In search of Paddington Bear

I have been in search of Paddington Bear in deepest darkest Peru of course he’s here in the UK with the Browns’. What I did find though was a fabulous diverse country with heaps of History and of course the famous Inca trail.

We arrived in Lima, which is a big City on the edge of the sea, the City has a lot of History and plenty of restaurants and open spaces, and we stayed in the Miraflores area, which takes approx 45mins from the airport.
A flight to Cusco, set high in the Andes mountains, it has the most beautiful old Spanish colonial buildings, a must to visit is the Monasterio Hotel, all the rooms are different and it is set around a beautiful court yard, visit after dark and the Hotel has a magical ambience.

A full day travelling through the Sacred Valley, following the Urubamba River that meanders through the Andes, we visited the Indian market at Pisac and the Inca fortress of Ollantaytambo.

Train from Ollante to the ancient ruins of Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu, it has to be said the scenery is breathtaking, it changes every second as the mountains disappear behind the clouds, the archaeological site is steeped in history, so it is very important one travels with a good Travel Company such as Bales who only employ the very best of guides, and Bales offer the best accommodations to suit ones needs.

Back to Cusco and an overnight stay for an early start by train to Puno, the train the Andean Explorer takes approx 10hrs, not to worry though as the time passes quickly and stops once on route, they have entertainment and excellent food on board, the landscape passing by is wonderful and the amazement of the train passing through the middle of villages with their houses on either side of the tracks.

Lake Titicaca, at Puno is at a higher altitude above sea level than Machu Picchu, weird sensation at this height; the indigenous people of the higher altitudes have one litre more blood in their bodies and larger hearts. The Urus people who live on the floating Islands on Lake Titicaca are extremely friendly, we were shown how the Islands are made out of reeds, incredible how they float. These people wear the national dress all the time, very colourful costumes.

Flight back to Lima and home via Amsterdam

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