Peru - Week 7 The Amazing Amazon!

We spent our last week in Peru on a 7-day cruise of the Amazon. Both of us have wanted to see the Amazon for years. When we were teaching, we would explain to our students how important this ecosystem is to the health of the planet...we wanted to see that for ourselves. 

If you are thinking "Ah, a cruise down the Amazon would be so relaxing," well you must think again. From the day we arrived, we were busy with activities--evening trips on the skiffs to see night critters (pointed out by extremely knowledgeable nature guides), afternoon walks in the forest and in the forest canopy to see forest birds and critters, and of course, morning trips on the skiff to see the pink and gray dolphins and fish for piranhas. We also saw caimen, sloths, large snakes of 3 varieties, 4 different varieties of monkeys, and frogs, and the guides identified over 50 different species of birds (egrets and herons were everywhere, as were vultures and hawks). The macaws, kingfishers, and many others that we don't remember were less numerous. When we arrived, we were amazed by the teeming life everywhere. This was in comparison to the altiplano (Arequipa, Cusco, Puno) and the desert (Lima, Paracas, Ica).

        

We also visited 3 villages sponsored by the La Perla company--one in which we planted trees, one in which we buried turtle eggs for a conservation project, and one where we assisted in the release of newly hatched butterflies. Each of our outings ended with an ice cold washcloth to remove jungle sweat/dirt and a lovely glass of fresh fruit juice. The daytime highs were around 90 degrees with tons of humidity.

Between these activities each day, we had 3 delicious buffet meals, highlighting the fruits and foods of the area (the 3 cooks were exceptionally talented), and before dinner in the evenings, the staff sang to us and encouraged us to dance with them and with each other. It was so much fun! This was not a "high-end" cruise. The other 24 guests were just like us. 

The cruise ended with a sunset cruise in the skiffs and mimosas. We are still basking in the glow of such warm people, delightful surroundings, good food, and daily adventures. I want to return!

Peru - Week 6 Ollantaytambo and Machu Pichu

Finally we are on our way to the Sacred Valley and Machu Pichu—anticipated highlights of our trip. Our plan was that we would be picked up at our hotel in Cusco at 8:30 am to join a small group tour of a couple of archeological sites and then be dropped off in Urubamba for a 2-night stay. From there, we would move on to Aguas Calientes and Machu Pichu.  These few days did not go as planned. 

First, we got a late start. Our tour representative walked to our hotel in Cusco and then led us on foot to other tour participants’ hotels and finally to a gathering spot on the edge of town where we waited close to an hour for our transport. We thought we would be taken in a van. Instead, we found ourselves on a bus with 20 or more people—a number that would prove to be difficult for the guide to handle as the day progressed. Okay, so a late start and lots of people.

Once on the road, our first stop was Pisac, a town in the Sacred Valley on the Vilcanota River, to see Inca ruins, some of the most extensive and well-preserved ruins in Peru. They are spectacular. 

We would have liked to spend more time at the ruins and in Pisac itself, but we had to move on. If we were planning the trip again, a full day in Pisac might be fun exploring both its famous market and the ruins. We didn’t have a chance to see the market. I’m not sure if it was because we were so late or if it was not included in the itinerary.

Next, we had a delicious buffet lunch at a beautiful resort. Then we traveled on to Ollantaytambo, a cute town adjacent to another ruins. This site was the royal estate of an Incan emperor who conquered the region and built the town and a ceremonial center. It is one of the most popular starting points for those walking the Inca Trail. We climbed the stairs and explored the ruins at the top, out of breath and happy that we accomplished that much!

As we were leaving Ollantaytambo, our guide realized that she had lost track of 3 people. We waited on the bus about half an hour for them to appear. Evidently they left the tour on their own to get back to Cusco for an appointment at 7. Due to our late departure from Cusco, they could not make the appointment if they stayed with the tour. We too left the bus at Urubamba (with the guide’s knowledge) where a driver met us and took us to our hotel, the ARANWA. 

The hotel was elegant—previously a hacienda, now a 5-star accommodation, with a pool, bicycles, a movie each night, lovely gardens and more. It was relatively warm here during the day, but still cold at night. We enjoyed just relaxing in these beautiful surroundings the next day.

Refreshed after a full day of lounging, our driver took us back to Ollantaytambo where we boarded a train for Aguas Calientes. We requested an early pick-up from the hotel because our scheduled pickup would not have given us enough time to make our train. It was chaos at the station. Several trains were leaving for Machu Pichu at the same time. We caught the right one and loved the ride up the narrow canyon to more lush (the dry tropics) terrain. Somehow, we missed the person who was to pick us up at the station, but we found our way to the hotel on our own. As we were checking in, the guide, Dario, showed up. He then instructed us on how our visit to Machu Pichu the following day was supposed to work. Nasha, his colleague, was to meet us at 9:40 am at the hotel and walk us to the line for the bus to Machu Pichu. Our tickets for the park were for an 11 am entry, so we had to catch the bus that would get us there by 11. Once at the park, another tour guide would meet us and 8 others for a guided tour of the ruins. Again, things didn’t go as expected. First of all, Nasha tried to get us in line to buy bus tickets which we already had. Once we told her that we had the tickets, she showed us where to go to wait for the bus. By that time, the line for the bus was at least 100 yards long. All the people in our line had 11 am entry tickets for Machu Pichu. But there was no possible way for the buses to get all the people to Machu Pichu on time. 

By the time we arrived at the Entry Gate to Machu Pichu, it was 11:20 and our guide was nowhere to be found. Seeing our confusion, another guide called our tour service and eventually Dario showed up from out of thin air. He told us to hurry straight up the steps to the top where we would find our guide in a black shirt and a red tie. We entered the site and started climbing. Kathy gets winded easier than Roger, but we pushed by other groups who were resting to catch their breaths and finally got to the plateau at the top. Ulysses was nowhere to be found. Mind you, seeing Machu Pichu was to be one of the highlights of our trip and here we found ourselves, rushing through it as fast as possible to find the guide. We eventually found Ulysses and the rest of our group heading into the ruins. He claimed he hadn’t said much at all during the first ½ hour of the tour and that we didn’t miss anything. (Argh!!)  We did then wander with the group through the ruins at a slow pace. The place is magnificent. How any people could build a city atop these sheer cliffs is hard to imagine. Yet there it sits. We only got an hour and a half in the park. It is worth much more. For those of you planning a trip to Machu Pichu, stay 2 nights at the park rather than in Aguas Calientes. It’s spendy, but worth it. That way you can enter the park early in the morning, enjoy the sunrise without many other tourists, and have time to sit, take in its beauty, and contemplate life. Our time was just too short.

As we left the site, we noticed the line for the bus to return to Aguas Calientes was about 1/4 mile long. We had a train to catch at 4:15 and we were uncertain the line would move fast enough for us to make our train. As we walked to the end of the line, a park policeman saw us and invited us to cut to the front of the line. (I think our gray hair did the trick!) We got on the next bus that returned to Aguas Calientes. Again, our guide didn’t show up. We waited for about 1/2 hour and then decided to go for lunch. As we were being seated, Dario showed up. We assured him that we would catch the train back to Cusco on time.

Which brings up another glitch in our plans. As we arrived at the train station, a huge crowd of people blocked our way into the waiting area. We asked what was happening. We were told an earlier train had derailed so all trains would be at least 2 hours late. We got to the train station at 4 pm and the people for the 2:10 pm train were still waiting for their train. There were 100s of people milling around, most not understanding Spanish, trying to find out when their train might arrive. We waited with them. Eventually trains started arriving and finally, at 6 pm our train appeared and they let us and the others onboard. It was a slow ride home because the engineer had to sit on the sidings waiting for other trains (now all off schedule) to pass. But, we made it back to Poroy (30 minutes outside Cusco) where a wonderfully patient driver was waiting to take us to our hotel. We arrived at the hotel about 11 pm. A very long day. We are glad we allowed ourselves an extra day in Cusco to wash clothes and relax before returning to Lima.

Peru - Week 5 Cusco

We were whisked from the train to our hotel in Cusco. To our surprise, there was an alpaca in the courtyard of the hotel as we checked in. We would find out in the next few days that her name is Kiki and that she is an imp. In the mornings when her owner let her out of her stall, she kicked her heels up and frolicked around the courtyard, at times eating hotel foliage. She was at a loss when her owner was out of sight (that herd instinct again) and moaned. Needless to say, she was an unexpected and fun addition to our weeklong stay. 

Since Cusco is lower in elevation than Puno, it is slightly warmer here. At night, we turn on the radiant floor heat in the bathroom and it seems to heat the sleeping area too. During the days, Roger is in short-sleeve shirts. We start each day with a lovely breakfast at the hotel. Our choice of made-to-order omelette, scrambled or fried eggs, waffles, pancakes, French toast or all of the above. There are fruits, soups, and sandwiches available too. Despite ferreting out every inch of the offerings, we missed the Mimosas in the far corner for 4 days. We were really disappointed in ourselves! Once found, we added them to our morning fare. The cook and staff at the hotel are outstanding. There is live music in the patio area each evening (6:30 to 8:30 pm). We enjoyed it from the comfort of our room. I can’t believe I didn’t get a picture of Kiki! 

 

For the most part, our days in Cusco have been ones of exploration. We took a “free” walking tour on day 1, learning about the 4 main plazas of the city, the 4 main parts of Peru’s history (pre-Inca, Inca, Spaniard and independence), and one of the Inca ruins within the city. Many walls and streets date from Inca times. The best part of the tour was meeting a family from Indiana. He did his post-grad work in Psychology at UC Berkeley so we could swap stories.

  

One day we took a small group tour through beautiful landscapes to the Maras salt mines and Moray, an archeological complex of circular agricultural terraces built by the Incas. We saw the salt mines first. I always thought of salt as coming from the ocean.  But thousands of years ago, native peoples who lived in this little valley near Cusco discovered a salt water spring flowing out of the mountain (3 times as salty as the ocean). They collected the water in shallow pools beneath the spring, let it evaporate, and collected the salt for personal use and later for trading. The resulting salt products are highly valued by today’s chefs.

It is believed that terraces at Moray were used to test different plants under different climatic conditions (like an agricultural research station). We also stopped for a demonstration of how alpaca wool is dyed with natural colors.

 

 

Another day, we took a chocolate-making class…highly recommended. We learned a lot about chocolate, ground our own cocoa beans into paste and made small chocolate bars to take home.  

We ate lunch (our only meal after breakfast) at several unique places. We always share a meal because portion sizes here are huge. We had an Italian meal overlooking the main plaza. We had a vegan meal at a little corner restaurant that was particularly difficult to find. We had a Chifa (Chinese) meal with delicious wonton soup. We had a couple of fried trout meals—one was the “menu of the day” (your choice of several entrees with soup, dessert and a drink for $5 or less), and one at the central market on a bench shared with a many locals. Good food is not hard to come by in Cusco. We made one trip to Starbucks to use their wifi and had to buy a Frappuccino. It was one of the best we have ever had…due to the freshness of the coffee, I am told.

 This is a typical meal for one.

We spent a couple of days looking through museums. As some of you know, I majored in Latin American History in grad school, but at the time, very little was known about pre-Inca history. That certainly has changed. The museums are a wealth of information about the cultures, pottery, textiles, metallurgy and history of these early people. They had no written language, but their cultures date back to Egyptian times.

A good week of exploring and learning. Now, on to the Sacred Valley and Machu Pichu.