Peruvian Countryside

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View from high over the Urubamba River Valley

Our 2 hour drive from Cusco to Ollantaytambo gave us a glimpse of the Andean countryside. The people are clearly decended from native Americans and here one sees the Andean dress as if lifted from our school textbooks. They don't dress like that for effect, it's a real part of their culture, though it seems confined to women.

We got serenaded!

Everyone seems to be working all day in the farms, which are plentiful and largely devoid of mechanization.

Women also work at crafts and textiles which are widely available, beautiful, and attractively priced. Bottom line: the countryside is stunning, made all the more so by the colorful dress of the people.

As it happened, on our return trip to Cusco, we decided to stop at one farm to shop. They had some particularly nice things there and seemed to be doing much of the labor on site.

We were happy to make a few purchases, but not as happy as they were to host us. We were served tea and heard the whole story of textile manufacturing in the Andean highlands.

We were also dressed up and serenaded before we could depart. There was no pressure to keep buying, just an expression of thanks for what we did purchase. A really nice experience.

Flowers amid Inca ruins

Things got out of control...

The traditional wedding photo with llama

This is a hostel, three rooms suspended high on a cliff. The rooms are lowered each day to accommodate the guests.

Cusco

Here is a link to more photos of Cusco

Cusco

Here is the ancient Inca capitol that the Spanish conquered and dominated in the 16^th century. It is the geographic and social center of pre-Columbian South America. The ruins and trails emanate outward from the city and one marvels at the extent of this old civilization. We have nothing to compare to it in North America.

Let's face it: Cusco has large swaths of poverty. The drive through some sections of town is fairly difficult as housing is inadequate and packs of dogs roam everywhere. City center is much nicer, of course, with great restaurants, clothing stores, and art galleries everywhere. Tourists are comfortable there, but much of the city suffers.

We stumbled upon this rally in the Plaza de Armas

The Plaza de Armas marks the center of activities and the magnificent cathedral is found there. It's a remarkable structure, built on the site of Inca power by the conquering Spanish as they established their control in the New World. It rivals any of the European cathedrals for opulence and splendor and it is a wonder to behold.

Alas, Cusco reaches 12,000 ft in altitude, so by day 2 altitude sickness tightened its grip. I was prescribed medication to counter the effects, but even though I took as prescribed, it didn't seem to help. 

We were the only guests in this beautiful hotel!

Streets could be steep....

...and narrow!

That, and the delicious, but, perhaps ill advised alpaca burger, put me down for a day. The situation was remedied by boarding our plane for the trip to Santiago. Just entering the pressurized cabin seemed to wash oxygen over and around me. Ahhh... sea level.

Diane was right to plan Machu Picchu first, the Cusco. Most people think they'll adjust to altitude at Cusco, then visit the lower elevation Machu Picchu, but one doesn't adjust so the MP visit feels miserable. Recommendation: visit Machu Picchu then hope for the best in Cusco. 

Look closely. The moon is facing backward!

That's an original Inca wall to the left with the most famous 12 sided stone

Church of la Merced completed 1675

Lunch!

 

Cathedral of Santo Domingo built by Spanish on Inca site 1539

Plaza de Armas

More photos here

Machu and Huayna Picchu

Machu Picchu

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It's the stuff of dreams, isn't it? I distinctly remember seeing a photograph of Machu Picchu in a 4^th grade text book and being immediately enchanted that such a thing could exist. A city in the mountaintops? Made of stone?

This is an enchanting place, and the arduous nature of the journey adds to the mystique. Even after traveling for a day by plane, van, and train, we arrived near, not at, Machu Picchu. One still needs to climb from the village of Aques Caliente to reach the city of stone.

We took the bus. As do thousands of others each day. But many climb the 3k trail and look worse for the weariness of it. If nothing else, Machu Picchu is...really is, on a

mountain top.

The first thing we noticed was the fog, er...the view, or lack of same. We arrived at this wonderous world wrapped in a cloud, and visibility was non-existent. That didn't dampen our enthusiasm a bit, and as the day wore on, the cloud slowly lifted.

Notice the far stones are finished while the near stones are still rough

With Johathan, our guide in the king's residence

Huyanu Picchu

You know this place. When one sees The Photo of MP, the mountain peak Huyanu Picchu is in the background. The needle like peak is 1,800 ft higher than the ancient city. Steps were constructed to the top by the Inca where there are more terraces and at least one large structure. Climbing HP is a challenge. It's steep and dangerous in spots. And the elevation doesn't help.

Four hundred people per day are permitted to follow the HP trail with 200 granted access at an assigned time of either 7 or 10am. I had the 10 o'clock slot, and I shared the climb with about 60 students from both Lafayette College and Lehigh University.

Looking down on Machu Picchu and the road leading up the mountain

Huayna Picchu summit!

The climb was killer, with many stops taken along the way to recover from the lack of oxygen. When I say there are “steps”, there are, narrow and steep with a high, painful rise to each.

But the descent! Here was the terror! The mountain top trail is one way because the summit is so narrow, so there's only one way down. There were cries of woe with climbers choosing to go down on their butts for fear of falling. At the conclusion, I realized that while 200 may start the ascent, far fewer finish.

Lima To Machu Picchu

Our journey from Lima to Machu Picchu began with an early morning flight aboard a British built, BAe146 flying high over the impressive Andes Mountains and depositing us in the rare air of the ancient capitol of Cusco.

The Andes are up there! 15 degrees south of the equator and there is plenty of snow on the peaks

Cusco and the airport. We wound ourselves between the mountains to land

From there, we had a van drive us 2 hours to Ollantaytambo where the road ends.

Herding sheep along the ancient Inca Trail

After a nice lunch on the square it was off on a most beautiful train trip for yet another 1.5 hours where we finally arrived in Agues Caliente at the base of Machu Picchu.

We decend into the city of Urubamba

Lunch in Ollantaytambo....

...where there are more Inca ruins

The train cars were comfortable and spacious

The trip to Agues Caliente decends a steep, narrow valley alongside a roaring river. The mountains tower above seeming to be rooftop as well as walls. They are impossible to photograph as that would require one to step back, as if one could. Indeed, our glass roofed train car didn't allow us to view mountain tops. A sore neck is a likely outcome of this journey!

Aques Caliente

The train runs right through town

Only buses are permitted in this town. Everything is carried in and carried out

On the road to our hotel with Machu Picchu straight ahead

Machu Picchu is a world heritage site for a reason; it is as spectacular a setting as exists in our world and it attracts travelers from all over the globe. It's impossibly difficult to get here, but arrival is rewarded. While astonishment is ones reaction to the natural beauty of the site, it is the archaeological story of the village that amazes.

More abut Machu Picchu to come...

A Few Days Journey

We departed the Tilles Center early Sunday evening following a wonderful NMEA concert, and headed south toward Florida. The drive was boring but otherwise uneventful. I have to say that I'm impressed with the condition of I95, especially through NJ. They have really upgraded and modernized this busy east coast artery, and traffic conditions allowed us a safe and rapid journey.

Bye, bye, Fort Lauderdale...

From Fort Lauderdale, we flew 5 hours south to Lima, Peru. A benefit of this trip is that there is no time change, so no jet lag! Yes, Lima is directly south of New York!

A legitimate complaint

Flying has become a patently unpleasant horror. Legroom is non-existent and the seats are narrow and uncomfortable. The tray table rests on my lap making for dangerously unsteady drinks and sliding snacks. Speaking of snacks, pretzels and chips? Really, that's it? Five hour trip?

Hello, Lima!

The featured movie was The Martian, so there's that. But you better have brought headphones or else you're going to pay for the airline to provide them.  The TV selections existed only while in the US, which, when flying south from Fort Lauderdale, is a brief period of time.

But, I complain too much. The bottom line was that takeoff and landing were right on time, and we arrived safely. So, good news!

Lima

South of the equator! My first time. We're only 12 degrees south, but still, it feels different. The sun and moon move right to left across the sky and the phases of the moon are totally backward! It was interesting watching the crescent moon as we journeyed south to Florida and then, the next night, see that same crescent facing the other way! Weird. I can't comment on stars yet as it's been too cloudy and citified to observe them.

Lima airport is busy! And things look a bit funky on the drive into town from the airport, but the heart of the city is quite nice with a beautiful park on the cliffs high up over the Pacific Ocean.

Ted's diggin' the view

Lot's of banks and ATM machines. Weirdly, too many ATM's. And they're all protected by an armed guard standing outside. That took a bit of getting used to.

The food was fantastic and prices are very reasonable. We can easily afford to dine at the city's nicest restaurants.

While it never rained during our two day stay, the sun made rare appearances keeping temperatures very pleasant. I don't think it hit 80 degrees. The humidity was world class, NY in August style.

Along the waterfront

Beautiful seaside apartments....

...and nice neighborhood homes, too

And streets so clean they appeared to be polished

Next: the journey to Machu Picchu!