bonus of instant friends! I joined an already existing group that had been travelling for about a week already. Everybody was super lovely and the group got along really well. We did a city tour the first morning and checked out a few churches and the markets. Then we all headed out for lunch to try the peruvian delicacy, guinea pig. Now, I'm not sure why someone looked at a guinea pig and thought "gee, I bet that tastes pretty good, lets deep fry it", but they did, and it caught on. I went to Peru with the intention of tasting their local delicacy, but then they bought it out to the table. With it's head/teeth/eyes all still in place. It looked like someone had run over my childhood pet and then dropped it in a deep fryer, there was no way I could even taste it. Other people said it tasted like chicken or rabbit. I'll take their word for it.
It was free time in the afternoon and I met up with Jany. I met her on my flight from Lima to Cusco, she is a local and an absolute angel! She took me to a great little cafe and then showed me around a bit. Locals are the best people to make friends with.
Everyone in our group went out that night, but I didn't stay out very long. I was really struggling with the altitude. 

The next morning we went up to one of the mountains that surround Cusco, to get a special blessing from two of the locals. It was really nice, and I'm so glad we got to do it. I like having that feeling of being extra protected while I'm traveling. So between my saint christopher necklace and my blessed peruvian bracelet, I should be covered!
We drove to Ollantaytambo (try saying that fast, three times in a row) that day, stopping off in Pisac to see/climb some ancient ruins. The views were absolutely breath taking and there is no way any camera could ever do it justice. The Andes are just incredible. Once we got to our destination we climbed up more ruins... ok, well I didn't. I'd had enough of being out of breath. So I went and chatted to some locals who spoke a bit of English in the markets. Did I mention my Spanish is still very Russian? Why oh why I had spanish lessons in Russia, I will never know! 

The next day, most of the group set of for the Inka trail. Me being super organised though, booked the tour too late, and the Inka trail was already full. I don't mind, now I have the perfect excuse to go back to Peru. I really want to hike that trail. We stayed in Ollantayambo until 3pm, I spent the morning walking along the back streets away from were the tourists are and had the most amazing time. I ended up playing football (soccer) with some kids and their family came out to say hello and offered me something to eat. I politely declined though, as I had no idea what it might have once been when it was alive. 
That afternoon we caught the train to the base of Machu Picchu (Pueblo).

Another early morning start and we were all on our way up the mountain to explore Machu Picchu. Some people on my tour said that the bus ride was really scary, I didn't even register that at all. I have been on much scarier bus rides. At least this bus had sides on it!
I really don't have the words to describe just how beautiful Machu Picchu is. If you have ever even contemplated going and it's something you would like to see, just do it! It is breathtaking (literally, at times). We were so lucky with the weather, it was hot and sunny and early in the morning it was misty and cloudy, which was just perfect. It is so green, and the surrounding mountains and valleys are so spectacular. I want everyone to go and see it and experience this amazing place for themselves. Not to mention just how incredible the actual ruins are. Our guide took us around and showed us what is left and what has been restored of the temples and homes. There are some pretty cute llamas walking around too. They are very used to people as well, if they want to get to a patch of grass and you are in their way, they basically just walk over you to get it. No fear of people at all. We also saw my very first chinchilla, it looks like a mix between a rabbit and a possum. They are really cute, plus I love saying the word chinchilla.
I could go on and on about Machu Picchu, but I haven't even started on what the Amazon was like yet. So just go explore the Andes and find out for yourself!
We were all in the party mood that night, and after a sing-a-long on the bus trip back to Cusco, we put on our salsa shoes and partied the night away! 

We spent one more day in Cusco before flying down to Puerto Maldonado, the main "city" in the Amazon of Peru. 
After a flight, a bus trip and a boat ride, we arrived at our gorgeous jungle lodge. It was all open and smack bang in the middle of the forest. We slept under mosquito nets and slept to the sound of the jungle (it was the best sleep I had the whole time I was in Peru). When we arrived we split into groups and went for a walk to the canopy tower. This tower was terrifying! It was 37meters high and the higher you got the more it swayed. If you had seen the tiny cables holding it up you would have been scared too. Generally I'm not scared of heights, but I am very scared of wobbly heights. It was worth being scared though, once at the top we had an amazing view of the sunset over the seemingly endless canopy of jungle. You could see macaws and a sloth in the distance and hear all sorts of birds, insects and monkeys. It was brilliant! 
The next morning we were up before the sun and we awoke to the most unusual sound. Hearing strange sounds, that are close, in the dark, in the middle of nowhere can make your morning a little uneasy. It turns out that the sound was just howler monkeys, but when I first heard them I was thinking "what sound does a Puma make?" 
We went fishing for Piranha's, my expert fishing skills failed me that morning, but luckily a few others caught some, so I was able to see what they looked like. Not nearly the flesh eating monsters my imagination/hollywood had made them out to be. I still wouldn't want a bite from one though! We saw loads of monkeys and birds and the ants that carry the little bits of really green leaves that you always see on the discovery channel. We also saw Capybara, which look like wombat sized guinea pigs (they don't get eaten though).
Once we had done our group tour, I went kayaking on the river. It was amazing! It's just coming to the end of the dry season now, so the river was quite low in places. I almost got stuck in the sand and was starting to reside to the fact that I was going to have to live in the kayak for the rest of my life, as there was no way I was stepping foot into the caiman (alligator) infested waters, but then a boat came along and made some waves so I got free. I saw more wildlife along the river, including a huge snake going out of the water onto the bank (more reason to not step out of the kayak). 
While I waited for our time at the lodge to be up, I swayed in the hammock and saw a butterfly in every colour, with the exception of maybe green. I love the Amazon and can't wait to go back and visit.

My last five days in Peru were mainly spent salsa dancing and drinking Pisco sours.
I had the most fantastic time, and if I've not made it obvious enough, Peru is without any doubt, one of my favourite countries!
Please go and visit, you won't have a single regret!

A few tips though:
They free pour alcohol in Peru... they are very generous.
Altitude gets you drunker faster, this is good, but can also be bad. Be careful!
Learn a few spanish words, lots of people speak English but it makes a difference if people see that you are trying to learn their language (in any country).
If you salsa like a disabled duck (like me) still dance and have a super fab time, cause no one really cares if you know how to dance or not.
Try the food, the exception being, things that look like deep fried pets.

Hope you enjoyed this edition of my blog as much as I did having the adventure!
Missing everyone at home, 
all my love
xxxx       

        

Travel catch up and London.

It's been twelve months since I last updated my blog (oops!), so needless to say, this one is going to be a pretty long entry! Maybe go make yourself a cup of tea before you start reading...


This time last year I was soaking up the sunshine in Greece. I am certainly not doing that now, London is having the wettest summer ever. After six rather horrendous months, with a very difficult family, an almost mugging/stabbing and a mountain of the best feta cheese I've ever eaten, my Greek adventure finally ended in October. I flew home a few weeks earlier then I was meant to, so I could surprise my family and spend christmas at home. It was so very lovely to be home and to see everyone, I  even clocked up a few hours working in one of the local pre schools. Thank goodness I was able to do that, I think I was having baby withdrawals after not having my twins around for a few weeks. 


Oh wait, I'm getting ahead of my self. While I was in Greece I got to have a lovely long weekend in Barcelona. I adore Spain, I don't know why, but it has always been my number one country to visit. I even tried to learn Spanish, but I tried to learn it while living in Russia and now I speak this weird mix of spanish/english/russian and absolutely no one has a clue what I'm trying to say! 
I landed at the Barcelona airport, jumped on a shuttle bus, hopped off at the stop that seemed fairly central in the city and then wondered about doing a bit of exploring and tried to find a hotel. I ended up staying in this fantastic little boutique hotel in the penthouse apartment (got an amazing deal too). That evening I was sipping away on a delightful margarita and I met an amazing bunch of Dutch people that I ended up hanging out with all weekend. Oh the people you meet!
Barcelona is a gorgeous city. Unlike Athens, which is rather ugly, Barcelona has combined the old with the new and created a stunning and captivating city. The people are just lovely, great weather and you just really want to be there. You all know that I love getting lost (or geographically confused) in a new city, and whilst wondering around I got caught in a freak hail storm/flash flood. I had to get out of the hail and the only safe haven was a large church window which was built into the wall, so I was able to climb up onto the ledge. The storm lasted about 40 minutes and then stopped as fast as it had started and I had to find my way back to my hotel in knee deep water! All the shops in the little cobble stoned alley ways were busy bucketing water out of their shops and saving their merchandise. 
Such a fun weekend that I will never forget!

So, back on track now. On boxing day of 2011 I said yet another teary goodbye to mum and Madi, it never gets easier saying good bye, no matter how excited I am for my next adventure. 

Five friends and I then headed to Thailand for an amazing holiday and to bring in the new year. 

We spent our first three days enjoying all that Phuket has to offer (which is a lot). We landed on the night of the 27th were we where bombarded by offers of taxi rides to the main beach called Patong. It reminded me of a slightly tamer version of walking out of the Moscow airport and having loads of russian men shouting "Taxi?!" at me.
We headed outside in hopes of a good deal for our taxi ride and where hit with the heat and smell of this tropical island. We quickly grabbed a minivan and headed to our hotel.
The main streets surrounding Patong beach are incredible, there is so much life there. You couldn't get bored if you tried. There are a lot of locals who all speak English and they all try to sell you everything under the sun for "very good price, you like". Our bartering skills were certainly utilised while we were travelling throughout Thailand.
Our hotel thumped with the beat of the music in the night clubs surrounding us every night until 6am every morning. Other than that though our hotel was great. It was called PS hotel. I highly recommend it to anyone heading to Phuket. It was very clean, very central location and the restaurant down stairs was so good!
Our days were spent lounging around on beach chairs drinking Pina coladas out of coconuts. We were in heaven. A little too much sun for a couple of us though, we got a wee bit burnt. One of the days we did a boat tour and checked out some beautiful little islands, did some snorkelling and drank more cocktails.
During the evenings we would walk along through the markets and take in all the sights. Pretty much anything you could think of to buy was for sale (all fake, but still). The food stalls were a sight too! A huge whole fish on a stick that had been tossed on the BBQ, fruits that we had never seen before and 99baht mojitos in a bucket available everywhere (thats roughly $3). Phuket was a great starting place for our trip.
On the 31st we flew to Koh Sumui and celebrated New years eve on the island of Koh Phanang, which is a ferry ride away. Our beach party was fantastic, we were covered in fluoro paint, wearing matching shirts that we had made up in Phuket and we drank buckets of cocktails all night long. We did the countdown and danced the night away. It was so much fun! What better way to bring in 2012?


We stayed three nights in Koh Phangan, which was two nights too many! Terrible accommodation (although we didn't pay very much for it), so much rain (felt like a monsoon) that our hotel room started leaking. Which was peculiar since we were on the 4th floor of a hotel with six floors... go figure. It was all ok though, because our next few nights back on Koh Sumui were spent in four star luxury. We planned to chill out and soak up the sunshine. Unfortunately though, I think it was our second night there, a few of us (including me) came down with absolutely horrible food poisoning! We had been so careful not to eat dodgy looking street food and picked our thai restaurants well, and the one night we decide to have a night off from drinking and stay in for a movie night with western food (McDonalds) was the time we got sick. Needless to say, I will never eat another McChicken burger! I spent most of Koh Samui in bed or in the bathroom. On our last day on the island, I was determined to not miss out on riding an elephant in the jungle, so I did! There are a few photo's that show just how sick I was, it was a mammoth effort to not throw up on Niko the elephant! But I made it and it was amazing, well worth the whole trip! 


We flew to Bangkok, which is just an insane city. The sheer amount of people there and the intense heat is a lot to take in, but I loved every minute. We cruised about in tuk tuks, checked out the metro, went to the markets, did a river tour. We certainly made the most of Bangkok!
Our little group slowly broke up and went our separate ways, and I was bound for little old London town.


I've been in London for seven months now and I absolutely love it. I wasn't 100% keen on moving here, as I always thought it was just a place with rubbish weather (which is completely true) and it would be full of Aussies (Kinda true too), but I've been really happy here. I have an amazing family who have made me so welcome and go out of their way to look after me and make sure I'm happy. They are truly wonderful people. Plus my two little girls, Lola and Lulu (Amelie), I love them to bits and they are a huge reason why I love being here too. I've met amazing friends here and I'm just having loads of fun really! I am in a great routine with the kids during the week and most weekends (and some weeknights) I hang out in this fabulous little cocktail bar called Graffiti, which, if you are ever in London is an absolute must. Mainly because my name is on the wall! 
London life is agreeing with me anyway. 


There is one more little trip I did too.
A couple of months ago I found super cheap flights to Oslo so I cruised on over to Norway for the weekend which was lovely, insanely pricey though. I did the same thing as I did in Spain, just booked flights then found my way into town and stumbled upon a really lovely hotel right in the middle of the city. It's the best way to do it, unless you find a super cheap package deal online. Had a lovely time exploring the postcard picture perfect city. It was freezing, but sunny, so I didn't mind the cold. Everyone complains of how expensive Oslo is, but I didn't realise it was the rich people complaining its expensive too! It cost me about £30 for a cocktail, that wasn't even a proper cocktail! Crazy!


So now I'm just happily cruising along with life in London, counting down until september when I head to Peru for two weeks!
I imagine that will be my next blog update!


I hope all is well with everyone at home,
I miss everyone so much. I'm always feeling a bit home sick.... you should all come and visit me! 
Sending lots of hugs and kisses
All my love
xxxx