This trip was inspired by Kenneth who chatted with Joe P about his family’s trip to Peru. Turns out all six of us could make this trip, so here we are, after a lot of planning by Anne. One big discussion has been altitude sickness. Even though we felt fine during our Rockies trip, most of the time we spent at elevation of 7000 or so feet, with the highest point being on the way back to Denver at a bit over 11,000 feet. Anne and I will spend several days at Cusco at 11,000 feet, and the young people will hike for 2 ½ days at elevations that can be as high as 14,000 feet. We all have acetazolamide with us: I took my first pill a couple of hours ago.
7/7/2011 Thursday. Ellie and Kuau stopped by our house and we drove up to Newark together. I parked the car at EZ Way Parking at Crowne Plaza, at $9 a day a lot cheaper than what EWR charges. Spent a short time at the lounge and then went to the gate area to get some lunch. After we boarded the captain came on and said we would be delayed for about 30 minutes to make sure things were okay. Flight was quite full, I didn’t see any empty seats. Plane landed about 15 minutes behind schedule. Immigration and customs were a bit on the slow side, but definitely tolerable. Joe P & Jess waited for us at the luggage pickup area; they had gotten in about 20 minutes before we did. Joe P got some cash from an ATM, and I got some from a money changer. Jess negotiated a $25 per car rate, in Spanish, no less. Drive to the hotel took about 30 minutes, and was exhilarating – Chinese taxi drivers have nothing on their Peruvian counterparts. Hotel is small, should probably be called Casa La Castellana. Went out to supermarket (Metro) to buy chips and water, I got two pieces of baked chicken, which I enjoyed.
Hotel La Castellana sitting area.
So far the country has not left a great impression. Perhaps it is too much advanced reading, I don’t like it when I walk around worrying if someone is out to cheat me; to me that makes for a very unpleasant experience, even though prudence is probably a good thing to keep in mind.
Hotel: Hotel Le Castellena, Miraflores.
7/8/2011 Friday. Breakfast at hotel restaurant; ordered eggs and ham for S7 to supplement the rolls they provided for free. Afterwards walked to the ocean and the Larcomar area where there were lots of restaurants (many of them American chains such as Tony Roma’s). The area we are staying at, Miraflores, is one of the best in Lima; and it is just so-so. This is a rather poor country. Lunch at Astrid & Gaston, supposedly the best in Peru. Anne and I skipped the tasting menu at S170 each and would take 3 hours. We each had an appetizer and a main course instead (scallops and guinea pig; beef and lamb). The guinea pig tasted just like roasted suckling pig. We stuck around for a couple of hours and saw 8 of the 12 dishes, many quite large, and many seafood, including 2 ceviches and one sea urchin. I would grade my experience only average. Slept for an hour or so. Walked to an old pre-Incan pyramid ruins site that was built around 400 AD; it covers several blocks in each direction. Back in time for briefing by a local Gap Adventures representative. Turns out of the 16 or so people in the group, Anne and I are the only ones taking the Cusco stay option (i.e., we are not hiking the Lares Trek.) He reinforced my unease with the country with warnings about safety. Dinner at Wah Lok located next to a casino. The Chinese cuisine is okay, and could be passed off as American. Surprised to see very few Chinese wait staff. Joe P paid for dinner. Our taxi driver got a bit lost, and we got back 20 minutes after Anne did (we needed 2 taxis) which got her a bit worried.
Larcomar: Shopping, dining, and entertainment area by the ocean. The buildings seem to be too close to the cliffs.
Lovers' Park. The two figures are clothed.
Municipal Building. Anne was invited in for a quick tour.
Hotel: Le Castellena in Lima.
7/9/2011 Saturday. Got up early (again) to catch bus for airport at 6:30 am. Even with boarding pass issued, the process of getting luggage checked took 45 minutes. Had breakfast at McDonald’s: they don’t have US-style breakfast items. Flight LIM-CUZ was a little over an hour, and we passed over some interesting terrain. There are many zigzagging roads (or paths, I couldn’t tell), and the landscape is mostly barren as expected, with some notable verdant slopes. It was close to 11 am when we got to the hotel. After a rather long – and not so useful briefing process, including paperwork that looked very much like what we had been filling out before – the guide (he calls himself Edwin) took us on a short walking tour of the city, ending at the Plaza de Armes, surrounded by several churches. We had lunch at the Greens Restaurant, I had the Alpaca Tenderloin which tasted okay, albeit a bit on the salty side. We then decided to walk to St. Michaels Cathedral on a hill which overlooks the Plaza. It was a short distance away, but took us quite a while. It does have an interesting view of the city. We then went back to the hotel and I slept for a bit over an hour. Joe P, Jess, Anne and I decided to walk back to the Plaza to have dinner, while Ellie and Kuau went off to a fancier place. It took us a while to decide on the Inka Grill. I had the Stewed Lamb which was quite tender, although a bit too salty, seems to be a refrain here. Anne had the shredded chicken (Aji de Gallina), Jessica the Alpaca Medallions, and Joe P the beef sandwich (he really just wanted the fries). We also shared an Andean appetizer and a shrimp salad.
It got to be quite cold and my fingers were turning numb, so we finally relented and bought a couple of hats and a pair of gloves from a street vendor. Not very warm, but they help.
The Cathedral at Plaza de Armas. Anne & I would visit this place later during the trip.
Tubers, peppers, and other produce at the Greens Restaurant in Cusco.
A cobble-stoned path leading to St. Christopher's Cathedral. At this elevation we had trouble walking fast.
Ellie at the St. Christopher Cathedral.
Hotel: Prisma Hotel, Cusco.
7/10/2011 Sunday. It is amazing how easily one loses track of the day of the week. In any case, we all packed a small overnight bag and got on the bus for Ollantaytambo at 7:30 am. Despite the town’s reputation of not being punctual, we left pretty much on time – a slight holdup due to one traveler decision to borrow a pillow from the hotel, and the hotel insisting that she pay for it.
Along the way we stopped by a ruin (Sacsayhuaman) to snap some pictures, and then stopped at the Pisaq ruins for a while to tour the place. It is generally quite accessible, and we have a good understanding of how an Incan community was divided into sections: residential, farming, religious, and burial. Incans were mummified and put in a fetal position for burial (thus starting the process of rebirth). We then stopped by Inkalicious in Urubamba for a buffet lunch, a bit expensive at S36.
After checking into the hotel, we then toured the Ollantaytambo ruins. It is a rather massive structure. We climbed the 300 or so steps and got a good view of the town below, and heard a short talk on the religious practices around the Sun temple. The hotel room was very small and we had trouble finding room for the limited luggage we brought along. Also, at a relatively low altitude of about 9200 ft, it was still very exhausting to walk up and down the stairs.
The town of Ollantaytambo is evidently quite poor and evokes memories of some of the remote villages we visited around Dali, China. Lots of dogs running around, which worried me quite a bit.
Dinner at Hearts Café which serves reasonable food at reasonable prices. It was started by an Englishwoman and continues to donate all its profits for the betterment of the people in the area. Jess hasn’t been feeling well and didn’t eat much.
Women demonstrating local handicraft at the Gap Planeterra Project at Ccaccacollo. Gap Adventures has established several projects of this nature in the area, the men working as porters and the women in handicraft. There are about 750 people living in this village.
Sacred Valley.
Group photo at Pisaq Ruins.
Incans were buried in these holes on the side of the mountain.
The Ollantaytambo Ruins, a rather massive structure. It is right next to the "modern" town of the same name.
Hotel: Inka Garden, Ollantaytambo.
7/11/2011 Monday. We saw Joe Jr, Ellie, Jessica, and Kuau off this morning after breakfast. Jessica was still not feeling well, lets hope her condition improves. The guide reassured us they are in contact with HQ all the time and can evacuate (using a horse) if necessary. We saw the area time at work this morning: the bus that was supposed to show up ended up being 90 minutes late. I felt very tired despite a good nine hours sleep last night and slept through most of the trip, waking up occasionally due to the bumps in the road.
After lunch at a local-looking restaurant around Plaza de Armas, we visited the Inca Museum. We shared a guide with a few other people and spent about 75 minutes there, tracing area history from the first known humans (about 15,000 BC) to the colonial days. The Inca Empire flourished for less than 200 years although it had been in existence longer. A case could be made the Spanish were the harshest and cruelest colonists, treating their subjects as non-humans. Another interesting question is why the Incans were defeated so easily compared to, say, the Native Americans (different eras, I know.)
Dinner at the hotel restaurant. We decided to call it a night after shopping for groceries in a nearby “super” market. Very slim pickings.
Hotel: Prima Hotel, Cusco.
Mummy at Inka Museum. There was no information at the display.
Courtyard of Inka Museuem.
Steak Peruvian Style. At least that's Prisma Hotel's take on Peruvian sauce (green).
Hotel: Prima Hotel, Cusco.
7/12/2011 Tuesday. This morning we woke up late (7:15 am). After a breakfast of cut up pieces of hot dog, thin slices of ham and cheese, we headed out into the town square. First we visited the Museum of Regional History which has a better balanced view of the Incas and the Spanish (at least that’s what the Spanish will say). Then it was lunch at KFC (yes, the American fast food chain.) Their original recipe is a bit different. After lunch we stopped over to PeruRail and exchanged our ticket for a Vistadome train, now we have to leave an hour earlier tomorrow, at 5:40 am.
The tour bus actually showed up on time; I was the one that was late by a couple of minutes. The first bus was a hotel pick up; we drove by some nice hotels in the area, not for backpackers, I guess. And then the English group got put on another bus, there were about 14 of us, one family is from California (husband from Mexico, wife from Peru, but their two daughters don’t speak Spanish); we also had a couple of New Zealanders, a couple of Irish, and a father and son from Israel. The son just finished his army service and is doing a 6-month trip in South America, working his way up from Ushuaia. We went into The Cathedral, which the guide claimed to be the second most beautiful church in South America (number one is in Mexico City), it was started in the 1500s and took 109 years to complete, the roof having caved in several times due to earthquakes. A lot of the Catholic symbols used actually bear a lot of semblance to the Incan religion which revered the sun, the moon, and the earth. Symbols of Pacha Mama, pumas and snakes abound. We then went to a Dominican Monastery which was built upon the most sacred Inca site in Cusco, with temples to the sun, the moon, the stars, and the earth. This was followed by visiting several ruins of various significance, including Sacksayhuaman built with stones as heavy as 125 tons hauled from a quarry 12 kms away; we had stopped by for photos a few days earlier. If the guide’s quote of each ton requiring 15 people to pull, then 125 tons would require close to 2000. Incans didn’t have slaves, so these would be commoners doing it as a payment to the royalty.
Santo Domingo and Qoricancha Monument. The Catholic Church built an abbey around Incan temples to the sun, moon, and others.
Sacsayhuaman Ruins. The big rock is estimated to be 125 tons, requiring perhaps 2000 people to move.
Pukapukara Ruins. Incan priest would bathe in these springs every morning.
Tambomachy Ruins. They all look the same after a while.
Temple to Pachamama, the Earth Mother.
Afterwards we stopped by the obligatory tourist trap where 4’ x 6’ vicunya rugs sell for US$2,400, alpaca sweaters $90. A couple of groups bought some items. I frankly think cashmere feels much softer. In any case, it was around 6:30 pm when we got dropped off. We were too tired to not eat at the hotel restaurant, good thing they serve reasonable food (I had a huge serving of steak.)
It’s now 11:15 pm, better go to bed as we have to get up at around 4:30 am in the morning.
7/13/2011 Wednesday. We did manage to get up at 4:30 am in the morning and left on time for the Poroy Station. All this talk about being at the train station 30 minutes before departure was completely unnecessary, the train wasn’t announced until 5 or 10 minutes before departure, just like any other country I have been to. They did check our passports (which they didn’t do on the return trip the following day.) Poroy is the high point between Cusco and the Sacred Valley, it would have taken the train a much longer time to make the distance a car could make in less than 30 minutes. These Vistadome train cars have these large skylights/picture windows that make you aware of the mountains that frame both sides of the valley; some of the snowy peaks are quite beautiful. Comparison with the Rockies, which we visited a couple of weeks ago, is inevitable. I’d say the Andes wins out. Certainly in the elevation department, also in how sharp the peaks tend to be. We are quite close to the equator, so there is much greenery around us. The river Rio Urubamba we ride along is quite narrow, though, this being the dry season.
The train to MP is quite interesting. First of all, they have 3 classes: expedition, vistadome, and Hiram Bingham. If you think each train would contain a combination of all 3 classes, then you would be wrong. There are three trains daily, each with cars dedicated to one service. I assume it makes sense, but the logic escapes me. We took the Expedition back from MP to Ollantaytambo, so we missed the fashion show in the Vistadome service (I suspect it is to get the tourist to buy something). The Expedition and Vistadome services cost about $40 to $70 each way, and the Bingham service a whopping $300. The price is somewhat justified by the included ticket to MP and a dinner at the Sanctuary Lodge, which is right outside the MP Park.
The train is operated by the same company that runs the Orient Express (PeruRail is foreign-owned, which surprised me). And they probably want to maintain the romance of train travel. I think for most people travel is simply trying to get from Point A to Point B safely, whether you provide tablecloth service is not as big a factor as it used to be. Then again, it may just be me.
A couple of interesting things about our ride. To descend to the Valley the train had to make several switch backs, which meant going backwards several times. Interesting. And at some point the emergency brake was applied, my first thought was that the train hit an animal, or worse. The best I could tell is that there was a signaling problem and the engineer decided to make sure he didn’t go onto a single-lane track until things were cleared up. Indeed we saw an oncoming train soon afterwards. They did make a live announcement, in Spanish only.
The romance of train travel. The food doesn't quite deserve the place-setting, though.
Along the Urubambo River.
Vistadome Car.
It was after 10 am that we got to the Machu Picchu Station, in the town of Aguas Calientes. Anne wanted to get a taxi to the hotel, which turned out not to be possible as there are no taxis in town. Indeed the “street” contains several staircases, so it would be difficult for a taxi to get up there. One can understand why Machu Picchu stayed hidden for so long because of the market located right next to the station. You cannot see the sky! After we got our bearings, it was about a 10 minute walk to the hotel, most of it uphill, and easy since we are at 2500 meters or so. After checking in, we walked back down to get tickets to visit Machu Picchu (the ruins; MP can refer to the train station, the ruins, or the “old mountain” itself.) As we were standing in line, we discovered there is a student rate that is 50% off, so as I remained in line, Anne walked back up the hill to get her USC student ID. In vain, as only a certain form of ID is accepted. Wait was 30 minutes, there being only one agent at the window. We then walked over to the bus station to buy tickets for the bus. That was quite efficient as we got on the bus in no time. Total cost of admissions and bus ride is about US$60, at 2,500 visitors a day, MP collects US$55M or so a year, not taking into account concessions.
The bus ride from town to the MP Park took about 25 minutes, I lost count of how many switch backs but counted about 14 on Google Map. Most of the road is one lane, with passing spaces located at regular intervals. Often a bus would have to back up to let an oncoming one pass - makes for a thrilling ride. They do this during the dark hours of morning and evening also, no street lights. We first stopped by the snack bar to eat something, then it was off to explore Machu Picchu. It was started by the “local” Inca King Pachacutec in 1450, and abandoned in 1540, considered never completed. Guide Edwin (I am combining observations from this and the next day’s visit) said saying it is never completed is somewhat like saying New York City is incomplete as any town would always have construction going on and there were about 700 people living there.
The ruins are exactly like what you see in the photographs. We got our first full view soon after getting into the Park. We then walked up a rather steep path (again, with relative ease) to the Guard House where the view is even better. The walk to the Inka Bridge was quite long (maybe 45 minutes each way). It is basically a path built on the ledge of a cliff, with the bridge being four logs laid across a gap in the path, ropes work as handholds at the more dangerous locations. To Anne’s great relief, the bridge itself was closed. There were a couple of mountain climbers preparing to ascend the cliff (the following day, we were told by the more knowledgeable onlookers), and some National Geographic folks filming the event. We left the Park to take a short break and use the toilet (S1 per use), then went back in for an hour or so. It was late in the afternoon then, and the park gleamed under the setting sun.
First glimpse of the Lost City.
One of the more traditional shots of the Ruins.
The Inka Bridge. Four logs of wood over a gap. It was closed, much to Anne's relief.
The Guard House. Since the Park is located at a more reasonable elevation of 8,000 ft, walking up these steps wasn't that difficult.
Observations after this afternoon visit? Given all that I had read before, the Park was smaller than I expected, still impressive as we are talking about 15th Century engineering here. The lack of information and display is unexpected, unfortunate, and unforgivable. First, you have to look hard to find a brochure. In our case it was at the ticketing place (in town) where they were “hidden” under a pile of paper and guarded by security. The brochure says very little. We got lost multiple times, and when we thought we found the “Three Windows” house, we discovered it has four windows. Turns out “Tres Tostadas” refers to the three mountains that surround the City, not that there were three windows. The place wasn’t particularly crowded; the crowds were in the morning. During rush hour the following day, there were “direction” police that shout at people backtracking the busier routes.
When we got back to the hotel at around 6 pm, the trekking group was there; they had been back around 3 pm or so and many were sitting in the lounge area of the hotel to chat. Turns out there was some threat of a storm, so they did the second and third days’ hiking in one day (for a total of about 20 km) and ended up camping near the finish at the end of the second day. They all seemed none the worst for the physically challenging task they just completed. The worse off threw up, or were so exhausted that they had to ride the horse the tour operator brought along (Ellie among them); those who fared well complained of just headaches and sore legs. No one ate much, or could get much sleep. It seems after the hike the group bonded quite well together.
Dinner was at Pacha Mama Restaurant downtown. It was quite inexpensive. A singing troupe stopped by, which greatly annoyed me as the loud singing made conversation difficult. Some in the group enjoyed them, though.
This area’s weather is quite unpredictable, forecasts called for high in the 90s, and lows in the 30s. It got that cold, and there was no hot basin tap water, but didn’t get very hot during the day (80s, maybe). We were fortunate that it never rained.
Hotel: Pachacutec, Aguas Calientes.
7/14/2011 Thursday. Speaking of crazy, most of the group started at about 4:00 am to hike up the 500 meters or so from our hotel to the MP Park. And the path is straight up. Ellie, Anne, and others left at 3:30 am to catch the 5:30 am bus. Turns out the hikers actually were not allowed to start climbing the stairs until 4:45 am or so. All that on a cold, damp, misty morning. Reason? Because every day 400 tickets are given out for the hike up Huayna Picchu, the mountain that is the backdrop of MP the Lost City. Joe P, Jessica, and Kuau, who hiked up, got the tickets to do it at around 10 am; Ellie and Anne, who were on the third bus, missed the cut by about 10 people or so. Anne wasn’t planning to hike anyway, and Ellie didn’t mind not doing it, having seen enough Incan steps during the trek. Turns out everyone in the group except Ellie, Anne, myself, and Abita went up the mountain. The four of us tried to walk to the Sun Gate which was 1.5 miles from the main area, but only made it half way as the path was in the sun and the day was getting very warm (good excuses.) We turned around at about the half-way point at the gate with a great view of the MP Lost City.
After a half-hour introduction to the Incas and the Park in general, Guide Edwin led the group to a few specific locations, including the Sun Temple, the Pacha Mama Temple underneath it, the Three Windows, the Southern Cross (carved from an in situ stone), and the Sun Dial which is now off limits as many people thought it had magical powers and would touch it to be one with nature.
Thursday started foggy in the Park. The Sun Temple, and the Pachamama Temple is right below it.
All six of us.
Sundial. Many think it has magical powers and would touch it despite it's being cordoned off.
On the way to the Sun Gate (we didn't make it).
We made our way down to town at about 12:30 pm and had lunch again at Pacha Mama where the group’s duffel bags were stored. We chatted until 2:30 pm or so and boarded the train, this time stopping at Ollantaytambo, a bus picked us up and brought us back to Cusco at around 6 pm. The six of us went to dinner at Le Maison. We had a hearty meal, including garlic bread and ravioli.
On the way back to Cusco, via Ollantaytambo.
View of Matara Street from our hotel room.
Hotel: Prisma Hotel, Cusco.
7/15/2011 Friday. Joe P and Jess were off early to catch a connection at Lima to Buenos Aires. The four of us didn’t feel like spending either the day in Lima or at the Lima airport (our original flight would get us to Lima at 11:15 am or so, and leave for Newark at 10:30 pm.) Last night Anne talked to the Gap Representative and was told the airline offices were closed. This morning, after considerable time and effort, including a US$18 phone call, we managed to change our LIM-CUZ tickets to 4:20 pm, paying a rather hefty fee. We also hired a car and a guide through the hotel to visit two places we couldn’t squeeze in earlier: Moray and Salineras.
Moray used to be called Apu Moray but the Spanish took away the Incan reference to God of “Apu”. It was rediscovered in 1940 or so. It is located about 1 hr 30 minutes from Cusco, including some short cut where I was worried the van would be stuck or would break down. It was a series of terraces built around a non-active volcano, and each tier represents a microclimate for different tubers or grain. I would refer to it as a “seed factory” where other fields can make use of the different species bred in the different microclimates. Salineras, or the salt fields, are still in use. It consists of a collection of 2500 or so salt fields (or plots) that are passed from generation to generation, and is today run by a cooperative of owners from the nearby village of Maras. Each field yields 8 crops a year (monthly, except the rainy ones), and can produce revenue of S3,000. The total production can be as high as S75M. One is set if one owns between 10 and 20 of these.
Moray Ruins. Each tier would be a different microclimate. Probably used as a seed factory.
Salineras. 2500 or so salt fields owned by a cooperative at the Village of Maras.
The van dropped us off at the airport, check-in for the changed flight was quite easy. At LIM we hanged around for a bit over an hour before we could check in, and afterwards we ate and spent some time at the Sumaq lounge in the Lima terminal. The lounge was extremely busy and had signs saying it was the “best” lounge in the rating of certain travel organizations. Evidently “best” is thrown around Peru pretty much like it is thrown around in Australia.
Our return flight had a few babies, and could they scream! That kind of lung capacity might explain why many people from that region are good runners. Guide Edwin said the record for running a marathon distance on the Incan trail in a little over 3 hours. There are no famous marathoners from this region, as far as I know.
7/16/2011 Saturday. We were stopped by Newark Customs to have an agriculture check, which is like an old lady getting additional screening from the TSA. Luckily I threw out the nuts I couldn’t finish on the trip. When I got home I found out to my horror Joe P had put a bag of trail mix in the luggage he asked me to bring back. It is unopened, and is from whole foods.
I joked that this Peru Trip is a “once in a lifetime experience,” one should avoid experiencing it a second time, unless one books the luxury option. The most frustrating thing is that I came back to the USA without much additional overall understanding of the Incas. Even with all my complaints, MP and Cusco are worthwhile places to visit.
One must make a remark about Peruvian toilets. On the first day the Gap briefer told us we should not throw toilet paper into the toilet. And in many hotel rooms there is a notice saying the practice is prohibited. They never mention “soiled” toilet paper, so there is some wriggle room. If it applies to soiled toilet paper, then the concept is a bit tough. I won’t say what I did, as this is a clear no-win situation. Nonetheless, every time I flushed the toilet, I worried if it was going to clog up and overflow.
Right now (3:30 pm Saturday) I am trying very hard not to fall asleep. I don’t sleep well in planes generally, and this “limited recline” exit row seat was very uncomfortable. The babies screaming didn’t help.
Anne and I are glad we got to spend a week or so with the children. And looking back, the overall experience would bring back many memories, and that’s the point of a family vacation. As for Peru, the good news would be the tourist industry can only improve as long as the country remains stable.
For more photos from the trip, go to my Picasa Album.
For more photos from the trip, go to my Picasa Album.
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