Create your Trip Journal [click here]Anticipation…mixed with a full day of flying can produce amazing butterflies in ones stomach. Fortunately, I was able to convince all of my butterflies to fly in one direction; and they finally led me to Peru.
I quickly became intoxicated with Cuzco and all of the sights and sounds of this amazing city. We arrived just days before the Inti Raymi festivities, but the city was already bustling with parades and crowds as they prepared for this celebration. I fell in love so quickly with the children that we had seen on our walk to and around the Plaza de Armas. A childrens parade was in full swing around the plaza, and the atmosphere was filled with excitement and shrieks of joy from the many children that were leaving school to join in these activities. Happiness filled the air around us.
Traveling through the Sacred Valley really helped to put this whole region into perspective. I quickly became thankful that this is the format to which this trip was established because it allowed us to see how people REALLY lived in Peru. Had we not taken a trip through these areas, it would be like someone traveling to the United States and only seeing New York City; seeing these villages (and staying in a village like Ollanaytambo) helped to gain a true understanding of the culture and the manner in which others choose to live.
And speaking of Ollantaytambo, if I were to move to Peru, I would settle here. This quiet, ancient town felt like home as we walked the cobblestone streets at dusk after a long day of visiting Pisac and Moray. With rumbling tummies, we found Pacha Mama for a dinner of pizza and pisco sours, and a quiet balcony all to ourselves to enjoy the night sights and sounds of Ollantaytambo. A local man was playing music in the main dining area, yet, he came up the spiral staircase to visit us and offer his CD for purchase. I couldn’t resist taking this night home with me, so I purchased one from him and did my best to compliment him with my limited Spanish speaking abilities.
My mission to see the Southern Cross for the first time was accomplished on our walk back to the hotel from Pacha Mama. A dark alleyway paralleled our hotel, so we sauntered down the pathway just enough to escape the “city” lights. Equipped with my stellarscope, I located this constellation and looked up in wonder. I felt so lost looking at the sky; I couldn’t recognize a single constellation as readily as I can recognize them back in the Northern Hemisphere. It’s funny how we take a thing like locating the Big Dipper for granted when it is something you can see every clear night in America. Here, I had a hard time recognizing its Southern Hemisphere equivalent…but my quest was complete when I finally found that twinkling group of stars.
Boarding the train to Machu Picchu felt like a step back in time. I felt like I should be wearing a vintage wide-brimmed hat while being escorted by a pair of English Wolfhounds. There really is no better way to travel if you want to really SEE a country. The train ride through the remote areas of the Sacred Valley alone was worth the trip to Peru as we witnessed yet another glorious view of Victoria, peeped into the backyards of some farming homesteads, and slowly transitioned to the greenhouse beauty of the Aguas Calientes region.
I still cannot describe how it felt to finally see the ruins at Machu Picchu. I had read about it, dreamt about it, and had almost given up on ever seeing it. So, the tears quietly welled in my eyes as we rounded the corner of a storage building to a sight of architectural phantasmagoria! It was overwhelming as I didn’t know what I wanted to do first. Fortunately, our guide helped us to navigate our way through the ruins and helped us to understand the theories that surround why Machu Picchu was built, why it is still standing, and why it may have been abandoned.
Our guide, Santiago Castelo, enhanced our visit 1000x’s over! I had anticipated that I would have to rely on my own research of Machu Picchu to enjoy this place, but his knowledge and personal perspective of the Inca clearly enriched our experience.
Opting for a second day at Machu Picchu provided us the opportunity to explore this mystifying place on our own. Having done my own research on Machu Picchu, I wanted to seek out some of the sights our guide didn’t have the time to point out, and I also wanted time to explore the edges of the ruins in search of birds that I had dreamed of seeing ever since I received my “Birds of Peru” book. How nice it was to meander at a relaxed pace around the ruins and imagine what this place was really like 100’s of year ago.
We arrived early enough to see the sun rise over the mountains and filter in to one of the many temples constructed to observe such natural events. It saddened me to think that we’ve become a race of beings that has forgotten to realize that we don’t need a watch or a calendar to mark the changing of the seasons, but there is a rhythm that the Earth is speaking if we only take the time to listen. I think the Inca had that enlightened ability, and I was honored to be able to witness a glimpse of this astounding place.
I won’t even say that all good things come to end because I knew that boarding the train back to Ollantaytambo and then to travel back to Cuzco would bring more opportunity to embrace this wonderful country.
I used to think that if money were no problem that I would want to just travel. But I learned something as I remained the only one awake on our drive from Ollantaytambo to Cuzco...if I DID travel a lot, would I take it for granted?
I wouldn't let myself fall asleep on this drive. I didn't want to miss a single moment of the scenic drive of this amazing country. I just wanted to soak it all in so that I could take it home with me and never let it go.
Somehow, I managed to stay awake the whole ride back and I was rewarded with a view that I didn’t expect I would see. One of the festivals that I wanted to witness on a trip to Peru was Qoyllur Rit’i, but sadly I knew I would miss that opportunity by about a week. I thought it was enough that I was able to see Mount Ausangate from our ride back to Cuzco (not to mention the Ukuku on our train), but to my surprise, a van filled with Qoyllur Rit’i participants passed our van on their return home from this pilgrimage. They were still dressed in the celebration outfits and were shouting from their vehicles and still enjoying the festival they had recently departed. Sure, it wasn’t the same as being there…but maybe it was a glimpse of a trip to come.
We opted out of the optional tour this final day (our financial resources were getting pretty tight), so that we could spend time “alone” among the “local tourists” who have come to Cuzco for the celebrations leading up to Inti Raymi. Parades had been part of the activities occurring in Cuzco ever since we arrived, so we wanted to partake in what locals do in anticipation of the winter solstice and attend the parade that embraced the Plaza de Armas.
What I loved about the floats in the parade is that their messages weren’t as literal as parade floats I see in the local festivals in America. Each one depicted a scene to send its message as opposed to making signage to tell the message. One of the MOST interesting examples of this was the float of an airplane being piloted by a pig. Running around the float were lab coated “doctors” chasing “patient” pigs with a very large syringe. All of this chaos was illustrating the importance of immunizing against H1N1. What a far more entertaining way to get PSA out to the public, don’t you think?
Looking around the crowd, you could almost picture yourself right back in America. The vendors walked up and down the rows selling treats, and hats, and collapsible chairs; the “boy scouts” walked along in their uniforms carrying donation cups and bags; and “political” groups sought support by handing out a variety of different colored ribbons for patrons to wear for the low cost of a 1 sol donation.
But what captured my attention among all of this were two boys watching the parade. The eldest (and the tallest) had the younger one perched on his shoulders so he could see the parade over the tops of the crowd.
What I’ve learned from these sights: people are people no matter where you go. Whether we live in a different region or speak in a different language, we are all really just seeking happiness; and that quest can really unite us all. You could have dropped that parade almost anywhere in the world…and I’d bet you’d have found many of these similarities. I have to travel more to prove that hypothesis.
Visiting Lima was quite a contrast from the quiet villages I loved in the Sacred Valley. Lima provided all of the hustle and bustle a big city has to offer, and again, we enjoyed our day to explore alone.
The architecture in Lima can really transport you to another time if you let your mind wander. The historic architectural beauty contrasted with the fast urban pace of the city, but a harmonious beat is evident as these two, old and new, coexist in the city.
The flights home from Lima seemed to slip by in a dream. I couldn’t wait to return home to tell everyone about this grand adventure and about the insights I’ve gained from my travel to Peru…but, I found that I didn’t know where to begin once I finally saw my family.
I took an earlier stand-by flight home to Marquette out of the Detroit airport. My 2 year old son would still be awake when I got home if I paid a little extra for this option…and it was wonderful to see the excitement he had at Mom returning home with a gift of a toy llama that I purchased from another mother in a Cuzco market. If it weren’t for my son, I don’t know that I would have returned home. My experiences in Peru were long awaited, so to have to leave Peru only made me reset the timer for a return trip.
It’s still difficult to try to summarize all of the wonderful experiences that I had on my trip to Peru. These entries are as abbreviated as my pictures that accompany this journal are. I’m thankful for the opportunity I seized to make this trip happen, and I’m even more thankful that I chose Adventure Life to plan these events. My blessings are outnumbered by my breaths.
