Entre Puno e Cusco - Rota do Sol

From Puno to Cusco – Route of the Sun

nossa vista pela manhã - Our morning view from the hotel

eu - me

vista do lago para o hotel - View of Lake Titicaca from the hotel

Fomos de ônibus turístico primeira classe... bom não exatamente. Isto era o que se anunciava mas de início o ar condicionado já não funcionava.... O percurso normal é de 8 horas, porém devido a obras na rodovia levamos em torno de 9 horas. São 389 km passando por paisagens e sítios arqueológicos. A 1ª parada foi Pukara onde visitamos o museo, gostaria de ter visitado o sítio arqueológico, que é o mais importante e antigo centro ceremonial do Altiplano, caracterizado por una serie de plataformas escalonadas que se asemejan a una piramide chamada Calasaya, porém como o "tour" tem tempo limitado vistamos só o museu. 
Sugestão: pegue um tour privativo para escolher onde quer ir e quanto tempo ficar.

Este pareceu-me uma gincana, explico: quem completar o percurso mais rápido passando por todos os pontos ganha a competição...rsrs. O guia era puro stress, coitado, queria completar a tarefa!, brigava com o pessoal da obra da rodovia a cada parada para tentar abrir passagem.

There we were on the road to Cusco on what was advertised to be a first-class tourist bus… not exactly, though. To make a long story short, the air-conditioner didn’t work and the “VIP Service” wasn’t VIP at all, it was like any other regular tourist bus service. The journey, which usually takes 8 hours, stretched into a 9-hour ride due to works on the road. We traveled 389 km, enjoying the beautiful scenery and the view of archaeological sites.

Our first stop was Pukara, where we visited the local museum. I wish I could also have visited the nearby archaeological site, which is the most important ceremonial site of the Altiplano region and home to Calasaya, a pyramid-like construction with a series of platforms one built on top of the other. Unfortunately, since our “tour” was on a tight schedule, we had to leave right after visiting the museum.

Tip: book a private tour. That way, you control where you go and how long you stay.

  

It was like being on a field day competition. Let me explain: to win the “competition” you had to finish the course as fast as you could while also visiting the sights at every stop… hahaha! Our guide was really stressed out, poor guy; he was going for the gold medal! We had to stop several times because there were men working on the road, so the tour guide had to step out each time to convince them to let us through.

o caminho - the way

igreja de Pukara - Pukara church

Pukara

A 2ª parada foi  la Raya o ponto mais alto do percurso 3540(msnm) com uma vista maravilhosa. Porém é aquela parada turística 10 minutos para fotos e rumo a próxima "tarefa"! rsrs
3ª parada - almoço, foi divertido, comida boa, tinha música o local era simpático com as sempre presentes bancas de artesanato.

Our second stop was La Raya - at 3,540 meters high, it was the highest point of the route - where we were abe to enjoy great views. It was just like any other quick tourist stop, though. Ten minutes to take pictures and then goodbye! 

Our third stop was at a restaurant. The place was nice, the food was good, there was live music and, of course, vendors selling local crafts. 

La Raya - foto recomendada pelo guia!... - La Raya – Picture suggested by the guide!...

a vista realmente vale!!!! - The view really worth it!!!

se arrumando para o trabalho de posar para fotos - Girl getting ready to have her picture taken

a vovó esperando a ajudante - Grandma waiting for the assistant

quase pronta - almost ready

com a vovó, pronta para a foto! não curti isso - with Grandma, ready to the picture! Didn't liked it

o local do almoço - lunch place

almoçando no ritmo de Guantanamera - Having lunch to the sound of Guantamanera
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl9XO7GukQk

pronta para as compras! - ready to go shopping!

A 4ª parada foi o sítio arqueológico de Raqchi, este foi o que mais gostamos, são ruínascom mais de 90 metros de comprimento e 25 de altura contruídos de pedras e adobe que teria sido o santuário dos Deus Wiracocha. Apesar de tudo já dava para começar a entrar na cultura Inka, o guia apesar de stressado era muito entusiasmado nas explicações e devia estar uns 40 graus!!

Our fourth stop was at the archaelogical site of Racqui, the most enjoyable tour stop. Racqui is considered a sanctuary of God Wiracocha. Its ruins, made of stone and adobe, are 90 meters long and 25 meters high. This was our “introduction” to Incan culture. Even though it was really hot, about 40°C, our stressed out guide was really excited about explaining all there was to know about the site.Our last and fifth stop was at the Church of Saint Peter in Andahuaylillas. It was built in 1580 and is considered the “Sistine Chapel of Peru”. It’s really beautiful and worth the visit. 

a praça de Raqchi - Raqchi square

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raqchi

 

Por último paramos par visitar a Igreja de São Perdo de Andahuaylillas, construida em 1580 e conhecida como a "Capela Sistina do Peru". De fato é bonita, vale a visita.
Finalizada a gincana chegamos em Cusco!!! Se não fomos os primeiros colocados pelo menos coseguimos completar as tarefas... rsrsrs. uff

Neste dia jantamos no La Chicha, comida ótima e ambiente moderno, adoramos. Áliás difícil comer mal por lá, experimentamos de tudo e sempre boas surpresas. O único desapontamento o tal do Cui, embora seja o prato mais cobiçado pelo povo local não consideramos a melhor pedida.

Finally, we arrived in Cusco!!! Maybe we didn’t win the competition, but at least we finished the course, hahaha…

That evening we had dinner at La Chichia restaurant. The food was delicious, not to mention the contemporary ambience. We had a really great time there. The only dissapointment was the Cui, a typical dish, which didn’t really appeal to us. 

foi um dia cansativo, mas a recompensa veio rápido!!! - After a strenuous day, nothing beats a good meal!!!