The Andes condors have landed
We have now been in Germany for a week and have eaten many things that we really missed on our trip: especially BREAD WITH CRUST! But from the beginning. After crossing Chile at the Arica (Chile) - Tacna (Perú) border crossing, we travelled back to the Sacred Valley in Perú. We liked it so much on our first visit that we wanted to end our trip here. There are also plenty of sights to see, of which we were able to visit a few more. We also wanted to get some rest and relaxation before travelling back to Germany. We also wanted time to reflect on our trip, to have a little time for ourselves and to recapitulate everything we learnt on this trip, who we met and how many great moments we were able to experience. Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
In between, we visited the ancient mountain fortress of the Incas in Pisac. There is a sun temple here and it is assumed that the Incas studied the sun and its course in the firmament here. There is also the tried and tested Inca terrace system to provide the local population with food. Here are a few pictures😊
In addition to Pisac, Ollantaytambo was also on our list. On our first visit to the Sacred Valley, we only drove past the village in the direction of Ivochote to visit Yonathan's cocoa plantation (keyword: PERÚ PURO). This time, however, we travelled there specifically to see the village with its approx. 2,000 inhabitants and the ruins. Most tourists know Ollantaytambo as the last stop on the train from Cusco to Machu Picchu. We remember it as the last big town before the 4900 metre (?) crossing of the Andes into the rainforest. The Inca site was probably used for religious and military purposes. The usual terraces and many breathtaking buildings can also be found here. It is amazing to see what craftsmanship the Incas had mastered and how the buildings and temples were constructed with stones that were sometimes metres high and wide and perfectly fitted. On site, we met the management of PERÚ PURO, Dr Arno Wielgoss and Dr Frauke Fischer. They were on their way back from an on-site visit to the cocoa farmers in Ivochote. It was a great short encounter, especially because our visit to PERÚ PURO was formative for our trip. Here are a few impressions of the ruins and the town.
We also got in touch with a real traditional weaver from Chinchero through Nathalia, who we met back in Medellín (Colombia), and of course we visited her 😊 She showed and explained everything to us. From processing the raw wool, spinning it by hand, dyeing it with natural colours, spinning double threads to the final processing. For example, together with her family, she produces everything you can imagine, from clothing, i.e. hats, gloves, scarves and socks to blankets and pillowcases. While cooking quinoa soup together, we talked for a long time about the fact that it is not easy nowadays, as the traditional tourist markets are flooded with industrial goods and sometimes even goods from China, and genuine handmade products are unfortunately losing out here too. But she is not discouraged and loves her work, just like her mother and before her grandmother did. Here are a few impressions of our meeting 😊 We now have beautiful handmade cushion covers made by her in our bedroom.
We then travelled back to Düsseldorf via Lima and Madrid, where we landed on time with Iberia at 11:20. After all our luggage had arrived and we had loaded everything up, we went through customs and out towards the bus... But wait? WHO'S STANDING THERE? A couple of lovely people greeted us at the airport and picked us up 😊 Thank you so much for the great surprise! We were very happy to see you again at the airport 😊
Well, now we've been back in Germany for a week. Life is starting up again. Doctor's appointments are coming up, meetings need to be held, Artur has to change his clothes completely after losing 26kg of body weight on the trip and lots of other things that we've been putting off until now also need to be done. But hey, after one trip is before another 😉 Who knows where it's going....
This is the official end of our journey. This was the last article and this website will be set to read-only in 90 days. To keep your data safe, each of you will be deleted from the newsletter subscription in 30 days. But you can also unsubscribe yourself if you don't want to wait that long.
Goodbye Klaus!
As some of you have already realised, one of our biggest fans and followers of our trip, Klaus, Tatyana's uncle, was unfortunately unable to experience the last two stages of our journey. He passed away three days before our return, which is why we would like to dedicate this last article to him. Klaus was a great person who was very close to us. Before our trip, he got us extra Malaysian money so that we had some starting capital, and he told us what we should definitely see in the countries before we even knew about any sights. We held regular video conferences with Klaus from all kinds of places until three weeks before our return. We were in close contact throughout the trip. He pointed us to YouTube channels where we could get more information and so on. Klaus, we will miss you and you will always be with us in our hearts and minds. Thank you for everything, thank you for your help and support in the past. No matter where, how or what your next stage of life may be, we wish you the very best and we will certainly cross paths with you at some point and somewhere, be it as living beings on earth, in water, in fire or in the air 😊Because we have learnt from the shamans in Peru that people who are particularly close to each other will meet again after reincarnation.
Wirklich, wie wenn ein gutes Buch zu Ende geht, man wird etwas wehmütig und hofft auf den nächsten Serienteil oder die Fortsetzung der Staffel.
DANKE für eure wunderbaren herzerwärmenden Berichte – und danke unbekannterweise an Klaus, der euch ein so treuer, ferner, naher Begleiter war.
Alles Liebe!
Liebe Tatjana, lieber Artur,
willkommen zurück, ich freue mich, dass Ihr offensichtlich wohlbehalten wieder zu Hause angekommen seid, bin allerdings auch ein wenig wehmütig, dass es nun keine Blogbeiträge mehr gibt, denn ich habe Eure Reise mit großem Interesse verfolgt und mich über die tollen Fotos und Artikel gefreut, viel gelernt und bin fast ein wenig mitgereist. 26 kg Artur? Das ist beeindruckend und ich hoffe, es geht Dir gut. Auf jeden Fall siehst Du blendend aus! Beide strahlt Ihr eine Zufriedenheit aus und ich kann mir gut vorstellen, dass diese Reise Euch nachhaltig geprägt hat. Vielleicht kommt ja tatsächlich irgendwann das Buch zur Reise? Ich würde mich freuen!
Ganz liebe Grüße, Christel
Hallo Christel,
Es geht mir sogar sehr gut, danke ☺️ das Leben fühlt sich 26kg leichter an ☺️
Ein paar Kilo werde ich aber zunehmen. Ich möchte ein paar Muskeln aufbauen und viel mehr Sport machen, verglichen mit vor der Reise.
Liebe Grüße
Artur
Schön das ihr gesund und um viele Erfahrungen reicher wieder in der Heimat seid! Is auch schön, oder? Freue mich auf eure Berichte…