A Million Minutes in Africa

Cuzco is the gateway to Machu Picchu and therefore a huge number of travelers pass through there. The central plaza is full of backpackers and touts pushing restaurants, tours, shoe shines, even finger puppets.

There are some interesting museums there, including the regional history museum. Here’s a victim of overexposure to touts.

Outside of Cuzco is the Sacred Valley of the Incas. There are many Inca ruins here, including those of Pisac. Here’s our Aussie travel companion of 10 days, Christos, and me exploring. We found Christos in Huancavelica, actually he found us. We returned to our hotel after a hard day of looking around and eating when the front desk clerk gave us a note. It asked if we were heading out of town and had transport. Christos found his way to Huancavelica in an uncomfortable train and was looking for a way out.

In the town of Pisac there is a bustling Sunday market. This lady brought her kids and her kid goat.

From Pisac we drove to Ollantaytambo, where we left the car and took the train to Aguas Calientes, also known as Machu Picchu pueblo. (It’s the town at the foot of the mountain on top of which Machu Picchu sits.) We stayed overnight there and in the morning set off on foot for the famed lost city of the Incas. It was a steep climb, mostly involving uneven rock stairs. It took an hour and ten minutes to ascend. Here’s what we saw.

We met these guys up there.

Those of you who have been there are probably wondering why we didn’t hike the 4-day Inca Trail. Well, that was our original plan, but it turns out that this is the rainy season. The trail is muddy and slippery, and it rained a lot on the days surrounding our visit. We were lucky to have sun on the morning of our ascent. We talked to some people who did hike the Inca trail, and they confirmed that it was wet and miserable. When they reached Machu Picchu, it was fogged over so they couldn’t even see it. We feel lucky.

The drive from Ayacucho to Andahuaylas was another bone-jarring 10 hours on rocky roads with incredible scenery. Not a lot of other traffic, but we did pass a combi van carrying human passengers within and canine ones above, safely encased in plastic bags.

Met some more friendly police officers in Andahuaylas. We asked them where a particular hotel was, and they had us follow them straight to it. They wished us a good trip. Somehow we didn’t expect all the police in Peru to be so welcoming. What a nice surprise.

We successfully made it to the highest driveable pass IN THE WORLD on our way from Huancavelica to Ayacucho. Ayacucho is a nice enough city, but when you read about it, it is usually referred to as the stronghold ... [Continue reading this entry]

The other day we began our journey from the shore of Peru, zero sea level, to the highest drivable pass at over 5,000 meters. That is about three times the altitude of Denver; serious altitude sickness territory. The ... [Continue reading this entry]

Some people might say I have issues, and they are probably right. For example, when I saw on the map of Peru that there is a place in the Andes noted as the ... [Continue reading this entry]

We got the car back! Yay! It only took 5 days of signing, waiting, stamping, waiting, taking taxis and collectivos to and from warehouses, offices and customs, and waiting. Did I mention the waiting involved? More to come...

Manana is the day we are supposed to collect our vehicle. I must say that the representative from GRUPO ULTRAMAR, Luis, has been doing a wonderful job. Do not try something like this without professional help, or ... [Continue reading this entry]

While we wait for the truck to continue our South American foray, we just wanted to post some photos we didn't get a chance to share from Central America. They were taken in December.

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One of the most trying things about traveling is the constant pounding you take from strangers' indifference. Actually, that would be one of the most trying things about everyday living. ... [Continue reading this entry]

Nazca is an area described by a Quechua word that means "suffering" because the ancient people had little water in this part of the world. It is in the Peruvian desert, a place notable for mysterious shapes marked ... [Continue reading this entry]