A final day in Cusco

I managed to convince Adam to wake up early so we could squeeze in as many sights as possible our last few hours in Cusco.  I don’t remember all the sights we went to see at this point–there was at least one museum, a monastery, and possibly a church.  We managed to see a fair amount though.

I wanted to squeeze in a little shopping but, unfortunately, lunch turned out to be a slower affair than I had hoped so I only had about half an hour to run around San Blas before I had to return to the hotel to catch our taxi to the airport.  We had a flight from Cusco to Lima, a long layover in Lima during which I chastised myself for not making prior arrangements so we could have taken advantage of those hours to spend a little more time in Lima, and then a connecting flight back to New York.  We both really enjoyed our time in Peru, which made me wonder why we hadn’t visited the country earlier!

Amazon trip, Day 3

Shortly before breakfast, another guide informed our guide that there were monkeys fairly close by.  Our guide had told us that monkeys were a common sight, even venturing into the dining room, until about three months prior, when work on a nearby road started and road workers started killing monkeys for food.  We rushed over to the spot where the monkeys had been spotted and watched the monkeys as they ate fruit from the tree.  We then returned to the lodge for breakfast and some more hummingbird viewing before it was time to board the van for the ride back to Cusco.  Not long into our ride, our driver mentioned to our guide that he had a seen a bird at a location we were approaching.  Our guide asked him to stop the car and looked for and found the bird–a well-camouflaged nightjar that was sleeping on a ledge.

At another location, our guide spotted a hike which I got close enough to to snap a photo of

This is a good photo of the dirt road we drove on to and from Manu Cloud Forest.

Adam snapped this scenic photo during our drive.

This is where we stopped for lunch

And a few more photos taken along the ride back to Cusco

Shortly after returning to our hotel in Cusco, we had to head back out to a plaza where we were meeting to go to a planetarium for a presentation on Incan astronomy just outside of Cusco.  The presentation was interesting and we got to see stars within Southern hemisphere from a telescope afterwards.  After we returned to Cusco, we went  to an upscale Peruvian fusion restaurant situated within the Museo de Arte Precolombino for dinner.  We both decided to go with the three course tasting menu which soon proved to be more food then we could handle.  The presentation was lovely though as Adam’s photos below indicate.

Ceviche appetizer

Lamb over potato puree

Dessert, anyone?

Painfully full, we slowly trekked back to our hotel.

 

 

Amazon trip, Day 2

It was another early morning as we were returning to the lek in hopes of seeing the cock of the rocks display. They didn’t display as much as the prior evening but I did manage to snap this photo:

After spending about an hour at the lek, we walked back to the lodge to eat breakfast and watch hummingbirds.  Our guide caught a blue butterfly for us to see.

Then we boarded the van and stopped off at a small sanctuary.

Baby capuchin monkey

We drove some distance before arriving at a small town, where the two other guests would be boarding a boat for the next leg of their journey.  As we waited for the boat arrangements to be made, I snapped this photo:

A man approached our guide and they spoke for a bit–turns out, he was a Russian tourist wanted to make arrangements for a boat to take him downriver so he could explore the Amazon for a few days.  He had nothing booked and spoke no Spanish and our guide was at a loss as to how to help him.  We walked around a little and then our guide said that we would have an opportunity to go for a short boat ride.

Adam and I were thrilled–we’d get to go for a boat ride in the Amazon!  We put on our life jackets and scanned the waters of the Madre de Dios.  Blue morpho butterflies fluttered across the river.  We pulled up to some flat rocks where we disembarked to have lunch.  I was hoping our journey would continue after lunch but, alas, the boat drove us back to the dock and our brief boat ride was over.  As we left the boat, Adam and I noticed the Russian tourist board a boat, glaring as we walked past.

The drive back to the lodge was a hot one and by the time we returned to the lodge I had a headache and realized that we had been shortchanged on our one full day in the Amazon in order to transport the other guests to their boat.  I was pretty upset but was drowsy from the heat and took a nap to rest up for our afternoon walk.  We met our guide to walk some of the lodge’s trails in search of manakins and other birds.  Unfortunately, the walk was a bust which only added to my frustration.  Adam took advantage of the walk to take some nice forest shots.

We returned to our lodge and then reconvened with our guide and driver for dinner.  I had planned on sharing my thoughts about the day with our guide but then decided against doing so after he told us about being heartbroken by a Austrian girlfriend when she returned to Austria and neglected to call or e-mail him after they had decided to marry the following year.

Amazon trip, Day 1

When Adam mentioned he was interested in going to Peru, I said we could go as long as we went to the Peruvian Amazon.  The Amazon rainforest has long been a source of fascination for me and I couldn’t miss out on the opportunity to finally see the rainforest.  There are different rainforest destinations within Peru and it didn’t take me long to hone in on Manu when I read about its pristine forests and concentration of birds.  Unfortunately, time  is always in short supply on our trips so the three-day, two-night Manu Cloud Forest trip was the only option we could go with.  As our trip to Peru approached, I realized this meant we would only have one full day in the cloud forest since the car ride to and from Cusco takes seven to eight hours.

The first day of our much anticipated trip had finally arrived and we were picked up from our hotel and picked up two more passengers along the way–a father and his older daughter.  As we drove outside of Cusco, one of the guides talked about what some of the towns we drove past specialized in (i.e. chiccarones, etc).  We stopped in a town with several bakeries to try freshly baked bread and to take a look at the oven of one of the bakeries which was made with clay mixed with human hair (the hair serves a binder which prevents cracks and fissures).  Our next stop was a wetland preserve where we walked across a muddy path to a bird hide and did a little bird watching.

We stopped off another spot to do some bird watching and admired the pre-Incan ruins.

At some point, the paved road became a narrow dirt road and we began ascending.  We stopped off at these pre-Incan archaeological ruins which had previously held mummified bodies.

The dirt road was used by vehicles going in both directions but some of those vehicles were large trucks or buses and, occasionally, we would have to pull over to the side to allow other vehicles to pass or inch past other vehicles.  By midday, I was sleepy and couldn’t keep my eyes open despite the fact that we were completely enshrouded in fog, something we haven’t encountered before.  We stopped for lunch at a spot in this foggy area and I shivered as I ate my lunch.

We stopped off at a small town famous for a parade with characters mocking their Spanish colonizers.

Finally, we pulled into the jungle and arrived at our lodge’s famous cock of the rock lek just as it was starting to get dark and watched the male birds display.  Afterwards, we were able to relax in our lodges and then met in the dining area for a presentation and dinner.

Machu Picchu

I’ve seen Machu Picchu a number of times on television but seeing it in person made me understand why so many tourists flock to Peru to see it for themselves.  The expanse of impressive ruins, the surroundings, and the history really make it a special place.  Legs still sore from the hike, we stepped gingerly up steps to explore some of the buildings as Alex gave us a tour.  I wish we could have spent longer exploring Machu Picchu but, unfortunately, we had a train to catch back in Aguas Calientes and we had agreed to meet Alex and the rest of our group beforehand for lunch.

Sun Temple

After we returned to Aguas Calientes, we walked around the town for a bit and then got lunch with the rest of the group at a Peruvian-French fusion restaurant where Adam ordered a nicely presented salad.

After lunch, we caught the train back to Ollayantaytambo.  We took the Vistadome train this time (a higher class train from the one we took the previous day) and were treated to a Saqra dance followed by a fashion show by train employees donning alpaca ponchos and sweaters.  From Ollayantaytambo, we took a taxi back to Cusco.  After unwinding at our hotel, we went to the Museo de Arte Precolombino and then walked around San Blas for a bit before getting dinner.  I had a very tasty jugo, or fruit juice and one of the restaurant’s clay pot dishes.  Then it was back to the hotel to pack for the Amazon!

Inca Trail

We were picked up at our hotel around 5 am and headed out towards Ollantaytambo where we would be catching a train to Km 104, where we would be starting our trek.  En route, our driver and guide noticed a dead wild cat on the road and stopped not only to take a look but also to collect some of its fur for an amulet.  We stopped off at a restaurant where we could fuel up on coca tea and breakfast before our hike and where we saw these cute guinea pigs.

Once we arrived in Ollayantaytambo, we boarded the train.  Adam and I sat across from our guide, Alex, and a fellow guide named Papi.  We spoke about books for a bit and Papi asked if we had read Guns, Germs and Steel.  Adam said he hadn’t but that I had and Papi asked if we had the book with us.  We said we didn’t and he explained that he had searched for the book in Lima but hadn’t had any luck finding it making us realize how lucky we were to live in a country where obtaining a book is nearly effortless.  As we got closer to our destination, I stood up and peered out the window to look for torrent ducks.  We got out at Km 104 and saw our first ruins of the day.

After touring the ruins, it was onto the serious business of hiking.  I won’t deny that hiking the Inca Trail, even just the 5.6 mile segment that we hiked, was challenging, particularly when you factor in all the steps, the altitude, the ascent (approximately 2000 feet), the heat, and the fact that we had to carry everything we would need for two days, including our lunches and water.  But it wasn’t as bad as I had feared–I had had much apprehension about this hike because I have plantar fasciitis in one foot and had actually been going to physical therapy for the past three months in preparation for the hike.  I was very glad I went back the previous night to request the walking pole rental–it made a big difference!  While the hike was challenging, the scenery was beautiful and I enjoyed talking with Alex and finding out more about Peru along the way.  Unfortunately, I did not take as many photos as I should have so most of these are Adam’s.

Along the way, we saw these nice waterfalls.

We ate lunch at Winay Wayna

Carefree Alex

We continued walking along the Inca Trail and Alex spotted this cool orchid.

Sometime between 4 and 5, we reached our final destination, the Sun Gate at Machu Picchu.

Unfortunately, our hike didn’t end here.  The last segment was actually the most challenging for me, personally, because it was comprised of a lot of uneven rocks and I feared stepping on one with my right heel and retriggering plantar fasciitis related pain.  My knees also started hurting at this point but I trudged on and, eventually, we made it to the area where the buses to Aguas Calientes were located.

Alex walked us to our hotels and I was sad to see our hotel room was less than ideal but knew we’d only be staying for one night.  After relaxing for an hour, we reconvened for dinner and toasted to our finishing the hike successfully.  Incidentally, it was also our wedding anniversary–quite a way to spend our anniversary!

Cusco

Our hotel in Pisac had received good reviews on Trip Advisor and in the morning I decided to check out the hotels grounds to see why and also to see if the proprietor was around so we’d be able to check out and arrange transportation to Cusco.  The grounds were nice but not rave-worthy and the proprietor nowhere to be found.

Plant on hotel grounds similar to aloe

After Adam woke up and got ready, we walked to the dining room where another guest appeared to have a similar idea.  We chatted and learned that he and his family had been staying in Lima for a month where he was working for the Lima office of the fair trade organization he worked for in Cambridge.  This field interests me significantly so we talked about the work the organization he worked for did.  Not long afterwards a substantial breakfast spread was laid out on the table and I enjoyed what was probably our best breakfast in Peru.  Honey coated quinoa and rice puff cereal with yogurt, freshly cut mango, coffee, and eggs.  Simple but good.  I asked one of the women if I could speak with the proprietor and, after a while, she came to greet us.  She agreed to call a taxi to meet us at the plaza and for her driver to drive us to the plaza.  We settled up and then caught our ride to the plaza and it was off to Cusco.

Once we checked into our hotel in Cusco, Adam realized he couldn’t find his Andean migration card (a piece of paper they give you at the airport when you arrive in Peru and that most hotels ask to see).  Fortunately, I had a map that had the location of the local immigration office so Adam set off to get a replacement card and we agreed to meet at a restaurant we had lunch reservations for.  We had a busy day ahead of us, with two trip briefings scheduled, and I made it to the restaurant at the appointed time.  Adam wasn’t there and I had no way of contacting him so I left a message with the maitre d and set out to withdraw money from a nearby bank since we were supposed to make the final payment on our Inca Trail excursion within half an hour.  I couldn’t figure out how to get US dollars so I ran back to the restaurant to see if Adam was there.  He wasn’t there yet so I ran to the office of our Inca Trail tour organization and explained that we would pay later in the day.

Fortunately, Adam and I ran into each other when I went back to the restaurant and we were able to relax and enjoy lunch as he explained his adventures trying to get the replacement card.  The restaurant was one owned by Gaston Acurio, the restauranteur and chef who revolutionized Peruvian cuisine, introducing the concept of Novoandina cuisine.

They had what I thought were the best mixed drinks we had in Cusco and we started our meal by sharing a potato sampler that was very good but quite filling.

I was already pretty full by the time my entree came out but I couldn’t say no to beef cheeks!

We left the restaurant happily full and rested from our adventures.

Adios Chicha!

We went to Plaza de Armas to check out the main cathedral and another church located on the plaza.  After we left the main cathedral, we noticed there were dancers performing within the plaza and stopped to watch.

This dance was rather racy–ooh la la!

Unfortunately, photos weren’t allowed in either of the churches but we were allowed to take photos from the lookout of the second church.

La Catedral from Iglesia de la Compania de Jesus

Plaza de Armas

I explored Cusco independently for a little while after we parted ways and then we reconvened at the office of Inca Trail organization for our trip briefing.  After our trip briefing, we got dinner at a Japanese-Peruvian fusion restaurant located on Plaza de Armas.  We shared ceviche and some sushi rolls when I realized I had forgotten to rent a hiking pole.  We ran back to the office to request the rental and then rushed back to our hotel, where we had a briefing of our Amazon trip scheduled.  Once our briefing was completed, we retired to our hotel room and packed for our Inca Trail trip.

Sacred Valley

We caught a flight in the morning to Cusco, where we were picked up by our guide, Henrry.  As soon as we got to his car, he gave us cups of coca tea, noting that my friend, who had toured with him yesterday, had experienced bad altitude sickness. Henrry brought us first to Cristo Blanco, which offered nice views of Cusco and nearby archaeological ruins.

Our next stop was Santuario de Cochawasi, an animal sanctuary in Sacred Valley.  One of the caretaker showed us the animals in the sanctuary, which included wild cats, llamas, and macaws.

Vicuna

One of the macaws took a liking to Adam’s shoes and his female partner didn’t like the fact that he was spending time with our group instead of her so she traversed the sanctuary and tried to bite the caretaker who was giving us the tour.  The last animals we were shown was a pair of Andean condors.

One of the condors was ushered to the other side of their enclosure and instructed to fly across, nearly missing our heads.

After buying some alpaca wool products from the sanctuary store, we headed back out.  In some ways, I wish we could have driven ourselves because the Sacred Valley is beautiful and I would have made many stops along the way to take photos but this is the main scenic shot I have to share

Our next stop was some distance away so we stopped off in Urubamba to get lunch.  I wanted to go to this place but when we got there, the proprietor bellowed out from the second floor that it was their day off.   He was nice enough to come down and offer us a restaurant recommendation.  The restaurant had a lovely outdoor area overlooking a sleeping cat.  We took our seats, ordered and enjoyed our first (and sadly only) chicha morada in Peru (save for a bottled one I purchased at the airport).

The food was excellent as the photo below attests.

While we waited for Henrry to pick us up, I snapped this photo of Urubamba.

Our next stop was Ollantaytambo, famous for its hillside ruins.  I admired the canal running through the center of town as we walked to the ruins.

The Ollantaytambo ruins are impressive, comprised of of rows of steep stone terraces carved into the hillside–the ruins of a large temple-fortress built by the Incans.  Henrry went into detail about their significance but in Spanish and my Spanish is not good enough to translate.

After Ollantaytambo, we drove to Salinas salt mines.  The photos I’d seen online were impressive and seeing them in person did not disappoint although I do feel bad for the workers (I can only imagine how difficult it must be to work here)

I was impressed to learn that the salt mines date back to the Incans.  We had one more stop to make before we drove back and encountered a little traffic jam along the way.

Our last stop was Moray, a series of circular, stepped terraces which we were told was likely used to acclimate and experiment with different crops.  The depressions in the earth produce intense microclimates, with significant differences in temperature from top to bottom, that the Incans were studying.

Wish we could have gone inside but it was already pretty late and it was absolutely freezing at this location (we experienced a pretty significant range of temperatures and wind conditions throughout the course of the day).  Darkness set in as we drove to our hotel in Pisac and I found it hard to stay awake.

Henrry had to ask around for the location of our hotel and when we pulled into a courtyard fronting a church, he realized the  narrow dirt pathway behind the church leading to our hotel was not wide enough for his car.  He said we could either go to the main plaza and hire a micro taxi to take us to the hotel or we could walk.  I opted for the latter even though the pathway was unlit and dark and we didn’t know how far down the path our hotel was.  Henrry was gracious enough to accompany us and help us with our luggage and we set out down the pathway pulling our suitcases under the moonlight.  The hotel was pretty far down the path and located behind a wooden gate.  Henrry rang the bell several times but no one came to the gate.  “Guess we might have to stay at your place in Cusco” I joked but, fortunately, within a few minutes a driver in a mini taxi showed up and opened the gate (lucky for us, he happened to be driving some other guests back to the hotel).  He showed us to our room and then said he would drive us to the town center so we could eat dinner (the hotel didn’t have a restaurant).

We were dropped off in front of a popular backpacker’s restaurant which seemed to attract individuals seeking some sort of enlightenment as the conversations around us and the new age-y advertisements on the cork board at the front of the restaurant seemed to attest to.

Lima, Day 3

Our last day in Lima and we had a full day planned.  First stop, El Centro, Lima’s historic center which houses many of its colonial buildings.  Our taxi driver, who was rather distinguished looking, dropped us off cautioning us to be careful as the neighborhood had a reputation for being unsafe.  After checking out a small museum which appeared to be visited primarily by school groups and Latin American tourists, judging from the guestbook, we walked past many printing businesses to our next destination.  I had only intended on checking out the building facade but we decided to peek inside the building courtyard when we were met by the building’s friendly caretaker.  He ushered over the resident cat  and Adam took out a small soccer ball which the cat promptly batted around the courtyard.  The caretaker kindly offered to take us on a tour of the building and gave us some background on the building as we explored the building interior.

Street view from one of the building’s five balconies

The highlight, however, was the was the views of the tops of surrounding buildings from the rooftop.

This isn’t one of the impressive views mentioned above but I did shoot this from the building rooftop

It was a lovely unexpected tour of a cool historic building in downtown Lima.

Adios Casa de Osambela!

Unfortunately, the Presidential Palace was closed but we couldn’t help but notice the riot police stationed across the street from the building.

We checked out a few churches and a cool museum featuring currency from Peru spanning the ages as well as bills from countries around the world.  Then we got lunch at a restaurant inside a colonial building run by a French order of nuns.  After lunch, we hopped in a taxi to head off to the Museo Arqueologico Rafael Larco.  The museum had one room containing glass cases filled with Peruvian pottery

When I saw the museum restaurant, Iwas sad we didn’t have lunch there.

Fortunately, we had some time to spare before dinner so we headed back to the hotel to relax.  I took the opportunity to try one of the fruits I had purchased, cherimoya, or a custard apple.  It was very sweet and, well, custardy.  Then it was off to the neighborhood where the restaurant we had reservations for was located.  I regretted not getting there earlier after discovering it was located on a street lined with upscale shops–the Madison Avenue of Lima perhaps?

Dinner was at Osaka, a fusion Peruvian/Japanese restaurant.  We sat at the sushi bar and ordered drinks and food.  I loved my drink and the dishes I ordered but, sadly, the service was really bad and even after Adam asked to look at the menu again, our waiter never returned to take his order.

Tiradito

Mini steamed buns with pork shoulder

Grilled tuna with lucama sauce over potato puree

Lima, Day 2

Sadly, this was the only day we got to sleep in and, by sleep in, I mean we got to sleep until 8 or 8:30.  After breakfast at the hotel, we walked over to Vivanda, which the map our hotel gave us called Lima’s Whole Foods equivalent.  It may not have been exactly Whole Foods but it was close enough, which made me quite happy.  I perused the fruits section since there were a number of fruits in Peru that I wanted to try.  I was happy to find passion fruit drinks (I’ve had a thing for passion fruit ever since our trip to Brazil).  After checking out, we brought our finds back to the hotel and then headed back out to get lunch.

It was Sunday, so our options were limited but I was excited to try a cevicheria in San Isidro that had received accolades.  We were staying in San Isidro within what appeared to be walking distance from the restaurant but appearances can be deceiving, particularly when you don’t have a sense of scale when looking at a map for a city you’re unfamiliar with.  We eventually made it to the restaurant location, only to discover that they had relocated to a new location in Miraflores.  Doh!  This is one of the disadvantages of visiting a city that isn’t very walkable and doesn’t have a good public transportation system.  We decided to get lunch at the mall I had set my sights on.  After a lackluster lunch, we split up to explore the mall.  If I were to write a travel guidebook, I think I would include information like worthwhile shopping destinations and airport food recommendations and I would not include Jockey Plaza as one of my recommendations.  While the mall was better than the one I went to during our last overseas vacation in Zagreb, the high prices relative to quality (in part because of the high import taxes in Peru) made the shopping trip a disappointing one.  Leaving empty handed save for a pair of sneakers that I purchased because I had forgotten to pack a pair back home, we caught a taxi to our next destination, Barranco.  Again, our taxi driver deposited us in the vicinity of the address I gave and pointed in the general direction of where we were supposed to go.  The walk was a pleasant one though, as Barranco is notable for its historic streetcars.

After checking out the museum, we made our way south and curious about the crowds we saw congregated outside a small gallery, I went to check out the exhibit inside, one featuring photographs of Peruvians in traditional costumes by famed Peruvian fashion photographer, Mario Testino.  Barranco is a charming neighborhood to explore, with its famous bridge, artsy shops, and seaside views.  After leaving this charming shop, we walked over the shoreline and admired views of the sunset.

Afterwards, we tried walking to the restaurant in Miraflores where we planned on having dinner but, realizing it was probably too far to walk, we decided to cab it there.  We arrived before they opened so we passed the time drinking pisco sours at a restaurant next door where the bartender was kind enough to give us samples of pure pisco which packs quite a punch!

Fortunately, dinner helped catalyze some of that alcohol and we made it safely home to our hotel.