A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving. ~Lao Tzu

The four day uphill trek on the Incan trail to Machu Picchu is infamous for its difficulty and length. It is one of the most popular tourist activities in the world. Yet what most travelers hiking the Incan trail do not realize is that they are following a spiritual pilgrimage. It is the necessary arduous journey one makes in order to prove worthy enough to be close to God. Here God takes the form of massive, furry peaks, formed millions of years ago by the crush of continental plates. At the end of many miles and days of uphill climbing, one crests a peak and sees below a city crouched like a cat on a small bridge of land, thousands of feet above the valley. Machu Picchu is a floating cathedral, a temple dedicated solely to the pure and unadulterated power of the Andes. There are those who claim this place to be a summer resort for the ancient elite Incans, but they are misguided, jaded by our western desires. One must only stand still and gaze for a brief moment for it to become clear that Machu Picchu is a celebration, an epic poem written in stone as an ode to the mountains.

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WE MADE IT!!! The Dolphin has chugged and sputtered and heaved its way up the Andes to 12,000 feet. We have conquered our most difficult goal – it’s literally all downhill from here.

In Arequipa, the halfway point where the roads reportedly become much steeper and the real mountains begin, we stopped for a night to rest in a parking lot near the center of town. We awoke to the sight of great mountains looming behind the walls of the tiny parking area. We knew the next day would be the real test – from 3000 to 13,000 feet. As we were heading out of town, we stopped outside a little open air market. We bought fresh pineapple juice from a grinning Incan woman, who laughed through her gold teeth and kept refilling our cups and told us she had one niece who was married to a Japanese man and another one in Brazil. Everyone from Mexico on has called Yoshi “Chino,” which irritates him no end. It appears to be the only word people in Latin America know for Asian. When we tell them he is Japanese however, they inevitably begin to smile and bring up some story about a relative in Japan or someone they know of Japanese descent. The Japanese seem to have left only good impressions in Latin America, both through the charitable works done by the Japanese governments (bridges, disaster relief, public buildings, etc) and by the Japanese immigrants and tourists themselves. People in both Central and South America always say, “Ah! Japanese! They are good people, the Japanese. And very intelligent! Look at their cars and their cameras!” Yoshi will, I’m sure, only add to the positive image the Japanese have down here – hopefully he will also aid to educate people on the differences between Asian nations and those around him will stop calling him Chino. Worth it to try at least!

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On our way to Lima, we stopped in a small town whose market included the largest witch doctor market in Peru. Yoshi and I were still ill and markets are generally not Yoshi’s favorite ... [Continue reading this entry]

Saturday, May 6 : Peru [Continue reading this entry]