1. THURSDAY FRIDAY
SATURDAY SUNDAY
8°
MONDAY
5°
TUESDAY
6°
WEDNESDAY
7°
WEATHER
HIGH TIDE IN GALWAY
Thursday January 14 04.24 16.56
Friday January 15 05.03 17.33
Saturday January 16 05.41 18.09
Sunday January 17 06.18 18.43
Monday January 18 06.53 19.17
Tuesday January 19 07.26 19.50
Wednesday January 20 07.59 20.23
Thursday January 21 08.34 20.58
PHASES OF THE MOON
Friday January 15 — new moon.
4°
6°
BREAK-AWAY
TRAVEL WITH UNA SINNOTT
9°
Galway
Tuam
Gort
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Discover it all in PeruBY MARTINA NEE
Desert land that is both
harsh and beautiful, lush
jungles, soaring canyan
condors, and mysterious
ancient remnants of a lost
civilisation, where else can
you discover so much than
in Peru, a land which will
forever be lovingly etched
in my mind and heart.
Tears rolled from my
eyes with the thoughts of
leaving Peru after three
weeks of exploring
magnificient cultures,
climbing to new heights,
and cementing firm
friendships. Over seven
months before, this once in
a lifetime trip to Peru and
the opportunity to complete
the famous Inca Trail was
just a pipe-dream.
Trawling through the many
options available I finally
decided to go with Tucan
Travel.
I began my trip in the
city of Lima which boasts
such impressive sights as
the Plaza Mayor and the
Iglesia de San Francisco
(Church of Saint Francis)
with its amazing creepy
catacombs. Then it was
time to hit the road on the
Tucan bus to Pisco where a
boat trip to the Ballastas
Islands awaited us. These
islands, which are located
in the Paracas National
Reserve, are home to one of
the largest sea-lion colonies
in the world and are often
considered a mini-
Galapagos.
Near the town of Ica is
the Huacachina Oasis, a
tiny palm-fringed oasis
surrounded by towering
sand dunes, where
adrenaline pumping dune
buggy rides and sand
boarding is on offer. There
is no time to lie around idly,
it was straight to the local
airport for the flight over
the famous Nasca Lines.
The giant lines, which
include designs such as the
spider, the humming bird,
and the monkey, were cut
into the stony desert by
civilisations as far back as
900BC, and are just
spectacular.
I was pleasantly
surprised to find that the
town of Arequipa is so
vibrant and cosmopolitan.
We found a lovely
restaurant called Zig Zag
on Zela Street and tucked
into a selection of alpaca,
beef, and ostrich cooked on
a hot rock. It was by far the
best meal I have ever had,
anywhere. There’s plenty to
see in this town and a good
place to start is the Plaza de
Armas which is overlooked
by the ice-capped volcano
El Misti. I also visited the
Santuarios Andinos UCSM
Museam where the
mummified remains of
Juanita tells the story of a
young girl who was
sacrificed to the gods about
500 years ago. For beautiful
and colourful images then
the 400-year-old Monasterio
de Santa Catalina is the
next port of call.
The next leg of the
journey brought us high up
in to the Andes mountains.
We travelled overland to
Colca Canyon, reaching a
height of 4,900 metres. The
vast landscape is dotted by
the llamas and alpaca and
the local people can still be
seen wearing the unique
traditional Colca dress.
Even the soaring condors
graced us with their
presence. The tour leader
arranged for us to relax in
the local hot springs and we
even found an Irish pub,
McElroys, in the remote
town of Chivay before
heading to bed.
On day eight we arrived
in Cuzco, booked into the
lovely Hotel Royal Inca II,
and got packing for our trip
to the Amazon jungle. The
next morning was a short
flight to Puerto Maldonado,
a motorised canoe ride
along the river to the
Explorer’s Inn. No lie ins
here, the alarm went off at
5am, we filled up on the
delicious breakfast, and
then the gum boots and
rain-proof punchos were
put on for the trek into the
jungle to inspect the
animal, plant, and insect
life.
By day 13 the time had
come to take on the
daunting Inca Trail. I was
both nervous and excited.
The hardest part was ‘Dead
Woman’s Pass’ but
somehow I managed it.
There were many early
starts, a few blisters, and a
lot of pain to contend with
but getting the first glimpse
of the magical Machu
Picchu, the Lost City of the
Incas, made it all worth
while.
Peru is a fascinating
place, full of wonder,
culture, spectacular
landscapes, and friendly
people and should be on
any avid world explorer’s
agenda. Visit Peru and you
will never want to leave.
For those who only have
about three weeks to make
this trip of a lifetime and
who may be considering
travelling on their own then
booking a tour with
companies such as Tucan
Travel would be
recommended. For more
information regarding
tours to destinations
worldwide then log onto
www.tucantravel.com.
76 January 14 2010
LIFE STYLE
2010 SALE NOW ON
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