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09.15.2005 -- PERU: Cuzco, Incan forts, rainy hiking, Machu Picchu, and desert mummies --
Peru: Cuzco, Incan forts, rainy hiking, Machu Picchu, and desert mummies
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October 29, 2005
We arrived at the Lima, Peru airport at around 1 am where we met up with Lynette (friend from Austin). It was so good to see a familiar face again! We spent the next few hours catching up and then boarded the 6 am flight to Cusco. Liz, Maggie´s sister, didn´t get into Cusco until around noon, so we set up shop at our hostal, Hostal Amaru. After showers and a little rest, we headed back to the airport to meet Liz.
Amaru Hostal is worth mentioning. It's in a great location, 3 blocks from the main square, Plaza de Armes. The rooms are set back from the street and surround 2 courtyards. The second story rooms have balconies. The courtyards are full of flowers with benches, tables and chairs for hanging out. The back courtyard has a great view overlooking the city. The rooms are cozy with wooden floors and some with stone walls. The staff is both Spanish and English speaking and are extremely helpful and friendly. We were able to get a 4 person room with a good breakfast included for $11 per person per night. When Lynette and Liz left, we switched to a double room with shared bath and breakfast included for $16 total per night. Not bad for a touch of luxury! We highly recommend Hostal Amaru if you find yourself in Cusco.
We need to back up, as Lynette and Liz can´t leave the story yet. We spent 3 days in Cusco getting acclimatized, seeing the sights and doing a bit of shopping. We spent one day seeing ancient Incan ruins that are within 15 km of Cusco. We took a taxi to the furthest site and then walked back into town taking in the other sites on the way. The most noteworthy of the sites is called Sacsayhuaman, or as Todd likes to say...Sexy Woman. It is (or rather was) an Incan fort about 2 km from Cusco. The stonework is just as impressive as Machu Picchu. The cut stones are enormous and placed together without mortar. One of the stones weighs over 300 tons. The ruins were interesting to see and the walk through the Cusco countryside was a great way to spend the day.
On the other hand, shopping in and around Cusco can be hazardous to your pocketbook! The prices are good and with a little haggling, can be fantastic.....tempting even the most self controlled to buy too much. Liz and Lynette became pros at the haggling part...we created monsters! There´s a great Sunday market in the Sacred Valley town of Pisaq. It´s a beautiful bus ride from Cusco that takes about an hour. Luckily, we only had a few days of shopping before our trek to Machu Picchu began.
After much anticipation, we started the hike on the Inca trail. Our group consisted of 12 young, fun people from all over the world. Our guides were Leo and Aldo and finishing off our group were about 18 other Peruvians. These guys were amazing, functioning as cooks, waiters and porters. They carried huge loads up and down the mountains wearing only sandals. They would start out on the trail after us and run circles around us. We were careful to get out of their way as many were running with heavy loads on their backs, most using only shoulder straps and makeshift "backpacks". We did learn that there have been many regulations put in place regarding the porters and the amount of weight they can carry. We were told that as early as 6 years ago, there were no weight restrictions and some porters were carrying more than their bodyweight. Now, the limit is 18 kg per porter, which most, if not all, will agree is a welcome regulation.
It rained for the first 3 days of hiking, which added more of a mystical feeling to the trail. The porters and guides did such an amazing job. Each day along the trail, they would set up a tent for us with snacks, hot drinks and lunch. When we gringos arrived at the campsites, our tents were already set up for us and they had hot coca tea ready to hand out. We were awoken in the mornings with some of the porters coming to our tents serving us hot tea. This camping trip was nothing short of luxurious. We highly recommend SAS travel if you´re considering hiking the Inca trail. The staff is friendly, professional, fun and downright amazing. Our guides, Leo and Aldo, went out of their way to teach us about Incan culture, history and architecture.
Unfortunately, Todd and Lynette caught a stomach virus the first night on the trail. Thankfully, we were ble to hire porters to carry their backpacks on day 2, the hardest day. On day 2, we hiked over "Dead Woman´s Pass"at 4,200 meters. Todd and Lynette were amazing. They motored up the pass despite bad bellies, no appetite and lack of sleep (due to frequent trips to the loo). The virus eased by the last day, so we all enjoyed the beautiful day we had at Machu Picchu.
The night before reaching Machu Picchu was spent at a massive campsite with about 250 other people. It was complete with restaurant, bar and hot showers. However, the hot water was not only sporatic, but so was the water itself. Liz and Todd managed to score showers before the water ran out. Lynette and Maggie really appreciated their showers when they got off the trail!
From this last campsite, we visited Wiñay Wayna, which was an Incan citadel in it´s time. Here, Leo gave us a lot of information about farming techniques and the use of microclimates created by the various stone terrace levels. Turns out the Incans grew over 1000 types of corn and more than 300 types of potatos, along with other crops. One of our favorite features of Wiñay Wayna was the series of approximately 12 working ceremonial water fountains. They were more impressive than the ceremonial fountains at Machu Picchu. This side trip to Wiñay Wayna is usually optional, but if you hike the Inca trail, we highly suggest you see it.
The next morning, we awoke at 4 am to hike to the Sun Gate for our first view of Machu Picchu. As we hiked the 2 hours, the clouds slowly lifted and the rain stopped....enough for a hazy view of Machu Picchu. Breathtaking none the less! As we hiked down to Machu Picchu, the weather turned sunny and warm. We can't even begin to describe Machu Picchu. If you´ve seen pictures, you can only begin to imagine how awesome (in the true sense of the word) it actually is.
That night, after saying goodbye to our group, we stayed in Agua Caliente to soak in the hot springs and recoup a little. The next morning, we were on a train back to Cusco. Lynette left the following morning and the remaining 3 of us got on a bus to Arequipa. Arequipa is a relatively wealthy Peruvian city and much less touristy. We were seldomly harrassed by street vendors and restaurant touts, unlike in Cusco. It also has some fantastic colonial architecture, including that of Santa Catalina Monastery. The monastery opened to the public in 1970 after 490(ish) years. We took a countryside tour as well. On the tour, we visited an old mill, colonial mansion and various lookout points with good views. Noteworthy of Arequipa are the massive volcanos reaching over 6000 meters in height that surround the city.
Our next stop was Nasca, where you find the mysterious Nasca lines. They are images and geometric designs found in the desert, but only visible from the air. They were first sighted in the 1920´s when commercial planes started flying over Nasca. The lines are thought to be over 2000 years old and preserved due to lack of rain in the area. Some of the images are hundreds of meters in length and one of the straight lines runs for several kilometers. Their origin and purpose are a mystery with thousands of theories attempting an explanation. The most plausible theories are related to water sources, religious ceremonies and astrological mappings. Most likely, it is a combination of all three.
As we mentioned, the lines are visible only from the air. So, we took a plane ride over the desert and they are quite impressive. The pilot would dip one wing to point at an image, then circle around and dip the wing on the other side. On that plane ride, Maggie came to the realization that she is a puker as her breakfast was almost forced back up.
Another highlight of Nasca (and folks, there aren't many) are the mummies in the desert. There´s an ancient cemetary, Chauchilla cemetary, just outside of Nasca. Unfortunately, grave robbers have taken their toll on the area. The graves not only contain mummies, but beautiful pottery, fabrics, gold masks and other valuable items. The grave robbers of the past and the present (it is still occurring) destroy the graves in search of items to sell on the black market. They take what they want and leave remnants of mummies, pieces of bone, braided hair and pottery shards strewn about. Archeologists have restored some of the gravesites for viewing. Might sound a little morbid to visit the area, but it´s very interesting culturally.
The bus ride back to Cusco was quite arduous. The only seats left were for the 12:45 am bus that actually departed at 1:30 am. While the bus was considered business class, the seats were less than comfortable. After a long 13 hours, we were glad to arrive back in Cusco. After some final shopping and a good night´s sleep (at Hostal Amaru), Liz headed home.
We couldn´t imagine another bus ride, so we decided to spend our last 2.5 days hanging out in Cusco. As we write this, we are sitting in a schwanky cafe near the Plaza de Armes drinking lemonade and eating chocolate cake. Travelling is exhausting! :) Next stop...Chile.
Cheers.
-- Todd & Maggie
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