Wotae: 09.02.2024
I was picked up at 2 p.m. The minibus is air conditioned and the guide seems nice. We are 17 people. The tour lasts 4 hours, with most of the time spent driving. We have three spots. At the first spot he shows us the three volcanoes, all of which are active. He explains a lot about it. Since it is cloudy, you can only partially see two of them, but our guide can't do anything about that. At the second spot you can see some sculptures made from the rubble of the volcanoes. You have to pay another 5 soles (€1.25), which I don't understand because everything is actually included and then to see other sculptures you have to pay a few soles again. When we arrive he tells us that we have 40 minutes to shop. So far so good. It just felt like there were 10 coaches there at the time and there were people everywhere. I do not like it at all. If I had known that, I would have done something different. Of course there are always people at the well-known activities, but when it's so crowded, at least I don't feel like it. I then went to a somewhat remote place and in general the sculptures and the whole location are very impressive. Afterwards we drove to the last spot where we had to walk through sandy alleys and rocks. It's a cool thing in itself, but when there are 30 people and 2 guides shouting in front of and behind you all the time, I can't enjoy it that much. I then walked forward and where no one was there, I was able to take a few photos. Then we got on the bus and drove 45 minutes back.
I won't be doing much today. On the one hand, I'm a little exhausted from the night trip and on the other hand, a 2-day trekking tour over the Golden Canyon begins tomorrow with an overnight stay in a hostel. I'm curious. We have a packing list and it's supposed to be tiring and we're picked up from the hotel at 3 a.m. That will be fun. I hope it won't be so crowded. I also wanted to hike in Cusco and I read a lot about the Salkantay Trail, which is said to be even more beautiful than the Inca Trail. There are tours there, but it is written on the Internet that you can easily do it on your own. That really appeals to me and I now have internet (how good the reception is in the mountains remains to be seen ;) ). I'll now wait for tomorrow's hike and then I'll decide. The problem is that the hike would take 4-5 days and then I wouldn't have time for anything else in Cusco and only one night in Lima. I really have to think about how I'm going to do that, because I actually wanted to chill in Lima for a few more days. I haven't booked anything yet and no return trip or flight from Cusco to Lima. And the longer you wait, the more expensive it becomes. As I said, I'll wait for the tour tomorrow and then book it...we'll be in the city center in a moment. I'll get some food for today and provisions for tomorrow and then go back to the hotel. I'll definitely get in touch later...