Inca Trail

We left our hotel on a bus to the Sacred Valley again, to Ollantaytambo. We stopped at a grocery store to get some more water, coca candies, chocolate wafer bars (Kalyn) and such. One of our tour members visited an impressive Inca ruin there, that had many steep steps.

Knowing we had plenty of that kind of thing ahead of us, the rest of us toured a little house in town. It sounds kind of weird, but if there were tourists that came to Frontenac and they wanted to see my house, I would let them look around inside for a few coins a day.

These guinea pigs were running all around inside.

They are awfully cute, and the little squeaky noise they make is adorable.

This is the cooking area.

There were various things hanging to dry.

And these are the skulls of relatives. Grandmas and grandpas. They are still with the family, watching over them.

Offerings. I believe these are llama fetuses.

This is my daughter in front of the snow capped Veronica.

Here we have Veronica in focus. Very impressive.

We were taken by bus to the place where we would begin our trek. This was where we were served our first lunch meal, prepared by the cooks who traveled with us. We were fed very high energy, high calorie food. I really liked the food. We had cream of mushroom soup here that was delicious and nothing like cream of mushroom soup I have had at home.

We walked, with our passports in hand, to the head of the Inca Trail. We got our passports stamped there and crossed the river to begin our hike.

 Here Kalyn and I have had our passports stamped and are ready to cross the river.

This is the Rio Urubamba from the bridge.

Isn't that amazing? And the views never got any less exciting.

We climbed up the hill, higher and higher above the raging Urubamba river below. Here we see some Inca terraces across the river.

We marveled along the first stretch at the cacti and the huge agave plants.

And we saw these ancient guest houses built for weary traveler along the Inca Trail.

Speaking of travelers along the trail, at this point we weren't that far along the trail, but I was surprised to see that there were people living on the trail. It felt to me like we were very isolated, yet I saw women and children traveling the opposite direction, toward the town we came from, like it was very routine. We practically crossed through some people's yards. There are no roads here, these people need to walk several miles to get to a road, and travel up and down hills steeper than this Kansas girl ever wants to walk on a regular basis.

The white colored line in these layers is a layer of volcanic ash. Troy had the camera most of the time and this would be very interesting to him.

 So we went up the hill, then back down and over a river, then up a more steep hill. At this point I'm thinking I'm glad I'm at the very top and I'm thinking it's the most beautiful place I've ever been.

And I look over and I see the rest of the group (yes, they were ahead of me a little) gazing down at the valley where we would be camping.

And it's quite a little beautiful place, itself. So isolated.

We would be camping between a potato field and a raging river with Inca Ruins across the bank. This place is called Llactapata. And I believe the Incas burned it in hopes of detouring the Spanish from discovering the Inca Trail. That's what I understood with my limited interpretation of English spoken with a Peruvian accent. I will look it up later to be sure.

There is a little village down there and one of our tour members found a place that sold beer. So we bought one to celebrate our first day. We were all so excited!

We walked around and explored by the river. They set up the food tent and served tea. The porters already had our tents set up for us. Troy took a single tent that was originally intended for Kalyn. Carrie and I took the double tent intended for her and Madison, and the girls took the double tent intended for me and Troy. Perfect! We dressed for cold weather because evenings and mornings are quite chilly. We were fed very well and stayed up talking in the tent and drinking coca tea.

But the big excitement was the sky! Gorgeous during the day, yes. But after dark.....oh my! I have never before, and maybe never will again, see a sky so black with so many stars and the Milky Way illuminated so well against it. Our guide pointed out some constellations I have never seen, like the Southern Cross and Scorpio.

 Cute girls. Tent buddies.

And I'm still thinking it's just the most beautiful place ever.

The next couple days would be challenging hiking. Much harder than our first day. I would be just as excited, but a little more tired by the time we got to camp.

But that's another blog.

Our Tour

We transferred over to our hotel for the tour in Cusco and met our tour group on Sunday. Nilton was our tour leader, he lives in Cusco. There was Ben and Nick, they were friends from England. Dave was a Marine Medic from England. Pierre was a medical student in England. Debbie was also from England, traveling by herself. They were all young, 20's or 30's. Troy, Carrie and I were the oldest.

Here we are in the hotel lobby waiting to meet our tour group.

We went out together to tour the city shortly after we met. I learned that the big, open courtyard we passed everyday on the Avenida del Sol was the Incan Temple of the Sun. It's all under the Cathedral. Well, the Spanish built their cathedral on top of the Incan Temple. That's what they did, they detroyed what they could that was Incan and built their thing on top of it. We took a tour. These are all pictures from that tour.

Inca wall in Cusco.

Nilton pointing out the angles and how they fit together.

The Cathedral built on top of the Inca temple. The tower had to be rebuilt in the 1800's because of Earthquake damage.

Courtyard  at the Temple of the Sun. This is in the middle of the city.

Later at the hotel we met to go over our list of things that we would need for the Inca Trail. We went out for dinner later together. I had trout on this night, which I learned was always a good choice in Cusco. Quinoa is also very good. I ate Quinoa soup often on our trip, it was served a lot during our camping also. It's a grain, a little like rice.

The next morning we visited the large statue of Christ that stands above the city. We stopped in the Sacred Valley and took in the views of the farmlands, the river, the mountains. We went to a wildlife refuge and checked out some llamas, alpacas, birds, pumas and condors, all rescued.

 The Christ statue above the city.

 Looking back down on the city from the hill.

 It was a chilly morning at the wildlife refuge.

 Here's Madison with a tropical bird.

 I never did catch all the differences between llamas, alpacas and other cousins related to the camel. I don't know what this is, but it has very long fur and likes to pose for cameras.

 Pumas!

 We posed with the condor. While our guide told us to be very wary of it.

 Nilton explains all the different kinds of corn grown in the valley.

 This is a view of the Sacred Valley from the road.

 I believe the name of this village is Pisac. Here Kalyn is bargaining with a vendor over the price of a wooden carved guinea pig key chain for Alina.

 Cool tree. Everyone tells me these trees are very old. I don't think I ever got it straight from anyone what they are called.

This is a very famous mural on Avenida del Sol that I see all over the internet. Kalyn took a picture as we were back in Cusco picking up last minute things (bottled water, decongestant) for our hiking trip.
We would have to pack our things in duffel bags tonight. We had to make sure we had no more than 5 lbs of stuff in the bag, and there would also be a 2lb sleeping bag in it. The porters will carry these for us (they can carry up to 50 lbs) and we would carry day packs for our jackets and water, chap stick, snacks, whatever else we needed access to during the day.

I will write about our trail trip tomorrow. Of course, tomorrow is the first day of school and I will be dead tired, but maybe I will have a chance to write before bed!

Cusco!

Now, let's see.....we left for Dallas on Tuesday, we flew to Fort Lauderdale and on to Lima on Wednesday, got on a bus headed to Cusco on Thursday and spent the night, so it must have been Friday morning when we arrived in Cusco. It all sort of blurred together, and we were all three a little sleep deprived and had slight headaches at some point after arriving in Cusco. It's easy to blame altitude, but when you haven't slept well it's hard to say what the real culprit is.

We were eager to explore and hungry though, so we walked for a bit in the historical part of down, just down the Avenue del Sol and found a traditional style restaurant to eat lunch. We were eager to try things we had heard about so:

Troy ordered guinea pig. Right off the bat, for his first lunch. Couldn't wait.

 

I ordered one of those corn cobs with the gigantic kernals I had read were so delicious (hmmm, not so much, really) which was served with huge hunks of cheese and some tomatoes. I also ordered mutton. I guess I was starving. We all ordered too much food at this meal. Like I said, a bit sleep deprived.

 

Kalyn ordered ceviche, which is fresh raw fish (in this region usually trout) marinated in citrus juices. It was good, but it was heavy on the juices and spiced with chili peppers.

And then dancers came in colorful bird costumes and performed traditional dances. Notice the huge potato print on the wall. Peru is famous for many different kinds of potatoes. They have some very unusual ones we would find on our plates throughout our trip.

 

This little girl was loving the dancers and was dancing along with her brother. The Peruvian children are adorable. Their parents dress them up so cute and dote over them.

We were kind of wanting to explore more after lunch, but we were more tired than anything else. We went back to the Hotel Taypikala, and sometime in the early evening our room phone rang. Madison and Carrie had arrived by train from Puno, I believe. We were happy to see them and they were happy to see us. They had been in Peru a week before us, but even in our short few days we were getting frustrated trying to communicate with only Spanish speaking people.

We got to explore some of the town the next day. We went to the grocery store to get water to drink. I love grocery stores in foreign countries. The packaging on familiar items is so different, and the unfamiliar items are even more interesting. I remember, in the glass case when you walked in they displayed clear plastic cups with chocolate pudding layered with lime jello. Interesting combination.

We did not want headaches due to altitude sickness. I read a lot about coca leaves and heard that these candies should help while hiking. We bought several and ate them liberally. Calling them candies is a bit deceiving, they tasted more like a throat lozenge.

 Kalyn is always checking out the pastries at the store.

These sweet ladies asked in sweet voices if we want to take a picture with their cute goat? We gave them a sol and took the picture. There would be many, many cute girls dressed the same way with cute little goats asking for pictures, but this was our only one.

 Here are the girls in front of a fountain near our hotel.

This is a famous cathedral (ca-teee-dral) on the Plaza de Armas.

Troy and I posed in front of the cathedral doors. Of course we had coffee at the Starbucks next door, for Kalyn. It's interesting to see stores and restaurants of today housed in original Inca buildings. The Starbucks was built on top of one.

I bought a bag at this shop. I would later purchase a poncho at a similar shop. I knew I wouldn't come home without one.

On Sunday we transferred over to the Hotel Puma to meet our tour group. We wondered who we would be hiking the Inca Trail with. Where would they be from? How old were they? How long had they been in Peru? Where had they been before? What would we learn from them? I will post about that tomorrow.

Going to Peru!

We left for Dallas on a Tuesday. When I booked our flights it was just easier to fly from Dallas than anywhere else. Especially since we had family down there to stay with. Troy hurried to get caught up enough at work and I tried to get all the cucumbers pickled before we left. We drove to my Uncle Gary and Aunt Thelma's house. They were gracious enough to take us out to dinner, stay up talking with us, let us stay the night, and allow us to leave our car in their driveway the whole time we were gone. It's good to have family like that! And Uncle Gary was up playing Amazing Grace on his guitar at about 3:30 in the morning and was ready to take us to the airport at about 4:00 for our early morning flight! Even though we left Dallas early, we had to fly to Fort Lauderdale and we didn't arrive in Lima, Peru until 10:00 at night.

I had arranged to be picked up by a shuttle from the hotel where we were staying in Lima. I told them when our flight should arrive and they said there would be someone there holding a sign with our name on it. By the time we got through immigration and everything I wondered if they would still be there waiting for us. I wish I had a camera ready when we got outside the airport, because it was absolutely crazy with hundreds of people holding up signs and calling out to airport passengers. It kind of makes you feel like a celebrity. I found our guy in that mess! He took us to the hotel and Kalyn got to begin her job as translator for us, because from this point on nobody spoke English. And she got to experience the craziness that is driving in huge South American cities.

We got a good night's sleep at the Airport Manhattan Inn (which was not near the airport) and it had a very charming little courtyard. We got caught up on emails and facebook and even went out and walked around a little to see what this part of the city looked like before we had to take a shuttle to the bus station.

 This is our hotel, and the huge cactus growing just outside.

This is some cactus grafitti art (shame on you, Pedro) down the block. I am enamored with the cacti, we don't have much around Kansas.

Troy and Kalyn posing in front of someone's house. Nice yard!

I read in my Lonely Planet guide (which I did not receive in the mail until after we returned from Peru) that Lima is second in dryness, as a world capitol city, only to Cairo.

We went to the bus station to catch a bus to Cusco. I had read that it was good to take the bus because it can help you to acclimate to the altitude at a slower rate than flying. The bus should take 20 hours. Plus, I was excited to see the countryside.

Our bus ride took 23 hours. There was a flat tire along the way, and road construction that brought everything to complete halt for an hour and a half just outside of Cusco. The seats were very comfortable, they reclined back so we could sleep. We were fed (chicken, potatoes and rice....both meals. Except ham sandwiches and cookies for breakfast.) and there was tv and movies that played during the daylight hours (in Spanish). And I did see very interesting countryside. We drove along the coast, which had some pretty looking beaches but also looked like very poor communities. We saw every kind of fruit and vegetables growing. In some cases the crops seemed to grow right up to the shoreline. We drove by Nazca, but of course no view of the lines. And those parts of the ride were good.

The bad part was, we got a little dehydrated during that time, because we didn't drink enough water. It was very difficult to sleep no matter how comfy the seats are, because we were on a bus that rocked back and forth as it drove fast over pretty steep and treacherous mountain passes. There was a bathroom on the bus.....but....you know. It was very difficult to get there with all the rocking and difficult to use once you got there. Kalyn got to feeling pretty lousy and Troy didn't sleep. Once we got to Cusco we were happy to get checked into our hotel, drink some coca tea to try to stave off the altitude sickness, and vow NOT to ride the bus back to Lima at the end of our trip. I left those plans open for that reason and it was a good thing.

All the buildings in Cusco have red tiled roofs. And everyone hangs out their clothes. This was the view outside our hotel room.

We would explore the city a little, eat some traditional food, and meet up with the Smith girls, who went down to Peru about a week before us, before we left on our tour. But I will write about that tomorrow.

Not all who wander are lost....

"Our passports are really nice!" noticed family friend Madison Smith one night last week. "I studied mine on the train and it has some really cool quotes in it."

I took mine out to look at it. I remember there being quotes in it. I was thinking they were quotes about travel, like the title of this post. But they aren't, they are patriotic quotes and the pages are beautiful too. They are full of American symbols and iconic scenery from across the country.

I love my country. I love my passport. I love to travel.

The train she was talking about was taking us from a town called Aguas Calientes, a village at the bottom of Machu Picchu, to another village in the Sacred Valley of the Incas. This was our once in a lifetime trip to Machu Picchu. Dreamed of for....oh....I don't know....20 some years? Maybe 30? Not on Madison's part, of course, but certainly Troy's.

And among the people on this train were Madison and Carrie Smith, Troy, Kalyn, me and the other members of our tour group. We had hiked the Inca Trail for 4 days all the way to Machu Picchu, then taken a bus down the mountain to the village and spent the night. We returned the next day to tour Machu Picchu, then we were taking a train from there to the Sacred Valley, where we would transfer to a bus that would take us back to Cusco, where it all started.

Where it all started.......

When Troy and I were first together, back in 1989, we took a trip to the Grand Canyon. We rafted the lower section for a week and then hiked out. I remember Troy talking about Machu Picchu back then. He is a lover of archaeology and also outdoor activities, like hiking out of canyons. And rafting, camping, and geology.

Many years later we went to India, when Kalyn was 4 years old, so it was 2000. We went for his brother Travis' wedding. I remember Troy talking to people then about his desire to go to Machu Picchu and hike the Inca Trail.

About 5 years ago I planned a trip to Slovenia. He was very interested in his heritage, and we had learned this was where his ancestors had come to America from. I was very excited about the trip as was he (and Kalyn also got to go with us on that one) but he did express to me one night before we left that he wished it was Machu Picchu. I remember thinking "D'oh!"

And then Carrie told me last year that she had asked Madison where she wanted to go for her high school graduation trip and she expressed an interest in going to South America, maybe Peru. I saw this as my opportunity to finally fulfill that dream and invited our family to go along. Minus Alina, who is just not old enough yet. Carrie and I have traveled together before, lots of times actually. Troy was totally on board going together so the planning and budgeting began!

I worked extra, Troy worked extra, we planned, we shopped for the perfect hiking gear, and for a good year we built excitement for our trip to Peru. I booked it back in October.

It did not disappoint! It was a fabulous trip! I feel like I could take on the world after completing the Inca Trail hike and I have said that to many people this week.

I started school on Monday. It's a busy week. I am making this my first installment on my blog about our trip. I will continue tomorrow with actual documentation of our travels, including pictures, of course.

Oh, alright......I'll leave one tonight.