Monthly Archives: July 2013

Selling the Car – An End to the South American Part of Our Trip

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Our last border crossing with the car was not a smooth one. Confusion on the Peru side, a taxi driver who wanted to sell us forms that are free and offices with no staff. The Chilean side wasn’t much better, probably because this border is along the drug trafficking route. We were ‘obvious’ suspects and had to empty the car and answer questions. Their suspicion must have been quite strong as we had to wait until a drug sniffing dog had arrived which they kept putting back in the car, despite the poor dog really not being able to find a thing! Continue reading →

Last of the Sacred Valley, Nazca Lines and Ceviche Gone Wrong

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On our way to Machu Picchu we had stopped for a night in Ollantaytambo and were really taken away by how beautiful this place is. As we were driving back this way we decided to stay another few nights and explore it properly. Ollanta is set at the ‘intersection’ of a couple valleys that were important to the Inca’s. It is also the best surviving example of Inca city planning, with all the streets still exactly how they were laid out by the Inca’s. The town is in the shape of a corn cob and from any spot in town you can see the huge, steep terraces on the hills with the large Incan ruins on it. Looking the other way you can see the storage buildings up on the hill, with a clever system of openings in the building which allows the wind to enter and cool (preserve) the food.

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