02/28 - back to Lima

We had to go back to Lima, to catch our international flight back to SFO. It was raining, for the first time since the day we arrived in Cusco. We were very lucky, weather-wise, considering that it was the rainy season there. We took a cab from our hotel to the small airport in Cusco, and took a 1-hr flight on a small jet to Lima (Star Perú flight 2I 1182, seat 5A). They fed us a sandwich and a muffin. We got to Lima in the early afternoon, and took a cab to the Miraflores district.

The Flying Dog stored our bags for us, and we had a drink there. Then we walked around. Our plane was leaving at 1:15am. We planned to catch a cab around 9:45pm, to be safe. At dinner, I had ceviche for the first time; it was delicious and extremely spicy. After eating it, I felt sort of high, the way one sometimes does after consuming large quantities of very spicy food. It was around 9pm.

Jim wanted to spend our last 45 minutes at an internet café. I wanted to go back to the market (Mercado de Pulgas) in Parque Kennedy. So, we split up, and agreed to meet back up at cab-time (9:45pm). While walking to the market, I saw a woman feeding the cats in the park. I stopped to take a photo. So I guess I still had my phone in hand when I walked into the market. A woman started massaging me with her wares [she was selling massage tools]. My hands were full, and I was distracted. I think I set my phone down on her table. I looked at her wares. She massaged my neck, back, and legs with 3 or 4 different tools. I bought some stuff, and continued wandering through the market.

It wasn't until I met up with Jim, 45 minutes later, that I realized my phone was missing. I went back to look for it, but it was gone. We stayed as long as we could. The language barrier was never so frustrating. I was in tears, and some people were very helpful, especially a girl named Franci from the Arte Objeto booth. She spoke a little English, and gave me a sweet card when I had to leave to catch the plane. The card reads:

"From the Peruvian people: All your feelings, good moments in our country 

will be preserved in our memory with happiness.    -Peru"

Photos of Parque Kennedy's cats and Mercado de Pulgas, courtesy of Google image search.

So, that's how I lost the 700-or-so photos from my Peru trip. Jim had about 200 on his camera, which softens the blow, but it is still a tragic loss. And it was completely my fault. My memory is bad, and that's why I take so many photos. I have written this blog, while the trip is still relatively fresh in my mind. I hope it will help me retain my memories of this trip.

02/27 - Cusco: Inca ruins tour

We visited the above-ground portion of Qoricancha, which was the main temple in Cusco-- the center of the Inca world. Qoricancha was built on pre-Incan ruins, and the Spaniards built a Catholic church on top of it. They built churches on many sacred sites, so there is an abundance of elaborate colonial cathedrals in Cusco. Incas considered rainbows to be a sign of connection between our world and the world of the gods. The flag of Cusco is a 7-color rainbow, our guide was quick to inform us, unlike the "gay flag," which has only 6. "Some tourists think Cusco is a city full with gays. This is not true." In the Temple of the Rainbows, we saw the smallest known stone in Incan ruins. It was a little bigger than the end of my finger.

Then we went to the temples on the hills just above Cusco-- the temples of the  Sacsayhuamán complex (sounds a LOT like "sexywoman"), which include Tambomachay, Pukapukara, Q'enqo. The sacred, natural rock slab around which the latter site was built is incredibly cold, all the time. This helped preserve bodies that were placed on it for mummification. At the main Sacsayhuamán site, we saw the largest known stone found in Inca ruins. It's more than 7 meters high. 

The original Cusco of the Incas ("Qosco") was constructed in the shape of the sacred Puma --protector of the middle kingdom of man & earth.The temples of upper Cusco were in the head of the puma, and the main temple, Qoricancha, was near the tail. The Condor protected the high kingdom of sun & sky, and the Serpent protected the lower kingdom.

It was our last night in Cusco. We had dinner at a slightly-more-expensive-than-usual restaurant; (I made Jim take his hat off, and everything). I had blue corn chica. It was warm and thick and sweet. 

02/26 - Cusquenian Museums

Small cacao tree replica in the loft at Choco Museo.

We had planned to go to a bunch of museums around Cusco on this day. That worked out pretty well for us. Since Jim was still recovering from being sick, it was good that we had such a mellow day of walking around Cusco and visiting museums. We took some photos, but they are lost. A lot of museums didn't allow photography, anyway.

These are the places we visited:

• Museo Histórico Regional
• Choco Museo
• Museo Municipal de Arte Contemporáneo
• Museo de Arte Popular (folk art)
• Museo de Sitio de Qoricancha

My "Chanel" sunglasses fell off my head, when I was leaning backward over a balcony to get a photo at the Contemporary Art Museum. They were broken for the rest of the trip. The Qoricancha museum has mummies and lots of skulls. Incas practiced trepanning surgery, and artificial cranium deformation.

We got a room, for our last 2 nights in Cusco; this time at Yanantin Guest House, which was, by far the best place we stayed during our entire trip.

Much of the artwork we saw depicted the execution of Túpac Amaru II.
(And, yes, Tupac Amaru Shakur was named for him).

02/25 - back to Cusco

So, we took the morning train back to Ollantaytambo. Jim got very sick just before we left the train station, and he was miserable the whole ride. I paid s./0.50 to use the bathroom at Ollantaytambo, then we hired a mini-bus (s./15 each) back to Cusco.

Jim waited at our travel-lady's office, feeling very ill, while I walked around looking for a nice place. I got us a room at Hostal Pascana, on the same alley as our last hotel. It was a beautiful place, but it turned out there was no TV. Jim was too sick to need one, anyway. It was very early afternoon when we checked in, so, after Jim crawled into bed, I walked out in search of lunch. It took me a while to find a place I liked: Bar Cusco, on a small plaza, where I ate outside. The weather was gorgeous, and I had a leisurely, very filling meal: appetizer, soup, main dish, and drink for s./15. I got one to-go for Jim. He nibbled on it a little later that night, and then continued sleeping. He was feeling somewhat better in the morning, thankfully.

02/24 - Machupicchu

Rio Urubamba rushes alongside the road from Machupicchu Pueblo to the foot of Machupicchu. We walked alongside it, stopping frequently to marvel at the strength and sound of the raging river. Then we walked back into town to buy our entry tickets and bus tickets. One can, of course, hike up, but it's very steep. One also can take the Inca Trail and come through the gates at the top, but that involves camping and a guide, and a lot of expense. We really, unfortunately, did not have the time. Maybe some day. Anyway, the admission was $128 each, and the bus ticket was another $18.50 each, but we got there.... and it was Machupicchu!

We walked around all day, getting exhausted and a little sunburned. We have some photos, because Jim was using his camera. We were not able to explore every part, of course, but we got to see a lot, including wild chinchillas! It was fun to go without a guide. We stayed until nearly closing time (5pm), and then took our bus back to town.

Back in town, we went to a bar that offered 4 drinks for s./20, plus free guac & chips. We each got a Pisco Sour and a Coca Sour. Jim complained that something smelled like feces. I never smelled anything. We ate all our chips and drank all our drinks. Later, we went to dinner at a random restaurant, where we watched a portion of the Oscars-- greatly condensed, and in Spanish. Jim wasn't feeling well. He got a hamburger. Then bed.

02/23 - to Machupicchu Pueblo

We got up early and followed our map of Cusco to the area (near Av. Grau & Pavitos) where "Jenny" had told us we would be able to find a bus to the Ollantaytambo train station. We stopped to eat breakfast at a small cafe along the way. It was a huge plate of rice with a big hunk of cordero [lamb], smothered in gravy-sauce, served with bread and coffee. It's fairly traditional breakfast fare, and was very cheap.

Then we found a mini-bus (via a guy was waving people down on the sidewalk) that was making the 2-hour trip to Ollantaytambo. He charged us s./10 per person, and, when he had flagged down enough people to fill every seat in the van, we left. There was a Scotswoman on board, and we spoke with her about her work. She moved to Peru, recently, to continue her volunteer work with an organization that helps children in the remote mountain villages.

I realized I had forgotten my sunglasses on the Sacred Valley tour bus, which was a bummer, so I bought an overpriced pair from a vendor when we got to the train station: s./25 for glasses that have "Chanel" engraved on the lens. Ha. We met a woman from Pennsylvania in the waiting room. She was with a tour group, but wishing she had come to Peru on her own, instead. We boarded our Inca Rail train, and traveled another hour to Machupicchu Pueblo / Aguas Calientes.



When we got there, we found Hostal Inti Quilla, where we would stay for the next two nights. We walked around the small town. It's very pleasant there. There are no vehicles on the streets-- just buses on the edge of town, which go only to Machupicchu's gate and back. People were playing on the fútbol field all day and night. We went to the hot springs. It was a little disappointing. The water was just barely warm, and it was incredibly crowded and rowdy and murky. We ate dinner and went to bed.

02/22 - el Valle Sagrado de los Incas

We took an all-day tour to the Sacred Valley, visiting 3 sites with our guide, Jesus. He wore a big leather cowboy hat, and called for "Jesus-Group" (pronounced American way) to gather ["Lezgho!"] when it was time to leave each site.

PISAC: (Above Left): Inca graves in the mountainside. They were buried in the fetal position.
(Above Right): Lovely stream at Pisac ruins.

Lunchtime: Giant corn & parrots!

OLLANTAYTAMBO: (Left): Jesus explains it all. (Above): Farming terrace ruins.

 Photos from the bus.

CHINCHERO: Colonial Catholic church, built on Inca ruins, built on pre-Inca ruins.

The bus got us back to Cusco around 6pm. I walked to book a room at "Loki," which I had heard about from a guy, Amir, who we met on the boat to Isla Del Sol. Jim went to get tickets for some future adventures. When I met up with him, our travel-lady, "Jenny," recommended a cheaper and closer hotel: Hostal Porta, on Ahuacpinta, which is basically an alley, but it's a nice alley, along the back wall of Qoricancha. We took our bags there, then went out into Cusco a bit. We probably ate something, somewhere, but I don't remember. We walked through the Plaza de Armas and took photos of the Inca statue/ fountain.

02/21 - Cusco

 We got to the bus station in Cusco around 4am. We didn't have a plan or a place to go. Jim foraged for coffee and sandwiches, and I found a guy whose hotel, a few blocks from the plaza, and would let us stay the rest of the "night" (early morning) for free, as long as we payed for the coming night. So we got a cab there: Tupana Wasi Inn. The room was nice enough, but the TV was sketchy; we had to jiggle it's sparky plug to make it work.

We slept for a little while, then got up to explore Cusco, which was the capital of the Incan empire. We had breakfast at a semi-pricey café. I had delicious crêpes. They were garnished with starfruit, which I realized I'd never eaten. It tastes like SweeTarts! (Or, possibly, SweeTarts tastes like it.) In either case, it made my mouth go all puckery, and it was yummy.We walked around the city. It was a little overcast, but it was still nice. We got huge sandwiches and juices at a place called Frutalix Jugateria. Their juice menu is bigger than their food menu, and they serve it in chalices like the ones at Novare. We had dinner at The Fallen Angel, on a recommendation from a friend via Facebook. It was very impressive.

02/20 - back to Peru

 We woke up on Isla del Sol and had a good Americano breakfast, [with a looong wait,] at the same restaurant where we had had dinner the night before. It was right near the pier, (luckily) since we had to board the boat back to Copacabana as soon as we were done eating.

We rented a locker for our bags when we got back to Copacabana. We wandered around in the nice weather, took photos, and shopped. I had to pay 1 Boliviano every time I had to pee, which was often. We saw the priest blessing car engines in front of the Cathedral. The Cathedral, itself is very impressive, but no photography allowed, so I found some photos online.

We took a 6pm minibus back to Puno, Peru. The border crossing was a lot easier on the way back. And Jim took my photo with the giant Peru sign and the giant beer. We gained an hour on the trip. I paid 50 centimos to use the bus station bathroom. Then we took a 9:30pm all-night bus to Cusco, with first-class seats that allowed us plenty of sleepy-stretchy legroom.

02/19 - Isla del Sol

 We got up early and took a boat to Isla del Sol. The boat ride was long, but the weather was perfect. And, when we got there, the island was perfect. We hiked several hours, from Yumani to Challa Pampa. It was very hot, sunny, and beautiful. The terrain is steep, and there are views of the Andes from the south shore-- where we started. Lake Titicaca is at 3800m (12,467ft), and the highest part of the island is 4100m (13,451ft). [That is really high!] The hike up was tiring, but I think we did well, considering that Jim's place in California is only at 800ft or so. The path we chose took us severely uphill until lunchtime. We stopped to eat at a lodge surrounded by stone walls and elaborate terraced gardens, with an astounding view of the bay below.

The rest of the hike was gentler. We got to Challa Pampa in the late afternoon, and room in a stone hut with a thatched roof, at "Casa de Alfonso." It reminded me of our quarters in Colca Canyon, but there was a bare electric light bulb.We had drinks at a nice outdoor cafe in the tiny village, and went to bed soon after dark. I still had a cold, and I'd gotten a little sun.

02/18 - Copacabana

In the morning, Jim brought flowers, because I was coming down with a cold. When I finally got myself out of bed, we walked to the shore of Titicaca. The main street slopes toward it; it's quite scenic. We had fresh orange juice, on lounge chairs, in the sunshine. We took photos, but most of them were on my camera. There was a place that rented yellow-ducky paddle boats. I was too sick to try one. We did some shopping and internet cafe-ing. But mostly, we just wandered around the small city. The cathedral was stunning. The festivities were endless. The markets were colorful, and cheaper than Peru. The alleys and walls near the plazas reeked of urine. Men were fall-down drunk on the arms of their wives. Everybody was wearing shimmery, sparkly costumes. Many of them matched. We even saw one red-white-&-blue cowboy. Children were tending a lot of the shops while their parents were dancing and drinking at the festivals. We got dinner at a "Thai" restaurant where a 9-yr-old boy was the only person on staff. We waited at least an hour for the food; possibly longer, and it was pretty bad. But, at least it was memorable. 

02/17 - Uros, then Bolivia

We got up early and took a boat tour out to the floating islands of the community of Uros, in Lake Titicaca. The islands are made of reeds, and more are stacked on top every 2 weeks to maintain them. As soon as we hopped off the boat, each islander grabbed a few tourists and dragged them into their hut. The woman who grabbed us was named Alicia. She dressed us up in native clothes and encouraged us to take lots of pictures. This, it turned out, was a ploy to acquire loyalties for when it was then time for all the islanders to sell their wares at us.

Our boat took us back to Puno, and we caught a 2:30pm bus to Copacabana, Bolivia-- the other side of Lake Titicaca. The border-crossing was confusing. There was a lot of paperwork, and we didn't know US citizens have to pay $135 to cross. But we got through, and it was worth it. The lake is deeper and wider on that side. Puno is on a smaller bit, but Copacabana felt more like being on the ocean. However, it was getting dark when we arrived, so we didn't go down to the water until morning. We arranged two nights at "Hostal el Dorado," which would not be very good. There was no shower curtain, so the lukewarm water sprayed all over the bathroom. At night, the floor was very cold, and was always soaking wet. Of course, we didn't know that when we checked in.

I was feeling sick, so we got cold medicine at the pharmacy below the hotel, then went exploring. There were 5 or 6 stages with live music, all around the main square. Everyone was drinking and dancing and drinking. They would see an empty cup, and fill it from a large glass bottle of beer. Nearly everyone seemed to have big red plastic cases of these "Pilsen" beers. We ate a cheap meal from a curbside cart: salted meat slab -pounded flat & fried- served on white rice, with fried egg & pickled vegetables on top. A local man was slumping heavily on his wife, spooning rice into his mouth, eyes mostly closed. But he was far too drunk for eating, so all the rice was falling down his sparkly costume, back onto the plate in his lap. We also met a nice German couple, who highly recommended touring Isla del Sol. I bought 10 cough drops for 1 Boliviano. Then we went to bed.

02/16 - from Arequipa to Puno

Our bus left Arequipa at 8am. I think it was about 5 hours to Puno, which is on Lake Titicaca. We wandered around some shops and found a reasonable hotel: Cielo Andina. This was the first place in which we had electric hot water. It was a tiny bathroom, with no ventilation, so it was always damp. There was a breaker above the toilet, which you had to flip on before showering. There were electrical wires coming out of the wall inside the shower. I found an image reminiscent of it online. (Except ours was sketchier, and the walls were a sickly salmon color). Our shower head had the same odd appendage as this one, though, and we never figured out what it was for. We spent the afternoon shopping and relaxing. The next few days were going to be hectic.

02/15 - out of the Canyon

We had to leave the lodge at 5am. We took a much more direct route out of the canyon. Pretty much directly UP. Thankfully, we started before the sun was up, and it was slightly overcast, so the heat did not murder us. It was absolutely exhausting, but we made it out. We even took a group photo of everyone at the top. Unfortunately, that photo was on my lost camera. But that's one memory I am not afraid of forgetting. It was quite a feat. I am pictured stretching my sore, sore legs.


  

We hiked to the nearby village of Cabanaconde for breakfast. There was a pair of parakeets in a cage by the bathroom. They were sweet. We got to wander around a bit while we waited for another tour group to join our bus. We met a local woman who was keeping a small courtyard full of chickens, cats, and guinea pigs. She brought them a backload of cornstalks, and the guinea pigs went crazy munching on them. It was incredibly cute, and surprisingly loud :).

Our bus went back through Yanque, and we stopped for about an hour at a hot springs there. The sun was shining, and the pools were clean and clear, (unlike some hot springs we would later experience.) It was nice to soak our tired, canyon-climbing bones. After the hot springs, we stopped for a huge buffet lunch in another small village. We got back to Arequipa around 6pm. I turned in pretty early, exhausted and sunburned. We were heading for Puno in the morning.

02/14 - Cañón del Colca

Our bilingual guide, Omar, and his Canadian girlfriend, Sophie, picked us up at 3am. We took a mini-bus to the pueblo of Yanque, right near the canyon. There, we had breakfast, and the man there brought out a baby alpaca. She was just 19 days old. I got to feed her, and took lots of videos with my phone, which, sadly is lost. When everyone walked back to the bus, I lingered behind. While I was packing up my things, she came over and started nuzzling me and I got to pat her a lot. She was much less shy after everyone else had left.

Then we went to Cruz del Condor, a point overlooking the canyon,  where one can always spot some condors-- the sacred protectors of the realm of sun and sky.  We saw a few, but they were too far away to take good photos. It was an absolutely amazing view. The place was also inundated by trinket vendors. We resisted buying very much there, but it actually turned out [we discovered later] that their prices were some of the best we would encounter in Peru.


So, then, we hiked a switchbacky 7km down Cañón del Colca. The vistas were stunning. We took countless photos. It was relentlessly sunny, and I got burned, despite multiple rounds of SPF 50. My knees were incredibly sore from the steep downhill climb, but it was worth it, and I healed up in a few days. We lunched in one of the villages near Tapay. Then, I fell asleep on the grass, right outside the toilet hut, having made no conscious decision to do so.

Then we had to hike several more hours downstream to our lodge at Oasis-Sangalle. I tried to swim, but the sun was setting, so it was too chilly in the pool. They gave us a lovely open-air dinner, lit by candles with plastic soda bottle reflectors. Then we went to sleep, in our stone hut with a thatched roof. We knew we'd have to get up before sunrise the next day, but that's not why we went to bed early. We couldn't have stayed awake if we'd tried.