Off the Sidewalk

It’s always good to come home to familiar things, but my thoughts are still in Peru. I won’t miss having to use bottled water to brush my teeth and make sure not to get water in my mouth in the shower. I won’t miss having to throw used toilet paper in the trash rather than in the toilet. But I will carry the images of colorful Peru and its warm, inquisitive people with me for a long time. It’s good to step outside your comfort zone once in a while. A bit of a challenge, but usually rewarding and surprising. I learned things about myself on this trip. Good things. I guess that’s the whole point of travelling the world, to see what’s out there and what we can learn.

This trip was arranged through a small tour company called Adventure Life, based in Missoula, Montana. Lots of people avoid tours, thinking it means being crammed in a huge bus and missing out on the intimate parts of their destination. But this tour was much the opposite. We had eight people on our trip, including the two of us.

Our plane was met in Cusco by Yuri, a friendly guy eager to see that we got to our hotel promptly and to answer our questions about the days ahead. We arrived early in Cusco so that we could have a few days to acclimate before the tour started. This turned out to be a great thing. It gave us time to settle in and wander on our own with no agenda, exploring as we wished.

Our tour group consisted of two other couples about our age; one couple had their two kids along, ages 11 and 14. It was obvious right from the start that those kids had done their share of travelling. They never once complained. They sat quietly while we waited or when conversation didn’t include them. They ate from the regular menu and seemed to enjoy all kinds of food, familiar or not. They were a pleasure to travel with. The adults on the trip were interesting and well-travelled and we thoroughly enjoyed our time with them.

The hotels arranged for us were great. With the exception of the hotel in Lima (which was fine, but not great), all hotels were first rate, and appropriate to the locations we visited. In Cusco, Hotel Del Prado is just steps from the main square. The staff went out of their way for us, bringing coca tea when we arrived, suggesting nearby sights to see or restaurants to try. In Ollantaytambo, Hotel El Sauce was small, charming and clean, in a fantastic location in the middle of town. In Aguas Calientes, we stayed at the Machu Picchu Inn; simple and close to the trains arriving from Ollantaytambo and the busses leaving for Machu Picchu.

Our guide, Marco Palomino, couldn’t have been better. He loves his country and was eager to share his knowledge of its history, culture and customs with us.

When one couple in our group told him their daughter had brought some toys and clothing to give to a Peruvian girl, he took us down a long bumpy road barely wide enough for our van. We stopped at a small house and he introduced us to the shy young boy living there with his family, who were away working in nearby fields at the time. We peeked inside the tiny home. Dirt floors and a table were pretty much all we saw. Chickens, dogs and people co-habitating. I wish the girls had been home to receive the gifts, but I am sure they were thrilled to see the package later.

I would highly recommend Adventure Life and wouldn’t hesitate to tour with them again.

The journey from Ollantaytambo to Machu Picchu is about an hour and a half by train. The narrow guage train passes by sections of the Inca Trail and along the Urubamba River.

Arriving in Aguas Calientes, disembarking passengers are immediately deposited into a marketplace very similar to ones we saw in other towns. Colorful blankets, rugs, backpacks and other woven goods are hanging everywhere. Jewelry, t-shirts, and postcards cover every wall. Seems like the only purpose of the town is to sell stuff to Machu Picchu-bound tourists.

Busses leave about every 30 minutes for Machu Picchu, a 25 minute ride up a steep switchback road. We enjoyed the views as we climbed up the mountain, except when we met another bus coming in the opposite direction. One bus (usually the downward-travelling one) backs up to the very edge of the road, allowing the upward moving bus space to pass but giving passengers a scary view straight down to the valley below.

Here is the steep, winding road up to Machu Picchu.

Machu Picchu is hard to adequately describe. Overwhelming, breathtaking, stunning…these words don´t come close to doing the job. It´s impossible to take a bad photo. And impossible to comprehend how (and why) the place was built in such a remote and inaccessible spot. At the top of jagged Andean peaks, the stone terraces and buildings give few clues about their original purpose but draw you in to explore every stone path, building and stairway. I will never forget the experience of just sitting on a stone bench and gazing across the acres of this marvelous Incan gem.

The llamas seem to enjoy the view too.

You don’t stroll through Machu Picchu. Everything is a hike. My legs were killing me after exploring for two 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 ... [Continue reading this entry]