Inka Trails

Many years ago we ate at Inka Trails, but we didn't really understand the food. After all, we had never had french fries and rice together in a main dish. Then we went to Peru and had lomo saltado (a  stir-fry with sirloin strips, onions, tomatoes and potatoes / french fries over rice). Upon returning home from Peru, we thought we ought to give the restaurant another try.

I ordered the lomo saltado and H had the quinoa con queso. He's been looking for the kind of creamy quinoa he had at the buffet at Machu Picchu, and this one was pretty good, but not exactly the same.  I thought the food pretty good, even if a little salty. Now, if Inka Trials would serve pisco sours, we would return more often.

Mo-Chica

Because we enjoyed the camaraderie of the people on our Peruvian tour so much, we have now officially carried over our friendship into our North American lives. We checked our calendars and found a date that all six of us were available and then chose a Peruvian restaurant in downtown LA in which to continue our friendship and adoration of Peruvian food.

We chose Mo-Chica, a fusion restaurant (with Italian overtones) partly because the menu looked interesting, and partly because they serve pisco sours.

The place was crowded, so I'm glad I made reservations, but that also meant that the noise level was high. Our service was excellent, the food (which are like tapas - small plates to be shared with everyone) was very delicious, and the pisco sours were delcious, but very small and quite expensive. The plates were also on the pricey side, but we decided that it was much less expensive than actually going to Peru.

The pisco sour with the restaurant logo in the egg white foam

Dawn of the Condor

One of the items on my summer wish list was to write a poem or a song. I decided to write a poem. One no longer sees condors at Machu Picchu, although they used to fly there. I imagined what it would be like to see one first thing in the morning.

Lima and The End

Lima is "the strangest sad city thou cans't see. ... For Lima has taken the white veil; and there is a higher horror in this whiteness of her woe."

- Herman Meville in Moby Dick

A week ago today we left Peru via Lima, a city whose winter encases her in shroud of fog days and weeks on end. We actually spent about 12 hours in the city, including a short sleep in a sweet little guest house in the Miraflores district. This is the trendy, upscale neighborhood of Peru's capital. Knowing we would have a long flight, we made sure to take a good walk the night before along the ocean. Our first sighting of the Pacific came at this park with a huge statue dedicated to love and a low wall covered in mosaics. Except for the fog, our stroll reminded us a bit of Santa Monica.

Here is a cathedral lit up near Kennedy Park (named after JFK).

A few final thoughts about the trip:

We have never taken a tour before, but in some instances, such as this, I think it was a great idea. We had such a short time for this vacation, and leaving the details to someone else gave us the greatest amount of enjoyment for the time allotted. I think it is also important to have a tour that matches your own personality, and, for us, this one fit the bill. It was the right amount of walking/hiking, learning about the culture, and the people in the tour were a fantastic mix for us.

We were also pleasantly surprised that this tour booked us in some of the very best lodging we have ever used. In the Sacred Valley we stayed in a converted 18th C. Monastery, and in Aguas Calientes we lodged in the very posh Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel. We had more food than we should have, and we made it through the whole trip without ever getting sick.

I was also glad that we had a chance to spend an additional few days touring on our own which gave us the sense of self-reliance that we usually have when we travel overseas. We had a chance to work on our Spanish and integrate more into the culture.

I would have a hard time pinpointing a very favorite experience, although I was surprised and delighted by the size and scope of the ruins outside of Machu Picchu. I know that I have left out many of the fun details, but as we share our story with friends and look through our photos (and our friends' photos), we will enjoy reliving the memories of this amazing journey.

Cusco to Puno and Lake Titicaca

At the end of the REI Tour, we bid a sad farewell to our new friends and our guides. We took a little comfort in the fact that we will see our fellow travelers in the near future, but we wished that they could have come with us on the last little jaunt.

We had planned, in advance, to make our own add-on to the tour, and after scouring the internet and the Lonely Planet guidebook, we chose Lake Titicaca as our extra activity. It would seem that the best way to get to Puno (the main town by the lake on the Peru side) was to take a tourist bus which was a 10-hour trip. This bus ride passes over a 14,000 foot pass and includes five stops along the way. Four stops are for sightseeing and one is for a buffet lunch.

The first stop on the trip was at the Sistine Chapel of the Andes. They did not allow photos on the inside, but it was the most gold-laden place I have ever seen in my entire life. If you google andahuaylillas church for images, you can see just what I am talking about.

The ruins at Raqchi constituted our second stop. Part of the Inca trail passes right by this Incan settlement.

Here is a view from the bus window near the pass at Abra La Raya. At the top of the pass sits, as we had come to expect, great opportunities to purchase items. This time I subjected myself to the locals and bought a flute. Not the panpipes, but a recorder-shaped object. It comes with a piece of paper with some instructions, but getting a sound out of it has proven tricky. This high landscape is called the altiplano - high plains.

Our last sightseeing stop before we reached Puno was some sort of museum in Pukara. I think this is where they make the bulls that we saw on so many rooftops (for good luck). However, what I liked the best were the very cute little vicunas. Most are wild and much smaller than the alpacas and llamas we saw elsewhere.

Puno and Lake Titicaca sit at 12,500 feet, and the days are clear and cold, the nights are just cold. We booked a tour - also 10 hours - to visit two places.

Not too far from shore sit the Uros Islands. This cluster of man-made islands have been around for over 400 years when the Uru people sought refuge from other tribes came out on the lake and built these floating lands out of the reeds that grow so copiously in the lake. The people who live her constantly replenish the reeds, otherwise their "land" would slowly disappear.

Each island is a little community. The tours rotate which islands they visit, so your tourist dollars get evenly spread around. They sell handcrafts (surprise!), but we were happier to pay our money to get a ride in one of the boats.

The women from our island rowed, and you can see here how the big sister in the stocking hat is holding onto her 8-month-old brother so he will not topple into the drink. A few minutes later, the mom continued to row while she nursed the boy.

After the Uros Islands, we sat in the boat for 2 1/2 hours until we got to Taquile Island. Apparently this island reminds people of a Greek island. This island is home to get another subgroup of people with their own traditions. After disembarking, we walked about 45 minutes (slowly) up the hill to a large plaza on the island where we could visit shops with textiles. On this island, the men take part in the knitting of the hats.

We got a great view of the snow-capped mountains of northern Bolivia from the top of the island. You have to look under the luscious cumulous clouds.

This is the plaza at the top. From here we went to a restaurant for lunch for some delicious trout before we walked down the other side of the island to our waiting boat for the return 2 1/2 hour boat ride back to Puno.

Machu Picchu

REI Tours planned our trip in such a way as to make each day better and better. The last two days were reserved for the highlight of the journey. We spent two half-days at Machu Picchu, first arriving in the early afternoon and spending about 5 hours walking the main parts. The second day we rose very early and got to the site as the sun was peeking over the mountain top and then we took some other, more demanding hikes.

Having dreamt about Machu Picchu for all these years, I have to say that, like hearing live music over a recording, it is far superior to actually be present in the place. My aim was to be present in the moment and keep reminding myself just to enjoy each moment in the space. It was not difficult.

At Ollantaytambo we boarded the Vista Dome train for Aguas Calientes, the little town at the bottom of Machu Picchu mountain. This lovely train has windows on the edges of the ceilings so you can see much more of the scenery. The service is lovely with drinks and snacks.

Here is one sight from the train window

We watched as hikers started out on the Inca Trail. They reached Machu Picchu 4 days after we did. (After reading Turn Right at Machu Picchu, I know that we took the easy way up for a reason....)

At Aguas Calientes, we grabbed the bus to take the switchback trails up to the ruins. I got a little lump in my throat just looking at the Andes in all their greenery (much more green than at Cusco) with the clouds and blooming flowers.

Only 2,500 people are allowed into the site each day. On the other hand a whole, whopping 2.500 people are crawling all over the place.

After entering and walking up a hill for 5-10 minutes, this is one of the first sites that greets visitors.

Looking down from that first site into the actual main part of the city.

Our guide was not in a hurry to get down to the city (I think he was waiting for the crowds to thin out). So we headed for the Inca Bridge, one of the 12 or so entrances into Machu Picchu. If you look at the greenery on this photo, you will see one of the roads along the side of the mountain. It is no longer used, thank goodness!

That road leads to the Inca Bridge (also closed).

Orchid along the path to the Inca Bridge.

Our guide, Jonathan, has worked with shamans, and has a spiritual understanding of the Incas. He gave each of us three coca leaves to hold between our thumb and forefingers. We breathed a gentle breath onto the leaves and then, as an offering to pachamama, we were to either bury them in the ground, or perhaps place them under a rock or in a crevice.

Placing the offering

Then it was time for wandering the ruins. The following are a few of my hundreds of photos from this day.

The temple of the sun

One of the many, many fountains we saw.

The rock in the foreground matches the shape of the mountain in the background. No coincidence.

Our group. It sprinkled a bit in the late afternoon, so we got to use our rain jackets.

Saw these cute guys wandering around.

The Temple of the Condor

My favorite shot

On the second day, some of us hiked the "easy" way up to the Sun Gate where the Inca Trail hikers first come through and see Machu Picchu. It takes less than an hour from the top of the city.

The Sun Gate

View of the ruins from the Sun Gate. Magnificent.

The more hearty folk in our group, aka the men, took the more strenuous (and scary) hike up Huayna Picchu. Only 400 people are allowed up this mountain each day. I had seen a youtube video about some of the steep parts and the sharp dropoffs, and H confirmed that I would not have liked that hike in the least. I am glad he went, though since he enjoyed it.

On the way down from Huayna Picchu, the guys took a little detour to see the Temple of the Moon.

Panorama from the top of Huayna Picchu, courtesy of our traveling companions.