PERU...Machu Picchu

Usually one can take the train from Cusco to Aquas Calientes, the small town at the base of the Machu Picchu area, but the track was washed out in January of this year. Now you take a bus until you come to the last third of the track that had been repaired by the time we arrived. Then you load onto the train for the last hour and one-half of the beautiful trip.



The bus drive is quite nice, going over a pass of 13,000 feet where we saw some great views and farming areas.



Being close to the equator allows them to farm at a much higher elevation than we can in Montana.



To arrive at the Machu Picchu ruins you must survive a narrow road with 15 switchbacks to get to the top. The shuttle bus drivers probably drive it 12/15 times a day, so they have no fear….but it gave us quite a thrill.



The first view Machu Picchu is overwhelming and more majestic than imagined. How it was built is amazing and that the Spanish did not find it and destroy it is even more amazing.



We spent the entire afternoon looking around with our guide explaining the different areas. This included the many terraces that were used for farming during the Inca occupation. Now, the llamas enjoy the grass and keep the area "mowed".



No one knows exactly what this mountaintop citadel was used for and why it was abandoned. Lots of theories abound….



The next morning when we returned it was completely fogged in….which is pretty normal.



It stayed foggy for the first hour and one-half on the trail



Using our walking sticks, we headed uphill on an old Incan stone trail interspersed with steps. Our destination was the Incan “Sun Gate” which was a lookout/checkpoint/gate for people who wanted to enter the city.



As the fog began to lift, the views seemed “forever” .....



and all the flowers ...

and lichen took on a new brilliance.



There were many birds soaring in the big open sky including a falcon which we got just a glimpse of. The guide said the trip was about 5 miles round trip and my legs certainly agreed with that estimation.



We were rewarded with a great lunch, then caught the train and bus back to Cusco.



After a night in Cusco, we headed back to Lima and our trip back home. It had been a very special time to enjoy some of the different “faces” of Peru and to meet such hospitable and handsome people. The last musical sendoff at the airport was a delightful, enjoyable surprise.

PERU.... Cusco's Costco

No, there isn’t a true Costco in this city, but there was such a large market with so many varied items, that we nicknamed it Costco. Most of it was held in an enclosed building that had been around a while, but even more spilled out into the surrounding streets. Here’s a few pictures for you to view:



regular cuts of meat.....



non-familiar cuts of meat which included everything else!!! from the cows and pigs



dried beans, corn and cereals.........



potato row (they grow many shapes and colors….there are said to be 2,800 varieties just in Peru)



seasonal herbs........



coffee and chocolates....



flowers....



fruits and veggies.......



If you become hungry or thirsty there are numerous lunch counters



and a chapel to pray your cares away.

PERU....Cusco..April 2010

Cusco, the nearly two mile high city, was a shock to our system. After checking into the hotel, our guide carefully guided us downhill to the restaurant where we were having lunch. Walking any distance was going to be an effort until we adjusted to the altitude.


After lunch, which was as delightful as the native clad hostess, we took taxis uptown to the central square.



The square looks very Spanish, as most of the buildings in this area were built during Spanish occupation. In the middle of the square was a nice spouting fountain, surrounded by green grass, flowers and benches. This in turn was surrounded by a beautiful old Cathedral, another large church and businesses.





We were told that each of the dozen or so large churches in Cusco was built on the site and often on the foundation of a major Incan sacred site. Although this took away the visible image of the sites, there is still much Incan stone work to be seen. The Incas were very fine stone masons and there are walls still standing, even without the use of mortar.



Lots of these walls have been incorporated into new buildings/churches by the Spanish in creative ways, starting around about 1532….or so.



The walls with the very straight lines were for the royalty….and the less perfect were for the other people.



Cusco is very much a tourist city and this is apparent in all the many local craft malls, stores, wool and gold shops….even people wanting you to take their picture.



This is very often the stop before going on to Machu Picchu or other parks because Cusco has a nice, but very busy, airport.



However, Cusco has interesting historical things to offer as well. We spent a morning at Sacsayhuaman, located just 2 kilometers from Cusco and thought to be a military complex during Incan times. Although the Spanish took many of the stones for their own buildings, there are still lots to marvel at as you walk around the site.



When you think that the Incas only had stones to cut the stones with, and no wheels to move the cut stone, you realize that the Incas were quite the engineers.



Near the complex is a large modern statue of Christ which can be seen from most of Cusco. After looking at the trails, it looks like it is well visited.



Nearby, we visited with another Shaman who burned tokens of concerns and problems of the world and gave us a special blessing.



To finish off the morning, we had a home hosted lunch with several courses of delicious native foods.



However, I don’t think any of us truly appreciated the effort spent to prepare the guinea pig that was presented to us on a decorated platter. Since the hostess didn’t have a oven in her home, she had had the pig roasted in the communal neighborhood oven. We all tried at least a bit of it!!!

PERU...Cruising the Amazon.... April 2010

Lots of our time was spent cruising up the Amazon (south). There were many small villages tucked into the forest. Often we could see a just a rooftop, some smoke, or a stairway carved into the mud bank of the river. Occasionally we caught a cross decorating a church.



We viewed charcoal being made in a clearing and small gardens being tilled.



We had our chance at paddling a dugout canoe up a tributary. Thank goodness we were not expected to do this by ourselves, but the canoe owners were hired as the guides and main paddlers. Believe it or not, no one dumped themselves in the water.



The canopy walk was about 40 feet above ground and about 8 sections long. Only two walkers were allowed on each section at a time to view the varied undergrowth, steams, a tiny lake, and wildlife. My only wildlife was a beautiful, very large, blue dragonfly, but the last ones to walk caught sight of some rarely seen monkeys.



At the end of the walk an 85 year old native man demonstrated how the turpentine bark would burn and shed it’s liquid.



The cloud formations were always beautiful. I guess since it rains so much…nearly 9 feet a year, you can expect beautiful thunderheads and from clouds, you can expect beautiful sunsets, right? Yes!! Even though it rains a lot, most of the Amazon River water comes from melting snow pack in the high Andes mountains. The river level varies 30/45 feet during different seasons. This is why we saw houses built on stilts!! And we learned that the Amazon River basin produces 20% of the world’s oxygen, so we DO need to protect the rain forest.



All too soon our river cruise was over and we were flying back over the Andes to Lima and on to Cusco, the ancient capitol of the Incan Empire.

PERU...The Amazon Lunch....April 2010

One thing that our tour group, Overseas Adventure Travel, always does is arrange for our small group to have lunch or dinner with a local family. They research the homes, provide needed kitchen supplies and utensils and help plan a typical local menu. Care is taken in preparation so that we won’t get sick, not that the food is bad, but we’re not used to eating the same bacteria that their stomachs are used to. It is always fun and a great learning experience and this day was no exception.



We arrived by boat, of course, and our guide went with us to interpret and introduce us to the family. This family had 9 children ranging in age from 21 years down to 6 months. The oldest boy was out of school and was a local artist. Four children were in school the day we visited and the others shared lunch with us.



Much preparation had gone into the meal. Not only had the father gone into the forest and shot a deer, but he had caught two different kinds of cat fish. The deer had been cut into strips and smoked. The mother’s hand showed in the cooking. The larger cat fish had been cut in hunks, seasoned, wrapped in banana leaves and charcoaled. It was delicious!!! The smaller cat fish had been grilled whole over charcoal. While it was interesting looking, there was very little meat inside to enjoy.



Also included in the meal were grilled plantains (a type of banana), balls of Uca, and a bowl of salsa made from the native yellow tomatoes and some of that very hot little pepper. For the drink there was a juice made from a dark purple corn which tasted much like weak grape juice. (Maybe it was the color that made us think of grape juice!!)



All this was served from the makeshift table….4 very large banana leaves spread on the floor. There was no silverware. We were invited to sit on the floor but opted for the benches that were beneath the blow dart guns displayed on the wall.



The house had been built entirely by the father and the older son. It was typical….built on stilts, open walls and thatched roof, but a bit larger than most that we had seen.



We had a very enjoyable time at lunch. Afterwards they took us to their local village craft market that had been set up for us to enjoy. To top off the experience, the only Macaw that we saw the whole trip teased us from tree to tree encouraging us to take his picture.