Peru - PART IV - Machu Picchu

To begin – Today was April 26. Today was Jason’s Birthday. Today, Jason turned 34.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JASON!

So, climbing up a mountain the day before going up to visit ruins on top of a really huge mountain might not have been the brightest of ideas. I was sore, and Machu Picchu has stairs. A lot of stairs.

But it was also pretty awesome. We took the backtracker train up, and they gave us snacks. It took about an hour and a half. Along the way, you could see other ruins dotting the landscape, the mountains, farms… then we loaded onto buses and rode switchbacks up, up, up to the site.

You can see the terraces in the back there.
This is part of the Inca Trail.

We took a guided tour through Machu Picchu, and saw pretty much all of it, even if we didn’t set foot on all of it. It was tiring, even for people who didn’t go climbing the day before.

The side of the mountain on which Machu Picchu sits.

The other side: Buildings, terraces, and
the faultline running down the middle.

We had a little time to do what we wanted after the tour, so we decided to sit down and enjoy the scenery and eat a little lunch. Many other people were settling down on the terraces and just hanging out or, in some cases, taking naps, so... But, a few minutes later, a man in uniform came by with a whistle and shooed us away.

That was the cue that it was probably time to start looking for the exit. It wasn’t far from where we were, and we were soon on a bus winding down the mountain, then back on the train. One of our New Friends bought Jason a birthday cerveza.

Peru - PART III - Via ferrata and zipline

Broke character today and did something new, that was like hiking, but not at all like hiking.

 

A via ferrata is a route up a mountain made with fixed cables, ladders, bridges, and so on. The via ferrata we climbed was mostly ladders and cable, with one suspension bridge (some cable to stand on and some cable to hold on to – I use “bridge” loosely). We went up 400 meters  (about 1312 feet). And then we ziplined back to the bottom.

We brought along a friend we had met previously, and made some new friends. Also, I may have found a beer I don't despise.

It was an awesome experience, and though I'm afraid of high places, it wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. The only part I didn't like was the last - walking backwards down the last bit of the mountain. The climb wasn't all that difficult - aside from the few parts where I wasn't quite tall enough to reach some parts and had to get creative with my jumping. I was afraid for my knees, and wore a brace halfway up - but it kept slipping down, so I admitted defeat and removed it. Aside from a bit of a twinge, however, I didn't have any problems. And the ziplining was hella fun. I definitely want to try that again.

- Sacred Valley Via Ferrata & Zip Line

Peru - PART II - Chinchero, Ollantaytambo

We flew into Cuzco, then took a bus through the city and up to Chinchero, where we had lunch and sampled guinea pig. I did not like the taste of it at all. Jason did not like that it had lots of little bones.  Then we watched a weaving demonstration, and picked up a table runner and cooed over the little guinea pigs (who will one day be someone’s special meal).

Then it was off to Ollantaytambo, home of the 15^th century refrigerator. I was not feeling too great by this point, so Jason and I split up. He went with a group going up to the top of the ruins, and I stayed with a group touring the bottom. We each had a camera, so it was all good. I heard him shouting from way up high, and we got grainy pictures of each other from a distance.

Unfortunately, because we divided forces, we were met with a tiny problem. One of the buses was ready to move out, and the group on the mountain was still coming down. Normally, I would have just waited for Jason, but we left some of our things on the seat in the bus, and I didn’t want someone else to have to deal with it, or go through it. So off I went, to see a pottery demonstration all on my lonesome. Jason arrived a bit later, and we picked up a few things from artist – a couple of masks for the kids and a cup for Jason.

Our hotel was nice, but we had to sleep in separate beds. That was strange.

Peru - PART I - Lima

Starting point: SeaTac to Atlanta, Atlanta to Lima. We stood around in the Lima airport for ages, as we waited for others in the tour to arrive. Finally departed by bus to the hotel. We were tiiiired.

The hotel – Antigua Miraflores - was lovely. Our room was huge. We had a nice big bed to share, a huge bathtub. There was water in the bathroom, and water in the halls, which was totally awesome. Because we were drinking water like fish, but you can’t drink water from the tap in Peru. It has be bottled. This hotel was the only one that provided water for refilling our bottles.

Our first day in Lima started with breakfast in the hotel. Jason had a tamale, and I had little plate of eggs. There was also orange juice, but as I am allergic, Jason drank mine. I also had – I think – coffee. Maybe. Or something close to it. I drowned it in milk and sugar, so it probably didn’t matter in the long run.

Then we all loaded onto a bus and took a little tour of Lima.

After the tour, we had the rest of the day to ourselves. We did a bit of exploring, and Jason was eager to try ceviche, so we hunted down a restaurant recommended to us by our tour guide. We actually walked by the restaurant twice before “finding” it. The name on the door was not the name we were given. Ceviche is very good, but cooked with lemon juice – and like oranges, I am allergic. L I had prawns, and my first taste of Inka Cola.

After, we decided to backtrack to some ruins of a clay temple we had just glimpsed on the bus tour – Huana Pucllana. They weren’t too far from the hotel, and it would be a good way to end the day. We arrived, paid for our admission, requested an English guide, and were told it would be a few minutes. We checked out the tiny little museum they had at the admissions area, then lingered around out front. After a while - much longer than “a few minutes” – we sat down on one of the benches. Other groups came down from the pyramid and left. Those of us waiting … waited. Eventually, one man demanded his money back. I’m not even sure how long we waited – maybe twenty, maybe forty minutes – before a guide came out and confessed that he thought he had done his last tour for the day. But he led us into the ruins.

Things to note:

•  You can't flush TP down the toilet - it goes in a little bin by the toilet. It took a little getting used to. And when we got sick... Oh my.
• Can't drink the water, either - gotta buy bottled. And you need a lot of water in high elevations. The tour did provide a free bottle each day.
• No eating unpeelable fruits or veggies or lettuce, either (unless they are cooked).
• They will take American money - but only if it's in really good condition. And they can be PICKY. Stock up on brand new bills, and if you can, don't even fold them.
• Take a shot every time Jason whips out a travel guide to look up a location, a route, or a place to eat.
• Take two shots every time Jason says, "I read it in a book..."