3/29 – 4/5
Hi All,
Give the Machu Pichu trip 5 WOW’S…..WOW, WOW, WOW, WOW, WOW!!! And for those who have been there, yes, Kathy and I do subscribe to the Alien theory:)))
The logistics from Brazil to Lima to Cusco, the start of the Machu Pichu trip, is a bit tedious. We arrived around 11am in Lima from Rio and were met by a Nat Hab rep after clearing customs & immigration. Our hotel, the Wyndham, is at the airport a block away. Our room was not quite ready so we had lunch in the bar!! We had the rest of the afternoon off but we had to repack. You are only allowed one bag of 50-lbs and one small carry-on. Since Machu Pichu has supposedly cool mountain weather we stored our tropical clothes at the Wyndham while packing our cool, mountain clothes for the trip. As it turned out, it was not as cool as we had planned and in fact if the sun came out, it was almost hot!!
That night we ate at a restaurant at the airport that served traditional Peruvian food. We both had chicken and rice with different Asian influenced sauces…delicious!! Also, we had our first Pisco sour, the Peruvian national drink!! “It is the emblematic Peruvian liquor since the 16th century. It is a product of the fermentation liquor of the fresh juice of grapes distilled in special copper stills.” It is made with simple syrup, lime juice, egg whites, and 2-3 drops of bitters. Every bar/restaurant, and the upcoming Amazon ship made the cocktail a little different and the 1st drink was free!!!
https://www.nathab.com/south-america/amazon-cruise-machu-picchu/itinerary
We were up early again to catch a 7am flight to Cusco, which is at 11,000+’. We met our group of just 6 people….the normal size is 10-12 so we were lucky with a small, and very compatible group. In fact one couple from Montana, John and Deb, would continue on with us for the Amazon cruise!! Since this trip is at high altitude the first few days through the Sacred Valley are to acclimate, then the 2 harder days at Machu Pichu which is at a lower altitude of ~8,000′ and then back to Cusco for a day or so! The first day was a short tour around Cusco, a traditional Peruvian lunch and then exploring the market in Pisac. We stayed for the next 2 nights at Inkaterra Hacienda Urubamba. The 3 hotels we stayed at were all outstanding….5-star rated with gourmet restaurants that served traditional Peruvian food….we were well fed indeed!!
Day 3: We continued to explore the Sacred Valley: “The original vast empire of the Incas was
connected by a network of 10,000 miles of stone roads woven through the imposing terrain of the Andes.
Suspension bridges spanned rivers and aqueducts carried water from mountain streams to irrigate terraced
fields of crops, vestiges of which we see on our journey today, backdropped by knife-edged peaks.”
We followed the Urubamba River and toured the town of Maras and visited the salt flats of Maras: “The Salt Mines of Maras, also known as Salineras de Maras, are a stunning complex of salt pools carved into the mountainside in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, Peru. These pre-Inca salt mines have been used for centuries, with local communities maintaining and harvesting salt from the pools. The salt is characterized by its pinkish hue and rough texture, and is still sold throughout Peru today.” According to our Expedition Leader, Rueban, the salt is the best in the world and sold to some of the best restaurants worldwide. Evidently a large body of water was trapped in the mountains as the Andes formed millions of years ago and these salt flats are sourced by a small spring…whoa!!
The day continued with a trip to the Ensifera Hummingbird Garden where we had a picnic lunch, plus a talk on local hummingbirds, all while we observed the hummingbirds….highlight of the day!! We then concluded the day with a 2-mile hike through a farming community…seeing how people farmed plus also some high altitude training….it was a bit hot and humid which made the cold beer/wine all the more tasty afterwards!!
Day 4 & 5: Off early to catch the 10am train to Machu Pichu….but, bam, what was that….Kathy tripped on a uneven stone walkway leaving the hotel. Fell right on her left knee cap….oweeeee!!! We didn’t think she did any ligament damage, thankfully, but certainly bruised her knee. She would suffer this injury for the rest of the trip. Ibuprofen, a neoprene knee brace, walking sticks, ice, wine and pure grit got her through the rest of the trip. (we have since taken her to the orthopedic here in Brentwood, x-rays negative and an MRI revealed a large bruise on the upper tibia…about the size of a tennis ball….ouch!!!!).
As described by NH: “This morning we board the train at Ollantaytambo for a 1-1/2-hour journey along the Urubamba River, which narrows into turbulent whitewater as we travel deeper into the mountains. At the village of Machu Pichu we disembark and board a bus for the short remaining drive to Machu Picchu. Little prepares one for the spectacle that awaits. As we ascend into the ruins, there’s a sense of wandering through a mystical city in the sky, surrounded by green mountain ramparts that soar into the clouds. Rueben helps interpret all we see as we explore the labyrinth of granite houses, temples, walls and cisterns, and terraced steps that once grew maize and potatoes for some 1,200 inhabitants. Archaeologists believe Machu Picchu may have been a royal estate and religious retreat, based on its sacred geography and astronomical orientation. Important ceremonies were conducted here, including a winter solstice rite at which a priest would “tie the sun” to a hitching post stone to prevent it from disappearing altogether. We spend the next two nights at Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel in private casitas built of stone, tile and cedar, surrounded by the thick greenery of the cloud forest. More than 300 varieties of orchids grace the grounds of this secluded luxury retreat on the river, and a network of trails on the grounds invites a serene stroll.”
Wow, Wow, Wow, Wow, Wow….finally we experienced Machu Pichu. Some of the readers will remember we had this tripped planned in 2010 while staying at Marios Marina in Rio Dulce Guatemala, but we had to cancel when I hurt my back repairing the upstairs Cruise Air compressor controls!!! It was everything we had expected and them some. Standing amongst the ruins you could feel the history and questions abound….who built this, why, how did they build it, et al????? There are of course, a lot of theories on those questions but since the Jesuits destroyed all the written history, the answers remain a mystery…..thus the alien theory which IMHO has some merit:)))
There are 3 circuits to do in the Ruins and we did 2.5 and I wish we had time to see the rest. The other 4 members of the group chose to do one of the extreme hikes the next morning but Kathy and I were more interested in the ruins. Plus we found the physicality of all the stairs and the terrain et al enough for us….my heart issues and Kathy’s knee….but we did it!!!
The afternoon of Day 5 we left Machu Pichu by train and then a 2 hour bus ride back to Cusco….most people slept after 2 rather strenuous days in Machu Pichu!! But wait, more to see…..the historic downtown of Cusco seeing the famed Qorikancha Temple and the Cathedral of Santo Domingo.
Day 6: Up early again, buffet breakfast, pack, check out and off to see more of Cusco. “We explored the ruins at Sacsayhuaman, where we witness one of the most impressive examples of Inca walls found in the region. The site is still enveloped in mystery, and we ponder how the Incas moved these enormous stones to this site without the advantage of wheeled carts, and how they managed to fit such large, perfectly honed granite stones together so tightly that a pocketknife blade cannot be inserted between them.”
Then it was off to an alpaca & llama farm where we got to pet & feed the animals plus buy some souvenirs and alpaca sweaters!! That afternoon we flew back to Lima where we had the next day to repack, have the hotel do some laundry and then get ready for the Amazon river cruise. We did go with John & Deb to the Larco museum. “The Larco Museum is a privately owned museum of pre-Columbian art, located in the Pueblo Libre District of Lima, Peru. The museum is housed in an 18th-century vice-royal building. It showcases chronological galleries that provide a thorough overview of 5,000 years of Peruvian pre-Columbian history.”
And that was it!!!
Hope all is well!!
John
PS: Pictures at: https://mysticmoonvoyages.com/machu-pichu-trip/
