…to the very top

As already mentioned, we wanted to climb one of the higher Ecuadorian mountains: we opted for Cotopaxi Volcano (5897 m, 19,347 feet). First, Stevie and me needed to acclimatize more. In order to achieve this, we hiked the northern summit of the Iliniza massive (North Iliniza, 5126 m, 16,818 feet). A truly awesome hike, a lot of sun, rugged landscape, steep slopes. Luckily, we both did not struggle with the height – we felt prepared for the night climb the upcoming day. 😉

We started at 23 p.m. Freezing, clear sky, windless – perfect conditions! Soon, we got to the glacier where we put on our crampons. Step by step we made our way higher up the volcano. Apparently, we were too fast and we had to stop for 30 min below the summit in order to be there at sunrise time. Due to this break, I continued the climb with frozen feet… 😦 Hiking through a bizarre, icy landscape for another hour, we reached Cotopaxi summit at 5:45 a.m. Still freezing, we held out waiting for the sun to appear. We were rewarded with a stunning 360° view of the Avenue of the Volcanos, from Cayambe Volcano to the very North to the ice crown of Altar Volcano to the South. Not to mention the massive volcanic crater being at our feet.

We hiked back happily, looking at Cotopaxi’s shadow projected onto a sea of clouds in front of us. 🙂

Los Ilinizas: Sur (izquierda, 5248 m) y Norte (nuestro destino, 5126 m). The Ilinizas: South (left, 5248 m) and North (our destination, 5126 m). Die Ilinizas: Süd (links, 5248 m) und Nord (unser Ziel, 5126 m).

Iliniza Norte.

Foto panorámica de la Avenida de los Volcanes desde Iliniza Norte: los volcanes Cotopaxi a la derecha, Antisana a su izquierda, Cayambe más a la izquierda. Panorama of the Avenue of the Volcanos from North Iliniza: the volcanos Cotopaxi to the right, Antisana to its left, Cayambe to the very left. Panorama der Straße der Vulkane vom Iliniza Nord: die Vulkane Cotopaxi rechts, Antisana zu seiner Linken, Cayambe ganz links.

Paso de la muerte. Mountain pass of death. Der Todespass.

El caracara andino (Phalcoboenus megalopterus). The mountain caracara (Phalcoboenus megalopterus). Der Anden-Caracara (Phalcoboenus megalopterus).

Volcán Cotopaxi desde el Iliniza Norte. Cotopaxi Volcano from North Iliniza. Der Cotopaxi vom Iliniza Nord. (© Stevie)

Escalada nocturna al Volcán Cotopaxi (se puede ver las luces de los excursionistas y de las estrellas y el glaciar). Cotopaxi Volcano night climb (one can see the lights of the mountaineers and of the stars and the glacier). Nächtlicher Cotopaxi-Aufstieg (man kann die Lichter der Bergsteiger und der Sterne und den Gletscher sehen).

La cumbre del Volcán Cotopaxi (5897 m). Cotopaxi Volcano summit (5897 m). Gipfel des Cotopaxi (5897 m).

Salida del sol con vista a los volcanes Antisana y Cayambe (al fondo, izquierda) desde el Cotopaxi. Cotopaxi sunrise with view of the volcanos Antisana and Cayambe (in the background, left). Sonnenaufgang am Cotopaxi mit Blick auf die Vulkane Antisana und Cayambe (im Hintergrund, links).

El cráter del Cotopaxi, el Volcán Chimborazo al fondo (derecha). The Cotopaxi crater, Chimborazo Volcano in the background (right). Der Krater des Cotopaxi, der Chimborazo im Hintergrund (rechts).

Sombra del Cotopaxi con los Ilinizas. Cotopaxi shadow with the Ilinizas. Schatten des Cotopaxi mit den Ilinizas.

La Hesperia: cloud forest

In 2010, I took an internship in the cloud forest. La Hesperia basically is a farm which is run in an ecological manner and volunteers can participate (that’s how I got there). Back then, there was also a school which unfortunately meanwhile was shut down by the government. Where once learnt, played, and scrimmaged kids, today horses seek shadow from the tropical sun. 😦 Kind of sad…

The main reason for taking my family there was to show them around in a cloud forest. This is a very special ecosystem: it is characterized by the more or less permanent presence of fog. Water drops condensate which is the main water source there. Those forests have a dense understory and the trees are covered in mosses, bromeliads, lianas, and orchids – all of which give them a pristine and virgin look (see description here). 🙂 The trees are not as high as the ones in the rainforest. For me, this very forest type is the actual jungle!

When I worked there as a volunteer, we planted slow-growing hardwood seedlings first in order to convert the deteriorated secondary forest back into some kind of primary forest and second to ensure an income for future generations. In doing so, existing pristine forest can be conserved (or even reestablished) and selective logging minimizes the environmental damage. This way of managing the forest represents an integrated use of regrowing rescources. A total conservation of broad stretches of tropical forests without human activity is a misbelief – the people need to live from something. The example of La Hesperia might be a successful approach.

Nuestra casa en La Hesperia. Our house in La Hesperia. Unser Haus in La Hesperia.

Un caballo en el baño. A horse in the restroom. Ein Pferd im Bad.

Caballos en la escuela. Horses at school. Pferde in der Schule.

Jugando fútbol con los caballos. Playing soccer with horses. Fußballspielen mit Pferden.

Un ternero con ojos grandes. A calf with huge ears. Kälbchen mit riesigen Ohren.

Oreos – una tradición antigua en La Hesperia. Oreos – an old tradition in La Hesperia. Oreos – eine lange Tradition in La Hesperia.

La maleza del bosque nuboso. Understory of the cloud forest. Unterholz des Nebelwaldes.

Helecho gigante. Giant fern. Riesenfarn.

Plantones de café. Coffee seedlings. Kaffee-Setzlinge.

Bambú gigante. Giant bamboo. Riesenbambus.

Dentro de nuestra casa. Inside our house. In unserem Haus.

Lactar dos fuertes terneros con hambre. Giving milk to two strong, hungry calves. Milchfütterung zweier starker, hungriger Kälbchen.

Mariposas del riachuelo. Creek butterflies. Falter am Bach.

Cuicocha y Cotacachi

Leap to the North: We made a detour to Papallacta and its hot springs before we reached the Cuicocha Lake via Otavalo. By chance, we got there around Saint John’s day (June 24th) and everyone was celebrating this event. We saw a couple of parades in Cotacachi – a town close to Otavalo which is renowned for its decently priced leather products. There were mostly men marching in the streets: their repetitive “singing” was completed by a monotonic, stamping “dance” – to us it seemed to be a strange way to celebrate…

Cuicocha literally means “Lake of guinea pigs”! Probably, the name refers to the two islands which look like fluffy guinea pigs cuddling in the middle of the large water-filled caldera (a caldera is an immense “crater” of a volcano). A truly beautiful place. We found some cosy bungalows at the “crater” rim with a stunning view of the lake and – what is more – with chimneys! 😛 Paradise!!! For sure, we circled the lake: a lonely, sunny, awesome hike.

Celebraciones de San Juan en las calles de Cotacachi. Saint John celebrations in the streets of Cotacachi. Feierlichkeiten anlässlich des Heiligen Johannes’ auf den Straßen Cotacachis.

Desfile en Cotachachi. Parade in Cotachachi. Umzug in Cotacachi.

Lago de Cuicocha. Cuicocha Lake. Cuicocha-See.

Dentro de la cabaña en Cuicocha. Inside the bungalow in Cuicocha. In meiner Hütte in Cuicocha.

Vista desde la cabaña al lago de Cuicocha. View from my bungalow of Cuicocha Lake. Blick aus meiner Hütte zum Cuicocha-See.

Helecho con paquetes de esporas. Farn with spore accumulations. Farn mit Sporenpaketen.

Vista del lago de Cuicocha desde su margen. View of Cuicocha Lake from its rim. Sicht auf den Cuicocha-See vom Rand.

Bromelia. Bromeliad. Bromelie.

La laguna de Cuicocha con sus dos islotes. The Cuicocha Lake with its two islands. Der Cuicocha-See mit seinen zwei Inseln.

The world’s closest point to the Sun

Further north of Alausí, embedded within the Andean Cordilleras lies the chilly city Riobamba. It belongs to Ecuador’s biggest cities. Apart from being a well-situated base camp for rock climbers and mountain trekkers, Riobamba does not offer much… Literally the only city attraction worth mentioning is the Neptune fountain with the impressive college behind. The once picturesque old district was destroyed during a devastating earthquake in 1797. But Riobamba has one unique attraction: Chimborazo Volcano (6310 m): Ecuador’s highest mountain and the world’s highest mountain when measured from the Earth’s core – therefore it is the closest point on Earth’s surface to the Sun. Hence, for a long time, Chimborazo Volcano was thought to be the world’s highest mountain!

Having in mind that we might climb one of the higher volcanos in Ecuador anytime soon, Stevie and I needed to acclimatize to the great elevation: we hiked Chimborazo as far as we could without putting our lives at risk not having special ice climbing gear. On the glacier’s ice we roughly reached a height 5200 m (17,000 feet) and were rewarded with a stunning view.

On our way down the rocky, moon-like, hostile landscape we came across a flock of vicuñas – the more or less primitive, wild form of the llamas. The fur’s fine fibres and the fact that the animals can only be sheared every three years make vicuña wool the most expensive wool (more than 1000 $ for a pair of socks!). Vicuñas are more slender and delicate than their domesticated relatives – and their sunlit orange fur was a great contrast to the volcanic environment.

Fuente de Neptuno en Riobamba. Neptune fountain in Riobamba. Neptunbrunnen in Riobamba.

Caminando con Stevie. Hiking with Stevie. Wandern mit Stevie.

Sedimentos volcánicos. Volcanic deposits. Vulkanablagerungen. (© Stevie)

Una campánula. A bell flower. Eine Glockenblume.

Formas raras del páramo con el Volcán Chimborazo (6310 m) al fondo. Bizarre páramo shapes with Chimborazo Volcano (6310 m) at the back. Bizarre Formen des Páramo mit dem Chimborazo-Vulkan (6310 m) im Hintergrund.

Diversidad de rocas volcánicas. Volcanic rock diversity. Vielfalt vulkanischer Gesteine.

Escalando en las partes bajas del Chimborazo (5200 m). Climbing the lower parts of Chimborazo (5200 m). Aufstieg im unteren Bereich des Chimborazo (5200 m).

Sobre un glaciar del Chimborazo. On a Chimborazo glacier. Auf einem Gletscher des Chimborazo. (© Stevie)

Disfrutando la vista desde el flanco del Chimborazo. Enjoying the view from Chimborazo’s slope. Sicht von der Flanke des Chimborazo. (© Stevie)

Foto panorámica del Chimborazo. Panorama view of Chimborazo. Panorama am Chimborazo.

Congelada escultura de piedra. Frozen stone sculpture. Gefrorene Steinskulptur.

Vicuñas – las llamas primitivas. Vicuñas – primitive llamas. Vikunjas – ursprüngliche Lamas.

Alausí: La Nariz del Diablo

We continued our sinuous way north through the Andes. Between Cuenca and Riobamba, we stopped in Alausí: a tiny town sitting on a cliff in a deep Andean valley. Actually, there was nothing THAT special but a general laid-back feeling.

The most important tourist attraction there is doing a trip by train on the railway which in former times wound its way all the way from Guayaquil at the coast to Quito at 2800 m altitude. A truly impressive engineer’s masterpiece. But because of landslides cutting off tracks and fading numbers of passengers they terminated the train operation and converted parts of the tracks into tourist attractions. One of them is the trip to the mountain “Nariz del Diablo” (devil’s nose) with the highlight of going back and forth on railway tracks constructed in a zig-zag pattern in order to overcome the hight difference of the mountain’s steep slope. You do not travel like this everyday being on a train!

Back to Alausí, everyone was in soccer world cup fever, since Ecuador played against Switzerland. Locals stopped in the middle of the road looking at one of the shop’s numerous screens! Unfortunately, Ecuador lost in the very last minute in an otherwise balanced match… Meanwhile, we explored the local markets, always glancing at the TVs! 😛

The next day we hiked the surroundings of Alausí. We crossed the Panamericana and climbed up the steep grassland. Finally, we were rewarded with a splendid view of the colourful fields and the clouds embedded in the coastal plain. The sunset turned the wavy hills with crops into different shades of gold. Before we started hiking earlier that day, we did not really know what we will experience. Sometimes, you just have to start walking…

Los zigzags de la vía de ferrocarril. The rail track zigzags. Schienen-Zickzack.

Cambio de pendiente. Change of slope. Änderung des Gefälles.

Llama ensillada. Saddled llama. Gesatteltes Lama.

Paisaje de Alausí desde La Nariz del Diablo. Alausí landscape from La Nariz del Diablo (the devil’s nose). Landschaft um Alausí von der La Nariz del Diablo (Teufelsnase).

Mamá en el mercado local. Mum at the local market. Mutti auf dem heimischen Markt.

Colas para el televisor: Ecuador – Suiza 1:2, perdieron en el último minuto del partido. Queue for the TV: Ecuador – Switzerland 1:2, they lost within the last minute of the match. Schlange vorm Fernseher: Ecuador – Schweiz 1:2, sie haben in der letzten Spielminute verloren.

Mercado de frutos. Fruit market. Früchtemarkt.

Flor. Flower. Blume.

El campo con mamá y Stevie. Countryside with mum and Stevie. Auf dem Land mit Mutti und Stevie.

Burro con vista al mar de nubes de la Costa. Donkey with view of the sea of clouds of the Costa (the coastal plains). Esel mit Sicht auf das Wolkenmeer der Costa (Küstenebene).

Hans im Glück!

Los campos de Alausí durante el atardecer. The fields near Alausí in the evening. Die Felder um Alausí zur Abendstunde.

Alausí misteriosa. Mysterious Alausí. Geheimnisvolles Alausí.

Alausí con la estatua de San Pedro. Alausí with the Saint Peter statue. Alausí mit der Statue des Heiligen Peter.

Triple C: Cuenca, El Cajas, Chordeleg

From Peru, we all flew back to Ecuador. In Guayaquil, Ecuador’s economic hub and biggest city, we said goodbye to Benny, who returned to Germany.

More or less escaping from Guayaquil’s sauna-like climate, we headed on by bus to Cuenca which is located in the Andes, some 2500 m above sea level – with a lovely bland climate. (I already wrote about wonderful Cuenca, please click here.) On our way there, we got a glimpse of El Cajas National Park which we hiked later on. “El Cajas” is Spanish for “box”, which refers to the lake-filled hollows in the rough and meager landscape, covered by páramo (tropical highland vegetation) and occasional bogs. This humid environment is completed by the presence of quite some fog. Maybe that’s why we were literally the only ones there. 🙂 A vast variety of lichens, mosses, and fungi thrive in this soaked place.

Even though we lost the trail during our hike, it was a great day! This total silence in the mountains makes them a very special place. Mum quite struggled with the altitude approaching 4100 m. Well done! She was rewarded the next day in Chordeleg – a little town. But size does not matter as it is Ecuador’s jeweler capital: jewelry stores are arranged just like pearls on a necklace! There is A TON of them and you can find any jewelry you can think of… How bizarre in an otherwise quite empty town. Even the street lights are decorated with brilliant ornaments! A lady’s paradise… 😀

Microuniverso: liquen. Micro universe: lichen. Winzige Welt: Flechte.

Caminando por El Cajas. Hiking in El Cajas. Wandern im El Cajas.

Liquen y musgo. Lichen and moss. Flechten und Moos.

Meandro de un riachuelo. A creek’s meander. Mäander eines Flüsschens.

Hongo. Fungus. Pilz.

El páramo de El Cajas. The El Cajas páramo. Der El Cajas-Páramo.

Buscando el “camino”. Looking for the “path”. Den “Weg” suchend.

Liquen, musgo, liquen. Lichen, moss, lichen. Flechten, Moose, Flechten.

Gentianella hirculus.

Mamá rendida – pero con vista chévere! Mum, exhausted – but with a nice view! Mutti, erschöpft – aber mit guter Aussicht!

Holaaaaaaa! 😀

Foto panorámica de El Cajas. Panorama view of El Cajas. Panoramablick vom El Cajas.

Llamas! Llamas! Lamas! (Oder doch Alpakas, Müschaelaaaaa?!)

Decoraciones en las calles de Chordeleg. Street decorations in Chordeleg. Straßendekorationen in Chordeleg.

The City of the Sun

Machu Picchu, the superlative when it comes to prehistoric Indian ruins. We got there in an unconventional manner: by taxi! The trains are ridiculously overpriced, so we opt for the cab and did not regret our decision. 🙂 We crossed a 4316 m mountain pass, traveled through Puna vegetation (dry equivalent to Ecuador’s wet páramo), passed tropical humid forests, crossed rivers with a car not really capable of doing so, and eventually went on roads cut into sheer rock cliffs (my brother and me made fun of our mum whose facial features were frozen in shock 😛 ) in order to get to Hidroeléctrica, a train station. From there, we hiked through lush tropical forest to the village of Aguas Calientes, the Machu Picchu “base camp”.

The next morning, we got up really early in order to be up in Machu Picchu for sunrise. We were not the only ones – for sure – everyone was hiking in the middle of the night… The nocturnal pilgrimage was outweighed by the stunning view of the City of the Sun with the first sunrays of the day hitting the ruins. I was especially impressed by some temples constructed on the surface of inclined rocks. …and the Temple of the Three Windows seems to be from another world. Truly impressive. …and it is still unknown what the purpose of Machu Picchu actually was and why it was abandoned (because the Spaniards did not know or find out about this place). A lot of mysteries.

Later, we hiked Wayna Picchu – the cone in the back of every Machu Picchu picture. After climbing the nearly vertical endless staircase, we enjoyed a quite different view of the ruins (Can you identify a shape in Machu Picchu’s outline?).

After a day full of ancient history and a lot of great impressions, we got on the train in order to go back to Ollantaytambo – not nearly as spectacular as the arrival!

Familia loca en camino a Machu Picchu con el Nevado Verónica (5682 m) al fondo. Crazy family on their way to Machu Picchu with Nevado Verónica (5682 m) at the back. Verrückte Familie auf dem Weg nach Machu Picchu mit dem Nevado Verónica (5682 m) im Hintergrund. © Stevie

Stevie, mamá, yo y Bengie (de la izquierda a la derecha). Stevie, mum, me, and Bengie (from left to right). Stevie, Mutti, ich und Bengie (von links nach rechts). © Stevie

Aventurera travesía del río. Adventurous river crossing. Abenteuerliche Flussüberquerung. © Stevie

El tren a Machu Picchu con mamá. The train to Machu Picchu with mum. Der Zug nach Machu Picchu mit Mutti.

Mamá caminando. Mum walking. Mutti wandert.

La salida del sol en Machu Picchu. Sunrise in Machu Picchu. Sonnenaufgang in Machu Picchu.

Yo feliz en Machu Picchu. Me happy in Machu Picchu. Ich, glücklich in Machu Picchu. © Stevie

El puente incaico. The Incan bridge. Die Inkabrücke.

La entrada principal a la Ciudad del Sol con visitador especial. The main entrance to the City of the Sun with special visitor. Haupteingang zur Sonnenstadt mit Spezialgast.

Dentro de las ruinas con mamá. Amongst the ruins with mum. In den Ruinen mit Mutti.

Dentro de Machu Picchu. Within Machu Picchu. In Machu Picchu.

La Plaza Principal con Wayna Picchu al fondo (cono al la izquierda). The Main Square with Wayna Picchu at the back (cone to the left). Der Hauptplatz mit Wayna Picchu im Hintergrund (Bergkegel links).

Vista a Machu Picchu desde Wayna Picchu. View of Machu Picchu from Wayna Picchu. Blick auf Machu Picchu vom Wayna Picchu.

Reunión de aplacas encima del Wayna Picchu. Alpaca meeting at Wayna Picchu. Alpaka-Zusammenkunft auf dem Wayna Picchu.

Vista desde Wayna Picchu al valle con la vía de ferrocarril. View of the valley with railtracks from Wayna Picchu. Blick vom Wayna Picchu ins Tal mit den Bahngleisen.

Templo de los Tres Ventanas. Temple of the Three Windows. Tempel der Drei Fenster.

Templo del Cóndor. The Condor Temple. Der Kondor-Tempel.

Templo del Sol con la Tumba Real. Temple of the Sun with the Royal Tomb. Der Sonnentempel mit der Königlichen Grabstätte.

Subimos al tren para regresar a Ollantaytambo. Getting on the train to go back to Ollantaytambo. Wir steigen in den Zug, mit dem wir nach Ollantaytambo zurückkehrten.

Exploring Cusco’s surroundings

United in Cusco, my family and I explored some truly impressive Incan monuments in this beautiful stretch of our planet.

First of all, we went to the sleepy village of Maras, located at the rim of the Sacred Valley of the Incas. We watched the locals doing agriculture in quite a simple manner and in doing so we were teleported back in time. In the course of our scenic hike along golden fields backed by icy rugged mountains under a steel blue sky, we got to the salt pans of Salinas nestled in a steep canyon. Since more than 500 years, salt is produced there. The hot, mineral-loaden water leaving the rock is distributed via a sophisticated channel system and trapped in a complex of terraces, which form a colourful mosaic according to their mineral content. By sun-driven evaporation and continuous refilling of the pans with volcanic water, the salt accumulates in the pan and can finally be extracted. Simple, but ingenious. 🙂

Close to the city of Cusco one can visit the massive ruins of Saqsayhuamán (pronounced more or less like “sexy woman”). 😛 Considering that after earthquakes and Spanish destruction the remaining parts only represent 20 % of the former complex, it was a VAST fortress. Cusco once had the outline of a puma, with Saqsayhuamán being its head; the external walls were arranged in a zig-zag pattern forming some whopping 27 giant teeth, which furthermore fulfilled an excellent defensive function splitting attacking armies. The Spaniards arrived in the northern Incan Empire (today Ecuador) in 1530 and as they started to subdue the Incas, resistance formed. One of the most important battles between the Conquistadores and the Incas took place at this very place in 1536 and the Inkas nearly expelled the Spaniards. But it was one of those ridiculous coincidents in the Spanish conquest that only 50 cavaliers made the crucial difference… Cusco, the glorious capital of the Golden Empire, was taken and the surviving Incan warriors escaped to the immense fortress of Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley (see below).

On our way to Ollantaytambo, we took a little detour to Moray near Maras. Moray is a huge earthen bowl with terraces arranged in a concentric manner. Each level of the terrace is characterized by a certain degree of moisture due to different angles of the sunbeams. It is hard to believe, but the Incas did ecological studies in order to optimize their crops! This laboratory, constructed in the shape of a steep funnel-like bowl, blew our minds since we did not expect anything that big and made us once more to take our hats off to such an advanced culture back then.

…and eventually, we got to the mountain fortress of Ollantaytambo located at the slopes of the Sacred Valley. The village of the same name is a formidable example of Incan city architecture. The narrow alleys paved with cobblestones and adjacent bubbling water channels once more took us back in time. Ollantaytambo is not only a lovely destination because of its ruins and landscape, but also because of its authenticity and silence after the tourists have returned to Cusco in the evening. 🙂 We were further lucky enough to be part of the Choquekillca festivities and got to see crazy costumes and dances! The fortress was also a ceremonial centre just as Saqsayhuamán: the Incas started to construct an immense temple there which would have been the biggest temple in their entire empire in case of completion, which the Spaniards prevented. It remains unclear how they carried the up to 200 t heavy blocks from the quarry at other side of the valley to the construction site, since the Incas did not have wheels. The fortress of Ollantaytambo represents one of the view places in history where the Incas successfully fought back (in 1536), but victory did not last long since the Conquistadores returned to finish their disastrous mission.

Ollantaytambo fortress is located in the Sacred Valley of the Incas on a ledge, which blocks the further course of the valley like a lid, in order to protect another miracle: Machu Picchu.

Medio de transporte en Maras. Means of transport in Maras. Transportmittel in Maras.

Mamá en un campo cerca de Maras. Mum in a field near Maras. Mutti in einem Feld bei Maras.

Las terrazas de sal de Salinas. The salt pans of Salinas. Die Salzterrassen von Salinas.

Las Salinas.

Choclo de colores diferentes. Corn of different colours. Mais in verschiedenen Farben.

Dentro de Saqsayhuamán. Within Saqsayhuamán. In Saqsayhuamán.

Qocha en Saqsayhuamán: cementerio. Qocha in Saqsayhuamán: cemetery. Qocha in Saqsayhuamán: Friedhof.

Roca y árbol en Saqsayhuamán. Rock and tree in Saqsayhuamán. Fels und Baum in Saqsayhuamán.

La explanada de Saqsayhuamán: la boca del puma; Cusco al fondo. Mira la gente a la derecha. Saqsayhuamán esplanade: the puma’s mouth; Cusco in the background. Note the people to the right. Die Esplanade von Saqsayhuamán: Maul des Pumas; Cuzco im Hintergrund. Man beachte die Leute rechts.

Alpaca que va muy chula. Dressy alpaca. Schickes Alpaka.

Moray – mira la gente abajo. Moray – pay attention to the people down there. Moray – man beachte die Leute unten in der Anlage.

Feliz en Moray. Happy in Moray. Glücklich in Moray.

Mamá en Ollantaytambo (al fondo: las terrazas de la fortaleza). Mum in Ollantaytambo (in the background: the terraces of the fortress). Mutti in Ollantaytambo (im Hintergrund: die Terrassen der Festung).

El pueblo de Ollantaytambo con el Valle Sagrado de las Incas. The village of Ollantaytambo with the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Das Dorf Ollantaytambo mit dem Heiligen Tal der Inka.

Ruinas en Ollantaytambo. Ruins in Ollantaytambo. Ruinen in Ollantaytambo.

Dentro de la fortaleza de Ollantaytambo. Within the Ollantaytambo fortress. In der Festung von Ollantaytambo.

Panorámica de la fortaleza de Ollantaytambo. Panorama view of Ollantaytambo fortress. Panoramablick auf die Festung von Ollantaytambo.

Choquekillaca, Ollantaytambo.

Choquekillaca, Ollantaytambo.

Casa llena de choclo. House full of corn. Haus voller Mais.

Choclo secando. Drying corn. Trocknender Mais.

Cusco – the Inca’s capital

My brother and me met some more family in Quito and together we flew to Cusco, Peru. Cusco is a true beauty and even though ages went by and destruction by the Spaniards and also by numerous earthquakes took place, you can still experience and feel the Incan culture. Still, after centuries, the perfectly matching massive rock blocks leave you speechless. In a lot of places you can observe the foundation walls of the Incas with the colonial buildings literally constructed on top of them – an ambivalent confrontation of cultures, religions, traditions,… conserved by architecture. Also, the roasted guinea pig, which is sold as a delicacy there, attest the distinct character of the Incan culture. Quite often when looking at this great heritage, we were wondering ourselves about how it was possible that such a vast empire could perish because of a couple of hundred foreigners arriving from another continent.

Aparentemente, se necesita muchos ceros en Perú! Apparently, you need a lot of zeros in Peru. Anscheinend braucht man viele Nullen in Peru.

Panorámica de Cusco. Cusco panorama. Cuzco im Panorama.

La señora de llama. The llama lady. Die Lama-Dame.

La Plaza de Armas de Cusco.

Una calleja estrecha. A narrow alley. Eine enge Gasse.

Vista desde nuestro hospedaje con mamá. View from our accomodation with mum. Aussicht von unserer Unterkunft mit Mutti.

Enfrentamiento de culturas diferentes. Confrontation of different cultures. Zusammenprall verschiedener Kulturen.

Cuy asado. Roasted guinea pig. Gegrilltes Meerschweinchen.

El Templo del Sol antiguo: Qorikancha – el templo incaico más importante. The former Temple of the Sun: Qorikancha – most important Incan temple. Der ehemalige Sonnentempel: Qorikancha – wichtigster Tempel der Inkas.

Santo Domingo construido encima de Qorikancha. Santo Domingo built on top of Qorikancha. Santo Domingo erbaut auf Qorikancha.

Being on the lookout in Papallacta

My brother and me literally escaped from the jungle’s heat and humidity towards the Andes. Phew, what a relief! Sleeping without sweating, no mosquitos, fresh air – but also rain… Everything has got its price, I guess. Anyway, we went to Papallacta in the Eastern Cordillera for two reasons: hot springs and doing the Condor Trek. We chilled for hours in the hot pools, sometimes hiding under a tree because of the rain. And for this very reason, we could not move on to the second thing we came for: hiking the Condor Trail. It is a 4 day trek between the volcanos Antisana (5704 m) and Cotopaxi (5897 m). We were ready to go, sitting on all the equipment you need for such an attempt, but instead of being in the mountains, we ended up at the window of our tower-like elevated accomodation checking the weather… What a shame: Should we wait for one more day? Should we move on, hoping for better weather wherever we go? During one of those days of waiting, we hiked the mysterious cloud forest close-by – with bogging dominating the trail… It was just not the right time to hike there; they told us that we needed to come back in November for the Condor Trek – but this means that my brother won’t be there. After waiting for three days, we decided to head towards the Western Cordillera.

Yo dentro del místico bosque nuboso. Me in a mystical cloud forest. Ich im mystischen Nebelwald. (© Bengie)

Volcán Antisana. (© Bengie)

Laguna Papallacta.