Off the Sidewalk

Just a couple miles outside Cusco is an Incan masterpiece called Saqsaywaman, pronounced “sexy woman”. If you take pictures without people in them to indicate scale, you have no idea how huge these magnificent stones are. The way the Incas fit them together is so precise, with no mortar or mud. They are absolutely amazing to see up close.

…and here are some of my paintings.” Strolling the Plaza de Armas in Cusco is like running a obstacle course. Every few feet we are approached by one or more people trying to sell us something. Saying “no, gracias” becomes as natural as saying “buenas dias”. Some of the kids have a unique approach, like the boy claiming to be Picasso, offering us some “original” paintings from the stack he produced from under his jacket. Then there was Milton, a boy selling postcards who asked where we were from. When he heard California, he listed the facts he knew of our state: capitol is Sacramento; governor is Arnold Schwarzenegger. Next time we´re asked I´m going to say we´re from North Dakota and see what happens. Other sellers are pushing finger puppets, handmade dolls, carvings, anything and everything a tourist might want, but not need.

Today we toured the hilly area northeast of Cusco. Saqsaywaman (pronounced “sexy woman”) is an incredible Incan stone fortress covering many acres. The gigantic stones assembled there by Incan craftsmen fit together perfectly without mortar. An overwhelming accomplishment, standing in the presence of the magnificent stones is a moving experience. Similar to the giants on Easter Island or the pyramids in Egypt, it´s impossible to comprehend how something so huge could be formed and transported to the site.

Here we are. We had a delayed takeoff from the US but an uneventful flight to Lima. After filling out our Andean Immigration Card and indicating our “main porpouse of travel” we arrived Lima after midnight. The taxi ride to our hotel was mildly terrifying. My first impression of Lima was that Baghdad couldn´t be much different. Skeletal dogs and gangs of men roaming, fires of trash burning along the streets, partially destroyed buildings and wall-enclosed homes everywhere. Our driver took a circuitous route, I don´t know if it was for our protection or what, but if that was the safest route, I would hate to see the dangerous one. After first stopping at the wrong hotel, Hotel Carmelo, instead of Hotel Carmel, we were at our stop for the night, well, only for about 5 hours. At 6:45 the next morning we were on the road back to the airport. In daylight and along the route taken this time, Lima looked a little better. I have to say, however, that the Lima airport is very nice. Immaculately clean and well organized. After stopping at the airport McDonalds for a “McQueso” sandwich and some jugo (juice), we caught our quick flight to Cusco.

Cusco is a charming town. One of the highest cities in the world, at 11,400 feet, Cusco feels like another world. We´ll be here for a few days so I´ll post my impressions later. It´s lunchtime now so we´re off for lunch Peruvian style.

This is the Plaza de Armas, the main square in Cusco.

Suecia Street is only steps from Plaza de Armas. Hotel Del Prado is about 3 doors down on the right side. The hotel is small, clean and very nice.

Narrow streets leave little room for pedestrians and trucks. This is the street going up to San Blas church.

…did I think we would ever own, need, or want, a headlamp. But somehow I think this thing might come in handy when we have to find the bathroom in the middle of the night in an Amazon lodge with no electricity.

We are in the final frenzied packing phase. We leave in three days.

Guidebooks? Check. Maps? Check. Typhoid, Yellow Fever, Tetanus, Hepatitis shots and Malaria pills? Yikes, what are we getting ourselves into? This blog will document our trip to Peru. Well, hopefully, anyway, since I’m not so sure how this all works when travelling without a computer and I am hoping to post some of our photos for friends and family here (you’ll all get tired of reading about our trip but the photos should be great). We’ll see. Our itinerary is to fly from San Francisco to Houston, then straight to Lima. The next morning onward to Cusco, a full three days before our guide shows up. We thought it would be good to arrive with extra time to acclimate to the altitude (over 11,000 ft.) before expecting anything (like walking upright) of our already out-of-shape bodies. After a few days in Cusco, we will visit the Sacred Valley and overnight in Ollantaytambo, then on to Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu. From there, back to Cusco and a flight to Puerto Maldonado, a small town near the border of Bolivia. We’ll go from there by boat to the EcoAmazonia Lodge for three nights, then back to Lima for the flight home to San Francisco. By then, I hope to have overcome my fear of bugs as big as Buicks and learned that a little (or a lot of) heat and humidity does nothing worse to me than make my hair curlier.