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.

Sacred Valley, Part II

The second day of our tour through the Sacred Valley was certainly one highlight of our trip. We had three vastly different experiences throughout the day. At the very end of the valley where the road ends (and the the train begins its journey to Aguas Calientes or Machu Picchu town) is the charming town of Ollantaytambo and another set of magnificent Incan ruins. Although, it is really hard to call them ruins because they are in amazing condition for being over 600 years old. We marveled at the massive terraces, the beautiful Andean mountain backdrop, the storehouses that hang on the side of the hill, and, as usual, the engineering marvel of the workmanship.

Having seen many, many textiles on our journey, we were thrilled to stop at the Women's Hand Weaving Cooperative in Chinchero. In the 1990s, a woman started this endeavor to teach women the crafts of making textiles from the beginning through the entire process. Actually, they teach boys and girls starting at a young age. This is a great video showing this cooperative and the amount of time and talent it takes to create these beautiful handicrafts.

In the afternoon we took a long walk (downhill) from the town of Maras to the salt mines. These salt ponds sit between two towns, and each family in both towns owns several of the ponds. Everyone from the children to adults works their ponds, harvesting the salt. The view of this place feels like another planet, and we walked along the top ridge of the mines which seemed a little dicey to me. The salt looks like ice, and I was afraid I might slip off (and fall several feet), but with the help of our guide's walking stick with the sharp point, I made it across with no problem. This short youtube video gives you a little idea of the walk.

Sacred Valley, Part I

My impression is that many tourists think that they start in Cusco and go directly to Machu Picchu. I suppose you could do this, but there are so many great things to see between the two places. We spent two tour days in the Sacred Valley seeing Inca sites and other interesting things.

I am cheating a little with this first picture. These ruins are just outside Cusco, or, I should say, above Cusco on a high hill. Sacsayhuaman (pronounced a little like "sexy woman"), a fortress of huge proportions (watch this youtube video which shows the site from a helicopter) has some of the largest stones of all the ruins and all are neatly fitted together without mortar. You cannot slip anything inbetween the stones. The wikipedia page shows a lovely panoramic shot without too many people. I am surprised that I could get this photo without any tourists in it since the place was crawling with people.

Our tour guide, Jonathan, asked if we wanted to visit an animal rescue place, and we all agreed that we would really like that. I asked if it was the only place we were likely to see an Andean condor, and he said yes. You can watch a short youtube video here about the Ccochahuasi Sanctuary. We saw two condors, both took short flights, but I did not get a good shot of that. We also saw a tortoise, several macaws, llamas, a puma, a coati mundi, and a falcon, among others.

One of the large Inca sites near Cusco is Pisac where we hiked (mostly downhill) for several hours. Most of the tourists stayed at part of the site which was near the parking lot, but we were some of the few people who got a larger view of the place. When we got past the crowds, it was much more peaceful, and along the way we could hear an Andean flute player. The music echoed through the hills so beautifully, adding that perfect touch to the hike.

At the bottom of the hike, the little town of Pisac awaited with its market. This is what I learned about the Andes that amazed me. First of all, if you look at the variety of this produce, it is, for the most part, from Peru. The mountains have 2 growing seasons, and even in the high elevations, there is no snow. It is winter there now, but the days are lovely and warm because it is close to the equator. The rainy season is from Jan-April. You can not only buy produce at the market, but also any manner of souvenir from alpaca (maybe alpaca?) sweaters and textiles to ceramics and leather and keychains. Sunday is the biggest day for the market, and that was the day we were there. I'm sure the tour planners took that into consideration when coordinating the trip.

Cusco, Peru

Cusco (sometimes spelled Cuzco), the place where most tours of the Peruvian Incan Empire begin. It sits high in the Andes at 11,200 feet and was the Incan capital city. Because of the high altitude, we arrived two days before our tour began to help us acclimatize. That was an excellent idea. To prepare for the altitude, we thought we might take diamox, but after reading more about the side effects, we decided to take some ginkgo biloba, and when we arrived, we drank coca tea almost every morning. I have no idea if those helped us or not, but after two days, we felt pretty good. The first night of sleeping was rough, but soon we were walking up stairs without stopping every step.

Each city has a Plaza de Armas (main square), and this large cathedral sits right in the middle of the Cusco plaza. If you linger too long on a bench, you will be approached by many vendors, all selling similar items from artwork (on real canvas!) and llama keychains.

The streets reminded me a little of Italian hill town streets with the narrow walkways or streets with building facades. You really do not know what lies behind the buildings until you walk through the doorways. This photo shows what used to be part of the water system in town, down small aqueducts in the middle of the street. This one is filled in.

Many of the buildings still use the original Incan foundations with their magnificent stonework.

You cannot walk far before someone wants you to take their photo with a llama, alpaca or just their traditional dress. This woman approached H who petted the very soft alpaca, then requested a tip. I figured that I ought to get a photo, and this is what I got.

In order to get up to San Blas, the bohemian artisan section of town, you must climb steps like these. It's worth it. We had a great meal in a little vegan restaurant there.

Here is another example of a narrow street.

Before our tour started, we went to a show to see folklorico dancing. The show was about an hour long in a packed auditorium with locals and tourists alike. This is picture of the band which accompanied the colorful dances.

This is the backside of the cathedral in the Plaza. It was built upon an Incan temple. When you go inside, you can see the original walls.

Here are examples of the Catholic arches with the Incan stonework behind.

                            

More cool stonework in the cathedral.

Another example of the cathedral built upon the ancient foundation.

Here is a view of Cusco from the ruins above the city. The Plaza de Armas is in the center at the bottom.

Peru!

I have to confess that it was positively easy for me to stay off of the internet for the past week or so. We were on an amazing trip to Peru, and I did not take along a laptop or tablet, although I did check in with email once a day.

When my daughter was in second grade, her class learned about Peru, and I found out about Machu Picchu. She even built a little clay replica of it. (As a kid I had learned about the ancient cultures of the Americas, but I don't remember learning about this particular site.) For the past 18 years, I have dreamed about tromping about in these ancient ruins. Back in January, I started thinking about where we might go for a summer vacation, and I realized that the time had come to realize this dream. We planned and planned and researched, and even though the best time to go to Peru is either May or September, those times are not great for people who work in schools.

Some friends had been on an REI Tour a year ago last April which they recommended, and that is what we ultimately ended up doing. That was probably the best decision we made about this trip. Our local guides were outstanding, and the tour was very small with only two other couples. We got along so very well, and it is exciting to know that we all live in the greater LA area, so we are thinking about getting together again - perhaps for Peruvian food in downtown LA.

Today I am trying to process all the amazing experiences that we packed into 11 days. I have been sorting through the 1000+ photos that I took (I have already deleted over 250 of them). Don't worry, you don't have to see them all! For the next few days or so, I will choose the very best and blog about the highlights of the trip.