Last Days in Peru

In the morning, we walked to the central market.  I think I've mentioned chicha before.  It's a Peruvian mildly fermented beverage made from corn.  Corn comes in many shapes and colors in Peru.  Here is a guy selling it from five-gallon buckets in the street.

The strawberries weren't overly sweet but were bursting with flavor.

The meat market did not resemble our local markets at home.  Meat does not come in neatly wrapped cellophane/styrofoam.  I remember a lady telling me at my coffeeshop that she only buys individual chicken breasts because she doesn't like to be reminded about the chicken.

For lunch we went to the restaurant Chicha, based upon several recommendations.  Unfortunately, the food wasn't that good, and it was probably the most expensive meal that we had in Peru.  Sometimes, it's the hidden gems and surprises that form the best memories.

We spent the afternoon buying gifts for friends and family back home and hanging out in the plaza.  Our time in Peru was coming to an end.  On the next morning, we flew to Lima.

And then it was a flight to Miami, where we were finally able to complete our Global Entry interviews in anticipation of future international travel.  Finally, we were on a flight for Chicago and driving back home.

We will be going to Mexico for a longer trip sometime next year  While I plan to write about it during our travels, I'll most likely post here after we return.

Machupicchu Pueblo

 

 We took a short bus ride from Machu Picchu to the small town of Machupicchu Pueblo.  From here, the train would take us back to Cusco.  But first it was time for a beer.  Never mind that it was only 10 a.m. Time is an abstract concept.

Our fellow hikers, G and P, headed off to nearby Aguas Caliente, a nearby hot springs.  Julia and I toured the town.  Julia had been looking for condors during the entire hike, but we didn't see one until we got to town.  The guys on top at Dead Woman's Pass said that we had just missed one.

 

As you might expect, the town is very touristy, being the gateway to Machu Picchu.  However,  the natural setting is spectacular.

 

We met for a late lunch with G, P, and Freddy.  I really enjoyed this time for relaxed socializing.  Freddy was much less formal--now that the hike was over, and he didn't have to worry about our well-being.  He shared some good stories, including the time that some guests invited him to participate in an Ayahuasca ceremony.

Eventually, it was time for us to catch our afternoon train.  Freddy got a well-earned tip from the four of us.  There were lots of enthusiastic hugs and handshakes.  

The train was comfortable.  We enjoyed the scenery through the windows while it was still daylight.   When darkness came, we passed time with a Portuguese couple sitting opposite to us.  The ice was broken in an unusual way. 

 They had also completed the Inca Trail but as part of their honeymoon. During the train trip, her engagement ring had slipped off her finger to the floor.  We all got down on our hands and knees to search.  Julia came up with the big rock. They were a delightful couple, sharing stories about Portugal and asking us lots of questions about America.

 

Masks required on trains

 

The train arrived late to Cusco.  Our tour company rep was waiting with a van to take us to our hotel.  We stayed up to take long showers but quickly fell to sleep afterwards. The next day would be a free day on our own, and then it would be time to fly back to Lima.

 

 

Inca Trail: Machu Picchu

 

Machu Picchu is one of the seven wonders of the world.  Visited by 1.5 million visitors each year, people from all over the world travel great distances by plane, train and then bus to be here.  Many are checking off bucket lists.  

During the week before hiking the Inca Trail, we talked to an older couple from Canada who had just returned from their hike.  We asked whether the journey to Machu Picchu had been worth it?  The guy laughed and said that the Inca Trail was amazing but not to fall in love with the idea that Machu Picchu was going to be some kind of climax to the hike.  

"It's amazing, don't get me wrong," he said.  "But it doesn't compare to the hike itself."  

We didn't really understand until we were standing at Machu Picchu.  In many ways, it wasn't different from the other ruins that we had seen:  just on a grander scale.  It did have a more colorful name.  Machu Picchu translates to "Old Penis." Most people in the U.S. also pronounce it wrong.  It's Ma-chu Pic-chu.

We were excited about the how it represented successfully finishing the hike.

We began touring the ruins at about 7:30 a.m.  The hikers had the entire place to themselves because people arriving by train/bus weren't allowed in until about 9 a.m.

We could have stayed there all day amongst the hordes of tourists. In truth, we were exhausted and didn't even last until 9 a.m.  As we left the control point, the first crowd of people from the early bus/train waited to get in.  We could hear their guides explaining that we had hiked the Inca Trail so had gained early entry.  There may have been a small measure of pride as our smelly bodies and grizzled faces shouldered through the crowd.  First stop was a real toilet.  Next stop was a beer. 

Early December Update

I had good intentions to finish the Peru posts, but then things came up to postpone those writings.  First, we had company arriving from Julia's side of the family to celebrate Thanksgiving.  That celebration lasted several days before and after Thanksgiving.  One of those guests, who shall not be named (nephew, Zach), left a present for me in the form of a nasty cold and cough.  I'm through most of the symptoms, except for a lingering cough.  But I feel well enough to finish up the Peru posts.  Putting it in writing in this post is accountability to myself to get my butt off the "sick couch" and join the living again. How much mindless tv should a sick person watch?  Never mind with the answer to that question.

Inca Trail: The Sun Gate

It was October 1st and our last day on the Inca Trail.  At 4:30 a.m. we received the word to pack up our gear so that the porters could break down camp and head down the mountain.  During the next half hour, we drank coca tea and had a light breakfast of fruit and bread.  Then all of the porters rushed down the mountain with the gear.

Next, most of the tour groups headed down the mountain in the dark with  headlamps on towards the final checkpoint.  We stayed behind at the empty camp for the next hour.  Freddie explained that the final checkpoint didn't open until 6 a.m.  The other groups were going to bunch up in line where there were no views, no bathrooms or places to sit.  So we sat on a rock wall with Freddy and waited for dawn.

 

It was pleasant enough and a lesson in patience.  About ten minutes to six, we hiked ten minutes and arrived at the checkpoint just as the office opened.  As Freddie predicted, there was a long, standing line of hikers, waiting.  They got in two minutes before us.  Freddy smiled and winked.

 

Not a race

 

The trail was mostly flat or gradually descending with one exception:  the Monkey Climb.

Then suddenly we were there:  the Sun Gate overlooking Machu Picchu.

Julia asked me not to post the photo, but she cried tears of joy just before the group shot above.  We made it!

Inca Trail: Intipata and Final Night

 We had hiked a long day--through fog, rain and slippery rocks on the trail.  Our reward was Intipata, an impressive set of ruins consisting of dozens of agricultural terraces built by the Inca.

From here, we could see the valley floor where we would make our final camp.

 As Freddy promised, the final camp was crowded with 200 other hikers and about 300 porters, guides and cooks.  

The bathroom situation was atrocious.  There were no toilets--just a recessed porcelain hole into the ground.  Those who could not squat had a problem.  There will be no pictures but you can imagine what the floor looked like.  Every once in awhile, we heard screams and yells from failed attempts.  It was funny but not funny.  We all vowed to wait until we reached the tourist toilets on the next day at Machu Picchu.  

That night, we had a special dinner with the cook baking a celebration cake for the last night.

It is customary to tip the porters and cook on the day before Machu Picchu.  There were six porters.  Before the tipping ceremony, there was a group photo.

Everyone worked extremely hard for us during this trip.  Freddy suggested a tip of $25 for each porter and $50 for the cook.  After the photo, each porter told us where he was from and about their family. Freddy translated as none of the porters spoke English.  Spanish was a second language, as their first language was Quecha, the language of the Inca still spoken by eight million people living in the Andes.

The porters would not be traveling with us on the next day.  We would need to get up at 4:30 a.m. so that the porters could break camp and hike down to the town below with our gear.